Vanishing Point (15 page)

Katherine, terrified of what might happen next, unsteadily got to her feet. ‘Carolyn, my baby. Please, she's still in the car —'

‘Shuddup an' git movin',' Benjamin shouted, his hand raised as if to strike.

In shock Katherine ran, half stumbling up the three steps of the veranda and into the building with Benjamin close behind.

‘Stay there,' Benjamin yelled. He returned to the vehicle and drove into the compound before returning to close and lock the two gates behind him. He picked up Carolyn, sobbing inconsolably, and brought her over to Katherine, very gently putting the baby into her outstretched arms. He said nothing.

Even in the semi-darkness of the room Katherine could see the place was the home of a man living alone. It was very basic. There wasn't even a curtain over the small, dirty window at the back. The kitchen had a gas stove, some shelving stacked with abundant tinned foods, a small table smeared with the remains of several previous meals and three chairs. Fine red dust coated most things.

Katherine sat on one of the chairs, clutching her torn blouse, and waited fearfully. Her breath came in sobs matching those of her child.

Benjamin stood and watched her until the sobs subsided then took her firmly but quite determinedly by the arm, forced her up and started to lead her outside and around.

He explained that the buildings were originally established as a field laboratory for research. Whatever they were planning didn't work out so it was abandoned. It stood empty for some years before being handed over to the Western Australian Department of Agriculture.

‘I got me a lease on the place. I keep bees ‘ere now with the hives outside the fence,' Benjamin said. ‘I call it me Factory an' it's me business now. I get good honey from me Factory, me honey factory,' Benjamin smiled beneficently at Katherine. ‘Full of sweetness now there's a woman ‘ere.'

Its remoteness obviously suited his anti-social nature. ‘I like bein' out ‘ere. Far away from crowds, an' tourists. Quiet and peaceful. Like God led people in the wilderness for forty years.

It's where I finds God.'

‘But it must be lonely, too?'

‘Naw. I'se close to God. An' the reserve there's got flowers for the bees. An' me mate brings stuff an' ‘elps when I need it.'

The Factory consisted of three buildings, all originally placed there for research staff visiting on a temporary basis. Once they had been the sleeping quarters and laboratories. Benjamin had converted two of them into living quarters. The central building, that into which Katherine initially stumbled, had its long axis at right angles to the other two, one on each side. Benjamin had built a timber veranda on the central unit. It abutted the two end units but no doors led from it into them. The building on the right was a workshop, both for repairing machinery on the property and also for separating honey from the numerous hives that stretched in neat rows along the outside the fence. The central unit formed the main living quarters. It had a kitchen combined with a central lounge or eating area and a bedroom on one side with a low partition between it and the lounge-kitchen.

He led her around the central building and indicated her duties. ‘Ya gunna ‘ave ta make sure ya keeps all the rooms clean an' tidy.'

‘So you expect me to be some kind of unpaid servant?'

‘Ya gotta make me meals.' The walked past the rear of the kitchen area as he spoke and pointed out the two gas cylinders.

‘If there's no gas ya can't cook, an' ya'll go hungry. So keep an eye on ‘em. That's also ya job.'

He led her into the main building with the partitioned bedroom which, although small, had an unmade double bed and two cupboards.

Katherine looked at the bed and shuddered.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, ‘This is me bed. God told me ya'll come to it as me wife when ya's ready. I ain't gunna force ya. Ya'll come in good time. Yeah, ya'll come, I knows.'

From there he took her to the building on the western side of the veranda, down the steps and into the door at the far end. There were only two rooms. That nearer the door had a rough wooden table and some old-fashioned lounge chairs. A dust covered bench held a large stainless steel sink but no taps. It was probably was part of the old laboratory. The room at the back contained another double bed covered by a sheet. A sleeping bag lay crumpled across the foot end. There were no pillows.

‘This gunna be ya room, for now. Ya can share the bed with bubs. Later mebbe she'll get ‘er own.'

