by L. J. Fox
After much coaxing, Warren revealed that her father had been shot and his body thrown down a mine shaft on the property at Burbank. Bendigo was an old gold mining town in the mid eighteen hundreds and much of the land around was dotted with old gold mines. Layne had expected something like this may have happened to both her parents, but actually hearing it, shocked her beyond belief.
Her mother had been taken back to Warren’s house and kept under guard. Layne visualised the executive panel meeting to discuss what the next move would be. After a few days she was told that she would be immigrating to the US and marrying Dustin Meyer, sold off like a commodity to the highest bidder.
Layne couldn’t believe it. Her mother was alive. Her mother was Ann-Marie Meyer. She had been reading about the family and Ann-Marie was mentioned a few times. She remembered seeing the family portraits, Dustin, middle-aged with dark hair, greying at the sides. Ann-Marie – beautiful, blonde and cool with a slightly sullen look, and their blonde good-looking son, a thirteen year old called Tristan. She had a brother, even if it was a Bray brother.
Beverley was told that her daughter would be raised by the paternal grandparents, and she would be fine provided Beverley maintained the Bray lifestyle and was a good wife. Effectively, Beverley had been a hostage for sixteen years. Layne tried to imagine what her mother must have gone through, losing her husband so violently, her young daughter taken away and threatened, and then she is shipped off to be someone’s wife. Beverley had been given regular reports of how Layne was progressing. Layne wondered how much her mother knew about her.
She turned away from her thoughts. There would be plenty of time to ponder and analyse what had happened when she was alone. Plenty of time for tears and anger. Knowing where her mother was and knowing where her father’s body were could wait. The immediate question was what to do about Warren and John. Did she just walk out of this office? What would these two clowns do? Would they now see her as a threat? A threat to the Brays, a threat to Dustin Meyer’s family? A threat to their organisation? As she had not planned this meeting, she also had not planned on the outcome. The men must have been thinking the same thing.
“What are you going to do now?” asked Warren.
He looked slightly worried and crestfallen, not the proud and arrogant man she had seen in the past few months. He had fallen from his horse and was sitting in the mud. She turned and looked directly at Warren.
“I want my father’s body back, as soon as possible. I want my grandparents to bury him and have closure.” She stared at Warren, daring him to argue.
He nodded.
She looked at John. “I want you to take me to see my mother.”
Warren opened his mouth to say something. She spun around and pointed at him.
“Not you. Just John. I think I need to meet with Dustin. Introduce myself. Does he know about me?”
Both men nodded.
“Does my mother know I am working here?”
“She does.” John said quietly.
“I would also like you to convene a meeting of the Australian panel immediately.”
She addressed Warren. Again, he nodded.
Layne looked at them both. “Are we all good?”
“Yes.”
Chapter 64
Layne left the building after the meeting with John and Warren. She had kept such control over her emotions in front of them but now she was emotionally drained. There was no way she could have shown any weakness. She knew the only way to overcome them, was to be stronger than them.
As soon as she sat in the back of the Uber, the floodgates opened and she cried. The driver, a young dark-haired man, asked with a worried voice. “Are you ok lady?”
She wiped her tears and smiled at his reflection in the rear-view mirror.
“Yes. Thank you. I am crying from happiness.”
He smiled uncertainly at her and drove on. It was true. She felt a warm glow inside. Her mother was alive. She could barely believe it. She couldn’t wait to tell Andy and her grandparents. Her glow faded a little at the thought of her grandparents. They had always known in their hearts that their son, her father, was dead, but hearing how he died, and how his body had been dumped as if he were a piece of garbage, would hurt them terribly.
She sent a text message to Andy asking if she could meet him immediately. He replied and she knew he would be worrying about what this urgent request was about. Her mind raced, making plans. She would meet with Andy first and tell him the latest news. She needed his reassurance that she was treading the right path. Then she would need to make the phone call to her grandparents. That would be a difficult one. Her plan with meeting the executive panel was to exert her power and warn them off her family and friends. She had to keep them safe while she was in the United States. She couldn’t trust the Brays not to do something to her family when they got a chance. She was a big threat to them, being stronger than they were. She pictured Warren and John taking action the moment she left the office, discussing options and phoning allies. Could she guess at what they may do? They had once threatened her mother, Beverley, with the safety of her daughter. They had used Layne as a pawn to blackmail her mother into obedience. Would they do the same to her? Would they take her grandparents, or even Andy? She felt a flush of anger at the thought. There would be hell to pay if they dared. She couldn’t discount this possibility.
The panel would all be busy working on solutions to the Layne problem. That is why she had to confront them. She needed to see them, feel them, know what was going on in their minds or she would not be able to leave Australia.
