Page 35 of Sharing Forever in Hope Creek (Hope Creek #2)

Callie’s hope surged. ‘So they realise the shirt was planted there then and Jack had nothing to do with the murder?’

‘Well, it’s also pretty dumb to think a killer would stash a bloodstained shirt under his car seat,’ Gary said. ‘Look at where we live. There’d be a million places that shirt could’ve been hidden between the vineyard and the station.’

‘That’s another good point,’ Margaret said.

‘We’ve realised why the dogs were barking in the middle of the night,’ Blue told him urgently. ‘They were more disturbed than they normally are if they go off when they see a possum or a roo, so we’ve realised it must’ve been then that someone planted the shirt in the car.’

‘Do you remember when that was?’ Gary asked.

‘Sure do,’ Jim replied. ‘I looked at the clock and it was 1.17 am.’

‘Great. I’ll let the detectives know, but I shouldn’t have told you any of this.

The only official reason I’m here is to tell you it’s okay for you to return to the homestead,’ Gary said.

A look of indecision crossed his face. ‘Look, for what it’s worth, I believe in Jack’s innocence too even though there’s been another development. ’

Callie felt nauseous again as her stomach clenched at Gary’s words.

‘Another development?’ Mitch queried.

‘This isn’t to leave this room, okay?’ Gary reiterated firmly.

Everyone nodded.

‘The detectives know they can’t put Jack at the vineyard at the time of the murder. He’s also told them he remembers Thompson saying he had another meeting scheduled for later in the afternoon—although there’s nothing written in Thompson’s diary and Brianna isn’t aware of it.’

‘That’s the development?’ Morgan asked in a deflated tone.

Gary held his hand up. ‘The jack and the shirt are circumstantial evidence, but they do tie Jack to the crime.’

‘Bull!’ Blue said vehemently. ‘We’ve just told you that shirt was planted at 1.17 am.’

‘The opportunity can’t be established but the detectives have the witnessed threats, the weapon, the shirt as evidence, and the motivation,’ Gary said in a half-apologetic tone.

‘Motivation?’ Callie retorted. She stood up quickly and raised her fingertips to her temples. Now the fog had cleared from her brain she defended Jack earnestly. ‘Jack only wanted to see Thompson in jail over the Ponzi scheme that had affected God knows how many investors.’

‘The development I mentioned is a letter found in Thompson’s desk drawer,’ Gary continued. ‘Jack’s lawyer has been made aware of it.’

‘What the hell?’ Mitch exclaimed.

‘What was the letter about?’ Morgan demanded.

‘You heard this from Jack’s lawyer—not from me,’ Gary said. ‘The letter was signed by Jack. The contents of the letter suggests that Jack was not only implicit in the Ponzi scheme but that it was his idea and he’d persuaded Thompson to go along with it.’

‘No. Absolutely not. Jack didn’t even know Thompson before this vineyard came up for sale,’ Mitch announced.

Feeling light-headed, Callie sank back into the armchair and wondered how Jack’s name could be cleared.

‘The letter suggested that Thompson was trying to wrap up the scheme and wanted out of it, and that Jack wasn’t having a bar of it.’

‘I don’t believe a word of it,’ Margaret told Gary vehemently. ‘Mitch has told us Jack’s a very wealthy man and he’s a legitimate businessman. As if he’d resort to something underhanded like this!’

‘Even if he wasn’t wealthy, it’s not in his character to try to rip people off,’ Stella put in.

‘What happens now?’ Jim asked.

‘Before the letter was found, I thought Jack might be released by now because I thought they’d realise they didn’t have enough solid evidence to make the charge stick.

And, his sister’s organised a real hot-shot counsellor for him.

’ He looked at the floor for a moment before adding, ‘Now, I think they’re going to proceed with the charge, take him to Melbourne and hold him in a remand centre there until trial.

There’s a good chance bail will be denied as well given that it’s a murder case and he’s a flight risk because he’s exceedingly wealthy. ’

‘What the hell is wrong with them?’ Morgan railed. ‘I need to speak with them. Have they even looked into this Ponzi scheme Thompson was running?’

