‘They were the very best parents,’ Molly said, her voice sounding as if a lasso had wound around her throat. She indicated to the man standing next to her. ‘Do you remember Tommy? He’s the director of nursing at the hospital.’

  ‘Hi Tommy.’

  Jack stepped closer and held out his hand. ‘Molly, I’m Detective Jack Higgins,’ he said. ‘This isn’t the place to have a conversation, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m heading up the investigation into—’

  Molly reached out and grabbed his arm. ‘Martin said you had to speak to me for the coroner’s report, so I’m glad to meet you. Have you got anywhere yet?’

  ‘We’re still sorting through a lot of the information.’ Jack deflected the question just as he wanted to deflect her fingers away from the fleshy part of his upper arm. She had a strong grip.

  ‘I really want to know what happened,’ she said. There was pure panic in her eyes now. ‘I have to. To understand . . .’

  ‘Yes, of course, but it’s very early days, Molly, and really here isn’t the time or the place to have a chat. If it’s okay with you, I’ll come and see you tomorrow?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘It won’t take long. I’d just like to ask you some questions about your parents.’

  ‘I need to get out of here anyhow. Let’s go now.’ She took a step towards the entrance, surprising Jack.

  ‘Molly, just leave it for today,’ Tommy said.

  ‘This isn’t an urgent conversation,’ Jack said. ‘We can do it tomorrow.’

  ‘You don’t need anything extra to deal with,’ Tommy reiterated.

  ‘I also don’t want to be the one holding up the investigation.’ Molly turned on her heel and walked out the door into the chapel gardens.

  Jack gave Angie a questioning look. She shrugged, as if to say, You started it, and followed Molly outside. He turned to Tommy. ‘I’ll be careful with her,’ he said. ‘We might want to have a chat with you later too.’

  ‘Me?’ Tommy looked alarmed. ‘I don’t know anything.’

  ‘All just procedure,’ Jack said, heading towards the esky of bottled water. He grabbed three plastic bottles and left the hall.

  Molly was standing in the shade of a tree, jiggling from one foot to the other, waiting for him to get closer. Angie was next to her, speaking calmly.

  ‘What can you tell me?’ Molly asked as Jack approached.

  ‘Not a lot at this stage, I’m sorry,’ Jack said. ‘I’ve got more questions than answers.’

  ‘Ask away. I don’t want to hold anything up,’ she repeated. ‘I need to know what happened to them. Should I come to the station with you?’

  Angie gave a ghost of a smile. ‘No, Molly. You don’t need to. This is just a casual chat. Nothing more. Do you understand?’

  ‘A casual chat. Sure.’ She swivelled to face Jack.

  ‘Well, let’s start at the start. Tell me about your adoptive parents.’

  ‘Mum and Dad are— were great. So great that sometimes I’d forget they weren’t my real parents. Not that I ever forgot Sammi.’ She paused and looked from Jack to Angie. ‘You know about that, right? My real mum was murdered.’

  ‘Yes, we’ve been told. Not in detail, but we know,’ Jack confirmed.

  Molly’s eyes were far away, then she shook herself and continued. ‘I was young when I came here, so I . . . I didn’t forget all the time, just sometimes.’ Her face was soft with memories now. ‘Eric and Iris were so much fun. They’d make me laugh and we’d go for picnics and do all sorts of things, so yeah, sometimes it was easy to forget, during the day. It was harder at night. When I first moved in with them I used to have a lot of nightmares so Iris would sleep in my room with me. She’d tell me stories – it didn’t matter what time of the night it was. Stories about a young girl who had magic powers and could conjure up friends in the middle of the night when she was scared. She had dogs to protect her and she went on adventures. They were probably straight out of Enid Blyton, to be honest, with fruit cakes and ginger beer and picnics.’

  ‘I’m glad they loved you,’ Angie said softly. ‘I can tell you loved them back.’

  ‘Deeply,’ Molly said. She looked over Angie’s shoulder and waved at someone.

  Jack turned. The superintendent was walking towards them.

  ‘Are you okay, Molly?’ Tash asked.

  ‘Yeah, Jack had some questions.’

  The super’s gaze slid over Jack. ‘They must’ve been important, Detective.’

