Read Online The Kiwi Target by John Ball - Free Book Online Page B

but there was nothing he could do about it. He summarized his life history as briefly as he could. When he came to his divorce, he didn’t try to make himself blameless.
    At that point O’Malley interrupted him. “Excuse me,” he said, "but I’d like to ask a question if I may.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “If I’m not prying, what kind of a settlement did you arrive at with your former wife?”
    “I gave her almost everything we had,” Peter answered. “Most of our savings, our townhouse, and the furniture. In return, I got a release from any further obligation.”
    “You have that in writing?” O’Malley asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Go on, Peter,” Martha interjected. She understood that he didn’t want to relive that painful chapter anymore.
    It didn’t take him long to finish. He told them he had come to New Zealand on behalf of his company, about his trip up the West Coast, and what had happened to him there. He added that he had been interviewed twice by the police and then formally absolved of any blame for the incident on the highway. When he was through, he was uncomfortably aware how much he had unburdened himself to people he had just met.
    He was relieved when a young Polynesian woman appeared at the doorway. "Lunch is ready,” she announced.
    “Thank you, Rangi,” Martha said, and rose to her feet. Peter followed her into a spacious formal dining room.
    "Normally we don’t take lunch in here,” Martha said. “But it isn’t every day that I finally discover my nephew.”
    “Amen,” her husband echoed. “And let me say that I’m just as happy as Martha about this.”
    He sat at the head of the table with Peter on his right and Martha at his left. As Rangi set out bowls of salad, Peter spoke to the attorney. “Mr. O’Malley, do you think I’ve heard the last of all this?”
    O’Malley shook his head as he picked up a fork. “No, I’m afraid you haven’t.”
    Peter looked at him. “That’s not very encouraging,” he said. “You know I came here to talk to you. With that in mind, if I find that I need an attorney, will you represent me?”
    O’Malley pressed his lips together for a second or two. “I think I could do that. It might be well for several reasons. Do you agree, Martha?”
    “Definitely,” Martha said. She looked at her husband, who nodded his approval.
    “One question,” O’Malley continued. “I don’t doubt your identity for a moment, but if you had to, could you produce a copy of your birth certificate within a reasonable time?”
    Peter smiled. “My company advises every employee going abroad to take along a copy of his birth certificate. In case of a lost passport, it makes it much easier to get a new one.”
    “Then you have it with you.”
    “It’s in my hotel room in Queenstown.”
    Rangi appeared to say that there was a phone call for Mr. O’Malley.
    As soon as the attorney had left the room, Edmund spoke up- “Peter, we invited Ray particularly so that he could meet you.”
    “You’re only being prudent,” Peter smiled. “You’ve never seen me before, and all you have to go on is my unsupported word.”
    Martha laid her hand on his. “Peter, please—don’t talk like that. We asked Ray here for a totally different reason. He’ll tell you about it when he comes back.”
    He did, shortly. “I’ve just gotten some fresh information,” he said as he sat down. “I’ll have to go shortly. With your approval, Peter, I’m going to begin acting as your attorney immediately.”
    “Please do.”
    “Then I recommend very strongly that you stay here, perhaps for a day or two, visiting your aunt. Martha?”
    “By all means,” she answered.
    “Then it’s settled. Peter, I know the manager of the Mountaineer very well—in fact, he’s a client of mine. I’ll call and advise him not to give out any information as to your whereabouts. There are some things you don’t know yet, and it’s quite possible you may be in some real personal