Tanya arranged with Mark, as head of security, for a twenty-four hour watch on the eastern entrance gate nearest The Bandstand. Tanya's initiative irritated Mark. He felt he should have come up with the plan himself.
Apart from her stunning looks, he had originally been attracted to her intelligence and apparent vulnerability. He had always understood her background and to a degree credited himself with rescuing her from the gutter, although he would never have dared to whisper a word of his feelings in that regard to her. He hated himself for these sentiments. He had always been a positive person, in control. Fits of jealousy were for other, weaker people. He remembered their first sexual encounter with a degree of disquiet as she had led the engagement, not him. He sometimes wondered whether it was his destiny to follow in her footsteps, forever. It was an unwelcome thought.
After four months of rigorous discipline, the surveillance was rewarded. Young James had been on the watch. In the middle of the night one weekend he came to Tanya's window, knocking quietly.
'Yes, what is it?' asked Tanya in a whisper. Mark was still asleep beside her.
'Two people have just come through the fence from The Bandstand. They left their horses at the gate and are walking down here.'
Tanya was now on full alert; this was what she had been expecting. 'Okay, go back to the gate, tie the horses up on the inside of the fence, and then lock the gate. Were you seen?'
'No, I'm certain of that.'
'Did you see who they were?'
'No, not really. I just made sure I kept out of sight. But I think one of them was Bill McLoughlin.'
'Were they armed?'
'They both had large backpacks, no rifles.'
She woke Mark, dressed, and ran over to alert David, Fred, and two others. 'It looks as if our man has arrived at last. Two of them, Bill McLoughlin and one other, probably Demetriou.'
They all wore dark clothing, had powerful torches, and carried their 30.06 rifles. David had a handgun. Their familiarity with the terrain helped the party make their way rapidly and quietly to the site of the fuel installation, which they approached carefully. All had planned positions, so without a word moved into place. The full moon had just appeared over the horizon.
'Make no move until I say so,' was Tanya's final whispered instruction. They waited ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour. Tanya wondered anxiously if there had been some mistake and that the target was somewhere else on the property.
A stick broke, sounding like a thunderclap in the silence. Tanya kept very still and hoped the others had enough sense to do the same. A torch was switched on and there was Demetriou pulling something from his rucksack with Bill looking on. They had obviously waited for the moon to rise to give enough light to see properly. They seemed unaware that they were not alone.
Tanya crept closer. When she was just a few metres away she could see Demetriou fitting what looked like detonators to the missing explosives Bill was holding. They then moved to a position underneath one of the tanks and Bill started to dig a hole. Surprisingly, they spent no time looking for the other charges previously laid. Maybe the people from The Settlement were meant to find them.
As Tanya was preparing to take action, a rifle shot rang out. She saw some mud kicked up a few feet from the pair. They dropped everything and ran. Aiming at their legs, Tanya managed to get two shots off as the men disappeared into the bush.
The others emerged from their hiding places. 'I'm sure I winged one of them at least,' said Tanya, 'so we'd better start a search. And I want to know who fired off that shot.'
They found Bill twenty metres into the bush, clutching his leg as it bled profusely.
'Demetriou will be on his way back to the gate,' said Tanya. 'We need to be quick. Young James is there on his own and he is unarmed. Someone fetch the doctor and get this animal back to the centre. But please don't touch anything here, leave it just as it is, the police or ASIO will need to be involved.'
Tanya took David aside, whispering, 'Keep an eye on Fred, I'll bet you anything it was him that fired that shot. It was a warning. There is something between him and Demetriou.' Louder, she said, 'So, remember, don't touch anything and please leave two people on guard.'
David shook his head, 'I will try to find out about Fred but… '
Mark and Tanya ran, scrambled, and crawled their way to the gate, as best as they were able by the light of the moon. Mark's knowledge of the rough ground helped.
