But the stories of the Saturday night gang bang only gained momentum. Rather than take their daughter and sister into the local police station and seek justice, the Polowskis chose to abandon her. Tessa may have escaped the prying eyes and questions in the daytime, but they were still there at night. The town was in turmoil. Gossip raged as fingers pointed to those involved. By Thursday, still no reports had been made and no one had seen Tanja.
The local Senior Constable, aware of the goings-on through hearsay, was hamstrung because Tanja had not come forward. Increasingly frustrated at the on-going build-up of gossip, he drove out to where Angelko and his sons were working. As he pulled up in the police car all the workers on the gang ceased work and moved across to him.
“Angelko about?” he asked casually.
One worker pointed. “Over there. Having smoko with his boys.”
He looked over to where a group of five men were sitting on a log drinking cups of tea. He walked towards them. Following closely behind were all of the road workers.
“Mr Polowski?”
Angelko looked up. There was only slight concern on his face but outright fear on the faces of his sons. “Yes,” he answered.
“Senior Constable McGuiness. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions about your daughter, Tanja?”
“She in trouble?” he muttered, almost inaudibly, showing no signs of emotion.
“Do you know where she is?”
“Home. She was home last night.”
“Did you see her?”
“I didn’t,” Polowski replied, “but they did,” he added, glancing around at his boys.
“These men. They are your sons, Mr Polowski?”
Polowski grunted his reply in the affirmative whilst staring into the bottom of his teacup. Senior Constable McGuiness studied the faces of Polowski’s four sons, seeking confirmation of what their father had told him. They didn’t speak, instead preferring to nod.
“Was she home this morning?”
“Dunno. We all leave before anyone gets up.”
Again the policeman looked at the sons’ faces for confirmation. Again they nodded.
“Mr Polowski, was your daughter home last Saturday night?”
It’s the question the road workers had been waiting to hear. It was the question Angelko Polowski least wanted to hear. He sprung off the log, smashed his cup into the ground and stood toe-to-toe with the policeman.
“Saturday night! Sunday night! Last night! What difference does it make?” he bellowed.
“I keep hearing stories she may have been attacked and badly hurt. The reason I’ve come out to see you is to find out if the stories have any substance to them because she hasn’t been at school and no one has seen her around the town.”
“My daughter is all right!” Polowski barked at the policeman.
“Then you won’t mind if I drop out and see her?”
“Me and the boys will be home at a quarter to six. You can come then.”
Senior Constable McGuiness felt decidedly uneasy in Polowski’s presence. He thought it best to have nothing further to say and returned to his vehicle. As he was about to drive off, one of the sons ran over to him.
“These bastards out here reckon Tanja was raped by fourteen blokes at the club. Is that right?” he asked.
“That’s the story I keep hearing,” the policeman replied. “I’m just trying to find out if it was true…is it?” he asked.
Shock and disbelief fell over across the young man’s face. He didn’t answer. Instead he ran to his father’s side. “Papa, they say fourteen guys raped Tanja. Is that true?”
Polowski just scoffed. “That bloody copper tell you that?”
“No, papa. He said he’s heard that too and just asked the question. All these guys,” he gestured with his hand pointing to the other road workers. “They harass us all week about it.”
“Bullshit! Fourteen guys. Jesus she’d be dead if that happened…”
“But papa…” another cut in.
“Enough! It’s bullshit! And if it’s not bullshit then she had it coming. Get back to work. As soon as this girl leaves, pisses off or whatever, the better. She is nothing but trouble.”
At ten to six that evening Senior Constable Ralph McGuiness arrived at the Polowski house. Tessa Polowski showed him in. Seated at the kitchen table were Angelko, his five sons and Tanja. He ignored everyone except the girl. The table and those seated at it had been arranged so McGuiness would not be able to get a good view of Tanja as she sat at the furthest end.
Her mother had dressed her in a very thick, loose fitting jumper with a roll neck; the sleeves coming down so far they obscured her wrists, hands and fingers. Only her fingertips were exposed. The table’s end made sure she couldn’t be seen from the base of her rib cage, down. A woollen beanie pulled tight over her head covered all but the smallest part of her terrified face that was as white as a sheet. McGuiness could tell the girl didn’t have any hair.
“Hi.” The policeman smiled gently, beaming straight in on her.
Tanja flashed a glance then focussed her gaze back on the table directly in front of her. She didn’t speak.
“Tanja, no one’s seen you around very much, so I’ve come out to see if you’re all right. Are you all right?” the policeman asked.
Complete silence followed the question.
“Tanja?”
Again the girl looked up. This time she nodded. As she did so she looked briefly at her father then back at the table. McGuiness saw it. And it was a look that made his skin crawl. Never in his life had he seen such terror in a young girl’s eyes. But he couldn’t determine whether the terror was ‘father driven’, ‘mother-driven’, ‘family-driven’ or driven by events she had been forbidden to speak about.
“Tanja, are you in any sort of trouble?” the policeman continued.
Without raising her eyes, she shook her head.
“Is there anything you want to tell me about?”
Again she shook her head.
“Were you at home on Saturday night…?”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Angelko Polowski shouted as he bounced to his feet interrupting him. “Can’t you see the girl’s had enough? You wanted to see if she’s all right. OK. Now you’ve seen. She’s all right! Now go!” he demanded, thrusting his hand towards the door.
But Senior Constable McGuiness wouldn’t be bullied. He placed his hands firmly on the table at the opposite end to where Tanja sat. He waited for her to look at him. She did.
“Don’t let these mongrels who did this to you get away with it. Talk to me will you?”
Tessa Polowski flew into a rage. She thundered across the kitchen floor to the front door and reefed it open. “OUT!” she snapped at Senior Constable Ralph McGuiness. “GET OUT. YOU WANT TO TALK TO HER ANY MORE, GET A COURT ORDER. LIKE MY HUSBAND HE SAY, SHE HAD ENOUGH. NOW GO!”
As McGuiness drove away from the Polowski home he was particularly alarmed. Simply from looking at the girl he could tell she had been grossly terrorised and traumatised.
God knows what things must look like under that