At first light Laura tried to ring Tim, but he didn’t pick up so she had to wait until Sean woke up before she could tell anyone about these revelations.
After giving it some thought, Sean agreed that the judge could well be from a different Murphy family—after all, those initials could stand for any number of names. But Laura wasn’t convinced, and there was no doubt that Georgie and Sean were as shocked by the discovery as she was. And when she finally told Tim he couldn’t disguise the concern in his voice.
However, after a morning in the paddock her view had changed completely. Now she barged into the kitchen, calling for Sean.
‘Dad? Are you here? Dad?’
Poppy came out of the office. ‘They’ve gone to town to get food,’ she said. ‘You’ve got nothing to eat here.’
‘Damn!’ Laura stormed past her sister in the direction of the office. Poppy followed. ‘Where’s Tim?’ she demanded.
‘He hasn’t got here yet.’
She threw herself onto the chair and slammed her hands onto the desk.
‘What’s wrong?’ Poppy asked tentatively.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ Laura said, raising her hands in frustration. ‘All I seem to be doing is proving that Meghan is related to us, and how the hell is that going to help my cause? It’s stupid.’
Poppy, hesitating in the doorway, didn’t say anything.
‘The lawyers must have some type of evidence that we’re related or they wouldn’t have sent that letter. Surely they wouldn’t just fire off something like that on a whim.’
So what if the photo on Glenda’s wall proved that Thomas was Glenda’s father? It simply put her in a weaker position.
She peered up at Poppy, who looked uncertain. Then Laura caught sight of the computer screen. A Facebook page was open there.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
Poppy shrugged. ‘Just checking Facebook.’
‘Oh. How did you go with the family tree stuff?’
‘Not too bad. I’ve worked out how to use the site, but it doesn’t help unless you’ve got the information to put in or someone else has done a family tree and you can draw on their info.’
‘Why are you helping, Poppy?’ Laura asked suddenly. ‘You don’t like me.’
The girl was silent.
Laura looked back at the computer and her eyes focused on an image in her sister’s timeline. She leant closer, squinting.
‘Who’s that?’ she pointed to a man with his arm around Poppy. Just for a moment she’d thought she recognised him.
‘A friend.’ Poppy came forward and moved around the desk. With a click of the mouse the screen vanished.
Laura let it go.
‘Hello?’ Tim’s voice echoed through the house.
‘In the office!’ Laura called. Pleased he’d arrived, she got up and went to meet him. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since she’d got back from Adelaide.
‘Come on, let’s go for a drive,’ she said and walked out past him. ‘I need to talk. And I’ve got to get outside.’
‘You’ve just come inside,’ Poppy muttered as Tim dutifully followed her.
‘How’d you go in the city?’ he asked as he drove towards the middle of the farm. Nearby was an outcrop of rocks with large gum trees where Laura did her best thinking.
‘All I’ve done is prove they’re related to me. What a stupid thing to do!’ Her anger hadn’t diminished.
Tim frowned. ‘How d’you mean?’
‘Glenda had this up on the wall.’ She took out her phone and held up the photo. ‘I’m sure that’s her.’ Laura jabbed a finger at one of the girls. ‘This one must be a sister. But the man—I don’t know if it’s Thomas or not. He hasn’t aged very well. If it’s him.’ She barely drew breath. ‘And this photo proves what I found out last night. Thomas was alive in 1952, because he was judging at the Royal Show.’ She crossed her arms angrily, not knowing which way to turn.
Still driving, Tim glanced sidewards at the image on the tiny screen. ‘Reckon you should put that onto the computer and blow it up a bit so we can see it better.’
‘But it’s not really going to help, don’t you see?’
He parked under the cluster of trees and reached for the phone and looked again. He handed it back.
‘You know what I think, Laura?’ He got out of the car, walked around to her side, opened the door and pulled her out. Then he kissed her and held her to him.
‘What do you think?’ she asked.
‘I think you’ve got to know what you’re fighting. That’s why you need to know if or how you’re related. Be it through Thomas, or some other means, you need to know. If you gather all the info and go to a lawyer with it, it will decrease his fees and he can advise. That’s why you need to keep doing this. You asked that first night, who is Meghan Hunter? Well, you’ve got to find out.’
