Red Hot Part 31

Win and Ellie were sitting together in the living room, relieved that Emmie also had decided to have a rest. Tammi and Laura had spent most of the day with Muriel. They hadn't expected her to be released from hospital so soon.

Win and Ellie were talking about Mary's visit. Ellie was glad the whole affair was out in the open and had told Win what Mary had said to her.

'You know, Ellie, it's quite on the cards that Mary is heading for a nervous breakdown.'

'The thought has crossed my mind. From what Harv has told me, she's. .h.i.tting the bottle pretty hard,' Ellie answered quietly. 'I know this must be hard for her but she openly admits they are married in name only, Win. Do I feel guilty? Should I? Why doesn't she just set herself free from this pain...? Wouldn't that be the sensible thing to do?'

'Who knows, Elle. Why do people do the things they do? Do you think she would accept some help? A counsellor might be able to give her a bit more clarity on why she hangs on and help her to move forward with her life.'

'I don't know. I could suggest it to Harv. He's finding her very hard to live with.'

'Something has to be done. She can't be allowed to go on like this. She'll just get worse and worse and she isn't a bad woman, just a confused woman. It's sad.' Win sighed. The whole Mary and Harvey business was just another worry. Win felt she didn't need this on top of everything else.

'I know, I'm concerned too, but what can we do if she refuses help? She actually had me feeling a bit nervy. It was the way she looked at me, Win. She had an awful look in her eye.'

'Talk to Harvey, love. After all, he is her husband and he might have some answers. He knows her better than anyone.' Win patted Ellie's shoulder as she stood up.

'I'll just pop in and see how Hazel's going with dinner arrangements. We want tonight to be special. Dig suggested Eddie join us! That's a turn around, isn't it? I'm pleased he and Eddie had a chance to talk and work things out. Kathy was so upset last night it showed just how much those two care for each other. Actually, I was quite surprised myself.'

'From what you've told me, I'm surprised too. I mean, from what I knew about Eddie Chancellor, he didn't sound like the type of bloke to risk his life for anyone. It just goes to show you really can't judge a book by its cover, or listen to rumours, as we said the other day!' Ellie exclaimed.

Win went to see if she could help Hazel, and Ellie decided to tinker quietly on the piano.

Outside, the men were discussing the fire and looking forward to Hazel's roast dinner.

'I'm surprised the cops haven't been around to ask more questions,' Arthur said.

'Yeah, it's unusual alright, especially after the way they barged in here the other night. I know they went to Hansens' earlier. I saw the car go in.' Karl was also mystified.

'Yeah, and Beryl goin' berserk with her gun shoulda stirred 'em up. I thought they'd be right on to everyone.' Sam shrugged. 'Can't understand 'em.'

'They'll get here sooner or later,' Eddie a.s.sured them. Kathy had invited him over earlier at Dig's suggestion. He was enjoying a beer with the blokes. 'This time a life was nearly lost, then it would have been murder as well!' As Eddie finished speaking, a very distraught Eileen came around the side of the house.

'G'day, Eileen. What's wrong, love?' Digger looked up in surprise as Eric followed around the corner.

'What's the trouble, mate?' Karl asked.

'It's old Harry...' Eric began but Eileen interrupted.

'He's dead!' she sobbed.

Eric went on to explain. 'We went to visit him again. The poor old b.u.g.g.e.r died while we were there. The nurses said he'd been restless all day. He opened his eyes at one stage and I swear he knew who we were. He was tryin' to tell us somethin' but all he could do was mumble.'

'He was trying to tell us who did it to him,' Eileen added. She was wiping tears from her face. 'I thought he said Aunty Win's name but Eric doesn't think I'm right.'

Digger looked startled. 'Win's name? Why would he say her name?'

'I didn't hear that, Dig,' Eric added. 'Harry was mumblin'. We couldn't make out what he was sayin' really.'

Karl looked very thoughtful. 'I don't know so much, Dig. There were the phone calls...'

'Yeah... so...' Digger looked at Karl.

'Well, whoever it was on the phone threatened Win, remember?'

'I remember alright... The call Kath took ... You think Harry may have known somethin' about that'?'

'It's all got to be connected, but how and why? What is this madman up to?' Sam's weathered face knotted, perplexed.

