Sunlit Shadow Dance (22 page)

He grimaced.
“That’s what I both
love and hate about you, your bloody efficiency. So the answer is
‘Yes’, if I must, I will even admit to a twinge of curiosity about
this one. What does the video show?”

“
Well it
is definitely her. She looks
much different but I know her voice. She looks both genuine and
scary. She sounds bright but brittle at first but then …” She
grimaced, “Best that you see for yourself. It shook me.”

Jenny had found time in both the judge and
coroner’s diaries between 8am and 10 am, after that both were
booked solid.

Beck replied, “OK put them both in for
8am, meet here, and tell them both to block out the two hours. It
may take less, but it is a complicated story and you never know.
Tell them both I will hand deliver a DVD and a report this
afternoon for their eyes only.”

She went back in and closed the door before
calling Ross, not that she did not trust Jen, but one leaker in her
organization was more than enough.

By the time Ross came off the
phone she had agreed to have dinner with him on Friday night and
also do some sightseeing over the weekend. He was booked in from 8
to 9 am on Friday for the meeting on his report. Then he would have
to go off and amuse himself for the day while she and the others
decided where to go with this
. Then she would prepare all the required
documents to action whatever they decided.

She really hoped they all would agree on a
pardon, with it to happen as soon as possible. She really wanted to
give this girl a chance to disappear totally, sooner was better
lest Jacob run her to ground. She must find a way to warn her that
a bloodhound was on her trail, perhaps Alan could do
that.

Friday came before she had time to think,
she was at work early that day to make sure that Jen was on duty
keeping everyone else away and had set up a big screen in the
conference room to allow them to all view the video together. On
the table in front of each man’s chair sat a copy of the report and
a preliminary position paper giving a summary of the report and
then recommending on the steps from here.

The others were seated, perusing their
documents, when Ross arrived. She escorted him in, did the
introductions, then passed him the remote control, saying, “Before
we go through your report, which seems quite straight forward,
could you walk us through the video and give us your impressions
both on the patient and what happened on the day.”

He nodded and started the
video, explaining the first sequence, where Susan spoke to him
unasked before he had asked her any questions. He said from
after that section
he had blanked out the name of her partner at the request of the
barrister for the other side, but otherwise it was
unchanged.

He then explained the gap in
the sequence saying, “Next I asked her to tell me about what she
first remembered from her life now. She described arriving, heavily
pregnant in a location in
north Queensland, with no understanding of how she
came to be there, just that one morning she was standing beside a
road holding a bag with a name written on it, she decided that must
be her name and since then she has gone by that name.

“
She found a job working in the
town and soon after gave birth to two babies, a boy and a girl who
are now nearly two years old. Since that time she has moved on to
various other locations. I am unable to disclose her current name
or any of the locations where she has been which is why that
section of the tape is missing.”

He then moved on to the next
part of the DVD sequence saying. I now tried to see if any memories
existed of her life before and it turned out she had just a few
which
finish
when she lived in England around the age of twelve. Significantly
her last clear memory is of meeting her friend Anne, the person you
have no doubt seen on the television documentaries, searching for
the ‘Lost Girls’.

I do not know for certain
but
I assume
that she is now in touch again with both Anne and her parents who
for a long time were all desperately searching with no idea of what
had become of her. If so it is good for her to have a little bit of
stability and reconnection in what must have been an extremely
difficult and traumatic part of her life.

The DVD started playing again and they all
watched rapt as she told about her memories of her friend and her
holiday on the farm, then of her love for the wildlife of Africa.
It had a dreamy, almost otherworld, feel to it. They had all seen
it before and knew what was coming. Yet all had an intense look of
anxiety of their faces as the crocodile question came
out.

Ross let it run to the end without a word
spoken, then he turned it off and faced them saying.

“
My final question was very
foolish. I don’t know why I asked it. After that I wished I had
not. At first the other side wanted me to take that part out. I
persuaded them not too, this picture speaks far louder than
words.

“
We can all see, despite the new
life she has made, there is a connection to the old. I do not doubt
for a minute that she is totally genuine in saying she remembers
nothing, he mind must have walled off that part as a last resort of
self protection. But I would hate to put her in the witness box and
start questioning her about that time, I would equally hate for it
to happen from a journalist or third party.

“
I think the best thing we can
do is to allow her to quietly disappear and get on with her new
life, to respect the wish that she clearly has stated at the start
of this video not to know about her past.

“
I am troubled that, even then,
her past may come back to haunt her. But I would not like it on my
hands to cause it. I fear it may not end well.

“
It is a strange thing. In many
ways she is a delightful and lovely person. She has great warmness
and kindness. It comes through very strongly, as if all her bad
parts of her character have been taken away and locked out of
reach. Now all that remains is a kind and gentle shell.

“
But the box of horrors is still
there, buried somewhere. I would not wish to open it. When I spoke
those words, the terror on her face was something I would never
wish to see again. You can only glimpse it in this video. But that
is enough to understand what a bad place that must be for
her.

“
Perhaps with time she will find
a way to deal with it, perhaps her family can help. But for us here
today the kindest thing, in fact the only decent thing we can do,
is not to harm her any more. So I leave it in your hands to find a
legal way to let her get on with her new life. In effect that is
what my report says, though it uses more long words. I am sure you
have already read it, but there is nothing in it that you cannot
see here with you own eyes.

