Heart of the Outback (42 page)

“They go back a long way, to when CJ first bought this place. Roy knew your mother. Was an old flame, in fact.”

“Really! Fascinating. You must introduce me.”

Les gave her a strange, almost secretive look. “I’d be glad to, a bit later on if it’s all right with you. There’s something pressing I have to do for CJ.” And with that he turned on his heel and walked away. All the way around the pool he felt her indignant stare follow him and he smiled as if he were privy to some huge joke. Soon, Natalie, soon.

About nine thirty, after the band had finished a set and were taking a ten minute break, CJ stepped up on the makeshift stage and commandeered the microphone. He saw before him a sea of faces, some still clustered around the flagstone patio where they’d been dancing, others in small groups, laughing and talking. Francey, he noted, was talking to Lisa Dupre and her husband Pierre.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Murrundi. I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves. Tonight is a very special night. We’re celebrating the birthday of the newest member of my team, the architect who designs all my new projects. Where are you, Francey? Come up on stage and take a bow.”

Reluctantly Francey moved towards the stage and did just that, speaking quietly into the microphone. “Thank you all for coming and sharing this night with me but especially, thanks to my boss, CJ, who’s so generously organised tonight. Enjoy!” She jumped down from the stage as quickly as she could and made her way over to where Steve was talking to Mike Hunter and Lucky Pajello.

Steve took her hand and squeezed it. “You were great. See, I told you it wouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Folks,” CJ went on. “There’s a twofold reason for me inviting you here tonight. You just heard one reason, now it’s time for the other. Bear with me, ‘cause it’s going to take some getting out.

“Most of you have known me since I bought Murrundi. A few of you knew me before that, when I was a bum out of my pants jackeroo scratching around for a living. None of you,” and he looked briefly at his sister, “know about a certain episode in
my life which started me on the road to success in one way, and damned me in another. I’m talking about the time I spent in Coober Pedy, nearly twenty-nine years ago.

“I scored big in an opal mine. That’s public knowledge and it gave me the grub stake to get this place.” He waved his free hand around expansively to encompass the property. “What no-one knows is the secret I’ve kept all these years because I’ve not been proud of it. Now I feel compelled to tell you, to tell the world, in fact.”

Trish and Natalie, standing side by side, their arms touching, glanced enquiringly at each other. “This might be a scoop. You’d better listen up. I’m just praying he’s not going to announce his engagement to the bitch,” Natalie hissed.

Trish doubted that very much but she refrained from saying so. “Do you have any idea?”

“None whatsoever,” Natalie replied with a forced chuckle. What was he up to? she wondered. She knew him. When he performed these type of theatrics it was usually to announce the completion of a big deal. Maybe that was it, but what on earth did it have to do with his time in Coober Pedy? She remembered that he’d rarely spoken about that episode in his life and she had always assumed it was because he’d been broken up about his partner Mickey Edgar’s death. But … maybe there was more to it.

“I’ve only ever loved two women in my life,” CJ went on, his sentences quickening as he strove to get through it. “Brenda, my late wife, was one such love and there was another. Way back in those Coober
Pedy days I met a young woman, she was much younger than myself. Her name was Mary Williams. She was like an oasis in a desert — and if you’ve ever worked Coober you’ll understand what I mean. We fell in love and had an affair. Mary Williams was too good for me, ‘cause back then all I thought about was making money and of getting a stake to set myself up in Queensland. I wasn’t prepared to make the kind of commitment Mary expected. Well, I found my stake in the bounty of opals and I decided to leave — yes — leave. Leave Mary, sell the mine lease. I had what I wanted and, at the time I also had a fiancée, Brenda, waiting for me in Townsville. Brenda fitted into my future plans and I knew she’d be an asset as a wife.

“Bear with me, folks, this prelude is important. You’ll see why in a couple of minutes.” He paused to wipe a layer of perspiration from his forehead. Damn it, saying the words was hard, but not as hard as what he was about to say. “Then Mary told me she was pregnant.”

A shiver ran through Natalie’s body accompanied by a sense of foreboding. God, she had this awful feeling … Unconsciously she pressed closer to the one person who truly understood her, silently communicating her affection.

“He got a woman pregnant,” Trish whispered. “What’s so rare about that?”

