The Forgotten Sea

by Beverley Harper

  Connor was staring straight ahead. ‘Yuh, I guess I should.’

  ‘You don’t have to,’ she said gently. ‘Not if it hurts.’

  ‘It always hurts.’ His voice carried gratitude. ‘But I don’t want secrets between us.’

  ‘I suppose I should explain about Dennis too.’

  ‘When you’re ready. I’ve guessed most of it.’

  Connor collected his thoughts, then began to speak. ‘Brian was sixteen years older than me. My mother married his father when she was very young. He died of cancer when my brother was eleven. A few years later she married my father and I came along. Brian was like a second dad. He was a sort of hero figure in my life. As early as I can remember we were close, though in fact we didn’t actually see much of each other.’ Connor stopped speaking for a moment, a small frown of recollection between his eyes. ‘Brian was a bit wild, I suppose. He and my father never really hit it off. I think it was resentment that his mother had found someone new to love, though he was always protective of me.’

  Holly made no comment, simply watched his face, giving him all the space he needed to assemble a story she was reasonably certain he’d never told in full to anyone else. His words seemed to come with difficulty, from some faraway place of pain. There was reluctance too, a hesitation to revisit memories which had clearly been shut away for so long. She wanted to tell him again that it was all right, that he didn’t need to go on if he didn’t want to, but she sensed he would anyway. The time was right for him.

  ‘When I was three, Brian moved out. The situation at home had become very difficult. Dad can be pretty stubborn when it suits him. So could Brian. They were never going to get on. As I said, he was wild. No, not wild exactly. He was a loner. And like a lot of solitary people, it seemed as if he was constantly searching for something that would give meaning to his life. He couldn’t settle for anything less than perfect but didn’t seem to know what it was, or how to go about finding it. Brian couldn’t hold down a regular job. He did all sorts of things. One minute working as a barman, the next on a construction site, or driving a taxi. Even applied to Qantas for training as a flight attendant, but they turned him down. That was when he took off to northern Queensland and found work as a jackaroo. My poor mother nearly went mad with worry.’ A small smile of some remembered moment touched his lips. ‘The thing about Brian was that he was utterly charming. My father used to say he could coax a concession out of Margaret Thatcher if he put his mind to it.’

  Holly smiled. He’d have to be damned good!

  ‘He came home for a visit one weekend when I was about twelve. Said he’d joined the army reserve. No-one in the family thought he’d stick with it.’

  ‘Did he?’

  ‘Yes. He’d finally found something he could do and liked doing. He enjoyed the physical side of it and the adventure. The only part he didn’t particularly take to was the discipline, although even that didn’t put him off. Brian loved it so much that after a couple of years he decided to enlist in the regular army.’

  ‘There’s a niche for everyone,’ Holly said softly. ‘It just takes some people a bit longer than others to find it.’

  Connor shook his head. ‘It’s not that simple. The discipline ultimately got to him. Brian was a free spirit, not suited to the full-time rules of army life. It wasn’t long before he was bucking the system at every opportunity. That meant trouble. The army kicked him out.’

  ‘How long did he serve?’

  ‘Three years.’ Connor chose his next words carefully. ‘Brian wasn’t a bad person. It’s just that he was . . . not so much easily led as . . . always looking for excitement. If he had seen active service it would probably have been different. He was a natural for Scylla. Army trained, not too bothered by moral ethics, permanently broke and always on the lookout for something exciting. They approached him and he joined up. It was the job he’d been seeking all his adult life. He was tailor-made for it.’

  ‘Are most mercenaries ex-soldiers?’

  ‘They tend to be. Scylla has scouts in the armed forces of many countries.’

  ‘Is Scylla legal?’

  ‘As far as I know. They keep a pretty low profile. Brian didn’t say much but he did tell me that as far as he was concerned, the difference between Scylla and the regular army was that Scylla always had work. Didn’t matter who it was for. Ethically, I have a problem with that. Brian didn’t. He was entitled to his opinion.’

  ‘I’m not sitting in judgment of him,’ Holly responded to Connor’s slightly defiant tone.

