Sunlit Shadow Dance (7 page)

“
If it comes through the NT laboratory system I am far from
confident I could keep it hidden, even if I wanted to, or had
agreement to do so from my superiors. There have already been
several leaks of what was supposed to be confidential information
about Susan.

“
So I, for one, don’t want to know until it is decided what to
do with this information. Don’t forget there is still a warrant for
Susan’s arrest from when she disappeared on bail. It was never
revoked. It never seemed to matter before, but now I need to work
out what to do about that before this knowledge gets outside this
room.

“
So, at a minimum, I need to talk to the judge and crown
prosecutor before we contemplate doing this DNA test. We need to
ensure some gung ho officer does not go flying over there to arrest
her, or worse for someone to leak it to the media and have a pack
of journalists descend on her.

“
I think Vic should keep this as his own property for the time
being. If there is to be DNA testing for now I think it would be
better if it was to match the hanky to a sample from Susan’s
parents, only done through a private laboratory and preferably
overseas, where they cannot match it to Susan’s sample in our
database.

“
If it really is her we can soon get an official sample for
testing, directly from her, if it is needed.”

Vic took the
hanky back, and went to put is in his pocket. Then, as an
afterthought, he handed it to Susan’s mother. “Perhaps I can leave
this with you for safe keeping,” he said.

She nodded,
“Of course. I will ring you and tell you once I know a result. I
understand what Alan is saying; that some people are better off not
knowing right now. But I and her father need to know. I think you
also need to know, even though you need to keep seeing this lady,
whoever she is.”

At first Sandy
looked chagrined, but then she nodded her agreement.

“
I hate to admit to a smarter mind, but Alan is right and
testing overseas is a good idea.

“
Now, before we get too much further, I have a big pot of
dinner in the oven. I think we should all have a plate and a drink
to take hope in this momentous occasion. It is the first time I
have felt hope in a year and a half. I don’t want to get in front
of myself but somehow it all fits,” she said.

Vic slept on
the sofa in Alan and Sandy’s flat, while Buck and Julie slept in
the spare bedroom. Sandy had wanted him to take their bed but he
would not hear of it. They were all so keyed up they slept
poorly.

In the early
morning, an hour before dawn, he rose and walked the kilometre to
Nightcliff beach, finding the walk amongst the shallows and
wavelets of a far out tide somehow soothed his jangling nerves. He
was bursting with impatience to get back to Cairns and find a way
to do more work in the Cape so as to get the chance to see Jane
again.

He was
determined to call her Jane in his mind, determined to create a new
identity for this person within himself, not get drawn into an old
identity and the problems of the past. He believed there was a
continuity of identity between this person and Susan. But now she
was Jane, not Susan, for him and he would help her build a new
life.

But first he
had promised to go with Alan to seek an urgent appointment with the
police commissioner, a senior lawyer for the crown and the judge,
to see if they could find an official way to maintain secrecy.

Alan’s story
would be that Vic had come to him for advice, indicating that he
had some information about where Susan was but was determined not
to reveal it unless he could get an ironclad guarantee from all
concerned that this information would not be disclosed to anyone
else without his consent.

Alan would
state he was seeking to establish a legal basis about how to
maintain confidentiality so as to give Vic the certainty he needed
to share his knowledge. This could then allow the information to be
passed to others who needed to know such as her extended family.
This would also allow Alan to make progress with his long standing
investigation of where Susan had gone.

Vic talked to
himself as he walked along the beach, feeling the ideas form in his
brain. He could feel steel inside, he would not give a millimetre,
not without a watertight guarantee, something an independent lawyer
could check and confirm; other promises were worthless.

If not he
would walk away. By tomorrow he and Jane, if he could get her to
come, would have vanished again, not that he was telling Alan or
anyone else this. After that the only person he would communicate
with, apart from his own mother, sister and Buck, was Susan’s
mother as he trusted her.

He hoped it
would not come to that, but in his mind he was clear that he would
do it if it was necessary. He had learnt from Mark how to hide in
plain view; now he made his own plan to disappear. He was confident
he could pull it off if he must.

He returned
just as the sun was rising and showered. He borrowed some clean
clothes from Alan which were near enough to his size. Alan was
about to head to work, but said he would ring him with the
arrangements to meet the lawyers and others as soon as he could put
it together. So he, Buck and Julie shared a leisurely breakfast
with Sandy to pass the time.

While Julie
and Sandy were chatting away Vic brought Buck onto the verandah so
he could have a private chat. Vic found that his mind was much
clearer now after his morning walk and wanted to put Buck in the
picture, not that he did not trust the others but he did not want
them involved, it was putting them in a bad place.

He had this
sense it now rested with him to ensure this person’s safety, Susan
or Jane, he would not leave this on trust to others.

He knew the
others meant well. But he did not trust their ability to keep the
lid on this. So despite whatever promises might be made his sense
was that, now that he had found her, it would be too easy for
others to find her through him. His flights last week could be
readily tracked by the police as he had logged them with flight
control. That meant any half-smart journalist could do it too.

No matter what
promises of secrecy were given, he sensed that too many officials
would get to know for it to stay secret for long. Even if people
did not know exactly where to look there were not that many
communities in Cape York. So it would not take long to check them
all out.

So, while he
had said he would go to meetings that Alan arranged this morning,
he had already decided that he would be on the lunch time flight to
Cairns and by tonight would be back in the community. He decided
that his helicopter was too traceable. It would have to stay in
Cairns; he would get a cheap set of wheels.

