In part five I've jumped forward three weeks, bearing in mind that this needs be a shorter version than the planned novel/novella. To summarise though, Stella and Evie are settling down a little now that Stella has come to terms with her past, somewhat. Mei Lin has started her course at uni and is working part time for Stella as an office temp and still hasn't gone on a date with Stevie yet. Linda and Caroline are drawing closer together however, which gives Mei Lin a ringside seat to their growing mutual attraction.
Author's note. For those outside Australia, the TAB is a national betting agency where punters bet on horses and football for the most part. Because of the large amounts of cash on the premises they have been seen as a soft target by armed robbers.
*
Three weeks later, Friday morning.
Stella finished tying the tie and examined her reflection in the mirror. The blouse was made of satin and came with the red satin tie, the garment had charcoal-coloured whirls spread over it, she also wore a black trouser suit with charcoal-coloured pinstripes. The suit was definitely court attire, the blouse however was more office attire and this morning she had to be in court, she fiddled with the tie and went through her arguments and counter arguments again. It was a routine she did every time she went to court, she'd done it for years and yet the curved ball she'd just been thrown three days ago had seen her scrambling to pick up the pieces. She picked up a brush and ran it through her hair one last time as she heard footfalls at the door and a light tap.
"Come in if you're decent."
"Sorry," Mei Lin opened the door and stepped inside.
Stella smiled as she stared at Mei Lin's white blouse and red tie, they were paired with a smart grey trouser suit she'd bought with her first pay. The previous night had seen Nicki taking more pictures of Mei Lin with the theme being menswear, specifically ties. They'd borrowed a couple of Stella's ties last night as well, one of them being a red one.
"You're wearing my tie, again."
"Um, yeah, is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay," she adjusted her own tie, "you look very smart today."
"I thought I'd try it out today."
"Why the hell not," Stella reached for her jacket, "is that all?"
"Um, do you want coffee and toast?"
"Sooner or later you'll learn to stop starting every question to me with um, it makes me feel like I'm some dominatrix. Be firm, be polite, but don't be nervous and yes, I would love coffee and toast," she smiled.
Mei Lin nodded as she looked at Stella.
"That looks nice," Mei Lin stared at her, "I haven't seen you wear that one before, I thought you were going to court today?"
"I am," Stella stared at herself in the mirror, "I only wear this when I'm on warpath and today I'm as mad as hell after that bastard dropped a bucket of shit in my lap."
"Oh, right," Mei Lin nudged at her glasses, "thanks for the warning but you shouldn't just wear it when you're mad, it is pretty."
"That's much better," Stella grinned, "you didn't use the word um once."
Mei Lin backed out of the room and closed the door again.
Stella contemplated her outfit again. Normally she wore white, black or a more neutral colour blouse but today she was on the warpath after one of her old clients had changed his plea from guilty to not guilty. She'd gone over the consequences of such a plea several times. He'd been found with a sawn off shotgun across his lap outside a 7-Eleven store in Coburg. The bag of money he'd just taken from a TAB a few suburbs across was at his feet, he'd been caught on the betting shop's CCTV demanding money at the point of a gun, the stocking mask might have covered his features if not for the fact that they were sheer stockings.
What he hadn't realised was that a police informant had told police that Danny was the man responsible for a string of TAB robberies. They'd already tapped his phone and installed a GPS tracking device on the car he'd stolen the night before the robbery. It had been a simple matter to let him carry out the robbery. A Special Operations unit trailed him at a discreet pace whilst his mate, Paul 'Brocky' Matheson weaved in and out of traffic all the way to Coburg where he'd veered into the 7-Eleven to get some cigarettes. With the car parked out of view of the counter the police swooped, collaring Danny, but an innate sixth sense had prompted Matheson to turn left instead of right when he came out of the store and he'd jumped a front yard fence and then carried on jumping fences until he was out of reach.
A search of the area turned out to be fruitless and when Matheson was caught at his local pub, Danny refused to give him up and Matheson had a 'watertight' alibi in the form of his wife who swore 'on her mother's grave' that she had been making sweet passionate love to Matheson at the time of the robbery.
Stella adjusted the knot and glanced over at the door as Evie entered. She still had a towel wrapped around her naked body and another wrapped around her head.
"Ooh, hot to trot," she grinned, "the lady in red has nothing on you today."
"Thanks," she rose and picking up the black jacket, slipped her hands through the sleeves and pulled it over her shoulders.
"I'm on the warpath today," she turned to face her, "one of my old clients is up before the beak today and he's gone and changed his fucking plea, which leaves me with my arse hanging in the wind."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Sadly no," she sighed, "it's his decision but by shitting in his own nest he's hung himself out to dry because I can't do shit with that plea. If I could convince his second wife to let their daughter come into the holding cell it might swing him back the other way but the ex won't go near him unless he's truly reformed.
"How old's the daughter?" Evie pulled the towel away and tossed it on the bed.
"A few years younger than Mei Lin," she sat on the bed.
"So, why don't you take Mei Lin in with you?" Evie opened the wardrobe door and flicked through the few clothes she'd brought from her place over the last few weeks.
"He's in the holding cell, with other prisoners."
"And?" Evie glanced over her shoulder as she plucked down a gold satin blouse, "they're chained up aren't they?"
"Yeah, they are."
"So, what's the problem, it's not like you're throwing her in at the deep end. Maybe seeing a chick close to his daughter's age might give you the edge."
"I couldn't do it to her."
"Will you stop that?" Evie slipped her hands into the sleeves, "stop treating her like a child, she's nineteen years old, she's trying to make a go of things but if you keep on holding her hand metaphorically speaking she'll never grow," she started buttoning the blouse as she continued, "but hey, I'm just giving you my opinion, you just have to ask her."
Stella opened her mouth to say something and then thought better of it.
