Rain Music (3 page)

‘But he knows that you keep a close eye on her.'

‘Spoken like a bloke,' said Bella giving Brendan a playful swat. But then her tone hardened again. ‘I just want to find Ned and shake him and
demand
that he comes back home for the dedication. I just don't understand why he's not coming. He admired Dad greatly, just like we all did. I'm sure he misses him. I do.' She gazed out across the lengthening shadows of the park, a gentle breeze tossing her curls.

Brendan squeezed her hand and then threw a ball for the dog. ‘I know you do, Bell. You loved him so much. But I remember you telling me how disappointed your father was when Ned said that he had decided to become a musician? Things weren't always so good with Ned and your dad, right?'

‘Yes, that's true,' replied Bella. ‘There was quite a bit of tension in the house when Ned made that announcement. It was no secret that Dad wanted him to become a doctor. But Brendan, that difference of opinion was years ago. After that was resolved, they made their peace and moved on.' She was quiet a moment. ‘The last twelve months have been so hard. Ned seems so distant. I really wonder if he's okay after what happened with Ashleigh.' A silence fell between them. Brendan cleared his throat.

‘He hasn't responded to you at all? Have you tried calling his friends to see if they know where he is?'

‘No, I texted and left him a message this week but he hasn't gotten back to me. And I've rung around but no one really seems to know exactly where he is. I looked at his website and his Facebook page but they're not up to date.' Bella smiled as she watched Brendan's dog chase a duck by a pond but then her brow furrowed. ‘I'm beginning to think that if I want to speak to him, I'm going to have to go and find him.' She paused thoughtfully for a moment.

They walked on for a while, chatting amiably. Bella talked about her work situation and Brendan tried consoling her but she found herself not really listening. Another idea was forming in her mind.

At the crest of a hill, Brendan stopped walking and looked at her intently. ‘Bell, I know I've asked you before, but seriously, we've been together for nine months now and I really want us to move in together. Why won't you agree?' He put his arm around her.

Bella stiffened and then wriggled out from under his arm. They walked on in silence. She did care a lot about Brendan but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to commit to living with him. She felt that gnawing feeling inside her again. It was the same feeling she had about her job. Something just wasn't quite right and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She sighed and then she realised that Brendan was still waiting for her to answer.

‘I tell you what,' she said slowly. ‘I need a break from work. Now that this project has fallen through, it's the perfect time for me to take a holiday. I need some time and space to figure things out. And I really want to see Ned. So I think I'll go on a holiday up to Queensland. Just me.' She could see the hurt forming on Brendan's face. ‘But while I'm away I'll think about us moving in and maybe I'll be able to give you an answer when I get back.' She smiled encouragingly at him and, while he didn't look happy, he let the matter drop.

*

Just over a week later, Josie stood at her gate, arms folded across her chest as she said goodbye to her daughter.

‘I hope you have fun and relax. I'm glad you're taking some time off, but keep safe, won't you?'

‘I'll be fine, Mum,' Bella replied.

‘I wish Brendan was going with you.'

‘He just can't afford to take the time off right now. Too many patients to reorganise,' Bella said quickly. ‘I'm excited about being on my own and not having to think about anyone but me. I need a breather.'

‘I can understand that, I guess. I just hope that Brendan can, too. Bella, he is the loveliest man. Don't lose him.'

Bella groaned. ‘He's not a stray puppy! Brendan understands why I need to take this holiday, and he's fine about it.'

‘Yes, you work hard, so make sure this time is for you and get a real break. Take a leaf out of Ned's book. Too bad we don't know where he is, you could have spent some time together.'

‘I'll call you when I can, but remember, I could be in places where there is no phone reception, so don't worry.'

‘I won't, and enjoy yourself, sweetie. Send me photos so I can see where you are.'

‘Of course.' Bella stepped forward and hugged her mother, but she couldn't help thinking to herself,
You don't lay these sorts of conditions on Ned
.

