Red Hot (5 page)

One of the most fascinating aspects of the building of the Hume Dam was that two towns were literally picked up and moved to make way for it. Bowna was moved during initial construction works in 1933 and later, Tallangatta followed when the height of the dam was raised nine feet in 1956.

The flooding of Tallangatta necessitated an eight kilometre journey to higher ground for 104 houses, two pubs, four petrol stations, two general stores, three halls and four churches. They even took the trees that now stand in the new town’s park.

The move was completed on June 29, 1956, at the cost of two and a half million pounds. In a good year, the skeleton of the old town was submerged deep under the waters of upper Lake Hume, but during the times of drought, the old streets can still be traced.

While the Hume Dam was created primarily to assure an unceasing water supply to irrigation districts and towns along the Murray River from Albury to Adelaide, it has the added spin-off of being a freshwater paradise for water sport enthusiasts, anglers and bird watchers.

The dam is stocked with fish
.
Most of these are introduced species – carp, red fin and trout – though native species such as Golden Perch and Murray Cod can also be found.

Kathy smiled in response, ‘Yeah, the weather has been lovely lately. Soon everyone will be out there; it gets really packed, and tourists fill it up over Christmas and New Year.’

‘Christmas… it’s come around pretty fast. You goin’ Christmas shoppin’ today?’ he questioned.

‘I’m going to look. I’m not sure what to get anyone really,’ she responded.

‘Got a boyfriend, Kathy?’

‘No one special.’

‘Well then, maybe you’d like to take a drive to the Weir with me?’

Kathy was surprised by his unexpected invitation and wasn’t sure how she should respond.

Eddie grinned at her. ‘As I said before,
I won’t bite, you know
.’ He chuckled, looking at her through half closed lids with his hair falling boyishly over his forehead.

He didn’t really expect her to accept and was surprised at himself for even asking her.

Kathy was tempted. Something about Eddie excited her; she couldn’t help thinking he was very sexy and very handsome no matter what people said about him.

‘Stuff it!’
she thought, impulsively making up her mind.

‘Well, yeah, I suppose that would be ok.’

Eddie nearly ran the car up the footpath.
Was he hearing right?
Was this flash chick
really going to go out with him, even if it was just a drive out to the Hume Weir?
‘
Better make a time before she changes her
mind.
’ His mind raced.

‘Well how about this evenin’?’

‘No, I can’t this evening.’ She knew she would have difficulty getting out without raising questions from her parents since the scare in the orchard and how they had clamped down on both her and Tam. She also knew she would be in huge trouble going with Eddie if she was found out. Part of her became doubtful about going at all… but as fast as the doubt entered her mind, she cast it aside.

‘How about this arvo then?’ he continued.

Kathy thought for a minute. She hadn’t made any specific
plans to meet any of her friends after she finished her shopping.

‘Okay, why not, yep, this afternoon will be good.’

‘Okay then, I’ll drop you off in town and meet you at one o’clock outside the post office.’

‘
I can’t believe me luck; Kathy Miles has just agreed to go out with me!’
He smiled to himself thinking
his
Christmas had come early.

Kathy still couldn’t believe what she’d gotten herself into. What had possessed her to agree to go out with Eddie Chancellor? If her parents got wind of it she’d be grounded until she was fifty!

Feeling guilty again, she was half inclined not to turn up to meet him. Still, there was something about him she liked and she felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of spending time with him.

She went off to do her shopping, her mind whirling and not concentrating on the shopping at all. She kept checking her watch, wishing the time to go faster.

Eddie was waiting in his car for her. He was excited at the thought of the afternoon ahead. He was excited
in many ways
just thinking of the sexy little number he’d have beside him.

Just after one o’clock, Kathy walked up and got into his car. ‘Well, Eddie, I was in two minds about this but here I am.’

Eddie smiled at her and started the engine, wincing at the grinding sound when he put the car into gear.

