Kakadu Sunset (26 page)

The lift was empty. Ellie stabbed at the button for the fourth floor, regretting her mad dash to Darwin more as each second passed. It had been a compulsion that she hadn’t been able to ignore – a feeling that had pushed her to drive for almost three hours along the Arnhem Highway. Heather had looked at her strangely when she’d met her in the car park and told her she was taking an unexpected trip to Darwin.

‘Why?’

‘I’m going to visit Kane’s mother in hospital.’ She wondered at the relief that crossed Heather’s face.

Maybe it wasn’t appropriate. Maybe she should have gotten Kane’s number from Jock and called him. Maybe there’d be more family here to support them both. Although if there was more family, surely they wouldn’t have left Susan alone at the farm? She reminded herself that Susan
had
asked her to be Kane’s friend. That’s all it was about, nothing to do with this strange feeling that flowed through her when she was near him.

She was here now; she’d visit Susan, see if Kane was okay and then spend the night in Darwin. She’d have a leisurely breakfast by the harbour in the morning and get back to the lodge with plenty of time to spare for her afternoon shift. It would give her some time to gather her thoughts and look at the email that Emma had sent. Her laptop was in the boot of her car; after two break-ins, she hadn’t been confident about leaving it in her apartment.

The doors slid open silently as the lift reached the fourth floor. The desk was unmanned and there was no sign of any staff. The clinical smell was even stronger up here in the wards, and Ellie shivered again. It was quiet and the curtains were drawn, the last shard of afternoon sun peeking through the space between them. She hesitated, uncertain of what to do. As she turned back to wait by the desk, her heart jumped. Kane was sitting in a plastic chair further down the corridor, his head back against the wall, his eyes closed.

Ellie walked slowly towards him, her flat-soled leather sandals making no sound on the shiny lino floor. There were deep lines etched beside his mouth and dark shadows circled his eyes. She stood there for a moment looking down at him before reaching out and placing her hand gently on his shoulders. He lunged forward. His hand grabbed hers tightly as his eyes opened. The pressure of his fingers made Ellie wince and she pulled her hand back.

Confusion crossed his face and Kane put the other hand up to his forehead. ‘Ellie! What are you doing here?’

‘I thought you might like some company.’ She spoke softly. ‘I hope it’s okay? Jock told me your mum’s pretty sick.’

Ellie dropped to a crouch in front of him and took his hands in hers. ‘How is she now?’ she asked softly.

Kane shook his head. ‘Not good. The doctor is in there with her. She had another turn when she was talking to me.’ His voice was clipped as though he was trying to say it in few words. ‘They’re giving her morphine to ease . . . to ease her last hours.’ Ellie’s throat closed as Kane continued and his voice shook. ‘I’ve said my goodbyes.’

‘Oh, Kane. I’m so sorry.’ She brushed her eyes with the back of her hand as the tears filled them. ‘What about Panos? Is he in there with her now?’

‘We’ve tried everything. Called his mobile, the office, parliament house, but we can’t locate him.’ He nodded towards the nurses’ station. ‘They’ve been great. They’ve left messages everywhere and they’re trying his mobile every ten minutes or so.’

‘Oh, that’s not . . . good.’

‘Why did you come?’ Kane’s voice was soft.

Ellie held his gaze steadily. ‘I thought you might need a friend.’

Kane dropped his head and leaned his forehead against hers. ‘Thank you.’

Ellie pushed to her feet and stood beside him. His arms went around her waist and sympathy overwhelmed her as he leaned against her. She knew the grief that had overtaken her when Dad had died. She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned his head slowly to look up at her. The warmth of his skin seeped through the cotton of his black T-shirt and ran up her arm with a jolt.

He held her gaze and something passed between them. A look that reaffirmed their connection. Whether it was friendship or something more, Ellie wasn’t sure. She hugged the feeling to herself for a moment and then put it away safely to examine later. Maybe Gina’s advice was worth considering.

‘Well, I am here. And I’m going to stay.’

She stepped to the side and reached for another plastic chair. Kane was still regarding her steadily, but his face had softened and all she could see was a man who was uncertain and alone, as his mother lay dying in the room across the corridor.

