Falling Into Queensland

by Jacqueline George

  “Jesus! What happened to him? Did the police do anything?”

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  “Not a chance. They never even knew about it, except by rumour, I suppose. And who cares about a stray bikie who disappears? Most of them don"t have much in the way of family.”

  They opened up the station wagon and sat waiting. Marilyn decided she hated Japan. He wasn"t too bad when he kept himself and his people on the Makepeace River, and just called for leatherwork now and again. Now he was coming down to Port Bruce and bringing his trouble with him. He was showing Shirley an ugly side of life out in the bush.

  Japan did not come for a long time. They must have waited for an hour before he appeared, carrying a small bag. He went to the rear door, where Shirley was sitting.

  “Right, Shirley. Get in the front. I want you where I can see you.”

  She had started to climb out when she noticed the bag he was carrying. “Is that mine?”

  “Yes. Get in the front. You"re coming for a holiday with me.” Suddenly he had switched hands with the bag, and was holding a narrow, silvery knife in front of him. “Marilyn, tell her not to fuck around and get in the front.”

  “I don"t want to go.” said Shirley uncertainly.

  “I don"t give a stuff. Get in the front, or I"m going to slit your nose. Believe it!”

  “Do what he says, Shirl,” warned Marilyn. “What do you want with her, Japan? She"s no good to you.”

  He stepped back to let Shirley climb out. “Oh yes she is. She"s going to be my insurance policy. Get in!”

  Once Shirley was in her seat, he reached into the glove compartment and drew out some black cable ties. “Give me your hand.” His knife was in her face again and she let him take her by the

  arm. He held her wrist against the seat belt and quickly zipped the cable tie around it. “There. That"ll hold you in place. Don"t try to move, and you"ll be OK.”

  He looked over to Marilyn. “Now, Marilyn. Young Rupert is going to take a trip for me. He"s going be carrying a bunch of money

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  to London for me. And she"s going to keep me company until I hear

  it"s arrived, OK? That a problem, Marilyn?”

  Her mind was racing, but finding no solutions. “OK,

  Japan.”

  “Good. I"m glad you"re happy, because you"re going too. You"re going to keep an eye on him, and keep calling in. I want to know that money"s safe, „cos if I think for a minute that it"s not safe, I going to start cutting little bits off Shirl here, just to keep you honest.”

  The shock of what he was saying kept Marilyn in her seat, and he had to chase her out. “Go on. Get down to the house and get Rupert up here. We take him back to your place, then I"m going into town to make some calls.”

  Still in a daze, Marilyn hurried down to the house. Rupert was standing on the veranda. He looked confused and lost. “What"s happening, Marilyn? He said I had to wait. He said Shirley was going home with him. Who is he, anyway?”

  As they went back along the boardwalk, Marilyn tried to frighten him. “You"ve got to do what he says,” she warned him. “He"s not normal. If you upset him, he"ll kill everyone without thinking. He"s crazy. Just let him get on with what he wants, and we"ll try and sort something out later.”

  “He said he wants me to go to London.”

  “Yeah. He just said that to me too. I need to hear that bit again, because I don"t know what he wants.”

  “But who is he? He can"t just take Shirley like that. Can"t we go to the police?”

  “Come on. He"s waiting. Let"s get round to my place and see what he wants. What did he say to you? I don"t know what"s going on. Bring your toothbrush. You can stay at my place tonight.”

  Marilyn pushed him out of the door and followed him up the board walk. Rupert was walking like a zombie, thoughtlessly, dragging his feet. They came to dry ground and hurried on to the station wagon. Japan was leaning against the bonnet. He held his

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  knife loosely against his side. She could see Shirley"s white, frightened face through the windscreen.

  “You drive, Marilyn. I"m going to sit in the back.”

  Marilyn climbed into the driver"s seat and slid it forward to reach the pedals. Her confused mind registered that the wagon was in better shape than her ute. She turned the vehicle and headed for

  home.

  Japan did not wait long at Marilyn"s house. He jumped out as soon as the wagon stopped, and hurried around to grab Rupert by the elbow and lead him onto the veranda. For the moment, Marilynsat alone with Shirley.”What does he want?” asked Shirley, her voice breaking with tears.

  “Don"t worry, love. He wants Rupert to move some money for him, and you"re the insurance that he won"t just run off to South America. He won"t do that, will he? Of course not, I"m joking. Anyway, I think I have to go along and stand guard over him, for what that"s worth. I expect you"ll just be visiting Midge for a few days, nothing else. Should be fun.”

  “But I don"t want to go...”

  “Of course not, but don"t worry. It won"t be long. Look – I have to go and talk to him. Don"t worry, Shirl. I"ll look out for you.” She tore herself from Shirley"s brimming eyes and went over to the veranda, where Japan had Rupert backed against the wall, haranguing him and emphasising his orders with the fist holding his knife.

  “Er, „scuse me, Japan. What"s going on?”

  “Marilyn, at least you"ve got some fucking sense. Look, this long Pommy wanker is going to carry a brief case to London for me, and he"s going to take it right back to his little office and invest it in pensions for my guys.” He turned to Rupert, “Got that, creep?”

