Red Hot

by Cheryl Alldis

  Karl strode backwards and forwards several times. ‘Ya think there’s more planted? Is that what ya were doin’ under the saw bench? Lookin’ for more?’

  Digger nodded. ‘Me gut tells me there’s more!’

  ‘Shit Dig! C’mon, I’ll help.’

  They both searched through the wood. The last pile was huge logs that hadn’t yet been split.

  Panting and puffing, they slowly moved the heavy logs, one by one.

  ‘Strewth, Dig, he couldn’t put anythin’ under these, they’re too heavy for us. One bloke couldn’t move ‘em.’

  Digger wiped sweat from his brow. ‘He wouldn’t have ta, he could slide it in. Getting it out’s a bit different.’ He knew his gut feeling was going to pay off.

  ‘Hand me that screwdriver over there, mate.’

  He got down on his hands and sniffed around, then he pushed the screwdriver as far under the very bottom log as he could. Carefully, he moved it around, then slowly brought it back out along with another smouldering mosquito coil!

  Karl stood looking at it. He was furious and stunned. ‘Good grief, Dig! There’da been a helluva mess here later! I hate ta think what coulda happened. Shit, the shed and the whole wood pile! Thank God ya kicked those tyres… thank God for your instincts too!’

  ‘Well, now we know how he’s settin’ the bloody fires! We have’ta get the cops out here right away. Fuckin clever bastard ta think of usin’ coils. We’ll get him though… We’ll get him.’

  Karl rubbed his eyes. He was damn tired but his brain was working overtime now. Working all day and patrolling the properties at night was catching up with him.

  ‘Dig, this means he can set the fire during the bloody day, knowin’ he’s got hours before it goes up! He has to live ‘round here, shit! He could be talkin’ to us every day, even workin near us, worse still with us! We wouldn’t be any the friggin’ wiser! All we know so far is it looks like he’s a local bloke, and that’s just guessin’!’ Karl rubbed his face furiously, the frustration eating at him.

  Sitting his bum heavily on a log, Digger gave in to exhaustion. Rubbing his eyes and breathing out noisily, he said, ‘We’re gonna have ta patrol night and day, mate. We’ve got no damn choice.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. Look, we’ll ring the cops, an’ while we’re waitin’ for ‘em, we’ll get Sam, Arthur and the boys here. We have’ta get this underway. Better get holda Nat an’ Rex too.’

  Karl’s mind was spinning.

  ‘Good idea,’ Digger agreed. This meetin’ the cops want is gonna be a beauty! They’re gonna have’ta do more than they have been now we’ve found these! The valley blokes are gonna be even more riled up. Everyone’s worn to a frazzle and pissed off.’

  ‘Look, Dig, I don’t think we should take any chances with this bloke. Most of the blokes are keepin’ loaded shotguns beside them at night. I reckon we should arm ourselves durin’ the day as well! We dunno who he is, or what he might try an’ do when we do corner him!’

  ‘Karl, you’re spot on. That fire he was plannin’ here today, it had the potential to burn all of Kia Ora if it had of taken off. That bloody terrifies me. The women are gonna have to be very damn careful. More so than ever; now we know he’s sneakin’ ‘round in daylight. Mate, after the Harry incident, it’s become very ugly. This bloke’s capable of anythin’.’

  Karl agreed. ‘C’mon, he’s gotta be stopped one way or another. We’ll go up an’ ring the cops now and tell ‘em what ya found here.’

  ***

  The hall was packed with locals, both men and women. The atmosphere was very tense from the word go. News had spread rapidly about Digger finding the mosquito coils and the locals were vying for blood!

  ‘I tell ya, we dunno who we’re talkin’ to anymore.’ Old Bob Johnson was talking to his neighbour and friend, Sid Jackson. Bob had left his wife home, armed with his shotgun, not wanting to risk leaving her defenceless.

  ‘Edna’s had enough. She jumps at every little noise and won’t stay in the house unless everythin’s locked up tight!’

  ‘Can’t say I blame her. Hell, now we know how the mongrel’s lightin’ the fires, it means he could be standin’ here with us and we wouldn’t know it. Meantime, he’s already been and set a fire somewhere and we’re all none the wiser,’ Sid said. ‘It fair makes me blood boil ta think one of us valley blokes could stoop to doin’ somethin’ so low,’ he added.

