Inheritance (26 page)

Suddenly there came a great roar and a crashing sound as the roof of one of the cabins collapsed. Flames and sparks shot high into the air with a roar and hot cinders fell all around. A cluster of dry vines hanging from a tree alongside Jessie ignited and the raging orange fury raced up the vines with a loud hiss.

Daniel shouted and directed the jet at this new threat but it fell short of its mark. The branches of the tree started to burn fiercely as the flames took hold.

Daniel shouted at Jessie to move away from the tree but she stared up in horror, seemingly mesmerised by the sight. Daniel shoved the hose at someone else and jumped to the ground and raced to his mother. He pushed her out of the way just as a flaming branch fell from the tree with a loud crack. It struck him on the head and shoulder as it fell, setting his hair and shirt alight.

As Jessie screamed, Rosie rushed over with her wet sack and threw it over Daniel’s burning head. She dragged him back, away from the flaming branch on the ground and closer to the ute, screaming at the man holding the hose to turn it this way. The spray engulfed Daniel and soaked him from head to foot, dousing the flames. Tossing the bag down, Rosie propelled him over to the track and away from the fire.

‘Oh, my God! Your face is burnt, and your head!’ She looked down at his arm and chest where the shirt had burnt away. ‘So is your arm.’

Daniel seemed in a daze.

‘Come on, I’m getting you to hospital.’ Filled with fear at the sight of his injuries, Rosie grabbed his arm.

Chris appeared alongside them as she spoke. ‘I’ll take him,’ he said after a quick look at the burns.

‘No. You stay here and help. I can manage.’

Chris hesitated, but then nodded his head and turned back.

Cassie saw Rosie guiding Daniel down the path. She hadn’t seen what happened but could tell that Daniel was hurt. And everyone was at risk! Panic rose inside her. The tank must be nearly empty by now and it would have to be driven across to the dam and refilled. While it was away, they would be without its precious stream of water. Then they would not be able to stop the fire from spreading. They were all in danger.

The fire had created its own wind now. Flames billowed and eddied all around. They seemed powerless to stop it spreading. If help didn’t arrive soon, the whole forest would be ablaze.

Sweat poured from Cassie and her breath came in erratic gasps as she frantically renewed her efforts with the sack. She saw the ute move off with the tank. Empty. Was this to be the end of all her dreams for Yallandoo?

Cassie looked around. Everyone was covered in black ash. In the light thrown by the flames, Cassie could make out white rimmed eyes in black smudged faces, looking like some ridiculous minstrel group. They all looked near to dropping point. It was a one-sided battle without the water tanker. So far they had lost only two cabins but now the fire was spreading quickly in the direction of the others.

When she heard the siren from the fire truck, she cried with relief. Tears poured down her cheeks, leaving white tracks in the black soot.

Two trucks pulled up and suddenly men in orange overalls were everywhere, directing streams of water where they would do most good. Within a short time, the fire was under control.

When it was completely out, the fire chief came across to Cassie who stood dazed, as she looked around.

‘Do you have any idea how this started?’ he asked.

‘No. I was sound asleep when one of the men came to tell me there was a fire.’

‘Which one was that?’

‘Daniel.’

‘Which one’s he?’ He looked around the group.

‘He’s not here. I saw Rosie leading him away earlier. I don’t know what happened but he was obviously hurt.’

‘It’s strange how a fire started in the middle of the night when there was no one around. It’s not as if there was any lightning tonight. I’ll have to report it to the police.’

‘You mean…you think it may have been deliberately lit?’ Cassie’s stomach churned at the thought. ‘No! Surely not.’

‘It’s a possibility. It’ll have to be investigated. Do you have any idea why anyone would do that?’

‘No.’ Cassie shook her head. ‘If that was the case, it must have been vandals.’

‘It’s a long way for vandals to travel just to light a fire. Unless they lived nearby. But we’ll see what an examination of the scene brings to light. Well, everything’s safe here now. We’ll be on our way. You’ll be hearing from the arson investigators in the morning. Good night.’

