My Heart Belongs in Crescent Head Read online

  Kaitlynn Clarkson

  My Heart Belongs In Crescent Head

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Love this book? Don’t love it?

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  May I ask for a favour?

  Copyright Page

  Copyright © 2020 Kaitlynn Clarkson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic and mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Disclaimer

  Although the places described in this story are real, it is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to any event, either historical or recent, or any person, living or deceased, is completely coincidental.

  Cockatoo Publishing

  PO BOX 4037

  Moorland 2443

  NSW Australia

  Love this book? Don’t love it?

  Let me know! When you leave a review, it helps me to know what my readers like or don’t like about my stories. I would appreciate it if you could leave a review for this book and thank you in advance!

  Kaitlynn xx

  Chapter 1

  Greg Lockyer whistled as he dumped his tool bag in the back of his truck. The day had gone well and he was satisfied with what he and his team had achieved. He looked up at the two-storey house they were working on. The kitchen installers would finish the kitchen tomorrow and the whole place was well on the way to completion. He felt a sense of satisfaction as the end of the project approached.

  “See you tomorrow!” Marty yelled. Greg waved to his floor tiler. They were good mates and Marty always did a fantastic job. He turned to get into his truck but his phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw a message from his friend Lucas.

  Hey Greg, if u r free tonight, wanna go fishing?

  Greg grinned as he answered his friend.

  OK. It’s been a while. Meet you at Racecourse around 6?

  Meeting Lucas at 6 would give him time to go home and spend some time with Madison and Jai. He wondered what new skills Jai would show him; he seemed to learn something different every day. He was a proud Daddy, and why wouldn’t he be? Jai was a gorgeous kid. He knew Madison would be disappointed that he would be out for the evening, but she was a good sport. He didn’t go fishing that often and when he did, it helped him clear his head and feel good about life. He was a lucky man indeed.

  A couple of hours later, Greg held Jai in his arms. He kissed his little son all over, making him giggle and squirm.

  “There you go, Squirt. You be good for Mum, won’t you? I’ll see you in the morning.” He ruffled the blonde curls then handed Jai to Madison. She looked especially good tonight. Her soft brown hair curled around her face and her blue shirt matched her bright blue eyes to perfection. Her skin looked smooth and peachy.

  “Mmmm, you look good enough to eat,” he said, planting a kiss on her mouth. “Maybe I should stay home instead!” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  She laughed and swatted him away. “Don’t keep Lucas waiting.”

  He kissed her again, more gently this time. “I love you. Don’t wait up for me.”

  “Love you too. Stay safe and have fun.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned and ran down the front steps and out to his truck. He stopped to wave at Madison and Jai, standing on the front porch.

  “Bye!”

  Jai waved back. “Bye Daddy!”

  ***

  Lucas sighed and stretched as he got out of his car. It was good to have a day off. Being a policeman was hard work sometimes. An evening of fishing was what he needed to blow away the cobwebs and take his mind off the problems that he faced every day. People’s lives were so complex and when they began to unravel, it was the police that picked up the pieces. Still, he found it rewarding, especially when his efforts made a difference in someone else’s story.

  He could hear a car coming as he got out his fishing gear. He hoped it was Greg. It would be good to catch up with his old mate from school. They hadn’t seen a lot of each other lately. Sometimes he would go around to Greg’s place and they would sit on the front veranda and unwind, looking out over the spectacular coastline with its long, white, sandy beach. They were lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of the world, that’s for sure. And Greg was a lucky bloke, having a pretty wife and the most adorable little boy. Lucas smiled as he recalled Jai’s first attempt at saying Uncle Luke the last time they saw each other. It came out as Unka ‘Uke.

  Greg pulled up beside him, cutting short his thoughts. “Ready?” he called through the open window. “Hope the fish are biting!”

  Grabbing their rods and gear, the two began to make their way to their favourite fishing spot on the rocks at the bottom of Racecourse Head. The sea was calm in the golden light of late afternoon and there was a refreshing sea breeze. The waves slapped at the rocks, but there was no malice in their assault. It was going to be a great evening for fishing.

  An hour later, as the sun was slipping towards the mountains in the west, Lucas began to feel the chill of the evening breeze. He set down his rod and turned to Greg.

  “I’m heading back to the car for my jacket. Is there anything you want while I’m there?”

  “No, I’m all good. Cheers.”

  Lucas reached the car and slipped his jacket on. It was getting cool with the sun going down and he was grateful for its warmth. The fish should start biting once it got dark and he was looking forward to a relaxing evening with his mate. As he started walking back, his phone rang. It was his sister in Brisbane. They chatted until he got to the rocky outcrop below the headland.

  “Lisa, I’m going to have to say goodbye,” he said as he picked his way carefully across the jagged igneous rocks. “I’m out fishing with Greg. You remember him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, he was in your year at school, wasn’t he? Say hi to him for me.”

