"Wiped out? Completely?"

"There are always bits and pieces left over. And he had some cash in his account. Not much."

"So what's left?"

"I'd have to check. But probably around twenty thousand dollars."

"And what did he start with?"

"Quarter of a million. Something like that."

Miriam gasped. "Quarter of a million dollars? He's lost almost a quarter of a million dollars?"

The man nodded.

"But who needs more than a quarter of a million dollars?" she asked. "Why would he be trying to make more than that? Quarter of a million is enough for anyone."

"I told you, I don't know why he wanted to make big money."

"But he must have been angry. More than angry." I tried to find the right word. "Distraught. At losing all his money."

"He was furious. It all happened very quickly. And he blamed me."

"So he was trying to blackmail you, by threatening to reveal details of your carbon offset program."

"I've got nothing to hide. It's all approved by the local council."

"Whatever. Pastor Reezall thought something was fishy. And he was threatening on his radio program to reveal it."

"Was he? I never listened to his radio programs. Anyway, he was in my office every second day making all kinds of wild threats. Accusing me of everything under the sun. Including that the carbon offset program was illegal and that he was going to expose it. He'd just lost a fortune. He was in deep, deep despair. That's a fact."

"So this man Grapper, he wanted to get all that money? He felt it was his?"

"He said something about how he worked around Asia, helping Jim. And he was expecting a lot of money from Jim, but Jim had told him that he couldn't pay. He said Jim had told him that all his money was with me."

"So when did the pastor tell him this?"

"I don't know."

"So he was trying to get quarter of a million dollars out of you?"

"He mentioned a figure of half a million. I told him what I've told you. That Jim's money was gone, and that I didn't have that sort of money. And there's no cash in the office. I think in the end he realized that no matter how much he threatened me he wasn't going to get anything. But he had a gun. I was scared."

"And what was it he said about Miriam?"

"That was right at the beginning. When he started asking about Jim's money, and I said I had been expecting Jim's daughter to be arriving today to ask the same questions. And he replied that he'd be seeing her soon enough. Something like that."

"What do you think he meant?"

"How on earth would I know? It was my joke. He'd just pulled a gun on me. I was terrified. I was trying to say something that might lighten the atmosphere." He looked between me and Miriam.

"What else did he say about Miriam?"

"Nothing else. He just wanted to know about Jim's money."

I pondered on all this. "Look, I'm sure the police will be here any minute. We'll leave you. Are you sure you're okay by yourself until they arrive?"

He looked dubious.

"I don't think this guy has any reason to come back. Not after tying you up. But why don't you go over the road to one of the cafes there? Sit in a public place. I'll let the police know you're there."

He bolted the back door, gathered some papers, and then we all walked together back outside. As he was locking the front entrance he paused and looked up at me: "You should be careful. That old man, he was really desperate."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

I phoned the police and told them about Greene, then I drove Miriam home. "I'm scared," she said.

"Is it really Grapper?"

"What do you think? It sounds just like him. He told Go-Go Greene that he had been working with my father in Asia. Helping him."

"You said Grapper wasn't able to come back to Australia. Some legal problems."

"That's what he told me."

"But he's back. Apparently. So he really is desperate. Just like Greene said."

"Desperate for money, apparently. My father's money. But what's going on? And what did he mean when he said he would be seeing me soon enough?"

"You're the mother of his son."

"But why now? Why didn't he contact me earlier? Before he came to Australia? Or once he came to Australia why didn't he contact me right away?"

"He's desperate. And desperate men do desperate things."

Suddenly Miriam gasped, and I saw her staring at me. "Oh no. Do you think...?"

"What?"

"Did he kill Dad?"

I hesitated, then spoke. "That's exactly what I've been asking myself. I don't know. We'd been assuming that it must have been Greene. But now I have to think that Grapper is rapidly moving up the charts. I think he's now the main suspect. Some sort of a major dispute over money."

"But Grapper-he's...he's the father of my child. He and my father were friends. Colleagues, at least."

"Something went wrong. Concerning money. That can blow up the best of friendships."

"And a quarter of a million dollars. We know where it came from. But why could my father possibly need even more? He had so much money coming in."

I turned my car into Miriam's street and stopped outside her house.

"Johnny, we need to talk more. Please come in. I'll make some lunch. And you can meet Sarah."

We entered her house. She walked ahead of me to the kitchen, and then she let out a piercing scream. "Sarah!" she cried.

I ran in. A woman in jeans and a pale green T-shirt was seated on a chair at the kitchen table, her hands bound behind her, tape around her mouth. It was almost a carbon copy of what we had encountered just a couple of hours earlier in Go-Go Greene's office. Her eyes exhibited terror.

