Nate gave his father a small smile. ‘I miss her.’
‘Me too,’ he replied before inhaling a deep breath and straightening up. ‘Anyway, enough of that. I don’t like thinking about it. Are you seeing Berry later?’
Nate’s smile widened. ‘Yeah, she’s gone back home for a bit but I’ll swing by after we’re done here.’
His father nodded as he turned back and looked at Constantine prancing in the arena. ‘He’s looking good, don’t you think, Justin?’
‘He sure is, Mr Tarant,’ Justin called back with a grin.
‘So, what’s Berry up to? She won’t be nervous to be by herself?’
‘I don’t think so, not now at least,’ Nate answered. ‘I mean, since they caught Laurie Worth, what’s to be scared of?’
‘Oh, they caught him, did they? Good,’ Sam said. ‘How?’
‘He ran a red light in Bendigo.’
Sam’s scoffed. ‘He always was an idiot.’
Nate chuckled. ‘Yeah, I can’t disagree with that. Anyway, Berry’s going through some old papers to try to work out why Worth was so bent on buying Stone Gully.’
His dad turned back and stared at him for a second. ‘What, I don’t understand. What papers?’
Nate shrugged. ‘Her father’s notes. Apparently, he was obsessed with that old Harlington gold story and has a box full of notes and research on it. I don’t believe it, but Berry does; thinks that maybe there could be a clue in why Worth wanted the place so bad.’
‘Right. You know it’s all utter nonsense.’
‘Of course,’ Nate replied.
‘So, where were these papers?’
‘I don’t know for sure, she stumbled across them when she was cleaning up the place—so probably in one of the sheds.’
‘Have you seen them?’
‘Yeah, there’s a pile of them—books, maps, notes and handwritten scribbles. Her father really went all out, even pestered Young Ned about it. Why are you so interested, anyway? I didn’t think it would be your sort of thing.’
Sam shrugged. ‘Just curious. I think it’s kind of sad that Jordy would have wasted his time on such rubbish.’
‘I’d be interested if it were my land. Still, I guess you’d know since he was a friend of yours.’
‘He was … he was,’ Sam said quietly before clamping his hand on Nate’s shoulder for a second. ‘Why don’t we go back to the house and grab some lunch?’
Nate looked down at his father’s hand. Signs of affection weren’t his thing. ‘Um, okay.’
Chapter Thirty-five
Stone Gully Farm, 2007
‘What exactly are you telling me?’ Cath McCalister asked her husband as she got up from the floor where she’d been playing with little Tommy. Both the girls were at school and this was her special time with the baby. He was a solid little guy who was sitting up and sucking on a teething ring. He was becoming a champion crawler, so she daren’t take her attention off him for too long. The shafts of sun streamed into the lounge room through the windows and filled it with light. Tommy was fascinated with the moving shadow on the floor from the rose bush swaying gently in the breeze outside.
Jordy took Cath by the hand and pulled her to her feet before he whirled her around once, and then once more for good measure. ‘I’m saying that everything is going to be all right.’
Cath gave him a dubious look and waited for him to launch into another one of his schemes. She was used to it; he was always getting fired up about the next thing that was going to make then miraculously rich. Jordy had a special way at looking at life. It had been this quality that had drawn her to him in the first place—she loved his enthusiasm. But as each grand idea turned sour it was a little hard to stay totally on board. She loved him, there was no denying that, but sometimes Jordy forgot to live in the here and now. He forgot about the bills that had to be paid and that the children really did need to eat. She loved him—but sometimes it felt as if she were bringing up four children instead of three.
‘What exactly is going to be all right? Jordy, if this is about the llamas—it’s not going to happen, I mean it.’
He grinned at her and pulled her into a hug. ‘It’s not—and it was alpacas, not llamas. And I still think an alpaca farm would be great—just imagine how much the kids would love them,’ he answered.
Cath drew out of his embrace. ‘No. No alpacas.’
‘Okay,’ he answered with a smile as he leaned in and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. ‘No alpacas. But this isn’t about that. This is something bigger, so much bigger.’
