Inheritance (33 page)

Nadia broke down and cried with relief when Mark rode up to the house. She took Gemma from him and hugged her tightly as she carried her inside. ‘My darling child, where have you been? Are you hurt? We have been so worried about you. Let me look at you.’ She held Gemma at arm’s length and saw the cuts and scratches, the dried blood. ‘You are injured. Whatever has happened to you? Has someone done this to you?’

‘No, Grandy, it happened in the forest. The bushes were prickly. Something might have been chasing me and I had to run.’

‘And your clothes are wet. Were you out in all this rain?’

‘Yes. But then I found Hoppy’s house and I went in and slept with him. He kept me warm.’

‘You will catch your death of cold. I will run a hot bath for you. Then we will get you some dry clothes and I will put something on all those cuts. Then you can tell us everything that has happened. We will get the doctor to come and see you.’

‘I don’t need a doctor, Grandy. Now I’m home, I’m quite all right.’

‘We will see. Now, come along, into the bath.’

Later, they all sat together and Mark asked her what she had been doing on Yallandoo.

‘I wanted to see Larry,’ she told them, ‘and everyone was too busy to take me, so I decided to walk there myself.’

‘All the way to Yallandoo. It’s a long way to walk,’ Mark exclaimed. ‘I want you to tell us everything that happened,’ he added, remembering his fears that someone might have taken her.

‘All right. I thought it wouldn’t take me long to reach Yallandoo. I just wanted to talk to Larry. He’d know what to do.’

Nadia made to interrupt her, but Mark held up his hand. ‘Let her tell it in her own way.’

‘Goodness, it was a long way,’ Gemma continued. ‘I started to worry that Grandy would come driving back and see me, so I cut across a paddock, and I was out of sight from the road. It was very hot, so I drank some cordial I had with me and then a bit later I ate my apple. All the paddocks looked so much alike, I wasn’t sure if I was still on Binbin or Yallandoo. It was a lot further than I thought; it seems so close when you go by car.’

Mark nodded at her to keep going.

‘When I saw some cattle, I thought perhaps one of the stockmen would be with them and he’d take me to the house on his horse, but there was no one near. I know the bulls are dangerous, you always said never to go near the cattle so I went another way.’

She stirred in her chair and bit her lip.

‘I knew Grandy would be home now and would know I was gone and I was hoping she’d come and find me, because I was getting tired, even if it did mean I’d be in trouble and wouldn’t get to talk to Larry. But she didn’t come, so I went on until I reached the rainforest, and I remembered Cassie’s cabins were there, so I went in amongst the trees. It was very quiet in there, but I could hear rustling sounds and I was frightened.’

Her eyes grew round. ‘Animals live in the forest. I’ve heard about huge snakes that could climb trees and could kill you by winding themselves around you and squeezing you to death. When it was almost dark, it started to rain, and that’s when I remembered crocodiles live in the river and they can come out of the water and walk on the land. I was frightened and I started to run, but something grabbed hold of my leg and I screamed. But it was a vine with sharp hooks and it stuck in my leg and made blood trickle down my leg. The pain was awful.’

‘Poor little girl, ‘Mark said, stroking the patch of sticking plaster on her leg gently. ‘You must have been very frightened.’

‘Yes, I was.’

‘So what happened then?’

‘The rain was coming through the trees and I was all wet and cold. Then I saw a tree with a hollow in its trunk and I thought l’d go inside it and wait in there till the rain stopped but I heard there was something already inside. Probably a snake. When I ran away, I bumped into a tree. That’s how I hurt my cheek. But I kept on running until finally I saw the baby animal zoo. And I found Hoppy and I knew I’d be safe with him.’

‘But why did you want to go to Yallandoo?’ Mark asked her when she finished. ‘What was so important that you had to talk to Larry so urgently?’

‘Last time we were at Yallandoo, I heard Grandy talking to Cassie about you marrying Stella. I don’t want you to marry her and I wanted to ask Larry what to do about it.’

‘What?’ Mark’s voice rose in astonishment ‘You don’t want me to marry Stella?’ He shook his head in disbelief, staring accusingly at his mother. ‘Did you say this? And in front of her?’

