The Road Back (39 page)

Norma shifted in her seat and then drank from the glass of water that had been put in front of her, gathering her thoughts. ‘As you know, there were gangs that intimidated the Chinese. Remember that day at the markets, when Mark and you and I saw them extorting money from the Chinese traders there? Well, evidently some of the manual labourers who worked for Alan were members of those gangs and he actually encouraged them in taking this sort of action against any of the Chinese.'

Chris simply stared at Norma. ‘What sort of people were they that Alan was involved with?' he finally asked.

‘Chris, it was a time of madness. It was like a fuse had been lit and there was no stopping the explosion that would follow. There was sporadic but unpredictable chaos, and it could be quite indiscriminate. Anyone could be denounced as a
communist and killed. So many people were frightened that they might be singled out, quite erroneously, that they often turned in other members of their own family to save themselves. And there were gangs that took part in these killings with impunity. Sometimes they were complete strangers to the victims. Sometimes they all dressed in black carrying swords, sometimes they wore camouflage outfits and carried guns; it varied. But they all hated communists and thought of themselves as patriots, and that the killings were justified. Thousands of innocent people were victims of these gangs. But the Chinese were the biggest target for the anti-communist riots, and as they often had money and valuables in their homes, the gangs particularly went after them,' Norma explained.

‘And Alan believed in all this?' asked Chris, trying to reconcile what he was hearing with everything he'd learned about the well-known property developer.

‘This was the 1960s, Chris. Throughout the West there was a fear of communism. This was the time when the Vietnam War was at its height. Communism, it was thought, would run right through South East Asia, conquering country after country, even invading Australia if not actively stopped,' said Norma.

‘Yes, many Australians believed that this domino effect could easily happen,' Susan chipped in. ‘So it was thought that anyone who was connected with communism, either in Australia or in nearby countries, was a threat to Australia's freedom. Communism was an idea which could not be allowed to flourish, something that had to be actively fought.'

‘So you're telling me, Norma, that Alan was involved in the violence against people who were thought to be communists in Bogor, especially the Chinese?' said Chris.

‘Yes, but there is more to the story. Anwar found out that Alan was forewarned that there would be riots that terrible night and that using the ensuing chaos as cover, several Chinese homes would be invaded and robbed. One of those homes would be the Tans'.'

‘What!' Susan's stunned expression turned to fury. ‘Alan knew that the Tans would be attacked and he did nothing? He never told us. He did nothing!' said Susan, her voice rising.

Chris reached over to take his mother's shaking hand.

‘Norma, are you sure about this information? This is dreadful,' he said, shaking his head. ‘
Mark lived with the Tans. I thought he and Alan were supposed to be friends. Why wouldn't Alan tell him what was going to happen, or at least drop some sort of a hint?'

‘You'd have to ask Alan that,' said Norma, evenly. ‘But I suppose if he had said something to Mark, or Jimmy for that matter, then they would have known about his relationship with those terrible gangs and he might have been sent home in disgrace. But also remember, generally white people were never targeted by these gangs, because they knew that then the police couldn't just turn a blind eye. They would have had to become involved. Maybe Alan was just taking the chance that nothing would happen to either Mark or Jimmy.'

‘But the police never caught whoever stabbed Jimmy,' said Susan
quietly, almost to herself.

‘Norma, may I ask why you didn't tell my mother all this before now?' asked Chris, gently.

Norma hesitated and looked at Susan. ‘I suppose I knew that this could only upset you, as it did me. It's in the past. I may have been wrong to keep this information to myself, but I did. Why bring up something that can't be changed, especially something so painful?'

Susan nodded, her face flushed, and while Chris felt enormous sympathy for his mother and what she had just learned, he couldn't help feeling a tingle of satisfaction that his story had taken such a huge leap forward.

Susan was still trembling and shaking her head at the news. ‘I can't believe Alan would deliberately not warn us, the Tans, Mark and Jimmy . . . No, it's unforgivable that he didn't say something. I think that h
e's responsible for Jimmy's death.'
Susan's eyes filled with tears.

‘I'm so sorry, Mum.' Susan leaned against her son for a moment. Then Norma reached into her handbag and handed Susan a tissue, which she accepted gratefully, sitting up straighter again.

