The Shearer's Wife

by Fleur McDonald

  ‘We’re not supposed to be talking. Dave told me that explicitly.’ Zara made to close the door. ‘We shouldn’t be talking.’ That wasn’t strictly true. Dave had suggested it but the words gave her an out now.

  ‘Zara …’

  ‘No, Jack, it’s better this way. Honestly. I’d better go.’

  Jack stepped away from the car. ‘Fine. Go on, then. I’ll talk to you later.’

  Zara slammed the door shut and started the engine, before pulling back out onto the road.

  Blood pounded in her head as the regret started immediately. She put her foot over the brake then changed her mind and pushed the accelerator down and drove through Torrica towards Old Ted’s camp. Bloody hell, you fucked that up again, Zara, she thought furiously. Why couldn’t you talk to him?

  Stay away from him, a little voice inside her head told her. He’ll only leave you too.

  Taking a deep breath, Zara counted the trees from the bridge and saw the road that Hopper had told her about. Old Ted should be at the end of it, and she hoped two things: that he wasn’t dead, and that he’d had enough to drink to be sociable.

  Tentatively, she drove down the track, the overhanging tree branches scratching the roof of the car. As she drove deeper into the valley, trees shaded the grey sky and purple stones crunched under her tyres.

  A humpy came into sight—a tin shed with a tarpaulin stretched out the front acting as a verandah. A fire with a kettle on the coals smoked and there was a yellow-coloured dog lying next to it.

  He heard the engine and started to bark, but he was chained, so Zara wasn’t worried as she turned off the engine and stepped out to a round of barking and whining. The dog strained at the end of the chain, trying to get to her. She looked at him, trying to work out if he was friendly. Deciding he was, she spoke gently to him.

  ‘It’s okay, I’m friendly. Where’s your master?’ Raising her voice, she called out, ‘Hello? Ted, are you home?’

  No answer. The barking bounced off the walls of the valley, echoing in surround sound. The dog mustn’t see a lot of people, Zara decided; he was very excited, standing on his hind legs, his tongue lolling out the side as he encouraged her to come and pat him.

  She looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the old man coming out of the bush. There was nothing; only trees and bushes, whose leaves held raindrops that occasionally shook loose when a puff of wind swept through.

  If Ted’s anywhere nearby, he’ll come back just on account of the noise, she thought.

  ‘It’s all right, mate,’ she said to the dog, going a little closer and holding out her hand so he could smell her. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’ The dog wagged his tail and slumped back down, whining. ‘Ah, there you go, all bark and no bite. Good to know.’ She looked around and saw a well-worn path leading away from the camp.

  Glad she’d worn her normal winter uniform of jeans and a heavy jacket, along with her Rossi work boots instead of her good R.M. Williams, she started towards the track, calling out, ‘Ted? Hopper from the pub sent me.’

  ‘Is that right?’ A voice behind her made her jump. He must have been at the camp the whole time. Slowly turning, she looked at a short man whose grey beard was almost down to the middle of his chest. His worn jeans and short-sleeved shirt hung from a thin frame but his eyes were alert and curious. Not the eyes of someone who drank as much as Hopper had implied. She wanted to ask if he was cold, but he didn’t appear to be concerned about the weather.

  ‘Yes, he did.’

  ‘And you are?’

  ‘Zara Ellison from the Farming Telegraph.’

  Ted’s eyebrows suddenly combined with his hair. ‘What brings you to the middle of nowhere wanting to talk to a hermit?’

  ‘Can we sit down?’ A gust of wind brought down fat raindrops from the trees above. They were cold on her scalp.

  ‘Course. Sorry, don’t know where my manners are. Been a long time since I entertained a lady.’

  They walked over to the camp and Ted brought out two camp chairs from the humpy. He unfolded them and put them next to the fire.

  ‘Cup of tea?’

  ‘That would be nice,’ Zara answered, leaning forward to pat the dog. ‘What’s his name?’

  ‘Deefer.’ Ted got out two cups and lifted the kettle from the fire. The tea was strong and black. ‘Sugar?’

  ‘Yes, please. Why Deefer?’

