While we are flying to Canada, Kevin Rudd arrives in Bundaberg. A friend of Nige’s has called Mum and Dad to tell them that he is there to open a new museum, the Hinkler Hall of Aviation. Dad has the flu and in typical Oz-male style is dying on the couch, but he thinks it’s a good idea for Mum to go in to ask him exactly what he is (or is not) doing about Nige.
Kel has nominated a code word that Matt can send us via text to signal an emergency at his end. The code word is ‘Hadyn’. It was always a bad-news word when we were growing up. All our parents’ fights revolved around this brother of Dad’s. When we turn our phones back on in the Los Angeles terminal, messages pour in. Kel’s message bank has a sparrow-tweet ring tone. There is a flock of sparrows going off. Matt’s first message is ‘Oh Hadyn, Mum has kidnapped the PM.’
We can’t get into the transfer lounge quickly enough to open Kel’s laptop to see what is going on.
Kel and I watch a video of the interview. Kevin Rudd doesn’t even know Nigel’s name; he keeps saying ‘this Australian’. How bad must his advisors be? Bundaberg is a marginal seat and they should have informed Ruddy that it’s a prominent local issue. There is an article about Nigel every day in the local rag. ‘Inept’ barely covers it. Schmucks. Yes, I like that more. I like the way saliva sprays out on the sch sound if you yell it loud enough. Be warned, if you do this, people will, and do, look at you sideways.
Kellie
Vancouver
Friday, 24-Sunday, 26 July
We land in Vancouver on Friday morning and are driven by bus from the airport to the hotel. Our accommodation, along with Jon and Lorinda’s, has generously been organised by Aunt Alison. I’m hoping, though, that this isn’t part of a plot to get Jon and Lorinda to side with her. Alison is convinced that the Canadian government can get Nige and Amanda out with her extra money added to the pile. Nic and I know that there is no way this is possible; the Australian government has told us this on quite a few occasions, we even have it in writing, but Alison is determined to prove us wrong. We’re hopeful we can change her mind: after a few rounds in the ring with DFAT and the AFP, Nic and I have learned a thing or two about persuasion.
We meet up with Alison on Friday afternoon and have an in-depth discussion with her regarding what we would like to hear from the Canadian government. We also ask Alison if she’ll pull her money if we go with a private negotiator. This is a delicate issue. She assures us the money will remain regardless of who we go with, but she would like the RCMP to explain its stance and state how they can help us before we make any decisions. Nic and I both agree, knowing full well the Canadian government is as hamstrung as its Australian counterpart.
There is no way in hell this meeting will sway us, so Nic and I decide that when we meet Jon and Lorinda, we need to let them know that we’ve got the okay to go private and Ally’s money will still be available for us to use. If John Chase is any good at what he does, he should be able to convince Aunty Alison to go private as well.
Vancouver is a beautiful city. It’s right on the water, with giant mountains behind it. It has beautiful Stanley Park that goes from one side of the city to the other, bordering the bustling harbour. It’s a shame we are here for such a short time as I would love the chance to explore. I’ll have to come back here with the family. This time, though, it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it.
Jon and Lorinda arrive on Saturday and we all get along really well. Not that I didn’t think we would. They are very nice people and we have a lot in common. We head out for dinner to get a chance to know each other properly, away from the Nigel—Amanda connection. Jon loves Vancouver and keeps Nic and me informed at each street corner about the history of this part of the city or the significance of that building. It’s nice to talk about something other than what’s bubbling under the surface.
It’s Sunday and time for Alison, the Canadian family and us to meet with the RCMP. The night before, after dinner, Nic and I went through all the questions we needed answered. At the top of our list was: are you, the RCMP, able to get Nige and Amanda out with the extra money on the table? Nic and I already know the answer to this. Now we just need to hear it from them.
On the wall in the foyer of the RCMP building is a giant bison’s head. Really huge. This makes me giggle and I take a photo of it.
