Maddy flicked her an embarrassed glance. ‘I’m not working for Alma. Thought I’d just check to see if you wanted anything typed up. Jacob likes to sleep in and I could give you two hours if you needed anything.’
Sienna watched the girl’s face. ‘That would be great. I’ll start your time from now because Maestro and I need you now. I also have some changes for the questionnaire I haven’t had a chance to give you. They’re all scribbled in the columns – just ask if you can’t read it.’ She noted the relief on Maddy’s face because work was available. ‘We haven’t really talked about it, but I was thinking forty dollars an hour cash for secretarial, is that okay?’
Maddy looked at her shyly. ‘That’d be great.’ There was no doubt about the relief.
Sienna thought logistics if Maddy needed money fast. In case she had a secret problem. One she was hiding – like a pregnancy. Sienna was sure now, and if Maddy didn’t mention it in the next day she would.
‘How about I put the cash for each day’s pay in an envelope and you can tick it off when you take it. That way you can leave it there to accumulate or take it when you need.’
The young woman appeared to be concentrating fiercely on Maestro as she said, ‘That would be handy, thank you. I’m saving up. It’s a surprise for Jacob.’ The last bit didn’t quite ring true.
Thought so. ‘Excellent.’ There was a burst of steam. A lot of water going backwards and forwards, and then finally the wonderful sound and aroma of coffee grinding.
Maddy caught Sienna’s eyes glued to the grinder part of the machine and laughed. ‘Two minutes.’
At eight o’clock Sienna stood with Maddy outside Douglas’s door and waited for him to appear and start her day as it should. Douglas rose early, too. She knew that.
When the door opened, his magnificent shoulders appeared, shrugged into a blue open-necked uniform shirt with a shoulder rank and the police badge, and work trousers. So he was going somewhere. His thick dark hair curled damp from his shower and she reined in the instant imaginings of Douglas naked under a cascade of water like that kayak commercial, all sinew and wet bulging muscle.
His eyes narrowed at Sienna, reserved, maybe even with a hint of warning as if she’d throw herself into his arms, but she didn’t miss the flare of heat in his eyes despite his attempt to veil it.
‘Good morning, Sienna,’ he said, and then his gaze slipped past Sienna’s to smile at Maddy. How come she got the smile? ‘Morning, Maddy. You girls are early.’
Sienna’s tongue seemed to have stuck to the roof of her mouth, and after a quick glance at her, Maddy came to the rescue. ‘There’s a bit of typing to do and now’s a good time for me if that’s okay?’
‘Fine. I have to go out after breakfast on a call anyway so the house will be yours.’ He stepped back to invite them in.
As they strode past him into the hall he touched Sienna’s arm. ‘I’m going out to Spinifex Station if you want to come?’
She stopped and turned, and Maddy went to her desk and sat down, a tiny innocent smile on her face. That girl didn’t miss much.
He said, ‘Annette rang to say it could be a good time for her if you wanted to talk? That drifter I’ve been watching decided to try a bit of break and enter and they might have an idea out on Spinifex Station where he’s headed next. She mentioned seeing you now instead of Monday and asked if I could bring you out today if you were free. You could see her while I talk to her husband.’
Sienna didn’t waste time trying to figure out how a woman on an outlying cattle station knew the policeman could bring her with him to visit. She’d learned that all kinds of information beamed all over the outback in mysterious ways. The prospect of earlier progress on her investigation enticed, as did another private road trip with Douglas. And, his reserve just now needed a little sorting anyway.
Sienna nodded, glanced to where Maddy had settled herself and opened the computer. Her typist didn’t need her and she could start her first interview. Excellent.
‘If you could wait to leave until Maddy types in the amendments on the questionnaire that would be great.’ He nodded, looked as if he’d been going to say something but changed his mind, and turned away. She watched his back thoughtfully. Something was up.
He’d said he planned on leaving after breakfast so it wasn’t an urgent run and she’d have time to sort the envelope business while she waited. Maddy could stash yesterday’s pay if she needed to.
