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  George inclined his head. ‘All right. I’ll get back to my office, then. Nice meeting you properly.’

  When she got home her mother was out and there was what looked like a business letter waiting for her, propped up against the kettle so that Mara couldn’t miss it. It hadn’t been opened; at least she didn’t think it had. It had been posted in London but she didn’t recognise the company whose name and logo were on the envelope. She definitely hadn’t applied for a job with them.

  The contents made her suck in her breath in amazement. It was a legal demand on behalf of her former employer for return of the children’s software program that someone alleged she’d developed while working for Perisson Toys.

  She had developed a program, but it wasn’t the one they used and anyway, she’d developed it totally in her own time, mostly at weekends.

  ‘Do they want the blood from my veins as well?’ she muttered.

  Phil had come into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. ‘Problem?’

  ‘Yes. See.’

  He scanned it quickly, then read it again more slowly. ‘And do you have this program?’

  ‘Of course I do. But I developed it in my own time and it wasn’t connected with anything I worked on at Perisson; it was preparatory work for marketing the toys I make in my spare time. So the intellectual rights belong to me.’

  ‘Why are they asking for it, then? How do they even know about it?’

  She’d already worked that out. ‘Must be Darren’s idea to claim it. He’s the only one who knew what I was doing because he saw me working on it at home when we were living together.’

  ‘Did anyone else see your work?’

  She frowned. ‘Not exactly, but I shared some information with a friend of mine a few times. Pete. I asked him about a few things. All the programming was done at home on my own computer. There’s nothing whatsoever on the system at Perisson because I knew better than to do any personal work there.’ She flicked the letter. ‘You have to be really careful, if you want to avoid this sort of thing.’

  ‘What are you going to do about it?’

  Tears filled her eyes and she dashed them away angrily because she hated showing a weakness. ‘I don’t know. The last thing I can afford now is to get involved in an expensive court case and Darren knows it, the cheating scumbag.’

  ‘Then let’s find someone who’d be able to check what you’ve been doing. You didn’t even switch on your computer this morning.’

  ‘I wasn’t in a creative mood and didn’t want to pick up any messages. I went out for a walk round the park. And something strange happened there.’ She told him about meeting the PI and her birth father offering to pay for her flight to Australia.

  Phil gave her a quick hug. ‘Well, that’s good news, surely?’

  ‘I suppose so. But if I’m embroiled in a court case, it’ll be a bad time to go to Australia, won’t it?’

  ‘Well, we’d better sort out the court case first, then, eh? You’re quite sure you never did any personal stuff on your work computer?’

  ‘Definitely not.’

  ‘Could Darren have got into your computer when you were living together and made a copy of your work?’

  She let out a scornful puff of laughter. ‘No way. He’s more into marketing than computer programming, so he wouldn’t have the necessary skills. I have all my private stuff very well protected, believe me.’

  ‘Right then. I know a guy who’s very knowledgeable about legal matters. He may be able to help us or at least find us someone who can prove your work has only been done on your own computer. Then if we challenge these people to produce any part of the program as evidence you did it at work, I think they’ll shut up and leave you alone.’

  ‘Trouble is, if word gets out about their claim, even if I’m proved innocent, it’ll throw a shadow on my honesty that’ll be hard to get rid of.’

  ‘Well, first things first, I’ll just give my friend a call and see if he’s free. I think if we clear your name, it’ll make Darren look a fool, so anything he says won’t be given as much credibility.’

  The friend was free and she felt as if she’d been caught up by a whirlwind as Phil drove her round to this man’s office, which was in an old-fashioned block of four suites.

  When Phil rang the bell next to his friend’s name in the foyer, a man answered and his voice sounded familiar to Mara. It wasn’t … It couldn’t be …

  ‘Come up the stairs and turn left, Phil. My office is the only one there. My secretary has nipped out for a few minutes and my partner’s out on a job, so I’m on my own here.’

