by Di Morrissey
Toni was the first to break the silence.
‘So how about you and Brendan? He seems to adore you,’ Toni said gently.
‘Yes, I suppose he does,’ said Bella cautiously.
Toni laughed. ‘No suppose about it. I can see that he does just by the way he looks at you, and no one races all this way to see a girl for a couple of days if he’s not really keen on her.’
Bella gave a small smile. ‘It was a bit of a dramatic thing for Brendan to do, coming up here. Really not like him at all. Maybe he thought I’d gone troppo in the sun.’
‘I very much doubt that was the reason,’ said Toni, smiling at Bella. Bella returned Toni’s smile, but didn’t say anything further. They lapsed into silence and sat wrapped in their thoughts until they began to approach Cooktown and Bella saw the strange bare black mountain rising to one side of the road. She’d noticed it the first time she’d driven this road, too, and was again awed by the giant boulders that looked as though they had tumbled together like a collapsed building. The ancient stone blocks glistened shiny black in the sun from a recent shower of rain, while tufts of grass grew between them and emerald lichen gleamed in patches on their surface.
‘What is that black mountain called?’ Bella asked. ‘It’s quite eerie.’
‘Black Mountain,’ said Toni.
Bella burst out laughing. ‘Obviously. It’s so barren. It looks as though it was a manmade structure that fell apart.’
‘It does rather. It’s supposed to be haunted.’
‘Is it? Do you know why?’
Toni shrugged. ‘Oh, lord . . . it’s every conspiracy theorist’s delight. There are a few Indigenous stories about the mountain. Some people say it’s haunted by Aboriginal tribes massacred by Europeans in the early days. There are stories of cattle rustlers taking a thousand head of stolen cattle into the mountain as a shortcut and never coming out. Stories about people who were trapped in there and were never the same afterwards, while others were never seen again, and even the police who went searching for them disappeared. Other people say that it’s inhabited by a wild beast, a sort of Queensland tiger. So take your pick!’
‘Gracious, like Picnic at Hanging Rock. What did the people say who did come out?’
‘It appears that they were either demented or confused. Some said there were enormous caverns beneath the rocks and that there’s a light in the centre that goes way down and that this is the door to the inner earth. If you put your ear to any of the crevices it’s said you can hear moaning. Personally, I suspect that it’s just the wind, but you never know. A lot of people won’t set foot near the place.’
Bella shivered. ‘I can believe that. I wonder if Ned knows about it. I think he could make some wonderful, haunting music with all that in mind. Put it in his musical, maybe.’
Toni nodded in agreement and for the rest of the trip the two of them talked about Black Mountain and its sinister presence.
They met at Toni’s house and Ned took Toni’s bag from the car and carried it inside. As they returned to his four-wheel drive, he said to Toni, ‘I’ll go with Bella to the police station, and after that all of us can go out for lunch. You okay to meet us in the usual place, Toni? If we’re very long with the police, I’ll phone you.’ Toni nodded. Ned tried to kiss her cheek, but Toni moved away before he had the chance and then climbed the steps up to her house.
‘Good luck with the police, Bella,’ Toni called out from the verandah. ‘I’m sure everything’ll be just fine.’
Ned watched Toni go inside without a backward glance and then jumped back in the car with Bella.
‘Do you want me to stay with you while you talk to them?’ he asked when they arrived at the police station.
‘Yes, please.’
They weren’t kept long before they were met by a police sergeant with a bristly grey moustache, who carried out a copy of the statement Bella had given over the phone. He offered Bella a cup of tea and asked her kindly how she was feeling and seemed genuinely concerned by what had happened to her. When Bella assured him that she was coming to terms with her abduction and that she was feeling a lot better, he said that he was impressed by her courage and her resilience. Then he asked her to read through her statement and sign it if she was satisfied that it was correct.
‘I guess that’s about all,’ he said when Bella handed the signed statement back. ‘I bet you thought it was a miracle that your brother found you when he did.’
‘He had help, but yes, to say I was pleased to see him is a bit of an understatement.’