  ‘Then that’s something else which makes you unique.’

  She laughed softly, lightening the moment. ‘Look, I don’t go along with the concept of guns for hire to the highest bidder but that’s not a personal criticism of your brother.’

  Connor glanced at her. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘I know Brian was killed in the Seychelles. Is that why you’re after Raoul Dulac? Revenge?’

  ‘No. Brian knew the risks. Whether we liked it or not, the rest of the family had to accept it.’ Connor paused.

  She waited.

  ‘Brian had been with Scylla for several years when he met Emma. She was less than half his age – only seventeen. He fell deeply in love with her.’ Connor broke off another piece of bread. ‘I met her a couple of times. She was beautiful, a real gentle spirit. That was it as far as Brian was concerned. There was a choice to be made, Emma or Scylla.’

  ‘Is that what she wanted?’

  ‘Not at all. It came from Brian. His days of acting as if there were no tomorrow had to end. He decided to settle down and spend his life with Emma. I don’t think she actually knew what he did for a living. He’d saved some money and planned to buy a pub in the Territory.’

  ‘Quite a challenge for a young girl. The Northern Territory is not for the faint-hearted, especially running a pub.’

  ‘Emma was from Darwin. Territory born and bred. She loved it up there.’

  ‘And she loved Brian?’

  ‘Very much. Despite the age difference, they were meant for each other. Emma accepted that Brian was never going to conform and responded to his complete devotion to her. She was a very shy girl. Brian brought her out of her shell. And in turn, she gave him stability, a purpose, and he loved her with everything he had. My brother would have died for her. In the end, he did.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Connor cut a chunk of cheese. ‘He tried to resign from Scylla. By then he was quite valuable to them. The men respected and trusted him. His cool head under pressure and field experience made his team an example to the others.’ Connor’s voice went hard suddenly. ‘Enter Raoul Dulac. He needed men to train raw recruits for a coup attempt in the Seychelles. Or so he said. The training would be done in South Africa. What he conveniently omitted to mention was an arrangement that a Scylla unit would also be available to fight. None of the men knew that until the mission was ready to go. My brother was exactly what Dulac had been looking for and he saw to it that Brian’s resignation was rejected.’

  ‘Surely Brian could have walked away?’

  Connor nodded. ‘I suppose so. But don’t forget that Brian still believed it was only a training exercise and must have thought that the money would come in handy. He put up token resistance, but in the end agreed to go.’

  ‘And was killed because Raoul hid the truth?’

  ‘I could have accepted that. The mercenary mind is a fairly muddy place where most of us never go. Brian chose his life and we had to respect the way things worked. No, it wasn’t his death that got to me, though God knows the loss was hard enough to accept. That bastard, Dulac, had decided that a little insurance wouldn’t go astray. Brian’s resignation attempt was a worry. He needed him there when the fighting started. It was no secret why Brian intended to leave – men alone together out in the bush, there aren’t many things they don’t know about each other. Dulac found out about Emma and arranged that she be eliminated.’ Connor broke off, a muscle working in hi
s jaw. ‘That’s why I want him,’ he said eventually.

  Holly was stunned. She knew Raoul Dulac had very few morals but this was cold-blooded, premeditated murder. ‘You have proof?’

  ‘Not the kind that would stand up in court.’

  ‘What makes you think –’

  ‘I was told. After Brian’s death a colleague, someone who had fought with him, said he’d heard that Emma’s death was no accident.’

  ‘Quinn mentioned a car crash.’

  ‘Her vehicle ran off the road for no apparent reason.’

  ‘Did this friend know any more?’

  ‘The talk was that Brian’s girlfriend had been taken out on Dulac’s orders. That he had sent a message saying Brian was desperately ill. Emma, as Raoul had hoped, dropped everything to be with him. Brian was supposedly in the hospital at Katherine. It was late but she obviously didn’t want to wait till morning. It’s a four-hour drive from Darwin, nothing difficult. She never arrived.’

  ‘But there’s nothing to implicate Raoul? Scylla operates from somewhere in Western Australia. How could he have set up the accident from there?’

