by Di Morrissey
‘No one would know them, or take any notice of them at the Bradley races. So now you’re more interested in the man he met up there, right?’
‘Yes. And maybe that sun will throw more light on the subject,’ said Howard, barely suppressing a grin of satisfaction with the play of words.
‘Have another beer?’
‘Can’t imagine why not.’ The detective signalled the waiter and waved two fingers.
Ross enjoyed the process of conjecture and elimination. ‘I assume that a discreet briefing of the media might be crossing your mind. Nice picture of the sun medallion, for example.’
‘Absolutely. But first I’ll talk to Bobby, Pauline and . . . anyone else you might suggest?’ His slightly raised eyebrow amused Ross, but he got the message.
‘Palmer, the academic bloke, might be worthwhile. But don’t mention my name, okay? He’s up at Red Rock Bay.’
‘You’re safe. Thanks, mate. Cheers.’ They raised glasses in mutual appreciation.
The Georgiana moored in the cove as close to the shore as the water depth allowed. Dolly and several other women were waving and calling from the small beach. ‘Hey, Biddy! You gonna swim ashore?’
‘’Bout time you came visit your place. Big mob here t’ see you!’
Biddy cackled, enjoying being the centre of attention.
‘God, it’s beautiful,’ said Sami. ‘So peaceful. Tim, I wish I was staying now – it’s like a tropical paradise. I see why my mother likes it here.’
‘I suspect it has something to do with the other women and because it’s a significant place for your people,’ said Tim casually, and Sami realised her mother had shared things with him about being here. After this trip she would ask her mother all about what she experienced here on her annual camp out with these women where she was slowly being introduced to their customs and culture.
Biddy was on her feet, holding her small cloth dillybag. ‘We go now.’ Her eyes were bright and she radiated more energy than Sami had seen in her in a long time.
Tim stepped onto the diver’s ladder and into the dinghy, packing Biddy’s rolled mattress, blanket and gear around the stern seat. Holding the dinghy steady to the hull, Sami helped Biddy to sit on the gunwale, then swing her legs over the side. Tim lifted her into the boat. ‘You hang on to each side here, Biddy,’ Tim instructed, as he rowed to the beach.
Stripping off her T-shirt and shorts down to her swimsuit, Sami jumped feet first into the warm water, racing past Tim to beat him to the beach. Rakka loyally jumped in after her and struck for the shore.
The women greeted Sami with smiles and a young woman introduced herself. ‘Hi, I’m Janet. I’ve come from Derby, I’m working in Aboriginal Services Admin there. You look like your mother, same smile,’ she said.
‘This place is lovely, no wonder you come here,’ said Sami.
‘We come here because it’s our country. You will have to come and learn your country, Sami,’ said Janet. ‘Here, I’ll show you the camp.’ She glanced back to where Tim was helping Biddy ashore and greeting the other women. ‘There’s a dozen of us here this time. Dolly is one of the elders, she’s the one with the law, she knows the ceremonies, the things Biddy wants to do. Places she has to go.’
‘Biddy says she hasn’t been here since she was a young woman,’ said Sami as she followed Janet along a narrow track past a lagoon splashed with pale pink waterlilies.
‘It’s important that she comes and does her finishing business. Makes peace with her ancestors. Thank you for bringing her. It means a lot that someone from the family brings her to this place on her last journey here.’
‘Oh. I’m happy to do it. Should I stay?’ Sami was conscious that protocol was a priority here.
‘Your time will come. Rosie said you and Tim were going to King Sound for a day or two. That will be enough time. When you come back here for Biddy we’ll have some time together. I’d like to hear about your work, you’re doing your doctoral thesis, eh?’
‘Ah, yes. I’m gathering a lot of material out here. I’m with Sydney Uni.’
Janet nodded. ‘Good, good. See, here’s our permanent campsite, but we only use it certain times a year.’ She showed Sami the tents and rough bark shelters over swags and sleeping bags around the campfire. ‘In summer some of us sleep in ham-mocks or swags in the open. The nights are cool now so we have a bit of shelter.’
‘Biddy has been used to a soft bed and a warm house,’ said Sami, worried Biddy might be uncomfortable.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll look after her.’ Janet smiled.
