Red Hot

by Cheryl Alldis

  ‘How’re you all gettin’ home?’ Eddie quietly asked Kathy.

  ‘Francis is supposed to pick us up.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘He should be here soon. It’s nearly five thirty and he finished work at five today.’

  ‘Would you like a lift home with me?’ he asked.

  ‘Ok, Francis will be here any minute, so Tam and Laura will be alright.’

  Eddie smiled at her. Picking up the suntan cream lying beside her, he said, ‘Let me rub some on your back. You’re a bit pink.’

  Kathy hesitated, but Eddie smiled and gently began to rub the cream across her back. She relaxed and enjoyed the feel of his strong hands on her warm skin.

  Tammi, Laura and the boys were splashing noisily in the water. Kathy felt Eddie’s warm breath against her ear. He softly nibbled her ear. She turned her head and their lips met in a gentle kiss.

  ‘C’mon,’ Eddie whispered. ‘I’ll drive you home.’

  ***

  Ellie was still pondering over her discussion with her mother. Should she throw caution to the wind and let her heart rule her head? No matter what anyone said, Mary was still very much in the picture. Ellie reflected that Mary must have seen Harvey and her on the dance floor when he pulled her close. Otherwise, what reason did she have for behaving the way she did? Mary’s change of attitude had come out of the blue.

  ‘What a bloody mess,’ Ellie spoke aloud as she dumped her knitting in its bag and decided to take a walk down to the orchard. It was daylight and she needed to clear her head. The mood she was in, if she came up against anyone who shouldn’t be there, she’d thump them. Confusion and anger at her dilemma was showing on her face.

  ‘What’s eating you?’ Win spoke from the doorway.

  ‘Oh Win, just bloody frustration. Feel like a walk with me?’

  ‘Sure, okay. I need some big sister advice anyway.’

  They set off down the orchard and Ellie asked Win what advice she needed.

  She was not surprised when Win told her about Kathy and Eddie.

  Ellie’s advice was to let them go. Trying to stop them would only mean they would sneak behind Win and Dig’s backs.

  ‘But Eddie’s so rough and he’s at least seven years older than Kathy.’

  ‘Give them a chance, love. Eddie was very nice and well behaved at the pub. Kath’s attracted by his dark good looks, also him being older is probably appealing. Eddie’s mature and her male friends have all been the same age as she is. The bad boy image would be appealing too. We need to stop being judgmental as Kath said.’

  Ellie put her arm around Win in reassurance.

  ‘Rumours can get out of control and most times they are just that, Win, rumours. Everyone deserves a chance, don’t you think?’

  ‘Hmm, I suppose. I just can’t help but worry. I just hope he is okay to her. I don’t want her ending up with regrets. We can’t wrap her in cotton wool or stop her growing up.’ Win looked wistful. Her mind flicked to a past experience in her own life, but she quickly pushed it away.

  The sisters strolled on slowly and ended up by the creek.

  ‘You know, I so wish they’d caught the firebug when they chased him along here,’ Win said, changing the subject from Kathy. It was also an attempt to stem her thoughts.

  ‘So do I, Win. It’s dreadful what he’s doing, and worst of all is the not knowing when and where he’ll strike next.’ She threw a stick into the dry creek.

  ‘It’s an awful thought, but we have to realise that we could actually be in his company at times. How are we to know?’

  ‘Ellie, have you thought any more about the phone calls and the car that followed you that night?’

  ‘I’ve racked my brain about the calls. For the life of me, I can’t pinpoint the voice. The car… well that I’ve put down to some louts trying to frighten a woman alone.’

  ‘Hmm, but if it wasn’t… it makes my skin crawl. I worry about the girls, I worry about Mum and I worry about us.’

  ‘Yes, I do too! Things have certainly changed in our quiet little valley!’

  They talked for some time about their dad, how they missed him terribly, what his passing meant to the family now and how they needed to keep a watchful eye on their mother who was lost without him. As the evening approached, they made their way back through the orchard to the house before dusk set in. They shouldn’t have been out walking around on their own anyway and they knew that Ellie still had no idea which way to turn in her own tangled web. The walk hadn’t cleared her head at all.

  ***

  Kathy and Eddie chatted on the drive home.