  The man who opened the door was her stalker. He grinned at her. ‘Small world, eh?’ He shook hands with Phil and the two clearly knew one another.

  Phil was also smiling. ‘Are you really a private investigator? You always say you have a boring old backroom job in computer stuff when anyone asks and that you’re semi-retired now.’

  George shrugged. ‘I don’t advertise what I do, for obvious reasons. And I really am semi-retired. I only take on cases that interest me and leave the rest to my junior partner.’

  He locked the door again behind them. ‘Can’t be too careful these days and I’m not always here to protect my secretary if some nasty type gets angry at me. Mind you, she does have a black belt in some martial art or other, so she’s fairly confident she can look after herself, if necessary. I’d rather she didn’t have to prove that, though.’

  Phil put the laptop on the desk and said, ‘Well, I already know and trust you so you being a PI is going to be really helpful, George. I’ll let Mara explain the details.’

  She did that, then Phil took over again. ‘So, we need to find someone to check out her work on this computer and show it hasn’t been imported from elsewhere. Is that possible?’

  George looked at him and then at the laptop. ‘It may be. I’m good with computers, but not expert enough for your purpose, nor am I an impartial witness, being a friend of yours. However, I have an acquaintance I can ask to deal with it. He owes me a few favours. Sounds like a simple job for someone like him.’

  Mara didn’t like the thought of letting her precious laptop out of her sight, though of course she’d got everything on it backed up. She looked from one man to the other. ‘I’m still not sure this is the right thing to do.’

  ‘It absolutely is,’ Phil insisted. ‘You’re not giving in to that Darren creep.’

  George was watching them, his head moving to and fro from one speaker to the other like someone watching a tennis match. He asked a couple of questions and she explained about Darren, then found herself going on to talk about how she’d left the company.

  When she saw Phil and George exchange glances, she realised she’d given away her suspicions about dirty tricks being played by Darren to make sure he got the promotion. This pretence that she’d stolen a program she’d produced in office hours might even have been part of why she’d been made redundant, so she definitely had to prove herself innocent.

  George seemed to understand her worries. ‘It’ll be all right, Mara. My friend really is one of the best. I won’t tell you his name unless we have to take it to court, but if you like I can deal with your old company. In fact, I’m sure your birth father would want me to do that for you.’

  He put the laptop on a set of low cupboards behind the desk and bent down to pull an older one in a well-worn case from the end cupboard. ‘You can borrow this for the time being if you’d like.’

  ‘Thank you, but if it’s only for a day or so I’ll make do with my tablet. I’m sorry to be a nuisance. If there’s any charge for this—’

  ‘None at all.’ He gestured towards a seating area to one side. ‘Let’s sit down more comfortably. I was going to get in touch with you today about going to Australia.’

  He glanced at Phil, hesitated, then turned to her. ‘Aaron responded to my email straight away. Mara, he’d be delighted to pay your fare to and from Australia if you’ll go out to visit him and his wi
fe for a few weeks. He can’t come over to the UK at the moment because he’s in the middle of some important negotiations for selling his business and has to be available in that part of the world. But he’s very eager indeed to meet you.’

  It was all becoming very real suddenly.

  Phil nudged her. ‘It’s generous of him. You should do it, love. There would be so many advantages to going just now. You’d get away from your mother and give her time to grow used to the situation, as well as finding out how you get on with your birth father. George and I can sort out this spurious claim. I never did like Darren, by the way, but I didn’t expect him to do something like this.’

  ‘He fooled me for a time. He can be very charming when he wants to.’

  ‘He’s a smarmy rat. When you brought him down to meet us that day, I took an instant dislike to him.’

  ‘I could tell you didn’t warm to him. I didn’t think you felt that strong a dislike, though. Um, you’re sure you wouldn’t mind if I left you to look after Mum? She’ll be angry big time.’

  ‘I’m well used to her little ways. You need to go.’

