by Jacobs, Anna
Meriel tried desperately to think of some suitable response, but only came up with, ‘Hi! I’m Meriel Ingram.’
‘I’m Big Jim. This is Pete. And Ria.’ He looked at Ben.
‘This is my – er – friend, Ben Elless.’
‘Fiancé,’ said Ben, putting a proprietorial arm around her shoulders.
She sighed, but didn’t shake it off or contradict him.
‘Bill said you needed company, that you’d had intruders.’
‘Yes. They poisoned my – our dog,’ she looked down and found that Tina, who’d been very clingy since she came back from the vet, was wagging her tail at these strangers. That seemed like a good sign. ‘They tried to set fire to some stored timber too.’
The woman spoke in a deep, melodious voice. ‘Do you know who they are?’
‘The police are looking into that,’ said Ben, ‘but in the meantime I have to go away. Which is why we need a bit of company round here. Temporarily.’
Ria inclined her head graciously. ‘I see.’
Meriel gestured to the house. ‘Come and sit on the back veranda and tell us about yourselves. Would you like a cup of tea or something?’
‘Water would be nice – especially if it’s cold. We don’t use caffeine, though.’ She grinned. ‘And we don’t smoke pot, either, in case you were worrying about that.’
Ben nodded. ‘Good to know. Come out of the sun, then.’
‘You may also be glad to know that I’m a black belt in judo,’ Pete said as they walked. ‘That might be useful if you’re having problems. I don’t start trouble, but I won’t take shit from anyone.’
Ria was walking beside Meriel, studying the place. ‘It’s nice here. Peaceful. We can’t stand much more of that public camping ground. Too noisy.’
The other two nodded agreement.
‘Folk always playing radios,’ Ria added. ‘Never make their own music. Never try to listen to the birds singing. It’s not our scene. And the children are picking up bad habits. Oh, and I’m a black belt, too, by the way. A girl has to know how to defend herself.’
‘I couldn’t agree more.’ Meriel shot a triumphant glance in Ben’s direction, feeling even better about their visitors. ‘But I know that if there were more than one intruder, I’d be in trouble.’
‘Even one intruder could be a problem,’ Ben put in.
She set her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘And there again, perhaps not! I’ve been forewarned now, you know.’
‘Yeah, well,’ Ria looked round, ‘we can see your point. Love those willows. Do you ever go and sit inside the foliage?’
‘Yes. You get marvellous filtered light.’
‘Mmm. I think it’d be a great place to meditate.’
The more they talked, the more Meriel liked them and within half an hour they had come to an agreement, even Ben seeming won over. The hippies were to move in for a month’s trial.
Meriel stood watching the car purr away down the track. ‘They’re perfect.’
‘I’m not sure – ’ Ben saw her face tighten and held out his arms in a gesture of surrender. ‘Hey, I’m allowed to talk about it, aren’t I?’
‘Talk, yes. Dictate, no.’
‘Were you always so prickly and independent?’
‘I have been since I grew up. It’s a bit hard to be independent when you’re a kid, or a teenager even. And my mother didn’t exactly encourage independence in her children.’
‘Perhaps that’s why you’re so touchy.’
‘Perhaps. No offence meant, but was Sandy a dependent type?’
He cocked his head on one side to give this his consideration. ‘Sort of. She ran the office for us, dealt with a lot of the business details. She was a bit like you in that, a good organiser. But she was,’ he hesitated, ‘softer than you. Couldn’t service a car or hammer in a nail. More traditional, perhaps. But she wasn’t stupid.’
‘I like the way you speak of her,’ Meriel said quietly. ‘You must have loved her very much.’
‘I did. But I love you too. Make no mistake about that. I think I’m very lucky to have met two women I can love so much.’
She had to swallow hard before she said, ‘I love you as well, Ben.’ She walked into his arms and rested there quietly, wishing relationships weren’t quite so complicated.