  ‘Yeah, Sid, it’s a bloody low act alright. Can’t say I feel comfortable not bein’ able to trust any of the blokes I know, but someone here in the valley has lost their marbles and the sooner we get ‘em the bloody better. It’s a sad day when ya have ta think twice before ya can talk with ya mates!’

  The crowd was becoming rowdy and when someone shouted that the cops had finally arrived, they all surged towards the front of the hall, each trying to have their say as Bennett and Simpson pushed their way towards the stage steps.

  It took Keith Brewster and several constables to bring them under control before the detectives were able to speak.

  Detective Bennett raised his hand for quiet and waited until the murmur of voices at the back of the crowd diminished before he spoke.

  ‘We know you’re all frustrated and angry that the firebug is still on the loose.’ A few shouts from within the crowd responded to this comment. Ignoring them, Bennett continued. ‘However, until now we have had absolutely no clues to work with.’ He held up his hand again to shush them. ‘I’m sure you’re all well aware by now that mosquito coils were found by Digger. They had been planted under a stack of tyres and boxes, but also amongst sawdust at the wood heap, and left to smoulder. Eventually, they would have caught on and there would have been another major fire.

  It is obvious that this is the method the firebug is using, hence enabling him to get away undetected.’

  ‘Well, what ya gonna do about it?’ A voice shouted from the centre of the crowd. ‘Ya can stand there talkin’ all bloody day but we want action!’

  ‘Too bloody right, action’s what we want,’ Bill O’Toole bellowed from the very back of the crowd.

  Detective Simpson called for them to be quiet and to allow Bennett to speak. A buzz of voices reverberated around the hall. They quieted again and he was able to continue.

  ‘You will also be aware that some very disturbing phone calls were received while you were all busy fighting the fire on Christmas Eve, and it has also come to our attention that some of your women have been followed at certain times.’ A roar of anger went up and again the constables had to intervene.

  Bennett waited until the crowd settled again. ‘Now, because of the times these incidents took place, we have to assume that the perpetrator is a member of the local community!’

  ‘Ya accusin’ one of us now, ya bastard!’ a local yelled. ‘Can’t catch tha bloke so ya gotta point the finger at one of us.’

  Keith Brewster called for them all to shut up and let Bennett get on with it.

  ‘I’m saying we have to assume so at this stage of our investigation. Either he is a local or he lives with someone in the valley and they are protecting him!’

  The crowd jeered at this, Bill O’Toole’s voice rising above the din. ‘Ya bloody stupid poofters… Couldn’t catch a shit in a paper bag if ya tried. Ya tried ta blame me kids for the fires; I told ya’s ya had it wrong. Now ya’s are accusin’ one of us blokes.’ He shook his fist in the direction of the stage. ‘Ya useless pricks! Ya’s are graspin’ at fuckin’ straws!’

  ‘Let him speak, O’Toole, he’s got more to tell us,’ bellowed Sam.

  Bill O’Toole pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Sam.

  ‘Well, ya know what I reckon? Ivy Geldin’s hit the nail on the head!’

  ‘What’d’ya mean? What’s she got ta do with this?’ Sam fronted him, standing toe to toe.

  ‘She says that Eric Mason burnt her haystack. She says he’s the firebug and I reckon she just might be right!’

  Before anyone could react, Eileen, who h
ad been standing quietly listening to them all, rounded on O’Toole and slammed both hands into him. The suddenness of her attack took him by surprise and he stumbled backwards. Before he could recover, she lit into him.

  ‘How dare you speak about my brother like that! He’s fought every bloody fire in the valley! That dried up old spinster Gelding should shut her hypocritical mouth. If it hadn’t been for Eric, she would’ve lost everything.’

  Bill O’Toole had recovered his balance and glared furiously at her. ‘You watch ya mouth, ya little hussy! You friggin’ Masons think ya’re all better than the rest of us!’

  ‘You should keep an eye on those kids of yours instead of looking down the neck of a bottle, you drunken prick!’ Eileen spat back.

  Joyce O’Toole grabbed Eileen’s shoulder, giving her a hard shove.

  ‘You bloody upstart! How dare you speak to my husband like that! And they’re my kids you’re talkin’ about,’ she yelled.

  ‘And Eric’s my brother, so fuck off you cupboard drinking bitch!’