'Hopefully we can get back to the gate first. Unless he studied the terrain while he was here, we should be quicker,' said Mark. When they arrived at the gate some time after Bill had been shot, there was no sign of James or the horses. After five minutes, a very nervous James emerged from a nearby bush.
'Are you alright? Have you seen Demetriou?' asked Tanya.
'I'm alright,' said James shakily. 'Demetriou went through the gate, on foot, about ten minutes ago. He was in a hurry and kept looking behind him.'
'Did he take the horses?'
'No. I heard some faint rifle shots, a while ago now, so I took the horses and hid. Demetriou looked for them, he was running around swearing, obviously in a hurry but gave up pretty soon. I think he picked the lock.'
'You did very well, James,' said Tanya admiringly, patting him on the shoulder. 'He knows we are armed and he may not be, so he will be getting back to The Bandstand as fast as his legs will carry him. I think we should go after him.'
They found the horses grazing quietly where James had left them, and saddled them.
'Let's just think about what we should be doing,' said Mark, quietly trying to take the initiative. 'We have Bill wounded and probably in the hospital, Fred, whose behaviour is unpredictable, and bloody Demetriou running about in the bush. I think James and I should try to get to The Bandstand as quickly as we can. With the horses we should arrive there before our friend. Tanya, you should return to The Settlement to call the police and Jonathan.'
Mark had suddenly realised that from the beginning of the incident, Tanya had effortlessly taken control. Without thinking, the rest of the group including himself and David had done what they had been bid by Tanya.
'Okay,' Tanya responded, too late recognising Mark's need to be in charge. She glanced at him to see if he was irritated, but he was giving nothing away. 'I will be on hand if the helicopter is needed for anything and will try to make certain the police have a reception committee waiting for Demetriou at The Bandstand. Here, James, you take my rifle.'
Tanya walked back home, tired and filthy. She immediately sought David out, and they briefly exchanged news. 'Was it Fred who fired that shot?' she asked.
'Yes, he said it was a mistake and I am inclined to believe him.' David always wanted to believe the best in people. He was reluctant to even contemplate that his friend had deliberately put The Settlement in jeopardy.
'I don't believe him for a bloody nanosecond. Fred is very competent with a rifle and wouldn't make a mistake like that. I saw where the shot hit, for Christ's sake, and it was not close to either man. It was intended as a warning. I think Fred was surprised I managed to wing Bill. There is more, much more to our Fred than meets the eye. Perhaps I should interview him and his wife to see what I can find out. First, we phone the police and Jonathan so they can pick up Demetriou at The Bandstand.'
David was taken aback at Tanya's vehemence.
Jonathan responded quickly. 'I will advise ASIO, please do nothing until you hear from me.'
He rang back in ten minutes. 'ASIO will pick Demetriou up, but they have no interest in Bill. Call the police for him.'
'I don't like the sound of any of that,' responded Tanya. 'They will isolate Demetriou and deny he had anything to do with the explosives. We will end up defending a charge of unlawfully wounding Bill. Bugger ASIO, I am going to call the police to both places.'
Privately Jonathan agreed with Tanya.
'You okay with that, Jonathan?'
He remained silent.
'I get the picture,' sai
d Tanya and hung up. She called 000 and persuaded the police to attend both places. 'I will be at The Bandstand,' she told them.
'How are you going to get there?' asked David, somewhat bemused by the rapid pace of developments.
'Helicopter—it's the only option, first thing in the morning. It will take Mark the best part of two days to get to The Bandstand and the same with the police. Demetriou will take longer. I will take three armed people with me. You need to make sure Fred's statement is accurate.'
Exhausted, Tanya spent the day recovering. She completed some basic checks on the helicopter and they arrived at The Bandstand early the following morning. 'Demetriou won't be back, but I expect the police to be there when we arrive,' she told her companions.
On arrival they were immediately surrounded by anxious people wanting to know what was going on.
Tanya said to one of the leading women. 'Please find Fiona and don't let her leave.'
There were some surprised looks.
