The Roadhouse

by Kerry McGinnis

  ‘Tom? Not much they can do about vandalism apparently, unless they catch someone in the act.’

  ‘That’d be right.’ Rob nodded as if in confirmation of the world’s wickedness, and the ineffectiveness of the law. Shaking his head in disgust he picked up his packed lunch and left for his work.

  Mike rang that evening from Abbey Downs. ‘Charlie, how’s it going? No more trouble with intruders?’

  ‘No. I think he must have cleared out,’ I said. ‘The road crew are back now so the place is busy again. But what are you doing at the homestead? I thought the camp was going out?’

  ‘It has. One of the boys had a nasty fall today so I’ve just run him back. I’ll be heading out again tonight, but I wanted to check you were okay first.’

  ‘Thanks.’ I felt a rush of warmth for his concern. ‘We’re fine, truly. Is he badly hurt, your man?’

  ‘Nothing broken, but he’s pretty banged up. The horse came down on top of him.’

  ‘Ouch.’

  ‘Yeah, it was a big bugger too, all sixteen hands of him.

  Harry’ll be fine, but it’ll take a few days.’

  ‘Shouldn’t he see a doctor?’

  ‘He reckons he’s okay. He can walk, he’s not peeing blood – it’s just bad bruising.’

  ‘I can imagine!’ I thought of a horse’s weight and winced again. ‘Well, you be careful, Mike. I don’t want that happening to you.’

  ‘My middle name,’ he said solemnly. ‘Gotta go. See you soon, my love.’ He hung up.

  I stood holding the silent phone for a long moment asking myself: had he really said that? Just ‘love’ was a term that everybody used, but ‘my love’? Happiness welled within me as I settled the handpiece back on its rest. I’d scarcely lifted my hand away when it rang again and I snatched it up, my feelings bubbling over. ‘Mike —’

  ‘Charlie?’ It was Mum’s voice. ‘Well, you sound happy. How’re things there – could you get away for a day?’

  ‘Oh!’ I tried to gather my thoughts. She didn’t know about the intruder, or the damage her home had suffered. I said cautiously, ‘How are you, Mum? Sorry I didn’t ring yesterday, the weekend was a bit busy.’ Rats! Why did I say that? Now she’d ask about it. ‘The road crew’s back,’ I hurried on, ‘but it’s all under control. So have you seen the cardiologist yet?’

  ‘Yes. That’s why I’m ringing. He’s cleared me to come home. So if either you or Bob could nip in tomorrow and pick me up, I’ll be packed and waiting.’

  ‘Well, that is good news.’ Damn, I thought. I had wished she’d stay another week, but I knew I wouldn’t talk her into it. Of course she’d have to be told about the break-in – she’d see it anyway the moment she entered the house – but better to smooth the way, I thought, with a gradual explanation that minimised the event rather than deliver the news in one blunt tirade, which was more Bob’s style. ‘I’ll come. I’ll make an early start and be there by lunchtime. Will you need prescriptions filled? What exactly did the doctor say?’

  ‘What they all say. Diet, exercise, take it easy. I’ll worry about that. Who’s this Mike – the one you seemed to be expecting a call from?’

  ‘Just a friend. I’ll tell you about him tomorrow. How are Rae and Don?’ I kept the chatter up for another few minutes before ending the call, then went slowly through the house checking the bare spots on walls and shelves and cupboard tops, as if the overall effect of the missing articles could somehow be diminished by familiarity with their absence.

  In the grey light of dawn the following morning I was on my way, Bob’s instructions the last thing I heard. ‘Watch out for them damn road trains,’ he said, ‘and get that tyre round to the joint where they do the retreadin’.’ I had the spare from his old Land Rover to tide me over in the event of a blow-out. ‘And you be careful, girl, hear?’

  ‘Yes, Bob,’ I said meekly. ‘I’ll ring before I leave town, okay?’

  He nodded, his form no more than an outline in the deep shadow of the shed. I started the engine, flipped the headlights on high and drove off, passing the lighted caravan windows of the road camp. It was bitterly cold. I turned the heater up and wriggled my gloved fingers on the wheel. The day would warm up as the sun rose, but for now the bulky shape of the scrub fringing the road looked vaguely menacing, and the eyes of a wild cat streaking across it glowed malevolently in the headlights.

