Roberta gulped; deathly silence followed her mother’s arrival. She shrugged off Nate’s attempt to soothe her, brushing off his arm. “Don’t touch me.”
It was uncalled for, but his attempt to override her wishes about giving up the rock without a fight still bruised her. She should care about the warrant being law, but she couldn’t get rid of the thought that this was a scam.
Nate grimaced beside her but turned to Officer Molloy. “Please remove the handcuffs.”
Officer Molloy quirked a brow and looked directly at her. She raised her arms to chest height. “I’ll behave from now on. Please remove them.”
Once the cuffs were off, she rubbed her bruised wrists and glared at her mother. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth this morning? I take it you already had your flight organised?”
Lily glanced briefly at Bob. “Mostly, yes. I wanted to surprise you.”
Grrr. Everything about this ate at her. Her mother’s secrecy only added to it. Why now? Why would someone claim after thirty years that a gemstone had been taken from a collection? It made no sense. After all the effort she’d gone through to dig it up, why now? God! She wanted to fling her arms up in the air and wash her hands of this entire mess. Then walk out the door and never come back again. Except …
“Bob, why are you here?” She was determined to ask questions to keep her mind off Nate and what they should’ve been doing that afternoon. Someone would wear the brunt of her frustration.
“What is going on?” Roberta spat. I assume you’re here for the same reason he is? She pointed in Officer Molloy’s direction.
“I have been questioned about it.” Bob fiddled with the hem of his T-shirt before glancing nervously at Lily.
“Well, did my dad steal the stone?”
Bob coughed to clear his throat, struggling to speak, but finally said, “I was able to confirm to the police that Billy worked a stint at the station in question. I was there at the same time, but I can neither confirm nor deny if he took the stone. We all knew the old fellow did a spot of prospecting and was proud of his collection. We lived in the station accommodation and had no reason to be near the main homestead. It was only a once-off summer vacation break that took us out there, and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t forever. We both had working family farms to return to.”
“So, my father was a thief?”
“I didn’t say that. If he stole the rock, I never saw it happen.”
“But he’s not here to defend himself. It’s no longer the rough stone. How will they tell if it’s the same one? And why did its disappearance conveniently come up now?”
Roberta turned towards Officer Molloy when he spoke.
“The old man collector was quite the expert and recorded details about each gemstone he found. Things like its clarity, colour and whether it contained any imperfections. His grandson has now inherited the collection and recently went through all the paperwork matching it to each stone. This was how he found this significant gemstone was missing. Exceptionally large, it had attracted the news back then but was largely forgotten after the old man passed on. But there’s proof of its existence, and now we need it in our possession so an expert can examine it. Regardless of whether it’s been faceted or not, they’ll be able to tell. If it isn’t the stolen gemstone, you get it back. No questions asked.”
Roberta turned on her mother. “Did you know anything about this?”
“No!” Lily exclaimed. “Why would I?”
“But they’re claiming the man you loved was a criminal. Are you okay with that?”
“Oh, Roberta,” Lily moaned. When Bob put his arm around her mother’s waist, Roberta frowned. Bob’s actions made no sense.
“Billy,” Lily wavered, uncertainly all over her face. “Oh, I did love Billy, but—”
“Huh? But what? You either loved him or not. If you didn’t, why this wild goose chase?”
Tears trickled down Lily’s face. “I did. Very much. We were inseparable. Then … then one night, he hit me. Oh, I can’t remember why we argued. We were both so emotional and hotheaded; it just happened. But the slap was a huge shock, one I wasn’t expecting. It was late at night, and I took off. I can’t even remember why I drove to Bob’s place, but he was always so kind and gentle. I had to talk to someone. At the time, he was the only person I could think of who was in close driving distance.”
Bob tightened his hold around Lily when she struggled to halt her tears. “Shh, it’s okay.”
“What’s okay?” Roberta wanted to know.
“It happened,” Lily continued but couldn’t carry on, a sob catching in her throat.
“What happened?” Roberta impatiently demanded.
“Surrounded by Bob’s kindness, it just happened.”
“What happened?” Roberta suspected what her mother was working towards, but no way would she say it first.
“We … we slept together and immediately knew it was the wrong thing to do.”
“You had sex with your boyfriend’s best friend?” Again, she shrugged off any attempt by Nate to placate her when he came to her side again. “Oh, this is good. This is so, so good.” Her voice sounded like a wail to her ears. After years of being reprimanded by her mother for her bad behaviour, this topped it off. Who cared about the rock? What rock? she wanted to shout.
“Roberta, stop it,” Bob pleaded. “Let your mother finish saying what she has to.”
“No, you stop it. All of you. I don’t want to hear any more. All I’ve gotten from this conversation is that I was asked to dig up a rock my father gave you because he loved you. We can’t be sure you felt the same way because you had sex with his best friend. But that’s not the best part. Oh no, my father was also a criminal and an abusive one too. You know what? I don’t want to hear anymore. Ever! Period! Go back to Melbourne and leave me alone … forever, thank you very much.” She sped past her distraught mother and out the door.
