Catriona soothed Rosa and watched him go. He would find his own way of dealing with the horror of what she’d told him, he was strong like his grandmother, and Poppy’s genetic heritage would see him through.
Belinda and Harriet rushed to her, enfolding her in their arms, their embraces telling her more than any words. She kissed them both, then gave Rosa her handkerchief and ran her fingers lightly over the short, spiky hair. The love she had for all three girls was so powerful it was almost overwhelming.
Once calm had been restored, she sat down and turned to Tom. ‘There you have it, Tom,’ she said softly. ‘Not a pretty tale, is it?’
‘Catriona, there are no words to express how I feel about what you must have gone through.’ Tom had moved to make way for Rosa on the couch; now he was standing by the fireplace, his expression oddly out of kilter with his words. ‘And of course there will be no charges brought against you for the murder of Kane.’
‘I should think not,’ she retorted, her spirits revived.
‘But I have a problem, Catriona.’ He shuffled his feet, glanced at Belinda and looked down at his boots.
‘Well, spit it out, man,’ she snapped. ‘I want to finish this and get on with the rest of my life.’
‘Catriona,’ he began. ‘When I telephoned you a few days ago, you seemed to know exactly why I needed to come and talk to you. You knew there had been a murder up in Atherton, and that the body had been discovered during the renovations.’
Catriona’s patience was wearing thin. ‘Yes,’ she hissed. ‘And I’ve told you exactly what happened and where it was buried. I don’t see your problem.’
‘It wasn’t Kane’s body we found,’ he said into the silence.
Chapter Twenty-Six
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ snapped Catriona as she shot to her feet and glared at him. ‘Of course it was Kane.’
He shook his head, his expression regretful. ‘I’m sorry, Catriona. The body we found had been hidden behind a false wall in the cellar. The airtight conditions meant the body was well preserved, almost mummified. The victim showed no sign of being bludgeoned to death.’ He swallowed and took a breath. ‘In fact,’ he went on, ‘he’d been strangled by a wire noose.’
Catriona winced at the graphic image those words conjured up. ‘But I don’t understand,’ she whispered. ‘Who could it …?’ Her words tailed off as a dreadful suspicion dawned.
Tom reached into his pocket and drew out the small plastic evidence bag. ‘We found this in one of his pockets,’ he said softly.
Catriona’s mind went blank. The necklace was a perfect replica of the one she always wore. She sank back into her seat, her gaze fixed on it. ‘Demetri didn’t desert me after all,’ she breathed. ‘He was there all the time.’ She reached out and felt the ring’s warmth in the palm of her hand, closed her fingers around it and held it tightly. She had no fears for where they’d found it, no aversion to touching this memento of the past, just a deep sorrow that he’d met such an end. ‘Where is he now?’ she asked, her voice breaking with emotion.
Tom squatted in front of her, his warm hands covering her fingers, his expressive face full of kindness. ‘He’s in the morgue in Cairns,’ he said softly. ‘We were unable to positively identify him, and although the autopsy gave us the time and method of his murder, we had only suspicions to work with. My grandfather’s original missing persons report has been a part of our family history for three generations, and when this body was found, I realised only you could have the answers.’
She stared back at him. ‘So you didn’t know about Kane?’ she breathed.
He shook his head. ‘I had a body, that’s all. I didn’t know who it was, but had my suspicions it was probably Demetri Yvchenkov. After doing a lot of research, I finally realised you were the only one still alive from those days.’
She shook off his hands and stood. ‘You should have said,’ she snapped. ‘You should have made it clear as to where you’d found this body.’
His face flushed scarlet. ‘When I first talked to you on the phone,’ he reminded her, ‘you said you knew why I wanted to speak to you, and didn’t deny your knowledge of the unidentified body we’d found. As you could only have been a child at the time of the murder, I never suspected you could have been involved. And because I’ve always admired you, and wanted to cause you as little embarrassment as possible, I thought it best to come out here and let you tell me about the events in your own way.’
