Inheritance (23 page)

His voice was cut off as Daniel, bounding up the steps behind him, grabbed him by the arm, swinging him around to face him. ‘Sounds like this fellow’s hassling you, Cassie.’ He glared down at Jason. ‘Shall I escort him off the property for you?’

Jason tried to shake his arm away, his eyes wide. ‘Let go of me!’ He was no match for Daniel’s strength.

Daniel gripped him tighter and started to propel him towards the steps.

‘Let him go, Daniel,’ Cassie called. ‘Just make sure you never come back, or Daniel will make sure you leave in a hurry.’

Jason glared at them, rubbing his arm as Daniel let go of it. Without another word, he hurried down the steps. As he walked past Cassie’s car parked nearby, he kicked viciously at the back tyre and then started to walk around to the other side. Glancing up, he saw Daniel start down the steps towards him, and hurried to his own car. Climbing in, he gunned the motor and took off in a cloud of dust.

A few days later when Cassie and Rosie came out of a movie matinee in Cairns, they found her car had four flat tyres.

Could this be Jason’s doing?

Ben sat in the pub after work on Friday night enjoying a beer and thinking of his cousin Stella. Her talk of millions had dazzled him, and while he was prepared to accept she might be exaggerating, there had to be enough to put him on easy street. He needed to get on with exploring Yallandoo. He decided to waste no time in pushing Rosie to take him to see the caves — who knows what he might find once he got inside them? He picked up his phone and dialled her number.

When she answered, he made his voice sound enthusiastic ‘Hi, babe. How’s things with you?’

‘I’m fine, Ben.’ Her voice was cool. ‘How’s your grandmother?’

Of course. The grandmother story. He’d almost forgotten. ‘Oh, she’s okay now. She’s a tough old bird.’

‘So you didn’t have to go down to Brisbane?’

‘No, no, she made a good recovery.’

‘What was the matter with her?’

He restrained himself from showing his impatience. ‘I don’t know. Old age mainly, I guess. So…I thought we might do something tomorrow,’ he continued.

‘What did you have in mind?’

‘Well, you promised to take me up to show me the Yallandoo caves. Tomorrow would be a great time.’

‘I guess we could do that. You’re really keen on caves, are you?’

‘Sure. Loved ’em ever since I was a boy. I’ll pick you up about nine. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘Gotta dash now. See you then, babe.’

Well, she hadn’t sounded madly happy but she hadn’t said no.

As he sat nursing his beer, he was thinking of all the things he could do with money.

***

Ben looked up at the overcast sky as they left the rainforest behind and started on the upward track leading to the caves, pleased that at least the sun wasn’t beating down on them. The going was fairly easy as far as the rock pool. When they reached it, they stopped to drink some of the cool, fresh water. Ben splashed his head and face.

‘That’s better! Jeez, it’s hot!’ He gazed around. ‘Beaut spot, do you come here to swim?’

‘We used to come all the time when we were kids. Haven’t been for a while. Do you want to stop and cool off a bit?’

‘No. Let’s get on.’

They veered away from the water and the path became steeper, with loose stones and pebbles making the going harder. Ben toiled his way upward, perspiration making rivulets down
his face. He stopped to mop it with a handkerchief. I’m not as fit as I thought I was. This better be bloody well worthwhile.

Rosie led the way. She stopped and turned around.

Jesus, she didn’t even look hot!

‘How’re you making out?’ she asked. ‘Tell me if you want to stop for a while.’

‘No, I’m fine, used to do this sort of thing all the time when I was in the Grampians.’

‘The Grampians? In Victoria?’

‘Yeah. Spent a bit of time there once.’

‘Been around, haven’t you?’

‘Yeah. Lead on.’

Neither of them realised they were being watched. Flitting from tree to tree well behind them, a black figure kept them in his sights.

Ben’s foot slipped on the loose surface and he lost his footing. His feet slid down backwards and he threw his arms out in front of him to break his fall. His left foot landed against a small rock sticking up in the path and stopped his slide. Rosie looked back and saw Ben spread-eagled above the path, head down and buttocks up. He picked himself up and brushed the dirt from his palms; they were grazed and blood oozed from the scrapes.

‘Are you all right?’ Rosie asked as she reached him.

He gritted his teeth, his face flushed and sweating. The stupid bitch could see he wasn’t all right.

