Half Moon Bay (12 page)

Jase cleared his throat. ‘Sorry. I forgot . . . about your sister. Sorry.’

‘It’s okay.’ It wasn’t, but Ellie had no intention of admitting her eyes were burning, her heart thundering and the pain was threatening to drown her. ‘So you came back to the Bay to work, then?’

‘Yeah. Back living with the olds. Mum appreciates the help, but Dad?’

‘Congratulations on your dad’s election win.’ That took an effort to say.

‘You’d be the last person who’d want to see Dad as mayor.’ He smiled for the first time and it transformed his face. ‘Don’t think you’ll win, but good on you for trying.’

‘You don’t support the development?’

‘The old man’s sold on it. Seems like it could bring some more money into the Bay.’ He sidestepped the question.

‘So how would I go about hiring a boat to take some photographs from out at sea?’

He ducked his head so he could peer out from below the awning as it sagged lower. ‘Today?’

‘If possible, this afternoon.’

‘It won’t be cheap to hire a fishing boat.’

‘I wasn’t thinking of hiring a trawler.’

‘Nothing else’d go out on a day like this. You’ll be wet as a shag on a rock.’

‘How much for a trawler for a couple of hours?’

‘A grand, give or take a bit.’

‘That’s a bit steep. I was thinking of a couple of hundred.’ She’d just been paid for a
Vogue
fashion shoot she’d done months ago so she had some spare cash, but who knew how long that would have to last? That type of work was sporadic and she classed it as a bonus rather than income. Right now she was on an unpaid holiday in Half Moon Bay.

‘Your call.’

She hesitated. This was too good an opportunity to pass up, although unease had settled in her stomach like a greasy hamburger.

‘Okay. Done. High tide would be best and that’s just after lunch.’

‘I’ll have to check with Gazza.’

‘Okay.’ Ellie waited, expecting him to phone, but he slapped a five-dollar note on the counter and pushed out into the weather again. Gazza conducted the conversation through the slightly lowered window. When he craned his head in her direction she smiled and waved. Behind her Jean cleared her throat.

‘What do you wanna photograph in this weather?’

‘The coastline. The weather forecast says it’s getting worse before it gets better. I need the photos now so I have no real choice.’ She could hardly admit that she wanted to get on board
The White Bird
because she thought they were smuggling drugs.

‘You take care out there, especially if Gazza and his mate are on board.’

‘Jase?’

‘Nah, Jase is just messed up. I’m talking about the other one. They call him Critter. Not from around here.’

‘Okay. Thanks for that, I think.’

Jase brought the rain and the cold in with him.

‘He said he’d do it for cash upfront. We can leave at midday.’

‘Half upfront, half when we all get back safely. You’re coming too?’

He shot her a look she couldn’t quite fathom. ‘I wasn’t planning on going out again until tonight. Gazza won’t be happy without all the money upfront.’

‘You’re going out tonight?’ She ignored the reference to the money.

‘Sure. Why wouldn’t we?’ He was belligerent now.

‘I thought . . .’ Ellie glanced at Jean. ‘I thought this sort of weather made fishing difficult.’

His laugh was harsh. ‘Depends on the catch. If you’re serious about going out, be here at midday. And bring the cash or we don’t sail. If you’re not here, it’s no skin off my nose.’

He took the food from the counter with a nod and left them in silence.

‘Jean, are you here all day?’ Ellie asked as the door clanged behind him.

‘I’m not minding your money, love. I’ve already spoken out of turn. If you were my daughter I’d say forget it and come back when the weather’s cleared. Alf will take you out on his day boat for a third of that price. Be more pleasant company too.’

‘Thanks for the advice. I appreciate that.’

‘I knew your mum. She was a lady.’

Ellie’s throat constricted as Jean turned and walked out to the rear kitchen. The ache in her heart stole her words and she could only nod before heading out into the weather again. Rain washed away her tears as she walked along the seawall.

Her mother always drank her morning tea from a fine bone china cup with a matching saucer. One of the few strong memories she had of her mother was the day Ellie dropped that saucer. She’d cried, inconsolable, as her mother gathered the broken pieces.

‘Shh, shh, it’s only a saucer. It can always be replaced,’ she’d tried to reassure Ellie.