‘Please don’t say emus.’
Jordy let out a laugh. ‘No, nothing like that. I think I’ve found it, Cath. I think I’ve found the gold.’
Cath sighed. She should have seen this one coming. He’d been talking about it for the past few months.
‘You mean the gold that the little kid found a hundred years ago?’
Jordy nodded. ‘That’s it,’ he said excitedly.
‘Sweetheart,’ Cath said as she took his hand in hers, ‘it’s just a legend, there never was any gold. It’s just a story. The only reason we still talk about it is to get the odd tourist or prospector into Harlington.’
‘Yeah, but you’re wrong, Cath. Little Neddy found the gold, of that I’m certain. I’ve got proof, I really have.’
‘Proof? Okay, tell me,’ she said as if she were placating a child.
His story of the change in the Dohertys’ circumstances was interesting, but as far as Cath could see it certainly wasn’t proof. ‘It doesn’t exactly prove it, does it?’
Jordy’s shoulders slumped a little as if she’d taken the wind out of his sails. ‘No, I guess it doesn’t. But I’ve been studying all the different facets of this story and I truly believe that’s what happened.’
Cath forced a smile. She felt bad for always bringing Jordy back to earth with a crash. ‘Okay, let’s say it does. How does that change our lives?’
He looked up at and she could see the light had returned to his eyes. ‘Because I reckon I know where the gold is.’
‘Jordy, people have been searching for that for years and no one has ever found it.’
He smiled. ‘That’s because they weren’t looking in the right place,’ he said as he walked over to the table and shuffled through a stack of paper. He found what he was looking for and brought it back to his wife. He flourished an old map in front of her.
‘Wait, where did you get this from?’
He grimaced for a second. ‘The local historical society. I’m just borrowing it.’
Cath pinned him with her eyes. ‘Do they know?’
Choosing to ignore her question, Jordy pointed to the map. ‘It’s here, Cath. I reckon it’s here … on our land. We’re going out later to see if we can find it.’
‘We?’
‘Yeah, Sam said he’d come with me.’
‘Oh, Jordy, why would you bother him with this? You know he’s been going through a rough time. You know, Jackie was over here the other morning for coffee. She’s a mess, she told me that Sam’s been acting weird, almost violent,’ Cath said.
‘Violent? Sam? That’s not like him—he’s always so level-headed, sometimes even a bit distant,’ Jordy said with a frown.
‘I know. But Jackie reckons it’s the stress of the accident. She told me there’s a good chance they’ll lose the place. And it’s not like he’s hurting anyone, it’s just all of a sudden he’ll snap and slam things on tables.’
‘Well, maybe he just needs a bit of time to get his head together. Maybe going on a treasure hunt is just what he needs,’ Jordy said with a reassuring smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll look after him. Everything’s going to be fine.’
Chapter Thirty-six
Berry picked up her father’s notebook. She’d read it from cover to cover but still wasn’t any closer to an answer. She ran her hand over the black leather it was bound with.
Come on, Dad—what are you trying to tell me?
With a sigh, she opened the book again and flicked through the pages. There were scrawled notes about the gold, stories about Little Neddy and a dozen interviews with some of the older residents of Harlington. Berry had read over them a couple of times, and as far as she could see, there wasn’t any definitive proof that the gold ever existed. Perhaps this was just another one of her father’s wild ideas that never came to anything. Maybe the realisation that he’d spent months chasing ghosts helped push him over the edge that day—but she would never know.
It didn’t matter how much she wished it otherwise, maybe she needed to just come to terms with what her father had done. Logic demanded that no matter how she remembered him, he was still the same man who killed her mother and grandparents. There could be no absolution, the fact was that her loving father turned into a monster that day.
She turned to the back of the journal, where a couple of loose scraps of paper dislodged. She glanced at them, and though neither seemed to be particularly important, Berry noticed a small slit in the heavy cream endpaper. At first she thought it was a tear, but it appeared to be too precise. She ran her finger over it and thought she detected a thin lump, like something was hiding in it.
