Secret in the Clouds

by Christopher Cummings

  “That’s right,” his father replied. “He is the number three man in the government after the Deputy Prime Minister. But many people think he is going to be moved up soon. It is likely he will be the next Prime Minister.”

  Stephen stood and stared after the group, deep in thought Tom glanced frequently at him, waiting till the adults were out of sight. “What is it Steve? Did you pick up another clue?”

  “Maybe,” Stephen replied. “But it doesn’t make much sense. I need to check a few things out.” Moving at the back of his mind was the suspicion that Jorgenson was the leader of a spy ring that had wormed its way in to be close enough to guard the Defence Minister.

  “That would give them access to all sorts of secrets,” he suggested to Tom.

  “But why?” Tom asked. “Germany has been our ally for more than half a century hasn’t she?”

  “He,” Stephen replied. “Deutschland is der Fatherland isn’t it?” He shook his head in bewilderment, his earlier theories about Jorgenson trying to protect himself or his family now gone.

  Tom asked, “But why would any European country want to spy on a place as remote as Australia?”

  “We are America’s ally. Maybe American secrets leak out of us second-hand,” Stephen suggested. It was all he could think of. From his knowledge of recent history there was nothing since the re-unification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union back in the 1990s to suggest why any German should be interested in Australia’s defence secrets.

  “But it must be something like that,” he muttered.

  Tom had caught Stephen’s mood. He turned to his mother. “Mum, please can I stay for another week? Please Mum! It is really important to me.”

  Mrs Downey looked surprised. “Of course not! You must get back to school. Don’t be silly!”

  “School! Oh Mum! If I don’t try my hardest to find out what happened to your Grandad it is going to eat me up inside for ever! I have to try! Please Mum!”

  Stephen listened with growing sympathy but wished he hadn’t hinted he had some new piece of information as he really hadn’t.

  The argument went on, with Tom becoming more and more agitated. “If I go back I will just run away and come back here,” Tom threatened.

  He was so obviously in earnest that finally his mother stopped arguing and listened, her face an anxious mask. “But you can’t stay here on your own, and we can’t ask the Bells to look after you,” she said.

  Tom turned to Stephen’s parents and pleaded. That did it. Stephen’s father looked very thoughtful. “A few more days won’t be a problem,” he said.

  Mrs Downey tried one last battle. “But your ticket is paid for. We can’t afford another,” she pointed out.

  “Ask if we can cancel it and get our money back,” Tom suggested. “Please Mum! Please!”

  That did it. The ticket was able to be refunded, mainly because the flight was fully booked and there was man who wanted to urgently get to Melbourne to see his sick wife. As soon as that was agreed Tom grinned and cried at the same time. Mrs Downey still wasn’t reconciled to the unusual step but Mrs Hopkins now joined in on Tom’s side.

  “Tom is right,” she said. “If he doesn’t try his hardest it will become an obsession and nag at him for the rest of his life, like it did to me. Let him stay May. He will be alright. I will pay for his board.”

  “Oh there won’t be any payment,” Stephen’s mother insisted. “Tom is no trouble.”

  So it was a very unhappy Mrs Downey and very disgruntled girls who boarded the plane with Mrs Hopkins. Tom stood and waved them off, trembling with emotion and with tears running down his cheeks. ‘What a bloody sook!’ Stephen thought. He now felt quite guilty as he had no new clue to add. ‘In fact I’m more puzzled than ever,’ he thought gloomily.

  After the plane had taken off the group walked back out to the car. Tom had settled down by then and now looked quite anxious. Stephen didn’t know what to do but he did have an idea. He asked his mother if they could drive to Graham’s.

  “Why don’t you just phone him?” his mother asked. She was now obviously annoyed at the turn of events.

  Stephen exchanged glances with Tom. ‘I can’t let her know we suspect we are under police surveillance,’ he thought. But no answer came to mind. What did occur to him was the question of whether in fact the Federal Police were still watching him. He looked carefully in all directions while trying to appear as though he wasn’t. No-one caught his attention as appearing to look suspicious. ‘But then they wouldn’t,’ he thought, ‘Not if they are professionals at this.’