‘I just think it's so sad,' Susan said, dabbing her eyes. ‘It was such an unfair, random act of brutality. Poor Jimmy. Maybe his family should also know what really happened. Jimmy's brother, Thomas, wrote to me, you know,' Susan said to Norma. ‘He went to Indonesia, to Bogor, a year or so after Jimmy's death, trying to find out more about what had happened to Jimmy, but by then it was a closed chapter. An unfortunate incident, as far as the authorities were concerned.'

They were all quiet a minute. Then Susan reached out and touched Norma's arm. ‘I know you didn't have to share this. But I'm glad you did. Thank you.'

Norma nodded and gave a small sympathetic smile. ‘I'm sorry this has upset you, but at least now you know the truth.'

‘Oh, Norma, it was a special time back then, wasn't it? For both good and sad reasons. I have never forgotten a moment of it. I learned a lot about life, which made me grow up. Those first impressions and images of such a different, exciting, amazing place and people have always stayed with me,' said Susan.

Norma agreed. ‘We were lucky to glimpse the heart of a country. And I never regretted marrying Anwar. He was a remarkable man, but our backgrounds were too different. Sometimes your own customs, heritage and childhood claim you, even when you don't want them to, isn't that so?' said Norma.

Susan glanced at Chris and he smiled at her.

‘Yes, that's true, but often you're not aware of it until you make that return journey,' Chris said. They sat quietly for a few moments, lost in the momentous and emotional moment they had just shared. Chris could see his mother looked tired and spent and he thought that perhaps it was time to wind things up.

‘Thank you for giving me the privilege of meeting you,' said Chris to Norma. ‘I'd like to keep in touch, if I may.'

‘Perhaps,' Norma replied, her face now closed.

Susan managed a smile. ‘Yes, thank you for telling me the truth. It's not always an easy thing to do, but I appreciate that you have.'

Chris settled the bill and then Norma clasped Susan's hands, inclined her head towards Chris and then rose and walked out into the gathering gloom of the winter's evening without a backward glance.

*

Chris had asked Georgia out to dinner, but she'd suggested he come to her house for a meal, so Susan took the train back to Pymble to spend the evening with Mark and Lorraine while Chris went out to Balmain. On the way he picked up a good bottle of wine and bought a bunch of dramatic oriental lilies.

Georgia's terrace cottage was tucked at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the harbourside suburb. It had a tiny backyard surrounded by a high brick wall and contained a tumbling garden lit by well-concealed lighting.

‘It's very Mediterranean and secluded. You're not overlooked at all,' said Chris as he gazed at it. ‘And I can hear boats on the harbour.'

‘I have some harbour glimpses from upstairs. Come and see.'

As they went back inside and up the narrow staircase, Chris couldn't help but admire Georgia's eclectic décor, a happy marriage of shabby chic, modern art, antique etchings, and a retro modern dining room and kitchen.

The bedroom was next to a surprisingly large bathroom, all crisp white tiles with a dark blue trim.

‘I sacrificed a minuscule second bedroom for a decent bathroom where I could swing a cat, if I had one,' said Georgia. She indicated the bedroom window. ‘There's the view.'

Peering out, Chris could see the spangled city lights across the water. ‘That's gorgeous,' said Chris. ‘My place at Neutral Bay is not nearly as exciting.'

‘But you've got Neverend as well, and that's really lovely,' said Georgia. ‘Now let's go open that wine, I'm dying to hear about Norma. Did you learn anything interesting?'

Settled in a deep chair with Georgia stretched out on the sofa, the long coffee table between them, Chris relayed all that Norma had told them that afternoon. Georgia listened quietly and when he finished, said, ‘Wow. Your poor mother. That's a lot to take in.' She paused and took a sip of wine. ‘And this also puts a bit of a new slant on the story. Are you going to tackle Alan with this information?'

Chris shook his head. ‘Bit hard if he refuses to make contact. I believe Norma, but I can't prove any of it. Anyway, I really can't write about it. Alan would sue the socks off me. Still, it does make one think about what sort of man Alan Carmichael must be.'