‘Looks like she’ll be fine,’ whispered Tim to Sami as they watched the women settle Biddy in a fold-up chair with a cushion in the shade of a bloodwood tree. They’d shared a billy of tea and sweet biscuits and were ready to leave.
Sami knelt in front of Biddy. ‘Biddy, are you happy? Do you want me to stay with you? Rosie and Mum told me to look after you.’
‘You bin good to ol’ Biddy. This be my special time, tings to do. Sing me songs, paint, visit the spirit people, my ancestor place. Pish, Biddy got lot ’em work.’
Sami smiled. ‘We’ll be back in a couple of days.’
Biddy leaned forward and laid her thin hand on Sami’s head. ‘Dis be special time for you, girl. Learnin’ time. You gotta learn our ways, you do dat for Biddy. Learn up dem stories.’
She wasn’t sure what the old woman was referring to, but she nodded. ‘I will, Biddy.’
‘Sami, we should go,’ said Tim quietly behind her.
Suddenly Sami was overcome at leaving the old woman here. She called Rakka. ‘Good dog. You have to stay. Stay here with Biddy till I come back. Look after her. No wandering off, okay?’
Obediently Rakka lay down by Biddy, putting her nose on her paws, looking resigned.
‘Will you watch Rakka please, Janet? There’s a long rope there you can tie her up with if you leave camp.’
‘Nah, she come hunting with us. She be good,’ said one of the other women. ‘She smart dog.’
‘Biddy dog,’ announced Biddy, leaning down to pat Rakka’s head.
‘See you then.’ Sami found herself hugging the bony frame of the old woman and feeling genuinely upset at leaving her.
‘You go, Sami. Biddy be here when you come back. Biddy always be watchin’ out for you.’ The old woman’s voice was strong and firm.
Tim took Sami’s arm and pulled her gently. ‘Come on, let’s go. See you, ladies.’
Sami nodded her goodbyes, unable to speak.
‘Keep going, Sami, don’t look back,’ said Tim.
Rakka lifted her head and watched them disappear through the scrub, then glanced up at Biddy and dropped her head back on her paws with an audible sigh.
Sami stared back at the little cove as Tim steered out to sea and set a course for Cape Leveque. She felt strangely sad and, without Rakka and Biddy for company, uncomfortable at being alone with Tim. But she had to admit she felt safe. He was a capable skipper, occasionally asking her to take the wheel when he checked below or tinkered with the engine.
They hadn’t spoken much and Tim seemed to sense how she was feeling. But now he called cheerfully, ‘Isn’t it afternoon tea time?’
‘Okay. Aye, aye, sir. Whatever.’ Sami went into the tiny galley and lit the small gas stove, put the kettle on and pulled on a cotton jumper. The breeze was stronger now and the Georgiana was dipping her bow like a frisky pony.
By late afternoon Sami was glad Tim was looking for a night anchorage. ‘Do you have a place in mind or are you just winging it?’ she asked as they moved closer to the coast.
‘It might appear a random choice, but I’ve actually worked it all out,’ he confessed.
‘Good.’
They were both tired, and ate the meal Sami had prepared on their laps on the deck. Then Sami went below to sleep in a for’ard bunk.
In the morning after breakfast, they pulled up the anchor, the motor started first go and they rounded the cape into King Sound, dolphin
s frolicking at their bow. Tim paid particular attention to the details on the marine chart. ‘There are some pretty violent tidal rips around these parts, we’ve got to watch them,’ he said casually, and he pointed to a dot on the chart. ‘That’s Sunday Island, it was a mission at the turn of the century. Gradually the people left for Broome, Derby and Wyndham.’
‘Didn’t they go back at all?’
‘They did in the thirties, I think, but it was doomed. Too isolated, no backup. Groups still talk about going there to get away from the problems at One Arm Point community and some tourists get there to look at the ruins of the mission – you have to know the tides. But it’s still abandoned.’
‘So where are we going? This area sounds dangerous.’
‘Not if you know it. I’ve done my homework, don’t worry.’
