“The official answer? What sort of crap is that?”
Unconsciously, Shirley and Marilyn leaned towards her, and
Marilyn said in a low voice, “He"s not coming back, Raylene. Don"t ask – he"s not coming back. He got into a fight, and he"s out of it.”
Raylene looked shocked and started to ask a question, but Marilyn cut her off. “I can"t tell you, Raylene. I wasn"t there, anyway. He was coming after Shirl here. He had his knife out and was going to cut her up at least. She"s lucky, and he wasn"t. You"re going to have to manage without him. I"m sorry.”
Raylene sat and stared out to sea. She had her long black hair tied in a ponytail, but a strand had escaped and was fluttering against her cheek. Lulu brought the coffee, but sensed something and did not stay to chat.
Minutes passed before Raylene said anything, and then, “The police know?”
“No, and they"re not going to. Not from us, anyway.”
“Right. That makes it easier. He"s dead, right? You"re absolutely sure?”
“Shirl saw him, but don"t tell anyone that. Certainly no-one on the Makepeace, or they might come asking around. You have to sort this out, you know. There"s no-one else up there who"s got enough sense.”
“Me? Yes, I guess you"re right. Shit, what am I going to do? What do I tell Midge? “
“Nothing yet. At least, I wouldn"t tell her anything. Get her off home for her break, and then you"ll have to decide. Maybe she can strut her stuff for you now.”
Raylene smiled. “Now there"s a thought. I can"t tell her to get dressed, or she"ll know something"s wrong. Jesus, everything"s going to change. You"ve got Japan"s keys, right? That means I can
249
Falling into Queensland
get into the safe and pay Midge. I wonder what else he"s got in
there.”
“Then there"s the business. You reckon you"ll keep on with
the meth?” asked Marilyn.
“What? Oh, I"ll have to think about that. Don"t much care
for it.”
“You"ve got a great opportunity, Raylene,” said Marilyn. “If you can bring the others with you, you could do all sorts of stuff.”
“Like what?”
“I don"t know. Tourists. Holidays on the Makepeace. Panning for gold and all that stuff. It"d be a great place to stay, if you"re an office worker from Sydney. You"ve got the bar, you"d just have to persuade Midge to do a bit of extra cooking for the visitors. She"d have to get dressed then.”
“What will the guys do?”
“What do they do now? They don"t have to join in if they don"t want to, but they could run chopping courses, how about that? Stockbroker comes up to learn chopping, and wife and kids splash around in the river. Or they could do panning trips, or roo shooting. Whatever, and it"s not all year. Wouldn"t be a bad life.”
“But it wouldn"t make the money drugs do, either.”
“True, but how much of that cash did Japan let them see? I bet you"re going to find that safe"s packed. You"re going to be a business executive in charge of a multi-million dollar corporation, Raylene. Will you still talk to us?”
“Oh, fuck you, Marilyn,” said Raylene mildly. “You"re the least of my worries. I"ve got to get the guys on side first. That won"t be easy.”
“You"ll manage. None of them wants their mates to take over. And they all know you"re a smart chick. For the moment, just tell them you don"t know where Japan is. Don"t change anything quickly, and you"ll manage.”
“What about his truck?”
“What about it? You"ll send someone down to pick it up. Tell them he left a message and the keys with me.”
250
Falling into Queensland
Again, Raylene sat thinking, and Shirley moved to sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “You"ll be alright, Raylene.”
She gave Shirley a little smile. “It"s not that. I"m OK, but the others... Bloody hell, I"ll have to take care of them. I"ll have to mother the whole lot of the dumb bastards.” She sat up abruptly. “Right, I"m going home. There"s going to be a pile of stuff to do. Where are the keys?”
Marilyn pulled them from her pocket. “Mind leaving the key to his truck? Might come in handy to drive Shirl around. I"ll leave it under the mat, in case you come to pick it up when I"m not around.”
Raylene pulled the truck key from the ring and passed it over. “You know, I can"t say I"m sorry he"s gone. He was a nasty prick anyway, but he did keep things ticking over.”
“Yeah, know what you mean,” said Marilyn. “Life won"t be the same without him.”
Shirley refused to take that. “You"re right. It won"t be the same. It"s going to be much, much better. We"ll help you, Raylene. If you start taking in tourists, I"ll be your first customer. My mum"s coming on holiday, and I"ll bring her up. She"ll be really shocked. It"s nothing like England.”
Raylene kissed her cheek. “Sounds good, Shirl. I"ll tell Midge to prepare the penthouse suite before she leaves. Jesus, what am I going to do about Midge?”
“Keep her on,” said Marilyn. “She"s good company, and she doesn"t ask for much. She just wants someone to tell her what to do, and give her a cuddle now and again. She"ll run the bar for you. You"ll just have to get used to having a servant, that"s all. Make her your Personal Assistant. Every executive should have one.”
Raylene snorted and stood up. “I"m going. You"ve just dropped a pile of shit on me and the sooner I start sorting it out, the better. See you both.”
They watched her tall, straight figure leave. “She"ll be fine,” said Marilyn. “Best thing that ever happened to the Makepeace. And
251
Falling into Queensland
you"re right, we"ll be able to go and visit again. Take Tom and Walter for a weekend. Swim in the river, have a barbie, it"ll be good.
“How are you feeling, Shirl? Relieved?”
“Yes. Yes, I suppose I am. I think it was weighing me down inside.”
Marilyn looked at her face. “You"re deciding to stay, aren"t
you?”
Shirley looked around her. She could see Lulu working in her kitchen. A station wagon pulled up outside; people who had done their market shopping and were ready for an Asian breakfast. She turned and looked out over the river and out to sea. It looked much more like home now.
And then there was Tom. Mr Hing would leave very soon, and they would have to decide whether to share her place or his. Perhaps they could rent his place out to tourists. Europeans would pay a fortune to stay in a place like that. Perhaps Tom could run fishing trips for them. Take them on walks in the jungle. Drive them up to stay a few days with Raylene.
She would have to get electricity and a satellite internet connection. She would have to get wheels. Her London flat had to be rented and bring in some money. Her mother would arrive in just over three week"s time. She could take Tom on a holiday to London, and empty her flat.
Shirley turned around on her bench and leant back against the table. The sea breeze blew into her face and ruffled her hair. “I"ve got a lot to do,” she said, “But things are going to be much, much better.”
252
Falling into Queensland
Other titles by Jacqueline George
The Prince and the Nun
Foreign Affairs
253
Falling into Queensland
Her Master’s Voice
Light o’Love
254
Falling into Queensland
How to make Wild, Passionate Love to your Man
Where Gold Lies
255
Falling into Queensland
The Accidental Spy
Working for Jeremy
256
Falling into Queensland
Looking at Me
(with Annabel Gold)
www.jacquelinegeorgewriter.com
257
Document Outline
c1
c2
Untitled
Falling Into Queensland Page 27