  She reached out to squeeze his arm. ‘I won’t let this Aaron come between you and me, Dad. You know that.’

  George had been watching them and now said firmly, ‘He won’t even try. I’ve worked with him before. He’s a thoroughly decent chap.’

  She looked at Phil. ‘I’ll be coming between you and Mum, though, won’t I?’

  ‘Well, I’ll deal with her and you deal with your new situation.’ He smiled at her. ‘There you are, then, your immediate future is settled and you’re heading off to the sun.’

  ‘You’ll keep in touch while I’m away, won’t you, whatever she says or does?’

  ‘Try to stop me.’

  She turned to George, who was smiling benignly at them. ‘So – what do I have to do?’

  ‘Say yes, give me a date you can travel and leave it to Aaron to make the arrangements. I don’t think it’ll take him more than a few days, though, if that.’

  ‘Really? Wow. Any time will do me for travelling, the sooner the better, actually.’

  ‘I can deal with all that for you.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Or rather, Aaron can. He has some excellent connections, has done jobs for the Australian government. You’d better let me have your passport details after you get back home.’

  She chuckled and waved her phone at him. ‘Got them here. I’ll send you a copy.’

  ‘That’s great.’

  Once that was done, he said, ‘Now, if you take my advice you’ll get ready to leave at a few hours’ notice. Aaron doesn’t let grass grow beneath his feet when he wants something done. Oh, and don’t forget when you’re packing that Australia is in the opposite season to us. It’ll be coming up to summer there, which can get very hot in Western Australia.’

  ‘I could do with some sunshine.’

  ‘Don’t forget your swimming things. Aaron and his wife – her name’s Emma by the way – live in a waterfront home situated on some man-made canals in a seaside town called Mandurah. It’s about an hour south of Perth, the capital of Western Australia.’

  ‘Wow, sounds like a Hollywood dream home.’

  ‘It’s a nice place to live, that’s for sure. I’ll get your laptop back to you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest and I’ll contact you to confirm that we’ve proved you were working at home.’

  Phil put an arm round her shoulders. ‘There you are, then, Mara love. Fate has stepped in to help you. I think you need a break, so make the most of this holiday in the sun.’

  Nothing had actually been done yet, but she felt as if a huge burden had already been lifted from her shoulders.

  Chapter Four

  When his phone played a tune that signalled an email from George, Aaron read it, reread it and rushed out of his home office into the kitchen. He grabbed Emma by the waist and danced her outside and round the back patio, moving in and out of the patches of sunlight, chanting, ‘She’s coming to visit us, she really, really is.’

  Emma laughed but slowed him down until they were standing next to one another looking at the canal that bordered their garden. ‘I presume you mean Mara. When is she coming?’

  ‘Within days, as soon as I can book her a flight. And I know just who to tell about my sudden discovery. She’ll push things along for me.’

  ‘You always know somebody. I suppose you mean Nancy.’

  ‘Yes. She’s big on family reunions. Well, you would be in a country with so many migrants, wouldn’t you? You see how the separations hurt people. If you have any compassion, that is.’

  ‘Yes. Migrants like you who make a success of their new lives. I’m sure you’ll play that card well.’

  He heaved a happy sigh. ‘Mara needs to get away from her mother as well as wanting to meet me, it seems. I doubt Kath will have got easier to live with as she’s aged. Well, George told me she’s very difficult to deal with.’

  ‘No one is perfect.’

  He raised her hand to his lips in one of the sudden romantic gestures she loved. ‘You are.’ Then he sighed. ‘I’d have done things differently if I’d known she was carrying my child, though.’

  ‘Families can be – difficult.’

  He knew she was thinking about Peggy. Their daughter was so thin she looked ill, thanks to that damned Mike she was shacked up with, and they were both seriously worried about her.

  ‘It sounds as though the mother is going to make things difficult for Mara.’

  Emma shook her head. ‘What’s with the woman? Hasn’t she got a life of her own that she has to take over her daughter’s?’

