The Final Bullet

  THE FINAL BULLET

  Book Four of the Sydney Harbour Hospital Series

  Chris Taylor

  This book is dedicated to all the current and former police officers who serve our communities so bravely and so tirelessly, past and present, and in particular, to Hayley Brown, Nicholas Kosseris, Rebecca Bavister, Michael Kilfoyle and David Savage. Your commitment and dedication is beyond question. The world would be a scary place without you in it. And as always, to my wonderful husband, Linden. I love you.

  The Sydney Harbour Hospital Series

  (in order)

  The Perfect Husband

  The Body Thief

  The Baby Snatchers

  The Final Bullet

  The Debt Collector

  The Lab Test

  The Stolen Identity

  The Cliff Top Killer

  The Likeable Fraudster

  Other books by Chris Taylor

  The Munro Family Series

  (In order)

  The Profiler

  The Investigator

  The Predator

  The Betrayal

  The Deception

  The Negotiator

  The Christmas Vigil

  The Ransom

  The Defendant

  The Shooting

  The Maker

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  Find out more about all of Chris Taylor’s books, including the hugely popular Munro Family series by visiting her website at: http://www.christaylorauthor.com.au/about/books

  PROLOGUE

  Dear Diary,

  The blackness inches ever closer until I feel all but consumed. Its icy fingers clutch at my heart. I silence my screams of pain and frustration with my fists pressed tightly against my mouth, lest I give myself away. The agony of it burns behind my eyes. Why can’t she see? What can’t she understand? I am falling…falling…falling…

  I fear that I am lost…

  * * *

  The galvanized iron walls of the shed surrounded him in the darkness, suffocating him. The sun had long since called it a day, but still the heat in the air hung heavy and unrelenting. He sucked in a breath that scorched his lungs. Tears burned a path down his cheeks. He stared a little desperately at the gun in his hands. How had it had gotten there?

  He thought of his years in the police service, the countless scenes of horror he’d been forced to witness: wives and mothers hacked to pieces with machetes; children deliberately drowned in the bath. Men who had committed unspeakable atrocities and were allowed to walk free on technicalities. The wrongness of it all left him angry and frustrated, the feelings made worse by the knowledge that those in charge of the legal system were often willing to look the other way. As long as it wasn’t their wife or child, their loved one rotting in a grave. They preferred to focus their energies on more pleasant matters, like choosing a new national flag.

  Another wave of anger and desperation flooded through him and he tightened his grip on the gun. It was loaded with a single bullet. He was an excellent shot. He would only need one.

  “Dad? Are you out here?”

  The sound of his young son startled him. He froze, his finger hovering over the trigger.

  “Dad?”

  The voice had drawn closer. The boy would be upon him any minute. The shed door scraped open. He leaped to his feet. He couldn’t have his son find him like this. He stumbled across to the gun cabinet.

  “Dad! There you are! What are you doing in here?”

  The boy held a flashlight. The strong yellow beam cut a swathe across the man’s face. He held up one hand to shield his eyes against the glare and then turned back to the gun cabinet.

  “What are you doing with the gun?” his boy asked curiously, coming up beside him.

  Panic swelled in his gut. “I-I’m cleaning it, buddy.”

  “In the dark?”

  He stared down at his son and was filled with a sudden surge of pride. The boy might be young, but he was clever beyond his years. He’d go far in life. The thought filled the man with gratitude.

  “Yeah, I just finished,” he lied. “I was about to lock it back in the cabinet and come inside. What are you doing out here? It’s way past your bedtime.”

  The light from the boy’s flashlight puddled on the dirt floor. His son stared up at him in the dimness, his expression solemn. “I wanted to kiss you good night.”

  The innocent comment ripped into the man’s chest. An agony of pain and desperation filled him, surging through his heart. Moments earlier, he’d been sucking on the barrel of a revolver. Now, his five-year-old watched him with love and admiration glinting in his eyes, waiting for a bedtime kiss.

  He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it to his family. As much as he craved an escape from the darkness and the pain, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t pull the trigger. The knowledge was like a band of steel around his chest. He bit back hard on a sob.

  “What’s the matter, Dad? Are you all right?”

  Squeezing his eyes shut, he bit down on his tongue until he tasted blood. Slowly, he opened his eyes and nodded.

  “Yes, son. Of course. I’m… I’m fine.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ava Wolfe pulled back the white lace curtains that covered the window of her mother’s bedroom and smiled at her sister.

  “It’s the most beautiful day, Sammie! The clouds have drifted away and the sun is shining! Everything smells so fresh and new. It’s the perfect day for you to get married.” She turned and her smile widened. Samantha stood before her, dressed in a bridal gown. Tears of joy clogged Ava’s throat.

  “Oh, my goodness, Sammie! You look beautiful! The most beautiful bride in the world.”

  Samantha Wolfe laughed softly. “The world? Really, Ava?” she chided gently. “Today I’d settle for the most beautiful bride in Sydney.”

  Ava joined in her sister’s laughter and enveloped her in a gentle hug, mindful of the exquisite white satin-and-lace concoction beneath her hands. Hundreds of tiny pearls and sequins had been hand sewn into the bodice. The dress gleamed and sparkled under the light, almost as brilliant as the dazzle in Samantha’s eyes.