  ‘D for dog. Or Dickhead. Depending on the day.’ Ted spoke as if she were silly, and Zara gave a laugh.

  ‘Makes sense.’

  He handed her the cup and indicated for her to sit down. ‘So, what’s this all about?’

  ‘I’m working on a story and Hopper thought you might be able to help me. There’s a woman in town named Essie Carter.’ She went on to tell him why she was following the story. ‘I’m trying to find out a little more about her so we can help her with this horrible situation.’

  Ted leaned back in his camp chair. ‘Now that’s a name I haven’t heard for a long time.’ He was quiet for a moment. ‘Let me think. I vaguely remember her. I was still working on the railway and I remember her catching the train to Port Augusta. Always seemed distant. Unreachable.’ He stared into the fire, and Zara could see him sifting through memories. ‘Reckon she turned up quite out of the blue. No one really knew why she settled here. Wasn’t born here or had any family or anything. Bit like a drifter who’d decided to put down some roots.’

  ‘Do you remember if she worked anywhere or had kids?’

  ‘She kept to herself a lot. Was seen out with a kid. There were rumours, though … I can’t remember exactly what. Without spending a bit of time thinking, that’s about all I can tell you.’

  Zara took a sip of her tea. ‘That’s helpful,’ she said.

  ‘Sometimes things come back to me after a while, but I need time. My brain isn’t as good as it used to be.’

  ‘I can come back and see you in a few days’ time in case you think of anything else?’

  Ted nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, you could. Or I’ll find you when I come in to pick up my groceries.’

  ‘Hopper will know where to find me.’ She looked around. ‘You must like living out here by yourself.’

  ‘I do. There is nothing about society that makes me want to live in a town. My company and that of Deefer is enough. Occasionally Hopper brings news of things that are going on in town, so I’m not completely alone.’

  ‘How long have you lived here?’ She caught sight of a basin on a table, behind a tree. Next to it was a grubby piece of soap.

  ‘Must be nearly thirty years.’

  Zara looked back and took in the deep lines around his eyes and his dirty hands. His arms were strong and muscular and held a deep tan, which matched the colour of his skin around his eyes.

  There was a wood saw leaning against the tin hut and she surmised he must cut his own wood, which kept him strong.

  ‘I used to be the station master, but the company gave my job away, then shut the lines down.’ He spat in the dirt, showing his disgust. ‘I didn’t trust anyone after that. I gave ’em the best years of my life and they repaid with what? Nothing. Not even a decent payout.’

  ‘You never married?’

  Ted’s look became distant. ‘I loved a girl once. But I didn’t know how to hold onto her.’

  Chapter 28

  ‘Message for you, Dave.’ Joan waved a piece of paper at him as he walked in. ‘You won’t believe who it’s from.’

  ‘Oh, yeah? Sounds interesting. Who?’

  ‘Jerry Simms.’

  Dave stopped. ‘What does he want now?’

  ‘Not sure, he just said to ring.’

  Dave took the number and looked at it, before folding the paper and putting it in his pocket. ‘Joan, what’s your take on this Essie Carter situation?’ he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting next to her.

  Joan turned to look at him. ‘You’ve never asked my opinion before.’

  ‘You know her, probably better than Kim and
I do. You go to church with her. And she’s your age. Is there anything you can think of that would make you take possession of drugs?’

  Joan sighed and put her pen behind her ear and clicked to save the document she was working on. ‘We’ve been praying for her, the congregation—our church has shrunk so much we don’t have a preacher anymore to lead us, so we’ve been doing the best we can.’

  Dave nodded. ‘It certainly was sad to see Pastor White move on.’

  ‘So few of us, and so few prayers,’ Joan said softly. She raised her eyes to look at Dave. ‘But as for something that would make me do what Essie’s done? I can’t think of anything. We did talk about it. Trying to understand. None of us parents thought we would traffic drugs to give to our children.’ She shrugged. ‘I just can’t think of anything that would make any of us do it.’

  Dave nodded slowly. ‘Blackmail?’ he asked.