‘Be patient, Morgan,’ Gary cautioned. ‘They are investigating everything.’

‘Meanwhile, Jack’s name gets dragged through the mud and his company takes a dive too,’ Mitch bit out as he slashed one of his hands through the air angrily.

His eyes widened. ‘Perhaps the police need to investigate that side of things too—whether a business competitor of Jack’s is holding a grudge or going to attempt a takeover of his company? ’

‘That’s another angle,’ Jim agreed. ‘Make sure you discuss that with his lawyer as well.’

‘I’m sorry this is happening,’ Gary told them, ‘but I urge you all to sit tight and let this investigation unfold. Have confidence in Jack’s innocence and in the system.’

‘Hm,’ Margaret uttered with some cynicism.

‘You’re doing your job, Gary,’ Jim said. ‘There’s no need to apologise.’

‘Well, sometimes the job isn’t easy,’ Gary replied. ‘I hate that it’s caused you grief, Callie—and interrupted your ongoing wedding celebrations, Stella and Mitch.’

‘Our friends know what’s going on,’ Stella said before she rolled her eyes. ‘That was unstoppable because all of Hope Creek knows what’s going on!’

‘Phil did offer to stay on to keep the festivities ticking over for our guests,’ Mitchell added, ‘but everyone realises we’re not feeling very festive now and they’ve decided to leave tomorrow.’

‘And Liz has taken Kade to Melbourne with her and Connor until things settle down,’ Stella said. ‘Our concern is for Jack and Callie.’

‘You’re good people, all of you,’ Gary said.

‘I promise you, we’ll find the killer. People in Melbourne are looking into this Ponzi scheme as I speak.

Jack provided Rick and I with the information he’d received when we were on the way to the station and he gave a formal statement about it before his legal counsel arrived.

He’s already got his company investigators looking into it and the police department are throwing their resources into solving this case as quickly as possible. ’

‘Reckon you could dissuade the media from harassing us for comments?’ Blue asked the officer. ‘I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of time before they show up on our doorsteps once they tie Jack to Callie and Mitch.’

‘Leave it to me,’ Gary said. ‘Now, I’ll get going. Just remember to keep everything I’ve said under your hats.’

There was a murmur of consensus and thanks as Gary left.

‘We’d better get home,’ Jim said to everyone.

‘I’m not sure it’ll feel like home now after having all those strangers trooping through looking at everything,’ Margaret said. ‘Let’s have that cup of tea here before we go.’

‘Good idea,’ Blue said. ‘A cuppa and a biscuit never go astray. Got any biscuits, Stella?’

Callie let the conversation drift over her head. She was thankful Gary had shared the information with them, but her spirits had taken a dive again.

How likely was it that the letter had been planted as well?

There were a lot of maybes and they didn’t count for anything against the witness account and the hard physical evidence that was stacking up against Jack.

As Blue asked after Kade and whether Mitchell was keeping Liz and Connor up to date about the goings on, Jim came and squeezed Callie’s shoulder. ‘Don’t lose faith in Jack,’ he told her again.

She considered his entreaty before she responded, ‘You realise it will require a huge leap of faith?’

‘I do,’ Jim said gravely.

‘Honestly, part of me wants to stand by Jack and the other part is telling me to run—for my sake and for my child’s.’

‘I know it’s huge and it’s scary,’ he added, ‘but I promise you, Callie, nobody in this family would ever encourage you to take the leap unless we were one hundred per cent sure it was the right thing to do. We’re completely supportive of you and Jack.’

Her faith in the Richardson family was unshakeable.

Their presence was a shield against the hailstorm of emotions that hovered on her horizon and threatened to overwhelm her.

Family.

Callie’s breath hitched.

It was a wild idea—maybe an impossible idea.

Her heartbeat quickened as adrenaline surged through her.

It was a bad idea.

It might be a complete waste of time but …

Callie jumped up from her chair. ‘I’ve got an idea,’ she announced breathlessly.

Stella and Margaret re-emerged from the kitchen and everyone stopped their conversations and looked at her.

