‘Please, can we return to you not coming to see us? I really need to know why!’
Tears shimmered in her eyes, turning his insides to mush. He would give anything not to have caused his child the pain of bad-mouthing her mother. Twisting the truth would do to save her reputation. ‘Harry, your mother and I thought you’d become confused by having me popping in and out of your lives, and I needed to go away and work. I was in the UK police force and only came back a couple of years ago to Cairns. I’ve been down here for two weeks. Marli, you and Brittany were always in my heart. I never missed sending you both birthday and Christmas presents.’
He didn’t mention the child support payments which he’d never reneged on and which Susan said she’d banked for the girls.
She wiped her eyes with her napkin and glared at him. ‘That’s not what Mum said. She couldn’t understand why you didn’t come, and we didn’t get birthday or Christmas presents from you after we turned six.’
David gaped at her. ‘What? I don’t understand.’ He cast through his mind, trying to remember where he’d been when his daughters were six. He couldn’t remember, so latched onto a present he’d sent for a recent birthday. ‘I sent two hand-painted mugs to you for your last birthday. Do you remember?’
‘No. We never got any mugs. What was painted on them?’
‘Er, rats actually.’ It seemed such a childish present now he was looking at a young woman, not the little girl he’d pictured her as.
‘I’ve had pet rats since I was eight! I have two of them now, back at the farm!’ Her dad liked rats? She gazed at him, momentarily diverted from her purpose.
David frowned. ‘Perhaps they got broken in the mail and your mother didn’t tell you?’ He was trying hard to find a reason for the non-appearance of that particular parcel, and deep down, relieved that she didn’t appear to think the present was childish.
‘No. I overheard dad–Harry–saying to mum that the bas–you’d forgotten us again.’ She caught her breath, hoping he’d not realised what she’d almost repeated.
‘Marli, I sent those mugs by registered mail. I’d have been notified if they hadn’t arrived and the parcels would have been sent back to me.’ His expression hardened; his eyes were like ice. ‘Tell me something,’ he paused for a moment, ‘how well did you get on with Harry, your stepfather?’
‘He did everything for us. He taught us to swim and went to school things. He even went clothes shopping with us sometimes and sat outside the dressing room while we tried on oodles of gear.’ Marli smiled, remembering the good times. She didn’t want to think about the last few months.
‘Do you know why your Mum and Harry never had any children of their own?’
‘Oh yes, we put in an order for a baby brother when we were about five, but then they told us Harry wasn’t able to have children. He always said he didn’t need any more because we were the lights of his life and he was happy with his girls.’
David forgot to breathe. The windows of his mind had been thrown open: Harry Prescott had deliberately stolen his children. And he, a perfect idiot, had let him. But Harry would have had help. Did Susan–? A snapshot of Susan’s incredulous expression when he’d faced her in the kitchen on Monday morning popped into his mind’s eye. No, not Susan, but someone had aided and abetted; someone who hated his guts. The perfect candidate came to mind.
‘Was your grandmother there very often?’ Susan would be working her backside off and they’d be conniving behind her back. .
‘Yes, but she usually came during the day when mum was working and if dad wasn’t home, she’d spend a lot of time with Mary. Sometimes she came over on the weekend and for our birthdays and Christmas. She usually only rang mum to tell her off.’
Marli’s face clouded as she remembered past slights: ‘Getting a little pud, aren’t you Marli? Perhaps you’d better give dessert a miss tonight ...’
‘Who’s Mary?’ Her father’s voice pulled her back to the present.
‘Mary Jellow, dad’s secretary.’
David’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell me about her,’ he invited, signalling for more coffee and a coke for Marli.
‘She’s been dad’s secretary for years, ever since we were little. He built an office out the back of the house with its own entrance and she worked out there. She’s madly in love with dad. Mary used to stand in for him or for mum when neither of them was able to do things with us, like shopping and stuff. She’s a bit dippy, and she gave us things, like books and ornaments she’d picked up at op shops. She’d walk the dogs and answer the phone, take in our private mail, take messages. All those sorts of things–’
It clicked.
