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[tab=30][tab=30]Bundy knocked and opened the door to her bedroom, Kate remained in bed, ‘that’s okay. I know how you like your coffee and toast in bed of a morning.’ He said leaning against the door frame.
‘You’ll spoil me doing this. I could get used to it.’ She said while biting a piece of toast.
‘It’s my way of saying thank you for being a great partner in this investigation.’ He shared with her.
‘Why thank me. Until you came along, I never had a clue how to find Peter. We make a great team – don’t we?’ Kate sipped her coffee feeling the aroma enter her nasal passages seeping through to her brain. She needed her early morning coffee.
‘We’ve still got a lot of work to be done. When you finish your coffee and toast, we’ll need to visit Mary and let her know what we’ve done.’ Bundy explained.
‘Okay Master – can I have a little lay in first, please? Don’t you think I deserve it?’ Kate pleaded; she rolled over to cover her face with the bed covering.
Bundy retrieved her plate and used cup, ‘yeah, I suppose you’re entitled to a little lie in. Let me know when you’ve had sufficient beauty sleep. I’ll try to keep quiet while I do my housework.’ He closed the door and returned to the kitchen.
Kate slept for another hour. When she awoke, she rubbed her eyes and wondered where she was. It was strange to awake in a strange bed, then she remembered her early morning coffee and toast. She sprung from bed and quickly dressed. She opened the door and called to Bundy. She couldn’t see him.
‘Out here – on the veranda, have you had sufficient beauty sleep?’ He called back to her.
‘It was great, just to lay in bed without worrying about anything. What about another cup of coffee and a piece of toast – wait a minute I’ll make it and come out and sit with you.’ She called out. Kate filled the electric kettle with water from the tap over the kitchen sink; opened the refrigerator, removed a piece of bread from the packet and placed it into the electric toaster beside the electric jug...

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[tab=30][tab=30]‘Dinner’s almost ready.’ Victoria called from the kitchen.
‘Alright – I’ll have a quick chat with Bundy. Kate, do you want to talk with Victoria?’ Quincy asked in a voice to ‘leave the men alone’ tone.
Bundy filled Quincy in with the latest development of Ralph meeting Mary and subsequently having a roll in the hay on top of the stables at the Exhibition Grounds in 1990 resulting in the pregnancy of Peter.
Quincy raised his eyebrows with surprise, ‘you and Kate have done a great job. Now it’s my turn to see if Ralph is the father and if so, I’ll let you know before Saturday. Can Victoria and I come to the races with you and Kate Saturday night?’ Quincy asked.
‘Of course, you can. You remember where it is. What say I order a table at the restaurant and we’ll make a night of it? From here we’ll let Mary know about this latest discovery; she might come along also.’ Bundy explained. They were called inside for their dinner.
After a delicious meal Bundy and Kate bid farewell to Quincy and Victoria and headed toward Bundy’s home. It was late in the night when they arrived. It had been a long day. She was excited and thrilled about the outcome but couldn’t say anything at this point before the DNA test was completed by Quincy. She stayed the night at Bundy’s home.
Early next morning Kate woke to find a steaming hot cup of coffee and a piece of toast on the side table beside her bed. She smiled and opened the curtains in the bedroom to see the miniature horses, listen to the morning call of the kookaburra. She heard noises coming from the kitchen and imagined it was Bundy making breakfast. She looked at her watch to see it was seven o’clock.
‘Thank you, Bundy.’ With the door closed she called loud enough he could hear...

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[tab=30][tab=30]‘I heard Warwick is cold place.’ Kate asked.
‘Cold – our kitchen had carpet on the floor. The taps froze over and we didn’t have water until almost midday.’ Bundy shared. ‘Enough of this reminiscing – off to Quincy’s place. Victoria is cooking dinner.’
Kate sped off and headed through Warwick and back onto the highway. When she approached the turnoff to Toowoomba, she said, ‘do we go through Toowoomba or is there another way?’
‘I think we should head toward Cunningham’s Gap toward Brisbane. At the bottom of the range we turn off at Esk and head to Kilcoy. Quincy’s place is only a few miles from Kilcoy.’ Bundy explained.
‘Okay – you lead us; obviously, you know where you’re going.’ Kate replied and followed Bundy’s instructions.
Late in the afternoon before the sun was low in the sky, they entered Quincy’s property. Quincy was in his usual place standing on the veranda. He waved when they parked at the front of his house.
Bundy and Kate alighted from the vehicle; Kate carried the sample of DNA taken from Ralph earlier that day. She handed the sample to Quincy when they reached the top stairs, ‘here is a sample of saliva taken from Ralph Petersen, who we think could be Peter’s father.’ Kate explained.
‘And a good-day to you Kate,’ Quincy said when he took the exhibit bag from her. ‘I’ll get cracking on it early tomorrow morning. How are you Bundy, me ole mate.’ He shook hands with both Kate and Bundy...