  How to contact Graham occupied Stephen’s mind all the way home and all he could think of finally was to do as his mother suggested. Once they arrived home he was at least relieved to learn that Tom would be moving out of his room.

  “He can have the spare bedroom now,” Stephen’s mother said.

  ‘Good!’ Stephen thought. ‘Now I can get some privacy.’ Feeling both relieved and anxious Stephen went to the phone and dialled Graham’s number. His brother Alex answered the phone. “He’s down in the Ship Room,” Alex told him.

  “Ask him to ring me please,” Stephen replied. He hung up and waited. Five minutes later Graham called.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to say. Can you come over to talk?” Stephen replied.

  “Sorry, Mum won’t let me,” Graham replied. “She’s kept me home all day. How was school?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t go either,” Stephen replied. He was now fretting over how to talk to Graham. Finally he just said he would see him next day at school.

  Feeling quite frustrated Stephen put the phone down and went to sit down. As he did the phone rang again. Tom, who was nearest, picked it up. “Hello, Bell residence,” he answered. Then he shook his head. “No, sorry, I am just a friend visiting,” he said. He looked at Stephen and held out the phone with a grin on his face. “It’s Judy, for you.”

  Stephen felt a flush of embarrassment. He went and took the phone. “Hello.”

  “Stephen, it’s Judy. How are you? I heard that you and Graham got lost in the bush,” she replied.

  “No we didn’t. And don’t tell anyone else that. Graham won’t be very pleased. He prides himself on his navigating,” he snapped.

  “Ohhhkay! You don’t have to bite my head off!” Judy replied. “I was just worried. Are you alright? You weren’t at school today.”

  “Sorry. I was just a bit tired,” Stephen replied. What he really wanted to know was who had told her the story but just in time he remembered that the phone might be ‘bugged’. So he chatted away about nothing much for ten minutes then said he would see her at school next day.

  As he hung up Stephen noted that the TV news had just come on. That gave him an idea. Without asking he went and changed channels to Channel 9, then started the HDD to record it.

  Stephen’s father sat up. “Stephen! I was watching that!” he said.

  “Sorry Dad. There’s something on this channel I want to see,” Stephen replied. ‘I hope,’ he added under his breath. In that he was lucky. Five minutes later an article came on about the arrival of the Minister of Defence at the Cairns airport that afternoon. Stephen craned forward and stared hard at the picture and was rewarded by a clear shot of Jorgenson. ‘And that bloke at the back is Walters,’ he thought with satisfaction. There was a second scene where the Minister was interviewed about the reasons for his visit and about politics. Stephen wasn’t interested in that but kept scanning the people in the background.

  Later he changed channels to Channel 10 and was lucky enough to get a second viewing from a slightly different angle. This time he got a good clear view of one of the two men who had questioned them that morning. Feeling more than satisfied that he had some new clue Stephen stopped the HDD.

  ‘Now, what does it all mean?’ he wondered. He was sure he had another piece of the puzzle but for the life of him couldn’t work out what it was. Later, when his paren
ts were busy in the kitchen, he copied the reports onto a DVD and then watched them twice with Tom eyeing him quizzically. But no new idea came to mind and Stephen still went to bed puzzled.

  CHAPTER 23

  I WONDER ?

  On Tuesday morning Stephen felt much better. He decided to go to school as usual. “I’ll ride my bike Mum,” he added. ‘That will give me a bit of mobility if I want to go anywhere else,’ he thought.

  “What about you Tom?” Stephen’s mother asked. “What will you do?”

  “I think I’ll go to town and spend the day at the library,” Tom replied.

  So Stephen made sure he had the DVD in his bag and set off for school, glad that he didn’t have to drag Tom around with him all day. His muscles were still stiff and the effort of riding his bike made this very apparent to him but the exercise soon wore the stiffness off. It was a wet day but he made it to school relatively dry.

