Kimberley Sun
Page 25
‘We three principals and the two Japanese investors.’
He drained his beer. ‘I’ll wait for a bit before I buy any shares.’
‘I wouldn’t want you to lose one cent,’ said Lily evenly, relieved that Dale wouldn’t want to be part of the company as they established themselves.
‘However, I think I should check it out. Run a man’s eye over things. See you’re not going to do your dough. I think that David George is a bit of a worry.’
Lily didn’t bite. ‘Well thanks, Dale, I was thinking your advice on some of the practical stuff, building, renovating and so on would be most helpful. I’ve kind of run out of time a bit. I’m going to Perth in a couple of days to see the lawyer. Harlan put me in touch with Dwight Robertson from Fraser Robertson and Partners.’
‘Yeah, they’re a good firm. You are serious.’
‘I’d like to think I was doing things properly.’ Then thinking she sounded a bit prim she added, ‘I’m sure there’ll be plenty of occasions for flying by the seat of my pants.’
Lily paced about the apartment. Despite her confident air with Dale, she was deeply nervous about what she was undertaking. There was a discreet knock at the door. ‘Mrs Barton?’
Lily nodded at the man standing on the landing outside her apartment door. ‘Can I help you?’
‘I hope so, Mrs Barton. I’m Detective-Sergeant Karl Howard. I’m part of the team investigating the death of Matthias Stern, a German visitor whose body was found recently. We’ve spoken to Bobby Ching.’
‘Ah, yes,’ said Lily in a slightly tense acknowledgment. ‘Dreadful thing. Bobby telephoned me as soon as he heard. Would you like to come in?’
‘Thank you, this shouldn’t take too much of your time. I understand you met an associate of Stern’s at Bradley Station?’
They settled on the lounge and Lily poured a glass of cold water for each of them. ‘It was only a brief meeting. Bobby asked me to talk to him.’
‘Why?’
‘He was curious, and couldn’t get through to the man. Well, neither of us could get answers to reasonable questions about Matthias and their meeting at the races. It was such an odd place to meet, really.’
‘Possibly. Just tell me what you remember of the conversation, please.’
Lily ran through the exchange, but felt it didn’t amount to much at all and apologised to the investigating officer. ‘It’s not very helpful, I’m afraid. He seemed to like the idea of being a global citizen, rather than tied to one place, and he implied that he was quite involved in the art world at the top end of the market. Clearly he wasn’t very interested in the activities at Bradley.’
‘Did you talk to Bobby about the disappearance of Matthias?’
‘Well, only to the extent that I agreed with Bobby that it was a bit strange Matthias left town without contacting him.’
‘Thanks for your assistance, Mrs Barton,’ said the detective. ‘If you happen to think of anything else that might interest us, please ring or drop in. It looks like we’ll have to wait for results of international enquiries to come in.’ He then dropped his official tone. ‘Are you thinking of becoming a more permanent resident of our community? You could save a packet on airfares and phone calls,’ he quipped.
Lily smiled, realising that he had done his homework on her background and local associations. ‘I’m thinking about it, yes.’
‘So I may see you around then. Good afternoon.’
Lily closed the door and glanced out the window at the view she loved so much and spoke aloud to the empty apartment. ‘Actually, Detective Howard, I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’m here to stay.’ And she smiled. ‘Whatever it takes, I’m going for it.’
That night, after spending some of the afternoon at the pool with her mother, Sami went to Rosie’s to work on her notes. After several hours hunched over books and computer, she stretched. It was late. Rakka rolled out from under the desk, stretched too and gave her a look.
‘Okay, I’ll let you out in the garden. It’s too late for a walk, everyone is asleep,’ said Sami quietly. The room was dim, lit only by the desk light and the glow from the computer. She saved what she’d written and went out onto the verandah and watched Rakka scamper into the dark garden. High above the bay the shiny arc of the moon cast a faint light. Sami was thinking about the strange figures and shapes of the rock art and engravings when something caught her eye in the garden. A flicker, a movement, a pale blur of light. She leaned over the railing and had an impression flash into her head rather than actually seeing something specific. She imagined she saw a figure of a female . . . a young girl, a thin woman, wearing a misty, sheer dress. It was a split second. All was dark, she must have imagined it. Then, on the other side of the garden, it blinked on again: a pencil thin, childlike shape that glowed. This time Rakka gave a low growl.
