Burning Lies

by Helene Young

  ‘No thanks, Julia. Best we go and do some detective work. Come on, kiddo. Let’s see what we can deduce.’

  Dan’s stool rocked as he jumped down. He scooped the remaining biscuits into his hands and silently followed her outside.

  The day still had some heat to it and she swatted away a couple of flies. Mid-November and the dry ground was baked hard. They’d had late September rain after a wet winter. Consequently the native grasses were tall and thick on the other side of the fence. Snakes she could live with, but the fire risk made her uneasy.

  On days like this she questioned her motives for moving her family to a rural area. Defiant pride wasn’t an admirable character trait, but in the aftermath of the coronial inquiry into the Canberra fires she’d been angry and bitter, guilty and sad. Defiance had saved her from depression. The knowledge that her husband’s actions had torn other families apart, as well as her own, was a burden she’d thought would destroy her. It hadn’t. It had made her stronger, tougher, at least on the outside, but she could never forget it. She didn’t want to forget it.

  ‘I left it there after school.’ Daniel scampered up next to her, pointing. ‘By the gate.’

  ‘And then you went inside? And next time you looked for it the bike had gone.’ Kaitlyn scanned the yard. Maybe someone had hidden it as a joke, although that seemed as likely as someone stealing it. ‘That was this afternoon?’

  ‘Yesterday.’ He looked down. ‘Nana said you had enough problems and we’d find it today.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me yesterday?’ She knew her words had been sharp the instant his bottom lip wobbled. Sharp enough to make twin trails of tears run down his cheeks. With little fists he scrubbed them away, standing his ground.

  ‘It’s not my fault.’

  It killed her to ignore the tears, but she knew she had to be firm until she got to the bottom of this. ‘Okay.’ Kait moderated her voice. She was ticked off that her son and her mother had kept it from her for a day. She always had time for them, didn’t she? Guilt reared its head again and she struggled to ignore it.

  ‘Let’s check the other side of the fences. Maybe someone dumped it in the scrub.’

  She grabbed the yard broom from beside the door. Dan shuffled along behind her as she walked out the gate and along the boundary. Swishing the broom in front of her to flatten the grass and scare any snakes, she worked her way along the fence, Daniel two paces behind in his sneakers. The grass ahead moved in a distinctive ripple and she put out a hand to stop him.

  ‘You go back inside, Dan. Get the keys and we’ll check the shed as soon as I’m done here.’

  Without a word he turned and stomped back to the gate, each heavy footstep saying more than words. She shaded her eyes against the glare of the dropping sun, surveying the thick tangle of grass. ‘Damn it. This is silly,’ she said to herself. ‘Get the mower before you stand on a whole nest of snakes.’

  Half an hour later she’d searched everywhere and come to the conclusion that Daniel was right.

  ‘Looks like someone did take it, Dan. Let’s hope their need was greater than ours.’ She sighed, running an exasperated hand through her hair. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.’

  He gave a jerk of his shoulder and looked a little less dispirited.

  ‘I guess we’ll have to get you another one, then. Did Julia take you to the bus stop today?’

  He nodded without replying – still sulking, from the set of his shoulders.

  Kait sighed. ‘We’ll go and see what we can find on the weekend. One of us will run you to the bus stop in the morning.’

  ‘Speedy said he’d pick me up.’

  ‘Really?’ She looked down at him. ‘It’s out of his way.’ The school bus route did an amazing job of winding its way through the rural housing estates outside of Atherton, but as Daniel was the only one on Happy Jack Road, it stopped at the main highway. That gave Dan a bike ride of almost three kilometres.

  ‘He said it was okay, just to let him know tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Okay, that would be easier. We’ll still have to get a new bike for you.’

  Daniel brightened at the mention of a new one, no doubt scheming about what gadgets he could sweet-talk her into buying for it.

  ‘But you need to lock the next one up. You know the rules.’ And that’s why there’ll be no horse, she thought. It would matter a whole lot more if a horse went missing.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I know.’ He tried a tentative smile and a different tack. ‘Can you help me with my homework tonight?’

