Annabelle Archer looked fondly at the photo of her grandparents on the table in the lounge room of her family home. It was a sad day, her dear grandfather Raymond’s funeral and wake.
‘How I will miss you,’ thought Annabelle. ‘You were always such a clown when Jodie and I were growing up.’
Her grandfather’s feeling of guilt following his wife, June’s fatal accident had prompted Annabelle to seek extra evidence which helped imprison the perpetrator, a ’so-called’ TV celebrity, Randall Zeebac. Her father, DI Rob Archer and his old boss, DI Mark Whitehead, now operating a detective agency in Sydney, had been in charge of the case.
Annabelle wiped away tears as she recalled Raymond moving in with her family after which he gradually accepted the accident was not his fault. Now Annabelle was a police officer following in her father’s footsteps.
Her reverie was interrupted by her dad walking into the room. He gave her a big hug. “Come on, kiddo, everyone is ready to toast your Grandad.”
Annabelle smiled. “Righto, but I do want to pop out to Grandad’s flat to check something. I won’t be long.”
“Check what?” Rob enquired.
“His bible.”
“His what?”
“His bible. Just before he passed away Grandad told me it was worth a fortune and that we should treasure it. I want to check it’s safe.”
“Oh, Annie, he was having you on.”
“No, Dad,” Annabelle retorted, “he was serious. He said never let strangers near it.”
“You know your grandfather rambled on at the end.”
“He was serious. I know he was,” replied Annabelle indignantly.
“Okay, have it your way.” Rob laughed, hugging his daughter. “I’ve told your mother more than once the bible story was all in his mind. Come on, let’s toast your grandfather and then you can continue your sleuthing!”
Rob and Annabelle joined mum Lucy, sister Jodie and their friends, including Mark Whitehead and his wife Jenny, in the garden where glasses were raised to toast Raymond Frobisher’s long life. Annabelle looked around the group with fondness. ‘Grandad would be ‘chuffed’ to see so many people here today,’ she thought.
As she chatted with Mark and Jenny, a couple seated near the barbecue caught her eye. ‘That’s strange, who are they?’ she thought. ‘I don’t recall ever seeing them here. I’m pretty sure they didn’t know Grandad.’
While the guests enjoyed the afternoon tea her mum had provided, Annabelle wandered across the lawn to her grandfather’s flat stopping for a moment to remember the happy times she spent reminiscing with him, especially recalling his story about the bible.
“Your mum knows what the bible contains. She isn’t happy with what I have been doing. I told her it was my business and that you will all benefit when I’m gone. I also really insist you never let my scoundrel brother Cecil into your lives.” Raymond said vehemently.
No one knew why Raymond felt this way about Cecil but Annabelle did know her grandfather regularly slipped bank notes in every fourth or so page throughout his bible! She also fully understood her mother Lucy’s anger about this habit. “The bank is the place to deposit your money, Dad,” Lucy said repeatedly. “You don’t deposit it in the bible! Rob will have something to say about this. You could be robbed.”
Raymond was a stubborn man. “There’s no need to tell Rob. When I’m dead and buried the money is yours.”
Annabelle shook her head, remembering those words as she walked into Raymond’s lounge room. She stopped. Someone was in the bedroom.
“Who’s there?” she shouted. A figure ran past, pushing her to the ground and disappeared through the open sliding door. Annabelle stood up and ran into the bedroom. Lying open on the bed was the bible. She quickly flicked through the pages. There was not a bank note in sight!
She returned to the garden searching for the couple she had seen earlier. Her policing instinct was telling her they were involved in the theft of the money. They had disappeared! She heard an engine revving and ran to the gate in time to see a red 4WD disappear at high speed down the street.
Rob Archer joined her. “Are you okay? Some fellow rushed from Raymond’s flat, grabbed the woman he had been sitting with. He brandished a gun at Mark and I and now he’s done a bunk in a red 4WD.
Mark joined Annabelle and Rob. “I’ve got the 4WD’s rego number,” he shouted triumphantly. “Let’s get to the station and check the number plate, Rob,” he continued.
“No urgency, Mark. It doesn’t appear anything has been taken. Just Raymond’s family bible disturbed but nothing seems to be missing. I don’t want to upset everyone or cut short my father-in-law’s wake.” Rob assured as he walked back to the guests.
Annabelle rolled her eyes at Mark. She realised that her mum and dad hadn’t taken the bible thing seriously and weren’t in the frame of mind to cut short the wake. The look between her and Mark assured her they certainly weren’t going to let the matter go.
“Dad, do you know who that couple were who ran out in a hurry?” Annabelle asked.
“I think they were from the bowling club Raymond belonged to.” Rob replied as he shook the hand of a friend of Raymond’s, starting up a conversation.
Annabelle checked with other guests and found no-one knew the couple. She reported her find back to Mark. “I don’t get Dad,” she said angrily.
“It’s been a difficult time for your mum and dad losing Raymond You and I can follow this up. I’ll let Jenny know and head down to the police station. Are you coming?”