  “Will do, although I can’t quite see him at the moment. That’s odd, I wonder where he could be. Better go and check it out. Love you, Sis.”

  “Love you too. Look after yourself.”

  “You too.”

  As his sister ended the call, Lucas reached the rocks where they had set up. Their fishing gear was all there. Everything was as he’d left it but Greg was nowhere to be seen. Where on earth could he be?

  Lucas started to feel a prickle of alarm. He walked along the edge of the rocks and peered into the water, hoping not to see Greg but checking anyway. He knew that Greg had not been wearing a life jacket and he began to worry. The chances of survival were much
lower without one.

  “Greg!” he yelled above the incessant noise of the waves. “Where are you?”

  Greg didn’t answer and Lucas began to feel fear building up in his stomach. His police training kicked in.

  Stay calm, think logically.

  He walked around the small rock shelf again but there wasn’t anywhere that Greg could be hiding unnoticed. He couldn’t have gone back to the car; there was only one way to get there and Lucas would have seen him.

  That could mean only one thing. He was in the water.

  Lucas gulped back panic and reached for his phone.

  Stay calm. Think logically. It’s amazing how hard that is to do when it’s someone you know …

  An hour later, the rock shelf was swarming with rescue personnel. Boats circled the area and an ambulance crew waited. Rescue drones sent back footage of the nooks and crannies around the headland. Apart from a pod of dolphins and a sea turtle, the search turned up nothing.

  Another hour later, the search was suspended as darkness claimed the sea. In the morning, the rescue chopper would go up and take the search further afield. For now, all they could do was wait.

  And someone had to tell Madison.

  “I’ll go,” Lucas told his boss, Leading Senior Constable Mark Heaton.

  “Not sure that’s a good idea, mate.”

  “I know Madison. I was with him. I need to do this.”

  “OK, but take someone with you. Don’t go on your own.”

  “Thanks, Mark.” Lucas turned to go, but his boss stopped him.

  “I don’t want to have to do this, but you know the drill. When you’re done with that, I need you to come into the station to give a statement. You were the last person to see him and there are no witnesses.”

  Lucas felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. He knew of course that when someone goes missing, there is always a wide range of possibilities and suspects. Never did he imagine that he would be one of them.

  Feeling sick, Lucas and his colleague Shayna walked up to the front door of Greg’s home. He stopped before he got there and drew in a huge, sobbing breath. How could he do this?

  He thought of Madison inside, already asleep or ready for bed. Sweet, pretty Madison, blissfully unaware that her world was about to come crashing down, maybe forever. How could he knock on the door and with a few words, shatter her heart?

  He had to do it. He couldn’t allow anyone else to perform this task. He had to make sure that he was as compassionate and kind as possible to this woman who had welcomed him into her home, fed him, and treated him as one of her family. He couldn’t bear to even think about Jai, that loving little boy who might never again see his Daddy.

  Shayna touched him on the elbow.

  “Are you OK? Do you want me to do this?”

  Anger flared for a brief moment. Didn’t she understand that this was HIS job, HIS duty? But that wasn’t fair to Shayna. She was only trying to be helpful and supportive.

  “No, thanks, I have to do this,” he told her. “Just stand back a bit. You’re in uniform and I don’t want to terrify her from the start.”

  Gathering his courage, he walked to the front door and knocked. The lights were off in the front room. Would Madison even be awake?

  Curled up in bed, Madison put down her book. She pulled up the covers and reached up to turn off the light. As much as she missed Greg when he went out fishing, it had been a delicious treat to read in bed. Greg got up early to go to work and he usually liked her to turn off the light so he could go to sleep. Reading in bed was a luxury that didn’t often come her way.

  TAT! TAT! TAT! That sounded like someone knocking on the door. Who could it be at this late hour? Was it Greg? Perhaps he’d forgotten his keys. She got up and went into the living room but a moment of caution led her to peer through the peephole before she opened the door. It was dark on the front veranda, but she thought she could see Lucas standing there. She turned on the light and cautiously opened the door.

  “Oh hi, Lucas. Excuse my night attire. Where’s Greg?” She looked past Lucas for Greg. He was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she saw a woman in a police uniform, one of Lucas’ colleagues, no doubt. She was confused.

  “Where’s Greg?” she asked again.

  “Let’s go inside,” Lucas said thickly. He gently steered her into the living room and led her to the sofa. The policewoman followed. They sat in silence for a moment. Something was wrong, terribly, awfully wrong. Madison felt as if she were about to suffocate.

  “I have bad news,” Lucas said at last, his voice hoarse. “We were fishing out on the rocks and I went to get my jacket from the car. When I came back, Greg was gone.”

