Last Known Contact

by Phillipa Nefri Clark

  The colour left Ellie’s face and her eyes pleaded for this not to be true. Her lips parted as if to speak, then she shook her head and opened the door.

  “I’ll go. And I’m sorry but you needed the truth.”

  “Ben?”

  They were so close the heat from her body touched his.

  He needed to wrap her up in his arms and erase the harsh words between them.

  The fire in her eyes flickered out. “I wish we’d never met.”

  As the door closed behind him, pain cut through Ben’s gut. No sailing off into the night.

  54

  Security Alert

  Ellie was in her office long before dawn. Whatever sleep she’d managed brought distressing dreams and she’d ended up calling the concierge to escort her to her car. Getting in the elevator was harder than she’d expected, and her heart was thumping by the time the doors opened in the carpark. On her way to Bannerman House, she phoned the control room and asked for someone to meet her downstairs.

  She felt weak and useless asking for escorts everywhere, but the alternative was to freeze up or jump at every shadow. It would pass. Glen checked the executive floor and turned on every light, then he left after she refused his offer to stay in the reception area. Ellie helped herself to coffee from the kitchen and locked herself in her office.

  The whiteboard mocked her. Dennis was set up but why by Dale Grant? Who was he and what was his motive for his actions? She turned it around, not wanting to think about it anymore.

  Coffee helped fire her brain up and she powered through the paperwork she’d taken home last night. After getting another cup, and locking herself in again, she glanced outside. Daylight was close. Today was about making decisions. Even about Dad.

  “He told him never to set foot in his sight again.” Ben had said.

  No. He wouldn’t say that.

  “To never contact you, or your mother.”

  Ellie dropped her head into her arms. Michael’s love of family matched his love of life. Of all of them, he was the one who’d regularly track down their mother on some island, flying in to spend a few days fishing with her in pristine waters. It annoyed Dad when he’d return with his broad grin and gifts from his trips, but Michael eventually would make him smile with stories of Gabi’s beautiful illustrations and strange food combinations.

  She pushed her seat back and went to the whiteboard. With a black marker, she wrote on the exposed side.

  Dad

  Left suicide note

  Phoned later to tell me where to look for note—probably a second note (so he’s not dead)

  Lied about meeting Dennis to sail

  Selling the business and Foundation

  Took Michael’s special gift of gin—last bottle

  Refused to approve Paul’s last upgrade (did he want cameras to fail?)

  Left his obligations without notice

  The words got messier as she scribbled faster, her hand putting in writing what she refused to acknowledge aloud.

  Forced me to change careers to help him when Michael became an actor

  Gave me Sea Angel and changed the terms of agreement

  Told Michael he was disowned

  Told Michael never to contact me or Gabi

  Gave my job to Dennis

  Encouraged my relationship with Dennis

  Controls me.

  CONTROLS ME!

  She stormed away from the whiteboard. At her desk, she turned and with all her strength, threw the marker at it. It hit the board with a satisfying crack and fell to the floor in pieces.

  “No more, Dad. I’ll make sure you’re okay, but no more of this shit.” She squatted, arms around her body. “No more.”

  Always the good girl, the one who stayed, the reliable one. Enough. Jack Bannerman was an adult who did not need his daughter to fill some void in his own being. Whatever game he was playing with his disappearing act, he’d put her at risk.

  She dragged herself to her feet. Staff would arrive soon and there were meetings to attend. The police might be finished on this floor, but there was a lot of cleaning to do and putting the offices back together. All the PAs would be busy, and she’d get Joni and Mark to call on assistance from the teams as needed.

  Would Mark be here though? Joni had messaged her last night to say she’d not been able to raise him at home. No more missing people. Please.

  Ellie took a photo of the whiteboard, then cleaned it. The building was stirring, and she had to fix her makeup.

  Mascara removed and reapplied, extra powder added to reduce the redness, Ellie pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail. If she looked serious and in charge, hopefully nobody would ask her personal questions.

  Her heart was empty whenever her mind wandered to last night. Ben needed to keep his distance, for both their sakes, and now, perhaps, he would.

  Joni was on the phone behind reception when Ellie returned from her second meeting of the morning. No sign of Mark. Joni waved at Ellie to come to her.

  “Thank you again, I will pass the news on.” She hung up as Ellie reached the desk. “Oh, this is good news for once! That was Mrs Campbell. Mr Campbell is awake, well asleep again, but he is expected to fully recover!”

  “Joni, that is wonderful!” Ellie reached over the desk to hug her. At last something positive in all this gloom. “How is Mrs Campbell holding up?”

  “Tired. But she said she’d been a bit upset with you and asked me to tell you personally you are welcome to visit as soon as the doctors allow it.”

  “Let’s hope everything is going in the right direction now.” Ellie stepped back. “Have you heard from Mark?”

  “Yes, where is he?” Dennis walked in.

  “Why are you here?” This was a complication Ellie hadn’t expected.

  “I work here. So, where is my PA?”

  “Let’s talk in my office.” Ellie said.

  Dennis brushed past Ellie. “No. In my office.”

  She rolled her eyes at Joni, who covered her mouth as if to control either a giggle or gasp. “Let me know when my next appointment arrives.”