  ‘You know the cops have questioned me about the fires!’ he told her.

  ‘Well, that would be because you fit the description. Didn’t you tell me it’s always you who they point the finger at first when there’s any trouble in the valley? I don’t think you’re the one who’s responsible though!’ she said seriously. With a chuckle she added, ‘Eddie Chancellor are you the firebug?’

  He looked at her quickly before realising she was only joking. ‘Course not, I’m not that stupid. Anyway, I can’t jump fences like the bloke they chased did.’

  ‘I don’t think for a minute that it’s you, Eddie, seriously.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, you’re not as bad as you let people think you are. I mean, you show this rough, tough image to everyone but underneath you’re a really nice guy!’

  Eddie glanced sideways at her. ‘You think so, eh?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Yeah well, I’m not the bloody firebug and I certainly didn’t bash old Harry. I would never do that and I just hope the cops realise it too!’

  ‘They only questioned you, didn’t they? They have to ask everyone, you know. There’s a few in the valley that fit the description.’

  ‘Yeah, but the cops don’t like me much.’

  ‘You know, Eddie, Des and Robert both fit the description too! Hey, are you going to the Boomer tomorrow night?’

  Eddie didn’t answer.

  ‘Eddie?’

  ‘Sorry Kath, I was thinking. What were you saying?’

  ‘I asked you if you’d be at the pub tomorrow night.’

  ‘Are you going?’

  ‘Yeah, the others are all going too.’

  ‘Would you like me to take you?’

  Kathy’s heart leapt. She had hoped he’d ask. She beamed at him. ‘I’d really like to go with you, Eddie.’

  ‘Good, I’m glad’

  ‘You can drive me all the way home, too.’

  ‘Won’t you get in the shit?’

  ‘It’s okay. Mum and I had a talk. She said she’d try and smooth things with Dad. I promised her I wouldn’t sneak behind their backs. So I’m showing her I can keep that promise.’

  ***

  The family gathered in the lounge room. As usual, they were chatting about the goings on in the valley.

  ‘The detectives want another meetin’. They want us all ta meet down at the hall. There’s talk they’re goin’ to bring special detectives in from Sydney. The local blokes are completely baffled. They haven’t got one shred of evidence, so they reckon bringin’ the city blokes down will help get results,’ Karl was saying.

  ‘Yeah, I was up at Sam’s earlier. He told me they reckon the city blokes might be able ta find somethin’. Apparently they specialize in arson cases,’ Digger replied

  ‘Well, let’s hope new eyes on the case can find something and finally arrest the mongrel. We won’t have any peace until that happens!’ Win stated.

  ‘Well, I have to point out that the description you blokes got of him fits a few, even your own Des and Robert,’ Mary piped up.

  Emmie gave a small gasp. ‘Des… he’s a fine boy he wouldn’t dream of hurting his family like that! Our Robert wouldn’t do something so vile either! It’s preposterous to even think it!’

  Everyone turned to look at Mary.

  Mary blushed and decided she had said a bit much this time. Excusing herself, she left and
went up to bed.

  ‘I apologize for Mary,’ Harvey stammered.

  ‘No, don’t worry mate. Mary’s obviously not herself. We understand,’ Karl told him.

  ‘I must apologize though. She truly hasn’t been herself lately and I’m sure she doesn’t mean to be rude.’

  ‘Leave it, Harvey dear.’ Emmie patted his hand. ‘She just needs a rest. It’s been a traumatic time for us all.’

  ‘I’m a bit tired myself,’ Emmie said, easing out of her chair. ‘I think I’ll be off to bed; it’s been a long day.’

  ‘How’s she been durin’ the day?’ Karl asked, watching his mother walk slowly out of the room.

  ‘She’s keeping up a good front. She’s helping Hazel a lot more. I think she needs to keep occupied,’ Ellie replied.

  ‘She’s lost a bit of weight, though,’ Win added. ‘We’re keeping a close eye on her.’

  They chatted on for a while then eventually one by one they gave in to tiredness.

  Ellie was tidying up some sheets of music that had slipped to the floor. Harvey came to stand beside her.

  ‘I need to talk, Ellie. Meet me on the veranda in half an hour. Please?’

