As he drove slowly down the main street looking for the signpost to The Base hospital, an ambulance turned out of the road to his left. It never occurred to him at the time that it could have been the vehicle that had transported Suzi to hospital; after all, every ambulance in Queensland was painted creamy yellow.
When he finally found the casualty ward, the nurse was helpful, but apologetic.
‘Doctor Hodge treated her for immersion and shock, but was unable to convince her that she should remain in hospital overnight. She said something about having to catch a flight to England tomorrow.’
‘Did she give a local address?’
The nurse looked at the treatment card and shook her head. ‘No, nothing all at all, only her name; Suzi Lysle Spencer, and her date of birth.’ She glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘You’ve just missed her… she picked up a prescription from the pharmacy and left about ten minutes ago.’
Steve thanked the nurse and walked out to the car park and climbed into his car. So he had been right. It really was his Suzi. He shook his head, almost afraid to believe it. He sighed as the late afternoon sun cast shadows across the cane fields, and drove back to the resort area deep in thought. What now, he wondered. Should he try to find out where she was staying in Airlie Beach? He knew that a lot of tourists were bussed in for the day. Suzi could have been in transit. She might even be staying in Proserpine.
Well, he could soon find out. He found an empty phone booth with an intact telephone directory and began calling all the hotels and motels in the area. None of them had a Suzi Lysle Spencer booked into their establishment. He phoned Kerry, the owner of the sailing boat and asked if he knew where the ticket had been purchased. The man grunted a reply and then dropped the phone onto something hard. A few minutes later he came back on the line.
‘I’m not sure, but I think it’s the last one that was sold. The receptionist at the Airlie Beach Hotel badgered me into letting her sell one more ticket.’ He let out a lengthy sigh. ‘I shouldn’t have listened to her; I was already fully booked. There’ll be hell let loose when the harbour master finds out.’
The hotel receptionist kept Steve hanging on the line for nearly two minutes and then asked him to wait some more. He hung up and dialled again, but the line was busy. In desperation he jumped into the Toyota and drove down to the hotel.
‘I seem to have a trouble getting through to anyone here,’ Steve said, when the girl on the desk looked up from her desk to face him. ‘You kept me hanging on the line and now… ‘
‘What’s the trouble?’ a voice said.
Steve turned around to look at the speaker, a burly man with a shock of unruly hair, staring at him.
‘I don’t remember addressing you. I want some information from this young lady.’
‘What do you want to know?’
The receptionist stared at the man with a resigned look on her face, but said nothing.
Steve took a deep breath and then asked,
‘Is there a Suzi Lysle Spencer staying in the hotel?’
‘Who wants to know?’ The burly man positioned himself in front of the desk.
‘I do, she’s a friend, and I was told she might be here.’
The man grabbed the register from in front of the girl. He flipped through the pages and then threw it back on the desk. ‘You’re wasting your time… and ours,’ he said. ‘She’s not here.’
‘Thanks for nothing,’ Steven said bitterly. ‘You sure run a great hotel.’
‘If you don’t like it, get lost. We don’t need trouble-makers around here.’
Rather than get into a slanging match or worse, Steve walked outside. Best forget it , he told himself; it’s not worth fighting over . But he was no closer to knowing whether Suzi was still in the area or on her way back to Brisbane.
He phoned his parents that evening and told them he would be back in a couple of days. Norah told him Kirsty and Joey’s bodies had already been released and the funeral was scheduled for tomorrow, but she urged him not to hurry home.
‘Nobody will be upset if you’re not here. The people who count know you were on the way to Queensland to install some pumps when the accident occurred. They won’t expect you to drop everything and return. ‘
When he paid his account the next morning, he asked if the manager at the Airlie Beach Hotel was usually that rude. Then he repeated the man’s words.
‘Was he a big burly fellow?’ When Steve nodded, he continued. ‘Ah, that’s the publican’s brother. He’s a bit of a pest. When he’s tanked up he’s likely to say anything to anyone.’
