After West made the call, he took down notes as if it was an Olympic sport, and Gleaton recorded their further conversation with Linda on his phone. I listened carefully, hoping Linda would reveal information she hadn't shared with me. She didn’t. It was the same story. She’d only met him a few times. He had distinctive blue eyes, as did his brother, and the relationship between Falcon and Morgan fizzled out long before Morgan and I began dating, even though they split only a week prior. The split went well, from Linda’s account of what Morgan had shared with her, and later, Morgan and I would relocate and get on with our lives.
But could Winston or Morgan’s ex-boyfriend, Falcon, or the both of them be involved? It makes no sense as to why, but then again, Morgan had been very coy about revisiting her past with me for our entire marriage. We were so young and barely had a history to mention in retrospect, but is that because she knew one day her ex would kidnap her. If so, why?
As soon as Linda and Dusty left, so did West and Gleaton. Maloney remained to hold down the fort, as he pretty much has since the start of this nightmare. John also stayed, I guess to offer me company, while Kylee, Ronald, and Shirley tended to the kids next door. The coffee John made earlier didn’t sit well after only the first few sips, and the sandwich he put together remains untouched. I can’t stomach food. I can’t stomach another moment without knowing where Morgan is.
My phone chimes. I take three long strides to reach the bedside cupboard and retrieve it from the charger. Running my finger up the screen reveals a message.
Natalie: I’ve just reached Rockhampton airport, and I’m climbing into a cab. I’m on my way. I’m so sorry, Reid. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Relief. I feel nothing but relief that my brother and my sister-in-law are here in Rockhampton. About fucking time. I still haven’t heard from Dad or Mum, but this gives me hope they are either with Natalie or not far behind.
“Reid. Baby. Reid.” The distinctive sweet-sounding voice of my mother is music to my ears. The following sound, feet pounding down the hallway, causes me to rush to the bedroom door, swinging it wide.
“Mum,” I call.
“Oh my God, baby, I’m so sorry. I just saw John downstairs and he said they still haven’t found Morgan.” Mum’s arms wrap around my waist, and her head tucks against my chest as she sobs.
“Mum, don’t cry,” I say softly.
“Why haven’t they found her?”
“I don’t know.”
Leading Mum to the edge of the bed, I help her to sit. Taking the box of tissues from Morgan’s beside cupboard, I hand it to her. She dabs her eyes before I even have a chance to say anything.
“Have you slept, Mum? You look exhausted,” I say, looking at the black bags circling her tear-stained blue eyes.
“A little. Getting a flight home was disastrous, and your father was delaying us with trying to find Cruise and Natalie. We’ve had no luck. You?”
“No, not until just before. Natalie texted; they are on their way from the airport in a cab.”
“Oh, thank God,” Mum cries out. A mother’s worry, love, and need to help her children is always present. I can see it in my mother’s eyes as I admire her. I’ve seen this same look in Morgan’s eyes. “Take me through everything from the beginning?”
“Where’s Dad? Maybe we should discuss this with him present. It will save having the same conversation twice.”
“He’s downstairs with John and a man named Max. He said he’s a police officer.” I nod to confirm this is correct. Mum dabs her eyes with a fresh tissue she pulls from the box, the old tissue I see discarded by her feet. She holds out her arms, waiting for me to hold onto them. I do. Mum smells just like she always has—freshly washed. “We should wait until Cruise and Natalie get here, too.”
“Sounds good.” I relax just for a short moment.
I’m not sure how long I sit with my mother, exchanging hugs, but it seems to be a while. She takes my hand, and I brush the brown locks falling against her face behind her ear and say, “Let’s head downstairs, Mum. It’s been a long day, and we have a long night ahead. Maybe when Detective West and Gleaton return they’ll have some news as to what tonight and tomorrow will bring.” I stand, holding out my hand for her to take.
“Are they good men?” she asks, placing her hand in mine.
I don’t answer because I’m not sure. If I wasn't so suspicious of every one of the police currently handling Morgan's case, then maybe I’d say they are.
When we make the bottom step, I hear West talking. He’s returned.
“Any news?” I spit the moment he comes into my view.
“We have some new leads, yes.” He’s nodding. I think he might even be smiling, or is he smirking? I can’t be sure.
“Son.” Dad’s voice is raspy, as if he’s sick with a cold. I can tell because his ordinarily wide nostrils are inflamed and glowing red, and his light blue eyes are dull.
“Are you sick, Dad?”
“Just a cold, mate. Nothing a scotch won’t fix.” Dad and his medical scotch advice. Scotch fixes everything in his books. “Come here.” He holds out one arm.
I don’t hesitate to stride towards him. His arm is just as hairy and long as I remember. His Cowboys jersey hangs well past the band at the top of his cargo shorts. When Dad wraps his hand around my back and places it on my opposite shoulder, I get a sense that all will be okay now. Dad’s a strong man, a man who was once a major in the army. He’s worked the land, and he’s survived a car crash that was pretty much unable to be survived. My dad is the toughest of the tough; he’s my hero.
Knock, knock, knock.
There’s a loud knocking coming from the front door. Detective Gleaton, who’s standing about a metre from the handle, makes the opening.
“I’m Natalie Banks.” I hear her say.
“Come in.” Gleaton steps to the side.
“Oh my God! Poor Morgan.” Natalie drops a small overnight bag to the floor and rushes to me. Where’s all her luggage? It’s a strangling hug she delivers.
“Hey Nat, where’s Cruise? Is he bringing in your luggage?”
Natalie shifts until she's holding onto my hands. “Huh? He’s not here?” she says in question.
“I’m sorry, he’s not where?” Why does she think he’s here?
“Cruise is already here with you guys?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“Shit!” She curses quietly under her breath.
“Natalie.” Mum’s voice shakes.
“He’s supposed to be here. We fought, it was a big one, and he stormed off. He never arrived back at the hotel, and the next day he didn’t show up. I managed to track him back home to Australia. The credit card showed he purchased a flight.”
“When was this?” West says from behind us.
“It was Tuesday gone.”
“When did you arrive in Australia?” West asks.
“Six a.m. this morning.” Natalie turns her body side-on. “I stayed in our hotel to gather myself before heading back home to Australia. When I got back, I went to our apartment in the city, thinking Cruise would be there … I thought he’d be sulking, like he tends to do, and even though he hadn’t and still hasn’t returned any of my calls, I’d expected to him to be at our apartment. He wasn’t, and neither was his luggage."
"So, none of you know where Cruise is?" West’s eyes connect with mine.
I shake my head.
"How did you know to come here, Natalie?" I know the tone West uses; it's the same one he used when interrogating me after Morgan first went missing, then again when the money wasn't in my safe.
"Our neighbour, Cali. She rang the doorbell and told me to turn on the television; she must have seen me arrive home. As soon as I saw you on the news, Reid, I booked the flights to get here. Melbourne to Brisbane, Brisbane to Rockhampton.”
“So … so … is Cruise missing too?" Mum’s as pale as a ghost when I flick my attention to her.
“I don’t know.” Natalie is holding her thumbnail between her teeth.
Ring, ring, ring.
West points to the handset on the kitchen bench before making the short distance to the laptop. He nods once.
“Hello,” I say on answering.