When Beth revealed that she had given researcher Terry Dorman a memory stick containing Jill’s notes, David worried that it contained evidence of Annie and Cameron’s existence. He knew it could also have a copy of the email Jill had told him about, so he went to Vince Macklin. It was Macklin who killed Terry Dorman, just as it was Macklin who killed Gail and Anton when they got too close to the truth as well. David didn’t seem to have any qualms about dobbing in the vicious gang member, and Cooper asked him why.
“It doesn’t matter what happens to me now,” was his answer. “Cameron is going to live, thanks to me.”
“Thanks to you? How do you figure?”
“None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for what I did. My father would still know nothing about Cameron, and wouldn’t have given up his kidney.”
Quinn was about to argue the point, but one look from Cooper stopped him. He’d seen too many delusional criminals in his time, and he knew they were more likely to get the truth of his actions the longer they let him believe the lies he’d told himself. He wasn’t surprised that David Fisher believed he had saved his brother’s life, conveniently forgetting that if it wasn’t for him, Annie would have probably come clean years ago.
After being interviewed for almost eight hours, David Fisher was formally charged with murder and remanded in custody. Cooper managed to make it home just before Liz was due to leave for work.
“Is it over?” she asked.
He nodded, peeling his jacket off and hanging it on one of the dining chairs. “He’s going away for a long time.”
“And the Foundation’s research?”
“Who knows. There’ll be an inquiry, I guess they’ll decide what to do from there.”
“Just because the acquisition of materials was illegal, it doesn’t make the research any less valid. They’ve made unprecedented advances, Coop.”
“I got that impression from what you told me at the hospital. It’s not up to us, though, is it?”
“No, I guess not.” Liz got a cooler bag from the cupboard and started packing her lunch items into it. “Still, it would be a shame for all that work to go to waste. Especially if it can help save lives.”
Not for the first time in his career, Cooper found himself considering the ethics of his case. Was it right that research results achieved using illegally sourced materials still stand? Or was it right that they be struck off, even if as Liz says the research could save lives? They were questions much bigger than him, and that’s perhaps as it should be. No one could make that decision on their own.
“Even if they are disregarded formally, the word about what Professor Keane did will get out. Someone will replicate it the right way,” Liz continued.
She was right, Cooper thought. One day not far from now doctors will be growing artificial human organs, and their efforts will probably, in part at least, be helped by what the Tim Fisher Genetic Research Foundation had been able to achieve. And if one of his own children needed a heart or a lung one day, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Dark Secrets
1
Jackie got the emesis bag under the patient's mouth just in time. The poor little girl vomited so violently that Jackie had to give the mother a spare bag before directing the family to the waiting room.
"It won't be long, I promise," she said to the exhausted father. He nodded, knowing the drill. Jackie had seen the family come into the emergency room a number of times over the last few months, and really felt for them. Having a sick child was one thing, but not knowing the reason for the illness was a different level of pain. She hoped the doctors found an answer soon.
As an emergency room nurse Jackie was used to seeing people at their worst, but the kids always got to her. Having three of her own, she knew the pain of watching your child suffer. You wanted to take their troubles away, to suffer yourself instead of them.
Three of her own. Could she still say that? What do you say when someone asks how many children you've got? Does Lachlan count, now that he's gone? Of course he counts, Jackie berated herself. He's your son. Was your son. Are you supposed to explain that? When you meet people and they ask in polite conversation if you have children, the next question is usually how many. Do you say three, but one is dead? Do you then have to explain how the police say your eldest took his own life, but you know he didn't?
"Jackie, are you with me?" Liz's voice pulled Jackie out of her own head.
"Of course, Doctor Cooper. What do you need?"
"Lunch. I'm starving. Are you on break yet?"
Before she could answer, Jackie's mobile rang. The caller ID told her it was Detective Davis, the man in charge of her son's case. "Meet you in the cafeteria?" Jackie said to her friend, before answering the call. Liz nodded and headed off, and Jackie turned her attention to the phone.
