Nate made one phone call to Officer Molloy but left the chat with his grandfather until the next day when he could visit him. Now in his early nineties, discussing something like this over the phone would only confuse him. Just thinking of how fast his grandfather was ageing tightened a muscle inside his chest. He would miss him when the time came. He’d played an important role in his life, sharing so much together, but the decline in his health was more noticeable each time he went to visit—and inevitable.
Roberta sat at the kitchen table, phone pressed to her ear, talking to her mother. The discovery of the white sapphire—he’d recalled what the gemstone was—resulted in the blow-up between them. Pacing up and down the small living area, he prowled like a distraught lion. He wanted to snatch the phone from Roberta and be the one talking to her mother instead. While the conversation was one-sided from Roberta’s end, he couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth.
He’d left the box on the table. Instinct told him he could trust Roberta implicitly. She held it open, moving the sapphire at different angles. The light reflected off her dark eyes, reminding him of the last kiss they’d shared. He didn’t hate her. He never would.
“No, Mum, I haven’t found it yet. Still looking.” She held the box up, continuing to turn it this way and that.
He jerked to a sudden stop, rubbing a hand over his face. What was she going on about?
She refused to look his way, so he stood directly in front of her and raised his upturned hands in question. All she did was shrug in response.
“I’m trying to find the opportunity to dig it up, Mum. I really am. But there’s this ogre here who threatens to have me jailed if I so much as tamper with anything in this forest. He’s already said so in not-so-subtle terms, so I’m playing it carefully.”
Ogre? He slid a chair back, sitting down heavily. He scowled at her from across the table, reaching out for the box. She snatched it back. He rolled his eyes heavenward. This was turning into a childish game.
“When did my father give this box to you?”
His ears pricked up. He had every intention of eavesdropping.
“The day before he was killed?” Roberta nodded at something else her mother said. “How long did you hang around? Did you wait for the funeral?” Her fingers tapped the tabletop. “Ah … I see.”
What did she see? He wanted to scratch her eyes out or at least ask her to put her phone on speaker so he could follow the conversation better.
“Okay, Mum, I better get ready for bed. I have a big day tomorrow. Yep, I promise to keep trying to find it. I won’t let you down.” She sent him daggers before saying goodbye and ending the call.
Nate shoved his chair back and rose, towering over her. “You lied to your mother?”
Roberta shoved her chair back, too. With her hands planted firmly on the tabletop, she glowered right back. “Damn straight I did. There’s no way she’s going to know I have the rock until I find out everything I need to.”
“How are you going to find out anything if you don’t ask her properly?” Nate shouted, frustrated she’d wasted a perfect opportunity.
“None of your business, Nate Surrey. Now leave me alone,” she shouted back.
In the split second where they knifed each other with daggers across the small table, an authoritarian voice sounded from the door they left open.
“Good grief, how did you pair end up here together?”
Nate spun around. Officer Molloy stood at the door dressed in his police uniform, including a gun by his side. Nate’s angst dissipated, and he grabbed hold of the back of the chair to steady himself. “I thought you said you were coming over in the morning?”
“When did you phone him?”
Nate ignored Roberta; instead, he invited Officer Molloy inside.
Officer Molloy took a further step in, glancing warily between them. “I couldn’t wait until the morning. When new evidence surfaces on a case that started my career all those years ago, I had to come. This unsolved mystery has been a thorn in my side for a long time.”
Officer Molloy warily took another step, eyes darting between the pair. “Should you two be in the same room?”
“No!” Roberta spat.
“Yes,” Nate said at the same time.
A frown marred Officer Molloy’s face. “Weren’t you pair total strangers that day on the highway?”
Nate turned to Roberta, noting the fiery scowl she shot in his direction. He swallowed when the ridiculous thought that she looked even more beautiful crossed his mind. “It’s a long story, Officer.”
“Do we have time for this tonight, or would you rather I return in the morning?”
“Yes!” Roberta replied.
“No!” Nate answered at the same time.
As professional as Officer Molloy was trying to stay, his mouth tilted slightly. He looked across at Roberta, who held the box clutched against her chest. “Can I have a brief glimpse at it? I will give it back.”