'Go on,' said Tanya sharply, 'we've known they were here since before our first visit.'
People scuttled off to the newly-constructed house and after some shouting Fiona was dragged into the meeting.
Tanya detailed her suspicions about the missing explosives and laid charges. 'We have kept a watch on our eastern gate for months now and two nights ago we picked Demetriou and Bill up as they came through the gate and followed them. We caught them red-handed, installing a detonator into the stolen explosive charges and attempting to bury them under the tank designed for our helicopter fuel.'
There were sharp intakes of breath and looks of disbelief on the faces of her audience.
'They clearly intended to do us a great deal of harm, although no fuel has been delivered yet. The police were called and yesterday started on the lengthy process of taking statements in The Settlement. Other police were coming here. Have they arrived?'
'Last night, but we haven't seen them this morning,' said a woman, introduced as Caroline. Tanya knew she was Bill's wife.
'We think Demetriou is on his way back here on foot so he may yet be a day away. Bill was shot in the leg and is in our hospital, he's in no danger.'
Caroline said, unexpectedly, 'Pity you didn't shoot the bastard in the head.'
Fiona looked up sharply, but remained stoic, despite questioning glances from her fellow settlers.
Tanya asked one of The Settlement men to keep an eye on the Smith cottage. 'We can't let Demetriou scarper when he sees us and the police.'
Tanya had prepared a statement for the police when they finally appeared. But still there was no sign of ASIO.
Mark and James arrived well after dark. They also prepared statements for the police.
Mark whispered to Tanya just as they were all about to turn in, 'I'm worried about the police plans to apprehend Demetriou when he arrives. I'm taking one of our people down the track to block it and wait. Keep an eye on the Smith cottage, I saw the senior policeman having a private word with Fiona.'
As before, the visitors camped. Mark went with one of the men from The Settlement and dragged a tree across the access road, blocking it. Unbeknown to any members of The Bandstand, the other Settlement people, with Tanya taking one of the shifts, set up a watch on the Smith cottage. The police had retired to their own cottage.
Shortly after midnight a furtive figure dashed out of the bush and crept into the Smith house. Within thirty minutes, Demetriou, Fiona, and the two children emerged with suitcases which they packed into the car. They quietly drove off, using parking lights.
The two people keeping watch ran to Mark's position about five hundred metres away. The car was stationary at the road block, with Demetriou shouting and gesticulating at Mark, who had his rifle pointing at him. Soon he was surrounded by four Settlement people with rifles.
'Demetriou, you are surrounded. Get out of the car and come with us before anyone gets hurt.' The children started crying.
'Fuck you, I'll get you one day,' said Demetriou as he got out of the car. They tied his hands behind his back. They walked everyone back to the Smith cottage.
'Where are the police? What the hell did they come here for? We had better try to find them. Could you wake Tanya please?' said Mark to one of his colleagues.
Tanya went for Caroline when she heard the news. She answered her door almost immediately on Tanya's knock, 'We stopped Demetriou from leaving, but the police are nowhere to be seen,' said Tanya aggressively, 'Do you know where they are?'
'They were supposed to be watching the Smith cottage.'
'We watched it ourselves. They were nowhere to be seen. If it hadn't been for us, the Smiths would have driven away.'
'I will show you where they are staying.'
They went to a cottage on the outskirts of the property and banged on the door. 'Where the hell have you been?' asked Tanya. 'We have just stopped the whole Smith family from leaving. Weren't you wanting to arrest him?'
'Where is he?' asked the senior officer.
'At his cottage,' answered Tanya.
The two policemen dressed and accompanied Tanya and Caroline to the Smith cottage.
'Okay, we'll take over now,' said one of the policemen.
Mark and Tanya exchanged glances. 'No, I don't think so. You,' she said to the younger policeman, 'can take Fiona and the two kids by road to the police station in Parramatta.'
'I would like to leave the kids here,' said Fiona.
