All too soon, daylight broke. Everyone was exhausted and would have given anything to sleep longer, but it was Christmas Day and there was plenty to be done. They also had to face the aftermath of last night’s fire.
As the sun rose higher, it took on the appearance of a bright orange orb. The smoke hung like a blanket over the valley.
Everyone gathered in the lounge room, wishing each other Merry Christmas and exchanging gifts, determined to keep up good spirits regardless.
The men made their way outside and the women gathered in the kitchen to help Hazel with Christmas lunch.
Emmie, Win and Ellie sat around the big wooden kitchen table, sorting the best silver to set the table, while Kathy and Tammi went over to give Laura her gift and wish Walter and Muriel a Merry Christmas. They had been hoping their son Johnny would be coming home for Christmas and were disappointed he was doing a Christmas gig in Perth and couldn’t make it. His band was doing well and Laura would have loved him to be home for Christmas.
She didn’t get to see her uncle much at all, with him gallivanting around the countryside with his band.
The topic of discussion, of course, was last night’s fire. The subject was on the tongues of every resident in Hamilton Valley.
The fire still smouldered in patches on the hill. Faint shouts from the men echoed down to the valley; they were taking it in turns to check for hot spots. No one wanted another fire today of all days. The sky was hazy and smoke had drifted down, hovering over the homes, stinging nostrils and making eyes water.
Sam, Arthur and their families arrived, closely followed by Jeff, Dawn and Eileen. The women went inside to help with the meal preparation and the men gathered around in the shade of the huge walnut tree that grew in the back yard. They shared cans of cold beer as they discussed the fires.
‘Just look what the bastard’s done!’ Karl growled.
‘The cops’ll be searchin’ the mess up there now. Let’s hope they find somethin’ this time!’ Digger said.
‘We have to come up with a better plan to catch this bloke,’ Dave broke in.
‘We do, Dad! He’s gettin’ gamer with each fire he lights. As for the phone calls, well, somethin’ here doesn’t add up!’
They decided to tell Dave about the calls and he had taken the news better than expected.
Karl butted his cigarette as he spoke, stood up and paced up and down before turning to the rest of them.
‘The calls were made within a coupla minutes of each other, right? Well, think about it. You an’ Sam were chasin’ the prick along the creek shortly after the calls were made. The women heard the shouts.’ He paused, looking at them.
‘So?’ Sam asked.
‘Think about it, Sam. If the calls were from the
firebug,
how did he get from the phone box and up to the fire where ya first caught sight of him so bloody quick? The nearest friggin’ phone box is down at Flynn’s shop. The only way he coulda been so fast is if he made the phone calls from somewhere a lot closer!’
There was a split second of silence as they absorbed what Karl had just said.
‘Shit!’ Jeff swore. ‘That means the arsehole made the calls from a house near here… Bloody hell, it had to be a house close by, one here in the valley…’
‘Which can mean only one damn thing… the
bug
lives here…
here in the valley!’
Arthur said, looking from one to the other.
‘The bloody mongrel must do, there’s no other explanation. He couldn’t have made it from the phone box and up the hill so bloody fast, he’d have to be superman.’ Digger leant forward in his chair. ‘The firebug must’ve made the calls from a house ‘round about here then raced up the hill to watch us bustin’ our guts fightin’ the fire he lit. What he didn’t count on was gettin’ seen.’
‘That’s right, he must live in the valley!
The bloody bastard’s a local!’
Karl swore.
All this time Dave sat quietly, listening to everything his sons were saying. Now he stood up and, with a grim look on his face, said, ‘You get word to Nat and Rex. We dunno who this fool is, so we have ta be very bloody careful who we talk to from now on. We’re gonna have to choose who we take into confidence about our plans!’
‘The timin’ of every bloody fire fits with a local knowin’ our routines. We’re gonna have ta make a few changes, outsmart the bastard and put him behind bars!’ Arthur said.
‘Well, I’ve been thinkin,’ Jeff said. ‘And what I suggest is we do stakeouts. Two of us spend a coupla hours every night patrolling the properties, then the next two take over, an’ so on. Take it in turns so we all at least get a
bit
of shut eye.’
‘That’s a damn good idea, mate,’ Sam agreed. ‘We’ll pair up and patrol each property from dusk til dawn, that way we’re sure to catch the prick. Havin extra cops comin’ through has done nothin’.’
