Red Hot (16 page)

Dave’s death had left a huge void at Kia-Ora. The work in the orchard had to continue as always and now the full responsibility of running the property fell to Karl. He felt lost and alone; he was so used to having Dave there to discuss things. He had his brothers and Digger, but no one could replace Dave.

January 1
^st
, 1965, dawned fine and sunny. It was going to be another scorcher. Karl and Digger had just finished breakfast and would be out in the orchard all day. Then they were to do the first shift patrolling the properties for the night. Arthur and Robert would take over at ten o’clock. The men were to work in two hourly shifts throughout the night. All the local farmers and fruit growers were keeping careful watch on their properties. They had no intention of stopping until they caught the person who was wreaking havoc on Hamilton Valley.

‘Ready, mate?’ Digger asked.

‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ Karl replied. He looked tired and sad. The past few days had taken their toll on him greatly. ‘As soon as we catch up with the fruit, I want to go through the rubble down where the shed was. Somethin’ just might have been overlooked.’

‘I’ll give ya a hand, mate. Won’t hurt to rummage through it again, although we did a pretty thorough job last time.’

‘Yeah, but I can’t get me head around how the arsehole manages to set fires and get away so bloody fast. Okay, we know diesel started the first shed fire. That explains him gettin’ away fast because that burns so slow before ignitin’. But the packin’ shed, he wouldn’t be able to throw a match into that and get away so fast. There was no smell of fuel at that one or any others since. So how’s he doin’ it? Shit, Wally was watchin’ the place.’ Karl leant against the sink as he spoke. ‘No, Dig, he’s got some other method! I’m gonna find out what it is!’

‘Well, if the clue’s there, we’ll find it. C’mon, better make tracks. I reckon we’ll get a visit from the cops later. They’ve left us alone all week because of what happened here.’ Digger patted Karl on his shoulder. He felt for his brother in law. Karl’s pain was evident and with grief, the strain of the lack of sleep and the torment of the firebug, Dig feared he could easily become
a loose cannon.

***

Kathy and Tammie had agreed to go with Eileen to visit old Harry.

‘Hi, Harry. You know my cousins, Kathy and Tammi Miles.’

‘Ello there, ah knows who ya are. Ya father’s a fine man.’ He smiled his gummy grin, saying to them, ‘I was right sorry ta hear ‘bout ya grandfather. Right darn sorry! Knew him well, I did. A fine bloke, he was.’ He slowly shook his head as he spoke.

Eileen unpacked the box of food onto Harry’s old wooden table.

The girls glanced around the hut. Tammi couldn’t believe the way this old man lived but he seemed happy and comfortable enough.

‘I’ll make a cup of tea,’ Eileen offered.

She was glad the old man hadn’t been drinking. ‘
Good thing it’s not pension week
until next week,’
she thought
.
She could handle Harry when he’d had a few but it may not have gone down to well with Kath and Tam; he was prone to a few crude jokes when he was a bit tipsy
.

‘Got any news, Harry? Seen anyone hanging around lately?’ Eileen asked as she scalded out mugs for the tea. There was no way she would make cuppa’s in his cups unless she scalded them first – anything could have crawled on them.

‘No one, girlie. Young Des was up ‘ere the other day, day before ya granddad’s funeral it was, not a soul since.’

‘Who do you reckon the firebug is, Harry?’ she asked as the old man sipped his tea.

‘Well, girlie, they say ‘e’s ‘bout six foot tall, a big bugger and right bloody fit. Now, all ya gotta do is find someone that fits that look, ain’t ya?’ He slurped at his tea, adding, ‘There ain’t too many ‘round these parts like that, now is ‘ere? Ya think ‘bout it. I’d say ya can scale it down to ‘bout ‘arf a dozen!’

‘Dad says the cops are at a loose end because they don’t have any clues. There hasn’t been any evidence left behind and they also reckon that he could have had some kind of hat on the night they chased him, they’re not sure,’ Kathy told him.

‘Ah well girlie the local blokes’ll catch him. I wouldn’t wanna be messin’ with tha local blokes, ‘specially now their danders are up!’

They stayed quite a while talking about the fires and all that had happened since. Eventually, it was time for them to leave.

They said goodbye to Harry and thanked him for the tea. Before they left, he promised to keep an eye open for anyone hanging around and assured them he was safe there with his dog and his rifle.

