Vanishing Point (17 page)

K
atherine sat on the veranda steps and looked at Carolyn playing in the sand. With a start she realised that it was probably close to two summers since her abduction. Carolyn's birthdays were recognised, rather than celebrated, by the season. In the early days she made a couple of attempts to escape. Once, after about two months at the Factory, she took a chance and went through the gates with Carolyn when Benjamin had forgotten to lock them. Carrying the baby she started walking down the track but after an hour in the summer heat she was exhausted. It came as an ironic relief when she heard Benjamin's Land Rover driving slowly behind her, following but making no attempt to stop her. She was too exhausted to run or even try to hide. Eventually she stopped walking, stood with slumped shoulders for while then turned and got into the Land Rover. Neither spoke. It was a reluctant admission of defeat on her part. She realised then that her prison was not just locked gates and perimeter fence but also the endless, hot and waterless land surrounding the compound.

In spite of their limited diet both Katherine and Carolyn remained remarkably healthy. Katherine put this down to their isolation and realised that for her child this was both good, because of their situation, and bad, because she was not building up any natural immunity. She worried in case either she or Carolyn became seriously ill but when she raised the possibility with Benjamin he said, ‘RFDS an' telegrams on the radio in the mornin'. Can always check there.'

He was referring to the Royal Flying Doctor Service that serviced the needs of all outback Australia. It gave her an idea. If she pretended to be ill he might have to call the RFDS. Somehow she might be able to get a message out to the world. It didn't work. Benjamin transmitted the ‘symptoms' and received advice back on how to treat her, including the suggestion that his ‘daughter's‘ illness was not serious and easily treatable. The Factory medical chest contained basics, mostly geared to possible injuries, snakebite antivenin and some analgesics.

After that their relationship became almost domestic with the tasks allocated by Benjamin taking up most of Katherine's time. She kept the buildings clean and tidy, prepared food and cooked, darned his socks and mended all the clothing. She ensured the generator was running when needed. They rarely spoke and Katherine found the vacuous boredom almost unbearable. Had it not been for Carolyn, she felt she would break out and walk and, if she died, so be it.

Benjamin busied himself with the bees and maintaining the buildings and the water supply. He was confident to leave Katherine alone at the Factory for short periods. After her long walk down the track, he knew the isolated compound would keep her at home. After all, she was promised by God and that promise would not be broken.

* * *

Benjamin and Karl sat drinking on the veranda and watched Carolyn playing with the doll Katherine had made from scraps of cloth and string.

‘Now Karl's ‘ere mebbe he can git bubs some toys. Mebbe a nice doll next time he comes,' Benjamin said to Katherine, who was standing at a distance from the men.

‘Thanks, but I really would like some children's books. Carolyn's big enough for me to start teaching her the alphabet. She's got no books.'

‘She's a girl. Ya can teach ‘er all she needs ta know,' was the terse reply.

Katherine stepped forward. ‘She's a child all alone and growing up. She needs something to stretch her mind and she needs to learn to read. Please.'

Karl saw an opportunity to ingratiate himself further with Benjamin and butted into the conversation. ‘Yer right, Benjamin. Women don' need ta read. An' she's not much of a wife ta ya, is she?' He bobbed his head towards Katherine. ‘So why bother with ‘er kid. Ain't ya kid, ain't ya problem, is she?'

‘What do you mean, not much of a wife. I am not a wife but I behave like one. I cook all the meals, clean the place, wash all the clothes, pump water and —'

‘But ya don' sleep with him, do ya?'

‘I won't do that, never ever,' Katherine vehemently responded.

‘Wives sleep with their men, don' they, Benjamin?'

‘Yeah, but I won' make ‘er. God told me she'll come when she's ready and willin'. To force ‘er is against his will.'

‘And against mine,' thought Katherine angrily but said nothing, grateful at least for this component of God's will. She had fully expected to be assaulted after the first month.

Karl wheedled. ‘So she ain't a proper wife, is she?'

‘Naw, s'pose not.'

‘Well, mebbe if she was a real wife then mebbe ya could git a coupla books fa the kid, eh?'

‘Yeah, mebbe we could do summit like that.'

The men looked at each other but Katherine went to Carolyn, picked up both her and the cloth doll and left them to their conversation. She was just as pleased to be away from the sweetish smell of Karl's cigarette smoke.

* * *

The worst part of life at the Factory was the loneliness and the boredom. Even if he had not been her abductor, she recognised there would be an inability to relate to Benjamin at all. She craved adult company, intelligent conversation and being able to read newspapers or books. She missed a radio, or a record player.

Carolyn benefited from the very close relationship with her mother but Katherine worried about her future. She was seriously concerned about her future ability to socialise with other children. She was growing up not only as a child with no sibling, but as a child with no peers.

The only book in the entire complex was the Bible. It had a prominent place in Benjamin's main room and Katherine had never been allowed to touch it. After the conversation about books Benjamin handed it to her one evening after she'd cleaned up the meal.

‘Ya whingin' ‘bout summit to read. Read this. Aloud. Ta me. I'll tell ya when ta stop.'

So it was that Katherine read the Bible every morning and evening to her child and captor. He always handed it to her open: always a book of the Old Testament.

‘Can't I read something else, something from the New Testament?'

‘No, read what I give ya. When I was a kid in Queensland, me stepdad read ta me every night. I ‘ad ta learn them stories off by heart. If I got ‘em wrong, even a word, he'd belt me.'

