The Stranding (39 page)

‘This is a rescue,’ Beryl snapped. ‘Both God and the minister would want to see this whale saved. You’ve lost your mind, Mrs Jensen. It must be the cold.’

‘Well, you’ve lost your heart, Beryl. They always said you had no heart when you took that house away from the Wallaces. And now I’m inclined to believe it.’

There was icy silence.

‘Perhaps you’d better go home.’ Beryl’s voice was thin and tight. ‘Half of Merrigan is down here. I’m sure someone won’t mind taking your place.’

Callista grabbed Shane’s arm and walked into the tent. She saw the women rearrange their faces into polite smiles.

‘What will you have?’ Mrs Jensen asked, staring at the microphone and recording unit slung over Shane’s shoulder.

They both accepted coffee and Shane thanked Mrs Jensen humbly. He could certainly put it on when he wanted to. Perhaps that was a skill all journalists cultivated; anything to get people on-side if there might be a story in it. She followed him to the base of the dunes and sat with him on the sand. He drank his brew silently and seemed casual enough, but his sideways glance was an attempt to peer inside her and work out who she was. She didn’t like it.

‘What do you want to know?’ she asked.

Shane threw back his head and laughed. He had yellow teeth like a horse. He must be a smoker.

‘It’s not whales I’m interested in,’ he said, watching her keenly. ‘It’s Lex. I want to know what he’s been up to these past months. Looks to me like he’s lost his mind, moving down here.’

‘What’s it to you?’ Callista asked.

‘I know him well. At least I used to. And I know his wife.’

‘I thought they were getting divorced.’

‘Ah. So you do know something about it.’

‘He doesn’t let on much.’

‘I’m not surprised. He had a pretty shit time before he disappeared and came down here.’ He looked at her. ‘Are you his girlfriend?’

Callista shrugged and Shane watched her keenly.

‘You are, aren’t you? You’re Jilly’s replacement. I know Lex’s wife well.’

‘I see.’ Callista steadied herself. ‘I don’t imagine I’m anything like her.’

He laughed. ‘Nobody’s quite like Jilly. She’s some lady. Fearsome.’

‘I’m no match for her then.’

He shook his head. ‘I’m not so sure about that. She’s a hard woman. Demanding. Challenging. Gorgeous, actually.’

Callista felt suddenly weary. She really didn’t want to hear about Lex’s past relationships. She moved to leave but Shane waved her back onto the sand.

‘Does he speak about her?’ he asked, more gently now.

‘No. I think he’s trying to delete the life he had before he moved here.’

‘That explains a few things. Nobody’s heard from him back home. He just disappeared off the face of the earth.’ Shane frowned and hesitated for a moment. ‘Did he tell you about the child?’

‘Yes. Eventually.’

‘Bloody awful, watching the two of them fall apart after that. Lex didn’t cope at all. He took to the whisky. And Jilly shut him out. She can be as hard as a stone.’

‘Perhaps that was her way of coping.’

Shane shrugged. ‘I always thought people were supposed to come together in times of grief. Not tear each other apart.’

‘Grief as big as that might be hard to share.’

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. ‘Lex was a big-time media personality. Did he ever tell you?’

‘No. But we suspected something like that. He starred as MC at a public event just recently.’

‘Of course he didn’t tell you. He’s probably hiding from all that down here too. But he was a high-rating radio presenter back in Sydney.’

‘He milks cows down here.’

Shane was shocked. ‘That’s a comedown.’

‘Perhaps it’s just different. He likes it.’

Shane shrugged again. ‘Whatever takes your fancy. But it doesn’t sound like the Lex Henderson I know. I mean milking cows, for fuck’s sake! There’s not much you can say to a cow, is there?’

They sat in silence for a moment then Shane looked at her frankly. ‘You’re all right,’ he said. ‘I like you.’

‘You mean Lex could do worse.’

‘No. You’ve got more compassion in you than Jilly.’

‘I’m not sure I like being compared to Jilly.’

‘Well, no, you wouldn’t like it, would you?’

‘And I’m not sure things are going too well with your mate Lex and me anyway.’

‘Complicated?’

‘Always,’ she admitted.

Shane nodded. ‘He gets hooked up on things and he can be difficult to budge. But he’s kind underneath. He can talk for a living, but personally he’s hopeless at it. Tends to internalise things. Hide away from himself.’

Callista tightened her lips. Lex was certainly good at hiding away from things.

‘Perhaps we should get on with that interview,’ she said. ‘I’m done with hearing about your mate Lex.’

