The Crocodile Nest Read Online Free PDF

were in such a tangle that he wasn’t sure about anything, except that finding his father seemed to be the thing to do.
    His first move was to quiz Kev on Sunday evening when he returned with the Corolla, now worthy of a warrant.
    ‘So Ham’s your father,’ said Kev after hearing the story. ‘I knew it had to be something like that. You two are the spitting image.’
    Luke smiled. ‘He’s handsome, too, then?’
    ‘Ha! The women certainly thought so, although he never seemed to notice. He was more interested in pigs than girls. I never heard him talk of any relationships.’
    ‘How long did you know him?’
    ‘Oh, off and on for many years. His family lived in Whitiangafor a while. He went to school there. Then, when he was about your age, they shifted away.’ A pause. ‘He must’ve been about eighteen when I saw him next. Came and asked if he could go hunting on my farm. That lasted for about five years until he shot through to Australia. Haven’t seen him since.’
    ‘Do you know where he might’ve gone?’
    ‘No idea. I don’t remember him talking about Oz. But I bet he went some place where he could still go pig hunting. It was in his blood.’ He looked at Luke for a while before adding, ‘If you’re thinking of looking for him, don’t get your hopes up too high. He might not want to be found, you know. Some guys are like that. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good bloke. But he ran away once—he just might do it again if you get too close.’
    The quest continued at school on Monday, the start of the last week of term. After interval, Luke was once again ‘invited’ to the DP’s office: she wanted to know if he’d taken up the job of sorting out the lady’s computer. He assured her that he had. Instead of leaving when dismissed, he remained seated.
    ‘Is there something else?’ she asked.
    ‘You’ve been here a long time, haven’t you?’
    She chuckled. ‘Yes, almost thirty years. Why? Do you think I’m past it?’
    ‘No!’ he said quickly. ‘I was wondering if you remembered somebody called Hamish Sloss.’
    ‘Hamish Sloss,’ she repeated, leaning back in her chair. ‘That’sa name from more than twenty years back.’
    ‘You remember him?’
    ‘I remember the name of Sloss, but I’m having trouble visualizing the person.’ Luke must’ve shown his disappointment, because she asked, ‘Why are you interested in him?’
    ‘He’s my father,’ Luke replied, quietly.
    She looked up sharply, before swivelling to her laptop. After typing for a while, she turned back to him. ‘It says here that your father is deceased. Is that Hamish Sloss?’
    Luke shook his head. Then the whole story had to be told. She listened without interruption as he outlined his mother’s deception, followed by the revelations of the weekend. Once he’d started, he found it easy—almost like confessing a sin.
    When he’d finished, the DP sat silently for a time. Then she pulled a pad over and noted some details. ‘Look,’ she eventually said, ‘I can’t promise anything, but we may still have records from back then. There are some privacy issues I need to think about, but I’ll find out what I can, and get back to you before the end of the week. Is that OK?’
    It was, and Luke left the office feeling more relaxed than he had since first hearing the news about his father.
    Beth was all prepared for him when he arrived after school. The broadband had been installed, and she was keen to use it. So, too, was Luke.
    He soon found that Beth hadn’t scrimped on the broadband connection: it was faster than anything he’d experienced before.
    The first hour was spent covering emails. Beth had collected all her friends’ addresses and wanted the computer set up so she could start communicating with them.
    Then she contacted her bank, and together they organized Internet access to her accounts. That was where they ran into problems: Beth wanted to use her middle name as a password. After he’d talked her