Читать книгу Through the Devil’s Eye - C.R. Cummings - Страница 9

Chapter 3

SUSPICIONS

Willy tensed and then realized he must be looking very guilty. To help allay any suspicions he turned the tap on and bent over the washbasin and pretended to be rinsing his face. But Barry did not come past and Willy was left feeling both anxious and foolish.

He must have gone to the hangar, he thought.

Cautiously he moved to the door and listened. There was no sound from in the corridor so he took a deep breath and stepped out. He felt very much on edge and his head was swirling with suspicions. Why had the man called Zoltan been worried that he or Mr Drew might see something? What is there to see that we shouldn’t? Willy wondered. The most obvious idea was that the place was being used to grow or smuggle drugs. That would explain the new airstrip, he mused.

By then Willy was at the back door and he paused to peek out. Everything appeared quiet so he put on a calm face and strolled out. A glance to his right showed no sign of Zoltan or anyone else in the homestead garden. Nor was anyone visible near any of the other buildings.

Not that that is unusual, Willy told himself. They might all be away at some job—mustering or branding or something—if it is a genuine cattle station that is.

His suspicious mind told him that if there was something illegal or unusual going on then the people running it would certainly maintain an appearance of normality.

So there will be a few genuine stockmen and whatnot, he thought.

By then he was at the entrance to the hangar and he had to mentally prepare himself for the next challenge. If Barry is there just act normal, he told himself. And have a good story ready to explain where you have been.

And Barry was there. As Willy turned into the hangar he met Barry hurrying towards the entrance, his face clouded with worry. As soon as he saw Willy his face changed to a smile.

A false smile, Willy told himself.

“There you are! Where have you been?” Barry asked.

“Just to the toilet,” Willy answered, gesturing in that direction. He smiled in return and kept walking but felt his stomach churn and his palms go sweaty.

Barry shook his head. “Please don’t do that again. There are guard dogs here and they might have attacked you. I will take you if you need to go anywhere.”

Willy could only nod. He kept on walking until he reached Mr Drew who was now leaning over the engine from up on a work platform. Barry spun round and walked back with him. To Willy he looked as though he was trying not to look worried.

But I might be mistaken. I might have misunderstood what that Zoltan was implying, he admitted to himself as he watched Mr Drew unscrew a pipe connection.

Work now gave Willy a reason to ignore Barry. He pretended to be absorbed by the technical aspects of the job—and he was genuinely interested and kept asking questions to have the procedure made clear to him. But the whole time he was very aware of Barry’s presence. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch and made him feel very uncomfortable. Luckily it was so hot and sweaty in the steel shed that he kept moving anyway, wiping perspiration from his face and hands. Now he just wanted to get away from the place and was very keen to have the engine fixed.

A middle-aged man in greasy grey overalls came into the hangar carrying a tray with sandwiches, biscuits, two glasses and cold water in a jug. “G’day. I’m Seth, the maintenance man and general dog’s body. The boss said to come an’ give youse a hand,” he announced.

Mr Drew stopped and gave a friendly introduction as he wiped his hands on a cloth. Then he shook hands and took one of the glasses of cold water. “My word, I need this!” he said.

Willy also gave his name but Seth made no move to shake his hand, leaving Willy feeling devalued and a little annoyed. Thinks I am just a no-account kid I suppose, he mused. Seth certainly seemed to just ignore him and soon took over the job of helping Mr Drew, handing him the right tool and taking parts to clean or inspect.

That left Willy with nothing to do but stand and watch. That peeved him both because he was part of the aircraft’s crew but also because he genuinely wanted to learn and to help. But the men just ignored him and all he could do was stand and feel irritable, sulky, and suspicious.

It took Mr Drew about half an hour to reach the stage of testing the engine. To Willy it seemed like a half a day. By the end of it he was edgy with nervousness and even more convinced that the men weren’t acting normally.

Or they are just unfriendly perhaps, he thought.

