Chapter Seventeen

 

Ben Hood dropped his battered suitcase to the ground and peered through the twilight to the barren landscape west and the heavily timbered summit of Mount Cook to the east. The 16 seater plane which had brought him from Cairns to Cooktown, stood silent on the apron, other than a slow, metallic clicking sound from the engine as it cooled. The 9 occupants including the pilot had already jumped into waiting cars and were gone. He was alone. The sun was gone and fluorescent lights were being attacked by thousands of grey moths.

He was about to ring Yana’s mobile phone again when headlights approached along the airport road. A gleaming black Mercedes Benz pulled up in a cloud of dust. The passenger side window slid down noiselessly and Yana’s grinning face looked up at him.

‘About time,’ Ben said.

‘Had to put my face on for you copper.’

‘I’m not a copper any more. Can’t you get it?’

‘This is Merinda,’ said Yana.

Ben leaned down and looked through the passenger side window to the driver. In the twilight he could see a black shock of thick, fizzy hair framing a stunningly beautiful face. Merinda smiled, showing brilliantly white teeth. ‘Pleased to meet you Ben.’

‘Likewise,’ said Ben.

‘Pop the boot Merinda and let’s get this man back to your place and sipping on a cold drink.’

‘Now you’re talking,’ Ben said. He picked up his suitcase, lifted up the unlocked boot lid and dropped the bag onto immaculately clean black carpet. He settled into the plush back seat of the Merc and they headed for the main road; headlights probing far ahead through the darkness.

‘Nice flight?’ asked Yana.

‘Up to Cairns was alright. I was a bit nervous in the smaller plane to Cooktown.’

‘Ben’s a pilot,’ said Yana.

‘So why are you nervous in smaller planes Ben,’ asked Merinda.

Yana answered for him. ‘He hasn’t flown for a long time and just last year he had to fly a light plane off an island down near Port Douglas, to save his life and the lives of 3 others. Bit of a hairy ride so he recounts.’

‘Was that related to the incident with Brenda Grant, the movie star?’ asked Merinda innocently.

‘Is there anyone in this damn country that hasn’t heard about that,’ said Ben.

‘I went to see Coral Sea Affair just after it was released,’ said Merinda. ‘Brilliant movie. The underwater photography was breath taking and I must admit, she sure is a looker. I wish I had a body like that.’

‘Don’t put yourself down,’ said Yana.

Ben was silent.

‘So what was it like working with her?’ asked Merinda. Yana shot her a narrow eyed glance, but Merinda wasn’t looking.

‘Interesting,’ said Ben.

‘Forgive me for asking,’ Merinda continued, still choosing to ignore Yana’s stare, ‘but there was talk of a romance between you two and possibly marriage.’

‘Yes, there was talk,’ said Ben.

‘Just media hype,’ said Yana firmly. ‘They twist everything.’

‘Where there’s smoke….’

‘There was a bit more smoke going on between Ben and Brenda’s bodyguard, but no-one reported that,’ snapped Yana.

‘Is that so!’ exclaimed Merinda. ‘What an exciting life you lead Ben.’

‘Yeah, right,’ said Ben. ‘Any chance of changing the subject?’

‘And now I’ve got you as my own bodyguard,’ said Merinda. ‘I don’t suppose you can cook as well?’

Yana leaned close to Merinda. ‘Mrs. Jerome. You’re out of line here.’

‘That’s me,’ said Merinda, laughing.

Merinda drove along a palm lined gravel road to the side of her house. The two German Shepherds paced excitedly but didn’t bark. They knew the car. She followed the driveway across the front of the house and into a large open garage on the other side. Ben retrieved his suitcase and followed the women inside. He marveled at the huge rooms and luxury furnishings. Merinda showed him to a large bedroom towards the rear of the house on the ground floor. A musty smell was vaguely present but that would disappear quickly with door and windows open. Back in the main lounge area, Ben relaxed in a leather recliner chair. Yana poured scotch over ice for each and served them from a silver tray.

‘You had dinner yet Ben?’ asked Merinda.

‘Just a coffee on the plane,’ said Ben.

‘I’ll see if I can find something later. I don’t really cook.’

‘Ben does,’ Yana said. ‘He’s a wonderful cook but not when he’s off his face on the grog.’

‘And how often does that happen?’ asked Ben.

‘Thankfully not much.’

‘Once in the last year, and that was because I’d just got suspended from the Police Force for doing my job.’

