Kakadu Sunset (21 page)

She fought for calm as she logged on and set up a group call. The musical tones of the Skype call signal broke the silence as she waited for her sisters to pick up.

‘Ellie!’ Dru’s blonde curls filled the screen. ‘You’re early. I just got to the office.’

‘Hey, Dru. Have you got time for a chat? Em’s not picking up. She mustn’t be home yet.’ Ellie managed to speak naturally and her calm voice surprised her.

‘Yes, but be quick. I’ve got an unexpected meeting.’ Dru’s voice was as clear as if she was in the room with her.

Holding the laptop in front of her, Ellie walked over to the door and checked it was locked. Dru always had unexpected meetings when they tried to set up a family call. Even when they tried to talk at Emma’s place a couple of weeks back, whenever the discussion turned to Mum’s issues, there’d always been something she had to do or a call she had to make. It had been like that since Dad’s death, but she and Em still always made the effort to include her.

Ding!
As she stared at the computer screen, an email notification came in from Emma.

Ellie chewed her lip thoughtfully. Dad had always laughed when the computer dinged when an email had arrived. He hadn’t been savvy with computers but she’d set up an account for him a few months before he died.

‘Dru, you’re the computer whiz. How long do email accounts stay active if you don’t use them?’

‘As long as the service provider exists. But with something like Gmail or Hotmail, they’re pretty much there forever. Why, what’s up?’

Ellie stared at the screen. Dru was only half paying attention and was focused on something on her desk and Ellie knew she wasn’t interested in the past. And she could do nothing to help way over in Dubai. ‘Nothing important. Have you settled back to work after your holiday?’

‘Yep, work’s good. How about you?’

How about me? Broke my rules and slept with a guy I work with. Someone has been breaking into my room. And then there’s the old farm
.

Ellie shook her head as she stared at Dru’s big blue eyes and the office window behind her sister. Even over the connection, she could see the smog of Dubai hanging in the air.

‘Yes, really busy. The lodge is full and –’

‘Look, Ellie, I’m really sorry, Sam is waving at me from his office. Obviously a drama of some sort. Give my love to Mum . . . and Em. I’ll email you. Bye.’

The screen went blue before Ellie could even reply. She jumped as a tree branch scraped against the corrugated roof.

Why would anyone be interested in a box of old school reports? Maybe there was a petty thief on the prowl. But why would they take the box and leave her laptop and the other minor valuables alone? And why would they go through her underwear drawer? She thought of the thug who’d chased her off the farm.

Maybe it was some sort of warning. Her uniform had indicated where she worked, and it wouldn’t be hard to find out where her apartment was.

The Skype call chimed again and she pressed answer.

Emma’s happy smile filled the screen. ‘Hey, sis. You look tired.’

Ellie closed her eyes for a brief second and drew a breath. ‘Hi, Em. I am a bit. Mum there too?’

‘She’ll be here in a minute. We’re going across to the cafe in the village for dinner.
Mum’s
idea.’

Ellie frowned, surprised. ‘Wow, Mum’s idea? What’s happening over there?’

‘I took her down to the new clinical psychologist at the hospital in Port Douglas on Friday, and he’s eased her medication right back. I don’t know what he said to her, but she looked brighter as soon as she came out of the consult.’

‘Shit.’ Ellie bit her lip, not knowing what to do. The last thing she wanted was to set Mum back again.

‘What do you mean
shit
? We’ve been waiting for this to happen for five years.’

‘I know and it’s wonderful to hear.’ Ellie hesitated. ‘Where is she now?’

‘In the shower.’ Emma’s face filled the screen as she leaned in closer to the camera on her computer. ‘You okay?’

‘I’ll be quick before she gets out. Tell me as soon as you hear her.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘You’re not going to believe this, but I think she’s been right all along. There’s something going on at our old place. I saw it with my own eyes.’

‘Something like what?’

She quickly filled Emma in on everything she’d seen; first the trucks, then the earthworks and suspicious construction next to the river, and finally her trip to the farm, including meeting Susan Sordina and being run off the property.

‘Ellie, I don’t like the sound of this. It makes sense of something else I was going to tell you too.’

‘What else?’

