The Secrets We Keep

CHAPTER TEN

It had been not an easy task to organise, what with sporting commitments and the like, but here they were, parents, grandparents all assembled at Cactus Bay Vineyard and Winery. The purpose of the get together and barbecue lunch was just that, as far as the kids knew, while for the adults, it was a way of discussing what finding Nina’s DNA on that rope meant for everyone.

“What are you doing lurking back here,” Alex asked, “Is everything alright?”

“It is, well apart from the elephant in the room, that’s taking a bit of getting used to and I’m finding it increasingly difficult keeping it from Leo. I know they’ll have to know soon enough but honestly Alex, I don’t even know how to broach the subject because of the implications for Mason and Izzy.”

Alex slung an arm across Olivia’s shoulders, “Let’s talk and walk.”

The walked up to the top ridge of the vineyard towards the bungalow Hunter and Nina occupied during her brief stay.

“Can’t believe Julie and Ted went to all that bother just to appease that cow,” Alex muttered, “Remember how she said Waiheke was a backwater and we’d all died from boredom?”

Olivia laughed, “I do. I told Hunter about it the day he came with the bad news. He was so downhearted; I could have cried.”

 “Nina was always a cold hearted b***h, was it Mary Dawson’s life she made a living hell?”

“Yeah, poor Mary. Nina made fun of her hand me down clothes. Still, Mary did okay for herself despite Nina’s bullying, she’s now head of Neurosurgery at one of the largest hospitals in Australia.”

“No! Wow, go Mary! I always liked her; she was kind of weird but had a great sense of humour.”

“I remember that. She did fantastic impersonations, that time she was taking off Miss Pringle in home economics, that was classic. Well, until Miss P walked in.”

They both laughed and Olivia was so grateful for the friendship she shared with Alex and Marron because it had seen all three survive life’s challenges. She once overheard two women gossiping about them and the charmed life they lived. Nothing could be further from the truth, at one time or another all three of them experienced tragedy and heartache.

They reached the bungalow,

“Does anyone use this now?” Alex asked.

“Not sure. It has a fabulous view, doesn’t it?”

Stretched out in front of them were the vines reaching out to the vast expanse of the Hauraki Gulf, the sun bouncing off the water.

“It was so generous of Gabriella to organise the kids, wasn’t it?”

“I’ll say. I think it’s lovely that Blake has found his sister, Alex. I know how much he has struggled with the crap those dreadful people dumped on him. As for that crazy Arlene, she was definitely certifiable wasn’t she.”

“Absolutely, when I think how close she came to harming us, it’s scary. Blake is still wracked with guilt and I can’t seem to get him to let it go.”

“Hippy Tom?”

“He’s still working with Tom and it is helping but you can’t wash out decades of abuse, subtle and not so subtle, can you?”

Olivia shook her head and looked at her watch,

“We ought to get back, lunch will be ready, and our mothers will be driving the guys insane.”

“Marron will probably be here by now as well; she wasn’t feeling the best this morning. Mum said she’s doing too much; I think that’s Diana Porter talk for I need to intervene!”

Everyone loved Diana and the way she opened her arms to anyone she deemed needing affection, support and all round feel good moments.

“Bless your mother, Alex, I doubt there is anyone else on this planet with a bigger heart that Diana Porter.”

“Mother Teresa?”

“She’s dead, so doesn’t count.”

They wound their way back down through the vines to Hunter’s outdoor kitchen complete with barbecue and preparation bench,

“Have to say, those three guys standing there have the sexiest butts I have ever seen,” Alex murmured, “Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Hunter, Blake, and Xavier were deep in conversation, oblivious to what was happening away from the barbecue. Olivia caught sight of Marron, pinned to her seat by Diana as well as Olivia’s own mother and Hunter’s mother.

“I think we need an intervention to spring Maz from the grip of the mothers club, don’t you?” Alex asked, “Otherwise she’ll be sitting in that spot when she goes into labour.”

“Hey, Maz!” Olivia said, kissing her cheek, “Might I say you look exceptionally fabulous today.”

“Mrs Weston, you are glowing – not that I want to get pregnant to look as good as you – but damn, you look good!” Alex added, placing a quick peck on Marron’s cheek.

A huge smile beamed across Marron’s features, “Thank you girls. As you can see these lovely ladies have been taking good care of me.”

“Well, it’s no secret these ladies know how to dish out the TLC,” Alex said, turning to her mother she said, “Mum, why don’t you, Julie and Sara get ready to eat and we’ll keep Maz company.”

“Alexandra Porter I know smooth talking when I hear it, but I’m getting peckish so yes, we’ll get ourselves to the table, but you make sure Marron eats won’t you?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Out of earshot the three of them giggled, suppressing their laughter as much as possible, but drawing the attention of the men. Hunter turned, his gaze locking with Olivia’s and she felt the heat rise.

“We had to rescue you, Maz because they mean well but sometimes it’s just a bit too much.” Alex announced, sliding onto the chair next to Marron while Olivia took the other side, maintaining her view of Hunter.

