The Crocodile Nest

by Des Hunt

  ‘Yes. The top one says you are a Master Chef.’

  Ham’s eyes returned to the tabletop. ‘It’s a fake,’ he said so softly that Luke wasn’t sure that he’d heard right.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s a fake. I never went to the Sydney TAFE. Never been near a TAFE in my life.’

  ‘Then how did you get it?’

  ‘Chizza made it. That’s another thing he does. He makes fake documents, if you pay him enough. I didn’t pay him any money, but I’ve been paying for it in other ways ever since.’

  Luke was getting angry. ‘Did you know about his computer scams, too?’

  Ham looked up, alarmed. ‘No, Luke! I didn’t know.’ A pause. ‘I had suspicions, though.’

  ‘He’s a criminal!’ Luke said loudly.

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ hissed Ham.

  ‘Does anybody else here have “suspicions”? Does Ellie know?’

  ‘No!’ Ham said quickly. ‘Don’t you dare tell her, either.’

  ‘Somebody has to be told.’

  Ham nodded slowly. ‘I know. Look, give me a chance to think about it. I’ll get back to you.’

  Luke wasn’t happy, but he accepted that his father had some serious thinking to do.

  As he was about to leave, Ham said, ‘Oh, by the way, we’re going crocodile spotlighting tonight.’

  Immediately, Luke felt a lot more cheerful. ‘We are?’

  Ham gave a little chuckle. ‘Yeah. I thought that might cheer you up a bit.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Chizza’s taking us in his boat. He’s contacting your friends to ask if they want to come, too.’

  Luke’s excitement dulled a little. He wanted to see crocodiles, but not with that man. Then he had a thought that brought a faint smile to his face. Maybe he’d get the chance to tip the man over the side. Feed him to the crocodiles. Now that would solve a lot of problems.

  Chapter 21

  Luke met Lora at the sports hut by the beach alongside the Reef Sands Resort. To Luke’s disappointment, she was wearing a T-shirt and wrap-around skirt. He’d hoped to see her in a bikini. Suddenly he felt stupid wearing only his board shorts, with his puny chest bared for all to see.

  This wasn’t helped when the attendant arrived, also barechested, but with muscles bulging everywhere. Luke draped his towel over his shoulders, wishing that he’d had the sense to wear a T-shirt as well.

  After fitting them with snorkels, masks and flippers, the attendant took them to a map on the wall and showed them the best places to snorkel.

  ‘It’s nowhere the same as out on the Barrier,’ he said, ‘but you’ll see plenty of small stuff. Just don’t touch anything. And don’t stray down by the creek. There’s no reef down there anyway, but crocodiles have been seen around there. It’s unlikely anything would happen, but hey, with crocs it’s better to be safe than sorry.’

  ‘What about stingers?’ asked Luke.

  ‘Not a problem: wrong time of the year. But there are other things that can kill you—have a look at those posters over there. Not all of those are found here, but you might see the odd cone shell, and maybe a lion fish or two.’

  The first poster was about the blue-ringed octopus, which was about the size of a golf ball but could kill a person with its venom—there was no known antitoxin. Then came the stonefish and lion fish with their deadly spines; the numb ray that gave electric shocks; the cone shells that shot poisonous darts; sea snakes with venomous bites; followed by a whole range of jellyfish, collectively known as stingers.

  ‘You sure you want to do this?’ asked Lora, as they studied the posters.

  ‘Yeah,’ replied Luke, trying to act cool. ‘They just put these things here to scare us.’

  ‘Well, it’s working,’ she replied, softly.

  Down at the beach, they sat on the sand to put on their gear. Lora removed her skirt, revealing that she was in fact wearing a bikini. She started to take off her T-shirt, before having second thoughts. She gave Luke an embarrassed smile, which made him feel a little better about his nakedness.

  In the water, Lora taught him how to use the snorkel without taking in too much water; what to do when the mask fogged up; how a slow wave of the flippers beneath the water was better than flapping away at the surface. At first Luke found the breathing scary, but after taking in a few mouthfuls he soon got the hang of it and shortly afterwards they were ready to go.