  Bob’s warning had influenced my perceptions. That and Annabelle’s murder, I rationalised. I had never before felt a moment’s apprehension in the bush where the only real danger was the sun, and the odd snake. And there was a far greater chance of dying from traffic-related causes in the city than of suffering a fatal snake bite out here. The few remaining stars were winking out and a dawn wind raised ochre-coloured drifts of dust from the road’s verge. The sky gradually lightened and as I flashed past the Abbey Downs turn-off, I switched off the headlights. A little later the shadow of the station wagon appeared on the road as the sun rose behind me and the day of Mum’s homecoming had officially broken.

  I made good time on the journey, shedding gloves and jacket along the way and pulling briefly into one of the rest stops for tea from the thermos. I did need a break but I also wanted to check that I had been right in asserting to Mike that Annabelle couldn’t have secreted anything in such a place. Main Roads, I assumed, had built them and they were all to a pattern, so checking out one would work for all.

  It was as I had thought. There was no possible hiding place. Constructed of concrete and steel, they had been built with vandalism in mind, with nothing detachable and everything bolted down. You would need an angle grinder to shift the bench seats and anything short of a bulldozer would fail to move any part of the amenities. Satisfied, I capped the thermos and went on my way.

  My first stop in the Alice was to drop off the tyre for retreading. It would come out on the mail truck on Saturday. I pulled in briefly at the bakery to buy fresh rolls, then drove to the Thorntons’ where I found Mum occupied in the kitchen at the homely task of shelling peas for Rae, whom I had met out at the letterbox.

  ‘Mum!’ She was thinner, I thought as I hugged her, but that was to be expected, and there was a tentativeness about her movements as if she were favouring her body. The surgical wound would still be tender, I supposed. ‘You look pretty good considering,’ I said, ‘and rested, which is great. Are you sure you’re up to the drive?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Charlie, of course I am,’ she said. ‘You look a bit worn yourself. Thanks for coming in. I was thinking of catching the mail but Rae talked me out of it.’

  ‘I should think so!’ Rae exclaimed. ‘That rackety old truck. Sit down, Charlie. I was just about to make sandwiches, but we’ll have your lovely fresh rolls instead, and a cuppa, because you can’t possibly leave without lunch.’

  I thanked her as she bustled about, turning down my offer of help.

  ‘Sit down,’ she repeated, ‘and rest. You’ve had one long drive and there’s another in front of you. It’ll be ready by the time Don comes in. He’s out the back watering the plants.’

  ‘So what’s been happening, Mum?’ Pulling a chair out, I filched a couple of peas from the bowl as she returned automatically to her task. ‘Have the police been round, or is that all finished now?’

  ‘Nobody’s bothered me. What’s Tom doing?’

  ‘Nothing,’ I said more tartly than I intended. ‘No, hang on, I forgot to tell you when we spoke last. They did find out where Annabelle was living. Mount Isa of all places! Tom’s gone across to bring her stuff back. The cops here will have it now but I daresay with the rodeo on they wouldn’t have had time to even look at it yet. And, of course, they haven’t found the man she was with.’

  ‘That was always unlikely. How’s Bob been, and the new cook? She hasn’t pulled out?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Bob’s Bob, same as always. But Ute might wind up leaving because she’s fallen for one of the men in the road crew.’ I told her about Eric. ‘Of course
, she’ll have to leave the country anyway when her visa runs out, but she’ll stay at the Garnet as long as the camp does. She did say something once about maybe getting a job with them when they move on, but I guess that’s up to the boss.’ I helped myself to a glass of water, adding, ‘I’ll be sorry to see her go. She’s funny, and very practical, and a great cook.’

  ‘She sounds like a real find,’ Rae said. ‘I just heard the back door. That’ll be Don. Right on time, because we’re ready to eat.’

  The drive back was tiring but smooth. I stopped twice at the shelters, once to give Mum a break and the second time for a quick cuppa from the thermos. Seated across from her on the hard metal bench, I drew a breath and said, ‘Mum, there’s something I need to tell you.’

  ‘Oh, yes?’ She withdrew her gaze from the arid landscape to give me a shrewd glance. I wondered if it was my imagination or just the weight loss she’d suffered, but she suddenly looked older than I remembered. ‘It wouldn’t happen to concern this Mike you sounded so happy about, would it?’

