Free Medea's Curse by Anne Buist

Travis caught sight of her.
His eyes narrowed: he recognised her, his face twisting into a grimace of fury. Less
surprise than she would have expected. She wondered whether Travis had heard the
same gossip as Kay. Tiphanie turned to look at her and she caught a glimpse of an
expression she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Shame? Guilt, maybe?
    Travis grabbed Tiphanie’s arm and yanked her away. She went without protest; perhaps
not so different from Amber after all. As they stood on the kerb edge, about to cross
the road, a car accelerated and headed towards them. A guy and girl hanging out of
windows holding beer cans jeered at them as the car swerved, narrowly missing them.
Travis yelled obscenities back at them, barely aware that one of the cans had hit
its mark, covering Tiphanie in beer foam. If losing a child wasn’t bad enough, it
seemed that she was also having to deal with hostility from the local parenting standards
lobby.
    ‘What does his mate say?’ Natalie asked Damian before she left.
    ‘That he came over, they had a few beers and watched football. His girlfriend and
two other guys confirmed. He arrived before the game and left straight after.’
    Natalie wondered if they were now cruising in cars heckling them. The Travis that
had married Amber was a bully. She guessed his friendships weren’t likely to be deep.
    Damian couldn’t resist a parting dig. ‘Enjoy dinner.’

Chapter 9
    Liam was at the guesthouse reading the Australian when she returned.
    Natalie flopped into an armchair opposite him. They had the living room to themselves.
‘I take it you never intended to be in the interview?’
    ‘I’m not allowed if I want to try the case. Australian law keeps things separate.
I can’t even be briefed by the police; one of my colleagues in the office will be.’
    Natalie looked at him sharply. What game was he playing? ‘But let me guess, you expect
me to tell you what happened?’
    ‘I don’t want details. Impressions might be helpful.’
    ‘Talk to Damian,’ said Natalie. ‘You might have paid for a room for nothing.’
    Liam grinned. ‘That remains to be seen. Drink?’
    She watched him, wondering what the hell she was doing there. She wasn’t sure anything
she had seen would shed light on what happened to Chloe, or help Amber. More to the
point, Liam didn’t seem to care and the cops hadn’t wanted her there.
    The more she thought about it, the more this was looking like an excuse for Liam
to even the score for the humiliation she had inflicted on him; even if it had been
Amber who had suffered most from the court steps debacle.
    The fridge had only Crown Lager; she nodded when he waved a bottle in her direction.
    ‘By the way, I like the outfit.’ He levered the cap off the beer and handed it to
her.
    Natalie was wearing the little black dress she always travelled with. She didn’t
want him to think she’d gone to any trouble, and travelling by bike limited the bag
size. This dress didn’t take up much space.
    Perhaps Liam was having second thoughts too. He poured himself a scotch and for the
next half hour, directed conversation towards work, not pushing for information on
Travis.
    ‘I’m involved in another case you might be able to help me with.’
    Natalie thought this unlikely.
    ‘I’m part of an investigation into a paedophile ring.’ If he noticed her lack of
enthusiasm he pretended not to. ‘We’ve got a couple of minor convictions against
a few people downloading, but we want the guy behind it. Thought we had him once,
but had to let him go.’
    ‘And I can help how exactly?’
    ‘The early stuff in particular, we are sure originated in this region. The girls
would now be grown up, and from what I’ve been told, as victims they’re going to
have much higher chances of psych illnesses, as well as ending in prison. Am I right?’
    ‘True,’ Natalie agreed, ‘but I don’t see how that has us working together.’
    ‘We need one of the victims to testify, or at the