We are ushered into a large conference room with us, the families, on one side and them, the RCMP, on the other. We are informed that DFAIT is a no-show. I find this hard to comprehend as we will be discussing a Canadian citizen’s fate.
I also find it difficult not to slap the table and shout ‘I told you so’ when the RCMP disclose to the Canadian family that they can no longer help them, or us. What stops me is the look of shock on Jon and Lorinda’s faces. Their biblical faith has been shattered. I feel sorry for them but this is what we’ve been trying to tell them was coming for months. Something stirs inside me; I don’t know what it is called, but it sets me plotting. I can see the vulnerability of Jon and Lorinda and I know if I’m clever about it, I can talk them into going private without being heavy handed. I will be using the susceptibility of two parents, who want nothing more than to get their daughter back, to do things the way we want. Yes, I guess you could say I was about to railroad my first set of Canadians, but that’s what I am here for.
Nic and I have two more days to convince the Canadian family that one, we all need to start actively raising money for Nige and Amanda’s release; two, we need to go private; and three, that John Chase is the man to help us do it.
Tuesday, 28 July
I am pleased that Alison isn’t with us for today’s meeting with John Chase. I don’t want money to be the deciding factor. If it’s going to happen, it has to be on his merits. Truth be told, I’d already pinned my hopes on him before I arrived in Canada, but today will be the real test.
I have heard a lot about John through Nic. I Googled him before I left home, but even in a world where everything feels tracked he only came up as an author of a paper on security, and he didn’t feature in any recent news. I couldn’t find a photo of him online either, and so I’m taken aback when I walk into the room.
He stands to greet us. John is about 5 foot 10; he has an English mother and a Chinese father, and he’s very handsome. He is not what I was expecting, but I’m not sure what I was expecting. If I wanted James Bond, then he isn’t far from the mark; he has that same air of sophistication and comes across as quite suave – and did I mention he was handsome? – but a buffed, ripped SAS soldier-type he is not.
John welcomes us and says how sorry he is that we have found ourselves in this position. He then tells us he has seen many families in this same situation and reassures us that there is always a happy ending.
My eyes start to water, and I try to hide my face just as John slides a box of tissues towards me. I am thankful that I am not the only person who needs them. This man is the light at the end of the tunnel; he is the knight in shining armour we have all been waiting for. He continues to tell us about cases he has been involved with and how the process is done.
John starts to explain to us how we – meaning Jon, Lorinda, Nic and I – would go about getting Nigel and Amanda out. We’d need to set up a Crisis Management Team, known as a CMT. John asks if we’d all be comfortable as members. I turn to Nic and tell her that she doesn’t need to include me on this; if she wants someone else by her side, like Simon, Ham or even Ange, I’d be completely okay with that. I don’t want her to say yes just because I am here with her.
‘No, I want you. You are more level-headed and you don’t have a temper, and the Canadians would never work with Ham.’ John agrees with Nic. Ham is too much of a hot head for this to work. She can’t work with Simon as it would be too difficult on their kids if both parents were involved. So I am the logical choice.
Okay, I think, selfishness starting to kick in, how the hell am I going to do this? I have a business to run. I am the only breadwinner. I have three children to look after. How am
I going to find the time and energy to do this as well? Snap out of it, Kellie. Nicky needs you, Nigel needs you, and Matt, your wonderful husband, who is at home taking care of our three children is unable to help his brother and sister so you need to suck it up, girlfriend, and do this.
The idea of working side by side with Nic takes a while to get my head around. Nic devotes every day to getting Nigel out. I only think about it every day and do what Nic asks of me. I was actually comfortable living away from Bundaberg away from the action as it allowed a bit of normal life to seep into the house, but now I am on the frontline, and it’s freaking me out a little. The role is both empowering and nerve-racking.