‘You’re more than welcome to use my kitchen,’ said Merinda. ‘The freezer is full of God knows what, as is the pantry.’

‘I’ll have a look,’ said Ben.

‘You really don’t need to bother,’ said Merinda. ‘I can do some frozen dinners.’

‘Yuck,’ said Yana. ‘Let Ben amuse himself out there. It will give him something to do.’

‘Before I do,’ said Ben, crossing his legs and stretching back in the comfortable chair, ‘can you guys fill me in on exactly what has been going on up here. The newspapers apparently don’t have the full story.’

‘That’s because the police don’t want them to have it. Most of what has happened is being kept under tight wraps. There’s a nasty killer on the loose and the less he knows about the police activities, the better.’

‘And what are the police activities exactly?’ asked Ben.

‘Not a lot at this stage from what we can gather. They’ve engaged an old friend of mine, Dr. Val Dunn, to work on the psychological angles.’

‘I know him,’ said Ben. ‘I’ve been to some of his lectures when I was in the police. He’s very switched on.’

‘The best Psychopathologist in the country,’ said Yana, ‘but he’ll have his hands full with this one. It’s a mess and the available evidence is not giving up leads to the offender.’

‘OK, start from the start and take me through what you know,’ said Ben and he took a sip of scotch.

‘You start Merinda,’ said Yana. ‘I’ll fill in the bits I know when she’s done.’

 

It was just after 9 pm when the girls wound up their summary of recent events. Ben hadn’t said a word as they told what they knew of the gruesome murders, a grave robbery and the police inquiries. He shook his head slowly and got to his feet. ‘What the hell have you dragged me into Yana?’ he said.

‘Right up your alley all this stuff,’ she replied.

‘Like hell it is. I’m going to check out the kitchen. Can you show me the way Merinda?’

As with all the other rooms in the house, the kitchen was a masterpiece. Stainless steel pots and pans hung in a gleaming array from a timber rack suspended above a huge preparation bench in the centre of the room. The rack also held a large variety of highly polished knives, stirrers, spoons, beaters, strainers, whisks, tongs, spatulas, peelers and graters. There were two meat chopping boards on the centre bench together with one vegetable copping board. At one end of the bench, in a perfectly neat row, stood an electric food processer together with a juicer, meat slicer, meat grinder, deep fryer, vegetable steamer, microwave oven and rice cooker. An enormous, stainless steel, twin door refrigerator was built into one wall with another large timber preparation bench between it and a six burner gas stove with twin ovens, sitting magnificently under the stainless steel canopy of the largest range hood Ben had ever seen.

‘You don’t cook?’ was all he could manage to say.

‘The room makes me nervous with all those gadgets and knives and things,’ said Merinda. Yana also wandered in and perched herself on the edge of the centre preparation bench.

‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Ben said, still obviously in awe.

‘My husband built it specifically for himself,’ said Merinda. ‘Jacob loved to cook. He said it relaxed him after a hard day at work.’

‘It looks hardly used,’ said Ben.

‘He was a very busy man,’ Merinda said, running her fingers along a bench top and inspecting them for signs of dust. ‘If he had spent more time in here doing what he loved instead of playing about with that damn plane……’ She stopped speaking and wiped her fingers on a neatly folded towel.

‘Didn’t he enjoy flying?’ asked Ben.

‘Not particularly.’ Merinda turned and looked up into Ben’s deep blue eyes. ‘He had a fear of heights and he felt if he learned to fly, he’d beat the fear.’

‘Did he?’

Merinda laughed. ‘No, but it didn’t stop him trying. He was always doing something stupid. Why did you stop flying Ben?’

‘Too damn expensive and didn’t cure my fear of heights,’ said Ben.

‘What a coincidence,’ exclaimed Merinda although money wasn’t an object with Jacob.’ She looked intently at Ben for a few moments. ‘You remind me of him a bit,’ she said. ‘His hair was short and greying and he was a big guy like you.’

‘Yeah but can Ben cook nearly as well as Jacob?’ said Yana, pushing off the bench. ‘Let’s get out of here and leave him to it.’

‘Pantry and meat freezer are through that sliding door next to the refrigerator,’ said Merinda. ‘The room light comes on automatically when you go inside. Same with the lighting in here. If you stand perfectly still for long enough, they all turn off.’

‘How smart,’ said Yana. ‘Let’s get another drink.’ The two women left the room.

