Red Hot (13 page)

A deep gravelly voice then spoke quietly in her ear…

‘Saw ya on the veranda earlier… Very interestin’.’
Heavy panting followed and
with a click,
the line went dead. Ellie slowly replaced the receiver.

‘Ellie, what’s wrong? You’re as white as a sheet!’ Mary came in just as Ellie put the receiver down.

Ellie brushed past her, going straight out to Win. Touching her on the arm, she beckoned her away from Emmie and Dave to the privacy of the side veranda.

‘Ellie, what is it?’ Win whispered, taking hold of her arm. Ellie looked like she was about to faint.

‘That phone call, it… Bloody hell, Win… it was horrible… heavy breathing and panting.’

Win’s mouth fell open.
‘
What… Oh Ellie, how horrible.’ She reached out a hand to comfort Ellie. ‘Was that all… Did the person speak to you?’

‘Oh Win, he said he saw me on the veranda earlier… Win… he must have been watching me!’ She shuddered at the realization. ‘Win… I think the caller was the firebug!’ She turned her frightened face to her sister.

‘What!! …Ellie… No!’ Win stood stock still and stared at Ellie for a second. When she spoke, her voice shook. ‘Ellie, are you sure…? I mean, it could well have been a prank call!’

‘Well, whichever way you look at it, we can’t ignore it. It wasn’t a kid’s voice, it was a man’s! No Win
, it was the firebug.
Think about it: he knew I had been out on the veranda earlier… All these fires and now this; what better time to frighten us than now? The bastard knows that we’re here alone with Mum and Dad and no other men around!’

Win felt sick. She knew Ellie was right, whoever was lighting the fires had to be the same person that had just phoned. Who else could it have been? ‘Then we have to do something fast. We need to think.’

The phone rang again. Ellie and Win quickly looked at each other. Kathy picked it up before they could get to it. She turned to her mother and aunt, looking from one to the other, her mouth opening and closing, trying to say something, clearly shocked!

‘Kathy?
What was just said on the phone?’ Win grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her.

‘A… a man… He… He said… ‘
things are lookin real hot’.
He… he sort of… breathed really heavy and weird… then hung up.’

The women looked at each other, fear etched on their faces.
Who was this caller?

‘What’s going on, Mum, Aunt Ellie?’ Kathy asked, her voice shaking.

‘Win, we need to do something… fast!’

Mary was standing behind them. ‘Yes, what is going on? You two look very rattled and I saw Kathy’s face when she answered the phone,’ she said, concerned.

‘We think the calls came from the firebug!’ Win admitted.

Kathy and Mary both looked stunned.

‘He didn’t say much at all, just that awful heavy breathing, but I’m convinced it was the firebug and not a prank call,’ Ellie told them.

‘Yes,’ Win continued. ‘It’s too serious to pass off as some kid playing games. We’ve got to think about what we can do.’

Mary sat in one of the cane chairs. She could feel herself trembling. ‘Look, there’s only one thing to do. We have to get word to the men. If this lunatic is brazen enough to phone here, then goodness knows what he’s capable of!’

‘Yes, I agree. We can’t tell Mum and Dad though. Dad’s upset enough this would push him over the edge. We
are
being watched, it’s obvious!’ Ellie paced back and forth.

‘Shouldn’t we call the police?’ asked Kathy. ‘I think we should. How can we get word to Dad? He could be anywhere up there.’

Win put a comforting arm around her daughter. ‘The police would come
here
love, they’d want to speak to us and we couldn’t keep it from Mum and Dad. They’d see the police and ask all sorts of questions. No, I think for tonight we should try to get word to your Dad and uncles.’

‘We could ring Dawn. I think she will hear the phone even if she’s outside watching the fire. She might be able to get word to someone.’ Ellie spun around as she spoke. ‘I’ll call her now!’

She hurried in and made the call. As she replaced the receiver, she heard shouts and they were getting louder. She ran to the veranda. What’s going on, Dad?’

The shouts were getting closer.

‘Seems to be there, down by the creek,’ Dave answered. ‘Shh, listen!’ The voices were clear now.

‘There he goes… Get him!
Get him!
Get the fuckin’ mongrel!’

‘Shit… he can bloody run
!’

‘Catch him…
Don’t let him get away!’

‘Well! I’ll be damned!
They’re chasin’ the bastard along the creek!’
Dave sat forward in his chair. His breath came in short gasps as he clutched his chest.

‘Dad… Dad… are you alright?’ Win knelt before him, her hands on his knees. ‘Fetch some brandy, quick!’ she called.