* * *
Nate grimaced when the front door slammed shut behind Roberta. She was hurting, and he should be the one trying to console her, but he knew better. Roberta needed a cooling-off period. He’d look for her soon. Without her car keys, she wouldn’t be driving anywhere. That was a good thing. But how to clean this mess that started many years ago? It could so easily screw Roberta up and their relationship, and he didn’t want that. He was in damage control on their behalf, but first things first. As for what he was about to do, he hoped like blazes he wouldn’t regret it for the rest of his life.
He turned to Officer Molloy, leaving Bob and Roberta’s mother to console each other for now. “I guess we don’t have a choice about the gemstone. It’s in the safe. I’ll go get it for you.”
“Much appreciated, Nate. I’m sorry about all this. I wish we could’ve done things differently, but I don’t have a choice.”
“All good. I’ll go now.” Nate grabbed the bulky teahouse key tag off its hook, asked Bob and Lily to take a seat on the couch and left. It wasn’t all good. Nate understood what he was doing would never pass muster with Roberta. He was risking everything they’d shared. Would she forgive him?
He glanced in all directions but didn’t see Roberta outside the teahouse. When he returned to the cottage, Roberta’s mother approached him. “It’s Nate, isn’t it?”
Nate nodded.
“I’m Lily. Roberta has talked about you.”
Grimacing, Nate didn’t respond. He didn’t want to think about some of the things Roberta might’ve told her mother. Their short rollercoaster of a relationship had probably landed him in verbal hot water many times during phone conversations.
“Thank you for taking care of her. Sometimes we’ve struggled as mother and daughter, and it feels like we’ve been at loggerheads for years, unable to agree on anything.”
“I’m sure she’ll come around. You know Roberta, she just needs a bit of time to think things through.”
“I’m not so sure. There’s more I haven’t told her. I’m scared it might break her this time.” She hesitated, her hands knotting and her knuckles showing their whites. Her eyes filled with longing as she gazed wistfully at the small box he held. “Can I look at the stone, please, before you hand it over? I was such a terrified mess the day I buried it, with no idea what the future held or if I was doing the right thing.”
Nate looked to Office Molloy, who had taken a seat at the small table and was checking his phone. When he glanced up, Nate asked, “Is that okay?”
Office Molloy nodded, so Nate opened the box and gave it to Lily.
Lily remained transfixed as she looked at the gemstone. Tears trickled down her cheeks again. She used her sleeve to wipe them away. “I wasn’t imagining it over the years. I remember it being so large. I thought maybe I made it bigger than what it really was.” She turned the box in different angles, giving Bob the opportunity to view it too. Lily glanced up and met Bob’s gaze. “Do you think Billy stole this?”
Bob took the box from Lily and turned it to the light. “I wish I knew, Lily. I really wish I did.” Bob gave it back to her, enclosing Lily’s hand in his large one. “I guess it’s time to find out. I hope he didn’t. He’s been my idol since the day he died. It’ll be a blow to learn he did the wrong thing.”
Lily nodded as though she understood what Bob meant. Nate didn’t doubt that if Billy had stolen the rough gemstone, it would damage these two in ways he couldn’t be sure of and bring more bitterness to Billy’s parents, who already carried enough of it as it was.
Lily approached Officer Molloy. “Thank you for being so understanding with my daughter. She’s had a big upheaval in her life, and this will only fuel her anger. But I have no regrets. From the very first day I held her in my arms, I have fiercely loved my daughter, believing that burying the rock and forgetting everything that happened up here was the best decision at the time. I still feel this way.”
She passed the small box to Office Molloy, then took Bob’s hands in her own and faced him. “I wish your life had turned out better.”
Bob’s reaction to Lily’s words stirred something in Nate. Bob’s Adam’s apple bobbed, evidence of how emotional a moment this was for him. Nate understood this better after Lily’s revelation earlier.
Officer Molloy stood and slid the chair under the table. “I’ll be on my way. I apologise for the upheaval my turning up has caused, and I hope Roberta is okay.”
Nate extended his hand and Officer Molloy shook it. “All good, mate. I’ll go find her now.”
When Officer Molloy left, Nate turned to Lily. “Have you organised somewhere to stay?”
“Bob has arranged it,” Lily said.
“Okay, great. I’ll go look for Roberta. Check she’s okay.”
“Thank you, Nate. Will you let me know?”
“Of course.”
When Lily and Bob left, Nate remained rooted to the spot. There were things going on that he couldn’t quite grasp. Either way, it would affect Roberta, and she would need all the support she could get.
With a sigh, Nate picked up a torch and left the cottage. Why did he suspect it would require Roberta crashing first and him picking up the pieces?