Black Mountain (10 page)

And she had the night out with Gai and Tim to look forward to.

***

At that moment, down in Brisbane, Greg had responded to an urgent summons from a furious Carl, and they were sitting down to discuss developments.

‘So what's all the fuss about?' Greg asked him.

‘You told me everything I'd need was in the journal,' Carl fumed, ‘and up to a point you're right. All Rob's experiments are detailed in it, and it's obvious he'd almost reached his final experimental trials with the serum. But he still felt he could improve on the last batch, and he made notes on how he intended to go forward. But there was one thing missing.' He paused to take a breath.

‘What's missing?'

‘He was working with a rare, previously unknown plant, which he called
stripling unfamiliar
. And without that plant there's no serum. Where am I to find it? There's no clue in the book to reveal its whereabouts, except that he'd found it in the Daintree.'

‘How did I know Rob was working with an unknown plant? I'm not a scientist, I couldn't decipher his experiments. I thought that was a Latin name for whatever it was he was working with,' Greg defended himself against Carl's angry tirade.

‘Well, what do you plan to do about it?'

‘We have to find the plant.'

‘And how do you plan to do that? Search the whole of the Daintree? It could take years. You wouldn't know what you were looking for, anyhow.'

‘There might be something at Cooper's place to give us a clue,' Greg replied.

‘And how do you think we could find it? Go and ask Beth if she'd mind if we have a look around?' Carl sneered. ‘I heard the rumours and I've already tried to buy her little cosmetic business. She has some good oils and stuff, but she wasn't interested.'

‘Have you ever been to her place?'

‘Yes, when I went to make her an offer.'

‘Did Cooper have somewhere there where he used to work?'

‘Yes, there's a building at the back of their place they use as a laboratory.'

‘Have you ever been in it?'

‘No, but I saw inside when I was talking to Beth. There were benches and rows of bottles and jars and things. I'd say that's where he worked.'

‘If we could get a hold of one of his experiments would that help?'

‘It might. I could analyse it, see what I come up with.'

‘Then I'll see what I can do.'

Chapter 15

As she dressed to go to Galligans Elly abandoned her jeans in favour of a light summer dress and strappy sandals, then added a pair of coral earrings before using the mascara and lipstick that were her only make-up.

She planned on staying overnight in the Cairns apartment, as she would not drive after drinking, so she parked her car in the garage there and walked the short distance to Galligans.

There was already quite a crowd when she arrived. As she came through the door she saw Gai and Tim already seated at a table, with glasses in front of them. Gai waved to her and Elly made her way across to join them. Tim stood as she approached, pulling out one of the vacant chairs, and she sat down with a smile and a greeting.

‘I'll get you a drink,' Tim said, still standing. ‘What will you have?'

‘White wine, thanks, Tim,' she replied.

‘So how's it all going?' Gai asked her as Tim went to the bar. ‘Any luck with your search?'

Elly shook her head. ‘No, none at all.' And she briefly recounted the details of their trip to Wujal Wujal.

‘That's bad luck,' Gai commiserated with her. ‘And still no word about Jackson?'

‘No, nothing. He seems to have disappeared completely.'

Gai shrugged. ‘Well, try and forget about it all for tonight and just enjoy yourself.'

Elly flicked her a smile. ‘That's exactly what I plan to do.'

As Tim came back from the bar he placed Elly's drink in front of her before sitting down. ‘Now how about food?' he asked. ‘I'm starving.'

‘The tapas looks good. How about some mixed plates?' Gai asked, checking the menu.

Tim nodded. ‘Sounds good.'

As Elly was agreeing, someone stopped alongside her chair and touched her lightly on the shoulder.

‘Well, hello. It's Elly Cooper, isn't it? It's nice to see a face I recognise in this crowd.' Elly looked up, surprised to see Greg Talbot smiling down at her.

‘Hello, Greg. What a surprise to see you here. What brings you back to Cairns?'