  ‘Sure. First I need to knock this grass back down, though, so you go and get started on your maths. Give me an hour and we’ll tackle reading. And go tell Julia I’m going to mow.’

  She knew there was no point in ringing Immigration in Canberra now. They were an hour ahead at this time of year. Maybe she could ring before work tomorrow.

  Once she’d run the ride-on mower over the cleared area around the house, she drove out through the front gate. The council tractors didn’t get out here often enough and she mowed more of the verge each time. She’d almost finished when she caught a flash of white through the trees. Ryan on his way home. Would she get to meet the elusive neighbour again? A stealthy warmth snuck through her body. Ridiculous woman, she cautioned, you’ll look like a desperate single mother if you start blushing again. And that’s if he bothers to stop.

  To avoid the very real danger of throwing rocks with the mower blades she slowed to a stop, and angled towards the road. The white vehicle was almost past before the brake lights came on and it stopped in a slide of gravel.

  The door opened and a worn boot stuck out, holding it back. She could hear his deep voice. Probably on a mobile phone, she surmised.

  When the rest of the denim-clad leg followed the boot and he stood up, she had to fight not to stare. Without the cap and scruffy beard, the neighbour was good-looking in that messy, country-boy way, hair tousled, a shadow of new growth on his jaw. His legs seemed to go on forever. He was busy jamming the tail of his button-up shirt into low-slung jeans. It wasn’t working and that made him look even more fetching as he walked towards her. Losing the beard had taken a couple of years off him.

  ‘Hi.’ She leant forward on the steering wheel of the mower. ‘Welcome to the neighbourhood, Ryan.’

  ‘Thanks, great to be here.’ When his eyes flicked over her for an instant then snapped back to her face, she sat up and extended her hand. Great. She’d forgotten about the missing buttons on her shirt. There was nothing left to his imagination now. He had the good grace to look a little embarrassed.

  ‘Thanks again for your help the other day. I didn’t realise you were our new neighbour.’

  ‘My absolute pleasure, Kaitlyn.’ His handshake was like the rest of him: firm, a little rough around the edges. He didn’t look like her idea of a city fireman.

  ‘Nice house,’ he said, nodding at it.

  She smiled. ‘Thanks. No need to be polite. I know it’s not pretty, but it’s safe.’

  ‘It does look indestructible,’ he said with a quick grin. ‘Kind of like a citadel that’s thumbing its nose at Mother Nature.’

  She laughed, surprised by his insightfulness. ‘I guess you’d be right about that. Dan says you’ve moved into Jerry’s place? How’s he doing in the nursing home?’

  For an instant there was wariness in his eyes, then he shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I found the place on the internet. The agent mentioned the old fella who owned it had recently been packed off to a nursing home. Left a lot of furniture behind. Suits me. Think I’ll get my own bed, but the rest is good to go.’

  ‘How are you finding it?’

  ‘So far so good. The locals are friendly, although I mustn’t be dressing right. They all pick me for a city guy.’ He looked down at his clothes, his lips softening with the hint of humour. ‘Am I that obvious?’

  ‘The lads up here tend to drive utes. And they don’t wear Jag jeans. You got the R.M. boots just about right, though ma
ybe they need a few more scratches.’ She smiled to take away any criticism. ‘And never, ever wear a baseball cap. You need a hat, preferably battered and torn with a couple of holes through the brim.’

  ‘Like yours?’ The laughter made it to his eyes this time.

  ‘No.’ She settled it more firmly on her head. ‘Mine’s a city girl’s hat and I’m proud of it.’

  ‘Guess you or your husband have been keeping the grass down at Jerry’s place. Thanks for that.’

  Kaitlyn shook her head. ‘No thanks required. It’s purely selfish on my part. I like to keep the grass cut to give us the best possible chance if bushfires come through. With the wind from the north, any fire over at Jerry’s is going to roar down through that valley of pines and up the ridge to here.’ She patted the mower. ‘Only takes a little over an hour to knock it over. Let me know if you want to borrow it.’