‘I heard you’re all busy with the fruit pickin!’ he said to make conversation.

‘Yeah, we are. Tam and I are making a bit of extra money helping out. You obviously know about the fire at Uncle Sam’s; bit weird, isn’t it?’

‘Aah, yeah, that was nasty. I heard it came close to Eric’s tractor.’

‘Yeah, he couldn’t get it started to move it away and they had to tow it away with the ute.’

‘I’ve heard that some of the local blokes reckon it’s those kids that lit it,’ Eddie said, glancing across at her.

‘Dad and Uncle Karl think so. They haven’t any proof, but if they’re right, I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes when they get caught. It’s scary not knowing for sure though.’

‘Don’t worry. The cops’ll catch the lil shits if it’s them. They won’t outsmart the cops.’

The conversation drifted on about things in general. She finally felt quite relaxed. Eddie had not made one suggestive remark to her and she was enjoying the drive. He didn’t speed or drive reckless. He was someone different, not at all like the high school boys she knew. He was older and she liked the thrill of being with a man who had the reputation of being a bit wild.

The drive out to the Weir took about half an hour. They crossed the bridge above the spillway. Some of the overflow gates were open, releasing huge volumes of water. Eddie drove to the other side and parked the car in the visitor’s car park.

‘Fancy walkin’ down and takin’ a look?’ he asked, turning to look at her.

‘Sure, that’d be nice.’

‘Dunno why I bother lockin’ this old girl, no-one’d want to steal her.’ He laughed as he put the car keys in his pocket.

‘C’mon, let me help you down these steps, they’re pretty steep.’

The steps leading down to the bottom of the spillway were steep. They led to a viewing platform. Although there was a safety barrier erected, it was advisable to be cautious.

Kathy gladly took hold of Eddie’s hand and held it tightly the further down they went.

The noise was unbelievable. To hear each other they had to shout over the roar of the water.

Once they reached the viewing platform, they didn’t bother saying much at all. The noise was deafening and it was impossible to hear what was being said anyway.

Eddie indicated the safety barrier and they walked over and looked out across the vast expanse of water. Every now and then the spray from the water reached them. Although the sun was shining brightly, it was very cool down there and Kathy began to shiver.

Eddie noticed the slight trembling of her hands as she held onto the barrier.

Bending down so he could speak close to her ear, he asked, ‘Would you like to go get a coffee at the kiosk?’

Nodding her acceptance, they made their way back up the steep steps to the top.

‘Wow! That was unreal!’ Kathy felt exhilarated after her climb and it showed in her flushed face.

Eddie laughed at her enthusiasm. ‘Yeah, it’s sure somethin’ worth goin’ down for a look, eh? C’mon, let’s get that coffee.’

They ended up deciding on milkshakes and took them to a nearby park bench.

‘You know, Kathy.’ Eddie turned to look at her. ‘I was surprised when you agreed to come out here with me. Your parents must’ve talked about me. Hell, everyone in the good ol’ valley talks about Eddie Chancellor.’ His last few words came across as bitter. Kathy paused before answering, not wanting to spoil things by saying the wrong thing. The afternoon had been going along nicely.

‘Well, they have said stuff. I mean, you know, the good old country grape vine.’ Her voice drifted away and she kept her eyes on her drink.

Eddie could see her embarrassment at his question.
‘Shit, why did I ask her that?’
he thought
.
Aloud, he said. ‘Don’t worry, Kath, I shouldn’t have asked. I know what people say about me. I was just surprised you agreed. I mean, a nice girl like you an’ all. I’m
more
than happy you came out here with me.’

‘Oh shit, shut up Chancellor before you put your foot all the way in your stupid big mouth!’
he reprimanded himself. He felt flustered, very unlike him! For the first time in a very long time, he realised he was actually enjoying himself and he really liked Kathy’s company. She was a very nice girl and he just didn’t want to do or say anything to spoil things. This really was completely different to his other dates with girls. He wasn’t used to trying to make a good impression. It was usually the girls trying to impress him…

‘Hey, we still have a good bit of the arvo left, would you like me to take you out across the Tallangatta bridge? It’s a nice drive and from there we can head back home.’