  Ava’s heartstrings tightened. She couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit envious of her baby sister. Ava had put a year of effort into her last relationship before deciding to end it. Now, she wondered if she’d ever find Mr Right. She’d give just about anything to look and feel like Samantha, who was deliriously happy and about to marry the man of her dreams.

  Despite a mountain of obstacles, including a mother who’d undergone a kidney transplant and a brother who was now warming his butt in jail, Samantha and Rohan had come out on top and were a true testament to the old adage that love conquered all. They’d only been engaged a little over three months—at their age, neither of them had wanted to wait.

  Ava knew the feeling. At nearly thirty-six, she was a year older than her sister and also had plenty of experience being on her own. It wasn’t like she wanted to be single. She’d dated numerous men and had given each of them a fair chance—she was sure she had. She’d given twelve months of her life to her latest, Ian. She’d hoped they’d grow closer, that time would prove he was the one.

  But that hadn’t worked out. Instead, she’d come to realize no amount of time would change who they were. He simply wasn’t the man for her. She’d let him down gently and had broken off their relationship, all the while trying not to feel bitter about the time she’d wasted.

  Her mother disagreed with her on that score. As far as Enid Wolfe was concerned, no life experience was wasted, even when it came to dating the wrong man. ‘It he
lps you become more discerning the next time, honey,’ her mom had wisely counseled. ‘You learn from your mistakes.’ Ava could only hope her mother was right and that she’d have the opportunity to find out.

  “How are we doing for time?” Samantha murmured, putting on her earrings.

  The luminous pearls had been worn by their mother on her wedding day. The thought reminded Ava of their loss. She swallowed a tiny sigh of disappointment that their father hadn’t lived long enough to walk his daughters down the aisle.

  Recalling Sam’s question, Ava glanced at her watch. “All good. We have an hour before the limo arrives.”

  “Where’s Jessie?” Samantha asked, referring to Ava’s identical twin sister.

  “Downstairs, putting the finishing touches to Mom’s hair.”

  A frown marred the smooth skin of Samantha’s brow and concern darkened the color of her eyes. “How’s she doing?”

  “Mom?”

  “Yes. It’s been a madhouse with all the preparations for the wedding. I haven’t even had time to bless myself and it feels like ages since Mom and I had a good talk.”

  “She’s fine. She still gets tired if she overdoes it and the antirejection drugs take their toll, but considering she wouldn’t even be here without the transplant, we have nothing to complain about.”

  “Of course not. It’s bad enough that Dad isn’t here to see me get married. I can’t imagine not having Mom by my side, too.”

  Ava moved closer and adjusted the matching pearl necklace around the bride’s neck. “We’re lucky it didn’t come to that.”

  A shadow moved across Samantha’s face and Ava was immediately concerned. “What is it, Sammie? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

  “No, of course not. Rohan’s all I ever dreamed of in a husband, and more. I… I was just thinking about Alistair.”

  Ava’s lips compressed and her mood sobered. The thought of their brilliant older brother, serving a five-year prison sentence for human tissue trafficking, filled her with sadness. He’d told them prior to his hearing date that he was prepared to accept responsibility for what he’d done and that he was sorry for the pain he’d caused the family.

  It was just like Alistair to spare them all the difficulty of a trial by pleading guilty. It still shocked Ava to know that he’d been harvesting human organs and tissue without donor or family consent. She understood one of the reasons he’d done what he did was because their mother had been on a transplant list for years and would have died if she didn’t receive a donor kidney in time, but Ava still struggled to accept his actions and Samantha and Jessie did, too.

  But now wasn’t the time to dwell on their wayward brother, or the reasons for his absence. Forcing a smile, she picked up the gauzy veil that lay spread across the bed.

  “Let’s put this on,” she said, moving to stand in front of her sister. “The photographer’s already downstairs. He’s waiting for you to make an appearance.”

  Sam nodded and gave Ava a tiny smile. “Yes. If we don’t get a move on, it’ll be time to leave, and after the chunk of money we’ve agreed to pay the photographer, Rohan will kill me if we don’t get some decent beforehand shots. He said he wanted a minute-by-minute photographic account.”

  Ava smiled back at her. She arranged the veil over the intricate curls woven around Sam’s head, relieved to see her sister’s mood improving. It wasn’t right for a bride to have even the slightest of dark feelings on her wedding day and if Ava had anything to do with it, it would be nothing but smiles from that moment on.

  Leaning forward, she kissed Sam on the cheek. “There. All done.”

  “What do you think? How does it look?” Sam asked, fiddling with the satin-bound ends.

  “Beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you.”

  Sam threw her another smile, this one full of love and gratitude. “Thank you, Ava. You’re very sweet to say so.”

  Ava shrugged. “It’s true. Besides, it’s your wedding day, little sister. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Ouch!” Sam smiled.

  Ava gave her a quick hug, once again mindful of her sister’s gown and veil. “I’m kidding. You’ve never looked more beautiful. Rohan’s a lucky man.”

