Flight of the Jabiru (49 page)

“No,” she snapped. “I've already seen some very big crocodiles when I was here before.”

“Nothing like this one, I'll bet,” Christopher said. “A man called Rick Marshall caught it in a big trap.”

Lara gasped, going white. “Rick Marshall was killed by a huge crocodile,” she blurted out almost angrily.

Christopher was taken aback by her reaction. “I'm sure I didn't get it wrong, Lara.”

He glanced at Walter for confirmation.

“I didn't read what it said on the plaque beside the crocodile's enclosure, love,” he said to Lara. “I was so gobsmacked by the size of the beast.”

“There's a photograph of Rick Marshall beside the crocodile's enclosure and a little summary of how he caught it, and when.”

Lara was confused. “What ... did it say?”

“It said he trapped the crocodile in November of 1943 and kept it in a temporary enclosure until this exhibit was built in January this year.”

Lara gaped at Christopher in a state of shock. She then glanced across the road at the crocodile exhibit. Her heart was hammering. She was sure Christopher had it wrong, but she had to be certain. Leaving the others standing on the pavement, she crossed the street and went into the exhibit. As soon as she saw the monster crocodile and that he had a toe missing on one foot, she gasped, memories flooding back. She then searched for the photograph, finding it on the wall beside the enclosure. It wasn't very good, but it looked like Rick. He was wearing a hat that shaded his face and he was standing beside his trap. Lara could see a boat in the background and was sure it was his. Tears ran down her cheeks. She quickly read what was written on the plaque. Christopher had been right. Rick was alive! She began sobbing, unable to catch her breath. She was shaking from head to toe.

Trembling she went back outside to find her parents and Christopher waiting for her. When they saw how distressed she was, they thought the worst.

“It wasn't your Rick,” Elsie said, taking her in her arms.

Lara could barely speak. “It ... was him,” she said in a raspy voice because her throat was so tight. “I can't believe it. He's alive.”

“I'll see if I can find out where he is, Lara,” Walter said, determined to help his daughter. “Will you take Lara back to the hotel and get her a strong drink, Christopher?”

“Of course.”

Elsie and Walter went into the exhibit, where Walter questioned the staff. None of them knew where Rick might be.

Meanwhile at the hotel, Peggy wanted to know why Lara was so upset. After a stiff gin and tonic, Lara explained the situation. “I need to find Rick, Peggy, but I don't know where to begin. Is the Darwin Hotel still standing? The croc hunters used to drink there in the front bar. They might know where Rick is.”

“You're in luck. After the Darwin Hotel was bombed, the croc hunters started coming here to drink. They're here most afternoons. They're a noisy lot and bit intimidating for the rest of my patrons, but they drink twice as much as anyone else so they're good customers.”

“Oh, that's wonderful, Peggy,” Lara said, elated.

“First I learn that Sid is alive, and now Rick. I've been given two miracles in one day.” She knew she wouldn't really believe Rick was alive until she saw him.

Peggy had told Lara that the croc hunters usually came in at around three o'clock in the afternoon. Lara watched every minute drag by on the clock on the wall. Time went agonizingly slow when she wanted it to pass quickly. At two thirty, she heard loud, obnoxious voices. Lara's features lit up. “That's them,” she said happily getting to her feet.

“I can't let you go into the bar alone,” Walter said in a panic. “Those men sound barbaric.”

“Wait till you see them,” Lara said with a grin.

The three of them walked into the front bar, where it was frowned upon to see a woman. Timber was there, head and shoulders above everyone else. Lara had almost forgotten how intimidating he looked until she saw her parent's reaction. He was with Wally Wazak and Dazza McKenzie…

As soon as Timber saw Lara, he scowled and tapped his mates on the shoulder. They swung around, ready for a brawl, and then appeared startled to see two women and an older man. After a second, they recognized Lara and Dazza grinned like a schoolboy.

“Are you sure this is a good idea,” Walter whispered over Lara's shoulder.

“Yes, Dad,” Lara said, her confidence wavering just a little.

