by Gover, Janet
As quickly as it had arrived, the storm was passing. The rain had eased and the darkness was lifting into a dim twilight. Within minutes the campsite was steaming as the rainwater evaporated or sank into the parched earth.
‘I’m going to get some searchers out, make use of this last bit of light,’ Max said. ‘If she was asleep, the storm would have woken her up. They won’t get too far before we lose the light altogether. But we have to try.’
He set off across the campground to where weary searchers were struggling out of the cars they had sheltered in. The door of the motorhome opened, and a man emerged to join them. Tia saw the reporter snapping photographs – but from a distance. He was obviously taking Max’s warning to heart. She was tempted to stay in her shelter. Stay hidden. No. She’d had enough of hiding. Instead, she followed Max, notebook in hand, ready to take down the names of the searchers.
Max woke in the pre-dawn darkness, to the sound of someone sobbing. He lay for a moment, listening and gathering his sleep-scattered thoughts. He was lying inside his search headquarters, his head resting on a rolled up jacket. The folding table with radio and clipboards and empty water bottles was almost within arm’s reach. He lay still for a minute, knowing that when he did move, every bone in his body would hurt from sleeping on a hard earth floor.
Last night, the exhausted and disheartened searchers had stumbled back into camp just after full darkness had fallen. Once they had all checked in, it had been Max’s duty to knock on the door of the motorhome and tell the Haywoods that the search was over for the day. It would resume in the morning. He had backed quietly out of the door, leaving the family alone with their fear and pain. He’d also made damn sure that reporter didn’t disturb them.
The searchers had clustered around the food tent, where Sarah and Tia had dished out food and water and sympathy. Not one of them so much as suggested going home. Every single one had found a place to snatch a few hours rest. Exhausted as they were, they would all be ready to start again at first light.
These were good people. The very best.
Max slowly lifted his aching body into a sitting position and looked around. The first thing he saw was Tia.
She was asleep beside him. Close enough that he could simply reach out and brush that lovely red hair from her face. A few of the searchers had thought to bring blankets or sleeping bags with them. He’d made sure Tia got one. It had been well after midnight when she finally curled up and dropped almost instantly into a heavy sleep. Like the rest of them, she’d had a restless night. She had pushed the blanket aside and her clothes were rucked and rumpled. He could easily see the tattoo that disappeared so enticingly under the fabric of her top, but in the darkness, he couldn’t quite make out what it was. She’d kicked off her boots and socks, and her bare feet twitched a little as she slept.
Max could have spent an hour there, just watching her sleep. Everything about her moved him. The sexy tattoo and those shapely feet. The luscious dark red hair, that even tangled and unkempt made his fingers ache to touch it. She was smart and funny. She cared about people too, even though she tried to hide it. And there was that vulnerability about her. She was running away from something. He didn’t have to be a policeman to know that. When he got back to Coorah Creek, he could run some more checks through the police system. But he knew he wouldn’t. Tia had to let go. More than anything, he wanted Tia to trust him enough to tell him what she was running from. Or maybe who she was running from. He couldn’t help her until she was ready to help herself.
He heard the sobbing again and for one moment thought it was Tia. But she lay softly sleeping. Careful not to disturb her, Max got to his feet. Stepping out of the tent, he stretched to ease the aches from his body and looked around.
The little boy, Dustin, was sitting on the steps of the motorhome, sobbing as if his heart was breaking. Max felt a surge of sympathy. This must be so hard for him. He was about to head over to the child when he saw someone approaching from the direction of some parked cars. It was Pete. Max watched the truck driver take a seat next to the boy and place his arms around those shaking shoulders. The boy turned his face into the man’s chest, and cried for his sister.
Max looked up at the sky. Stars still shone in the inky blackness, but in the east there was maybe the faintest suggestion of light. Dawn wasn’t far away. He needed to start planning. Despite what he’d said to Tia, if they didn’t find Renee today …
Max was beginning to feel desperate for a cup of coffee, when the sound of approaching engines began waking the sleeping searchers. One by one they struggled to their feet. Syd Warren emerged quickly from the first car and began carrying boxes to the food tent which his wife had run the day before. Within minutes, he had a gas fire burning and the rich smell of coffee began to waft across the campsite.
‘Thanks,’ Max said as Syd handed him the first steaming tin mug. ‘Trish staying in town today?’
‘Yep. She was pretty exhausted yesterday. We’re neither or us as young as we used to be. She’s got the phones though if you need her.’
‘Thanks for coming out. You’ve got no idea how much I needed this.’ Max raised the coffee mug. ‘In fact, can I grab another one for Tia before you get swamped?’
The waking search teams were gathering around, drawn by the smell of coffee and the chance of food.
Max carried the two mugs back to his search HQ, where Tia was now on her feet, talking to her boss, Chris Powell.
‘Hi, Chris,’ Max said, handing a mug to Tia. She sent him a grateful look.
‘I’ve got everyone who’s not needed at the mine with me,’ Chris said. ‘I figured some fresh eyes might help. Jess is staying at the airstrip. The plane is refuelled and ready to go … just in case.’
