Ellie was keen to tell Harvey about her idea but she wanted to check it all out before she mentioned it to him. She planned to rent a cabin at the Hume Weir Caravan Park. She was confident they wouldn’t be seen out there. Their time together would be mainly evenings and no one would see them out there. Her plan was perfect! She and Harvey would be able see each other in complete privacy.
Francis came home from work at lunchtime the following Saturday. He found Kathy in her room reading. She had been in there all week, only speaking to her father when she had to.
Win felt sorry for her. She understood her being upset, it was tough, but she could also appreciate Digger’s reasons for the restrictions. Win was stuck in the middle. Kathy had been mortified when Dig stormed up the road to Eddie’s house and told him to stay away from his daughter.
‘Kath… are you in there?’ Francis knocked quietly on her door.
‘Yeah Francis, where else would I be? Come in,’ she sighed.
‘I’ve got a message for you,’ he said, sitting on her bed.
‘Well, out with it. What is it?’ she asked.
‘I really shouldn’t be doing this, you know. If Uncle Dig finds out, he’ll kill me.’
‘Francis, what is it?’ Kathy asked impatiently.
‘Eddie came in to work this morning. He talked to me for a while about you two. He really does care about you, kiddo. I don’t think he’s at all like Dig says he is, and I definitely don’t think he’s the firebug.’
‘And…’ Kathy sat up straight now and was eager to find out what Eddie had said.
‘Well, I said I’d take you out to the Weir this afternoon. Dig trusts me to look after you. You can meet Eddie out there. He’s promised to have you back by five so I can bring you home again.’
‘Oh, Francis, you’re the best cousin the world’s ever known!’ Kathy flung her arms around Francis’ neck and kissed him hard on the cheek. Leaping from her bed, she hurried about getting ready. A feeling of guilt crept over her about sneaking behind her parents’ back but she quickly pushed it from her mind. Her father was to blame, she rationalized.
If he was reasonable and listened to her, he would realise that Eddie was a good person and she was safe with him.
Digger said she could go with Francis, insisting she be home by six o’clock. He trusted Francis to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Tammi went along with them, promising to keep their secret.
Eddie was waiting at the Weir when Francis pulled up. He got out and watched Kathy walk toward him. Tammi settled herself on a towel to sunbathe; she loved to have a tan and it really suited her fair hair. Francis decided to read a book and catch a few rays himself.
‘Hi babe, how’ve you been? We’ve got a few probs, eh?’ He kissed her and held her close against him.
‘Bloody hell, Eddie, I’ve been miserable. It’s awful not being allowed anywhere unchaperoned.’
‘C’mon, we’ll go for a drive. We need to talk about this.’
He opened the door and she climbed in. He patted the seat close beside him and she slid over next to him. They drove out to a picturesque spot near Bethanga. It was not crowded so they got out and walked down to the water’s edge and sat with their feet in the water.
‘You know your dad came to see me, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘Yep, sure do.’
‘Well, he’s right in a way. I am a suspect.’
‘Yes, but you haven’t done anything, that’s what I keep telling everyone. It’s shitting me to tears. I feel like crying,’ she said shakily.
‘Come on, settle down. I know that you know that, but not your dad or any of the other blokes. He’s scared silly you and Tammi could get hurt. He just wants you to be safe, honey. I do too. If it means peace of mind for him, go along with him until this is all over. Don’t fight him. He loves you very much. Be thankful you have a dad, Kath.’
Kathy was watching him as he spoke. ‘How the hell can everyone think he’s so terrible?’ she thought. ‘He’s respecting Dad’s wishes!’
‘Oh Eddie, I know he does. It’s just that when I thought he was going to get to know you, this had to happen.’
‘Francis said he’s happy to bring you out here sometimes and we can meet in other places as well, maybe outta town a bit. We can all meet at a pub for lunch sometimes, that sorta thing. Tam and Francis will be in that for sure. That’s the best we can do for now, sweetheart. If you cause a stink, your dad will just go berserk and who knows what will happen, ok?’
Kathy rested her head on his shoulder. ‘It’s just unfair, Eddie. I wish they would catch the bloody firebug, then everything would go back to normal. Whoever the mongrel is, he’s turning every one’s lives upside down. I hate the bastard.’