‘You don’t have to talk to me. I can get you a coffee.’ Ellie kept her voice soft.

‘Thank you.’ Kane reached for her hand and held it loosely. They sat there without speaking until the door opened. The doctor stepped out and walked across to them.

‘She’s asleep and resting as comfortably as we can make her. Perhaps you’d like to sit with her.’ He glanced across at Ellie. ‘You can both go in if you would like to. At this stage . . . we don’t worry about the rules.’ He turned to Kane. ‘Did you manage to contact her husband yet? I’m sorry, it won’t be long now.’

Kane stood and kept Ellie’s hand tightly in his. She swallowed down as hard as she could. The ache in her throat burned as she tried to hold the tears back.

‘Thank you. I’ll go in,’ Kane said. The doctor nodded and touched him briefly on the shoulder before he walked away.

‘I don’t expect you to come in.’ His mouth turned up in a ghost of a smile. ‘Maybe you could get me a coffee from downstairs? I think the coffee shop stays open till late.’

‘Sure. If not, there’s sure to be a coffee machine.’ It would be good to help out in a tangible way. Ellie turned to go, but Kane’s hand on her shoulder stayed her. He pulled her gently into his arms and she slipped her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on the top of her head and Ellie rubbed his back, trying to soothe his tight muscles. They stood together without speaking for a minute, before Kane stepped back.

‘Thank you. Later . . . after . . . we need to talk.’

‘Okay.’ She turned away towards the lift, conscious of Kane’s gaze on her. But when she reached the lift and looked back he had gone. Ellie gave in to the ache in her throat and the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Wednesday night
Parliament House, Darwin

David slipped his finger into his collar and pulled it away from his neck. Despite the air-conditioning, the room was stuffy and his shirt was sticking to him. For the first time since he’d entered public service he’d begun to question whether it was worth it. Loosening his tie, he closed his eyes, wishing he was at Makowa Lodge with Gina and the kids, relaxing by the pool with nothing to worry about.

Now the sterile smell of a conference room surrounded him. And a critical vote loomed ahead. As long as Gina and the kids stayed safe he could handle it; but two weeks was a long time to be away from them and the new baby’s birth was getting closer. Once the two decisions were made, he’d be talking to security. The votes would be cast and Fairweather would no longer have a hold over him.

The outcome of tonight’s committee meeting was crucial. If the vote approved the change to the national park boundary, the meeting on Monday to vote on the exploration licence would be critical. The future – or even the survival – of Kakadu National Park swung in the balance, dependent on the outcome of these two committee votes. But if tonight’s vote rejected the boundary change, it was highly unlikely that the exploration licence would be approved – Fairweather’s plans would be dead in the water.

David glanced up as Bill Jarragah hurried into the conference room, only a minute or so before the meeting was due to start. His arm was in a sling and his clothes were rumpled. He pointed to the sling with a shrug of his good shoulder.

‘Silly accident,’ he said, but despite the good-natured teasing that followed he would not be drawn on what had happened.

David watched as Bill took a seat across from him. He and Bill were the only representatives who were on both the committees. The chair called the meeting to order and David focused his attention on the proceedings.

The Honourable Member for Berry read the minutes of the last General Purpose Standing Committee, his speech punctuated by the occasional clink of crockery as members made their way to the corner of the room to replenish their coffee.

When he finished he put the minutes down and looked around the table. ‘It needs to be made quite clear that the outcome of this vote today will impact another one next week.’

David tipped his head to the side and listened carefully; they were getting to the critical part of the discussion that had been raised briefly at the last meeting.

‘It is most unusual for a boundary to be reduced rather than resuming other land to add to the national park.’ The member’s voice was flat and David wondered whether he was only going through the motions. Maybe his tone indicated the way he would vote. Hopefully the point he raised showed he was against it.

David looked around the room at the other committee members and caught the eye of Bill Jarragah. Bill lowered his gaze. He knew that Bill would vote against this. He could always count on the Aboriginal vote to protect the water and environment of the Territory; David was as sure of that as he was that the sun would rise in the morning. His gaze settled on each of the committee members in turn and he began to perspire.

