The Girl in the Hard Hat (37 page)

‘You made it back from the moorings.’ She smiled with relief. ‘Everything all ship-shape?’

‘Fine.’ He didn’t look pleased. ‘What are you still doing here?’

Waiting for you to get back.
‘Oh, just a few last-minute things,’ she returned vaguely. ‘I’m ready to go now.’

He put his hand on his hips. ‘You bet you are. Wendy, it’s dark out there. You should be back at the camp, looking for a good book for when you’re locked up in Karratha tomorrow.’

‘That’s what you think I’ll be doing?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Reading a book? I doubt very much I’ll be able to concentrate with gale-force winds throwing pieces of buildings, possibly ours, around outside.’

His face relaxed somewhat. ‘Sorry for snapping, I’m just tired.’ He ran a hand through hair she longed to neaten. ‘I doubt I’ll be reading a book either.’ Some of the teasing Gavin returned. ‘Tell you what, I’ll bring a set of playing cards. We’ll play poker to get your mind off things.’

She eyed him doubtfully. ‘I don’t know how to play poker.’

‘I do.’ His lips turned up in that smile that always got under her skin.

She had no doubt he did. Although the specific rules of the game were unknown to her, she knew what a poker face was and Gavin had one of the best in the business. If they played for money he would no doubt fleece her dry. ‘We’ll see.’

‘In the meantime,’ he placed a hand in the small of her back, ‘go back to camp. Like I said, there is nothing more for you to do here.’

‘No worries,’ she agreed. ‘But what about you?’

‘I’ve got to secure all the office donga doors and windows and turn off the power and water. Then I’ll leave.’

He picked up her bag and took her by the hand, practically dragging her to the door.

‘Gavin.’ She tugged at his hand in protest. ‘Do you mind?’

‘Yes, Sarge. Very much.’

‘All right, all right,’ she agreed. ‘You win, I’m going.’

She passed a restless night, finding it initially very difficult to fall asleep. When she awoke, it was to the wailing of the emergency warning signal. At first it was loud and then grew softer as the speaker moved away. No doubt it was mounted to an SES vehicle being driven through the town. She glanced at her digital bedside clock. It was just before four.

The siren was the signal that they were just about to broadcast more information on television and radio regarding the cyclone. She had no doubt that they had just slipped into yellow alert.

Twelve hours before impact.

Dan confirmed this when he called her mobile at four-thirty.

It was time to prepare the camp for evacuation. They had already put the word out there the day before that an evacuation would be called at five-thirty in the event of a yellow alert and that all men were to be in readiness. The camp had its own sirens that would be sounded when the time came. All personnel were to gather at muster points to be accounted for. After that, they were to leave in buses and utes to the Barnes Inc evacuation centre in Karratha.

Wendy left her room at five and headed to the mess for a speedy breakfast. It was unusually full. Some of the guys who normally skipped breakfast had decided to gather there. Not for food but for news. Someone had put a radio on in the hall and turned it up. The men were eerily silent as the announcer droned in monotone over the subdued clinking of cutlery against plates.

‘News just in from the Bureau of Meteorology suggests that Cyclone James is due to cross the coast in less than twelve hours. James will likely impact the town of Wickham the most with its destructive force. Locals are urged to make preparations as per advice provided by the bureau and FESA. At this stage, the bureau has predicted winds as high as two hundred and ninety kilometres per hour and so have upgraded James to category-five cyclone. Luckily, the storm will hit during low tide so storm surge or intense flooding is unlikely, though not ruled out. Locals have been urged to batten down, secure their windows and doors and, if they feel their homes are not built to withstand these conditions, retreat to welfare centres provided by the Shire of Roebourne. To find out more information FESA asks locals to please refer to their website. Personnel from FESA are currently conducting inspections of the town to ensure all residents are prepared.’

Wendy’s ribs tightened around her heart. An upgrade in the cyclone category was definitely not the news she’d been hoping for.

A full tray of food appeared across the table from her. It contained four slices of toast, some cold meats, a bowl of Coco Pops, fruit salad, yoghurt and two buttered pancakes with a cup of coffee.

