Licence to Dream (26 page)

‘You know him well?’

‘Sort of. He’s always trying to set up a property deal. Hasn’t had much success.’

‘Is he the sort to poison a dog?’ She explained about Tina.

Silence, then. ‘I don’t know. I’m not an unbiased witness.’

‘You don’t like him?’

‘Well, no. But I don’t know that he’s ever done anything
illegal
.’

‘Go on about your hippies.’

‘They’ve been to see me to ask if there are any properties where the owners would like them to act as caretakers. I checked out whether they’d be interested in helping you and they said yes.’ He chuckled again. ‘They’ve not opted out of technology, mind. They’ve got a mobile phone, a generator and a computer. Thing is, are
you
interested? You could let them camp on an unused part of your land. They’d not be in your way, but they’d have to stay there for a while, because they couldn’t be upping stakes and moving camp every time Ben went away, now could they?’

She’d had something a bit different in mind for a bodyguard, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. ‘Tell me a bit more about them. How many are there?’

‘Four adults, two children, one dog. Large. As in Irish wolf hound. Big white teeth. No fillings.’

She chuckled. ‘The dog sounds attractive, anyway. Go on.’

‘Two caravans. Two beat-up old cars. Except for Ria, they don’t take permanent work, just do odd jobs. She’s a psychologist. Well, Big Jim is past retirement age now, though you’d never think it to look at him. They tidied up my garden for me a few weeks ago. Made a damn good job of it, too. They’d like to be self-sufficient but can’t afford to buy the right sort of land.’

She could hear him tapping his pencil on the blotter. She didn’t know what to say. Neo-hippies, for heaven’s sake! Get real!

‘You could let ’em stay for a while, see how things pan out – but tell ’em it’s not permanent just to cover yourself legally.’

‘You’re trying to persuade me to use them. Why?’

‘Well, I like them – and let’s face it, there’s a touch of the old nostalgia. Besides, I doubt you’ll find anyone else suitable round here.’

It was a no-brainer. ‘OK, Bill. Send them out to see me. If I like your protégés, they can camp on the slope on the other side of the drive. If I don’t take to them, no harm done.’

There was a mutter of voices, then, ‘They’ll nip out to see you in one of the cars.’

Ben, who had just come in, asked, ‘Who can camp on the other side of the drive?’

‘Some hippies who’re looking for a place to squat for a while. Bill Lansome just rang. He thought they’d make good bodyguards.’

‘You’re joking!’

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Well, they’d not make good enough bodyguards for my peace of mind. So you’re not – ’

Here he was trying to tell her what to do again. ‘You know,’ she leaned back in her chair and eyeballed him, ‘you have this nasty habit of dictating what I can and can’t do. Get over it, Elless. I’m not a little dolly-girl to be protected and dominated. My Grandpop taught me to look after myself and if I can’t do that, I’ll be the one who says what help I need.’

He glared right back at her. ‘The trouble with you is you’re so bloody independent, you don’t even know how to be a couple.’

The words hung in the air between them.

‘No, I don’t,’ she said quietly, feeling hurt by this accusation, which sounded as if he wanted her to be a clone of his wife. ‘And if it means letting you dictate to me, then I never shall.’

He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly, then opened them again. ‘I didn’t mean to sound dictatorial, but hell, Meriel, a guy likes to look after his partner.’

‘And this partner likes to be just that – a partner – as in equal.’

The silence had ice prickling through it. She took a deep breath. Perhaps she had been just a bit touchy. ‘Look, all I’ve done is told Bill to send these people over to see us. I’ve not made any decisions yet.’

‘Can I meet them too, then? Help make the decision? If we’re going to be equal partners, it works both ways.’

‘Of course.’ But there was a coolness to the careful way they were talking. She knew it, could see that he knew it, too, and tried to lighten the mood. ‘Come on, then, Sir Galahad! Let’s go and inspect the lawn while we wait for them.’

Ten minutes later a car jolted along the drive, an old Statesman, large and comfortable, with a purring, well-tuned engine, though the bodywork was in need of a paint job. From it piled two men and a woman, anachronisms in their dress, as Bill had said.

‘Peace,’ one of them said, holding up a hand in a kind of Indian salute.

Meriel tried desperately to think of some suitable response, but only came up with, ‘Hi! I’m Meriel Ingram.’

