Blood at Yellow Water (20 page)

“Jake it’s John Fisher. Have you got a
couple of minutes?”

Jake acquiesced and Fisher asked him for his
version of the events that led to the plane crash which incinerated
the Chinese at the Daly Waters airport. Jake gave him a concise
account of the last few days. Fisher listened attentively.

“Thanks for that Jake. It pretty much
tallies with what my guys are telling me. Look for political
reasons it’s best you keep your role and that of your father quiet
on this and let us handle it. The Acting P.M. wants to calm the
media down and I’m sure you don’t want a media gaggle on your
doorstop.”

“Yeah that’s fine by me, I’m happy to opt
out altogether.”

“Thanks for that Jake. Anna Sentoro is very
grateful for what you did and you’ll receive an official
commendation for your help.”

“I don’t need any favours to keep quiet on
this. You can take my word on that.”

“Thanks for your cooperation Jake. Will you
be going to Canberra after this?”

“Yes, I’ll be there later in the week for a
couple of days.”

“Perhaps we could catch up for a coffee and
run through some details.”

Jake agreed. Fisher said his personal
assistant would be in touch and rang off.

Jake checked his mobile to see he had a
missed call from Helen Kwang who had left a message asking him to
call her back urgently. While the last thing he wanted to do was to
talk to the press, Helen was a good friend and he trusted her. He
keyed in her number. She answered straight away.

“Hi Helen, it’s Jake here. I’ve been
following your reporting of the P.M.’s assassination and Koshi’s
survival. It’s been riveting stuff.”

“Thanks Jake. I was just wondering if you
are O.K.? There is a rumour going around that you were involved in
Koshi’s rescue. Is that true?”

“No, I’m fine thanks, they’ve got me mixed
up with someone else,” Jake lied.

“Well, I’m glad you are O.K.,” she said
somewhat sceptically. “Where are you now?”

“I’m staying in Daly Waters at my dad’s
place and will be going on to Canberra in a few days’ time after
going to Barry Buckstone’s funeral.”

There was a pause on the end of the
line.

“Oh, I didn’t realise you knew Barry. How
did you get to meet him?” she inquired.

Cursing himself silently for letting it slip
that he knew Barry, Jake explained the connection with his father
and Barry’s sister.

“Jake, you may not be aware of this but
there are protests going on at Jabiru over Barry’s death. One of
the protesters tried to burn down the police station. There is also
a rumour suggesting Barry was killed because he had some documents
exposing corruption and bribes involving a member of the Kakadu
Land Council and the consulting company who did the environmental
study for the Jabiru Mine.”

“I’ve heard the same rumour but I gather
nothing’s been substantiated” replied Jake.

“Jake, I’ve tried to contact Barry’s family
but no one is taking my calls. As you know the family do you think
you could ask around and find out if there is any truth in the
rumour?”

“It’s a bad time for them but I can ask. I
doubt if I’ll find anything.”

“I’d appreciate your help Jake. I’m driving
up to Darwin where Sentoro and Koshi are giving a joint press
conference tomorrow. Could you call me if you dig up anything of
interest?”

“O.K. Helen, but don’t hold your breath,”
replied Jake.

They discussed the attacks on the Prime
Ministers with Jake being careful to avoid any mention of his role
in the pursuit of Koshi by the terrorists.

Jake ended the call after promising Helen he
would contact her when he visited Canberra.

TUESDAY - DARWIN

Surrounded by his security detail, Prime Minister
Koshi was ushered into Sentoro’s suite at the Hotel Tropical,
Darwin’s leading hotel. Koshi was giving a press conference before
flying out of Darwin courtesy of an RAAF jet that afternoon. The
whole top floor of the hotel had been booked out for the Prime
Minister’s entourage and was under tight security. Koshi looked
pale and tired after his ordeal but managed a smile when greeted by
Sentoro. Anna was dressed and groomed immaculately and showed no
outward signs of the stress she was feeling. She escorted him to a
plush lounge chair and sat opposite him, waving the officials away
so they could have their conversation in private. A waiter came and
delivered them tea and coffee.