‘What is it, Rak?’ whispered Sami who didn’t feel afraid, but sensed it was more than her imagination.
‘It be a mimi, girl. Mimi spirit come for you.’ The voice behind her made Sami jump. Old Biddy was standing in the doorway of her darkened bedroom.
‘What is it, Biddy? Can you see it?’ She couldn’t possibly see down into the garden from there, thought Sami.
‘I don’ have to see ’em. They be mimi lights.’
Rakka gave a short bark and then raced to the other side of the garden and back across the lawn until she was turning in circles. Then she fell on her belly, head between her paws and shivered. For a few seconds the dog growled then belted up the steps onto the verandah and ran into the office, burying herself in her chair. Far back in the dark garden Sami saw, or thought she saw, more dancing lights, like little stars, among the shrubs. She turned to Biddy. ‘What does it mean?’ She knew she had witnessed something . . . what, supernatural, surreal, mystical?
‘It mean we got to go dere. Back to the old country. They be messenger.’
‘What exactly do you mean when you say “we”?’
Biddy turned back into the room, holding onto the doorframe. ‘You gotta go, girl. You gotta take Biddy dere.’
‘Where’s that, Biddy?’
‘Where you gotta go. Know about the old people. You know soon enuff when you get dere. Biddy sleepin’ now.’
‘Goodnight.’
Sami went back indoors and sat at her computer. To her eyes, the letters on the blue screen had all become a jumble of dancing stick figures. She turned off the computer and sat for a moment looking at the black screen and wondering if she’d imagined the mocking twirling shapes. Shivering slightly she stretched out on the sofa, plumped the feather pillow and pulled up the cotton bedspread. In a flash Rakka jumped from the chair and nosed her way under the cover, settling behind Sami’s knees. Sami closed her eyes. Damn Biddy. Stubborn old lady. But in her heart Sami knew she was committed to a journey with the feisty Aboriginal woman who seemed to have some sort of sixth sense and alluded to old secrets.
The photographer framed the sun image made from mother-of-pearl shell that was resting on a volcanic rock protruding from beach sand. Another nice shot, he told himself. He’d taken shots of Pauline and many of the necklaces, pendants and brooches she had designed as part of her new Celestial range. They were lined up on russet red rocks with the blue horizon behind. Then he turned again to the dusky skinned model Pauline had hired at the photographer’s urging. ‘Another topless shot, darling. By that big rock over there.’
The model leaned against the rock, and Pauline hung the centrepiece of the collection around her neck, the bursting golden sun image with a large pearl in its centre resting between her breasts.
‘Lovely. Just fine. Okay, here we go,’ announced the photographer, and the model closed her eyes and her face suddenly reflected a sensuality that made the photographer happy. ‘Great, darling. Really great.’
Packing up the gear afterwards, he congratulated Pauline. ‘That theme is going to be a hit, I think. I’m no expert in this area, but there’s something about the sun image that really rel
ates to this place, and it’s sexy. Moon, sun, stars all have that romantic touch. You say the idea came from a very old sun pendant that turned up here?’
‘Yep, a friend walked in the door with it one day and eureka!’
‘Good story line.’
Bobby was walking along the creek in front of Ross’ shack where he’d set crab traps at low tide when he noticed a grey four-wheel drive parked by the house. Someone was walking on the verandah, a man, cupping his hands to peer through a louvred window, then he checked the door. It was locked. The stranger then appeared to give up as it was obvious there was no one at home, and drove off. Bobby dismissed the man as another curious tourist.
He cooked a large fish on the barbecue and settled in front of the TV with a cold beer. A nature doco before the news made him wonder how his house-sitting mate Eugene was making out with his overnight band of bird watchers out in the dunes. Rather him than me out there, he mused, and became absorbed in the program. Then suddenly the door was noisily flung open and there was Ross, bags hanging from his shoulders.
