“One or two people have floated the idea of a pardon. But I don’t quite see how it could be done. And, of course, anything which happens would need the OK of your boss. So, rather than have lawyers talking to lawyers and going in endless circles, I thought I should just try and get your ideas. Perhaps if we can think of something that makes sense you could tell me how best to make it work through all the official channels.

  “So what I am really asking is for you to use your legal brain and perhaps to use your contacts through your office and your boss to try and help me figure out a solution to this mess.”

  They talked for almost an hour. Beck was as smart as whip. She knew about both the politics and the two sides of public opinion, those who saw Saint Susan and those who saw only the murdering witch. Her legal brain quickly explored the various options and dismissed them in much the same manner that others had. The retrial was fraught with problems and the media sensation which accompanied it would be even worse than last time, not to mention the futility of conducting a trial when the defendant had no memory of the events.

  Some sort of commission on inquiry was also possible, leading to a recommendation from a judge to the Attorney General for release. Asking the judge to convene a private hearing for sentencing was also possible. But they were all full of risks, loopholes and problems. In all cases it seemed that Susan needed to return to the NT.

  Her ability to give any useful evidence remained a big problem. It was not as if she was mentally incompetent and needed to be put into mandatory psychiatric care, just she had no knowledge of anything that had happened from that part of her life. This fact had no bearing on her guilt or innocence, only on her ability to testify.

  The option of having her psychologically evaluated was considered, but it came with a high risk of disclosing her location. Therefore it was doubtful that agreement could be gained by the other party for it. And, if it confirmed she had no memory it took them nowhere; whereas if it was considered she was scamming then that created a whole new set of problems.

  The only thing that seemed to have some merit was the pardon option but the administrator had to act on the government’s advice and so the government needed a good basis for recommending this. Beck agreed she would commission advice on this option and Alan agreed he would float it with the other side.

  As they talked Alan grew more comfortable with Beck. She seemed to be on his side; she had sharp intelligence and could see all the angles. After they had finished their legal discussion Beck asked him about himself and Sandy, saying she had heard a rumor they had first met on this job and asking if it was true, also asking him what it was like to be living with another serious professional who lived and breathed their job and whether they planned to marry and have children.

  He found himself telling of his first meeting Sandy, him thinking she was a bloke and being at first dismayed that a wet city girl was on the job, then how she caught him out about the fish which Charlie had hidden and how it led to his friendship with Charlie. Then he told her of the huge and freaky crocodile who watched their every move.

  He thought Beck would laugh at this and tell him it was superstitious nonsense. But she said she was a Territory girl, born and bred, and had seen too much to laugh at these things, she even got the ‘spirits of the land’ thing; it made a strange sense to her.

  He found him telling Beck of his romance with Sandy leading up to their planned wedding last Christmas and how they had ended up postponing it with all the mess over Susan. He told of the strange mind link which had seemed to exist between Sandy and Susan, a mind link which revealed Susan’s terror on the day the murder had happened.

  He told how, at first, almost to outdo each other, he and Sandy had been determined to turn this case into a murder, together working to unearth the clues that made it so, the timber fragments in the skull, the tyre track that linked the vehicle to the site, Susan’s DNA in the vehicle, the CCTV footage of Susan, then an unknown person, who was together with the murder victim at Uluru, then the girl at the roadhouse who remembered Susan telling how she had met this man while diving on the Barrier Reef, leading to the discovery of her identity in Cairns.

  But then, once they had discovered that the person responsible was an English tourist visitor, someone who had never done anything remotely like this, it had stopped making sense and they knew there must be more.

  He told of the weeks he had spent in England trying to get the story from this girl as they went through the extradition process and how strongly she had reacted when she felt she had been tricked into giving something away, but then of her voluntary decision to return to Australia for the murder trial and of her seemingly inexplicable decision to plead guilty but tell nothing of what caused the events to happen.

  He told how both he and Sandy felt responsible for what had happened because, without their digging to open a murder case, it never would have begun. Yet, once they found the girl they knew it did not make sense for her to deliberately kill this man.

  He told Beck of his race against time to find out about the texts before Susan was convicted and sentenced to spend her life in jail. He even told her about Anne and Sandy’s premonition that she would try and commit suicide rather than have the truth come out.

  Alan felt as if, in telling this story, he would make Beck into an ally who understood what had led to this bizarre set of events. In doing so he hoped she would feel sympathy for the situation which followed where Susan was convicted of a murder, but the most reasonable understanding of the events was that she had acted in self-defence and had only pled guilty to stop damaging information about the man she killed coming out, that she had done this out of a strange sense of misplaced loyalty or perhaps to protect her children from this knowledge.

  Beck was a good listener and he felt she was in Susan’s corner, showing sympathy for her plight. But as the conversation progresses he began to become just a tiny bit uncomfortable. It was nothing specific that he could put his finger on, it was just that her curiosity seemed to make her want to burrow deeper into this girl and what she was doing now with questions like; where she was living now, was she now living with someone or on her own?

