‘What are you two talking about?’ Josephine demanded.
‘Jose, sometimes you’re not as astute and clever as you think you are.’ Laurent climbed to his feet. ‘I’m for bed, goodnight all.’
Gabriel, startled, said, ‘Wait, don’t you want to know all the details?’
‘No’, with a lift of his hand, ‘I know most of it, but I expect you to keep me fully informed. James’s death is inexcusable.’ And he left the library.
They all sat quietly for a few moments. Mette was the first to speak. ‘We should have known that he would have worked out what we were after. He was always the analytical one, never did let emotion cloud his judgement, and his father was even more astute.’
‘Yes,’ Josephine sighed. ‘Laurent’s father would never leave anything to chance, and although he was a ruthless bastard, he was always scrupulously honest when it came to the succession. He always insisted that it had to be kept pure because so much else in the family wasn’t.’
‘So, where do we go from here?’
He was pacing now and he turned back. ‘There has to be some connection with the book. Otherwise, James’s death doesn’t make sense. Someone planted the idea that there was a potential problem. Where did James get the book? Did he buy it? And from whom?’ He looked at Bede. ‘We need to ring Martin and Hera, see if they can dig up information. A bill of sale perhaps, there has to be some sort of document stating the provenance of the book. It’s obviously a valuable antique.’
Bede looked down at the drink in her hand, still untouched. ‘Well, I do know he often attended the auctions at Christie’s in South Kensington when he was in the UK,’ she said thoughtfully. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a snifter of brandy dangling dangerously from her right hand. She looked up and her lips twisted into a half smile. ‘Gabriel, the easiest thing is to ring Hera, but by my calculations’, she looked at her watch, ‘it’s 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. It’s too early even for you to ring. They won’t appreciate it, especially if you’re going to ask then to scrabble through old files.’
He grinned. ‘Okay, so we all go to bed and sleep on it.’
He held out his hand to pull Bede to her feet. ‘Come on, it’s been a long day. You need your beauty sleep, as do I.’
Bede allowed him to pull her to her feet, putting the untouched glass of brandy on the table.
He turned to his three female relatives still sitting quietly and scowled, ‘And you three need to stop plotting.’ He followed Bede from the room.
The three women sat in silence for a moment, and then all three simultaneously burst into laughter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Surprise at the Homestead
Martin’s cheery greeting reached Hera and Meredith as they were slowly descending the steps.
‘Damian?’ Meredith’s startled exclamation rang across the clearing. She scowled, and with narrowed eyes, watched Damian climb carefully down from the helicopter. ‘Martin, what is going on? And why is Damian here?’ She turned angrily to Hera and demanded, ‘Do you know what this is all about?’
Hera, looking anxious, stopped abruptly and turned back to Meredith. ‘No, I have no idea why Damian is here. Don’t shout at me.’
‘Calm down everyone.’ Martin hurried across the lawn. ‘I need you all to come inside, and I’ll explain everything, but perhaps you could relax a little and smile at Damian. I assure you he hasn’t done anything to warrant this aggression from both of you.’
Hera scowled, drew a deep breath, and massaging the back of her neck with one hand, made a huge effort to relax. She swung around to Damian, and with a frigid smile on her face, ‘Shall we start again? Damian, so good to see you, do come inside and tell us what you have been doing lately.’ She turned back to Martin, and with raised eyebrows, ‘Was that better? Now, perhaps you will come into the house as well and explain.’
Martin strolled up and draped one arm across her shoulders. ‘Much better, and yes, you have every right to be anxious and worried. I will explain everything, but perhaps inside would be wise.’ He turned her casually to look across the lawn to see Pete and another of their workforce leaning against the fence outside their sleeping quarters, quietly smoking, but watching the proceedings with obvious interest.
The helicopter took off just then with a deafening roar, making any more speech impossible.
Meredith was the first to speak. They were all more relaxed now with she and Hera drinking tea, and Martin and Damian holding ice-cold glasses of beer in their hands. ‘Well, Martin, perhaps you would like to explain exactly what’s going on.’ She speared him with her gaze. ‘James asked him to leave, and I’m sure he had a very good reason.’ She turned her cold gaze onto Damian. ‘Why is he back here?’