Berry hurried to the kitchen and placed the book on the bench. With the carving knife she carefully probed the paper slit.
It’s probably just a dead bug, she told herself but that didn’t stop the tendril of excitement growing within her.
She made the hole a little bigger and saw a corner of a folded piece of paper, which she carefully removed and unfolded. Berry’s eyes grew wide as she realised what she was looking at: a hand-drawn map of Stone Gully Farm. Past the paddocks and the dams, up to where that hard quartz reef ran through the property, her father had drawn a narrow gully. There was no X marks the spot but instead the word: Possibility.
Berry stared at it for another few seconds as she tried to take it all in. That’s all she needed: a possibility.
Nate was sitting at the kitchen table across from his dad. The house was quiet, with the girls at school and his mum off at lunch with friends. Nate always felt a slight awkwardness with his father, and usually his mum or sisters were there to buffer between them. However, today seemed different and Nate couldn’t put his finger on why.
They were eating roast beef and salad sandwiches, using up the leftovers from last night’s dinner. Nate had just taken another bite when his phone rang. He quickly tried to swallow as he got up from the table.
‘Senior Sergeant, how are you?’
‘Good, thanks. Listen, I just thought I’d give you a heads up. Worth has confessed to running Berry off the road and the graffiti. According to him, he panicked when he saw Berry driving back that night—he figured it was her because as he got closer he recognised her red car. He said that he didn’t want to hurt her, just wanted to scare her away without her realising it was him.’
‘So, running her off the road was the answer? Geez, you wouldn’t like to let me alone with him for a few minutes, would you?’ Nate asked.
‘Hmm, maybe that’s not such a great idea. Anyway, when I asked him why he wanted Stone Gully, he said that he’d made a deal with someone, and it was worth a lot to him.’
‘A deal—what deal?’ Nate asked.
‘Well, apparently he had a guaranteed buyer for Stone Gully, who was willing to pay premium price for it. His idea was that he could buy it for a low value, then on-sell it to his buyer. It would have made him a quick hundred grand.’
‘Really? Why would this buyer make a deal like that? Wouldn’t it have been easier to do it himself and not involve Laurie?’ Nate said.
‘Yeah, I know, it’s a bit strange. I guess this buyer, whoever it is, doesn’t want to be known,’ Rob Mendez explained.
‘Really? That’s crazy! Why would anyone go to such lengths to buy the place? There’s plenty of other real estate around!’
‘Yeah, it’s all a bit mysterious. So far, Worth hasn’t said who this buyer is, but I reckon I can get it out of him. Anyway, I just thought I’d let you and Berry know,’ Mendez said.
‘Yeah, thanks. I’ll tell her.’
‘Okay, great. I’ll talk to you later.’
‘Oh, just one thing—what did he say about the fire?’ Nate asked.
‘He says he had nothing to do with that, but I’ll get to the bottom of it.’
‘So, what was that about?’ Sam Tarant asked as Nate sat down again.
‘Oh, Laurie Worth has confessed to writing paint all over Berry’s door and driving at her.’
‘Why?’
‘Because apparently he was working on a deal with some mysterious buyer that would make him a shitload of money,’ Nate explained.
‘Really? Did he say who?’ Sam responded.
‘Well, if he had, it wouldn’t be a mysterious buyer, would it?’ Nate said.
‘Yeah, right.’ Sam said and then asked, ‘Hey, but what about the fire, did he own up to that?’
Nate frowned. ‘Police reckon it wasn’t him.’
‘Do you believe that?’
‘Not really.’
Sam nodded. ‘Me neither. It could have just been some stupid kids, but it was more than a campfire gone wrong, wasn’t it?’
‘Rob Mendez believes that it was intentional,’ Nate said.
‘Then I wonder who would do such a thing. Unless Laurie just doesn’t want to own up to it because he thinks he’s in enough trouble.’
Nate was about to answer when his phone rang again. He gave his dad an apologetic smile before silently mouthing Berry. Sam waved his hand as if to tell him to go ahead and Nate disappeared through the kitchen door, but he wasn’t gone long.