‘Sure. I do this sort of thing every day for laughs.’

Rosie took out her water bottle, her face concerned. ‘Here, let me wash it off for you.’ Tipping some of the water over his hands, she took out a tissue to dab the cuts.

‘There, that’s better. Does it hurt much?’

He controlled himself with an effort, breathing heavily. ‘No, no, I can hardly feel it. Do you have any more tissues?’ Blood still oozed.

Rosie took two more tissues out of her bag and folded them in halves, then placed them over the cuts. ‘There.’

‘That’s better. Thanks, it’ll be okay now.’ It still smarted like hell. He closed his hands to hold the tissues in place.

‘That’s right. Just keep your hands closed for a while till the bleeding stops. It’s lucky you didn’t hurt yourself more.’

He clenched his jaw. ‘Let’s get on.’

They made their way in silence up to the first cave, the one with the aboriginal paintings. Ben had brought a powerful torch and he switched it on as they entered. He swept it around and its light illuminated the paintings.

‘Jesus,’ he breathed. ‘Will you look at that?’ He walked along, examining them intently. Stopping in front of one, he ran his fingers over the surface, wishing he could somehow work out how to make money out of this.

‘Hey! You’re not supposed to touch them.’ Rosie’s voice was sharp. ‘You’ll damage it!’

‘Sorry.’ He dropped his hand. ‘What a shame you can’t cut them off the wall.’

‘Why would you want to do that?’

‘They’d be worth heaps.’

‘That’s terrible.’ Rosie sounded appalled. ‘They’re part of our heritage.’

Ben pulled himself up, realising he’d made a blunder. Better be careful not to put her off-side.

‘Just joking,’ he laughed. ‘But wouldn’t you like to be able to take one home? Hang it on the wall?’

‘No. I’d rather see it here, where it belongs.’

‘You’re right, of course. I was only joshing you.’ He tore his attention from the walls and examined the rest of the cave carefully. There were no tunnels. He swung the light on the midden heap, but there was nothing of interest there, either.

‘So…are there any more caves?’

‘Yes, but this is the only one with paintings.’

‘I’d still like to see them.’

‘You’re sure you want to walk further?’

‘Yeah. How many more?’

‘Two that I can recall.’

‘Are there likely to be any more?’

Rosie shrugged her shoulders. ‘Could be. I haven’t been up here since I was a kid, remember.’

‘Okay. Let’s go.’

It was hot outside after the coolness of the cave. Rosie took the lead again. The track became fainter now. They made their way upwards for another twenty minutes before Rosie stopped and pointed to a distinctive looking tree standing alongside a large boulder a little further ahead.

‘That’s what we’re heading for, the cave’s behind the rock. I remember that tree. We used to call them black boys when we were kids but it’s not politically correct these days. I forget its other name.’

‘I don’t really care. Let’s get inside where it’s cooler.’

‘The entrance is quite small, I remember. We might have to crawl a bit to get inside.’

Ben brightened. This sounded more promising. A burial place wouldn’t be easily accessible.

‘That’s okay. Let’s go have a look.’ Ben quickened his step to cover the remaining ground ahead of Rosie. ‘I’ll go first,’ he called back to her as he got down on all fours.

‘Watch out for snakes,’ she warned.

He put his head inside and shone the light around carefully.

‘Looks all right, but you needn’t come in if you don’t want to.’

He found he could enter without crawling by bending over almost double and edging in sideways.

Rosie followed him. It was very dark inside. They both jumped as something scuttled past them, heading for the back of the cave. Ben swung the light around in time to see a small animal disappear into a fissure in the back wall. He went over and shone the beam into the crack.

Two eyes stared at him, glowing like miniature braziers in the light. Whatever the animal was, it had obviously been unable to go any further. He examined the hole thoroughly but it was empty apart from its visitor. Disappointed, he swung the light around the rest of the cave.
Rosie screamed as something swooped from the ceiling towards her. She waved her arms and shouted and the apparition disappeared through the entrance.

‘Ugh. Bats! I’m getting out of here.’ She made a speedy exit. Ben shuddered but stood his ground long enough to make sure there was nothing of interest in the small space before joining her.

‘Is that enough caves for today?’ Rosie asked him when they were both outside.

‘How far to the last one?’

‘About another quarter of an hour from here.’

‘Let’s press on then.’