‘So you let me dig a big hole for myself and watched me fall right into it.’ Catriona snapped. She was furious, the heat rising in her face as she glared at him. ‘I didn’t have to expose my family to all this, didn’t have to tell you anything about Kane’s murder, did I? All this soul-searching and heartache was for nothing.’
He sighed, shamefaced as he dug his hands in his pockets. ‘Believe me, Catriona, I had no idea we’d been talking at cross-purposes. You seemed so sure of your ground, so certain you knew the identity of the victim and the manner of his death. How could I have known you were describing a different murder altogether?’
Catriona’s glare faltered and she finally looked away. ‘You’re right,’ she muttered. ‘I took it into my head you’d found Kane, and although I didn’t want to rake up all those awful memories, I suppose I should thank you for setting me free.’
‘I don’t understand,’ he replied.
She looked back at him. ‘I’ve already served a life-sentence for that man’s murder,’ she said coldly. ‘There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought about what my mother and I did all those years ago. But retelling the tale has freed me, has given me a new lease of life. I’ve finally managed to bury him in here.’ She tapped her head. ‘He’s gone. He doesn’t have the power to hurt me any more.’
‘At least some good has come out of this,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Catriona. I never meant to cause you such pain.’
‘I know you didn’t,’ she said as she dredged up a smile. ‘But if you’d told me about the necklace right from the start, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now.’ She cocked her head. ‘Why didn’t you?’
He licked his lips and fidgeted, the toe of his shoes nudging at the carpet. ‘There was a cock-up,’ he admitted. ‘When the paperwork was sent down to me, the necklace wasn’t with it. I phoned one of my colleagues up there, and he told me the evidence bag had somehow become separated from the rest of the stuff and no one could find it.’
Catriona stared at him, and he couldn’t quite meet her eye.
‘The man was snowed under with work and had given the file to a rookie cop who got it muddled up with several others they’d been working on at the time.’ He stared at a spot somewhere over her shoulder. ‘It was found in amongst the last effects of another murder victim. Luckily the victim’s husband was honest enough to point out it didn’t belong to her.’
Catriona’s expression was grim as she looked at Rosa. ‘Aren’t our policemen wonderful?’ she said with deep irony. ‘One can always count on them to make a mess of things.’
‘Fair go, Catriona,’ blustered Tom.
‘Never mind all that,’ she said sharply. ‘I want to know what you’ve done about solving Demetri’s murder.’
‘From what you’ve told us, I can only hazard an educated guess,’ he said as he glanced across at Belinda. ‘I reckon he suspected Kane was up to something, probably not the abuse. I think he would have acted swiftly by calling in the cops, if he’d thought you were in danger. Kane knew the man was capable of killing him if he found out what he was up to. He was probably terrified you’d tell him what had been going on, which was why he tried so hard to break up the friendship.’
‘If Demetri even suspected what kind of man Kane was, then why didn’t he look after me properly? Why didn’t he say anything to me or to Mam?’
Tom shrugged. ‘Who knows?’ he sighed. ‘It’s an emotive subject and not one easily discussed with a young girl who might not even understand what he’s trying to say. He w
as an uneducated stranger in a strange land, whose family had been wiped out in the Russian pogroms. Then you came along, reminding him of the daughter he’d lost. He grew very fond of you, and protective. Perhaps he thought Kane wouldn’t dare do anything to hurt you if he knew Demetri had taken you under his wing.’
‘But Kane was already abusing me and wasn’t willing to take the chance I wouldn’t tell Demetri,’ said Catriona as she picked up the threads of his supposition. ‘He was growing impatient, wanting to take the abuse further. Demetri had to go.’
‘It’s ironic,’ said Tom softly. ‘From what you’ve told us, you gave no real clue to anyone about what was already happening. Kane had manipulated you too well, so he was probably going to get away with it anyway.’