Dave coughed and gave a short gasp for air, waving his hand as Karl leapt to help him into his chair. ‘I’m alright,’ he managed to say, sitting himself down. ‘What I suggest,’ he continued, ‘is, apart from family, confide only in Nat an’ Rex. If this bastard is a local, we don’t want to be handin’ him information. So best not to bring in any other local blokes, not even Frank. Not sayin’ it’s him but they tend ta talk after a few beers down there at Sars.’
They all agreed with Dave and agreed to start on the nightly patrols that very night.
Digger flipped the top off another can of beer, took a long swig, burped and brought the conversation to the phone calls. ‘Now, about these phone calls, my concern here is how far will the bloody lunatic go? Remember when Ellie was followed home after the pictures, and Kathy was certain someone was in the orchard? And then again, when Ellie thought someone was watchin’ her out here?’
‘Yep, and Win, she was sittin’ out here the night the shed went up. He must’ve been watchin’ her an’ waitin’ for his chance to get in an’ light it,’ Sam added. ‘Like you, Dig, I wonder how far he’d go to frighten them. Will he harm the women? Is this what he’s leadin’ to? It’s a grave concern, that’s for damn sure.’
‘Well, I think for safety’s sake that none of them should go anywhere alone. Just to be sure. Whoever this bloke is, he’s not the full quid. He can’t be, to run ‘round settin’ the place on fire an’ scarin’ the crap outta women!’ Arthur cleared his throat. ‘I’m gonna keep my shotgun loaded from now on!’
‘Well, that’s not a bad idea, Arthur. Reckon we all should do the same.’ Dave gave another chesty cough. ‘It’d be a good idea to leave a rifle with the women too, when we’re all out in the orchards. They all know how to use one and it’d make them feel a helluva lot safer!’
‘That Father Damien’s a weird one,’ Francis broke in. ‘He’s always just appearin’ from nowhere, and he’s been at every fire so far.’
‘Francis is right. Think about it. Father Damien’s been at
every
fire. He’s just appeared; no one sees him arrive. He’s just there, and he ran up the hill without any effort. We saw him at old Harry’s, remember Francis?’ Des reminded him.
‘Surely you don’t think he’s the firebug!’ Dave exclaimed, chuckling. ‘Hell, I don’t like the silly little man, but I just don’t think he’s the firebug. Really can’t see him leapin’ those fences even if he can run! Still, I have to agree he’s strange alright.’
‘Well, we can’t rule him out just because he’s a man of the cloth,’ Digger replied.
‘I reckon after last night’s fire, there’ll be tongues waggin’ and fingers pointin’ all ‘round the valley,’ Karl said, stubbing out another cigarette. ‘Mine’s pointin’ right at Chancellor. He fits the description. Wonder where he was last night?’
Hazel waddled out and called them in for Christmas lunch. She had a beautiful spread prepared and no matter what had taken place last night, they all looked forward to it.
Although the gloom of the firebug’s terror hung over them, they kept up the spirit of Christmas. All talk of the fires was taboo during their lunch. Hazel and the women had prepared an amazing feast. Hazel and Ted joined the family at the dining table and donned paper Christmas hats from the bon bons. They all laughed at the silly jokes they also got from them.
They all were firm believers that Christmas was a time to rejoice… a time for generosity, joy, togetherness and most of all… love!
***
After lunch, everyone was sated with good food and drink and again they went out to laze in the shade of the huge walnut tree.
‘Sing for us, Win, love. Silent Night, it’s my favourite,’ Dave asked, coughing.
Win looked at her father; a feeling of concern niggled at her. ‘Okay, Dad.’ She sat beside him and sang the beautiful carol for her father.
Francis went inside and came back with his father’s violin, and Win sang a few more carols for them, accompanied by Francis.
The violin had belonged to Denby, Francis’s father. When he died, Ellie had given it to Francis and he treasured the beautiful instrument.
‘It’s wonderful to all be together,’ Emmie said absently as she plucked the last of the withered blooms from her gardenia bush.
The afternoon passed pleasantly. Eventually, it was time for everyone to leave for home.
Karl caught Sam and Arthur’s attention before they left. ‘Take care tonight. Don’t take any risks. I wouldn’t put it past this bloke to light another one tonight just to make a total disaster of Christmas!’