  The next hour was one of the most amazing times Luke had experienced. They drifted over a wonderland of colourful fish, softly waving corals and anemones, scuttling hermit crabs, and darting shrimps. There seemed to be life in every nook and cranny. They saw only one animal from the posters—a lion fish that looked more scared of them than they were of it. If there were deadly octopi and electrifying rays, then they obviously had already eaten that day, for they showed no sign of themselves.

  By the time they returned to the beach, Lora and Luke had lost their embarrassment with each other in the excitement of the experience. Lora took off her T-shirt, which was now almost transparent anyway, and lay on the sand to dry out. Luke studied her approvingly before lying down beside her, at what he considered to be the correct distance.

  After a time, she rolled onto her side to study him. She didn’t seem disappointed with what she saw.

  ‘You’ve got funny stripes on your body,’ she said.

  Luke looked at his chest. ‘It’s where I got sunburnt during the pig hunt,’ he explained. ‘My shirt was used to tie up Spock’s wound, and we didn’t put the sunscreen on evenly.’

  They were silent for a while, remembering Spock and his horrible death. Lora broke the silence by asking, ‘Do you know that Chizza has invited us on a crocodile hunt?’

  Luke nodded. ‘It can’t be a hunt, though, because we won’t be shooting things.’ Yet even as he said it, he wondered whether that would be true. Chizza had a reputation for shooting things he shouldn’t.

  ‘He was fiddling with the computers this morning,’ said Lora. ‘Now they don’t have that screensaver, or the message about attaching them to your emails. Do you think that means he knows we’re on to him?’

  Luke wasn’t sure what it meant. But it made him think that he should go to the police sooner rather than later, before Chizza removed all the evidence. ‘Have you found out anything else?’ he asked.

  She shook her head.

  ‘I have.’ He went on to tell her about his discoveries that morning.

  Lora listened in silence until he had finished. ‘We’ve got to go to the police,’ she said. We can’t let him keep on stealing from all those tourists.’

  Luke took a deep breath. ‘It’s not as easy as that.’

  Lora sat up. ‘Why not? We’ve got enough evidence.’

  ‘There are other things involved.’

  ‘Like what!’ She was showing signs of anger.

  ‘I can’t tell you.’

  ‘What’s so secret that you’ll let people get robbed by that crook?’

  Luke looked away. How could he tell her that his father was also a crook? Sure, he might not steal from people, but he was prepared to cheat about his qualifications. That had to be illegal.

  ‘Well?’ demanded Lora.

  Luke shook his head slowly from side to side. ‘I can’t go to the police yet,’ he said quietly.

  She stood.’Then I’ll go!’

  ‘No!’ he yelled. ‘Then a little more quietly: ‘No.’

  ‘When then?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  She stared at him for a while. ‘Well, let me know when you’re ready,’ she sneered, before picking up her clothes and stomping up the beach. When she got to the path, she turned and pointed to the snorkelling gear. ‘You’d better return all that stuff to the shed, or we’ll get charged for it.’ After that, she disappeared into the resort, leaving Luke wondering how one of the best afternoons ever had so suddenly turned bad.

  Andy was using the shower when Luke returned to his room. Laid out on the
bed were some clean clothes. It looked like he was getting dressed to go somewhere.

  He was, as he informed Luke when he exited the shower. ‘I’m going to the bar to keep an eye on that Cheeta. Don’t want him drinking too much before we go spotlighting.’

  ‘Are you coming, too?’ asked Luke.

  ‘Too right! I’m not letting him take people out onto that creek without someone keeping an eye on him. You never know what he’ll do.’

  Luke thought for a moment. ‘Is that the creek where Crazy Hazel’s got her nest?’

  ‘It is, but we won’t be going anywhere near there. It’s best to let her be. She’s crazy enough without humans upsetting her more.’ Then Andy saw his disappointment. ‘But I might be able to find you an old nest. Will that suit you?’

  Luke said that it would, but really he wanted to see one that was being guarded by the mother, and, if Crazy Hazel was the only mother looking after a nest at this time, then that’s who he wanted to see.

