Chapter 2

The PM’s Private Meeting Room.
Parliament House, Canberra ACT

Jillian took her seat at the head of the long table in the centre of the room, glancing at the nametags at each place. She took the few minutes before the start of the meeting to once again flick over the Indigo file.

Dale Myers from ASIO walked in. ‘Morning, PM,’ he said, placing his papers on the table in front of his nametag. The PM looked up.

‘Oh, ASIO Director! Must be expecting an interesting meeting?’

‘Just here purely as an advisor to you this time, Jillian. I think you can knock this problem on the head once and for all. I will run it past you once you have heard the gist of the meeting.’

‘It sounds intriguing, Dale.’

She stopped talking as others began to drift into the room and take their place around the table. Large photos of former party members hung on the walls, a small down-light shining over their faces. Jillian often thought that these dignitaries’ photos were placed there as a pointed reminder of party allegiance, to warn against individual decisions being made in the room. Sometimes she wished she could turn the photos over.

Jillian was stunned when her father walked into the room. He took the seat at the other end of the table that was reserved for the appointed director of the meeting. It was the chair of power, with jurisdiction to override the PM’s chair at these meetings. She looked at her father and smiled at him, acknowledging his presence. He nodded back and took his seat.

Secretary of the meeting, Phil Harper, tapped the gavel. He cleared his throat. ‘Meeting is in order. Director Gillman has called the meeting in regard to Indigo. It appears many of our opposition have been receiving unfavourable reports from property owners around the lease site, protesting that it is blocking movement of cattle and other commodities on their way to market.’

Some of the other members looked blankly around the table, wondering what the hell a few upset pastoral leaseholders had to do with Indigo. Besides, the area was not in any of the electoral boundaries of the current government. The seat was held by an Independent and they, the current party, did not need his vote.

David Gillman took the floor. ‘We nip this in the bud as quickly as we can. Mark my words, if we don’t, you’ll all be on the unemployment queue come next election and our beloved party will never see the light of day again. I say we tell the elected Independent we will put a road in so the property leaseholders don’t have to travel around the site. It’s quick and simple and rids us of the problem.’

Jillian sat back, tapping her pencil on her teeth. Her father was up to his old tricks. There was something deeper. Was this another secret that only a select few would ever know about? Why a road around the area to fix the problem? What problem?

‘What’s at this Indigo site that has all of you in a fluster?’ The PM aimed her question directly at her father. She was losing patience with him thinking he ran the entire show because of his standing within the party. He stood up and looked straight at her.

‘You ungrateful little bitch! If not for Indigo, you would not be sitting in that chair now. Indigo is the Master Plan to ensure this political party holds power, so that we can build a strong nation without having the Opposition questioning our every move.’

Jillian fired back, ‘So, is this another dirty little secret deal that threatens to send us all to gaol? Why not bring all this out in the open and let these people know what kind of man you really are?’

‘You don’t understand, child,’ he said quietly. Two followers sitting beside him chortled.

‘Don’t you “child” me!’ she replied hotly. Then stood and walked out. Dale followed. He could see she was in need of comfort. No one in that room was going to offer it.

‘Jillian, wait!’ he yelled, not failing to appreciate the attractive contours of the slim figure retreating to her office.

She turned. ‘Go on! Have your two bobs’ worth.’

‘No, I’m taking you for a coffee. That meeting was a debacle. It was uncalled for.’ He could see the tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

‘Jesus! I hate my father at times. His so-called secrets drive me insane. When things go wrong, he expects someone else to fix the problem. He’s not going to get away with it this time. I’ll fix it, but not the way he thinks.’

‘Come on, this is not the place to talk like that.’

‘Put the coffee on hold, Dale. Come out to the Lodge tonight. At least we can talk in private without Big Ears having his spies on me.’

‘Okay. See you at eight?’

Dale managed to get a smile out of Jillian. He had been like a secret father to her son and was one of the select few who knew the truth about John Kelly junior.

‘Eight it is. Bring a good wine with you. Maybe two.’

Dale returned to the meeting, where no one had wondered at his sudden departure. Most knew how close a friend he was to Jillian.

‘She cracked the shits and ran away to hide. Typical of her,’ her father David commented wryly as Dale resumed his seat.

Dale wondered how a father could be so cruel to his own daughter. David’s nature was never to be kind to anyone. Politics had made him hard, and an expert liar. Dale figured David even believed his own lies. He remembered the man before politics, when he was farming. He was just as bad then. He thrived for power. Dale had seen what David had put his family through. As a neighbour, he had seen David mould his daughter into what he wanted her to be. She would cry on the school bus some mornings, and he tried to comfort her. Still, one thing he knew about Jillian, family was family. Now the penny dropped. Her silence had been to protect his lies. Dale now wondered if she would cross the line to protect her country.

David now sat back in his chair, looking smug. Though aware of his daughter’s sentimental nature, he figured she would never bring pain to the family. Exposing the truth was not an option. Dale, on the other hand, would have to be taken care of. He knew too much. David wondered exactly how much. This meeting might just reveal the extent of his knowledge about Indigo and the aftermath of Devil’s Rock. Then again, he figured it was Dale who called the guards off when the change of government came about, so that no records of the 11 MIAs on the rock were available. He had also made sure all of the files and records had been destroyed. No records, no link. David smiled to himself.

‘So far, no loose ends.’

David had no knowledge of Dale’s own records of the entire event. He had trained the man too well.

‘My best suggestion to you all,’ said Dale, ‘is—call Indigo off. That is, if you want your secrets kept. Including Devil’s Rock.’

He walked from the room.