Bella Brandon leaned back in her chair and tapped the manila folder in front of her with her fountain pen.
‘I have to say, this is very good work, Sarah. I love the personal angle. It makes the whole story zing. Our readers are going to love it.’
‘Well, you know what Tolstoy always said.’ Sarah sat opposite Bella on a seat so low her chin barely cleared the top of the desk. She tried to maintain as much dignity as possible when her knees were up around her earlobes.
‘Tolstoy?’
Sarah guessed Bella was probably trying to frown, because her eyebrow twitched. She clearly hadn’t taken Arlene’s advice on botox.
‘If you want to write well, write in blood. Or words to that effect.’
‘Sounds more like a quote from Anne Rice,’ Bella grunted. ‘Has Lonely in Longreach seen it?’
Sarah sighed, deflating further into the designer chair clearly created with toddlers in mind.
‘I haven’t spoken to him since …’
Bella nodded, words not necessary. ‘Do you think you should?’
‘Maybe,’ she conceded. Getting in touch with Sam and telling him she’d used part of their story in her article series would be the right thing to do ethically. She wasn’t feeling like doing the right thing at the moment. Her anger had abated, leaving humiliation to sizzle away in the pit of her stomach.
‘There might be a chance you can save this relationship. Turn things around.’
Sarah had told Bella the full story during a long lunch involving too much champagne and a whisky chaser. Bella, being much better at that sort of thing than Sarah, had easily wheedled the story out of her. To her surprise, her boss had proved to be a sympathetic confidante, having experienced her own online love disasters.
Sarah shook her head. ‘Nope. No way. I’m done. I spent time with a guy pretending to be someone I’m not. Now I’ve got a guy pretending to be someone he’s not. I want something authentic and real.’
‘Technically, the boy was pretending to be his father. Did he say anything about his dad that wasn’t true?’
She hated it when Bella had a point.
‘No, he did not.’
Bella leaned back in her luxurious leather desk chair and threw her hands in the air. ‘Well, there you go then. Call him. Talk to him. Get the truth from his perspective. You’re a journalist, you know there’s always two sides to a story.’
‘I hate it when you’re right,’ she muttered.
‘Darling, I’m always right. Now scuttle off and do something. I’m not paying you to sit here and chat about your love life. If you want counselling, I’ll send you my hourly rate.’ Bella dismissed her with a wave of her hand.
Sarah rose with as much dignity as she could muster, clutching her pad to her chest.
‘Right, thank you. I’ll go and …’ she pointed over her shoulder at the work spaces beyond the glass partition of Bella’s office.
Bella didn’t answer. She studied the screen of her laptop with her glasses pulled halfway down her nose, her head tipped back as she tried to focus.
Sarah waited a heartbeat, then turned and left.
Once back at her desk she put her forehead down on the table and groaned. Her life sucked.
Should she call Sam? She could text him. Would that be considered poor form? She could email him. Except according to him, that wasn’t his email address. Who knew if her message would ever get to him. She hadn’t contacted him because, aside from the fact he’d broken her heart, she hadn’t used his real name in the article. She also hadn’t mentioned which site she’d found him on, and the profile had been removed anyway, so there would be no way for readers to trace him there. So what did it matter if he knew or not before publication. She had no intention of sticking around anyway.
The afternoon of the Isisford Races, Sarah had driven back to the motel, thrown her belongings together and driven straight to the airport in time to catch the flight to Brisbane. Her phone had rung hot with calls from Sam and Maddie. She’d ignored them all and, after listening to the first one from Sam explaining what happened, deleted their messages too. Mostly because she felt like an enormous first-class fool. How did she, an intelligent and educated woman, a journalist at that, get sucked into the whole love-at-first-sight rubbish? She ought to know better.
Sitting up, she pushed her hair back and opened her desk drawer. She took out a folder with the jobs she’d applied for, carefully catalogued so she could keep track of them. Spending time in the outback had shown her where her true heart lay. She couldn’t go back to being the girl she was before. She’d applied for all sorts of rural positions, some overseas, some more serious than others. They all had one thing in common: there were as far away from Sydney as she could get.
Time for a change. Time to really start living instead of waiting for something that was never going to happen. True love and a family might not be in her destiny. She didn’t know. The best thing to do was to get out there and have an adventure so she didn’t waste away on the treadmill of daily city life in the vain hope something would change.
Besides that, she wanted to avoid running into Greg. Done that once. Awkward as all hell with Rachel in her short shorts being gracious and bubbly. Greg looked happy and to her mortification, she was shot through with jealousy at the thought.
Still, on some level she was happy for him. Genuinely. He deserved someone like Rachel who would appreciate him for who he was and who got a kick out of being with him. If only she could find someone like that for herself.
Her phone buzzed on her desk, vibrating itself across the surface as if on a mission to get to the edge. She grabbed it and checked the number.
Sam.
Sam was calling her again. He’d called every day for the last week and a half.
Should she answer?
She stared at the screen while the number flashed. Yes. No. Yes. No.
This was so hard.
