Color of Blood(87)

“Why is that important?”

“You’re not back in Australia again, are you?”

“Beth, why does it matter where I am? And of all places, Australia.”

“Don’t ask me why, but something is really bothering me about you being in Australia. Ask Nathan; he’ll tell you. Better yet, don’t ask Nathan. He thinks I’ve been acting a little crazy about your work.”

“Beth, really, everything’s fine.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel great. Better than I have felt in a long time. It’s refreshing to feel so alive and purposeful again.”

“Gee, it sounds like you’ve met a woman,” she said. “Is that what’s going on?”

“Maybe.”

“I’m a little ambivalent about you finding someone else, Dad. But Mom wouldn’t want you moping around the rest of your life. I’m happy for you. Can I meet her some time?”

Dennis had never told Beth about Martha’s affair and the true circumstances of her death, nor did he intend to tell her.

“Absolutely. Think you’d like her. She’s got a healthy stubborn streak, just like my daughter.”

“Oh that’s not true,” she said. “You and Nathan are in cahoots. I would like to meet this woman. I need some help against the two of you.”

They talked for a few minutes, and then Dennis tried to end the call.

“And I wasn’t kidding, Dad,” she said.

“Kidding?”

“No, I’m not kidding. Wherever you are right now, you should stop and come home. I don’t have a good feeling about you lately. And I could bet a million dollars you’re in Australia.”

“Beth, where do you get this stuff from?” he said, scanning the nearly empty coffee shop. “You couldn’t be more wrong about me.”

***

Dennis had grown nervous as the hour ticked away. While he wanted to get as far away as possible from the team being dispatched to Perth, he also wanted to see Judy.

It would likely be the last time.

After an hour, Dennis left the coffee shop and quickly scanned around for signs of surveillance. Satisfied he was in the clear, he walked to his car.

The sound of tires squealing behind made him flinch, and he braced for a confrontation.

“My God, I thought I was going to miss you,” Judy said, throwing her arms around his neck.

“I’m glad you made it.” He kissed her forehead gently. “I was getting worried: thought I’d never see you again.”

“No worries about that, mate,” she said in an exaggerated Aussie accent.

“Really?” He smiled.

“Yes, I’ve decided that since you refuse to take me along with you in the bush, I’m going to just follow you.”

He gently pushed her away. “What?”

“I’m sorry, Dennis, you’re not going to get rid of me that quickly.” She crossed her arms. “I can tolerate your disapproval, and even your anger, if it means I can help you avoid doing something that will get you lost or killed out there. You’ll die quickly in this heat, so I’ll just tag along. And there’s really only one main highway north, so you can’t outrun me, that’s for bloody sure.”

Dennis’s face hardened, but Judy was prepared for it.

“Please don’t do that,” he said sharply. “Good-bye.”

Dennis got into the LandCruiser and started it up. Judy raced back to her car, backed up several yards, and waited for him to pull out. She saw the back-up lights engage, but the vehicle’s brake lights remained on. After several seconds the back-up lights went off as the LandCruiser’s transmission moved to park. Then the engine turned off.

Judy squinted to see what Dennis was doing and was surprised to see him open the driver’s side door. He stepped out and walked over to Judy. She wound down her window.

“Just park and get in,” he said. “Hurry.”

Judy pulled into an open space, half-expecting Dennis to speed away, but he waited dutifully for her to get a small suitcase out of her back seat and put it in the LandCruiser.

Before sitting in the passenger seat, she leaned in and said, “Do you want me to drive? The left-hand drive can be tricky on those long stretches.”

“Yes,” he said, getting out of the driver’s side. “Just hurry!”

They switched seats, and she drove west down Hay Street toward the Mitchell Freeway. For the first ten minutes, Dennis said nothing. He looked at his watch several times and continued to look in the side mirror at the vehicles behind them.

“Your phone!” he said, startling her.

“My mobile phone?”

“Where is it?”

“In my purse. Why?”

“Give me your purse!”

She tossed it to him, and he rifled through until he found the phone. He flipped it open and then closed it. Without saying a word, he wound down his window and threw her phone into a line of hedges in front of an Anglican church they were passing.

“What are you doing?!” Judy said. “That’s my service phone. Are you crazy?”

“They’ll figure out eventually that we’re traveling together and home in on your phone,” he said.

“Well, you could have just turned it off, Dennis. You didn’t have to throw it out the bloody window.”