‘Yeah, real good, mate. Tried me dress on a few days ago. Gawd, I look a bit strange in it. Can’t remember the last time I was in a dress. And we’ve got the menu sorted now. The reception place is real nice. You and Anna’ll be there, won’t you?’
‘You bet! Couldn’t miss the opportunity to see you in a dress, could I?’
‘Smart arse,’ Janey grinned and whacked Matt on the arm as he finished checking the spare tyres were all chained. He stood up just as Shane walked around the front of the truck and called hello, which set Turna off again.
‘Steady on there, little dog,’ Shane said. ‘I’m allowed to be here! Jeez, Janey, how’d you train that dog to be your personal bodyguard? I don’t know how he doesn’t get run over, running through the yard like he does!’
‘I keep a bloody close eye on him and normally he doesn’t go too far from my side. Matt here must smell good or something. It’s the second time he’s tried to round him up, today!’
Shane sniffed towards Matt, theatrically. ‘Dog must have his senses stuffed up.’
Janey laughed. ‘I think it’s just from spending so much time with me in the truck,’ she said seriously. Turna was tucked under her arm now and she tried to stop him from wriggling. ‘Well, I’d better get going. I’m heading up to your neck of the woods today, Matt. Clare, Spalding, Jamestown, Orroroo, then home again.’
‘Better keep the dog in the cab. Who knows what he’d do if you let him out!’
‘Yeah, yeah, laugh all you like,’ said Janey. ‘But I’ll tell you what, I was camped at a roadhouse in Port Augusta a few weeks back and some bastard tried to open the cab door. I’d locked it, of course, but Turna went apeshit. The lowlife must’ve taken off ’cos by the time I got the curtain unzipped and was outside I couldn’t see anyone. Heard a car take off, though, so I guess he scarpered as soon as Turna barked. Couldn’t ask for better protection, could I, mate?’ She patted Turna.
Matt shook his head. It happened all too often.
‘Funny thing was, you know how you get in the state just before you wake up when you’re sorta aware, but you’re not? Well I thought I could feel the truck shaking like someone was trying to unpin the back doors.’ She shrugged. ‘But when I walked around the anti-tamper cable tie was still in place, so nothing was taken. So it helps having Turna around. Oh, I know he wouldn’t be much good if there was a serious bust-in, but he does a good job.’
‘Some idiot wanting to pinch something and make a quick buck, I guess,’ Matt said. ‘Well, Turna, looks like you earned your keep that night.’
‘G’day, you lot! What’s goin’ on?’ Jimmy was limping towards them, a smile on his face.
‘We’re just discussing the virtues of Turna.’ Shane grinned.
‘Of which there are many, I’m sure,’ Jimmy said dryly, reaching out to pat the dog. Turna couldn’t decide if he wanted the pat or if he should be protecting his owner, so he accepted the pat while growling. Everyone laughed.
‘Janey was just saying someone tried to get into the truck but Turna did his bit. How’s your leg today?’ Shane asked.
‘No different to any other day. Old war wounds always stay with you. Janey, are you okay?’ The older man’s voice was concerned.
‘It was all fine, Jimmy.Turna scared them off.’
‘I’ve heard about a few problems around roadhouses and parking bays,’ Jimmy said pensively. ‘I was going to talk to everyone at the staff meeting on Thursday night.’
‘I’ve heard of farm equipment being taken,’ Shane said. ‘A generator, fencing gear, even some wool. Those sorts of things. It all seems to be happening up north though – Port Pirie, Jamestown, those areas. But it’s being taken from farms or from isolated houses, not out of trucks. Anyone else heard of anything?’
Matt felt his face flame red and looked down before replying.‘I know there was a bloke from over Burra way who had some chemical stolen recently.’
‘Really?’ Jimmy shifted his weight from his bad leg to the good. ‘Poor bugger. I don’t know what gets into people these days. Wouldn’t have been like it when I was young!’
‘What would happen if the freight was stolen out of a truck?’ Janey asked.
‘The insurance would cover it, and that’s why we have anti-tamper devices. Not a lot of transport firms bother with them, but I think it’s easier to have them on rather than not. It’s your own insurance, if you like.’ As he talked, he ran his fingers over a small brass plate with the initials MT welded onto the trailer.
