Thursday night
Parliament House, Darwin
David Johnson didn’t remember the elevator’s descent to the lobby, just the sensation of the frigid air-conditioning blowing on his neck when he stepped through the doors. He clicked the remote control key of his SUV, threw his briefcase on the back seat and climbed in, then sat there for a moment and let the heat warm him. The aftertaste of whisky lingered in his mouth. Never again would he drink it without reliving the feeling that crawled through him at Fairweather’s threat.
David opened the window after he started the car, letting the hot wind of the tropical night blow through his hair.
He didn’t care about Fairweather’s threat to go to the media. That was part of his everyday life. But the threat to his family . . .
David took his position very seriously, and his integrity had seen him through difficult scenarios and many hard decisions. He was all about what was best for the Territory. He would play along with Fairweather and then vote as his conscience – and what was best for the Territory – dictated.
Blackmail wouldn’t wash with him.
Not now. Not ever.
He turned the car out of the parliamentary car park, waved to the security guard and headed for home as the words ‘you have two weeks’ pounded through his head.
Two weeks. Two weeks. Nowhere near long enough to give considered thought to the two issues and liaise with the committees.
How dare the bastard put me into this position? But the faces of his children kept filling his vision. David had no doubt that Fairweather would follow through with his threat. He’d seen the power the man wielded over the past two years and knew he would do anything to get his own way.
Anything.
A cold feeling settled in his gut as he drove along the deserted road. He slowed as the light turned to red in front of him. As he waited for it to change, David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For the first time since he had been Chief Minister, he was unsure of the direction he would take. But one thing he was sure of; until the discussion took place about the mining exploration, he was going to send Gina and the kids out of town. She’d argue but that’s the way it was going to be. When it was over, he’d join them and they could have a family holiday for a few days.
The house at Cullen Bay was only a ten-minute drive from Parliament House, but it could have been worlds away. Although the place had all the latest security gadgets installed, they rarely used the system. One time they’d come home from a holiday and hadn’t been able to find the control. They’d set it off and Gina had held her sides, laughing, and the tears had run down her cheeks as the alarm had filled the neighbourhood. After that, they decided it was too much of a bother to switch on and off with the kids coming in and out all day. Most nights they forgot to turn it on.
That would be changing from today.
He parked halfway up the drive, because the paved area in front of the triple garage was strewn with toys. Andrew’s bike was tipped on its side, where it had been left when something more interesting had caught his attention.
A small blow-up plastic pool was sitting on the grass at the edge of the driveway. The strong moonlight caught the small toys bobbing in the shallow water. Binny would spend her entire day splashing about in the four inches of water if she had her own way.
The house was in darkness and the night was quiet. He closed the car door quietly and grabbed his briefcase.
‘David?’ Gina’s soft voice reached him as he closed the front door behind him. He locked and keyed the deadlock, jiggling the key to remove it from the rarely used lock. David loosened his tie and shrugged out of his jacket, dropping it on the white leather sofa in the living room. Gina always left a night light on when he had late sessions and committees.
‘I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll just look in on the kids.’
The house was cool and he flicked off the air-conditioning switch as he walked through the living room. The low hum reminded him of his office and he didn’t want that. Tonight he wanted to focus on his family.
The smell of chocolate cookies pervaded the house and he took a sidetrack to the kitchen on his way through to the kids’ bedroom. The cookie jars were full and Gina had left the coffee pot on for him. He opened the jar and took two, shoving one in his mouth as he walked across to check the sliding door leading to the patio. It was unlocked and he flicked the lock over.
Gina had grown up in a small village in Tuscany where doors were open for neighbours to drop in at will. There, life was slow-paced . . . and safe. Fairweather and his threats aside, it wasn’t safe to leave the house unlocked at night in Darwin. He’d talk to her about locking up later, and try not to let it turn into a fight. He rubbed his hand across his eyes. All they seemed to do lately was have harsh words.
David knew he earned enough to provide a good life for them. The sticking point lately was that he was never there to share that life with Gina and the kids. Now that she was pregnant again, maybe it was time for a change.
Walking quietly down the hall, he looked at the long windows that reached from floor to ceiling in this wing of the house. It would be so easy for anyone to break in if they were determined. The house’s glass walls and open plan had once seemed perfect for their lifestyle up here in the tropics. Now in one night it had become a place where danger lurked in every shadow.
‘Fuck Fairweather,’ he muttered under his breath. Two weeks.
Binny was lying with one leg hanging over the side of her bed, her tiny foot just touching the tiled floor. David lifted her leg onto the bed, pulled back the light blanket and slid her up onto the pillow. She murmured as he reached down and kissed her warm cheek.
‘Daddy?’ Andrew lifted his head in the other bed and gazed at him, his eyes reflecting the soft night light.
‘Hey, tiger. What are you doing awake?’
‘Waiting for you to come home.’ As David reached down to kiss his son, two little arms fastened around his neck and held him tightly. ‘We went for a walk to the harbour today and looked for your car but we didn’t see you. But guess what we saw?’
David’s eyes burned even as the warmth of the little arms touched his skin. His family was living without him. Endless late-night meetings, interstate trips, and now this.
‘What did you see?’ He pulled back and looked into the trusting eyes of his firstborn. ‘A circus?’
‘No.’ Andrew sat back and spread his arms wide. ‘We saw the biggest ever crocodile.’
‘In town?’
‘Yup.’ Andrew was full of seriousness. ‘We walked around the rocks and saw it in the water.’
‘Wow.’ David shook his head but didn’t let his feelings show. Walking around the bloody rocks. Gina just didn’t understand the dangers of living here. He ran his hand lightly through Andrew’s hair and reached down to kiss his son. ‘Can you keep a secret?’
The little boy nodded and a grin crossed his face as David held out the chocolate cookie.
‘We’ll have a midnight feast.’ David smiled down at his son who was the image of his mother. Dark hair that curled onto his neck, olive skin and almond-shaped green eyes, long lanky limbs. All of the features that had hit him like a freight train when he had first seen Gina on the catwalk in Milan. ‘But brush your teeth as soon as you wake up in the morning or Mummy will know our secret.’
‘I will, Daddy.’ Andrew finished chewing and David pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his son’s face.
‘Just getting rid of the evidence. Now go to sleep and I’ll see you in the morning.’
‘Promise? Cross your heart?’
Determination filled David at the need in Andrew’s voice. It was time to make some hard decisions about his career. ‘I promise, and after I talk to Mummy, I might have a big surprise for you.’
He waited until his little son snuggled into the pillow and closed his eyes.
The sleep of the innocent.
It had been a long time since he’d slept like that.