Lawson's Bend

by Nicole Hurley-Moore

  ‘Of course I am. It’s the right thing to do.’

  Dan let out a soft laugh. ‘The right thing to do. God, do you know how much shit I’d be in if anyone found out that I slipped something in her drink? You know what they would accuse me of, don’t you? Of course you do, you already blame me for her death.’

  ‘You spiked her drink? Listen, this is bad, but I know that you didn’t mean for this to happen. Maybe if you spoke to Charlie’s dad things wouldn’t be so bad.’

  ‘You’re joking aren’t you? Georgie’s dead, how much worse does it get?’

  ‘But you have to tell him what you did. Don’t you see the drugs could have contributed to her . . . you know . . .’ Mark trailed off.

  ‘Yeah, maybe I’ll talk to Senior Sergeant Nichols. I’ll tell him that I slipped Georgie something and then I’ll tell him where I got the pills from.’ Dan’s voice rose slightly as he bit out the words.

  ‘You asked me to get them,’ Mark retorted. ‘I don’t normally do that sort of thing—you asked for a favour and I delivered.’

  ‘Tell that to the judge. Is anyone really going to believe that you’re not a dealer?’

  ‘Look if I thought that you were going to . . .’

  ‘Oh, fuck off. You knew I was gonna use the stuff when you sold it to me,’ Dan bit back, obviously annoyed at Mark’s attempt at growing a conscience. ‘And let’s not forget, you took money for them.’

  ‘You asked me to buy them! I didn’t know that you were going to use it on Georgie. Shit, Dan—we’ve known her since we were in kindergarten.’

  ‘So it’s okay if I use it on myself? Stop being a bloody hypocrite,’ Dan said. ‘Besides, I only gave Georgie a little bit. It was just to loosen her up, it’s not like I was going to rape her or anything. She was into me but was wound up too tight to do anything about it. It was just to give her a little nudge—I never intended any harm.’

  ‘The thing is that you gave it to her. You have to tell the police,’ Mark said.

  ‘And if I don’t?’

  Mark was silent for a moment before he shrugged and said, ‘Then I guess I’ll tell them.’

  Dan took a step closer. ‘Try it—because if you say one word, I’ll just have to explain how I got it from my dealer.’

  ‘I’m not . . .’

  ‘You got me the pills, didn’t you?’ Dan answered with a slight smile.

  A chill went through Mark and landed in a cold congealing lump at the bottom of his stomach.

  ‘You wouldn’t . . .’

  ‘Of course I would. Hey, I might get in the shit for buying it but just think how much more trouble you’d be in for dealing? Not to mention how disappointed your parents would be, especially when you had such a promising future.’

  ‘You’re a bastard.’

  Dan shrugged. ‘Just don’t fuck with me. Keep your mouth shut and everything will be fine. Just remember you’re as guilty as I am.’

  Mark felt as if he was in some sort of hellish limbo, he was damned for whatever choice he made. He thought of Georgie, but then the image of his mother’s face materialised in his mind. What would she think if he was accused of dealing drugs? Surely it would break her. He was reluctantly beginning to back down when he saw Dan’s mouth quirk back up into another smile and it tipped the scales.

  ‘Go ahead, do your worst. You can’t bully me into doing what you want,’ he said, and stood a little taller. ‘I’m going to find Charlie’s dad.’

  Mark felt the punch before he saw it coming. Pain emanated from the side of his cheek and the force made him stagger backwards.

  ‘You’ll keep your bloody mouth quiet, or I’ll do it for you,’ Dan said, no longer smiling and that hollow look had returned to his eyes. ‘If I go down, so do you.’

  Mark steadied himself. The side of his face felt like fire but he still stared Dan down. ‘I’ll say what I want. I’m doing this because it’s right, because Georgie deserves the truth to be told. And for the record, it takes more than that piss-poor punch to scare me.’

  Dan marched forward. ‘Oh yeah, well how about this?’

