Daintree

by Annie Seaton

  ‘Are you all right, Emma?’

  ‘I’m fine.’ She turned to Jeremy. ‘Take me over to George.’

  ‘It’s an old place. Probably the wiring.’ Craig’s face was in the shadows. ‘I told you to get it checked.’

  ‘What wiring? What the hell are you talking about?’ Emma took a step back but Craig took her arm in a firm grip.

  ‘Let her go.’ Jeremy’s voice was cold. Emma gave him a warning look. She didn’t want Craig to know they were on to him.

  He dropped her arm. ‘That night when I stayed over—’ he stared coldly at Jeremy ‘—one of your power points caught fire. Surely you remember that?’

  Emma closed her mouth and narrowed her eyes. Craig was lying through his teeth; he’d never once been in her house at night. They’d never had that conversation. She turned her back to the policeman and stepped into the punt.

  ‘I want to get to George.’

  ‘We’ll come over after you.’ One of the paramedics pushed the punt away from the bank as Jeremy jumped in behind her. Emma sat with her arms wrapped around her stomach. Smoke swirled over the water; the acrid smell caught in her throat and made her eyes water. She leaned forward, disbelief flooding through her as she watched the flames licking around the roof of her home.

  Jeremy pulled the punt quickly across the narrow river. ‘Hang in there, Em.’ He reached over in the flickering light with his free hand and squeezed her shoulder as she sat on the narrow wooden seat. The concern in his voice brought the pricking of unshed tears to her eyes and she nodded mutely.

  Voices reached them, interspersed with Bowser’s barks. Two of George’s neighbours were waiting for them as the punt scraped onto the ramp.

  ‘George!’ One of them yelled. ‘It’s all right. Doctor Emma’s here. She’s not in there!’

  The tears finally sprang from Emma’s eyes as she jumped out. Ignoring the burning house, she ran across to George. She crouched down beside him. His face was blackened by smoke and he was holding tightly onto Bowser’s collar. Torchlight played across his face and she could see the wet tracks where tears had run down his cheeks.

  She put her arm around his neck and pulled him close. He smelled of smoke and his rough skin was scratchy against her face. ‘Oh, my god, George. Are you hurt?’

  ‘I thought you were in there, Em. I couldn’t get the door open and then the roof crashed in.’

  ‘How did you get Bowser?’

  ‘The back door came open when the roof caved in and he shot out.’ He held the little dog out to her. ‘His tail’s singed but apart from that he was a lucky little fellow.’

  Emma took Bowser and hugged him to her chest as he tried to lick her face. ‘Oh, Bowsie, are you all right?’

  George’s voice broke again. ‘I thought you were inside.’

  ‘I’m okay.’ She held her voice steady, trying not to think of the destruction in front of them. Almost everything she owned was inside her cottage. ‘The ambos are coming across now. I think they need to take a look at you.’

  ‘I’m okay. Just a bit of a blister on my hand when I grabbed the door handle.’ He jutted his chin out. ‘They’ll just want to take me to that damn hospital again and I ain’t going.’

  Emma leaned back and held Bowser to her, assessing George without making it too obvious. His right hand was wrapped in a shirt and he held it against his bare chest.

  ‘I’ll see if I can get you a blanket or something. Although I don’t know where.’ She looked up at Jeremy, and gratitude filled her as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and tucked it around the older man’s shoulders.

  ‘Thank you.’ She pushed herself to her feet and leaned into Jeremy as his arm went around her. ‘You’re making a habit of giving your shirts to George.’ Her voice broke and Jeremy pulled her closer.

  She blinked at the surreal scene in front of her. The firemen had come across in the punt and had joined her neighbours as they passed bucket after bucket of river water along the human chain. There was nothing more they could do. The river was too wide for their hoses to reach from the fire engine parked on the other side.

  Jeremy held her close. ‘Do you really think it was a wiring issue?’

  ‘No.’ Emma’s temper fired. ‘Craig’s never even been to my place at night. I spent one night at his place, which I’ve regretted every day since, but that was all.’

  Jeremy’s arms relaxed a little as he held her and she watched Craig across the river. He stood apart from the small crowd looking at the burning house.