'Ellie's been followed, Kath had the same thing happen... The fires are gettin' worse... and Lord knows what's next,' Arthur spoke solemnly.

'Murder...' Eileen cried vehemently. 'b.l.o.o.d.y murder... He's committed murder now!'

'G.o.d help us!' Eric exclaimed. Those three words held a mountain of emotion.

'Who the h.e.l.l are we dealin' with here?'

They looked at each other with no idea what direction to take from here. Things really had worsened and it seemed Harry had taken some very important information to the grave with him.

Over Hazel's lovely roast dinner that night, Harry was the main conversation and no one really felt like eating after all. Kathy was pleased Eddie had accepted the dinner invitation. Even though he felt a bit nervous about dining with the Masons, he soon felt relaxed and fitted into the conversation with the rest of them.

News of Harry's death filtered through the valley.

A blanket of fear loomed over the community. If this madman could go from lighting fires to cold blooded murder, there was every reason to be afraid.

Very, very afraid!

There was sadness in the hearts of all who knew Harry Eileen especially. She cried at his funeral, heartbroken. She loved him like a grandfather. He had made her laugh at his many tales and she had cried over his lonely way of life. There had even been times when she felt anger at the old man for his stubbornness. He was always there for her, an ear when she needed to talk.

Now, some evil person had taken his life and he would no longer greet her with his toothless grin. 'Ello dere girlie! Whatcha got ole 'Arry taday?'

The Mason household was very subdued. Once again the locals had attended another funeral. Harry's funeral brought home the lengths the crazed arsonist would go to. They were all aware that Harry had been attacked to keep him from divulging what he had discovered.

They were gathered on the side veranda. The March night air was cool, making it pleasant to sit outside.

'Murder...' Win said softly. 'I just can't believe this has happened. This crazy person has completely turned our lives upside down and now taken a life.' Her eyes were wet with tears.

'It's a very serious situation we have here. We can expect the police to be around again with more questions about the stable fire. Harry's death will have opened up a whole new area in this investigation. They'll have to admit it was the firebug who attacked him now,' Digger declared.

'Harry knew somethin', there's no doubt about that,' Karl stated. 'From what Eileen says, he tried hard to tell them. And she's convinced he said Win's name.'

'It makes my blood run cold. It has to all be connected. The fires, the attack on Harry, the phone calls, Towser...' Win felt a s.h.i.+ver run down her spine.

'I'll bet me last zac that poor old Harry came face to face with the firebug, and the old bloke's recognized the b.a.s.t.a.r.d and he bashed him to shut him up!' Digger said, looking around the group for support to his theory.

'The thing is he has the ability to just disappear. He could be here listening to us right now,' Ellie said.

Laura had gone back home to care for her grandmother. It would be quite a while before Muriel was back to her old self. With it being such a ferocious fire with no regard for the horses, the Hansens' were living on the edge even more now. Muriel was not in good shape mentally or emotionally. Laura was afraid to leave her grandparents alone.

Tammi and Kathy were upstairs in Kathy's room. 'I'm so afraid. This creep is insane and it terrifies me, Kath,' Tammi said in a shaky voice.

'So am I, Tam. We have good reason to be. The mongrel is ruthless, he's cruel and evil. I can't believe we might know someone like that and he must be from around here.'

'Well, it's good you have a nice big burly man to protect you,' Tammi teased. 'He certainly has proved himself, hasn't he?'

'Yeah he has, I'm glad Dad's finally come 'round!' Kathy replied, smiling. 'At least something had gone right in life lately.'

'So am I. You would've had a hard time seeing Eddie if he hadn't, I'm afraid.'

'I sure would have, but what a way to find out! Eddie could have been burnt to death. I go cold just thinking about it.' Kathy shuddered. She wandered over to the window and pulled the curtains aside to let the cool breeze blow in.

'Well, Kath, you'll have to put that to the back of your mind. He's alive and you can see each other whenever you like now. Let's go downstairs and join the others for a while.'

The next day dawned slightly misty. Autumn was setting in and light mist hung over the valley, just enough to leave dampness on the gra.s.s.

Connie had prepared a huge meal of bacon and eggs for the men folk. Des hadn't looked too well all week. He hadn't been himself for a while now. His moods had been quite changeable; one minute he would be happy, then in a flash he could become irritable and bad tempered. Not like Des at all.