Thirty

Lex couldn’t help watching Callista and Shane sitting up near the dunes, talking. It made him nervous. Shane could tell Callista anything, and now he wished he’d told her everything himself, right back at the beginning, when the possibility to be direct and up-front was still there. It would have been difficult and painful, but she’d have had the opportunity to be sympathetic and understanding. Now, it would feel more like a confessional, and up there by the dunes Shane could embellish as he wished. Lex was deeply uncomfortable knowing they were talking about him. And he was certain they would be. Shane had that investigative look in his eye. A look of interest that extended beyond the whale.

He was just psyching himself up to join them when Darren Beck arrived breathless at his side.

‘They’re doing something to Mum,’ the boy said. ‘They’re making her take drugs. You have to help me. We have to get her away from there.’

Lex didn’t want to get involved but the kid was desperate, so he followed him along the beach to where Helen was sitting among Jen’s scruffy mob. They had blankets draped around their shoulders, and Jarrah was sitting beside Helen, holding a fat joint to her lips. Jen was rubbing Helen’s back and laughing as Helen coughed and gagged after taking a drag. Lex felt the boy tense beside him.

‘Let’s get her,’ Darren said, tugging Lex towards them. He stepped over someone’s legs to get to his mother. ‘Mum. You have to come with me and get a cup of tea from Mrs Jensen.’

Helen looked up at him with glassy red eyes. Lex could see she was already smashed.

‘Darren,’ she said blearily, patting Jarrah’s knee. ‘Come and sit down and meet my friends.’

‘Mum. They’re not your friends.’

‘They’re nice people, son. Come and sit down with us.’

Helen looked suddenly green. She turned, swaying, and vomited into a plastic bag that Jarrah held open for her.

Jarrah smiled up at Lex. ‘She’s got the spins. She’ll be okay. Just greening out a bit.’

‘How about I give her a hand for now?’ Lex suggested, stepping carefully into the little circle.

‘Sure, mate.’ Jarrah didn’t resist. ‘Is she your girlfriend? She’s one hell of a cool chick.’

‘She’s a bit confused,’ Lex said, as he helped Helen to her unsteady feet and took the sag of her weight against his hip. ‘It’s a difficult and emotional time for all of us.’

Jarrah took the joint from Jen and relit it. ‘Want a drag?’ he offered.

‘No, thanks. I’ve still got a few jobs to do.’

Jen sneered up at him. ‘You do-gooder,’ she said. ‘Can’t help yourself, can you? You had to save me when I was hitching. And now you have to save the poor lady from the nasty greenies and their drugs.’

‘The kid asked for help,’ Lex said. ‘He’s worried about his mother.’

Jen’s voice followed them as he led Helen away. ‘Yes, that’s him. And hasn’t he got shoulders like an ox.’

Lex deposited Helen and Darren with Mrs Jensen and Beryl. The church ladies were tense and silent from arguing and he figured Helen was in just the right state to sit between them. It’d give them something else to think about. He sat her down with a plastic bag and went to find Shane and Callista. It was best for him to escape any situation that involved Helen Beck. Local gossip had got out of hand so quickly after that time he’d had dinner with her. If Mrs Jensen and Beryl wanted to find a life raft for Helen, he wasn’t going to let it be him.

He found Callista near the control tent, focusing out to sea through a pair of binoculars. The distant black shape of a boat was rounding the headland.

‘Part of the rescue mission?’ he asked.

‘Stage two,’ she said, lowering the binoculars and looking at him.

‘They’re not using your dad’s boat?’

‘Jordi’s gone to bring her in. He should be here soon. They’ll definitely need two boats. That’s the National Parks’ shark-cat out there. It’s too small to haul the whale out alone.’

Down the beach, Lex could see the seawall around the whale growing as the excavator swung to and fro, shovelling sand. Trevor was working on digging out a channel now, using the scooped-out sand to build the wall higher. It had to be sufficiently high and wide to withstand the press of the incoming tide. If it breached too early, the rescue attempt would be lost. The whale wouldn’t cope with waiting until the next turn of the tide for the wall to be repaired.

Lex glanced back at Callista, wondering what Shane had said to her. He couldn’t read anything in her face.

‘I had to rescue Helen Beck,’ he said. ‘I’ve handed her over to Mrs Jensen.’

Callista tensed and lifted her binoculars again. ‘I’m glad someone did it,’ she said. ‘Shame it had to be you. I heard you had a little interlude with her a while back.’

There it was again. One dinner with the woman and he was guilty until proven innocent.