After she’d done that in her office, she waved the envelope and tapped it to show Maddy where to find her pay. Then she quickly called Cilla to start her on her quest of contacts before looking for her driver.
When she found Douglas in the kitchen he stood staring out the window, a mug of tea in one hand and a slice of toast in the other, but his shoulders had that uncompromising stiffness to them. She sighed. Was he going to be all dramatic about last night? It just didn’t seem like him. A thought intruded. A radical one.
OMG. Maybe it wasn’t about her. Maybe he had something else on his mind. Thinking of other people could be so tedious.
Sienna patted her coffee machine as she walked past and said to his back, ‘Do I need to ring Annette and confirm?’
He turned. Frowned as if his thoughts had been miles way and he had to search for her topic. His face cleared. ‘No.’
She could have nailed it. Maybe he wasn’t regretting last night at all. It could be her imagination and she’d worked herself up for nothing. ‘Are you okay, Douglas? Is something wrong?’
‘I’m fine. How long until you’re ready to leave?’ There was that slight hint of . . . impatience? Was he sick of her? Had she burned her boats with last night’s escapade? Damn. Or was it all for the best?
Now she was worried again. ‘Maddy won’t be long.’
They were on the road by nine, the heat necessitating air conditioning. The plains shimmered all the way from the horizon and the eagles were poking about, smorgasboarding at the edge of the road like daylight vampires on a mission.
On a less morbid note, a flock of pink galahs lifted en masse from a passing fence line where they’d been holding a morning confab. Their wings caught the sunlight as they rose in glittering flight away from the passing vehicle. She saw a shiny lizard as round and long as her arm dart into a crevice in the rocky landscape. It seemed everyone was awake out here, too.
Her driver remained silent. ‘Are we okay, Douglas?’
He didn’t look at her. ‘Why wouldn’t we be?’
She lifted her chin and continued to look at him. Despite the way he made her feel, she wasn’t a teenager. ‘Because I pushed you into something you didn’t want to do.’
The car slowed, pulled over to the edge of the gravel road and stopped. That was unexpected.
The cloud of dust that had been tailing them floated past as if it had missed the change of plans, dimming the outside world and leaving them alone in the centre. Douglas turned to her, his face unreadable.
‘Dr Wilson. If I hadn’t wanted to make love with you I can assure you I wouldn’t have. Don’t for a minute think you can blame yourself for that event. It was a joint effort.’ The comment should have been funny, but the lack of humour in it made her wince.
‘I knew what would happen,’ he continued, ‘I’m not stupid, or completely oblivious to how amazing it turned out to be. My reserve is because I can’t see a good resolution here. And I think we need to protect ourselves from getting in any deeper.’
There was nothing there that she hadn’t told herself. No unexpected shock to knock the wind out of her, but his words did so anyway. Left her gasping though she tried to hide it. The dust continued to drift past them, like his words, and the harshness outside and in had to be accepted.
‘I understand.’
After a long look at her, his hands tightened on the wheel and he turned to stare directly ahead. ‘I doubt that.’ Then he put on his indicator despite there being no other cars visible, pulled back out onto the road and drove five kilomet
res faster than normal towards their destination.
They drove up to the homestead in a cloud of dust that must have heralded their arrival for miles. Annette nursed her baby, and her cowboy-hatted husband, the manager of Spinifex Station, waited under the bull-nosed iron of the verandah to greet them. Their baby, Eugenie, except for the noticeably smaller head circumference, looked like any other baby. Big eyes, dark brows, long lashes and pink cheeks, cute in a pink Peter Rabbit pinafore.
After initial introductions, the men strode off towards the machinery sheds and Annette invited her inside the cool, uncluttered homestead, which was all polished floors, high wooden ceilings and welcoming hospitality. Annette, almost as tall as Sienna, had a calm, unhurried manner as she carried her baby daughter into the dining room. A heritage green tea set and homemade biscuits waited on the polished table.
