Where There Is Smoke

by Elisabeth Rose

  ‘Sorry, love, you’ll have to do it yourself, we’re late for the next job as it is.’ He turned his sweat-stained, green T-shirted back and the pair headed for the truck muttering to each other that, ‘the whole bloody schedule was off now.’

  ‘Well! What a very rude man.’ Viivi turned to Brenda. ‘I want a discount from that company for not completing the job.’

  ‘Their job was to deliver the things, not spend hours setting it all up,’ said Krista. ‘I had to give them extra in cash to do what they did.’

  Viivi waved her arms, silver bracelets jangling. ‘I told Hugh we should have this party in Sydney, not out here where everything is difficult or not available.’

  ‘It’s done now,’ said Brenda. ‘And the garden looks lovely.’

  ‘Hmmm.’ Viivi grudgingly cast her eye around the area. ‘Not bad, I suppose.’

  ‘The guests will be entering through the gate, rather than going into the house when they arrive, so you should be out here to greet them.’

  ‘Very well,’ said Viivi.

  ‘Did you know Angus has gone?’ asked Krista as she walked with her mother back into the house.

  ‘Has he?’

  ‘He’s in some sort of trouble.’

  ‘Just as well he’s gone then, isn’t it? I don’t want any of his messes spoiling the party.’

  ‘No.’

  Would Tony Griante and his mate have the balls to turn up in the middle of the big event and start causing trouble? They’d be more likely to wait. They were probably discussing what to do next with whoever the big boss is. Or they’d give up on Calypso and go after Angus. Whatever happened, it was nothing to do with her. Hugh could do as he said yesterday—handle it himself.

  At lunch Hugh was taciturn, and told Krista in no uncertain terms to mind her own business when Angus was mentioned.

  ‘I told you I’d handle it.’

  ‘Do you know where he is?’

  He breathed in heavily and shoved a forkful of potato salad into his mouth.

  ‘Just leave it, Krista,’ her mother said.

  ‘It’s hard to leave it when I get threatened by a couple of thugs,’ she retorted.

  Hugh’s eyes narrowed. ‘Who? When was this and what did they say?’

  ‘That if I was lying to them I’d be very sorry.’

  ‘You weren’t so there’s nothing to worry about.’ He resumed eating.

  ‘They’ll come here next,’ she said.

  ‘And I’ll deal with them.’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘After lunch I want you to look over the lunch menu with me, Krista,’ her mother said. ‘I’m not happy with the entrees.’

  Krista caught Brenda’s eye and looked away quickly before she laughed.

  ***

  Oliver checked on Arch Rival when he finished morning surgery. She was pleased to see him and rubbed her head on his chest when he patted her neck. Margie had reported no phone calls from The Grange in regard to collecting her, which didn’t surprise him.

  He let the horse into the yard and Billy immediately trotted across the paddock to say hello. He left them getting to know each other over the wooden railing. Margie was closing up for her lunchbreak when he went back into the surgery.

  ‘Karen Boyd is coming in this afternoon at two to be with Ginger Megs when you put her down.’

  Oliver nodded. ‘She took the news well.’

  ‘Life and death is part of country life.’

  ‘It’s still sad.’

  ‘Yes, but you can’t let the poor old thing suffer.’

  ‘No. So we’ll have no animals staying over now the dogs have gone home. I might get tennis in this evening.’

  ‘Apart from that horse,’ Margie said. ‘Nothing like free board and lodging.’

  ‘If no-one has called by the end of the day I’ll phone the woman again.’

  ‘Surely they’ve more than one horse float at that place, or someone could ride it home. Typical rich people. Sponge off the rest of us who work to make ends meet when they can perfectly well afford to pay their bills but choose not to. That’s how they get rich.’ Margie shook her head in disgust. ‘See you later.’

  Oliver went to the house to make his own lunch, after which he’d get the cello out for some practice before Karen arrived.

  ***

  Krista powered up and down the pool early on Friday morning, churning through the water in an attempt to put the embarrassing phone call from Oliver out of her mind. He rang while Hugh and her mother were having a pre-dinner drink last night, wanting to know when someone would collect Arch Rival.