Kathy could see he was trying very hard to impress her and she found herself really liking him. ‘Yes, Eddie, I’d love that.’ She smiled at him, thinking again how good looking he was.

As they drove along, Eddie pointed out pieces of the scenery, telling her information that went with it and she realised that he was actually very intelligent.

‘People have got you all wrong, Eddie Chancellor,’
she thought
. ‘They don’t know you at all!’

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when Eddie tapped her on the hand. ‘Um, what?’ she asked, confused for a minute. ‘Sorry, I was a million miles away.’

‘You sure were. Hope I wasn’t boring you?’

‘Oh, no, definitely not. Quite the opposite, I was thinking what an intelligent person you are, actually.’

Eddie chuckled. ‘Well don’t spread that around will ya, no one’d believe ya anyway.’

When they finally drove up Centaur Road, Eddie pulled over in the gravel on the side of the hill just before Kia-Ora.

‘I think I should let you get out here, Kathy. Your Dad would be hoppin’ mad if he saw you with me. You okay with that?’

‘Yes, thanks Eddie. He’d ground me forever. Still, I’ve really had a great afternoon. I loved every minute!’ She turned and gave him a warm smile. ‘Thanks so much for taking me.’

Eddie would have liked to grab her and smother that beautiful mouth with his, but he held himself in check.

‘Well, I’d like to do it again sometime soon,’ he said softly.

Kathy felt her heart flutter. She really liked this bad boy of the valley.

‘I’d like that too, Eddie Chancellor.’ She got out of his car, turned and waved as she started the short walk home.

Eddie watched until she disappeared over the hill and then he turned the car around and drove off down Centaur Road.

Kathy was finding it hard to get off to sleep, being keyed up about her afternoon with Eddie. She was very happy that she had gone out with him but, at the same time, she felt guilty going behind her parents’ backs. Everyone was of the opinion he was no good and not worth the time of day. Kathy now felt that she knew differently. She had seen a completely different Eddie to the one that everyone else described. Tossing and turning, sleep evaded her, and she decided to get up.

Quietly, she went downstairs to the kitchen. ‘Hmmm hot Milo might help me get to sleep,’ she whispered. She was filling the kettle when she sensed that something wasn’t right. ‘Stop it stupid
,
’
she whispered again
.
‘You’re scaring yourself.’

But she still couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. Then she heard it… crackling!

Leaning across the sink, she pulled back the blind of the window, her eyes widened in shock. For a moment, she was rooted to the spot. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Kathy felt the colour drain from her face. She had to raise the alarm… and quickly!

‘Oh… oh… quick… quick… The old toilet’s on fire!
’

The Mason’s old wooden outhouse, overgrown with creeping ivy, was well alight and burning fiercely in close proximity to Ted and Hazel’s cottage and the hayshed. Kathy’s heart dropped to her stomach.

Kathy dropped the kettle she was about to fill and panic took over.

She quickly ran up the stairs, yelling at the top of her voice, ‘Dad, Uncle Karl! There’s a fire outside, come quickly!’

She burst into her parent’s bedroom ‘Dad… Dad… the old toilet, it’s on fire!’

Woken so abruptly, it took Digger a few seconds to get his wits about him.

‘What tha hell? Ya sure?’ he muttered, rubbing his face in an effort to wake up.

‘Course I’m sure. It’s well and truly alight! C’mon… hurry!’

Win was already out of bed and pulling on her dressing gown.

‘Dig, hurry, quickly!’ Win clearly was in a panic.

Karl, having heard the commotion, ran past the door in his pyjamas. ‘Fuckin’ hell, Dig, quick… Ted’s cottage could go up… and the hayshed!’