  Ellie noted the tone of pleading in Harvey’s voice and, although still a little apprehensive, she agreed.

  ‘I’ll leave you to lock up the house when you’re ready, Harv. Dig and I’ve been out and had a look around, all seems quiet out there. I’m hittin’ the hay too. We have to be up again in a couple of hours to take our turn on patrol. I’ve a full day tomorrow as well: Eric wants a hand ploughing old man Chuder’s top paddock.’

  ***

  Ellie had been thinking about things ever since her talk with Emmie. Feeling torn between longing for Harvey and her obligation to Mary, she was almost losing her mind. So much had happened since Christmas Eve. Was she willing to enter into an affair, because that’s all it would ever be? Her mind was in turmoil.

  Harvey was waiting for her on the veranda. She slipped silently through the French doors and, as Harvey opened his arms to her, she walked straight into his embrace.

  ‘We have to talk about things, Ellie,’ he said, his breath stirring wisps of her hair.

  ‘I know, Harv.’

  ‘Mary is definitely not herself. This is not her usual behaviour and I’m worried about her.’ Harvey dropped his arms from around her and went to sit in one of the cane chairs.

  ‘Sit here beside me, Ellie. I have things I need to say.’

  Ellie eased herself into the cane chair beside him.

  ‘When we broke up and you married Denby, it tore me apart. For months, I was a wreck. I hit the town every chance I could. A different girl…well… there isn’t one I could say I would even remember their name, to be honest. Karl tried to talk some sense into me but it wasn’t until we went to Korea that I saw the light.’

  ‘After we got back, I met Mary. She was attractive, sexy… nice. I married her… my mistake. I never loved her! Not the way a husband should.’ He sighed, looking out across the dark yard.

  ‘At first we had a reasonable sex life, but after several years, we drifted apart. We still stayed together and put on this front for appearance’s sake. Being a devout Catholic, she wouldn’t hear of divorce, so we more or less started living separate lives but remained living together. I’ve had affairs with different women, many women! She got more involved with the church. Then I decided to move back here. I knew I would see you again. I wanted to see you. You have never been out of my heart. I love you, Ellie, I love you!’ Harvey’s voice faltered. He stood and walked to the edge of the veranda.

  Ellie followed. She put her hand on his arm. Taking a deep breath, she threw caution to the wind.

  ‘I love you too, Harv. I always have. I should have been more patient with your army postings. I will never forgive myself for the way I behaved. Our lives could have been so different… All these years wasted.’

  ‘I’ve promised Mary we will settle on a property next week. Maybe she’ll settle down when we’re in a place of her choice.’

  ‘What are you going to do about her, Harv?’ Ellie asked quietly.

  ‘She hasn’t really said anything, just a few snide remarks. I can sense she has suspicions about something between you and me.’ He looked suddenly sombre. ‘You heard her sarcastic shots. As for doing something… what can I do? She has to agree to a divorce and she won’t because of her damn religion!’

  Taking another deep breath, Ellie whispered, ‘I want you, Harv. If it means having you without marriage, I’ll accept you that way but we have to be very discreet, and if people start to talk, or Mary blows up about anything, we have to think of another way, or simply walk away from each other for good.’

  ‘Good Lord, Ellie. I won’t let anything stand in our way ever again!’ Harvey choked out. ‘We’ll sort something out. Mary and I will get the property sorted out next week and we’ll take things from there!’

  He turned and took Ellie in his arms and kissed her passionately.

  ‘Come with me, Harv.’

  They quietly went upstairs.

  Mary stepped back from the window. ‘Bastard!’ she thought.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Saturday dawned bright. At 5.30am, the men dragged themselves from their beds; they’d taken their turns on patrol and now they were rising for a hard day’s work.

  Karl and Digger were soon ploughing their way through a huge serving of bacon, eggs, toast and piping hot coffee.

  ‘Ripper breakfast, eh Dig,’ Karl said between mouthfuls.

  ‘We’ll need it today, mate. What time are you meetin’ Eric?’

  ‘Six thirty. He has to plough Chuder’s paddock and throw a few more bales of hay into that shed Dawn’s got up now.’

  ‘How many will that make now?’ Digger asked.