Nadia looked flustered. ‘It was not in front of the child. She must have overheard us when we were on the verandah.’ She took a deep breath, and lifted her chin. ‘I was merely sharing my fears for you with a close friend. In confidence.’

Mark scowled at her, but turned back to his daughter. ‘Gemma, I have no intention of marrying Stella.’

‘She always comes to see you and you spend a lot of time with her. And you take her out with you at night.’

‘We do business together, nothing more. For God’s sake,’ he exploded. ‘Why didn’t you come and ask me about it?’

‘You always get angry if I ask you any of those sorts of questions. You’re angry now.’ Gemma turned and hid her head on Nadia’s lap.

Mark sat still for a moment, cursing himself for being insensitive, then leant over and stroked her hair gently and spoke softly. ‘Don’t be upset. Am I really such a bear?’ Gemma peeped shyly at him but said nothing. When there was no reply, he continued. ‘And what did you think Larry would be able to do?’

Gemma sat up now and regarded him seriously. ‘I wanted him to ask Sam to make a spell. Sam’s a
mabanba
and he knows everything, he can do special things.’

Nadia waited for the outburst but it did not come.

Mark took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment before he spoke again. ‘It was Sam who told me where to find you. I have to admit he is very clever, but I doubt whether he can cast spells. In this case, it’s not necessary. Now come and sit on my knee and give me a big kiss.’

Gemma scrambled over quickly and put her arms round his neck as she gave him a smacking kiss.

‘Oh, Daddy, I love you,’ she said shyly.

‘And I love you. You’re my girl. I promise you I’ll never marry Stella. To tell you the truth, I don’t like her much either, but she’s very good at her job, which is just about finished now.’

***

Mark knew he was going to cause himself pain, but he could not bring himself to leave without saying goodbye to Cassie. His heart hammered as he knocked on her door.

Cassie opened the door and stood back for him to enter. ‘Come in,’ she said stiffly.

He entered and stood just inside the door. She seems so indifferent, it certainly didn’t take her too long to forget about me.

‘I just want to let you know that Gemma’s all right. I’ve been to see Sam to thank him.’

‘I see.’

‘I was wrong about Sam’s abilities. As I seem to have been about so many things.’

‘Oh?’ Her cool voice was enquiring.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. Pride had kept him away from her after their argument and now it was too late to try and mend the break. It was obvious she no longer cared for him. ‘Well, it doesn’t matter now. I’ve decided to return to Sydney. I just have a few ends to tie up here. The resort’s ready to open, there’s nothing to keep me here now. So…this is goodbye.’

‘When are you leaving?’

‘Next week.’

‘I see.’ She sounded calm, detached. ‘In case I don’t see Nadia and Gemma again, will you please say goodbye to them for me?’

‘Of course.’ He stood there uncertainly, longing for some sign to show she still cared. But she stood stiffly, her attitude aloof. ‘I…I don’t suppose…we’ll be seeing each other again.’

‘I don’t suppose we will. Goodbye.’

‘Goodbye.’ He turned abruptly and walked out to his car.

As he drove away, there was no way he could know that she remained standing exactly as he had left her, except that tears poured down her cheeks.

Ben sat in the pub with a beer in front of him, turning the problem over in his mind. He knew he couldn’t roam about Yallandoo as freely now as when he had been working there, now that the building had finished. The main problem was getting to the hillside from the road without being seen. To do that, he had to cross a paddock to reach the rainforest and go through it, and there was always the danger of meeting someone on the way. He had no excuse for being on the property now. He decided that, if challenged, he could always say he was fossicking for gems, but he may not be believed.

How could he enter the property on the other side of the forest? He sipped his beer reflectively for some time and decided that, if he had a boat, he could cross the river and land on the other side of the rainforest. That way, he could moor the boat and make his way up the hillside with little chance of being seen. He was wearying of the search but the thought of the hidden wealth kept him going.

Next day, Ben drove early to Yallandoo, intending to say he had come to search for tools he’d lost if he was challenged. He reconnoitred carefully. Yes, where the creek ran into the river would be a perfect spot. There were overhanging trees in the creek, so he could moor a boat without much danger of it being seen. On the opposite side of the river, the bank was lined with trees. Big trees with huge roots jutting into the water. It would make an ideal fishing spot, he reflected, and that would be his excuse for the boat if he happened to be spotted, and he could leave his car hidden among the trees opposite.

