Let $a, b$ be two non-zero real numbers. If $p$ and $r$ are the roots of the equation $x ^ { 2 } - 8ax + 2a = 0$ and $q$ and $s$ are the roots of the equation $x ^ { 2 } + 12bx + 6b = 0$, such that $\frac { 1 } { p }, \frac { 1 } { q }, \frac { 1 } { r }, \frac { 1 } { s }$ are in A.P., then $a ^ { - 1 } - b ^ { - 1 }$ is equal to $\_\_\_\_$.