Wisps of Cloud (16 page)

The third encounter was a few weeks later with yet another woman who introduced herself as Tara. This Tara had telephoned her at school and told her quite frankly that Derek was double-crossing them both. It turned out that Tara had been steady as she called it, with Derek for two months longer than Chrissy had known him.  Tara had found out about Chrissy and at least three other women that he had slept with over the time she had thought they were partners. She even gave an address of her apartment where Derek stayed over during the week. This rang true for on the few occasions Chrissy had called him on the landline, the telephone wasn't answered. Once she thought it strange when he answered the mobile call and said he was home. When queried, he had said he was in the garage and had heard the phone ring but had just missed the call.

So that was it! After an heated argument she told Derek he could go to his little trollops or Tara and to get out of her life. After calling her a toffee nosed little bitch, that was exactly what he did. That was only two weeks before the year's end so she was feeling pretty miserable as the term concluded.

*

Chrissy almost didn't go to the end of the year staff party but relented when some of the other teachers persuaded her to go. It was in a small but pleasant restaurant that had a bar and small dance floor.  Late in the evening after the meal was over, she was momentarily by herself at a table when the two other teachers she was with had gone off to the powder room. Murray arrived, slightly drunk and talkative as he placed a bottle of wine on her table and uninvited, sat down.

"You've had a good year," he said. "Did a fine job, too."

"Why thank you Murray," she replied.

She noticed him gazing down her cleavage and pulled her top up a little. She had never seen him like this before and began to feel embarrassed when he refilled her wine glass and made no attempt to move on.

"It's been a great evening and I'll have to go soon. Derek, my boyfriend is picking me up," she lied, "He also had a staff party and …" She laughed. "You know how dates clash at this time of the year?"

"Oh," Murray said. "I thought you had split up with him a month back."

Chrissy glowered. How did he know? She took a sip from the glass and swallowed. Yuck, what an awful taste! It was almost bitter. She shook her head as everything began to spin.

A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist and she saw her principal staring at her but the look in his eyes were not those of concern. He looked exactly as Derek did before they went back to her place and had passionate sex. It was the look of male lust.

"I don't feel too good," she muttered.

"Too much wine, I'd say," Murray sounded anything but sympathetic. "Is your car here?"

"No, I was going to get a taxi home."

"No problem. I'll get you one."

"Thanks," Chrissy whispered. Oh hell, the room spun around and she could barely keep her eyes open. It was almost as if…

*

It was daylight when she opened her eyes. She felt terrible with a thumping headache and her body felt sore especially around the breasts and genitals. She needed to get to the toilet so flung her sheets aside and stepped onto the carpet. That was when she realised she wasn't in her own bed.

Oh my God! She was in a stranger's bedroom. It was a bare impersonal room like one in a motel.  Fighting panic she realised more, she was completely in the nude and her clothes were in a heap on the floor.

"No!" she screamed, grabbed her clothes and tore into the tiny bathroom she spied through an open door.

She didn't have time to dress for she became violently ill and just reached the toilet before she vomited. Afterwards, and with shuddering tears pouring down her face she grabbed a facecloth and splashed cold water over her face. She glanced at herself in a full-length mirror. Her crotch was red and white fluid ran down the inside of one leg.

"No!" she screamed again as she used the facecloth to wipe herself clean.

She remembered nothing but knew what had happened. She was in a motel room and had been raped!

Crying, she turned on the shower and attempted to wash her body clean. Afterwards, she dressed and terrified that her attacker was still around, crept into the studio room. As well as the double bed it had a small kitchen unit, a couple of armchairs and a wall-mounted television. Nobody was there. She stared at the bed in utter disgust. The other side had also been pulled back and even worse the sheets were stained with what could only be male sperm.

Now hysterical, she swung around and noticed twenty dollars and a note on the sink.

'Take a taxi home. Thank you, I enjoyed the evening and never thought you'd be so cooperate. Tell nobody as you won't be believed.'

It was unsigned but she recognised the feeble attempt to disguise the printing. It was Murray Narwood's printing.

*

With one day remaining of the school term, Karla arrived home an hour earlier than normal for there was little to do back at the hall. As usual
, she walked the few hundred metres home across the paddocks. The hall property led to a small reserve of trees and onto the Top Plateau Station home paddock. Their house was on the other side out of sight behind a tall hedge. Half way along, a small pedestrian gate filled a gap in the hedge.

She was about to walk through it onto the back lawn when she heard Ryan's quiet but angry voice interjected by an almost screaming female voice; one that was completely unknown to her.

Karla stopped by the gate and knew she had not been seen when Ryan spoke again "You've got it wrong Trish," he said. "Karla is not like that!"

Trish? That was his sister!

This Trish spoke again. "Oh, she isn't? Seems to me that she has it all planned out, promotion to a principal's position probably years before it would happen in town and her foothold in a million dollar property. What's the bet she gets pregnant and you, being the old-fashioned sort will marry her and, bang half of everything is hers."

Ryan retorted angrily. "Just because your partner walked out on you when he found your stake in this property was less than you'd told him, doesn't mean that she is the same?"

"So why are you refusing to combine your third with Mum's and my own? This new deal is even better than the original but must include the whole property. It's all or nothing Ryan. Can't you see that?"

Ryan's voice became a little calmer. "Overseas investors need government approval to purchase New Zealand farms and Chinese millionaires are not popular investors at the moment."

