Rain Music (29 page)

They made their way over the rocks and looked for somewhere to rest. Ned lay down uncomfortably on one of the flat wide rocks and tried to relax, but his arms and hands were throbbing from all the unaccustomed exercise.

He couldn't stop thinking about Bella. While at times she could annoy him, she always had his best interests at heart. She had taken the trouble to track him down in Cooktown, and while he had resented her determination to try to make him do something he didn't want to do, he also felt remorse that he had not greeted her more warmly. She had made such an effort to do what she thought was best for their family, and instead of welcoming her, he'd bickered with her. She was his only sibling and she meant the world to him, and yet, he thought, his recent actions could have made Bella doubt it. Then another horrible thought occurred to him. What on earth was he going to tell his mother if they couldn't find Bella? His mind racing, he thought sleep would never come, but his body was exhausted and the bush was silent and dark and eventually he drifted into a fitful doze.

Jack woke him as the first sign of light began to seep into the eastern sky, and they were quickly on their way again, following the stream back towards the main river.

With aching arms and his chest tight with anxiety, all Ned could think about was Bella and what could have happened to her. He tried to focus as he dipped the paddle blade into the dark water strongly and firmly, blanking out the frightening thoughts that pressed into his mind.

As the sun began to rise, Ned lost track of time. He felt the three of them were travelling in some sort of parallel universe, with Bella at its centre, waiting for them.

Jack showed no sign of slowing or tiring, nor had he made any further mention of going back for the police. For now, the three of them were on their own. Ned watched as the older man kept studying both sides of the river, clearly looking for any clue or sign to show that they were on the right track. He prayed his friend's jungle-fighting experience would help them.

After an hour or so, Jack stopped paddling and craned forward.

‘See anything?' Brendan said in a low voice.

‘Yeah. Could be,' the older man said quietly.

Ned whispered, ‘What is it?'

Jack pointed. ‘There's a bit of an inlet up ahead. Good place for a kayak to pull in. I'll go in first and signal to you if it's clear. If you don't hear me whistle, get the hell out.'

Ned watched as Jack's canoe glided quietly in to the bank. He could now see a small clearing along the water's edge. He and Brendan drifted slowly, their paddles poised as they watched Jack leave his canoe and walk quietly into the clearing.

Suddenly they heard a low whistle. Even before Jack's signal had finished, Ned had started stroking swiftly to the shore. As Ned clambered out of the canoe, Jack touched his arm and pointed. Ned looked down and he could clearly see marks on the sand and in the grass.

Jack moved further along the bank to a small area of flattened grass, and when Ned joined him, he shivered. Someone had been here very recently.

Jack spoke in a low whisper. ‘They've dragged their kayaks from the river, and they've also sat or slept in this area. And look at the empty bottles lying around. Carlo's grappa.'

‘Where's Bella? Is she with them, do you think?' asked Brendan.

No one said anything, and Ned knew they were all fearing the worst, then Jack said quietly, ‘At least there are no signs of a struggle here.'

‘I'm not sure what that proves,' said Brendan bitterly.

‘Keep your voice down, Brendan,' said Jack in a sharp whisper. ‘They could still be around. They've obviously moved their boats, but not back into the water. I can't see any signs of that. I think they might have taken them away from the river, to be hidden or picked up by a vehicle, so let's look around and see if we can find their tracks. But first we have to see if we can find any trace of Bella.'

Ned looked at the scrub that grew down to the edge of the river. How anyone could find and follow a trail in this dry, desolate country was beyond him, but he had every confidence in Jack's ability. Unsure of what he was looking for, he set out, staying close to the river and keeping his eyes to the ground, looking for anything that might give him a clue about Bella's whereabouts.

As he picked his way cautiously along the water's edge, Ned wanted to shout Bella's name, but he knew that it would be too risky until they could be sure that they were alone. He saw a large gum whose roots had been exposed by the annual floods, and scrambled down the bank to take a closer look. He noticed that the leaves beneath the roots had been recently disturbed, and thought that an animal must have been foraging there for food. A few minutes later, he heard Jack's low whistle and he went to join the others.

