Page 13 of The Missing Sister

‘Thanks,’ said Chrissie. ‘See you guys later.’

Outside, the air felt cool and fresh, and the sky was now a deep azure blue. ‘It’s so different from Australia here – it reminds me of Switzerland with all these mountains, but it’s wilder and more untamed,’ CeCe commented as they walked side by side past the sweeping acres of vines. They found a narrow path that led up an undulating hillside, and as they walked, the vegetation became coarser and less civilised. CeCe brushed her fingers over the leaves of the shrubs they passed to release the bright green scents of nature.

She could hear the calls of unfamiliar birds from the trees, and a faint rush of water, so she pulled Chrissie off the path towards it. They navigated their way through brambles – still wet from the earlier downpour and now glistening in the sunshine – until they stood beside a fast-running crystal-clear stream, splashing across smooth grey rock. As they watched dragonflies skimming over the surface, CeCe turned to smile at Chrissie.

‘I wish we could stay here for longer,’ she said. ‘It’s beautiful, and so peaceful.’

‘I’d love to come back one day and explore properly,’ Chrissie agreed. ‘So... what do you think about Mary-Kate not wanting to know about her birth parents? I mean, you defo had your doubts when you went in search of your own birth family.’

‘That was different.’ CeCe swatted a bug from her face, panting as they followed the stream uphill. ‘Pa had just died, Star had gone all weird and distant... I needed something – or someone else of my own, y’know? Mary-Kate still has a loving mum and brother, so she probably hasn’t felt the urge to shake things up.’

Chrissie nodded, then reached out to CeCe’s arm to tug her back. ‘Can we stop for a second? My leg’s aching.’

They sat down on a patch of mossy grass to catch their breath, and Chrissie swung her legs onto CeCe’s lap. In comfortable silence, they gazed out over the valley, the farmhouse below and the neatly ordered lines of the vine terraces the only sign of human habitation.

‘So, have we found her?’ CeCe asked eventually.

‘You know what?’ Chrissie replied. ‘I think we might have done.’

Dinner with Mary-Kate and Fletch that night was very relaxed, and it was after midnight and two bottles of excellent house pinot noir when CeCe and Chrissie said their goodbyes and made their way outside to the annexe. As Mary-Kate had said, the room was basic but had everything they needed, including a shower and thick woollen blankets to ward off the creeping cold of night.

‘Wow, in the Alice I’m normally throwing the sheets off me ’cos I’m dripping with sweat, and here I am huddled under the covers,’ chuckled CeCe. ‘What do you think of Mary-Kate?’

‘I think she’s cool,’ commented Chrissie. ‘And if she did turn out to be your missing sister, it would be fun to have her around.’

‘She said she was twenty-two, which would fit in perfectly with the rest of us. Electra, who’s the youngest, is twenty-six. Or maybe we’re just on a complete wild goose chase,’ CeCe added sleepily. ‘Sorry, but I’m about to drop off...’

Chrissie reached for her hand from the bunk opposite. ‘Night night, honey, sleep tight. We’ve got an early morning call tomorrow, that’s for sure.’

‘Time to wake up, Cee. We’re about to land and you need to fasten your seat belt.’

Chrissie’s voice broke into CeCe’s dreams and she opened her eyes to see Chrissie reaching for the seat belt to strap her in.

‘Where are we?’

‘About a thousand feet above Norfolk Island. Wow! It’s tiny! Like one of those atolls you see in ads for the Maldives. Look down there; it’s so green, and the water is such an amazing turquoise colour. I wonder if Merry or her friend Bridget got our messages?’

CeCe peered nervously out of her window. ‘We’ll find out when we land, I suppose. Mary-Kate said she left them both details of our flight time, so you never know, they might even be there to meet us. Oh my God, have you seen that? It looks like the runway’s headed right out to sea! I don’t think I can look.’

CeCe turned her head away as the plane’s engines roared and it prepared to land.

‘Phew! I’m glad that’s over,’ she said as the pilot put the brakes on hard and the plane skidded to a halt.

The two of them piled off the small aircraft with their rucksacks and headed for the tiny building that was Norfolk Island’s airport terminal. They passed by a small crowd of onlookers waiting behind a fence for passengers, then through customs control, where a beagle on a lead was sniffing around the new arrivals.

‘It’s a bit different to arriving on the Aussie mainland, isn’t it?’ CeCe commented. ‘I reckon the Aussie border-force guys would prefer to have you stark naked before they let you through,’ she giggled, as they emerged into a small arrivals area where the same handful of onlookers had moved inside to greet their visitors.

‘Remember that I’ve never flown into Oz before, because this is the first time I’ve ever left the country.’ Chrissie nudged her. ‘Now, can you see a woman who looks like that photo we saw of Merry yesterday?’

Both of them scanned the group, most of whom had already collected their visitors and were walking away.

‘Seems like they didn’t get our messages,’ Chrissie shrugged. ‘Anyway, Mary-Kate said it was just a twenty-minute walk to Bridget’s house from here. But which way?’

‘If in doubt, go to the tourist information desk, which is right over there.’ CeCe nodded to a young man sitting behind a desk piled with leaflets. The two of them walked over to it.

‘Hi there, can I help you guys?’

‘Yes, we’re looking for a road called...’ – Chrissie pulled a piece of paper out of her jean pocket – ‘Headstone.’