  Joan shook her head. ‘I guess we’re all of the belief that if anything like that happened to us, the law would protect us. All of us at church would come to you.’ She frowned and picked at the hem of her cardigan. ‘See, that’s what’s got us all confused. Essie knows you. She’s comfortable with you. We don’t understand why she didn’t ring you in the first place. We’re such a small town and all of Barker knows how invested you are in us. She could have stopped all of this before it started.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Dave said. ‘You really are, but some people think there isn’t an option—that what’s held over them is too big for them to come to the police. I think that’s what has happened here and that’s why I’m trying to work out what could have made her make the wrong call.’

  Joan paused and looked at Dave. ‘Do you remember the case in Queensland where a mother sold drugs to get a better life for her children?’

  Dave pursed his lips. ‘Not off the top of my head.’

  ‘Not sure how long ago it was, but I remember it because I was horrified but at the same time I could understand why she’d done it. I think the story was on one of the Sunday night programs.’ Joan took a sip of her tea from the cup alongside her, and continued. ‘This woman was a victim of domestic violence for years and she finally left the relationship. But the husband was a lawyer and managed to get the child-support payments reduced to a minimum, which left her with virtually nothing.’

  ‘An all too common story,’ Dave said. ‘And it can happen the other way round where the men are left with nothing.’

  ‘Yes, that’s true. Anyhow, her son was gifted and she couldn’t afford the fees for the private school he’d been going to when they’d been married. The scholarships for the year had been allocated and he was about to be asked to leave.

  ‘Somehow the mother managed to get hold of some drugs and sell them, and that was how she paid the school fees. She kept doing it until the police caught her. It was how she paid her rent, put food on the table for the kids and gave them the few little extras she’d never otherwise be able to afford. Didn’t matter that she was trying to improve her children’s lives, the judge still put her in jail.’

  ‘I bet the media reported her as a “great mother”,’ Dave said and then rubbed his hands over his head, sighing at the same time. ‘Yeah, it’s such a hard one. I can understand why she did it, but how many other kids’ lives did she stuff up because they were taking the drugs she sold.’

  ‘I wonder if that’s where Essie has got into trouble?’

  Dave stared at her. ‘What? As in, she was running out of money to look after Paris?’

  ‘Well, I’m not sure if that would be the exact reason, but maybe there is a situation like that, which is worth considering.’

  Getting up, he smiled. ‘Thanks, Joan, I’m sure you’re on the right track.’

  He went into his office and started up his computer, just as Jack came in with Kim behind him. The station suddenly smelled of freshly baked pastry.

  ‘Meals on Wheels has arrived,’ Kim called out. ‘Hello, Joan.’

  Dave heard Kim and Joan talking in reception as Jack hung his coat up in the office.

  ‘I don’t know what sort they are, but it’s some type of pie,’ he said to Dave in a hushed tone.

  ‘If the meat defrosting on the sink this morning was anything to go by, they’ll be chicken,’ Dave said with a grin.

  ‘Be still my beating heart.’

  ‘God, you’re dramatic about food.’ Dave shook his head, still smiling.

  ‘Only Kim’s.’

  ‘Should I be jealous?’

  Jack laughed. ‘I’d love for Kim to come and live with me and cook the way she does for you, but I reckon I’d barely be able to stand two weeks after she moved in.’

  Chuckling, Dave put his hands on Kim’s waist and gave her an affectionate squeeze as she came into the office and put the pies on the desk.

  ‘Those smell amazing,’ he said. ‘I think you have a not-so-secret admirer. Only for your cooking, though.’

  ‘Yeah, nothing untoward,’ Jack added.

  ‘I’m flattered.’ Kim gave a chuckle. ‘They’re chicken.’

  Dave threw an I told you so look at Jack, who pointed his finger at him acknowledging he’d been right.

  ‘While you two are here,’ Dave said, helping himself to a pie, ‘I want to quiz you. I’ve just talked to Joan, and she came up with a thought about why Essie might have done what she did. Sit down, honey.’ He pulled a chair out for Kim and slid the container across to Jack, who helped himself and bit in immediately.