  He used both hands to push Mark’s chest with as much force as he could muster. The impact propelled Mark backwards, his arms flailed in the air in an attempt to stop falling but it was no use. For a moment time seemed to slow, he looked at Dan in horror as he fell from the edge into the dark water below.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Dan rubbed his hand over his face and tried to get his shit together. He couldn’t settle, his skin prickled and he had a feeling that something monumentally bad was heading his way. He reached for a glass and then thought better of it. Picking up the bottle of bourbon, he took a slug. He hadn’t slept well in days, plagued by the usual dreams and watery nightmares that had recently become more frequent.

  He walked over and looked into the old mirror on the mantel. His blond hair was messy and his blue eyes bloodshot and a little watery. He stared at his reflection for a moment and didn’t like what he saw looking back at him.

  Dan tipped back the bottle, wincing as the whiskey slid down the back of his throat. He glanced around the room. He hated this place—it was full of ghosts, memories and condemning silence. If he had had any sense at all he would have got out years ago. But it probably wouldn’t have helped—she’d have found him anywhere.

  He either needed to drink himself into a coma or find some sort of distraction. Giving the bottle a sideways look he placed it on the mantelpiece. Maybe he’d go and see what Stephen was doing.

  Picking up his jacket from a chair, he checked his keys were in the pocket and took a few steps towards the back door before thinking better of it, doubling back and grabbing the bottle.

  Stephen’s ute wasn’t parked out the front of his place. Glancing at his watch he saw that it was getting towards four. Stephen was probably still working somewhere on the farm. He kept driving down the dirt track before hanging a left and heading towards the Drakes’ farmhouse. No doubt Stephen’s dad would be able to point him in the right direction.

  Stephen’s car wasn’t outside the farmhouse either, but sometimes he parked at the back. As Dan drove up he saw Mr Drake leaning on the paddock fence.

  ‘Hey,’ Dan said as he stopped the car and got out. ‘Not a bad day, is it?’

  Mr Drake waved. ‘Hello, Dan. Yep, it’s been a beauty. How ya going?’

  ‘Oh you know, same old, same old. Is Stevo here?’

  Mr Drake shook his head. ‘No, I’m sorry, son, he’s not.’ He looked closely at Dan for a moment. ‘Are you alright? Your eyes are a bit red.’

  ‘Allergies. You’d think you’d be over them since the summer’s gone, wouldn’t you? I’m going to stop by the chemist before they close and get some antihistamine.’

  ‘Well, I hope you feel better soon,’ Mr Drake said.

  ‘So, do you know where Stevo is?’

  ‘I think he’s at Henny’s place. There was some trouble over there this morning. Nasty business—some idiot chucked a rock through her window. Apparently the poor dog got cut up.’

  ‘Really? Sorry to hear that. Well, I might swing by after I go to the chemist.’

  Mr Drake smiled. ‘Take care then.’

  ***

  Henny snatched up the phone on its first ring.

  ‘Hi, Stephen. Is everything okay?’

  ‘Yeah, fine. I’ve got all the supplies I need—and dinner.’

  ‘That’s good. I gave Dover his medicine and its knocked him out.’

  ‘I’m glad he’s okay. I’ll come straight to your place—see you soon. I love you,’ Stephen said.

  Henny paused for a moment as a warm feeling washed over her and she smiled. Until that moment she hadn’t realised she needed to hear those words.

  ‘Are you there, Henny?’

  ‘Yes, yes . . . I’m here.’

  ‘Okay then,’ he said. ‘I’ll be there soon.’

  ‘Good, I’ll see you soon,’ she said before she ended the call. What she’d said
was the truth: their relationship was just beginning and she’d never been in this position before. But his words warmed her and opened something inside that she’d spent most of her adult life trying to suppress. She had told him that she was willing to take a chance and see where their romance took them, yet she never expected this.