‘Do you have any idea who these men might be?’ Ned pressed.
The sergeant shook his head. ‘Not really. We’ve had occasional reports of boats coming into the coast at night or first light and we believe there’s been some sort of exchange of merchandise. Maybe drugs, but we’re not sure. There’re some pretty fast boats that could be fishing charters except they turn up in odd places. You mentioned a cove, Bella. There’s a few places on the Cape where that could be. But if these men are involved in this sort of activity on the coast, I’m not sure what they would be doing so far inland. Bit of a puzzle, really. I’m sorry you got caught up in it. Still, we have a good description of two of them, so we’ll circulate it and hope that someone recognises them. And your sister has told me that two of these men probably came into the house earlier and stole from you, Mr Chisholm?’
Ned shifted in his seat. ‘Yes, more than a week ago. One of those men had a mullet haircut. I should have reported it to you when it happened, but I really didn’t think they’d come back,’ Ned said, shaking his head.
The sergeant smoothed his moustache. ‘Well, it looks as though they did. Wanted more supplies, especially alcohol, and they knew where to get it, it would seem.’ The sergeant eyed Ned. ‘It’s a bit of pity, sir, that you didn’t report the initial incident, don’t you think?’ he said gruffly.
‘Yes,’ said Ned, reddening. ‘I feel very guilty about what happened and I blame myself.’
‘I’m not quite so harsh on him,’ said Bella. ‘With the benefit of hindsight, we can all say we’d make different decisions.’
‘Very true,’ said the sergeant. ‘Will you be around if we need to speak with you again, Ms Chisholm?’
‘Oh. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here,’ said Bella. ‘Probably only a few days. I’m heading to Cairns and then back to Victoria for the time being. There’s an important family event I need to attend.’
‘I’m not surprised you’re off. This is the end of the tourist season; the wet’s about ready to start. But I have your details and I’ll be in touch if anything comes up. Even though you’ve had a frightening experience, I hope you can manage to enjoy the rest of your time in the north. It’s a special place.’ The sergeant smiled and collected his papers. He showed them out the door and Bella heaved a sigh as they stepped out into the sunshine.
Ned put his arm around Bella as they walked towards the car. ‘Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’ he said. ‘I thought the copper was pretty sympathetic.’
‘I suppose he was. I just hope that they catch the buggers. But he didn’t sound very confident,’ said Bella.
‘Give it time, Bella. You seem pretty sure about what they looked like.’
Bella nodded. ‘I can guarantee that I would be able to recognise the bloke in the blue shirt again anywhere. His nasty little eyes are etched into my soul,’ she said angrily. She stopped and Ned rubbed her arm.
‘It’s okay, Bella,’ he said reassuringly. ‘He’ll get what’s coming to him. Let me return my library books and then we’ll go to the museum.’
Both Ned and Bella were pleased to return to the stately old convent building. There were still tourists about in the museum. At the entrance, Ned asked if Ken Harris was around, and the pleasant woman collecting the fees told them where they were likely to find him. Just as they were about to pa
y for their entry, they were greeted by the curator.
‘Hey there, Ned! Don’t worry about the entry fee. It’s free for our volunteers!’ He hurried over and shook Ned’s hand enthusiastically, then pointed at the box under Ned’s arm. ‘You’ve got the Bish’s box, I see. How’d you go with it?’
Ned grinned at the friendly curator. ‘My sister helped me hugely.’ He gestured to Bella. ‘Ken, this is my sister, Bella, and she’s been intrigued by the letters in the box, just as I have been.’ Ken smiled broadly and shook Bella’s hand.
‘Lovely to meet you,’ said Bella. ‘I really enjoyed reading through the material. There was a whole pile of letters written by a Sister Evangelista. They are just wonderful. She describes life as it was in Cooktown more than a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, many of the letters are incomplete, some no more than fragments, but the way she writes is so evocative that it’s hard to stop reading them.’
Ken’s face lit up. ‘Ah, Sister Evangelista, the “little sister”, as she was known. She was quite tiny but a great character. I can show you some more about her, if you like. Come on upstairs.’