  ‘There’s not much that can be done. I don’t think there’s much of anything left around here.’ Jeremy’s calm voice soothed her a little. She followed his gaze as it moved to the house as another piece of the roof crashed to the ground.

  ‘It’s all right. Everyone’s okay. Apart from my poor frogs.’ She pursed her lips together as her knees trembled. There would be time to fall to pieces later. She wouldn’t think of all of her personal possessions that had gone up in smoke. Not now. ‘The chooks are far enough away and . . . no . . . nobody’s been hurt.’

  George’s querulous voice reached her and she caught the eye of the paramedic leaning over him. ‘No. Bugger off. Doctor Em can take a look at me.’

  ‘It’s okay, Tony. I’ll take a look at him myself.’

  Tony passed them a blanket and George handed Jeremy’s shirt back.

  *

  Two hours later, all that remained of Emma’s house was a pile of smouldering embers. They were sitting on the back verandah of George’s house across the river, watching the firemen put tape around the fence line. Despite the warm night, and the blanket wrapped around her, Emma was cold.

  ‘There’ll be an investigation.’ She glanced at Jeremy.

  ‘What? They think some bastard lit the fire?’ George’s voice was still a bit shaky.

  ‘The RFS guy said it’s routine.’ She swallowed. If it hadn’t been for Jeremy, she would have been in the house when the fire started. The cold spread through her body and she started to shake.

  Jeremy hadn’t left her side and he tucked the blanket more tightly around her. ‘We need to find you a bed so you can get some sleep.’

  ‘George, you look knackered too,’ he said.

  Jeremy left his hand on her shoulder and she reached up and squeezed it. He had examined George and allayed her fears. His blood pressure was fine, and Jeremy had tended to the burns on his hands. Emma had been trembling too much to be any use.

  A shaky smile crossed her lips. ‘I guess the clinic’s going to be home for a while. At least I have some clothes there, and my laptop, and I keep all my personal documents in the safe there.’

  ‘No. I’ll take you back to my place. We’ll pick up some food in the morning.’ Jeremy took her hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘Thanks for the tea and toast, George. We were actually on our way to Emma’s for dinner when we saw the fire.’

  ‘A bit late for dinner.’ George narrowed his eyes and looked down at their entwined fingers. His lips stretched in a wide grin. ‘’bout time you had someone else to look out for you, Doctor Em. I’m getting a bit sick of bailing you out of trouble.’

  ‘You do look after me very well. Now you get some sleep and I’ll see you soon.’ Emma bent and brushed her lips across his unshaven cheek. ‘And thank you for looking after Bowser for me. And for saving his life.’

  ‘Never mind about that. You make sure you let your mum know about the fire too. You don’t want her reading about it in the paper.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  Emma leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes as they drove back to Dalrymple. The dark paddocks whizzed past and the river was black and dark. The sky had clouded over and the moon appeared briefly through the scudding clouds. Thoughts churned through her mind and a cold vice of fear clutched her chest. Seeing Craig there had unsettled her. His bizarre comment about the power point had unsettled her. It was too much of a coincidence.


  ‘Try to get some rest, Em. I can hear you thinking from here.’ Jeremy reached over and touched her hand.

  ‘How did Craig know about the fire?’ she said.

  ‘I guess it would have been on the police radio.’ Jeremy glanced at her. ‘I do find it a bit suspicious in light of everything else.’ Another shiver went through Emma. She couldn’t get warm.

  She turned to look at Jeremy. His profile was in darkness, lit only by the instruments on the dash, and she couldn’t see his expression but the tone of his voice said it all.

  ‘Maybe it was the wiring. Or maybe it was attempted murder.’

  Chapter 33

  Monday morning

  The old James house, Dalrymple Gorge Road

  Waking up in Jeremy’s arms helped Emma calm herself, and by the time they’d showered and were getting ready to head to town, she was feeling calmer.

  She zipped up the shorts she’d worn all day yesterday and looked down ruefully at the T-shirt that still held an aroma of smoke.

  ‘I’m going to have to do some clothes shopping in town. I’ve only got work clothes at the clinic. But first, I’m going to call Troy. What time is it?’