‘I’m Big Jim. This is Pete. And Ria.’ He looked at Ben.

‘This is my – er – friend, Ben Elless.’

‘Fiancé,’ said Ben, putting a proprietorial arm around her shoulders.

She sighed, but didn’t shake it off or contradict him.

‘Bill said you needed company, that you’d had intruders.’

‘Yes. They poisoned my – our dog,’ she looked down and found that Tina, who’d been very clingy since she came back from the vet, was wagging her tail at these strangers. That seemed like a good sign. ‘They tried to set fire to some stored timber too.’

The woman spoke in a deep, melodious voice. ‘Do you know who they are?’

‘The police are looking into that,’ said Ben, ‘but in the meantime I have to go away. Which is why we need a bit of company round here. Temporarily.’

Ria inclined her head graciously. ‘I see.’

Meriel gestured to the house. ‘Come and sit on the back veranda and tell us about yourselves. Would you like a cup of tea or something?’

‘Water would be nice – especially if it’s cold. We don’t use caffeine, though.’ She grinned. ‘And we don’t smoke pot, either, in case you were worrying about that.’

Ben nodded. ‘Good to know. Come out of the sun, then.’

‘You may also be glad to know that I’m a black belt in judo,’ Pete said as they walked. ‘That might be useful if you’re having problems. I don’t start trouble, but I won’t take shit from anyone.’

Ria was walking beside Meriel, studying the place. ‘It’s nice here. Peaceful. We can’t stand much more of that public camping ground. Too noisy.’

The other two nodded agreement.

‘Folk always playing radios,’ Ria added. ‘Never make their own music. Never try to listen to the birds singing. It’s not our scene. And the children are picking up bad habits. Oh, and I’m a black belt, too, by the way. A girl has to know how to defend herself.’

‘I couldn’t agree more.’ Meriel shot a triumphant glance in Ben’s direction, feeling even better about their visitors. ‘But I know that if there were more than one intruder, I’d be in trouble.’

‘Even one intruder could be a problem,’ Ben put in.

She set her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘And there again, perhaps not! I’ve been forewarned now, you know.’

‘Yeah, well,’ Ria looked round, ‘we can see your point. Love those willows. Do you ever go and sit inside the foliage?’

‘Yes. You get marvellous filtered light.’

‘Mmm. I think it’d be a great place to meditate.’

The more they talked, the more Meriel liked them and within half an hour they had come to an agreement, even Ben seeming won over. The hippies were to move in for a month’s trial.

Meriel stood watching the car purr away down the track. ‘They’re perfect.’

‘I’m not sure – ’ Ben saw her face tighten and held out his arms in a gesture of surrender. ‘Hey, I’m allowed to talk about it, aren’t I?’

‘Talk, yes. Dictate, no.’

‘Were you always so prickly and independent?’

‘I have been since I grew up. It’s a bit hard to be independent when you’re a kid, or a teenager even. And my mother didn’t exactly encourage independence in her children.’

‘Perhaps that’s why you’re so touchy.’

‘Perhaps. No offence meant, but was Sandy a dependent type?’

He cocked his head on one side to give this his consideration. ‘Sort of. She ran the office for us, dealt with a lot of the business details. She was a bit like you in that, a good organiser. But she was,’ he hesitated, ‘softer than you. Couldn’t service a car or hammer in a nail. More traditional, perhaps. But she wasn’t stupid.’

‘I like the way you speak of her,’ Meriel said quietly. ‘You must have loved her very much.’

‘I did. But I love you too. Make no mistake about that. I think I’m very lucky to have met two women I can love so much.’

She had to swallow hard before she said, ‘I love you as well, Ben.’ She walked into his arms and rested there quietly, wishing relationships weren’t quite so complicated.

* * * *

The group of neo-hippies returned and set about making camp with extreme efficiency, Jim and Pete digging out latrines with a fine display of muscle.

‘We use an organic system,’ Pete said laconically when Meriel wandered down to watch. ‘There won’t be any smells or pollution, I promise you. All right if we run a hose line down from your tap? We’ll pay for whatever water we use.’

‘No need to pay. Just help yourself. I know you’ll use it carefully.’

The two women erected a large tent as a communal room. The children ran to and fro, humping gear, working with nearly as much concentration as the adults.

