by Phyllis King
He rolls up his sleeves.
...only the steady grumming chew of the meat saw, which is really getting harder to bear every moment, second only to the noises when he finishes a section and then empties the full bucket of pieces into the tankage unit. The plop and squelch. She goes all right for a while, keeps cleaning, but then on the last one she can’t help it, rushes over to the rag bucket and retches, her stomach grinding painfully, her eyes scrunched shut...
His equipment and her supplies, gathered in a neat pile off the edge of the plastic, and he’s already put the money in a garbage bag. She watches as he unties chair-man, tips him onto the floor, the body lying at an odd stiff angle.
‘So, this is... What do we do now?’ she asks, a little wild-eyed. ‘To get rid of them. I mean, isn’t that what we have to do?’
‘Yes,’ he says shortly. Then he volunteers, ‘I can get rid of this one okay. It’s Douglas we have to worry about.’
‘Oh. Okay. So what, we, we burn off their fingerprints or something?’
James’ face twists. ‘Bloody hell, Flora, this isn’t the movies,’ he stops suddenly, looks at her. ‘Hang on.’
…wanted you to remember the good things about him, too. The way he read to you both before bedtime, the hugs he gave you, the love. It was never just a lie, or a cover story, it was real; the love was real. You have his dark eyes, Peter; and Tunney, you have his dry deprecating humour. Something of him lives in both of you, and makes me love you even more each day, it’s what got me through the...
They stop and sit together on the floor, backs to the workbench cupboards, sharing his hip flask. She feels washed out. She thinks they both look washed out, exhausted. There’s hours to go.
‘So are you going to tell me about it?’
‘You mean Douglas?’
‘Yes.’
‘You want me to tell you about Douglas?’
‘Yes,’ she insists.
‘Do I need to?’ He passes her the flask. ‘You’re not an idiot. Flora.’
‘How about I tell you what I think, and you just answer yes or no.’
‘Just talk,’ he sighs.
Flora nods, then begins.
‘He’d been doing this for a long time.’
‘Yes.’
‘Longer than... No, forget that.’
James says nothing.
‘And not as a...what-you-call-it, an official government...’
‘No,’ he shakes his head. ‘Independent contractor.’
‘Oh. And is that what you are too? An independent...’
‘No.’ He returns her stare. ‘I mean, not any more, no. I’m just... I’m just an accountant, Flora.’
‘Oh. So this...’ She flicks a hand out, to the scene. ‘This is normal? For an independent contractor?’
James shakes his head emphatically.
‘No, this is horribly, horribly sloppy; unprofessional. Not at all what I would have expected from Douglas.’
‘Sloppy,’ she repeats. She sucks on her teeth.
‘Yes. I’m sorry, you...’
‘No,’ Flora says. She closes her eyes. ‘Don’t apologise.’
‘…reassure you, Mrs Ernst, that we’re still looking into it. Your husband’s disappearance is still important to us, whether it’s six months or six years -’
‘Thank you, Detective.’
‘Thank you, for being so understanding,’ he says, and looks around. ‘It’s good you’ve kept up with your business.’
‘Well, it keeps me occupied. Would you like a candle, Detective, or maybe a block of soap? Here, these tapers are nice.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t.’
‘No, please,’ she says. ‘I insist.’
It’s 4.40 am; she skims off the solid chilled fat from the aspic by just upending the buckets, like making sandcastles, and slicing the hard top white layer away from the jelly. James bags the aspic and takes it out to the car, with the other remains, for disposal.
Flora’s hands are greasy, from stacking the blocks. She’s anticipating a few hours’ sleep beside her children until she has to get up and make them breakfast before kinder, before returning to the longer work of dipping the tapers and mixing the soap. James comes back for his gear as she’s wiping her hands, closing the fridge.
‘I’ve cleaned the U-bend in the sink, I’ll do it again after you’ve finished,’ he says. ‘Remember to bag the rags, anything else touching...’
‘I know,’ she says tiredly. ‘I will.’
‘I’m going now,’ he says, hesitates. ‘Flora?’
She looks at him.
‘Thank you, James,’ she says. ‘For everything.’
He moves, can’t seem to decide whether to shake her hand or give her a kiss on the cheek, finally settles for squeezing her shoulder. His eyes seem slightly lost, hollow. Then he nods, and leaves.
...maybe asking too much, but I wanted you to know the whole story. All stories contain a spectrum from light to dark.
This one contains much darkness, but a candle emits 13 lumens of visible light, so I think of your father, and the love that produced you both, when I touch flame to wick.
That love still burns. It will see us through.
Forever,
your mother, Flora.