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The Proposition' - Page 147:
[tab=30]‘Are you certain?’ Kate asked.
‘As certain as I’m sitting here – that’s young Pete, his name is Peacock not Clayton.’ He continued.
‘If this is Peter Clayton; his grandparent’s name is Peacock.’ Kate said, ‘how long have you known him?’ Kate asked.
‘Back in 2003 I decided to give the Brisbane Exhibition another go. It was the first time I’d been there since I met Mary in 1990. Anyway, this kid came up to me at the stables and asked my name. I told him it was Ralph Petersen and why did he want to know. He wanted to get into harness racing and asked if I could use him. He was real keen.’ Ralph told them.
‘Did he get into harness racing?’ Bundy asked. He knew Ralph was telling the truth because often there were many a young person come to his stables to ask if they could work with the horses.
‘I saw he could work, he mucked out the stables and did what I asked. He told me his parents died and he was on his own. I understood because when I was around his age; I started in harness racing; John will tell you. So, I gave the young fellow a chance. Do you think Peter is my lad?’ Ralph asked in astonishment.
‘We don’t know.’ Kate said, ‘a friend of Bundy has identified Peter’s DNA from a strand of hair and clothing. If you agree, we’d like you to submit a sample of your DNA so we could compare it with the same examined by Bundy’s friend. It is voluntary. It would determine you as Peter’s father if the results are the same.’ Kate implied.
‘I’m happy to do anything. Can I ask one thing before we do it?’ Ralph asked.
‘What’s that?’ Kate answered...

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‘This is one for the books, isn’t it? Poor fellow, what about Mary, how’s she going?’ Ralph asked with concern.
‘She’s going well but wants to know the whereabouts of her son Peter. His name is Peter Clayton. His birthday was in April this year. He would’ve turned twenty-one.’ Kate explained.
‘Ralph, John showed me the racing form for this Saturday night and I see you have a horse entered for the Queensland Championships.’ Bundy explained.
‘To right I have,’ he said with a broad smile on his face. ’It’s taken me a lifetime to find this horse – they say one comes along once in a lifetime. ‘High Class Investigator’ is the name of the horse. I’ve got young Peter Peacock driving him. He’s only one I trust.’ Ralph explained.
‘Where is Peter now?’ Bundy asked.
‘Ah, he’s over at Allora helping out his girlfriend’s family with their horses. He’ll be back in a couple of days. Why?’ Ralph wanted to know.
Kate opened her briefcase and withdrew a printed copy of the family tree she’d created before leaving her office and placed it flat on the table in front of Ralph, ‘Ralph, this is a family tree we’re designed on the computer. The main trunk is Peter Clayton who is missing. This photograph is a computer enhanced photograph of what he may look like at his present age. Would you have a look to see if you can recognize anyone in the family tree?’ Kate asked in a soft tone. She placed the print in front of Ralph.
Ralph looked at the print and immediately pointed to the photograph of Peter, ‘that’s young Pete, for sure. Is he the missing person – it sure looks like him.’ Excitement rose in his voice...

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[tab=30][tab=30]‘I’ll have a coffee with milk and Bundy a white tea, thanks Ralph.’ Kate replied. She threw a smile toward Bundy.
Ralph made the refreshments and spoke of Mary while he prepared a slice of cake and bought the items to the kitchen table.
‘She was a good looker, was Mary. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her. She was sitting near the front fence when I stopped to check the gear on my horse. I looked across to see her sitting in the front row. Her eyes sparkled. I won the race and returned to the spot hoping she’d still be there. She was. I gave her the winning ribbon, I’d won. She came with me to the loft at the stables and we spent the night together.’ Ralph explained.
‘Sounds right, Mary told us a similar story.’ Bundy interrupted.
‘What’s this about a missing twelve-year-old boy? What’s it got to do with me?’ Ralph asked.
‘Ralph, from your night of bliss with Mary, she fell pregnant and born you a child.’ Kate explained as best she could. Bundy took a sip of his tea whilst he ate a piece of cake.
‘I’m a father.’ Ralph said in disbelief.
‘It appears so. I don’t think Mary would lie about something like that.’ Kate continued.
‘How do you know? I’m not complaining. It’d be great to have a son. Is Mary okay?’ Ralph asked in a concerned voice.
‘She’s very well. A month afterward she found she was pregnant with your child, she met her future husband Les, and they married. Les always thought he was the child’s father. Unfortunately, after the boy went missing for several years; Les died. Mary thought it could have been a broken heart. She said he loved Peter.’ Kate continued...

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[tab=30] ‘Yeah – that was me. I got grazed across the ribs.’ Ralph felt his ribs as if the injury had happened recently.
‘I remember – it must have been move than twenty years ago because I told her never to drive again, she didn’t take any notice or what I said. She drove and eventually got her drivers license.’
‘I remember her. It was 1990. Later that year was when I moved here and have been here ever since.’
‘What about you two reminisce some other time, we have work to do.’ Kate interrupted.
‘Sorry – it’s great to meet another person in harness racing.’ Ralph said, ‘what is it you want to talk to me about?’ He relaxed.
‘Ralph, we’re investigating the disappearance of a twelve-year-old boy eight years ago from his home. We’re clutching at straws and hope you may help us if you can.’ Kate explained.
‘Twelve-year-old boy missing for eight years, how does it connect with me?’ He inquired with a frown of wonderment on his forehead.
‘The missing boy is Peter Clayton. His mother is Mary Clayton which is her married name. Her maiden name was Peacock. Mary told us she went to the 1990 Brisbane Exhibition to watch harness racing events and spent the night in a loft at the stables with a trotting driver named ‘Ralph’. We discovered a name ‘Ralph’ when we searched the records of 1990. Do you know a person named Mary; and if so, did she spend the night in the loft at the stables with you?’ Kate asked. She activated her mobile phone to record their conversation.
‘You bet I do – she was the dream of my life – still is. I only knew her name Mary and wanted to find her. She’d gone before I woke the next morning. Do you know how I can contact her? It’ll be great to see her again after all of these years.’ Ralph’s voice rose with excitement and his face broke into a smile remembering the girl of his dreams. The whistle of the kettle erupted, ‘what’ll you have?’ he asked standing to make refreshments...
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