‘Good,’ said Max.
‘I brought Grandpa Pindarri too. He’s over there.’
Max looked across the campsite. An impossibly old aboriginal man was standing staring out into the bush. Two younger men were beside him.
‘It looks like he’s already started,’ Max said. ‘I’d better go talk to him and find out where he wants me to concentrate the search.’
‘Max …’ Tia stepped to his side. She was watching the old man. ‘Today, I want to go out there. I’m fresher than some of the others. I can help.’
Max nodded. ‘Yes, you can. Sarah hurt her ankle yesterday. She doesn’t want to make a fuss, but she was limping when she got back. I’ll get her to take over the HQ and you can go with Pete. Maybe you’ll bring us good luck.’
She smiled almost shyly and nodded. Max wished he could put his arms around her. He wanted to tell her that he understood how hard it was for her to let down her guard and let people get close to her. He wanted her to know how glad he was that she was becoming part of this community that he cared so much about. But he didn’t have time. There was a child out there, and every wasted moment reduced their chances of finding her alive.
A young man detached himself from the group of searchers and came over to where Max stood.
‘Sergeant Delaney. I just wanted to say thank you for the carvings that you gave to Anna. She loves them.’
‘You’re welcome, Steve,’ Max said. ‘And thank you for coming out today.’
‘Of course. I had to. I can only imagine how I would feel if it was Anna out there. Just tell me how I can help.’
‘Come with me.’ Max put his arm on the younger man’s shoulder. ‘It’s time we got the search teams out there.’
Chapter Nineteen
‘How does he do it?’ Tia watched fascinated as Grandpa Pindarri moved his gnarled and twisted hands through the wispy tops of the long dry grass.
‘I have no idea,’ Pete said. ‘But apparently he’s done this before and always found the person he was looking for.’
‘It’s all about observation.’ One of the younger aboriginal men joined t
hem. ‘His father taught him. He taught my father. And me too. He’s the best.’
‘What’s he see that we don’t?’ Tia asked. ‘There can’t be any footprints. They will have washed away in the rain last night.’
‘Maybe. Maybe not. There will be some traces left. He sees the way the grass is bent. Or a rock recently overturned. A scuff mark is all he needs.’
‘But there have been dozens of people out here searching,’ Pete added. ‘The ground must be covered with scuff marks.’
‘A man makes a very different mark to a little girl.’
‘Eh, Dave. Come ’ere.’
‘Coming, Grandpa.’ Dave gave Tia and Pete a nod and moved forward to offer his grandfather a hand as he climbed over some jagged rocks.
‘This way,’ the old man said. ‘She went this way.’
There were about ten people following where the tracker led. Dave had warned them to stay back a bit. His grandfather didn’t like a lot of noise when he tracked.
‘He likes us to think he’s listening to the earth and the wind,’ Dave had said with a smile as they started out. ‘Maybe he is. But maybe he just doesn’t like too many people near him.’
Tia had smiled at the affection in Dave’s voice.
Now, watching the old man at work, she almost believed the part about the earth and the wind. He would simply stop suddenly, for no obvious reason. He’d look slowly around him, his dark eyes appearing almost unfocused beneath a shock of curly snow-white hair. He might even bend over to touch the red earth. Or perhaps a tuft of wiry brown grass that to Tia looked no different from the rest of the grass around it. Then he would take a deep breath.
‘That way.’ There was never any doubt in his voice and the finger he pointed didn’t ever waver.
She wondered how many years he had been tracking. He certainly looked as old as the weathered red rocks around him. His dark face was deeply lined and parched by the sun. His hands shook and he paused frequently to catch his breath. But something about him inspired confidence. Tia knew that if she was the one lost in the bush, this was the man she would want tracking her. And Max was the man she would want leading the search.
The old man belonged to the land. He was part of it and it was part of him. Max, on the other hand, belonged to the town and its people. He might not see it that way. But he was part of them, as they were of him.
How she envied that. It must feel very good to belong. To be a part of something. Maybe one day she would have that too.
‘So, you ride that red Harley,’ Pete offered as they made their way through the scrub, peering about them for any sign of Renee.
Tia felt her hackles rise, but fought down the feeling. It was a harmless question. She shouldn’t let it get to her.
‘Yep.’
‘You almost drove it under my truck one night, you know.’
Tia paused and thought back. ‘You drive the big white Merc.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘Yep,’ Pete echoed.
‘Sorry.’ She meant it too, and that surprised her. She had spent most of her life refusing to apologise for anything. Maybe the town was getting to her. Or maybe it was someone in the town …
In the distance they heard a sound. They both froze and listened carefully. The voice came again. It was someone calling the little girl’s name.
‘It feels strange not to be calling for her,’ Pete said. ‘Sarah spent all day yesterday calling her name. By the end of the day she could hardly talk.’
‘I bet she’s glad not to be out here today. She was hobbling earlier when she came into the radio tent.’