Jack spoke softly. ‘Either of you two see anything? No? Then they must have gone inland. Maybe your sister is with them.'

As they worked their way uphill through the scrubby but slightly open country, Jack moved between the small trees, pausing every so often to listen and to look around. Suddenly he grunted and signalled to the others to join him.

He pointed to a narrow path, probably made by stray cattle or goats, which skirted a gully forged by rushing floodwaters. ‘I bet they took this path. See, there are broken twigs on the ground and that branch up ahead has been bent back,' he whispered with some satisfaction.

Ned nodded, but in truth he knew he would never have seen these signs had Jack not pointed them out.

They continued to creep up the hill, and near the top they found the kayaks. Brendan and Ned shook their heads as they surveyed the clever way three long green-grey kayaks had been strapped upright against three tall gum trees. Swiftly Jack took out his knife and slashed the hull of each of them.

‘Looks like there were at least three men,' he said.

Brendan swore under his breath. ‘And what have they done to Bella?'

‘Well, if their kayaks are here, then the bastards must have left in a vehicle. Let's look around. Maybe down in one of the gullies. A four-wheel drive could get along a gully at this time of year. Couldn't get through in the wet; the water would go over its roof.'

The three men scrambled down the steep walls of one of the gullies, and at the bottom they found faint tyre marks in the gritty sand of the dry watercourse.

‘Now we know they've left,' said Jack. ‘See, there's one set of tyre marks just here and the same marks over there, a bit further. Four-wheel drive's come in and then gone out again.'

Brendan reached out and touched Ned's shoulder.

‘Bella has to be all right. She just has to be,' he said, but although he may have meant his words to be reassuring, Brendan's voice betrayed his own fear.

Ned nodded, his throat too tight to answer, and he shuddered at the thought of what could be happening to his sister.

‘They might have taken her, or maybe not,' said Jack. ‘She could still be out here somewhere, tied up, or hiding, or trying to find her way out of the bush. How about we make a bit of a racket? Tell the world that we're here.' He clapped Brendan on the back and strode off along the gully, shouting out for Bella.

They shouted and called as they hiked through the bush.

‘Not too many places for her to hide or be hidden,' commented Jack.

Ned felt his blood run cold. ‘But what if they've hidden her? Tied her up and left her? We may never find her out here.'

‘Just keep looking,' Jack said, exasperation in his voice. ‘We've barely started; it's way too soon to give up.'

They tramped through the scrub, yelling Bella's name, stopping only to take a short drink or to catch their breath. It grew hotter. After a couple of hours, Ned and Brendan met at the top of a small ridge. Ned felt defeated.

‘There's simply no sign of her. I've looked for indications that she might have come this way, but I can't spot any. They must have taken her with them. Surely she would have heard us shouting by now if she's nearby. This all feels so hopeless.'

‘I know. We seem to be going around in circles. Everything out here looks the same,' said Brendan, standing on top of a small ridge. But even as he was speaking he started to point. ‘Hang on, what's that down there?' He took a step towards the gully on the other side of the ridge, peering at something just beyond it. ‘I definitely haven't seen that before. Is it a shed?'

Jack joined them. He strode up to them with the energy of a much younger man, hardly puffing at all as he reached them. ‘That's part of an old mine, the Queen's Hill mine,' he said when he saw where Ned and Brendan were looking. ‘The thing you can see is the old steam boiler that once drove the machinery. The mine is well and truly deserted, and now it's just a lot of rubble, old iron and uncovered shafts. Always a bit dangerous down there.'

‘You don't think she might have stumbled into one of the mine shafts, do you?' said Ned, his voice full of dread.

‘Let's take a look,' said Brendan.

They scrambled down the slope towards the old mine.

‘Okay,' said Jack. ‘Start looking and keep shouting.'

Ned hurried to an old mine shaft and peered down.

‘I can't see a thing inside. I'll have to go back and get one of the torches.' But he shouted down the shaft, ‘Bella, it's Ned!'

There was no reply.

‘Bella! Bella, answer me, please!' pleaded Brendan as loudly as he could.

