Fool's Gold

by Fleur McDonald

  Melinda nodded and sipped her tea. ‘Have you made good friends?’

  ‘Have I? Of course! I started off by volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Met some lovely like-minded people that way. Within time I found a job I love—only part-time, but enough to get me out and meeting people—and from then on I was away.’ She paused, reaching for her cup of tea, then changed direction, putting her hand on Melinda’s knee. ‘I know you’re unhappy, Melinda, but this is your lot for the next year or two. You can’t keep hating it and not trying. You’ve got to get out there and meet some people. How about volunteering for Meals on Wheels with me, or something similar? Get involved. Do you like sport? We’re always looking for new tennis players down at the club.’

  Melinda grimaced. ‘No, I’m not a tennis player, I’m afraid.’

  ‘But you love working with children?’

  ‘I spent lots of years training to get the qualifications I have now.’

  ‘Then apply for that job, Mel.’

  ‘Melinda,’ she said automatically.

  Kathy cocked her head and looked at her. ‘Then apply for that job, Mel,’ she repeated. ‘You’re in the country now.’ There was a silence between the two of them and Kathy reached for her cup and took a sip.

  ‘How are things between you and Dave, if you don’t mind me asking?’ Kathy finally asked.

  Melinda thought about that. Dave was being as supportive as he could be. She was the one being the prize bitch. ‘He’s being the supportive, caring, gorgeous man I married, ignoring the fact that I’m be awful to him all the time.’

  ‘Have you ever thought he might be missing Perth?’

  ‘Ha! Not a chance. You should have seen his face light up when we first got to town. No, he wants to be here.’

  ‘Better than still pining for the farm,’ Kathy said gently.

  That made Melinda pause. Dave didn’t talk about missing out on the farm to many people, so if he’d told Spencer and Spencer had told Kathy, Dave must think they were good people. ‘Yeah, that’s true.’

  ‘Here’s an idea for today—Saturday. How about getting up off that chair and coming out with me. I’ll take you on my Meals on Wheels round and you can meet a few people, then you can come home and cook a nice dinner for Dave. Talk to him. Tell him how you’re feeling without being angry. Be present in your new life, your marriage. Nothing will slip away if you do that.’

  Chapter 9

  ‘Got a 3-3-8 at one of the brothels,’ Spencer said, walking into the office. ‘All the others are out, so it’s you and me.’

  Dave had been staring at his new email program, waiting for responses to a couple of enquiries he’d sent out, but his inbox had remained empty. Not that he’d really been concentrating on it. He’d been thinking about the previous evening and Melinda. His fear of her leaving had only increased when she’d asked him to spend the day away from the house because she needed time to think. He’d started off with his run, but couldn’t settle so had decided to go into the office for the day. He’d been surprised to find Spencer there working on an old file.

  His colleague had looked at him over the tops of his glasses but not commented on his appearance at the station.

  Dave had a constant feeling of anxiety in the bottom of his stomach and half expected that when he went home tonight Melinda wouldn’t be there.

  ‘A 3-3-8?’ he asked. It was code for a sudden death. He pushed his chair back and grabbed his gun holster before shrugging into it and following Spencer out of the room.

  ‘Reckon we might have a stiff.’ Spencer laughed. ‘That’s what you go to a brothel for, hey. Jeez, I crack myself up!’ ‘A body?’

  ‘You’d be surprised at the number of people who die while having sex, Dave. Anyway, Madam Narla has called saying they have a body in one of their rooms. The girl is hysterical. Apparently they came back from the showers and he lay down. Next thing, he was dead.’

  They climbed into the car and Spencer put his foot down, making a squealing noise as they left the parking lot.

  Glancing over at Dave, Spencer finally asked, ‘What’s up with you? You look like shit.’

  Dave stared out of the window, wishing Spencer hadn’t noticed. ‘I didn’t sleep too well last night.’

  ‘Woman trouble, huh?’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Can read it all over you. New copper in town. The place isn’t quite what the wife thought it would be. Left her family and friends…’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘See it all the time, mate, and you’ve got that look.’

  Dave clenched his teeth. ‘You ever have the same problems?’