‘That was Berry, she wants me to go over once I’m finished here,’ Nate said as he slid back into his chair and put his phone on the table.
‘Anything important? Nothing else has happened, has it?’ Sam asked quickly.
Nate shook his head. ‘No, she just thinks she might be onto something,’ he explained. ‘She going out to check it out—told me to give her a ring when I come over so she can tell me where to find her.’
‘That sounds intriguing,’ Sam said as he glanced at Nate and gave him a slight smile.
‘Nah, probably not. I keep saying that the whole gold thing is just a fairytale. But at least it will give me some more time with Berry,’ he said.
Sam stared at his son for a moment too long. Long enough to make Nate a little uncomfortable, as if he were being studied like a bug under a microscope.
‘You really like her, don’t you?’ Sam said quietly.
‘I do,’ Nate replied. ‘Is that a problem?’
‘No, it’s not,’ Sam said before changing the subject. ‘Listen, I know that you want to get over to Berry’s but could you do me a favour first? Could take a run up to Bendigo for me? There’re a couple of outdoor lights that have blown and we need new ones.’
‘Which lights?’
‘The motion-detector ones. There’s one that isn’t working outside the stable and another near the back of the house. Now, I think Laurie Worth is responsible for the fire, but if we’re wrong, then I don’t want anyone messing around our horses, especially Constantine. You know, sometimes it’s good to play it safe.’
‘No, you’re right. If I leave now, I’d probably be back by three,’ Nate said.
‘Sorry to do this to you,’ his father added. ‘I just think it’ll be one thing that we don’t have to worry about.’
Nate got up from the table and carried his plate over to the sink. He turned around and said, ‘I’ll take off now. How do I know which ones to get?’
‘I put one of the empty boxes on the shelf by the back door so I wouldn’t forget,’ Sam said.
‘Great, I’ll get going then,’ Nate said as he gave his dad a wave and headed towards the back door.
Sam sat there for a moment and looked down to where his son had been sitting. Nate’s phone was still on the table. He heard the back door close and after another min
ute or two Nate’s ute firing up. There was still time to tell him that he forgot his phone but instead Sam sat there, finished his coffee and said nothing.
Berry took a few minutes to throw some items into her backpack. She packed a foldable spade she’d found in the shed, a torch, a mini first-aid kit, a sandwich, banana and a bottle of water. She didn’t know how long she’d be gone but she wanted to have some sort of a plan. Grabbing the map, her phone and her sunglasses, she turned and walked out the back door.
The gully that her father had drawn on the map was right up past the far paddock. It was going to take her quite a while to walk there.
Chapter Thirty-seven
In the Gully, 2007
Jordy had been out searching nearly every day for the past two weeks. He had even managed to drag poor old Sam out for one of the expeditions. None had been successful but that hadn’t dampened Jordy’s enthusiasm. He knew the gold was out here, he could almost feel it.
As Jordy half-slid down the bank of the gully wall he stopped his fall by managing to hang onto a ghost gum. The ground tended to give way, leaving the tiny pebbles and rocks to slide down the hill. A smile tugged at his mouth as he launched himself towards the next tree; it was the only way to get to the bottom in one piece.
Once he reached solid ground he wandered over to the shallow creek that meandered along the gully floor. He stood there for a moment and watched the water splash and bubble on its way past. It was summer but the little creek still managed to run. It was peaceful; Jordy could very well stay for the rest of the morning, but he knew that if he did that, there would be hell to pay.
It was Berry’s birthday and she was having a big party later that afternoon. Cath would expect him to be on deck and help out—which he’d be happy to do; it wasn’t every day your daughter turned ten. But this morning something had called to him, just as he opened his eyes before the sun had even risen. He couldn’t explain why, but he had an overpowering urge to come and poke around the gully. He tried to ignore it because he didn’t want to upset Cath, but he couldn’t. So, he snuck out of the house just as the sun was beginning to peep over the distant hill.
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