‘Bella, it's safe now!' roared Jack.

They peered under sheets of rusting iron and around the piles of rubble while shouting over and over again. Ned couldn't help but wonder if their efforts were futile.

Suddenly there was a rattle and a banging, and a muffled voice came from inside the rusted metal chamber of the old boiler.

‘
NED?
'

Ned's heart leapt into his throat, and his voice broke as he shouted, ‘Bella! Where are you?'

They all began rushing towards the rusting hulk.

‘She's in there,' yelled Ned, clambering over a heap of rocks.

‘I'm here, I'm here,' yelled Bella, relief and near hysteria evident in her voice as she began to climb through the old fire door.

Brendan was hot on Ned's heels as the two raced towards the rusted boiler, until he tripped and fell.

Bella was scrambling out of the old machine when Ned got to her. They clutched each other tearfully.

‘Bell . . . are you all right? They didn't . . . hurt you?'

‘I'm okay. They tied me up. I thought no one would ever find me . . .' She started to sob. ‘I could hear shouting for ages, but I was too frightened to stick my head out in case it was those men again. Oh, Ned, you have no idea how happy I was when I recognised your voice!'

Ned held her tightly, love and relief sweeping through him.

‘Bella! Oh, Bella!' Brendan came up beside them and Ned released his hold on his sister.

‘She's okay, Brendan. She's okay,' Ned said reassuringly.

Brendan couldn't speak, he just held Bella tightly, smoothing her hair as he tried to calm her down.

Gradually her sobs subsided. Jack walked over and passed her a bottle of water. ‘I expect you'd like a drink.'

Bella nodded and drank eagerly, then returned the bottle to Jack with a faint smile.

‘Jack brought us here,' said Brendan. ‘He found you. We couldn't have done it without him.'

‘Thank you, Jack,' said Bella quietly.

‘Are you all right to travel back in Carlo's canoe? It's a bit of a way,' asked Ned anxiously.

Bella nodded, burying her head in Brendan's chest, his arms around her once more.

Jack studied her carefully. ‘You sure you're not hurt? What's the matter with your wrists?' he asked. Brendan released Bella and she held out her arms to Jack. He took both of Bella's hands and studied them. ‘They tied you up and you struggled against the knots, did you? And how did you do this?' He indicated the wound on the back of one of her hands.

‘Oh, Bella, you're hurt,' said Brendan, concern in his voice.

‘Jack's right. They tied my hands together with plastic bags and I tore them off on a sharp bit of a branch. I knocked my hand against it and it got cut.' Bella's voice shook.

‘Jack brought along a first aid kit. It's in one of our canoes. I'll take care of your hands as soon as we get back to the river. It's not so far away,' said Brendan kindly.

Ned had a myriad of questions to ask her, but he sensed that now was not the time. Bella seemed far too fragile and he just wanted to get her home as fast as possible.

Bella clutched Brendan's hand as he helped her walk along the gully towards the river. As they got close to the river bank, Bella stopped, frozen in her tracks.

‘They won't come back, will they?' she asked apprehensively. ‘They said they had to meet the boss at the cove. Something about a boat.'

‘Not likely. No coves around here,' answered Jack.

‘Jack fixed their kayaks – they won't be able to use them again,' said Brendan in a satisfied voice.

As soon as they reached Carlo's canoes, Brendan found the first aid kit and tenderly put antiseptic cream on Bella's wrists before dressing them.

‘Is it too late for the police to find them?' Ned asked Jack quietly as he watched Brendan tie up a bandage.

‘I hope not. Those men are animals and you wouldn't want them to get away with what they did to Bella. You'll have to report it,' said Jack, suppressed anger in his tone.

‘Let's just get back to the river house as soon as we can,' said Brendan. He stroked Bella's arm. ‘How are you feeling?'

‘A lot better since you lot arrived.' She almost managed a smile, but the look in her eyes showed her exhaustion.

Jack and Brendan took the lead canoe. Bella sat behind Ned as he paddled. For a moment she leaned forward and put her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back, and hugged him.