  ‘Not when I shifted here but I did in our first posting. Kathy really struggled. New mum, away from her family. We were based in a tiny town—not even five hundred people—all the way back in South Australia. It was tough going for a while.’

  ‘What got you guys through?’

  Spencer swung the car around the corner of Plenty Street and came to a halt in front of a bright red door. ‘Kathy had to get out and make friends. I made sure she met other policemen’s wives and knew she wasn’t the only one struggling.’ Spencer’s face became grim. ‘Come on, let’s check this out.’

  Madam Narla met them at the front door full of apologies.

  ‘So sorry, Spencer,’ she said, putting her hand on his arm. ‘He’s gone.’

  ‘You told me that when you rang, Narla. Don’t worry, we’ll get it sorted. I’ll call the ambos once I’ve looked at the scene. Just need to talk—’

  ‘No, I mean, he’s not here,’ she interrupted.

  Dave noticed the madam’s face was very pale and she looked like she might have had a shock.

  ‘Not here?’

  ‘He wasn’t dead?’ Dave put in.

  ‘We thought he was. He wasn’t responsive or breathing. I even held a mirror under his nose to make sure! I don’t know what happened but he suddenly just sat up!’

  Spencer looked beyond her and into the dim light of the passageway. ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘I don’t know. He got up and dressed and practically ran out the door.’

  ‘Better put a call out in case he’s lying unconscious on the street somewhere. What’s he look like?’

  ‘Early twenties, I guess. Blond hair, well built. Had the hands of an underground miner.’

  ‘Right, so ingrained dirt, cuts, callouses and so on,’ Spencer said to Dave. He directed his next comment to Narla. ‘I have heard of this type of thing happening before. Some little vein in the back of your neck closes when you get overexcited. Makes you look dead but you’re not, then someone moves you and the vein opens and everything carries on as it was before.’

  ‘I’ve never seen it,’ she answered. ‘It really gave me a fright!’

  ‘And where’s your girl?’ he asked.

  ‘In the bedroom. As soon as you’ve finished talking with her I’ll send her home. She had a bigger fright than I did, poor love.’

  Dave went out into the bright midday sunlight and requested a 7-0-1, relaying the details of the young man.

  He gave a smile. Must be the unluckiest fella in Barrabine, he thought. As he walked back into the brothel he heard Spencer ask how business was.

  ‘Busy,’ Narla answered. ‘I have five girls working today and another five starting at six tonight. They’re all booked until two am tomorrow.’

  ‘Lucky you’ve got good girls, Narla,’ Spencer said. ‘We’d have riots out here if you didn’t.’

  ‘I know. We service the need. Now, Kiri is this way.’ She turned and indicated for Dave and Spencer to follow her.

  In the bedroom, which was lit by a warm light on the bedside table, Kiri sat in a bathrobe. Her arms were around herself and it looked as if she had been crying.

  Spencer went to her and squatted down, looking her in the eye. ‘I’m Detective Brown. You must be Kiri?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Can you tell me what happened?’ he asked gently.

  ‘I don’t kn
ow. He came back from the shower and stretched out on the bed. I turned away for a couple of moments to put the towels away and asked him if he wanted anything in particular. When he didn’t answer, I looked around and he…’ She broke off, taking a few deep breaths. ‘He looked different. I slapped him on the face a couple of times and nothing happened, so I called Narla.’

  Narla took up the commentary. ‘After I phoned you lot, I did the checks I told you about, then we turned him on his side…His eyes opened and he took one look around and jumped up. Ran like a frightened rabbit, he did, after he’d got dressed.’

  ‘Did you catch his name?’

  ‘He didn’t give me one,’ Kiri answered. Without warning, she started to laugh. ‘It’s a bit funny, isn’t it? Like, he was dead, then he wasn’t!’ She laughed harder and Dave and Spencer smiled with her, knowing it was probably shock.

  They asked a few more questions and decided there wasn’t much more they could do: the man was alive and there was nothing to investigate.

  ‘Look after your girl in there,’ Spencer said to Narla as they were leaving. ‘Nip of brandy might help.’

