“Do you come up here often?” asked Jan.
“Not often enough lately. I was born here. I lived here for a long time. My parents still live at Mareeba, not too far away. Let me shout you a bite to eat and cup of tea.” She finished abruptly and led the way back to the car. They drove through the township to a little diner boasting Devonshire teas. Helen ordered.
She prodded the scones. “Nuked, to make out they’re fresh. I guess that’s progress,” Helen sighed. “We’d better be getting back after this. Before we go there’s something that’s been bothering me all afternoon, something I have to ask you.”
“Yes.”
“You recognised that car twice today, have you any idea why or how?” Helen asked.
“I didn’t like to say anything earlier but, as you know, after Danny’s death I had a complete mental breakdown and I was a long, long time recovering. Today I thought I was revisiting that period of my life when I first saw the car. It wasn’t the car I recognised it was the driver and when he walked to your front gate I was shattered. I didn’t want to believe it. It was my old boss. Danny’s old boss, and I thought I was going out of my mind again. When I suggested they could still be the police I guess I was in denial. The driver was John Cade. Although it’s been ten years I’m sure of that. I’m sorry Helen.”
Helen stood and put an arm around her. “That’s OK, I understand.” she said gently.
Chapter
56
Young Harry and Sal were sitting on the front steps when Helen and Jan drove in. They both stood when they realised the driver was Helen. Harry hurried to open the door and help her out.
“Hello Harry, have you seen the paper today? It’s terrible, poor Elaine.”
“Yeah. Dad and I were just talking about it, I heard it on the radio. The poor kid, she must have suffered. Who found her?”
“A tenant of the building. When she didn’t turn up at work Missus Payne, you know, the lady who works...worked with her in reception, she rang her flat. When there was no answer she rang a number Elaine had given her, an emergency number where she left her spare key. It’s all in the paper.” Helen was breathless.
“Is that why you came?” Harry asked.
“No. Look Harry, I’m sorry to intrude on your Dad’s evening, I apologise, but it’s very important that we find Mac.”
By this time Sal had caught up with them. “Helen, you could never intrude,” Sal said in his peculiar manner, “our house is an open invitation, you must surely know that.”
“Yes Sal. Thank you, I guessed that. That’s why we came.”
Helen and Harry walked around the front of the car as Jan was searching under the seat for something.
“Who’s the old girl?” he whispered as the almost white head bobbed up and down.
Helen’s smile became a chuckle as they reached Jan’s door. “Jan, I’d like you to meet Harry. Harry, this is Jan, she’s an old friend of Mac’s.” Helen stood back, she watched Harry’s face as Jan straightened and turned to meet him.
The beautiful young face with the sad eyes framed in contrast by an old person’s hair, it all just wrecked Harry’s composure. His words were not forming.
“Harry, this is Jan,” Helen repeated.
“What! Eh…What! I’m sorry!” he stammered. Helen came to his rescue, she put her arm through his and Sal escorted Jan.
“Come into the house and be comfortable, we were waiting for the Rigbys, they should be here at any moment now.” Sal said. “May I get you ladies something to drink?”
“May I have something soft, please Sal?”
Jan nodded agreement. “Something soft would be fine.”
“And you will stay for dinner,” said Sal. “I would be aggrieved if you didn’t.”
The usual after dinner talkfest this night was focused on Helen’s and Jan’s uninvited visitors and whether in fact the ladies had a problem. Or was it just a product of a nervous and fertile imagination? Helen felt a bit miffed when the conversation took this tack. It was her imagination they were discussing.
Young Harry came to her aid. “Helen’s not like that,” he said and she gave him a grateful glance.
“I’m sure, also, that she isn’t. We were being objective, Helen.” Sal comforted her.
“What do you think, Girl?” Harry Rigby addressed the question to Jan who up till that moment, partly through shyness, had been listening in silence. But also because the dark thoughts gathering in her mind needed time to connect.