  Ellie sat opposite Dennis, who was shrugging off his suit jacket. “How are you?” His face was drawn.

  “How do you think? Thrown in jail for nothing, interrogated for hours, then bang, lost my car to the bloody cops. Lawyer will fight that, of course.”

  “Good luck. Isn’t it mandatory loss for a month if you’re over the limit?”

  “Where is Mark?”

  “We don’t know. He left yesterday afternoon and hasn’t returned any calls.”

  Dennis dropped into his seat. “Another missing person? Joni can fill in for him.”

  “Joni has plenty to do. If you insist on working, then you’ll do it without an assistant.”

  “Insist on working? What else does a CEO do?”

  “Oh. You haven’t heard.” Ellie crossed her legs. “With you under arrest, Campbell in hospital, and Dad still God-knows-where, the board asked me to take over for now.”

  “Finally got what you wanted. Not only your old job back, but mine as well.”

  “Get real. I don’t want either but nor do you—or why would you put yourself and other people at risk by driving drunk? Why not go home to Meredith?”

  Dennis opened his mouth, then leaned back, arms folded, his expression changing from anger to something…something like regret.

  This should be good.

  After a moment, he sighed. “I stuffed up, Ellie. When you went to London, after our argument, I thought for sure you’d come back and tell me to leave. So, I left first.”

  “I had no intention of doing that, Dennis.”

  “But then, Jack vanished, and Meredith freaked out and refused to stay alone at the house—”

  “Cut the bull. There are live-in staff. She could have called her sister, or a friend. This was the perfect excuse for you to be where you wanted.” How she kept her voice calm, she had no idea. “You’ve always wanted Dad’s job and you
got it, just for a moment. And his wife. Because you thought I was going to leave you.” She leaned forward and lowered her tone. “And you wonder why I asked you to see a marriage counsellor with me to talk about communication.”

  “I’m not with Meredith!”

  Ellie smiled. “You’re with whoever gives you the best shot at controlling this company. She told you about the pre-nuptial agreement, didn’t she?”

  “We’re still married, El. I’ll go see a counsellor. Let’s give it another shot.”

  “Sorry.” Getting to her feet, Ellie smoothed her skirt. “That boat sailed.”

  “I’ll sink your damned boat, baby.”

  “Now you sound like the deranged ex in a book I once read. Didn’t work then either.” She didn’t look back as she left. Dennis spluttering behind her was the best thing she’d heard in days.

  55

  Need For Freedom

  An hour later, Ellie left the second of the two security company reps for the day in the foyer, more puzzled than ever. Neither were prepared to quote on the spot, but both were shocked at the low-quality cameras.

  Paul wasn’t in the control room when she’d taken them there, which was just as well as he’d have taken offence at some of the descriptive language used by the second rep.

  “Worse than rubbish.”

  Will had nodded.

  She tapped on Dennis’ door and almost changed her mind at his expression. “This is purely about the business.”

  “What?”

  “Why is our security system antiquated if Paul upgrades it every couple of years?”

  “Ask Dekeles.”

  “I’m asking you. What do you know about past upgrades?”

  “Why the hell does this matter right now?”

  “Because Paul is pushing for me to sign a purchase order.”

  “Push back.”

  “I have. But two independent security experts just told me our system is crap. Paul says Dad refused the last upgrade.”

  “Rubbish. It was done when you were in Sydney for the charity ball. I remember because Campbell and I spent the day working downstairs while it was done. Jack’s office and yours were free because of the event you were at for the Foundation.”

  “Then why aren’t they working properly?”

  “Probably bought them on the cheap and pocketed the rest. I’m busy.” Dennis went back to his laptop.

  Joni came back from the kitchen with a coffee as Ellie headed for her office. “Would you like me to bring you one?”

  “Thanks, but I over-caffeinated myself this morning. Nothing about Mark?”

  “Afraid not.”

  “Would you ask human resources to send his personnel file to me?”

  “Of course.” Joni lowered her voice, eyes flashing toward Dennis’ office. “You are still acting CEO? Not…him?”

  “I am. And I’ve told him you are too busy to take on Mark’s role, so if he gives you grief, let me know.”

  “I handled Mr Bannerman’s moods for all these years. I’ll be fine. But you look exhausted.”

  “I want to find Dad.”

  “If you don’t mind me saying, he wouldn’t want you running yourself into the ground.”

  He should have considered that before doing a vanishing act.

  “Thanks for caring about me.”

  Back in her office, Ellie stood at the window. Always four walls around her, or at least, it felt that way. Was this why Gabi left? No view or sound or smell of the sea from the Canterbury house, and as pretty as the gardens were, and as soothing as the waterfall in the pool, for a person with the heart of a nomad, the restrictions must have stifled her. Dad’s house was only a few minutes’ drive from the bay, but it wasn’t anything like the wild beach front house on stilts they’ve lived in for the first few years of marriage.

  Gabi once told Ellie how Dad bought two yachts. Wind Drifter and Sea Angel. As Ellie sat on her lap, Gabi’s face lit up as she whispered the names and promised they’d sail every summer and even during winter. “No day is a bad day to be on the water.”

