The Pearl Sister (The Seven Sisters Book 4), page 51
‘Thanks,’ I said, relieved to have escaped further conversation. Comforted by the domestic sounds of Star cleaning up below me, I slid into bed, pulling the soft duvet over me.
‘It’s so great to have you back, Cee,’ Star said when she came into the bedroom. She undressed and climbed into the bed next to mine, then switched off the light.
‘Yeah, it feels great. Better than I thought it would,’ I said sleepily. ‘I just want to say sorry again if I’ve been, like, difficult over the years. I haven’t meant to be. It’s all there inside me, but it just comes out wrong sometimes, but I am learning, I really am.’
‘Shush, Cee, there’s no need to apologise. I know who you are inside, remember? Sleep tight.’
* * *
The next morning, I woke at the same time as Star, which usually never happened. I pottered around the apartment, trying to sort out what bits I would take to Australia with me, while Star stood out on the terrace, wrapped up in her dressing gown and talking on the phone. When she finally came in to make breakfast, she had a pleased look on her face, and I guessed she’d been speaking to Mouse. To make me feel better, a message from Chrissie pinged onto my phone.
Hi Cee! Hope ur flight was good. Interview at gallery was scary. Will hear back tomorrow, fingers crossed! Miss u!
‘So, have you decided what you’re going to do now you’re back?’ Star asked me over breakfast. The eggs Benedict was so good, it almost made me want to change my mind and stay.
‘Well, I was going to talk to you about that, Sia. I’m thinking of selling this apartment.’
‘Really, why? I thought you loved it here.’ Star frowned.
‘I did . . . I mean, I do, but I’m moving to Australia.’
‘Oh my God! Are you really? Oh Cee . . .’ Star’s eyes filled with tears. ‘It’s so far away.’
‘Only a day away on a plane,’ I joked, trying to cover my shock that she seemed genuinely upset. Only a few weeks ago, I was sure she’d have been glad to see the back of me.
‘But what about the spiders there? You were always terrified of them.’
‘I still am, but I suppose I can handle it. And the weird thing is, I didn’t actually see a single one while I was there. Look, Star, it’s . . . where I belong. I mean, more than anywhere else, anyway. And Francis – my grandfather – isn’t getting any younger. He’s been lonely since his wife died, and I want to spend as much time with him as I can.’
Star nodded slowly, wiping away tears with the sleeve of her jumper. ‘I understand, Cee.’
‘There’s also something about being there that inspires me to paint. Maybe it’s the Aboriginal part of me, but when I was out Bush, it was like I just knew what to do without really thinking about it.’
‘You’ve moved closer to your muse. Now that really is a reason to move to the back of beyond,’ she agreed sadly.
‘Yeah, I mean, I was so lost when I left London, didn’t know what I wanted to paint, but when Chrissie drove me out to the ghost gum with the MacDonnell Ranges behind it, something magical happened. She sold that painting two days later for six hundred dollars!’
‘Wow, that’s amazing, Cee! So, who is this Chrissie? Does she live where you’re going?’ Star eyed me.
‘Er, she doesn’t at the moment, but she might be moving there in the next few weeks.’
‘To be near you?’
‘Yes, no, sort of . . . She might be offered a job in an art gallery, and, er’ – I kept nodding like I was one of those dogs that sat in the back window of a car – ‘we’re really good friends. She’s great, really positive, you know? She’s had a difficult life, and she’s got this, like, false leg from below her knee, and . . .’
I realised I was rambling and had probably completely given myself away.
‘Cee’ – a gentle hand landed on my wrist – ‘Chrissie sounds amazing, and I really hope I’ll get to meet her one day.’
‘I hope so too, ’cos what she’s been through, well, it made me realise how spoilt I was growing up. We had this magical childhood at Atlantis, sheltered from everything, but Chrissie really had to fight to get to where she is now.’
‘I understand. Does she make you happy?’
‘Yeah,’ I managed after a pause. ‘She does.’
‘So, she’s your “special” person then?’