‘But…’
‘Oh, he’ll be gone by now. He comes around, scrounges some money for booze and then heads off again. Strange sort of fellow; harmless enough really, but rather intimidating.’ The man laughed. ‘The staff know better than to argue with him when he’s drunk. That’s Airlie Beach for you. Full of odd characters.’
‘Very odd if you ask me.’
‘It’s a pity you didn’t think to tell me about it when you came back,’ the manager said. ‘My sister-in-law was on the desk last night, and I could have rung her for you.’ He lifted the phone. ‘I’ll give them a bell now, if you like… see what they know.’
Steve watched as the man spoke to someone at the hotel and nodded.
‘She was there. Apparently she was sharing a twin room with a woman called Bronwyn-Smythe. That’s why her name wasn’t on the register,’ he explained. ‘But they’ve gone. They booked out early this morning.’
Steve thanked the man, made his way outside and climbed into the Toyota. He was still shaking his head in disbelief as he turned onto the highway and headed south towards Brisbane. Why hadn’t he thought to go back later? Well, it was too late now. There must be a reason why I didn’t find her in time . Then he consoled himself with the thought that nothing happens without a reason. He tuned into a local radio station to help pass the time and caught the tail end of the news.
The announcer gave a brief weather summary and then chuckled.
‘Now we’ve got the delightful Dolores with the day’s astrological forecast.
The woman made some indiscernible remark about rude disk jockeys and launched into her daily predictions in a broad nasal twang. Her last words were:
‘Don’t forget, you can’t deny your destiny. Everything is written in the stars.’
Her final words were to roll around in Steve’s his mind for the next hour. Was everything written in the stars? Had Suzi’s brush with death been preordained? Had he been meant to be on hand to save her? And if so—were their lives inexplicably entwined?
He pushed on for the rest of the day and made Rockhampton just before the sun set. The next day he handed the car keys back at the airport hire desk and boarded a plane for Auckland.
*
Lloyd brought Charlize back to the room a couple of hours later, and stayed long enough to assure himself that Suzi was all right before leaving. She felt a bit guilty about the situation, because she knew they would have preferred to spend the night together, but Charlize soon put her mind at rest.
‘Don’t be silly. Do you think I’d leave you alone after what you’ve gone through?’ She picked up the electric kettle. ‘Do you want tea or coffee?’
As she sipped her tea, Suzi spoke about her lucky escape.
‘I’m still wondering if it really was Steve who rescued me, or my imagination,’ she said, thoughtfully. ‘The ambulance man said that as far as he knew the person who pulled me out of the water was taken back to the sailing boat. I wonder if I can find out what happened to him afterwards?’
‘We’d have made enquires for you if we’d known, but it’s bit late now.’ Charlize looked at her wristwatch. ‘I don’t think we’ll get much help phoning around at this time of night.’
‘You’re probably right.’ Suzi yawned noisily. ‘Let’s get some sleep; it’s an early start in the morning.’
Lloyd fussed over Charlize as they checked in their luggage at Pro
serpine airport. It was quite obvious that he was upset that Charlize was leaving. They clung together until the last moment, and then she broke from his embrace and ran across the tarmac to the waiting plane.
‘Are you all right?’ Suzi asked, as her friend slid into the seat beside her and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
‘Yes,’ she sniffed. ‘I’ll be all right.’
By the time their plane landed at Brisbane airport, Charlize had regained her composure. She told Suzi that Lloyd had promised to keep in touch, and they had already made tentative plans for the future. Neither of them saw their relationship as a holiday romance. ‘He’s made me promise to phone him when I get home,’ she said, brightly, ‘and he hinted that he might be able to arrange some time off in a few weeks and pop over to the UK.’
After they had checked in their luggage at the Qantas desk, the two women bought some duty free Australian wine and a few more souvenirs. Then it was time to board the plane for the long flight back to Britain.
*
The brilliant blue skies of Queensland were but a memory as the aircraft descended through the grey clouds and taxied to the terminal at Heathrow. They were back home.