  ‘I’m sorry, I forgot,’ she said to him. ‘We’ve been busy here organising a party.’

  Silence greeted that remark.

  ‘I’ll put Hugh on,’ she said when it became obvious he wasn’t going to say anything. ‘Angus isn’t back yet.’

  ‘Fine.’

  She took the phone to Hugh, sitting out on the terrace with a whisky in his hand.

  ‘The vet wants a word about your horse,’ she said.

  He took the phone. ‘Hugh Littlejohn. What can I do for you?’

  A frown appeared as he listened. ‘It’s not convenient at the moment. We’ll be up to our ears out here with guests all weekend. Keep her till Monday and someone will pick her up then.’

  Oliver must have objected because he growled, ‘If it’s money you’re worried about, don’t. Send me your account and I’ll see it gets paid.’

  Krista remembered the notice she’d seen at the reception desk. Payment due at time of appointment. Small businesses like Oliver’s couldn’t operate on credit, even she knew that.

  Hugh handed her the phone. He hadn’t disconnected Oliver.

  ‘Hello?’ Krista went inside.

  ‘He made himself pretty clear.’

  ‘I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to Rod about it.’

  ‘What is it with you people? All you do is pass the problem off onto someone else. Doesn’t anyone take responsibility for anything in your family? Meanwhile I’m treating, feeding and housing your horse and I’d like to be paid.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I’ll come in tomorrow and fix the account.’

  And she’d rung off quickly before he could hit her with any more home truths. His question and the disgust in his voice kept her awake most of the night. He was right—her family didn’t face up to their responsibilities. Viivi never did, Krista being one of them. Viivi had preferred to find a rich husband and employ someone to deal with the inconvenient truth of her small daughter.

  Angus either ran away from his responsibilities or called on Hugh. Hugh dealt with his problems at arm’s length through money and influence. She herself? She had no responsibilities except to herself and she hadn’t faced up to that either. With no clear goal or ambition, she’d allowed her mother to dictate her actions and shape her life and in this current situation, knowing how Angus and Hugh would react, she’d fobbed the responsibility for the horse off onto Oliver.

  She came to rest at the deep end of the pool, breathing hard. The sun was just breaking over the roof of the house but its rays hadn’t reached the side where the pool was. Another scorcher today. Not a cloud to break the relentless heat. No sign of rain. It hadn’t occurred to her the area might be in drought conditions, not until the gardener mentioned it. No wonder the locals had a poor impression of the new owners of The Grange. Viivi would barely know what a drought was and would regard it as an inconvenience someone should fix, if she did.

  Krista hauled herself out and padded across the already warm tiles towards the house. Lola came to greet her and she bent to scratch the silky head. The little dog seemed to have formed an attachment to her yesterday after spending the morning running about outside while all the chairs and tables were set up. Viivi didn’t like Lola to go out because it made her dirty, and if there was one thing Viivi hated it was dirt. Lola, of course, loved nothing better than to sniff about in the flowerbeds and roll on the grass.

  Lola wasn
’t so bad, in fact she was good company. Maybe she should offer to mind her while Hugh and her mother were away. She’d help to fill her suddenly empty days.

  ‘Want to stay with me next week, Lola?’

  A little yip came in response which she took as a yes. ‘Okay. You’re on.’

  ***

  At nine-thirty, Krista pulled up in the vet’s parking lot. His car was in the carport and a little yellow hatchback was parked under a tree. That would belong to his receptionist.

  Arch Rival was in the yard attached to the stables. She hung her head over the railing, ears pricked, watching Krista approach. She really was a beautiful animal, elegance personified. Her coat gleamed coppery red in the bright sunshine but the one white sock stood out in stark contrast. Angus had taken a terrific risk with his paint job.

  Krista rubbed tentative fingers down the smooth neck. ‘Hello,’ she said softly. Arch Rival nuzzled her arm. ‘Want to go home?’

  A warm horsey smell wafted into her nostrils—not unpleasant, more wholesome than anything. She turned away and walked across to the surgery.