But of course it couldn’t be; it was an antique. Her mother had continued to use the cup minus its saucer, but for Ellie it was always a reminder that a set wasn’t the same without all the pieces. That’s what her life felt like now. She was missing part of the set and it could never be replaced.

At the end of the rock wall the ocean poured through the channel, the incoming tide forcing the waves up the embankment. Spray shot into the air and mixed with the rain. Ellie breathed in the saltiness. It steadied her.

Seeing Jason so bitter and broken had been a shock. Was he right? Was it better to go out like Nina, a shooting star flaming across the sky? For Jase the road to recovery would be slow and the reminder of that war would stay with him. So many other veterans had to tread that difficult road and Ellie always wondered if too much was asked of them.

She had taken hundreds, possibly thousands, of photographs of young men and women with the hardship of war stamped across their faces. Today it wasn’t possible to stay removed from that misery.

The lighthouse on the opposite side of the channel was flashing its signal of safety, a beacon welcoming the weary home. Ellie squinted against the rain and shielded her eyes with her hand. Was Dan out there somewhere? The cold had seeped into her feet and she strode back along the seawall.

The Pajero was gone and the awning had finally dumped its load of water. Jeanie had two customers. Ellie stopped at the first trawler.

‘Hello, anyone aboard?’

There was no answer until she came to the last one.

‘G’day. No fish today, I’m afraid.’

‘Sorry to hear that, but I was looking for Dan. I’m not sure which boat is his.’

The grey-haired man stood up on the back plate and craned his neck. ‘Not back yet, love. Maybe tomorrow, maybe earlier, depends if he’s catching anything.’

‘Not much biting, then?’ Ellie asked.

‘Nah, and the prawns have had their run. Pretty quiet round here.’

‘I heard
The White Bird
was going out tonight.’

He pulled a cigarette packet from his top pocket. ‘Don’t think those galahs have caught a fish in months.’ He tapped a cigarette on the box and slid it into his mouth.

‘Oh, well, they said they’d take me out so I could get some photographs this afternoon.’

‘It’ll be rough, Missy.’ The lighter flared as his eyes narrowed. He blew out a stream of smoke. ‘Don’t do that unless you have a strong stomach.’

‘I’ll be right.’

He angled his head. ‘You take care. You want me to let Dan know you were looking for him?’

‘Sure, I’m Ellie. He’ll know who I am.’

She walked back to her car feeling him watch her all the way. He was still on the back deck, his cigarette dwindling, when she opened the door.

Two people telling her to take care was two too many. Her nerve failed her. Going out on
The White Bird
was a dumb idea, but at least she now knew that the rumours had some substance. She ran back to the café.

‘Jean, can you tell Jase I changed my mind? I don’t think my stomach’s that strong.’

‘Right, love. I’ll do that. Good choice.’

‘Thanks.’

Ellie drove out of the car park as the rain eased. Maybe she could stakeout the place and see who turned up to go with
The White Bird
tonight. ‘Shit. Lawson.’ He was supposed to be coming to dinner. That meant he wasn’t the one going out on the trawler. So who was it?

The roads were awash with water as she headed back to Half Moon Bay. Her phone beeped again with an incoming message and she realised she hadn’t checked the missed call from earlier. Thumbing down the list, she drove with one hand. It was from Alex. ‘Ring me. Don’t do anything stupid. This is serious shit.’

‘Now what?’ she muttered.

‘So what are you cooking for him?’ Felicity didn’t have to work hard to keep smiling.

‘Pasta, I suppose.’

‘Why not oysters
au naturale
, followed by a big hunk of rare beef and finish off by hand-feeding him some strawberries and cream. Yum.’

‘You’re not helping, Flick. I thought you’d talk some sense into me,’ Ellie complained.

‘Okay, okay, here’s my advice.’ Felicity pursed her lips. ‘Rustle up your sexiest matching underwear, drag out of retirement one of those flimsy little dresses you used to wear occasionally, sprinkle perfume liberally between those luscious breasts of yours and serve yourself on a silver platter.’

Ellie finally smiled. ‘Where’s Dan? He needs to get home fast and whisk you off to bed before you do anything rash yourself.’

‘Honey, I’m a married woman. Window shopping is my hobby. You’re not married, so you’re allowed to try the merchandise on for size. What are you waiting for? I know you want to see this development stopped just like the rest of us, so all in a good cause, I say!’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘And I can’t believe he’s all that bad. Apart from working for a company that may be involved in corruption, what else has he done wrong? Maybe Nick’s an innocent victim too.’