‘I’ll phone the fire brigade,’ Win called after them as they all rushed downstairs.

Ted had the hose and was already drenching the flames by the time Karl and Digger ran outside.

‘Grab that other hose, Dig, quick mate!’

Frantically, the three men doused water on the fire. This had to be contained quickly. It was dangerously close to the hayshed and the cottage!

Across the road, Walter Hansen had also woken and seen the flames. He quickly pulled on some overalls and rushed outside to grab his knapsack.

Standing on the back veranda, Dave, Emmie and the others were all watching.

‘Looks like we’ve got some strife in the valley. Someone’s up ta no good,’ Dave muttered gruffly. ‘That old toilet sure as hell didn’t light itself… just like those other fires didn’t light themselves,’ he added.

‘You’re right, Dave. It’s been done deliberately,’ Emmie replied softly. ‘Look, Hazel’s coming up the path.’ Emmie pointed to the stooped figure of Hazel coming towards them.

‘Well, another mysterious fire!’ she called when she got closer.

‘You and Ted both ok?’ Dave asked.

‘Oh, we’re fine, Mr Dave. Ted got a bit of a start when he heard the crackling. He flew outta bed and it actually flared up right in front of us,’ she said, coming to stand beside him. ‘I don’t like the thought that someone’s sneaking around lighting fires. Glory be, what can they be thinking? Everything’s so dry. Haven’t they got any sense at all?’

Dave put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t work yourself up, Hazel. The blighters won’t get away with it. This is serious an’ they’ll be caught and dealt with!’

Just at that moment, Father Damien appeared from the side of the house
.

‘Father Damien! You scared us half to death!’ Win and Ellie exclaimed together.

‘Father, what the devil are you thinkin’, sneakin’ up like this?’ Dave asked him, annoyance in his voice.

Privately, Dave didn’t like the priest and he didn’t like him just showing up like he did. For all they knew he could have been standing out of sight at the side of the veranda listening to what they had been saying. They would not have known he was there. Dave frowned, thinking about his dislike for him.

‘I’m sorry if I startled you all,’ he apologized. ‘I was out on my nightly stroll again and, of course, I saw the fire, so I came down to see that you were all safe. I can hardly believe we have another one!’

‘Well, thank you Father, we do appreciate your concern,’ Ellie thanked him. ‘But you did give us a fright. We didn’t hear you coming.’

‘No, we never do!’ grumbled Dave

Emmie put her hand over Dave’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. Then, to be polite, she invited the priest to sit down.

‘Thank you Emmie, but I won’t stay. I can see you are all safe, that is, all except Francis. Surely he’s not still in bed with all the excitement going on?’

‘No, Father,’ Ellie answered. ‘He’s at a friend’s place.’

‘Good, good. Well, the firemen will be here soon and have the fire out in no time. So I will be off and head back to the seminary. I will call in again tomorrow and see how things are with you all. Bless you all.’ He left as quietly as he had arrived.

Dave glared around at his family. ‘
I don’t like that bloke!’

***

Moments later, they heard the fire siren and the flashing red light appeared over the hill. A few seconds later, the fire brigade roared up the driveway.

Frank leaped from the cabin of the truck and quickly surveyed the fire. His crew went into action, connecting the fire hose to the hydrant at the front of the property. Before long, the fire was under control.

Only a pile of rubble was all that was left of the old outside dunny!

Leaving his crew to roll the hoses back onto the truck, Frank went to talk to the men.

‘Looks like we’ve got trouble; this’s the third suspicious fire!’

‘Yep, and we’re bloody lucky. If sparks’d got in the roof of the cottage, or the hayshed, it would’a all gone up!’ Digger said.

‘Flamin’ bloody lucky,’ Karl said angrily. ‘We’ve gotta do somethin’. This can’t be allowed to go on. I’m goin’ to front O’Toole and get some answers! His kids did this – I’ll bet me life on it!’