Mr Carter walked back into the hangar just as the engine was started. His presence made Willy feel even more nervous as he was all cheerful chat and smiles which to Willy did not seem sincere. Mr Drew appeared not to notice anything as he was absorbed by the technical task. He leaned out and cautioned them all to stand clear then the motor wheezed and coughed and the propeller swung rapidly. The motor burst into life with a healthy roar, amplified and echoing in the confines of the hangar. Mr Drew looked up and smiled, then sat watching the gauges as he eased the throttle to a steady roar. Even though the propeller was feathered it still sent swirls of dust eddying around the hangar and Willy had to half close his eyes and found himself coughing.

After a couple of minutes Mr Drew switched off and leaned out. “Seems OK now,” he commented. He climbed down and held out his hand. “Well, we’ll be off then. Thanks for the help Mr Carter.”

Mr Carter smiled and shook hands. Barry did likewise and Seth gave a friendly nod as he replaced tools on the wall boards. “Any time,” Mr Carter said.

Mr Drew turned to Willy. “OK lad, start earning your passage. Help ’em push the bus out into the open.”

Willy moved to the starboard wing strut and put his weight against it. Mr Carter and Barry also helped push and a minute later the aircraft was standing in the blazing sunshine on the apron in front of the hangar. All the while Willy kept studying the men and trying to surreptitiously observe the buildings, wondering what it was the men were hiding. He became so anxious he found his heart racing and his breath coming in rapid gasps.

Calm down you fool! he told himself. He forced a relaxed smile onto his face and wiped his sweaty palms and upper lip, hoping the men would put it down to the blistering summer heat. Come on Mr Drew! he thought irritably. Stop chatting and let’s get out of here.

Then, as he went to climb aboard, a peculiar vibrating noise came to Willy’s ears. He recognized it instantly as the buzzing of a helicopter and he looked to his left along the airstrip. The others stopped talking and looked that way as well. A tiny black dot quickly resolved itself into a small two seat helicopter of the type used for mustering and checking fences.

A Bell 209, Willy noted.

Mr Drew stood watching and said to Mr Carter, “Yours?”

Mr Carter nodded. “Yeah. Belongs to the station. This will be the owner.”

“The owner?” Mr Drew queried casually.

“Yeah. He’s a Pitt Street farmer, a Sydney business man who is spreading his investments. Buying cattle properties is his latest hobby,” Mr Carter answered.

The helicopter came buzzing down low over the bitumen and landed fifty paces away in the usual swirl of dust and hot air and engine smells. As it settled Willy noted that the pilot was a young dark-haired man with dark glasses. Next to him was a big bear of a man in a white, long sleeve shirt. He also wore tinted glasses and had curly grey hair.

The owner climbed out while the pilot held the helicopter steady as its rotors were still flicking overhead. As the owner walked towards them Willy studied him and did not like what he saw. The man was beefy and wrinkled, with beetling brows and a pronounced paunch. To add to Willy’s feeling of distaste he saw that the man had bushy eyebrows and tufts of hair in his ears and nostrils.

The man stopped in front of Mr Drew and hauled up his baggy grey trousers. After giving Willy a cursory glance he turned back to Mr Drew and held out his hand. “Enzo Dragovisic,” he said.

Mr Drew shook hands and introduced himself and Willy. Mr Dragovisic did not even glance at Willy. Instead, he gave a grin that Willy thought of as a false crocodile smile, then said in a thick foreign accent, “You have der engine problems eh?”

“Yes. But it is fixed now,” Mr Drew replied. “We will be on our way.”

Mr Dragovisic nodded and said, “Good. Glad ve could help. Anytime, eh?”

“Sure,” Mr Drew replied with a smile. He then turned and moved to climb into the aircraft. Willy did likewise, a feeling of unreasonable relief sweeping through him as he settled in the starboard seat. As he did up his seat belt and closed the door he saw that the men had moved a few paces away and were watching them with smiles on their faces.

They look really false, he thought.

Then he fretted as Mr Drew seemed to be taking a long time to get ready. At last he was buckled in and he looked out to check no-one was near the propeller before pushing the starter button. The engine spluttered into life and then settled to a smooth purr. Willy relaxed even more, his eyes moving from the men standing behind them to the helicopter off to their port side. Its rotors were still spinning slowly and the pilot was clearly doing his shut down routine.