  ‘George has met her. Phil is worrying that she’s got a lot worse lately. Turns out George knows Mara’s stepfather quite well because they’re golfing buddies. Coincidences do happen in this funny old world of ours, don’t they? It’s not just in fiction that you meet them.’

  ‘Poor woman. Mental illness or a different slant on the world can be very difficult for the person as well as everyone else. Your daughter will have had to cope with it for years. It’s bound to have marked her.’

  ‘Another reason she needs a holiday down under.’

  Emma looked at his beaming face, hating to spoil his happiness in any way after the frustrating months of setbacks in his search for his daughter, but there were other people to think of. ‘Um, there’s something else to think of. When are you going to tell Rufus and Peggy about it? She’s still rather fragile after breaking up with Mike but you can’t leave it much longer.’

  Aaron looked at her in surprise. ‘I hadn’t thought about that. This all came together so quickly in the end. Our two will cope all right, won’t they? Make her welcome and all that, even though she’s not related to them?’

  ‘Maybe. Who knows? You didn’t tell them you had a daughter, wouldn’t do that till you’d found her, you said, in case Mara refused to see you. They’re not going to like having been left out of the loop because they regard you as their father in every way. What’s more, if you show them that glowing face, well, to be frank, they’re going to feel you regard them as second best.’

  ‘Oh, hell. They’re not second best, definitely not. I love them to pieces. I even loved them when they were teenagers.’

  They both chuckled at the memories of teenage rebellions, then he said thoughtfully, ‘This is a different type of love, I think. If you can pass your genes down the generations, it’s the nearest you can get to immortality. And I’m weak enough to care about that, which doesn’t stop me loving our two.’

  ‘You did pass on your genes. You became a sperm donor when you found out I couldn’t have any more children.’

  ‘That’s not the same. I haven’t a clue what, if anything, came of that, and I never shall have. They made that clear to me when I donated.’

  ‘You might. You never know. The rules for such things keep changing.’

  ‘Nah. Any resulting children probably won’t have been told the
y’re not the result of their parents getting together biologically. I was warned not to expect any contact whatsoever.’

  ‘Well, I’m giving you another warning: be prepared for tangled emotions and maybe even storms from Peggy when you introduce this complete stranger into the family. She’s more fragile than she lets on. I found her crying her eyes out last night. She confessed that she’d been feeling really broody for a while. Who’d have thought that of our Pegs?’

  ‘Not me. Mike must have fancied her initially, though.’

  ‘Well, she’s gorgeous looking. Or she was when she was a normal size. Anyway, I’m glad she came back to us. We can keep an eye on her, get her help if she needs it. I’m more than a bit worried about how little she’s eating.’

  He gave her a wry smile. ‘And we thought we’d have this place to ourselves when we built it. They deserve the title of Boomerang Generation, the way they come and go. Rufus has moved out of here twice and come back again. Peggy’s only come back once since she graduated.’

  ‘Give her time. She’s younger than he is. And if we continue to live in such a desirable spot, what can you expect?’ Emma gestured to the water slapping gently against their jetty and wall.

  Aaron was back to frowning at the water. ‘I thought Mike really cared about her, you know, the forever kind of caring. My old aunty from Lancashire used to say: “There’s nowt so queer as fowk,” and she was right.’

  ‘Translate that into Australian English, please, Aaron.’

  ‘It means: there’s nothing as strange as people.’

  ‘Your aunty was right about that.’ Emma went across to pat him on the cheek. ‘No more ifs or buts – tell them about Mara tonight.’

  It was an order. She didn’t often use that tone of voice and when she did, everyone in the family usually jumped to attention. He supposed she was right and he really ought to have told them sooner, but he’d wanted to hug the news to himself, sharing it only with his wife, who was very much his forever love. He’d known that from the first day they met, even though she was widowed and had two young children from her first marriage.