  ‘Contacts. It wouldn’t be hard. A telephone call would do it.’

  ‘This is nothing but conjecture.’

  ‘True. There are a couple of other things. Brian’s colleague told me something else. A South African at the camp let something slip about Raoul Dulac’s methods. Seems he has quite a reputation throughout Africa. In Angola he was known as Kishi, an evil spirit with two faces. His name in Zaire is Mongo, or the God of Death. Nigerians refer to him as a Bori, a spirit who spreads evil and possesses people, and in the Sudan he is believed to be an Adandara, a wild cat with witchcraft skills.’

  ‘I still don’t see how –’

  ‘It’s not just rumour, Holly. I know stories stick to someone like Dulac, and I accept that reputations can grow in this fashion, but exaggeration is usually based on fact. A number of things add up. Emma’s parents confirmed that she received a telephone call from someone calling himself a friend of Brian’s telling her he had been bitten by a snake and was in hospital in Katherine. Later we found out that the hospital in Katherine had never heard of Brian Anderson. Dulac took a call about two hours after Emma left Darwin. He sent for Brian and broke the news of her death in a car crash. At that stage, her car hadn’t even been found. The next day, Raoul was overheard saying to someone, ‘Don’t worry about Anderson, he’ll see it through now. I’ve made sure of it.’ Connor took a deep breath. ‘Other than that, I have no hard evidence.’

  ‘You’re not likely to find it either.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘So what do you hope to achieve?’

  ‘Raoul Dulac is a murderer. He might get away with that but he’s also a crook. He must have records, somewhere. I plan to find them and come up with enough to interest the police so that they’ll set up a full investigation. If I can get them to look into him they’re likely to find that, financially, he’s been holding out on Mauritius for years. He must have an offshore bank account, probably more than one, that he sure as hell hasn’t declared. Internal revenue would find that extremely interesting. They’d take him to the cleaners. Dulac’s got to be hurt. And the only way I can think of to do that is through his wallet with a complimentary decade or two in prison.’

  ‘To pay him back for Emma?’

  ‘If there’s one reason it would be her. She had just turned eighteen, a kid. We never saw Brian again after Emma’s funeral but he went a little crazy. He became deeply depressed apparently. Knowing my brother, with the one perfect thing in his life snatched away, he wouldn’t have cared less whether he lived or died. He went to the Seychelles in that frame of mind. Raoul Dulac destroyed him.’

  Holly remained silent.

  ‘There’s something else I blame him for. My mother’s heart was broken when Brian died. She hasn’t been the same since. Dulac didn’t just kill Emma and Brian, he took away my mother’s spirit. I hate the man’s guts.’

  ‘Surely you don’t plan to take him on by yourself?’

  ‘I’d rather not. I want to see him punished for something – as I said, anything will do. I don’t see much point in stooping to his level to bring it about.’

  ‘Is that the reason why you set up the shipping deal? Why you’re risking retribution from the Triad?’

  ‘The shipping partnership was so I could have a closer look at him. That’s when I found out about his relationship with Liang Song. I also discovered that he had one or two illegal sidelines which, if I could get proof, would get him into serious trouble. The deal with Madame Liang was a bit of a coincidence really, but before I knew who I’d be dealing with I agreed to do it anyway. I’d seen first-hand what drugs can do. When I found out who was looking for an Australian connection I thought it highly likely that Raoul would be involved somehow. I jumped at the chance.’

  ‘If he thinks you’re on to him it could be dangerous.’

  ‘That’s another risk I’m prepared to take. I’m no mercenary, Holly, but if Dulac decides to come after me he won’t find it easy. I can take care of myself.’

  It was no idle boast. His condition wasn’t in question. ‘What’s your intention if you find something on his boat?’

  ‘Hand it over to the proper authorities.’

  ‘And that’s it?’

  ‘Depends what it is.’

  ‘Will that be the end of it for you?’

  ‘Yes. If the punishment fits the crime. An arrogant bastard like that would find prison unbearable.’

  ‘Even there he’ll have the contacts to get even with you.’