Eddie hated the situation just as much as Kathy but they wouldn’t win against Digger. Kathy’s protesting would only fall on deaf ears. He convinced her to stay calm and eventually it would all work out. They had no other choice.
They spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the water and enjoying each other’s company. Lying on the grass by the water, they kissed and held each other close. Eddie felt himself becoming excited and had to reign in those impulses. Too soon, he had to take her back to Francis and Tammi.
‘I’ll see you again soon, Kath. I’ll arrange it with Francis. We can meet somewhere nice outta town for lunch maybe, see what Francis thinks.’
Kathy’s eyes filled with tears. Eddie put his hand on her face, gently stroking her cheek and then walked off to his car. She watched him drive away, happy that she had at least seen him, sad that they didn’t know when they’d see each other next.
‘Damn the bloody fires… Damn everything!’ she thought angrily.
***
Emmie was reading the daily newspaper. ‘Just look at the headlines: nothing but reports on Vietnam, protests in the cities and the Hamilton Valley Firebug!’ She put it down and reached for a bowl of peas to shell.
‘Yes, Mum, there’s no good news in there, is there? It makes you not want to open the paper at all these days,’ Win agreed with her.
‘Have you heard from Harvey and Mary?’ Win asked.
‘Not since they left. I suppose they’re busy settling in out there.’ Emmie looked thoughtful, adding, ‘You don’t think Mary will feel isolated, do you?’
‘No, I don’t think so. She can drive. Harvey said he was going to get her a small car. Then she’ll be independent. Maybe she’ll be happier now she’s got her own place. Once she’s got her own transport, she’ll be able to get around and do whatever she wants.’
Emmie stopped shelling the peas and passed Hazel a bag of potatoes. ‘There you are, Hazel. You can finish these. I get so tired these days. I’m going outside to sit with Ellie under the walnut tree for a bit.’
‘By the way, Hazel, Ted sent a message up with Dig before. He’ll be later in this afternoon. He has to finish spraying the apricot trees.’ Win smiled.
‘Righto, love, thanks for telling me. I can put me old feet up once I’m done with dinner and watch a spot of me favourite telly show. It’s Peyton Place, you know, on every Saturday night and I can’t miss it.’
Emmie and Win left laughing. Hazel often sent them off into laughter.
Ted was staying late to get the spraying done. He didn’t mind because he’d rather work in the cool of the evening. Digger and Karl were starting the night shift at Dawn’s place. They were to change their positions every hour until midnight, when Sam and Arthur took over. They’d spend an hour patrolling around Dawn’s, an hour at Sam’s, an hour at Kia-Ora and Arthur’s and then check them all on the way back to Dawn’s again where they would hand over to the others.
Whistling a tune, Ted cheerfully went about his work. It was getting late and soon it would be too dark to see well enough to continue spraying. He was almost done and looking forward to his tea. He could feel his stomach rumbling.
Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing. Shaking his head, he muttered, ‘Stupid old bugger, y
ou’re hearin’ things.’ Then he heard it again.
Someone was walking swiftly along the next row of fruit trees. He put the spray drum on the ground and moved as quietly as he could to look between the trees. He couldn’t see anyone, but he had heard them.
Then a noise behind made him swing around, but he wasn’t fast enough. A figure had emerged from behind one of the trees and Ted was knocked to the ground in one swift movement. The blow was hard enough to stun him and knock his glasses flying. He briefly caught a glimpse of the man as he ran off, but that was a blur, seeing his glasses weren’t perched on his nose where they should have been.
Ted struggled to a sitting position and felt around for his glasses. Finding them, he leant back against a tree. After a few minutes, he went to stand up, but his old legs gave way and he sunk back to the ground.
The attacker made his way swiftly up to the house. He had to work fast. Sure enough, Towser was there in his kennel. It didn’t take much to coax the stupid mutt to him. ‘Some guard dog,’ he thought, giving the dog a pat. He watched as Towser devour a large piece of meat.
‘That’ll fix Miles! He loves that dog,’ he sneered.