“Shut up,” Natalie spat at her. Her concentration was focused on the man on the stage. The man she’d always been in awe of, was afraid of and had never been close to or won his affection, though in her own odd way she believed she had tried.

“I was angry with her but please, understand, I did love her. You all know what a ruthless bastard I am.” He paused to hear the ripple of agreement from the crowd. “Mary didn’t fit into my dreams or my future plans. No sir. I had it all mapped out. Marry Brenda deWitt, buy a property, amass a fortune. Mary was so young. Guileless, unsophisticated, and a kid hanging about my legs would have only held me back.”

CJ heard another low murmur from the hundred or so people staring at him attentively and, needing to finish, he rushed on. “I wanted her to get an abortion but she refused. We fought over it and then I left Coober Pedy for good. But I sent her enough money to see her through comfortably. Why am I telling you all this, baring my soul, you might ask. When my son was killed last year, for the first time in many years I thought about Mary and the child.
Our child.
I wondered what he or she was like. Got a huge case of the guilts, I guess. I wanted to find them and try to right the wrong I’d done both of them so long ago. I didn’t want anyone to know so I asked a friend of mine, Roy Preston, to make discreet enquires. Roy, perhaps you’ll come up and tell the folks what happened.”

Roy Preston made his way to the front of the crowd and then stepped up on the stage. He cleared his throat nervously before he spoke into the microphone. “My friend, CJ, loves to give me the easy jobs.” He paused while some of the crowd gave a short laugh of appreciation. “Tracking Mary Williams and her child back to 1970 was an investigative nightmare. The task took many weeks. I learnt that she’d moved to Adelaide, where she
worked in a shop but made few friends. When her child was born, a little girl named Jennifer, Mary was already a sick woman. She had leukaemia and she passed away within three months of Jennifer’s birth. The child was adopted by a couple who couldn’t have children of their own.” He paused to let that sink in. “Then the trail went cold. The couple seemed to disappear into God knows where. But, finally, after some persistent digging, I traced them to Melbourne and to Geelong and finally to Sydney, where they still live.” As an aside, he added, “I’ve all the documentation — birth certificate, adoption letters, everything legally needed to prove that Jennifer is CJ’s natural child, should anyone want to peruse them later on.”

Impatient, CJ took the microphone back. “I was excited by Roy’s news. I’d found out I had a daughter. I wanted to get to know her — and I did. I guess, in a way, I hoped she’d replace the son I’d lost. I’ve always believed that blood’s thicker than water.” A twinkle came into his light-blue eyes as he milked the audience’s air of expectancy. “I guess you’re all wondering who she is.
She
doesn’t know yet and I hope it’s not going to be too much of a shock to find she’s related to an old reprobate like me …”

“For Christ’s sake, tell us …” Natalie hissed in Trish’s ear. Her heart was pounding, the colour had drained from her face. Her
beloved
stepfather hadn’t said a word about his other daughter, it was as if she didn’t exist. Bastard. At that moment she hated him more than she believed she could hate anyone. He was going to install this … bastard child of his. Give her status over herself. Well, she’d see about that.

She turned her head slightly and saw that Les’ gaze was fixed intently upon her. He knew. He was watching her, waiting for her reaction, trying to gauge her feelings as CJ dropped “the bombshell”. She knew he was enjoying this. Bastard too. She added his name to her hate list.

“Without further ado,” CJ said theatrically, “friends, neighbours, I’d like all of you to meet my natural daughter …”

“
J
ennifer Williams.” His gaze roamed from Shellie to Lisa, rested briefly on Natalie and Trish then moved to where Francey and Steve stood side by side. “Jennifer’s name was changed. Her adoptive parents christened her Francesca Lucia Spinetti, she’s known as Francey. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my architectural designer, Francey Spinetti is my daughter. Will you join your old man on the stage, Francey?”

“What?”
Francey stared at Steve then at Les, who grinned hugely and nodded confirmingly at her. Her legs went weak and her head began to spin. CJ’s daughter. Her! What was he talking about? What kind of ruse was he trying to put over? Her mouth tightened. She wasn’t amused. People began pushing her good-naturedly towards the stage.