  The woman behind the counter was on the phone but she smiled and beckoned when Krista opened the door and peered in. Dark curly hair formed a riotous frame for a round, friendly face.

  ‘Yeah, okay Phil,’ she said into the phone. ‘Oliver can get out there about eleven. I’ll let him know. See you later.’

  She hung up and immediately redialled. ‘Hi. Phil Macklin just called about a goat with a stomach-ache. I said you’d be there about eleven.’ She listened for a moment. ‘No idea. Bye.’

  She tapped furiously at her computer then looked up with another broad grin which belied the shrewd assessment from a pair of deep brown eyes.

  ‘Krista Laatonen, I take it.’

  ‘Yes.’ Oliver wasn’t here. Disappointment flooded through her, along with the realisation he wouldn’t put off his calls just to be here when she came. This woman could take her money, it was her job and Krista was just another client. A nuisance client at that. Any link she might have thought had formed between them over the horse debacle was all in her head.

  ‘Come to pay the account?’

  ‘Yes. Can I use a card?’

  ‘Sure.’ She leafed through some accounts and handed the page to Krista then pulled out the credit card machine.

  Krista ran her eye down the neat list of charges. Not an exorbitant total by any means. She’d spend more than that on clothes and shoes in a couple of weeks.

  ‘Everything okay?’ the woman asked with a touch of acid in her tone.

  ‘Of course. It’s very reasonable.’

  ‘Yeah, well, Oliver’s a very fair man. He doesn’t overcharge.’

  ‘No, I’m sure he doesn’t.’ She swiped the card hurriedly.

  The woman handed her the receipt and stamped Paid on the account. ‘Thanks for that. When can you collect the horse?’

  ‘Oh. I thought Hugh Littlejohn arranged to pick her up on Monday. It’s covered in the bill I just paid.’

  ‘Did he? Okay. That’s all done then.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Krista tucked the papers and credit card into her bag.

  ‘Got a big party on this weekend, I hear.’

  ‘Yes, Hugh and my mother’s wedding anniversary.’

  ‘Nice. Have fun.’

  ‘It’s not really my scene … the guests are friends of theirs. I don’t know them, most of them. I’d rather not have come.’ She stopped in confusion. Why was she telling the woman any of this? Explaining herself, distancing herself from The Grange, knowing how unpopular it was with the locals.

  ‘Family things can be like that. You go because she’s your mum and she wants you to be there.’

  ‘Yes, that’s exactly right.’ Krista smiled, although it wasn’t really. Viivi wanted her to be there as a duty, not out of any great desire for her company as a daughter. ‘We’re all the family we’ve got. It’s always been just the two of us.’ And various stepfathers sailing in and out of her life.

  ‘It’s important then and you’ve done the right thing being here.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘No worries.’

  The phone rang and she picked it up, said, ‘Sorry,’ before answering.

  Krista nodded goodbye and left.

  Back at The Grange, she went straight to the stables to find Rod and give him the account and receipt for reimbursement. She found him in the office staring at the computer screen, a frown creasing his tanned face. He looked up. His mouth had a curiously attractive crooked twist when he smiled.

  ‘Hi Krista, you’ve been out early.’

  ‘Hi. I’ve just been in to Taylor’s Bend to pay the vet’s bill.’ She handed over the papers and he glanced at the figures before putting the pages on his desk.

  ‘Fair enough. I’ll see you get the money back.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She dragged up a spare chair and sat down. ‘Where’s Amy? Mama said she was away.’

  ‘She’s in Sydney. Her sister has just had baby number three so Amy went to help out with the other two.’

  Krista nodded. With no siblings and no close friends with children, the world of kids was a mystery to her. ‘What’s going on here, Rod? Where’s Angus?’

  ‘I really don’t know.’ He must have read the disbelief on her face that she thought was only in her head. ‘I honestly have no idea where he is.’

  ‘But you must know what he was doing with Arch Rival.’

  ‘I knew he’d taken her out but I didn’t know he was trying to pass her off as Calypso.’ She snorted at that and he said, ‘He doesn’t tell me everything, you know. In fact he’s been very secretive lately—bad-tempered, and if I asked him what was wrong he’d bite my head off and tell me to mind my own business.’

