A Conundrum Read online

  Suddenly, she saw again the face of the dark stranger. The image was so clear. His eyes were very dark with long lashes; he had thick unfashionably long chestnut hair tumbling across a very high forehead. His nose was straight, and his cheeks long and thin. The chin was firm and the mouth wide with thin mobile lips. She had only caught that one glimpse in the dream when he turned to her and smiled. Where had the light come from to be able to see so clearly? The flash of recognition was still with her, but she was positive she had never met this person before. There was something unworldly, almost fey, about him, but that smile had been reassuring and somehow supportive.

  That last dream was still haunting her. She could still feel Hera’s fingers where she had reached out to touch and to encourage. Still feel the tingle across her shoulders when her eyes met with the stranger’s. Suddenly, she was anxious again; and putting her foot down, she increased the speed, ignoring the 110 kilometres limit on the road heading north. A helicopter would have been a quicker option, but the drive was one of her favourite things. To sit behind the wheel, heading into these long straight roads, the colours so strong, red soil, black hills, and the grey green of the eucalypts. Only in this environment did she feel really complete. The mystery of the mountains, the flat plains, and the blue of the sky contributed to the peace and tranquillity of the day. But the anxiety riding her wouldn’t be denied.

  As Bede swept into the driveway of the house, Hera was flying down the steps two at a time, her restless energy always driving her. She would have spotted the car half an hour ago. They met halfway across the circular drive and fell into each other’s arms, laughing and talking. Neither seemed capable of completing a sentence.

  Bede looked at her sister. She was so lovely, a slim 5'6”, with honey blonde hair and huge soft blue eyes. Hera took after their wonderful mother, while Bede at 5'10” had her father’s colouring, her hair a shiny chestnut brown with red highlights, and hazel eyes. They both had the athletic figures, which they were assured was part of their family heritage.

  Bede smiled. Obviously, everything was fine, wasn’t it? She determinedly put the latest dreams from her mind and turned to greet her aunt, her father’s younger sister, now descending the steps in a much more sedate manner. Tall and elegant, Meredith smiled calmly at Bede in welcome. Laughing with an arm around each of these precious girls, she directed them back up the steps and into the house.

  ‘Sorry I didn’t ring, but it was a spur of the moment decision, which I will explain when I’ve had a drink. It was a long drive, and then I want to catch up on all the news from here.’

  Later, they settled in the living room with Mrs Robinson, the housekeeper, or ‘Robby’ to everyone, bustling around with a tea tray and of course fresh scones. They relaxed and exchange all the latest local gossip and news.

  Robby had been with the extended family forever, and had been housekeeper on the property for the last five years. With the intimacy of long standing, she smiled at Bede, ‘Glad you’re back for a few days, missy, you’re looking a little peaked.’

  Bede smiled up at her. It was really good to be home. With all three sitting quietly, Bede in her favourite armchair, Hera sitting cross-legged on the floor at her feet, and Meredith gazing pensively out the window, it was so peaceful. Bede finally felt the tension draining from her shoulders, and she relaxed. It was obvious to her now that she’d panicked for no reason.

  They finally exhausted all the local gossip. Meredith looked up, drew in a long breath, and broke the companionable silence. ‘Bede, I want to hear what’s been happening with you, and why you have suddenly decided to visit. I suspect you have you been having disturbing dreams too? And if so, we all need to hear the details.’ She fixed her with her piercing grey eyes and waited.

  Bede was startled. Everything had seemed in its rightful place, and she had sensed no tension at all in the house.

  Meredith continued gently, ‘Hera and I have each other to discuss and analyse our dreams, but you on your own in the city, may be really disturbed by them, particularly if they’re at all similar to ours.’ She loved these two girls as if they were her own. Then she moved quietly across the room to close the door.

  An hour later, still seated in her favourite armchair, Bede was now even more anxious and troubled. Her dreams were the most detailed, but neither her aunt nor her sister recognised her description of the stranger. Yet both had experienced similar dreams, dreams suggesting danger, of being chased, and running in fear. The fact that Bede’s had become more intense and specific over the last five days was a worry.

  They had learned over the years to take note and listen to the messages delivered in this way, but they had never been able to come up with a totally logical explanation. The scientist in Hera insisted that they were directly from the subconscious based on something that had not registered consciously at the time. Bede, more inclined to a more esoteric explanation, put a lot of belief in their gypsy heritage, as did Meredith. But they all agreed there was a threat of some sort on the way, and there was someone or something coming to help. The feeling of recognition and connection that Bede had experienced in her dreams was inexplicable. It had never happened before. She tried to convey her feelings about the stranger, but somehow, it was too personal to go into too many details, particularly of that brief sensual touching of lips and the laughter in those dark eyes.

  This was no big brother or uncle, but that feeling of protection had been very strong.

  Finally accepting there was nothing they could do about the dreams but be aware, they talked of other things until dinner.