‘Maybe, but it’s early days, and . . . Christ!’ I hit the table with my fist. ‘What is it about being back here? I can’t get the words right.’
‘Hey, Cee, it’s me, Sia. We never needed words, remember?’ Her hands began to move in the sign language we’d made up as children when we didn’t want our other sisters to know what we were saying.
Do you love her? she signed.
Not sure yet. Maybe.
Does she love you?
Yes, I signed, without pausing to think.
‘Then I’m SO happy for you!’ she said out loud and stood up from the table to give me a big hug.
‘Thanks,’ I muttered into her hair, ‘though knowing me, it might all go wrong.’
‘That’s what I think every day with Mouse. It’s called trust, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And remember,’ she said, pulling back to look at me. ‘Whatever happens, we’ll always have each other.’
‘Thanks.’ I squeezed my eyes shut to hold back the tears.
‘Now,’ she said, sitting back down, ‘I’ve done some research on “Linda”.’
‘Have you?’ I said, trying to pull myself together.
‘Yes.’ Star placed a name and number in front of me. I squinted at what was written there.
‘There are three Lindas at the bank. Given one works in the catering department and the other has only been there for the past two months, the most likely candidate is Linda Potter. She was the PA to the CEO of the bank, David Rutter.’
‘Really? How did you find out?’
‘I called the bank and asked for “Linda”. Each time I got through, I pretended she was the wrong Linda and they connected me to the others in their different departments. Finally, I got to the CEO’s office – Linda Potter has recently retired, apparently.’
‘Right.’
‘Well?’ Star eyed me.
‘Well what?’
‘If Ace said Linda knows and this Linda used to be the PA to the CEO, she’d be in on everything that’s going on in the company. PAs always are,’ she said confidently.
‘Okay . . .’ I nodded, wondering where this was heading.
‘Cee, I really think you should go and see Ace, and ask him about Linda. And besides, this isn’t just about him, it’s about you too! He thinks you were the one that shopped him to the press. Surely you want to put the record straight before you leave for Australia?’
‘Yeah, but there’s no proof, is there? The film was on my camera, and I gave it to the security guard to develop.’
‘Then you should tell him that yourself. And also ask him why he isn’t making any effort to defend himself.’
‘Wow, you’re seriously passionate about this, aren’t you?’
‘I just don’t like people being blamed for something they haven’t done. Especially when it’s my sister,’ she said fiercely.
‘I’m trying to learn to keep my mouth shut,’ I said with a shrug.
‘Well, for once in our lives, I’m saying the words for you. And I think you should go.’
I saw then that she had changed in the past few months. The old Star would have thought all of this stuff on the inside, but would never have said it out loud. Whereas I had always said too much. Perhaps we were both adjusting to being apart from each other.
‘Okay, okay,’ I agreed. ‘I know he’s at Wormwood Scrubs Prison. I’ll find out what the visiting hours are.’
‘Promise?’ she asked me.
‘Promise.’
‘Good. I have to leave in a bit to collect Rory from school.’
‘Okay, well, before you go I was wondering if you’d help me fill in my Australian passport application? My grandfather’s given me all the documents I need, but you know how I am with filling in forms.’
‘Of course. Do you want to go and get them?’
I brought the envelope downstairs and Star went off to find a black ink pen to start filling it in. We spread the documents out on the kitchen table and had a brief glance at my mum’s birth certificate, before Star reached for mine.
‘So you were born in Broome on the fifth of August 1980,’ she read, her head bent in concentration as she read more details on the certificate. ‘Oh my God! Cee, have you actually looked at this yet?’
‘Er, no. My grandfather just gave me the envelope before I left.’
‘So, you haven’t seen what your original birth name was?’ She pointed to it and I leant over to take a look.
‘Strewth! As they say in Oz.’
‘Too right, Miss Pearl Abraham!’ Star said, then she began to giggle.
‘Pearl, ugh,’ I groaned. ‘And I always complained about Celaeno . . . I’m sorry, Pa.’
Then I couldn’t help myself and joined Star in her laughter, trying to imagine this other me called ‘Pearl’. It just wasn’t possible. Yet, in so many ways, it was perfect.