"This is a well known and sound syndicate who wants to keep the property as a going concern, not just sub-divide it up into those lifestyle blocks that Alan wants."

"So he's opposed to your idea, too."

"He'll do anything for the largest amount of money. Like your girlfriend and yourself, he's got Mum tucked around his little finger. What's the bet, that as soon as this place is sold he'll boot Mum out and shack up with a sexy bit twenty years his junior?"

"You always were cynical, Trish. But why
do you want to lay your hands on the money this place will bring at this time, anyway?"

The woman's reply was a mere mutter that Karla didn't pick up. She leaned forward and glanced around the hedge. Ryan towered above a dark haired woman as they wandered further across the lawn and she could hear no more of the conversation. She frowned, stepped back and followed the hedge to the road, climbed the fence and waited for a moment to think about the conversation. She knew Ryan didn't particularly like his sister but the reason she was back from Australia was obvious. Trish was trying to get what she could out of the farm's sale. If it was sold all three could be instant millionaires and whatever lifestyle she led would be more than paid for by her share.

Alan wasn't the only greedy one in Ryan's extended family. Karla swallowed, hitched an innocent expression on her face and walked in up the driveway.  A modern car, that was probably a rental vehicle, was parked by the side door but the pair out of sight.

"Hello Ryan," she called out as she stepped onto the veranda. "Do we have visitors?"

Ryan stepped out, and had only partly concealed his anger of a few moments before. "My sister, Trish has come over from Australia to stay with Mum and Alan over Christmas," he said and gave her a glance that warned her to be discrete.

She gave a slight nod, just as Trish appeared. From the front, her face had similar characteristics to Ryan across the cheekbones and mouth. She could see that they were related.

Trish beamed a smile that never reached the eyes. "Oh hello, Karla," she gushed and extended her hand "You look exactly as you did in that television news interview. It was even on the Australian networks, you know. Ryan's really proud of you."

The hypocrite! Even without overhearing the earlier conversation, she would have been wary of the woman's gushy style.

"So is it a social visit back home to stay with your Mum?" Karla replied in a pleasant tone and decided to add more. "Or are you here about the Top Plateau Station sale, too? I guess Ryan told you he wants to keep this part of the property."

"It was mentioned," Trish almost hissed, swallowed and smiled again. "I haven't seen my brother for several years now so took the opportunity to visit the old haunts, Sorry about the school burning down. I spent all my primary school years there, you know." She shrugged. "It was bigger then. At one point they used the hall as a second classroom and hired a junior room teacher. Heard you're back in the
hall again."

"Temporarily," Karla replied. "Did Ryan offer you a cup of coffee?"

"She's only been here a while," Ryan replied.

"Yes, I'm heading back to Masterton soon but couldn't resist a visit out here." Trish stared at her. "I've been seeing the family lawyer with Mum. I guess Ryan told you all about the situation."

"Not a lot," Karla responded. Two could play at this being ignorant game. "And with school fire…" She shrugged. "Anyhow, come and have that coffee, I know I'm dying for one."

She felt Ryan squeeze her arm as she walked by him. No doubt, he'd fill in all the details later.

*

The second week of the new year had arrived and after almost three weeks back in Wellington for Christmas, cleaning up the section, visiting old haunts and even seeing some of the teachers at Tui Park School. Karla was pleased to be heading back at Top Plateau. There were decisions still to be made about almost everything that played on her mind but she was pleased to be back. She didn't want return to the situation at Tui Park. However, with no building at Top Plateau and a small roll
, it was feasible that the Ministry of Education would just close the school down and save the rebuilding costs. On the personal side she found her affection towards Ryan had grown into love, she guessed the word was. She still didn't want to make the commitment of marriage and was pleased that she lived in the modern world where this was not necessary.

"You're deep in thought again," Ryan said from the front seat of her Mazda as they turned off the main road to Riversdale and headed towards Top Plateau.

"Yes. Last year was one out of the box. I was just thinking about what will happen this year."

"You go back to school, we get married and begin a family," Ryan whispered then grimaced. "But, I'm old fashioned, aren't I?"

Karla drove around a sharp bend before switching her eyes across the car at her companion. "Probably none of those will happen. I imagine they'll close the school and as for the other two, no, no!"

"Why?"

"I said I wanted more time, a year I think I asked for."

Ryan laughed. "Fair enough. After three weeks back in the city how do you feel about coming back, though?"

"Pleased but apprehensive, I guess the words are."

They drove by the school and she saw one change. The remains of the school had been bulldozed down and everything removed. All that remained was a bare patch of earth, one tank stand, and the woodshed where they had taken the children. Even the play shed that had only been scorched by the fire had gone
, as well as half the concrete and one of the oak trees.

"At least they left one of the oaks," she muttered as she slowed the car but never bothered to stop. The whole scene saddened her.

A moment later they pulled in beside the letterbox at their front gate. They had arranged for the mail to be held at the post office until today and also for any school mail to go in their home box. The rural mail contractor had already been and several letters as well as the paper was poking out of the box.

Ryan collected them all, sat back in the car and shuffled through the mail. "A couple of official looking ones for you," he said and handed them across the car.

Karla noticed the letterheads and grimaced. One was from the police the other the Ministry of Education. She opened the police one first and pouted for it really told her nothing. No suspects had been found responsible for the fire but the case was still being investigated. It was however, suspected that the attack was a random act of violence rather than a personal attack against the school, Board of Trustees or herself.