“Mark, I’d like to follow up on a few more leads then I’ll meet you there. I don’t want to alarm Mum and Dad too much.”
“I agree,” said Mark.
Annabelle gave her mum a hug and wandered over to Raymond’s flat. She picked up the bible and sat silently in his big comfy armchair; an old chair she sat with him many times growing up. She sighed. ‘What were you trying to tell us,’ she murmured quietly, sitting with her eyes closed and recalling their last conversations.
The mention of his brother, Cecil, came to mind and she wondered why they had never met him and what he meant when he said Cecil was a ‘scoundrel.’ “I’ll check Grandad’s box of photos and see if I can find a photo of him. Could he have been the intruder? After all it was the family bible in disarray?” she said out loud to herself.
As she sat in deep thought, Annabelle’s mind pondered over the many loving conversations she had had over the last few weeks when Raymond knew the end was near. ‘I wonder…’ she thought recalling her grandad saying, “Always remember Jeremiah 29.11 is a powerful verse in the bible, if you ever had a boy you could call him Jeremiah. A powerful name.” Her eyes fluttered like she was scanning a spool of film, trying to recall the importance in his message. She flipped the pages to Jeremiah 29.11 finding the passage,
‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give hope and a future.’
Grandad had noted this passage, ‘to be remembered’ in his fine pencil handwriting.
The more she thought about it the more convinced she became that the intruder must have been her great uncle Cecil. Who else would know about the bible other than a family member? She had never met Cecil and knew no one in the family who had seen him for about forty years. So it wasn’t surprising her dad hadn’t recognised him. She went to find Jodie to see what her sister thought about it.
Jodie was bemused, “I don’t know, Annabelle, it seems extraordinary that he would suddenly turn up.”
“I don’t think so,” replied her sleuthing sister, “it makes sense when you think about it. He would resent being locked out of the family and missing out on his share of any inheritance. I reckon he heard of Raymond’s death and decided to come and take what he thinks is his due.”
Jodie was coming around to the idea. “Maybe,” she said.
“More than maybe! The more I think about it the more sure I am,” Annabelle was fired up. “I don’t want to bother Mum and Dad till after the wake. I checked the funeral director’s list of attendees, as luck would have it, Cecil signed in and also added his address in Newtown. I’m going to drive over there and see if I can find his red 4WD. We’ll know for sure then it was him.”
“Heavens, Annabelle, you’d better wait for Dad and Mark. Mum would have a fit if she thought you were putting yourself in danger.”
“Mark knows I’m going to Newport. I’m not putting myself in danger. I’m just going to look.” Annabelle had made her mind up.
“Well, Mum and I will come with you, you’re not going alone.” Jodie tried to sound more enthusiastic than she felt. ‘What are we getting ourselves into,’ she thought, ‘I suppose he won’t hurt us, he is our great uncle after all.’ She wished she believed what she was thinking. “We’re not getting out of the car if we find him are we, Annabelle? You’re not going to confront him or anything silly like that?” Jodie added.
“No, we’ll just see if we can find the car and then come back and tell Dad and Mark our suspicions.”
Jodie felt a little better. “I’ll go get Mum,” she murmured.
Lucy was a little bemused but, at the same time, excited. “What a great idea,” she exclaimed, “Count me in. The more eyes the better.”
Annabelle, Lucy and Jodie took off without anyone noticing they had gone. They were only ten minutes from Newtown. “Sad the brothers had such a falling out all those years ago. I wonder what it was all about,” Annabelle mused as they drove into Eliza Street. Within seconds they spotted the red 4WD parked on the street.
“There it is, large as life, I just knew it was him … and there he is,” Annabelle gasped.
“Don’t let him see us, we need to go back and tell Dad,” Jodie said nervously.
“There’s three of us and only one of him,” Annabelle replied, “I’m just going to introduce myself and see what he has to say, he won’t hurt us when he knows we’re related.”
“Don’t be daft, you don’t know why he was ostracised from the family,” Lucy’s courage was waning and common sense kicking in. “Look, there’s the woman in the back.”
Annabelle was already crossing the road.
Cecil saw her, no doubt recognising her from the funeral. Without another word he got into the car and took off in the direction of the nearby cemetery and rest park.
Annabelle stood dumbfounded for a moment or two at Cecil’s hasty departure. Her mum Lucy and sister Jodie joined her.
“We’ll just wait here for Uncle Cecil and his passenger to return,” announced Annabelle.
Lucy sighed. “That’s not what we told your father and Mark we were doing, Annabelle. If you are hell-bent on staying, I’m phoning your father, to telling him we are now on ‘a stake-out’ and that we need him here with us.”
Jodie laughed. “That sounds professional, mum. You’ll be joining the police force next!”
“No I won’t. We’ve enough police officers in our family already!”
Half-an-hour elapsed. Annabelle was becoming anxious. Uncle Cecil had not returned. However, she relaxed when she sighted her dad walking towards her car.
Lucy jumped out from the car and hugged Rob. “I can’t believe what your daughter has involved us in!”