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About the Authors
Ronda Bird
Kitchens Can Be Dangerous - Malice Domestic 2008
As a mature-age student at Melbourne University in the 1990s, Ronda discovered a flair for short stories and began entering competitions. Her first important success was in the 2000 Scarlet Stiletto Awards when she won the Kerry Greenwood Malice Domestic prize. Since then Ronda has won more than 50 short story prizes in Australia and Britain, both crime and open themes; and had stories published in UK magazines. Ronda has written three novels: two police procedurals set in Yorkshire; and a PI novel set in Melbourne.
Jane Blechyden
The Key Suspect - Young Writer’s Award 2007
Jane was 10 years old when she won the Young Writer’s Award. Her interests include tennis, swimming, soccer, triathlons, piano, cubs, surfing and snow skiing, and her favourite subject at school is recess. She has travelled extensively with her parents but Australia is still her favourite place. Jane won second prize in the West Australian newspaper Young Writers award in 2005, and first prize in 2006. The Scarlet Stiletto was her first national prize and Jane is very excited about that.
Louise Bolland
Plain Jane - Young Writer’s Award 2010
From a very young age, Louise loved stories and before long, her love of reading turned into a love of writing. As she grew, so did her love of writing. It wasn’t until she won the Young Writer’s category of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards that she had any real confidence in her writing. Her family and friends have provided her with undying support. Above all, Louise wants nothing more than to live a life where she can keep writing, because it’s what she loves the most.
Aoiffe Clifford
Kill-Dead-Garten - 1st Prize Trophy 2007
Smoke - Funniest / 2nd Prize 2009
In 2007 Aoife made a new year’s resolution to enter the Scarlet Stiletto Competition. It is the only resolution she has ever kept. The resulting story was ‘Kill-Dead-Garten’ and won the Scarlet Stiletto. A reworking of the story was shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger in 2009. She was the runner-up for the Scarlet Stiletto in 2009 with ‘Smoke’, which also won her the Pulp Fiction Bookshop Award for Funniest Story for the second time. She has written a children’s chapter book and is currently writing her first crime novel.
Sarah Evans
Cold Comfort - Funniest / Great film Idea 2010
‘Cold Comfort’ came in a burst of inspiration after Sarah ran a Book Week workshop in a country school. Deliciously wicked to write, the story poured out as the Scarlet Stiletto deadline loomed. Sarah, from rural WA, often writes in this fast and furious way. She pens novels, novellas, short stories and poetry, experimenting with all gen
res. She also teaches creative writing, edits for a children’s publisher and spends too much time plotting best sellers in her head. Her published work includes lifestyle/ recipe book ‘Seasons and Seasonings in a Teapot’, rom-com novel ‘Bachelor Bid’ and ABC Radio crime story ‘Grandma’s Roses’.
Liz Filleul
The Write Place - 2nd Prize 2007
UK born Liz worked as a London journalist before setting off on a solo trip around the world, which led to a holiday romance in Tasmania and marriage to an Aussie. She now lives with her husband and son in the Dandenong Ranges, and works as a freelance book editor and writer. Liz won the 2004 Scarlet Stiletto Award; was runner-up in 2007; and has been shortlisted three times. Her Is’ Prize winning story, ‘Brought to Book’, is included in the Scarlet Stiletto: The First Cut; and her first novel, To All Appearance Dead came out in 2007. Liz has also written true crime for the anthologies Meaner Than Fiction, Outside the Law 2 and 3.
Kylie Fox
Poppies - Innovation Prize 2010
Kylie spends her days caring for her four young children and her nights plotting murder, revenge and espionage. Kylie grew up wishing she could be a writer but thought that authors were mythical creatures, living in far-away towers. Since discovering that nearly anyone could be a writer she got down to work. Kylie’s first novel, co-written with Amanda Wrangles, is Arrabella Candellarbra & The Questy Thing To End All Questy Things. She is now working on her first crime thriller.
Rowena Helston
Check-Out Time - Best Investigation 2009
Sydneysider Rowena grew up with a love of writing and a morbid fascination with the exploits of criminals. She studied law; was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW; and specialised, predictably, in criminal law. She has worked in various capacities including as a lawyer for the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions and as a researcher at NSW Parliament. Rowena has also maintained a double life, doing creative writing courses and submitting stories, plays and a novel. She plans to donate her impressive collection of rejection slips to the National Library.
Corinna Hente
Playing Chicken - Best Investigation 2010
Corinna is a journalist and married with an active dog, which is the reason she knows all her local parks so well. She has had her nose in a book since she was a child. This is her first short story.