“I don’t know,” she said, “it could be a huge coincidence, something completely innocent or, and I don’t want to explain why yet, it may be something very sinister.” Jan’s face wore a frown. “I urgently need to talk to David.”
“Who’s David, Love?” Mavis asked.
“I’m sorry, Mavis, I meant Mac.” Jan turned to face her but then looked to Helen. “Can we find him first, I need to talk to him about all this before I start accusing people.”
“I’ve got a beaut idea,” Helen said, “why don’t you take the car and find him while I tell these people all I know. I’m sure Sep would drive you and you can explain things to him.”
Jan looked expectantly at young Harry, he jumped at the idea. “Yeah I know where he is and I’d like to find out more about this, you’ve got me, I’m hooked,” he said.
“You may not believe what you hear,” Jan said softly.
Chapter
57
Mac had a blanket around his shoulders. He sat by the dark red coals of a dying fire. Rekindling the flame he realised he had become quite used to living like this. He wondered if he could ever sleep in a bed again like a normal person.
His life had become almost idyllic except for two concerns which plagued him. One, he was lonely and although he badly missed the camaraderie of the fleet his uppermost thoughts were for Helen. When he tried to think his way through other things his mind encountered the ghostlike barrier of her memory. But he wasn’t enthusiastic about revealing his feelings to her. He remembered her “Yes, poor Harry,” when he told her Harry loved her. He couldn’t stand the thought of her saying “Yes, poor Mac,” to some other bloke.
His other concern only really surfaced when he was with her, but it was like an eternal toothache. It was the spectre of his past made all too real again by the appearance of Russell Byers in the town. He was glad he had met Jan at the airport. But because he didn’t actually see Byers get on the plane he was unsure whether or not he was still in Cairns. He would have to find out. Perhaps Helen could. It would give him an excuse to visit her again. Maybe she’d ask him to stay. She shouldn’t feel threatened by him whilst Jan was staying there.
He heard the distant clatter and clang of the booby-trapped shack. He had arranged for the washing up dish full of his cooking pots to fall from the table when the door was opened. It was his crude intruder alarm. He looked towards the shack, the light came on. It was obviously someone who knew their way around inside. The light switch was behind the door and not easily located. He approached the shack with a degree of caution until he saw Harry and then Jan.
“Hello! How did you two get together? It must be ten o’clock, bit late for a visit but I can do with the company. Did anyone else come?” He asked hopefully. Harry guessed Mac meant Helen and, strangely, he felt no reaction.
“No Mac. Jan wanted to talk to you, urgently,” Harry said. “Helen is back with Dad and Billy’s oldies.”
“What is it, Love?” Mac studied Jan’s face.
“I’m not sure David, I’ll go back as far as I can remember but I’ll start from today, John Cade is in here in Cairns.”
“John Cade? John Cade? I vaguely remember that name.” Mac filled the kettle and lit the gas under it. “Wasn’t that Danny’s old boss?”
“And mine.” Jan offered and began to search her memory. Where to start? Well here goes. “Danny alw
ays had suspicions that Jim Mitchell was murdered. Do you remember Mister Mitchell?”
“Murdered! Gawd! Yeah I remember him. He was Danny’s first boss but Danny would’ve said something to me about it, we were as close as any brothers could be Jan. Anyway, wasn’t Mitchell killed in a traffic accident, and if I remember correctly he was over the limit.”
“Yes, I know all that David but Danny was suspicious and he never had a chance to talk to you about it,” she shook her grey head. “He died a few days after he started asking Missus Mitchell questions about Mister Mitchell’s business diary and his briefcase and…”
“Christ, Jan!” Mac interrupted her. “You’re not saying Danny thought Mitchell’s own wife killed him. Are you?”
“No I’m not. Danny always suspected John Cade, and he thought that Missus Mitchell and Mister Cade were sleeping together after Mister Mitchell was killed. Oh God!”
