Back to the Pilliga

by Tony Parsons

  ‘Maybe she is and maybe she isn’t. She’s a fair bit younger than me and she’s got a big future in the police force if she wants it. Her uncle is a bigwig in the force. He used to be my boss. Gaye comes off the land and she’s pretty keen on the bush and very keen on horses. She’s a great girl and we got on very well but that was for only a couple of days during a dangerous assignment. How we’d get on long-term is another matter. That said, I think you’d like Gaye,’ I said.

  ‘Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? Let matters take their course,’ she said.

  ‘I don’t propose to make the same mistakes I made with Fiona,’ I assured her.

  ‘That’s encouraging,’ she said with a gleam in her eyes. ‘I would very much like to meet Gaye.’

  ‘If you meet her I’ll be very much farther down the track with her than I am today. But right now I’ve got an awful lot to do,’ I said.

  I had laid out my position as honestly as I was able and I could do no more. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for Mum but I wouldn’t put up with Stuart. I had to make an attempt to tolerate him because I’d have to deal with him about the subdivision of my third of Kamilaroi and with the drafting off of one third of the property’s livestock. But while the subdivision was relatively urgent, the division of sheep and cattle wouldn’t happen until I had a place to put them.

  The rest of the day was largely spent in the kitchen where Mum ran up two tins of her incomparable shortbread for me to take back to Sydney before she turned in earnest to preparing dinner. The steak she cooked was from one of our steers and literally melted in the mouth. Together with baked potatoes, onions and spinach, and topped by Mum’s glorious gravy, it was a meal I remembered for days. It was followed by fruit salad and cream and ice cream.

  ‘That’s the best meal I’ve eaten for a long time and I’ve been to a few good restaurants in Sydney,’ I said. ‘That was a meal and a half.’

  ‘I hope your young lady over the horizon is interested in cooking,’ she said.

  ‘In the short time I was with her, she told me she liked cooking, which Fiona never did. Her idea of a meal was to find some new restaurant where they only gave you enough to fit in the corner of an eye. I used to be hungry a lot in those days,’ I said.

  It was great to have Mum to myself. She’d known heartbreak and loss and she’d put up with an autocratic husband for most of her life. She had suffered through my divorce and now she was going to have to endure the breakup of her eldest son’s marriage. Yet despite all this, my mother was a grand lady and I’d never heard a bad word said about her. I hoped there was some way I could make her really happy. I loved her and I was proud of her.

  CHAPTER 23

  I dawdled over breakfast and didn’t get away from Kamilaroi till mid-morning. It was tough to leave Mum even though Stuart wasn’t far away. I’d always loved her but I’d never been able to talk about the things that really mattered. This time we had and I felt all the better for it.

  On the way back to Sydney I decided to camp in the wine country on the southern side of Merriwa where I bought some wine for Christine. I also poked about and took some pictures of birds. I was lucky enough to get a couple of pics of a curiously mismarked magpie that was more white than black.

  Next morning I made an early start and, on reaching the outskirts of Sydney, drove first to my house at Neutral Bay. After stacking all my new camping gear way in the toolshed I sat and had a cuppa with Nicole and Vickie. They’d only arrived late the previous afternoon but they already looked much happier than when I’d last seen them and were very pleased with my house and its location.

  I arrived at my office just before midday where I found Christine drinking coffee while talking on the phone to Dasher.

  ‘What’s doing?’ I asked when she got off the phone.

  ‘Greetings, Oh Great One. I hear you covered yourself in glory and are now universally popular with everyone in the Force,’ she said before handing me a couple of faxes and some printed-out emails from quite a number that were on her desk. I scanned them quickly and handed them back to her. ‘Okay, so that’s that. What else? Oh, by the way, thanks for helping Nicole and Vickie to get settled in yesterday,’ I said.

  ‘No worries at all. They’re both lovely. There’s nothing of immediate concern happening. Probably about a couple of hours of going through paperwork to get it up to date,’ she said.

  ‘Hmm. Where’s Dasher?’ I asked.