  ‘I will. Thanks for coming out so quickly. Before you leave, I wanted to mention that we’ve had a stranger in here recently. He’s been visiting twice a week or so. Very flashy. Tossing big notes around. The girls say he’s a bit rough. I’m keeping an eye on it, but I thought I’d let you know in case I need to call you in. I won’t stand for roughness with my girls.’

  Spencer nodded. ‘We’ll come immediately if you need any help.’

  ‘Thank you, Spencer.’ Narla inclined her head towards him as a thank you, then turned and went back inside.

  The men climbed into the car and looked at each other.

  ‘I want to laugh,’ admitted Dave.

  ‘So do I,’ Spencer said with a chuckle. ‘I wonder what his first thought was when he woke up.’

  ‘Obviously the need to get out of there on the double,’ Dave laughed, then sobered as Melinda’s face flashed in front of him.

  Spencer looked over as silence filled the car.

  ‘Don’t worry, mate. She’ll get sorted.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Dave muttered.

  Melinda re-read the application letter, making sure there weren’t any spelling or grammatical errors.

  Everything Kathy had said to her today had hit home. Who was she to complain? She wasn’t the only woman who had had her life upended. Kathy told her she’d shifted six times in the twenty-five years she’d been married to Spencer.

  And Dave. Her gorgeous, driven Dave. He’d been kicked off the farm without warning. His dream of being a farmer had been shattered by his father, but he’d set a new goal and was heading for it. Barrabine was a step along the way.

  Maybe there wasn’t a job in paediatrics at the hospital, but there was one in community health. Kathy had driven past the community health centre on the way to pick up the meals for delivery. Melinda had been surprised to see a line of cars parked out the front on a Saturday. Two grubby, wild-haired children were in a playground inside the fence, while a woman sat in the shade of the verandah and watched them. She was sure if she’d wound the window down she would have heard their shrieks of laughter. The building looked new and freshly painted, even with the lining of red dirt on the walls that she’d come to expect on every building. Sitting in the car with Kathy, she’d felt a bubble of excitement. She could almost smell the disinfectant and hear the hum of busyness inside the walls. She craved the work environment. Before Kathy had dropped her home, she’d decided to apply.

  Now, here in front of her computer, she felt the buzz of adrenalin begin to kick in. Dealing with children every day was what she loved and there were plenty of kids at the community health centre. Along with parents who would need a kind and caring ear.

  Melinda printed the rest of her résumé and she couldn’t wait until Dave came home so she could tell him her plans.

  Switching on the TV, she saw the six o’clock news was on. Melinda frowned; Dave was late. Well, could she really know when she would expect him today? She was the one who had told him to go because she needed some time. Maybe she’d been such a bitch he wouldn’t come home. That stopped her in her tracks. She remembered her mother telling her once you could only push people so far before they didn’t come back.

  Where would he be? she wondered. Walking the streets? In the pub? Should she go and see if she could find him? She paced the kitchen and lounge room, fear rolling around in her stomach.

  There was a gentle tap on the door and she stopped, wondering who it could be.

  ‘G’day, missus,’ Ernie said, holding out a parcel wrapped in newspaper. ‘Kangaroo steaks. Good tucker, yeah? Good tucker.’

  ‘Oh,’ Melinda stood at the door, not knowing what to say. ‘Um, kangaroo?’

  ‘Yeah, missus.’ Ernie shook the parcel. ‘You take. Good tucker. Food.’

  Good manners made her reach out and take his offering. ‘Um, thank you.’

  Ernie nodded at her and turned to leave. ‘You be right, missus. Time is all. Just time.’ He left her standing on the step, staring out into the dimming light. How had he known? She smiled a little as she realised she may have made her second friend. What a nice feeling.

  Closing the door gently, she decided to make tonight special. She’d experiment and use the kangaroo steaks. She knew Dave had eaten them before and liked them; she never had so tonight could be the start of many new firsts for her.

  Feeling like an old-fashioned housewife, Melinda found the linen tablecloth her grandmother had left her and spread it over the kitchen table. She brought out the good cutlery they’d been given for their wedding and set two places; she’d make the table look pretty and inviting.