Although the Brays had been very keen to bring her into the fold, train her in becoming a Bray, having chosen a husband for her, and a career, she was aware they could just as easily eliminate her. Many of the Brays had never accepted her, with her tainted blood, so there would be no outcry. Warren and Miriam, her maternal grandparents, would feel no loss, though she imagined Warren may feel an embarrassment, having pushed to have her included, his pet project turned pear-shaped. She felt this was the most likely scenario that the Brays would choose. They would now be aware that there was no going back, no changing her mind, she was a loose cannon, a rebel and a danger to them. They needed her out of the way.
She was not foolish enough to think she could overpower a whole organisation of Brays. Neither could she outrun a bullet. She would have to keep on high alert. Her grandparents did not need to lose her, on top of what they had already lost. She couldn’t bear to think how upset Andy would be.
No. It could not be that way. The universe would not stand for it.
There was also her mother to consider. Would the Brays risk eliminating Layne and losing their threat over Beverley? How would Beverley react to that possibility?
The car pulled up outside Andy’s unit block. Through the car window, she could see his worried face as he stood on the kerb waiting for her. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. A warm glow spread throughout her body. She opened the door and threw herself into his arms.
Chapter 65
She rolled on to her stomach, resting her head on Andy’s chest. She toyed with the small dark hairs growing sparsely in that area, marvelling at the differences between a man and a woman’s body. He ran his fingers gently up her back, staring up at the ceiling.
“You know …” he started. “Your body is as perfect as I imagined it would be.” He said in all seriousness.
She laughed. “Oh. You have been imagining what my body would look like?” she asked.
“Oh, you bet I have. I am only human, remember.” He said joking.
“You seemed beyond human, not long ago.” She remarked, smiling at the memory and teasing him.
“I am glad this mere mortal was able to please you.” He said, laughing lightly.
She was silent for a few minutes then lifted her head from his chest to look at him.
“You know … I don’t want you to always think of me as some … superhuman … some … Wonder Woman. I
am first most a woman, whether I am strong or weak, smart or simple, fast or slow. I am a woman, and I don’t feel that I am superior to you. I will never feel superior to you. I think of us as equals. Xing and Yang. Please don’t talk to me like that when it is just us.”
Andy’s face betrayed the anguish of his mistake. She continued.
“It is like that movie Notting Hill. You know, the bit where Julia Roberts who is a famous actress says to Hugh Grant – Don’t forget – I am just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. That is how I feel. I am just a girl.”
“I’m sorry Layne. I was just kidding around but I do understand what you are saying. I guess I feel a little inadequate around you. You know … I am supposed to be the strong male, the knight in shining armour and all that crap, but in our case, you are the strong knight and I am the feeble peasant. I worry that I am not good enough for you, or you will find me lacking, or simply, I cannot make you happy.” He shrugged and his voice sounded emotional. “Even though I seem to have some Bray powers now, I am not a Bray. I get that. I am still a normal person who just happens to have a few extra abilities. I am still such a low-level beside you.”That is so silly. You did come to my rescue in my time of need if you remember. I wish you could know what you mean to me, how much I rely on your opinion and your approval. You mean the world to me. I’m like … totally in love with you.”
She muffled her laugh, feeling a little embarrassed and self-conscious. He looked at her, eyes wide.
“You are?”
She nodded and laughed again, his chest muffling the laughs.
“Well … I have to admit … I fell in love with you the first time I saw you … in class.”
He looked at her. They both laughed, the laughter contagious and sought after, in a time of stress.
Chapter 66
Layne could feel eyes on her as she entered the Bray building and headed up to the top floor. She was focussed. Every nerve in her system tingled with awareness, every sense was at its super best as she ventured into the den of the enemy.
The receptionist seemed nervous in her presence. She saw people move out of her way as she approached. Word travelled fast it seemed. She had dressed for the occasion, stylish, tall, strong and on point. She could hear her heels clicking as she walked across the tiles in the foyer. Her hair was pulled back and knotted high on her head. The time for playing silly girl was over. This was the new woman, powerful, timely and subtly arrogant.
She didn’t need the secretary on the top floor to show her the way to the conference room. She knew. Before she reached the room, a deliberate fifteen minutes late so everyone would be present, she knew exactly who was in that room. The receptionist had forewarned them that she was on the way, and yet, her entrance still startled them. They had not sensed her approach.
She stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the light from behind, and surveyed the room. There were ten executives, some standing and some seated, plus she could see John Springer seated in a corner away from the table, like an observer. All stopped mid-sentence as she entered and were staring at her. She waited for a few minutes, for impact, then addressed them.
“Good morning. Shall we begin?”
It seemed that executives scrabbled for the seats, but perhaps that was just her perception. Warren sat at the far end of the table. He stood up slowly and almost reluctantly.
“Layne. Good morning. Do you know everyone present?”
He held his arm out and slowly waved it around the room. Layne looked from person to person. She knew who they were.
“Yes. Thank you.” She sat at the opposite end of the table to Warren.
