The Road Back: A Novel

by Di Morrissey

  ‘It’s still nice to have the occasional fire going at night, but you can sniff spring coming over the ridge,’ said Pete, as Chris handed him his tea.

  ‘I can never decide which season I like best,’ agreed Chris. ‘Maybe we could take the boat out for a bit of a fish soon.’

  Pete sipped his tea. ‘Sounds good. I remember when we used to go out fishing with your dad. We had some good times.’

  ‘Do you take your sons fishing these days? Must be a nice thing to do.’

  Pete smiled at him. ‘It is, but I also know a bunch of kids who need a father figure in their lives, and I like to take them fishing, too. Maybe you could come out with us some time.’

  ‘I will. I’d like that.’

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Pete straightened up. ‘This isn’t just a social visit, Chris. I have some news for you.’

  Chris gripped his mug at the tone of Pete’s voice.

  ‘That visit you had earlier today . . .’ Pete paused. ‘I got a phone call a few minutes ago. Carmichael drives a green Mark 2 Jag, right?’

  ‘Yeah. That’s the car he came here in,’ said Chris.

  Pete nodded. ‘Well, a car matching that description just drove into a gully on Palmers Road. The driver took a corner too fast, it seems.’

  Chris stared at Pete. ‘And Carmichael, how is he?’

  ‘He’s dead.’

  Chris was silent for a minute or so. Initially, all he could feel was relief. All those threats that Carmichael had made were now as nothing. He would never be able to carry them out. Then anger began to stir in him. Carmichael would never be made to face all those charges of corruption. His death meant that he had escaped the justice system.

  ‘You’re kidding,’ Chris said finally, shaking his head. ‘Man, this is a lot to take in. It’s some surprise. I’d like Mum’s and my involvement with Carmichael kept out of this, Pete. Only you know that he came to the house. It has nothing to do with this accident.’

  ‘I don’t suppose it has,’ said Pete in a low voice. ‘But maybe what happened was no accident. It’s early days yet, and the accident unit are still investigating, but I have my doubts. The man was facing not only bankruptcy, but the prospect of spending years in gaol. Big comedown for a man of his standing, and he wasn’t young, either.’ The sergeant rubbed his chin. ‘Maybe he didn’t want to have to face any of it. Of course, we’ll have to see what the accident guys have to say, and these things are not always conclusive. You might want to break the news to your radio station. It will be everywhere tomorrow morning.’ Pete swallowed the last of his tea. ‘Give your mum my regards.’

  ‘Thanks for telling me, Pete. I’ll let her know.’ They shook hands and the sergeant left the house. Chris sat looking at his empty tea cup for a long time, not sure what to make of what he had just heard or how he should feel. Alan was gone and the episode was over, but Chris still felt puzzled. His family was safe, but they would probably never know the whole truth about what happened.

  As darkness fell around Neverend, Chris felt the stillness steal over him, comforting him as only home can.

  *

  As Sergeant Pollard had predicted, Alan’s sudden death was a media sensation, and over the next few weeks more evidence came to light about Alan Carmichael’s corrupt business practices.

  ‘The tabloids are having a wonderful time trashing Alan’s reputation,’ said Chris, sitting companionably with Susan in the peaceful garden.

  ‘I’ve noticed there have been questions as to why Alan had driven so far north,’ said Susan. She and David had moved into their little cottage, but Susan usually popped in if she knew that Chris was at home.

  ‘I’ve thought about things, and I don’t know if Alan killed himself or was just so angry that he wasn’t paying attention to the road,’ continued Susan.

  ‘I suspect we’ll never know the answer to that. Why do you think he blamed us?’

  ‘I think that Alan was simply not prepared to accept that the collapse of his business and the charges he faced were the result of anything he had done himself. He wanted to be able to blame someone else for the shambles his life had become, and that was us. Nonsense, of course – he brought it all upon himself – but he was never going to admit that. Threatening us made him feel in control, I suppose.’