  They were all perfectly reasonable questions which someone in her position could want to know. But he felt unease with this direction. So he became evasive in his answers, saying he did not know even when he did.

  He knew she could read this in him and while, at first she did not let on, it started to become like a cat and mouse game.

  She ended up by saying, “I know you know more about where she is and how she came to be found than you are letting on, but let’s leave it that way for now. I can see why you want to keep this information secret.”

  As they went their separate ways he felt he had another ally in Susan’s corner; Beck understood what was at stake. She said would use her influence to try and untangle all these mixed up threads.

  Chapter 14 – Finding Family

  It was now December and getting close to Christmas time. Vic thought about Jane’s request to know her parents. He also remembered her mother’s plea to see her daughter again and meet her grandchildren. It seemed time to do something, though he was not sure what that was.

  His occasional talks to Buck and Anne had not revealed any new threats, but he was still nervous about disclosing their location to other people. For now interest in Susan was fading. But he knew it would not stay that way for a minute if there was real information to go on. So he kept on being really careful. He did not use a credit card or go to banks, he got paid in cash for work, he mostly rang others on a public phone; all to reduce the risk.

  He hated to think what effect it might have on Jane if she was tied to Susan and her past life. Jane had made no more requests for information about her parents and seemed to have no desire to know about other parts of her past life and, since the night of them becoming lovers, he felt they had made a pact not to try and reopen the past.

  But yet, for the sake of Jane and for her parents he wanted to allow this connection with them to happen. He did not know whether it may trigger old memories but he felt it was time.

  The challenge was to work out how to do it without this becoming a way to trace him or her. In the end he rang Anne to ask her, as she seemed to have the best ideas about this. She was also a logical link to Jane’s parents, the childhood friend who was keeping in touch with them.

  Anne said at once, “How about a Christmas reunion? David and I are going to his family property for Christmas. It is over the Blue Mountains at the back of Sydney. His parents know Susan’s parents well as a result of the engagement and the trial. They have stayed in touch. Plus there are other cousins in Sydney who Susan’s parents may want to visit. So, I am almost sure that if we invited them to come out for a visit, they would.

  “I talked to both Susan’s parents on the phone last week. I try to ring once a fortnight. They both said how much they wished to see their daughter and their grandchildren before they grow up too much. They did not seem to have anything important planned for Christmas.

  “Perhaps, while we at the farm over Christmas-New Year, David could arrange for you to visit us, he would tell the farm staff that you are a friend we met in the NT and say you are bringing your girlfriend and her two children to all come and stay for a few days. At the same time David’s parents could invite out Susan’s Mum and Dad, and her brother Tim too. They can stay at the main house; there are plenty of spare rooms.

  “There is an empty cottage about two hundred yards from the main house where you could all stay. It is down near the creek and surrounded by bush, so it is very private.

  “That way, when you come to visit as our friends they will be there too, but there will be no obvious connection for the workers to notice, not that I don’t trust them, but it is still best if they do not know.

  “As it is a property in the country there will be no snooping journalists or other people who will gossip. It will just be a visit of my good friend Vic and his girlfriend, Jane, and children, staying in a cottage on the farm, while Susan’s parents are there as guests of David’s parents. No one will know they are really Jane’s parents. I think that will work.

  “For your travel, it is best if you drive down; assuming that old banger of a car that Buck bought you is still reliable, because, if you fly your movements are readily traceable. If you drive, stay in cheap motels or caravan parks along the way and don’t use a credit card, then I think there should be very little risk of anyone working out who you are.

  “Perhaps, to be even safer Jane should dye her hair a different colour, strawberry blonde would look good with her blue eyes; that would make it even harder to for anyone to guess her identity.

  “So let’s make it happen. I know her parents will jump at the chance to see her and meet their grandkids and I can’t wait to see my friend again, even if she does not remember me.

  “Ring back next week once I have had a chance to get it organized.”

  That night, when they were in bed together, he asked Jane, “Remember how you said you wanted to know your parents. Would you like to meet them at Christmas time?”

  Jane hugged him extra tight and said, “I would love that.”

  Next morning she had a pensive look on her face so Vic asked, “What is the matter?”

  “I feel scared I won’t know who they are when I see them. Or what if they don’t want to see me?”

  Vic said, “I promise they do really want to see you and also to meet David and Anne who they have never met, their first grandchildren. I will ask them to post a photo of themselves so you know what they look like.”

  With that it was agreed. Next day they told David and Anne they were going to a place near Sydney to visit their grandparents and they were wild with excitement too.

  Slowly the days ticked over, coming ever closer towards Christmas. Vic had his car serviced. He told the mechanic to give it an extra careful check to ensure that everything was good and safe for a long trip.

  Sometimes he saw Jane looking pensive again and would ask her why.

