‘It’s very picturesque,’ he said. ‘How long have you lived here?’
‘Bought my lease back in 1938 and haven’t moved from here since.’ He put three pannikins out on the handmade wooden bench and threw a handful of tea leaves into the boiling water. Dave watched the bubbles boiling up the sides of the billy, mesmerised. He hadn’t seen tea made this way since his granddad had taken him camping up in the north of Western Australia.
‘Nineteen thirty-eight?’ Dave finally asked, surprised. ‘You must have been young.’
‘I was eighteen then.’ Tim turned and looked out the door, his faded blue eyes clearly seeing a scene from the past. ‘I’m seventy-seven now. Been here fifty-nine years.’
‘Fifty-nine years? And you’ve never left?’ Dave was incredulous. Fifty-nine years living out here, without any luxuries, without company. He found it hard to fathom.
‘No. I love it here. The country, the landscape. You know. I’m happy in my own company. Couldn’t imagine living in town with neighbours after all this time. Even a trip into Barrabine for supplies is an effort for me.’ He looked around and sighed contentedly. ‘No, this is where I’m happiest.’
‘And mining?’
‘Mining doesn’t matter to me the way it used to.’
There was another heavy sigh, this time from outside and Dave turned to see the red heeler asleep in the sun. He looked very relaxed and nothing like the fierce dog he had encountered when he’d first arrived.
Spencer got out his notepad. ‘Righto, you know the drill, Timmy,’ he said. ‘We need to ask you a few questions.’
Tim poured the tea and put the mugs on the table. ‘Sugar? Milk? I’ve only got long-life.’
‘Just sugar for me. Thanks,’ Dave answered.
‘Same,’ Spencer said.
Tim turned and took a bag of sugar out of the fridge and put it on the table. He saw Dave looking. ‘Stops the ants from getting into it,’ he said by way of an explanation. Leaning against the bench, he took a sip of his tea. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘How did you discover the body? I’m going to say body because we don’t know what is down there. Might be ten people for all we know.’
‘Geez! I hope you’re wrong,’ Tim said.
‘Me too.’ Spencer was quiet while he waited for Tim to answer.
‘I’ve had a few nightly visitors lately. You know how it is.’ He talked straight to Spencer. ‘Fellas walking onto the lease with detectors in the dark. Looking around. I don’t mind if they want to have a look on my lease—you know, the amateurs. They’ve only got small detectors which go maybe a half a metre down—they’re not going to find the mother lode. If they find a piece, there’ll be something bigger there, more than likely. All I ask is they pinpoint the site they found it and then I can take my machines in and have a look. But they keep sneaking onto the place when I’m not looking. When it’s dark or they think I’m not around. Sometimes I see little pinpricks of light. If you watch for long enough you can see them moving slowly across the land.’
‘Pinpricks?’ Dave asked.
‘They wear headtorches so they can see where they’re walking,’ Tim explained. Then he gave a wicked laugh. ‘Sometimes I send Chief out to give ’em a bit of a scare.’
Spencer shook his head, disgusted. ‘It’s not only you. We’re getting more and more complaints about this. They’ve got the fever and they get greedy. Don’t take notice of the boundaries. We’ve even had bigger mining companies complaining of people walking out onto their tenements. Too many people straying over the borders.’
‘Chief here,’ he nodded to the dog, ‘he usually gets rid of them, but if it’s further over, he won’t hear them. Last night he got a bit excited, barking and carrying on. Kept running off into the bush and coming back as if to get me. Reckon it was about ten, so I got in me ute and followed him. Didn’t see anyone, or any lights. Thieves are too clever for that, so whoever was there last night wasn’t an amateur.’
Tim put down his cup and wiped his hands across his eyes, getting rid of the sweat which had pooled there. Dave did the same—it was bloody hot under this tin roof. Probably forty-five if not more. He wondered how Tim could live out here without air-conditioning and other mod cons. Then his grandfather’s voice stopped him. ‘All he’s ever known, lad.’ His wise words often returned to Dave when he was dealing with people.
‘Chief put up a hell of a racket at the shaft, so I stopped near it and got out to have a look. Black as the ace of spades it was, but I could smell it. No mistaking. Came back here this morning and checked it all out. I heard the flies first. Like a swarm of bees, they were. Course, by the time I drove into the local to use the payphone to ring you fellas, the morning had got on a bit. And this didn’t happen last night, ’cause you and I both know bodies don’t pong this quick.’
‘And did you have any idea who Chief was barking at?’
‘Never saw or heard anyone,’ Tim answered, his face grim. ‘I tell you, Spencer, they want to be careful ’cause I’ll take to them with my gun.’
‘That won’t help anything except get you slapped with a charge, Timmy. Put that thought out of your head. You just gotta ring us. We don’t mind coming out and handing out some warnings or slapping the cuffs on the ones who give us lip.’
‘I know, I know,’ he reluctantly agreed.
‘I’m guessing the body’s been there maybe three or four days in this heat,’ Spencer said.
Tim nodded thoughtfully. ‘Might be a little more, maybe. Don’t be forgetting it’s cooler down there than up here. Not that I’m an expert in these things, but I’ve seen a lot, you know?’
‘Sure do.’ Spencer jotted down a note.
‘So, you’ve had people coming