Matt had asked Shane what it meant when he first started driving for Jimmy. Shane had told him Marshall Transport was the name of Jimmy’s first business. He’d started a trucking business in 1970, carting general freight around Adelaide. In 1987, things had started to go bad – the stock market had crashed and the ripple effects were everywhere. People weren’t paying their bills. In 1988 Jimmy had made the decision to keep two trailers and one prime mover and sold the rest. For a while he worked as a sub-contractor and then he took a risk. He borrowed enough money to start this new business, which was now thriving.
Matt’s respect for the man had grown after hearing this. He’d been knocked down, just like Matt had been, but he’d got back up again. There were times Matt thought he wanted to do something similar. Maybe he could save enough money to have another try. But then there were other times the fear of failure terrified him and he didn’t think he could bear to try again.
Matt watched as his boss absent-mindedly rubbed the brass plate and wondered if Jimmy ever thought about having to shut the first business down. Did it leave a hole in his heart, like it had with Matt? Had it left him feeling so empty there was nothing more inside him?
Tuning back into the conversation, he saw Janey nod, agreeing with whatever Jimmy had just said.
‘You know, there was a bloke up past Jamestown who had a gun stolen out of his gun cabinet. It’s bloody amazing to think so many crimes happen in the country area. We expect to get broken into in the city, but not way out on farms!’ she said.
‘Absolutely.’ Shane nodded. ‘What about last year, when that farmhand took twenty lambs out of a feedlot and brought them to the Dublin sale yards? Do you remember that? It was all the talk over the CB. The cops got him, though, as he was unloading. Can’t remember what happened to him.’
‘Went to court and got two years for stealing as a servant,’ Jimmy said. ‘There seems to be more and more thieving going on. Maybe I should give you all Jack Russells! Anyway, I think we need to keep an eye on things.’
Everyone nodded their agreement and Jimmy limped away.
‘Right, I’m off,’ said Janey.‘Can’t be late or I might get the sack!’ She grinned broadly and winked at Jimmy on her way past. ‘Catch you all later.’
‘Yeah, I’d better get going too,’ said Shane. ‘Jack’s got some swimming thing on later and I want to be there for it. Catch you, Matt, Janey.’
Matt went about tidying up the truck, reflecting on Jimmy’s joking comment about getting them all Jack Russells. But Matt didn’t need a new dog - his old mate Jasper would do him fine. He groaned. Jasper again.
He slammed the door of the truck, refusing to let Jasper any further into his thoughts.
Chapter 19
1968
Dear Min-Thu,
You’d like Australia, I’m sure. The sky is so big it looks like it never ends. The dirt is red – especially in the north.
It doesn’t rain there like it does here. There are days you would get a whole year’s worth of rain. Your land is so beautiful, with its clear water, green jungles, sheer cliffs and islands. It’s such a shame all we are doing with this war is damaging it.
Jimmy was walking through rice paddies and doing his best not to think about the day ahead. Composing letters to Sandy or Min-Thu was how he kept himself calm, all the while scanning the terrain for signs of the enemy, his senses on high alert.
His boots, heavy with water, made for slow going through the fields. He could h
ear his mate’s laboured breathing behind him matching his own and his arms ached from holding his weapon above the water. Ten point four kilos of gun plus his pack and ammo - there were days he felt like a pack horse.
CQ Bridle had instructed them to double-check their ammunition before they left on patrol six weeks ago.
‘Fire it into the hole forty times instead of twenty. We need to make sure it’s all good.There are stories coming out of other camps that there’s been a faulty batch of ammo come in from the US. Gazza told me about losing two of his lead men.’
‘What happened?’ Jimmy asked.
‘They fired on Charlie Company comin’ out of a rat hole. Apparently our blokes saw ’em get hit and they sorta jerked back like they had been, but then they kept coming towards the rest of the platoon. It sounded like something out of a movie.’ CQ Bridle shook his head sadly. ‘What a waste of good men, just because someone couldn’t be bothered checking everything was okay.’