  ‘He certainly was in denial. I think men like Alan honestly believe that the law does not apply to them, only to lesser mortals,’ said Chris.

  Susan nodded. ‘I’ve had a lot of long chats with Evan and Mark on the phone, and I’ve also had a call from Tom Anderson.’

  ‘Really! What did he have to say?’

  ‘He said it was all very unfortunate, and he was sorry his call to Alan had caused trouble for us. I didn’t quiz him about his business dealings with Alan. I don’t think that I really want to know all those details. Anyway, what he was really ringing to tell me was that he was going to further the education of some bright young Indonesian kids by setting up scholarships to allow them to attend some of America’s leading business schools. The scholarships will be called the James Anderson scholarships. Jimmy would have liked that,’ she said with a soft smile.

  Chris nodded. ‘That’s impressive. A great thing to do.’

  ‘I also rang Norma to let her know about everything.’

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘She mentioned something about karma. She’s heading back to Indonesia for a couple of weeks to check on the clinics she helped set up.’

  ‘I would like to get up there myself sometime. I might go when Megan visits Jill at Christmas. Might see if Georgie wants to come with me. I’d like to go to Bogor, to see where you were.’

  ‘I think it’ll be very different from the place I remember,’ said Susan. She looked across the lawn towards the vegetable garden. ‘Now, are you across looking after the garden here? Those tomatoes have well and truly finished. You might want to think about planting some more pretty soon.’

  ‘Yes, Mum.’

  Susan chuckled. ‘Oh dear, tell me to butt out. You’re living here, so you do whatever you want, Chris.’

  ‘It’s fine. I’m still adjusting to being man-of-the-house and Megan misses you, but we’re getting on very well, just the two of us. She’s good company.’

  ‘Yes, well, she’s growing up. She’ll be fifteen in just a few weeks. She doesn’t want to hang out with her grandmother so much anymore. She’s a bright, intelligent girl with lots of healthy interests.’ Susan rested her hand on his arm. ‘Chris,’ she said earnestly, ‘you’re not sorry you came back, are you?’

  ‘How could I be? Maybe it’s not what I expected my life to be, maybe it’s even better. I’ve got a good job and a book happening. I’ve become a solid fulltime father, not a token dad, and I have an amazing daughter. I have a beautiful, loving girlfriend. I’ve reconnected with the place I love. I’ve got great mates who are true friends, not just professional acquaintances. I have a mother who is not only very contented, but is actually in love with a very nice and interesting man. I’m living in a paradise. How bloody lucky am I!’ He grinned broadly.

  Chris walked with his mother to her car and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  ‘See you both on Sunday? Now the house is finished, David and I will be heading off to Italy in a couple of weeks, even if it is slightly out of season.’

  ‘You’ll have a ball, Mum.’

  He watched her car turn out of View Street. All was quiet once more.

  In the warmth of the sun, Chris closed his eyes, but he could still see in his mind’s eye the green paddocks dotted with fat cows, the hills rising like protective green pillows, the river running under the bridge. It was a view he’d seen all his life and was forever imprinted on his heart.

  With love to Boris, who is always beside me, loving, staunch and caring.

  My children, Gabrielle and Nick, and your beautiful children. I am so proud of you both.

  Thanks are not enough to my friend and editor, Liz Adams, who
is part of my life – 24/7!

  To all at Pan Macmillan: Ross Gibb, Samantha Sainsbury, Katie Crawford, Jace Armstrong, Hayley Crandell and Danielle Walker.

  Thanks to Ian Robertson, the lawyer with a sense of humour!

  Also many thanks to:

  Professor Tim Lindsey, Malcolm Smith, Professor of Asian Law and Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, at the University of Melbourne. My good friend, Kadek Adi. Also, George Negus and Kirsty Cockburn; Jim Sweeney, Bellingen Museum; Brett Iggulden and Patrick Cairns. My teen muses – Shak and Dana.