Damian started to speak, but Martin waved him to silence. ‘Meredith, James asked Damian to leave because he thought Damian has designs on Hera. I don’t think that’s true, but what is true is that James was funding Damian’s research into the medicinal properties of various native Australian plants.’ He held up his hand at Hera’s gasp. ‘Wait, Hera, James continued to fund his research after he dismissed him from here.’ He paused. ‘And he continued up until his death.’
Meredith looked thoughtfully at Martin.
Hera looked across at Damian, and with her mouth compressed into a thin line, ‘Perhaps you, Damian, should tell us why James threw you out.’ She put her cup carefully down into the saucer and looked fixedly at him.
He responded slowly, ‘Hera, what Martin said is true. He was determined to stop any romantic interest that might develop between us. He knew my background, and I think was a little wary of me.’ He looked suddenly uncomfortable. ‘He knew my research was running parallel to you, and I thought maybe he thought I was trying to poach. But nothing could be further from the truth. James was actually helping me by funding some of my research. He knew I was really very short of funds.’ He slumped into the chair.
‘Is that what he found out was that what you were really doing here, poaching, I was trying to help you, you bastard.’ Hera bounded out of her chair and lurched across the room. ‘Did you have something to do with his death? What do you mean he knew your background, are you a murderer?’ Gesticulating wildly, she continued, ‘Get out of this house, now!’ She rounded on Martin.
Martin sprang quickly to intercept her and pulled her into his arms. She was sobbing now and snarled at Damian. She was screaming and struggling in Martin’s arms, and then turned on him. ‘Why did you bring him here? You’re involved in this somehow, aren’t you? You didn’t take long to find him, you knew where he was all the time.’
Martin was trying to hold Hera without hurting her. ‘Hera, calm down, you’ve got it all wrong. Please have some faith in me, and listen to what Damian has to say. Give him a chance, and for Christ’s sake, stop shouting.’
Meredith was on her feet now as well. She, too, was trying to calm Hera down. She took her gently by the shoulders and pulled her into her arms. ‘Quiet,’ she whispered.
Hera continued to struggle and pulled away from Meredith. Then picking up the empty plate previously holding biscuits and started threateningly toward Damian again, shouting. ‘You bastard!’ She was trying to hit him over the head with the plate, screaming at him, while Damian, with his arms up protecting his head, was slowly backing across the room.
Martin was shouting for everyone to calm down. He grabbed Hera and thrust her into a chair, while taking the plate away. ‘Sit down everyone, and I will explain.’ He turned to Hera. ‘For God’s sake, what do you think you’re doing? Damian hasn’t done anything. He didn’t kill James! Think, woman, you’re being hysterical!’ He now turned to Damian. ‘Sit in that chair, and don’t say anything.’ Then turned back to Hera, sobbing quietly. ‘Hera, I don’t know what James was thinking, I don’t know why he was funding Damian, but I’m sure Damian has nothing to do with James’s death.
He had nothing to gain and everything to lose.’ He was exasperated by all this emotional turmoil. ‘Now listen to me, all of you. Damian has had someone stalking him for over a week now, and he has no real idea who it is, or why he’s suddenly become a target for these thugs. He has been attacked twice and managed to escape, but is covered in bruises and needs help, and somewhere to stay for a while. That’s why I brought him here.’
Hera snarled, ‘Tell him to go to the police then, or the hospital. Why bring him here? He’s betrayed us, me, and now it’s obvious Dad has been less than honest with all of us.’ She turned back to Martin and snarled, ‘And who exactly are you? You prick. And why are you defending this thief?’ She next snarled at Damian, sitting quietly in the chair with his head in his hands. ‘You’ve stolen my research, haven’t you, you, you …’ she spluttered into silence.
He surged to his feet. ‘No, I did no such thing!’ He swung around to Martin. ‘I think this was one major mistake. I’m grateful for your help, but I think I’ll leave now.’ He headed for the door.
