Page 46

‘What the – ?’ A large motor started with a roar and Ellie strode across the road into the orchard then climbed the next hill, taking care to stay behind the stand of scrubby trees that delineated the back of the orchard from the river flats on the eastern boundary.

There was no sign of the huge trucks from last week, but three white utilities were parked at the bottom of the hill. A three-metre high wire fence enclosed a large square from the base of the hill to the river and the gates were closed, the padlock big enough for Ellie to see it from where she stood. It was the red scarred earth she’d seen from above, but it looked much wider from the ground.

‘New dam, my arse,’ she muttered. Something serious was going on here, and it had nothing to do with mango farming or a new fence. The machine over at the edge of the river backed up with another roar of its engine and a puff of smoke was followed by the squealing of steel on steel. Along the length of the back of the fence was a square pit lined with black plastic. It was half-full of discoloured water. The pipes she had seen from the air towered to the height of a house roof. Ellie took a step forward and peered through the dust that rose and obscured her vision. She frowned and wrinkled her nose as a strange odour filled her nostrils – a mix of gasoline and kerosene.

‘Hey! Stop right there!’

Ellie jumped and put her hand to her chest. Her heartbeat ramped up and she swallowed down the fear that burned in her throat. A huge guy with tattoos circling his neck was marching across the paddock towards her. His eyes were too small for the face that was set in a scowl. The sun glinted off his shaved head and the earrings in his right ear flashed as he closed the distance between them. He would have looked more at home on a motorbike than on any of the earthmoving machinery down the hill.

She thought quickly. ‘Oh, hello. Maybe you can help me?’ She let out a nervous giggle, but the nerves were for real. The pungent smell of sweat and body odour filled her nostrils as he came to a stop only inches from her side. He grabbed her arm and held it tightly as she tried to twist out of his grip.

‘Who the fuck are you? What are you doing here?’ His voice was deep and tinged with an Eastern European accent.

‘I’m lost.’ She put on a timid voice. ‘I’m looking for the jumping crocodile show but I must have missed the turn. There was no one at the house down the road, and I saw the smoke down here.’

He turned her around and let go of her arm, only to push his hand into the small of her back. ‘This is private property.’

‘There’s no need to be like that. I’m only looking for the crocodile park.’ She cleared her throat and met his gaze.

‘You’re a tourist, huh?’

His gaze lowered and stared at her chest. Too late she realised she was in her work clothes and her khaki shirt was emblazoned with the Makowa Lodge logo.

‘I’m new here and I wanted to see the jumping crocodile show.’ She stuck to her story but in truth it was the last thing she wanted to see. Many locals wanted the jumping crocodile show banned and she agreed with them. A man had been killed last dry season when a four-metre crocodile had jumped up and snatched him from his tinnie.

‘Like I said, get in your car and piss off.’

Ellie’s temper fired. ‘There’s no need to be like that. What’s going on down here, anyway?’

She flinched as his large sweaty hand grabbed hers again and he dragged her down the hill to her car. A white ute was parked beside it; she hadn’t heard it over the noise of the machinery she’d been watching.

‘Get in your car and leave or you’ll be charged with trespassing.’ He shoved her roughly towards the car.

Her hands shook as she shoved the key into the ignition and started the car. With a spray of gravel to rival that of Kane’s exit last week, the wheels spun as she turned the car towards the highway.

Before she reached the top of the hill she glanced back. The man held a phone to his ear.

Chapter 13

Monday

Arnhem Highway

Ellie’s lips trembled as her hands gripped the steering wheel. What she had seen beside the South Alligator River confirmed her worst fears. The ground was ripped to pieces; the soft red soil now slashed into huge channels by the machinery parked inside that wire-fenced compound. And that tattooed guy had terrified her. What the hell were they doing down there that needed a thug to guard it? But she knew. She’d read enough of Mum’s files and seen enough photographs to know that hydraulic fracking was underway.

But how had it been kept so quiet? There’d been nothing in the paper about it – except that denial from Sordina. Did anyone else know? Maybe this was why Bill had been so cagey the other day. Something was seriously wrong here and it was up to her to put a stop to it.

The communication towers at Jabiru appeared in the distance and when she reached the turn-off, Ellie took a left into the small township. She pulled over to the side of the road near the bakery and hurried inside.

She bought a takeaway coffee from the young Aboriginal girl and then hurried back to the car. Her hands were still shaking as she balanced the cardboard cup on the bonnet and ripped open three packets of sugar to sweeten the drink. She needed something to calm her nerves and help her think rationally.

Taking a slug of the coffee and scalding her mouth in the process, Ellie pulled out her mobile and pressed the shortcut to Call Connect. Her hands were shaking too much to look through her recent calls for the number she wanted.

‘Town and name please.’ The call centre operator came on the line before she could think.

‘Ah . . . Darwin. The electoral office of Panos Sordina.’

‘Do you want to be connected?’