Catriona nodded. ‘He made me feel as if I was the guilty one. That it was me who’d led him on and encouraged him. It took me years to realise that of course I wasn’t, but at the time I thought I could make people see what was happening by being rude and disobedient and moody.’ Her smile was sad. ‘Silly really, because nobody took a blind bit of notice until it was too late.’ She slipped the necklace over her head and felt its weight. ‘I want Demetri to have a decent funeral, Tom. Will you make the arrangements for me?’
He nodded. ‘Of course. Do you want to attend the service?’
Catriona thought about it. ‘No,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll always remember him, and grieve for his passing, but the dead should bury the dead, the future is what matters now.’ She smiled up at him. ‘What of my future, Tom?’
‘The case will be closed. Demetri has been identified and his death will be judged to have been by person or persons unknown. We have no proof Kane did it, despite our suspicions.’ He let out a long, slow breath as if he’d been holding it for too long. ‘We’ll have to dig up the ground under the shed, and bag and tag any remains we find. But I doubt there’ll be much left after you poured acid all over the body.’
‘Will I face charges for his murder?’ She eyed him keenly, watching the different emotions flitting across his eyes.
He shook his head. ‘Your mother killed him and she’s dead. You were a child at the time and although it could be argued you aided and abetted in the concealment of his body, I’m going to make sure your name stays out of this.’
‘And how will you do that? Surely it would be bending the truth?’
‘Probably,’ he said, and grinned as he and Belinda exchanged a conspiratorial glance. ‘But then only the people in this room know why the murders took place, and we’re not telling anyone – are you?’
She grinned back. ‘You’re a naughty boy,’ she teased. ‘But I’m not totally convinced. What about that little tape-recorder you’ve been using all day? It must all be in there.’
He reached out and eyed it with mock regret. ‘Do you know?’ he breathed. ‘I do believe I forgot to switch it back on when I changed the tape and the batteries.’
*
After a short conversation with Tom, Belinda wandered across the yard in search of Connor. Her thoughts were still mired in the story she’d heard today, and she knew Connor would be suffering. As she stood by the railings and looked out at the land, she sighed. Catriona’s story wasn’t unusual; she’d heard versions of it before when she was working in the Child Protection Team. Yet those tales never failed to affect her deeply, and she knew she would have nightmares over the next few days. There was something dark about working with child victims, something that made her feel dirty and ashamed of being a part of the human race. Yet she knew she’d been part of the support system for those children; the one person who listened, the only person who had the power to make it stop. It was a gruelling and often frustrating task, and she’d discovered there was only so much she could take, which was the reason she’d applied for a transfer into the drug squad. Drug-dealers were easier to stomach than perverts.
‘Are you staying on at Belvedere for a while?’ asked Connor as he came to stand beside her.
‘Just for tonight,’ she replied. ‘Tom and I will be going up to Cairns tomorrow to tie up the loose ends and finish the paperwork involved. Then it’s back to Brisbane for a debriefing by the boss.’
‘Oh.’
It was a small word, but Belinda could hear the emotion behind it. She had waited so long for some sign that he might actually miss her if she went away again, and she knew she could no more walk away from this man than fly to the moon. She needed to tell him so many things but how to find the right words? She’d never been very good at hiding her emotions and often went off the deep-end without thinking, but this was too important to mess up.
As they stood in the sultry heat of the late afternoon, Connor kept glancing across at her, and Belinda knew from his demeanour that, like her, he was just as frantically trying to find something to say that would prolong this conversation. They were so engrossed in their thoughts they didn’t hear Catriona come up behind them.
‘For goodness sake, you two, don’t stand about looking halfwitted. If you’ve got something to say to each other then get on with it.’ She kissed Belinda and gave her a hug before turning to Connor. ‘It isn’t as if you’re strangers,’ she said with asperity. ‘And if I was Belinda, I’d give you a boot up the backside for being so slow on the bloody uptake.’
Connor and Belinda watched as she strode away. He turned back to Belinda, his eyes speaking volumes. Belinda slipped her hand into his and felt her pulse do a hop, skip and jump. ‘I don’t have to leave yet,’ she said, her voice unsteady. ‘And I’ll be back for a visit very soon.’