There was a long silence at the other end.

‘Em?’

‘After you left I read some of the emails Mum got from one of the action groups. Right now there’s a parliamentary committee looking into exploration applications in the north of the Territory. For fracking
and
seabed mining.’

‘Are you serious?’

She glanced across at the living room window and saw her face reflected back at her. The sudden realisation that anyone out there could see her clearly in the brightly lit room sent a shiver down her spine. She jumped up and pulled down the rarely used blind behind the curtains.

‘The emails were from a guy at Mary River. He said there’s been a heap of discussion over the past month about moving the border of Kakadu south to allow for hydraulic fracking up on South Alligator River, but it’s been kept quiet. A company called Black Coal Holdings is pushing for a licence to drill. From all accounts there is a big shale gas deposit there. And I looked at the map.’

Ellie shook her head.
No way
. ‘The South Alligator River is part of the border of the old farm.’ Her mind was spinning with the implications. ‘Why hasn’t there been an uproar about this? There’s always been opposition to mining in the national park and it is traditional land across the river. Remember all the demonstrations at the Ranger mine when we were kids? And Panos owns the farm so where does this Black Coal Holdings company come into it? I’m going to see Bill Jarragah again tonight. He
must
know something.’

‘You mean Bill who used to work on the farm?’

‘Yeah, Heather’s dad. There was an article in the paper the other day about Sordina meeting with his Aboriginal council. He’s been acting strangely ever since.’ Ellie took a deep breath. ‘Do you know what fracking does to the environment?’ She’d read up on it when she’d been looking for the article she’d seen on Kane’s iPad.

‘No, only what’s been in the emails to Mum.’

‘Even though they reckon it could be really good for the economy, there are so many risks involved. It’s scary stuff. Read some of the articles on the internet. The chemicals they use can leach into the water table. They’ve even blamed earthquakes and global warming on fracking in other parts of the world.’ She turned to pace back the other way. ‘God, I cannot believe this. I wonder if Dad knew about the gas deposits.’ A memory of a conversation tugged at her mind.

Emma’s voice was firm. ‘Promise me you won’t go back to the farm. I have a bad feeling about this. You don’t want to alert them to anything.’

‘Them? Who?’

‘Whoever’s behind it. Whoever owns that company. There’s so much money to be made out of all that stuff in the ground. Are you sure you want to stir up trouble?’

Ellie burred up. ‘I love this place and there’s no way I’m going to let the environment be destroyed. I don’t care that it’s on our old farm, I’d fight it wherever it was.’

‘You’re so like Dad.’

‘I’m sorry, Em, but I can’t sit back and watch this happen. There’s too much apathy in the world today. This is
Kakadu
, a World Heritage site, for God’s sake.’

‘I know. But I’m worried about you. I just wish you’d move over here with us and leave it all behind. You could get a job flying out of Cairns to the reef.’

‘I don’t want to leave here; you know that. This is my home. I love the Territory.’

Ellie pinched her nose hard until her eyes watered. ‘There’s something else. When I was out there today, Susan Sordina gave me a box of Dad’s stuff.’

‘What was in it?’

‘School reports and merit certificates for the three of us. It was taken from my room today while I was at work.’

‘What do you mean taken?’

‘Someone broke into my room.’

‘Have you reported it?’ Emma’s voice was almost a squawk. ‘And who’d be interested in that old stuff?’

‘I haven’t had a chance but I will. And I don’t know why. It had Dad’s name on the lid. Maybe they thought there was something in there.’

Something incriminating. Damn, I hate thinking about all this
. And talking to Emma about it made it seem so real. The past all came slamming back with a vengeance. The fear, the grief, the uncertainty. Now she could understand the confusion her mother had felt for the last five years. That unbearable feeling of being let down by the person she’d loved so much. And always the question: Why?

A pang of regret settled in Ellie’s chest. They should have been more understanding. They should have listened, and not assumed it was the grief causing Mum to make up crazy stories.

‘Holy hell, Ellie. You be careful.’ Emma held her gaze.

‘Em, you know how we went through Dad’s papers when I was staying with you? Do you know if Mum ever looked at Dad’s emails? I know he had a Gmail account. I remember helping him set it up.’