  ‘Having the day off and awaiting your commands, Oh Great One. Actually he was commanded to mow the lawns which he hadn’t done while he was in here with me. He’ll be in tomorrow morning,’ said Christine.

  ‘Poor henpecked old bloke. Have you heard from Luke?’ I asked.

  ‘Twice, actually. He rang yesterday evening and said that you-know-who was very pleased with you,’ she said. ‘And so he should be. You did all the nutting out and took all the risks – including getting shot again – to rescue Caroline Clemenger. And you also managed to identify the bank robbers and let the police get all the credit. Why wouldn’t they be pleased?’

  As it turned out we worked well into the early evening. Christine took me through a couple of reports Dasher had done and updated me on some new potential clients and their requirements. All of this would look good for a person looking to buy my agency.

  ‘Thanks for that,’ I said when we finally called it a day. ‘Let’s head out to dinner.’

  ‘Sure. By the way, what was she like?’ she asked.

  Who?’ I asked.

  ‘Gaye Walker. Who else?’ she said. ‘A little bird told me that DSC Walker is a real bombshell.’

  ‘I thought you might have meant Caroline Clemenger. Well, DCS Walker is a very capable woman who did her job very well,’ I said refusing to rise to the bait. ‘She’ll probably get a commendation and get pushed up to sergeant very quickly.’

  ‘That reminds me, apropos of your accommodation dilemma. Somebody’s already offered you accommodation now that Nicole and Vickie have taken over your house,’ she said.

  ‘Really?’ I said with some astonishment. ‘But how could anyone have known?’

  ‘It seems that Mrs Kendall found out somehow and her cousin Rosemary happens to own a very large house with oodles of rooms to spare and would love to have someone “really trustworthy” come and stay there. And who more trustworthy could she have but the lovely man who rescued dear Eunice’s daughter,’ she said. ‘That’s the address and that’s the phone number. I know you’re being very self-sacrificing giving up your house for Nicole but you can’t camp here indefinitely. It’s only a stopgap measure.’

  I looked at her and shook my head. She was always sorting things out without taking any credit and finding me accommodation was just the latest in a long line of things she’d done for me and others over the years. I was going to miss having Christine around. As well as loving to help people she was very entertaining with a sure-fire sense of humour and a very sharp business brain.

  ‘Chris, if I sell this agency and somebody buys it as a going concern, would you want to stay here?’ I asked.

  ‘But why would you want to sell it given how well this last case has gone? You’ll have cases galore after this,’ she said.

  ‘I’m sick of dealing with crims and I’ve decided to pull the plug. Going up to Coonabarabran confirmed to me that I’m a country boy at heart. I’m going to sell my third share of Kamilaroi and that ought to give me enough to buy a decent property. I’ll get a third share of the sheep and cattle from Kamilaroi so I’ll be able to stock any farm I buy with top quality stuff straight away. Then there’s Mrs Kendall’s money which might come in handy for something. Finding the right property will be my major priority over the next little while so I’m not interested in new cases. As of this moment the agency is on the market,’ I said.

  ‘I see. Well, I guess any decision I make would depend on who bought it. If it was Dasher or some other retired cop I might be persuaded to stay on. It’s a
very congenial place to work,’ she said.

  ‘I’d have to get Paul’s agreement for the agency to remain here. He might want to charge market rent for someone else. He’s been very fair with me. Mind you, I’ve put a good number of investors his way,’ I said.

  ‘That you have,’ she agreed and then picked up two pieces of paper and handed them across to me. ‘By the way, Cousin Charlie sent this to me.’

  Cousin Charlie was one of Christine’s affluent relatives but more to the point he was a financial guru who made a large percentage of his income dealing in shares. He had a soft spot for Christine and was continually tipping her off about what shares to buy and sell. Christine had passed this information on to me several times and I’d done very well out of it.

  I whistled through my teeth as I digested Cousin Charlie’s latest financial advice. ‘What are you going to do about it?’ I asked.

  ‘I’m going to follow his advice,’ she said.

  ‘Do you want to put some of your Kendall money into these shares?’ she asked.