Ben walked to the pantry and slid open the door. As he entered the cavernous room was bathed in light. To the left were row upon row of empty wire baskets, obviously meant for vegetable storage. The two door upright, frost free freezer was packed with every imaginable meat. Lamb, beef, poultry, pork, venison, rabbit, kangaroo, fish, prawns, scallops and squid. Ben removed three chicken breasts, individually wrapped and labelled. He had no idea how long these items had remained in their frozen state, but when defrosted he would make the call as to whether they were suitable for eating.

He found tinned whole baby potatoes, carrots and beans. In the refrigerator he discovered a string basket of garlic knobs which were somewhat shrivelled but not beyond redemption. All these items were placed on the centre preparation bench. Ben was beginning to enjoy himself. He found no greater challenge than to create a culinary delight from almost anything or almost nothing if circumstance dictated.

From the pantry he also brought out bottles of dried herbs. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Ginger and Garlic. He also found unopened bottles containing every imaginable Chinese, Vietnamese, Balinese, Indian, Korean, African, Polish, German and French condiment. He selected Balinese sweet soy sauce and chopped chilli in fish sauce. Both had not reached their use by date, although it was a close call.

Chicken stock and white gravy powder joined the array on the centre bench but was dwarfed by the overall size of the timber structure.

The chicken breasts came out of the defrost cycle of the microwave oven in perfect condition. Ben placed them one at a time on a meat chopping block and pounded them gently with a stainless steel mallet. A ball of oven proof string hung from the overhead rack. He pulled down and cut off, three, one metre lengths.

The small gas oven lit with a reasonably loud woofing sound. It was spotlessly clean and obviously not used for a long time. There was a slight burning smell for a few seconds, but then it was gone. Ben set the temperature at 180 degrees.

 

Half an hour later Merinda suddenly stopped abruptly mid sentence. She slowly placed her glass on the table beside the lounge.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Yana.

‘Can you smell that?’

Yana sniffed the air. ‘God Lord. What’s he done?’

‘It’s wonderful!’ exclaimed Merinda. ‘Garlic, herbs and who knows what else.’ She burst into tears, burying her head in her hands.

Yana moved quickly to her friend’s side and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘What on earth is wrong?’

Merinda took her hands away from her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘He cooks like Jacob. He’s brought Jacob home after all this time. I haven’t smelled anything so good since that stupid husband of mine was out there messing around in that kitchen.’

Yana sat back, looking perplexed. ‘It certainly smells good, I’ll give him that. I told you so.’

‘Then we had better set some places in the dining room,’ said Merinda. She jumped to her feet and scurried out of the room. ‘Haven’t used the dining room in over 2 years you know,’ she called back from a hallway.

Yana got slowly to her feet and followed in the direction of Merindas hasty exit. She was starting to have an uncomfortable feeling about this situation.

 

Candles flickered. There was little conversation as the three slowly ate. Merinda cleaned up every morsel on her plate long before the other two. She put her knife and fork together neatly on the empty plate and sat back with a relaxed, contented, sigh. ‘That was just perfect Ben,’ she said. ‘You’re hired.’

‘I thought I was already hired,’ said Ben, smiling.

‘You’ve just landed a second job.’ Merinda took another sip of chilled chardonnay.

Yana looked firstly at Merinda and then at Ben. She remained silent.

‘We’ve got to run through some of the security protocol for the time I spend here said Ben. ‘We have to plan for the unexpected and anticipate what each other will do if an emergency arises.’

‘Sounds exciting,’ said Merinda.

‘Standard procedure for this guy,’ said Yana dryly.

‘I gather you guys sleep upstairs?’

‘The two master bedrooms have an ocean outlook from up there,’ said Merinda. ‘You can move up to one of them when Yana leaves if you like,’ said Merinda, with a wickedly innocent smile.

‘He’s better off down stairs near the kitchen,’ said Yana a little too coldly.

‘All doors and ground floor windows are to be locked during the evening hours from tonight,’ Ben continued. ‘You have any passive infrared operated flood lights outside?’

‘No,’ said Merinda.

‘We’ll get some fitted tomorrow. Now tell me about your dogs.’

‘Two German Shepherds. Unfortunately they are caged most of the time.’

‘Why?’

‘I got them after Jacob died. I don’t know a lot about dogs. Their enclosure is enormous so I guess they don’t mind all that much.’

‘German Shepherds do mind. I’ll deal with that later.’ Ben put down his knife and fork. ‘Actually, I’ll deal with that right now.’

‘What?’ exclaimed Yana.

‘Deal with them how?’ asked Merinda.