* * * *
The group of neo-hippies returned and set about making camp with extreme efficiency, Jim and Pete digging out latrines with a fine display of muscle.
‘We use an organic system,’ Pete said laconically when Meriel wandered down to watch. ‘There won’t be any smells or pollution, I promise you. All right if we run a hose line down from your tap? We’ll pay for whatever water we use.’
‘No need to pay. Just help yourself. I know you’ll use it carefully.’
The two women erected a large tent as a communal room. The children ran to and fro, humping gear, working with nearly as much concentration as the adults.
The large grey wolf hound answered to the name of Dylan. As the two dogs were released, Tina rolled over on her back and exposed her belly. After a quick sniff, he accepted her with a quiet woof and they ran round together for a few minutes, then he sat and observed everything with a regal air. It was he who growled first to signal the approach of a car.
The policeman was back with a few more questions. When he saw her new tenants, he took Meriel aside and asked, ‘What are they doing here?’
‘Staying for a while. Ben has to go over east and I don’t fancy being on my own.’
‘You’re right about not being on your own out here, but they’re a bunch of weirdoes. Why, they may even be involved in your troubles! You don’t want to invite the foxes into the chook pen.’
‘These aren’t foxes and I’m not a helpless chicken.’ Besides, she couldn’t imagine Pete doing anything illegal, or even anything unkind. He was a gentle soul with the luminously happy eyes of someone at peace with himself and the world. ‘Two of them have black belts in judo. They also own a very large dog.’
‘Well, on your own head be it. But if my sergeant had his way, we’d have run them out of the district.’
‘Why? For being different?’
‘You can be a bit too different. They’re probably growing marijuana somewhere.’
‘They told me they don’t use it.’
As he let out a huff of disbelief, she decided it was better to change the subject. ‘Did you come back for a reason?’
‘Yes. We found out someone’s been seen nosing around near Ben’s uncle’s place – what there is left of it. Couple of fellows have stayed overnight a time or two as well. They’re not in town at the moment, but,’ he looked at her with an air of triumph, ‘they were in town around the time Ben’s house fell down.’
She let out a long, low whistle. ‘You’ve done well to find that out so quickly.’
Ria moved forward. ‘Would those be the two men I saw using surveying equipment on the property next to this?’
The young man stared at her. ‘You saw them doing that in broad daylight?’
‘I certainly did. More than once.’
‘Strange, that. Did they do any damage? If not . . .’ He shrugged and looked at his watch. ‘Is Mr Elless here? I’d like to ask him a few more questions.’
‘I’ll call him.’
The officer repeated his tale to Ben, then warned, ‘It’s not proof, just because some strangers were here at the same time as you. And they seem to have gone now, so we only have names, probably false, plus a vague description. Seems they were very quiet, nothing special to look at. You sure you haven’t remembered anything else?’
‘No.’
‘Tell me some more about the people you work with back east.’
Ben patiently went through his business set up.
‘Known this Hantley for long?’
‘Since my student days. He’s my first wife’s cousin. She was killed in a car accident a few years ago.’
‘Do you get on well w
ith him?’
‘Well, there’s been a bit of tension lately because I want to break up the partnership after we’ve finished this project. But I can’t believe Phil would try to murder me. For all his faults, he’s family. And anyway, he’s in Queensland. It’s a bit far to nip over for an hour or two, isn’t it?’
‘Bad eggs turn up in the best of families. Be sure to let us know when you’re going to be away, so we can keep an eye on things here as well as on your bodyguards.’ There was a distinct sneer in the detective’s tone. ‘My sergeant doesn’t like things happening on his patch – we could be dealing with an attempted murder, you know.’
‘I had noticed.’
The hippies lined up to wave the police officer goodbye with calls of, ‘Peace, man!’ and even, ‘The force be with you.’
He didn’t respond or turn his head to look at them again.
‘You shouldn’t goad him,’ Meriel scolded after the car had thrummed away into the distance. But she couldn’t help smiling.