  Rupert nodded, and Japan went on. “And you"re going with him, Marilyn, and watch the bugger really carefully because that"s my money. Any trouble, and Shirl will feel it.

  “Tell him, Marilyn. He"s got any bright ideas about going to police, I"ll hear about it before he can scratch his arse. The police"ll

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  be welcome up the Makepeace looking for her then. They won"t even find a footprint. People can evaporate out there. Tell him.”

  He left Rupert and drew Marilyn down the steps. In a low voice he said, “Look, girl. I"m counting on you. You want to see that little bit of fluff again in one piece, you watch that Pommy bastard very close. You hold his hand all the way to London, and right into his boss"s office. When you get done just call me on the satellite and say that she"s apples, and I"ll let the bird go.

  “I"ve got to hurry, because I want you moving tomorrow. Hang around the phone tomorrow early. I"m going to get him on the plane on Thursday as a courier. I"ve got him half-way set up, and I"ve got his passport here so we can sort it out. I"ll do the rest and you can pick up the tickets and paperwork in Cairns. I"ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”

  “What about me, Japan? I don"t have the money to go running off to London.”

  “Don"t worry about that. I"ll give you enough cash for the hotels and so on. Just keep your receipts so I know you"re straight. And I"ll see you right at the end of it too. Don"t worry about that either.

  “Now, we"re off. I don"t have to tell you to keep your mouth shut, but you"d better explain to him too.”

  Marilyn was still confused. “Japan, I don"t know what you want.”

  “He does. He understands exactly what I want. I"ll write it down for you, but get him to explain it all. Won"t be easy because there are rules, but that"s why you"re going. Put some backbone in the useless prick. Seems a slimy bastard to me, but that might just be his slimy Pommy accent.”

  They had got back to the car and Japan climbed into the driver"s seat. “Jesus, Marilyn, you"ve got stumpy little legs.” He slid the seat back and forth until it was comfortable. “Right, Dolly Bird. Ready to travel?”

  “Marilyn...” she begged, but there was nothing she could do.r />
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  “Don"t worry, Shirl. I"ll get Rupert back home, and then I"ll come for you. I promise. And Japan will take care of you, won"t you, Japan?”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just do your bit, and the bird"s safe. Call me that everything"s apples, and she be on her way back here next morning.”

  “But I don"t have your number.”

  “It"ll be in the papers. Wait "til you get to Cairns. I"m off.” He started the engine and jolted down the track.

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  Chapter 12

  Marilyn stood on the grass and thought about what had just happened. She had never seen Japan behave like this. She had seen him threaten people. She had seen him go crazy and beat other men into bloody messes. She had never seen him calculate, and coldly threaten a girl to get his way. That was new, and it worried her. She looked over at Rupert, still standing on the veranda. He looked like a spare prick at a bull-riding party. Shirley was in serious trouble if he was all she had to rely on.

  She walked slowly over to the house and went to the fridge. Taking two beers out to veranda, she thrust one at Rupert. “Right, sit down. I want you to explain exactly what the fuck is going on.”

  “He wants to buy some pensions.”

  “OK. I thought so. So, what"s the problem? Why"s he going crazy over it?”

  Rupert stared at his unopened beer. “It"s illegal. I think it counts as money laundering. He wants me to do it for him, but I can"t. I"d have to break the law, and besides, someone will notice.” He looked as if he might cry, and that made Marilyn angry.

  “Come on, you useless streak of piss! He"s got Shirl and you"re sitting there whinging. Tell me what you"re going to do about it! He"s not joking, you know. He never jokes, and especially where there"s money involved. You"d better get him what he wants, or Shirl is dead meat. I mean it! Dead.”

  “Can"t we go to the police?”

  “Don"t be so fucking stupid! You report it, and the first thing that will happen is a phone call to Japan. Don"t you understand? Some snitch in police HQ will be on the phone straight away, and Shirl will disappear. Then the police will make a visit to Makepeace a couple of days down the track, and Japan won"t be at home. You know why? Because he"ll be down here feeding you to the crocs, and I"ll be helping him.

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  “Don"t you understand? He"s crazy. Back him into a corner, and there"ll be blood everywhere. He"s not normal. You can"t talk to him – it"s all or nothing. You get him his pensions, or Shirl"s gone. If you"re still in the country, you"ll go too, and I"m not sure he wouldn"t get you even in London. And I won"t be hanging around here either.”

  Her attack seemed to be making him smaller as he cowered

  in his chair.

  “Oh, for Christ"s sake!” she said. “Open your fucking beer and tell me about it.” She took his bottle from him, twisted off the top, and handed it back. “Now – what did he tell you?”

  Rupert took a nervous swig at his beer. “He says he needs pensions for his men. Lots of them, but just six to start with. He doesn"t understand. He"s going to give me cash... I can"t just turn up in London with a bag of cash. They"ll stop me at the airport. And even if they don"t, I can"t take it to the office and invest it. No one would know what to do with it.”