"Do you have any news?" she asked the detective, once he'd introduced himself again — as if she didn't know who was calling. As if she didn't constantly check her phone to see if he'd called.
"I do, Jackie, but you're not going to like it."
Her heart sank. "It's over, isn't it?"
"The coroner has completed her inquiry, and Lachlan's death has been officially ruled a suicide. They found no need for an inquest in this case. I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's nothing more we can do. My superior has ordered me to close the investigation into your son's death."
Jackie ended the call without saying another word. There was nothing else to say to Detective Davis. He'd been compassionate ever since she met him, ever since that horrible day Ethan had found his older brother hanging by his neck in the garage. But Davis didn't believe her. He thought Lachlan had done that to himself, just like everyone else did. He'd been kind enough, said all the things Jackie guessed a lead detective was supposed to say. But he was never going to fight to prove Lachlan didn't take his own life. How could he fight for something he didn't believe in?
* * *
By the time Jackie found Liz in the cafeteria, her friend was tucking into a vanilla slice. The remains of a packaged egg and lettuce sandwich littered the table in front of her.
"Sorry, I couldn't wait. Haven't eaten since before six this morning. Who was that on the phone? Looked important." Liz took a bite of the pastry.
Jackie sat in the chair opposite, and stared out the window. "They're closing Lachlan's case. Ruling it a suicide. It's over."
Liz put the slice down and reached out a hand, taking Jackie's and holding it tight. "Are you okay?"
Jackie closed her eyes. Was she okay? She'd known this day would come, that as understanding and nice as the police were with her, they didn't believe her, thought she was just another bereaved mother — someone who couldn't accept that her loved one had taken his own life. They thought her son had tied a length of rope into a noose, hung it from the rafters, climbed onto a stool, put the noose around his own neck, and jumped. They thought he'd done this so he wouldn't have to face the world and all its troubles, to traverse the problems of being a teenager, so he wouldn't have to grow up and be a man. They'd seen it before, they said. Teenagers are vulnerable, their brains aren't fully developed, they get themselves into situations their emotions tell them are impossible, and they see suicide as the only way out. Boys are especially vulnerable, they said.
But Lachlan? Could her bright, funny, caring son really have done this?
"You want to go somewhere and talk?" Liz asked.
Jackie opened her eyes and attempted a smile. Liz was one of the busiest general surgeons the hospital had, but she always seemed able to make time for Jackie.
"No, I'll be okay. I think I just need to take a walk and think this thing through."
Liz shook her head. "Not on your own, you won't. Who's your supervisor today?"
"Marlene Wentworth. Why? What are you going to do?"
The corner of Liz's mouth turned up in a close representation of an evil smile. "Surgeon's privilege." She picked up her mobile and dialled a number. "Ca
n I speak with Marlene Wentworth, please? Oh, hi, Marlene, it's Doctor Cooper. Listen, can I ask a favour? I'm going to need a nurse for a few hours. Can I have Jackie Rose for the rest of her shift?" Liz looked at Jackie while she listened to the reply, eyebrows raised. "A trial I'm working on," she explained. "I need someone to help me look through some slides, it's much faster with two people and Jackie's helped me out before." Pause, with some thoughtful nodding. "Great, thanks, Marlene. I owe you one." Liz ended the call with a triumphant look towards Jackie. "You're all mine now, sister. Give me ten minutes to change my shoes and make another call, then we're off for that walk."
Jackie couldn't help but smile as Liz walked away. They'd been friends for a few years now, ever since Jackie had made a mistake with one of Liz's patients that could have cost the man his life. She'd caught her own mistake straight away, but not before Doctor Cooper had noticed. Jackie had apologised profusely, but Liz had been great about it. She used the mishap as a teaching moment for all the emergency room nurses on staff that day, not as a way to belittle Jackie, but rather, as Liz explained much later, to get the nurses support and let them know she was fair and approachable.