‘He started it a while ago,’ Ria said. ‘And you can’t deny us a bit of fun. They’ve been hassling us every way they could to try to get us to leave the district. They’ve checked every inch of the cars, looking for something wrong to charge us with. But Jim used to be a car mechanic and our vehicles are in perfect order, even if they do need a paint job.’
Pete stared down the drive, then turned back to Meriel. ‘Mind if me and Dylan go exploring? Always helps to know your territory.’ He hesitated. ‘Should have told you before, though perhaps you noticed. I’m part Aborigine.’
She shrugged. What did that matter? And actually he had such an interesting face, she’d like to sketch him one day.
‘My uncle taught me a bit of bushcraft, though my people aren’t from round here. It’s nice to see land more or less untouched. I hope you aren’t going to dig all the native plants up when you do your developing.’
Ben came up to them. ‘What’s that about native plants?’
Within minutes he had discovered a kindred spirit and the two of them went off to explore Meriel’s bushland together, with Dylan quartering the ground around them.
Tina, who was still wary of going too far away from the house, chose to remain with Meriel, who enjoyed two blessed hours of peace in which she was able to work on her latest book cover.
* * * *
A few days later Ben left for the Eastern States. He was now reconciled to the presence of Ria and her friends, but he punctuated his packing with so many warnings to Meriel about what she should or should not do that in the end they had another row and he left without them really making it up.
Again she felt lost without him. How quickly that had happened!
She rang Rosanna to discuss it and her friend listened intently, then said simply, ‘Nothing is ever perfect, Meriel. But your Ben sounds great.’
‘Do you and Karl ever quarrel?’
Rosanna chuckled. ‘We’ve been known to disagree a time or two. Loudly, usually.’ She hesitated, then asked, ‘Why are you so worried about a little disagreement?’
‘I think Ben’s going to be around for a long time. I don’t want him keeping things to himself.’
‘Hey, I’m glad for you! I’ve got to come and check him out.’
‘Not just yet, if you don’t mind. Not till we’ve sorted all these nasties out. But as soon as it’s safe, I’ll phone you.’
‘You do that. And Meriel . . . Stop worrying. It takes time for two people to settle down together, you know.’
‘Yes. I suppose so.’
That conversation was a great comfort.
* * * *
In the middle of the night, Dylan woke them all up with a fine display of barking and blood-curdling howls. Prompted by this, Tina voiced a few protests of her own. When Meriel went out to investigate, Ria came across to join her. ‘Pete’s gone to check things out.’ She grinned. ‘Native tracker. Him heap quiet, findum white man.’
Meriel couldn’t raise a smile this time.
Ria’s tone of voice changed. ‘It’s getting to you, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re not on your own now – you’ve got us as well as Ben.’ Ria gave her a hug, then strolled off again, leaving Meriel feeling relieved and comforted.
Pete returned. ‘There was someone snooping around but they had a four-wheel drive parked over the hill. Couldn’t keep up with that on foot. Tomorrow I’ll hunt round and see if I can find any good tyre tracks or footprints, but I don’t hold out much hope. It’s been pretty dry lately and the wind blows the dust around.’
He yawned and patted Meriel’s shoulder. ‘You might as well go back to bed now. You don’t need to worry. Dylan’s an excellent watch dog and he’s really taken to this place.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you.’
She had an excellent night’s sleep and in the morning she looked out of the window at the small camp down the slope and smiled. These people, weirdoes or not, had brought her peace of mind – and Rosanna had made her feel less anxious about her developing relationship.
She’d had such poor role models in her own family, she doubted everything and everyone. Herself particularly.
Chapter 19
Ben arrived at Brisbane airport in a grim mood. He hadn’t let any of the family know he was coming because he didn’t want his mother or Sandy’s parents involved. This was between him and Phil. No one else. He had to find out exactly how he stood, then see how much he could retrieve from this mess.
