by Di Morrissey
‘I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you,’ said Veronica.
‘Not really. Now, there’s a suitcase and a carton marked “Maxim”, so could your fellows bring them down?’ said Valma.
‘Certainly. But, er, would you mind if I took some shots of them in situ?’ asked Tom.
‘Valma, would you mind if we’re all in it? You showing me the box and then perhaps me opening it?’
‘Please yourself. Take anything you want. There’s nothing I want to keep of his.’
‘Too bad we know nothing about his family. If he had one,’ said Veronica as she followed Valma upstairs, Tom trailing behind with the camera, two portable lights and the sound recordist.
Veronica and Tom exchanged glances as they saw the upper level of the house with its long dark panelled hallway and tantalising glimpses of crowded bedrooms behind ornate doors. Veronica did notice the contrast of a near-empty bathroom, cavernous and cold with an old-fashioned claw tub in the centre of a black and white tiled floor and large curtainless windows. Tom hoisted the camera and turned on the camera light to film Valma and Veronica as they headed up yet more stairs.
The narrow flight of stairs led to the smaller third floor, which was mostly a storage attic although there was also a maid’s room and kitchenette in one corner. When she looked around, Veronica was reminded of old films with haunted attics. The casement windows, the sloping eaves, the trunks, a rocking horse, dark paintings, an overstuffed chair and piles of boxes couldn’t have been arranged better if it had been part of a movie set.
‘I see what you mean. This is quite a collection of memorabilia,’ said Veronica.
‘Most of it is junk. Mother bought us everything a little girl could ever want, but when my sister and I came back from France we were young ladies and had outgrown the toys.’ Valma pointed to a large suitcase and a box. ‘They are the things I found relating to Topov.’
Veronica knelt beside the dusty, battered suitcase running her hands over it. A tag was tied to it with ‘Maxim’ pencilled on it.
‘I haven’t opened it,’ said Valma.
Veronica glanced at Tom to be sure he and the sound man were ready.
‘Rolling,’ said Tom quietly.
Veronica opened the suitcase as Valma watched.
There was a bulky jacket, some sweaters and trousers and a tailored jacket, which Veronica held up. ‘There’s a small gold pin in the lapel, don’t know what that is. I hope it’s not just old clothes.’ Beneath the clothes layer were some old books, a pair of black shoes and then a series of notebooks filled with handwriting. ‘These are notes. I think it’s about the film, a sort of script. It’s in terrible English. I’ll go through them some other time.’ Reluctantly she put them to one side. ‘Ah, photographs. This is good.’
‘Do you know who they are?’ Veronica asked Valma as she handed her several of the pictures.
‘These look to be when he was young. And here’s one with my mother. I wonder where it was taken?’
Other than a few more personal effects there was little else of interest in the suitcase. Veronica then pulled the cracked tape from the carton and opened the flaps.
‘What’s this? Oh, heavens, it’s a camera! What a funny old thing.’ She pulled it out and read, ‘Bolex. Let’s see what else is in here.’ She delved some more and pulled out a larger, bulkier camera. ‘This must be the professional camera. And another box. What’s this thing?’
‘Looks like one of those old geiger counters,’ said Tom.
Excitedly Veronica felt to the bottom of the box and came up with an envelope. ‘This was on the bottom.’ She opened the envelope and pulled out a printed form.
‘What’s that?’ asked Valma.
Veronica skimmed through the document. ‘It’s a fossicker’s licence. A permit to stake a mining claim in the Northern Territory. So he really was serious about looking for minerals.’
Veronica put the licence to one side with the notebooks. ‘Can I take these away to study, please, Valma?’
‘Take them all. None of it is of any use or interest to me. I can’t imagine why Mother kept them, especially after she knew he was dead and wouldn’t be coming back to claim them.’
‘Yes. Like everything to do with Topov, it’s all a bit mysterious,’ agreed Veronica. She signalled to Tom to stop filming and he quickly picked up the old cameras.
‘Brilliant old machines. Probably still work after they’ve had a bit of a service. Not that anyone uses film anymore.’