  The first person he met was Judy. Seeing her coming towards him caused him to feel a surge of annoyance but he managed to hide this and speak to her in a friendly tone.

  She smiled. “So what did happen if you weren’t lost?” she asked.

  “Who told you we were?” Stephen countered.

  “I heard it from Sharon,” Judy replied.

  “How did she know?”

  “Peter’s little brother told her,” Judy answered.

  Stephen nodded with understanding. Peter’s little brother Paul was in Sharon’s class. ‘Pete needs to watch what he says in front of his little brother,’ he thought.

  “So what’s the story?” Judy asked.

  “Nothing much. We went to climb Black Mountain and it took us a bit longer than we expected to get out of the jungle,” Stephen replied.

  “You look a bit the worse for wear,” Judy commented, indicating his Betadine coated scratches. Stephen could only agree and then give her an embellished version of the climb up and down the mountain. ‘No point in denying we went there,’ he thought.

  Later he got Peter on his own and grumbled about Paul. Peter nodded. “Sorry. The little toad has got a big mouth. I’ll be more careful in future.”

  “Have you seen Graham? There’s something I want to show you,” Stephen replied.

  They went looking for him and found him talking to Roger. At Stephen’s urging they all went to the library. Stephen knew there were DVD Players and TVs in two of the annexes. He also knew that students weren’t supposed to use them. After checking that no teachers were around and then sliding the folding partition shut he pushed the DVD into the player and turned it on. “Just watch,” he replied to requests to explain.

  As the airport scene came on Stephen leaned forward and pointed. “Jorgenson,” he said, “And that bloke there is one of the two Feds who questioned us yesterday morning at Smithfield.”

  Graham leaned closer and nodded. “I think you are right. And that other joker looks like one of the two plain clothes coppers who questioned me a few weeks ago.”

  “Walters,” Stephen replied. “He came to my place too.”

  “So what does this mean?” Peter asked, plainly mystified.

  “I’m not sure,” Stephen replied. He then outlined his theory of Jorgenson being a German spy trying to get close to the Minister of Defence to gain access to defence secrets.

  “Oh what defence secrets!” Graham sneered. “Australia doesn’t have any defence, let alone secrets!”

  Stephen knew that Graham was always advocating that the government should spend more on defence so he ignored the sarcasm and gave his idea of this being a way of getting American secrets second hand.

  Peter thought that more likely. He then asked, “What about your idea that he is trying to cover up his family skeletons to protect his career in the secret service?”

  “I’m not sure,” Stephen replied, uncomfortably aware that he was making a lot of assumptions without much proof.

  They watched the DVD twice more and discussed possible motives for Jorgenson. By then Stephen had begun to view the man as a personal enemy. Peter said, “Even if he is, how could we prove it?”

  “I don’t know,” Stephen had to admit.

  They were interrupted then by the librarian demanding to know what they were doing. Because they were senior students she knew well she made no real fuss about it and they left quickly. Outside they continued their discussion till other students joined them and they had to drop the topic.

  It stayed like that all day, a situation Stephen found most dissatisfying. His mind kept turning over all the clues and wondering what they meant but he came no closer to finding any answers. Classes dragged on without any dramas and the only event of any note was their practice session for the swimming carnival after lunch.

  After school Stephen talked to Graham and Peter for a few minutes, then went home. Rain showers hurried him along and he arrived there in a lather of sweat. As he had expected there were no cars in the carport. His parents usually arrived home an hour later than him. He placed his bike in its usual place against the back wall of the car port and opened the back door. First he had a cold drink of cordial from the refrigerator. Then he went to his room.

  As he walked into the room Stephen experienced and odd sensation which made him pause. For a moment he stood and looked around, wondering what it was that made him feel uneasy. His eyes flicked around his room. Then a sensation he could only name as fear swept up his body to prickle his scalp. ‘Someone’s been here,’ he thought. A book he had placed on his bedside table was not in the same position as he had left it. ‘Or is it?’ he wondered.