As Cassie dragged herself wearily to bed, Sam’s warning came back to her. His prediction of trouble had been correct. Could the fire have been deliberately lit? And if so, who could be responsible? Her mind flew to Jason. Could he possibly be responsible for this?

***

Rosie supported Daniel down the path, away from the fire, half carrying him at times. He stumbled along, groggy and scarcely aware of what was happening. When she reached Cassie’s car, she opened the door and helped him into the passenger’s seat.

He slumped down with a groan.

Rosie hurried around and climbed in behind the wheel. Thank God, the keys were still in the ignition. The motor sprang into life instantly. Looking across at her passenger before she moved off, she saw he had collapsed into his seat and was slumped there with his head lolling forward and his eyes closed. His face looked deathly white and the red burns stood out in sharp contrast. He probably had concussion too, from the blow on the head.

‘Daniel! Daniel! Try to wake up,’ she shouted at him. His only reply was a groan. Wasting no more time, she set off as fast as she dared across the paddock to the gate. Once out on the road, she turned the car in the direction of the hospital and put her foot down heavily.

A short way up the road, she passed the fire trucks heading in the direction of Yallandoo.

Rosie kept glancing across at Daniel as she drove, worried that he had lapsed into unconsciousness. He was so still and quiet that, at one stage, she wondered if he was still breathing. She shouted at him to wake up and was rewarded with a low moan. Thank God, he was still alive!

It seemed as if she would never reach the hospital but finally they were there. Leaving him in the car, she dashed into Casualty. The few people who were around at that hour stared at her. Once she explained the situation, two orderlies reacted swiftly and within minutes Daniel was being carefully lifted out of the car, placed on a trolley and wheeled inside. She went with him and sat on a chair next to the cubicle.

An officious looking woman with a strident voice called her over to the counter. ‘I need to have some details about the patient. Are you a relative?’

‘No, just a friend. We work and live on the same station, that’s where the fire was.’

‘Didn’t he have any relatives who could have brought him in?’

‘They were still busy fighting the fire when we left.’

‘I see. Then I hope you can tell me what we need to know.’ Her voice indicated she doubted it.

Rosie did her best; she could give his basic details — name, address, age, what caused the injuries.

‘No, I don’t have his Medicare card,’ she flashed. ‘We were fighting a fire, you know.’

‘I really need that.’

‘I’ll make sure his mother brings it in,’ she said, her mind on what was happening in the examination room.

‘Make sure you don’t forget. It’s most important.’

Rosie nodded wearily, then sat down again and waited. Daniel was wheeled out almost immediately, the doctor alongside. She jumped up from the chair. ‘How is he?’ she asked frantically.

‘We’re taking him straight up to the Burns Unit,’ the doctor informed her.

‘Can I come until you know how he’s going to be?’

The doctor hesitated. At that moment, Daniel turned his head from side to side. ‘Rosie,’ he called in a weak voice.

‘Are you Rosie?’ The doctor asked sharply.

‘Yes.’

‘Come along then. You might have a long wait, though.’

‘That’s all right.’ She held Daniel’s limp hand in hers as they rode up several floors in the lift.

They whisked him away then and she was shown to the waiting room. She was shaking and unable to sit still.

She found her way to the restroom and when she saw herself in the mirror she knew why everyone had stared at her. The face that stared back at her from the mirror was black except where rivulets of perspiration had run down her cheeks. Her hair was coated with ash. She looked down at her hands; they were filthy, as were her clothes.

Brushing as much ash from her hair as she could with her hands, she then dusted off her clothes as much as possible. Next she ran some water in a basin and washed her face and hands with soap from the dispenser, then dried off with a paper towel. She looked in the mirror again. Not great but a little better.

Going back to the waiting room, she forced herself to drink a cup of coffee from the machine that stood in a corner. It tasted terrible but at least it stopped her shaking.

Almost an hour passed before the doctor came in to the room.

Rosie stopped her pacing and faced him anxiously. ‘How is he? Will he be all right?’

‘We think so. We’ve attended to the burns and he’s had an injection for the pain. He’s quite comfortable now. But that was a bad crack he had on the head.’ He shook his head. ‘We’re not sure at the moment how that’s going to affect him.’