‘I’ll get it! Where is it?’ Mary was already on her way inside.

‘On the sideboard. Hazel’s in there, ask her… Hurry, Mary!’

In seconds, Mary was back with a nip of brandy for Dave, followed closely by Hazel, carrying the flask.

Win helped him hold the glass. His hands were shaking badly but the brandy did seem to calm him a bit.

‘Dave, please, come in and lie down a while,’ begged Emmie. ‘You can’t do any good out here, you’ll just make yourself sick.’

Surprisingly, Dave gave in to Emmie’s request and went inside to lie down.

‘Dad’s a dreadful colour…’ Win said to Ellie. ‘I’m really worried about him! I think we should call the doctor!’

The voices down at the creek rose and fell as the men shouted to each other.

‘I hope they catch him!’ Ellie clenched her fists.

He thrashed his way along the dry creek bed, heedless of the ripping and scratching branches that clawed at him. He knew his way well and his agility made it easy to elude capture. The triumphant leer on his face said it all!

‘Aaah! Shit!’ Sam cursed. He had stumbled over a stump sticking out of the ground.

‘Bloody near broke me leg!’

‘C’mon, mate.’ Digger gave Sam a hoist up. ‘Bastard’s got a good lead, fuckin hell! Look at him clear that bloody fence!

The culprit easily leapt over a wire fence and disappeared into the night.

The men stood gaping in amazement at what they had witnessed. It had been too dark to get any description other than that he was tall and extremely agile.

‘Well I’ll be damned! We nearly friggin’ had him!’ Sam swore. ‘Who the fuck is this bastard? I’ve never seen anyone jump a fence like that!’

***

The fire was less ferocious now. The water pumps still echoed into the night and the voices of the men could be heard shouting instructions to each other, but the intensity of the flames had subsided, much to their relief.

Frank Smith and the men breathed a sigh of utter relief. They’d managed to save Dawn’s hayshed and no one else had lost property. They gathered up their equipment and packed it into the old fire truck to go back and join up with the others.

As they rattled to a stop at the bottom of the track where the rest of the men were gathered, a group of tired and out of breath blokes, led by Digger and Sam, stumbled their way back through the burnt bush and trees towards the group now awaiting them.

‘Where’ve they all been?’ Karl and Jeff asked together.

‘Sam got a glimpse of a bloke hangin’ ‘round Ivy Gelding’s. He went to approach him and the fella took off. They all gave chase and I think they ended up down the creek. They’ll fill us in anyway,’ Arthur told them.

Digger was first to reach the waiting blokes. ‘Bastard got away. We got a bit of a description but not much; we couldn’t get close enough to see his face. Didn’t recognize him at all from what we did get ta see.’

‘Tall bugger, about six foot. Dunno if he had dark hair or if it was a hat on his head. Fit bastard – leapt those fences as easy as anythin’ and ran like a hare, he did.’

Sam, who was close behind Digger, bent forward and placed his hands on his knees, taking in gulps of air. ‘Whew, I’m not used to runnin’ like that. Bloody winded me, it did!’

‘We’re gonna have to do whatever it takes to catch this nut. What he’s done up here tonight takes things to a whole new level again! He was aimin’ to take out the bloody valley I reckon. We’ve gotta do somethin’ before there’s a tragedy.’ Dig gasped, still trying to catch his breath.

‘We know, mate. If we’d lost this one, Hamilton Valley would’ve been in big strife!’ Frank Smith declared.

Just then, Eileen galloped up on Lightning. Dawn had sent her with the message from Win.

She told them about the phone call.

‘What next! This’s got outta hand! Fires are gettin’ bigger and now this as well… It puts a whole new spin on everythin’. What a coward the mongrel is; he knew we’d be up here so he terrifies the women. Fuckin’ coward!’

‘I know, Dig,’ Frank agreed ‘You blokes get home and find out what was said! The fire’s under control now. Me an’ the crew’ll be here the rest of the night keepin’ an eye on things. You blokes go on down, try an’ get a bit of shut-eye. You’se look tuckered out!’

‘Thanks mate, talk to ya in a couple hours.’

Frank slapped Digger on the back. ‘Get goin’, an’…
Merry Christmas!’

‘Yeah, right, same to you mate!’

Win met them as they pulled into the driveway. ‘Thank God you’re all safe!’ she cried. ‘We’ve been so worried, and then with the phone calls, it’s just too awful!’