Caroline said firmly, 'No, you can't.'
Addressing the senior policeman, Tanya said, 'I would like you to accompany me in the helicopter to the Parramatta police station with Mr Smith. We take off at first light. The car can go now.'
The senior policeman shook his head imperceptibly at his colleague. 'Thank you, I must make one call though.' Accompanied by Caroline he went to make the call, returning a few minutes later.
While they were waiting Mark took Tanya aside. 'Maybe there was something going on between the police and Demetriou. We've certainly stymied any plans.'
'There will now be a suitable reception committee waiting for our friend,' said the unsmiling policeman on his return. To his colleague, 'Take Fiona and the kids to Parramatta, I will be there when you arrive.'
They loaded Demetriou into one of the rear seats of the helicopter, tying his hands and legs, and then bound him into the seat. 'If you make a sound, I will shove a gag into your mouth,' Mark told him.
Tanya produced a canvas bag. 'All firearms go in here while we are in the air.' The policeman put his service revolver into the bag. 'I said all firearms,' she repeated. He tiredly leant down and removed a small derringer from his right sock and without looking at Tanya, dropped it into the bag.
Demetriou was taken into custody on arrival.
Another police officer approached Tanya and said, 'Mrs Bower, you are under arrest and anything you say … '
Tanya had noticed the senior policeman from The Bandstand smirking as the officer approached. 'Oh really, what is the charge?'
'Malicious wounding. It is a very serious charge. There are also other issues in your background that require some further investigation.'
'I agree the malicious wounding is indeed serious. But if you choose to proceed with this nonsensical charge it will be vigorously defended.' She wondered about "the other issues". Did Demetriou tell them something?
The officer shrugged. 'I will have to take you into custody.'
'What would you like me to do with the helicopter in your car park?'
'Not my problem, you are under arrest.'
Tanya turned to Mark. 'You will have to make your own way to the office. Could you please phone my boss, John Chambers, urgently?' She kissed him as he left.
The officer was about to lead Tanya away when she said, 'Are you about to deny me the right to make one phone call?'
The officer hesitated before handing Tanya the phone. She made one private call, before being led away to the cells.
Towards evening, Tanya managed to att
ract the attention of the senior officer in the police station, 'Either charge me or release me. You can't just hold me a prisoner here,' she said to him forcefully.
'We can hold you for twenty-four hours without charge. There is an investigation underway.'
'I can assure you, officer, that if you step one bloody millimetre over the line I will throw the book at you. Your people failed to actively pursue and apprehend Demetriou Smith after he attempted to blow us all up. The dereliction will be reported in full to the senior police command. The charge of malicious wounding will not stand up to any scrutiny. I would advise you strongly to release me and concentrate on the main game. There is obviously something going on between this station and Demetriou Smith. I will have no choice but to investigate the issue personally. If you care to understand something of my background, you will very quickly come to understand that I am not to be trifled with.'
The officer walked away.
In the early hours of the morning, a shaken junior officer returned to the cells. 'Mrs Bower, all charges have been dropped. Orders from the very highest level.'
'This won't be the last you hear about this. The charges were exceptionally stupid. You should be ashamed of yourself.'
'I was just following … '
'Save it,' Tanya glared at him as she retrieved her possessions.
'We would like you to move your helicopt … '
'You people really are stupid. Where on earth to? If you want to be any use at all, bring me a cup of coffee. I will leave at first light.'
She was given a cup of coffee.
As the sky lightened, she flew towards The Bandstand, determined to find out the real story behind the apparent ill-will towards her precious Settlement. James and the others had returned to The Settlement on horses, some borrowed from The Bandstand.
Caroline greeted her in a friendly way. 'Is there anything we can do for you? I am slightly surprised that you returned.'
'Perhaps a meal and some sleep,' said Tanya tiredly. 'The reason I returned here is to have a chat, perhaps tomorrow. But first I must phone Mark, privately.'
Icefall Page 15