Yes, it was time for a visit to Stella.

***

Ben started by asking Stella if she had disposed of the paintings yet.

She told him they were still hidden in the storeroom. ‘These things take time. My contacts in the U.S. have made considerable progress and there are some very interested parties. However, you don’t do deals worth a million dollars overnight. Just be patient.’

‘I took a helluva risk getting those paintings. Without me, you wouldn’t have them. I need some money now. I need to buy a tinny to cross the river with, that’s if you want me to keep looking for the other stuff.’

‘Of course. I’ll see what I can do.’ Going to the safe in her office, she took out some notes and handed them to him. ‘Here’s a thousand dollars; that should be enough.’

‘That’ll buy the tinny but I need some for myself. I’ve earned it. I didn’t take those risks for nothing, you know.’

Stella took some more notes from the safe. ‘Here’s another thousand. That’s all I’ve got. I don’t sell sheep stations, you know!’

And with that, Ben had to be content. But it was enough to whet his appetite for more.

The next day, he bought an aluminium dinghy with an outboard motor. It was small enough that he could handle it easily by himself and it would fit on the roof rack of his car. If anyone commented on it, he was going fishing. Nothing unusual in these parts.

It hadn’t cost him a thousand dollars, so he’d come out of that deal in front. Smart, he was!

He liked the feeling of money in his pocket. He couldn’t wait to have real money, enough so he could chuck in working and spend his life travelling to exotic parts of the world. Rio de Janeiro appealed to him; he’d seen a programme on the telly about the Carnival there. Yes, that would probably be his first destination. Then, well, anywhere he wanted to go. All he had to do was find this fucking burial site!

He needed to make a concerted effort, not just an hour or two here and there. He thought of the extra money in his pocket and decided to take a week off work and put in some full time searching.

He rang Gary and told him he was taking a week off between building jobs and was going to do some fishing.

The next day, he drove to the riverbank opposite Yallandoo and put the dinghy in the water, then hid his car in a clump of trees. Guiding the boat into the mouth of the creek, he tied up under the shelter of the trees. It was perfect. From here, he could make his way up the track on the far side of the creek with little chance of being seen. He remained quite unaware that once he reached the hillside, his every move was watched by a silent, shadowy figure.

The weather was hot and humid. The heavy clouds held promise of more rain but it was slow coming. It was hot work, searching carefully for any hidden cracks or fissures on the craggy hill.

At the end of the fourth full day of his search, he felt despondent. These crags seemed never ending. Maybe he’d never find it. Maybe it didn’t exist. If he didn’t find it by the end of the week, he’d give it away. Cut his losses and take the money from the paintings. He’d still have enough to travel, to lead a life of ease.

He’d find one of those tropical island paradises where it didn’t cost too much to live. He’d heard you were treated like royalty in those places if you had a few bob. He sat on a rock to rest a while and indulge his fantasy.

He’d find a native girl to look after him. He could see himself spending his days swimming in a crystal clear lagoon and then lying in a hammock under the shade of palm trees. She’d bring him cool drinks and cook his food. And he’d take her into the sack whenever he felt like it. Yeah, that’d be the life.

Ben bent and picked up a small stone and sent it skimming down the hill. It was then that he saw it! His movement had frightened a lizard and it scuttled away to safety. But it had disappeared into the hillside. Into what looked like a solid part of the rock face. Maybe it was hiding behind a stone. He jumped to his feet and rushed over to the spot. No, there was no doubt, it had gone. He examined the steeply sloping ground carefully and found a small crack on the side of the rock face. He would never have noticed it if the lizard hadn’t drawn his attention to it.

Picking up a stick, he tried to poke it into the crack. A little dirt came away and he felt the stick go through the wall. It felt like it was hollow behind. Excitedly he poked some more,
until he made a tiny slit. He bent down and put his eye to the hole. He couldn’t see anything. The hole needed to be larger.

He looked around for something heavier to use and picked up a long, thin stone and attacked the hole frantically. After several minutes work, he managed to enlarge it slightly. Again, he applied his eye to the crack. He still couldn’t see anything, but he could tell there was a space there. A secret cave. His excitement rose.