and she’s not in her van.’
Jackson falters, not wanting to sound like he hasn’t been paying attention to his niece either. ‘She’s eighteen, isn’t she? She’s probably out partying somewhere.’
Pete gives him a strange look. ‘Does that sound like Maya?’
‘Okay,’ Jackson says, annoyed, pulling his shirt on, ‘let’s go and find her.’ He is in such a hurry to get outside that he barely notices Desi and Kate catching sight of one another. Pete follows him on the short walk to Maya’s caravan, with Desi trailing behind them, but the place is dark. Pete goes ahead and knocks anyway, but there’s no answer.
Jackson glances around as though he might spot Maya coming towards them from the darkness. ‘I haven’t seen her since I got home.’ He begins to panic. ‘Have you?’
‘Yes, don’t worry, she came to the shack a couple of days ago,’ Pete says. ‘We just decided on an impromptu visit.’
‘I tried her mobile a few times on the way here,’ Desi puts in. ‘But it’s going straight through to voicemail.’
‘I saw her earlier today,’ Kate says in the background. ‘She was heading inside.’ She gestures to the caravan, standing impassively in the dark. ‘She seemed okay to me.’
Jackson looks from Kate to Pete and Desi. ‘Sorry, I should introduce you. Pete, Desi, this is Kate.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Pete says, stepping forward and shaking Kate’s hand.
Desi doesn’t move. She is staring at Kate strangely, and Jackson imagines he must look as surprised as Pete when she finally speaks.
‘It’s good to meet you,’ Desi says. ‘But I have to ask – are you really Kate, Connor’s niece? Or are you Katherine – his daughter?’
24
Pete
‘I can’t believe you knew all this time,’ Pete says, as they drive to the shack. There had been no point in hanging around waiting in the dark, and Jackson is watching out for Maya. As they left, Pete had listened in astonishment as Desi invited Kate for brunch the next morning. The time has arrived. If he wants to get in first, he’ll have to spill everything he knows tonight.
Desi is distracted, still trying to reach Maya on the phone. ‘We were in love, Pete. You didn’t think Connor would tell me he had a daughter?’ she snaps.
Her words are like a slap in the face. He tries to ignore it.
‘Well, why did you never mention it?’
‘What was the point? We didn’t have any connection. I just knew of her.’
‘But she’s Maya’s sister.’
‘Look, if his parents had kept in contact it would have been easier. They were generous in the beginning, but they cut me off after that, Pete. And to be honest it was easier all round that way.’
Pete is silent for a while, thinking. ‘I have to tell you a few things,’ he says softly. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Desi turn to stare at him. Then his phone rings. ‘Damn.’ He glances quickly at the screen and presses speaker. ‘Hi, Dec.’
‘Hey, Pete. Listen, I did some checking for you on Berani. Apparently he’s not been sighted for a few weeks. They’re not too concerned yet, but since he struggled to get settled they’re keeping fingers crossed that he’s seen again soon. Just thought you’d want to know.’
Pete’s heart sinks. He thinks of Berani on the first days of his release, when he had edged cautiously around the outside of his cage, studying the perimeter of the forest, as though unable to believe he was really allowed up there in those tall, endless trees. Nowadays they inserted electronic tracking chips inside an orang-utan’s skin before release, but Berani had left before it became standard procedure. ‘Okay, thanks, mate. If you hear anything else, let me know, will you?’
‘Of course. And listen, call me when you’re around. We’re well past due a beer, okay?’
‘Thanks, Dec, I will.’
‘How much of a worry is that?’ Desi asks after he has ended the call.
Pete shrugs. ‘Hard to tell.’
But the guilt reappears. If he’d been there, over the critical readjustment period, Berani would have had proper continuity of care. If he hadn’t had to leave …
They reach the end of the corrugated road out of Lovelock Bay, and Pete turns onto the tarmac and speeds up.
‘So, what were you saying earlier?’ Desi asks.
Pete takes a deep breath. ‘I need to tell you something, before Kate comes to see you tomorrow.’
‘O-kay,’ Desi says. ‘Go on.’
‘Why don’t we wait until we’re at the shack?’
‘God, if you need to see my face or hold my hand or