  ‘Maybe. Would you mind making me a copy?’ I asked.

  ‘You can keep that. It is a copy,’ she said.

  ‘I’ve appreciated you passing on Cousin Charlie’s tips, Christine,’ I said.

  ‘I know that,’ she replied.

  ‘I’ve made enough money from those tips to buy me the best Hereford bull in Australia. If I get him I’m going to call him Charlie,’ I said.

  ‘You could hardly call him Christine,’ she said.

  ‘That’s what I’ll call his first heifer calf,’ I said.

  ‘Moo,’ she said in a very fair imitation of a calf calling its mother. I shook my head. I was definitely going to miss Christine.

  After dinner with Christine I slept at the office and woke feeling very bright. I had a scratch breakfast of toast and vegemite and two cups of tea before I headed off to see Rosemary Mitchell about living with her while I tried to sell the agency and find a good property. I drew up outside a large grand home with a great view of the harbour. According to Christine it had been in Rosemary’s late husband’s family for yonks and was worth a pretty penny.

  Rosemary turned out to be an extraordinary woman who’d lived a highly adventurous life. She’d climbed in the Himalayas, sailed extensively in the south Pacific and, wonder of wonders, photographed orchids in the Amazon jungle. Her late husband, who’d been her companion for most of her forays, had died from something he’d picked up in New Guinea and she told me she’d been thinking for some time of taking in a boarder both because she liked company but also because she needed money to augment her income. I later learned that it was Rosemary’s ‘adventures’ that had inspired Caroline Clemenger’s travels across the planet. Rosemary had taken Caroline on her first such adventure to an African game park followed by a hike up Mount Kilimanjaro.

  A few days after I moved in with Rosemary, I received word that DS Ballinger wanted to see me.

  ‘You got my report, Super?’ I asked after we greeted each other.

  ‘Yes, and this job you did was probably the best bit of “police” work by an individual I’ve seen in my career in the Force. The Commissioner agrees with me. He wants me to take you up to see him if that’s okay with you,’ Ballinger said.

  ‘It’s very generous of you to say so, though I had a lot of luck,’ I said. ‘And of course, I’d feel honoured to see the Commissioner, especially as I’m not a serving member of the Force.’

  ‘Ah, yes, well, we’ll talk about that later. And I don’t think luck had a lot to do with your success. Yes, you were probably fortunate Brewster and the other two cleared out to go to the races, but I don’t doubt that you would have got Miss Clemenger away and then it would have been up to the Coonabarabran police to nail Brewster, Reid and Challis. Yours was an extremely well thought-out and executed operation. You took a punt on them being in the Pilliga because of Ted Challis coming from there and your friend spotting Caroline Clemenger, and it paid off. Posing as a wildlife photographer was a very clever idea to allow you to get close without causing suspicion. Likewise, Gaye Walker was the icing on the cake, so to speak. You were right in what you told Senior Sergeant Morris. It was a get-in-quick and get-out-quick operation.’

  ‘I couldn’t have done it without your backing, Super. At the outset Morris was understandably sceptical and concerned about the irregularity of it. He nearly had a fit when I broached the subject of going in to the Pilliga with a young policewoman. But DC Walker came up trumps,’ I said.

  ‘Well, we can’t give you another gong, you not being in the Force, but I understand that you’re being recompensed handsomely for your efforts,’ Ballinger said.

  ‘That’s true,’ I admitted.

  ‘There’s one interesting development you wouldn’t know about. We’ve not long had word back from the FBI regarding Zane Reid. We sent his fingerprints across to them. The FBI said Reid has a record in the US and skipped the country ahead of a murder charge. He came here either illegally or with a false passport. They want him back and they’re welcome to him,’ he said, before being interrupted by the trill of his office phone.’ After speaking to someone briefly he hung up and said, ‘I’ll take you up to see the Commissioner now.’

  The Commissioner welcomed me warmly before gesturing for Ballinger and me to sit down.

