Back to the Pilliga

by Tony Parsons

  ‘Of course they will. You’ll probably have to share them with Stuart but before long Shelley and Maureen will be old enough to make their own decisions,’ I said. ‘All the girls are great kids and a credit to you and Stuart.’

  CHAPTER 17

  As I walked into Coonabarabran police station early the next morning Les Milson handed me a fax from Superintendent Ballinger:

  To LR

  I’m sending you my niece Detective-Senior Constable Gaye Walker. She’s a very competent officer. Gaye is fully aware of the risks posed by this assignment. She’s in your hands and I know you’ll look after her to the best of your ability. She’ll follow your instructions unless they transgress police and legal guidelines.

  Good luck

  Ballinger

  Ps Luke Stirling caught a 17 lb dusky flathead off Wagstaff.

  I knew a little about Gaye Walker via the police grapevine. She’d worked in the Vice Squad for a while before moving to homicide, where she was highly respected.

  ‘You’re to go through,’ Milson said when I’d finished reading the fax. I thanked him, and walked down the passage before entering Morris’s office. And there was Gaye, talking to Morris.

  ‘Lachie, I’d like you to meet Detective Senior Constable Gaye Walker,’ said Morris.

  She stood up and put out her hand. Her handshake was firm and cool. She was about five foot ten and looked like a fit and healthy outdoorsy type, which made her perfect for the role she needed to play. ‘What would you like me to call you?’ she asked, smiling and looking me straight in the eye.

  ‘Just call me Lachie unless we’re in company and then maybe you could call me “hon” or “darling” or whatever you think,’ I said, smiling back at her. ‘The main thing is that I look like a nature photographer and we look like we’re very happy together.’

  ‘Sure,’ said Gaye.

  ‘We’re going into what might be a very high risk situation and to start with there’ll only be the two of us,’ I said. ‘Do you feel comfortable with that?’

  ‘Yep, I’m fine about it,’ she said without hesitation. ‘Uncle Dick gave me a thorough lowdown on what’s expected of me.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said before bringing her up to date with what I’d discovered up to this point. When I thought I’d covered everything I possibly could I asked her if she had any questions.

  ‘No, hon,’ she said, with a twinkle in her eye.

  I laughed and handed her a list and a wad of money. ‘Do you mind driving my car to the supermarket and buying all the things on this list. If there’re any extra food items you’d like, get them too. I would have done it myself except I come from around here and I’m trying to keep as low a profile as possible.’

  ‘No worries. Uncle Dick told me your family have been up here for generations,’ she said, then got up to go.

  ‘As soon as you’re back, we’ll head out to the Gorge. Meanwhile I’ll go over a few things with the sergeant,’ I said.

  After she left I asked Morris if he’d got around to checking the rego of the ute I’d seen.

  ‘Yep, it’s registered to old man Challis,’ he said.

  ‘I thought it might be,’ I said. ‘Is the old fellow a bit stooped with longish, greying hair?’

  ‘That’s him,’ he said.

  ‘I thought so,’ I replied. ‘Have you had any info on Reid?’

  ‘Not a thing so far,’ said Morris.

  This gelled with what Dasher had told me. ‘Ten to one he entered the country illegally or used a different name and passport. Nothing from America for Reid?’

  ‘A big zero,’ said Morris.

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Reid who shot the teller. I’ve got a bad feeling about him. It’d be great if you could line up a medic and an ambulance in case we locate Caroline. If we do, do you think it’d be possible for your guys to block Baradine Road at the turn-off to the Gorge and prevent anyone from entering or leaving it? And it’d probably be worth confiscating all mobile phones. There’s at least one more property down the left fork of the road that goes to the Brewster and Challis properties and we don’t know whether the owner of this property is a crook or not. His name is Costigan. Can you get Senior Constable Milson’s opinion about this fellow? I’ll aim to ring in tomorrow morning and whenever I can after that,’ I said.

  ‘I’ll get Milson on to finding out about Costigan,’ said Morris. ‘And if you need our help in confronting those bastards all you have to do is give me the word,’ he added. ‘If you want a man or men, get straight on to me.’