Were Fairweather’s threatening words just posturing? Would he really go after Gina and the kids? Again, David reached up and ran his fingers between his collar and his neck, before he reached for his water glass.

One of the other members held up his hand. ‘Are we discussing the specific property here or are we still in general discussion?’

The member for Berry looked at him over his glasses, as though it was a question where the answer was obvious. David didn’t mind, the more dissension there was, the less chance that the vote would be in the affirmative.

‘Yes, I am sure everyone on both committees has been made aware that it is the South Alligator River property where Black Coal Holdings is seeking to drill for the purposes of exploration.’

‘So if the boundary change is approved, it is more likely that the exploration licence will be approved?’ Bill spoke quietly.

‘That is correct.’

Frowns creased a few foreheads and a couple of the members made notations on copies of the minutes in front of them. The member for Arnhem Land raised his hand, and the chairman nodded for him to go ahead.

‘For exploration to occur I believe an access agreement with the owner is required under section 28B? Is that correct? And the owner of the land in question will change if the boundary change is approved?’

The chairman nodded and the member’s voice rose as he spoke against the vote. ‘Isn’t it most unusual to recommend a boundary change to a federally administered national park?’

Good, David thought, another one who’s against it.

The discussion moved naturally to the economic viability of coal seam gas mining in the Territory.

He waited, hoping someone else would raise what was at the forefront of his mind. He didn’t want to be the one to introduce the issue. It was the elephant in the room; everyone was aware of it, but he wanted to hear it, and see it recorded in the minutes of this meeting. It wasn’t long before the words he waited for were spoken.

‘Yes, the difficulty lies in the fact that the property in question is owned by Panos Sordina.’

The chairman nodded. ‘The members will of course not take that into account when voting, but it must be made very clear that Mr Sordina has declared his pecuniary interest and that he is willing to sell off the affected portion of his property if the approval goes ahead.’

A stifled laugh from one end of the table was quickly turned into a cough. ‘Hah, of course he is,’ someone muttered.

The member for Berry looked over his glasses at the offending member. ‘Order, please. To be fair to Mr Sordina, he has owned this property for five years, and the possibility of mineral wealth in the South Alligator region has only come to light in the last eighteen months.’

Bill’s voice was soft as he entered the discussion. ‘The environmental study is complete and the boundaries of the national park can be adjusted without significant impact on the northern section of the park if necessary. The land in question is not culturally sensitive.’

Several members tried to speak at once. David looked across to Bill and he again dropped his gaze. An uneasy feeling snaked through his stomach when he saw the perspiration on Bill’s brow.

‘Order, please.’

Papers shuffled as the committee prepared to vote. David took a deep breath. He hoped that his prediction of the outcome was right. He had spoken to the members over the previous weeks and they were evenly split. He had had a long phone conversation with Bill Jarragah last week and he knew that together their votes would defeat the motion. Even so, David’s stomach clenched as the vote was called. Bill stared straight ahead, perspiration running down the sides of his cheeks; he looked distinctly unwell.

David gripped his hands in his lap and held his breath. He watched as the three of the four hands he expected rose slowly.

‘So are we done?’ The chairman’s hand was already up, as David had expected.

Disbelief jarred through him as another hand rose. The member for Berry stared down at the table as his hand, too, rose. He was the most conservative member of the committee and had been vocal in his opposition to shale gas exploration for many months.

Five up and five down. It was now up to David to choose between his beliefs or his family. A negative vote would put his wife and children in jeopardy, but he couldn’t, in good conscience, support the proposal. He clenched his hands more tightly as he opened his mouth to confirm his negative vote. If necessary, he would put a round-the-clock guard on the children.

But before he could declare his negative vote, Bill jutted his chin out and put his hand up.

The chairman looked around the room and counted the show of hands. ‘The measure is passed in the affirmative. Six votes to four in favour of the boundary change.’ He nodded. ‘I am pleased, personally and on behalf of my constituents, to see that common sense has prevailed. Hopefully this decision indicates that the exploration application will be looked at favourably next week. It is in the best economic interests of the Territory.’