Thinking of Hamish, she looked at her watch. He’d be at footy practice now. She hated sending him away to boarding school, but there wasn’t any choice out here. She’d taught him for as long as she could, in conjunction with the School of the Air, but first-year high school had come around far too quickly. She still felt so much pride when she saw him standing there in his school uniform. He was a young man now, and looked so much like his father.
Memories of Mike—like the way he would hold Hamish when he was a baby—still brought her to tears. Maureen had always thought there was nothing sexier than a man who loved his children and Mike had done that so well.
A banging on the door interrupted her thoughts.
‘Bloody good thing too,’ she said to herself as she got up to answer it. ‘Could’ve got all twisted up there.’ She tapped her chest over her heart a couple of times as she limped over to the door.
‘We’re closed,’ she said, pulling the door open, but her jaw dropped when she saw who was standing on the verandah. ‘Kim! Dave!’
She threw open her arms and Kim, one of her dearest friends, fell into them. Reen didn’t see anywhere near as much of her and Dave as she’d have liked to, since his work kept them in the small town of Barker. ‘What are you doing up here?’ Maureen asked.
Kim laughed. ‘Oh, Reen, it’s so good to see you. How are you?’
Dave leaned over and gave Maureen a kiss on the cheek. ‘How you going? Still coping?’
‘Of course,’ Maureen answered indignantly. ‘Don’t be cheeky! Come in, come in,’ she added, holding the door open and waving them inside. ‘Do you want a drink or coffee? Something to eat?’
‘We’re taking you out to tea at the pub,’ Kim said.
‘You’re staying overnight? I’ll make up one of the rooms. I’ve got a full-time lodger now, so you can’t have your normal room, but . . .’
Dave held up his hand. ‘Steady on there! This is us you’re talking to. We’ve brought the swag, we just need somewhere to roll it out.’
Maureen took a breath as a lump appeared in her throat from nowhere. ‘It’s so good to see you both,’ she said with a wobbly smile. She took a breath. ‘Why are you up this way, anyway?’ she asked.
‘I had a couple of things I had to check out, so we thought we’d just keep on coming. My cousin Kate and her family are camping at Wilpena, and we stayed last night with them. Now here we are,’ Dave answered.
‘Well, I’ve got to say it’s bloody good to see you both.’ She was about to say more when Eliza popped her head in.
‘There you are, I’ve been over at your place looking for you. Oh, sorry to interrupt,’ Eliza said, noticing the couple.
‘Don’t you go anywhere,’ Maureen instructed her. ‘Come in here and meet two of my best mates. Eliza, this is Dave and Kim. Dave’s a detective with the SA police and Kim’s his wife.’ She paused as she watched Eliza’s expression change to one of fear, then her attempt to hide it.
‘Hi,’ Eliza said in a slightly higher octave than her normal one. ‘Good to meet you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve just got a couple of things to do.’
Maureen narrowed her eyes and watched as Eliza hurried from the room. Interesting.
‘Did we frighten her?’ Kim asked.
‘Nah, I wouldn’t have thought so. Just doesn’t want to intrude, knowing Eliza.’ She focused on Kim and Dave. ‘So, come on, out with all the news.’
‘Tell you what, why don’t we head over to the pub and then we can have a drink and catch up,’ Dave suggested.
‘Hang on a sec.’ Maureen limped over to the counter and reached behind it, bringing out a key. ‘Make yourselves comfortable in room five. I’ll just have a shower and I’ll see you over there—how does that sound?’
‘Great idea,’ Kim beamed. ‘See you soon.’
Maureen went to Eliza’s room and knocked on the door.
‘Hey,’ Eliza smiled when she opened it.
‘Can I come in?’
‘Sure, I’m just editing some photos.’ Eliza cleared some photography magazines off a chair so Maureen could sit down. ‘Nice to see your friends?’ she asked.
‘Always,’ Maureen answered. ‘Dave is the one I’ve told you about, the one who pulled me out when we had the accident.’