  ‘Not his fault – I insisted,’ Molly said. ‘This is my godmother, Tash.’

  ‘Superintendent, nice to meet you again. I’m Detective Jack Higgins with Kalgoorlie Police.’

  Smiling, Tash waved her hand like a gameshow host. ‘Ask away, Detective. Molly’s in charge.’

  Jack and Angie exchanged glances, then Jack cleared his throat and looked back to Molly. ‘Can you tell me why they were in Perth?’

  ‘I don’t know. Martin asked me that the other day. Whatever the reason it must’ve been essential because Mum missed an appointment with a neurologist. When I was going through the mail on Dad’s desk, I found a specialist’s letter. The appointment was for the day they died.’

  ‘And was your mother ill?’

  ‘The letter was the first I knew about it,’ Molly said.

  ‘I was there when Molly found the letter,’ the super said.

  Jack took a mental note, though his fingers itched to write down that piece of new information.

  ‘Okay, and what time was the appointment?’

  Pursing her lips, Molly thought. ‘I’d have to go back and check, but I think it was for the early afternoon. Tash?’

  ‘I don’t recall.’

  ‘Yes, let’s check,’ Jack said. ‘Did either of them have other medical conditions? Ones that caused blackouts perhaps?’

  ‘It’s the first I’d heard of any specialist in relation to Mum. Dad went to the cardiologist once every couple of years. There’s a history of heart disease in his family.’

  Jack made another mental note to check with the pathologist to see if it was possible Eric had had a heart attack. Even with Iris driving, a passenger medical emergency could have caused an accident.

  Jack was glad of the shade of the tree, but he was keen to get back inside and stand underneath the air conditioner vent for a while. Angie was beginning to look green next to him; the heat was taking its toll on her too. He handed Molly a bottle of water and she took a long drink.

  ‘Do you know where they stayed in Perth?’ Jack asked. ‘Did they have a holiday house or a regular hotel?’

  Confusion crossed Molly’s face and she frowned. ‘They definitely didn’t have a house that I know of, so I guess it was a hotel or a motel, but I couldn’t be sure.’ She turned to Tash. ‘Do you know?’

  ‘I didn’t even know they were in Perth,’ Tash said.

  ‘Perhaps you could have a dig around. Find a receipt. Do you have access to their bank accounts yet as next of kin? You could check the statement,’ Jack suggested. If Molly checked it would be a hell of a lot quicker than waiting for the Order to Produce he’d already initiated.

  Molly was quiet for a few moments. ‘Yeah. I’ll have a look when I get home tonight. I’ll see if their PIN and access numbers are written down anywhere. I haven’t started on anything else yet. I haven’t even let the lawyer know they’re gone.’ Her voice sounded strangled again. ‘It seems like I don’t know very much, doesn’t it? They were just doing their thing. Dad played golf and Mum had her sewing group. When we got together at dinner, we’d usually just talk about what had happened at the hospital or if Mum had heard some hot gossip from the sewing or bridge ladies.’

  ‘Could you give me their names?’

  ‘Um, I can find them out. Some of them are here today.’ Molly looked over at Tash then back to Angie and Jack.

  ‘If you could get me a list, that would be great.’ He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, conscious of the blisters again. ‘Did your parents have phones?’

  ‘Yeah, of course. Who doesn’t? They have a phone each. Actually, now you mention it, Dad tried to ring me the day of the accident. I couldn’t take the call because I was working.’

  ‘Did he leave a message?’

  ‘No, and I just assumed it was to let me know what time they’d be home.’

  ‘We need a record of the time,’ Jack said. ‘That will help narrow down the accident time.’

  ‘Are the phones completely broken?’

  Jack looked at her steadily. ‘We didn’t find any phones in the vehicle.’

  Molly pursed her lips.

  ‘Let’s head back inside,’ Jack said. ‘It’s heating up out here and we’ll all get sunstroke if we’re not careful.’

  ‘Great idea,’ Tash said and started towards the building with Angie behind her.

  ‘I’ll look for everything you need, tonight, Jack,’ Molly said, about to follow. ‘Dad wasn’t a hoarder, but he kept a lot of stuff. I think all of his diaries will be in the den somewhere. They might have more info in them.’