  Madison felt panic rising in her chest. “Gone where?”

  “I don’t know. I looked everywhere there was to look, then called out search and rescue.”

  “You mean ... gone as in …” The thought was too awful and Madison couldn’t force the words out.

  “Maddie, I’m so sorry.”

  Neither of them noticed Lucas calling her this name of endearment, only used by Greg and her close family. Madison felt a tsunami of terror and grief rising inside her, crashing over her life and splintering it into a billion tiny pieces. It was crushing agony that came out in a piercing wail of staggering loss. A moment later, she collapsed, unable to bear the weight of sudden grief.

  Never before had Lucas heard a sound of such agony come out of a human being. Never again did he want to. Madison’s scream pierced through his soul and its image would be burned there forever. She pitched forward, crumpling in a heap under the burden of knowledge that had just walked through her front door. He caught her as she fell, crushing her to his chest like a child as if he could somehow shield her from the enormity of what she faced. And his own heart splintered as he watched her world shatter around her.

  Chapter 2

  The funeral was huge, at least by local standards. Greg was a well-known member of the community who had died in the most tragic of circumstances. People came from all over the area to pay their respects. They’d had to hold the funeral service in Kempsey so they could find a venue large enough to hold the crowd. Madison sat with her mother and brother in the front pew of the church they had occasionally attended, her eyes straight ahead. Jai was by her side. He hadn’t stopped asking for Daddy and it was impossible to explain to him that Daddy wasn’t coming home again. He was too young to understand. Madison was numb, exhausted to the point of collapse. She wondered what God thought of this turn of events and why He had allowed it to happen. Did He notice? Did He care about what was happening to her? One day she would explore the answers to those questions, but right now, she had to focus on getting through the next moment, the next breath.

  Lucas sat with two of his colleagues, a few rows behind the family. A tragedy in a small community like this hit everyone hard and most of the town had come to pay their respects. The church was packed. He looked at Madison, putting on a brave face. That lady had grit, that’s for sure. After her initial shock, she’d picked herself up and had done her best to arrange a funeral, care for Jai and deal with the hordes of well-meaning but often insensitive visitors.

  It had taken two days to find Greg. Lucas knew they were lucky to find him at all. He was remarkably intact, considering the time he had been in the water. He had a gash on his head that was consistent with a fall. A post mortem revealed that he had drowned, most likely because the fall knocked him unconscious.

  Lucas couldn’t stop thinking that if he hadn’t gone to the car, Greg might still be alive. Heck, the damn fishing trip was his idea in the first place. Why hadn’t he gone to see Greg at his home? Death-causation guilt was eating him from the inside out. He knew he should get help but at the moment, he couldn’t face it. Instead, he focused on his work. Anything to stop thinking about Madison and Jai and their indescribable loss. In comparison to what they faced, his own loss seemed insignificant and he stuffed his grief deep inside. He felt guilty for thinki
ng of himself when they faced a future that would be forever defined by this awful tragedy.

  “Greg was dearly loved by his family and indeed, the whole community.” The preacher’s voice dragged Lucas back to reality. “And when he gave his heart to the Lord before he married Madison, it gave his life meaning and purpose. He loved to help people and to see them happy and laughing. He wouldn’t want us to be sad but at the same time, he didn’t experience the kind of loss that we are. It’s OK to grieve.

  But along with the grief, we have hope. Greg believed what the Bible says about death: Jesus likened it to a state of sleep, and Greg believed that when you die, you are in an unconscious state until Jesus calls you to life again. Greg never believed that he would be in heaven, watching his loved ones suffer without him. Although the thought of death didn’t often cross the mind of a man so young and full of life, Greg believed that when it was his time, he would rest in the grave until Jesus comes again to call him to life.”

  Lucas thought about the preacher’s words. Death seemed so final and complete. Greg would never get to grow old with Madison. He would never watch Jai grow into manhood. There would be no little siblings to complete their family. It was an unspeakable tragedy, yet somehow, God would make it right in the end. It was still a bitter pill to swallow and all he could do was hang onto his belief that God is good and just.

  At last, the funeral service was over, along with the condolences whispered in hushed tones and the silent hugs that spoke of mutual grief and loving care. Memories shared at the wake gave rise to the return of normal life, at least for those who could still go home to their loved ones. For them, it was a sad day. For Madison, it was the beginning of a shattered life.

  She was so overwhelmed by fatigue and grief that she could hardly take another step. Dark circles ringed her blue eyes. Her dark green blouse had a stain on the front where Jai had put a sticky hand when she’d picked him up. Her hair was rumpled from Jai playing with it and she knew she was a mess, on the outside and on the inside. She was tired of thanking people for everything they had done for her, even though she was grateful. Putting on a brave face had worn her out. She was relieved when people began to say their goodbyes and leave.