The bad memories were returning and Jan’s eyes were becoming bright with tears. “I wish I had listened, really listened to him, David. Instead I tried to talk him out of the idea. I suppose if they were sleeping together it would be natural that Missus Mitchell would mention Danny’s interest in Mister Mitchell’s briefcase and diary. If only in pillow talk. But,” she added, “Mister Cade was Danny’s strong suspect and he made a list of reasons why. I’m not sure I can remember them now.”
Mac carried three steaming mugs to the table. “Try,” he encouraged.
“Well I know that Danny was critical of Mister Cade right from the first day he met him, something to do with his handshake. I guess you men have a thing about handshakes. I’m sure Danny would have told you of his suspicions if he’d had the chance. But I was convenient, he and I were very close, David. You must remember that.”
Mac nodded, he remembered a bare bum he spotted through a window, sitting on Danny’s bare lap but he said nothing. Jan continued, “Well after Mister Cade had been a partner for a few years Danny became curious. He wanted to know why Mister Cade’s only client was making the firm more money than the dozen or so old clients of Mister Mitchell’s. He kept pressing Mister Mitchell to get Mister Cade to produce his client’s books or at least a set of annual spreadsheets. Mister Cade kept putting him off with excuses and finally Mister Mitchell was killed in that car crash.”
Jan stopped and looked across the table at young Harry. She was expecting him to be bored stiff with a story which had nothing to do with him. And which so far had really little substance. But Harry was wide awake and intently studying her face. “Go on, Jan, please,” he said.
“Well, Danny made a list of things that to him didn’t add up. They were insignificant things but when they were put together they caused a person to think. I didn’t think the police would take any notice of his list. I told him so and I tried to talk him out of going on with it. But he didn’t have a chance anyway because a couple of days after he questioned Missus Mitchell he was dead.”
“Can you remember anything of his list?” Mac asked.
“I’ll try. There were seven or eight items but the main one, in my estimation was Mister Mitchell’s character. He was very strong morally. And I’m still sure he wouldn’t have been driving whilst over the limit. All that people remember about him now is he was killed in a traffic accident, and he was drunk. That’s exactly what you remembered.”
“Well, yeah I did, vaguely.” said Mac.
“One of the items on the list I remember clearly because I was involved. Why was Mister Mitchell in his car on that country road after he got me to ring Missus Mitchell to ask her to pick him up at the office? He knew he was over the limit. There were other items like the missing diary and why he didn’t take his briefcase with him. You know, briefcases are like hats, if a man wears one for twenty or thirty years then they go everywhere with him, even whilst driving a car.
“Oh yes there was a discrepancy in accounts of what you told us Missus Mitchell said on the morning you found us, and what Missus Mitchell told Danny six months later, just before he died. I pointed out to Danny that memories become blurred and I thought he just wanted a chance to paint Mister Cade a little blacker…” Jan’s face crimsoned, she realised she had just positively identified herself as the nude backside on Danny’s lap.
Mac’s face remained expressionless but he was glad the bare bum now had a face. He felt happy for Danny. Jan had been a beautiful young woman as a teenager. Now, a decade later with Danny’s death and her own harrowing experiences behind her, her maturity and her composure gave her a beauty Mac could only describe as superb. He reached across the table and patted her hand. “Go on, Love.” he said.
“I can’t think of anything more. You see there was nothing damning on the list. It was all sort of wishy-washy stuff. The reason I wanted to see you was because, when I saw Mister Cade at the shopping mall and then at Helen’s front gate she said he was the driver of a car parked in her street. It was there on the day you were there. She said he followed the two detectives when they left her house.”
“Strange,” Mac rubbed his chin, “was there anyone with him?”