  It was a delightful meal with much laughter, good food, and much wine. Bede, feeling the weight of responsibility toward both her sister and aunt, knew it was necessary to analyse and plan. In the morning, they would address the looming problem. They would start, she thought, by making subtle enquires of all their friends and acquaintances, the workers on the property, and even perhaps head into the interior to their friends there. They all agreed on one thing: the threat, whatever it was, was something to do with the property, maybe James’s death, and they needed to be very careful about what they said and did. It was preferable to divide up their enquiries, so she and Hera would drive into the township and then go to the club, see if there were any newcomers to the area. Meredith should get on the phone, talk to her buddies from the wider community, and all three would talk calmly to the workers on the property.

  Meredith was a wise woman, an elder within the Family. This had been explained to her and Hera when they were too young to ask too many questions. And they grew up with the awareness that even in the twenty-first century, it was still necessary to keep the Family secrets.

  The Family a name, a word, to be whispered, was very large, extended, and secretive, with branches scattered throughout Europe and the Americas. It was connected financially and emotionally with tentacles like an octopus infiltrating into every aspect of even this modern world, and there was no possibility to ever sever those connections.

  This small, very small branch, crouched inland of this very large continent was just one aspect. Both Bede and Hera were aware and had always been aware that there was something puzzling, something inexplicable behind their lack of contact with that larger part of their family. They knew of its existence of course, they knew the mythology, had heard mentioned some names, some places, but they remembered no more than that. There had been one visit to Europe when they were younger, but no more. No representative had come to their father’s funeral for instance, which mystified them all, and angered Meredith.

  In previous centuries, they had been healers, herbalists, and mystics. But now, here in their own minor part of that world, they were flower growers on a commercial scale. They still grew herbs and produced their own cosmetics, but this was mainly for personal use. Now they exported fresh, native flowers to five countries as well as supplying the domestic market. They grew Australian natives,
waratah, kangaroo paw, Christmas bush, flannel flower, and a wide variety of proteas. It was a huge business and employed over thirty people, most of whom lived and worked on the property itself. They had offices in both Sydney and Perth. They had drifted a long way from the herbalists of the past, but that knowledge and experience was still there and kept alive within the Family mythology.

  The wide-ranging family had diversified over the last few centuries, and Meredith suspected that they were now the only ones to maintain any aspects of those original roots. But loyalty toward all the various members of their extended family could never be severed. This was the legacy passed down over the centuries, generation after generation.

  Chapter Two

  Prague

  It was cold—really cold—the snow thick on the ground. Children had been making faces in the snow-covered cars parked on the side of the road. The snowploughs had been out, and now the footpaths were icy and dangerous from the salt. Martin and Gabriel picked their way carefully along the middle of the road. It was midnight, and they were tired, cold, and anxious. The meeting had not gone well, and they were both frustrated and unsure of the motives behind the strange directives. It was made clear to them how essential it was they find Justin as quickly as possible. With only the two of them looking for him, it would be assumed (by whom?) that it was a normal familial visit from his two favourite nephews. What happened after that depended on the message they must pass on!

  Tracking him through the streets of Prague was not easy. He was tricky at the best of times, but now, he obviously didn’t want to be found. He seemed to have developed an interest in antique books; or was certainly giving the impression of becoming an avid antique book collector. Part of the current mystery?

  They had followed several leads, but hadn’t managed to catch up with him. Now it was dark and freezing and there was only one last place to look tonight.

  Gabriel led the way to Tretter’s, a café cocktail bar they knew in the Jewish quarter. It was after midnight, but Prague rarely slept before dawn. They slogged through the streets, trying not to slip on the ice while remaining alert and watchful. Tretter’s was on Cervena, just behind the Old New Synagogue, and had been a hangout for the two of them in the year they’d lived and studied there. Justin introduced them to the bar when they first arrived, and it fast became their home away from home. It was Justin’s suggestion they spend a year in Prague, finishing their formal education. He convinced their parents it made sense for them to learn the language, difficult though it was, and that it would help them in their future careers. Prague was, after all, the original home of the Family.

  Justin, brother to their father, had always been a mentor of sorts to them. Never marrying, he looked on his nephews in a purely paternal way, although Gabriel considered this more sophisticated identical twin to his father something of an enigma.

  ‘I just hope Justin will eventually find his way here,’ Gabriel stated. ‘If this new interest in antique books is what I think it is, then he will have been following leads for days, and will expect both of us to turn up here sooner or later. Those complacent idiots in Australia are finally starting to sit up and take notice, and we had better be ready when the shit hits the fan.’

  They turned their very cold faces toward Ceverna, and breathed a combined sigh of relief when the lights of the Kavarnas gleamed just ahead, welcoming them as of old. They pushed through the door into the warmth, and the sounds of the jazz trio playing quietly in the corner at the back beside the open fire. It wasn’t too crowded yet, but would draw many more as the evening progressed. This was one of the more popular bars around, the music was always good, and they were open until 5 a.m. every morning.

  Gabriel relaxed into the comforting ritual of pulling off the thick scarf, hat, gloves, and padded jacket to hang on the rack just inside the door. They then made their way slowly among the tables, scanning for Justin. He was not there, at least not yet. But if he were still in Prague, he would arrive at some point before dawn. Some things were a given, and Justin would always finish the night listening to jazz at Tretter’s.