  ‘Whoa,’ he fanned his mouth and Kim laughed again as steam came out of it.

  ‘They’ve just come out of the oven. You’re worse than a kid sometimes, Jack.’

  ‘Can’t help it,’ he said. ‘No one cooks like you do.’

  ‘Spoken like a true bachelor.’

  ‘He’s not really,’ Dave said, frowning at Kim.

  ‘How is Zara?’ Kim asked, blatantly ignoring Dave’s warning glance.

  ‘Can’t talk with my mouth full,’ Jack mumbled.

  ‘Um, as I was saying …’ Dave said pointedly, trying to get their attention.

  ‘What would have made Essie do this?’ Kim asked. She shook her head. ‘I wish I knew. What was Joan’s thought?’

  Dave told them both and then clicked his mouse to bring up his internet browser.

  ‘I don’t think it’s because she’s short of money,’ Kim said. ‘Well, she’s certainly never indicated that to me.’

  ‘I agree,’ Jack said. ‘More likely some type of blackmail.’

  ‘We can’t dismiss anything yet,’ Dave said. ‘Now, what sort of blackmail would be enough for a sixty-plus woman to risk going to jail and leaving her granddaughter without someone to care for her?’

  ‘Dave?’ Joan called out from the front office. ‘Jerry Simms is on the phone for you.’

  ‘Again?’ He looked at Kim and Jack. ‘I’d better take this. It’s the second time he’s tried to call. I ignored the first one.’ He got up and went into another office and pressed the flashing red light.

  ‘Burrows?’

  ‘Simms.’

  There was silence that neither was prepared to break.

  Finally, Dave said, ‘How can I help you?’

  ‘I’m hoping you can assist me with some local knowledge.’

  Harrumphing, Dave stayed silent, wondering what could have been so important to make this man—who clearly thought Dave was past his use-by date—call asking for help.

  ‘Let me make this clear, Burrows, I’m not enjoying having to phone you, but you’re probably the only one who can give me the information I need.’

  ‘Good thing I don’t hold grudges,’ Dave said. ‘What do you need to know?’

  ‘Has there ever been any inkling of drug families in the Flinders Ranges?’

  ‘Loaded question. By “drug families”, do you mean living here or just supplying here?’

  ‘I’d suggest living with perhaps a small amount of supply.’ Dave thought back through the cases he’d been in
volved in over the past five years. ‘Just here in Barker or across the Flinders?’ he finally asked.

  ‘Across your area. I’ve checked the system and records and haven’t found anything, but I thought you might know more.’

  ‘Look, Simms, there’s nothing that I know about. Certainly nothing I’ve investigated. If there is a drug family living here or in surrounding areas, I haven’t heard of them. There hasn’t been any increase in crime or drug use that I’m aware of in my area and I believe I would know if there was.’

  ‘How?’

  Dave rolled his eyes. ‘For one, despite what you think of me, I know if there are changes in my patch. Two, I have an open-door policy and if there were any young adults with changed habits or parent with concerns, I’m sure I would have heard from them. Three, before the arrest of Essie Carter, there hadn’t been any increase in crime or other indicators that there is a drug problem in Barker.’

  ‘Right. What about new people moving into the area? I’m sure someone from a drug family isn’t going to knock on the door of the Barker cop-shop and announce they’ve moved in.’

  Dave paused. He really wanted to punch Simms. His arrogant, demeaning attitude made Dave really not want to help him. But that wasn’t the oath he took when he joined the force.

  ‘There is a woman who has been in Barker about three months. She’s staying in the caravan park as far as I’m aware and spends a lot of time running. Training for some sort of event. And I believe she could be keeping an eye on Essie.’

  ‘You were told to stay away from the investigation.’ The words came like bullets from a machine gun.

  ‘And I have. That information has come to light recently and through a source that had nothing to do with me.’

  ‘Got a name?’

  ‘No, but I can get one, if you’d like me to.’

  ‘No, you stay out of it. Anyone else?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of. Simms, I’m not the gatekeeper into Barker.’

  ‘But according to your boss, Steve, you know everything that goes on within a couple of hundred kilometres of the town.’