Bella climbed into her car and tapped the horn in a cheerful toot as she waved goodbye. She didn't feel dishonest not telling her mother the whole truth about the impetus behind this break. Bella told herself that if she did manage to find Ned and drag him home, then her
mother would be happy, but if she failed, then
her mother would be none the wiser and no harm would be done.

During the previous ten days, she'd planned her trip, wrapped up a few loose ends at work and tried to track down Ned. She'd emailed him, telling him of her plans for a trip, and had tried to call him a couple of times, but to no avail. From her Facebook contacts and ringing around some of their mutual friends Bella had discovered that Ned had been singing at festivals in Queensland, but then had appeared fairly recently in a club in Cairns, and this certainly tied in with what he'd told Josie. So, Bella had booked herself into a small coastal resort town that sounded nice and quiet and was only a few kilometres north of Cairns.

As she turned out of her mother's street and headed towards the airport, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. This break was long overdue. She was planning a few relaxing days first before starting her search for Ned. She hoped that when she arrived she'd hear from him and they could make a plan to meet. But it seemed more than likely that she'd have to track him down. That morning before her departure, more in hope than with any real expectations, she'd sent him a simple text:
Just touching base, get back to me
.

*

It was a modest sign pointing to Hidden Cove, but within minutes of turning her rental car off the busy Captain Cook Highway, Bella felt she'd travelled into a tropical paradise.
Lush and colourful gardens sheltered hideaway homes.
She turned right and meandered slowly along the beachfront, past a row of leaning coconut palms and beyond them a strip of golden sand and the expanse of blue Coral Sea. On the other side of the road were a few busy outdoor restaurants, their colourful umbrellas fluttering in the gentle sea breeze. Rising behind them
were a few tidy apartment blocks, complete with green lawns and azure pools.

She drove slowly, as people seemed to use this one-way street as an extended footpath, strolling along it in their resort fashions, walking their dogs, while children carried water toys and sunhats. Couples held hands as well as surfboards. The pace was leisurely, with an ambience of well-to-do relaxation.

Bella followed the road as it turned away from the beach towards streets of expensive-looking open-plan houses and the odd discreet sign advertising simpler accommodation. Hidden Cove was a tiny haven that had a cosmopolitan air reminiscent of a European coastal town until one looked at the blinding blue sea and the distant foam of white breakers.

Turning back towards the beach, she found Aloha House, an apartment block with large, sea-facing balconies. A small café and a newsagent sat either side of the main entrance. She pulled into the driveway and punched in her code and a metal gate slid open. She parked in the underground carpark and reached for her bag. Before getting into the lift Bella noticed another door, and she took a quick peek through it. A lush hideaway oasis at the rear of the building looked inviting, with its long lap pool surrounded by lawns dotted with lounges, umbrellas and shady trees and covered in its carpet of frangipani flowers.

As soon as she opened her apartment door, she was charmed. The rooms were decorated with large shells and bright paintings of tropical flowers, and a fat wooden seagull was perched by the door opening onto a balcony. The balcony faced the ocean and was furnished with a small barbecue and table setting as well as a comfortable lounge chair placed strategically under an overhead fan. She immediately dropped her things and headed downstairs to the pool. The humidity of Far North Queensland was draining, and she needed to cool down straight away.

After a quiet evening with a takeaway salad and her book, she woke before the sun and walked along the beach to the old jetty. As the sun rose, making the water sparkle, she watched the seabirds diving and a huge tame fish that swam tantalisingly around the piers of the wharf. On the wharf, early morning fishermen, young and old, optimistically cast their rods.

She walked barefoot along the sandy path under the trees where locals jogged and walked their dogs. The café near the entrance to her apartment block was open, so she bought a latte, then stopped at the small store which sold the morning papers and took both her coffee and paper home to enjoy on her sunny balcony. She sent Ned another text message, telling him where she was, in the increasingly forlorn hope that he would finally get back to her. She spent the rest of the day lazing by the pool, but there was no reply from Ned.