Once we’d calmed down, I slid the birth certificate back into its envelope.
‘Speaking of birth certificates, my mum’s flying over here in a few days’ time. And so is Ma,’ said Star.
‘Oh, that’s fantastic!’ I said, thinking it would save me the trip to Geneva. ‘Are they coming to meet each other?’
‘Sort of,’ said Star. ‘When my birth mum found me, she got in contact with some of the other members of her family. There’s a heap of them still living in the East End of London. We’re all going to a surprise party there for a relative of ours. My mum said a while ago she’d like to meet the woman who brought me up and thank her in person, and this was the perfect moment to invite Ma. I’d love you to meet my mum too – I’ve told her everything about you.’
‘What’s she like?’
‘Lovely, really lovely. She’s not bringing her other kids over with her this time, but I’m going to fly over to New England and meet my three half-siblings soon. Right, you need to sign there.’ Star indicated the box. ‘You’ll also have to include a copy of your official adoption papers. Just give Uncle Georg Hoffman a call,’ she added. ‘He certainly had mine.’
‘So, how are the rest of the sisters? I haven’t heard a peep from anyone since the newspaper thing.’
‘Well, Maia’s started teaching English to kids in a favela in Rio, and Ally told me last week her tummy is getting more enormous by the day, but she sounds good. I called Tiggy just after New Year, she’s changed jobs and is working on an estate not far from the animal sanctuary. She also wants to organise us all getting together at Atlantis for the anniversary of Pa’s death in June. And I haven’t heard a word from Electra in weeks, or seen her in the newspapers, which is unusual. That badge of notoriety goes to you, little sis,’ she chuckled. ‘By the way, when are you flying to Australia?’
‘Early next Wednesday morning.’
‘So soon?’ Star looked crestfallen. ‘The party’s on Tuesday night. Can you make it?’
‘Probably not. I have to pack. And stuff,’ I added pointlessly.
‘I understand. Then maybe we can have a little leaving celebration for you before we go to the party? Then you could meet my mum and see Ma too.’
‘If you could spare Ma for a night, I could collect her from Heathrow and she could stay with me on Monday night and then go to the party with you from here on Tuesday?’
‘That sounds perfect! Thank you, Cee. Now, I need to go and grab my things. Why don’t you call Wormwood Scrubs in the meantime and see what the process is for getting in to visit? I’ve put the number on the table.’
Star went upstairs to pack her bag and I wandered over to the phone, knowing I’d get no peace from Star if I didn’t make the call. The receptionist at the other end was friendly enough, although she gave me the third degree on what my relationship was to ‘the prisoner’.
‘A friend,’ I said. Then she took my date of birth, my address, and told me I’d need to present some form of ID before I’d be allowed in.
‘Did you get through?’ Star said when she came down the stairs with her overnight bag.
‘Yeah, but I’m afraid I can’t wear that pair of tight hot pants you know I like so much. It’s against prison rules.’
‘Right.’ Star smiled. ‘When are you going to see him?’
‘I’m booked in for two o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Maybe they can do the mugshots for my new passport while I’m there.’ I shuddered. ‘It feels weird thinking of Ace as a “prisoner”.’
‘I’ll bet. Are you sure you’re going to be okay in the apartment alone, Cee?’ Star put a hand on my shoulder.
‘Course I will. I’m a big girl now, remember?’
‘Well, let me know what happens with Ace. Love you, Cee. See you next week.’
* * *
I really did feel as though I was in a film as I traipsed through the towered gateway of ‘the Scrubs’, as the other visitors waiting in line had called it. Inside, each one of us had our bags and ourselves thoroughly searched. Eventually, we were led into a large room full of tables and plastic chairs, and actually, it wasn’t as depressing as I’d imagined it would be. Someone had obviously made an effort to stop the prisoners and their visitors from slitting their wrists by putting up bright posters on the walls. As we all sat down at separate tables, we were read a list of dos and don’ts and finally, the prisoners filed in.
