Page 154 of The Vanishing Place
“I’ll tell you where you can shove your brownie challenge.”
The three of them walked out giggling, and Lewis slipped his hand into Effie’s. Like it belonged there. Like he’d been holding her hand every day for twenty years. Then he kissed the side of her face.
“How’s she doing?” he asked, nodding in Anya’s direction.
“Today’s a good day,” said Effie with a small smile.
Anya was healing—processing and trusting—but they weren’t all good days. There was still a darkness there, still days when she barely spoke. And perhaps there always would be.
“One day at a time, right?” she said.
Lewis squeezed Effie’s hand, then took a seat at the small kitchen table. “I spoke with Detective Morrow again this morning.” He sipped his coffee. “She doubts that Daniel will ever see the light of day.”
“The Crown wants consecutive life sentences?”
“I believe so.”
“And Adam?”
Lewis shook his head. “Still nothing,” he said. “There was a possible sighting from hunters out near Mataketake Hut, but nothing came of it. Given the landscape, the vastness of it, I’m afraid the police aren’t hopeful.”
Effie picked up her coffee and held it between her hands. Adam was long gone, she was sure of it.
Lewis slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, placing it on the table.
“This was in the postbox,” he said. “It’s for you.”
Effie frowned and sat down next to him. “Me?”
She turned it over in her hands before opening it. A letter fell out along with an old almost-familiar photograph. For the next five minutes, she didn’t speak.
Effie,
I don’t really know how to write this.
I guess I should just start with the important stuff.
Firstly, I’m sorry I was gone for so long. Too long. But I thought that’s what your sister wanted. Adam told me Tia hated me, and that she didn’t want anything to do with me. So I left.
I didn’t know about Tia’s child—about my granddaughter—not until I saw her on the news. She’s beautiful. She looks just like you, Effie.
Adam lied to me all of those years ago. He lied about so many things. I know that now. Too late. And I’ll never forgive myself. I’m not asking for your sympathy. I will never ask that of you. I just want you to know that I thought I was doing right by Tia.
But I’ve done wrong too. I’ve kept things from you.
There’s something you need to know. Something that we’d always planned to tell you, when you were older, but then your mum died bringing Four into the world and I could never find the words.
I loved your mum, Effie, very much, you must know that. She saved me—us—at a time when I thought everything was lost. But the truth is, I didn’t meet your mum until you were seven months old. She was still your mum, and always will be. She loved you more than anything, Effie. But she didn’t give birth to you.
Your birth mum’s name is Dinah.
Effie closed her eyes, the paper shaking in her hand as her dad’s voice pressed upon her, the weight of his words making it hard to breathe.
Exhaling, she continued.
I—we—lost Dinah on the day you were born. Not dead lost, just separated. Dinah and I were separated against our will because of her father’s beliefs, and it nearly broke me. But you kept me going. You and your mum. Then, of course, your siblings came along.
But there was always a part of me that couldn’t let Dinah go. And because of that, I spent the rest of my life looking for her. I know it was wrong of me to leave you kids alone for days in the bush, but I couldn’t stop looking. I couldn’t stop searching for her.