  Beau Riley, computer whiz, who solves my technology glitches no matter where in the world I am.

  Suggested viewing to learn about what happened in Indonesia during the 1965 coup – the Oscar-nominated documentary, The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer and Christine Cynn.

  About Di Morrissey

  Di Morrissey is one of the most successful authors Australia has ever produced. She trained as a journalist, working in newspapers, magazines, television and media around the world. Her fascination with different countries; their cultural, political and environmental issues, has been the catalyst for her novels which are all inspired by a particular landscape.

  Di is a passionate advocate and activist for many causes. She established The Golden Land Education Foundation to raise funds to build and maintain a primary school, in Burma (Myanmar).

  Di has two children, Dr Gabrielle Morrissey Hansen and Dr Nicolas Morrissey, and four grandchildren. Di lives with her partner, Boris Janjic, in the Manning Valley, NSW.

  To find out more visit www.dimorrissey.com and www.facebook.com/DiMorrissey and follow her at @di_morrissey on Twitter.

  Also by Di Morrissey

  Heart of the Dreaming

  The Last Rose of Summer

  Follow the Morning Star

  The Last Mile Home

  Tears of the Moon

  When the Singing Stops

  The Songmaster

  Scatter the Stars

  Blaze

  The Bay

  Kimberley Sun

  Barra Creek

  The Reef

  The Valley

  Monsoon

  The Islands

  The Silent Country

  The Plantation

  The Opal Desert

  The Golden Land

  The Winter Sea

  MORE BESTSELLING FICTION BY DI MORRISSEY

  The Winter Sea

  Escaping an unhappy marriage and an unsatisfactory job, Cassie Holloway moves to the little NSW coastal town of Whitby Point. Here she meets the Aquino family, whose fishing business was founded by their ancestor, Giuseppe, an immigrant Italian, some ninety years before.

  Life for Cassie on the south coast is sweet as she sets up a successful restaurant and falls in love with Giuseppe’s great-grandson Michael. But when the family patriarch dies, a devastating family secret is revealed which threatens to destroy her dreams.

  Cassie’s future happiness now rests on her quest for the truth.

  The Golden Land

  Natalie is a young Gold Coast mother with a loving husband, two small children and a happy lifestyle. While helping her mother move house, she finds a little box containing a Burmese artefact. When Natalie learns its unique history through a letter left by her great-great uncle, it ignites an interest in its country of origin and her uncle’s unfulfilled plans for this curio.

  Her investigations collide with her own dramatically changing circumstances and create a catalyst for a moral dilemma that challenges the core of her marriage as she finds herself immersed in two very different golden lands.

  The Opal Desert

  Kerrie, in her 40s, has just lost her famous sculptor husband who had been the centre of her existence and for whom she made many sacrifices and she now finds her life has lost direction.

  Shirley, approaching 80, was betrayed by her lover many years before and has retreated from the world, becoming a recluse living in an underground dugout.

  Anna, 19, has a promising athletic career but is torn between the commitment to her sport which could carry her to the Olympics, or enjoying life like other young people.

  The friendship that develops between these three women, who meet in the strangely beautiful but desolate landscape of the opal fields, helps them resolve and come to terms with the next stage of their lives.

  The Plantation

  When Australian Julie Reagan discovers a book written about wild Malaysia in the 1970s, she decides to find out more about the author – her great aunt. Why did her grandmother refuse to speak about her sister who disappeared from the family, 60 years before?

  Julie is invited to stay with her cousins who run the plantation founded by her great grandfather in Malaya a hundred years ago, and she decides to visit in the hope of finding clues to this family mystery.

  What Julie finds sends her spiralling through generations of loves, deaths, tragedy and the challenges of the present until she discovers her grandmother’s shocking secret.

  The Silent Country

  TV producer Veronica Anderson travels to the Northern Territory to retrace the journey of an expedition that had set out 50 years earlier to film the outback, but which mysteriously ended in tragedy.

