The Kiwi Target

know you anywhere.”
    He took her offered hands, and electricity flowed into him. “I thought for just a moment—” he began, then stopped when the pressure of her fingers tightened on his.
    “Yes, Harriet and I did look alike. Many people thought we were twins. Come in, Peter, please come in!”
    She led him through a cool, Spanish-tiled lobby into a large living room. Two men who were waiting there rose to greet him. “Peter,” the lady said, “this is my husband Edmund.”
    Peter stepped forward and shook hands.
    “And our very dear friend, Ray O’Malley.”
    It took Peter a few moments to recover from that. He shook hands formally while, figuratively, he got his breath back. “I believe we spoke on the phone,” he said.
    “Yes, we did,” O’Malley confirmed.
    Peter realized that that topic should be dropped immediately: it was neither the time nor the place to pursue it. Instead, he stepped back and looked again at his sumptuous surroundings. ”Until yesterday, I didn’t realize that I had a relative anywhere,” he said. “Then the police told me about you.”
    “God bless them for it,” his hostess said, and indicated a luxurious sofa. As soon as he sat down, she placed herself only a foot or two from him. “I want you to call me Martha,” she began. “Everyone does. I knew I had a nephew; we’ve been trying to find you. Now tell us about yourself.”
    At that moment Peter was much embarrassed by O’Malley’s presence, 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