  ‘Think I might need some lessons on how to handle it first.’ His easy grin said he was flirting, but she dismissed the thought. He wasn’t as young as she’d first thought. There was a maturity to him, a thickening of muscle, that belied his youthful looks, but he still had to be a couple of years younger than her. So far out of her league that she felt safe smiling back at him.

  ‘I’m sure a guy like yourself knows his way around. Just drop by and ask. Better finish this before the light goes.’

  ‘Sure. Say hi to Dan.’

  ‘Will do. Julia said she’d sent him over with a cake. I hope he behaved himself.’

  ‘Yeah, he’s been around a couple of times. I think he wanted to scrounge around in all that junk.’

  Kaitlyn laughed. ‘Jerry and he used to spend hours doing something in that yard. I never did understand the attraction. Hey …’ She hesitated. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve come across Dan’s pushbike? It’s a black Huffy Revenge bike. It’s vanished into thin air.’

  ‘Maybe the alien spaceship took it.’ His expression was earnest and for a startled second she thought he was serious. Then he laughed. ‘Sorry. I used that excuse as a kid and it got me such a hiding. I figured every young boy must have tried it at some time.’

  ‘Not Dan,’ she retorted. ‘And please don’t give him any ideas. His imagination is vivid enough.’

  ‘I’ll refrain.’

  ‘I’d appreciate that,’ she said, trying to look serious and knowing she’d failed.

  ‘And no, I’ve only seen his bike when he’s been on it. Anyway, I’ll let you get on with the mowing. See you round.’

  She nodded a smile as she started the motor and pushed it into reverse, not waiting to see him go. Her smile stuck. A neighbour with a sense of humour who was not averse to flirting? Pity she wasn’t home more often. But then, she was rusty, out of practice at talking to men, laughing with them in a social setting. She hardly remembered the delicate dance of the dating game. After so long being a mum she thought she had the ‘invisible woman’ routine down pat. Now? Ryan had sparked a tiny flame she was foolish enough to imagine fanning into life. The laugh escaped before she could stop it. Ridiculous, Kait. He probably talked to every woman like that.

  A thwacking noise from the blade and a vibration that shook her seat forced her to stop just before she finished the last stretch of grass by her boundary. Exasperated, she peered underneath the mower. Fabric seemed to be wrapped round the centre bar but there wasn’t quite enough light to see clearly. With the blades disengaged, she drove the mower into the shed and flicked the light on. The machine was too heavy for her to roll on its side so she lay down and tugged at the material.

  ‘What the hell?’ She knew before she’d freed it completely that it was one of her few lacy camisoles. Somewhere buried in a drawer was a matching pair of equally fancy knickers. ‘How on earth did that get out there?’

  The rational explanation for this would be clothes blown off the washing line, but it didn’t work. She hadn’t worn this particular item for many years; it was a reminder of a younger Kaitlyn, in the early years of a marriage.

  She sat up and rested her arms on her bent knees, contemplating the destroyed garment. Was it attention-seeking behaviour from Dan? Was he going off the rails because she wasn’t home enough, leaving Julia to shoulder too much responsibility? Julia never complained about essentially becoming a mother again so late in life, but Kait had noticed she tired more easily than she had a year ago.

  Kait sat up straight, stretching her ribs up and out, trying to still the disquiet inside. Going off half-cocked wasn’t going to be productive, but somehow she had to get to the bottom of this.

  By the time she went in Dan was bent over his book, finger tracing each line as he read to his grandmother. Kaitlyn smothered her guilt before it got the better of her.

  ‘Hey, guys, anyone know how this ended up on the outside of our fence?’ Kait waved the mangled garment from two fingers.

  Dan frowned and screwed up his nose. ‘What is it?’ There was no recognition, no remorse in his face, nothing remotely untoward. Kaitlyn hoped her rush of relief didn’t show.

  Julia held out her hand and stretched the damaged fabric over her fingers. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.’ She raised questioning eyes to her daughter. ‘Is it yours?’

  ‘Yep. I haven’t worn it since the fire.’ The spasm of pain across Julia’s face jabbed at Kait. ‘I can’t work it out.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know either, but dinner is ready when you are.’ Julia was frowning as she turned and deposited the offending item in the rubbish bin. Kait had the uneasy feeling her mother wasn’t being entirely honest. She had no idea why.