The large grey wolf hound answered to the name of Dylan. As the two dogs were released, Tina rolled over on her back and exposed her belly. After a quick sniff, he accepted her with a quiet woof and they ran round together for a few minutes, then he sat and observed everything with a regal air. It was he who growled first to signal the approach of a car.

The policeman was back with a few more questions. When he saw her new tenants, he took Meriel aside and asked, ‘What are
they
doing here?’

‘Staying for a while. Ben has to go over east and I don’t fancy being on my own.’

‘You’re right about not being on your own out here, but they’re a bunch of weirdoes. Why, they may even be involved in your troubles! You don’t want to invite the foxes into the chook pen.’

‘These aren’t foxes and I’m not a helpless chicken.’ Besides, she couldn’t imagine Pete doing anything illegal, or even anything unkind. He was a gentle soul with the luminously happy eyes of someone at peace with himself and the world. ‘Two of them have black belts in judo. They also own a very large dog.’

‘Well, on your own head be it. But if my sergeant had his way, we’d have run them out of the district.’

‘Why? For being different?’

‘You can be a bit
too
different. They’re probably growing marijuana somewhere.’

‘They told me they don’t use it.’

As he let out a huff of disbelief, she decided it was better to change the subject. ‘Did you come back for a reason?’

‘Yes. We found out someone’s been seen nosing around near Ben’s uncle’s place – what there is left of it. Couple of fellows have stayed overnight a time or two as well. They’re not in town at the moment, but,’ he looked at her with an air of triumph, ‘they were in town around the time Ben’s house fell down.’

She let out a long, low whistle. ‘You’ve done well to find that out so quickly.’

Ria moved forward. ‘Would those be the two men I saw using surveying equipment on the property next to this?’

The young man stared at her. ‘You saw them doing that in broad daylight?’

‘I certainly did. More than once.’

‘Strange, that. Did they do any damage? If not . . .’ He shrugged and looked at his watch. ‘Is Mr Elless here? I’d like to ask him a few more questions.’

‘I’ll call him.’

The officer repeated his tale to Ben, then warned, ‘It’s not proof, just because some strangers were here at the same time as you. And they seem to have gone now, so we only have names, probably false, plus a vague description. Seems they were very quiet, nothing special to look at. You sure you haven’t remembered anything else?’

‘No.’

‘Tell me some more about the people you work with back east.’

Ben patiently went through his business set up.

‘Known this Hantley for long?’

‘Since my student days. He’s my first wife’s cousin. She was killed in a car accident a few years ago.’

‘Do you get on well with him?’

‘Well, there’s been a bit of tension lately because I want to break up the partnership after we’ve finished this project. But I can’t believe Phil would try to murder me. For all his faults, he’s family. And anyway, he’s in Queensland. It’s a bit far to nip over for an hour or two, isn’t it?’

‘Bad eggs turn up in the best of families. Be sure to let us know when you’re going to be away, so
we
can keep an eye on things here as well as on your
bodyguards.
’ There was a distinct sneer in the detective’s tone. ‘My sergeant doesn’t like things happening on his patch – we could be dealing with an attempted murder, you know.’

‘I had noticed.’

The hippies lined up to wave the police officer goodbye with calls of, ‘Peace, man!’ and even, ‘The force be with you.’

He didn’t respond or turn his head to look at them again.

‘You shouldn’t goad him,’ Meriel scolded after the car had thrummed away into the distance. But she couldn’t help smiling.

‘He started it a while ago,’ Ria said. ‘And you can’t deny us a bit of fun. They’ve been hassling us every way they could to try to get us to leave the district. They’ve checked every inch of the cars, looking for something wrong to charge us with. But Jim used to be a car mechanic and our vehicles are in perfect order, even if they do need a paint job.’

Pete stared down the drive, then turned back to Meriel. ‘Mind if me and Dylan go exploring? Always helps to know your territory.’ He hesitated. ‘Should have told you before, though perhaps you noticed. I’m part Aborigine.’

She shrugged. What did that matter? And actually he had such an interesting face, she’d like to sketch him one day.

‘My uncle taught me a bit of bushcraft, though my people aren’t from round here. It’s nice to see land more or less untouched. I hope you aren’t going to dig all the native plants up when you do your developing.’