‘Three things,’ replied Ben. ‘First. You brought the dogs here to protect you after the death of your husband. Is that right Merinda?’

‘Yes.’

‘Not for company?’

‘Not exactly. I feed them but I’m not all that close to them.’

‘So they’ve never been in the house?’

‘God no. They’re huge guard dogs.’

‘So they bark when people come near the place?’

Merinda looked confused. ‘Sometimes.’

‘They didn’t bark when we arrived tonight,’ said Ben.

‘They know my car.’

‘So they won’t bark if they recognise someone or their vehicle?’

‘I suppose so.’

‘They don’t know me. I’m going out there in a moment to approach their enclosure. I need to find out if they will bark at me. If they don’t, we need to get new dogs, or train these ones.’

Yana sipped her Chardonnay slowly and looked intently at Ben.

‘Second,’ Ben continued. ‘If your dogs are not intent on ripping my arms off, I’m taking them for a run to the beach and they’re going to have a swim. I would also suggest that if you want to continue running on the beach, you take the dogs with you every time.’

‘I did once but they frightened me. I kept thinking they might bite me. I haven’t done it since. Anyway, its pitch black out there. There’s no moon. Who goes to the beach at night? Even the dogs will be scared!’

‘No they won’t. They will probably have the time of their lives and I’ve got an amazing LED torch. State of the art and will light up the beach like Disneyland. These are not just guard dogs. German Shepherds are companion dogs. They love human companionship. They shouldn’t be locked away in a huge wire pen.’

‘And the third thing?’ asked Yana.

‘You guys get to clean up here and in the kitchen and do the washing up.’

‘Bugger!’ Yana exclaimed. ‘I knew he had an angle.’

‘OK…. you take the dogs to the beach,’ said Ben.

‘You know I don’t like dogs!’

Merinda laughed and tossed her embroidered napkin onto the table beside an empty plate. ‘You two are so good for me. We’ll take care of the dishes and kitchen Ben. You go play with my dogs. We fed them before you arrived.’

‘What do you feed them?’

‘Biscuit things with lots of water.’

‘God, no! OK, I’m also in charge of feeding the dogs from now on.’

‘I love him,’ said Merinda. ‘Yana, thank you so much for bringing him here.’

‘Yeah right.’ Yana was not happy.

Ben pushed his chair back and stood up. He laid his napkin on the table. Merinda also stood and looked up into his face. Yana was trying to decide if she should put her knife down or accidently stab Merinda in the leg.

‘This is a business arrangement Merinda.’ Ben’s voice was soft but firm.

‘Yes, I know that.’

‘So you will respect our business arrangement?

Merinda looked at Yana and back to Ben. ‘Yes, I will.’

‘Then I’m off to check on the dogs.’ Ben walked to the dining room door. ‘If they are prepared to accept me, I’ll be back in an hour. If not, I can help wash the dishes. I’m sure Jacob would have left his kitchen in pristine condition after every meal.’

‘Yes he did.’ Fresh tears welled in Merinda’s eyes.

Ben left the room. The huge front door to the house clicked shut a moment later.

 

Ben switched his tiny LED torch to low. At high power it pushed out almost 600 lumens. That was sufficient to light up a small football field. Low power was around 70 lumens. Soft white light probed the darkness in a narrow field for 50 metres. The two German Shepherds moved towards the front of their enclosure as Ben approached. One began a low, threatening growl.

‘OK, I’m new here boys.’ Ben kept his voice soft and gentle. He lifted the blinding torch beam away from the dog’s eyes. The jungle canopy behind their enclosure was bathed with light. Birds and tree animals stirred, fluttered and scampered into more secure positions. The dogs were confused. They decided that Ben should be their focus of attention.

‘I’m figuring a run down to the beach?’

The dogs moved cautiously close to the wire fence. They were both young, with short hair and distinctive, thoroughbred markings. One was slightly larger than the other, and he continued a soft deep growl. The fact that both dogs suddenly looked to their left should have alerted Ben to additional danger, but he missed the signal. The blow struck him with amazing speed and power. A thousand star bursts exploded in his brain and he hit the ground heavily. His LED torch spun through the air and dropped into the grass facing back towards him. Ben heard the dogs barking and lunging at the wire. He heard screaming and the sounds of running feet. He saw a nice pair of brown leather boots close to his eyes. Then blood dripped into his eyes. He slid into darkness. Such deep darkness. It totally enveloped him and he knew he was dying.

 

 

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