Page 74 of The Vanishing Place

New Zealand

Lewis moved closer on the sofa, his fingers lifting her top, then he touched her face. Effie leaned into him, her eyes and heart open, and brushed her lips against his. The kiss spread through her body, and she shivered.

“You okay?” Lewis pulled back, their eyes locked.

“Yes.”

He held her there, their bodies breathing in time, as June walked through the living room door.

“Right, you two lovebirds”—she waved her arms—“enough of that.”

Lewis smiled as he pulled away. “Sorry.” Then he kissed Effie on the head. “I was actually just heading out. Couple of things to sort at home.”

As he stepped from the room, June turned to leave, but Effie stood and took her hand, squeezing it.

“Effie?” June frowned. “Is everything all right?”

Without answering, Effie pulled her into a hug, sinking her face into June’s hair, and they stayed like that. Still and quiet. Until June stroked Effie’s cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

Effie shook her head. “It’s Dad,” she said eventually, the words harder than she expected. “In his letter, he mentioned someone called Lily.”

June stepped back but kept hold of Effie’s hand.

“I think we should sit.”

Effie nodded and moved them to the sofa, June holding her gaze.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” said Effie. “I’m sure.”

June smiled softly as she sat down. “Lily was my best friend, and she was also your grandmother. Lily was Dinah’s mum.”

Effie inhaled, the words punching her, but she stayed quiet.

“When Lily died, your grandfather, Peter, refused to let me anywhere near the house.” June’s grip tightened.

“I tried, at the funeral, to talk to him, to offer help, but Peter’s mind was already gone.

He hid them away, Dinah and her brothers, and I…

I didn’t do enough. I failed Lily. I failed her children.

” June’s voice trembled. “I failed Dinah.”

“June—”

She shook her head. “Years later, when Cameron appeared on my doorstep with you in his arms, only two days old, I knew I would do anything to protect you.”

Effie opened her mouth, a whirl of questions hanging in the vacant space, but nothing came out.

“From that first moment, I loved you,” said June.

“And on the days that your dad was too broken, I held you and bathed you and sang you to sleep.” She smiled then.

“Your mum was in my step class in the village, and gosh, did she adore you. It was your mum who eventually asked your dad out.” June paused, and the warmth drained from her face.

“But when you were just one, we discovered that your grandfather was looking for you. That’s when your parents decided to leave for the bush.

“We all agreed to keep the truth of your birth a secret,” June continued, “until your dad found Dinah. We didn’t want to say anything to confuse or hurt you.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I’m sorry if that was the wrong thing.”

Effie squeezed June’s hand.

“Your mum loved you like her own. Because you were hers, in every way that mattered,” said June. “But Lily and Dinah are also a part of you. The pounamu necklaces…”

Effie touched a hand to the stone at her chest.

“One was Lily’s, and the other was meant for Dinah on her eighteenth birthday. Lily gave them to me before she died.”

“But why…” Effie said eventually, looking at June. “Why did Dad stop bringing us to Koraha?”

June let out a long breath. “He couldn’t risk it.”

“Risk what? I don’t understand.”

June shook her head.

“Please, just tell me.”

June touched a hand to Effie’s leg. “The last time you came to town, Peter was here. He’d found you.

” Her face hardened. “Your grandfather marched onto my land, threatening to take you away and to have your dad locked up. Cameron begged Peter to tell him where Dinah was, but Peter just laughed, and something in your dad snapped.” June paused.

“Your dad nearly killed Peter that day; he just about beat him to death with a crowbar.”

Effie flinched.

“It was one of your dad’s biggest regrets,” said June, “that he didn’t kill him.

Rather than leaving Peter there, barely alive, Cameron phoned the police.

And that call saved Peter’s life. I don’t think your dad ever forgave himself for that, for saving the man who abused his family.

” June touched Effie’s cheek. “Cameron hated it, that he had to hide you away in the bush. He said he would be robbing you of your life, and it ate him up.”

Effie let the tears fall, and a quiet settled between them. Eventually, June stood up.

“I think we need a strong drink,” she said. “Go check on our girl. Then I’ll answer your questions.”

Effie took a breath. Then she walked through to Anya’s room to kiss her good night.

“You’re still awake?” said Effie as she inched the door open.

Anya peered over the top of her duvet. “I was reading.”

She grinned, sheepish, and pulled Harry Potter out from under the covers.

“Come on.” Effie reached for the book. “You need to get some sleep. Blair and Ewan have all sorts of fun things planned for tomorrow.”

Anya stiffened slightly, and Effie patted her arm.

“It’s all right,” she said. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. We’ll just do what you feel comfortable with, okay?”

Anya nodded. “Will there be ice cream?”

“I’ve definitely heard rumors about ice cream.”

“Blair lets me have two scoops.”

“Oh, does she now?”

Anya giggled, then snuggled in. She rested her head on Effie’s leg, her arm clutched around a worn teddy. Effie set the book on the bedside table, misjudging the edge, and the book fell to the floor. A slip of paper escaped from the pages and fluttered to the carpet.

“Oh, sorry.” Effie grabbed for it. “Was that your marker?”

“Yeah,” Anya murmured. “But it’s okay. I know where I am.”

Effie picked up the paper—a child’s drawing of a hut in the trees—then slipped it back into the book.

“Anya, I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too.” Anya rubbed at her face. “Are you going to stay?”

Effie stroked the girl’s forehead. “For as long as you and Tia need me.”

Anya yawned and stretched out.

“Although I might take Lewis on a holiday to Scotland, if that’s okay?”

“To see Rimu?”

“Yes.” Effie smiled. “To see Rimu.”

Anya yawned again, then her eyes closed, her head growing heavy on Effie’s lap. After a few minutes, Effie slipped out from under her, adjusted her pillow and stood up.

The bedroom curtains moved with the cool breeze.

It was going to be a cold cloudless night.

Effie stepped across the room and pulled back the curtain.

The handle catch had been released, and the old single-pane window swung out like an arm into the black night.

Effie shivered and reached out to close it, the room probably filled with bugs now.

But as she pulled the window inward, a different sort of cold seized her body.

There, jammed in the hinges, was a folded piece of paper.

Effie glanced back at Anya, who was fast asleep, then tugged the paper from the window. As she unfolded it, her heart pounded against her ribs.

“Oh god.”

She leaned out the window, her pulse racing, and looked out at the trees.

Nothing . Just blackness.

She yanked her head back in and slammed the window shut. Then she locked the handle in place.

She gripped the paper, keeping her eyes fixed on the sleeping child, and the scribbled words carved through her.

Anya, I have to leave now, baby girl, to go far away from here. I’m sorry I failed you. I won’t fail the next one.

Effie touched the final two words with her fingertips, then whispered them out loud.

“Love, Dad.”