The next cave had a large opening and the light inside was brighter than in the previous two. It was larger than the others and when the light landed on a skull lying on the floor at the back, his heart jumped. His elation was short lived, however, as he picked it up and turned it over in his hands. It was obviously the skull of a small animal. He hurled it away in disgust. ‘That’s no bloody good.’

‘Shit. You’re in a bad mood. What are you looking for?’

He controlled his voice. ‘Oh, I thought I might find some gemstones or something. Sorry. I’m just hot. Let’s sit down and cool off. I guess I’m not as fit as I thought I was.’ Ben laughed ruefully. He looked around and headed to an even patch of sandy ground by the wall. He bent down and smoothed the sand and then lowered himself to sit with his back against the wall. He patted the ground alongside him.

‘Come on. Sit down.’

Rosie sat down with him and offered him the water flask. ‘Here, have some water.’

Ben took it and drank, then tipped some over his head and mopped his face. ‘That’s better.’ He handed it back to Rosie and she drank some too. They both relaxed against the wall, enjoying the cooler air inside the cave.

‘So…are these all the caves round here?’ Ben asked a little later.

‘All that I can remember. There’s probably more but we’re not going looking for them today.’

‘No, no. I don’t want to. This is enough.’ He would come up here on his own, now that he knew where to come. There could be others, less well known, that might prove more fruitful.

He slid his arm around Rosie’s waist. Might as well try and get something from the day. When she didn’t object, he turned her face towards him and kissed her. He felt her heart beating against him. She kissed him back. His tongue darted inside her mouth, playing with her tongue. He pulled her towards him in a tight embrace, and his hand undid the buttons on her top. He slid his hand inside. Her nipples sprang erect. Bending his head, he took one in his mouth, sucking and kissing it. Her breath came faster. This was going to be okay.

Suddenly she drew back and pushed him gently away. She began to do up her buttons. Jesus, what was she playing at?

‘Babe, what’s the matter?’ Ben cajoled.

‘No, Ben, this is far enough. I can see where this is heading. It’s not what I want.’

‘Aw, come on, babe, I’m mad about you.’

‘No, you’re not. I know you’re not. You’re full of bullshit, Ben. This is just for today, I know that.’

‘Well, you want it, too. I can tell. You can’t tell me otherwise.’

‘No, Ben, no. A bit of a quick roll just because you’re feeling like it is not enough!’

‘Come on, babe.’ He cupped her breast in his hand. ‘You’re so beautiful; you don’t know what you do to me.’

‘Don’t give me that bullshit.’ She pushed his hand away.

Ben became angry. He wasn’t going to get anything from this lousy day. He was stronger than her. He knew he could fight her for what he wanted. But she was his only link to Cassie, to the household, to what he hoped were riches. He couldn’t afford to antagonise her. Cassie was likely to ban him from Yallandoo if he upset her precious friend. He forced his voice to sound dejected.

‘Well, babe, if that’s the way you want it. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I think too much of you for that.’

‘Good.’ Rosie stood, doing up her buttons. ‘Time to go, I think.’

‘Whatever you say, babe. We’re still friends, I hope.’

‘Yes. Let’s go.’

He heard the relief in her voice.

They made their way back down the hill, unaware that everything that had happened had been observed. When they reached the rainforest, the black figure faded away, his presence unsuspected.

At the door to the house, Rosie hesitated. ‘Would you like to come in for a cool drink?’

‘Thanks, babe. You’re a lifesaver.’ Maybe he could get to see the paintings.

Leading the way into the kitchen, Rosie took two cold drinks from the refrigerator and handed him one.

‘Sit down,’ she indicated the chairs by the table but he moved towards the door to the hall.

‘This is such a great house. I love old houses. Can I just have a peek in here?’

‘I guess it’s all right.’

Rosie followed him into the hall. He took a deep breath, elated by what he saw. There were the paintings hanging on the wall! He moved along slowly, making a show of admiring the picture rails and high ceilings. ‘Gee, they don’t build them like this anymore,’ he said, making his voice sound appreciative.

His eyes quickly scanned the paintings. He could see the signatures but couldn’t read what they were. He didn’t want Rosie to see him display any interest in them. He peeped into the rooms leading from the hall. More paintings! ‘A marble fireplace!’ he enthused. ‘Practically unheard of in Queensland!’