Sapphire Falls

by Fleur McDonald

  ‘Everyone else thinks I should sell. It would be much easier than facing disasters every day.’ She hiccupped and tried to sit up, only to let out a moan and clutch at her stomach. ‘It hurts,’ she wailed. Meita jumped to her feet and whined loudly, trying to lick Fiona’s face.

  ‘Rob!’ called Kim, pushing Meita from the couch. ‘Rob! There’s something wrong with the baby!’

  Rob clattered noisily down the hall, but as soon as he came into the room, he acted calm and in control. ‘Okay, where is it hurting?’ He put his hand on Fiona’s stomach. ‘Hell,’ he muttered. To Kim he said, ‘Get on the phone and find out where the ambulance is.’ He turned his face away from Fiona and whispered, ‘I think she’s going into premature labour.’

  Kim’s eyes widened and she scrambled to dial the emergency number. As soon as there was a response, she barked down the line at the operator.

  ‘How far along are you, Fiona?’ Rob asked in a soothing voice.

  ‘Five and a bit months.’

  ‘Okay, you need to listen to me and do exactly what I say. Shut your eyes and concentrate on the pressure of my hand. Breathe in and out. Slowly. That’s right. This is going to help relax you, which is going to help the baby.’

  ‘What’s wrong with the baby?’ Her eyes were wide with fear. ‘I can’t lose him! He’s my piece of Charlie.’

  ‘Shh, shh, that’s not going to happen. Shut your eyes and listen to my voice.’ He talked slowly to her until Kim suddenly looked up and ran to the window. She pointed outside.

  They could finally hear the siren. Kim pointed at Meita and looked enquiringly at Rob.

  ‘I’ll take her with me,’ he whispered.

  Dave hung up the phone and turned to Jack. ‘There’s an emergency at Charona. I need to go now. I want you to get on the phone and do some legwork.

  ‘Find out about that company that’s buying all the land. Do searches on everyone you can think of who could want to hurt Fiona. This is personal. They’ve taken Charlie’s ashes.’

  Jack looked taken aback for a moment. Then, seeming to give himself a mental shake, he said, ‘On it.’

  Dave hustled out to the car and put the mobile light on the roof. Hooking it up to the battery, he made sure it was spinning and flashing before he took off in a spray of gravel.

  As he stared into the dirty water of the trough, Dave’s brain raced through all the possibilities, but he kept coming back to the same conclusion: someone wanted Fiona’s land so badly he was trying to scare her off it.

  He needed to speak to Ian Tonkin.

  Before that, he had to fingerprint the house, take photos, see if anything was out of place. That was going to be difficult to work out, because Fiona wasn’t going to be in any fit state to answer questions for a little while.

  Then he stopped.

  Of course! There was the camera. He called Jack.

  ‘Jack, have you had time to check the SD card we took out from Charona when we were here last?’

  ‘Not yet, I’ve been following up the company.’

  ‘Anything?’

  ‘No. The reason I can’t find the directors through a Google search is that there isn’t any name attached to the company. The trading name is BJL Holdings, but there are no individual names.

  ‘The search has revealed that they own fifty thousand acres in Victoria’s grain-growing country and another twenty in New South Wales. The properties have managers on them.’

  ‘Where’s HQ?’

  ‘Melbourne.’

  ‘Website?’

  ‘No. They fly under the radar. No top prices in farming magazines, no write-ups about good farming practices. You google them and there’s basically no information on them at all.’

  ‘That’s strange for a business that size,’ Dave observed. ‘What about employees? Any names?’

  ‘I’ve got Leah Kent listed as a CEO. I did an IMS search on her and didn’t come across any connections between her and any of the people we have on our list.’

  ‘Who do we have on our list?’ Dave mused. Now that Fiona was in the safe hands of the ambo drivers, he could think a little more clearly. ‘Ian Tonkin seems obvious, since he’s the real estate agent. Charlie Forrest—have you done a search on him?’

  ‘Yeah, but I haven’t turned up more than you did.’