  She always smiled brightly and said, “It’s nothing really, I am just scared about whether I want any of my old life back. I am so happy here. I could not bear for anything to spoil what we have now.”

  A week before Christmas a photo arrived in the mail with an English address. It was a picture of Jane’s parents and her brother Tim. On the back was written. “We all can’t wait to see you again.”

  Jane looked at it hard for a minute before she put it down, saying. “I wish I could remember them but I can’t. I do think I want to meet them. But I am so very scared lest our good life comes apart. It is as if there is a bad monster hiding in the shadows, wanting to break loose and smash all we have.”

  Chapter 15 - I Beg Your Pardon

  Two weeks went by before Alan heard from Beck again. This time she rang him saying. “I think I have worked it out, found a way forward. I have spoken to the Attorney General and he has talked to the sentencing judge and also to the coroner who investigated all the girls who disappeared.

  “All are of the opinion that we are in uncharted water here, it is nothing like any case they have encountered before. Their general view is the nearest thing to correct legal procedure would be a retrial where fresh evidence is brought forward to justify Susan’s actions, with or without her consent.

  “They also agree, based on what you told me about her mental state and lack of memory, that a retrial would be of little value and pose a serious risk to her wellbeing, with a great risk of more mental harm or a new breakdown.

  “Apart from harm to her, should the government seek to force a retrial, it would play very badly in the court of public opinion. A very large number of people have sympathy for her plight since the TV program telling her story went to air. To them she is guilty of nothing but bad luck. Of course, as they come to her defence, all the nuts on the other side will vilify her too.

  “An alternate option discussed was for the trial judge to resume his sentencing hearing following the coronial, based on the evidence that it revealed, including the tape in which Susan told Anne how she killed this man after he tied her up and that she believed he intended to kill her and feed her to the crocodiles. But it would be difficult to treat this as formal testimony if Susan is not able to be cross examined on it. Without that evidence being admitted it would be hard for the judge to find that no sentence be imposed. And continuing the sentencing hearing, even if done in private, would be impossible to keep secret.

  “So, as a result, it would be clearly known that Susan is alive somewhere, whereas now it is only a vague rumour. With the level of media scrutiny that would follow any revelation it would become extremely difficult for her to stay hidden, even if she did not return to Darwin for the hearing.

  “So my boss, the coroner and the trial judge want to do two things. The first is for a court appointed psychologist to evaluate Susan and confirm that her absence of memory appears genuine. This examination could be done in a confidential manner without disclosing that it occurred or where. It could occur in a major centre like Brisbane or Sydney to assist in secrecy.

  “The second thing is they will seek advice from a former judge of the High Court about the option for a pardon, if her memory loss is confirmed. All are satisfied, based on the phone text evidence from the sentencing hearing, along with the account of what happened by her friend, Anne, given at the inquest, that there is a good basis for her conviction to be set aside and her not to serve out a prison term. But they need to find a way to do this legally.

  “So a pardon appears the best option but they want eminent legal advice, given in confidence, to confirm this. Today I will prepare a brief to seek this advice by mid-January. If the advice confirms that a pardon is legally sound, then the Attorney General will seek confidential agreement of the other members of the NT Executive Government before proceeding.

  “So I expect we will have a definite answer in the New Year. Meanwhile I thought you should know. Officially my lips are sealed, as are yours, but it would be good to know if there is agreement by the other party. I would not want to have this formally announced without it.

  “I have even found a legal precedent that it does not require the consent of the guilty party to seek a pardon on their behalf. So it seems this could be done in absentia and, once granted, she would be free to get on with her own life. While the pardon would have to be disclosed, her location would not have to be. So it is possible for her to continue her life in whatever way she is now doing. It does not mean that nobody will track her down, but it gives her a chance to stay hidden if she wants to.

  “The Attorney General could announce that, following the inquest and representations from her family, he has sought and been granted a pardon for one ‘Susan Emily McDonald’ to her murder conviction.

  “If it goes ahead we need to arrange a psychological assessment and a letter of request for a pardon from her parents, as her next of kin.”

  The next day Alan rang Buck and asked him to pass this on to Vic and others as required. Buck rang Anne and told her. In return she told him of the just arranged meeting of Susan and her parents in a fortnight at Christmas. They agreed that Vic and Susan’s parents could talk about it there. To Anne it sounded like a way forward, but it would be for others to decide.

  Chapter 16 - Farm in the Mountains

  Vic and Jane set off the weekend before Christmas. The car was packed with their camping gear as they had decided to find places along the way in the mountains to camp, to treat this trip as their own holiday, done in easy stages, before they came to the farm.

  Last night Vic had called Anne again, told her of their approximate plans, three easy days of driving, coming around the back of the mountains and avoiding the big cities of Sydney and Brisbane, the first night camping in the New England, in a national park at the back of Armidale, the second night between the Hunter Valley and Mudgee, at the back of the Blue Mountains, and arriving in the middle of the third day. He had an address and directions from Lithgow to David’s family’s farm.