‘Shit, mate! You scared me! You could have shouted or given a bang on the door,’ exclaimed Bobby.
‘Nah, I was hoping to catch you up to no good. On the nest with some chick.’
‘Oh, to be that lucky so early in the evening. Anyway, welcome back, mate. I’ll give you a hand with the gear.’
‘It’s great to be back. There’s a heap of stuff in the car. I’ve driven all the way from bloody Melbourne. Any beer in the house?’
‘A couple more coldies, not a great stock.’
‘Ah, don’t worry. I have some rum in the car somewhere. Along with all my worldly goods. This is it, Bobby, I’m here. To stay.’ He gave a broad grin and held out a hand. ‘Say welcome home or something.’
Bobby pumped his hand. ‘You don’t know how glad I am you’re here. Christ, sorry, I would’ve fixed things up a bit better if I’d known you were coming.’ He shifted some newspapers, a large map of the Kimberley and a manilla folder of notes to one side of the table.
Ross glanced around. ‘I know it’s not much. But hell, this is home now. And I’m really glad I didn’t walk into an empty house.’
‘There’s heaps of food left. I cooked a fish and made a rice pulao. Do you want some?’
‘Yeah, heat it up. I’ll get the rum. This calls for a drink. To my new life!’
Over several rums Bobby poured out all the news, the murder of Matthias, Lily and the farm, the plans to go bush with Sami, Farouz and the camels.
‘Sounds like it’s all happening, and I can’t wait to get in on the act. Well, not the desert stuff with camels.’
‘So you really are staying? Chucked in the job down south?’
Ross gave a rueful smile. ‘Guess so. I burnt me bridges back in Melbourne. Though I’ve sorted out things with my son. He’ll be coming to visit in the school holidays. The Police Department wasn’t happy at me walking out, and I guess that’s a compliment. But hell, sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, right?’
Bobby gave a small nod. ‘I s’pose so. What are you going to do?’
‘Buggered if I know, mate. Something’ll turn up. I have a roof over my head, fish out the front, a mate to share a beer with. Things could be a lot worse. Which bed am I sleeping in?’
‘The boss’ bed,’ said Bobby. ‘I’m really glad you’re here, Ross. I think it’s a good omen. I really do.’
‘You Chinamen, you’re so superstitious.’ Ross laughed. ‘But you know what? I think so too. God, I’m going to sleep for a week.’
‘Dave, it’s Lily . . . I really wish I was up there to tell you this face to face, but we’re going ahead.’
‘Well, how about that? Good on you. That’s good. Good news.’
Lily smiled at his laconic reaction, but she could tell he was pleased. ‘Tim is on his way up there with the formal offer but I have to go to Perth for all the legal paperwork. Which means you should get someone to represent your interest, Dave.’
‘Ah, I’m not one for paperwork.’
‘That’s exactly why you need someone to look after your side of things.’
‘I’ll get Serena to run her eye over it all. I don’t see things changing much from my point of view. Maybe we could run to some new paint and frills, couple of extra hands.’
‘Well, we’re not going to be pumping millions into the farm like some big entrepreneur might do. But we can certainly upgrade and be more efficient. You know what I mean?’ she added, not wanting to offend him.
‘Sounds good to me.’
‘I suppose it all depends on those mysterious oysters dangling under the water,’ said Lily.
‘Come July when we harvest we’ll know, eh,’ said Dave. Clearing his throat he said more formally, ‘Thanks, Lily. I won’t let you chaps down.’
Lily hung up the phone. Well, the news would be all over town soon enough. She was worried by Dave’s easy acceptance of the deal. While no offence to Serena’s cooking and artistic skills, she doubted whether her commercial and legal knowledge was up to scratch. Lily decided she should find him a solicitor when she got back from Perth. Tim was smart enough to understand the fine points. Lily was glad Dwight Robertson was so highly recommended as she felt she was about to sign her life away.