  ‘Eric kept a diary?’

  ‘Every night. He would have taken it to Perth with him. He never missed a night.’

  Jack ran back through his mental list of the items that had been found in the car.

  ‘Maybe he left it at home this time?’

  ‘Not a chance.’ She assessed Jack. ‘You did find it, didn’t you?’

  ‘No,’ Jack said. ‘A diary isn’t in the list of contents I’ve been given.’

  CHAPTER 13

  ‘Dad, I want to run something past you.’ Angie twirled the glass of water in front of her, still dressed in her clothes from the funeral. Charlie was on her lap, banging his hands into her face. She caught one tiny fist and blew a raspberry on his palm, feeling love curl deeply inside her when he tried to laugh.

  Todd was cooking a steak. He put down the tongs and looked over. ‘What’s that, love?’

  ‘I’d really like to go back to work.’ Angie watched his face carefully.

  ‘Would you?’ His expression didn’t change.

  Her throat tightened at the thought of staying in the house, changing nappies and cleaning up vomit for another two months. And another two months. And another . . . When she went to answer, she found it hard to get the words out. ‘I love Charlie. I really do. But, Dad, I’m going stir crazy here. I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a mum. Or at least, not the mum of a young baby.’

  There. She’d said it. Aloud. Did that make her the most awful person in the world?

  Probably. Certainly to the mum police and there were plenty of them around.

  Todd checked the steak and turned off the burner, leaving the meat to rest for a few minutes. He pulled up the chair next to her and took her free hand. ‘Sweetheart, I’m no woman, but I watch and listen, and I’ve had a fair bit to do with people over my time. My observation is that every new mum has an adjustment period, especially ones who have worked in high-power, high-adrenalin jobs like you have. Suddenly their independence is snatched away and there’s a tiny human relying on them for their every need. The pressure is still there, but they’ve swapped work for a crying, shitting, vomiting baby. What they’re doing is worthwhile, but it doesn’t feel that way.’

  ‘Thanks for mansplaining that, Dad,’ she snapped. ‘Nothing I don’t already know.’

  Todd nodded as if he had expected that to be her reaction. He got up, placing the steaks on two plates, then serving the salad he’d made earlier.

  ‘I’m frustrated at being locked in the house. It’s hard when usually I’m out all day, trying to solve crimes.’ Angie kissed Charlie’s head. ‘I mean every time the midwife comes here, she asks the same questions: How many hours sleep are you getting? Is Charlie pooing daily; and what about you? God! I never knew my shits were so important to other people!’

  Charlie tried to grab her nose and Angie jerked her head back.

  ‘What if I just want to go back to work because I love it? Not more than Charlie, but because I want to. How would you feel if you’d been told to stay at home and not get on a ship for another six, maybe twelve months?’

  ‘I wouldn’t like it, if the decision to stop work had been taken away from me unexpectedly like it was with you,’ Todd said. He picked up a plate and put it in front of her, then took Charlie from her arms and placed him in the bouncer. ‘Right now, I’m happy because I wanted to retire. The only thing stopping you going back to work is that you need someone to look after Charlie here, but that’s not insurmountable either. There are always options.’

  Angie blinked. She’d been ready to fight.

  Charlie’s arms flailed and his legs kicked out, but he didn’t cry.

  Angie had to admit he’d been so much calmer since Todd had arrived. That was probably because he sensed there was someone here who knew what they were doing, rather than just his mother, who he could probably tell was winging it. Charlie was sleeping in longer bursts, and Angie had begun to come out the other side of the exhaustion that had been plaguing her.

  ‘Angie, I’m not here to tell you what to do,’ Todd said gently, sitting at the table and placing a beer on the coaster in front of him. He picked up his knife and fork. ‘What I told you are my observations on why you’re getting that itchy feeling. Your mum had it too. And my sister. This might be hard to understand, but I get it.’ He calmly took a bite of his steak.

  Angie sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. She was silent as she replayed his words. That was true. He hadn’t said don’t go. Just the opposite.

  Todd smiled and sawed through another piece of steak. ‘Look, love, I’m happy to stay for a while. You can keep expressing milk. We’ll work it out.’