***
Karl and Digger had checked Dawn’s place and had now reached Sam’s. So far, nothing was amiss.
‘Maybe we might be gettin’ somewhere. There’s been nothin’ all week,’ Karl said.
‘I wouldn’t hang me hat on that, mate,’ Digger replied. ‘We’ve thought all was well other times and bang! Up goes somethin’ else. Nat an’ Rex are checkin’ ‘round some of the old people’s places for ‘em as well. Tha poor old buggers are all scared shitless. Old Beryl Davis livin’ on her own’s a worry, so Nat an’ Rex are checkin’ her place too.’
‘Yeah, poor old Beryl locks herself in late in tha’ afternoon. She keeps her gun near the back door, so I heard. She told Mrs Flynn at the shop that she won’t hesitate to use it either.’
‘I know, that’s another bloody worry!’ Dig glanced at him.
‘We have’ta nab this bastard, Dig. We have’ta! This constant watchin’ and waitin’ is really tellin’ on all of us. Don’t know how much more everyone can take. Mum looks terrible. It killed Dad; we can’t let it bring her down as well.’
Digger knew what Karl was saying was the truth and, as much as he vowed to catch the person destroying properties and ruining everyone’s lives, he had to admit he simply had no idea what else to do either. He was completely at a loss for what tactic to implement next.
‘Well, all’s well here. Next stop, Kia-Ora.’ They were crossing Hamilton Lane near Eddie’s house. His mother was sitting on her front veranda.
‘Evenin’ Thelma,’ they both called.
‘Nice outside at this time of evenin’, isn’t it?’ Karl added.
She offered a small wave in reply. She was a timid woman and when Digger had gone up there in a rage to warn Eddie off, she had stayed inside out of sight.
‘Not a bad woman. Must’ve been hard rearin’ her kid alone. She’s worked hard all her life. Pity her son isn’t more like her,’ Digger said as he held the barbed wire fence up while Karl climbed through it. The evening was closing in and dusk was creeping up quickly. They reached the orchard and began a careful walk through the trees, on the alert for anything unusual.
‘Listen,’ Karl hissed to Digger, putting his hand up as he spoke. ‘Can you hear that?’
‘I certainly can… Sounds like someone’s groanin’.’
‘C’mon, it’s this way!’
Following the sound, they raced up the path and cut across to the trees where Ted had been spraying earlier.
‘Good Lord! Ted!’ Karl was first to discover the old fella.
‘Strewth, is he alright?’ Digger came up behind him.
‘Dunno, help me sit him up.’
Ted had stayed on the ground where he had slumped down after he was attacked. He tried standing, but each time a wave of dizziness made him sink back down again.
‘Mate, are ya alright?’ Digger asked urgently.
‘Yeah, I’m alright,’ he groaned, holding his head. ‘Feelin’ a bit dizzy, but I’ll be fine. I’m kickin’ meself for not gettin’ a good look at the bloke.’ He told them how he’d heard someone and while he was looking through the trees, they got him from behind.
‘You didn’t get a look at him at all then?’ Karl asked.
‘Nope, just caught a glimpse of the bugger as he took off down the path, but it was a blur, me glasses went flyin’ when he hit me.’
‘Towards Kia-Ora…’ Digger asked anxiously.
Ted told them everything he could remember. Panicking, they hurried up to the house. A myriad of thoughts were going through their minds.
‘Ted, we’ll take ya straight home to Hazel. Ya better get checked over by the doctor, mate. We’ll ring him from the house and get him to come out and have a look at ya. Hazel’s all alone down there and she’ll be worried about ya,’ Karl insisted, taking no notice when Ted argued he was alright and didn’t need a doctor.
‘We’ll head up to the house check on the women then take a look around outside,’ Digger said worriedly.
To their relief, the women were fine. Assuring them that they’d explain later, Dig and Karl ran off to check around outside.
They searched around the house and then went to look around the packing cases and finally, the machinery shed.
Karl found poor Towser. He lay on his side, white froth spewed from his mouth and it was obvious he was dead. Equally evident was that he had been poisoned.
‘Fuck no, bloody hell!’ Karl swore, his mouth turned down in a curve of distaste. ‘Dig, stay there a minute, mate.’ He turned and stood in front of Digger, blocking his view of the dog.