  Dave scratched his jaw.

  ‘You know, it’s got to have something to do with this company. But who is the link? And how? Search everyone! Bounter, Tonkin, this Leah, whoever. Geoff. Hell, search Fiona! She might hold the link and doesn’t realise it. Someone here holds the key.’

  ‘Sure, I’ll do it straightaway.’

  ‘Oh and throw in Rob Cameron, Damien MacKenzie and Mark Simmons for good measure. Find out which shearers came onto Charona. But check that camera footage first.’

  ‘Sure thing. Oh and, boss?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Andy rang and said to tell you thanks for the heads-up on the dates. He found a pattern.’

  ‘Did he? That’s great news! What was it?’

  ‘All the attacks took place on a date that had the number four in it.’

  ‘Well, good to know that one case is on the way to being solved.’ He was pleased. If Andy had a breakthrough, it might show him how slow and methodical work got results. Even if the case was urgent like this one, slow and steady nearly always got the bad guys.

  ‘Righto, Jack, I’ll leave you to it. Make sure you stay in touch. Not sure when I’ll be back.’

  ‘I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.’

  ‘Good man.’

  Chapter 31

  The hospital was quiet except for the monitors that beeped around Fiona as she lay sleeping.

  Carly sat in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her head drooping every time she fell asleep, before she’d wake with a jerk.

  She wriggled in the chair to get comfortable, then decided it was a waste of time. Getting up, she went to the window and looked out over the main street. The sun was sinking and she could tell by the shimmer in the air that the dew had started to settle. It would be cold out there and Carly longed to go outside to clear her head. She hadn’t left Fiona’s side since she was brought into the hospital at eleven that morning.

  A flock of galahs swooped and glided low between the buildings. Carly could imagine the sound of their screeches and the swish of their wings.

  Two cars backed out of the local engineering business as it shut down for the night. In half an hour it would be dark, the glow of dusk sitting on the edge of the horizon. As she watched, the streetlights flickered on.

  Outside the hospital, everything appeared normal. Life seemed to go on. The rest of the world didn’t know she’d almost lost her daughter and grandchild today.

  Thank goodness for Scott, she thought.

  Sighing, she looked back at her sleeping daughter. Under the white sheets she looked so small and fragile. The IV lines were taped to the back of her hand and made resting seem uncomfortable.

  A nurse popped her head in and surveyed the scene. Carly knew that everything looked much more peaceful than it had five hours ago. The nurse smiled briefly at Carly, then disappeared silently down the hall.

  A few moments later there was another visitor.

  ‘How are you?’ Kim was standing in the doorway holding out a cup of coffee.

  Carly went over to her and took it gratefully. ‘Okay,’ she answered with a warm smile.

  ‘Can I get you anything else?’

  She shook her head. ‘I can’t think of anything, thank you.’

  Kim came into the room and looked down at Fiona. ‘Well, she’s given us all a big enough scare for the time being, don’t you think?’

  ‘I felt so helpless. It’s not a nice feeling watching your own flesh and blood rushed into Emergency and knowing there isn’t a skerrick you can do to help her,’ Carly agreed, taking a sip of the coffee.

  ‘She’s very special, your daughter,’ Kim said. ‘Sh
e has so much courage and determination. That’s hard to come by these days.’

  Carly sat down again. ‘I never saw her as a farmer, but she’s proved me wrong in every way. She’s stuck at it, even when things got so tough. I can’t even tell you what I think about the person who has done this to her.’

  Kim’s beautiful face hardened. ‘I’ve learned over time that there’s no point in trying to explain human nature. Some people love to love and others love to hate. That’s all there is to it.’

  A gentle knock at the door sounded and both women looked around to see Jo holding a bunch of flowers.

  ‘Jo, come in.’ Carly motioned to her. ‘How are you, love? Aren’t they beautiful?’

  Handing the flowers to Carly, Jo said, ‘I’ve only just heard. How is she?’