‘Tell you what, little mate, I’m so nervous about all this, I’ve completely lost my appetite.’ Chub’s expression was dirty as he pulled out a chair and sat down opposite her. ‘And they don’t help matters putting on that depressing radio in here.’ He lifted two slices of toast, shoved a piece of ham between them and took a bite. ‘You know, with this ordeal in store, we should all be keeping our strength up, not fasting.’

Wendy’s eyes looked down at her half-eaten slice of toast and a smile tickled her mouth. ‘I’m glad you’re managing to eat something, Cobber. No matter how meagre.’

‘Well you know,’ Chub nodded modestly, ‘I’m doing my bit for the team. Same as any man here.’

‘How are things going in Karratha?’

‘We’re all set.’

‘And Carl?’

Chub’s mouth twisted. ‘He is by far the bossiest person I have ever met. But I suppose he’s managed to kick things along nicely. I just wish he wouldn’t make it so obvious how much he’s enjoying using me as his punching bag.’

‘He’s been missing being in contact with the site.’ Wendy’s smile deepened. ‘I’m sure he’s loving having some of his power back. The main thing is that you haven’t had any problems.’

Chub shook his head. ‘After breakfast, the camp kitchen staff are moving more supplies there. We’ve got heaps of tinned foods and ready-to-eat meals if the school cafeteria kitchen no longer functions during the storm, which in all probability, it won’t.’

‘And what about clothing and bedding?’

‘Well, as per the cyclone plan, we sent out a list yesterday about what everyone was to pack for the evacuation.’

Wendy ran a hand across her temple. ‘Oh crap, I haven’t packed yet.’

‘Did you get the list?’

‘It’s probably still in the inbox on my computer at Cape Lambert.’

‘It’s only four items anyway,’ Chub reassured her. ‘Spare set of warm clothes, your pillow, your blanket and any valuables you don’t want to lose that could fit in a backpack.’

She polished off her orange juice. ‘I can do that.’ She drummed her fingers on the counter, worried that with so much going on she was going to forget the little things that made so much difference.

‘Oh damn, what about torches?’ Trembling fingers fretted their way through her messy hair. ‘And mobiles. I forgot to tell everyone to charge their mobiles and put fuel in the utes. We’ve gotta find a safe place to park them, Cobber. Oh shit. There’s still too much to do.’

‘Wendy.’ Large hands grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake.

Her face flicked up. ‘Sorry, Cobber.’

‘You just go back to your donga and pack. Torches and mobiles are already sorted but I’ll go talk to people with utes now. I need you to calm down and take a load off. Do you want me to call Gavin to help you?’

She allowed her hand to drop from her hair. ‘No. Why would I need you to call Gavin?’

‘Just a thought,’ he returned cryptically, regarding her with his double chin buried in his chest. ‘Look, I know you fancy yourself captain around here, little mate. But there’s absolutely no need for you to go down with the ship, so to speak. You take care of yourself this morning, you hear me?’

‘Loud and clear.’ She shot him an affectionate smile.

‘Good.’

Mustering the men for evacuation turned out to be a relatively quick and painless procedure. For once, the men did not question her authority or the instructions meted out through various key personnel. Everyone was accounted for, ready and prepared to go, their faces a mixture of fear and hope.

The Cyclone Management Team personally saw everyone to a vehicle, ticking names off lists. Soon there were only five people left standing in the car park. Wendy, Gavin, Chub, Dimitri and Lena.

They split up and walked through the camp, making sure everything was secure. All the donga doors and windows were shut so that the cyclone had the least chance of damaging them. Although Wendy wasn’t holding her breath, given the rating on the dongas was only category three.

At seven am it was nine hours till impact.

They re-convened in the car park, where two utes were parked in readiness to go. They were just about to hop into the vehicles when a car turned into the car park and three men alighted from a dark green Mitsubishi. One man was familiar to Wendy.

The man she knew as Skinner strode across the wet, windy car park towards them, leaving the other two leaning against the vehicle. He winked at Wendy. ‘Hey, love.’