Palmer hung his leather hat on top of the bust of Alexander the Great and shook the hand of the man behind the desk who rose with a delighted smile. ‘Palmer, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I could have been at a dig on the other side of the world.’ They shook hands warmly.
‘I took a chance you’d be buried here among your books. It’s the wrong time of year to be overseas. It’s safer here than the hotspots of the Middle East, eh?’
‘Yes, digging up landmines instead of pot shards isn’t funny. What brings you to Perth? Have they lured you back to teach?’
‘I’m not inflicting myself on the impressionable for a couple of terms yet. There’s plenty of fieldwork to keep me busy.’ Palmer sank into the leather chair opposite his friend’s desk in the Department of Anthropology at Curtin University.
‘It’s a pity. You fire them up like no one else.’ Professor Lachlan Stevens adjusted his glasses. Palmer was considered an inspirational lecturer; his classes were always packed as word spread among the students of his colourful and fascinating manner, his insights and the challenges he set them. ‘So why are you here?’
‘I sent you down a few lines on a scrap of paper, old text, I thought. Any luck with it?’
Professor Stevens slapped his head. ‘Oh, God, of course. I gave it to one of my PhD students. Nick gave it back to me, now what the hell did I do with it? I’ve been swamped, you remember what it’s like with marks all due at once? Now I put it somewhere here.’ He began rifling through papers in several folders on his desk. ‘Where are you off to next? Overseas?’
‘Nope, staying in the Kimberley. If you had to recommend a palaeontologist to come up and help on a site, who’d it be?’
‘Paul Fordeham. Good bloke. Up with all the latest high tech stuff, dating and so forth. That’s right, you mentioned some fossils, Broome way, right? Ah, here it is. I didn’t look at it very carefully. Nick put a note on it.’ He read from the sheet attached to the top of the photocopy of the note:
‘It looks like Kharoshthi but I am unable to identify it specifically. We need someone like a linguist or epigraphist to translate it as it could be one of a few middle Indo-Aryan languages, Avestan Tocharian, or even some ancient code or modern Urdu. It is obviously not taken from an ancient text, it’s more in the form of code . . . it sounds intriguing. I will pass it on to a linguist friend. Regards, Nick.’
Stevens looked at Palmer. ‘What’s that all about?’
‘Buggered if I know. Well it’s a puzzle, eh? Thank Nick for doing this anyway.’
‘Pretty elaborate way to communicate,’ said Stevens, looking at Palmer expectantly.
Palmer rose. ‘I can’t tell you any more, mate. If anythin
g comes to light, I’ll let you know.’
‘Have you got time for a glass of red while you’re in town?’
‘For sure. I’ll give you a ring.’
Lily’s head was spinning as she stepped out into St Georges Terrace. After several hours with the lawyer going through the structure of the company she needed some fresh air. Dwight Robertson had been charming, helpful and thorough. He’d explained how the new company of Star Two Holdings would work: the company was to be set up with everyone buying shares in it. Stamp duty would have to be paid on the transfer of the business based on its value. He’d draft a shareholders’ agreement which sets out the arrangements between Lily, Tim, Dave and the two investors. It would detail which decisions required unanimous board approval, how the directors were appointed, dividend policy and what happened if someone wanted to sell their shares.
It was a relief for Lily to know that side of the farm was tied up, but he’d rattled her slightly when he’d reached across the boardroom table to shake her hand saying, ‘It’s over to you now, Mrs Barton. You’re in the pearl business. May I say, I think it’s a courageous and inspiring step you’re taking.’
‘Thank you. You make it sound rather daunting.’
‘Unpredictable perhaps. But then nothing is sure in this life. I have clients who run companies, make films, run mines, and write books. None are guaranteed to hit the jackpot.’
‘Survival first. I’m hoping I can keep my head above water, literally,’ Lily said.
‘You’ve picked a nice place for a business. My wife and I love Broome. Maybe we’ll come up and ask for a guided tour.’
‘Any time. Although when we have our first harvest might be more exciting.’