Martin, in exasperation, held up his hands. ‘Will you all just shut up and let me explain!’ He pointed his finger at Damian. ‘And you, stay where you are. You’re not going anywhere, or you’re likely to end up dead.’ Martin felt he had presented the arguments calmly and coherently, and was stunned by the reaction. He cursed under his breath. He should have been more conscious of the anxiety and stress they had been under over the last weeks and handled the situation better.
Meredith was sitting very quietly and looked thoughtfully and intensely at Damian.
Hera, although very red in the face and shooting angry glances at both Damian and Martin, was no longer threatening Damian with bodily harm.
‘Now, can we be calm everyone, please,’ Martin spoke firmly, but quietly, and indicated the couch and armchair. ‘I’m going to tell you a story, some of which you all know, but it’s relevant and I think important. I’m not sure it has anything to do with James’s death though.’ He paused, looking thoughtfully at the three people facing him then paced slowly to stand in front of the unlit fire.
The two women sat quietly with Meredith holding Hera’s hands in hers, and gently stroking, while Damian looking dejected, sat slumped in the armchair facing them. Martin looked at Meredith first and then turned toward Hera. ‘I’ll start at almost the end of the story. I can’t prove any of this at this point, so it’s all surmise, but I think I’m right. Firstly, I suspect James’s dismissal of Damian wasn’t for the reason you think Hera. I think he had learned somehow that Damian’s past had caught up with him, and he wanted him off the property quickly. I don’t know how he would have known about Damian’s past, but I suspect Gabe. He allowed you to think it was because he didn’t approve of any relationship developing between the two of you, although that could have been part of it.’
‘What truth?’ Meredith asked. ‘I’m starting to think James was much more involved with that side of the Family than he ever allowed any of us to know. But I would have thought he would take some precautions if there was any danger threatening.’
Hera now surged to her feet and started to pace. She could never sit still if agitated, then swung around to glare at Martin. ‘Are you saying now that James’s murder was because of Damian?’ She swung back and glared first at Damian then at Martin. ‘Have you suspected all along what this is about, and the books have nothing to do with it?’
Martin, still exasperated, walked toward Hera. He put his arm around her shoulder and briefly hugged her. ‘No, I’m not saying either of those things. Come on relax a little, will you? This story is about Damian, and in my opinion, has nothing to do with James’s murder.’ He gently led her back to the couch, and she allowed herself to be seated. Martin continued, ‘As you informed me before, Hera, Damian is a brilliant biologist. He has always had an almost uncanny ability to identify the medicinal properties of various plants. You said he was doing research toward his PhD?’ Straightening his shoulders, he looked at Damian and drew a deep breath. ‘Damian, I’m sorry everything has to come out now. It’s too dangerous not to.’ He paused for a moment. ‘I feel sure once they hear the full story, they will keep your secrets. I don’t think they really want you dead.’
Damian, still slumped dejectedly in the chair with his head in his hands, looked up; and with a small gesture of his hand, urges Martin to continue.
‘In fact, Damian already has a PhD from Charles University in Prague under his real name.’ Hera gasped, sat up, and looked across at Damian in astonishment. Martin continued, ‘A PhD he finished when he just turned twenty, but because of a rather silly, immature, and dangerous prank he and some of his friends pulled immediately after graduation, he had to disappear totally.’ He looked across at Damian, sitting quietly now with a resigned expression on his face. ‘It was really stupid because it involved the Czech Mafia, and a great deal of money.’ Martin paused again, frowned as if in thought, then continued, ‘Fortunately for Damian, Gabe and I were in Prague at that time, and we heard about the scam. To be honest, we were impressed, but knew there would be some substantial fall out.’ He looked at Meredith. ‘Lucien was also involved, but not directly,’ he shrugged. ‘You know Lucien, involved to some degree, but not technically Mafia.’ He turned back to Damian and smiled. ‘Neither Gabe nor I had met Damian at that point, but as I said, we had heard some of the details. That night, we had been out to dinner with Justin, and were walking back to our hotel when we heard screams and a loud splash. Gabe and I between us managed to pull him out of the Vltava. He had been thrown from Charles Bridge by some very irate Czech thugs. He had been badly beaten, was almost unconscious, and bleeding from a nasty head wound. We took him to a discrete doctor we knew, and later helped him disappear. Both Gabe and I kept in touch, mostly, but over the last couple of years, we lost touch. Neither of us knew he was in Australia, let alone here on the West Coast.’