Rob laughed. “You’re loving every minute of it! You three come back to my car, which is parked just up the road. Mark’s called and he’s joining us. We can keep watch on the house from there.”
A few minutes later Mark joined the Archer family in the car, Jodie keeping watch while Rob gave his report. “We’ve checked our records thoroughly and established Cecil resides in the Eliza Street house with his wife, Martha. We assume she is the woman with him? Our files also reveal Cecil has been a police informant for many years.
‘Really?” exclaimed Annabelle. “Does he get paid for that?”
“Since the Wood Royal Commission in 1995, it’s less common but our records show he has received some remuneration,” replied Rob.
“Pretty dodgy, I would think, doing that,” remarked Lucy. “Perhaps he’s short of money and that’s why he turned up at Dad’s funeral?”
“The car has returned,” Annabelle said. “I’m going to make myself known to Cecil.”
Rob opened the car. “No, you and I are going to do that.”
Father and daughter walked to the house. Rob knocked on the front door. It was opened by a woman dressed in black.
“Good afternoon, madam. My name is DI Rob Archer. This is my daughter, PC Annabelle Archer.” Father and daughter showed the woman their ID. “We’re here in connection with an incident we believe the gentleman residing at this address was involved in following the funeral of
Raymond Frobisher earlier today. We believe this gentleman is related to the deceased. May we come in?”
Rob and Annabelle attempted to enter the house but their way was barred by a large man, the same man who had pushed Annabelle to the ground in her grandfather’s flat. “You’re not welcome here, mate,” boomed the man. “Show me your warrant to search this property.”
“Sir, we are not here to search your property. We believe you are the brother of my late father-in-law, Raymond Frobisher. Can we, at least, establish that?” Rob beckoned Annabelle to move away from the threshold.
“What if I am? That’s not a crime.”
“Sir, you were seen by my daughter in her grandfather’s flat before you fled through the garden brandishing a fire arm – a departure which didn’t go unnoticed!” Rob observed.
Cecil shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, okay, you best come inside.”
Once seated in the couple’s lounge room, Rob and Annabelle were introduced to Cecil’s wife, Martha. “I apologise for my husband’s reckless behaviour. He was upset. We’ve just returned from the cemetery. Cecil’s brother has just died. He wanted to make his peace with him,” she said.
“My behaviour wasn’t reckless. I…” Cecil’s sentence was cut short by a glare from Martha.
“I will continue,” said Martha. “Sadly, Cecil and Raymond lost touch with each other over 40 years ago. His father always called him a scoundrel from a young age. Cecil’s life took a different direction to Raymond’s. He has a history of petty crime, been in gaol, seen the error of his ways and for the past few years he’s earned a meagre living as a police informant, much against my wishes I can tell you. He saw the story in the paper about poor June’s death following a car accident where that so-called TV star, Randall Zeebac failed to stop. That’s when he found out where you were living.”
Annabelle looked compassionately at her newly discovered great aunt Martha. Seated in a large leather chair, Cecil’s steely gaze focused on her father, he made no comment.
“So, Mr Frobisher, may I call you Cecil?” asked Annabelle. “You were carrying a firearm today. Did you attend the funeral with the sole intention of robbing us? A gun is not exactly something everyone turns up to a funeral with!”
Annabelle’s comment made Cecil turn his attention to her. He gave a deep sigh. “Like Martha said, I’ve not always trod the ‘straight and narrow’ all my life. I’m ashamed now of some of the things I’ve been involved in. Being a police informant isn’t high on everyone’s list of ‘to do’s,’ but there it is. I carry the gun for my own protection. You can check that with the police. Also, income from ‘the job’ has helped. However, after June died I remembered what our father, Jeremiah, taught us.”
“Of course, Jeremiah was your father,” exclaimed Rob. “I bet he told you never to trust banks with your money!”
Cecil nodded. “That’s why I was searching for the family bible. I knew it would be amongst my brother’s possessions. You disturbed me. I am sorry I pushed you aside, Annabelle, and I’m also sorry I waved the gun at you and the guy you were with,” he said, looking at Rob.
“With your permission, Mrs. Frobisher, I will text my wife Lucy and ask her, my other daughter and my old boss to join us. They are nearby.”
Martha nodded. Cecil sat staring into space. A few minutes later Annabelle opened the door to her family and Mark. Rob explained what they had learned so far. “Now Cecil,” he said. “The most important question, where is the bible money? No ifs or buts, the truth please. Your reply will be recorded by PC Archer.”
Cecil rose from his chair, lifted his leather cushion and pulled out a calico bag, which he threw down on the floor. Hundreds upon hundreds of bank notes covered the carpet!
A gasp went round the room. Annabelle put her arm round her mother. “Well, as Jeremiah verse 29.11 said …plans to give hope and a future… This may not be what you had in mind, Cecil. Your actions will be dealt with in a court of law and my grandfather’s legacy of sharing and honesty lives on. I hope, Martha, you will become part of our family and share in the inheritance left to us by my dear Grandad.”
DoubleSpeak 