  ‘I’d like to personally thank you for the job you did, Lachie. It was a massive result. I’d also like to say that, speaking for the New South Wales Police Force, I am most appreciative of you unselfishly giving the credit for the success of the operation to the police. The media would have made a hero of you,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you very much, Commissioner. I couldn’t have done the job without your backing and you took a risk punting on me. If anything had happened to DC Walker the fat would have been well and truly in the fire. I’m going to be paid well for my efforts and I’m very happy for the police to get all the credit. I’m very chuffed that you were prepared to back me, an ex-cop,’ I said.

  The Commissioner nodded and cleared his throat. ‘DS Ballinger and I have been wondering how you’d feel about coming back into the Force, actually. Though you’d have to return to your old rank initially, I could guarantee you an inspectorship fairly quickly. You could go right to the top, Lachie. We could backdate your re-enlistment and say you were working undercover with DC Walker,’ he said.

  It was a fairly staggering offer and it floored me for a few moments, but my mind was made up about my future. ‘I’m flattered that you think enough of me to make such an offer,’ I said. ‘But I’m sorry, I can’t accept.’

  ‘You prefer what you’re doing to police work with all the protection it offers?’ the Commissioner asked.

  ‘Yes and no, but that’s not what it’s about anymore because as of today my agency is on the market. I’ve made the decision to leave the crime business and return to the bush. I’ve decided to sell my third of Kamilaroi and use the proceeds to buy a property. But don’t imagine that I’m unaware of the significance of your offer,’ I said.

  ‘The land is getting tougher, Lachie,’ said the Commissioner, taking off his glasses and subjecting me to one of his legendary appraisals. ‘I’ve got relatives on the land who tell me that these days you need a good big place to make a go of it.’

  ‘There are still plenty of viable properties, Commissioner. It depends a lot on the kind of place you buy and how capable you are at working it. I won’t be battling as my third share Kamilaroi represents a fair whack of money and I’m also getting a third of the stock on it. Anyway, it’s the lifestyle I want more than how much I can make from a place. The bush is where I was born and it’s where I feel most at home,’ I said.

  ‘Ah, well, I’m disappointed because you’d have had a good future here but if the land is what you want, I hope you do well,’ said the Commissioner, taking my decision with good grace.

  Afterwards Ballinger walked me back to his office and we had a bit of a chat. As I made to go he wished me
the very best of luck and thanked me again.

  ‘Super, come fishing with Luke and me sometime before I clear out for the bush,’ I replied.

  ‘I’ll take you up on that, Lachie. I mean it,’ said Ballinger. ‘By the way I hear that you and DC Walker got on well.’

  ‘DC Walker is a great young woman and a first class detective. She was very cool when the Challis woman was threatening us with a rifle. I enjoyed my time with her. In fact, it’s lucky the op finished when it did because I was starting to feel too strongly about her. She likes the bush too,’ I said.

  ‘Like that, eh?’ he said.

  CHAPTER 24

  A fortnight passed before Mrs Kendall made an appointment to come and see me. I’d told Christine not to worry about billing her for the time being. Mrs Kendall had paid me for four weeks in advance as well as generously giving me the four-wheel drive and I’d ended up only working for about a week so it seemed somehow wrong to accept the $250,000 she’d offered to pay me for rescuing Caroline.

  Meanwhile, I’d been focusing on helping Nicole and Vickie get settled in at Neutral Bay.

  Christine brought Mrs Kendall into my office on the dot of the time we’d arranged.

  ‘Mrs Kendall, how nice to see you again and looking so much happier than the first time we met,’ I said, getting up.

  ‘Thank you. I’m very happy and Caroline is getting better and cheerier with each passing day. She’s sleeping much more soundly now and hasn’t cried for a few days,’ she said before sitting down.

  ‘That’s great news,’ I said.

  ‘It’s a bit too early to say she’ll fully recover. She had a couple of panic attacks when she first ventured out to the shops but she seems better now,’ she said.

  ‘Well, she did go through quite an ordeal,’ I said.

  ‘Why haven’t you sent me an account, Mr Sinclair?’ said Mrs Kendall, never one to beat around the bush.