‘Not sure ya should do that, mate. There’s no proof it was them.’ Frank put his hand on Karl’s shoulder. ‘What good is accusin’ his kids gonna do when there’s nothin’ to back it up!’ he said heavily.

‘Frank’s right mate,’ Dig added. ‘Unless there’s some proof you’re better off keepin’ your mouth shut!’

‘Well, my guess is you’re gonna get a visit from the cops ‘bout this fire too. My suggestion’s, tell ‘em to look into those friggin’ brats a bit more thoroughly. O’Toole won’t mouth off at the cops the way he would at you’se two. Mind you, he’ll still have a thing or two to say ‘bout you’se sayin’ anythin’ at all, but that’s beside the point. Let the cops deal with it.’ Frank gave Karl’s shoulder a friendly pat. ‘I betta get this lot back.’ He indicated his crew waiting by the fire truck. ‘Make sure ya talk to the cops ‘bout those kids!’

‘I’m with you blokes. I reckon those bloody kids are responsible!’ Walter told them. ‘But I’m all for what Frank said; without proof we’re stumped. Have a serious talk with the cops, make ‘em do their job and stick it to the rotten little mongrels before they really do some damage!’ He hoisted his knapsack over his shoulder. ‘I betta get home. See you’se in the mornin’.’ Karl, Digger and Ted made their way up to the house.

‘Well, it’s all out down there now.’ Ted said, sitting himself down on the step of the veranda. ‘Nothin’ left of the old dunny now.’

‘Bloody suspicious though, isn’t it?’ Dave stated.

‘This’s the third friggin’ fire and by hell it better be the last! If I get me hands on the mongrels doin’ it, they won’t be fit to scratch their arses let alone light a bloody fire!’ Karl was livid.

‘As soon as it’s daylight, we’ll go through the rubble, see what we can find,’ Digger said, just as pissed off as Karl. ‘With a bit of luck we might find somethin’, mate.’

‘Well, in a way, whoever did it has done us a favour. We wanted to get rid of it, now we have,’ Emmie said and started to laugh.

Before long they were all laughing. The toilet had been old, unused and an eyesore!

‘C’mon you two old buggers,’ Karl said to Hazel and Ted. ‘I’ll walk back to the cottage with you.’

He didn’t like the thought at all that someone was sneaking around lighting fires. Whoever was capable of doing all this had to be a
sandwich short of a picnic basket
in his mind, and the housekeeper and her husband weren’t young. It was better to see them safely back to their home.

Karl went off with Hazel and Ted, and as soon as the others had gone back to bed, Digger told Win he was going to do a final check on things, make sure there were no hot spots.

‘Be careful Dig. Whoever did it might still be out there and they could be dangerous.’

‘I’ll be alright, love. Karl’s out there. I just want to check things.’ He kissed her on the cheek and headed back down the path. Karl joined him, having seen that Hazel and Ted were safely inside their cottage.

‘Find anythin’ mate…?’ Digger asked.

‘No, but somethin’ doesn’t sit right about this. Towser didn’t bark! That makes me wonder. ‘

Towser was the family dog. He was usually quite placid and friendly, but if he didn’t know you, he would run around leaping and barking and making a racket.

‘Ya think it’s someone we know? Ya havin’ second thoughts ‘bout the kids?’ Digger questioned.

‘Dunno what ta think. Whoever’s doin’ it is waitin’ till we’ve all gone to bed, which means they’re hangin’ ‘round watchin’. I know those young buggers are out all hours, but Towser would’ve barked at ‘em!’ Karl replied thoughtfully.

‘Yeah, but maybe he did. An’ we didn’t hear him.’

‘Kath would’ve, she was in the kitchen makin’ Milo. No, I think we shouldn’t be too quick to pin these fires on them. Reckon we should keep our minds open to other possibilities.’ Karl rubbed his chin, his eyebrows drawn together.