  I felt myself flush. ‘No, although as it happened he was there at the time. It was Friday night …’

  The telling upset her. Her colour rose and her work-worn knuckles showed white where she gripped the table’s edge. ‘In the name of God, why? And if he wrecked so much, how did someone not hear him?’

  ‘The diesel was running,’ I said, ‘and we were in the Garnet all evening, even Bob. The doors were shut and I suppose the wind was wrong for Jasper to pick up his scent. And,’ I added defensively, ‘if I hadn’t gone home when I did he’d probably have got the crockery too. It’s because I scared him off that we’ve still got plates, if not much else. Everything that could be smashed was. We cleaned the place up and Eric – that’s Ute’s man, he’s very handy with tools – fixed what he could, so it’s livable, just a bit short of all your things. I’m sorry, Mum.’

  She waved the apology aside to furrow her brow and repeat, ‘Why?’

  ‘We think that he was looking for something. I got Tom over but he did nothing. Told me to give him a list of what was taken and he’d circulate it, but unless there was cash in the house I couldn’t see anything missing. Though with so much broken I suppose he could have taken something small.’

  ‘But looking for what?’

  ‘It’s a guess, but we think it’s something that Annabelle hid there. Or that he thinks she did. But if so, it plainly wasn’t in the house.’

  ‘We think, you keep saying. Who’s we?’

  I felt myself flush. ‘Mike and I, Mike Webb from Abbey Downs. Was there any cash in the house?’

  ‘No. Everything goes in the safe. So you’re assuming it was the man she brought with her who did this? Paul whoever?’

  ‘Has to be. Why would a perfect stranger stop by to wreck the place? There must be a connection, or it makes no sense.’

  ‘I don’t know.’ She sighed. ‘I’m tired, Charlie. Can we get on? The sooner I’m home … I should never have left – that’s plain enough.’

  ‘You didn’t have any choice,’ I reminded her, swallowing the hurt of the implied criticism. ‘Let’s go, then.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  We reached the Garnet in late afternoon with Mum largely silent. She hadn’t asked about Mike again and it was hard for me to raise a personal subject in the face of her obvious dismay, displeasure or disappointment – I couldn’t decide which – in the way things had fallen out during my brief time in charge. And she was visibly flagging. Reaching home at last, I bypassed the roadhouse, parking near the newly pruned oleander hedge to get her straight into the house.

  ‘You need to rest.’ Carrying her bag, I led the way to her bedroom. ‘You can see the others at dinner. Shall I make you a cuppa now? It won’t take a moment.’

  She shook her head. ‘I’ll just put my feet up for a bit. I’m not an invalid, you know, Charlie. If I want tea I’m perfectly capable of making my own.’ There was a snap in her voice.

  ‘I know, Mum,’ I said patiently. God! It was going to be a battle every day. ‘But remember, you’ve still got a patched-up heart. Right, I’ll leave you to it. We’ll be eating in the Garnet, and we’ve been locking the house each time we leave it, just in case. The key’ll be on its hook behind the door.’

  Bob was waiting, his face furrowed in concern. ‘I heard you drive in. Where’s Molly?’

  ‘Resting at the moment. She’ll come over later.’

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘Cranky.’ I glanced around the room; there were two couples and a lone traveller, whom I found myself eyeing off. ‘Who’s that, the fellow by himself?’

  ‘Well, it ain’t Paul, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ he growled. ‘What’s going on? Why’s she cranky?’

  ‘Why do you think?’ I said shortly. ‘It’s everything that’s happened – and me for not somehow preventing it. Though I’d like to know … Forget it, Bob. I’m tired, and she’s cross about the house, and probably not feeling the best. She’ll be over for dinner. I shouldn’t bother her until then.’

  Mum came across to the Garnet having showered and changed; the grey hair along her neck, just as tightly curled as my own, was still damp. Bob looked up at the sound of her step and I swear if he’d been a dog his tail would’ve wagged.

  ‘Molly! Great to have you home, girl. You’re looking good.’

  ‘Thank you, Bob. I’m feeling well. I see you’ve straightened the garden fence.’ Her gaze went around the room over the stocked shelves and tidy racks. ‘The whole place looks very neat and sparkly, and I notice that the garden’s been weeded as well.’

