Chapter 31
Hamish
‘So, now that some of the blood is able to return to my brain, explain it all to me again,’ Hamish said. ‘Use small words for dumb farmers, okay?’
Jemma snuggled further under the quilt they’d pulled onto the couch in front of the fire, resting her cheek against his naked chest. ‘You are so far from dumb,’ she said, running her fingers through his chest hair.
‘But this is so complicated, so wildly random, that I’m having trouble getting my own head around it.
So—’ She took a deep breath, flipping onto her back to stare at the ceiling as though ordering her thoughts.
‘My colleague, Rohan, and our client’s almost ex-wife are in a relationship.
There’s a photo which shows them together around a decade ago, though I wonder if the connection dates all the way back to uni.
’ She dismissed that thought with a wave of her hand.
‘But if she’s separated, what’s the issue?’
‘The issue is—besides the fact that it’s totally unethical for Rohan to even take on this client, because of the relationship—that Rohan encouraged our client to make exorbitant financial gifts to the ex-wife, on the presumption that it might expedite having a domestic violence charge dropped.’
‘So they were extorting your client.’ Hamish summed up.
‘Succinct. Nice,’ Jemma said, and he tried not to bask in her praise.
‘That’s why Rohan handed the domestic violence case to me: he was distancing himself, at least legally.
But he wanted to handle the divorce, so he’d have all the financial details and could milk as much from the client as possible. ’
‘And I thought passing off last season’s hay as fresh was a shady deal. You reckon Gerard knew about this relationship?’
Jemma rolled her head, the movement pleasurably rhythmic on Hamish’s arm. ‘I’m choosing to think he didn’t have a clue. Rohan lived interstate until a few months ago, so it’s plausible.’ She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Told you that long-distance relationships are all the rage.’
‘You’re not selling it.’
She grinned, caressed his arm, then continued. ‘When Rohan realised that I’d spotted him at the beach he would have known it was only a matter of time until he was outed, so he came clean to his uncle. Rohan’s an idiot; no one can hide anything in a city the size of Adelaide.’
Hamish laughed, his breath stirring her tousled hair. ‘If you think you’ve got only a few degrees of separation there, wait until you get to know Settlers Bridge.’
Jemma’s phone vibrated and she lurched up to grab it from the coffee table. ‘It’s Tien.’
‘Your non-stalker?’
‘Yeah. I’ve still got to work that one out,’ she said with a scowl that made it clear how little she cared for not having everything sorted.
She swiped the phone and turned the volume down, although in the quiet of the lounge room, Tien’s voice was still audible.
‘I already know, Tien. Celine went to UNSW, right?’
‘Yes. But that’s not that I’m calling about,’ Tien’s voice was hollow, as though he’d cupped a hand over the mouthpiece. ‘Jemma, we’ve got your stalker.’
‘What?’ Jemma sat bolt upright and Hamish grabbed for the phone, afraid she’d drop it and lose the call.
‘Gerard called Rohan and me into the office to announce that you’ve refused the partnership. Jemma, is that true? I thought we were going to look for somewhere else together—’ ‘Focus, Tien!’ Jemma snapped. ‘And I’m not alone, so keep any clients’ names out of the conversation, okay?’
‘Where are you?’ Tien said sharply.
Hamish lifted one eyebrow. No wonder Jemma felt the other lawyer was overinvested in her private life.
‘With my partner,’ Jemma said, giving him a smile.
He slid an arm around her, trying to play it cool, rather than reveal the surge of happiness her words sparked.
‘Right,’ Tien said, sounding miffed. ‘Okay. Well, Rohan insisted that you didn’t refuse the partnership because of anything he’s done—?
’ He paused, obviously hoping Jemma would fill him in, but she remained silent.
Tien huffed. ‘He said you’re out because of the stalker.
Gerard said if that’s the case, he could get it sorted inside a day—you know what he’s like, his lips to all the right ears.
But then Rohan said that would put GB&A in an awkward position. ’
‘Tien,’ Jemma growled as the lawyer either paused for breath or deliberately spun out the reveal. ‘Why?’
‘Because he had just discovered that the stalker was a client’s stepson.’
His emphasis on ‘client’ made it clear he resented Hamish’s presence … and Hamish felt he’d won a tiny victory over one of the other men in Jemma’s life.
‘Stepson? You’re talking about Rohan and my joint client, aren’t you?’ She sounded shocked but certain. ‘So you mean … Jacob? That doesn’t make any sense.’
‘Oh, it does, though. It seems Jacob was dead against his mum’s divorce.’
‘Not particularly surprising. But Rohan was handling the divorce, not me, so why would I be targeted?’