  ‘Does Hugh know what he’s up to?’

  Rod grimaced and shrugged. ‘No idea. I’m just the hired hand around here.’

  Krista pursed her lips. Was he telling the truth? Hard to tell. She hadn’t seen Angus for months.

  ‘More importantly,’ Rod indicated the computer screen. ‘I was just looking at the weather map. There’s a fire in the mountains that I’m keeping an eye on.’

  ‘A bushfire?’

  ‘Yeah. It’s a fair way away but it’s in inaccessible country so anything could happen.’

  ‘But it wouldn’t come here, would it?’

  ‘It’s always a possibility. It’s been so dry and hot the whole area’s ready to go up if the wind picks up and blows the wrong way.’

  ‘Can’t they water bomb it with those helicopters?’

  ‘If it gets to be a problem, sure, but there’s that big fire in Victoria taking priority.’

  Was a distant bushfire more important than a threat from a couple of thugs or her mother’s imminent party? Not at the moment.

  Krista stood. ‘I’d better go. Hugh’s brothers are arriving today.’ She pulled a face. ‘Angus should be here to help entertain them. You might have to take his place and tell them about the horses.’

  Rod sucked in air between tight lips. ‘Such a pity. I’ve got lots to do out here. Can’t spare the time to entertain guests.’

  Krista laughed. ‘Lucky you.’

  ‘My job is with the horses.’ He smiled but it faded quickly. ‘Speaking of horses, I might have to call that vet in. Our stallion had a bit of nasal discharge and a cough this morning. I’ll see how he is by lunchtime but I think he should be checked out.’

  ‘Don’t you use a different vet?’

  ‘Yes, Angus’s choice, but this bloke is closer and he seems good from what I hear from Sandy.’

  ‘He is.’

  Krista strolled back to the house. How would Oliver react to that phone call? He’d come for sure, because he cared about the animals, but The Grange wasn’t top of his favourites list.

  Chapter 5

  Oliver had a quiet start to the weekend, devoid of animal disasters. Saturday morning surgery produced the usual queue of cats and dogs needing sh
ots or minor attention and with no patients staying overnight, he and Margie were able to close up by midday.

  He let Arch Rival out into the paddock with Billy. If she was staying till Monday she could stretch her legs and both horses would have some company. He watched the pair eye each other, sniff noses, then saunter off across the dry grass together, flicking their tails against the hovering flies.

  Fine. Lunch first and then he’d start the weekly vacuuming and clean up. After that, with any luck, he’d fit in some cello practice. Pottering in the kitchen it occurred to him that The Grange mob would be entertaining today. How would that be going? According to Margie, Krista wasn’t keen on it at all, which surprised him. She’d given the impression she was here to help her mother and get right into the whole upmarket party thing.

  Margie amazed him, although he didn’t show it, by saying, ‘She’s a bit of a lost soul, that girl.’

  Lost soul? How on earth did she come to that conclusion after two minutes of interaction? Secret women’s business, no doubt. A black hole to him. His mother kept her thoughts to herself and he had no sisters to initiate him.

  Come to think of it, when the attractive and very beautiful Krista calmed down, she was a different person to the one he’d met at the accident site. A bit vulnerable underneath the brittle facade—but dangerous nonetheless.

  He mustn’t be distracted from the stark truth she was from another world entirely. Money, to her, came from a bottomless pit, as did people who did her bidding. She expected to be obeyed and her words to be treated as pearls. In that respect she was very like his father.

  She was uncomfortable in the wilds of rural New South Wales and no doubt she’d be out of here as soon as the party was over. She’d already absolved herself of responsibility for the horse and one of the minions would be over on Monday to collect it.

  He’d seen the last of the rather disturbing Krista Laatonen, which was a good thing. She was like an exotic and unattainable fantasy that if allowed full rein could become completely debilitating.

  He’d done the bathroom but the phone rang while he was assembling the vacuum cleaner.

  ‘Knew it was too good to be true,’ he muttered as he went to pick up. Didn’t even get the cleaning finished before someone needed him.