  ‘How will he know it’s me? He has no idea Brian was my brother. And Liang Song confirmed when you were out of the room the other night that Raoul doesn’t know of her expansion plans into Australia. It won’t cross his mind to suspect me.’

  ‘I hope you’re right, Maguire. You’ll already be dodging the Triads.’

  Connor grinned at her sarcasm. ‘I shouldn’t be. The Liang Song sting has been set up in such a way that it won’t occur to her that she’s been double-crossed by me. In fact, I’ve made it look as if Raoul has had a hand in that.’

  ‘That’s all very well but don’t you think she’ll find it just a tad suspicious that she’s locked up and you’re not?’

  ‘She’ll assume I’ve covered my tracks.’

  Holly wiped a crumb from her mouth, forgetting her hands.

  Connor’s eyes opened wide. ‘My God!’

  She tried to hide them but he’d have none of it. ‘Show me.’

  Holly did, reluctantly. ‘Guess I’m not as tough as I like to make out, huh?’

  He cradled her hands in his own. ‘Why didn’t you say? Jesus, Holly! They must hurt like hell.’

  ‘It looks worse than it is. A soak in Dettol will help.’

  Connor pulled her close.

  ‘Maguire?’ Her voice was muffled against him. ‘Did you mean that proposal?’

  He eased her away and kissed her lightly on the lips. ‘Every word.’

  ‘We haven’t known each other very long.’

  ‘Second thoughts?’

  ‘Caution. Our combined track records aren’t exactly impeccable.’

  His eyes were locked with hers. ‘I know what I want, Holly. I’ve never been more certain.’

  Neither had Holly. ‘When?’

  ‘When do we get married? Whenever.’

  ‘Next week? Next month? Next year? Next century? No, on second thoughts, that’s a hundred years away.’

  ‘Whenever you want.’

  ‘Are you always this amenable?’

  ‘No.’

  She lay the back of a hand against his cheek briefly. ‘Good. That would be very boring.’

  He opened the door of the car. ‘Chemist, Jones. I can’t take you home in this condition. Quinn would kill me.’

  ‘Connor?’

  ‘Yeah, baby?’

  ‘Nothing. I just wanted to hear myself say it.’
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  SIXTEEN

  Guy and Raoul Dulac were having one of their regular screaming matches. Like father, like son, neither would give any ground. Although the older man usually won these flaming encounters, he did so by foul means – with threats. Most of them bounced straight off Guy’s not insignificant shoulders. Raoul had regularly relied on the sword of Damocles to get his own way. Intimidation was his tool for control and Guy learned from an early age that his father knew no other way. Giving as good as he got rarely brought retribution. It simply inspired Raoul to raise the stakes. No conscience, no filial loyalty. When Raoul Dulac felt thwarted by his offspring, he invariably resorted to threats which he would not hesitate to carry out if compliance were refused.

  This time, it was all to do with the boat. Guy wanted to use it and his father had said no.

  Their argument pushed into the personal insult stage, each tirade thrusting deeper in an effort to undermine the other and gain the upper hand.

  ‘Watch your mouth, young man. I’m your father. I can cut you off without a penny.’

  Guy had heard this many times. ‘Feel free. You’re broke anyway.’ He knew the reference to the family’s financial situation would infuriate his father.

  It did. Raoul’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re on thin ice, you young fool. Last time you used the boat we had to lie to the police. We won’t do it again.’

  Guy felt a shiver of fear. That bloody detective’s ongoing interest in him, despite the alibi provided by his parents, had been of considerable concern. Okay, he’d taken care of Sham, but that didn’t mean the Corrine Vitry case would be closed. He didn’t want the matter discussed in a loud argument. Servants hear things. Their loyalty was not to be relied on. His father had covered for him, certainly, and probably would again. But Guy was not positive of continued support if Raoul ever learned the truth. Better not provoke him any more. True to form, however, Guy backed down in his own inimitable style: ‘The only time you use the boat is to fuck that bitchy little chink,’ when Anne-Marie entered the room. Guy broke off, annoyed at the interruption. ‘Can’t you see we’re busy?’