Kerry James
Bucket Time - Late Starter’s Award 2009
Kerry James lives in Ballarat and in Tonga. She won the Sydney-based Partners in Crime Queen of Crime Comp in 2005; was shortlisted for Scarlet Stiletto in 2006; can’t recall 2007 at all; but must have come to again in 2008 to come second in Queen of Crime. She is working on a novel series featuring a Tongan detective, and his woman anthropologist rival/friend; the first with a mentorship from the Olvar Wood Writing Retreat.
Eleanor Marney
Tallow - 1st Prize Trophy 2010
Death World - Best New Talent 2009
Eleanor Marney was born in Brisbane, and has lived in Indonesia, Singapore and India. She has won a number of awards for her short stories and was included in the 2009 Award Winning Australian Writing anthology. She is currently working on a series of adventure novels for junior readers. She now lives in north-central Victoria, with four young sons and her partner, whose tireless love and support guarantee that she won’t be turning him into soap or candles anytime in the near future.
Kristin McEvoy
Sally’s Seachange - 3rd Prize / Malice Domestic 2010
As she shares a birthday with Agatha Christie, Kristin was bound to eventually turn to crime... writing that is! She lives in country South Australia with her husband and three children and works as a part-time journalist for the local paper, the Yorke Peninsula Country Times. Currently studying teaching externally, she hopes a book contract will some day take her away from all of that so she can do what she really loves - write.
Lois Murphy
Amanda - Best New Talent 2010
Lois Murphy has had a handful of prizes and publications for her writing, but would have starved long ago if she didn’t do other things. She’s spent the last five years meandering around Australia in a homemade truck, and is currently living and working in Darwin. While her story is completely fictional, she met the ‘real’ version of Amanda in a small town brothel.
Vikki Petraitis
Side Window - Best New Talent 2007
Vikki Petraitis has been writing true crime since the early 1990s and her best-selling book The Frankston Murders (1995), about Paul Denyer, has just been republished as The Frankston Serial Killer. Vikki’s many other true crime books include: Forensics, which examines Australian cases; Crime Scene Investigations; and Salvation: the true story of Rod Braybon’s fight for justice. Encouraged by her Best New Talent award, Vikki has taken up writing comic crime fiction.
Eveylyn Tsitas
Undeceive - 1st Prize Trophy / Innovation Prize 2008
Xenos - Innovation Prize 2007
Evelyn has a background in creative writing, and a decade as a Herald Sun senior journalist. She is the co-author (with Caroline van de Pol) of the health book Handle With Care. Evelyn’s novel Xenos, about what it means to be human in the 21st century, forms the basis of her PhD. Her children’s operas Software and Bookworm, for which she wrote the libretti, were performed by Opera Australia and the Victoria State Opera in schools in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Her play Springs Eternal was performed at the Carlton Courthouse.
Lesley Truffle
A Man of Fashion - 3rd Prize 2010
London-born Australian Lesley has travelled extensively through Europe and Asia and worked in London and Japan, has worked as a teacher, on a newspaper, in galleries, bars, nightclubs and at other jobs too ghastly to mention. Lesley now lives by the bay in inner city Melbourne. Insomnia drives her writing. At 3am she walks the beach and plots. She is writing a novel about women behaving badly. Hands-on research has broadened her world view and she may never be the same again. This is probably a good thing.
Linda Tubnor
Fence Hanger - 3rd Prize 2007
Linda, a Queenslander who moved to Melbourne in 2005, was a secondary mathematics and science teacher for almost a decade and is more recently employed in the environmental planning field. Linda’s interests, in addition to reading and writing, include animals, music, yoga, hiking, science and astronomy. She lives in Gippsland with her husband and three cats.
Kirstin Watson
Monitoring the Neighbours — 2nd Prize / Best Investigation 2008
With parents who taught English and adult literacy, Kirstin feels she had a writing destiny. With a BA in English Literature, she travelled the world; worked as a waitress in the Scottish Highlands; and in drug and alcohol counselling, and local government. She married, started a family, and left paid employment to work harder for less remuneration. When her children grew taller than her pile of TBR books, Kirstin finally found the time to explore her own writing. Her writing has been short listed in the Glen Eira Literary Festival for the past four years, with three commendations. Her Scarlet Stiletto entry was her first crime fiction.
Amanda Wrangles
Persia Bloom - 1st Prize Trophy 2009
In her past lives, Amanda worked as a hairdresser and a dive master; and with her husband ran a scuba diving school and boat charter operation. In the midst of raising three young boys, the avid reader discovered that writing stories was even more fun. Amanda’s first novel, co-written with Kylie Fox, is Arrabella Candellarbra & The Questy Thing To End All Questy Things. She is now working on a YA urban fantasy and a supernatural crime novel.
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