Marli’s face whitened; her eyes grew wide with shock.
David nodded slowly. ‘So damned easy. Every time I tried to contact you, Brittany or your mum, either Harry or some woman would answer the phone, with messages purporting to be from Susan. I tried writing too, but never received an answer. I even went to a solicitor once to see what could be done about getting access, but while I was living away from you there wasn’t any point in pushing for it. I admit that in recent years I didn’t phone or write at all because ... but I’ll go into that with you some other time, I promise.’
‘It’s all right.’ Marli’s heart felt as though it was curling up in a ball of pain. The father she’d known since she was a little girl and whom she thought loved them had betrayed their trust. Because he’d done it to Brit as well, though of course her twin wouldn’t care about it. Not like she, Marli, would.
David picked up her small, slender hand and continued. ‘I thought your mother blocked me from seeing you and Brit, that she didn’t want me anywhere near you. It had to be Harry and this Mary character, because there’s no other explanation.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Were Mary and your mum friends?’
Marli bit off a giggle. ‘Not like you’d notice. She hated mum. She’s supposed to be joining dad in his new office. What a doormat! Anyway, he’s got someone else now. Sharon in Sydney.’ Her mouth turned down at the corners with the scorn of the teenage and untried in life.
David almost laughed, as he thought about the prospects of future boyfriends who thought they might treat her carelessly. This brought him to good-looking Constable Winslow. Better tread carefully, not make an issue of it.
‘How well do you know Adam Winslow?’
‘I only met him when he came over Monday morning. Why?’
‘No reason. Just be careful. Are you ready to go?’ he asked, as he reached for his wallet. And I’ll cut his balls off if he hurts her.
‘Did you ever think about us?’ Marli’s voice came out high and squeaky.
David looked at her anxious face. ‘Yes I thought about you often, Marli, and Brit, especially when I had to deal with girls your age in the course of my job. Those were the times that no matter what I wanted, I was glad you were safe with your mother and stepfather. In spite of everything we can now guess about Harry and Mary’s part in our separation, I am still grateful for that.’ They smiled at each.
She couldn’t string the evening out any longer. There was only one other couple in the restaurant and the staff were getting restless. Marli got up from the table, gathered up her purse and listened to her father joke with the manager as he paid the bill.
They didn’t speak much on the way back to the farm. David seethed with anger over the conspiracy which he was sure he’d uncovered. Marli, revelling in the comfortable rapport between herself and her dad, quivered with suppressed excitement. Mum needed to know what they’d discovered and she longed to squeeze Susan as hard as she could, to show how much she loved her. She’d always known granny preferred dad–Harry– to mum. Fancy a mother loving your daughter’s husband more than your own child. Surely ... no, granny was too old to be ‘in love’!
Her mind twisted away from the thought. Sarah McQuorqudale was sixty-five, but she’d always been ancient as far as Brit and Marli were concerned. All she knew was, granny didn’t like mum’s job
and didn’t approve of anything that Marli did. But she loved Brit to pieces. Pain arced through her. She didn’t love her grandmother, but the knowledge that the old woman preferred Brit, still hurt.
As the car started up the long driveway, the sound of high-pitched hysterical barking racketed in the night air. Something was very wrong. David jammed his foot hard on the accelerator. The car roared toward the house, sending gravel flying, bottoming out as they rocketed over a culvert.
He slammed the vehicle to a halt at the bottom of the steps. Breaking glass and a heavy thud were followed by a muffled scream. David took the distance from the ground to the verandah in one leap and tore around the side of the house. Heedless of danger, Marli ran up the steps and followed, to pull up short at the side recess in the verandah.
The still form of her mother was just visible in the shadows, sprawled face-down on the floorboards.
Marli hurled herself to her knees, fumbling for a pulse.
CHAPTER 19
A Suitable Arrangement
Marli
Wednesday: late evening.
The dogs kept up their desperate barking.