Georgia straightened up and put down her wineglass on the coffee table. ‘Speaking of your book, I have something for you. Come into my den.'

Her office had been converted from the small dining room. Bookshelves lined one wall, and there was a large filing cabinet and neat piles of what appeared to be manuscripts on her desk. Another wall was covered with framed photos. One in particular jumped out at Chris.

‘The old house! Jean Hay's place. What a great shot.' He leaned forward to examine the muted pink print of the sitting room in the old house. It was full of colour from the light as it shone through the rose glass panes in the windows. ‘This is the sort of picture you want to walk into so you can look at every little thing in the room. It's beautiful, Georgia. You certainly do have an excellent eye for photography.'

‘I'd love to go back and spend more time there,' she sighed.

‘Any time. We'd all be very pleased to see you up in Neverend
again.'

Georgia went over to her desk, pulled an envelope from the top drawer and handed it to Chris. ‘Congratulations.'

‘What's this?' He opened it and pulled out several sheets of paper. He glanced quickly at the top page, and then realised what he was reading. ‘Oh, is it for real . . . ?'

Georgia stood in front of him, her eyes dancing with pleasure. ‘Yep. It's your contract. An advance will follow once you sign on the dotted line. It's not a big advance, because the publishing company is only a small outfit. They publish mainly Australian non-fiction and they liked the sample chapters that I gave them and are willing to back you.'

Chris felt overwhelmed. In his excitement, he swept Georgia into his arms and kissed her. But his quick kiss of joyful delight suddenly turned into something more. His mouth lingered on hers. He dropped the pages of the contract onto the desk and wrapped both his arms around her and kissed her longingly.

Georgia returned his kiss, holding his head close to hers before lightly pulling away and saying breathlessly, ‘Ah, you'd better sign the last page of the contract and initial the others before we get too sidetracked.'

Chris leaned over the desk, picked up a pen and quickly signed the contract.

Georgia laughed. ‘You didn't read it!'

‘I trust you. You're my agent.' He reached for her again. It felt so good to hold her close.

Finally Georgia drew away from his arms. ‘I'd better check the dinner. Unless you want curry for breakfast.' She grinned playfully at him and kissed him quickly once more.

‘Sounds perfectly fine to me,' Chris returned, but he followed Georgia into the kitchen and watched as she fussed at the stove.

When she had put the lid back on the saucepan, Chris stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her as Georgia leaned into his embrace.

‘Was that a genuine invitation?' Chris murmured. ‘Are you sure you know what you're getting into? I'm not just a dinner and breakfast kind of guy.'

‘I know that,' she said calmly, and turned to face him. ‘Stick around as long as you want.'

‘I might just do that.' He kissed her more gently this time. ‘I'm going to make a couple of calls. I won't be long. Why don't you refill our glasses?'

Chris went into the lounge room and called Megan's mobile.

‘Hi, Megs. How're things at Toby's place?'

‘Hi, Dad. Fun, we're all playing Scrabble and we can't stop laughing. I think that Toby's father cheats. He puts down words I don't think are proper words and he won't let us use a dictionary. How's it going in Sydney?'

‘Really, really well. I'll pick up Bunny at about nine in the morning, so we'll be home around mid-afternoon. I'll give you a ring when we're back, but if you want you can let yourself in and wait for us.'

‘So where are you, Dad? Where's Bunny?'

‘Bunny is with her friends Mark and Lorraine at Pymble. I'm having dinner at Georgia's place. I'll tell you my exciting news when I get back.'

‘Oh, really! You're with Georgia. Is that your exciting news?' Megan teased.

‘No. Oh, all right then, I have a book contract. Now I'll really have to work hard!'

‘Congrats, Dad! I knew Georgia would pull it off. Say hi for me. Gotta go – I'm being called. It's my turn.'

Chris then quickly rang his mother to make his apologies to Mark and Lorraine and told Susan that he would pick her up in the morning to drive back to Neverend. His mother made no comment other than to say that she would be waiting. Chris rang off and then returned to the kitchen to find Georgia waiting with two full glasses of wine. He smiled at her and watched as a broad grin spread across her face too.