  Henny shoved her phone into her pocket as she walked out the back door and stared into the garden. There was a cool breeze but the sun was bright and shone down on her—and for the first time she felt the full promise of the future and that maybe, just maybe, she’d been given a new start.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Harley

  Killop Reservoir, 2 February, 2008

  Harley sat on the bank and hugged the towel around his trembling shoulders. He’d been in the water when the platform went down. He hadn’t been close enough to be caught in the initial commotion but had been swept up in the chaos that followed. A wave of people and panic had rolled towards the shore and it took him with it. There had been a loud cracking sound that seemed to echo through the night; it had frightened him. He knew that something terrible had happened but couldn’t work out what. After that came the screams and shouts as his classmates tried to save themselves.

  He’d started swimming towards the bank but was quickly overtaken by the kids escaping from the platform. Water kept being splashed in his face and he found it hard to breathe. There were so many people around him that the panic inside began to build until it was difficult for him to move, let alone swim. The noise, the water and the night all seemed to surround Harley, pushing him down. He went under and tried to fight his way back to the surface, but struggled.

  A strong arm had grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up. Breaking the surface, Harley dragged in a breath.

  ‘It’s okay mate, I’ve got you,’ Mark Russo had said as he swam towards the bank, taking Harley with him. ‘Just hang on, we’re almost there.’

  After another minute or so of swimming Harley could finally touch the bottom. Mark had tugged him in a little further before letting go.

  ‘There you go, Harley. I reckon you’ll be alright now,’ he’d said when the water reached mid-chest height. ‘You can just walk in. Go find Charlie—she’ll look after you.’

  Harley nodded but still kept hold of Mark’s arm, with each step the water was becoming shallower but he still couldn’t find the strength to let go. By the time the water was at waist level, Mark had broken away from him.

  ‘You’re right now, off you go. The bank’s just there,’ he’d said before he veered off to the right and made his way further along the water’s edge.

  Harley had wanted to call out to thank Mark but his teeth chattered and his whole body felt weak, as if it was made of the same water as Killop Res. He’d staggered to the bank where someone threw a towel around his shoulders and sat him down. The fear inside began to ease. He drew up his knees and rested his head on them and tried to slow down his racing heart. After a few minutes, Harley realised that the trembling had stopped and that the towel had created a comforting warmth that he craved. He was safe, thanks to Mark.

  Looking back across the water he realised that there were still a lot of people all bobbing around where the platform once stood. They were crying and screaming out names. Harley frowned, that meant someone was missing.

  As Harley glanced up and down the bank he saw his classmates running back into the water and dragging others out, some were huddled in small groups while others were just standing staring back out across the water in shock.

  He drew in another breath and then blew it out his mouth. He was feeling better, and, with the exception of his wet swimming trunks, he was dry and warm. Harley stood up; he had a set of dry clothes in his backpack. Once he was changed he’d go and find Mark to say thank you.

  Harley found his bag and quickly changed out of the trunks and into a pair of long shorts. He took a moment to shrug into his t-shirt before walking in the same direction as Mark had. He wondered how far Mark had gone and hoped that he’d catch up with him soon.

  The land became steeper as he wound his way through the bush-covered hill. Harley was never very good with the dark but somehow he needed to be away from the noise and turmoil of what was happening below. He wove his way through the gum saplings and the bottlebrush. He stopped for a moment and leant against a slim trunk of a gum to catch his breath. A noise ahead drew his attention, something was moving in his direction. For a second he wondered if it was Mark heading back. He narrowed his eyes and tried to see what was it was. A grey kangaroo burst through the undergrowth and hopped off through the trees.

  Harley kept going, at the top of the hill there was a flat piece of ground about the size of a netball court. There was a sheer, scary drop to the water below; however, it was generally considered a great place to take a picture of the res. Many people in town said there should be some sort of barrier so no one would fall off.

  Harley was nearing the top when he heard raised voices. He edged a little closer but made sure he was hidden by the trees. The moon went behind a cloud and the whole hillside was cast into darkness. It made it difficult to see who the two figures were but then he recognised their voices. It was Mark and Dan. They were his friends and had always looked out for him.