‘I've been looking at premises for Marie Evert, for a new day spa she plans setting up here. I'm going to be here for a few days, and seeing I don't know anyone much in Cairns, I thought this looked a good place for a meal and some entertainment.' He looked over at Gai and Tim. ‘I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you and your friends.'

‘Not at all.' Turning, Elly made the introductions. ‘Gai Treloar and Tim Pope, friends of mine. Greg Talbot.'

‘Good to meet you,' Tim greeted him as Gai smiled and inclined her head. ‘Are you on your own?'

‘Yes, I am.'

‘Then why not join us,' Tim offered, gesturing to the empty chair.

‘Oh, I don't want to intrude.'

‘You're not intruding. We're just here for a meal and to hear some music.'

Greg looked uncertain. ‘Well, if you're sure …' He hesitated, looking at Elly.

‘Of course, Greg,' she told him. ‘Come and sit down. We're just deciding what to eat.'

Taking the vacant chair Greg smiled around the table. ‘I was expecting to have a lonely night all on my own,' he told them. ‘So this is an unexpected pleasure.'

‘Can I get you a drink?' Tim asked.

‘I see we're all drinking white wine. Let me get a bottle,' Greg suggested, pushing back his chair.

‘And we had just all agreed on sharing some tapas plates,' Tim added. ‘If that's all right with you?' he asked Greg.

Greg nodded. ‘Sounds good.'

‘Then I'll come with you and order.'

As the two men walked away to place their orders, Gai looked at Elly with a smirk. ‘Well, aren't you full of surprises? Where've you been hiding him?'

Elly shook her head with a laugh. ‘You've never changed, have you? Always looking to pair me up with someone. I hardly know Greg, I've only met him before at trade shows.'

‘Hmm. He's very good looking. A bit older than you, but that wouldn't matter.'

‘Gai, will you stop it?' Elly laughed. ‘What is it with the matchmaking?'

‘Well, you need someone in your life to take your mind off Jackson,' Gai defended herself. ‘And you tell me you're not interested in Mitchell, so …' Spreading her hands she gave a little chuckle.

‘For heaven's sake, stop it. There never was any romance between Jackson and me,' Elly declared emphatically.

‘You were prepared to spend a weekend with him.'

‘And we'll never know if that might have developed, but it didn't, so let it go. He certainly didn't break my heart.'

Gai raised her hands. ‘Okay, okay. I'll say no more.'

‘Good.'

Gai's lips twitched. ‘But if Greg makes a move you shouldn't knock him back.'

‘Shut up, or I'll pulverise you.' Elly laughed. She knew her friend wanted her to meet someone so she would be as happy as her and Tim, but there was no way she was going to tell her about Mitchell, and how he had made her feel. That was still too new, too unexplored.

Tim returned, accompanied by Greg with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Seating himself with a smile, Greg topped up their glasses and poured one for himself.

‘Cheers,' he said raising his glass. ‘Thanks for asking me to join you.'

‘Here's to a good night,' Tim responded, as they clinked glasses.

At that moment the band started, and they settled back to enjoy the music, and the tapas, which arrived soon after.

Greg Talbot proved a good companion, charming to the two girls and friendly to Tim, and at the end of a night that had turned out to be most enjoyable, they said their goodbyes on the footpath outside the venue, with Elly promising to join Tim and Gai again when the same band was playing.

After they left to go to their car, Greg fell into step beside Elly as she started to walk down Grafton Street.

‘I'm going this way too,' he told her. ‘Mind if I walk with you?'

‘Of course not.'

They talked easily about the band as they walked along until they came to the stop lights at a cross street, when Elly saw Mitchell's car pull up for the red light.

Through the street light shining into the window she could see he was not alone. He had a woman with him, and she realised with a shock that it was Fancy Pants. As Elly stared, she saw her lean across to push his hair back from his face, then reach up and kiss him on the cheek. It was a gesture that implied close familiarity, and Elly's heart clenched as she felt a sudden chill. Obviously their kiss had meant nothing to him—the belief that it was special was all in her mind.

But he had certainly given the impression he was finished with his former lover. Why had he felt he had to do that?

As the lights changed the car sped away.