  ‘Thanks, Ming. If we find Caroline Clemenger you can rest assured I’ll be straight on to you. The only issue might be mobile phone reception in some of the places out there. I’m going to walk around a bit to see where the mobile reception is best. It was patchy in the Gorge and it could be non-existent on the Brewster and Challis places. There’s a highish ridge at the Gorge that concerns me a little.

  ‘Ah, yes, mobile reception can get pretty patchy once you leave the outskirts of town,’ Ming conceded.

  ‘If my hunch is right and Caroline Clemenger is being held at the Challis farm I’ll be aiming to try and neutralise whoever’s guarding her without alarming Brewster or Reid. If we can get Caroline away I’ll be calling you guys wherever I can find mobile reception so you can go in and grab the lot of them. Apart from praying she’s still alive, I’m hoping that Brewster, Reid and Ted Challis aren’t all there, but I’m not banking on it,’ I said.

  Gaye returned in about forty minutes with all the things on the list, plus a few more.

  ‘Before we head off I want to show you some photos,’ I said and passed her the prints of Caroline Clemenger and Ted Challis. ‘That’s the woman they abducted and that’s the fellow the police think drove the getaway vehicle at the ANC bank job she was abducted during. He’s not the brains of the bunch and they may have involved him because he’d had experience driving fast cars.’

  Gaye had a good long look at both the pictures and then handed them back to me.

  ‘Got them in your head?’ I asked.

  She nodded.

  ‘Did Ballinger give you any instructions?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, that I’m to act as if you’re my boyfriend and follow your instructions to the letter unless I consider them to be prejudicial to the good name of the police force. I’m not to shoot at anyone unless there’s no alternative. He also said that if there are arrests to be made, I have to make them because you’re no longer in the Force,’ she said.

  ‘That’s right, but I need you to know I’m worried the situation we’re going into is even more dangerous than I originally thought because there may be more men involved than Brewster, Reid and Ted Challis,’ I said before explaining why I thought Caroline Clemenger was being held and my hunch that she was being guarded by one or more of the Challis bunch. ‘I have a feeling Brewster and Reid aren’t the kind of blokes who’d want to be saddled with a female prisoner. We’ve got evidence they’ve been to the races a couple of times since the heist so they probably want to be free to come and go. Also, Ted Challis has been keeping a very low profile.

  ‘With all I’ve now told you I wouldn’t blame you a bit if you wanted to pull out. Now’s the time to do so if you’re of that mind,’ I said.

  ‘There’s no way I want to bail,’ said Gaye. ‘In fact I’m keener than ever to get started.’

  ‘That’s great, then let’s get this show on the road,’ I said, relieved that all the information I’d given her had neither impacted on her decision to continue nor dented her composure.

  ‘Have you decided where we’re going to camp?’ Gaye asked after we’d farewelled Morris and were heading out to the car.

  ‘I went out to the Gorge yesterday and found a great spot. It’s quite a beautiful place with a rock pool and a good vantage point to try and work out what’s going on. The track up to the Brewster and Challis properties goes right past the pool and the camping site I’ve chosen. By the way, where’s your
Browning?’ I asked.

  She indicated a holster in the waistband of her shorts and told me it was already loaded.

  ‘Great,’ I said. ‘I’ve got mine holstered on my waist too. At night you should keep it under your pillow.’

  On the way out to the Gorge we started making more detailed plans for the operation we were on.

  ‘The way I see it is that we’ll get set up with a tent and my hide to establish that we’re there to do some serious wildlife photography. I’ll have to leave you at the camp while I scout up around the ridge. If Caroline is at either the Challis or Brewster properties – and I suspect if she’s still alive she’ll be at the Challis farm – we’ll have to assess whether we can remove her and how we should do it. The numbers of people possibly with her have become more of a concern for me. We’re likely to be outnumbered and therefore outgunned. If the job looks too risky, we’ll have to utilise Ming and his men,’ I said. But it’s very much a suck-it-and-see situation. Do you agree?’ I asked.