When it cooled down late in the afternoon, Bella decided to explore the southern end of the beach, so she set off along the shell-dotted strand, splashing through the tepid water. People were out walking and several frisky dogs chased each other over the sand, but no one was in the ocean. Everyone seemed to be heeding the large, prominent warning signs that ominously read:
Swim at your own risk
. Bella assumed they referred to box jellyfish which, the rental agent had told her, had stings so poisonous that they could put you in hospital and had even been known to cause death.

She reached the rocky headland at the end of the beach and turned and walked back above the high water mark, avoiding the leaning coconut palms, though their coconuts appeared to have been picked.

When she came to a creek of crystal water sluggishly making its way across the sand to the sea, she headed towards it in order to admire the water lilies and floating islands of grass that lay in the shadows beneath the overhanging trees. Here the creek looked darker and rather sinister, and it was then she saw a yellow sign reading,
Achtung! Warning!
, and sporting an illustration of a snapping crocodile.

Surely crocs didn't come onto the beach?
she wondered.
Bella shivered, turning away, and hastily walked back to one of the benches conveniently placed on the edge of the beach. She sat and watched the placid sea for a while. The view was so beautiful and in that moment she wished Brendan was there to share it with her. As the waves rolled gently in to shore, she thought about their relationship. What was wrong with her? They laughed at the same things, enjoyed the same movies and she agreed with his politics and quietly admired his ethical behaviour. And yet Bella couldn't help but feel that their relationship was dull. He always asked her what she would like to do. He never fought with her over anything. And while she liked his impeccable manners and quiet ways, she wished he would be more spontaneous, be willing to engage with her even if it meant the occasional quarrel, and sometimes surprise her. She knew Brendan had been hurt when she wanted to
go away by herself but, as always, he'd been considerate
of her wishes. He was just so
nice
all the time. Was he really what she wanted?

Suddenly, Bella became aware of a young woman several metres away, who was sitting in a yoga position, arms raised above her head, eyes closed as she meditated. Bella thought of the crocodile warning. She'd heard how smart the reptiles were, spending time watching the habits and routine of their selected prey before striking, carrying their victim into a convenient creek and stuffing them in a watery trap beneath a tangle of tree roots. Very few victims had survived to describe this horror. Did the yoga girl know crocs were in the vicinity?

Bella got up and walked over to her.

‘I'm sorry to interrupt you when you are meditating, but you do know that there are crocodiles in this area, don't you? You're by yourself here and with your eyes closed . . .'

The girl looked up and smiled. ‘They're everywhere in this part of the world. Live and let live. They used to be hunted to near extinction and now they're protected. How the world works,' she added enigmatically.

‘Doesn't that worry you?' said Bella, a little concerned at the girl's insouciance.

‘I'm far enough from the creek to be safe, although a large croc was taken from the lagoon about a week ago.'

‘You're kidding,' said Bella in amazement. This place looked so serene, and yet a killer croc had lurked beneath those beautiful water lilies.

‘You've just arrived, have you?' asked the girl.

‘Is it obvious?' laughed Bella. ‘Ironic to think somewhere so placid and beautiful could be so treacherous.'

‘Still waters, as they say. Sit a moment and enjoy the remains of the day.' She gestured beside her, so Bella sat on the sand.

‘It would be a nice way to start the day, too,' agreed Bella. ‘Instead of rushing out the door to my office. Do you live here or are you on holiday?'

‘I live here for now. I travelled a lot, then I found out about my great-grandfather. Funny how you never think much about the lives of your grandparents and their parents and what they did when they were our age.'

‘That's true,' agreed Bella. ‘So what did you find out? If you don't mind me asking.'

‘No worries. Great-grandad was a prisoner of war in Changi in Singapore and apparently something of a character. He couldn't settle back into suburban life in Sydney after the war, so when he won some money in the lottery he married, came up to Queensland and opened a fish and chip shop near the beach. It did really well, so he sold it and moved further north and bought a rundown old coconut plantation. The trees were sixty years old. He started a nursery and exported them all over Australia.'