  Her unflappable father had just given her a ticket out of the fog. Angie felt the excitement building in her stomach for a moment, then heard Charlie start to gabble in his baby language. Her enthusiasm dimmed slightly as she imagined the frenetic energy of an incident room. People yelling, phones ringing, the thrill of the chase buzzing in the air.

  Then she imagined the quietness of her house, the cooing of Charlie, the quiet conversations with her dad.

  It was silly, remembering only the good parts of being at home. Or of work. What about the times when they couldn’t make headway in a case because there just wasn’t the right lead. Or the times that Charlie screamed for hours, no matter what she did to try and console him.

  He was grunting now, face red, nose screwed up. Angie rolled her eyes. ‘Couldn’t wait until after dinner.’

  Todd grinned. ‘Why would any baby let his mum eat a hot meal?’

  ‘Exactly.’ She put down her knife and fork and leaned her elbows on the table. ‘Sorry I snapped before, Dad. I thought you were about to tell me that a mother’s place is at home.’

  ‘I’m not sure if you realise, but as part of my job, I had to manage people. I’ve seen and heard everything about human nature, both the good and bad. Your old dad here, he’s not as silly as he looks. I’ve learned over the years that everyone handles things differently. What is good for one person can be damaging for another. All I want is for you to be happy. If that means going back to work, then do it. Like I said, I’m here for the time being and we’ll manage.’

  Charlie’s tummy was gurgling now and then the smell hit.

  ‘God,’ Angie said, getting up from the table. ‘I’ll fix him.’

  ‘Smells like he might need hosing off.’

  ‘Said like a true father who thinks he’s from the seventies,’ Angie laughed. ‘You’d probably go to gaol for that now.’

  ‘It never hurt you or your brother. Mac used to laugh like a hyena when I did it to him. Good fertiliser for the garden too.’

  ‘Ugh!’ Angie picked up her baby and took him to his room, where she lay him down on the change table. Unclipping the press-studs on the grow suit, she watched as he laughed and gurgled and tried to catch his feet with his hands. If she went back to work, she might miss him crawling. His first steps. Even his first words.

  Why did the decision have to be so difficult? Angie had told Molly during one of her early visits that she was frightened she wasn’t going to be a good mum. She was good at her job and she knew that. This mum thing was a whole different ball game. Molly had talked about women she’d known who had gone back to work early and suffered terribly from mum guilt. They wanted to be at work but also at home. Some didn’t have a choice; they just had to go back. But Angie had savings. If she wanted to, she could stay home for eighteen months.

  ‘Everyone is different,’ Molly had said. ‘And that doesn’t make any of them wrong, or any of them right.’

  ‘I don’t know, Charlie,’ she whispered against his feet. ‘How come I’ve got such a need to get back to work?’

  Charlie smiled his gummy grin and goo-ed a bit more.

  Angie quickly changed him and went back to the table. Todd had finished his dinner and held out his hands for Charlie.

  ‘I’ll take him, you eat. How was the funeral today?’

  Angie handed Charlie to him and went to wash her hands. ‘Pretty brutal,’ she said from the sink.

  Sitting back down at the table, she watched Todd bounce Charlie up and down gently on his knee. ‘How come you’ve learned to be so good with people, Dad? I don’t remember you being like that when I was little.’

  ‘Probably wasn’t,’ Todd answered. ‘You’re never too young or too old to learn anything. I’ll tell you what changed everything for me. I’d just been made a shipmaster and was learning all my responsibilities. One night we heard a mayday call and were instructed to head towards it. We knew a small yacht was in distress but not much else.’

  Todd was still bouncing Charlie but not looking at him. Instead, he was staring towards the wall, seeing something else in his memory.

  ‘When we got close, there didn’t seem to be anyone on board. After checking out the boat with a pair of binoculars I was pretty damn worried about what we might find below. I realised all my crew were too young to see what I suspected had happened. So I took the tender and one other fella with me. Told him he wasn’t to get aboard the yacht, but to keep the tender close by and come back and get me when I signalled to him. I didn’t want any young bloke on his first voyage having to live with seeing what might have been on that boat. Me? Well, all I could hope was that I would have the strength to withstand it. And as shipmaster, it was my responsibility to look after my crew, so that’s what I did.’