Timber stepped forward and Lara looked up at him with as much bravado as she could muster.

“You lied to us,” he said sternly, planting his hands on his hips, which made his arms looks twice as big.

“I did not,” Lara protested bravely.

“Now see here, don't talk to my daughter like that,” Walter said before withering under the giant man's glare.

“It's all right, Dad,” Lara said. “I'm sure this man is mistaken.”

“The monster croc was near nineteen feet long. You said it was sixteen feet,” Timber said with a straight face.

“As I remember, you thought I was exaggerating,” Lara pointed out.

Timber's features softened as he grinned. “We did give you a bit of hard time, but as I remember, you gave back just as good as you got. What are you doing here?”

“I'm looking for Rick Marshall. I thought he'd been killed by the monster croc,” Lara said. “But I've just found out that's not true.”

“That was the story getting around, but he surfaced a few months later, just as alive as we are. Apparently some Abos pulled him out of the billabong when he was pretty well a gonna.”

Lara shuddered. “I had no idea he was alive when I went back to England.”

“I've seen smaller crocs take down a buffalo weighing half a ton, so Rick's a legend in the Top End.”

“Do you know where he is?”

Timber could see that Lara was very anxious. He glanced at the clock on the wall behind the bar. “He'd be about twenty miles off the coast about now, I reckon,” he said.

“Is he leaving Darwin?” Lara asked in a panic.

“No, he's out with a fishing charter. That's all he does these days.”

Lara was relieved to hear that Rick no longer trapped crocs. “Is he ... all right?”

“Yeah, he's got a few more scars, but haven't we all?” He showed her the back of his arm where a red, ugly scar featured. “A ten footer gave me this little bite,” he said.

Lara cringed and Elsie and Walter recoiled.

“Do you know what time Rick might get back to the harbor?” Lara asked Timber.

“He's usually back before dark, so between five and six o'clock, I'd say.”

“Thank you,” Lara said joyously.

Elsie was happy for Lara, but Walter looked uneasy.

“In the Top End its customary for visitors to buy the locals a drink, old man,” Timber said to Walter.

“I don't think so,” Walter protested.

“You could shout one round, couldn't you, Dad,” Lara suggested.

“I ... I guess I could buy a round,” Walter replied apprehensively.

Timber threw an arm as wide as an average man's torso around Walter's shoulders and he literally sagged under the weight. “Do you play cards?”

“I don't mind playing a hand,” Walter said.

At four thirty, Lara walked down to the wharf area and looked at the boats, searching for one in particular. When it wasn't there she found a seat and she sat down to watch fishermen unloading their catch. Each time a different fishing vessel approached the wharf, she became excited and nervous. Her heart would flutter, only to be disappointed when the boat wasn't Rick's.

An hour passed. The sun was sinking on the western horizon, the sky streaked with magnificent color that she'd missed in England, but Lara's hopes were fading with the light. She was about to go back to the hotel, when in the distance a lone boat was making its way towards the jetty. As it neared she could see it was the right size and color. Then she saw the name,
Lady Lara
, and her heart leapt with joy. Eventually it tied up at the wharf and Lara stood up. She was about twenty feet away. She watched as a group of excited fisherman got off the boat, boasting about their catch. Then she saw Rick on deck, doing chores. She was paralyzed as she watched him, now truly able to believe he was alive and so happy that she thought she'd burst.

As Lara made a move in the direction of the boat, a woman appeared on deck. She was young and attractive, with long dark hair and exotic features. Lara froze, feeling sick. She was too late. Rick had found a new love. “What did you expect?” she asked herself. Almost three years had passed.

Devastated, Lara almost turned away when a man appeared on deck and he got off the boat with the woman. They walked away, hand in hand, talking about the wonderful day they'd had.

Lara began walking towards the boat. Rick had his back to her, sorting fishing gear. Lara quietly boarded the boat with Rick engrossed in the task at hand.