Sentoro asked him whether he had recovered
from his ordeal. Koshi nodded his head and acknowledged the efforts
of the Australian police to keep him safe. In particular he praised
the efforts of Jake Stafford in securing his safety and recommended
he be rewarded for his efforts. Sentoro explained that for security
reasons they were keeping Jake’s role quiet but he would be
rewarded in the future.

They discussed the approach to the press
conference they were about to give in the conference room at the
hotel. This was mainly to give the Japanese Prime Minister an
opportunity to express his thanks to the Australian public and to
demonstrate that the business of government would continue despite
the actions of terrorists. They also went over the process involved
in implementing the newly agreed Japan Australia Treaty. After
nearly an hour’s discussion, they rose and made their way to the
conference centre which was packed with people from the media and
security.

Sentoro made the opening remarks praising
Prime Minister Koshi for his courage in the face of his ordeal and
how his leadership had ensured a long lasting friendship with
Australia. Koshi limped to the rostrum to the spontaneous applause
of the audience. He expressed his deepest sympathy to the family of
the late Prime Minister Murray and to the families of the other
Australians who had lost their lives. He thanked the police and
others involved in securing his safety from the terrorists. He
stressed that the recent crisis had further strengthened the Japan
Australia relationship and had bonded the two nations inexorably
together. The newly signed treaty would continue as a legacy to
Neville Murray. He stepped down from the rostrum to generous
applause from the media.

Sentoro then took her place on the dais and
reiterated Koshi’s remarks about the strength of the
Japan-Australia relationship in a brief speech. She vowed that
neither Australia nor Japan would be cowed by terrorism and new
counter-terrorism measures would be introduced in the next sitting
of the Australian Parliament. She announced that there would be a
Day of Mourning in Australia on the following Friday to coincide
with the state funeral for Murray in Melbourne. She then outlined
the progress of the investigation into the Chinese terrorist group
and invited questions.

There was an immediate chorus of questions
from the journalists and Sentoro selected one of the Japanese
reporters to ask the first question of Koshi. The question related
to the attempt on Koshi’s life and how he had managed to survive
the terrorist attack. Koshi replied in Japanese attributing his
escape to the help received from the Australian police and
officials. An interpreter translated his reply for the majority of
the audience. Although quite fluent in English, Koshi preferred to
use an interpreter to give himself time to think about his
answers.

The questions were soon directed at Sentoro
asking about actions taken to identify the terrorist group and
whether the Chinese Government had offered assistance. Sentoro
responded that investigations were proceeding into the background
of the terrorist group and that representations had been made to
the highest level of the Chinese Government which had pledged
assistance in tracking down the terrorists. In answer to a further
question, Sentoro explained that the Islamic State flag had been
planted at the scene of the attack as a ruse to distract the police
investigators and all the Islamic suspects had been released from
jail.

After another ten minutes, Sentoro cut short
the conference on the pretext that Prime Minister Koshi had to
leave for the airport. They were escorted by their security teams
back to their hotel suites. Within the hour, Sentoro had joined
Koshi in his car on the way to the airport. She farewelled him on
the steps of the aircraft.

She waited until the aircraft took off and
heaved a huge sigh of relief as the plane disappeared on its way to
Tokyo. She was looking forward to having a day’s break to catch up
with her husband and children. But she knew she wouldn’t have long
to rest. In a week’s time the Liberal Party was to elect a new
leader to replace Neville Murray and she had a lot of campaigning
to do if she were to win the ballot.

*

TUESDAY EVENING - ALICE SPRINGS

Jason Blake, aka Blakey, had managed to elude the
police for 36 hours. The first clue as to his whereabouts came when
a report came in to the police station at the town of Tennant Creek
that a Ford sedan had been stolen from a camping ground. On
checking out the theft an alert police constable noticed a green
utility had been found partially hidden under a tree next to the
camping ground. He identified the utility as belonging to Blakey
and sent out a despatch alerting police of the stolen vehicle and
the suspected occupant.