  While the others were in the bar, Luke went to the computers to see if the telephone line had been repaired. Obviously it had, because all but one of the computers were in use. Luke looked around the room, wondering which of the users would end up suffering because they’d used their credit card to get onto the computer. Again he felt like warning them, but instead resolved to do something about it. An email to Brian at the bank in New Zealand was the thing to do: find out the name of the police officer who had been working the case in Cairns. That wouldn’t be giving anything away that might upset Ham, and it might stop Lora from being angry with him.

  He located Brian’s email address and created a message suggesting that he had some information that might interest the Cairns police. Could Brian give a contact? He sent it, thinking that there would probably be an answer in the morning. Then he’d have to sort out what to do with it. Sometime within the next twenty-four hours he would need to have another talk with his father, one that would sort things out for good.

  Chapter 22

  Lora and Luke were sitting on the back of Chizza’s glorious truck. Behind was a massive ten-metre boat, almost as new as the vehicle. In front were Chizza, Ham, Beth and Andy.

  Beth was quizzing Andy about crocodiles and what they would see. Unfortunately, only snippets of the answers could be heard from the back, and Luke had to imagine half of what was being said. He gathered that they were likely to see more crocs at night than in the daytime, as that was their preferred feeding time. Also, at this time of the year, they went into the water to maintain body temperature during the cooler hours. In the years before crocs were protected, spotlighting had been one of the main ways of hunting them down.

  Lora must have heard this last part, for she nudged Luke and said, ‘At least there won’t be a gun around this time for you to shoot me.’

  ‘I didn’t shoot you last time,’ replied Luke, pretending to be upset by her accusation. Actually, he was thrilled that she was even talking to him.

  She gave him another nudge. ‘Not because you didn’t try.’

  ‘So long as we stop Beth from driving the boat, we’ll be all right.’

  Lora giggled. ‘If she got the chance to drive, she’d tip Chizza out. She’s real mad at him for stealing her money.’

  Luke looked at her sharply. ‘Did you tell her?’

  ‘Of course!’

  ‘Everything?’

  Lora gave a little nod. ‘I was so mad at you, I wanted her to go to the police or at least talk to Ham. She said it was probably best to wait. That you must have a good reason for holding off.’

  After processing this, Luke told her about his email to Brian.

  ‘Good!’ she said. ‘So we can contact the police tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes,’ replied Luke. ‘After I’ve had a talk to Ham.’

  Soon afterwards, they turned off the main road onto a gravel track which bounced them around too much to talk. For a couple of kilometres they travelled parallel to the creek, getting glimpses of the water through the mangroves. To Luke it looked more like a wide river than a creek.

  Eventually, they reached a spot with a gap through the trees just wide enough to launch the boat. Even then it was tricky getting into the water, as the tide had exposed a strip of mudflat. Chizza’s truck ended up splattered with great dollops of mud.

  It was dark by the time the motor was started and they began cruising downstream. The only light was a single small bulb that lit the wheel area.

  ‘You better keep to the side,’ suggested Andy. ‘There are sandbanks in the middle around here.’

  ‘I have done this many times,’ replied Chizza. ‘I never get stuck before.’

  ‘You’d be better off going upstream—that’s where the crocs will be.’

  ‘They are down here as well. I have seen them.’

  ‘Just trying to help,’ said Andy. ‘I know this creek better than you.’

  ‘Nice boat,’ put in Beth.

  ‘Thank you,’ replied Chizza, happy for the change in topic.

  ‘Must’ve cost more than twenty thousand dollars.’

  Chizza gave her a puzzled look. ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Oh,’ said Beth, sweetly, ‘it was just a figure that came into my head.’

  ‘It cost eighty thousand dollars,’ said Chizza.

  ‘Oooo!’ said Beth, as if impressed. ‘That’s four lots of twenty thousand dollars. That’s a lot of work on computers. You have been busy, haven’t you?’

  Luke felt a pit form in his stomach. Next thing she’d be accusing the man outright. This was no place for a showdown, not if there were crocodiles out there.