‘Is there any film still in there?’ asked Veronica hopefully.
Tom opened a camera. ‘Nope. Nothing. That’s a pity.’
‘Valma, thank you for this. I’m not sure what to do with these things either, but we’ll take them back to the studio to get them out of your way.’
Andy was intrigued with the cameras and the notebooks and tried on the musty jacket.
‘Gosh, three times too big for you,’ said Veronica. ‘Take it off, that’s creepy.’
‘The fossicking licence is interesting. But it doesn’t shed much light on the story,’ said Andy.
‘Look at the date. It confirms Marta’s story that it was issued just before they set off to Arnhem Land,’ said Veronica.
‘Well, off you go to the editing suite. Put all the pieces together,’ said Andy cheerfully.
‘Yeah, right. Easy peasy,’ she said. But she was looking forward to the challenge.
‘Hi. I’ve been calling you. What’re you up to?’ Jamie’s warm voice woke Veronica who had gone to bed, not bothering to eat, exhausted from two days of being locked in a small cubicle going through hours of video tape.
‘It’s good to hear from you. Sorry, I’ve been locked in an editing suite going back to day one and viewing every shot, making notes and trying to figure out how to tell this whole story in under an hour when I must have five hundred hours of tape!’
‘Sounds like a nightmare. How’s it coming?’
‘My head is spinning. I feel like I’ve done the entire trek over again. And then I get to scenes with you and I go over and over them, wishing I could make you materialise in the room.’
‘I wish I was there, too. I miss you.’
‘Me too.’
‘Not long. Another week. And then I’ll be there.’
‘I’m trying to get this story in some sort of shape by then so I can hand it over to the editor. It’ll be okay.’
‘Just okay? Don’t rush it.’
They talked about Billy, a project Doris was doing and Jamie’s upcoming conference.
‘Dad’s writing a paper for some academic journal,’ said Jamie. Mum’s pleased. She didn’t think he was keeping himself occupied enough. Now, he’s buried in his study and we can hardly get him out.’
Veronica laughed. ‘I’m anxious to hear more about it. Give them my love.’
‘Go back to sleep. Sorry I woke you. Sweet dreams.’
She dreamed of a track through the landscape of Jamie’s country, the smell of a campfire and the warmth of his body close to hers. The sounds of traffic, of a city day beginning, woke her and she put her pillow over her head trying to recapture the gentle sounds of the outback. But it was futile. She got up and went to work.
Andy came and found her in the editing room. ‘I know you’ve got your head down, but Valma Konstantinova has called. Said she has found something else for you. Maybe call her back. She sounds a bit fed up. I think she’s tossing everything she can into a rubbish skip.’
‘I was ready for a coffee break.’ Veronica stood up and stretched.
Valma sounded tired and frustrated. ‘There are more of these Maxim things. Some huge tins in with some boxes and papers in the fridge in the maid’s room.’
‘Tins? Tins of what?’ asked Veronica.
‘They’re round flat ones filled with film. Why they’ve been kept in the refrigerator I don’t know,’ she sighed. ‘My mother must have run out of storage space. Do you want them?’
Veronica could scarcely
speak. ‘I certainly do!’ Whether the film was unused or was exposed footage she had no idea. She could only hope.
Tom was about to go out, but when she told him they might have one more shot and that it could be the old film footage, he was as excited as she was and jumped in a taxi with her to go to the old Darling Point mansion.
Valma rolled her eyes at the sight of Tom and his camera and turned and took them back upstairs to the third floor. The maid’s room was still cluttered with boxes and belongings and Valma flung open the door of the old Kelvinator in the corner. ‘Can you believe I found these in here?’
The film cans were quite cool to touch and were two different sizes. Tom filmed Veronica taking them out of the fridge.
‘Some of the film is sixteen millimetre, the others, thirty-five millimetre,’ she read. ‘Ektachrome. Supreme Sound Studios.’ She held her breath as she managed to unscrew one of the cans and looked at the large roll of film. She saw written in black ink, ‘Day 7. Fishing and bog’.