I pulled off the tape. The woman burst into tears. "He took Jonah," she managed to say.

"Who?" cried Miriam. "Where's he gone?"

I took a bread knife from the bench and sliced through the cords. Sarah tried to stand, then slumped back on the chair.

"Sarah, tell us," shouted Miriam. "What's happened?" She sat next to her sister. "What's happened?"

"A man came to the door. Not long after you left." Her voice was choked. "An old man. He pushed his way inside and took a gun from his pocket. He asked where you were. I said you were out. Then he said he had come for Jonah."

"He took Jonah?"

"Jonah came into the kitchen and the man made him sit on the floor. He told me to sit on this chair and then he tied me up. Then he grabbed Jonah and left. He left a cellphone on the table." She pointed at it. "He said he'll call on that."

"Did he give his name?" I asked.

"He said he's Jonah's dad. Gripper or Grapper or something." She looked at Miriam. "That man you had the affair with in Thailand. Jonah's father. He said he wants his money and he'll contact you later. He said he must have his money. And he said that if we call the police he'll kill Jonah."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.

"I want my boy," screamed Miriam. I sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I want my boy," she cried again. I held her tight. I could feel her body shaking.

I looked over at Sarah, slumped in the chair. She too was shaking, her face pale. "Are you all right? Do you think you should see a doctor?"

"He took Jonah," she muttered. "I couldn't do anything."

I stood and poured her a glass of water. She took it with shaking hands and sipped a little.

"I think you should see a doctor," I said to her.

She took several deep breaths. "He didn't hurt me. Just frightened me." She raised a hand. "Look, I'm shaking. But I don't need a doctor."

"He said he'll kill Jonah," said Miriam. She stared straight up at me, desperation in her eyes. "I want Jonah back."

I looked at the two women. "We have to take him seriously. It's pretty clear he's desperate. It seems likely that he might have been the one who killed your father."

"That man?" exclaimed Sarah, putting a hand to her mouth. "He killed Dad?"

"It's looking like it. It seems there's some big money involved. A quarter of a million dollars. Maybe half a million dollars."

"He killed Dad for money? But Dad never had money."

"His charities did. Something's going on. It seems this man believes your father owes him money."

"And now he wants money from me?" said Miriam. "What's going on? He's kidnapped Jonah. Why is he doing this to me? Does he think I have that kind of money? How does he expect me to pay?"

"Call the police," said Sarah. "Call the police right now."

"I believe him when he says he'll kill Jonah," I said. "I say we should at least wait until we hear from him. Find out what he wants."

"He might be taking Jonah out of Australia," said Sarah. She spoke clearly and precisely despite her ordeal. "This is kidnap. It's a police matter. He has to be staying somewhere. He might still be in this area. The police can track him down." She looked at me. "Do you think you can find him? You don't even know where to start."

I knew she was right. Perhaps it was just my own selfish desire to try to impress Miriam. But I insisted: "At least let's wait until we hear from him. So we know what he wants. Because I do believe he is serious when he talks about killing Jonah. He's an old man. If he killed your father, and now I think he probably did, then he is desperate. Really desperate."

"Johnny's right," said Miriam, after a long pause. Her voice was strained. "All that matters is Jonah. I don't care about anything else."

I was pretty sure that Sarah was not convinced. But Jonah was Miriam's son, not hers.

I took the kettle and brewed some tea and coffee. Then we sat together awkwardly at the kitchen table, Grapper's phone in the center.

I looked at Sarah, now considerably more composed, her arm around her sister. The family resemblance was strikingly evident, although the two women were also different. Sarah was bigger, almost stocky in appearance, slightly taller, with broad shoulders and a chubby face. But they shared the same brown eyes, brown hair, pale skin, freckles, thin lips and a nose that narrowed until it was almost pointy.

We lapsed into gloomy silence, broken only by periodic bouts of sobbing from Miriam. I cooked us a light meal though neither sister ate much. It was at least four hours before the phone abruptly rang, startling us all. I picked it up and switched on the speakerphone, then handed it to Miriam. She looked at me. Fear was in her eyes.

"Yes," was all she could manage.

"This is Grapper," said a deep, guttural voice. "Listen to what I'm going to say..."

"Grapper, how could you? How could you...?"

"Shut up," he shouted. "Listen to me. I have Jonah. If the police get involved he's dead. Your father owes me five hundred thousand dollars. I get that and you'll have your boy."

"But I can't possibly..." began Miriam.

"I mean, our boy," said the man. "I'll phone again tomorrow morning. Don't contact the police if you want to see him again."