‘What is it?’ He knew Karl had found something dreadful.
Karl had to tell Digger. There was no choice. ‘It’s your dog, mate. The fuckin’ bastard’s killed Towser!’
Digger pushed past Karl and knelt by his dog. Tears ran down his face. ‘The cruel mongrel… Rotten cruel bastard! Towser, me mate,’ he wept. ‘Why do this to him…? He didn’t do anythin’ to anyone!’ Digger openly sobbed, his voice echoing into the now dark night. Digger wept for Towser, for Dave… Harry… the whole wretched situation. It all came out in a flood of tears from the man who had not so long ago displayed such ferocious anger and gruelling strength.
‘C’mon… Come up to the house, mate. I’ll come back down and fix Towser up.’ Karl helped a heartbroken Digger to his feet.
When they walked in, Digger went straight to the sideboard and poured a stiff whiskey. Karl told Win and Ellie what they’d found. Win put her arms around Digger and tried to comfort him.
‘What can I say?’ Ellie felt sick. ‘What a cruel, heartless mongrel! Why do that to a poor defenceless dog!’ She brushed tears from her face and, watching Digger slug down the whiskey, she glanced at Win who had tears trickling don her cheeks as well. Win knew the look Ellie was giving her meant that Dig was in a bad way and he needed to calm down. He looked like he was ready to murder someone.
‘He did it to hurt me. This makes me even more determined than ever! The bastard’ll hang… I’ll hang the arsehole with me own hands or gladly pull the trigger to blow his brains out.’ Digger spoke quietly, his voice taking on a murderous tone.
Win looked at Karl. He gestured behind Digger’s back and went quietly out the back door. He would take care of Towser and give Arthur a ring. Digger would be better off having a couple of whiskeys and hitting the sack… if they succeeded in calming him down.
***
Word flew around the valley about Digger’s dog and Ted’s attack. The elderly were petrified. People now kept pets inside where possible. No one knew what would happen or what they’d find next.
Win tried to convince Digger to tell the police everything. At first, he wasn’t agreeable. In his opinion, telling them changed nothing at all, so why bother.
‘Clobbering Ted, killing poor Towser… This mongrel ha
s proved again just what he’s capable of, love. We know this psycho will bash, kill, burn… he’s deadly,’ she pointed out. ‘So, we have to tell the police. We can’t do this alone, Dig.’ She ended up bursting into tears of frustration and heartache.
Eventually, after opening up to Win that he felt defeated and a failure, how he felt guilty about Ted and Towser, he wept again for not being able to protect his four legged mate from the insane mongrel. Finally, he gave in and rang the police. He conceded it was the best thing to do.
The detectives weren’t impressed that they hadn’t been informed about the latest phone calls immediately.
‘This is extremely serious!’ they told them. ‘We’re dealing with someone very dangerous; you’re all aware of that! You must inform us of every incident, no matter how trivial you may think it is. Any information you have is vital. Don’t withhold a thing. You keep telling us to catch this lunatic but you hold back information that we desperately need, for God’s sake!’
Looking at Digger, Detective Bennett said sternly, ‘Don’t take matters into your own hands, Mr Miles. It’s our job to deal with this. Just keep us informed, that’s all we ask. We can’t act if we don’t know what’s happening. You lot are forgetting we are on your side here; we want this bastard just as much as you do.’
Kathy and Tammi had never seen their father cry before; he had even kept his emotions in check at Dave’s funeral. To see him so upset broke their hearts and shocked them. The killing of Towser had sickened them and broken their hearts. The thought that the firebug would actually kill a poor defenceless dog like that terrified as well as angered them. Towser had been in the family since they were little kids.
‘He’s a cruel phsycho!’ Tammi said. ‘I’m really scared to death now, Kath!’
‘Yep, well we knew that before but doing this to Towser, I just don’t and can’t understand that. The dog didn’t stand a chance. Someone has to find a way to catch whoever this is before he hurts anyone else. Poor Hazel’s frantic with worry about Ted too.’ She sighed loudly. ‘When will this ever end?’
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