‘Oh God. This must be Topov’s unfinished masterpiece. And it looks as though it’s been developed.’
Tom broke protocol and spoke from behind the camera. ‘Don’t expose it. It might be dry and crack. We’ll open it up in a dark room.’
Veronica was silent in the taxi on the way back to Network Eleven. At her feet were two old-fashioned maroon-coloured Qantas flight bags Valma had given her to hold the precious cans of film.
It was all that remained of Topov’s dream. She just hoped the film had survived and would show them how it had really been.
15
VERONICA SPREAD HER NOTES across the old pine table in what had been the lounge room of the cottage where the production offices of Our Country were now housed. She laid them out in sequences and scenes, shuffling and rearranging them, trying to construct a comprehensible and interesting structure for her story.
Stu stuck his head around the door. ‘Hi Veronica. What’s your favourite colour?’
She stared at the editor. ‘Huh? Why?’
‘The set. They’re fluffing up a new set for the show for when you start fronting it.’
‘Oh, no! I’d better talk to Andy.’
She hurried into Andy’s office.
‘What’s this about a new set and me fronting the show in the studio? It’s bad enough I’m on camera all through the story!’
‘Don’t be so modest! Actually, the directive came from above. Big Bill is taking quite an interest. They all seem to be locked into the idea of having a face up front. A presenter who’s promotable, you know the kind of thing.’
‘But that’s what we agreed we wouldn’t do!’ exclaimed Veronica. ‘We want to let the story speak for itself. If they do it this way, then the next thing we know, the stories will be told through my eyes, my point of view. It’s overkill to have me front the show as well as relating the story.’
‘No offence, but I agree,’ said Andy. ‘I think that you’re right and it will change the focus of the program too much.’
‘Can I speak to the boss?’
‘Leave it for the moment. Let’s put this first big launch story together for the new-look program and give him a sneak preview and tackle it then,’ said Andy soothingly.
‘It’s almost together. I’m banking on that old footage being good enough to use. It’ll fit in perfectly and illustrate Colin and Marta’s stories as well as contrasting with the modern stuff we filmed in the Territory.’
‘The old film’s with the film lab, we won’t have it back for a day.’ Andy hesitated then asked, ‘I realise this mightn’t be the time to raise this, but have you thought about what you might like to do next?’
‘Do?’
‘Story-wise. Television is a voracious eater of time, talent and material, you may recall. We have to find next month’s feature before this one goes to air. The team will have to start working on it. But the story has to be one that excites you.’
For the first time in a long time Veronica didn’t feel enthusiastic about her job. Normally, once a story was in the editing stages she mentally put it to bed and then the search to find the next assignment consumed her. Why was she not feeling that same adrenaline surge now?
‘I guess this story has taken so much out of me, I’ve got so involved with it, been such a part of it that I’m having trouble letting go, let alone thinking about what to do next,’ she confessed to Andy.
He looked at Veronica and then down at the papers on his desk. ‘Hmm. I thought this might happen.’
‘What do you mean?’
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. ‘You’re better at your job than you know, Veronica, but perhaps you need some time off before tackling the next story.’
‘I’m sorry, Andy.’ Veronica didn’t know what to think. ‘I’m just tired. I’ll be fine after I have a break when Jamie comes down.’
‘Veronica, I will eventually retire and you could easily fill my shoes. I want you to think about that.’
‘I understand, Andy.’
‘Now, we have a job to finish.’
Later Tom appeared in Veronica’s office.
‘It’s back already. The old film. Transferred to DVD. Andy thought we should look at it together. A sort of a screening with popcorn and coffee,’ he said. ‘After the production meeting, just you, Andy and me. I’m keen to see how it comes up. Lucky it was stored so well.’
‘Did the lab say how much of it was useable?’ asked Veronica, not daring to get too elated.
‘Most of it, apparently. The tech guys were pretty intrigued with what they saw.’
‘I can hardly wait to see it.’
Andy and Veronica settled themselves in a small editing suite and Tom cued up the computer.
‘This DVD has all the stuff from the big camera, the one you said Topov mainly used, the thirty-five mill,’ said Tom. ‘The sixteen-millimetre footage is separate.’