  Sam took hold of Eileen and pulled her away from Joyce before the confrontation became more physical. Privately, he was thinking, ‘Good on ya girl!’

  ‘That’s right, Mason, ya can dish out the accusations, but when it comes to one’a yours ya don’t like it do ya, ya fuckin’ sheila?!’ Bill O’Toole snarled again.

  Jeff and Eric had been standing at the other side of the hall when Eileen lost her temper. Now they pushed their way through the jostling crowd to where Sam, Karl and Digger had her safely between them.

  ‘Ya don’t know what ya talkin’ about, O’Toole,’ Karl ground out angrily. ‘Those friggin’ brats of yours’ve been in so much strife that it’s no wonder they were the first ones to cop the flak for the fires!’

  ‘But they didn’t bloody do it, did they, ya bastard?!’ O’Toole fired back. ‘They wasn’t even around when ya shed got burnt, was they?’

  Karl had to concede that he was right about this. ‘Lucky for them, wasn’t it?’

  Digger butted in. ‘Still leaves everyone else in the valley though. Someone livin’ here is doin’ it and we have’ta catch him before we all lose everythin’ we’ve spent a lifetime buildin’!’

  The crowd erupted. Unfounded accusations were hurled at anyone and everyone. Pushing and shoving turned into punches. Split lips and bloodied noses ordained several of the local’s angry faces. The police had to become forceful to bring them back under control.

  Keith Brewster got up on the stage. ‘Listen you lot, behavin’ like that won’t do any good. The detectives have had nothing to go on til now. So shut up, settle down and let them get on with it.’

  ‘Sergeant Brewster is right.’ Bennett had to shout above the hubbub of angry voices and general racket. ‘This kind of behaviour won’t get you anywhere. We have to all pull together if we’re to catch this person. Now, from what we know, the culprit may get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from setting the fires. Or it could be he has a more severe mental disorder.’

  The crowd jeered at this and angry shouts erupted from the back of the hall.

  ‘Course the prick’s mental! Who else but a crazy bastard would bash old Harry and leave him for dead!’ Eileen screamed out.

  ‘Yeah, and try and burn the fuckin’ whole valley and everyone in it, ya fuckin’ fools… They gotta be insane!’ bellowed another local. Detective Simpson called for them to quieten down again.

  Bennett continued. ‘I mean by this, that he can’t resist the impulsive desire to set the fires. He could be antisocial, have a mood disorder, substance abuse problem, or simply be doing it as a hate crime. Any of these could describe the perpetrator. So if any of you know of any person in the valley that fits any of these things I have just listed, we want you to come forward with the information. Believe me, the arsonist will be caught and dealt with accordingly.’

  ‘Well, if we get him first there’ll be nothin’ left of him for you’se blokes to worry about!’ another angry local shouted.

  ‘Yeah, shoot first, ask questions later!’ bellowed another.

  ‘Shut up, all of you!’ Keith shouted angrily. ‘If you don’t settle, I’ll arrest the lot of ya!’

  Bennett allowed them a moment, then continued.

  ‘We have asked for help in this matter. We just do not have the resources here in Albury to enable us to handle this case as it should be. So we have called our colleagues in Sydney and discussed the case with them. They have a unit that specializes in arson cases and they have offered to assist us. Two of their senior detectives will be arriving within the week and will be joining us. Rest assured, the perpetrator will be caught and dealt with.’

  ‘So from now on, leave the shotguns in the cupboard and let the police do their work,’ Keith added. He knew the locals would not adhere to his warning. He was worried and had a feeling of dread. If they didn’t apprehend the firebug soon, he knew something terrible would happen.

  ‘Like hell we will! You honestly believe we’ll go unarmed after what happened to poor old Harry?’ an angry woman screamed. ‘I’m not going to bed at night without a loaded gun beside my bed.’

  Eileen bristled again. ‘Yeah, poor old Harry’s lying in hospital unconscious while you fools are all here acting like wild idiots. We should all be out there looking for the real freak.’ She rounded on Joyce O’Toole again. ‘And you… You stupid bitch, do you really think my brother would attack poor Harry?’ Her voice rose to a screech. ‘Do you? You bloody know he wouldn’t. You’re the fuckin mental one here tonight.’ Her face was scarlet. She shook her head in disgust and would have vented her anger more but Eric, who was feeling his own fury, grabbed her by her shoulders and maneuvered her away before anymore could be said.