  ‘I’ll have a shower. Be five minutes.’ Better to leave it alone, Kait decided. If Julia knew something, she might have chosen not to say anything in front of Dan. There’d be time for the two of them to discuss it later, when he was in bed.

  The shower revived her, although none of the afternoon’s optimism returned. Dan’s bike was more important than her silly camisole, but were the two things connected in some way? Surely they would have noticed if someone had broken into the house?

  Wouldn’t they?

  Chapter 16

  RYAN followed as Speedy ambled through the sparse building. ‘This is where you stow your gear. You can put a padlock on it if you want to, but no one ever does.’

  Ryan took note. Rule number one: do as the others do.

  ‘There’s a tearoom over there. General housekeeping. Keep it tidy, leave it as you find it. If something’s running out let Trudy know and she’ll top it up. Showers are through there, same deal as the kitchen. Most people don’t wash up here; they go home.’ The stern look he bestowed on Ryan was also noted. Ryan felt like sighing. This could be a very long couple of days. Speedy was making it clear that he had no time for city slickers who thought they knew fires.

  The sad part was, Speedy was right to be wary of Ryan’s ability. The least his boss could have done was organise someone laidback to buddy him.

  ‘We’ve had a really bad run this year. Call out after call out. Did you say you have a regular job?’

  ‘No.’ It was the first word Ryan had said in several minutes. ‘Still looking for something.’

  ‘Right. That’s good.’ Speedy looked marginally happier, then he scowled again. ‘Of course, you can only go out with a trainer until you’re checked out.’

  ‘I know.’ Ryan was used to hostility from criminals, but this was different. This felt like a straight personality clash and he’d have to be careful to keep a lid on it. ‘I appreciate I have a lot to learn about this sort of firefighting. I’m conscious you guys know your terrain and your equipment a hell of a lot better than I do, but I learn fast. Happy to be told.’

  ‘Yeah, right.’ Speedy seemed slightly mollified. ‘We’d better run through the equipment. The oldest truck is the only one here today. The new one’s out, but it’s easy to manage anyway.’

  For two hours Speedy grilled Ryan. It was almost as intense as the Fire and Rescue division. Thankfully, Ryan managed to fu
mble through without too many slip-ups. It occurred to him as he stowed the hose that the years he’d spent in the Navy had laid good foundations for just this sort of situation. You took orders and got on with it.

  The three years in undercover ops with the AFP were the absolute reverse. There, he had to think on his feet, second-guess his boss and put up with the heat from above if he screwed up. He’d rarely taken orders from anyone.

  Speedy was more your ‘yes, no’ kind of guy. They’d moved onto the paperwork when the phone rang.

  ‘Speedy.’

  Ryan could see from the expression on his face that it was a call out. Time to see if the training came close to reality.

  He didn’t wait for Speedy to finish the call. The truck was ready to go. He just needed his gear. By the time he’d retrieved it from the locker room, Speedy was waiting.

  ‘You drive,’ he said to Ryan. ‘Wanna see how you handle the truck.’

  ‘Sure.’ The keys were in the ignition and Ryan drove it out. ‘Which way?’

  ‘Turn right. We’re headed up Carrington way. The urban firies are busy with a road accident on the Gillies highway. Someone’s reported a fire up in the hills behind Carrington Road. A lot of new homes in that area. Silly fools subdivide their acreage and put slab homes in unsuitable places, right among the trees and at the foot of the bloody hills. Should be laws against them.’

  Ryan grunted, not wanting to venture an opinion.

  ‘You’re up Happy Jack Road, aren’t you?’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Near the Scotts’. You in Jerry’s place?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘At least the old man did one thing right and cleared most of the trees around his house. You’ll need to keep the grass down. Kait’s got the right idea. You have met your neighbour, haven’t you?’ There was an edge to his voice.

  ‘Of course. Kait. And her son, Dan. He’s been around a couple of times.’ Ryan shrugged. ‘Seems like a nice kid.’