  Ham must have been getting worried, too, for he broke in: ‘Time to get the spotlight out, eh, Chizza?’

  Chizza studied Beth for a few seconds, before saying, ‘Yes. Let us see what we can see.’

  Ham opened a locker, removed the spotlight, and began to mount it on a support near the wheel. Meanwhile, Chizza opened another locker and removed a rifle, which he placed on a shelf within arm’s reach.

  Lora saw it and gave a little gasp.

  ‘You won’t need that thing,’ said Andy, slowly.

  ‘I hope not,’ replied Chizza, just as slowly. ‘But it is better to be prepared, do you not think?’

  Andy didn’t get the chance to reply before the spotlight came on, blinding them all.

  ‘Sorry!’ said Ham, swinging the beam around onto the water.

  Immediately all eyes followed the beam, searching for the first hint of a red reflection. Ham scanned the beam across the water, towards the mangroves which lined the creek in a wall of roots and branches.

  There was nothing. No reflection, no dark shapes, no movement. Then the light caught something. It was in the water, drifting along like a log. Chizza eased the boat closer until it was right alongside, and they could see it in detail. It was just what it looked like—a log.

  Shortly afterwards, they got to the mouth of the river where Andy said, ‘I told you we should’ve gone upstream.’

  Chizza suddenly stepped away from the wheel. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘you take the thing since you know so much. You find us the crocodiles.’

  ‘OK,’ said Andy, with a satisfied smile. ‘Thanks for the offer, mate.’

  He spun the wheel, executing a smooth U-turn. When they were back on a straight path, he said, ‘The crocs’ll be further upstream, because that’ll be where the tucker is.’

  ‘What would they feed on at night?’ asked Beth.

  ‘Fish mostly. Barra, bream, grunters, tarpon, you name it. There’s a lot of fish in these estuaries.’

  ‘What about kangaroos and wallabies?’ asked Luke, who had visions of crocodiles dragging big animals into the water.

  ‘Not in the mangroves. Freshies might take animals when they come to the water to drink. But the salties around here don’t get any chance at that.’

  ‘Don’t they take anything from the land?’

  ‘Yeah—crabs, birds, rats, injured flying foxes, maybe eve
n a bandicoot.’

  ‘Humans?’ suggested Lora.

  ‘Geez, mate,’ said Andy, shaking his head, ‘the only thing you tourists seem to be interested in is man-eating crocodiles! Sure, a big one will attack a human if somebody’s crazy enough to move into their territory. But humans are not part of their regular diet. Same thing goes for cattle. You’ve got to remember that crocs were here a long time before we were. They were around before there were any mammals. They survived for millions of years on fish, birds and other reptiles, and they can survive on them still.’ He considered that for a few seconds, before adding, ‘That’s as long as we leave enough of those things around. If we cut down the rainforest, or pollute the waters with mining, then we destroy their food sources. That’s when you’re likely to see the crocs change their behaviour. But around here, if people are sensible, then they’re not a problem.’

  As everyone thought about this, the boat cruised past the launching place, heading into the higher reaches of the estuary.

  Andy throttled the engine back until it was quietly ticking over. Ham resumed scanning with the spotlight. Straightaway they got a response: two red lights shining out of a bulge in the water. Andy turned off the engine and let the boat drift by the creature.

  Luke looked at his first crocodile viewed without bars, and was disappointed. There was little to see except for the two eyes. And it was small, almost tiny compared with the ones he’d seen in the tropical zoo. There was no way that this thing could attack a human, or even a bandicoot.

  As if reading his thoughts, Andy said, ‘That’s about the usual size of croc you see at nights. There are many more small ones than giants. In the middle of the day, the little ones can hide amongst the mangrove roots and you only see the big ones. Tourists get the idea that all crocs are big—they aren’t. It takes about fifty years to grow to five metres.’

  Andy restarted the motor. From there on, they saw plenty more crocodiles, all of them small. Then they passed a tree, larger than the others, with branches forming an umbrella over the water. Roosting in the branches were twenty or so large white birds.

  ‘Egrets,’ said Andy. ‘During the day you see them feeding all around this estuary.’