  ‘C’mon Eileen, you’ve said enough. It’s not worth gettin’ so upset. Leave it go now,’ he said.

  ‘That’s right, Mason, get her outta here before I flatten the loud mouthed bitch,’ Joyce snarled at them.

  Eileen glared at Joyce and would have retaliated again but Eric shoved her in front of him and pushed her through the crowd towards the side door. Jeff, Sam and Des followed.

  Detective Simpson stepped forwards and addressed the woman who had spoken about her gun.

  ‘Look madam, you have every right to want to feel safe, but shooting someone will only bring you more trouble. Do as Sergeant Brewster says and put the guns away. Just keep your doors and windows locked and you will be safe. Shooting’s not the answer. We can’t say with certainty that the firebug attacked old Harry. That may have been a separate incident entirely. But believe me, we are investigating it thoroughly. Just keep your eyes and ears open and report anything you see or hear to us.’

  ‘But this method of usin’ mosquito coils means the bloke is sneakin’ ‘round our places in broad bloody daylight. Ya don’t expect us ta go up an’ tap him on the shoulder an’ ask him nicely ta wait while we ring you’se blokes, do ya?’ another angry resident asked.

  ‘Now come on fellas, be sensible about this,’ Simpson replied. ‘If you see anyone acting suspiciously, ring us immediately. We have surveillance teams in the area and they can respond instantly.’

  ‘No friggin’ way!’ another local shouted. ‘If anyone comes on me property that I don’t know, then I’m shootin’ first. Might just wing ‘em but I’ll be puttin ‘em down first and askin’ questions later! I can’t afford ta lose all me sheds an’ equipment!’

  ‘Listen here!’ Keith Brewster stood angrily facing them, hands on his hips. ‘If ya don’t all stop with the shootin’ threats then the detectives and myself will have no alternative than to confiscate your guns until the firebug has been caught!’

  ‘Listen to Sergeant Brewster,’ Bennett said sternly. ‘We understand how frustrating and upsetting this is; we have told you we will catch this person… but in the right way. So put your guns away and leave this to us and the city detectives.’

  The meeting broke up shortly after that. Amidst a few angry jeers and malicious
threats, the detectives left shaking their heads in bewilderment. They had never had to deal with the likes of this before and could only hope the Sydney detectives could shed some light on the ordeal they were facing.

  Keith and the constables waited for the crowd to disperse before they left.

  ***

  ‘Well, Simmo, do you think they will take any notice of our warnings?’ Detective Bennett asked as they drove back to the Albury police station.

  Simpson shook his head. ‘Not at all. I think we’re going to have our hands full with that lot!’

  ‘And so do I. The city blokes are in for a time of it. Just wait til they meet this lot.’ Bennett grinned at the thought.

  ‘Well, there’s quite a few who fit the bill, but which one of them is the perp?’ Simpson mused.

  ‘Hard to say. The checks we did on everyone didn’t come up with much, just a few misdemeanours here and there. Karl Mason got locked up overnight a few years back, got drunk and caused a bit of a blue at the pub. But that doesn’t mean he’s gone bonkers and gets off on burning people’s property.’

  ‘I don’t think he’s our bloke, mate. He’d hardly burn down his own sheds or bash Harry. I reckon that attack and the fires are connected, don’t you, mate?’ Simpson replied.

  ‘Well, it looks that way. I’m convinced our perp’s someone local. Someone who is in on all the plans the blokes have come up with to nab the bugger,’ Bennett said thoughtfully.

  ‘I agree with you there, mate. Let’s hope the city blokes can get this solved before things get worse. I can see after tonight one way or another it’s headin’ that way fast.’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Kathy was both excited and nervous! Eddie would be here any minute now to take her to the Boomerang Hotel, and he would be meeting her father.

  ‘Katherine, I’m not at all pleased about this!’ Digger told her. ‘You know he’s not the type of young bloke you should be mixing with. I’m not happy about this at all.’

  ‘Oh, Dad, please,’ she begged. ‘Mum’s okay with it, she understands. I’m not silly and Eddie’s been so kind to me. Even Francis likes him. You should know I wouldn’t go out with him if I thought he could hurt me.’