  One winter’s day, Gabi proved it by taking Wind Drifter and leaving them behind.

  “Where are you, Mum?”

  When she turned to her desk, she noticed the whiteboard was moved. After cleaning off the one side, she’d pushed it back against the wall to hide her theories on the other. But one end was a good few inches from the wall. A marker lay on the floor. Not the one she’d earlier thrown at the whiteboard.

  Her phoned beeped a message alert. Ben. Her heart jumped seeing his name.

  Need to ask a few questions about Dale Grant. Can you drop into the station around three?

  At least he was talking to her. Kind of.

  I’ll be there.

  First, she needed answers from Paul, and then a trip to the hospital. She collected her briefcase and handbag.

  See you then.

  She set her phone to remind herself. As she left, she didn’t bother locking her door. What was the point?

  56

  Falling Down

  Paul wasn’t in his office. Nor the control room, but Will knew. “Said he needed to pull the camera apart.”

  Great. Another one down.

  Ellie was proud of herself getting into the elevator and down to the carpark. The doors opened to Paul on a ladder, barking into his phone. He glanced at her and lowered his voice.

  Rather than waiting, Ellie put her briefcase and bag in her car, sliding her phone and car keys into a pocket. By the time she walked back, he was off the phone.

  “Damned thing keeps going on and off.”

  “Do you happen to know who went into my office this morning?” Might as well lead with the latest problem.

  He stopped to glance down at her. “No. Wouldn’t Joni have seen?”

  “It was before eight. Nobody else was on the floor and I left to attend to other business. Only now I find something’s been moved in there.”

  “What has?”

  “The whiteboard.”

  He returned to fiddling with the camera. “Sure, you didn’t leave the wheels unlocked on it? Those things have a mind of their own sometimes.”

  “You’re suggesting a huge, heavy whiteboard decided to pull one end of itself away from the wall? How much movement is there in the building?”

  “I’ll give Will a call and see if he can look. The cleaners were up there today.”

  “Not at that time and they’ve been told not to touch anything on that floor.”

  Paul called the camera a bad name and climbed down the ladder. “See. Everything is falling apart. Any chance you can sign the purchase order?”

  “Not until I get some assurances about the company you’re dealing with. Your supplier.”

  At the bottom of the ladder, Paul turned to Ellie, one hand on a rung above him. His body was rigid and she had to control the instinct to step back.

  “Same supplier we’ve always used. Jack approved them years ago and they are quick, efficient—”

  “And poor quality. Cheap, Paul.”

  “Not poor quality.”

  “I’ve had two firms in today. Both told me the cameras, monitors, everything, is cheap and nasty. These are security experts who will give us new quotes.”

  “You’ve done what?” Paul almost shouted and now, Ellie did step back. “Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m that stressed about Jack and completely blame myself for not being there when he needed me. I didn’t see the signs, El.”

  “What signs.”

  He shook his head and began packing up the ladder.

  “Paul, do you know something about Dad?”

  “Not my place to talk.”

  Ellie grabbed his arm. “Yes, it is. I’m going crazy not knowing, or half knowing. We found a note he’d written. Like a suicide note. But then he left a message telling me where to find it and that I’d understand. All I can think is that he was going to… hurt him
self, and changed his mind. So, there must have been a second letter.”

  Paul leaned the ladder against the wall. “Let me get this straight. Jack left a note which you just found. But there’s no evidence that he’s off’d himself. And then a full day or so later, he phones you to say what? To look for the note?”

  “It doesn’t add up.”

  “Oh my God. I’m an idiot.” Paul put his head in his hands.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “You have to find your mother. You have to speak to Gabi.”

  “What?”

  He dropped his hands. “I just remembered a conversation with Jack. It was a few days before he disappeared, and I don’t know why I forgot about it. God, I’m sorry, Ellie.”

  “Forgot what?”

  “He was talking about her. Gabi. Wishing he’d never let her go but had kept the old beach house. He said he’d never even been to visit her cabin and how it must be a peaceful place. Somewhere to refill the battery. A place of happiness.”

  The bottle of gin. It was a gift from Michael, and he’d had the labels made up with the image of a yacht. A particular yacht. Wind Drifter.

  “I wonder if he’s gone to see her. Probably not. I mean, he’d have let you know. Let someone know. Wouldn’t he?” Paul stared at Ellie until she nodded.

  “I wish it were that. But Gabi isn’t even in Australian waters. Hasn’t been in weeks.”

  Her heart pounded as excitement rose in her chest but she controlled her tone. “I have an appointment.”

  “I’ll walk you to the car. Damned upset I wasn’t there to help you last night.” He fell into step.

  Something didn’t ring true but Ellie’s thoughts were elsewhere. They passed the spot where Dennis usually parked.

  “Guess you’ll be looking for a new right hand soon.” Paul nodded at the empty space.

  “Oh, Dennis is here. But no licence or car.”

  Paul was quiet as they reached her car. “Thanks, Paul. I’ll be back…in a bit.”

  “Sure. Ellie, just so you know, I always respected you. Always.” He disappeared back through the carpark, leaving Ellie with the oddest sense of unrest.