“At the house? Yes, Helen said there were a couple in the car, I think. And there was a man with him today at the mall,” she said. “Oh! I almost forgot the most substantial item on Danny’s list, so Danny thought, was a broken whiskey bottle. We found a Johnny Walker label almost complete and with broken glass still stuck to it. We found it under Mister Mitchell’s desk. When Danny exchanged contracts on his house he brought a bottle into Mister Mitchell’s office and we all got a bit tipsy, at least I did, the men were OK. Danny reckoned there could have been a scuffle and the bottle was broken that way. There had never been any suggestion of anything like that until we found the label under the desk. I remember I said to Danny at the time that it may not have even been from the same bottle but it was the reason Danny started his list.”
“That’s true. It may not have been from the same bottle,” said Mac, “it’s just a lot of circumstantial stuff. What do you think Harry?”
“It’s a can of worms.” Up to this point Harry hadn’t contributed ten words to the conversation, he’d been listening intently to Jan’s story and studying her features from across the table. Her unlined face looked so very young in contrast to her grey hair and her growing excitement had put a sparkle in her sad eyes. She was beginning to glow. “The cops couldn’t be expected to do anything about it though, it’s too airy-fairy. If they did start a file it wouldn’t get much attention unless you had some influence with ‘em. If you really thought there was anything in the story you’d need some hard evidence. Something for them to get a handle on.”
“Really, I’d forgotten all about Danny’s suspicions. It was only when Helen said Mister Cade was following the police who were at her house that it all came back.” Jan looked to the men for their reaction.
“Why would he be there?” Mac thought out loud and then went on to answer. “Helen and Cade wouldn’t know each other. The only other explanations are either his passenger knew Helen or they were only interested in the cops. If that’s the case then Cade followed Byers from Sydney and Byers was looking for me. Is Cade looking for me?”
“Seems to me he might be but there could be an entirely innocent reason.” Harry said and then added. “But why would they have Jan’s suitcase and how would they get it. You know, they might be after her. I think we should try to identify the bloke’s passenger. We might be on the wrong track.”
“Yeah let’s do that first,” Mac agreed. Harry had included himself in the investigation and Mac was pleased. “But until we find out exactly what’s going on I don’t think Jan and Helen should go anywhere near Helen’s house.”
“Helen’s with Dad and the Rigbys now at Dad’s place, she and Jan could stay there, there’s acres of room and only the old man,” Harry offered.
“Sounds good to me.” Mac said.
“Whoa!” Jan remin
ded them. “I want my suitcase. Don’t forget, I don’t have any clothes yet.”
“Sounds good to me!” Both Harry and Mac said as one.
Jan was suddenly comfortable with these two virtual strangers. It was the first time since Danny’s death that she’d felt a part of any scene. After she’d been discharged from the psychiatric hospital she had become a bit of a recluse, taking care of her father and venturing out only to shop. It was only in response to her father’s demand that she take a holiday that caused her to be in Cairns at this time. But she was thoroughly enjoying herself and she knew the reasons. She was among friends; her mind was fully occupied and she was recalling without sadness her time with Danny.
“We’d better get going or we won’t be there till after midnight. You lead Harry, Jan and I’ll follow you to your Dad’s house.”
It was all that Mac could do to keep a smile off his face as Harry mumbled, “No! It’s alright, Jan can come with me,” and he added, “I don’t mind.”
Chapter
58
Helen was on the front verandah with Sal and the Rigbys. They watched from above as Harry and Jan, in the rental car, slid up the dirt road between walls of sugar cane into the front yard. They arrived a second before a cloud of dust caught them when they stopped. A minute later Mac rattled in behind them in Helen’s car. It was midnight. They trooped through the house to the kitchen and sat at the large wooden table. Seven of them, like a war council, Sal made tea and placed a bottle of vino and glasses in the centre along with cups and saucers and the trimmings.
Old Harry Rigby looked at Mac and started. “Helen’s told us a lot but there’s still a lot I don’t understand. And I bet she doesn’t understand it all either. Does anyone know it all?”
Mac said, “I think Jan knows more than anyone. It’s quite a tale. It depends on the spin you put on it as to how it grabs you.”
The Cooktown Grave Page 23