‘I know you’ve all decided that this is some personal set-up against Jack, but I still can’t get out of my head that there’s organised crime involved here.’

‘And?’ Stella prompted.

‘If the killer isn’t caught, Jack’s likely to be convicted—or at least he’ll always be under a cloud of suspicion and I’m going to do everything in my power to prove his innocence.’

‘That’s our girl.’ Blue’s smile was proud.

‘How can we prove it?’ Morgan asked.

‘I have to find out about this Ponzi scheme and whether anyone knows anything about Thompson’s murder that could clear Jack.’

‘Well yes, we agree it needs to be done, but how are you going to do that?’ Mitch asked gently. ‘The only people who might know for sure are likely to be criminals themselves.’

‘Exactly.’ Callie wanted to pump her hand in the air and declare Mitch the winner!

Callie saw Margaret’s frown deepen as her foster mother raised one hand to partly cover her mouth. ‘By anyone, you mean—’

‘I mean my … parents.’ Callie swallowed hard to force down the emotion that accompanied the very notion of contacting her parents for anything.

‘They’re criminals, Mitch,’ she explained, ‘and I’ve always tried to hide the fact, but Stella can go into their crimes later.

Anyway, they must still have connections.

If anyone knows or can dig up anything about this, it might be one of them. ’

‘Or you could leave it to the authorities to do their job,’ Jim told her. ‘I don’t want you to approach your parents, Callie—nor would Jack.’

‘Don’t put yourself through it, Cal,’ Morgan said. ‘You always swore you’d never have anything to do with them again. Don’t let yourself be touched by that world of crime.’

Callie knew it was a desperate move, but she was desperate. ‘If there’s a chance it could help Jack, I’m prepared to do it.’

‘It’s a big call,’ Stella said with a whistle. ‘Are you sure you’re willing to expose yourself again when they might not be able to help you? Surely you don’t want to risk being on their radar again and have them find out any information about you—where you live or where you work?’

It was in that moment Callie knew she’d fallen in love with Jack.

That she was prepared to put herself through seeing her parents again, exposing herself to them—going to them and begging them, if she had to, for their help—was a bigger deal than anyone could probably understand.

In deciding on this course of action, she was making an agonising choice to face all the demons of her past.

Before today, she would’ve sworn there would never be any possible circumstance that would arise that could make her connect with them again.

She hadn’t figured on Jack needing her to do it.

She hadn’t figured on loving Jack so much that she’d even contemplate doing it.

Her free hand went unconsciously to rest over her abdomen.

Yes, she had a child to think of—a child she wanted to try to spare the agony of disgrace that accompanied being a child of a killer, but that child hadn’t even been born yet.

Innate honesty demanded that she admit she was doing this for Jack.

She was prepared to put herself through hell for him.

She was prepared to walk through a bed of emotional hot coals for him.

Nothing but love could make her do that.

Margaret looked at her with understanding. ‘If you think it will help, Callie, then do it. Who knows? Maybe coming face to face with your parents again after all these years may not only help Jack but may also help you to heal? Whatever you decide, we’ll all be here to support your decision.’

‘If you go through the trauma of seeing them again, I just hope they can give you some answers,’ Morgan said with concern.

‘Your parents have made terrible choices,’ Jim said thoughtfully, ‘but if they can help prove Jack’s innocence, and you’re sure you can handle the contact with them, then it’s worth a shot.’

Callie felt a surge of gratitude. ‘Thank you. All of you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

Morgan smiled, her eyes bright with determination. ‘Whatever happens, you’re not in this alone, Callie. We’re all in this together.’

Stella hugged her tightly. ‘We’ll get through this, and we’ll make sure your child grows up knowing that Jack is a good man.’

Callie felt the weight on her chest lighten, if only slightly. She was besieged by guilt that she had doubted Jack for a second. How had he felt when he had witnessed her lack of trust and realised she had judged him negatively so quickly?

It was time to step out from the shadows of her past.

She knew the road ahead would be difficult, but with her family by her side, she felt stronger. She would fight for Jack, for their future, for their child, and for the truth.