  Marilyn thought for a while. The whole idea sounded exactly like Japan. He"d never heard of just asking people to do something. It was always „Do this or else". One of these days, he would run up against someone who could stand up to him but even then... That was the trouble with Japan. You did not have to be around him for long before you realised that nothing would stop him. You could chop his legs off, and he"d still be spitting in your eye and trying to stick you with one of his knives. He made his way not by doing the alpha male thing, dominating the rest of the pack and so on, but by being prepared to go to the wall over anything or nothing. No one screwed with Japan and just walked away.

  “So – where"s the money?”

  “He said we"d get it tomorrow. When we go to the airport. Someone will meet us and hand it over. Along with all the names and driving licence numbers. He said he"d give me a letter saying where it came from, but no-one"s going to believe that. Not if I turn up with cash, like some stupid gangster. He"s meant to transfer it to our bank properly. Then we could deal with it.”

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  “Japan"s not stupid. Don"t ever think that. Did he say when we"re going?”

  “I think there"s a plane from here tomorrow afternoon. We"re meant to take that and fly out of Cairns the next day.”

  Marilyn shrugged. She had nothing planned for the rest of the week. Now she could write London into her diary. A thought

  struck her. “Hey, what"s the weather like over there?”

  “What? Oh – miserable. Grey and rainy, mostly. You"d better take some warm clothes and a waterproof.”

  “You"re joking! The warmest things I"ve got are my motorbike leathers, and I can"t wear them.”

  “Why not? People wear anything in London.”

  Other problems crowded in, and she"d have to deal with them right now. She"d have to find Floozy a home until Ian got back. She"d have to tell Walter that Shirley was away, or he might start a search for her. What else? Rupert"s suitcase was still at the house; they would have to rescue that. They would have to find a meal at some point, because she was not going to cook.

  “Come on, Rupert. Finish that, and we"re going to get moving. Do you know where Walter is?”

  “I think he"s parked a bit up the river. Can he help?”

  “Not a chance, but I"ve got to see him. We"ll get back to the house and use Shirl"s boat to find him.”

  Walter was sitting on his stern deck reading a library book when Marilyn nudged the boat up to his stern.

  “Coffee?”

  “No, mate. No time. Look, Walter, Japan"s been down and dragged Shirl off to the Makepeace. We"re going off to London for a few days – could you look after Shirl"s place?”

  Walter was confused. “What? London? She"s going back?”

  “No, not Shirl. Japan"s dragged her off to the Makepeace. He"s going to keep her there, while we do something for him in London. We just want you to keep an eye her place. Empty the fridge and so on. You don"t mind doing that, do you?”

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  “No. Not at all. Shirl"s gone with Japan... I don"t understand

  that. What would she want with him? He"s a bad man.”

  “You got that right. She didn"t go because she wanted to. I told you, Japan"s dragged her off. He"s keeping her while we do some stuff for him in London. Once we get done, she"ll come home again.”

  Marilyn could see Walter trying to make sense of the news. It was a lot for the old man to swallow at once. She tried again, more gently this time. “Look, Walter, you"ve heard what Japan"s like. And it"s all true, believe me. He"s making us take a stack of money over to London, and he"s keeping Shirl hostage. That"s big trouble for Shirl if we have a problem. We just want you to sit tight and watch her house and the boat, that"s all. I can take care of the rest. I"ll be back in a few days anyway. I"ll see you then.”

  Walter nodded dumbly as Marilyn let go of his railing and started to drift downstream. She was going to wave goodbye, but instead she wound the motor up enough to fight the current. “And Walter – don"t tell anyone. Shirl"s got enough problems as it is.”

  “Can I tell Tom?”

  “Yes. Tell Tom, but tell him to keep quiet about it too.”

  She puttered back to the house where Rupert was packing his suitcase.

  Marilyn did not sleep well that night, and was out of bed in the grey of dawn. Rupert appeared as she was making coffee.

  “You OK?” she asked.

  “I suppose so. I was thinking about how Shirley is.”

  “I guess she"ll be right for a wh
ile. I don"t think Japan will do anything to her for a while. He"s probably got her helping out around his flat. She won"t live badly up there.”

  “Will he keep her locked up?”

  “Don"t see why he should. There"s nowhere to run to. Shirl"s too smart to try walking out of there, even if he let her.”

  Rupert took his coffee and followed Marilyn outside. He shook his head. “I still can"t believe it. Things like this just don"t happen in real life. I wish she"d never come here.”

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  “Never mind that. We"re stuck with it. Now tell me exactly what your problem is. If I dropped you in the middle of London with a suitcase of money, you"d be able to invest it, wouldn"t you?”

  “Yes, but it would have to be legal money. You know, not from committing crimes and so on.” Rupert smiled at the thought. “A suitcase of money. That would be nice. Actually, he said a briefcase of money. I wonder how much that will come to.”

  “More than enough. So, if you take your money into your office, what would happen?”

  “They"d send me out again and tell me to put it in my bank account first. But that doesn"t help, because my bank would just ask the same questions. They"d probably take the money and freeze it until I"d answered all the questions.”

  “Right. We"re not doing that. Your company must have a bank account – we can pay it in there.”

  “My company has lots of accounts. I suppose if they called the bank and guaranteed the source, we could just pay it in. But we"d still have to answer the same questions.”