  Harley grimaced. They were arguing and he didn’t know why. He stepped closer, trying to make out the words. He couldn’t catch most of them but he heard Georgie’s name. They were angry, he could feel it through the night air. Straining his ears he tried to work out what was going on. Mark was blaming Dan for hurting Georgie, but he wasn’t sure how or why.

  Harley sucked in a breath and covered his mouth as Dan punched Mark in the face. He staggered back and for a second Harley was terrified that he’d fall over the cliff, but thank goodness Mark was able to find his footing. It wasn’t right that Dan should hit him; Mark was his friend. Maybe they would stop fighting if they saw him. Harley stepped out from the tree line just as the moon slipped out from behind the cloud and flooded the clearing in light. It was in that moment that Dan shoved Mark with all his might and sent him over the cliff.

  Harley stood frozen not knowing what to do and trying to process what he’d just seen, when Dan swung around and stared at him.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Henny checked on Dover before going back into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She glanced up at the wall clock: it had been just over half an hour since Stephen had called her so she figured he’d be arriving soon. Pouring the water into her cup, she heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Good timing, she thought, and reached up to grab another mug from the shelf.

  She walked to the front door and yanked it open.

  ‘I was just making some tea . . .’ she said, expecting to see Stephen standing there. ‘Oh Dan, sorry, I thought you were Stephen—he’s on the way.’

  ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said.

  Henny could smell the alcohol on his breath from a metre away. ‘So what can I do for you?’

  ‘I was just looking for Stevo and Mr Drake thought he was here.’

  ‘Well, he will be soon enough. Did you want to come in and have a coffee?’

  ‘Nah, it’s alright—I’ve got this,’ Dan said, holding up the whiskey bottle and wiggling it at her. ‘I might wait until he gets here, if that’s okay. I just need to have a word with him and then I’ll get out of your hair.’

  ‘Sure, if that’s what you want.’ Henny sensed that there was something wrong. She’d seen Dan drink before, that wasn’t new, but this was something different.

  ‘Think I might just hang out here, I could do with the fresh air.’

  ‘Alright,’ Henny said as she watched him sit down on the couple of steps that led up to the verandah. ‘I could bring some chairs out.’

  He shook his head. ‘This is fine. So I heard you had some trouble this morning?’

  ‘Yeah, my back window was broken. I’ve got it boarded up at the moment and the glazier is com
ing around tomorrow afternoon.’

  An unusually long silence spanned between them and it wasn’t comfortable. Henny racked her brain to think of something to say. After another awkward minute Dan shifted on the step.

  ‘I was talking to Leon the other day. He said that you’re writing some sort of article about what happened at the res,’ Dan said, glancing up at her.

  ‘Yeah, maybe. I got thinking after the anniversary that it might be a nice thing to do. There’s still a few of us in town who were there so I thought it could be interesting to gather everyone’s memories of the day. You know, to help the healing.’

  ‘I guess. It’ll stir up some bad feelings as well. Some wounds just don’t heal,’ he said as he stared ahead, making Henny wonder what exactly he was talking about. ‘So, are you going to ask me about it?’

  ‘I’d like to, if you wanted to participate, that is.’

  ‘Maybe it’s time to clear the air. I mean, maybe that’s just what the town needs. We’ve all been living under a cloud for ten years.’

  ‘I hope you’re right. Those deaths changed and affected us all in different ways. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if that platform never collapsed.’

  ‘I’d like to say better, but life tends to turn to shit whichever way you come at it.’

  ‘That’s pretty cynical,’ Henny said as she leant against the verandah rail.

  ‘It is what it is,’ Dan said with a shrug.

  ‘So, what do you remember of the day?’

  ‘It was hot and the water was cool and I spent hours mucking about in the shallows with my mates.’

  Henny smiled as she thought back to sitting under the dappled shade of a tree talking to Georgie. ‘Yes, there’s a lazy feel about the day in my mind, almost as if time slowed down.’ ‘Yeah, the afternoon seemed to go on for ages,’ Dan agreed. ‘I remember talking to Stevo and Harley,’ he said with a turn of his lip. ‘You know, when Harley was actually still Harley.’

  ‘Hmm, I remember.’