They followed the curator to the upper floor and down the hall to the end room.
‘Ah, the corner room. This is where I saw the box,’ said Ned. ‘And what a view there is from here!’
He glanced out of the high, wide window at the township and sparkling water beyond.
‘Yes,’ said Ken. ‘It has such a good view that the room was used by the Americans as an observation post when they took over the convent during the Second World War. It is said that you could see the flash of the guns from the battle of the Coral Sea from this very spot.’
‘That is amazing,’ said Bella. ‘So what happened to Sister Evangelista while the Americans were here?’
‘She and most of the other nuns were evacuated. Actually, the Americans damaged the building so badly while they were here that the school was never reopened. Such a pity. Now this room is just a storeroom, but I often imagine her sitting there, at the window . . .’
‘This was her room?’ asked Bella. She glanced around at the space and tried to imagine it as it would have been when Sister Evangelista had inhabited it.
‘I started to hear music in here,’ said Ned quietly.
Bella stared at him. ‘Whoo hoo! Maybe she haunts this room.’
‘More likely one of the tourists was trying out one of the instruments we have on display in another part of the museum,’ said Ken with a chuckle. ‘Anyway, Sister Evangelista was a feisty old nun, but everyone loved her, that’s according to a few people I’ve met who knew her. She was the last of the original Irish nuns who came here so long ago. She was in her nineties when she died, sometime in the 1950s. Do you know that she never left north Queensland after she arrived from Ireland all those years ago? Just amazing.’
‘It certainly is. What a lot of history she must have witnessed,’ said Ned.
‘There’s no doubt about that,’ replied Ken. ‘I believe that she stayed on here in Cooktown even when other nuns moved away. She was greatly dedicated to the place.’
In the silence that followed, Bella remembered what she had wanted to ask the curator. ‘Ken, I’m wondering, have you ever heard of a singer, Atlanta . . . Pedersen, I think she must have been called. Attie. She had a super singing voice. An Islander girl,’ said Bella.
Ken rubbed his face. ‘That would be Atlanta Cookson. That was her stage name. She came here to the convent school, you know, and called herself after the town. She had been adopted by the Pedersens, who were a somewhat eccentric white family who lived nearby.’
Bella smiled broadly. ‘Sister Evangelista mentioned in one of her letters that she was going to try to get Attie sent to St Mary’s as she had quite a talent, so I’m pleased to hear that she did come here in the end. Is there any more information about the Pedersens and Attie?’ asked Bella. ‘I met a woman who told me about a South Sea Island child who had been adopted by a white family and her name was changed to Atlanta, Attie for short. It’s such an unusual name that it must be the same person. My friend would probably love to know more about this Attie.’
‘There’s quite a lot to be told about Atlanta Cookson. She was a most remarkable person.’
‘How exciting. I’ll have to do more research,’ said Bella.
Ned glanced at his watch and then turned to Ken. ‘Thank you so much for the Bish’s box. It’s been very enlightening,’ said Ned. ‘I’ve really enjoyed reading the letters. But we must go, as we have to start heading back before it gets dark and we haven’t had lunch yet.’
Ken nodded. ‘Then I’ll let you go, but thanks again for sorting through the box and leaving your notes.’
‘I don’t feel I did all that much,’ replied Ned. ‘My sister was the one who became really intrigued with the stories in Sister Evangelista’s letters.’
Ken turned to Bella. ‘Then thank you, Bella, as well. I expect you’ll be heading south pretty soon, like everyone else.’ He ushered them out of the room and closed the door behind him.
‘Yes, I’ll have to head home soon, but I have been fascinated by what I’ve learned in this part of the world,’ Bella replied. As they walked down the hall, she looked back at the closed door and thought again of Sister Evangelista.
‘There’re many stories, often little known, about the Cape and the far north,’ said Ken, gesturing for Bella to go ahead of him down the stairs. ‘I love being here. Maybe we’ll see you back again sometime.’
‘Maybe,’ said Bella.