  ‘She’s okay. For the moment.’ Carly stopped, taking a breath as her throat suddenly tightened. ‘Scott managed to stop the labour, but she won’t be allowed out for a while. Her blood pressure was through the roof, but I don’t suppose that was surprising.’

  ‘What started it?’

  ‘Extreme stress. Scott explained that it can bring on early labour. And she’s been through that the whole time she’s been pregnant. The ashes being stolen was just too much.’

  ‘Why would anyone do this to her?’ Jo cried, unable to hide her distress.

  The noise caused Fiona to move and mumble softly. All three women rushed to her side, Carly and Kim reaching for her hands.

  They watched, ready to talk to her, to comfort and reassure her, but Fiona rolled over and went back to sleep.

  A cough sounded at the door. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Rob! How nice of you to come by,’ Kim said quietly, going over to give him a hug. ‘Do you know everyone?’

  ‘Ah, you’re the young man who put the locks on her doors. I really appreciate you doing that,’ Carly said. ‘I’m Carly, Fiona’s mum.’ She held out her hand. ‘Thank you for everything you did for Fiona this morning. Kim said you were great.’

  ‘It was nothing. How is she?’

  Carly softly repeated the details she had given the others. ‘She’s a lucky girl because she’ll be fine in the long run. Just needs quite a bit of rest and to remain in a calm, stress-free environment.’

  ‘It will be a miracle if someone manages to make her relax,’ Jo said with a wry smile. She focused on Rob. ‘Did you find out anything about the sheep?’

  ‘Yeah, I did. The post-mortem showed a trace-element poisoning. After Fee left in the ambulance today, I took samples of the water from the trough, but I’ll be surprised if they uncover anything. The water refills every time the sheep drink from it. If there is anything found, it will be too diluted to prove there was ever a toxic amount in there.’

  Hesitantly, Rob handed Carly a bunch of wildflowers. ‘I found these growing in the paddock I was taking the samples from. I thought Fee might like a bit of Charona with her.’

  Carly reached out and took them silently, so touched by his thoughtfulness that she was unable to verbalise it.

  ‘That’s a beautiful sentiment, Rob. Fee will love them when she wakes up,’ Kim filled the gap. ‘I’ll find a vase in a little while.’

  ‘Well, it’s a regular party in here,’ Dave said as he walked in. ‘How’s everyone holding up?’

  The women hushed him.

  ‘Sorry,’ whispered Dave.

  ‘We’re fine, thanks,’ Carly answered.

  ‘Hello, you,’ Kim said, going over to kiss him.

  ‘Rob, got a sec?’ Dave asked, motioning him outside.

  Out on the street, the two men leaned against the wall of the hospital.

  ‘What did you find out?’ Dave asked.

  ‘Whoever has done this is extremely clever,’ Rob answered, kicking at the pavement with his boot.

  ‘Okay, explain to me what’s happened.’

  ‘Right, as I’ve already told you, they died from too much selenium. It’s a trace element the body needs, but in high doses it’s toxic. There’s only one way to administer it and that’s orally. But it comes in two different forms. One is in a slow-release capsule that can be placed down the sheep’s throat so it sits in the stomach. It’s very effective. Lasts for about two years. The other is a liquid that you can drench the animal with—again it goes down the throat, but it’s a burst of it that only lasts a certain amount of time, then you have to redo it if the levels are low.

  ‘The autopsy I performed on the last ewe to die, which was still alive when I arrived at the farm, didn’t show a capsule in the stomach, therefore it had to have been given as a drench.

  ‘Now, unless whoever did this mustered the paddock in the middle of the night and drenched forty ewes with an overdose, they would’ve had to have given it to the sheep in a natural form.’

  ‘That’s where the trough comes into it?’

  ‘Yeah. Ewes that are milking get thirsty, the same way breastfeeding women do. They’re drinking even when it’s cold. It’s the perfect way to knock off a few sheep, not the whole mob, because the trough …’

  ‘Refills as soon as they start drinking, so it will dilute what’s been put in there. And it will only be the first few who get a gutful,’ Dave finished.

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘Thanks, mate. When will you get your samples back?’

