Hannah wondered what Janine was like. She rinsed the cloth under the tap and suddenly dropped it in the sink. She knew her name and the town she lived in. Why hadn’t she thought to google her after Zane dropped his bombshell?
She hurried upstairs, poking her head into Amy’s room on her way to the bedroom they’d converted into a home office. Amy was sprawled on her bed reading a book. ‘You need to get your homework done before we go to Mia’s party later this morning.’
Amy groaned. ‘Do I have to?’
‘Yes, now! Or you can forget about the party. Go downstairs and get your books from your bag. You can do it in the living room or at the kitchen table, if you prefer.’
Amy rolled off the bed, dropping the book on her bedside table. She scowled at Hannah on her way past. ‘You don’t have to be so mean about it.’
Hannah swallowed. Her tone had been sharp. In fact, her tolerance for anything right now was non-existent. She needed to be more aware of how she acted. It was hardly fair to take her stress out on her daughter, or anyone else.
She continued on to the office, sat down at the desk and keyed in her password, waiting as her computer sprang to life. How would she explain what she was doing if Damien walked in? She hesitated before typing in Janine’s name and hometown in the search bar. She looked up people all the time for work, and if he did come into the bedroom, he wouldn’t be interested in the specifics of what she was doing. He was out in the garden fixing some loose wooden slats on the decking, so was unlikely to come into the house at all, let alone upstairs to her office.
The search results came up, and Hannah swallowed. Janine Markinson, Rape. Teenage victim of rape pregnant. Rape Baby Given Up for Adoption. There were a number of other more recent results. Teacher Awarded Victorian Education Excellence Award. Tallangetti Primary Honours VEEA Recipient. She clicked on a recent article and drew in a breath when the smiling face of Janine Markinson filled the screen. The similarity between her and Damien was unmissable. Her thick black hair curtained her face; her smile was full of warmth and humour. She’d been awarded the Excellence Award for her service both within the school and the community. From what she read, Janine Markinson was a much-loved teacher and a highly valued member of the Tallangetti community. Tears filled Hannah’s eyes. This was Damien’s mother. When, twelve years earlier, she’d decided to lie to him about his biological parents, the image she’d conjured up of his mother had been very different. She’d imagined a hard, bitter woman with an ever-present cigarette between her lips who spoke in a raspy voice. She had no idea why she’d pictured her this way, other than it helped ease her conscience over lying to Damien. The woman looking back at her from the screen was nothing like that. She was the type of woman you’d want to know, that you’d be proud to call your mother. She was precisely the type of woman that Trish had been worried would replace her.
Hannah hesitated before opening a website containing articles that dated back over forty years. It appeared that ten years ago someone had done a study of teenage rape victims and loaded the old newspaper articles as part of their report. There was a blurred photo of Janine as a teenage girl. An older man had his arm around her and looked like he was shielding her. She looked young and frightened. Reading the article, she realised it was a picture of Janine leaving the court where Calvin Deeks had been sentenced for rape.
Hannah clicked on the other articles, but there were no photos of Calvin Deeks. There was one more of Janine, in her school uniform and smiling for the camera. Hannah assumed it had been taken before the rape and supplied to the paper. The Rape Baby article was text only, just giving the details of the baby’s birth.
A healthy baby boy weighing 7lb 8 ounces was birthed by Janine Markinson this morning at 8.21am. The baby has already been placed with the authorities where adoption has been arranged.
Hannah leaned back in her chair. What a mess. Seeing Janine made her wonder whether she had done the right thing. Had protecting Damien from the truth meant he’d missed out on the opportunity to get to know his mother? She shook herself. She was being silly. No, it hadn’t. If she hadn’t hired Zane, she would never have found out any of this. The adoption authorities would not provide any information as Janine had requested that her file be sealed and no details released. Due to the nature of how she had become pregnant, her request for privacy had been granted. What Hannah hadn’t counted on was Janine changing her mind and wanting to make contact with Damien.
When Zane had uncovered the truth about Damien’s biological parents and seen Hannah’s distress at the thought of telling her husband, he’d agreed to help her cover up the facts, for an additional fee. He’d come across a story around the time of Damien’s birth that Hannah might want to present to him as his own story. A young couple and their newborn baby had been involved in a horrific car accident on their return from the hospital. The baby was only two days old. Although the baby had survived, both parents died at the scene, and with no other living relatives, the baby had been placed in foster care awaiting adoption. The article did not name any of the people involved but it happened in Albosta, a large town not far from Tallangetti, and it was the hospital in which Damien had been born. While of course he would be devastated to learn this about his biological parents, Hannah had reasoned that Damien would move on with life and have closure. If he’d discovered the truth, she’d thought he’d never recover and would struggle to come to terms with his gene pool.
She cleared her search history and closed the lid on her laptop. It was all very well thinking through the pros and cons of what she’d done, but deep down she still believed she’d done the right thing. But now, paying Zane off, which she had no idea how she would do without Damien noticing money missing, would take her deception to a whole other level and that was something she wasn’t sure she could do. She fingered the heart-shaped pendant, wishing she could call her mother for advice. A lump formed in her throat as she thought of her mother, who always seemed to have a solution to any problem. She did her best to swallow it down, wondering instead if Phyllie would be home later. She could pop in and see her while Amy was at the party. She slipped her phone from her pocket and rang her number.
After organising to drop in on Phyllie later that morning, Hannah made her way down to the kitchen, where Damien was making coffee. It was only nine, but they’d all been woken early when a neighbour started his lawnmower at seven.
He raised a cup to her. ‘Want one?’
She took a seat at the counter. ‘Yes, please.’
‘We should probably wait until Nat arrives, but I’m still half asleep.’
Hannah stared at her husband. They’d been awake for two hours and he hadn’t mentioned Nat visiting. She hadn’t spoken to her sister since the family dinner and had no desire to. ‘Why’s Nat coming over?’
Damien blushed. ‘We discussed something last night that she wants further clarification on. Long story, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.’ He handed her a cup of coffee and sat down on a stool next to her.
Nerves swirled in Hannah’s stomach. Did he know about Zane Fox? Had he guessed something was up with her? She waited, her hands clenching the cup tightly.
Damien cleared his throat. ‘I’ve been keeping something from you because I was worried you might overreact.’