‘Oh.’ Eliza nodded in understanding. Maureen talked openly about that terrible night.
She’d known Mike was dead, as she’d hung upside down inside the car, her seatbelt trapping her. The Blinman to Parachilna road was full of twists and turns, and deep drop-offs. Kangaroos and goats were rife. What had made Mike take that route home in the middle of the night, Maureen would never know, as she hadn’t had time to ask him before the collision—and she certainly couldn’t ask him now. It had been three hours before another vehicle had come along, and another two before she’d been able to get out of the car.
Dave, who’d been out on an investigation, had arrived first on the scene, and stayed, talking to her and calming her. Having known Dave for many years through their membership of the cricket club, she would be forever grateful for the comfort he gave her during those five hours that had felt more like a lifetime. Kim had come and visited her in the hospital, well and truly cementing their friendship.
‘So, you acted like you’d seen a ghost when I introduced you and then you took off like you had a red-hot poker up your bum. What’s that all about?’ Maureen asked.
Eliza laughed at the description, then became serious. ‘Nothing, Reen, honestly. I’ve had a long day and I didn’t want to interrupt. That’s all.’
‘Excuse me if I don’t believe you.’ Maureen held Eliza’s eyes steadily. ‘Now, I’m going to tell you this once. I’m really happy to have you here—I like you. I don’t need to know about your past, and I won’t interfere or pry when it comes to that. But if you’ve done anything illegal, or you’re on the run from the police—and the way you scarpered back there made me think you were—then we need to have a chat. I will not hide a criminal or criminal activities.’ She paused. ‘And, to be honest, Eliza, the fact that you just turned up here, out of the blue, with no links to Bliman, not knowing anyone, it sort of reeks of hiding out. I’m not the only one who’s thought this but we’re genuine people out here. We don’t pry and we accept people the way they are. But not lawbreakers. It’s not like you’ve told us much about where you were before.’
Eliza, who had been swallowing nervously while Maureen spoke, licked her lips a couple of times before she got up and went to a box in the corner. Dragging out a tattered page, she held it out to Maureen.
‘I can’t tell you why I ended up here, but I saw this story and I somehow felt drawn to Blinman. I don’t know if it’s this couple or it’s the country. I just knew I had to come.’ She rushed on. ‘And I’m sure that sounds really stupid and fanciful, but that’s just the way it was.’
Maureen glanced at the picture and skimmed the article. ‘That’s John and Mary Caulder. They’ve got a station east of here. They don’t get off it much.’ She looked up at Eliza. ‘Have you made contact with them yet?’
‘No. How can I do that? It was just a stupid feeling I had. I can’t ring them up and say, “Hey, I’ve lobbed into Blinman because I felt connected to this story.”’
Maureen was silent for a long while. ‘All right,’ she said, getting up. ‘If you’re not in any trouble, you won’t mind coming and having dinner with Dave, Kim and me tonight. We’ll all be at the pub in about half an hour. It’ll give you an opportunity to meet a few more of the locals too. See you there.’ With that challenge, she left the room.
The pub was crowded with tourists when Maureen arrived, happy at the thought of having dinner with Dave and Kim. A hot shower and a couple of painkillers later, she felt like a new woman.
She smiled and nodded to a few people at the bar, but made a beeline for her friends, who were sitting next to the fire, nursing drinks and talking.
‘Hope you don’t mind but I asked Eliza to come and eat with us
tonight. She’s only been here a couple of months and she’s still getting to know people.’
‘That’ll be lovely,’ Kim said. She leaned forward and put her hand on Maureen’s knee. ‘Now, tell us about you. How are you?’
‘I’m fine,’ Maureen answered and proceeded to bring them up to date on what had been happening since they’d seen each other last.
Between the chatter and the warm glow of the fire, Maureen began to relax.
‘Dave, I’ve got something to ask you,’ she said after a while. ‘Why would someone come to Blinman to try and hide?’
The detective raised his eyebrows. ‘Talking about anyone in particular?’