“
Her memory loss is genuine and
it exists to protect her mind from something at the furthest edge
of terror. It would be most foolish, much more than foolish, to
force her to confront that place. I advise you in the strongest
possible way,
Do not do that
!

“
Now any questions,
gentlemen?”

There were
none
. Dr
Ross Sangster excused himself and left the room.

The remainder of the meeting took but a few
minutes. All present agreed to recommend to Executive Government
that a pardon be granted to one, Susan Emily MacDonald to her
conviction to the murder of Vincent Marco Bassingham.

Beck was left alone to put the executive
wheels in motion. By the end of the day it was all prepared for a
meeting between the Attorney General, the Chief Minister and his
key advisors on Monday. No problems were expected and the formal
process was expected to take about a month.

She took a deep breath and said a silent
prayer as she walked out of the office that night that it would go
smoothly so this girl could be excused to get on with her life,
never to be found again by those who would do her harm.

Beck was full of trepidation at the thought
of meeting Ross for dinner. With the advance notice she had
arranged for a neighbor to sleep over with her Mum so she did not
need to be back at a particular time.

But since seeing the video she had a sense
of betrayal of Ross’s trust in what she had told Jacob. She did not
think his or her name would ever come out from Jacob. But she had
used the ‘in confidence’ information Ross gave her to send Jacob
off on his hunt for Susan. Jacob was exactly the type of bloodhound
who would succeed.

As the first step this
afternoon she had rung Alan, told him about the agreement for the
pardon
, but
also asked him to warn Susan’s friends to be very careful about her
location. She suggested to Alan it might be a good idea for Susan
to move to another part of Australia as, with documents floating
around in senior government which referenced her examination by
Ross Sangster in Brisbane, the chance of a leak was much greater.
With this came the risk of journalists searching for her in this
part of the state.

Alan agreed she was right and said he would
pass it on “post haste”.

So
, hopefully, that would protect
Susan, but she did not feel sure. But what really ate at her was
that she had betrayed the trust of a man she really liked. She
hated facing him with this between them. After meeting Jacob she
buried the money deep in a drawer of her clothes. Since seeing the
video she could not bear to bring it out and touch it, it had such
a tainted feel.

As she dressed to go out she
looked at her over
-strong jaw and nose and wished she had been born softer
and prettier. Not that Ross was a drop dead gorgeous type either,
but she wanted him to look at her with liking on this night out
together. She thought that perhaps she was as nervous of him and
how he looked at her as of the secret she held. After looking in
the mirror again she gave away the effort at covering her face with
a layer of make-up, he would have to take her as he found
her.

They met in the lobby bar of the hotel he
was staying in. An excellent restaurant with a mixed Asian cuisine,
which she really liked, was next door. For ease she had suggested
it.

He was already at the bar when she walked
in and he looked as nervous as she felt. That relieved her that
maybe he cared what she thought of him too. He looked well with
black pants and a white shirt and his black hair neatly brushed
back. He was much taller than her when she came up to him.
Impromptu she leaned up on her toes and lightly kissed his cheek in
greeting.

In return he took her hands and looked at
her saying, in a quaint, old-worldly way, “You look quite
lovely.”

“
She blushed with
pleasure.”

They fell into casual conversation. She
went to talk about the case at first, but he pressed a finger to
her lips saying, “It is not so often I get to have dinner with a
beautiful girl. How about you begin by telling me about yourself
and how you come to be living here, working in such an important
position.”

So they chatted about her. She
found she did not want to pretend with this man
. She told him of her mother
again, but in more detail, how she lived with her and cared for her
and it left little time for other things. She said, “Really I don’t
have much time for going out now so I lead a fairly boring life. My
days of being an out there party girl are long gone. It is strange
how work has become my sanity outlet.”

He nodded, sympathetic, but more, as if he
understood, saying. “My life is not too dissimilar to yours, not
that I have the reason you have of caring for another. But I am not
easy in most people’s company. I find that small talk does not come
easily away from work. I often seem to say silly, inappropriate
things. So, like you, my work has become my passion and main
outlet. It is where I feel most comfortable. I sometimes wish I was
a naturally social person. So it is nice to find a kindred
soul.”

After that they followed other lines of
conversation as they ate their dinner. He liked listening to
classical music and they shared this interest, he had dabbled in
photography as had she. The meal drifted by with a pleasant
meandering feel. After the meal was done they moved to a lounge
chair in a small alcove, sitting side by side but not touching,
sharing a glass of port.

Finally he asked her
about the case
which she quickly updated him on.

He looked both relieved and
pleased when she told him about the agreement on the pardon,
saying,
“I
am very fearful for this girl, lest she be discovered. I only hope
my own foolish mistake, that question about the crocodile, has not
really harmed her. In the second after I said it, even before she
had registered it, I wished I could have taken the words back. I
think it was my ego, wanting to be clever and play God, the great
fixer, rather than just waiting for her own self discovery. I have
damaged her trust. I hope I have not damaged more. The thought
gives me sleepless nights.

“
Have you ever deeply wished you
could undo something?”