Kathryn Fox - Without Consent

Geoff didn’t like being crowded. He put his head down, grabbed the photo back from Nick and put it in his pocket, not wanting any trouble.

“Luke. Great to see you.” Nick stood up and slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Hey, Badger, Gazza, Carrot, remember my cousin?”

They all sat down, cramping the small table.

“Geoff, remember Luke Platt? Used to live up the coast. Thought we could have a bit of a reunion, like the good old days back in Fisherman’s Bay.”

Geoff refused to acknowledge them, but had already sized up the visitors. Prison had taught him to check men out to see how dangerous they were. Luke-average height, weight, athletic. Pigeon-toed, too. Could be a good runner. Barry Lerner-Badger-had a head like a busted toilet, looked like a boxer with his cauliflower ears and had the build for it, too. At least that’s what his cellmate would have said about the “new boys.”

They both looked familiar, but neither had ever been a friend.

Gazza used to work in the mines and he was the sort of guy you wouldn’t look twice at, the kind who stood with his arms crossed to make himself seem bigger. Carrot-red hair, freckles; used to be a dickhead when he worked in the boat shed. By the way he sat down with a dopey grin on his face, he still was.

“How’s it going?” Luke held out a hand to shake.

“It’s past dinnertime.” The table scored another divot.

“Don’t mind him,” Nick explained, “he’s got the shits because a girl from the local Vinnies shop gave him the brush-off.”

A plate of steak and chips arrived, along with a bowl of pasta.

“Thanks, darling,” Gazza said, winking at the bargirl.

Geoff noticed her face and smiled. “Are you Pat? You look just like Daisy in The Dukes of Hazzard. She’s really pretty.”

The young girl blushed and grinned while she rearranged the salt and pepper shakers. “No, I’m Maddie.”

“Well, mate.” Luke stood up. “I better be off. If the wife asks, I was at work late again. All right?” He stood up, scraping the floor with his chair. “It’s the only way I get a leave-pass these days.”

Nick started on the spaghetti. “No worries. Thought a baby on the way would give her something else to focus on.”

“Hell, with these pregnancy hormones, she’s a mess. Suddenly she wants me there all the time when I’m not at work. Even worse, she’s obsessed with washing everything-curtains, floors, clothes. I can’t even fart without her wanting to clean up the smell.”

Nick laughed. “She’s nesting.”

Badger chimed in, “You’re under the thumb, mate. Have been from the moment she got her hooks in. You ought to show her who’s boss.”

“It’s not that easy. Marriage is like living with your mum.”

Geoff looked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nick licked some sauce from his upper lip. “Nothing. Mate, he didn’t mean anything. Want another coffee?”

“No.” Geoff put down his knife and fork and thought about the girl in the picture. She was pretty. Long dark hair, big brown eyes and bright red lips. Then he had to take another piss.

Luke tapped his fingers on the table and leaned over Nick.

“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on your cousin? After what he did to that girl, aren’t you worried he might just cut up another one?”

“That was a long time ago. He was just a kid himself, and Eileen Randall was a fucking bitch to him. She had it coming.”

“He’s never been the full quid, and he sure as hell is weird. Look at the way he reacted when I made a crack about my mum.”

Nick nodded. “I know, but he’s paid for what he did.”

“All I know is I wouldn’t want him hanging around my sister.”

“Badger’s bad news with women but we let him hang around.”

A couple of tables away, voices got louder. The pair turned to see Geoff, head down, blocked by a group of men.

“I’m talking to you. Hey, aren’t you that fucking child-killer? The one who’s been on all the news?”

Geoff clenched both fists by his sides and sidestepped back to his seat at the table.

“What’s this? A meeting of the child-fuckers’ union?”

Luke spoke first. “We don’t want trouble. We were just leaving.”

“I haven’t finished my dinner,” Nick said.

“You have now.” The angry one tipped the remainder of the meal on Geoff’s head. Deftly, Geoff seized the man’s outstretched arm with one hand and threw Nick’s drink in his face. The man reeled, grabbing his eyes, as Geoff leapt to his feet.

The other men at the table stepped back. Badger landed a right-cross on the guy with the drink in his eyes. Someone knocked Luke to the floor and he felt a foot connect with his side, just as a bouncer intervened, grabbing the kicker in a headlock. Nick was standing between Geoff and another man who was being held back by a second security guy.

“Break it up,” said a loud voice. The gawking crowd dispersed.

On the floor, Luke realized his father’s crucifix was missing from his neck. He sat up and scanned the floor.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” The waitress bent down. In her palm was a large cross-shaped amulet and its chain.

“Your friend-the one with the big blue eyes-is cute,” she whispered. “I know what they say about him, but he looks so gentle.”

Beneath the amulet was a piece of paper with her phone number on it.

Luke, Geoff and Nick left the pub under security escort. They sat in silence on the way back to the Willards’ home. Geoff’s mother didn’t say a word as they came in.

Luke cornered Nick. “Can we have a quick word? Now you’re home safe, I’ve got to get going.”

“No worries.” Nick led his friend into the hallway.

Inside, Luke spoke quietly. “I know he’s your cousin, but you’ve got to watch him. That waitress thought he looked gentle after his chat-up Daisy Duke crap.”

“He can’t help the way he looks. Nature had to make up for his brain, I reckon. Besides, some girls just have a thing for guys who’ve been in prison.”

“Yeah, but he isn’t in jail any more. He’s out. And I reckon it’s only a matter of time before he hurts someone again.”

From the lounge room, Geoff called out, “Come quick. Baywatch is coming on. It’s the bit where they run real slow.”

Suddenly, they heard the crash of glass breaking. They rushed to see Lillian Willard lying on the floor, blood dripping from a gash on her head. A rock lay beside her. The window had been smashed from outside.

“Turn off the lights,” Nick commanded, “and the television!”

He knelt next to his aunt, who was breathing hard. “She needs a hospital.”

Luke stood to the side of the window, flipped open his mobile phone and dialled emergency. “We need an ambulance. An elderly woman’s been knocked out by a rock thrown through the window…Of course it’s a fucking emergency! She’s just sort of lying there, not moving. Hang on…” He turned to Nick. “They want to know, does she have a pulse?”

“Yeah, but it’s weak. And tell them to send police, too.”

“Hello? Her pulse is weak and there’s trouble outside. We need the police. There’s a crowd outside and, oh shit, they’re fucking angry.”

The crowd began to chant, “Get Willard out. Get Willard out.”

Someone with a loudspeaker shouted, “Leave our neighborhood tonight. We don’t want sex offenders near our kids.”

Geoff crawled to the back door. He wanted to protect Caesar.

“Come here, boy.” He opened the screen door but the labrador pup didn’t move.

“Quick boy, get inside,” he urged, but Caesar stayed asleep. Geoff clambered across to where the dog lay and put a hand on his back. That’s when he knew something was wrong. Caesar wasn’t breathing. Putting his ear to the dog’s chest, Geoff couldn’t hear or feel a thing, but he could smell the vomit. It was all around the dog.