  Humming to herself, she danced over to the cupboard and pulled out the crockery set her parents had given them. It was white with gold edging. For a moment she was thrown back to their wedding day. She remembered walking down the aisle towards Dave. His hair had been slicked back and he’d looked so handsome in his tuxedo. When she’d stopped beside him at the altar he’d looked at her like she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  Her wedding dress had held shades of Princess Diana’s—ruffled sleeves and neck. And the train…well, it had been far too long, but after being transfixed by the royal wedding as a child, she’d wanted something similar. Her bridesmaids, sister Sarah and best friend Tash, had screwed up their noses as they’d held up the train while Melinda went to the loo. They both had probably taken on more than they’d bargained for being the bridesmaids for Melinda, who had a two-metre train hanging off the end of her wedding dress!

  A jingle came on the TV and she gave a little wiggle of her hips and said out loud, ‘Come home soon, honey. I can’t wait to see you.’

  She found candles and placed them in the middle of the table, then went looking for one of the potpourri bowls that had been on the tables at their wedding. She knew she’d kept three of them—they’d been full of rose petals and lavender flowers and smelled divine. The clear bowl would look nice on the table tonight.

  The news had finished and the familiar strains of Hey Hey It’s Saturday filled the room. Melinda stopped setting the table and looked at the clock to make sure she wasn’t wrong. It was six-thirty now. Was he even coming home?

  All her positiveness started to seep away. Part of her wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. She wanted to tell him about all the good decisions she’d made today and what her plans were for the next week.

  Just then she heard the squeak of the gate and a few moments later the door opened. She met him at the door and they looked at each other uncertainly.

  ‘Hi,’ they both said at the same time.

  ‘I’m sor—’ Melinda tried, but Dave put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, muffling her words. Returning the hug, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, peace finally descending over her. They stood like that without speaking for a long time, then Dave gently pu
shed her back and looked down at her.

  ‘How was your day?’ he asked quietly.

  ‘Good. Really good. I did a lot of thinking.’

  ‘And what did you work out?’

  ‘I’ve been disgustingly selfish and I’m sorry.’

  Dave went to say something but she shushed him by putting a finger over his lips.

  ‘I realise it’s got to be me who makes the effort to meet people and fit in and I’m going to be doing that.’

  Pulling away, she went to the fridge and grabbed out the kangaroo steaks. ‘Ernie dropped by tonight and gave us these.’

  ‘What are they?’

  ‘Kangaroo steaks.’ She put them on the counter then reached back in for a beer and a bottle of wine.

  ‘And you’re going to cook them?’

  Dave looked around the kitchen, then leaned forward and whispered playfully, ‘Where’s my wife?’

  Melinda smiled at him. ‘The new wife is right here. The other cranky, dismal wife has gone. Well, you never know, she might turn up again, but hopefully she’s gone for good.’

  ‘Tell me about today,’ Dave said, taking the beer with a ‘Thanks’. He looked at her. ‘I’m just so glad you’re still here. I was frightened that when I came home you wouldn’t be.’

  ‘And I got scared you wouldn’t come home tonight. Come and sit outside.’ She took his hand and led him to the backyard. ‘What did you do today?’

  ‘Went into work,’ he answered before taking a long swig on the beer. ‘But I’m more interested in hearing about yours.’

  ‘I’m going to apply for the job at the community health centre,’ she said, grinning.

  Dave let out a breath. ‘God, that’s good news. What made you change your mind?’

  ‘Kathy,’ she answered simply. ‘I spent most of the day with her.’

  Dave regarded her steadily. ‘Kathy changed your mind, what, just like that?’ He snapped his fingers. ‘In one conversation?’

  ‘Yeah—well, no. It was lots of different conversations, but I realised I was being stupid too. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to be here with you. Not at all.’ She reached out and grabbed his hand. ‘It’s just taken a little adjusting to. So,’ she straightened up, ‘if I don’t get the job, I have a plan B. I’ll join Meals on Wheels with Kathy, or volunteer to listen to reading at schools. And I’m going to start a sport again. I’ve always liked swimming and that’s a good sport for the middle of the desert, isn’t it?’