Meredith was looking at Damian thoughtfully now, and Hera was visibly startled. ‘So you’re some kind of genius.’
Damian just curled his lips and didn’t answer immediately. He stood up. ‘I think I should tell you the rest of the story. We, my friends and I, were really stupid. We pissed off a rather nasty gangster, and he is a ruthless bastard. He had one of my friends killed the same night they beat me up. They hadn’t expected me to survive, so although I thought I had just set myself up for a life of ease working for one of the drug companies, doing the research I loved, I was now about to be killed by one of the most devious criminals in Europe.’ He drew a long breath and continued, ‘Being pulled out of the river by Gabe and Martin was the luckiest thing to happen to me. They had the contacts and the resources to help me disappear. They set me up with a new identity.’ He made a sweeping wave of one hand down his body and continued, ‘But I couldn’t use my academic credentials. They did manage an undergraduate degree from Charles for me in my assumed name, but even that was dodgy. In a word, I had to start again, I had to get out of the Czech Republic, and be very careful to not shine above the radar. I eventually enrolled at Comenius University in Bratislava for a master’s then used that to come to Australia to do another PhD at Curtin. I just wanted the facilities really, and to be able to finally settled down. I thought Australia was far enough away from the past to be safe.’ He looked across at Martin. ‘I had no idea really how hard it is to really disappear. The past is always there like a bad smell.’ He looked tired.
Martin now took up the tale. ‘That’s the bones of it. James knew the story because he and Gabe have’, he paused and looked with compassion at Hera for a moment, then continued, ‘have a really good relationship, and in the last few years, he stayed with Gabe whenever he was in London.’
Hera was sitting upright and quivering. ‘Just how well did you and Gabriel know my father?’ she demanded. She looked across at Meredith. ‘And did you know any of this?’
Meredith was slumped slight in her chair. She drew a l
ong and painful breath before she answered. ‘No, Hera, I knew nothing of any of this. I suspected James kept in touch with some of the family, but I had no idea with whom exactly. He made it clear particularly in the last few years that it was best if I didn’t enquire too closely. He wanted to make sure you and Bede were protected from any of the family machinations as much as possible.’
Martin cleared his throat. ‘We both knew your father really well, and as I said, especially Gabe, but he never mentioned anything about either you or Bede. He made it clear that you both were to be kept far away from the family. But because of that connection, we were stunned by Laurent’s apparent lack of interest in James’s death.’
They all sat quietly for several moments, each sunk in their own thoughts. Finally, Hera lifted her head and looked across at Damian. ‘So you’re being chased by these Czechoslovakian gangsters, is that it?’
Damian shrugged and glanced across at Martin. ‘I don’t know who they are, but I don’t think they’re Czech. I’d guess Russian, if anything.’ And with a curl of his lips, ‘And one of them is definitely a cowardly Pom.’ He touched the bruise on his left cheekbone.
Hera suddenly grinned. ‘You have absorbed enough of the Oze’s distaste for our English cousins, I see.’
Damian grinned sickly and shrugged. ‘So, what do we do now?’
Meredith stood up. ‘I think we need some time out. This has all been a bit too emotional for me. I’ll go and see Mrs Robertson. We should have something to eat, an early dinner is in order I think, then afterward, we can sit down calmly and try to make some sense out of this chaos.’
Hera sank more deeply into the chair, Martin wandered across the room to the window, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, while Damian’s head fell tiredly against the back of the chair.
‘Meredith’s right,’ Martin said from the window. ‘We have been reacting instead of being proactive. Finding you, possibly involved with this, has thrown me a little, and I’ve allowed myself to be sidetracked.’ He turned back to Hera. ‘We need to be calm and think this through. We’ll leave it until after dinner.’ He turned to Damian. ‘You probably haven’t eaten properly for a while now.’
A Conundrum Page 15