Chapter 9

When Alex finally had control of her emotions she moved to the bathroom and showered in preparation for the workday ahead, she had to keep busy, it was that or fall apart, and that was something she just wasn’t willing to do. She managed to make it into work only twenty minutes late and used the old excuse of traffic, it was always feasible considering her office was in the city and delays were a frequent occurrence. A couple of work mates had been at the show the evening before and had seen her on the large screen, before her bag had been placed on her desk they were there to question her. She shrugged the incident off, explaining that was just what he did, he was a showman and knew how to work the crowd, but they insisted that the emotion he expressed was much more than that. They, too, were hard core fans; they had been to many concerts on the last tour and had even travelled to the States to see them earlier this tour and were adamant that he had never reacted to a fan like that before.

“Hell Alex” Chrissy had exclaimed “His wife was at one of those shows in the States and he didn’t even look at her with that kind of passion!”

At that comment, Alex’s body had two simultaneous reactions. Her stomach lurched at the mention of his wife and her heart skipped at the mention of passion as relating to herself. She was still lost in thoughts of Jon when her boss approached her with the day’s assignments. It was going to be a tough day. She was assigned to what she called the ambulance chasing crew. It was usually morbid work relating to horrendous crimes and tragic accidents, and today would prove to be no different.

Alex was paired with Rick, a seasoned journo. At twenty nine he had been the job for more than ten years. He was tall and ruggedly handsome; at least six four with chiselled features. He very obviously enjoyed the great outdoors, and it showed in his athletic physique and bronzed skin. His brown shoulder length hair was tipped with blond in the summer and his eyes were pools of jade. Several workmates had hinted to Alex that Rick may have more than a professional interest in her but she was reluctant to believe them. He had shown her nothing but kindness since they had been paired earlier that year at work, but he had not indicated that he wanted to pursue anything but a professional relationship, for which Alex was grateful, given that her feelings for a certain rock star had never resolved themselves.

Their first call out was to the fatal hit and run of a toddler in the Eastern Suburbs. Alex snapped shots of grieving relatives as Rick took down any details they were able to share in their state of debilitating anguish. The next call was no better; it was a suicide by train, far more common than the general public were aware, though not highly publicised. Alex went about her job with professionalism, but after the shots of the graphic scene had been captured she made her way behind the nearest bush and retched til her stomach was empty. Surely the day couldn’t get worse, she thought to herself, as she slumped in the front seat of the crew car. But true to Murphy’s Law of “If it can go wrong it will” the last call of the day was by far the worst.

They heard it over the police scanner on the way back to the office. Since they were the closest crew her and Rick took the assignment. They would regret that decision, not only that day but for the rest of their lives. The pair arrived at the scene shortly after the police. As a result no security measures or modesty screens had yet been constructed and the crime scene lay exposed before them. As they moved over to the centre of the commotion Alex caught a glimpse of a doll’s foot. It was tiny and pale in colour, almost grey. As an officer moved away to attend to a witness the true horror of the scene was revealed. What Alex had thought to be a doll was actually the victim, a little girl.

Her poor diminutive body lay there bruised and broken and covered in her own blood. There wasn’t a stitch of clothing on her, her limbs obviously broken jutted from her body at unnatural angles, and her head was all but severed. While Alex was becoming accustomed to the gore of crime scenes, it was very rare that she actually viewed the victim. Generally, by the time a news crew made it to a scene the screens were usually up or the body was covered or bagged. It was the first time she had been confronted with such an evil sight; it was the only word that could describe it, to commit a crime such as this was an act of pure evil. When the gruesome scene had revealed itself to them, Alex had turned to Rick and buried her face in his shoulder four words escaping her lips, “Oh God Rick why?”. He had tried his best to comfort Alex, but what could you say to someone after witnessing something so terrible. He had wrapped his arms around her and led her away while the officers moved in to investigate, but she had soon shrugged him off and gone over to console the witness, a surveyor who had come across the grisly discovery when he arrived on site that afternoon, and who was now in a state of near catatonia, shock was obviously setting in. Alex had masked her emotions well from the witness and the gathering crowds yet Rick could see the distress shadowing her beautiful eyes.

Never in his career had he met a woman so strong and determined to make her mark on the world, particularly one so young. Her talent was undeniable; he had worked all over the world, from interviewing celebrities in Hollywood to investigating the conflicts in Iraq and Ireland or the famines in Africa. He had worked with some of the worlds best photographers and in his opinion her work ethic and product matched or exceeded anything he had seen from any of them.

Rick and Alex found, through their investigation that evening, the defenceless child had not stood a chance. Her name was Abbie and had turned two only a couple of days prior and had been abducted while playing with her new toys in her front yard the afternoon before. She had then been raped repeatedly, either before or during several vicious beatings over a period of many hours, her throat had then been slashed before her corpse was moved and dumped in an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of the city. Rick had tried his best to offer Alex some words of comfort, but what could you say when you were at a loss yourself to understand such a horrific act.

As bad as Alex’s life seemed that morning when she woke, her pain was now clearly in perspective with the help of a poor little child, who had lost her life all too soon, and the devastated family she left behind. Alex realised then that she had not thought of Jon all day, and was glad for it, but now as she sat at home in the dark tears flowing freely, her thoughts turned to him, all be it briefly, for in her mind one image played constantly, that of a precious little life taken much too soon.

Alex had gone into work the next morning only to be sent straight off to the staff counsellor. She had spoken to both Lanie and her parents, and while well intentioned, they were of little comfort. How could they help? They had never experienced anything remotely like it. Alex had sat with the kindly older woman for the best part of three hours. She hadn’t realised that she had so much to work through; it all just flowed from her like a dam had burst. She spoke not only of Abbie but of the events leading up to it; the evening with Jon two years before and the instant connection she had felt with him, only changing his name and describing him as a wealthy business man, not the rock star that he was. Although she wanted to trust this woman, her lack of experience when dealing with Jon’s fame, had her cautious and hesitating.

Alex spoke of their most recent meeting and the subsequent run in with his new wife, and of the flowers. She had even pulled out the small card, which she carried with her since that morning, for the woman to view. Still unbelieving, Alex took it out and read it several times a day, a habit the counsellor thought it best to break. And then came the hard part, as if what she had just discussed hadn’t hurt enough.

Susan, the counsellor, had coaxed the details out of Alex a little at a time, analysing each piece of information as it was told to her. Alex had a very tough twenty four hours and Susan was amazed that the girl wasn’t sitting in a corner somewhere blowing spit bubbles. She was even more amazed that young woman had reported for work that day at all and hadn’t resigned or at the very least called in sick as Rick had done. Susan methodically worked through the issues with Alex and suggested some coping mechanisms she might use to get through the next few days, which would undoubtedly be the worst. One suggestion that was made related to a decision that Alex had already come to her self. That was she could no longer see Jon, in any capacity; she therefore would not be attending the last concert. She had told Lanie that very morning to find some else to go with because it was just too painful to see him again. Little did Alex know that, once again, fate would intervene!