The Cumal Files by James Keegan

Author:James Keegan [Keegan, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SLEUTH HOUND BOOKS
Published: 2020-02-13T22:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-EIGHT

Inspector George Barrett sat on the Thompson homestead’s rear veranda and gazed towards Crooked River. He’d just delivered a batch of his wife’s famous scones and joined his long-time friend Kathleen Thompson for a cup of tea, as he did most Friday afternoons around 4pm. He chewed a scone and savored its butter and salt flavor.

“Still not sleeping well, are you George?” Kathleen said.

He gasped in mock consternation then gave his usual reply. “What’s my dear wife Mary told you this time?”

“That your screams wake both of you in the night…We’re all concerned, George, you never seem relaxed…Like now, sitting with that ugly frown on your face.”

“I’m fine.” He faked a smile. “Spoke with Jim earlier…He said he visited you today?”

“Yes, he did.”

“What time?”

“Close to midday…He had lunch here and then said he had to leave for a job.” She smirked. “Why, are there problems with my big baby boy?”

“Oh, no, Jim’s okay…But a few hours ago he found John Rhodes dead at the bottom of Bunyip Hill. He’s one of the Carinya chaps...”

She raised a hand to her open mouth. “My, that’s terrible. What happened?”

“Jim says Rhodes fell off the cliff, was an accident…Lyn Foster disagrees, thinks it’s suspicious, possibly murder, and wants it investigated as such. When I supported Jim, she went over my head and contacted Rhodes’ boss at the Feds.”

“Like I told the girls at bingo, that Lyn’s a troublemaker…And?”

“It’s sorted itself out.” He grabbed another scone. “Federal Police Commissioner Watkins is an old friend. I explained Jim’s decision and told him not to bother sending federal investigators. We don’t need more cops and journalists running around…”

“My god, Bill would have a fit...He hasn’t stopped cursing those Carinya boys since they arrived.”

Barrett straightened in the chair. “Who’s that?”

“Where?”

“Coming up from the river, near the irrigation lines.” He pointed. “See him? Koori chap with no shirt, moving towards the hills.”

“Goodness, your eyes are better than mine…Oh yes, I see him now.”

Barrett stood and marched towards stairs that led from the veranda.

“Where you going?” she said.

“To ask what he’s up to...” He faced her. “We’ve had a few residential break-ins lately and he’s probably the culprit…”

Kathleen came alongside him. “I’ve seen that white hair and beard before…It’s my friend.”

“You know him?”

“Well, I don’t ‘know’ him. I screamed the first time I saw him standing here on the veranda, all dirty and disheveled. He seemed sorry for scaring me, so I gave him cake and a bottle of whiskey. He thanked me and scampered into the hills. Comes back each fortnight for more. He’s harmless, George, leave him be.”

He watched the Koori trot through straw-colored paddocks towards a forest of eucalypts near the base of Bunyip Hill. “How old is he? How long’s he been coming here?”

“Hard to say with the blacks…Seventy, maybe? He’s been visiting a few months now…”

“A few months, and you’ve never said anything? And giving away Bill’s whiskey, your game…”

She scoffed. “He won’t miss a few bottles. Besides, the less he has, the less he flogs me…”

He avoided her eyes.

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