They stepped back to allow the priest to leave.
‘Stupid little man…’ Francis said, shaking his head in exasperation.
‘Yes, he’s gonna get himself hurt if he continues to sneak around,’ Arthur grumbled.
***
They stood around on the back veranda of the house, discussing the night’s events.
‘Dig, let me check your hands. You too, Karl.’ Win had seen them heaving the rotary hoe across the yard and guessed they would have suffered a few burns.
‘Aah, they’ll be right love, just a few blisters, no need to fuss.’
‘No, let me have a look.’ She grabbed one of Digger’s hands. ‘Just a few blisters!’ he exclaimed. ‘Look at them, the skin’s peeled in places and you have more than
just a few
blisters!’
‘Hazel,’ Emmie called out to the housekeeper, ‘bring the Rawleighs ointment out will you please? And some gauze. We have to attend to some burns on Dig and Karl.’
‘Stop fussin’,’ Karl grumbled, holding out his hands all the same. They both allowed Hazel and Win to attend to them. They had sustained some nasty burns, but in their eyes they were nothing to be concerned about.
‘Hell, we thought for minute Kia-Ora’d gone up,’ Sam told them.
‘The damage tonight’s bloody heart breaking! We won’t ever be able to replace some of the things that we’ve lost, and the expense of replacing tools isn’t goin’ to be cheap. Not to mention what could have been if a spark had got to the other sheds or the house and cottage!’ Digger spoke seriously and everyone agreed with him.
Karl looked across at Dave. ‘Dad, we gotta face it, there’s a firebug here in the valley! We’ve been blamin’ those kids, but this one’s not done by them. O’Toole took ‘em fishin’ for the weekend and even if they were here, this one’s way outta their league.’
‘So, what do we do about it? We can’t sit around on our arses. We gotta hatch a plan and catch the bastard!’ Dave heaved himself out of his chair and went to stand at the edge of the veranda, looking down to where the shed used to stand.
‘Damn shame, damn… bloody shame!’ Dave spoke emotionally. His old face showed the distress he was feeling.
‘Look, we’re all bloody exhausted. We’ll head off and you blokes get a bit of shuteye an’ we’ll talk about this when we get up. There’s only a coupla hours left till daylight,’ Nat said. ‘We’ll come back after breakfast and help you’se go through what’s left down there.’
‘Yeah, we’ll work out a plan then too! We’ll get this bastard, mark my words!’ Sam growled.
So it was agreed that a plan would be hatched to try and catch the firebug. The men all left to go to their own homes. Dave and his family finally went back to bed for what was left of the night. Sleep wouldn’t come easy no matter how tired they all were. The upheaval had left their nerves on edge and sleep was almost impossible.
‘What’s happening in our lovely valley?’ sighed Win. She was sitting at the kitchen table the next morning with Ellie. Neither felt much like breakfast; they had lain awake for hours and were dog tired. ‘To think some lunatic is out there, watching us and waiting until we’re all asleep, then setting fire to our things!’ She shuddered. ‘Just think, Ellie, whoever set fire to our shed was out there watching me while I was on the veranda! It scares me to even think about it!’
‘Whoever it is, Win, the blokes will catch him. He won’t get away with it.’
‘Mum had some lovely things stored in that shed, and now they’re all gone and all the tools…’ Win’s voice drifted away as she sat thinking, then she looked up abruptly. ‘Ellie, I bet it was the firebug who followed you the other night,
and
it was him in the orchard when Kathy said she was sure someone was there!’
‘We don’t know that for sure, Win. Yes it could have been the firebug in the orchard, but it could have been anyone that followed me.’
‘No, I know I’m right!’ Win smacked the palms of her hands on the table. ‘It’s all too coincidental!’
Emmie wandered in with Hazel and soon, at Hazel’s insistence, they had steaming cups of tea in front of them and poached eggs on toast.
***
The men had been outside going through the ashes since daylight. Arthur, Sam and the boys were there, and Nat and Rex had come back to help as promised. Karl and Dave had put off their trip to town and Digger had phoned another bricky to do the Henty job.
The only thing left that hadn’t been reduced to ashes was the statue of a dog. It looked forlorn, sitting on a fence post where Dave had placed it.
‘Bloody mess, isn’t it?’ Karl cursed, gazing around at the sheets of twisted tin that once were the walls of the shed. They now lay in buckled piles among the rubble.
‘Yeah, nothin’ left at all,’ Digger sighed and sat on an empty diesel drum.
‘Hey, did you use any diesel yesterday?’
Digger thought for a minute. ‘No, mate, I didn’t go near the shed yesterday.’
‘Well, where’d the drum you’re sittin’ on come from?’ The men all looked at each other.
‘You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?’ Digger asked.
‘Better check the shed!’
They strode over to the machinery shed where the diesel was stored.
‘How many drums did we have?’ Dave asked
‘Nine,’ replied Digger. ‘The empty one I was sittin’ on I got from over near the saw bench at the wood heap!’