There’s a huge rock in the middle of Australia: Ayers Rock. I’m hoping I’ll climb it someday.
Jimmy had fallen for Min-Thu good and proper - and now he knew his feelings were reciprocated.
They had continued exchanging notes and, on his last visit to the laundry with CQ Bridle, Jimmy had steered Min-Thu behind a tree, away from the watchful eyes of the man in charge. Quickly, he had kissed her - and his heart had soared when she kissed him back.
Barely a minute later he had heard CQ Bridle bellowing his name.
Jimmy had slipped a note into Min-Thu’s hand then gently pushed her back towards the wash house before casually striding out from behind the tree.
‘Skip?’
‘We’ve finished here. Back to base camp.’
Jimmy took his position on the back of the vehicle, rifle raised. As they drove off, Jimmy glanced over his shoulder and saw Min-Thu waving goodbye . . .
There was a burst of gunfire behind them and Jimmy whirled around, his gun dropping to his shoulder in readiness to react while his eyes raked their surrounds in search of whoever had shot at them.
He saw a red-faced digger at the end of the line looking sheepish.
‘There was a great big fucking cobra,’ the young man spluttered. ‘Right beside my leg.’ He pointed at the water with his gun.
‘Bloody idiot,’ muttered Jimmy. ‘You’ll get us all killed.’
They continued on their way, heading for base camp. The last six weeks had been tough.
After two weeks on patrol in some of the thickest jungle they had ever seen, Jimmy, his partner Kimbo and three other blokes had spent the last week at a mortar position, deep in the jungle.
The mortar pit was surrounded by sandbags and an automatic rifle sat on the edge, ready to fire.And it had fired. Jimmy could feel the vibration of the gun in his sleep. He was pleased it was his last assignment. He had three days of rest and convalescence and then he was off home to Australia.
The note he’d given to Min-Thu asked her to join him on his three days of leave. He was hoping that would be long enough to convince her to come home with him.
Two hours later, footsore, tired and filthy, the platoon passed through the checkpoints and entered base camp. They set down their packs and breathed a sigh of relief: they’d made it.
During their weeks in the field they’d stumbled upon rat holes and caves, swept areas for mines and booby traps, and walked or crawled on their stomachs through jungles and hundreds of hectares of rubber tree plantations. They’d been shot at, and they had fired back. They’d seen bombs dropped and rivers of smoke pouring into the atmosphere. They’d watched as a pod of helicopters flew at low altitude – there was nothing more sinister than seeing twenty or more, hovering only metres above the ground, with men streaming from them, their guns raised. Ready.
They’d seen other soldiers - their comrades - lying where they had fallen and had called in their positions, so their bodies could be recovered and taken home. They’d tended to the injured, including Vietnamese women and children. They’d also taken prisoners.
Oh yes, Jimmy was pleased to be going home. He’d had enough of war to last him ten lifetimes.
‘Jimbo, mate! Good to see you back.’ Jimmy turned to see CQ Bridle at his shoulder.
‘Skip,’ Jimmy answered in acknowledgement. ‘Pleased to bloody be here. There were a couple of times I really didn’t think we were going to make it.’
‘You’d better go get yourself a drink then and thank your lucky stars you did. Jeez I’ve heard more horror stories in the last little while than the whole time I’ve been here. You’re off on leave tomorrow, aren’t you?’
‘Yeah, then heading back home by the end of the week.’ Jimmy knew that CQ Bridle probably wished it was him going home. His face was more lined and weary than it had been when he had marched out six weeks ago.
‘Got a note here from your friend.’ CQ Bridle pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket and handed it to Jimmy.‘Be a bit careful, eh, mate? We’ve had problems with hand grenade attacks since you left.’
Jimmy knew what CQ Bridle was saying: no one was to be trusted, and that included women and children. But Min-Thu wasn’t like that - and it had been Jimmy who had instigated the first move, anyway.
That night, sitting alone outside the boozer, listening to music and laughter, he opened the letter and smiled as he read it.
She would meet him.