‘Shut up!’ Marli screamed. Her fingers caught in her mother’s hair as she fumbled for a pulse in Susan’s throat. Gritty pieces of glass pierced the fabric of her jeans.
‘Shut up! I can’t do this, mum ... mummy, please ...no!’ she heard herself sobbing. From the back of the house, the dogs continued to bark hysterically. Then her father bounded up the side steps and crunched across the glass to turn Susan over. He also felt for a pulse in her neck. ‘Get a light on out here!’ he shouted, ‘and let the dogs out, for Christ’s sake!’ The music in the background rose.
A croaked, ‘No’ vibrated against his probing fingers, stopping him in his tracks. He peered down. Susan’s eyes opened and she brought her hands up to her throat.
‘Wha ... where ... no ... ambulance. ’Her hair smelled of flowers.
‘Don’t try to speak! We’ve got to get you inside. Get her some water while you’re out there!’ He dragged his mobile phone out of its pouch.
‘No...ambulance ...’ her mother croaked. David frowned, and put it away.
Marli hovered, undecided. ‘And tea?’
‘Whatever. Now get going! And turn that music off!’ her father snapped, as he slid his arms under Susan’s back and knees, preparing to carry her inside.
Marli flicked the switch; pieces of wine glass glittered in the light. She raced to turn the stereo off then ran to the laundry, where she waded through the frantic bodies to the back door. The dogs beat her to it, leaping up against the timber, pushing against the door as she tried to open it. She couldn’t hear herself think over the pounding of her heart and the yelping.
‘Shut up! Just shut up!’ she shrieked, tears pouring down her cheeks. She wrestled the door open and was knocked sideways as they tore into the garden. Sobbing with relief, she slammed it shut and shot the chain across and leaned against it for a moment, breathing heavily. Then she grabbed a tea bag, dropped it into a cup and held it under the instant hot water machine. Her hands trembled as she poured a glass of water, retrieved milk from the fridge, got the sugar out and made her mother sweetened tea.
Back in the lounge room, tears poured anew as she looked at her mother lying on the sofa. Shards of glass twinkled in her hair; ugly red marks circled her throat. The top buttons of her blouse had been torn off in the struggle; her hair flopped around her white face. David helped her to sit up and propped cushions behind her back.
‘I’ll call an ambulance,’ he announced, reaching for his mobile again. ‘You might have internal injuries to your throat. And don’t try to talk.’
‘No!’ Susan’s eyes widened, her face working in protest. Marli placed the glass of water and mug of tea on the coffee table and then plopped onto the sofa beside her mother’s legs.
‘Mum, he could have killed you. Dad’s right. We have to get you checked out.’
Eyes wide with shock and anger, Susan’s hand shot out and grabbed hers. ‘Marli,’ she rasped, ‘we have to keep ... him guessing ... no, Dav ... David ... let’s ...talk first.’ She held her throat and coughed carefully.
David’s face was granite. He grasped Susan’s chin. ‘Let me see?’ The red marks stood out, where large finger-bruises were forming already. He pushed her hair back with gentle fingers and ran his hand over her head. ‘You’ve got a lump forming, but the skin’s not broken. You might have concussion.’
She turned her face away from his hand. ‘I’m sure it’s ... not ... too bad ... it’s throbbing a bit but I’ll be okay. It’s easing... off already. I’ll tell...you...if I feel...sick or... drowsy.’ She swallowed painfully, and reached for the glass, but her hands shook so much she couldn’t grasp it. Before Marli could lean forward to help, David picked it up and tilted it for her mother to sip.
‘What about a brandy?’ His eyes flashed a question at Marli.
She nodded and rose, but Susan grimaced, gingerly shaking her head. Marli wanted to cry; she’d never seen her mum look so vulnerable, not even in the terrible days after Danny Grey had been shot and Harry left them.
‘No. Thank you.’
‘I thought–’ Marli stopped.
‘So did I,’ her father agreed. ‘How are you now, Susan?’
Susan nodded. ‘Just a little ... but... it’s getting better.’
Her voice sounded as though she’d been at a party with a hundred chain smokers. ‘How ... could I ... allow ... myself ... ?’
