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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE NORMAN RIVER still had a few large pools scattered along the mostly dry riverbed, even at this time of the year. Which didn’t surprise Wazza; the Norman River flowed all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria, where it became wide and fast, an estuary full of saline water. This far inland, the water was fresh, but Wazza still advised against swimming in it, which Benni had begged to do in the large pool they’d found a little way downstream. The water was deep and dark, but also stale, and had a slight odor. She might get sick if she swam in there. Even so, he also gazed at the water longingly; it’d be so nice to be able to cool off from this heat. But Benni had to be content with poking around the rocks at the edge, squealing in delight as a school of tiny fish darted away from her stick. Wazza had already warned her to be on the lookout for snakes, and he’d also checked the area twice. It was the sort of place where they liked to congregate at this time of year.
Kee had agreed wholeheartedly with Wazza’s decision not to let Benni go in the water, reminding her daughter that she needed to stay close to Wazza by the edge because she hadn’t learned to swim properly yet. Then, right before she’d turned around to leave them by the pool and start preparing dinner, she’d shuddered as she stared at the water, and murmured, “And I don’t know about Wazza, but I won’t be able to jump in there and save you, because I can’t swim, either.” Her soft confession surprised him, but she’d already turned her back and walked away. No wonder she’d been eyeing the deep pool with distrust, and pulling Benni back if she got too close. It suddenly dawned on him that perhaps that was why she’d become so hysterical the day Benni had disappeared at Stormcloud, and she thought Benni might have gone into the billabong. Because she wouldn’t have been able to rescue her.
Now, the sound of Kee preparing dinner drifted to him on the hot breeze. They were having tuna pasta, with the last of the tomatoes. Skylar’s food reserves were running low. They’d eaten the avocado and the remains of her homemade sourdough for lunch, and Benni had munched through the whole jar of nuts during the day’s drive. He’d discuss it with Kee after dinner, but they may have to call into Normanton to replenish supplies, especially if she hoped to make it all the way to Darwin. Not for the first time, he made a silent plea that Kee would let him accompany her all the way. If she chose to send him home once they crossed the border into NT, he’d abide by her wishes, but there was still a long way to go to get to Darwin, and Wazza would much rather be by her side. He could map out a route that’d keep her off the main highway, but not take her on such isolated back roads as they’d followed for the past few days. That would be suicide, if she got stuck, or lost again, she may never be found in the huge vastness of the top end of the Northern Territory.
She was actually not a bad driver, although Wazza had sometimes struggled to keep his comments to himself if she hit a pothole or took a corner a little too fast. He’d liked the way the tip of her tongue came out to the corner of her mouth if there was a particularly tricky section of the road. He’d found himself so distracted by the sight, he’d even forgotten to correct her when she took a steep hill at too high a gear, making the engine work harder than it should. An easy mistake to make if you weren’t used to four-wheel-driving on a dirt road. Her small hands were dwarfed by the large steering wheel, and she had to sit up really tall to see over the dashboard—he must remember to find her a pillow or something to raise her up next time, he couldn’t believe she’d driven this car so far while not being able to see properly. But instead of being annoying, Wazza had found himself enjoying the spectacle immensely.
He’d used the chance while Kee had been driving to make a few calls on the sat phone, the first one to Steve to find out what kind of stir their little scene had caused in Dimbulah. He was thankful to hear that Lefty had managed to keep the whole thing quiet, and the fight hadn’t even been reported to the police. From Lefty’s account, it seemed Bruno had revived soon after Wazza and Kee had turned the corner and while still groggy and holding his head, had got into his car, and driven away, even though Lefty tried to stop him. That was the last they’d heard of Bruno. Steve had tried to sound out Nash to see if they were looking for any persons of interest in the area. But he couldn’t say too much without tipping Nash off that Wazza was somehow involved in his strange questions. Steve said that it didn’t look as if the police were actively hunting for Kee and Benni, nothing had changed in the quiet town of Dimbulah as far as police action. But that didn’t mean much. Nash was good at keeping things close to his chest.
Wazza wasn’t sure how helpful Steve’s intel was, all it really told him was that Bruno was definitely back on the hunt for them. Would he be able to guess what direction they’d gone in?
The second call was to his family farm in Goulburn. He spoke to his brother, Mark, who seemed slightly surprised to hear from him. Wazza kept his call short, asking how the orchard was going—it sounded like they were in for a good year, which made up for the past two bad ones—and telling Mark he was just checking in as he was taking a few days holiday to regions up north, and he didn’t want his family to worry if they couldn’t get hold of him. Mark and Todd, the two eldest sons, had taken over most of the running of the orchard, and his parents were now semi-retired. It was good to hear Mark’s voice. It’d been too long since Wazza had visited home. Mark said Mum and Dad were doing fine, tough as old boots, the both of them, but Wazza decided he’d make a trip down south as soon as he got Kee sorted. One thing this situation had taught him was that family was important.