My heart was beating like a tom-tom as I searched the line for Ace. By the time a familiar voice said, ‘Hi,’ in my ear, I realised I hadn’t even recognised him. His hair was cut into a number one crop, he was clean-shaven and painfully thin.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked me as he sat down.
‘I . . . well, I just thought that as I was back in England, I should come and see you.’
‘Right. You’re the first visitor I’ve had. Other than my lawyer, of course.’
‘Well, sorry that it’s me.’
There was silence between us, as Ace looked down at his hands, to his left, to his right, above him . . . In fact, at anything but me.
‘Why did you do it, CeCe?’ he said eventually.
‘I didn’t, honestly! That’s what I’ve come to tell you. It was Po, the security guard, who was bribed by a guy called Jay. Someone at the Railay Beach Hotel had told me that he knew who you were. I didn’t want to worry you or anything, so I didn’t mention it at the time. I mean, I had no idea who you were anyway, so I didn’t believe him.’
‘Oh, come off it, CeCe,’ he sneered, ‘that picture came straight from your camera. I allowed it to be taken because I trusted you, I thought we were mates.’
‘We were! You were great to me!’ I insisted, then tried to keep my voice down as I saw others looking over at us. ‘I’d never have done anything to betray you. Po must have got a duplicate set of photos and given them to Jay. Anyway, it’s the truth. It’s what happened.’
‘Yeah, well.’ Ace stared off into the distance again. ‘It had to happen sometime, I suppose. I knew I couldn’t stay hidden forever. You just hastened the inevitable.’
‘It matters to me that you believe me. I nearly had a fit when I got to Australia and all my sisters texted me to say I was on the front page of every newspaper! Do you think I wanted that?’
‘What? To be involved with the most notorious criminal of the moment?’
‘Exactly!’
‘Lots of girls would.’
‘Well “lots of girls” aren’t me,’ I said firmly, trying to keep my cool.
‘No,’ he agreed eventually. ‘You’re right. I really thought you were different, that I could trust you.’
‘And you could – you can! Look, let’s just forget it. If you don’t want to believe me, that’s up to you, but I’m not a liar. I’m here because I wanted to ask you if you needed any help. I could be a character witness, or something.’
‘Thanks, Cee, but courtesy of the media, my reputation is beyond redemption, and I deserve it. I’m sure you’ve read about my past antics. Not that they had anything to do with what happened at the bank, but I seem to be the most hated man in Britain just now.’
‘The good news is, I’m dyslexic, remember? I can’t read properly.’
Finally, he gave the ghost of a smile. ‘Yeah, okay.’
‘Who’s Linda Potter?’
His eyes met mine for the first time. ‘What?’
I knew then that Star had found the right woman. ‘Linda Potter. You told me one night that she “knew”. So, what does she know?’
‘Nothing, she’s no one.’
‘Well, I know she’s someone, because she used to be PA to the CEO of Berners Bank.’
‘Just . . . don’t go there, CeCe, all right?’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘Does she know something? Ace, why won’t you let me help you?’
‘Listen,’ he said, leaning towards me, ‘what’s done is done, okay? Whatever happens, I’m going down. I did it, no one else.’
‘There must have been others that knew about it?’
‘I said, leave it.’
I watched as he lifted his hand to alert one of the prison officers, who had the type of physique you wouldn’t want to meet down an alley late at night. The man walked over to us.
‘I want to go back to my cell now,’ said Ace.
‘All right, mate. Time’s up, miss,’ the guard added to me.
Ace stood up. ‘Thanks for trying to help, Cee, but really, there’s nothing you can do, believe me.’
Outside the prison, waiting for the bus that would take me back into central London, I realised that Star was right. Even if it got Ace nowhere in the long run, I had to show him that at least someone cared.
I knew what it felt like to be a beaten dog.
35
The jet lag didn’t seem to want to leave me alone, so I was awake again early the next morning. Firstly, I called Ma and told her I would meet her off the plane from Geneva at Heathrow on Monday afternoon. Then, at nine o’clock sharp, I called the Berners Bank number Star had left for me.