‘So what you’re sayin’ is, don’t disregard the kids, but think about the possibility that we have some bastard we know, who’s familiar enough that Towser wouldn’t bark at him,
and
crazy enough to light a friggin’ fire when everythin’ ‘round about is so bloody dry? C’mon Karl, this’s more like somethin’ the kids would get off on! They’d think burnin’ the shithouse is a huge joke!’

‘Well, just keep an open mind, is all I’m sayin’. I’m still gonna make sure the cops know how bloody pissed off I am, and that they should go and have a damn good talk to O’Toole. This has to be nipped in the bud now. If it isn’t them, we need to eliminate ‘em and search for the real culprit!’ he persisted.

‘I agree with ya mate, I think we should keep our eyes open for anyone who might be hangin’ ‘round more than usual, keep a keen eye out for anythin’ that don’t look right.’ Digger yawned. ‘C’mon, we better go in, we have to be up again soon. We can talk more about this then, while we sift through what’s left of the old shithouse.’

Both men were exhausted; they were always up before daylight and worked hard all day. They certainly didn’t need their sleep broken like this.

***

Detectives Bennett and Simpson pulled up the long tree-lined driveway at Kia-Ora promptly at 8 am the next morning.

‘Nice place they have here, eh, Simmo?’ Bennett said, looking around at the property. ‘Must be money in fruit growing?’

‘Yeah, looks like they aren’t bad off, alright. Just look at the size of the house!’ Simpson agreed, looking across the lawn to the huge old house.

‘S’pose the blokes will have their own ideas about this latest fire,’ Bennett remarked. ‘Wanna bet money on it that Karl Mason’ll want us to haul those smart arse brats in for questioning?’

Simpson gave a low chuckle. ‘He’s hell bent on blamin’ them, isn’t he? Shit, they’re proper little bastards though. Did ya hear the cocky way that eldest one spoke to us when we went ‘round there last time?’

‘Yeah, I’d love five minutes alone with that little prick!’ Bennett said, knocking on the front door.

Hazel told them the men were out the back of the property going through the remains of the fire. She directed them and, thanking her, they made their way around the house and down to where Karl and the others were scouring the area for any clues.

Sam, Des and Eric were there along with Arthur and Robert.

‘So, let me guess,’ Bennett said after greeting them. ‘There’s no clue as to who lit this fire either!’

‘Nope!’ was Karl’s response.

‘Listen, mate.’ Digger came straight to the point; he didn’t like the detective’s arrogant attitude. ‘You blokes have to talk to those kids again. We understand that you’se can’t go bargin’ ‘round to their house and accuse ‘em outright. But right now we all think they’re the ones most likely to do this. We can’t afford to turn a blind eye to it. Look around you for fuck’s sake, the whole valley’s ripe! We don’t need any stupid arsehole lightin’ fuckin’ fires! If it is the kids, they aren’t thinkin’ of the repercussions of doin this, they’d only be thinking of the prank side of it and how funny they think it is. Ya gotta put the fear o’ God in ‘em at least!’

The others all chimed in, each having a say.

‘Yeah!’ Sam’s voice was the loudest. ‘At the very least scare the tripe out of ‘em. Like Dig said, we got no proof, but if it’s them they have ta be stopped. Listen mate, we can’t let this go. The longer they get away with it, the gamer they’re gonna get and then who knows what they’ll do. Strewth, the last thing we need is a bloody bushfire!’

Simpson raised his hand to call a stop. ‘Okay, okay, we understand and we’ll be talking to them again,’ he replied in a placating tone. ‘But let me ask you this… What if you’re wrong? What if it’s someone else? Have you considered that?’

Karl moved forward to stand in front of Simpson. He looked the detective straight in his eyes. ‘Yeah, we talked about that. Let
me
tell
you
this… If we get our hands on the bastard,
whoever he is
, he won’t light another bloody fire!’ Karl raised his eyebrows to seal his point.