Still holding Katherine firmly by the arm they went back outside. He showed her the long drop dunny, situated behind the second building. It was a short walk along a path close to, and parallel with, the perimeter fence. They did not enter the third building.

‘No need ta go in there. Jist me workshop. Got me tools an' stuff there. Pressed beeswax, centrifuges ta separate honey an' stuff for me work.'

Katherine did not respond but the thought crossed her mind that she would find a way to go in at some stage. If she could find some tools she might be able to use them to escape.

Nearby was small corrugated iron shed, with shelves stacked with more stored tinned food than Katherine had ever seen in one place, and row of full honey jars. Behind the shed was a large, raised water tank.

Close inside the perimeter fence was a smaller, similarly constructed shed and Benjamin took her inside. He explained, ‘This is the generator, an' there's the fuel. There's the pump. I'll learn ya but it'll be ya job to keep our power goin' an' pump water when I tell ya.'

Katherine wondered where he pumped water from but remained silent. Time enough. Away from the shed and connected to the pump were some white pipes.

‘The unnerground water comes from the dry creek. It's unique in the area. It's the only drinkable water for miles ‘round. It's why they built this place ‘ere.'

‘Well, that explains where you pump water from.'

Benjamin went on explaining, ‘We collect condensation from the metal roofs of the buildings an' pump inta the tank. Helps keep up the water supply an' we do sometimes get a bit a rain.'

‘What's that?' Katherine asked, pointing to the conglomeration of clear plastic over a shallow tray of water.

‘Evaporation tank. The unnerground water's only jist drinkable. I run it into them tanks an' the sun evaporates it.' He pointed to the plastic roof. ‘It condenses onta them that's cooled by more water from the creek an' collects into them containers. Gets ‘bout eight litres a day and that's for drinking. Don' waste it.'

The system reminded Katherine of the one that Alec had set up when their Kombi broke down. Just thinking of Alec made tears spring up in her eyes. She suppressed the thought and became practical. ‘What about showers? Or a bath?'

Benjamin pointed behind the tank to an open-air shower set above a concrete slab with a rubber mat, probably part of an old conveyor belt. It was opposite the dunny at the other end of the fence line. ‘There,' he said, ‘but this is dry country, even with the tank, so ya can ‘ave one shower a week, an' real quick ones at that. If the tank gets too low, no water goes ta the shower, an' the lower the water the weaker the shower.'

‘There aren't any walls. It's all open. No privacy there,' said Katherine.

‘Well,' he drawled, ‘I ain't needed it till now. But no-one out ‘ere ta spy on ya, ‘cept me.' He smiled, a crooked half-amused, half-smirk sort of grin.

Benjamin forced her back into the main room and made her sit. From a drawer he took a large pair of shearing scissors.

Katherine cried out, the terror clear on her face.

‘Stop ya blubberin' he muttered as he cut her beautiful long hair almost to the roots, ‘ It'll grow agin.'

When he finished he said, ‘An' ya ain't gunna wear trousers so give ‘em to me.'

He forced Katherine to stand. She tried to resist and argue but she was weak against his strength. He took the scissors to her clothing. Weak and humiliated, she wept.

As he cut them into shreds, Benjamin started to speak in the preacher voice he had used in the Land Rover. ‘A woman shall not wear anything that ‘tains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so is abomination unto the Lord, my God. An' them's men's trousers.'

Finally, she stood bare footed, dressed only in her torn blouse and panties. It felt worse than if she had been stripped naked.

A
bout three weeks after their arrival at the Factory another vehicle pulled up in front of the gates. Katherine heard it and, knowing Benjamin was outside the perimeter fence looking at his hives and checking the pipes and pumps at the creek, she raced out of the kitchen area and across the veranda as fast as she could. She leapt right over the steps in her haste to get to the gates before Benjamin heard it and returned. Her ankle twisted slightly as she jumped but she ignored the pain and raced to the gates.