‘Well, here we are safe and sound,’ Suzi said, as they struggled through the crowded concourse. She flashed Charlize a smile. ‘I enjoyed it immensely; it’s been great fun.’
‘Yes, it’s been a wonderful experience, and I’m so glad you were able to come with me.’
They threw their bags into the back of the Alfa Romeo and headed out onto the M25 and west to Wales. Three hours later, Suzi turned the key in the front door and shivered. The place felt like a refrigerator in comparison to the heat she’d been in for two weeks. She should have arranged for Mark to switch on the heating for her. She phoned The Stow Restaurant to say that she was back, and Mark said he wanted to call in after he had finished work.
‘No, Mark, I’m not good company right now. The flight was tiring, and I need to catch up on my sleep. Let me rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’
As she slipped in between the sheets, Suzi recalled the night she and Steve Pardoe had made love in this very room; in this very bed. She stared at the ceiling and wondered why she had not made the effort to find out it if he had been on the powerboat. That thought would be with her for the rest of her life. But what if it had been him? What would she have done she had found him? Would she have professed her love for him and expected him to reciprocate?
Then she reminded herself that he lived and worked in New Zealand and she could think of no reason why he should have been on the Whitsunday Coast in the middle of summer. It seemed unlikely—and yet it could have been possible. But surely, if it had been Steve, he would have checked to see if she was all right? After all he was a very caring person. Maybe he had tried to find her and had been unsuccessful. The questions kept flooding her mind—but no answers came.
‘I’ll never know for sure, I suppose,’ she murmured, into her pillow. As she fell asleep, Suzi remembered her grandmother’s creed that everything happened for a reason and nothing was accidental. So if it had been Steve who rescued her, it was meant to happen.
Mark greeted her with open arms when she walked into the restaurant the next morning, and embraced her for a long time.
‘It’s great to have you back,’ he said, holding her hands as if to stop her ever leaving again. ‘I’ve missed you more than I could have imagined.’ He looked her up and down. ‘You haven’t got much of a tan.’
‘I don’t tan, I burn. I had to keep covered most of the time. But you should see Charlize; she’s as brown as a nut.’ Then she laughed softly. ‘And hey, you’ll never guess what happened… she’s fallen in love.’
‘Charlize in love? I don’t believe it,’ Mark said, incredulously. ‘She’s the last of the great bachelor girls.’
‘Well, someone has finally got under her skin’ Over the next ten minutes Suzi filled him in on all the details of Charlize’s romance with Lloyd. ‘They seem irresistibly drawn to each other. It’s quite incredible.’ She sighed. ‘I’m so happy for her.’
It only took a few days to settle back into the job. Narelle had managed very well in her absence, but was happy to relinquish the role of hostess. Everything seemed as it had always been, but there was one thing that caused her real concern, and that was Mark’s obsession with horse racing. He spent all his spare time between the end of the luncheon period, until it was time to prepare for the evening meal, hunched over the table by the window, studying the racing section of the newspaper and making copious notes.
When she questioned him, he just smiled.
‘It’ll pay off, you’ll see.’
*
Mark had recouped some of his losses two days before Suzi returned from Australia, but he needed a good win to put him in front again. At last he appeared to have found the horse to change his luck. Golden Shadow fitted the picture perfectly. The horse won comfortably, but its price had shortened as the race time neared and so he didn’t win as much as he expected.
‘Oh, well,’ he muttered, pocketing the money and walking out of the betting shop. ‘At least I’ve proved I can pick winners, so there’s no limit to how much I can win.’
Two days later another horse fulfilled all the requirements, and once again he slipped out to place a bet. Like Golden Shadow, it won easily, but this time the dividend was far greater. Now he had a sizeable bank to play with, and he was determined to push his luck and reap the rewards of his efforts.