  ‘Might take a week or so.’

  ‘Let me know, okay? If you can hurry them up, that would be great.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ Rob started across the car park to where his van was parked. ‘Got any ideas?’ he called over his shoulder.

  ‘Not yet, but I will have,’ Dave made it sound like a promise, and it was.

  Rob sat in his car and looked over at the hospital. He felt a surge of affection for Fee. He’d known her, at a distance, for the five years he’d been stationed at Booleroo. What she’d been through in the last five months was beyond what anyone should have to bear.

  But he knew better. Life always seems to throw what it wants at you—you don’t get a say. If Rob had had one, he wouldn’t have chosen to have cancer at ten, or lose his dad when he was only twelve, so soon after his own battle. If anyone could understand what Fiona was feeling—not what she was going through, because every experience was different—it was him.

  He’d found it hard to see the big picture—why the cancer had struck him and why he would never have children because of it. Why he’d been deprived of a dad for most of his life.

  So much time had passed since then, and he now understood that he’d had to go through those experiences to become the person he was today. He embraced what he’d been through.

  Getting out his mobile phone, he sent Fiona a text. She’d get it when she was well enough.

  You’re stronger than anything you’re afraid of. Take time to feel okay. We’ll all still be here for you.

  Carly rubbed her eyes and sat back down in the chair she had been dozing in before everyone had turned up. She shouldn’t be tired, but the day had been so emotionally draining, she wanted to curl up and go to sleep.

  ‘I’ll sit here with her, while you go home and have a rest, Carly,’ Jo offered.

  ‘I know you would, Jo, thanks. But I don’t want to leave her. I might lose her if I do.’

  ‘You know I won’t let that happen,’ Scott said, his stethoscope in his hand, ready to check on Fiona.

  ‘Yes, I do know that,’ Carly said gratefully.

  ‘But you need a rest, otherwise I’m going to have two patients to deal with.’

  ‘How can I leave her?’

  Scott raised his eyebrows. ‘Do you really think I would suggest you have a sleep, in a bed, if I thought she was in any danger?’

  Carly smiled and leaned her cheek against his arm. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t.’

  ‘Exactly. So let Jo sit here for a couple of hours while you have a shower and a sleep and begin to feel half human again. If there’s any change, at least you’ll be with the one person who is going to know first.’


  ‘Is that right? And what makes you think I’m going to your place?’ she said, trying to infuse some humour into the heavy atmosphere.

  ‘I just do.’ He winked at her, then leaned over and listened to Fiona’s heartbeat before shifting the stethoscope to her stomach.

  He looked at her chart and checked the drip going into her arm.

  ‘She’ll be a bit more awake tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Did you want me to ask the nurses to bring in a fold up bed for you when you come back?’

  ‘That would be great,’ Carly replied, getting up. ‘Are you sure you’ll be okay, Jo?’

  Jo nodded, her hair falling around her face. ‘I’ll just sit and watch a bit of TV. If she wakes up, there’s someone here, and if she doesn’t, it won’t matter.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Jo waited until everyone had left the hospital before climbing onto the bed with Fiona. She put her arm over her stomach and snuggled against her body.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.

  The softly beeping monitor kept up its continuous noise, but there was no movement from Fiona.

  Jo settled her open hand on her friend’s stomach. ‘How’re you going in there, little one?’ she asked. ‘Don’t you be coming out to meet us before you’re supposed to. Arriving early is always a bit rude. Just like arriving late. On time is good.’ She was rewarded with a tiny kick. Jo closed her eyes and smiled, then she grimaced.

  Her shoulders were so sore and bruised. He’d tied her hands up over her head this time, to the bedhead. Not gently and with care as he’d done in the past, but tightly. After a while her shoulders had started to ache and pull and she’d asked him to undo her, but he hadn’t.

  Jo didn’t think he’d even heard her. He’d been so intent on what he was doing; her voice hadn’t filtered through to him.

  About twenty minutes too late, he’d untied her. By then her arms were burning from being up for so long.