‘What about long term? He will recover fully, won’t he?’

‘It’ll be some time before we know for sure how well the scars will heal and also if there will be any permanent damage from the head injury.’

‘There’s no doubt that this fire was deliberately lit.’ The detective who had arrived with the arson squad stood with Cassie. His words heaped horror on top of her depression as she surveyed the desolate scene that the morning revealed. All that remained where the two cabins had stood were smoking piles of black cinders, and the others were damaged from either fire or smoke. The fire had burned the trees for many metres around and the heat had scorched many more, while the ground cover was burnt and black as far as could be seen.

The fire had reached the third cabin, its hungry tongue searing the timbers before it had been extinguished when the rescue team arrived.

‘Do you have any idea who could be responsible?’ the detective asked Cassie.

She shook her head slowly, not wanting to believe it had been arson. Surely Jason couldn’t have done this?

‘Surely no one would do this deliberately?’ she frowned. ‘It must have been an accident.’

‘Can you think of anyone who may want to harm you?’ Seeing her hesitation, he persisted. ‘You’ve thought of someone?’

‘It’s just an old…friend, who was rather upset when I ended our relationship.’ A pulse started to beat in her temple as she remembered Jason’s visit. ‘He’s in Cairns and he came to see me recently. It…wasn’t a pleasant visit but still I’d hate to think he would go to such extremes, but…’ her voice trailed away.

‘We need to explore all avenues. Can I have his details, please?’ He noted them down in his notebook. ‘Anyone else you can think of?’

‘No, not really.’

‘Perhaps someone who might not want your cabins to go ahead?’ he prompted.

‘I just can’t think of anyone who would do this. Surely it must have been vandalism?’ Cassie was reluctant to believe it could have been otherwise.

‘It’s very much out of the way for someone just looking to do a random bit of mischief. And it would have to be someone who was aware that cabins are being built here. I suspect it was a deliberate and premeditated act. Can you think of anyone, no matter how unlikely it may seem?’

‘Well…there was an objection lodged against the Development Application, someone objected on environmental grounds. The Council examined the proposal and overruled the objection. But surely no one would do this,’ she gestured at the ruin, ‘to stop a project they don’t like?’

‘You never know. Do you know the person concerned?’

‘No, it’s someone from Caroobindi by the name of Cliff Thompson.’

‘We’ll look into it. Let me know if anything else occurs to you, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.’

He reached into his pocket, took out a card and handed it to her. ‘Here’s my card. You can call me anytime. In the meantime, we’ll go on with our search and hope we find something to give us a lead.’

He turned away and went to join the investigation team sifting through the ashes.

Cassie looked at the card. ‘Inspector Bates,’ she read. She looked around again, viewing the blackened desolation that had been her dream and felt sick. Would anyone actually do a thing like this deliberately? Was there really someone who wanted to stop the building project, or to harm her? And if so, who could it be? Jason? If not him, then who?

***

Cassie sat staring into space, trying to plan what to do next, but too worried about Daniel to think straight. She turned as Rosie entered the room.

‘How is he?’ Cassie asked.

‘He still hasn’t regained consciousness.’

‘What do the doctors say?’

‘The doctor last night told me it’ll be a while before they know whether the head injury will leave any permanent damage, and just how badly he’ll be scarred. I haven’t seen a doctor today; I guess they’ll talk to his parents from now on. I’m not a relative.’

‘Oh, Rosie, it’s all so terrible. Poor Daniel, I can’t bear to think of him so badly injured. And to think someone…some…monster…caused this, deliberately!’ Despair thickened Cassie’s voice. ‘I can’t even come close to imagining what sort of person would do it.’

Rosie’s face contorted. ‘If I ever find out who did it, I’ll fucking well kill him myself, the bastard, so help me God I will.’

At that, she collapsed onto the sofa and started to sob, great sobs that started deep down inside and shook her convulsively. Cassie moved over next to her and put her arms around her to comfort her, and then, she couldn’t help it, she started to cry, too. The two friends clung together as their tears mingled, trying to comfort each other without success.

When their weeping had subsided somewhat, they drew apart and wiped their eyes.