Laura tipped her head back and looked at him. ‘When did you get to be so wise?’
‘I was born that way.’
He led her over to a shady tree and they sat down under it.
Laura relished being outside in the fresh air.
‘And by the way, you’re not fighting me, so stop being so cranky.’
‘My brain feels like it’s stuffed with cotton wool,’ she complained. ‘I can’t think straight.’ She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Tim’s strong arm around her. ‘Smells like hay.’
‘It’s a beautiful day,’ he agreed.
They sat listening to the sounds of the farm. Birds singing, the rustle of leaves in the breeze, a soft buzz—of flies, not bees, Laura thought.
She sat bolt upright. ‘That’s who it is,’ she said, turning to Tim.
‘What?’
‘The bloke in the photo with Poppy! It’s the same guy.’
Tim picked a piece of grass and chewed on it. ‘I’m lost. You’d better explain.’
‘When I went into the office, Poppy was checking her Facebook page. There was a photo of her with a man. I knew he looked familiar but I couldn’t place him.’ She slapped her thigh. ‘I just figured it out: it’s the same guy as the one in that filthy photo Allie had on her iPod. The sex party one. Bloody hell, how . . .?’
Laura broke off, understanding what it meant. ‘She looks like Allie did, Tim. I told Dad and he agreed there was a problem. Bloody drugs. How do people get mixed up with them?’ She reached for his hand. ‘We’ve got to stop her. Help her.’
‘It’s the skin and dull eyes,’ Tim said. ‘I wonder . . .’ He paused and looked at her. ‘How’s this for an idea? We see if we can get a copy of that photo from the police and leave it lying around for her to see. If she’s working in your office you can leave it on the screen or something. It might give her pause. Just make sure your father doesn’t see it.’
Laura nodded. ‘That’s a good idea, but would they do that? I’m not sure they would. Far out, what else could go wrong?’
‘Nothing else. You’ve got enough to handle at the moment. But how about I make you forget it all for the time being?’ He leaned forward and kissed her again.
‘Dad, I need to have a chat. Can we go somewhere private?’ Laura spoke in a low tone, glancing around to make sure Georgie and Poppy were out of earshot.
Sean nodded. ‘How about we talk in Howie’s office?’
Laura followed her father down the hall. She needed to talk to him about Poppy. And there was something else, something that had been in the back of her mind since she’d received the letter from Meghan’s lawyers.
Once inside the office and with the door closed, Laura took a deep breath and jumped straight in. ‘There are two things I need to talk to you about.’
‘Sure.’
‘Okay, first one.’ She recounted the conversation she’d had with Tim earlier, about whether proving Meghan was a relative would be to their detriment or their advantage. ‘Tim thinks it’s to our advantage to know who and what we’re fighting,’ she said.
Sean nodded. ‘I agr
ee with Tim.’
‘But on top of that, I’ve been thinking. Papa asked us to look after any of Thomas’s descendants, didn’t he? As much as it hurts, we probably shouldn’t be fighting at all. We should just cop it on the chin.’
Sean shut his eyes for a moment. Laura knew the look on his face—he was thinking hard.
‘I hear what you’re saying, Laurs. And yes, you’re right. But we still need to ascertain that they are family before we hand anything over. So what we’re doing is the right thing. And Tim is spot on about needing to know what we’re fighting. I’m sorry, Laurs, but I’m not just going to believe some lawyer who writes a letter. I wouldn’t have thought you would, either.’
‘Yeah, I understand that. But Dad, if they are family, and I think they might be, we’re going to have to give them something. That’s what Papa wanted and we can’t go against his wishes. Even if he’s not here. He gave us so much.’
‘The Hunters have plenty,’ Sean answered, the disgust plain in his tone. ‘They don’t need what we have, even if they are our relations. Stand up for yourself, Laura. I don’t understand where this is coming from. It’s certainly not what you said the night we arrived. You swore to fight it.’
Laura took out her mobile phone and showed him the photo. ‘This is what I found at Glenda’s house and this is why I think we’re family.’