He navigated carefully and the day passed. By the time they’d moored, Tim had settled on an area to explore. He planned to dive early the next day. It was a calm night, and they sat on the deck after dinner sharing a bottle of wine under the stars. For the first time since she stepped onto the Georgiana on this trip, Sami felt relaxed. ‘I’m so glad I did this. I was dreading it.’
Tim laughed. ‘Me? The sea trip, or the responsibility of Biddy?’
‘No offence, but well, all of it.’
‘That’s life, isn’t it? Sometimes the things we dread, things we have to force ourselves to do, can turn out to be pluses. I’ve learned to keep pushing myself through those barriers.’
‘I’ve tended to be a coward. Tried to ignore the unpleasant and the difficult in the hope they will go away.’ Sami was surprised at admitting this to him; it must be the wine and the setting.
‘You’re a bit of a loner, aren’t you?’ Tim said. ‘Very independent. There’s nothing wrong with leaning on people for support, needing their help, showing honestly how you feel. I’ve watched you. You’re so defensive. Bristly, like a cactus hiding soft mushy water.’
Sami threw back her head and laughed, trying to make light of the inference that was so close to the truth. ‘Yuk! What a horrible description.’
‘I’ve watched the ping-pong match between you and your mother, and I’ve decided it’s because there’s just the two of you. Your dad isn’t part of the game. Tell me, where does Palmer fit in?’
‘He’s become a bit of a referee, I guess. I admire him and enjoy his company and can share things with him I can’t with anyone else. He’s also the mentor for my career. All the things you want your dad to be, I s’pose.’
‘Hmm.’ Tim didn’t probe further. The remark was telling and he could see the difficult position Palmer was in, having established a rapport with Lily. But his view of Sami was shifting. He’d regarded her as selfish, self-centred, a bit aggressive. Now he saw through her tough veneer that was eggshell thin. ‘Ah, take it as it comes, Sami. There are good people in this world. You can’t take people at face value. I think I’m guilty of misjudging people along the way.’ He left the comment vague enough so she didn’t take it personally.
Sami leapt in and spoke in an impassioned but gentle voice that caught him off guard. ‘Tim, can I tell you something in confidence, just between us? I met this wonderful woman and her story is tearing me apart. I so want to help her. Her name is Leila . . .’
Bobbing in the gentle swell on the deck of the Georgiana, beneath a sweep of stars, Sami told the story of Leila.
Tim listened, deeply touched, not only by Leila’s desperate situation, but by the depth and sincerity of Sami’s compassion.
‘And so I’m hoping Harlan can pull strings,’ concluded Sami, ‘do something to help. I mean, what would you do?’
‘If it was my wife, my kids, my life? Exactly the same as Leila. I could get on the soap box about this lucky bloody country, but it sounds a bit hollow knowing what’s been happening to the poor bastards who manage to get here – illegal or not. A plane, a boat, or bribe or a queue – it’s a question of survival, isn’t it?’
Sami pondered on his response. ‘Survival. Yes. But surviving alone can be so hard, I mean, without family. The Aboriginal people out there have been of some comfort to her, but she probably can’t stay there for much longer.’
‘You’re right. I’m amazed the police covering that area haven’t heard anything yet. So what happens next?’ asked Tim.
‘I guess I’ll have to take Harlan out to see her, and get her to come to terms with her situation. She’s got to come in from the desert.’
Tim pointed in the darkness. ‘Now that Biddy’s back in her part of the country I wonder if she’s reflecting on the different stages of her life, like being stolen from her family, pushed into a lifestyle and circumstances she never wanted. And, finally, she’s come home.’
‘Her spirit home.’
‘Right.’
‘It’s a bit more complex for Leila, I think,’ said Sami. ‘She’s a long way from home, and there’s no way she can go back. She told me that so strongly.’ She paused to think of what Leila might be doing at that moment, then went on. ‘That’s really all we want, isn’t it? Knowing where our home is, being there, settling the ghosts and dreams.’
‘Home to me means family,’ said Tim. ‘But these days in so much of the world, there seems to be a lot of confusion about that.’
Sami was feeling emotionally exhausted when a splash in the water close by conveniently broke their mood. ‘God, what was that? A shark?’