  ‘Just after eight.’

  Emma pulled the number up on her phone and dialled the rainforest centre.

  The phone clicked over to a message. ‘The hours of the Rainforest Tourist Centre are nine am till—’

  Emma disconnected.

  ‘No luck?’ Jeremy held his hand out.

  ‘I’ll try from town.’

  ‘Okay. Em?’

  She looked up at him.

  His voice was hesitant. ‘How would you feel about staying here? At least until you get sorted. I hate the thought of you staying at the clinic.’

  ‘There are conditions.’ Emma let a smile cross her face.

  ‘Oh yeah?’

  ‘You get some groceries in, and buy a washing machine.’

  He tilted her chin and brushed a kiss across her lips. ‘Washing machine, fridge, television, Xbox—’ he looked at her innocently as she shook her head ‘—and a heap of other stuff is coming this afternoon. I’ve got a meeting at the hospital this morning I can’t get out of. The regional director of the Outreach Program is driving up from Cairns and then I’ll come back here while I wait for the delivery. What do you want to do?’

  ‘I want to go and see Wilma. And I’ll have to call Lily and get her to cancel my appointments.’ Emma was finding it hard to focus. ‘And I have to ring Mum.’

  ‘Ring your mum now. I’ll get the car out of the shed.’ Jeremy pulled her close again and she pressed her cheek against his chest. The cotton of his short-sleeved shirt was crisp against her skin.

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

  ‘What for?’ His words rumbled through his chest against her ear.

  ‘Just for being you.’ Emma reached up and pressed her lips against his. ‘You make me smile.’

  ‘Just as well.’ His mouth moved under hers.

  She stepped back when he pulled away and picked up his car keys.

  ‘But if we don’t leave soon, you’ll have to support me because I’ll be out of a job if I miss this meeting.’

  ‘What time is the meeting?’

  ‘Nine. But I want to go through my notes first. That was the plan for yesterday afternoon after you put my furniture together.’

  His cheeky grin sent a shaft of warmth heading low. ‘Get going, then. It’s only ten minutes to town.’ She waved him away and pulled out her phone. She pressed the shortcut to her mother’s number.

  ‘Emma! You must have read my mind.’ Her mother’s voice was brighter every time they spoke lately. Mum had had a tough enough time over the past few years and Emma was reluctant to give her a new reason to worry. ‘I was going to call you as soon as we finished breakfast.’ Her voice was more than bright; it was full of suppressed excitement.

  ‘We?’ Emma frowned. Who could possibly be there at this hour of the morning; it was early for visitors.

  ‘I had a surprise visitor last night and I was going to ring to see if you could put us up next weekend.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Your sister!’

  ‘Ellie? She’s over from the Territory?’ Guilt flooded through Emma. She’d been so preoccupied with everything, she hadn’t called either of her sisters for a couple of weeks. And she’d considered that if Ellie heard that Jeremy was back in her life, she’d have plenty to say about that. Emma had wanted to sort out her feelings without any input from her forthright sister.

  ‘No, not Ellie. Your baby sister!’

  ‘What? Dru’s home from Dubai?’ Emma’s eyes widened. She caught Jeremy’s gaze as he opened the screen door. He paused and raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Yes, Dru. She came knocking on the door last night and it was such a lovely surprise. I’ll put her on.’ Mum’s voice was full of excitement.

  ‘Mum—’ Before she could say why she’d called, the husky tones of her younger sister’s voice filled her ears.

  ‘Hey, Em.’

  ‘Dru. What a surprise.’ Emma swallowed as emotion clogged her throat. She’d thought the fire hadn’t left her too fragile, but now her voice shook as she tried to speak. ‘What . . . what . . . are you doing back in the country? And how long are you here for?’

  ‘Long story. I’m home for good.’

  ‘Really? But that’s wonderful.’ Emma brushed away the tears that filled her eyes.

  Bloody stupid, crying on the phone. When Jeremy’s arms went around her, she couldn’t hold back the sob that broke from her throat. She shook her head and put her hand over her mouth as tears rolled down her face.

  Jeremy took the phone from Emma’s trembling hand.