Taking a deep breath, she accepted the call.
‘Hello?’
The plan had seemed simple when they’d been hanging out in the library last week. All Maddie had to do was hold her nerve, repeat the words Levi made her memorise and stay calm.
‘When did you last see Levi?’ Her mother stood in front, the leader of the adults. Behind her stood her dad and Mr C. Maddie sat at the kitchen table. The whole thing was like a scene out of one of those old Hollywood war movies where they interrogate people under harsh lights.
‘Yesterday. He said he was going to Sydney and no one could stop him.’ She could be an actress, she was that convincing. She’d even managed to fool Ms Forsyth when she’d asked why Levi wasn’t at school today. Maddie had shrugged and said something about him having a case of Mondayitis. She’d acted so cool, no one would have guessed how nervous she’d been about them getting caught out.
‘Yes, and how was he going to get there?’ Mr C sounded super anxious.
‘I have no idea. Plane?’
‘We could check with the airport, see if he got on a plane or if there’s film footage of him at the airport,’ said her dad. Shit. Had Levi thought of that?
‘Won’t that take ages?’ she asked and all the adults turned their attention back to her. ‘I mean, you know, the Privacy Act and all.’ She crossed her fingers beneath the table. This had better work. She had no idea about the Privacy Act or what it was even meant to do. Her performance had moved into the impromptu space.
‘She has a point,’ said her mum.
Mr C sighed and ran both hands through his hair.
‘Do you have any idea where he was going?’ Dad asked her.
‘I do,’ said Mr C. ‘I’ve got a good idea of where he might be headed. Am I right?’ he asked Maddie.
She nodded, not trusting her tongue. So far, Levi’s plan was working. She did not want to be the one to stuff it up. She didn’t want to get into trouble with nothing to show for her efforts.
‘Then I have to get to Sydney and find him.’
‘Hang on a minute, if you know where he’s going why not call and give them the heads up in case he turns up there before you can find him?’ Her dad was always the reasonable one and today, she loved him for it.
Mr C stopped and gave her dad a look she couldn’t interpret, which was annoying because she was usually good at this sort of thing.
‘Ah, I get it.’ Her dad coughed to cover his embarrassment. ‘Well, calling would be the smart thing to do. All things aside, Sydney is a big city for a boy from the bush. Does he know where she lives?’
‘No,’ said Mr C, ‘although he knows where she works.’
‘If we leave now we can get you on a flight. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s plane,’ said her ever practical mother. ‘Let’s drive your ute and then we can keep an eye on it here while you’re gone. Least we can do.’
‘Thank you, for everything,’ said Mr C. Her mum and dad nodded and said nothing. The subject of Sarah was like this great big elephant in the room no one wanted to discuss.
‘I’m sure Maddie will keep us updated if she hears from Levi,’ said Mum, giving Maddie a sideways glare which, she had to admit, was impressive.
‘Of course I will,’ Maddie said, trying for concern and the right amount of enthusiasm.
‘Do you need anything from home?’ asked her dad.
‘No,’ said Mr C. ‘I can manage with what I’m standing in. I don’t plan to be in Sydney long. Let’s go. I don’t want to waste another minute.’
The adults hustled out of the room without a backward glance, which suited Maddie fine. She waited until she heard the front door slam and the car start up before she got up from the table and began to make some food for Levi.
He’d be keen to hear how things were going. He’d turned off his mobile phone so he wouldn’t be tempted to check Facebook or anything. She didn’t know how he managed to cope with no phone. She couldn’t do it.
Quickly, she made Levi a ham sandwich and grabbed him a bottle of cola from her dad’s stash. Her parents would be ages yet and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Levi before they got home. Who knew if they’d let her see him once this was over.
‘Hey, Levi.’ She kept her voice down because her sister had hearing like a bat. Ariel was all the way across the yard in the house with her bedroom door closed and her headphones on, but Maddie wasn’t taking any chances.
‘Here,’ he called. She found him sitting up on a pile of bedding, surrounded by empty chip packets, playing on his iPad. She sighed and her heart gave a little flutter at the thought of their very first love nest together.
‘Brought you food,’ she said, holding out her offerings.
‘Thank you, I’m starving.’ He took the sandwich off the plate with both hands and sunk his teeth into the soft, white bread. ‘How’d it go?’ he asked through a mouthful of sandwich.
‘Just as you planned.’ She sat down next to him. ‘My parents were majestic. They totally supported the whole you-have-to-go-to-Sydney thing. Your dad is on his way to the airport now.’
‘Do you think he’ll call Sarah first?’
‘My dad told him to so who knows?’ she shrugged.
‘You want a bite?’ Levi offered her his sandwich.
‘No thanks.’ She shook her head. ‘Are you going to contact Sarah yourself? You know, like you’re really going to visit her or something?’
Levi swallowed hard. ‘Nope,’ he said. ‘I’m going to let it play out. Dad will find Sarah and then we let them know I’m safe here. There they are, both in Sydney, both worried about me. Perfect, I say.’ He took another bite of sandwich and chewed contentedly.