“Rick,” Lara said after a few moments, and he froze for a second, before turning to face her. She could see the shock in his features, the disbelief that she was standing right in front of him, but he didn't move. She expected that he'd take her in his arms, but something was holding him back.

“You're really alive,” Lara said in a voice that was little more than a whisper. She stepped forward and reached out with a shaking hand to touch his face. He flinched. “I thought you were dead.”

“Is that why you married Jerry Quinlan so quickly?”

Lara blinked in surprise but she saw the raw pain in Rick's eyes. Now she understood why there was a wall between them. “I didn't marry Jerry,” she said.

Rick wondered why she'd lie about it. “I came back to Shady Camp and saw you wearing a veil in the church. Jerry was standing beside you as you said vows to a minister.”

“You were there...” Lara couldn't believe it.

“Yes, I was there,” Rick said in a tone that held a tinge of coldness and hurt.

“You didn't stay long then, or you'd know I didn't go through with the wedding. Where had you been for months, Rick?”

“I was with a small clan of Aborigines near Sampan Creek. They pulled me from the billabong and looked after me. If not for their bush medicine and some Iodine given to them by an European doctor, I would've died.”

“A European doctor! Why didn't he take you to hospital?”

“I don't know. I was in a real bad way, more dead than alive, so I guess he thought I wasn't worth the effort.”

“Oh, Rick, don't say that.” Lara's eyes widened. “Do you think it was ... Jerry? He was the only doctor in the wetlands at the time.”

Rick nodded.

Lara was appalled. “He didn't tell me you were alive,” she said angrily. “But he did tell me a whole lot of lies. He said his mother had only a short time to live and she wanted to see him married. I wasn't in love with him, but Bea looked after me when I was so devastated after I thought I'd lost you, so I agreed to marry him in name only. Bea fainted in the church. It was then I found out the truth about her health. She wasn't dying at all. It had all been a lie. I soon put an end to my friendship with Jerry. Rex told me your boat had been stolen that day. You must've taken it without telling anyone.”

“That's right. I had to get away. I was devastated, Lara. I fought so hard to live so I could come back to you. Then I saw you in the church getting married. I thought I was too late. I wished I'd died.”

“Oh, Rick. If only I knew you were alive. I've never stopped loving you. I couldn't love anyone but you.”

Rick's expression turned to relief. “It killed me to think you were married to someone else, Lara.”

“No, my darling, never. I'd never love anyone the way I love you, and I couldn't settle for anything less.”

Rick drew her into his arms and kissed her passionately, then held her tight. “This time I mean it. I'm never letting you out of my sight again,” he whispered.

“I'm fine with that,” Lara said, looking into his warm brown eyes.

“How did you know where to find me?” he asked.

“Timber told me. It sounds like he holds you in very high esteem these days. He even referred to you as a legend.”

Rick smiled. “Would you believe he helped me catch the monster croc?”

Lara was surprised. “He didn't tell me that.”

“He put a proposition to me in the pub one day. He suggested he and his mates help me trap the croc. I didn't trust him at first, but he introduced me to a man who wanted to open a crocodile park for tourists and they needed a big drawing card. Hercules was worth more alive than dead.”

“Hercules?”

“That's what the park owner has named him. Timber and his mates helped me build a really big trap. I could never have done it alone with my injuries. When we finally caught him, we had to get twenty men to help bring him in. I can't bear to see him in captivity, but at least I know he's safe from hunters.”

Lara was surprised that Rick's attitude hadn't changed after what he'd been through. “I approve of the new name for the boat,” she said with a smile.

Rick's mouth lifted on one side. “I tried to think of names, but only
Lady Lara
seemed perfect.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Lara said in a panic. “My parents are waiting for me at The Victoria Hotel. They'll be so happy I found you.”

“Your parents? Has your father remarried?”

“Yes, to my real mother. I'll fill you in on the way to the hotel.”

“I stink like fish and squid so I'll have a quick wash.”

“Okay, but do hurry. I left my father playing cards with Timber.”

Rick was startled. “Is your father any good at cards?”

“He managed to take most of the money off the stewards on the ship coming here.”