“Thank you. Yes, I was slowly being smothered by kindness and helpful pointers on being pregnant, even though I have been in this condition before.”

Again, they giggled, and Hunter, Blake and Xavier turned around, making Alex snort loudly,

“Oh God! It’s like being on the school bus and trying not to laugh because our mothers told us not to draw attention to yourselves!”

That brought a chuckle from the guys,

“Alex?” Blake said, “You were an attention seeker?”

“Um, yeah.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Well, you only knew her on holidays and weekends,” Marron added, “Don’t worry, Blake, the attention she really wanted was yours!”

With that they all burst into laughter, their parents looking and probably wondering if their offspring had grown up, Olivia thought.

After lunch, they gathered around the long rectangular table in Hunter’s dining room where he had all the information gathered since the bomb had been dropped in his lap.

“Does everyone have tea or coffee or a cold drink?” he asked, “There is also cake, so help yourselves.”

He was nervous, but Olivia’s beautiful smile gave him so much encouragement, his nerves soon took a back seat.

“Right. I’ll start with the DNA tests that were done a couple of weeks ago and they confirm what we already know. There is a sixth DNA trace which matches two others, and this would be Nina, Mason, and Izzy, meaning Nina was on Waiheke. May still be on Waiheke.

He sipped his beer and looked around the table, settling his gaze once more on Olivia, and again she smiled at him.

“There are a few other matters that have arisen. First, this is a copy of the photo Dan Martin showed around the various accommodation sites on Waiheke. It’s the photo her parents gave to police at the time of the accident and clearly, this is not Nina Larsen, even if we add sixteen years to her.” He handed it to his father, “Just pass it on when you’ve had a look.”

“Who does that?” Diana Porter asked, “Her parents must have been in on this.”

Hunter nodded, then continued, “Unfortunately, Dan has been unable to locate a file relating to the condition of the vehicle following the accident. On a more positive note, Blake kindly arranged for me to meet with his investigator, I do have news, although Rick’s investigation is ongoing at this stage.” He took another draw on his beer, “Rick has uncovered Nina’s real identity and that of her parents, information he had to hack into some serious cyber defence system to retrieve, so the less we know about that the better. Nina’s family was fictitious, the people posing as her parents weren’t her parents. They were sent here to New Zealand to lie low following a mission gone wrong.”

“Mission?” Blake queried, “As in undercover or spies?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Well s**t,” Xavier murmured, you can’t make this stuff up, can you?”

Hunter shook his head, “According to Rick, Waiheke was the perfect location, not that it’s on the list of preferred hideouts but it turns out one of them had visited New Zealand years before and remembered Waiheke.”

“Well, I’m pleased this isn’t the preferred location for whatever those people were into,” John Porter said, “We don’t need them.”

“Are you saying Nina or whoever she was, was older than she told everyone?” Olivia asked.

“Yeah. Her own parents had been in this organisation and having a young child worked well for their cover. Once she turned eighteen, she wanted to continue even though her own parents had since retired and with new identities. She was assigned to the people we thought were her parents.”

Hunter spent the next hour, outlining what Rick had uncovered, that a lot of information was classified but it went some way in explaining how they were able to orchestrate a traffic accident, make files disappear and leave the country on false passports. Recounting those crazy details were in fact helpful for his own understanding of the situation, although he couldn’t fathom the whole marriage and having children thing, that made no sense to him whatsoever.

“Hunter, I sort of get the cloak and dagger stuff, but what I don’t understand is how do you find two bodies? It’s not as though you can go somewhere and buy them, is it?” Alex wanted to know.

“Alex, I can’t get my head around that either. I suppose organisations like the one they were involved in, can orchestrate something like that. Pay somebody off who works in a mortuary, but surely you need to replace the bodies you’ve sneaked off with,” he replied.

“It’s a pity we can’t locate where she might have stayed or is still staying, isn’t it?” Marron said, “And of course, we don’t have a photo, do we? Unless…” her voice cut off,

“Unless?” Olivia prompted her.

“I know you won’t want to hear this Hunter, but do you have a photo of Nina?”

Yeah, he had thought of that himself but couldn’t bring himself to go there.

“I thought of that Marron and I do have a photo, but s**t, I was hoping I never had to look at it again.”

“Then don’t,” his mother said, which had everyone turning to look at her, “I have photos of when you went to Queenstown for your honeymoon. There is one of the two of you but guess what, there is one of Nina on her own.”

That revelation caused stunned silence, trust my mother to drag out the big surprised.

“Geez, Mum, you kept those?”

“Not because I take any pleasure in looking at them, I just thought Mason and Izzy might like them, but they never seem to ask about her when they’re with us, do they Ted?”

His father shook his head, “Not that I’m promoting any potential interest,” he said, “And I understand they might have questions and want to know what she looked like, but they were so young, it’s as though they don’t have a connection to her.”

“Izzy did ask me about her when they first returned to Waiheke,” Olivia said, “It was more of a fact-finding mission really, did I know her mother well, that sort of thing,” Hunter watched Olivia pause, “You know, after that she has never mentioned her mother, but Leo told me something the other day, that Izzy was happy because she had a friend online and this girl’s mother was dead so she was happy to find someone who knew how she felt.”