  “We both got lucky,” Sam replied softly. “I’ve never met a nicer guy, with such a kind and generous heart.”

  “And sexy to boot,” Ava added with a laugh. “What more could you want?”

  Sam winked. “Now you see why I want to put a ring on it.”

  “On that note, we’d better get moving. Mom and Jessie will be wondering where we are.”

  Linking her arm with her sister’s, Ava led the bride toward the bedroom door. Sam halted suddenly and squeezed Ava’s arm.

  “Ava… You’re okay with Ian attending the wedding, aren’t you?” she asked, a little anxiously.

  Ava sighed at the thought of seeing her ex. Though it had been a fortnight since she’d told him it was over, his wedding invitation had already been delivered, along with the others. She’d hoped he’d do the polite thing and decline, but he hadn’t seen fit to do so. Still, she’d only be around him a few hours and it wasn’t like she’d have to sit with him. As the maid of honor, she was assigned the bridal table.

  “I’ll be fine, Sam. Don’t worry about it. You just enjoy becoming Mrs Rohan Coleridge.”

  Samantha smiled back at her and together they walked down the stairs.

  * * *

  The beautiful strains of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, played by a piano and violin, reached Ava’s ears as she slowly walked down the aisle. Clutching her bouquet of pink and white roses, she nodded greetings to friends and family members who filled the church. As she arrived to take her place beside her twin and Sam’s best friend, Hannah Langdon, she glanced across at the men who stood shoulder to shoulder, opposite them.

  Tall and handsome in his black tux, Rohan looked slightly apprehensive as he waited for his bride. Ava bit back a grin. She could imagine he was only one of millions of men since time began who’d been nervous at this point in the proceedings. Her gaze slid past him and locked on the man by his side.

  Every bit as tall and broad-shouldered, Rohan’s best man, Lachlan Coleridge, looked enough like Rohan that he had to be closely related. Rohan had several siblings—four brothers and three sisters, if she recalled rightly. Most of them had been present at the engagement party, but his best man had missed it.

  At the time, Samantha had offered the explanation that the second oldest Coleridge sibling had been caught up at work. Ava had wondered what could be more important than attending his brother’s engagement party, but she’d shrugged it off and had helped celebrate the upcoming nuptials in style. She winced, recalling the headache she’d woken with the next morning. She hadn’t had a shot of Tequila since.

  Her gaze drifted across Lachlan’s chest and moved lower. His crisp, pleated, white dinner shirt was tucked neatly into a slim waistband. His suit pants hugged long legs. Shiny, black boots and a black bowtie completed the ensemble and she couldn’t help but think he wore a tux well.

  She glanced at his face and was mortified to see that he was staring at her. A single dark eyebrow was raised in silent query, a teasing smile graced his lips. She blushed hotly and silently cursed beneath her breath. How embarrassing to be caught openly staring at him! She’d been ogling him like he was a dish full of salted caramel ice cream and she’d just been handed a spoon.

  Keeping her gaze fixed steadfastly on the floor, she barely managed to turn with the rest of the crowd when Samantha made her appearance. Beaming with love and pride, the bride made her way slowly down the aisle on their mother’s arm. Though Enid’s kidney transplant had been more than six months earlier, she was still a little frail. Ava had no doubt her mother leaned on Samantha as much as Sam took support from their mom.

  Ava had moved in with her mother after the surgery. That was another reason things had fallen apart with Ian; he hadn’t understood why she needed to be close to her moth
er or that her mother needed her help.

  ‘Why can’t Jessie move in with her?’ he’d whined when she’d told him about her plans. ‘Or Samantha? It’s not like she’s married, yet.’

  Ava had given up trying to explain how important it was for her to care for her mother in her hour of need. The family had lost their father when Ava and Jessie were barely three. Sam had been even younger, a baby of fourteen months and she had no recollection of their dad. Ava’s memories were hazy, too, but she remembered the feeling of safety, security and love that always enveloped them whenever her dad had been around. Alistair was eight years older than the twins and it had fallen to him to help fill in the gaps.

  With four young children depending upon her, Enid had gone out to work. She’d held down two and three jobs at a time in order to make ends meet. Their mom had gone without and had put her children’s needs before her own. Now, years later, and after the transplant, her mother needed help and Ava had been determined to do everything she could to see that she provided it.

  As Samantha reached the altar, Rohan stepped forward. Their mother kissed Sam on the cheek and then relinquished her hold. Rohan took his bride by the hand and together, they made their vows. Ava stared at the two of them, at the unadulterated love that shone from their eyes, and her heart clenched with emotion. She wiped away tears of happiness and couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever find a man who looked at her like that.

  She risked a glance in the best man’s direction. He threw her a sardonic smile and then turned away to hand over the rings. Moments later, it was over and the crowd broke into applause. Ava followed suit.

  “Congratulations, Sammie!” she whispered and pressed a kiss against her sister’s glowing cheek before turning to Rohan.

  He wrapped her in an enthusiastic hug and she found herself hugging him back. Despite the fact he was instrumental in sending her brother to jail, she’d learned to forgive him for his part in the awful situation and had accepted that he’d only been doing his job. Alistair had made his own choices. He deserved the punishment.