As they stepped out into the sunny street, Ned said, ‘It’s a bit of a time warp, isn’t it?’
‘The museum? Or this town?’ asked Bella.
‘Both,’ Ned replied. ‘Are you hungry? Shall we get some lunch?’ Bella nodded, so Ned pulled out his phone and texted Toni to arrange to pick her up, but she replied she wasn’t feeling up to it and the two should go ahead and have lunch without her.
Bella thought about the last lunch they’d shared at the riverside restaurant, not so long before. Since then so much had happened, both good and bad, that it seemed to her as though time had expanded. Ned sat opposite her at the table. He’d been looking dejected ever since he’d received the text from Toni.
‘I wish that Toni could have joined us. It’s a shame she’s not feeling well,’ she said. Ned just grunted in reply.
‘Ned,’ Bella continued tentatively, ‘I realise that time is fast running out for us to stay at Carlo’s. Have you made a decision about your next move?’ She buttered a piece of sourdough bread and popped it into her mouth.
Ned sighed moodily. ‘Well, I think I need to earn some money, but I’d find that difficult to do in Cooktown, especially in the wet season, so I’m going to have to move south. Maybe Cairns, if I can get enough work, or if I can’t, I’ll have to go back to Melbourne. That’s got the best music scene.’
‘I see,’ Bella replied. She wanted to press him further, but decided against it. She was not sure if Ned was facing the reality of needing to find work, or using his work as an excuse to avoid making a decision about Toni and the baby. Nonetheless Bella hoped Ned would not leave his decision too long. After her conversation with Toni on the drive into Cooktown, Bella had grasped how strong and independent Toni was, and she knew that if Ned vacillated too long or refused outright to make any real commitment to this baby, Toni would close the door on him. But no matter what her thoughts on the matter, in the end Bella knew it was Ned’s choice and his alone, so she wasn’t going to say any more about it.
Instead, she turned her thoughts to her own future. Away from the river house and its rather lost-world atmosphere, Bella had begun to think seriously about what she was going to do. Here in Cooktown she had noticed that there were fewer tourists around now that the wet season was almost here. Perhaps tourism up in the north was only really feasible in the dry season, and that this
limited time span might not be enough to make Antony’s project financially viable. She would have to raise that point with Antony.
After they’d ordered, Ned excused himself to go to the bathroom. Deciding to take the bull by the horns, Bella pulled out her phone and rang Antony, but her call went through to his voicemail. She left a message saying she’d be back in Cairns soon and she’d try to make contact with him again.
Bella had more success when she phoned Josie. Her mother sounded very happy to hear from her and said that she was pleased that Bella and Ned were spending time together. Bella assured Josie that she would be home in plenty of time for the ceremony, but said nothing about Ned’s plans, and Josie did not ask any questions. Still, it was nice to chat to her mother, and even in those few minutes, Bella realised that she missed Josie’s company and was looking forward to seeing her again. After she hung up, she scanned her emails. A work colleague had sent a message letting her know that the aborted project she had been working on for the Tennyson Council just before she came away had been resurrected and was ready to go. Bella frowned. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the news. She was pleased to hear that the project was going ahead, but she was no longer sure that she wanted to be the one to work on it. Of course, if she decided to move up north, she wouldn’t have to. She sighed. But if she did make the move, where would that leave things with Brendan? Her thoughts just went round in circles.
Ned and their meals arrived at the table simultaneously and they ate in silence. As she tasted the delicious mud crab, Bella thought about how she had got out of the habit of using her phone. With no coverage, she had put the phone in her bag and ignored it. And the sky hadn’t fallen in. She realised that apart from the piece of work news she’d just received, in all the time she’d been away none of her friends appeared to have had any dramatic news that she was sorry to have missed. She resolved that in future she would live life without feeling as though her phone would have to be surgically removed from her hand. Perhaps letters were the way to go; only the significant things went in, and the pointless and the extraneous details were left out. Maybe that was why Sister Evangelista’s letters were so entertaining. The nun had recognised what was important.