‘C’mon, love, we’ve got some talkin’ to do!’ Digger put his arm around her as they trooped inside. He was exhausted. Win only had to take one look at him to see it.

‘How’s Mum an’ Dad takin’ all this?’ Karl asked.

‘Mum’s not too bad, but Dad’s showing signs of another attack.’

‘I hope he’s in bed?’

‘Yes, Ellie insisted they both go and rest a while ago. I think the doctor should see him though. By the way, where’s Francis?’ Win asked.

‘Francis? I don’t know. Last I saw he’d gone off with Des to Harry’s,’ Digger said. ‘Come to think of it, I didn’t see them come back. I really don’t know.’

‘I don’t remember seein’ either of them.’ Karl scratched his head.

‘Well, the pair of them came back from Harry’s together,’ Harvey told them. ‘Francis was with Arthur last I saw. Dunno where Des went.’

‘Well, he’ll get a ride back with Arthur then.’ Karl rubbed his eyes.

Ellie came in then and they assured her Francis was okay.

‘Now, tell us about these phone calls!’

They described the calls to the men as best they could.

‘I don’t s’pose you recognized the voice, by any chance?’ Karl asked.

‘No, I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say!’ Ellie replied. ‘Hell, for him to ring here, he must have been watching the house, waiting for you all to leave!’

‘Kathy was so shocked, she couldn’t speak!’

‘Well, we’re gonna be tellin’ the cops about this. Keith Brewster’ll want to talk to everyone about the fire. Dunno if the detectives’ll be ‘round, seein’ it’s gonna be Christmas Day, but Brewster’ll be ‘round for sure,’ Digger said. ‘We have more than fires to deal with here; we
seriously
have lunatic on the loose.’

‘Yep, and I dunno how we can keep this from Dad. Frank and a few others were with us when Eileen came with the message. The news will get ‘round and Dad’ll hear about it, so I think we should tell him before he hears it from someone else!’

‘Yes, I see your point, Karl. By the time it gets back to Dad, the story will have grown. You know how things have a way of becoming worse as they go from one to another!’ Win stifled a yawn.

‘What a Christmas this is turnin’ out to be!’ Digger added. ‘Shit Harv, bet you never dreamt you’d arrive to somethin’ like this!’

‘Well it certainly has been eventful!’ Harvey replied, then leant across and gave Ellie a pat on her hand, just as Mary walked in, followed by a very grubby and worn-out Francis.

Mary’s gaze went straight to Harvey’s hand covering Ellie’s. She hesitated for a split second, then walked across and put her hand on his arm and squeezed. ‘I’m glad you’re back; I was so worried, Harv!’ she said sweetly.

Francis glanced around. ‘Well I’m buggered. Gonna grab a quick shower and I’m off to bed. Why haven’t you all hit the hay?’

They filled him in about the calls and then they all agreed sleep was a necessity. The daylight would be breaking through and they still had to face what else the day would bring.

Mary took hold of Harvey’s arm as he stood up. ‘You all go ahead. I want a word with Harv before we go up,’ she said with concealed contempt.

He smiled goodnight to the rest of them and when they were alone in the kitchen, he turned to Mary.

‘Ok, Mary, what’s this about?’

‘Oh come off it, Harvey. You know full well!’ Mary said. ‘I found out you and Ellie were the first ones to see the fire, so you obviously were outside with her,
and
she was in her night gown, so what am I supposed to think? And just now, you sat there holding her hand!’

Even though Mary tried to keep her voice low, she couldn’t help the slight rise as she finished speaking.

‘Mary… are you serious, woman?’ Harvey couldn’t control the anger in his voice. ‘I’ve known the whole Mason family for years! Ellie and I are old friends and just now she needed comfort. In case you’ve forgotten, she’s just received crazy phone calls! What’s wrong with comforting a friend?
For Pete’s sake!
Her family was right there with us!’

‘Were they outside with you, too?’ Mary hissed. ‘Where’s your decency, Harv? That’s right,’ she spat ‘you don’t have any… I forgot for a minute… Silly me!’ She turned and walked out of the room.

Harvey remained alone.
‘What’s got into her?’
he thought.
‘She’s never acted
like this before.’
He sat for a while longer and then tiredness won him over. Glancing at the clock made him aware he would get about an hour’s sleep. Slowly, he dragged himself up the stairs.

Mary heard his footsteps and quickly dried her eyes. She wished she had controlled her temper.

She climbed into bed quickly and pulled the sheet over her. When Harvey came in, he thought she was sound asleep.