‘When?’ His eagerness was clear in the hope that sprung so brightly in his face.
‘Soon,’ she promised. She licked her lips. ‘Look, Connor,’ she began. ‘I know I said some pretty stupid things in the past. And I know I was a pain in the bum when I was a kid, so I wouldn’t blame you if you never really wanted to see me again, but …’
He put his finger against her lips to stem the flow of words. ‘No worries,’ he murmured. ‘We were kids back then. It’s different now.’
She closed her eyes for an instant, revelling in the touch of his finger on her mouth as she swayed towards him. Her breath was ragged as she spoke again. ‘You blow me away, Connor,’ she confessed. ‘You bring out feelings in me I never suspected were possible, and that scares me.’ She looked up at him then and saw such tenderness in his expression it made her want to cry with joy. ‘Do you think you could possibly feel the same way?’ she whispered.
‘I reckon you’ve finally worn me down,’ he replied with a twinkle of humour in his eye. ‘But you live in Brisbane and I’m here, so how do you think we’ll ever find a way of seeing if this will work?’
‘We’ll sort something out,’ she murmured as they drew closer. ‘Now will you please stop talking and kiss me?’
His lips were demanding as they captured her mouth. His arms pulled her close, so close she could feel the drum of his heartbeat against her chest, and in that single moment she realised the dream she’d held since she was six. It wouldn’t be long before she left the city behind and returned to Belvedere for good, for this was the man she adored, the man she was determined to make her own.
*
Catriona had wandered down to the Coolibah tree. She needed some time to herself, so she could digest the outcome of today’s dramas, and put them in perspective. She was deep in thought when she caught a glimpse of Harriet through the trees. She was carrying her case as she ran down the steps and slammed into the car.
Catriona was about to call out, when the car roared off down the track. Where the hell was the girl going? And why take a case? Was she leaving without saying goodbye? She bit her lip as she stood there uncertain of what to do. There was no sign of Rosa, and she wondered if perhaps the girls had fallen out over something. It could be the only explanation for such a hasty departure.
Deciding to play it cool, she slowly walked back to the house. There had been enough dramas for one day, and she didn’t intend
to spark off another. ‘It’s amazing what a day of drama will bring about,’ she said as she slammed into the hallway and kicked off her boots. ‘Connor and Belinda have finally realised they’re in love.’
Rosa was furiously smoking a cigarette as she banged pots and pans and crashed cutlery in the sink. ‘It’s about time Connor showed some sense,’ she snapped. ‘He was in danger of becoming an old woman.’
‘Nothing wrong with being an old woman,’ retorted Catriona. ‘You wait. You’ll be one some day.’ She folded her arms and eyed Rosa who was obviously in a terrible temper.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked calmly.
‘Nothing,’ snapped Rosa.
Catriona eyed her for a long moment. ‘You know, Rosa. You can be extremely irritating at times. Leave that and tell me why Harriet has just stormed off and you look as if you’re about to explode.’
Rosa turned from the sink. ‘She had to get back to Sydney,’ she snapped.
‘Why?’
Rosa ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. ‘Beats me,’ she muttered as she stubbed out her cigarette and lit another one.
Catriona’s mouth twitched as the girl glared back at her. Rosa was incapable of carrying on the charade for very long. She would soon tell her everything, she always did.
As the silence grew, Rosa gave in. ‘OK, OK,’ she said, lifting her hands in submission. ‘Harriet and I had a fight. We both decided it would be best if she left and gave us both some space.’ She dropped ash on the floor and smeared it into the wood with her boot. ‘Besides,’ she said with studied nonchalance. ‘She has things to sort out in Sydney that can’t wait.’
Catriona dipped her chin. She was beginning to understand. ‘Really?’ she murmured. ‘And I suppose you wouldn’t have any idea what these “things” might be?’
‘I couldn’t say,’ replied Rosa, avoiding her gaze. ‘Harriet’s affairs are none of my business.’
Dreamscapes Page 46