Jimmy jumped off the truck to the jeers of his mates and went to meet Min-Thu. He saw her from a distance, waiting in line to buy a Goffer can from a girl surrounded by US soldiers. He grinned, realising Min-Thu was probably getting a Coke for him. In his last letter he had said how much he missed the sickly sweet taste when he was out patrolling. She had replied that she disliked the smell so much she could never bring herself to taste it.
As soon as they entered Vung Tau, the soldiers were carefee. They couldn’t wait to jump into the crystal clear waters and sleep in a real bed.
The wide dirt streets were heavily littered, but that didn’t detract from the beauty of the place.
Jimmy watched as Min-Thu paid the girl and turned towards him. He knew she hadn’t seen him.
‘On yer, Jimmy,’ called Kimbo and let out another piercing whistle. The rest of the boys on the back of the truck egged him on.
Jimmy flicked the bird back at them and walked on towards her, a smile on his face. He heard the truck rev its engine and start to move off slowly down the street, tooting its horn at a group of children, who dispersed, chattering loudly as the men on leave drove past.
‘G’day,’ Jimmy called out and watched as Min-Thu turned towards his voice. A smile crossed her face.
‘Hello!’ she called back.
Jimmy was amazed at how her English had progressed in the two years he had been writing to her. From knowing only small, basic words, she was now able to read, write and speak fluently.
He loved their conversations, both written and spoken. They hardly talked of the war, but covered everything else, from their families to their favourite meals.
Min-Thu had written that she thought his favourite meal of steak, chips and tomato sauce sounded terrible. Especially the sauce. In his reply Jimmy had joked that her meals of sour fish head soup didn’t sound much better.
And he told her about Sandy. He tried not to think too much about his nephew while he was over here, but he’d wanted Min-Thu to know how Sandy made his world seem right, how the boy made him laugh and how Margo’s indifference to him saddened Jimmy more than he could say.
Min-Thu’s next letter was filled with compassion. Family was the most important part of her life, she’d said. She hoped she would meet Sandy one day.
Jimmy had breathed out deeply and held the letter to his chest. With those words she’d dispelled any thoughts he’d had about two cultures, so different from one another, clashing. Yep, she was special.
He hurried towards her now.
Jimmy had to stop himself from running towards her. From the corner
of his eye he saw the girl selling the drinks drop her tray and Jimmy glanced towards her to see if he could help.
He saw the grenade she was holding.
There was no time to react - BANG! Min-Thu disappeared behind a cloud of smoke. The air filled with dust and debris. People shrieked with fear. Jimmy screamed, crying out Min-Thu’s name.
BOOM! Another explosion.
Jimmy dropped to the ground and covered his head with his arms to shield himself.
He was dimly aware of someone dragging him away from the blast site, yelling for a medic, but he paid them no heed. Confusion reigned as other voices asked for help. ‘Min-Thu!’ he called so loudly, his voice broke. ‘Min-Thu!’
‘Get down, get down, get down,’ yelled another voice and there was yet another blast.
As the dust began to settle, Jimmy could see bodies lying mangled on the ground, thrown by the force of the explosions. He could see a leg about fifteen metres away and an arm within reaching distance.
He tried to stand but his legs didn’t seem to be working. Frantically he tried to drag himself back to where he had last seen Min-Thu.
‘Mate, c’mon, you need a medic. They’re on their way. How about you stay still?’ A hand clamped down on Jimmy’s shoulder.
It was Kimbo, who had ripped off his shirt and was trying to apply pressure to Jimmy’s bleeding leg. His vision blurred at the edges as the pain filled his being.‘Min-Thu,’ he croaked.
‘Holy shit.’ Kimbo was talking again, but Jimmy could hardly understand what he was saying. ‘Stay there, mate, don’t move. Listen to me, Jimmy - don’t move. Keep your head down.’
Kimbo moved off and Jimmy, disregarding his mate’s instructions, turned to see where he had gone. He was just in time to see his mate carrying a decapitated head away. With rising horror he recognised Min-Thu’s bloodied face and sightless eyes, then he fell into the welcome abyss of darkness.
Chapter 20
Anna tried to open her eyes, but the sleepless night she’d just had was making her sluggish.
Purple Roads Page 11