‘That's terrible —'

‘But I learned me Bible real good, every word,' he laughed mirthlessly. ‘But I won't be beltin' ya, woman, or ya bubs. Ya'll jist read them stories ta me, God's truth, quiet like, an' ya bubs will learn too.'

* * *

After two lonely, slow years Katherine knew her time at the Factory was permanent. She reluctantly accepted her lot but never lost hope that some day, somehow, she would be able to find a way to escape. Initially she hoped Alec and the police would find her but, as the days turned into months and years, she acknowledged she would not be able to get away except through serendipity or her own efforts.

In spite of his religious fervour and strange ways Benjamin proved to be as good as his word in that he never tried to physically molest her. She always waited until he was outside the perimeter fence to wash under the primitive, open shower. Not once did he make any effort to see her there. His anger was limited to times when she failed to obey his rules and though he grabbed, pushed and occasionally flung her to the ground, he never struck her.

Eventually a form of limited conversation began to emerge between them. Initially it was at meals when he gave permission for her to sit at the table and eat with him but only after first serving him. He told her about the bees, the honey production and how he transported swarms for pollination of crops. After so long in his company she found herself even thinking that perhaps he wasn't so bad. It frightened her that she could even begin to think this way.

Katherine mentally listed her priorities for survival. First came Carolyn: she needed food, clothing and education. They were both surviving on a limited variety of food, typically dried or tinned. Fresh vegetables, fruit and meat were scarce and greatly appreciated when either Karl or Benjamin brought them. The Bible and a few simple toys allowed some education. As time passed Benjamin allowed her to use a pencil and paper.

Clothing was the issue that now became critical. After two years her supply was threadbare in spite of constant mending. At night she slept naked, preserving the pyjamas in case the cloth could be used elsewhere. Somehow she had to persuade Benjamin that both she and Carolyn needed clothes, especially for the cold winter nights and mornings.

Karl's visits were irregular but on each occasion he brought fresh food, often including longed-for fresh meat, and sometimes those items asked for by Katherine. Once he even brought fresh milk, a treat most welcome. Katherine noticed it had come from a supplier in Kalgoorlie and, since it was fresh, she decided the compound must be reasonably close to the town.

Sometimes she let herself feel abandoned by Alec and all those who should be looking for her and her child. Surely they should have worked out what had happened and found her by now? She looked at a future that was bleak, especially for Carolyn.

In her lonely moments she thought if I could fool Benjamin into thinking that I accept that I'm now his wife, I might persuade him to take me into Kalgoorlie. Once out of here and where there're people I'd stand a chance of getting help to escape.

* * *

In Kalgoorlie, Petri successfully convinced Spex management that his idea might work. However, it was clear that to advance the concept into a working hypothesis that could be tested in practice, he would need to carry out some basic research.

His enquiries at the University of Western Australia and the Geological Survey all directed him to La Trobe University in Melbourne, on the opposite side of the continent. There he would be able to source the technical expertise he required.

So, eager to get started on his new work, Petri organised to travel with Fred Cooper to La Trobe's geology department.

I
n Melbourne it is said that if you don't like the weather wait for an hour and it will change to something more to your liking. Or not. Certainly that seemed to be the case as August 1970 drew to a close.

Alec rose at his usual time, rode his bicycle to the station and caught the train to McLeod. His life in Melbourne was starting to become routine. A routine that blotted out unpleasant memories, at least most of the time. Although not officially graduated, he was advised his doctoral thesis had been accepted. The formal award of his degree would be at a special ceremony in the Elder Hall of Adelaide University in December. The letter advising him of the thesis acceptance should have brought a sense of excitement and completion but for Alec it was just another letter. Without being able to share the news with Katherine there was no sense of the effervescent excitement that his success should have brought.

Soon after submitting his thesis for examination, he had started looking for academic positions or post-doctoral fellowships all over the world, anywhere away from Adelaide and its memories. He did not want to remain in Adelaide, an environment where every day as he walked down North Terrace he was painfully reminded that he used to do that with Katherine. He hated the phrase ‘used to'.

One of his many applications for a post-doctoral fellowship had been to La Trobe University, which had opened as he was putting the final touches to his doctoral research. The geology department there had, as its foundation professor, a man well known for his interest in the geology of granites, the topic of Alec's own research. It seemed a good place to start an academic career. The response to his application for a post-doctoral fellowship surprised Alec as instead he was offered a lectureship, an offer he accepted with alacrity. It was clear that his few publications, the support of Professor Jones and his experience as a Tutor all counted in his favour. And the fact that the continuing minerals exploration boom was draining the country of geologists. Most were moving into careers as exploration or mining geologists. These paid significantly higher salaries than those offered in academia.

If ever there was a profession that went through severe cycles, it was that of the geoscientist. One year there was a shortage and new graduates could name their salaries. A few years later when aspiring university students graduated, the boom would be over and there would be an oversupply of new graduates. Many were forced to find alternative jobs. The fortunate became school science or geography teachers and the less fortunate did anything that paid.

Somehow Alec's move to Melbourne was making life a little easier. He still thought of his family constantly but the surroundings of Adelaide that pricked the memory were absent. In Melbourne even his phone calls to the police became less frequent. When he did make them the answers were always the same: ‘nothing to report and no progress although the case is always open'. The pain of the past few years remained fresh in his heart. No longer did he give any credence to that old saying that ‘time heals'. Every day he thought of Katherine and Carolyn and wondered what happened to them. Where were they and how was it that they could just disappear, leaving no clues? On occasion he would suddenly find himself crying gently in the strangest places: in the cinema, at church, even just walking down the street. Memory still jarred his everyday ordinariness.