When he turned up at the office, the reception desk was empty but there was the sound of voices coming from the big corner office – Phil and a man.
Ben went into his own office, which was the smaller of the two because he wasn’t here very often. He looked round and frowned. Something was wrong. Then he realised that some of his things had been moved. They’d been put back in roughly the same place and to an outsider it would look just the same. But he knew how he always lined up Sandy’s photo with the edge of the bookcase, and how the piece of sea-sculptured wood always lay with one tip touching the other corner of the same bookcase top. So who else had been in here? Cleaners – or Sandy’s damned cousin?
He looked round again. Not cleaners. The waste paper basket hadn’t been emptied.
He opened a few drawers and found papers disturbed, put back almost as he’d left them, but not quite. Few people had as accurate a memory for spaces and objects as he did. He supposed that was why he enjoyed landscaping. Well, there was nothing for anyone to find here except sketching materials, plant catalogues and diagrams that only he would understand. What the hell had Phil been searching for?
He moved back to the door to hear his partner pleading, ‘Can’t you give me a little longer? We’re expecting the next payment on the project soon. I can let you have that on account. I’m sure Ben will soon give up this crazy idea of staying over in the west. It’s only because he’s met some woman over there that he’s even contemplating it.’
‘You’ve had plenty of time to pay, Hantley, only you didn’t start to pull out of debt, you dug yourself deeper. Your partner may or may not continue working with you, but we want as much of our money as we can get out of you now, so we’re foreclosing while there’s something to foreclose on. He still has money, even if you don’t.’
‘You can’t do that. You’re nothing but loan sharks and – ’
The stranger’s voice became very low and menacing. ‘My employers wouldn’t appreciate being called loan sharks. You took out the loans legally enough, you used the business as security and they charged you a legal rate of interest. You’ll be hearing from our lawyers. Be very careful how you drive that fancy car of yours from now on. We’d be extremely annoyed if we lost its value.’
Ben listened in shock. The situation must be far worse than he’d expected. He stepped back inside his office and waited until the man had left, then went to see Phil.
His partner jerked in shock at the sight of him. ‘When did you get back?
’
‘Not long ago. I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. How much do you owe them?’
‘None of your business.’
‘It is as long as we’re in partnership here and anyway, that man was talking about my assets.’
‘I’ll sort it.’
‘Have you asked your father for help?’
Phil shook his head. ‘No. He said last time he wouldn’t pay my debts again.’
‘Well, I’m not getting involved. I’m breaking up our partnership before they try to get at me.’
‘That won’t help you! The debts were incurred while we were still partners, and I said they were for business development purposes, so you’re legally responsible for them as well.’
Ben breathed slowly, willing himself not to let his anger take over, because it wouldn’t help. But Meriel was right. He’d been foolishly trusting. ‘Why did you do that to me?’
Phil shrugged. ‘Because I’m not Mr Nice Guy like you. Because I get bored with all this plant crap.’
There was a long silence then Ben turned on his heel, leaving the business and going straight to his own lawyer’s office to find out his exact situation when it came to debts.
He left his lawyer feeling sick to the soul. Meriel had been right.
He went next to the organisation for whom he was doing the major landscaping project, to check out that nothing had been skimped. While he was there, he asked that the final payments be paid directly into his personal bank account. Not that they’d amount to enough to clear the debts, nothing like, but he hated the idea of Phil gambling them away. And since the business account had been raided, he could only assume that Phil was able to forge his signature.
He felt gutted. If the lawyer was right, there wasn’t much to be salvaged now from the company he and Sandy had started with such bright hopes.
The thing that upset him most was that this would affect him and Meriel. How could it not? He’d be penniless – or worse, bankrupt.
He couldn’t bear things to go so wrong, not when he’d only just found her. She’d said she’d live with him anywhere, but she hadn’t yet committed to marriage and would be even less inclined to do so now, he was sure.