He told them he was pleased they’d come up to visit him and invited them to come again sometime soon.

‘Digger Miles is a lucky man,’
he thought as he watched them walking away. They turned and waved to him.
‘Two beaut daughters, an’ Eileen, she’s just bonza.’
He looked
wistful and he hoped they’d come back soon. This firebug drama had unsettled him. He hadn’t told the girls, but he no longer felt safe up here on his own. He’d never been worried before,
but now he was.

***

Ellie sat out on the veranda knitting a jumper for herself. She had chosen cream wool. It gave her no pleasure really. Her thoughts were of Dave, the knitting was purely to keep her occupied. She had a huge ache in her heart that travelled to her stomach. She knew it was grief and she was having a damn hard time dealing with it. She was trying hard to be strong for everyone else, but there were moments when she wanted to scream at them to leave her alone. Several times she had asked God
why he had to take her father;
she wasn’t ready to let him go, not yet.

‘That’s shaping up beautifully, Ellie.’ Win walked up and sat in the cane chair beside her. ‘I really must do some knitting too. Trouble is it will take me until the
end
of winter, even if I start now. I’m so slow at it.’

Ellie smiled, lowering the knitting onto her lap. ‘Why don’t you come with me tomorrow? I have to get some more wool at Pearl’s. You could pick out some nice wool then. We could meet Francis for lunch at Mates as well.’

Win missed her father dreadfully too. She knew things had to get back to normal sooner or later. Everyone said he would want them to get on with their lives, but actually doing it was easier said than done. Maybe this small outing would ease the way for her.

‘Yes, let’s. What about Mum? Should we ask her to come along too?

Emmie had remained quiet and withdrawn. She had lost her sparkle, which was understandable, and her face told her deep grief. She spent a lot of her time in her bedroom sitting in a chair, gazing vaguely out the window that overlooked the property.

Ellie thought for a minute. ‘I think we should leave her be, let her deal with her grief in her own way. We should keep a close eye on her though Win, we can’t let her sink too deep. We all know there’s no time frame for grief, so all we can do for now is be here for her
and each other.’

The first days of January passed uneventfully. Detectives Bennett and Simpson paid Karl and Digger a visit. They offered their condolences and questioned them again about the phone calls Ellie and Kathy had received on Christmas Eve. They had wanted to speak again to the women, but Digger had flatly refused. The women had been through enough.

Karl stood watching as the detectives drove away. ‘Ya know, Dig, those bastards haven’t got a clue! What the fuck have they done? How many friggin’ fires have we had now, five… six? An’ still the bloody arsehole remains on the run!’

He pushed his hat to the back of his head and rubbed his hand across his eyes. ‘What flamin’ use are they? Drivin’ ‘round lookin’ outta their bloody car windows at people they don’t even know. They don’t know if someone’s new to the valley. It’s just not gonna do any good. The firebug’s probably watchin’ ‘em and laughin’ his guts out!’

Digger nodded. ‘Yeah, and writin’ who knows what in their bloody notebooks isn’t gonna catch ‘im either, mate. I tell ya what though, I’m a bit worried about some of the local blokes ‘round here runnin’ ‘round the place with guns. I hope we catch this fool before somethin’ shockin’ happens!’

‘I know what ya mean, Dig. The likes of that hothead O’Toole shouldn’t own a bloody gun.’

Karl and Digger were right. The firebug had brought chaos to the valley. All the farmers and fruit growers owned guns. Now they were threatening to use them to shoot a person! The ordeal had them so riled that they were beginning to doubt neighbours they had known for years!

If he wasn’t caught soon, an innocent person could end up being shot or perish in a fire!

The police were completely baffled. They had not one shred of evidence to lead them to the culprit.

***

Francis was busily pricing some shirts that had just arrived in the menswear department at Mates.

‘G’day, mate.’ Eddie Chancellor interrupted him.

‘G’day Ed…’ Francis hadn’t had a lot to do with Eddie he had only heard the usual gossip about him.

Eddie stood staring at him, looking uncomfortable.

‘What can I do for you, mate?’ Francis asked with a smile.

‘Well, I was just thinkin’ about some new duds. Thought ya might be able ta give me a few ideas.’

Francis raised his eyebrows. Glancing at how Eddie was dressed made him wonder what had brought him to Mates’ menswear department. It seemed a bit out of Eddie’s league.