Marli felt perspiration break over her body, as it slowly dawned on her that a few minutes ago, the person whom she loved most in the world could have been brutally murdered.
‘It didn’t happen, so get over it!’ she told herself sternly, reaching for the travel rug lying on the chair next to the lounge.
‘Susan, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t know someone was out there ready to attack you,’ said David.
‘I should ... have realised there might be... a possibility.’ She ran careful fingers over her throat. David looked the obvious question.
‘We saw someone watching the house through a telescope from the mountain on Monday afternoon. Mum and I saw the sun flash on his telescope and mum got the binoculars,’ Marli explained, trying to be helpful, as she tucked the rug around her mother.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Maguire snapped, sharing his anger between them. ‘You should know better than to keep something like that to yourself, Susan. You are still a police officer.’
Susan waved her hands in dismissal. ‘It ... could have ... been a farmer looking for cattle.’ She coughed and took another sip of tea. ‘We only saw a figure. Not even... whether it was male or –‘
Marli broke in again. ‘Did you see him properly ... Da–David?’
The corners of his mouth twitched as he made eye contact with Susan. ‘Dad’ will do nicely, if you like.’ He placed the glass back on the coffee table and offered the mug of tea to Susan who shook her head.
A blush crept up from Marli’s neck, flooding her face. ‘It just feels right somehow,’ she said, shyly. But her sister would go apeshit. Stuff you Brit. Like, piss off!
‘It is right, darling.’ Susan’s voice sounded stronger. She hitched herself higher on the cushions, attempting to swing her legs off the sofa. David reached out, laid his hand on her thigh and held her back. Their eyes met. Something– an awareness–arced between them, then her mother put a hand to her throat. The marks were almost indistinguishable from the rosy flush which suffused her face.
Marli caught the glance and looked away. Deep inside, excitement twirled with embarrassment at catching her parents, at their age, fancying each other. On the other hand, perhaps they might ... no, don’t even think about it. The notion of them actually doing anything ... like, yuk.
The moment over, David offered her mother the glass of water, which she accepted, concentrating on holding the vessel with both hands. His eyes roamed around the room, coming to rest on the p
iles of boxes scattered on the table and the piano. He frowned, stood up and walked over to them, gazing intently at the photos fanned out and piled in years taken.
‘Whose are these?’
‘Edna Robinsons.’
Marli took over the explanation. ‘Mum told Mrs Winslow she’d catalogue them.’
Susan sucked in a painful breath, set her cup aside, lay back into the cushions and pulled the rug higher. David moved a few photos around and then turned to her, eyes gleaming. ‘You mean you have the entire collection of the Robinson family here?’
Susan nodded. ‘I think so. They go back ... for years.’
He almost leapt back into the chair beside the sofa. Marli leaned forward, listening with wide-eyed intent.
‘Keep this to yourself, Marli, okay? We believe both Jack Harlow and Edna’s murders are linked to a conspiracy someone wants to keep hidden.’ He went on to expand on the CIB theory, including Adam Winslow’s recollection of the family meeting at Sir Arthur’s birthday party and the apparent dissension between some of the members. Then he filled them in on the details of John Glenwood’s attack and Nola Glenwood’s statement about John’s reason for going to town.
‘We believe it had to be in connection to Jack’s murder. The answer could be somewhere in those.’ He said waved his hand at the table. ‘What are you planning to do with these? Have you seen anything interesting?’
‘I’m still getting them in order.’
Outside, the dogs slumped into hairy heaps, looking like sacks of grain dumped willy-nilly on the lawn, exhausted from their fruitless chase through the garden.
‘All right, I agree.’ Susan drew in a deep breath, exhaled slowly. ‘I think there’s something in what ... you say. But I haven’t ... found anything yet.’ Her voice sounded like that of a frail, old woman.
‘But if you do, you’ll tell me. Right?’ He reached across to squeeze her arm. ‘And now, do you think you can tell me what happened? Out there?’
The Celibate Mouse Page 13