‘That’s the smaller camera that Drago used a lot, though Marta and Colin said Topov used it sometimes, too,’ said Veronica. ‘I’m keen to compare their footage with the stuff we shot.’
‘It was a shoestring production, obviously,’ said Andy. ‘If Topov hadn’t died and they’d finished the trip, I wonder what he’d have made of the film.’
‘I guess we’ll know when we see it,’ said Tom.
‘Let’s all make notes for editing purposes. Just in case we have anything useable here,’ said Andy.
‘Gosh, I hope so,’ muttered Veronica. She sat very still, her coffee untouched and watched the images unroll before her.
Immediately Veronica was swept away as everything came to life. Marta, curvy and sexy, looked wonderful. There were glimpses of the others, including a smiling Colin, who was pointed out by Veronica.
‘Yes, I recognise him from the Pioneers’ Reunion,’ said Andy.
‘I bet that’s Drago, he looks Slavic,’ said Tom. ‘That handsome, wide face.’
‘No mistaking Helen, she does look a bit proper. And sensible,’ said Andy.
‘Who’s that with the car?’ Veronica strained forward. The young man, who’d been tinkering with the engine, gave a salute with a spanner. ‘Cocky. Could that be Johnny?’
‘You said Peter the Dutchman knew more about cars,’ said Tom.
‘Pause it, please, Tom,’ said Andy. ‘Yep. That young cocky lad is our Mr J. Cardwell,’ said Andy firmly.
‘So the dour fellow over there must be Peter. But where’s Topov?’ said Veronica. ‘Oh, of course, he’s filming this.’
‘There’s a cut. Aha, here he is,’ exclaimed Andy.
Topov stepped in front of the camera, lifting his viewfinder to his eye and gesticulated as he posed, pretending to direct Marta. He wore a small hat, a scarf around his neck and occasionally stroked his beard earnestly. He dominated the screen, turning to the camera to direct Drago, who must have been filming this sequence. His flamboyant actions, cheeky lifting of an eyebrow, eye rolling and dramatic gestures caused the three
watching to break into laughter.
‘God, what a ham,’ said Tom.
‘He’s magnificent!’ said Andy.
‘Even without sound,’ agreed Veronica.
There was a lot of scenery and they were staggered by the road conditions as Topov filmed the group digging the cars out of deep sand.
‘There’s virtually no road at all, just space that might be a track between the dunes and grasses,’ said Veronica. ‘I’m amazed they got those vehicles through there. I thought it was tough going off-road in Jamie’s big four-wheel drive.’
‘Look, there’s Peter letting the air out of the tyres. That helps driving in sand,’ said Tom.
‘It’s a good bit of action that gives a sense of how desolate the country they travelled through was,’ said Andy. ‘Wouldn’t have been too many travellers out there in those days.’
Veronica joined in the laughter at a scene of Marta staggering down a sandhill and ‘dying’ at the bottom.
‘God, talk about melodrama. It’s a wonder Topov didn’t have his heroine tied across the railway tracks,’ chuckled Andy.
‘I thought she was supposed to be a serious actress,’ said Tom.
‘She’s doing what the director says, obviously. You can see that she’s sending herself up a bit,’ said Veronica.
‘Now where’s this? Isn’t this river pretty,’ said Andy. ‘What a lovely place to camp.’
Veronica looked at her notes from her interview with Colin. ‘I’d say this could be Cooper Creek.’
‘Ah, I wonder if they knew what an historic place Cooper’s is,’ said Andy. ‘Bit of voice-over explanation needed there. Now here’s a place coming up, not much to it by the look of it,’ said Andy. ‘Inland Mission Hospital. And a nice nurse out the front. Blimey, she’s in the full uniform, starched veil and all! Way out there.’
Veronica flicked through her notes. ‘Birdsville, I think.’
‘Pretty isolated isn’t it?’
‘Hey, here’s Topov again. Don’t you love him?’ laughed Veronica. ‘What’s he dragging? He looks very pleased with himself.’