Roberta remained vigilant, almost as though afraid someone would snatch it from her and run out the door.
“After its disappearance,” Officer Molloy continued carefully, “there was so much talk about how unique it was; my biggest regret as a newbie recruit was that I would never get the chance to see it if I didn’t find it. Just so you know, this is a very special moment for me.”
Nate held his breath, not sure how Roberta would react. A flurry of indecision crossed her face, but gradually, the tension in her shoulders dropped, and she offered the box to Officer Molloy.
He approached cautiously and took it from her.
“Just remember, my biological father gave this to my mother. It belongs to her, and she did nothing wrong, despite what he might think.”
She jabbed a finger in Nate’s chest, and he felt it—hard. His emotions seesawed, the tenable thread connecting him to this woman growing stronger and then weaker. He didn’t want things to end badly with her. He’d been there once before, but there was something about Roberta that left him on a knife’s edge.
Nate watched for Officer Molloy’s reaction. He was an excellent officer and didn’t betray too much, except for the way his mouth opened slightly when the magnitude of the size of the rock was finally revealed.
“What else do you know, Roberta?” Officer Molloy didn’t take his eyes off the precious gemstone but turned the box in different directions to catch the reflected light.
“It was love at first sight and going on for six months.” Roberta sighed. “Nothing official, just the rush of love between two young adults. The day before he was killed, he asked her to marry him. That’s when he gifted her the stone. Told her he’d discovered it while fossicking with his family.”
Nate couldn’t drag his gaze away from Roberta, enthralled by the story. When she looked across at him, the fire and anger she’d been directing at him appeared doused. Replaced by wistfulness, maybe?
“The only thing she hasn’t told me is his name. She never met his family, their short-lived affair too intense and all-consuming to share with the world. Those are her exact words. So, the day after his death, she buried the stone and returned to the man who’d been her best friend all her life and whose family assumed she’d marry one day. He was the father who raised me.” Roberta’s gaze dropped to the table, and she bit her bottom lip. “Recently, he was killed in a road accident. He knew nothing of what happened up here. Never knew I wasn’t his biological child.”
How did someone keep such a big secret? Were there any such skeletons hiding in his family’s closet? It never ceased to amaze Nate how the ramifications of keeping such secrets rocked other people’s lives years after the event.
“My mother only revealed the truth to me barely a month ago. My father’s recent death prompted my mother to revisit this whole saga. Burying the stone was her way of burying her mistake of having two men wanting to marry her. The waterskiing accident decided for her. She returned to Melbourne and married the only father I knew. Then she spent the next twenty-eight years heartbroken over one man and relieved she still loved the other, but believing she got what she deserved.”
“That’s some story, Roberta. I’m sorry you were caught up in it.” Officer Molloy said.
“Well, she won’t tell me anymore about who my real father is until she has the stone back. But what she doesn’t know is I’m not leaving the north until I find out. She won’t know I have the rock until I have more information. Is that clear?”
Steely determination crossed her face, and her lips were now a straight line. Not leaving? A flicker of hope soared inside Nate’s chest. He was so certain she would be gone as fast as her mother had been now they’d discovered the gemstone. And that mouth. Good grief, he wanted to soften the harshness right now. He dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs, needing to drag his thoughts away from everything Roberta. She would eventually leave. It would be wise to remember this.
“Can you help me, Officer?” Roberta asked.
Officer Molloy carefully closed the small box and handed it back. “I believe I can. Your father’s best friend, Bob, was accused of stealing this stone. It caused a major rift between two big farming families. I think he’s the one man who will be more than happy to help us. Maybe we should approach him first before we reveal this surprise to your biological grandparents.”
“Do you know my father’s name?” It came out in a whisper, like everything hinged on a name. Even Nate was holding his breath.
“I do. He was born William, but everyone knew him as Billy. Wild Billy. He was the craziest man behind a boat and knew no fear. The most amazing man to watch waterskiing. Bob was just as good. They were the best of mates until tragedy struck, rocking the very core of both families. I’ll fill Bob in with what you’ve told me and let him decide if he wants to get involved. Are you okay with that?”
Roberta nodded while Nate gulped in more air. Seemed everything changed that day. Would things have turned out differently if Roberta’s mother had never buried the rock?