Connie put it down to the immense strain that everyone in the valley was experiencing. It was having an effect on them all. It was hard to extract a smile from anyone these days.

'I've got your breakfast ready. Come and eat it while it's hot,' Connie called out to them.

They trooped in and sat at the table, sc.r.a.ping their chairs as they arranged themselves comfortably.

'Smells wonderful, Con.' Sam thanked her with an appreciative smile.

'Yeah, I'm starvin'!' Eric said, tucking in.

Des didn't utter a word. Connie looked at him. 'Care for toast with some vegemite on it?'

'No thanks, Mum,' he mumbled.

Connie looked at Sam. He shrugged. He too had noticed Des' moods and he decided to take him aside later to see if he could find out what was bothering him apart from the inevitable.

Breakfast was rather tense because of Des' sullen att.i.tude. The conversation centred mostly on the firebug and Harry's demise. Des contributed scarcely half a dozen words to the discussion.

Sam opened the local paper and the headlines jumped out at him. The Vietnam news was on page one, the Hamilton Valley Firebug was the cover story. Murder was now involved. The media were having a field day!

'The cops may come around today, Con. Just send them down to the orchard. The three of us will be there most of the day,' Sam reminded her. He didn't want her to be worried any more than was necessary.

'They'll most likely go over to Harry's again. They went and checked it out but they didn't take prints or anythin' before. Now Eileen's cleaned the place up a bit too quick for 'em, I'd say. That woulda got rid of anythin' that mighta told them who did it.' Eric said, leaning back in his chair.

'Yes, there could have been some evidence there. Eileen meant well but she probably cleaned off any fingerprints that may have been around,' Connie agreed ruefully.

'Ha, the cops don't have a clue!' Des cried.

'Now, come on, Des. You have to admit they've had a battle on their hands. They haven't had much ta go on, really. They were around a lot yesterday though,' Sam said, folding the Border Mail newspaper in half and placing it on the table in front of him.

'How could I b.l.o.o.d.y well forget it?' Des shouted. 'The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds grilled me for an hour, over and over, until I nearly went mad. For a while, I thought they were goin' to try and pin it on me.' He slammed his clenched fist hard on the table, rattling his cup in its saucer.

'Calm down, Des. That's enough! Do you want ta upset your mother even more?' Sam warned. 'We all copped a grillin', not just you, and we'll most probably cop another today or sometime again soon. So just be prepared, ok?'

Des pushed his chair out from the table and stormed from the room. Eric looked at Sam and Connie, raising his eyebrows.

'Dunno what's with him. He's so b.l.o.o.d.y moody these days.'

'There's somethin' on his mind, apart from all the stress of the fires. Might be Harry's pa.s.sin',' Sam said thoughtfully. 'C'mon on, Eric, we'll go and do a bit. Des can catch us up.' Sam kissed Connie and they left, bewildered at Des' outburst, trudging wearily towards the orchards.

The detectives had just left Ivy Gelding's property. They'd spent a long time talking with her. She'd been adamant in her statement and had gone over and over it with them.

They had also questioned Father Damien. He'd supplied them with some very interesting information.

'What do you think, Simmo?' Detective Bennett asked his partner as they sat in the police car.

'Well it does all fit together. Must say I'm a bit surprised by it. Just to be sure we'll go over these specific times and ascertain some of the others' whereabouts to be absolutely certain. Riley and Moore'll want to discuss this information with us too.'

'Yeah, I reckon they'll be pretty d.a.m.n pleased with what we've got here. They want this thing wrapped up fast. I'd like to question that son of Arthur Mason a bit more thoroughly before we do anything too. Ok, we'll get on with it.' Detective Bennett stubbed out his cigarette and drove off towards Centaur Road.

'Who's first?' Simpson asked.

'Sam Mason!'

Connie opened the front door. She looked at the big burly figure standing before her. 'Mrs Sam Mason?'

'Yes!'

'Is your husband home, Mrs Mason?'

'He's working in the orchard. Just go on down, he's expecting you.' She stood to one side to allow them to enter.

'Thank you. We'll go around instead of through your house.'

'That's the tractor that got burned,' Simpson remarked.

They took their time strolling down to the orchard.

'Hey Dad...' Des grunted. 'Here come the cops again!'

Sam turned and watched the detectives approach them and extended his hand in greeting.