When she offered Sienna a seat, her sun-browned brow remained clear and untroubled and Sienna marvelled at her composure. Yes, Eugenie’s head size looked under proportion compared with the rest of her tiny body, but she turned to follow her mother’s voice, and her eyes were bright and interested. The muscle tone of her limbs also appeared normal. All of these were small blessings, and whatever fate awaited this baby was in the hands of the future.
‘Thank you for allowing me to come to see you both, Annette.’
Annette pushed her fringe off her forehead with one finger, and assessed Sienna with eyes that held a no-nonsense clarity. ‘It’s all good. And it’s easier for me as I don’t have to go to three places in town. Just the appointment with the clinic nurse on Monday now and some groceries.’
‘I’m pleased.’ Sienna smiled. ‘And your baby is beautiful.’
‘Yes, she is.’ This was said firmly but not blindly. ‘It’s a good thing we live in the country where people know us and won’t make a fuss.’
‘I’m not a paediatrician, but I did speak to Eugenie’s doctor and he said she’s meeting her early milestones. He sent me her reports – with your permission, I believe.’
Annette lowered her head. ‘I’ve two older children. Twins in Year Four in the school here. All children are different, but Eugenie doesn’t seem to act any differently than they did at her age. The paediatrician said that may change as she grows, but he also said it may not.’ She lifted her head in acceptance.
A small silence fell and then she said, ‘One of my brothers had a fall from a quad bike and he’s never been the same. Any normal child might not grow up as expected, so we’ll just aim for the best and share the love.’
Sienna looked at the woman in awe. And unexpectedly felt like crying. What was with her hormones since she’d come here? How could this woman be so uncomplaining? Annette didn’t deserve more heartache after her family history. Nobody did. ‘I’m here to try to find out if there is a reason, or reasons, two other babies have smaller heads like Eugenie. I’ve brought along another questionnaire to see if there are any similarities that could be suspicious.’
‘Of course I’ll do what I can. Do you have any ideas?’
Sienna shrugged sympathetically. ‘Ideas. Not answers. Because three babies born around the same time have similar symptoms, it could suggest an exposure to something at a certain stage in pregnancy. To cause microcephaly, the time would be between eight and say sixteen weeks of pregnancy and most likely around fifteen weeks. It could be an infection, a toxin, a pesticide, even to think outside the box, an event like a heavy meteor shower causing radiation.’
Annette spread her hands out in question. ‘How are you supposed to find that out?’
Sienna shrugged. ‘By doing this. Asking questions. Collecting stories, data, checking local events and news, family history, and comparing with similar events in other places.’
Annette leaned forward. ‘Has this happened in other places?’
Sienna shook her head. ‘Not that I can find in Australia. We’ve looked, but I am still researching. Some events have happened overseas, for example, the zika virus has been causing microcephaly. And in past history, Hiroshima recorded microcephaly.’ She held out her hands. ‘I’m wondering if you can remember any illnesses or events that happened to you in that eight-to sixteen-week period of your pregnancy?’
‘Not right now, but I’ll have to have a good rethink about it,’ Annette said.
They talked for another twenty minutes until Sienna had covered all her questions, then she said, ‘That’s great.’ Sienna tapped the questionnaire. ‘Write them down, if you could. Everything. Minor, major, unusual or even plain weird. Even events outside that period, although that’s where I’m concentrating. Then, if possible, send it back to me by email, or drop it off at the clinic on Monday if you finish it, and I’ll collate all the information from the three mothers as soon as I can. I understand you know the other mothers, that they’re friends of yours, too?’ At Annette’s nod, she continued, ‘I’ll be asking them the same things. I’ll let you all know on Monday if there’s anything I need more information on. Does that sound okay?’
‘Sure. I’ll ask my husband.’ Annette smiled. ‘And my mother. I talk to her on the phone every day. She may remember me saying something.’
‘That’s a great idea. Or anyone else you correspond with. Maybe go through your emails for the period. It always amazes me the slice of life we put into even the shortest emails we send.’
Sienna hadn’t re-read her emails before, but that had changed when she’d started to correspond with Douglas. Just a line or two when something funny happened. His dry sense of humour and lack of drama over major incidents would come back to her and she’d smile. She read those ones a few times.