Each day the CMT would meet via Skype and take guidance from John as to how to take the next step. It feels very DIY, very simple. We ask John about intel and how we would get it. He then says something that floors me: intel about where Amanda and Nigel are, which clan the HTs are part of and all the crap we have been going over endlessly with the AFP and DFAT is bullshit, and we don’t need it. All we need is a point of contact, someone who can provide a POL for Nigel and Amanda, and to start a dialogue with them. Intel is only important at the end when we are about to exchange the money for the hostages.
John walks us through a document that describes the mechanics of a kidnapping. All security companies use this chart. He explains that kidnapping is all about money and as long as we look at it as a business transaction, everything will be fine. It all makes perfect sense, yet I am still mystified why his method is so different to the AFP’s.
Nicky
Vancouver
Tuesday, 28 July
Despite our differences, and there are many, we get on well with Jon and Lorinda. I know they want Amanda home as much as we do Nigel. As savvy as they tell me Amanda is, I keep coming back to the fact she is in a radicalised Muslim country so she is persona non grata. It makes me feel both relieved and guilty that Nige might be better off simply because he has a dick.
The meeting with John Chase blows us all away. He is straightforward and clear in a way that the government never was.
He suggests we set up a Crisis Management Team. This team will decide how we progress at every stage. If we choose to use his services, John will tutor us but he won’t make any phone calls, and all decisions will have to be made jointly by the CMT. The question of who should be on the team comes up. Normally family members are not on the CMT as John regards them as being too emotionally involved for what is essentially a cut-and-dried business transaction. But in this instance, John is convinced we can do it.
I’ve got history with Adan, and Kel is my perfect back-up as she’s got great skills when it comes to getting people to see things from another perspective; after all, she specialises in managing bridezillas.
Lorinda wants to bring in someone else as a sounding board, Kelly, a girlfriend of Amanda’s. Now we’ve got two Kellies and two Johns, so one becomes Kel and the other Kelly B, along with Jon and JC. Oh man, we’ll give him a messiah complex.
‘Under normal circumstances we have found that the average land-based kidnapping in Somalia is ninety days,’ JC tells us.
‘No fucking way!’ I exclaim. My language, already bad, has completely crawled into the gutter and remained there since the start of this ordeal. I hope this lot can cope with it. ‘This has been going on for eleven month.’
‘This may take a bit longer as we don’t know who has offered what and I can’t imagine either government will forward on any of their case-study notes.’ JC explains to us that even when someone is disgruntled with one company and chooses to go elsewhere, the first company is obliged to pass on all the information pertaining to that case. The government’s preoccupation with security clearances will put the kybosh on this.
So it’s going to be like starting from scratch. The day we decide to formally engage AKE will effectively be day one.
The next big-ticket item we discuss is who has helped us to get a proof of life. As far as both Lorinda and I know, it has only been Adan.
‘In 99 per cent of cases the first person to make contact in a kidnapping is the person in charge,’ JC says.
‘But the governments have written Adan off. That’s why our phone was pulled. They said he had no influence,’ I say.
‘Seeing as Adan is the only person who has supplied a POL and he was first contact for both Nigel and Amanda, statistics indicate he is the guy to get back in contact with.’ I’m convinced.
JC then does the cleverest thing. He brings in the parents of Mellissa Fung, who was kidnapped in Afghanistan, to meet us all. They are softly spoken Hong Kong-Canadians, yet this ordeal has given them such strength. I’m pretty sure JC gets a Christmas card from these good folks. They tell us John gave them a time line of how kidnapping cases usually play out, and events unfolded exactly as he had predicted. They are scathing about how their government treated them and the RCMP doesn’t get off scot-free.
The biggest thing for all of us is being able to ask how their daughter coped. Talking to someone who has gone through the same ordeal makes me so much more confident. Nige and Amanda are going to get out, and we are going to have our families back together again.
Later on Kel spends a fair bit of time chatting with Kelly. She tries to get some answers in regards to one of the questions we’ve asked ourselves since this happened. Did Nige meet up with Amanda to get his leg over? After all, they have a history and there is the lingering thought that this may have been the case. If so, I hope that shag was worth it ’ cause it’s been nothing but trouble for the rest of us. Kelly tells Kel that Amanda sent her an email saying there was nothing going on – she hadn’t even shaved her legs.