  ‘Hello? Em, are you there? You okay?’ The husky voice was anxious.

  ‘Hello, this is Jeremy Langford. Em’s just a bit upset. There’s been a bit of an incident.’

  Emma leaned against him as he explained to her sister about the fire, and reassured her that no one had been hurt.

  ‘Are you sure Emma is okay?’

  ‘Yes. She’s going to be okay. A bit of shock but she’s coping.’

  ‘We’ll drive up today.’ Her sister’s voice was full of concern.

  ‘How about we come down to Port Douglas tomorrow instead? I think it would do Emma good to get away. There’s been a fair bit going on here and it’s long past time for me to meet her family.’

  Emma smiled at him through her tears as he organised the visit.

  They drove into town and Jeremy parked out the front of the hospital. Emma waited as he locked the car and they walked into the hospital together. ‘I’m going to see Wilma and then I’ll wait for you in the staff room.’

  She’d braided her hair this morning. Light mauve shadows circled her eyes and her fair skin was paler than usual.

  ‘If you’re sure you’re okay?’ Jeremy stared at the gold flecks in her hazel eyes as a surge of need hit him square in the chest.

  ‘I’ll make this meeting a quick one. I don’t like leaving you.’ He reached for her hand. ‘See you soon?’

  Emma nodded and he watched as she walked down the corridor towards the stairs.

  He was still waiting for the director to arrive when Emma pushed open the door to his small office. Her brow was wrinkled in a frown and he jumped to his feet. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘I’m worried about Wilma.’ She lifted her hand to her face and it was trembling. ‘She’s had a bit of a setback, so they’re going to transfer her to Cairns this afternoon. She needs a few things from her place. Can you take me out there as soon as your meeting is done?’

  ‘Let’s go now.’ He reached over and picked up his keys.

  ‘But what about your meeting? Isn’t that guy flying up specially to meet with you?’

  ‘Yes, he is. But yours and Wilma’s wellbeing is way more important. I’ll call him. He can sightsee in Dalrymple for the morning.’

  ‘That’ll fill in ten minutes or so,�
� she said.

  He chuckled at her wry grin. ‘Come on, the quicker we get back, the more chance I’ve got of pacifying him.’ He pulled out his phone to postpone his meeting as he followed Emma to the car park.

  Chapter 34

  Monday morning

  Cape Tribulation Road

  A huge bank of cloud moved in from the Coral Sea as the vehicular ferry crossed the river. The wind was pushing against the tide and the crossing was rough as the ferry sliced through the rough waves.

  ‘Rain’s not far off,’ Clive called through the window. Emma acknowledged him with a wave.

  ‘Looks like it’s already raining further north.’ She pointed to the dark cloud mass blocking the view of the peaks ahead as they followed the main road. The wind increased and the trees above them swayed.

  ‘Wet season’s hitting with a vengeance today,’ Jeremy said. He switched the wipers on when the first drops hit the windscreen. ‘I’ve got to get used to these seasons. Reading about it is nothing like being here.’

  ‘Wait till February. That’s when the humidity kicks in.’ She reached over and touched his hand. ‘I can’t believe you postponed your meeting with the regional director.’

  ‘Priorities.’ Jeremy smiled as he squeezed her fingers.

  Emma pulled out her phone and tried the rainforest centre again. Finally the call was picked up and she asked for Troy, only to be told that he was unavailable. She left another message for him to call her urgently, frustrated that she’d been unable to speak to him.

  ‘I know he’s busy,’ she tapped her fingers against her leg, ‘but it’s making me so angry. I feel as though they’re just getting away with it.’

  ‘Don’t worry. We’ll get it sorted today. If needs be, we’ll drive back out to the centre this afternoon.’ Jeremy’s voice was calm.

  Inside the high vehicle Emma felt cocooned. The pounding of the rain on the roof of the car left them in their own isolated world and enhanced the intimacy.

  Her eyes lingered on Jeremy’s profile as he concentrated on the winding road. A couple of times he had to slow down to dodge fallen branches as the weather deteriorated. He frowned as he peered ahead. For the first time in so long, Emma felt safe.