‘I have to say, it’s a great plan. I’m almost jealous I didn’t come up with it.’
‘My boyfriend came up with it so, close enough.’ She smiled at him shyly. They’d known each other all their lives yet this new situation had a weirdness about it she hadn’t come to grips with yet.
Levi grinned. ‘Your boyfriend?’
‘Yeah, you might know him. Annoying, self-obsessed smart-arse who tells terrible jokes.’ She threw one of his pillows at him.
‘Can’t say I know anyone like that.’ He abandoned his sandwich and returned the pillow with force.
‘Hey!’ she cried as it knocked her sideways. ‘You’ll pay for that.’ She picked up another one and swung it at him.
A pillow fight got underway with full gusto, the blows a substitute for the kisses they longed to give each other.
‘I know I’m the last person you want to hear from,’ Sam said. She didn’t answer right away and he could hear her breathing on the other end of the line.
‘I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important.’
Still nothing.
‘It’s about Levi.’ He needed her to say something, anything. ‘He’s gone missing.’
‘What do you mean he’s gone missing?’
Sam sighed with relief. For a moment there, he’d worried she might hang up.
‘He left for school early this morning but the school says he never turned up and he’s not come home. He’s reportedly heading to Sydney to find you.’
‘Me? Whatever for?’ She sounded shocked.
‘That’s something you’ll have to ask him when he gets there. I’d say it’s probably got something to do with the mess Levi and Maddie have made.’
‘You’re kidding me.’ He couldn’t tell if she believed him or not. ‘What is he thinking?’
‘I have no idea. That’ll be the first question I ask him once I know he’s safe.’ At least they were talking. So far so good.
‘You’ve tried to call him, right?’
‘Of course.’ If one more person asked Sam if he’d tried to call or text his son, he’d scream. ‘He has his phone turned off or he’s lost it or it’s run out of batteries. Either way, he’s not answering.’
‘How will he know where to find me?’
‘I don’t know. I figure he knows where you work and he’ll make his way there. The police are requesting the security camera footage and passenger manifest from yesterday to see if he was on the flight. No one remembers seeing him, which is worrying.’ Sam could not keep the concern out of his voice. The fear he worked harder at controlling. He didn’t want anyone to know how scared he was that Levi might have gotten a lift to the coast with a stranger, that he didn’t get on a plane at all. Every passing second scoured his soul as one more missed opportunity to find Levi.
‘If his phone is turned off then there is a good chance he got on a flight. Does he have any money?’
Sam blinked at the question. He didn’t know the answer. ‘I presume so.’
‘He would have gotten an afternoon flight from Longreach to Brisbane …’ He could hear her tapping on a keyboard in the background, no doubt looking up the flight information. ‘Then he’d have to change planes to Sydney.’
‘Yep.’ He waited for her to work the route through. He already knew it off by heart. If his son didn’t stay overnight in Brisbane, and let’s face it which hotel would put a fifteen-year-old boy up without his parents’ permission, then he must have gotten on a night flight for Sydney.
‘Which means he could have arrived last night and spent a night sleeping rough.’
She had to go and say it, put words to the very fear that held a dagger to his heart.
‘Thanks for making me feel better about this.’
‘You’re welcome,’ she said, her tone dripping with honeyed sarcasm. ‘What’s the plan?’
He blew out a breath, all out of fresh ideas. ‘I don’t know. I guess I catch a flight to Sydney and try to find him.’
‘And what do I do?’ she asked.
‘Wait for him, I guess. He’ll turn up sooner or later.’ He wanted to keep her talking on the phone. He missed her voice and the smart sassy way she talked. He missed the sharpness of her thinking and the way she had of being one step ahead of him all the time. He missed her.
‘What else can I do?’ she asked.
Her words took him by surprise. He thought she’d hang up and the next time he’d hear from her was to tell him Levi had arrived. The fact she wanted to do more did funny things to his heart. ‘I’m not sure there is anything else you can do.’
‘If you think of anything …’
‘I’ll text you what time I’m due in Sydney in case Levi does turn up.’ He could imagine her sitting at her desk in some flash office wondering how she ever managed to get caught up with a bunch of country bumpkins. ‘I know it’s probably not the right time to say this but I am truly and deeply sorry you got caught up in Levi and Maddie’s scheme. They really did have everyone’s best interests at heart, although it might not feel that way.’
‘Let’s focus on finding Levi,’ she said. ‘He’s our main priority.’
He liked the word our. Hearing it from her lips filled him with hope, even while his fear grew and spread through his body like some dark disease of the soul. ‘I’ll let you know if I hear anything from him, okay?’
‘Okay.’ He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He wished Michelle was here. None of this would be happening if she’d lived. He wished he was with Sarah and none of this stupid internet stuff had ever happened. Neither of those two wishes would ever come true.
He had to man up and face the prospect of Sarah being lost to him forever. He could understand why she might not want to be with him after all that had happened. What was incomprehensible to him was the prospect of never seeing his son again. Nausea rippled through him. He had to get to Sydney and find his boy.