The conversation with Detective Davis played over in Jackie's mind. Lachlan's death has been officially ruled a suicide, he had said. Officially ruled. What did that mean, really? Did she have to accept the ruling? Was she supposed to just say okay, and move on with her life? Pack up his room and turn it into some craft room or study or something? Perhaps a guest room? But what sort of guest would she have who'd want to sleep in Lachlan's room? What sort of guest would she have ever again?
No-one knew what to say to the mother of a dead child. Jackie had worked that out pretty quickly. "I'm sorry for your loss" seemed so insincere, like something you see on a TV show or in a movie. People said it because they didn't know what to say, how to react, how to even be around you. Friends you'd laughed with in the past, friends whose shoulder you'd cried on about things that seemed trivial now, friends your family holidayed with. All of them sorry for your loss, but suddenly needing to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
"You ready?"
Jackie looked up and found Liz standing in front of her. She smiled properly for the first time in days; some friends could still be counted on.
"Let's go."
They walked for a long time without speaking, Jackie just content to have someone with her. Eventually, Liz broke the silence.
"Have you told Marcus?" she asked.
"No, not yet."
"Are you going to?"
"Of course I'm going to." Jackie shared everything about the kids with her ex-husband, even though since he'd remarried he didn't seem to have much time for them, seemed distant even, especially of late. He had a new baby on the way, and as much as Jackie was happy he'd moved on, a part of her resented his new life. They'd announced the pregnancy just days after Lachlan died, and Jackie couldn't help but feel like Marcus was replacing him. It was crazy, she knew that. Charlotte would have been pregnant long before Lachlan died, but still. It felt wrong.
"Maybe the police already told him, saved you the trouble," Liz suggested.
"Maybe. I should still talk to him, though. I'll do it tonight. Can I ask you something?" Thinking about husbands had given Jackie an idea.
"Sure."
"Charlie works in Homicide, doesn't he?" Jackie had met Liz's husband when they'd had their second son, Patrick, about two years ago. He'd taken some time off work, and she remembered asking him what he did.
"Yes, unfortunately," said Liz. "I nearly got him to quit after that horrible serial killer case. At least I thought I did. Should have known better. Coop is married to that job more than he is to me."
"I'm sure that's not true."
Liz smiled. "Yeah, you're right. But it feels like it, sometimes. Anyway, you want me to talk to him about Lachlan?"
"Could you? It's just… I know I'll have to accept it eventually, but not yet. I'm not ready. I can't… the idea that Lachlan did that…"
"I'll talk to Coop," Liz said. "I don't know if he'll be able to do anything, but we can try. Okay?" Liz stopped walking and grabbed Jackie gently by the arm. "We're not giving up yet."
Jackie nodded, acknowledging the help, then turned and kept walking. After a moment Liz followed.
"How are Ethan and Emma holding up?" Liz asked.
Jackie stopped dead. "Oh my God, Emma! What time is it?" She pulled out her phone as she spoke and checked the time. "Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit!"
"What?"
"I was supposed to leave early today to pick Emma up from school. She has a dentist appointment." Jackie started running back to the hospital, trying to find the number for the school on her mobile phone at the same time.
"Jackie, wait! Stop for a minute." Liz caught up to her and made her slow down enough to find the number and dial. After a hurried conversation, someone from the office went out to look for Emma. It took forever for the woman to come back on the line.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Rose. She's not there. Do I need to call the police?"
2
Jackie raced to the nurse's locker room, fumbling with the combination lock before finally retrieving her bag and car keys. On her way home she called Marcus.
"What do you mean, you forgot? Where are you now?"
"I'm heading home. She walks home every other day with Ethan, she knows the way. She's a smart girl, Marcus. She'll have found her way home."
"You'd better bloody hope so. I'm on my way."