After doing another careful study of the gauges Mr Drew nodded and then said, “Seems to be going alright. We will get off then.” He turned and waved to the men. Mr Dragovisic waved back but only Mr Carter joined him. Seth and Barry just stood watching.

Mr Drew eased off the brakes, made an adjustment to the propeller pitch and allowed the aircraft to start rolling slowly forward as the propeller blades bit into the air. Once he was clear of the helicopter Mr Drew looked carefully along the runway in both directions then swung the aircraft to port and allowed it to roll slowly along the bitumen.

Willy also looked carefully out and then once they were on the runway and taxiing slowly he turned to study the buildings on his left. He was tempted to tell Mr Drew about the conversation he had overheard but decided to keep it to himself until they were safely airborne. He understood why they had turned to port. When they had landed they had just aimed to reach the runway but the wind had been with them. As it had been a light breeze it had made no practical difference. But now Mr Drew was going to do a conventional take off into the wind.

By then they were just passing the barracks building with the toilet and Willy looked at it remembering the curious conversation he had overheard. At that moment movement on the back lawn of the homestead attracted his attention. To his surprise, he saw an attractive young woman dressed in a light cotton dress running across the lawn. She was waving both hands and looked quite frantic.

“Look!” Willy cried, pointing across Mr Drew’s face. “I wonder what she wants?”

Mr Drew looked and let out an exclamation of surprise. “She is in some sort of trouble,” he said. With that he stepped on the brakes. The aircraft slewed slightly to port and stopped. By then the woman was almost at the back fence. That she was in real trouble was clearly apparent from the look of terror she cast over her right shoulder as she ran.

The woman reached the fence and began to scramble over it. As she did the man named Zoltan appeared. He was running fast and had come around the corner of the house. But what really sent Willy’s heart rate thumping was the sight of the automatic rifle clutched in Zoltan’s right hand.

That’s a military assault rifle, he thought. Knowing that it was illegal for civilians to own such weapons in Queensland added to his suspicions.

Zoltan reached the fence just as the woman clambered over it. In the process she caught her dress but she just grabbed it and tore it free. As she did she gave Zoltan a glance of pure terror. Then she turned and ran towards the aircraft, screaming for help as she did.

Willy gaped and gripped the door handle, partly opening it. It was obvious to him that the woman was in real trouble and it never crossed his mind not to try to help. Mr Drew obviously thought the same as he suddenly revved the engine, stood on his left brake and swung the aircraft sharply around to port. “Christ! I don’t know what the go is but she needs help. Open the door and get her aboard Willy,” he shouted.

The sudden roar and movement seemed to disconcert the woman and she faltered in her stride. Such a look of panic and dismay crossed her face that Willy’s heart was wrung. Pushing the door open he leaned out and yelled, “Come on! Run!”

But even as he said it he saw it was no good. Zoltan had vaulted the fence in a single bound and come dashing after her. The woman cast a terrified glance over her shoulder and started running again. But she was no match for Zoltan. Within a few strides he had caught up and he reached out, grabbed her arm and swung her around. She screamed and struggled violently. Then Zoltan swung the rifle up, striking her hard in the face with the barrel. She buckled at the knees and flopped over backwards.

All of this took place only twenty-five metres from the aircraft. Willy stared in shocked disbelief. He yelled at Zoltan to stop and to let her go. But the man ignored her, brutally clubbing the woman again so that she crumpled onto the dirt beside the runway.

More shouts, barely audible above the engine, caused Willy to glance through the front windscreen. The aircraft was now facing back the way it had come and he saw the other men all hurrying towards them.

They will save her, he thought.

But then Mr Dragovisic pointed at the aircraft and screamed, “Zoltan! Shoot them! Shoot them Zoltan! They have seen too much.”

Willy couldn’t believe his ears but when his gaze flicked back to Zoltan and he saw the man turn his head and give him a glare his stomach turned over as a spasm of terror churned it.

“Mr Drew, take off! They are going to kill us!” he screamed.