‘Honestly, I think she’d rather be out here helping. That’s the sort of person she is, but her foot just wasn’t up to it.’
‘Well, I’m glad to have the chance to do my bit,’ Tia said.
They walked in silence for a few more minutes. The old man paused and turned in a circle. He bent and touched the earth. Then he stood and stretched his arms wide.
‘She was here,’ the old man said. ‘Twice. She walks in circles. You.’ He pointed to Tia and Pete. ‘You go there.’ He indicated the hint of a trail of to their left. ‘Kangaroos made that trail. She might follow. Dave, you go too. You others. You come with me.’
Another of the old man’s relatives stepped to his side, ready to assist him if he needed it. Dave caught Pete and Tia’s eye, and nodded in the direction they were to go. He set out a little more briskly than his grandfather, but soon slowed down, peering carefully at the earth and the rocks and grass. As he tracked, he was very much a younger version of the man who had taught him.
Pete and Tia followed at a distance, looking into the undergrowth and the shadows beside the rocks. Just in case.
‘This waiting is going to kill me.’
There was no answer. Sarah was alone at the campsite. After sending all the search teams on their way, Max had taken only a few minutes to show Sarah how to use the radio, before he too had set out. He and the park ranger, Dan Mitchell, were going to check out some caves. They were at the very edge of what Max considered the reasonable search area, but, as he said, a small girl could run a very long way if she was scared enough.
The Haywood family were still here. Or at least the mother and son were inside the motorhome. The father had gone with Dan and Max, saying he had to do something. He couldn’t stand another day of just waiting for news.
Sarah understood how he felt. She felt like that at times, wondering about her father. It was a month until his next set of tests. And even if those tests were clear, there’d be more ahead. It would be a year or two before they could feel relatively certain he had the disease beaten. Even then, would they ever be totally sure? Which left Sarah facing a difficult decision. Should she stay in Coorah Creek or go back to building a life away from her home town? She had a degree now. She could get a good job. She could travel to the far-flung places she had often read about. When she was a child, the road had called to her. She had watched Pete drive off into the distance, wishing she could go with him. Now she could go as far as she wanted. Brisbane. Sydney. Even New York or London. They were out there waiting for her. There were so many places to go and people to meet. It was what she had always wanted.
But did she still want it?
She looked around the empty campsite. It was empty because almost the entire town of Coorah Creek was out there in the bush, sweating under the blazing sun. They were there to help a little girl who was a stranger to them. To help a family they had never met. It felt awesome to be part of such a community effort. She knew all these same people would be there for her father and mother too, if things got worse. How could Sarah leave?
And then there was Pete. All those childish feelings for Pete had come back – but this time they were different. They were a woman’s feelings. She had never felt like this about anyone she’d dated in the city.
Why on earth would she go back to Brisbane, when it seemed everything she wanted and needed to be a part of was right here in Coorah Creek? She didn’t have to make the decision now, but soon she would.
The door of the motorhome opened, and a small boy descended the steps, looking about him. From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw movement near the car park. It was that reporter. Quickly she walked over to the lad, using her body to shield him from the reporter’s view.
‘Is Pete here?’ Dustin asked in a very small voice.
‘No, honey, he’s out helping to look for your sister.’
The boy nodded. His face almost broke Sarah’s heart.
‘Where’s your mother?’
‘She’s asleep. I think she and Daddy were awake most of the night. They argued too. And I heard Mummy crying.’
Sarah put her arm around the boy’s hunched shoulders and drew him closer for a quick hug. ‘Parents argue sometimes. But it’s not important. Th
e important thing is that they love each other. And they love you and your sister. That’s why your mummy was crying. Because she wants Renee to come home.’
‘I want her to come home too.’
‘I know you do.’ Sarah thought quickly. ‘I have to go sit over there,’ she pointed to her tent, ‘near the radio.’
‘Can I come too?’
‘Of course you can.’ The news that came out of that radio might be good or it might be bad. But sitting alone and waiting would be worse for young Dustin. ‘You could keep me company,’ she said. ‘And help me listen to the radio.’
‘I can do that,’ Dustin offered. ‘Will Pete be calling in?’
‘He might.’
The boy’s face brightened. ‘And if you want something to eat or drink, I know where it’s all put over in the other tent. Syd showed me before he went back into town for more supplies. He said I was to make sure that no one went without food or water.’
‘That’s an important job,’ Sarah said as they moved back into the shade of the tent and settled near the radio. ‘I’m sure you’ll do it well.’
The boy sat down. ‘Will Pete be back soon?’ he asked. ‘He’s just great. I feel better when Pete is here.’
Sarah ruffled the boy’s hair. ‘So do I, Dustin. So do I.’
Chapter Twenty
Max ran his fingers through his hair, and looked up at the sky. The sun was moving inexorably towards the west but there were still three or four hours of daylight left. Their search of the caves had been fruitless. He had expected as much, but they were running out of time, and he was not going to leave any place unchecked. Over by their vehicle, Dan was on the radio. He caught Max’s eye and shook his head a fraction. No news.