‘These shirts have just come in today – have a look.’ Francis pointed out the newest stock.

He showed Eddie some casual clothes as well as formal, offering opinions on several garments. Francis suggested colours that went well together and was surprised to sell him several outfits.

Eddie was pleased with the effort Francis went to for him.

‘Thanks, mate. Just what I needed; I really have no idea about this stuff.’

‘No worries, Ed. Anytime.’

Eddie walked off whistling, heading in the direction of the shoe department.

Francis was left thinking Eddie wasn’t such a bad bloke, that maybe he just needed a bit of understanding. Maybe a decent friend or two wouldn’t go astray.

Over dinner at Kia-Ora that evening, he mentioned that Eddie had been shopping for new clothes.

Kathy’s ears pricked up immediately.

‘He needs more than new clothes to fix him,’ Karl remarked brusquely.

‘No matter what he wears, he’ll still be Eddie Chancellor,’ Digger added.

Kathy was instantly irritated. ‘Can’t anyone give him a chance? He may not be as bad as you think. Everyone is so damn judgmental!’

‘Kathy… Be sensible girl. That boy
is
a bad egg
and
does fit the firebug’s description!’ Emmie remonstrated, taken aback by Kathy’s outburst.

‘So do at least half a dozen people, Grandma. He’s not the only one.’

‘Such as…’ Win asked.

After talking to Harry, Kathy had thought a lot about just who did fit the description.

‘Well, for a start, Robert does… and Des!’

‘Now hang on a minute, Kathy,’ Win interrupted. ‘Bringing family into it is going a bit far. Frankly, I’m surprised at you!’

‘Mum, I’m not blaming Des
or
Robert, but they
do
fit the description. I’m sure we could come up others as well.’

She was becoming very wound up.

‘Oh,
and
there’s Roly’s son, and what about the priest? Someone also said the bloke they chased could’ve even had a hat or cap on. They aren’t really sure, everyone is grasping at straws
and,
of course, Eddie’s the bunny!’

‘The priest…’ Win laughed. ‘Come off it, Kath, it’s more likely young Chancellor than the priest,
as weird as he is
!’

Tammi was sitting quietly observing all this. Twice now she had noticed Kathy jump to Eddie’s defence. What was going on? Surely her sister didn’t have the hots for him?

‘Well, let’s not argue about Eddie Chancellor or the weirdo priest. Let’s all enjoy our meal,’ Ellie said, trying to calm the situation.

‘Don’t you go gettin’ any fancy ideas about Chancellor, Kath,’ Digger warned her. ‘You keep your distance from him. He’s no good, hear me!’ Digger had an uneasy feeling. Kathy was growing up way too fast for his liking and he’d be damned if the likes of that no hoper would get their hands on her!

Kathy wisely let the matter drop. Still, she seethed inwardly. She bent her head and continued her meal in silence.

***

The January heat continued the next day. Eric decided to go and see his mother, thinking he could give her a hand. He knew how hard she had been working around the property and it was over a week now since he’d been to see her.

‘Hey, Mum, how’ve you been?’ He gave her a hug that engulfed her whole body.

Dawn adored her son. He had always been affectionate and loving since he was a little kid. He was a tad shy, around others but with his mother, he was very open and would often share his feelings with her.

‘I’m fine, love. I’ve been doing a fair bit today though.’ She slumped into a nearby chair. ‘I’m a bit worn out actually.’

‘That’s why I’m here. I’ve got a few hours spare – what can I do to help out?’

‘Oh Eric, that would be such a big help, son. Well, the dairy needs a hose out badly, if you wouldn’t mind?’

‘Course not. I’ll head over now, then see what else needs doing while I’m over there. Won’t be long. You have a rest, put your feet up.’ Eric set off across the paddock to the dairy. Dawn watched him go, thinking if he could find a nice girl he would make a perfect husband.

***

Busy rotary hoeing at his own place, Arthur was relying on Robert to lend a hand. Arthur had sent him up to Sam’s for fertilizer and he had been gone for nearly two hours!

‘Where the hell could that boy be?’ Arthur grumbled.

He looked up as Robert came sauntering through the gate.

‘What did you do, go to bloody town and back? What took you so long?’

‘Sorry, dad. I just got tied up talking and stuff. Here’s the fertilizer. Uncle Sam said to dig it in well.’