‘Just a question.’
Dave thought for a while. ‘Could be any number of reasons,’ he answered. ‘Trying to dry out from drugs, make a clean start. Debts, bad marriages, maybe there’s a warrant out for their arrest. If it was a bloke, he could be running from paying child support. Or they could’ve lost their memory and feel comfortable here, for some reason. Blinman is fairly out of the way and not many people have heard of it but, on the other hand, the trouble with hiding out here is that it’s so small. Someone new coming into town’ll be the centre of attention.’ He looked at her levelly. ‘Funny question, Reen.’
‘Just working out a few things.’ She smiled. ‘Oh look, here comes Eliza. You’ll love her—such a beautiful, gentle soul. Amazing photographer. Just started to teach herself since she arrived.’
‘But you can’t help feeling there’s a lot more to her than she’s told you?’ Dave asked.
Maureen pointed a finger at him. ‘Spot on.’
Chapter 10
Eliza loaded everything she thought she would need for the day’s teaching into the dual cab ute she’d borrowed from Stu and Stacey.
It had done a lot of kilometres and hit a few kangaroos in its time—there were a few dents to prove it, along with a bit of rust. Stu had promised her it was reliable, and was happy for her, as their ‘go-to’ girl, to use it while they were away.
‘All organised?’ Reen called out as she walked across the road.
Eliza looked around at the sound of her voice. ‘Yep, I think so. I might pop into the shop and grab a couple of chocolate bars to sweeten the deal when I have to lock them in the schoolroom.’ She threw her backpack on the front seat and straightened up. ‘I have a feeling that Heidi might be a slight handful until we get a routine happening.’
‘She’s one switched-on kid, that’s for sure,’ Maureen agreed. ‘Tell me what you want and I’ll put them on the counter for you.’
‘Oh, just a couple of Flakes or something.’
Maureen leaned against the side of the car and looked at Eliza.
‘What?’ Eliza asked.
‘That’s a big job you’ve undertaken with those kids.’
Eliza looked at her friend, feeling she was fishing for information, before nodding. ‘Yeah, it is. But I think I’ll be okay. I’m pretty clued in when it comes to maths and English. I mean, how hard can it be? It’s only year one and year four. I should be able to manage it.’
There was silence between them for a while. A magpie flew down from a tree and started bathing in a puddle from the showers overnight. It must have been the joy of bathing in fresh water that made the magpie warble, a low, musical sound.
Finally, Maureen spoke. ‘I’m sure you’ll do brilliantly.’
‘Girls, you need to come and sit down,’ Eliza encouraged Heidi and Tilly. ‘Your teacher is going to be on the computer in about three minutes.’ She’d read up on the way this computerised teaching worked, and learned that video cameras and the internet were used. It was like watching live TV—the teacher was beamed all the way to classrooms across the state. As well, two-way audio made interaction between teacher and students possible. Eliza was keen to see it up close and how class control would be maintained.
‘But I need to check that goanna nest,’ Heidi whined.
‘No, Heidi, you need to sit at your desk and get ready.’ Teaching had come back to Eliza like she’d never stopped doing it. By staying firm but kind and not letting either of the girls get away with anything, she felt alive. How lucky she’d been that Chris had asked her to be their governess.
‘I like the songs we get to sing with Mr Goldsworth,’ Tilly said, her large eyes on Eliza.
‘We can sing some more after you’ve finished, if you like,’ Eliza answered. ‘Oh, here you go. Heidi. Bottom on your chair, please. Now.’
Heidi sat down, a pout playing on her face, but it disappeared within seconds as the call came over the computer, followed by the roll being read.
Eliza sat back and listened as the lesson was conducted. She flicked through Heidi’s workbook and made some marks next to maths questions that she wanted the little girl to attempt. Then she took some paper and drew lines across it, and wrote some basic sentences for Heidi to copy—it would be good handwriting practice.
‘Okay,’ Eliza said, when the School of the Air lessons had finished. ‘Let’s have a little break, then come back here. Heidi, would you like to show me where the goanna’s nest is?’