  ‘I agree. I haven’t seen the lie of the land and until I do I can’t really envisage what you’ve got in mind. What I do understand, though, is that there are men who are probably in two places and that you think Caroline is being held at the Challis farm. If that proves to be the case you want to remove her and then let Sergeant Morris deal with Brewster and Company. In other words, you don’t want a war on two fronts,’ she said.

  ‘That’s exactly what I think,’ I said, pleased at how clearly she saw things and the calm, logical way she operated. ‘But we’ll have to play it by ear and see how things work out. You know as well as I do that things don’t always work out the way you hope, so the planning and execution are all important.’

  ‘Yeah. Especially when the particular criminals involved are feeling desperate,’ she said.

  We didn’t speak again until the turn-off to the Gorge came up on the left. I stopped the vehicle and we looked around at the extent of the timber and scrub all around us. ‘That’s where the cavalry will have to be if and when we need them,’ I said. ‘From this point on we’re entering no-man’s-land, Gaye. There’s a high possibility that Caroline is being held down there,’ I said pointing in the direction of the Challis place.

  Now that we were here, it was easier to talk about the logistics of the operation. ‘This is the only road in to the Brewster and Challis properties. What goes up this road has to come back out this same road. There may be tracks through the scrub but there are no other roads a vehicle can use. However, if any of these fellows get away into the scrub we can kiss them goodbye and it will be a police manhunt,’ I said.

  ‘What makes you think Caroline Clemenger is here?’ asked Gaye.

  ‘I have an utterly reliable source regarding a sighting of her in Coonabarabran and that’s been the strongest lead about where she is so far. And then there’s the fact that the crook who drove the getaway car is a Challis from here. I’m just hoping Caroline’s still alive. Two months is a fair spell for a woman to spend with a bunch of crooks ,’ I said, then started the car again and continued driving. Almost immediately the pines closed in on us.

  ‘It’s kind of spooky,’ said Gaye. ‘It’s like the trees are hemming us in,’ she said.

  ‘It will improve when we get to the Gorge. But you’re right, and it’s spooky as hell once the sun goes down. There are lots of places in the Pilliga where you could get lost quite easily. If the Pilliga could talk, God alone knows what it might reveal,’ I said.

  We drove through a tunnel of pines for about two kilometres before we came to the rock pool and camping area. I pulled over towards the creek and pointed the vehicle back towards the exit to the Gorge reserve. After we got out, Gaye acted the adoring girlfriend as we looked around the site, me pointing out birds and where the koalas were.

  ‘Where are the two homesteads?’ Gaye murmured.

  ‘You can’t see either of them from here. They’re on the other side of that ridge. How far I can’t tell you but I wouldn’t think they’d be too far,’ I said. ‘Once I get my camera out we can go for a bit of a walk under the guise of taking some photos and I can point out various things to you.’

  We unloaded the vehicle and I pitched the tent beside the rock pool with the opening pointing up towards the ridge. I used a big roll of canvas I’d brought to cover the vehicle and form a kind of annexe between it and the tent so we could move between them without being seen.

  ‘You take the tent. It’s a state-of-the-art number that Mrs Kendall bought for me and will be very comfortable,’ I said. ‘I’ll sleep in the car.’

  ‘Thanks, but shouldn’t we both sleep in the tent given that we’re supposed to be girlfriend and boyfriend?’ she asked.

  ‘I didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation by suggesting that,’ I said, ‘but it might be good given that we’ll take turns to go into the hide to keep a lookout while the other sleeps.’

  Gaye pitched in very well and in no time at all we had the camp set up. Gaye was clearly very practical and level-headed and didn’t seem at all fazed by being alone with me in the bush.

  ‘Tea or coffee?’ I asked as the billy came to the boil.

  ‘Tea for preference. I was bush-reared. Be back in a moment,’ she said, opening the flap onto the tent and going inside.