"That's not necessary," Jackie replied, but he'd already gone. Shit. How could she have done this? How could she have forgotten her baby girl?
Poor Emma. Only six years old and had just lost her big brother. Now her mother didn't show up when she was supposed to. What would be going through Emma's mind right now?
Jackie passed the school gates and strained to check the spot where she'd told Emma to wait. The school office lady was right, she wasn't there. She drove slower now, along the route she knew the kids took when Ethan picked Emma up and they walked home together. They'd been doing this ever since Emma started kindergarten, although back then it was both boys who'd picked her up and all three walked home together. Oh, God, how she missed Lachlan.
Where was Ethan this afternoon? That's right, soccer practice. She'd encouraged him to do something after school; join a team, play an instrument, whatever he liked as long as he got out of his room and off that damn computer for a change. He'd chosen soccer, mostly Jackie thought because his new friend, Oscar, was on the team. Today was his first after-school practice.
There was no sign of Emma on the walk home. Jackie pulled her car into the driveway, and Marcus swung his in behind her moments later.
"Is she here?" he yelled, flinging his car door open and leaving it that way.
"She doesn't have a key," said Jackie, "So she wouldn't be inside." Emma was nowhere to be seen. "Shit."
"I'm calling triple-0." Marcus paced up and down the footpath, one arm holding the phone to his ear, the other rubbing his face and near-bald head. "Police," he said into the phone, then he walked off towards the street out of earshot.
Jackie unlocked the front door and searched the house, calling out for Emma just in case her daughter had found a way in. She checked the backyard, including the plastic cubby house Emma had grown out of and kept asking Jackie to get rid of to make more room to ride her bike. Her bike. Had she come home and got it and gone out for a ride? She wasn't allowed to go riding on her own, but she'd just been left at school by her forgetful mother so all bets were off. Jackie opened the garage door. Thankfully she didn't need to go inside to see that Emma's bike was still there. She hadn't been in the garage since Lachlan. She went back out the front to Marcus.
"Police are on their way," he said when he saw her. "I'm going to look for her." He stabbed a finger at her. "You stay here."
It was pointless to argue. Not that Jackie had any better ideas. She sat on the front step and held her head in
her hands while he reversed out of the driveway and screamed up the street.
Her phone rang. Liz.
"Any news?"
"I'm at home, she's not here. Marcus has gone out again to look. We've called the police."
"Do you want me to come over? Or do anything? What about Ethan?"
"He's at soccer practice. I'll ring him. Don't come over, Liz. You've got work to do."
"Are you coping?"
"Of course I'm not coping," Jackie replied. But she knew what Liz meant. "Yes, I'll be fine," she reassured them both. "I'm going to call Ethan now."
"Okay. If you need me, I'll be there."
"I know." Jackie ended the call and found her son's number. Not that she expected him to answer, he was probably running around on the field, but it would make her feel better to call. She was never more relieved to hear the voice that answered.
"Hello, Mummy!"
"Emma! Where are you?"
"I'm at soccer with Ethan. He gave me his phone to play with while I wait for him. I'm up to level three on the game with the blocks, but you called and it stopped. You were supposed to pick me up, Mum. I waited for ages."
"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry, I got held up at work." It wouldn't do anyone any good to tell Emma she'd forgotten her. "Listen, is Ethan there? I'd like to talk to him."
"He's doing practice, Mum. He says it's very important and I can't interrupt him. Besides, they're all the way on the other side of the oval."
"Is there anyone there with you? Any grown-ups?"
"There's one, I don't know who he is, though. Excuse me, mister?" Jackie heard her daughter say. "Who are you?" There was a muffled response that Jackie didn't catch. Her heart was in her mouth as she made her way inside and picked up the home phone to call Marcus. "He says he's Jack's dad, Mum," said Emma.
"Okay. Listen to me, Emma. I'm going to call Dad, he's going to come and get you both. But I want you to stay on the phone with me, okay?"
The Dark Series Page 64