‘Help! help me! For God's sake please help me,' she screamed to the man who exited the driver's side, leaving the engine running. He looked at her and smiled, but said nothing.

‘For God's sake, please, please help me, I've been kidnapped. A prisoner here. A religious nutcase is keeping me here. I've got a baby. I'll fetch her. Please get me out, quickly. Hurry before he comes back. Just get me out of here.' Her words stumbled over each other in her panic.

The newcomer still said nothing but stood at the gates with his hands on his hips, a sardonic smile curled around his thin mouth. His dark eyes slowly looked her up and down, taking in the short skirt and her long, slender legs.

‘G'day. I'm Karl, Benjamin's mate. Reckon you must be the new woman he's bin wanting. Don' think much of ya hair cut, luv!'

Katherine's heart sank as her body collapsed in shock and disappointment. She slid down the gate on to her knees. She was still in that position gripping the wire of the closed gates when Benjamin's Land Rover pulled up in a swirl of dust.

‘G'day Karl. See ya met me woman. She's me new wife. Bit strange but okay.' He unlocked the gates and both vehicles drove in.

The back of Karl's vehicle contained a rack made of old galvanised water pipes. Dingo and wild dog scalps swung from the rack, evidence of his recent successes in his grisly trade. A large black dog, with a wide black leather collar dotted with chrome spikes, was chained to the tray. The overall effect was that of a vicious hound that somehow matched the appearance his owner. As Karl's vehicle drove in the dog barked ferociously at Katherine. Large searchlights were mounted behind the cab roof and a rifle was seated on clips above and at the back of the seats. Katherine closed the gates behind the two vehicles and dejectedly handed Benjamin the keys.

The arrival of Karl was both a blessing and a curse for Katherine. He had a personality that seemed to Katherine to personify evil. She disliked him from the moment that he took her hand in greeting as Benjamin introduced him.

‘This is me mate, Karl. He's a dogger an' calls round every now an' agin. Helps me round the place. This is me new wife, Karl. Picked ‘er up over east. A gift from God.'

Karl responded by quickly taking her unoffered hand, holding it firmly and giving it an unnecessarily long hard squeeze. She winced. ‘Good ta meet ya. Like I said, I'm Benjamin's mate. Karl, Karl Brudos. I get work different stations all aroun' the west. Kill the vermin that kills the sheep.'

Katherine did not respond and simply looked at the ground.

Karl turned to Benjamin. ‘Got you a killer, mate. Bloke on that property down south give me half for a job.'

Benjamin's eyes lit up. A killer meant half a sheep, so they'd have fresh meat for a change, a real luxury at the Factory. He turned to Katherine, ‘Ya can cook us some lamb tonight, woman. It'll be good ta have fresh meat agin.'

He and Karl started towards the dogger's vehicle. ‘Com'n woman, git over ‘ere,' Benjamin called over his shoulder to Katherine, who had not moved. ‘Ya can help.'

Katherine followed behind then nervously stood back as the dog snarled and barked, almost as if he was directing his aggression to her alone. The men started passing her items from the tray.

Karl's first visit to the Factory was brief and he said very little to Katherine, although those agitated eyes seemed to follow her every movement, visibly caressing her body. From the start she felt uncomfortable in his presence. In spite of the heat she wished that she had clothing that concealed more. Benjamin had destroyed her slacks and modest clothing remained a wish unfulfilled.

Karl's black eyes were set in narrow encasements and generally failed to look directly at others. They darted around as if searching for an escape. The only thing they settled on was Katherine as she went about her chores. Karl's hair covered his ears and looked uncombed; it sat as an unruly charcoal mop crowning his square face. Katherine guessed him to be about forty but the leathery tanned skin made it hard to judge. He dressed in navy stubby shorts and a dark singlet. Judging from the grease stains and colour, Katherine wondered if it was ever washed, let alone changed.