‘Ha! I heard the conversation in the council chambers last week – you didn’t. Believe me, he knows he’s up to his neck in illegal dealings.’ Ellie frowned. ‘What if I can’t control the situation? I’m not normally so impulsive.’

‘Lie back and enjoy, I say.’ Felicity tossed her hair over her shoulder with another laugh. ‘You’re thirty-one years old. Welcome to the twenty-first century, Ellie. You don’t have to be engaged to someone to enjoy sex any more.’

Ellie pulled a face.

She looked vulnerable and Felicity relented. ‘You know what your problem is?’ she said. ‘Nina always got the guys and you don’t realise how attractive you are. You’ve got a face that lights up a whole room when you smile and the type of personality that has everyone wanting to be near you. Even Dan reckons you’d be a great catch.’ She draped her arm across Ellie’s shoulder and squeezed her, surprised to feel her draw a sharp breath.

‘Damn, Ellie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you by mentioning Nina. You know we all care about you.’

‘I know.’ Ellie’s voice was shaky. ‘I wish I believed in me as much as you do.’

Felicity forced Ellie to look at her. ‘How can you not believe in yourself when you’ve achieved so much? No one who saw you at council would believe we’re having this conversation.’

Ellie shrugged. ‘Maybe not on a professional level, I guess. More the relationship thing. I don’t think I ever had a boyfriend who Nina didn’t flirt with and I used to wonder who they really wanted to be going out with.’ She shook her head. ‘Maybe Alex is right and I need to move on; stop looking back to life with Nina.’

Felicity ran her hands up and down Ellie’s arms. ‘Maybe coming back here is the first step in that process. You’ll probably break down and cry one day, then find out you can’t stop. But when you eventually do, it will all be behind you.’

Ellie managed a fragile smile.

‘Go.’ Felicity gave her a little push. ‘Forget the food and ferret out your best underwear and enjoy yourself. Quick, before the kids get home from school and invite themselves to your place for dinner as well.’

Ellie managed a laugh this time. ‘Hey, pint-sized chaperones might just curb that charm of his. Can I borrow them?’

‘Go away. They’ll be here any minute. It’s only a fifteen-minute walk from school. Shoo, I’ve got my own dinner to cook and Dan’s coming home early. Call me tomorrow. I want all the details. Everything.’ She ushered Ellie out the door. ‘And remember, a dress is much easier to slip off when love strikes.’

‘Love? This has nothing to do with love. The truth is all I’m after.’

Felicity leant her forehead on the door after she closed it. And the truth would hurt Ellie more than she could ever foresee. She felt weary to her core.

Dan would be home tonight. She missed him when he was away, but more and more they fought when he was around. It was so hard to have two routines. When he was at sea she and the kids muddled on just fine. When he came back? The order changed, the priorities were different. It wasn’t so much anything he did. She was as much to blame.

His options were limited, but there was always fly-in, fly-out work with the mines. It would be even harder on the kids then with their dad away for six to ten days at a time. Too many good men had already sold up and gone. That was why the money that seemed to be flowing from
The White Bird
just didn’t ring true. And it had been going on for over two years.

Felicity walked back into the kitchen feeling the weight of it settle in her stomach. Keeping secrets didn’t come naturally to her.

In the months before she died Nina had been emailing them asking questions about the fishing fleet and
The
White Bird
in particular. She was obviously onto something because Nina always had an agenda. Felicity knew she only heard from her when she needed a favour.

Dan had read one of her emails and gone through the roof. They’d fought about it for days, maybe even weeks. No matter how much he hated cheats and criminals, he didn’t want his family involved in grassing on anyone. And he’d never trusted Nina.

When he heard she’d been shot in Afghanistan he’d seen it as vindication that he was right and they shouldn’t be involved. It was too dangerous. As a lawyer, albeit lapsed due to having children, Felicity saw it very differently.

Now they were involved again. And this time Dan had no idea. Somewhere, some time, she had to find the courage to come clean with Ellie. She needed to know that Half Moon Bay was very much connected to Nina’s last story. Was it also connected with this latest development?

The front door banged open and she listened for a moment to the high-pitched chatter of her children. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to them. So why did she think she could make a difference?