Smoking Gun (Adam Cartwright Trilogy Book 1)

by Dennis Debney

  I smiled. “I think that it sounds like a plan. You have the rest of today plus the weekend to get it done. Can you do it?”

  He grinned confidently. “I sure can. You can count on me.”

  Clapping him on the shoulder I said, “Good man! You’d best get going. Keep me informed if there are any hiccups.

  I didn’t know if Derek had realised it yet but I did not risk anything by telling Bill Murray to come as planned on Monday. If he turns up and has to wait then we have to pay him and his men for their lost time. But if he doesn’t come on Monday, because we weren’t ready, then he will bill us for his time anyway. So he may as well come on Monday as then we at least have a chance to avoid any extra costs.

  ***

  Friday December 18

  Red Rock Project Site

  The first serious threat of a heavy rain storm came six weeks later. An atmospheric low pressure cell had been reported to be forming in the Coral Sea a few days earlier. But, instead of following the usual weather pattern for this time of year and moving south eastwards to cross the coast and weaken to a low category storm, it had been stationary for several days. Its already low central atmospheric pressure dropping steadily and the clockwise rotation of the circulating winds accelerating. By ten a.m. on Friday, December 18th it had been classified as a Category Five cyclone and named Abby.

  The TV meteorologists were now forecasting that Abby would cross the coast somewhere near Cairns over the weekend with wind speeds of more than 120 kilometres per hour. But that was not all, they estimated a fifty percent probability that it would continue inland and drench the Atherton Tablelands albeit with slightly reduced winds. There was little doubt that Red Rock was in its sights.

  It was clearly time for me to take all possible steps to prevent damage to the construction site. That meant that all work should cease where possible and resources diverted to secure buildings and loose materials. Top of the priorities was the completion of the cutting to create a storm water discharge channel.

  By ten thirty I had a group of around forty gathered in the dining room. All of the engineers and inspectors were present together with the foremen and leading hands. Jack Gilmore was also there with his staff and several of the contract miner’s foremen.

  Standing at the centre of a semi circle of dining tables at which the men were seated I spelt out the threat posed by Abby and then addressed things that needed to be done. “First, there is a fifty percent chance that we will suffer strong winds and very heavy rain on Sunday through Monday. There is an even higher probability that Cairns will be struck by a cyclone. Cyclone Abby. So if anyone wants to return to Cairns to be with their family and protect their home then they are free to go. We will have extra flights from four o’clock today as required. Check with your people and let them know that they will need to give their names to the Admin Manager by two o’clock if they want to be on a flight.”

  I paused and looked around. “The immediate top priority for most of you is to secure loose materials and equipment. Not just around the construction site but the accommodation and administration areas too. I am going to rely on you all to work together and use your initiative.”

  I stopped talking briefly and gestured towards Jack Gilmore and his group of miners. “Jack and I fear that the stormwater drainage pipe that runs through the processing area will not be adequate if the expected rainfall is as intense as forecast on Sunday. We believe that the top priority for Jack and his miners over the next few days is to complete the cutting that extends from the aggregate quarry. If we don’t divert the storm water runoff away from the site then we risk flooding the construction site and the open pit as well. If that happens then it will be a catastrophe. The accommodation and administration areas might also get flooded if the rainfall continues for long enough. There is a possibility that we might be able to rig up something to help bypass some of the stormwater around the processing plant. Derek I’d like you to handle that, so please wait back when I finish here so that I can talk to you about it. One thing for you all to remember, if Jack or Derek ask you for help then you should help them in any way possible. But before you scatter to get on with securing the site. I’d like you to hear what Jack and his guys are up against.”

  At that point Jack stood up and started speaking. He got straight to the point. “We have about twenty metres to go. So far we have averaged almost five metres per day when we have had equipment available. The storm, if it does reach here, will probably be here sometime between tomorrow night and Sunday morning. That is thirty hours at the earliest and forty eight hours at the latest. If we are going to have the channel open in even forty eight hours then we have to do something different as it won’t be as straightforward as before. If it starts to rain we won’t be able to have excavating equipment and trucks in the cutting as we have before. So the only chance for us to get the channel open in time is to start blasting back from the exit into the gully towards the excavated section of the cutting. We are going to over-blast it metre by metre. We won’t be able to get into the cutting to excavate the material after blasting, so we are going to attempt the impossible and blast the rock out into the gully. Hopefully we can make a breakthrough and if the storm water floods are strong enough then the water will flush the rock pieces clear of the cutting.”

  One of the foremen called out. “Why are you trying to do all this at the last minute? Why wasn’t it done months ago?”

  When Jack glanced at me I nodded. Looking back at the questioner, he replied, “Because Adam couldn’t get approval to do so. He has been risking his career to do what he thinks is right and have me carry out the work under the radar. If he hadn’t gone out on a limb then we wouldn’t even have this chance. I hope to God that we don’t get the rainfall that’s been forecast because I can’t guarantee that we will succeed and complete the cutting in time. You must warn everyone not to enter the area between the buildings and the cutting alignment. We have put up barricades and warning signs at the access points through the barricades. The five minute pre-detonation siren, imminent blast siren, and the all-clear siren will be described on the warning signs. We have a one man steel-lined blasting shelter located by each of the access points. It will be manned from five minutes before blasting until the all-clear siren is sounded.”