She tried to think. No! She was Carlo and Lucia Spinetti’s child, daughter of Italian migrants and she had a horde of noisy Italian relatives to prove it. His
claim was crazy … she couldn’t be CJ Ambrose’s love child. Her father was Carlo, her mother, Lucia. For a moment she stood rooted to the spot, the colour having drained from her face. She was embarrassed, mortified and finally after several seconds during which people around her began to cheer and clap madly, a slow, combustible anger began to spread through her. What kind of ploy was this? Being CJ’s daughter made no sense, at all!

She looked for Steve but he had disappeared and accidentally her gaze landed on Natalie who was staring at her malevolently. Natalie disliked her, over the months she had made that clear enough, but if CJ’s claim was true — she still couldn’t believe it — she had made a deadly enemy. Oh, God, how had she got herself into this madness? For that’s what she believed it was, total, absolute madness.

CJ called to her above all the cheers and handclaps. “Come on, Francey. I know it’s a shock, love, and I’m sorry for the surprise disclosure but I thought this the best way to tell you. An announcement to the world. It is true as Roy said, and to prove it absolutely, let me introduce two special guests who’ve come from Sydney to share this night with us. Lucia and Carlo Spinetti, Francey’s adoptive parents.”

Francey stared at CJ through a haze of confusion as his words sank in. Mamma and Papà. Here. Then … then … just maybe all of it — God, no, she couldn’t grasp the concept, but it might be true.

“Are you all right?” Trish whispered to Natalie, her hand on her arm.

“Oh, yeah,” Natalie quipped bitterly, “the news couldn’t be better. At least he’s not going to marry her.” She’d been wrong there. All those months thinking CJ was falling in love with Francey. It was worse than that, much worse. The bitch was his daughter. And … now he had an heir again and where did that leave her? Out in the cold. “Damn the lot of them. Come on. I can’t stand any more, let’s get out of here.”

Trish sensed her lover’s anger in the tight lines around her mouth and the look in her eyes. A shiver ran down her spine. Natalie aroused by passion was magnificent, aroused in anger she could be fearsome. And lately, the frequency of her mood swings led Trish to believe she was capable of anything, even burning Murrundi down if the thought appealed to her.

“Ummm, shouldn’t you stick around and tough it out? People will talk if we just disappear.”

“Stuff them. Let them talk their bloody heads off. They’re all a bunch of inbreds and wankers anyway.” Natalie stopped for a moment to take a deep breath, then she whispered, “If I don’t get away from here I’ll be sick.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Taking her by the hand she led Natalie through the party goers, and out towards Murrundi’s homestead.

As Steve Parrish made his way to the back of the crowd he heard the comments.

“Who’d have thought it …”

“Bloody wonderful. Like a miracle.”

“Jesus, she’s going to be worth millions.”

“So, that’s why old CJ got her up here to work, so he could check her out. See whether she had the right stuff. Cunning bastard.”

“She has, old son. Intellect, looks and now, or when CJ kicks off, truckloads of lovely money.”

“I could help her spend it.”

By the time he got to the fringe a trough of depression blanketed him. Francey Spinetti — CJ Ambrose’s daughter! It sounded unbelievable but he didn’t doubt that it was true. CJ was too careful, too astute to contrive such a falsehood. Even so, he couldn’t grasp it no matter how hard he tried. CJ and Francey
related.
Francey. Potentially wealthy beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

She’s out of your league now
, an inner voice taunted him.

Francey the architect was one thing. Eminently suitable. He’d thought they’d make a good team. The architect and the cop. But Francey the millionaire’s daughter and the cop? No. His jaw flexed. He couldn’t see that. CJ, the cunning old so-and-so had known it for almost a year and kept it under wraps while he’d assessed her, became fond of her and seen that the fondness was reciprocated. He’d lost his son and found a daughter whom he was tutoring to eventually step into his shoes as Richard would have done had he lived. He really was the man with the golden touch. Suddenly he thought of what might have been. His plans, his and Francey’s plans. He thrust his hands disconsolately into his trouser pockets. Damn CJ to hell.

At the bar he picked up a glass of whisky and downed it in one gulp. Then, as he made his way up
to the verandah of the homestead he almost collided with Natalie and Trish as they hurried inside. He was enough of a humanitarian to spare CJ’s stepdaughter a compassionate thought or two. She looked devastated. Fair enough. Natalie had thought she was the only apple on the tree, the heir apparent. Now she had a rival that CJ was obviously fond of.