Sisters

Sisters

I will not shoot an unarmed woman.

She’s not unarmed, she’s holding a nail-gun.

It’s not a real gun though.

What part of ‘nail-gun’ makes you think that’s not a gun?

…

A strange, strangled scream from the bedroom. The door burst open.

Good morning my love, coffee?

Fuck off!

What…?

I said fuck off! No coffee, no fucking cornflakes.  

He blinked.

She slammed the front door behind her.

…

A nail-gun can’t hurt anyone at this distance.

It’s a powder-actuated model.

What?

It’s powder-actuated.

As in gunpowder?

As in gunpowder. You can tell because there’s no battery, no power cable and no compressed air tube. Also I just know.

Cripes.

It can shoot a hardened nail through three inches of concrete. Terminal velocity over 400 metres a second. Do you know the terminal velocity of a bullet from a .22 rifle?

Nuh.

330 metres a second.

Oh. They’re not accurate though.

Correct, numpty. As in the nail could end up anywhere in the general direction of here.

Why is she so mad at the old woman?

Dunno. She keeps yelling something to do with DNA.

…

His phone rang. He slid off the breakfast bar stool and slipped it from his jeans pocket.

Hi Maria. Yes, well, it wasn’t what you’d call a conversation. More a short burst of personal abuse and then a slammed door. Well, as I have no idea what the problem is, I also have no idea where she might have gone. Hold on…

He walked to the window.

Yes, good guess. That was the squeal of the tyres on my Beamer as someone in a REALLY bad mood took off up the street.

Well, I heard her phone ring a minute before she left then she made some weird noise. She just had on her denim shorts, one of my white shirts, which is embarrassingly see-through, and her pink trainers.  

Huh? No, look, she’s your sister. Not much I can do except hope she doesn’t trash my car. Maybe put out an all-cars alert on a stolen BMW? I dunno, you’re the copper, you sort it out.

She called you? Why?

Thought she’d called your mother?

Hung up on you? Yes, sorry I keep asking questions back at you.

Has she always been that volatile? She only moved in a few weeks ago and I’ve never seen anything like this. I thought we were as sweet as.

…

Do we know who the other woman is?

Not yet.

She’s a bit older eh.

A lot older I’d say.

Why would you take an old woman hostage?

Whoa. Watch it! The gun has come up. No, it’s gone down again. She seems to know how to use it which is strange. You have to be trained to use one of those.

They are really yelling at each other aren’t they.

They certainly aren’t the best of friends today.

When are the HQ lot due?

15 to 20 minutes I think. She’s Sergeant Broom’s sister you know.

He nodded. How can we tell if she’ll use the nail-gun?

We don’t. But if she holds it up again, let off a warning shot.

…

Hi Maria, you again.

No, she never said anything about you and me. She’s known about that from the start and it was never a problem. No we never talked about you. I moved in with her. I didn’t take that step with you. She always seemed reassured by that. Also you and me was years ago.

Yes she did the DNA test a few weeks ago. She was expecting the results any day now.

She’s done what?

Your mother?

Bloody hell.

Oh.

The nail-gun? Bloody hell.

Well, I showed it to her, but she didn’t actually shoot it.

No.

All right, yes I showed her how it works. Why all the questions about the nail gun?

It was in the boot of the car. It belongs to the company. No I am the one trained to use it and they don’t like to leave it on site. Yes, for attaching serious kit to masonry and concrete.

Oh shit…

Yes, I’ll be here. Are you coming or… yes of course. I’ll be out front.

…

Sergeant Broom pulled up at the miniature train station in the police car with a constable in the front passenger seat and Harvey Lister in the back. They jumped out of the car and ran up to the local constables who had been watching the two women argue noisily on the pedestrian bridge over the miniature railway line. Harvey look at his BMW parked nearby but it didn’t seem to have any dings. Long skid marks on the tarmac leading to the tyres.

Mum comes here for a walk every morning. Guess that’s why she came here – to find her. Oh put the fucking gun down constable. She’s not going to shoot anyone.

Screaming and yelling. The nail gun raised in the air. A massive BANG as it went off. A scream from the woman holding it as the recoil bashed it back into her shoulder. It fell from her hand and she dropped onto her backside holding her shoulder, and began to sob.

Her mother looked down at the others and waved Maria up. Maria walked up onto the little bridge and spoke to her mother while her sister sobbed. A look of horror swept over Maria’s face. She walked back to Harvey and the coppers while the mother comforted her daughter on the bridge.

You should leave now she said to the two local constables. Thank you for attending. Please send me a report so I can report to HQ.

What happened?

It’s personal. Please go now.

They walked to their car, casting a few curious glances at the family tableau.

She looked at the constable who had come with her.

Please wait in the car.

His eyebrows raised, then he nodded and walked back to the cruiser.

She turned to Harvey.

Did you know you were adopted?

Yes, I always knew, he said. How do you know? What has that…?

Never wanted to look up your birth parents?

Well I had my DNA tested years ago but nothing came of it so I haven’t even looked in recent years.

So on Ancestry you are Harvey Lister?

Yes, of course, why..?

Gaynor had her DNA tested recently.

Yes?

She paused, looked at the ground, looked back up at him, his broad shoulders, long hair, those pale blue eyes.

“She is…we are…your sisters.”