‘A fish of some kind. And a big one. Want to throw a line over? We might catch breakfast.’ Tim was all action, delving in a locker for the fishing tackle. For the next hour Sami struggled with and lost several barramundi before finally landing, with Tim’s help, a magnificent fish.
‘That’s a great barra, twelve kilos or more. Feed us for a week,’ he said.
‘It’s too beautiful. Please, let’s put it back.’ Sami tried to lift the frantically flapping fish. There was something in her voice that reflected the same compassion Tim had heard when she was talking about the Afghan woman.
‘Okay. You’re right.’ He eased the hook from its mouth and together they lifted the fish and slid it over the side where it disappeared in a flash of silver.
That night Sami dreamed of the giant fish, the same as she’d seen in the ancient rock art. But the fish had swallowed the sun, and inside its belly, in the X-ray style of drawing, she could see myriad blazing small suns.
‘What do you suppose that means?’ she asked Tim over breakfast the next day.
‘Jeez, I dunno.’ He was distracted, and Sami kept quiet as he drilled her once again in the diving procedure. How to watch for his bubbles, feed out the line he’d attach to his belt as a safety precaution.
He showed Sami how to use the radio, the mayday signal and how to start the engine. ‘Just in case I go shopping after hours.’ He gave a half smile at her raised eyebrow. ‘Fail to come up,’ he explained.
Tim had been studying a small screen near the wheel for some time and Sami wondered why he had circled the boat and gone back over a certain area. Finally he looked up. ‘There’s something odd down there, showing up on the depth sounder. Don’t think it’s a reef, I’ll check it out.’
‘Not a school of fish or something?’
‘No. But we’ll know soon enough.’
In full-body wetsuit, flippers, goggles, scuba tanks on his back, weights, torch and a knife attached to a belt, Sami thought he looked like an alien. He spat into his goggles, rinsed them in the sea, put them on and then glanced at the bulky watch on his wrist. ‘First dive I’ll be down about thirty-five minutes. We’re drifting, although I have a light anchor out. See, the current is running in that direction. Keep a hand on my rope, and if I give three yanks, you’ll have to pull me up – that means trouble.’
Sami nodded. ‘Take it easy.’
He sat on the gunwale, put his mouthpiece in place, and flipped backwards, hitting the water with a splash. Then, in a burst of bubbles he sank from sight. It was suddenly very quiet.
> Sami looked down at the vivid blue water. The stories of underwater dramas her mother and Chris her diver friend and others had told her came to mind. The giant squids, the sharks, the huge clams, the dangers faced by divers now all seemed very real. She waited, her hand on the rope disappearing into the water, her link with the man far below felt so fragile and she had to resist the urge to clench it tightly and stop it, and him, slipping through her fingers. Occasionally she’d see a bulge of air bubbles silently pimple the surface.
She wasn’t wearing a watch and lost in the silence of the seascape, she had no idea how much time had passed. Suddenly realising this, her heart started to beat faster and she felt a rising sense of panic. Almost at once the rope in her hand jerked three times and she gasped aloud and madly started to haul it up. It felt like a dead weight and she struggled desperately. ‘Oh no, what’s happened?’ she called out.
Soon there was a thump on the other side of the boat, and she screamed, almost dropping the rope when she turned and saw a grinning Tim clinging to the side. ‘Don’t let go,’ he called. ‘I’ll swim around to the ladder.’
‘That was naughty, you gave me a shock. Don’t worry, I’ll get even. Now, what’s on the end of the rope if it isn’t you?’
Tim laughed. ‘You won’t believe it. It’s unreal. I nearly ran out of air.’
‘I thought it was a long time. What’s down there?’ she asked. He was flushed and looked excited.
‘There I was, minding my own business, when all of a sudden in front of me there’s this bloody great shape.’
‘A shark!’
‘A wreck.’
‘A shipwreck!’
‘Yeah and pretty recent. Looks like an Indo fishing boat.’
Sami leaned over the side, trying to see into the water.
‘It’s in about fifteen metres. Has some damage, hull split. She spilled some cargo, a heap of wooden boxes.’
‘So you tied one to this rope and scared me to death thinking you were in trouble?’