‘She asked me to dinner once out of politeness. Nothing happened. I do have some self-control, you know.’

‘And the girl with dreadlocks?’

Ah yes. That too. ‘I picked her up on the highway, fed her some dinner and drove her to Eden.’

‘Why did you pick her up?’

Lex clenched his fists, exasperated. ‘I’m being honest with you. Nothing happened. Ask the girl. I’m sure she won’t hesitate to tell you.’ He dropped his fists and gave up. ‘Please can you help?’ he said. ‘Helen’s off her face. Stoned. She’s been vomiting. And the kid’s really upset.’

‘Poor wretch,’ Callista said without sympathy. ‘She hasn’t got much idea, has she? Doesn’t know what to do without Henry to dictate The Way.’

‘Even if you just pat her hand?’ Lex suggested.

Callista glared at him. ‘Go and chat to your journalist mate,’ she said. ‘At least you guys understand each other.’

Shane was still at the base of the dunes, smoking and biding time. He saw Lex coming and waved.

‘Coffee?’ he yelled.

Lex nodded. He saw that Shane had a gas cooker set up in the sand.

‘I bring my own stuff,’ he explained. ‘It’s the only way you can get good coffee in the field. I tried that shit the church dames are serving up. Tastes like cat’s piss.’

Lex couldn’t help laughing. ‘Can’t say that I’ve drunk any cat’s piss lately.’

While they waited for the billy to boil, they talked Sydney and the radio industry and other inane stuff that took them nowhere. Lex knew they were edging around. Sussing each other out after a long gap in their acquaintance. Finally, Shane poured the coffee and passed him a mug.

‘What are you doing here?’ he asked.

Lex shrugged. ‘How’s Jilly?’

‘Do you really want to know?’

‘Not really. It all feels a bit remote.’

Shane laughed. ‘You’re the one who’s a bit remote. Living way out here.’

‘It’s not so bad.’

‘Milking cows, eh?’

‘She told you all that?’

‘It might entertain you for a while, mate,’ Shane said. ‘But it’s not enough for you. You’ll rot.’

‘It’s not so bad.’

‘You belong in the city, mate. They’d have you back at the radio station, you know. Don’t you miss all that?’

‘Haven’t thought about it,’ Lex mumbled.

‘Yeah? Well, maybe you should.’

‘And Jilly?’

‘She’s like a lost sheep. She got fixed on a rich lawyer for a while, but that went nowhere. I asked her out once too.’ Shane winked. ‘I reckon she’s still waiting to see if you come back.’

Lex gazed out to sea.

‘I heard you put in a professional appearance at a local event,’ Shane said.

‘She told you that too.’

‘Sounds like you haven’t lost your touch.’

‘It was the Show Girl contest at the local show.’

Shane snorted. ‘Must have needed your rose-coloured glasses at that one. What was it like? A line-up of dairy cows?’

‘Actually, I had fun,’ Lex said. ‘The girls were fresh and unpretentious. If you staged an event like that in the city, the girls would be falling over themselves trying to be something they’re not. It’s simpler here. Simpler and cleaner.’

‘You’ve lost it, mate. You’re a bloody country convert.’

They sat in silence for a moment.

‘How about you?’ Lex asked. ‘Any developments in your life?’

Shane looked at him hesitantly. ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking Jilly out.’

Lex shrugged. ‘She’s fair game now, I suppose. She’s not a bad woman. It’s just that everything’s gone for us now.’

‘Can I call that your consent?’

Lex smiled. ‘Go ahead.’

Shane started packing away his stove. ‘I meant what I said about radio. You should think about it. Your producer’s only a phone call away. It’s all there for you. Come back and get some meaning in your life. We can’t have you milking cows forever.’

Lex grunted. ‘The second boat’s coming,’ he said, pointing towards the headland. ‘Phase two will be on soon.’

Shane snorted. ‘Soon! Not likely. Tide’s still a mile out. And I reckon the whale’s had it anyway, poor bugger.’ He drained his coffee and looked down the beach. ‘What’s going on down there?’

He pointed to a fluster in the crowd and Lex recognised the tall figure of the minister flanked on either side by Beryl and Mrs Jensen.

‘Looks like the minister’s arrived,’ he said. ‘Just what we need.’

Shane laughed. ‘What’s he here for? To give a bloody sermon? To this lot?’

‘Don’t laugh,’ Lex warned. ‘This is the country. It’s likely to happen.’

‘Let’s go down and watch,’ Shane said. ‘This could be entertaining.’