  It was now my turn to say something again. I needed to wind up the gathering and get them all moving. “We will only succeed if we work together and create synergy. I will leave it to you all here to agree on areas of responsibility and see that nothing slips through the cracks. If this storm does eventuate then I expect that we will all be wet, cold, muddy and very tired before it is over. Even so I will be disappointed if I see any of you standing with your hands on your hips watching others working when they could do with a helping hand. I would like to remind you of the events more than 200 years ago when the Endeavour ran aground on the reef not far from here at Cooktown. The crew spent two days desperately pumping to keep their ship afloat. All the officers, including Lieutenant James Cook, worked their full share of shifts on the pumps. Well, today at Red Rock we are also all in the same boat. We all need to share the hard work needed to save us.” As I talked I was scanning the crowd assessing how my words were being received. They were all paying attention and seemed to be taking what I had to say seriously. “Good! You should get to where you should be and do what you need to do. Do not hesitate to let me know if you encounter any problems that you can’t solve on your own. Best of luck to you all. Derek, can I talk to you now.”

  Instead of the dining room being immediately emptied it was filled with a buzz of conversation as the men coalesced into groups and started making plans. There was a sense of urgency in the air. As I stood there watching them, Derek Crowther walked over to stand next to me. “Yes, boss what do you have in mind?”

  Derek had been a revelation during the past six weeks since the problem with the foundation bolts for the pumps and motors. He had proved himself to be resourceful and had develo
ped a ‘can do’ attitude. All he had needed was to realise what was expected of him. “Derek, it’s a bit of a long shot but I reckon that we could set up a couple of air lifts to augment the storm water drain by the processing plant. It probably won’t save the day but it might just buy us enough time to finish the cutting.”

  “Why don’t we scrounge up some pumps and use them? They have some big pumps in the open pit.”

  I shook my head. “No good. I’ve already spoken to Jack Gilmore about those pumps, They’re needed to protect the open cut. That’s his responsibility and those are his pumps. What I had in mind was to use a few hundred metres of the three hundred millimetre plastic pipe that’s been brought in for the tailings dam and a compressor from the foundation excavation gang.”

  Derek looked a bit sheepish and said, “I hate to admit it but I don’t know anything about an airlift, or how it works.”

  I smiled encouragingly. “Don’t worry. By the end of this exercise you’ll be an expert. Actually it’s very simple. Imagine a pipe suspended vertically into a pond. Let’s say the bottom of the pipe is about 4 metres below the surface and the top about two metres above it. The water will rise inside the pipe to be the same level as the surface of the pond. Right?”

  Derek nodded, not yet aware of where this was going, so I continued. “Now consider what happens if you insert an air hose into the bottom of the pipe and pump air into the pipe. What will happen?”

  “The air will bubble up through the water in the pipe…”

  His voice tailed off at that point as he thought about what I had said, so I gave him a hint. “That means that you will have a mixture of air and water in the pipe. A mixture that is less dense than just water on its own.”

  He finally cottoned on. “The water mixture will rise up and flow out of the top of the pipe. In this case, you will have lifted water by two metres. Wow!”

  “Right! Also, the height that you can lift the water, will depend on the depth that the pipe inlet is below the surface of the pond. The flow rate will depend on the rate that air is pumped in and the diameter of the pipe.”

  “Good! I’ve got it. So you think that we could use those lengths of plastic pipe and the compressor to create two air lifts.”

  “I don’t see why not. You will need to connect the ten metre lengths of pipe together. You’ll probably need a length of about three hundred metres for each air lift. Then you will have to dig a hole at least three to four metres deep to allow the stormwater to be collected in a pond from which the stormwater will be airlifted and discharged through the plastic pipelines. Do you think that you can handle it?”

  Derek grinned. “I’ve got it, boss. Leave it to me.” Looking around he saw Tony Payne busy talking to several others in a small group. “I’ll get Tony to work with me on it.”

  As he turned to leave I said, “Good choice. I’ll check with you later.”

  As I watched him go I wondered again if the air lifts could really make a difference. But things could soon be desperate and we needed to try anything that might work. Even if it only bought us some extra time before the site was flooded it would be worth doing.

  ***

  Later that morning I drove across to check on progress at the cutting. As I expected I had to use an access point through a barricade near the processing plant. There was a large warning sign describing the various blast warning sirens as Jack Gilmore had explained. Next to the sign, facing away from the cutting, was a cubicle rather like a guardsman’s box at Windsor Castle. As I got out of my vehicle Jack greeted me with a tight grin. “Good timing. We are about to have our first over-blast. This should be the easy one, it just has to displace the rock a few metres into the gulley. The next metre has already been drilled. We should have it loaded and ready to blast by say, one, o’clock. That will have to throw the rock further so we will load the holes with progressively more explosives for each successive row. If you’d like to wait a few minutes the five minute warning siren will sound and the first row of drill holes will be detonated.”