“Dinner’s ready,” Kee’s voice drifted down the riverbed to him.
Benni’s head popped up from behind a large rock. “Oh goodie, I’m hungry. Come on Wazza.” She took his hand, a serious frown on her little face. “But watch out for those bloody snakes.”
He winced and hoped her mother didn’t hear her using that word. He’d slipped up when he’d told her to be careful, and now he was probably going to pay for it for the rest of his life.
Picking their way between the rocks, they made their way up the riverbed and onto the bank near the campsite. This one was even better than the one at Gilbert River. Four old river gums, bark pale as clotted cream, created a natural amphitheater on a crest of the riverbank. Clumps of tussock grass formed little hillocks on an otherwise flat area beneath the trees. A set of horizontal river rocks shaped into a natural staircase led down to the level of the river, where there was a small beach made of soft, white sand. He still didn’t want to risk a fire, which would’ve been nice to sit around at night, but the temperatures were warm enough that they didn’t need one. He’d found a spot between two tussock grasses to set up the tent, close to the largest tree trunk and hopefully out of sight of any aircraft. Although they hadn’t seen any more choppers since this morning, Wazza remained vigilant. Not that he mentioned his fears to Kee.
Half an hour later, Wazza dropped his tin plate on the ground with a clatter. “That was bloody delicious.” He smacked his lips together. “You could apply for a job as a camp cook with those skills,” he added.
“A what?”
“Camp cook. During muster, when all the ringers are out at the stock camp, they usually have a designated camp cook. It’s practically a full-time job.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.” Kee gave a pleased little smile. “But I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to need a job when I get to Darwin.”
Wazza didn’t have the heart to tell her that the life of a camp cook was spent trailing from one stock camp to the next for over half the year. A hard life, but some people loved it.
“Talking about cooking, we don’t seem to have a lot of food left,” she said, also laying her empty plate on the ground.
“Yes, I know. I’m thinking we might need to call into a town tomorrow. To stock up on supplies before the drive to Darwin.” He carefully avoided the topic of exactly who would be going to Darwin.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Kee said after a few seconds. “Would we be able to find somewhere to wash up, as well? I’d really like a shower,” she admitted. “This red dust gets into everything. And Benni is impossible to keep clean.”
“I know,” he admitted. They’d all had a bowl bath this morning, where he filled a metal bowl with enough hot water for them to wring out a washcloth and use it to clean their faces, under arms and other important bits, but it was fairly unsatisfactory. “There’s a town called Karumba north of Normanton, and right on the coast. It’s off the main highway and if we stay out of the Main Street, stick to the outskirts, we should be fine. There must be a mum-and-pop grocery store somewhere, rather than going to the central shopping district of Normanton. And I know of a tourist park where you can pay five dollars for a shower.”
“Five dollars, that’s outrageous.”
“Water is a scarce commodity out here,” he said, standing and offering her his hand so he could pull her up. She stood close, not releasing his hand straight away, staring up at him with hooded eyes. He was the first to break away, meandering over to fill the metal bowl they used to wash the dishes, while Kee went to pick up Benni’s plate. “I’ll clean up from dinner while you read to Benni, if you like?”
“That would be wonderful.” She straightened from where she’d been bending over and knuckled the small of her back. Wazza caught her profile as she stared downriver toward the large pool of water, and he was struck by just how exquisite she was. Even covered in dust and rumpled by sitting in a car most of the day, her flawless brown skin glowed in the rays of the setting sun. High cheekbones and rosebud mouth, with a little snub nose, her beauty called to him. Watching her, he knew he didn’t merely hope Kee would let him continue their journey together, he needed to stay with her. He suddenly couldn’t imagine being without her. How would he cope if he had to go back to Stormcloud without her? Life would be bland and colorless without her—and Benni—in it.
What was happening to him?
He was becoming way too attached to Kee, that’s what was happening. But it was happening against his will. As if she’d cast a secret spell over him. He knew if he had to wave goodbye to them at the border, his soul would never be free of her, even if he never saw her again his whole life.
Twenty minutes later, Wazza was laid out on his swag, staring up at the skies, much the same as last night. And just like he’d hoped, Kee emerged from the tent the same as she had last night and made her way over to where he lay.
“Can I join you?”
“Of course.” He shuffled over to make room and extended his arm so she could snuggle into the crook of his shoulder.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” she sighed, laying back so she could look up to the heavens, as well.
