never read it?
Carefully, I prised it open.
4 DECEMBER
28 days to go …
My hands were shaking as I held Rafe’s rejected letter. Dad was the one who’d walked away from his relationship with Rafe? I couldn’t believe it. I always thought Dad was the one who was being shut out, not the other way around.
I’d looked through Rafe’s wedding photos pretty closely and Dad had not been in any of them–he definitely wasn’t standing by his twin as the best man. He must have ended up letting his brother down. Maybe that was why Rafe didn’t look as happy as he should have … Dad must have found it too painful to be around his twin, after the loss of one of his twin sons. It didn’t make complete sense to me, but I knew from my experience that grief can do weird things to people. It can change them.
Like what was happening to Mum.
I refolded the letter and put it back in its envelope.
I thought again of all the things Rafe had done for us since Dad died. He’d given Mum a home when she was losing her own. He’d provided Gabbi with the best medical attention possible when she was in a coma, even changing the structure of his house for her. He’d taken Gabbi and Mum under his wing at a time when they needed protection most.
Maybe this was how involved in our family he’d wanted to be all along.
The coast was still clear outside, but I needed to get going. I figured Rafe would have made it to Marjorie’s by now, and would be back here any second.
I had a quick final glance around the room and noticed Mum’s red leather handbag on the floor near the dining table, half spilling out. She must have been really upset to have left that behind–it was usually glued to her.
Her bag seemed much heavier than it should have been. Inside was a bulging padded envelope. I pulled it out.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing printed on the top left-hand corner of the large envelope. ‘Rathbone and Associates’.
What?
My head was spinning. What was Mum doing with a thick, bulky envelope from Sheldrake Rathbone?
There had to be an innocent explanation. Right?
The sound of a car in the street snapped me into action. I pocketed Dad’s unread letter, shoved the heavy envelope from Mum’s bag into my backpack and bolted out the back door.
Sure enough, Rafe had returned. He’d just pulled up on the driveway and already I could hear Gabbi’s voice as she climbed out of the car, alongside Mum.
While they trundled into the house, I ran out onto the road.
As my feet pounded the ground, on my way to Memorial Park, my thoughts whirled like a tornado; Dad had been responsible for the split from Rafe, not the other way round, and now it seemed as if Mum had been dealing with Rathbone . What was going on? Everything I thought I knew had been turned upside down.
Boges and Winter emerged from the shadows asI ran up the steps and into the circular enclosure , where dead leaves skittered over the mosaic floor.
The moon was shining brilliantly through the stained glass window above, while the Ormond Angel seemed to look down sternly on us.
‘What is it?’ Winter asked. ‘You’re so pale.’
‘It’s just the moonlight,’ I replied. ‘Let’s sit down,’ I suggested as the pair scrutinised my face.
After I’d filled them in on my trip to Dolphin Point, I handed them Dad’s unread letter from Rafe. They both skimmed over it, eagerly.
‘Rafe was telling the truth,’ said Boges. ‘He and your dad were really close until…’
‘… until the kidnapping,’ Winter whispered.
‘Didn’t see that coming,’ added Boges.
‘Me neither,’ I said, pulling the padded envelope out of my backpack. ‘This is what I found in my mum’s bag.’
Winter eyed it closely.
‘Well go on,’ she said. ‘Open it!’
I did so, reluctantly, afraid of what I was about to find. Boges and Winter jostled around me to see.
I tipped the contents out.
None of us could speak at first.
It wasn’t a fat wad of documents.
Carefully, I prised it open.
4 DECEMBER
28 days to go …
My hands were shaking as I held Rafe’s rejected letter. Dad was the one who’d walked away from his relationship with Rafe? I couldn’t believe it. I always thought Dad was the one who was being shut out, not the other way around.
I’d looked through Rafe’s wedding photos pretty closely and Dad had not been in any of them–he definitely wasn’t standing by his twin as the best man. He must have ended up letting his brother down. Maybe that was why Rafe didn’t look as happy as he should have … Dad must have found it too painful to be around his twin, after the loss of one of his twin sons. It didn’t make complete sense to me, but I knew from my experience that grief can do weird things to people. It can change them.
Like what was happening to Mum.
I refolded the letter and put it back in its envelope.
I thought again of all the things Rafe had done for us since Dad died. He’d given Mum a home when she was losing her own. He’d provided Gabbi with the best medical attention possible when she was in a coma, even changing the structure of his house for her. He’d taken Gabbi and Mum under his wing at a time when they needed protection most.
Maybe this was how involved in our family he’d wanted to be all along.
The coast was still clear outside, but I needed to get going. I figured Rafe would have made it to Marjorie’s by now, and would be back here any second.
I had a quick final glance around the room and noticed Mum’s red leather handbag on the floor near the dining table, half spilling out. She must have been really upset to have left that behind–it was usually glued to her.
Her bag seemed much heavier than it should have been. Inside was a bulging padded envelope. I pulled it out.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing printed on the top left-hand corner of the large envelope. ‘Rathbone and Associates’.
What?
My head was spinning. What was Mum doing with a thick, bulky envelope from Sheldrake Rathbone?
There had to be an innocent explanation. Right?
The sound of a car in the street snapped me into action. I pocketed Dad’s unread letter, shoved the heavy envelope from Mum’s bag into my backpack and bolted out the back door.
Sure enough, Rafe had returned. He’d just pulled up on the driveway and already I could hear Gabbi’s voice as she climbed out of the car, alongside Mum.
While they trundled into the house, I ran out onto the road.
As my feet pounded the ground, on my way to Memorial Park, my thoughts whirled like a tornado; Dad had been responsible for the split from Rafe, not the other way round, and now it seemed as if Mum had been dealing with Rathbone . What was going on? Everything I thought I knew had been turned upside down.
Boges and Winter emerged from the shadows asI ran up the steps and into the circular enclosure , where dead leaves skittered over the mosaic floor.
The moon was shining brilliantly through the stained glass window above, while the Ormond Angel seemed to look down sternly on us.
‘What is it?’ Winter asked. ‘You’re so pale.’
‘It’s just the moonlight,’ I replied. ‘Let’s sit down,’ I suggested as the pair scrutinised my face.
After I’d filled them in on my trip to Dolphin Point, I handed them Dad’s unread letter from Rafe. They both skimmed over it, eagerly.
‘Rafe was telling the truth,’ said Boges. ‘He and your dad were really close until…’
‘… until the kidnapping,’ Winter whispered.
‘Didn’t see that coming,’ added Boges.
‘Me neither,’ I said, pulling the padded envelope out of my backpack. ‘This is what I found in my mum’s bag.’
Winter eyed it closely.
‘Well go on,’ she said. ‘Open it!’
I did so, reluctantly, afraid of what I was about to find. Boges and Winter jostled around me to see.
I tipped the contents out.
None of us could speak at first.
It wasn’t a fat wad of documents.
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