Tuesday, 28 July
Day # 340
We catch up with JC before Kel and I leave to come home. We discuss the matter of costs. It’s pretty formidable. Thirty-five grand a fortnight. We have to be really careful; we can’t afford to eat into our ransom money. JC can massage the figures for a little bit while he is not on location, but as soon as he is working exclusively on this, it’s going to be expensive. We are clearly going to need more money.
This is the last day we recognise the Australian government as being in control of this case. Nigel has been incarcerated now for 340 days.
Wednesday, 29 July
Case Day 340+1
We have officially taken the reins. Kel and I restrain ourselves from high-fiving each other till we get to the airport. Then we let rip. We did it!
This is what we call Day One. Now we add the days that we are with AKE to the 340 days the government was involved. It makes it so much easier for our case-day chart.
It’s a blessing to have case-day and communication charts. We’ll be able to follow the progress and not be completely in the dark as we were with the government. Not wanting to sound like a patchouli-wearing, crystal-worshiping age of Aquarius child, I don’t voice it, but this DIY thing is definitely empowering.
Vancouver is beautiful, I think as we are flying out. It’s very like Sydney and we have been lucky with the weather. We’re in a heatwave apparently – it’s 34 degrees (hardly the same as a summer’s day at Marlow). Kel and I consider Jon’s health. The heat really knocked him for six. He looked like he was going to pass out whenever we were outside. Lorinda told us that it was his morphine intake. He uses it for the pain and it’s one of the reasons they have some communication difficulties and why she wanted Kelly on board. The family politics at play here are interesting to say the least and make me feel quite okay about our craziness at home.
I reckon I’ve reached a new personal best while I’ve been here: eating my body weight in raspberries at Granville Island. Mum is so jealous when I call to tell her. It’s very mean of me to do so – fresh raspberries just don’t exist in Bundy. One day, when we have money again, I’m bringing the kids here. I refused to go to the zoo as they have otters there, and they are Atti’s favourite animal. It would have been just too unfair to see them without him.
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Thursday, 30 July
As we walk through the doors into the arrivals lounge, Kel’s three kids burst through the international barrier, screaming ‘Mummy!’ at the top of their lungs and jump all over us. It’s so good to see them.
We hit the ground running. No time for jet lag. We’re old hands at running on empty – harvest, the Dungog Film Festival – so we just keep going till the job’s finished. We spend the day prepping for a catering gig of Kel’s in Newcastle, and hang about for a few hours there till it’s well under way. Then Matt, Kel and I drive up to Grafton for Ham’s fortieth birthday party the next day.
There is already a house full of people when we get there at midnight. Everyone’s warming up for the main event the next evening. Oh, boy, it’s going to be a long piss-fuelled couple of days.
AUGUST 2009
Keep calm and carry on
Nicky
Grafton
Saturday, 1 August
Ham’s party is huge and gets wilder as day moves into night. The Australian Story crew is here for the kick-off but luckily leave before it all gets too debauched. They do a couple of stints filming Kel and me out in the paddock while we swat away flies and talk about the Canada trip. It pre-empts our family discussion about AKE but it’s a measure of how comfortable we feel with Kris and the boys.
Ham has declared his party a ‘Blackie-free zone’, but Nigel’s absence is massive – it’s the elephant in the room. This is meant to be Ham’s day, but we are surrounded by people who love Nige and miss him, and so invariably talk gravitates towards that topic.
It’s cold, and we all stand around a massive bonfire made from building off-cuts. Throughout this saga, Ham and Amy have also been building their house. We are out the front of Ham’s property, overlooking the butter-smooth Clarence River, the big sky above us salted with stars. The scene is quintessentially Oz, bordering on B&S – we’ve had about thirty-seven drinks each.
The Price of Life Page 27