‘Well, there’s only eight in here! The dirty rotten mongrel used our own diesel to destroy our shed!
’
Dave took a step back as realization hit him.
‘It doesn’t ignite straight away, needs somethin to be burnin around it to get it goin’, so he could set it and get away before it all went up!’
‘The firemen reckoned it smelled of fuel here last night,’ Digger said thoughtfully.
At that moment, the police arrived.
‘G’day fellas…’ Keith Brewster, the local cop, greeted them. ‘This’s Detective Bennett and Detective Simpson from Albury.’
‘Yeah we know… we’ve met,’ they replied, shaking hands.
‘This’s my father, Dave Mason,’ Karl introduced Dave to the detectives. He urged Dave to sit down on a stack of wood. He was looking pale again.
‘You looked mighty thoughtful there as we came along the path,’ Keith said to them. ‘Find anything?’
‘Yeah, could have. We’re a drum of diesel short here. Dig was sittin’ on an empty one back over there.’
‘That’s right, mate. I got it from over near the saw bench. The firies said the place smelled of fuel last night!’
‘We reckon the mongrel took the drum from in here and used it to start the fire!’ Karl stated flatly, explaining the drum missing from the shed.
‘Well you could be right,’ the detectives agreed. ‘It burns slowly, doesn’t explode like petrol, so whoever lit it had time to get away before she went up. There’s plenty of sawdust from the wood heap to use as an igniter.’
‘Well, we haven’t found anythin’ apart from that. We’ve gone through the rubble but there’s nothin’ else there.’ Dave told them.
‘Look, we can’t point the finger at the kids for this either,’ Digger pointed out. ‘This one’s too big for the likes of them. Also, Rex told us that O’Toole’s took ‘em fishin’ out at Darlington Point. They couldn’t a done this.’
‘That’s right,’ Dave added. ‘There’s a friggin firebug in our valley and we gotta catch him before he does more damage!’
‘So now you’ve changed your tune about those youngsters and agree it’s someone else?’ Bennett spoke with a hint of sarcasm.’ I’d say you Masons have an enemy… Someone doesn’t like you much, eh?’ he added.
‘Detective Bennett.’ Karl took a long breath and exhaled slowly. ‘We got a fuckin’ firebug in the valley. We haven’t been the only ones targeted; Walter Hansen was first. You blokes better catch him before we do, ya understand?’
Keith Brewster stepped forward. ‘We know you’re pissed off, mate. We’ll do our best to get this bloke. Let’s take a look around here, see what we might find.’ Brewster eyed the detective, hoping he’d get the message to stop pushing Karl’s buttons.
The detectives took a good look around. They raked through the ash and rubble, but found nothing. There was absolutely nothing for them to link to anyone.
‘Well, that’s all we can do here. Apart from assuming diesel was used to light the fire, there’s nothing to go on. If you can think of anyone who might have a grievance with you, let us know immediately,’ Simpson said, then added, ‘Now it’s established there’s a firebug in the valley, we’ll send a patrol car to do random drives around the place. Just keep your eyes open for anyone acting strangely. Call us if you think of anything more.’ They shook hands again and left.
‘Beats me, the bastard must’ve been here while Win was sittin’ on the veranda!’ Karl stood, hat tipped back on his head, scratching his forehead.
‘Yeah, and you know what else bothers me, Towser didn’t bark but he knew something wasn’t right. Win said he stood at the edge of the veranda and all he did was growl, and even wag his tail. Bloody hell! He must’ve sensed who it was!’ Digger said thoughtfully.
‘Well, he hadn’t set the fire then because we had a good look ‘round when Win woke us.’ Karl stood, hands on his hips, his brow furrowed. ‘The bastard must’ve took off an’ hid in the orchard when Win came in to get us.’
‘Yeah, an’ after we went back inside, he came back, got the diesel outta the shed, an’ set the friggin’ fire!’ Digger added. ‘Which means the bastard knows where we keep our stuff. That can only mean one thing…
he knows us!
’
‘I don’t like this one bit. The bloke must’ve been watchin’ an’ waited til you all came back inside. The cops aren’t much use are they? Hell, we gotta get this fool.’ Dave kicked a cloud of ash into the air.
‘They more or less said they’d make a report and that’d be it. Sendin’ a patrol car out here won’t do any good. The firebug’ll just hide til the cops’ve gone. Fuck’n hell, he strikes at night, he’s got the best cover… darkness!’ Karl added, fury rising in his voice.
‘Reckon we gonna have to take matters into our own hands!’
‘Reckon you’re right, Dad.’ Karl answered, looking over Dave’s head at Digger.
***
‘So what’ d’ya reckon we should do?’ Rex asked, looking around at the rest of them.
Nat, who had been leaning against the saw bench, took a deep breath. ‘Well, ya know they’re right with one thing, it seems like the arsehole’s targeting you Masons. With the exception of Wally Hansen, the fires’ve all been on your properties.’
‘Nat’s right. So can you’se think of anyone whose got it in for ya’s? Someone ya’s mighta pissed off about somethin’?’ Rex asked.