  Of the group, led by the eccentric Maxim Topov, few are still alive and they are reluctant to talk about the intriguing events. It is through the help of local NT Park Ranger, Jamie McIntosh, that Veronica begins to piece together the puzzle and discover the answers.

  These answers break the silence and change her life.

  The Islands

  It’s the psychedelic 70s and social conventions are being challenged. When Catherine Moreland from rural Australia goes on her first trip abroad, a handsome American naval officer sweeps her off her feet and she goes to live in the beautiful Hawaiian Islands with her new husband.

  At first, the magic and loveliness of the Islands lead Catherine to believe she is living in paradise. However, as she learns more about the Islands, she begins to discover that paradise has a darker side. And when she meets a mystery man of the sea, as though hit by a tsunami, her life is turned upside down and changed forever.

  Monsoon

  Monsoon is a journey into the hearts and memories of those caught in a certain time in a particular place.

  Sandy Donaldson has been working for a volunteer organisation in Vietnam for the past four years. As her contract nears its end, she is reluctant to leave so she invites her oldest friend, Anna, to come for a holiday and discover its beautiful tourist destinations.

  Both girls have unexplored links to this country. Sandy’s father is a Vietnam vet and Anna’s mother was a Vietnamese boat person.

  During their travels, they meet Tom, an old Australian journalist who covered the war and plans to report on the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. It is Tom who tries to persuade Sandy’s father to return to Long Tan and settle the ghosts that have haunted him for 40 years, and suggests that Anna should delve into her mother’s past.

  But the girls are reluctant, swept up in their own concerns, relationships, and a business deal that has the potential to go horribly wrong. However, it is the near-blind Buddhist nun living alone in the pagoda atop one of the karsts in Halong Bay who might hold the key.

  The Valley

  FROM AUSTRALIA’S QUEEN OF FICTION COMES A PAGE-TURNING STORY OF FAMILY SECRETS AND LIES . . .

  The valley is nestled between rugged peaks, divided by a magnificent river. Within its peaceful green contours are held the secrets of generations of tribes, families and loners who have come under its spell.

  But some secrets are never shared, never told.

  Until one woman returns and begins asking questions . . . and discovers the story of a forgotten valley pioneer whose life becomes entwined with hers. But in looking into her own family’s history she uncovers more than she ever expected – and what her mother hoped would always remain a secret . . .

  The Reef
>
  On a small coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef two communities come together in an uneasy alliance: a tourist resort and a scientific research station.

  At first glance, the island is a sexy resort, a naturalist’s dream, a diver’s delight. But the island holds secrets and dangers as Jennifer Towse soon discovers.

  When world-famous marine biologist Isobel Belitas arrives, Jennifer learns to see the world – above and below the sea – very differently. Isobel also teaches her to come to terms with her obsessive mother, as well as her disintegrating marriage.

  But no one, not even investigative journalist Tony Adams, could have prepared Jennifer for the stunning revelations of what is really happening on this island paradise . . .

  Barra Creek

  In the wild Gulf country of northwestern Queensland, there’s a cattle station – Barra Creek – on a tributary of the crocodile-infested Norman River.

  It’s 1963 and Sally Mitchell, the well-bred daughter of a wealthy New Zealand sheep farmer, is on her way to England with her friend Pru. When the young women stop over in Sydney their plans go awry. Sally impulsively takes a job as a governess at Barra Creek, and when the mail plane that flew her there takes off she finds herself left in a different world. One dominated by the overpowering John Monroe and his strict and proper wife Lorna.

  Here Sally’s life changes forever. The challenges of coping with her three young charges, wild stockman, the heat and the Wet, brumby musters and cattle rushes all pale beside a great passion, a great loss and a gruesome death.

  Only Lorna knows the truth of the death and of a terrible injustice. Now, in 2003, she searches for the former governess to finally set things right and share her horrific secret.