Sean stared at the photo for a long time. ‘Can we make this bigger?’
‘Tim suggested we put it onto the computer, but I’m not sure how. I was going to ask Poppy to help.’
‘Let’s do that. I want to see it bigger.’
‘Okay.’ Laura stopped, unsure how to start the next conversation. ‘Um, Dad? Speaking of Poppy? I saw a photo on her Facebook page. Of her with a guy.’ She went on to tell Sean exactly what she’d seen and how she knew who it was.
‘I don’t know who he is, but I reckon he’s one hell of an unsavoury character.’
‘It’s strange that Poppy should know someone that Allie knows.’ Sean sounded sceptical.
‘But if they’re both into drugs and the club scene, and they both know this guy—which obviously they do because there’s photographic evidence—maybe he’s the common link. After all, Adelaide is pretty small. I don’t think it would be that unusual for them all to cross paths. Maybe he’s the drug supplier or the one who’s got them into it in the first place.’
Laura stopped. She had her own theory, but she couldn’t tell her father until she was sure.
Sean wearily rubbed his eyes. ‘Let’s not worry about that right now. Poppy’s here with us and she’s safe. Once we’ve got you sorted, we’ll sort her,’ he said.
Laura nodded uneasily. ‘Okay. I’ll go and ask her if she can do something with the photo.’
Poppy transferred the image to Laura’s computer in no time. With a few clicks of the mouse, she opened the black and white photo and enlarged it, then printed a couple of copies for good measure. Everyone gathered round to look at it. Georgie was holding the photo of a young Thomas to compare it with.
There was a reflection in the glass, but it didn’t affect the quality of the image too badly. The photo seemed to have been taken on a farm. Laura couldn’t see any resemblance to Nambina though. The mother looked nervous, as if she really didn’t want to be standing still, while the man stared unsmilingly and dead-eyed into the camera. The two girls were the opposite of their parents, their carefree expressions obvious.
‘I think I can see some similarities,’ Georgie began. ‘But, gee, he hasn’t aged at all well, has he?’
‘War can do that to you,’ Sean said. ‘He might have seen things no human should. It ages people, turns them to drink, changes their personalities, sometimes.’ His voice sounded strange and Laura glanced over at him. He was still staring at the photo. ‘Forget him for a moment, though,’ Sean continued. ‘I’m interested in the others. In fact, I’m sure I know one of those girls.’
They were all looking at him now.
‘How?’ Poppy asked.
‘It’s Glenda, Dad,’ Laura said impatiently.
‘No, Laurs, not her, the other one,’ Sean said patiently.
Laura’s breathing turned shallow and her heart thumped. Somehow she knew he was about to drop a bombshell. ‘What about her?’ she asked.
Sean looked across at Laura. ‘I think it’s Lee,’ he said. ‘Your mother.’
Chapter 38
2008
Laura couldn’t take it all in. She was staring at a photo of her mother?
Georgie gasped. ‘That’s too weird,’ she said.
Tim reached over and grabbed Laura’s hand while Poppy silently gazed up at her father.
Sean was still staring at the image.
Laura finally managed to speak. ‘Are you sure?’
Sean’s answer was almost inaudible. ‘Yes.’
‘And the other girl in the photo is definitely Glenda?’ Georgie had to be sure.
Laura answered this one. ‘Yeah, it is.’
There was silence as they considered this latest revelation.
‘And we have a mum we don’t know anything about and a dad who is potentially Thomas?’ Tim’s usually calm voice had taken on a high pitch.
Still the shell-shocked family didn’t move.
‘Who am I?’ Laura muttered finally.
Poppy suddenly bent over the keyboard and took charge. ‘We need to find her. This Lee,’ she said. ‘What was her last name, Dad? I’ll see if she’s on Facebook or Twitter.’
She hit a few keys, typed in ‘Lee’ then looked at her dad for the rest of the information.
Sean’s face had lost all colour. He blinked at Poppy as if seeing her for the first time. ‘I, ah . . .’ Georgie went to stand beside him. She put her arms around his waist and he grabbed on to her like he was hanging on for dear life.