‘Dunno, can’t think of anyone,’ Dave replied. ‘Don’t recall upsettin’ anyone. Can you blokes?’ he asked Karl and Digger.
They both shook their heads in bewilderment.
‘Well, what’re we gonna do about catchin’ the prick? We can’t sit on our arses about this. Hell, what’ll he burn down next?’ Dave continued.
Sam rubbed his chin. ‘Well, the fires’ve all been ‘round the same time of night; the one at my place was around midnight, the old shithouse here, and now the shed, all around the same time.’ He glanced around the group. ‘What if we wait up till say, one o’clock, do a walk around every hour and check things?’
‘Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me. What’dya think, Dig?’ Karl asked, turning to look at him.’ About all we
can
do, I s’pose. We’re bein’ woke up by fires anyway, so stayin’ up isn’t gonna make us any less tired than if we went to bed an’ had to get up again!’ Dig answered.
‘Well, let’s give it a try and see what happens.’ Sam looked around for agreement.
‘One more thing,’ Karl added. ‘We’re gonna have to make sure the women don’t hang ‘round outside at night. I know they often like to sit out in the cool night air, but til we’ve nipped this in the bud, I don’t think they should.’
‘I agree with ya, mate, we dunno who this bloke is. Hell, he could do anythin’, it’s just not safe for ‘em. No goin’ out alone either for Kath or Tam? We all agree?’ Digger looked around at them and they all nodded in agreement. He could tell by the look on Karl’s face that he knew what he was implying. They hadn’t told Dave about the car that had followed Ellie. There was enough stress for him with the fires.
‘Ok, then it’s settled. Between us we’ll catch this mongrel and he’ll never light another fire. I’ll choke the bastard!’ Karl stated.
‘Right mate, we’ll make tracks then.’ Nat stood from leaning against the saw bench. ‘Only a coupla weeks to Christmas and we’re way behind on the farm. Give us a yell if we can help in any way though.’
They shook hands. Rex adding, ‘Hope you’se get the bastard!’
***
Emmie, Win and Ellie were busy in the kitchen helping Hazel with the food preparations for Christmas.
Emmie always made the plum pudding. She would wrap it in a calico pudding cloth and hang it from a hook on the veranda until Christmas Day. Allowing the flavours to mature, and allowing
the
good drop
, as Emmie called it, of sherry to ferment.
‘I’m just nipping out to take these drinks and sandwiches to the men,’ Hazel said to them. ‘They’ve been down there going through the ashes since daylight. I’ll be back in a jiff.’
They watched as Hazel disappeared through the back door.
‘She’s a good woman,’ Emmie said, watching the housekeeper head out the door.
They chatted while they prepared the pudding and cake.
‘Someone has to solve this. Whoever it is
must
hate us,’ Emmie said. ‘I’m worried about Dave, he’s not resting well at night as it is and now with this worry on top of things, I’m concerned what all this will do to him.’ Emmie’s voice shook with emotion.
‘Well, I’m sure our blokes will come up with a plan and the police will surely do something too.’ Ellie stirred the cake mixture vigorously. ‘Goodness me, this is now the fourth fire, and by far the worst, so they’ll have to do something!’ She beat the cake mix even harder.
‘Here, let me do that.’ Win reached to take the bowl from Ellie. ‘You’re going to wear a hole in the bottom of the bowl the way you’re going.’
Ellie stopped stirring, spoon held in mid- air, then grinned. ‘Sorry, I got a bit carried away. I’m just so damn angry!’ She looked at her mother. ‘Maybe we should get the doctor out to check Dad over, Mum?’
‘Yes, it wouldn’t hurt,’ Win agreed.
‘I did suggest that to him, but you know your father, stubborn to the core, he is. Still, I don’t like his colour. I’ll ring the doctor and have a chat to him, just to ease my mind.’
‘Well, that’s the cake ready. Open the oven please, Ellie.’ Win stood, proudly holding the Christmas cake ready to go in the oven.
Hazel waddled back in. ‘Dave told me to tell you all that they’ve hatched a plan and they’ll catch the firebug in no time,’ she told them.
‘There you go, Mum, what did I just say?’ Ellie put an arm around her mother and hugged her, dropping a kiss on her silvery head.
With the cake baking in the oven and the pudding hanging from its hook on the veranda, they now had some time to relax.
‘Well, another good pudding done!’ Hazel said, wiping her hands on her apron.
‘Yes, and I’m sure there’s a decent drop of sherry in it too,’ laughed Win.
‘And a jolly good drop in the cake too,’ Ellie added. ‘Smell that lovely aroma.’
The delicious aroma of the fruitcake baking in the oven was now wafting through the
kitchen.
They all laughed. Emmie was well known for her
good drops
of sherry.
‘Well, now it’s our turn.’ Emmie put four glasses on the table and plonked the sherry bottle down beside them. ‘C’mon, girls, a jolly
good drop
for us too; Lord knows we need it!’