Elly felt Greg touch her arm and realised she'd been ignoring the green light, and the other pedestrians who had been waiting to cross, were going around them.

‘Sorry,' she muttered, coming to her senses and walking across the street with him.

‘Is something the matter?' he asked, looking at her curiously when they reached the other side.

‘No, I just felt giddy for a second. Must have been coming out into the fresh air.' She uttered a short laugh that sounded false to her ears. ‘I'm fine now.'

‘I hope so. I'll see you to your door. Make sure you get inside all right.'

‘Really, I'm quite all right,' she protested. ‘It's only a short way from here.'

Nevertheless, he insisted on accompanying her and waiting until she fished her keys from her bag. As she thanked him and turned to go inside, he put his hand on her arm.

‘Look, as I said, I'm here for a few days more. I wonder if you would consider having dinner with me one night,' he asked her.

Looking at him, she thought he was pleasant enough, but she didn't want to have dinner with him alone.

‘I don't really want to leave Mum alone for another night on her own while the mango harvest is on,' she temporised. ‘Why don't you come up home and have dinner with both of us? In fact, why not come for lunch on Sunday, if you're free, and have a look around up there?'

Greg looked happy enough with that. ‘That would be great. You're sure Beth won't mind?'

‘She'll be delighted.'

After making the arrangements, they said goodnight, and Greg sauntered away whistling.

As Elly went inside, her mind was on Mitchell. Obviously his kiss had been merely a friendly gesture, designed to comfort her, and nothing more. For him, the earth hadn't moved. And it looked as if he was back with Fancy Pants. Well, from now on she would make sure their relationship was on a strictly business level.

Chapter 16

The next morning Elly was at her mother's side, carrying her laptop, as Beth unlocked the door and entered the laboratory. She had always enjoyed being in here, loved the subtle aromas that permeated the room, right back to the time when she'd been a small child, and first watched her mother mixing the essential oils that were the foundation of her healing and beautifying potions.

As an aromatherapist, Beth had always eschewed the commercial preparations so readily available in favour of nature's gifts, and Elly remembered watching her measuring and mixing the precious oils, with her nose telling her when the mix was just right. Often the very last drop to be added was a drop of rose oil. It was Elly's favourite, and the one that Beth used in her own body oil, so that a hint of that fragrance was always with her.

‘Why do you always do that?' she'd asked one day, after watching Beth add that last drop of rose.

‘Not always,' Beth corrected her, ‘but in many cases just one drop of rose oil pulls everything else together. It's the queen of all fragrances, and very, very expensive. But it's very powerful, so you only need a tiny amount to be effective.'

Today Elly sniffed appreciatively. It was whenever she returned to the laboratory after an absence that she noticed the aroma most.

Placing her laptop on the desk she opened it and fired it up, while Beth went to the cool safe and took out the jars labelled twenty to twenty-three.

‘Now, it's just as well you copied most of Dad's notes of the experiments into your laptop. Thank heavens we didn't lose all those with the journal.'

‘Yes, indeed.' Elly clicked on the file marked Experiments. ‘The last one, number twenty-three. Here it is.'

Beth came over and looked at the screen.

‘Yes, it's all coming back to me,' she said. ‘He put together the plant extract with the other ingredients we had worked out together, and he felt he was really getting somewhere. He was so excited.'

Elly heard the sadness in her mother's voice. She put her arm around her shoulders and hugged her. ‘We need to go on with it,' she told her gently. ‘We owe it to him, as well as you, not to let it die here.'

Beth bit her lip, and forced a smile. ‘Yes, I know,' she whispered. She reached for Elly's hand and grasped it. ‘It's just that it brings it all back. How happy he was. How sure he was that he was almost there.
“Just one more step”
, he told me. And then …' Her voice trailed off.

Elly felt a lump in her throat. ‘Mum, if this is too much for you, you don't need to go on …'

‘No.' Beth moved away from Elly's arm, her lips tight as she blinked away the tears trembling in her eyes. ‘No.' Her voice strengthened. ‘We'll go on together.'