‘Dad?’ Poppy’s voice was a mixture of fear and no-nonsense. ‘Dad, what was her name?’
‘Creedon,’ he answered finally.
‘So not Murphy?’ Laura was even more confused.
‘No. She wasn’t a Murphy. She was Lee Creedon.’
As quickly as he spoke, Poppy typed it in. There were only three hits for Australia and as she clicked her way through the names, Sean shook his head to all the photos. The other twenty-four were overseas profiles and Poppy skimmed through these ones cursorily. ‘I doubt that Lee is overseas,’ Sean said with certainty. ‘When we split up, she was content to bum around the Queensland beaches. It’s unlikely she’s changed.’
‘Everybody changes,’ Georgie said. ‘You just said as much.’
Sean shook his head. ‘I don’t think Lee will have, not to that extent. She was like a kid when I first met her and she had no intention of ever growing up. She’s probably become a hippy or something.’
‘Let’s try Google,’ Poppy said. ‘That’s so weird,’ she muttered to herself as she clicked on different links and read through the newspaper articles she found. ‘A name like Lee Creedon should be fairly common, but there are hardly any hits.’
‘Try a different spelling,’ Tim suggested.
‘Or Leanne,’ Laura said. ‘There’s lots of different takes on Lee.’
‘You’re right. Lee with an “a” on the end instead of an “e”. So L-E-A,’ Poppy said.
But those two combinations didn’t produce any hits on Facebook either.
‘If she’s a hippy type,’ Georgie said slowly, ‘maybe she doesn’t use her name. Did she ever call herself Rainbow or something ridiculous?’
Laura saw a spark of memory on Sean’s face. ‘Try L’creed.’
They all watched the screen. There was one hit.
Poppy took a breath and clicked on the name. The profile downloaded.
‘It’s not a normal page,’ Poppy said after a quick look through. ‘It’s a fan page.’
‘There’s a difference?’ Laura asked.
‘Yeah, with a fan page you’re not actually friends with anyone, people have to “like” your
page to see your posts. Lots of bands and famous people have them.’
‘That’s her.’ Sean’s voice echoed through the room.
‘How do you know?’ Georgie asked. ‘There isn’t a photo.’
‘I don’t know. I just do.’
‘Okay, let’s see where she’s living and what’s she’s up to,’ Poppy said. ‘Hopefully her security settings aren’t too high.’ She scanned the information and Laura leaned forward, looking at the picture of the woman who had given birth to her but not wanted her. Her stomach felt like there were a million butterfly wings inside it.
‘Basic Info,’ Poppy read. ‘Birthday: 31 August, but no year. Gender: female. Relationship: open relationship. Living: Airlie Beach, Queensland. No mobile number or landline.’ She looked up at them all. ‘There is a Skype link.’
Nobody moved.
‘Have a look through her timeline,’ Tim instructed.
Poppy scrolled down. The page was full of inspirational quotes and optimistic affirmations layered over beautiful photos. Not once did a photo of Lee appear.
‘Definitely her,’ Sean confirmed. ‘She loved that sort of thing. I need to think about this.’ Sean disentangled himself from Georgie and left the room.
‘Well, I don’t,’ said Laura. ‘One thing I do know how to do is Skype. Can you send her a request, Poppy? I’m going to call her.’
‘You don’t need to send her a request. Look here, she must take calls from anyone. “Call for positive reinforcement. No video, just voice.”’
‘Well, call,’ Laura urged.
‘Are you sure?’ Poppy hesitated.
‘Laura, you don’t want to think about this a little more?’ Georgie asked in a soft voice.
Laura shook her head. ‘No. Call.’ She turned to Tim, who was watching her with concern. ‘What?’
‘You can’t go back, Laurs. Once you’ve made contact, you just can’t.’
‘But she’ll be able to answer all our questions.’
‘She might not want to talk to you.’
Laura stopped and squared her shoulders. ‘Well, we won’t know until we try. Come on, Poppy.’
Poppy clicked on the call icon and they heard the Skype ringtone.
Crimson Dawn Page 28