  I looked back towards the processing plant trying to estimate the distance. Jack saw me looking thoughtful and laughed. “Don’t worry Adam. It’s almost five hundred metres to the barricade and the direction of the blast is angled away from the buildings. We’ll have a man in the blast shelter cubicle by the access point that you came through. I reckon in about ten minutes you’ll hear a very big bang.”

  I looked around for a safe spot from which to watch the blast. “Where will you take shelter from the explosion?”

  “We are all going to retreat to Lookout Hill. You should join us. I did so and had a panoramic view of the work on the cutting.”

  About ten minutes later, five minutes after the pre-detonation siren sounded, the imminent blast siren sounded followed thirty seconds later by a ground-shaking blast. A cloud of dust and small rocks was thrown into the air and a slice of the cliff seemed to be thrown forward into the gulley.

  As soon as the all-clear siren was sounded I returned with the others to inspect what had been achieved. A four metre deep by five metres wide by one metre long section had been removed from the cliff face. Another nineteen of those and the cutting would be complete. Unfortunately each succeeding one metre section removed would become more difficult as an increasing quantity of rocky debris would remain in the cutting. But at least it was a start.

  ***

  When I returned at five o’clock to check on progress I found that they had exceeded their own schedule. Another six sections had been blasted. Another three were planned before blasting ceased at eight o’clock. The discharge end section of the cutting was taking shape, reaching back towards the quarry. To me the gap between the two sections looked like there was barely eleven metres remaining to be excavated.

  Most of the newly blasted cutting was clear of small rubble but there were a number of large loose pieces of rock remaining that could impede the flow of storm water. Three men were using pneumatic rock drills to prepare for re-blasting in an attempt to shatter them into smaller pieces that might get swept away later by the storm water. The job of ‘popping’ the large rocks, as it was called in the quarry industry, was a tough job in daylight. But at night, lit by floodlights and balancing precariously with an unstable footing, handling the heavy drills was a back-breaking and hazardous task. The workers currently on duty had been working since eight o’clock the previous evening, with the only a short respite of about ten minutes when they had to clear the area for a blast.

  Drilling would continue through the night under floodlights for the first time but no blasting would be carried out. Jack Gilmore estimated that up to eight slices could be blasted during daylight tomorrow. By tomorrow night we might only have three or four metres of cutting to be excavated. But there was no room for complacency as the heavy rainfall associated with the cyclone could well have reached Red Rock by then.

  The cleaning up and tying down around the site had gone well. Derek had the compressor in place and the lengths of pipe were on site ready to be connected. A pond had been excavated such that any overflow from the stormwater drain would collect in the pond before overflowing into the drainage pipe. Hopefully, water would be airlifted and discharged beyond the processing plant thus reducing the flow through the drainage pipe.

  I did not actually hope that the major storm hit us so that the urgent, expensive scramble to excavate the cutting would be justified. But the thought had crossed my mind. I would much prefer that Red Rock was not in the storm’s path even though that meant that I could end up with egg on my face.

  The weather report that evening was now confidently forecasting that cyclone Abby would cross the coast to the north of Cairns tomorrow afternoon. The low pressure had dropped further and the predicted wind speeds were now around 150 kilometres per hour. It was such a massive storm that the meteorologists were also confident that the Atherton Tableland would receive heavy rainfall and be buffeted by cyclone force winds. It seemed that Red Rock was un
likely to escape unscathed.

  ***

  That evening Brian Clements called me on Skype. “Adam, Kate and I have been watching the weather forecast. It looks to us like your project is in line to get a bit of wind and rain. How does it look to you up there?”

  The two of them were looking quite concerned so I did my best to downplay the situation. “Yes, it does look like we will get a drenching and experience some fast moving air, but nothing to worry about in regard to physical safety. Everything here has been designed with just this eventuality in mind. Things have been a little hectic today and will continue like that for the next few days.”

  Kate asked, “Adam, are you going to be able to get down here before Christmas? Christine will arrive in Sydney on Thursday. I was hoping that the four of us could have dinner somewhere nice to welcome her home.”

  Brian laughed. “Well, Adam, you did say that you welcomed any help with your love life that you can get.”

  I grinned. Kate’s sister, Christine, was due to arrive back in Sydney in a few days and Kate was engaged in some blatant matchmaking. As far as Kate was concerned Christine and I were made for each other. I didn’t mind Kate’s efforts and did not take it seriously, but I did wonder if Christine would welcome Kate’s determination for the two of us to meet.

  It had already been agreed that Christine would stay with Kate in my apartment, at least until the wedding in early January. There had been no discussion yet about what will happen after the wedding; I guess that I expected that Christine would stay on and rent the apartment on her own if she wished to. I wouldn’t be needing to stay there at least until after the Red Rock Project was completed, and that was another five or six months away.