The vehicle was identified in Alice Springs,
parked 50 metres away from a well-known brothel in the inner city.
Police surrounded the brothel while a team of policemen searched
each room. They found Blakey intoxicated and naked in bed in a
compromising position with a woman. He provided no resistance as
they hauled him out of bed, made him dress and escorted him to the
police wagon where he was promptly taken to the Alice Springs
Remand Centre.

WEDNESDAY - ALICE SPRINGS

Sam Popolo, Assistant Commissioner, N.T. Police,
flew into Alice Springs Airport where he was met by a constable and
driven straight to the Police Remand Centre. He took over the
interview of Blakey who had been questioned most of the night.
Blakey had refused to answer any questions but Popolo was known for
his ruthlessness in his interrogations. He threatened Blakey with
the murder of the Prime Minister and after an hour’s interrogation
he decided to confess. Later he signed a full statement.

WEDNESDAY - JABIRU

The open area in front of the Uniting Church in
Jabiru was already crowded with mourners when Jake parked the
cruiser in a side street. The church was modern, the wooden walls
were painted white and the roof was of corrugated iron. Its main
feature was the beautiful stained glass window on the wall behind
the altar. There was a large group of protesters holding up signs
demanding justice for Barry as well as a few members of the press
and photographers standing around in the street. A small police
contingent was keeping them away from the church grounds.

Jake got out of the cruiser and searched for
Lizzie and Bill. He spotted them in the middle of a large group and
walked over giving Lizzie a big hug and put an arm around his
father. Lizzie introduced him to Barry’s widow Elsie and a dozen or
so adult family members. They were surrounded by numerous children
dressed in their best clothes, bright-eyed but not really
understanding what the occasion was all about. Jake recognised
Lizzie’s grandson Gillie, who gave him a shy smile. Eventually they
moved into the church and took their seats.

*

Jake was looking for a seat at the back of
the church but Lizzie grabbed him by the arm and made him sit next
to her and Bill in the front row. Every seat in the church was soon
taken and a number had to stand at the rear. The service started
with a choir of aboriginal women singing “Abide with Me” as the
young Minister walked to the pulpit. Jake was deeply moved by the
service that followed, which at different times, was both joyous
and sad. Lizzie gave the eulogy in a heartfelt account of Barry’s
life and the work he had done for his community. Two of his
grandchildren read prayers and his daughter spoke with passion
about his love of his family, community and the land. Elsie was too
upset to get up and speak. Many of the congregation were quietly
sobbing during the service. When the service was completed, Barry’s
four grandsons carried the coffin to the graveyard adjoining the
church grounds followed by the rest of the congregation. The coffin
was lowered into the ground and each member of the congregation
walked past the grave and showed their respect by throwing a twig
of rosemary onto the coffin.

The whole congregation then moved onto the
Memorial Hall where they were provided with sandwiches and drinks.
It was the first time that Jake had a chance to talk to Bill and
filled him in about the latest developments on the Chinese
terrorists. Bill was relieved that his role in hunting down the
terrorists was to be hushed up. Jake then passed to him the rumour
that Helen Kwang had mentioned to him about Barry having some
sensitive documents about the purchase of the land for the Jabiru
mine.

Bill responded, “Yeah, I’ve heard the
rumour, and I asked Elsie about it but she has no knowledge of any
document that Barry might have hidden. Although she did say that
their place had been done over a few weeks ago but nothing appeared
to be missing.”

“Have you searched the house for it?” asked
Jake.

“Yeah, I’ve been through his office and
checked his computer. I’m not sure what we’re looking for though.
I’ve had a quick search of the rest of the house but it’s not in
any of the obvious places.”

“Would Elsie mind if I had a look for
it?”

“No, of course not. Everyone’s going to be
here for a while. The house will be empty of people for the next
couple of hours so it will be a good time to search it. Let’s
go!”