She felt intensely guilty as Gavin shot her a quick look before turning around to greet the man, saying, ‘I thought you were in Perth.’

The out-of-towner cocked his head to one side, a teasing grin stretching across his not-so-teasing face. He was still wearing that silver stud, Wendy noticed, and his longish blond hair was slicked back with some sort of styling gel. ‘And here I was thinking you’d forgotten all about me.’

Something was wrong.

It wasn’t just the weather putting a chill in the air any more. She couldn’t lay a finger on what it was exactly, but something was creeping her out.

‘Excuse me, sir.’ It was Chub who interrupted the awkward silence. ‘But in case you hadn’t heard, there’s a cyclone coming. It’s going to hit town in less than nine hours. We all need to get some place safe.’

Skinner’s gaze flicked briefly to him before returning to Gavin. ‘I was hoping to have a little chat with Gavin here first.’

‘A
chat
,’ Chub repeated, affronted. ‘No offence, mate, but this is no time for a catch-up.’

Wendy watched the way one of Gavin’s fists clenched and unclenched at his side. She thought it odd that there had been no handshake at this reunion of old friends. While she was still trying to figure it out, Gavin turned around to face them. ‘You guys all go in Chub’s ute. I’ll follow later.’

‘What?’ she whispered.

‘Are you sure, Gav?’ Lena demanded, also casting Skinner an annoyed gaze. ‘I think we should stick with the plan.’

‘I’ll stay here till Gavin is ready to leave,’ Wendy immediately volunteered. ‘You guys go in Chub’s ute.’

‘No!’ Gavin’s tone was so fierce that for a moment all they could do was stare at him. Skinner came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Come on, mate, if the little lady wants to stay, she can stay. I don’t mind.’

Gavin shrugged his hand off and looked sternly at Wendy. ‘This is a family matter. It’s private. I don’t want you here.’

Skinner cleared his throat. ‘It’s a family matter all right.’

There was a pleading look in Gavin’s eyes. ‘Can you please just leave? I’ll be fine.’

More secrets.
It was the story of their relationship. Should she really be surprised? He didn’t want to confide in her. Wasn’t it about time she gave him the distance he demanded? But her feet wouldn’t move.

Gavin turned to Chub and the others. ‘Take her, will you? I’ll meet you guys there. Come on. You’re running out of time.’

Dimitri clasped his hands. ‘Well, I for one do not want to stand around arguing while the weather gets worse. No?’ Without further ado, he hopped into Chub’s ute, waiting for the others to follow. With a shrug, Chub got into the driver’s seat.

Wendy felt Lena’s hand on her arm. ‘Come on, Wendy. Obviously he wants some space. He’s got the other ute and he’s with his friend so . . .’

‘Are you sure you’ll be okay?’ Wendy asked again. Her eyes flitted once more between Skinner and Gavin.

Gavin’s face crinkled into a reassuring smile. ‘Just go, Sarge, and find a pack of cards. We’re playing poker as soon as I get there.’

She watched his carefree wave as she allowed Lena to push her into the back of the ute.

Poker, huh?

She was afraid their game had already started.

As soon as Chub’s vehicle was out of sight, Gavin spun around. He could feel his blood pulsing in his brain as he faced the man who had been the horror in his nightmares for the last five years.

‘Where’s your knife, Peter?’ he shot at him. ‘Aren’t you here for the other eighteen jabs?’

‘You want to get right into it, do you?’ Peter regarded him with the admiration of a hunter who had finally caught a particularly wily fox. ‘I thought you’d at least thank me first for letting your friends leave without a scratch.’

‘Not really interested in small talk,’ Gavin shrugged. ‘Given I’ve been expecting you for the last five years. What took you so long?’

Peter’s expression hardened. ‘Cocky little bastard, aren’t you? You do realise I have two guys with me. Your odds of surviving this meeting aren’t exactly good.’

Gavin knew that as surely as he’d known he had to get Wendy and the others away as quickly as possible. All the same, he wasn’t going to lie down and play dead.