All eyes were on her. These people did not have notes, or phones, or anything in front of them. They didn’t need anything. These people were the elite of the Brays. She wondered what they were thinking. Was it animosity or was it fear? Did they look at her as if she were an alien just landed on earth?
“I would like to discuss the way forward.” Layne announced firmly.
“As I stated yesterday, I would like my father’s remains returned to me for a proper burial.”
She looked around at the faces. There was no shock registered on their faces. They all knew.
“Err. Yes.” Said Warren. “The retrieval is in process.”
She paused, searching his face. His response appeared genuine.
“His death will be officially registered as death by misadventure on his death certificate.”
Layne again paused, considering. It had to be this way officially. She understood that. There were other ways the people responsible would pay. Layne nodded in agreement.
“I want to make it very clear that my family and friends are not to be touched in any way. No surveillance, no bugging, nothing. Is that understood?”
Layne spoke with such ferocity that Warren raised his hand.
“Yes. Of course.” Warren said.
“Of course?” Layne repeated. She smiled sweetly at him.
“Forgive me for not trusting all of you around my family.”
Ben Jackson cleared his throat. “What are your future intentions?” He asked.
“Well. I don’t know yet. I would like to see my mother and we’ll see after that.”
The silence was awkward. People looking down at their hands, or at each other. No one was quite sure what to say or do. John Stringer stood up. Layne’s gaze fell to him.
“I spoke with Dustin Meyer yesterday after we met. I told him of the latest developments.”
Layne braced herself. Was this going to be bad? What was said now could change the future for everyone involved.
“… and?” She asked.
“He is looking forward to meeting you.”
Chapter 67
The sun shone brightly peeping out from the clouds on this cool spring morning. The service had been performed in the small chapel at the Katunga Cemetery and the hearse had then taken the coffin to a freshly dug plot at the other end of the cemetery.
A good number of people from the town had come along to pay their respects to Bradley David Harrison. People he had gone to school with and grown up with, friends of her grandparents, and local shop owners as well as colleagues from his time in Melbourne. Layne was pleased to see so many people who had known and cared for her father. Many came up to her grandparents and herself, to comment on how pleased they were that Brad could finally be laid to rest, and that there could be closure, though many held back comments on where her mother was.
The official story was that the young couple must have got lost and disorientated while out on a country drive. Brad had wandered and fallen into a mine shaft at a farm in Bendigo and so far, there was no sign of what happened to Beverley. Of course, the public did not know that the skeletal remains recovered had a bullet hole in the skull, and no one publicly commented on the fact that the young couple’s car had been found a ninety minute drive away. Behind closed doors, people whispered that perhaps Beverley had been responsible, and had her husband killed, running off with a new man. Layne didn’t care what the gossip was. She was just pleased that her grandparents had closure for their son.
She told her grandparents the truth regarding the events of sixteen years ago with her father, Beverley and the Brays, though she was careful not to go into explicit details about how cold and callous the murder had been. Her grandmother had taken to her bed for two days to recover from the shock and distress, but when she emerged she told Layne she was relieved to know the truth.
The family of missing people always hold out a glimmer of hope that their loved one will still be alive and returned to them one day. Even though they may know in their heart that this will not happen, there is still that little strand of hope. When faced with the fact that the loved one is deceased, all hope is distinguished and there is grieving. They assured Layne that, despite the grief, they did feel some closure and that having him returned meant the world to them. They now had their boy home where they could visit and pl
ace flowers.
Both her grandparents were amazed and ecstatic to find out Beverley was alive. They felt incredibly sorry for her that she had lost out on so much in life. Her grandfather had enveloped her in a hug.
“Your mother lost her husband and her daughter. We lost our son, and yet, we were given a wonderful gift. We were given you, Layne. Your mother gave up so much so you would be safe, and we were the lucky ones to have this gift.”
Today they walked quietly and solemnly along the neat asphalt lanes of the small cemetery following the hearse. She walked arm in arm with Andy, in step with her grandparents leading the group. Her right hand gently stroked her gold infinity necklace.
Tomorrow she would be leaving for the United States to meet her mother again, after nearly 17 years. Layne had chosen not to speak with her over the phone. She wanted them to be face-to-face. She wondered if her mother would be excited at the prospect of seeing her again, or if she was entrenched her own new life and would think of Layne as a stranger.
John Springer was accompanying her, though she hoped she wouldn’t have to sit next to him on the plane. She found his smug arrogance to be intolerable.
It had taken a few weeks for the trip to be organised. She had never left Australia before she had not yet organised a passport. Warren had offered to fast track her passport, but she refused. She didn’t want the dodgy Bray way of doing things and falsifying records. She preferred the official procedure even if it took a few weeks longer. The timing worked well as she also wanted to bury her father and see Amity before she left. It was an open ticket so she did not have a return date. She was inclined to wait and see what happened in the US.
Andy offered to keep an eye on her grandparents which she was very grateful for. He would call in and check on them each weekend.