the norm a little with some of my research.’
‘Revisionism?’
‘You could say that. Though I never actually got to prove any of my theories. But nuff about them, what’ve you got?’
Matt could see his father was clearly interested, and heck, he was in a wheelchair in a care home. He couldn’t cause any trouble. Besides, Warren’s theory had worn a little thin and Matt could do with any help he could get.
‘A colleague of mine has found a Celtic burial site, up north.’
Matt’s father appeared to be instantly healed. He virtually launched himself out of the wheelchair with excitement. ‘He found what?’
‘He found two coins and a mirror.’
‘Ritualistically accurate,’ Matt’s father said. ‘Has the site been properly sanctioned?’
‘Kind of.’ Matt was a little embarrassed. ‘The DCI has taken over the site, but they only know about the coins.’
‘How so?’
‘My friend moved the mirror.’
Disappointment registered all over Andy Robertson’s face. Matt saw the change in mood and had a sinking feeling that what he said had serious relevance to the success of the research. ‘Your friend has ruined any chance you had of proving anything with the burial site. What a bumbling idiot.’
Matt was about to defend Warren, but thought better of it just in time. ‘He was worried the DCI would sanction the site and destroy the evidence.’
‘The DCI is many things, Matt, and yes they’ve been guilty of some pretty shoddy work. But I don’t reckon the DCI would ever actually destroy a valid theory.’
‘Surely not.’ Nadine agreed with their father.
Matt grew uncomfortable with this conversation and steered it back to his father’s work. ‘What theories were you working on?’ That was a bit obvious, but it seemed to have the desired effect.
‘Mostly I dabbled with the theory that the Spanish discovered and populated New Zealand around 1536.’
‘You have it pinpointed down to a year?’
‘It’s a theory. If my theory is correct, then yes, they arrived here around 1536. It’s not as exciting as your Celts beating the Maori here, of course, but it’s still fascinating stuff.’
‘Did you get far?’
‘I was really close. But I had to give up. My stroke.’
‘Dad got so emotionally involved in his work and the DCI gave him so much grief. Basically all of academia gave him a hard time. I said for years that they caused his stroke,’ Nadine said.
‘Yet you defend them?’
‘They’ve done a lot of good for the country. I could have gone about my research a little more quietly.’ His father answered for her.
‘What did you have, exactly?’
‘I had some concrete leads. It’s so long ago and I haven’t thought about it since.’ His father turned to him and beamed a huge smile. ‘Buy hey, why don’t you have a look at my notes? See if they’re of any interest to you?’
That was an idea worth some thought. Though in fact, it took Matt only a few seconds to decide. He already had his doubts about the strength of the evidence pointing to the Celts and they were now added to by his father’s and Aimee’s opinion that the mirror would become irrelevant due to non-disclosure. Now, with so much to support the Spanish theory, such as the helmet, the Pohutukawa in Spain, questions about hangis, kumara and kumara storage houses, gaining access to his father’s notes was just enough to push Matt to the tipping point.
Matt straightened up in his chair. ‘I’d be very interested to look over your notes.’
‘You can go and get them.’
‘Where are they?’
‘Home,’ Nadine said, ‘the shed out the back.’
‘Your place?’
‘No, our place. Where I grew up. Down in Nelson.’
‘Nelson? That’s in the South Island isn’t it?’ Matt asked, hoping his memory of the in-flight magazine map served him well.
‘At the top of it, yeah. Three hours ferry from Wellington, and two hours’ drive.’
‘It would be a good excuse to see the country,’ Matt said, ‘and I have to admit things are
‘Revisionism?’
‘You could say that. Though I never actually got to prove any of my theories. But nuff about them, what’ve you got?’
Matt could see his father was clearly interested, and heck, he was in a wheelchair in a care home. He couldn’t cause any trouble. Besides, Warren’s theory had worn a little thin and Matt could do with any help he could get.
‘A colleague of mine has found a Celtic burial site, up north.’
Matt’s father appeared to be instantly healed. He virtually launched himself out of the wheelchair with excitement. ‘He found what?’
‘He found two coins and a mirror.’
‘Ritualistically accurate,’ Matt’s father said. ‘Has the site been properly sanctioned?’
‘Kind of.’ Matt was a little embarrassed. ‘The DCI has taken over the site, but they only know about the coins.’
‘How so?’
‘My friend moved the mirror.’
Disappointment registered all over Andy Robertson’s face. Matt saw the change in mood and had a sinking feeling that what he said had serious relevance to the success of the research. ‘Your friend has ruined any chance you had of proving anything with the burial site. What a bumbling idiot.’
Matt was about to defend Warren, but thought better of it just in time. ‘He was worried the DCI would sanction the site and destroy the evidence.’
‘The DCI is many things, Matt, and yes they’ve been guilty of some pretty shoddy work. But I don’t reckon the DCI would ever actually destroy a valid theory.’
‘Surely not.’ Nadine agreed with their father.
Matt grew uncomfortable with this conversation and steered it back to his father’s work. ‘What theories were you working on?’ That was a bit obvious, but it seemed to have the desired effect.
‘Mostly I dabbled with the theory that the Spanish discovered and populated New Zealand around 1536.’
‘You have it pinpointed down to a year?’
‘It’s a theory. If my theory is correct, then yes, they arrived here around 1536. It’s not as exciting as your Celts beating the Maori here, of course, but it’s still fascinating stuff.’
‘Did you get far?’
‘I was really close. But I had to give up. My stroke.’
‘Dad got so emotionally involved in his work and the DCI gave him so much grief. Basically all of academia gave him a hard time. I said for years that they caused his stroke,’ Nadine said.
‘Yet you defend them?’
‘They’ve done a lot of good for the country. I could have gone about my research a little more quietly.’ His father answered for her.
‘What did you have, exactly?’
‘I had some concrete leads. It’s so long ago and I haven’t thought about it since.’ His father turned to him and beamed a huge smile. ‘Buy hey, why don’t you have a look at my notes? See if they’re of any interest to you?’
That was an idea worth some thought. Though in fact, it took Matt only a few seconds to decide. He already had his doubts about the strength of the evidence pointing to the Celts and they were now added to by his father’s and Aimee’s opinion that the mirror would become irrelevant due to non-disclosure. Now, with so much to support the Spanish theory, such as the helmet, the Pohutukawa in Spain, questions about hangis, kumara and kumara storage houses, gaining access to his father’s notes was just enough to push Matt to the tipping point.
Matt straightened up in his chair. ‘I’d be very interested to look over your notes.’
‘You can go and get them.’
‘Where are they?’
‘Home,’ Nadine said, ‘the shed out the back.’
‘Your place?’
‘No, our place. Where I grew up. Down in Nelson.’
‘Nelson? That’s in the South Island isn’t it?’ Matt asked, hoping his memory of the in-flight magazine map served him well.
‘At the top of it, yeah. Three hours ferry from Wellington, and two hours’ drive.’
‘It would be a good excuse to see the country,’ Matt said, ‘and I have to admit things are
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