‘I’ve never read my old emails.’ Annette laughed. ‘Don’t have the time.’
‘When you do, you might decide to write a book. You know what they say. If people enjoy your letters, then they’d enjoy your stories as a book.’
‘Now that would be a book. Down on the Farm in Spinifex.’
‘See, you have a title already,’ she said, and they both laughed as Sienna stood to leave. She smiled at Eugenie and the little girl gazed up at her like a tiny owl. ‘Bye, Eugenie.’
‘Thanks for coming out to us. Unless I get it finished earlier I’ll drop the questionnaire into the clinic or Douglas’s place on Monday when I bring Eugenie in for her check.’
‘That would be great, thanks,’ Sienna said and smiled to herself that of course everyone knew she was working out of the police residence. Imagine if she had moved in. Maybe Douglas did have a case for separate lodgings after all.
The drive back to Spinifex held little conversation. Sadly, Sienna felt the rift between them widen like the cracks beside the road and she wanted to ask if she’d done anything else to alienate him.
‘You don’t have to have dinner with me tonight, Douglas, if you don’t want to.’
He glanced at her with brows drawn. ‘Have you got another date?’
‘No.’ She laughed and thought of just-another-one Blue. None that aren’t more interested in their glass. ‘I enjoy your company,’ she told him, ‘but just thought you might like a night off.’
Chapter Eighteen
Alma
Alma watched the doctor and the policeman enter the pub, and thought back to last night when Sienna had come in. Luckily, all the regulars had been watching young Snubby downing his birthday schooner in one go. After that initial inspection, she’d looked up to where the shapely rear end of Dr Sienna Wilson disappeared up the stairs and noted the languid trail of fingers on the banister with one hand and the basket in the other. Alma had grinned. You had to hand it to that girl. Tenacity had nothing on her. And it was nice to know the policeman was as good as he looked.
Alma sighed. It was a bit different tonight. Pair of moping Mollys.
Someone called out for a beer. She had far too much respect for both of them to bring attention to something that was their business only, but it was Saturday night. She’d cooked them a nice roast dinner, and even found a bottle of
not-too-cheap Sav Blanc she’d forgotten about.
Something was up after yesterday’s shenanigans.
She sat them in the corner of the Dining Room for tea so the rowdies didn’t disturb them. Fake pot plant and all. It was quite a nice setting if she said so herself.
Her effort to create a romantic atmosphere looked doomed. She’d thought they might be all lovey-dovey after their adventure last night, but nooooo. They’d barely looked at each other and the doctor had waved away the bottle.
They ate quickly and then Douglas stood up and left after a curt goodnight.
Sienna trailed over to lean on the bar as she waited for Alma to make her another coffee. She looked prickly and frustrated and Alma searched for something to cheer her.
‘I do up a big breakfast tomorrow. Men love food, and you can invite that man of yours.’
Sienna made a sound that was almost a snort. Except she was too much the lady to snort. ‘He’s not my man.’
Alma glared at her. Seriously? She could knock their heads together. ‘So you think that’s all his fault?’
The doctor straightened, lifted her chin. Good. At least she had a bit of fight left in her. Alma didn’t have much time for pansies and the lovelorn type.
Sienna said crisply, ‘Don’t try your matchmaking, Alma.’ There was a bit of a bite to her tone, Alma decided with an inward grin. ‘It would never work,’ she went on. ‘We live in two different worlds thousands of kilometres apart.’
Well, true, that had been Alma’s own sentiments at the beginning. But, after watching them that first evening – the shared jokes, the regard they had for each other – Alma didn’t think that was enough reason not to try to work it out, now.
She pulled a face. ‘Just shows me at least one of you is stupid.’
Sienna lifted one brow. She didn’t look offended. Not that Alma worried about that. The doctor said, ‘Or it could be we are both incredibly smart.’
‘I guess.’ Alma shrugged. Well, they were brainy people. Both of them. She frothed the milk. Set the cup on the bar. ‘Doesn’t mean you can’t play while you’re here,’ she suggested.
The Baby Doctor Page 11