‘This is where it gets juicy.’ Tien was obviously relishing having her attention.
‘Seems that not only has Jacob inherited some decent brains, but he’s come to expect a certain standard of living over the last decade or so.
He figured that if his stepfather went to jail, his mother would have unfettered access to all the money, rather than just a divorce settlement.
So he needed you off the case and stepdaddy dearest in the lock-up. ’
‘Wow.’ Jemma was as close to speechless as Hamish had ever seen her. ‘That’s one smart kid.’
‘I’m not even up to the good bit yet,’ Tien crowed. ‘Gerard said that he didn’t care about the firm’s reputation—I kid you not, that’s verbatim—and he was taking the info straight to the cops.’
‘Okay. That’s interesting.’ Jemma sounded quietly chuffed that her boss obviously held her in high regard, and Hamish had to swallow his urge to remind her of Gerard’s recent actions. No good would ever come of telling Jemma what to do.
‘Then Rohan lost it,’ Tien said, his voice rising with excitement. ‘I mean, the guy was begging.’
‘Rohan?’ Jemma snorted. ‘You reckon I’m hard? That man is cement. Not a human emotion. I can’t believe he’d care that much about the firm’s reputation.’
‘That’s the thing: he doesn’t. Because then he says that Gerard can’t go to the police because he’d be turning in …’ Tien dared to pause for dramatic effect. ‘His own great-nephew.’
‘Great-nephew,’ Jemma repeated. She stared at Hamish as though he could make sense of the relationship. ‘Wait. Jacob is Rohan’s son?’
As she disconnected the call a minute or two later, Jemma shook her head.
‘How did I not see that coming? Once I’d realised that Celine and Rohan knew each other from uni days, I should have figured out the illegitimate son.
I knew about his existence and the timeline was right there in front of me. ’
‘How could you put that together? Like, why would you? It sounds like corruption is more than skin deep with that lot.’ The couch sagged as Hamish settled back.
‘So you’ve not only refused the partnership and basically flipped Gerard off, but you’ve got actual beef with his family.
I guess now he’s not going to make you partner in a practice here? ’
Jemma pressed a hand to her forehead, obviously trying to slot the new information into her future plans. ‘I imagine his stance will be all about crisis management, whatever that looks like.’
Hamish’s heart felt like a lead weight. So briefly, it had seemed like everything had finally fallen into place. Relieved as his own phone buzzed an interruption, he turned away slightly.
‘Hey, Lach,’ he said as he flicked the call onto speaker.
‘No, it’s me,’ Charity replied. ‘Lachlan’s already crashed for the night. Said you insisted on putting in crazy hours today.’
‘Yeah, I was planning on heading to the city.’
‘Course of true love, I’ll forgive you.’ There was a smile in Charity’s voice.
‘But actually, I’m calling about Tara. I just took a run out to Evie and Paul’s place to drop off one of those fruitcakes Paul loves.
Evie mentioned that Tara had been around earlier to collect the ducklings to take to Charlee’s. ’
‘Good-o.’
‘No. Not really. Evie said that Tara said she remembered who had tried to run them over and that she’d gone to deal with it.’
‘Wish she’d given me a heads-up first.’
‘Well, she wouldn’t have reached you guys on the machinery. But it’s not that, Hamish. Evie said Tara was being weird. And from the way she described it … Look, I don’t have much experience, but I reckon it sounds like she was using. Or, you know, maybe she was drunk.’
The fact that she actually managed to sound hopeful it was the latter revealed the depth of Charity’s concern.
‘I could call one of her brothers, but I figured, seeing as Lach had told me you’ve already been dealing with her … ?’
‘I’m on it. Thanks, Charity.’
He hung up but sat there rubbing his head. ‘I’ve got to go and find Tara.’
Jemma was already up, retrieving her clothes from the floor. She handed him a shirt. ‘Do you have any idea where to look?’
‘Not a clue.’
‘She’s off a farm, right? Okay, you head out to her house. I’ll cruise the streets here.’
He scrubbed his hands across his face. While he appreciated Jemma trying to take charge, she had no idea how vast this area was, how many barns and hay sheds and fallen-down cottages could be harbouring someone looking to snort, smoke or shoot up.
A pounding on the back door jerked his head around. No one knocked around here, or, if they did, it was a polite precursor to barging in. But the door remained shut. He strode down the hall and yanked it fully open.
Framed in the doorway was Charlee, her face white. She was supporting Tara, who giggled up at him.
His relief at seeing her alive almost overwhelmed his anger.
‘Where’s bloody Ethan?’ Charlee demanded.
He cocked an eyebrow at her fury. ‘Adelaide, I assume.’