“Jesus,” Hunter muttered, “Izzy did mention something to me, but I was only half listening, we had a talk about being safe online and that was it. She said it wasn’t an issue because her friend lived overseas and there wouldn’t be a chance to meet up anyway.”

He felt stupid now, he hadn’t listened to what Izzy was saying and come to think of it, he had no idea who Mason might be talking to online. As though everyone knew what he was feeling, John Porter said,

“Relax, Hunter. You can’t watch your kids twenty-four seven, by the time they’re teenagers they resent you prying into their lives and can get mighty pissed off if you cross the line between casual inquiry to perceived nosiness.”

“Exactly right, John,” Jeff Wainwright nodded, “You can’t beat yourself up over this, Hunter. I know Izzy has struggled with being bullied and is on the shy side, if she said she had a friend online, you would have been happy for her.”

Hunter, let out a sigh of relief, pleased he wasn’t failing fatherhood 101 again,

“Thanks everyone. Anyway, back to the internet and Izzy’s friend, I don’t suppose this friend isn’t as innocent as Izzy believes?” His gaze found Olivia and he registered that she might well have experience in this sort of thing.

“Hunter, having friends online is a minefield of potential disaster. I’ve been to several education seminars aimed at identifying the sort of behaviours these people use to attract a friend like Izzy. Is there any chance Rick could come here and check her hard drive, Mason’s as well because he’s male and unlikely to tell you these things?”

“Sure, I can do that. Rick’s meeting me here in a couple of days with an update. I’ll email him tonight and tell him about the online friend. Do you think it could be sinister, even Nina?”

Olivia shrugged, “I hope it’s not, but I think we all need to be prepared. Remember, Nina has experience in infiltrating groups, catching a lonely kid like Izzy would be child’s play, pardon the pun.

Two hours later, the gathering was breaking up after there was a spirited cleaning up session that had both his outdoor and indoor kitchen looking cleaner than he could remember. Obviously when men tidy up or clean, it wasn’t quite on the same level as when women did it, particularly the mothers.

“Now you have the house to yourself, what are you going to do?”

He swung round to find Olivia lounging against the door frame, looking sensational and his libido kicked into life. More than once during the day he’d had to think about the fermentation process of wine to drag his thoughts in a direction other than having Olivia under him in his bed. He threw the towel he was holding onto the bench, and pulled her toward him, his arms circling her waist,

“Well, seeing as Izzy is having a sleepover at Gabriella’s and Alex was crazy enough to suggest the boys stay there tonight, I was thinking you could have a sleepover here, with me, in my bed.”

“Mm, I like the sound of that, but I don’t have my pyjamas or toothbrush or even fresh underwear.”

He gave a low, soft laugh, “Babe, you don’t need pyjamas, I’m confident I can rustle up a spare toothbrush and why are you worrying about fresh underwear?”

She slapped his arm playfully, “I suppose you’d simply go commando if you didn’t have clean undies?”

“That I would. Now, how about we sit outside, watch the night come in, count stars and then we’ll go to bed.”

“Sounds lovely, but I’d add a few snacks to that as well as something to drink which, seeing as this is a vineyard and winery, there won’t be a shortage of something to drink, am I right?”

“You are. Come on, we’ll go into the cellar and then I can secure it for the night.” He grabbed her hand and headed in the direction of the cellar, “Can’t believe I never took security seriously here, this door hasn’t been locked as far as I know, since I came home. Slack on my part.”

“You had a lot on your mind and the island is generally safe, I mean I didn’t bother locking up on a regular basis, during the summer months, yes, but not now when it’s cooler.”

“Your house is locked up thought, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I have set the alarm, the CCTV you installed is working, at least I hope it is, and then there is the security lighting.”

He kissed her forehead, “Good girl, now -,” he pulled up short as something darted out from the shrubs at the entrance to the winery. At first, he thought it was an animal, but it wasn’t, it was a person, and they were running hell for leather down the driveway.

“Holy s**t, Hunter, that was a person! Wasn’t it?” Olivia shivered next to him and he pulled her close,

“It was. I don’t know about you, but they gave me a hell of a fright.”

“Me too. They certainly could run like the wind. Did you see where they came from?”

He pointed to the shrubs, “Somewhere there, I thought. Want to look?”

“Sure.”

Hunter gently pulled the centre of the shrub apart, someone had been there, the grass underneath was flat as though they had been there for a while,

“Pretty bloody uncomfortable place to hide out,” he muttered.

“I don’t think it was their hiding place of choice but if they arrived here around the same time as everyone was starting to drift off home, this was the first place they could think of.”

“I guess they couldn’t go into the cellar once they realised there as a crowd here, for fear of someone coming down to get wine.’

“I need to check around, and then we’ll secure this place like Fort Knox, not that I think they’ll be back tonight.”

Together they gave the cellar a thorough check, but nothing seemed to have been taken or tampered with. Hunter pulled the door closed, set the code on the lock and walked back to the house, his arm around Olivia.