As soon as everything was back to normal, Mark suggested a day out. He bowed to Suzi’s wishes to spend the day poking around country lanes and visiting some of the picturesque places nearby. In as much as she enjoyed the holiday in Australia, she had disliked the harshness of the land and the excessive heat. Now all she wanted to do was revel in the sight of gently rolling hills and the lush green fields of her native Wales.
They headed north along the road that wound through the Wye Valley, turning off into the side roads that took their fancy, until they found a delightful little pub that served a good lunch. When they returned home mid-evening, Suzi was tempted to invite him to stay for evening meal, but then thought better of it, and gently eased him out through the door again.
Why do I feel threatened by him?, she mused, as she watched him drive away. It was not as if he had caused her any problems, and so far he hadn’t said anything about getting engaged. If only she could be like Charlize. Her friend was still floating on air and singing Lloyd’s praises to everyone and anyone who would listen.
‘I’ll give her a call,’ she murmured picking up the phone, but the number was engaged. A few minutes later she picked it up again and hesitated, finger poised over the automatic redial button. Then she replaced the receiver and nodded an answer to her silent question. ‘Yes, I’ll pop over and see her instead.’
Chapter Twenty Three
Charlize opened the door and looked at Suzi in amazement. ‘What on earth...?’ she began, ‘I’ve been trying to ring you.’
‘Well, I’ve been trying to ring you as well, but your phone was engaged so I decided to pop over instead.’ She dropped down onto the sofa. ‘So what’s new? You seem rather excited about something.’
‘I’ve just been talking to Lloyd.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘Better than that, he’s on his way over. He was calling from Auckland airport to say his flight has been delayed.’
‘But…’
‘He rang a couple of hours ago to say that he’d manage to arrange some time off and he’d be on the first available plane.’ Charlize gave a little giggle. ‘Apparently his partners didn’t mind him taking a couple of weeks off at short notice.
‘I didn’t know he was a partner.’
‘Neither did I until a few days ago. He didn’t say anything while we were in Queensland, because he was concerned that I’d think he was just trying impress me.’ She gave another little giggle. ‘He said he didn’t want to skite.’
‘Oh, it’s one of those funny expressions they use in that part of the world. It means to boast, swank, or show-off. Anyway it turns out that he’s quite wealthy, has a luxury apartment overlooking Auckland harbour, and a batch, whatever that is, somewhere up north.’
Suzi shook her head.
‘Well, how about you then? So what are you going to do, now?’
‘Oh, just wait and see what happens when he gets here.’
As she drove home Suzi thought about her friend’s revelation. She had known Charlize for many years, and this was the first time she could ever recall her being excited about a man. Normally she treated most of them with disdain, as if they were not worthy of her attention. The occasional one that managed to capture her interest usually did not stay around for long, and very few made it to the bedroom, so Lloyd had to be extra special.
Then she thought of Steve. Would it possible to find out if he had been on the Whitsunday Coast the day she fell off the boat? Airlie Beach was only a small resort town and there were only a handful of places that offered accommodation. But whom could she approach to find out? And was it important? Yes, it was, she decided, but there were still too many unanswered questions surrounding the whole episode. She hesitated; maybe it would be better to leave it alone.
The morning mail contained a letter from Mr Duncan, the solicitor. In stiff legal terms it stated that Steve Pardoe was against the proposal to use Caxton Manor as a restaurant and venue for receptions. He would not consider allowing it to be mortgaged but he would consider selling his share of the property.
So much for that, thought Suzi. Then she continued to read. The solicitor stated that there were no objections to her occupying the building. The letter stated:
Mr Pardoe has informed me that he is conscious of the need to protect the property, and has agreed to your wish to reside at Caxton Manor until such time as everything has been finalised. Well, that’s something at least, she mused.
Suzi dropped the letter back onto the table and stared into space. It was quite evident that Steve had very little interest in the building itself, or in its heritage. She found it hard to understand such an attitude, but then she reminded herself that he lived on the opposite side of the world, where values were different, and ancient buildings were hard to come by. Caxton Manor had no charm as far as he was concerned—it was just another old building.
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