  When Gaye emerged from the tent she’d changed into short shorts and a halter top and looked perfect for the role of outdoorsy girlfriend.

  ‘Is this what you had in mind for how I should dress to look believable?’ she asked.

  ‘It couldn’t be better,’ I said. ‘There’s your tea.’

  ‘What are we going to do now?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m going to set up my hide for photographing birds and animals so it’s in place before anyone comes past. They’re bound to come right up close to it in order to suss things out. Then I’ll set up a tripod and mount a camera. You got the Browning in place?’ I asked.

  She nodded and touched her waist.

  I built the framework of my hide with tubular aluminium. The hessian covering was attached by cords to the frame and the whole contraption was very light and could be shifted quite easily. I set it up with two of its apertures facing the road and the ridge. You could sit in it with the long 400 mm pointing through either aperture or use binoculars to search for suitable subjects for ‘shooting’.

  From inside I used my binoculars to check out the ridge but there was no sign of life there.

  I gestured to Gaye to hold my hand so we were in character and we walked down the creek a little way until we came to a couple of scribbly gums. The two koalas were still in the same tree they’d been sleeping in the previous day, though they were higher up now.

  ‘Look up there,’ I told Gaye, pointing towards where they were.

  ‘Oh, hon, I’ve never seen koalas outside a park,’ she said.

  ‘I took a couple of shots of them yesterday but they were too sleepy for good pictures. You’ll probably hear them grunting tonight. They can make quite a racket.’

  Gaye looked up and down the creek and then looked at me. ‘It seems a very unlikely place to find big-time crims. I’m more used to staking them out in flashy places like King’s Cross.’

  ‘Both Brewster and Challis have long-standing connections with this area which is why I think we’ll find them around here somewhere. If Caroline’s being held at the Challises, then she’ll be in that direction,’ I said, carefully indicating the direction of their place with my head – that’s if she isn’t dead and buried in the scrub somewhere. Milson told me the Challis house is the second place behind the ridge. Brewster’s is the first,’ I said. ‘We’ll have to put in tomorrow establishing our credentials because there’s a good chance they’ll come by to check us out reasonably quickly,’ I told her.

  ‘Okay,’ said Gaye, her expression suddenly serious.

  ‘This is a get in and get out quickly operation,’ I said. ‘We can’t afford to be seen moseying up the road to inspect the countryside
. It would make them instantly suspicious. Posing as a wildlife photographer is the only avenue I could think of that would legitimately allow us to get so close to the places over the ridge. Having done that I’ll go round by the ridge and have a look-see at what’s doing.’

  I put some crushed ice in a bucket and buried a bottle of Riesling and a couple of stubbies in it. ‘Take your pick,’ I said.

  We talked more about what we’d need to do and possible outcomes over the next hour till we both felt confident. Then I asked Gaye if she could take both our phones for a bit of a walk to see where the best reception was in case we sent for reinforcements. After she came back she pointed out a few places.

  Towards evening the bird population increased markedly. There were birds singing and twittering all around the pool as well as up and down the creek.

  ‘Keep an eye out for black cockatoos,’ I said, pulling out my bird book and showing her some photos of them. ‘Red-tailed Black Cockatoos specifically,’ I added, pointing to a picture of one. ‘They’re definitely to be found in the Pilliga and the water ought to attract them here. And given we’re here I’d like to get some shots of them.’

  ‘Sure,’ she said and we set off on a black cockatoo scouting expedition, again keeping an eye on our phones for the places with the best mobile reception.

  ‘How come you joined the police force?’ I asked as we walked towards the ridge.

  ‘It seemed the best option and nothing else really jumped at me. I admired the police and the job they do and I was very fond of Uncle Dick. He said I could apply to be in the mounted police and move on from there. So I did and then after a few years I applied to go into Vice and then later I applied for the Homicide division. Over the last few years I’ve decided I don’t want to be a cop forever. I wouldn’t mind making sergeant and then considering my options. What I’d really like to do is get back to the bush so I can breed some good horses. I like working cattle with horses like my dad did when I was younger,’ she said.