‘We’ll be right, mate. I’m goin’ up the hill with Des and Eric as soon as we get home and change. Nat an’ Rex’ll be up there. I’ll pull ‘em aside an’ fill ‘em in on everythin’,’ Sam told him.
‘Yeah, if Brewster’s around, ask him to drop in here. I thought he’d be here this afternoon, but bein’ Christmas day I s’pose he thought he’d wait til tomorra,’ Karl said.
‘Well, in the meantime, try and get the old man to lie down. He looks tuckered out,’ Arthur observed.
Dave was indeed looking exhausted. Occasionally, he would put his hand to his chest.
‘The smoke hangin’ around wouldn’t be doin’ him any good. The heat’s bad too,’ Digger remarked, rubbing his eyes. ‘Damned smoke’s affectin’ everyone. This is one Christmas we won’t bloody forget!’
Emmie came out to see them off. They each bent, kissing her cheek and giving her a hug.
She turned to Karl and Digger and confided, ‘I’m concerned for Dave. He’s not looking the best. He won’t give in to go and lie down for me, but if you talk to him, Karl, he might listen to you. He tells me I worry too much.’ She smiled a little wistfully. ‘I
am
worried though!’
‘Leave it to me, Mum. I’ll get him inside.’
Digger put a comforting arm around Emmie’s shoulders as they turned to go back inside. The two old people meant the world to him.
Karl convinced Dave to lie down by telling him he was worrying Emmie. That was the last thing Dave wanted to do, especially on Christmas Day. He helped his father inside to rest and Dave again stressed to Karl that they had to catch the firebug and
soon
.
The women began clearing the dishes. Ellie could see her mother wasn’t up to it and gave Win and Hazel a knowing look. They both nodded in acknowledgement.
‘You go up to Dad, Mum, and have a lie down as well. It’s been a hectic day and a terribly late night last night. You look exhausted. Go on, the three of us can handle this.’ Ellie squeezed her arm affectionately.
Emmie was rather relieved. She was desperately tired and it didn’t take much persuasion for her to go off to rest as well.
‘Well, today went well, considering everything that’s happened,’ Win remarked as she carefully stacked dishes. She loved the English bone china dinner set kept for special occasions.
‘Yes, but I must say I’m glad it’s nearly over,’ Ellie replied wearily. ‘The smoke has given me a headache, and the smell… it really stings the nostrils.’
‘Everyone tried hard to keep up the spirit though. I’m glad there was no talk of the fire over lunch. Christmas day would have been awful if that had been the topic of conversation. Just seeing the blackened hills every time I look out the kitchen window here is enough to make me sick.’ Win shoved a blue and white willow patterned jug into a cupboard and banged the door.
‘Okay Win, careful with those dishes. The men
will
catch him. Just you wait and see!’
‘Ellie…’ Win spun around and looked at her sister. ‘How can you be so calm? For heaven’s sake, the lunatic actually spoke to you
and
followed you! If I were you, I’d be beside myself!’
‘I’m not that brave, Win, but I’m not going to let him terrify me to the point where I’m afraid to turn my back or go anywhere. I’d rather cling to the thought that he’ll be caught soon.’
‘I’m sorry, Ellie. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just all this strain. It’s getting harder and harder to take.’
‘I know, love. I’m also worried about Dad. He doesn’t look well at all. He’s not a good colour. Breathing in this smoke has really irritated his asthma.’
‘Yes, I noticed that as well. The strain is really telling on him. I think we should get the doctor to have a look at him tomorrow no matter what objections he puts up.’
***
On Boxing Day, smoke lingered in the valley. The sun was still a red ball through the haze, and the air was heavy with the smell of burnt bush. The police had questioned Ellie and Kathy about the phone calls but they could not give them anything solid to go on. They were now scouring the hill, looking for anything that would point them to the identity of the firebug.
The men were keeping a close eye on the smouldering gum trees. Then later, they would be taking it in turns to patrol the properties. Nat and Rex both agreed that plans should be kept among themselves. For all they knew, the firebug could be standing right beside them at any time, in any place, listening!
The inevitable happened and Dave suffered a major asthma attack. Ellie called the family doctor and they waited anxiously for his arrival.
Emmie sat beside the old man, trying in vain to soothe him. His medication had done nothing to ease his discomfort. His breathing came in raspy gasps between fits of coughing.
‘Ellie, he’s really bad. I’m so afraid. Just listen to him!’ Win and Ellie stood together in the hallway outside Dave’s bedroom.