  Chapter Three

  Meredith

  Meredith had been agitated since James’s death. She was aware of many of the secrets within the various factions of the family, knew there were unresolved issues, anger, jealousies, and perhaps even enemies from James’s past. It was time to relook at her brother’s motivation behind buying this property so long ago, and why he had retired from the successful business he ran in New York. It had been out of character for him, but at the time, he had used his wife and child as an excuse to ‘retire from the rat race.’

  Now, they needed to dissolve the veils he had lowered over this past life. They needed as much information as possible to determine if this ‘coming’ was something to do with his death, or a totally new threat. Their extended family was large with branches in many parts of the world, but mostly, they had kept to themselves—their only contacts being on a business level.

  Seated around the breakfast table the next morning, Meredith startled the girls saying quietly, ‘I want you to think back to dinner on that last night before you left to return to Perth, Bede. It was only a few days before your father’s dreadful accident.’ Meredith looked across at the two people most important to her in the world. She needed to keep them safe, but it was no longer appropriate to keep information from them. They were both adults now; they were intelligent, mature, and sensible. It could be dangerous to keep them in ignorance any longer.

  ‘We all need to remember the discussion we were having at dinner that night.’ There was complete silence as Bede and Hera exchanged puzzled glances. Meredith continued, ‘We were talking about the latest contracts with France and Germany, and your father was a little worried. Do you remember?’

  Again, there was silence. Hera frowned, ‘I remember he wanted to renegotiate the whole contract. And at the time, I thought he was being a little paranoid.’ There was silence for a few brief moments.

  Then Bede interjected, ‘I don’t remember really. I was more concerned about the message from Mikael about the problem with the latest delivery to San Francisco.’ She looked toward Hera and continued with a shrug, ‘And I suppose because of the accident, and the contract not being signed, it was defaulted and everything fell through. We didn’t ever hear anything more about it at the office.’ She drew in a long breath and continued, ‘By the time I arrived back here, with all of us trying to deal with the shock and the details of the accident and the police, no one thought anything more about it.’ She paused, thinking carefully. ‘It is strange though that we were never contacted again. I suppose they heard about Dad’s death and just let it pass.’

  The two girls looked to Meredith with puzzled expressions. ‘What does that have to do with the strange dreams we’ve all been having, and what are you suggesting, Bede?’

  Hera was more puzzled than ever. There was obviously something quite serious that she was missing, and it was making her nervous. She looked at Meredith, and with her usual forthright manner, blurted, ‘You think Dad was murdered, don’t you? You think whatever he was involved in is not finished? I think you should explain, and why do you think it had something to do with that contract?’

  Meredith continued pensively, ‘I’ve never completely understood why James left New York. I suspected that he had some ulterior motive. He said he wanted you, Bede, to grow up in Australia, somewhere safe and secure. It made a sort of sense at the time.’ Meredith looked at the two of them then went on, ‘I’ve been thinking lately that perhaps we should look at that time in our lives more closely. And yes, Hera, you’re right. I think James was murdered.’ She stopped briefly, contemplating their shocked expressions, then continued, ‘And we need to try to work out if it had anything to do with what he was involved in before, or whether it’s something about that contract he was so concerned about.’

  Bede interrupted, ‘Meredith, it’s
been over twenty years since we left the US. Surely if there was a problem from that time, James would have said something about it.’

  Meredith continued ignoring Bede’s interruption. ‘It’s been over four weeks since his death, the police have not been able to explain any of the anomalies. And the strangest thing is no representative of the family came to the funeral. That really is very odd, although we did receive messages of condolence from several. It’s not really so far that someone couldn’t have made the trip. In normal circumstances, someone should have. I expected Justin at least, but now it seems that he’s disappeared. No one’s heard from him in weeks and no one seems to know where he is.’

  Meredith got up from the table and started to pace around the room, ‘His nephews, Gabriel and Martin, are in Prague at the moment trying to find him. I had a phone call yesterday from their mother. She’s anxious about them, of course, and hinted that there was something nasty going on that Justin is involved with.’

  ‘Do we have any photos of Gabriel and Martin? Meredith, I’m wondering if the dark stranger in my dreams is one of them.’

  Meredith looked thoughtful. ‘We can always look them up on Google. I’m sure they will feature there somewhere.’

  Bede and Hera both laughed, and Bede spoke with a gurgle, ‘That side of the family are so precious about their achievements, they probably advertise on Google.’

  ‘And’, Hera added, ‘they probably have shares as well.’ Both girls collapsed laughing.

  They sobered quickly, and Hera, looking thoughtful, was the first to recover. ‘Thinking back to that dreadful afternoon, Chief Inspector Campbell gave me the impression he thought it was suicide, although he didn’t actually come out and say that. He and Dad knew each other really well. He kept talking about the depression Dad sunk into after Mum died. We know he was depressed, but not to the extent of killing himself.’