‘I don’t know. How about I broach it carefully over dinner?’

‘Thanks.’

‘Em?’ Ellie dropped her hand from her face and slowly shook her head from side to side as she stared at her sister’s face filling her screen. ‘Mum can’t be right about Dad’s . . . death, could she?’

‘I honestly don’t know, Ellie. Look, let’s talk more another time. Mum’s out of the shower. I’ll tell her the connection dropped out.’ Emma lowered her voice. ‘When we get home tonight, I’ll see if I can find anything else in her stuff. If I do, I’ll email it all to you. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid? Please? And be careful.’

‘I’ll be careful. I’ll call if Bill knows anything, too. Tell Mum I’ll ring her tomorrow.’

Only when Ellie logged off and closed the laptop did she realise that she hadn’t mentioned Kane at all.

Tuesday night
Makowa Lodge

Ellie had a shower, trying to clear her mind and shake off the heavy feeling that filled her. But she was quick, because every little noise, every branch hitting the outside wall, had her jumping.

She pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt, and left her hair loose. The temperature had dropped a little and she shivered as she crossed the lawn, aware of the shadows between the buildings. Was the intruder who had stolen the box still around?

She turned along the path that ran behind the kitchen and froze as she caught a flash of white in her peripheral vision. Pressing her hand to her chest she took a deep breath; her heart was pounding. The wind gusted but it was only a white plastic bag blowing from the garden. Muttering to herself, she reached down and carried it across to the bin at the back of the building.

Light shifted in the trees ahead as she stepped back onto the path, signalling the approach of a car. The light intensified as the headlights shifted to high beam, bathing her in bright light and almost blinding her. The engine stopped but the lights stayed on, highlighting her like a rabbit caught in a spotlight. Ellie put her head down and hurried along the path to the bar, irritated by how jumpy she was. She glanced back to the car park as she reached the bar area; it was quiet there and the lights were still on high beam.

Kane was beside the bar chatting to Steve and he lifted his glass in a greeting. He took a sip of his beer and leaned nonchalantly against the wooden counter, but his eyes stayed on her. A shiver ran down her back and her mouth went dry.

Ellie lifted her hand and pushed her hair back over her shoulder, wishing she’d braided it. Her heartbeat had settled but now Kane was there to add to her confusion. She was aware of his eyes on her as she crossed the lawn, stepping carefully around the family groups sitting on the grass. She flicked a glance over at Heather, who was talking to a man Ellie hadn’t seen before, but Heather looked away.

‘Hey there. Would you like a drink?’ Kane’s voice was soft. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Yes. A soda water would be great, thanks. My throat’s dry.’ Ellie forced a smile to her face. ‘My nerves are a bit frazzled.’

Kane leaned forward and took her hand just as Heather looked across at them. ‘What happened?’

‘Someone’s been in my room again.’

‘Again?’

Ellie nodded. ‘Yes, second time this week.’

‘Why didn’t you mention it before? Anything stolen?’

She bit her lip as she stared at him. ‘Just a box of old stuff that your mother found at the farm. Nothing important.’ She looked down as Kane’s thumb rubbed soothingly along the back of her hand. ‘The scary part is that they went through my underwear.’

Kane frowned as he took her hands and squeezed them. ‘That’s off.’

‘It’s rattled me a bit. I wondered –’ She cut off her words and watched his fingers as he gently wrapped them around hers.

‘You wondered?’

‘Nothing.’ She swallowed. ‘When your mum gave me the box I thought there might have been something in the papers to shed some light on his suicide.’ Ellie bit her lip and shook her head. ‘But there wasn’t. I guess I was clutching at straws. There’s been some crazy stuff happening this week.’

Kane’s eyes were intent as she looked up at him. ‘What do you mean?’

Ellie filled him in on the activity she’d seen at the back of the farm and the information that Emma had conveyed on Skype. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hold with Mum’s theory but I called Panos, and since then someone’s been snooping around in my room.’

‘And you think there’s a connection?’

Ellie shrugged. ‘I really don’t know what to think.’

‘I passed a guy near the steps of the apartment block this afternoon.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘He was carrying a small box.’

‘Did you recognise him?’