  Feeling mounting alarm he moved to open the cupboard, half expecting to find someone hiding there. The cupboard only contained his clothes and they appeared to be in the same places he had left them in. Knowing that his mother sometimes moved his things Stephen did a careful check, opening drawers and even looking under the bed. He could find nothing else but was still left with the odd feeling that someone had looked through his room. He thought he was alone in the house. “Tom, are you home? Tom?” he called. There was no answer and the ensuing silence brought it home to Stephen how isolated he was. Years before he had been attacked at home by a man (that damn camera again!) and now the fear gripped him. ‘They could get me here alone and....’ He didn’t want to finish it.

  In a minute he was back outside the house. He closed the back door and went to his bike. Then another thought came to him and he went to the storeroom behind the carport. Once again he looked carefully, trying to remember exactly how he had left things. It was his webbing that gave him the clue. ‘I’m sure I left it with the straps lying on top ready to pick up,’ he thought. It was a habit he had learned from four years in cadets. If the webbing shoulder straps weren’t kept neat then they tended to tangle when he went to put it on. He also thought his pack had been moved.

  ‘Someone has been here,’ he thought. His heart beat with anxiety and he quickly left the gloomy storeroom. ‘Those men, looking for it,’ he reasoned. Quickly he wheeled his bike out to the front and jumped on. There was a rain shower starting but he didn’t hesitate. Pedalling as fast as he could he rode off down the street.

  He stopped at the shop around the corner and waited till the rain shower passed, then hurried on. His objective was clear- Graham’s. ‘I must check if he has been burgled too,’ he thought. More rain delayed him but even so he was at Graham’s within twenty five minutes.

  To Stephen’s annoyance Graham was not alone. He was working on a model ship but his little sister Kylie and her friend Margaret were there as well. Margaret was lying on Graham’s bed and the sight brought a sardonic smile to Stephen’s lips. Margaret had been in love with Graham for years; made no secret of it. ‘That’s where she wants to be,’ Stephen thought, ‘In Graham’s bed.’

  Graham looked up from his model and smiled. “G’day Steve. You look a bit hot,” he greeted.

  Stephen was perspiring heavily from the effort of pedalling fast in the tropical humidity and he nodded.
“Can I have a cold drink?”

  “Sure,” Graham replied. He got up and led the way through the house to the kitchen.

  As soon as they were out of earshot of the girls Stephen told Graham of his suspicions. “Did you notice anything unusual here?” he asked.

  Graham’s mood instantly changed. “No, but I’ll look now,” he replied.

  “Check your pack and webbing,” Stephen suggested. Graham nodded and led the way downstairs, the cold drink forgotten. Unlike Stephen’s house Graham’s was a high set ‘Old Queenslander’. Underneath was a laundry, carport, storeroom and a large enclosed area which the boys called the ‘Ship Room’, because that was where Graham kept his collection of home-made ship models.

  The pack gave them suspicions but like Stephen Graham wasn’t sure exactly how he had placed it. “I just chucked my gear in the cupboard,” he explained. The boys stood at the door of the storeroom and looked at each other. “You think it was those men looking for that thing you had in your pack?” Graham asked.

  Stephen nodded. “Yes I do,” he agreed.

  That was an uncomfortable thought. Graham looked around, then said, “Do you think they are still watching us?”

  That was an even more unsettling idea. Stephen nodded but wondered if he wasn’t being silly. ‘I will become paranoid next,’ he thought.

  “But that would cost a fortune,” Graham said. “Paying men overtime to just watch two kids. Who could afford that? And why?”

  Stephen could only shrug. He had no real proof, just an uneasy suspicion. To their mutual annoyance their conversation was ended by the arrival of Kylie and Margaret. They now made their way up to the kitchen and had the cold drinks.

  Half an hour later Stephen made his farewells. “I’d better get home or Mum and Dad will start worrying,” he said.

  “I’ll ring you if I find anything,” Graham replied.

  “No! Don’t use the phone!” Stephen replied in alarm. Both Kylie and Margaret looked sharply at him, their eyes alive with curiosity. Stephen met Graham’s eyes and he nodded, understanding.