‘Yeah!’ Heidi was up and out the door before Eliza could give any other instructions.
‘Let’s go, Tilly,’ Eliza said. ‘We might lose her scent otherwise!’
‘What do you mean? Does she smell?’ Tilly sniffed the air.
‘Oh, it’s a little joke. When someone moves as fast as your sister just did, the only way to follow her is by her scent, or smell. A bit like following a trail. Have you ever read Hansel and Gretel?’
Tilly shook her head and, leading the way, walked out the door.
‘It’s a story about two young children who get lost in a forest, but the boy cleverly left a trail of breadcrumbs to follow home again.’ That’s the short version, she thought as she trailed behind.
‘Are you two coming?’ Heidi called.
‘We’re following your, um, smell!’ Tilly called back.
Eliza bit back a giggle.
‘I don’t smell!’
‘You do if you go too fast. That’s how we get to follow you. Eliza said so.’
‘Okay, okay. I tell you what,’ Eliza broke in. ‘What about we take a thermos and some sandwiches, so we can have a picnic out in the bush? Maybe you could show me your favourite spots to visit.’
‘I want to take you up to the top of Hunter’s Ridge,’ Tilly immediately said.
Heidi screwed up her nose. ‘No, you don’t. That’s just boring. You need to go where no one else goes. They’re the best bits of the park because they’re lonely. That’s what Dad says, anyway.’
‘We can go to both places,’ Eliza intervened. ‘We’ll just do one per day, how does that sound?’
‘Sounds better than doing schoolwork,’ Heidi answered, bouncing off.
Eliza closed her eyes and smiled. She sounded just like Chris.
‘This is where the tourists camp,’ Tilly explained.
‘Do lots of people stay here?’ Eliza glanced around at the tidy camp sites. She counted eight caravans. Outside one, a woman was sitting reading a book, and cooking smells came from within another.
A crow was perched on the top of a rubbish bin, its head deep inside.
‘Bloody crows.’ Heidi made a move to scare it off. ‘They take the rubbish and spread it around the park. Dad’s always complaining about them.’
‘Does he complain about your language?’ Eliza asked mildly and watched a blush rise on Heidi’s cheeks.
‘Heaps of people stay,’ Tilly answered Eliza’s earlier question. ‘There’s always people here. Even when it’s really cold and raining. Sometimes they come more than once.’
‘Yeah,’ Heidi chimed in. ‘Nana and Pop Taggart come quite a few times every year.’
‘Oh, it’s nice you get to see your grandparents so often. Are they your mum’s or your dad’s parents?’
Heidi continued to lead the way towards a line of gum trees, which, Eliza now knew fr
om her numerous walks, would lead to a gorge.
‘Mum’s. We don’t see that much of them, though. They’re not really kid people. Come this way.’ Heidi picked out a path that Eliza couldn’t see. She watched, in awe, the surefootedness of the young girl. She was sure that the sisters knew more about the park, and about nature and animals, than she could ever hope to. It was clear that Chris had often taken them with him when he’d been out and about, and taught them well.
Eliza wanted to ask more about their grandparents, but thought better of it when she saw Tilly’s face. Her little lips were jutting out as if she might cry. Eliza didn’t know much about Claire, but wanted to give her a piece of her mind for just up and leaving these two beautiful little girls. She would never understand how a mother could do that.
‘Just through here.’ Heidi wound her way between shrubby trees and clumps of grasses, before jumping down the bank and landing on the gravelly bed of the creek.
Eliza had walked many gorges since she’d arrived in Blinman but she never lost her wonder at the scenery. River red gums were dotted along the ragged creek edge. From the last flood, branches intertwined with leaves and bushes were tumbled against thick-trunked trees and there were deep puddles in the crevices.
‘Along here.’ Heidi kept walking.
‘Where are you taking us?’
‘To a spot that only Dad, Tilly and I know about. It’s just up here.’ She pointed to where the creek split into two.
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