  ‘Ah, we fixed a few things needed doin’, that’s all. A screw or two, a lick of paint. Charlie’s idea. Gotta say it makes a difference. And she’s had the road mob using the water truck round the joint as well.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘You’ll meet ’em soon enough, they’ll be in for their dinner any moment.’

  I could hear the approach of their vehicles as he spoke and slipped into the kitchen to see if Ute needed a hand. It was a curry night and she was draining rice at the sink, her face wreathed in steam.

  ‘Ha, you are there, Charlie. Today I have moved from the house back to my own room. Is okay, yes? Now the Miss-us is home you have the company, so you will not miss me and Eric.’ She shook her head, smiling a little. ‘Is wrong name, you know? She should be Miss-me and we are miss-us. Is right grammar, yes?’

  ‘No, you’re mispronouncing … Never mind, I know it’s how Bob says it. But it’s Mrs, not Miss-us.’

  ‘Ah.’ Enlightenment removed her puzzled frown. ‘Always is Bob. He teaches the new words only to make confusion, I think.’

  ‘Everything is confused around here,’ I muttered. ‘But yes, we’ll be fine. I was glad you were there though. It was – comforting. How are things going with you and Eric? Is it serious – or too early to say yet?’

  ‘He is good man. We make the excellent team, you know? Bed is good, also.’ She nodded vigorously. ‘And you and your Mike? He is the one for you, yes?’

  ‘Maybe. Too soon to know.’ Carrying the stack of plates to the hatch, I felt myself colour at the lie. Who was I fooling? Not Ute by the sceptical glance she gave me. I was mad about the man and she seemed to know it. To distract her I asked, ‘Has Eric said when the job they’re on will be finished?’

  ‘Only that someone called Murphy makes the law that soon they have the major breakdown. This I do not understand, but he says is fact.’

  ‘It’s superstition, not fact. He means that things are going so well that it can’t last. That they’re due an accident because of it.’

  She thought this over and shook her head. ‘But this is nonsense!’

  I laughed. ‘Yep, but men believe it. Or pretend they do. And speaking of men …’ for the door had opened on the first of the team. ‘Here they are.’

  We made an early night of it. Mum was plainly weary from the trip and, I think, in a state of shock from the ravages committed on her home. She�
��d spoken to Rob, and thanked Eric for his efforts repairing the furniture, adding, ‘It’s a shame something couldn’t have been done for the mantel clock too – if it hadn’t been dumped, of course.’

  ‘Mum,’ I said patiently. ‘I told you before. It was wrecked. The case had burst open and there were cogs and wheels all over the floor.’

  ‘I’m afraid he made a thorough job of things, Mrs Carver,’ Eric said gently. ‘I helped clear it up. The place looked like a cyclone had hit it.’

  ‘Well, I still don’t see how somebody didn’t hear anything. The homestead’s only a step away.’

  ‘With the diesel running? Even the damn dog didn’t notice,’ Bob said. ‘C’mon, Molly. It weren’t nobody’s fault, except the bastard responsible. Thank Christ we were all over here, or else Charlie might’ve been there in the house when he came.’

  His words gave her pause. She gave a quick little jerk of the head as her eyes widened and one hand rose to press against her chest at the thought – or she could just have been holding the site of her scar, I wasn’t sure. The action gave her a vulnerable look, making her appear suddenly older. She wasn’t. She was still in her sixties, but thin, and pale and tired, she seemed to have aged by a decade.

  ‘Is there any reason to think he’ll be back?’ she asked.

  ‘Not to the house,’ Bob said. ‘Where’s the point? An’ he’s in for a bloody great surprise if he tries here. Me and Jasper’ve moved in.’ He glared at me as if it had been my idea to disturb his sleeping arrangements. ‘Last night I got to thinkin’ we were taking a chance trustin’ the locks. I moved me bed in this mornin’. If he comes, he can try conclusions with the dog. That’ll settle his breakfast for ’im,’ he said vindictively.

  ‘It certainly will,’ I agreed. Ute had finished cleaning up. She emerged from the kitchen, switching off the light as she did so, her eyes going straight to Eric, who was still courteously standing before my mother. ‘What about it, Mum? Shall we call it a night? I was up before dawn and I’m feeling it now.’