  ‘A thousand. Bloody lot of hay but good feed for the cows if there’s a drought next season. Lotta work’s gone into that shed.’

  ‘Reckon she’s glad the firebug’s left that alone. Come ta think of it, Dawn and Arthur haven’t been touched at all. Damn lucky, don’t you think?’

  ‘Think there’s a reason they’ve been left alone?’ Digger asked.

  A thoughtful expression crossed Karl’s face. Shaking his head, he shrugged. ‘I haven’t thought about it ‘til now, just pure luck I guess!’

  They finished their breakfast and Karl left to meet Eric. Digger headed off to check the fruit trees to see what needed spraying and do a stock take on the diesel and insecticides stored. He would be busy all day as well. Saturdays didn’t always mean a day off at Kia-Ora.

  ***

  Digger was really feeling the heat today. He’d spent all morning checking fruit trees and marking them for spraying and he still had the diesel and other stuff to stock take.

  ‘Strewth it’s hot,’ he thought as he wiped his hanky across his forehead. He was standing where the shed had once been. He glanced at the still blackened grass beneath his feet and the debris piled nearby. He thought back to the night the shed burned.

  ‘Bastard of a bloke!’ he muttered. His mind went back to the conversation between him and Karl at breakfast this morning. Dawn and Arthur hadn’t had a fire – was it strange or just lucky? With the exception of Walter Hansen’s small fire, Rex Willi’s shed and Ivy Gelding’s haystack, the fires seemed confined to the Mason family, mostly Kia-Ora and Sam’s. Was there a reason? Could the talk he’d heard at the pub the other evening have some truth in it?

  People were gossiping and tossing names around about who was responsible. The name at the top of the list was Robert Mason, Arthur’s boy!

  Sighing heavily, he kicked his boot into a stack of tractor tyres beside the machinery shed. A cardboard box crumbled as one of the tyres slipped. Digger swore and bent to stand the tyre back up. Something caught his attention. That smell! Bending closer, he discovered neatly set on the bottom of the box…

  A smouldering mosquito coil!

  Digger stood stock still for a minute,
his heart pounding. He bent down and had a closer look.

  ‘Well bloody hell! So this’s what the flamin’ mongrel’s usin’! No bloody wonder he hasn’t been caught!’

  Finally, they had some evidence!

  Digger ground his boot into the mosquito coil and snuffed it out. He looked around but couldn’t find anything else amiss. If the coil hadn’t been found, the tyres and boxes would have caught on, easily fed by the cardboard, then the machinery shed would have gone up. They could never have replaced what was in there.

  Mosquito coils are mosquito-repelling incense shaped in a spiral, made from a dried paste of Pyrethrum powder. Burning usually begins at the outer end of the spiral and progresses slowly towards the centre, producing a mosquito repellent smoke.

  A typical coil can measure 15cm (6inches) in diameter, and smoulder for around eight hours.

  Digger felt anger rise inside him. ‘The bloody rotten bastard… He was targetin’ our friggin machinery shed! He grabbed a screwdriver and threw it clear across the yard. ‘Ya didn’t succeed this time, ya fuckin’ arsehole!’

  He strode across and retrieved the screwdriver. Drumming the palm of his hand with it, he gazed around the yard. Eyeing the woodheap, he hurried over and furiously began upending crates of kindling. He grabbed a rake. Every nerve in his body was on edge; his senses told him that there was more than one mosquito coil planted here.

  Tossing the rake to one side, he got down on his hands and knees and crawled under the saw bench. Wood chips went flying in all directions as he frantically searched.

  ‘What tha blue blazes are ya doin’, mate?’ Karl had come back home and spotted Digger on all fours under the saw bench. ‘Ya ok, mate? What ya lookin’ for under there?’

  Digger backed out, covered in saw dust, and told Karl what he’d found.

  ‘Holy smoke… We woulda lost a friggin’ fortune! The cunnin’ mongrel! No bloody wonder he gets away with it!’ Karl was astounded.

  ‘Yeah, these friggin’ things smoulder for hours. He can set the bloody things and get clean away, knowin’ they’ll eventually catch on to whatever he’s put ‘em under.’

  ‘And I’ll bet he comes back to watch and laugh at us. What a sick mongrel!’