That way he
could drive back there tonight and, if he could convince Jane to
come away, they would be gone by morning. They would vanish into
the big population spread out along the east coast of
Australia.

What he needed
was a bit of help with the arrangements, someone to look after the
chopper once he disappeared, ideally someone who could buy him a
cheap set of wheels in another name, and also a person who he could
trust as a relay contact. Buck seemed like his best option
here.

He also had a
plan to throw a false trail, knowing that, despite his care,
someone might hear a rumor that Susan had reappeared and try to
follow him to her. One of his Alice Springs mates, another half
aboriginal bloke with a dash on Indian was almost a dead ringer for
him. Vic had a passport with his mother in Alice, from when he had
done his one and only overseas trip to Bali with this mate. He
would ask his mother to get Ravi to go overseas using Vic’s
passport and return on his own one. He had even talked to his
friends about getting away to Canada to start a new life, so it
made a plausible destination. His mate should enjoy a couple weeks
there on a holiday at Vic’s expense then the Vic identity could
vanish and Ravi could return to Oz under his own name. It seemed
straight forward, if it was not quite legal who was to know and his
mother could arrange it on the quiet.

So he
explained his logic to Buck; that he needed to arrange them both to
disappear for a while. That would give Alan and others time to sort
out the legal issues, hopefully get a new real identity for Jane,
clear up any arrest warrant and bail issues so that the police and
media lost interest and let them quietly get on with their
lives.

If they had
time alone, he thought Jane would come to trust him and he could
better protect her. Maybe in time it would not matter if her
identity became known. But right now, it needed to stay buried;
anything else was like a fuse burning on dynamite.

Buck nodded,
“Yes I can see that now, perhaps we should never have come to
Darwin, it was my first instinct but perhaps it was wrong.”

Vic said, “No,
you were right; it was good we came, particularly before Susan’s
parents left. They needed to know, Alan and Sandy needed to know, I
am glad they all know now.

“
But it was always silly of me to think she could stay hidden
for long in such a small place. The safest place for now is where
there are lots of other people; it is much easier to hide in a
crowd. So that is what I am going to do. I don’t know where yet,
but I need you to be my contact to the rest of the world. At the
moment there are three things I need. The first is for someone to
take over my helicopter and pay its running costs, hopefully enough
to cover the mortgage. Perhaps one of the big stations around here
can make use of it, and make the loan payments as the
price.”

Buck nodded,
“Yep that should not be too hard, we can do that at VRD if needed,
just send me the account details for the payments.”

Vic continued,
“Then I need a set of cheap wheels, nothing fancy, just a reliable
old sedan from a car yard in Cairns which I can collect this
evening. Best if it is not in my name as that will make it harder
to trace me. Can you sort that if I arrange to give you the
cash?”

Buck nodded
again.

“
And lastly I need an ongoing way to access my money without
going to an ATM, or bank. My mother has an account which I put
twenty thousand in, kept safe for a rainy day. So if I ring through
instructions of where I am each month can you get her to start
drawing out the money and sending it to me.

“
I think a couple thousand for the car and another couple
thousand a month should be enough, though I might need more from
time to time, like to rent somewhere. Once I get a steady cash job
I should not need it any more. I also need someone to keep track of
what is happening up here, any court cases or other things like
that. You might also tell Alan and Sandy in general terms what I
have done, not the specifics, but enough so they don’t worry. I
will also need Susan’s family’s address in England so that I can
get in contact with them if I need to.”

Buck nodded.
“Sounds like you will owe me a whopping commission by the end of
all that, but it does not sound too hard, all in all. So leave it
with me. I will text your mobile this afternoon with the car and
parents’ contact details. You should buy a new SIM today and send
me the number, just in case the old number is used to track
you.”

Vic said, “Oh,
one more thing for your and for my mother’s ears only right now. I
want to fake my departure to Canada from Cairns. I have a mate that
could do it; he looks just like me and could leave on my passport
and come back on his own. That way any serious journalists that
hears a rumor about Susan and tries to get to her through me, will
find I am officially out of the country. My mother can organize the
trip part, but what I need is for you to put the word out in a
couple weeks that this is what I have done, it will give a reason
for why I have offloaded my helicopter and gone away.”

Buck said,
“God you have it all planned out, vic. Mark would be proud of your
brilliance; it is seriously sneaky and no doubt illegal, though
that never stopped Mark in his schemes.

“
While you are on a roll why don’t you just hit the road, get
on your way back to Cairns. I think there is a half ten flight you
can catch. I will go with Alan to any needed meetings. I can relay
the information, nice and general about what we know. That will put
another layer to separate you and slow down any traces. After all,
Mark made us jointly responsible for this girl’s welfare. If you
take care of her I can look after the rest.”

With that they
shook hands, Vic made his brief goodbyes and was on his way. He
knew he could trust his friends to let nothing slip.

He first went
to Casuarina, had a super short haircut, and bought some new sets
of clothes and a new phone. Then he withdrew all the available cash
in his account. By eleven he was winging his way back to
Cairns.

It was after 9
pm that night before Vic reached the community where Jane lived. He
could feel fatigue washing through him as the lights of the town
came into view, but he was driven on by a surge of nervous
anticipation.

Sure enough
Buck had a car waiting for him in Cairns by the time he landed,
with the details texted to him on his new mobile number. It was an
older model Ford Falcon with a big six cylinder engine which ran
sweetly. The car had a couple minor dints in the body work, but
they were trivial, and the upholstery had seen better days. But it
was sound and as good as could be expected for nineteen hundred
dollars. Cash was king and Buck had negotiated down from the asking
price of $3000.