‘You told me that when you rang, Narla. Don’t worry, we’ll get it sorted. I’ll call the ambos once I’ve looked at the scene. Just need to talk—’
‘No, I mean, he’s not here,’ she interrupted.
Dave noticed the madam’s face was very pale and she looked like she might have had a shock.
‘Not here?’
‘He wasn’t dead?’ Dave put in.
‘We thought he was. He wasn’t responsive or breathing. I even held a mirror under his nose to make sure! I don’t know what happened but he suddenly just sat up!’
Spencer looked beyond her and into the dim light of the passageway. ‘Where is he now?’
‘I don’t know. He got up and dressed and practically ran out the door.’
‘Better put a call out in case he’s lying unconscious on the street somewhere. What’s he look like?’
‘Early twenties, I guess. Blond hair, well built. Had the hands of an underground miner.’
‘Right, so ingrained dirt, cuts, callouses and so on,’ Spencer said to Dave. He directed his next comment to Narla. ‘I have heard of this type of thing happening before. Some little vein in the back of your neck closes when you get overexcited. Makes you look dead but you’re not, then someone moves you and the vein opens and everything carries on as it was before.’
‘I’ve never seen it,’ she answered. ‘It really gave me a fright!’
‘And where’s your girl?’ he asked.
‘In the bedroom. As soon as you’ve finished talking with her I’ll send her home. She had a bigger fright than I did, poor love.’
Dave went out into the bright midday sunlight and requested a 7-0-1, relaying the details of the young man.
He gave a smile. Must be the unluckiest fella in Barrabine, he thought. As he walked back into the brothel he heard Spencer ask how business was.
‘Busy,’ Narla answered. ‘I have five girls working today and another five starting at six tonight. They’re all booked until two am tomorrow.’
‘Lucky you’ve got good girls, Narla,’ Spencer said. ‘We’d have riots out here if you didn’t.’
‘I know. We service the need. Now, Kiri is this way.’ She turned and indicated for Dave and Spencer to follow her.
In the bedroom, which was lit by a warm light on the bedside table, Kiri sat in a bathrobe. Her arms were around herself and it looked as if she had been crying.
Spencer went to her and squatted down, looking her in the eye. ‘I’m Detective Brown. You must be Kiri?’
She nodded.
‘Can you tell me what happened?’ he asked gently.
‘I don’t know. He came back from the shower and stretched out on the bed. I turned away for a couple of moments to put the towels away and asked him if he wanted anything in particular. When he didn’t answer, I looked around and he…’ She broke off, taking a few deep breaths. ‘He looked different. I slapped him on the face a couple of times and nothing happened, so I called Narla.’
Narla took up the commentary. ‘After I phoned you lot, I did the checks I told you about, then we turned him on his side…His eyes opened and he took one look around and jumped up. Ran like a frightened rabbit, he did, after he’d got dressed.’
‘Did you catch his name?’
‘He didn’t give me one,’ Kiri answered. Without warning, she started to laugh. ‘It’s a bit funny, isn’t it? Like, he was dead, then he wasn’t!’ She laughed harder and Dave and Spencer smiled with her, knowing it was probably shock.
They asked a few more questions and decided there wasn’t much more they could do: the man was alive and there was nothing to investigate.
‘Look after your girl in there,’ Spencer said to Narla as they were leaving. ‘Nip of brandy might help.’
‘I will. Thanks for coming out so quickly. Before you leave, I wanted to mention that we’ve had a stranger in here recently. He’s been visiting twice a week or so. Very flashy. Tossing big notes around. The girls say he’s a bit rough. I’m keeping an eye on it, but I thought I’d let you know in case I need to call you in. I won’t stand for roughness with my girls.’
Spencer nodded. ‘We’ll come immediately if you need any help.’
‘Thank you, Spencer.’ Narla inclined her head towards him as a thank you, then turned and went back inside.
The men climbed into the car and looked at each other.
‘I want to laugh,’ admitted Dave.
‘So do I,’ Spencer said with a chuckle. ‘I wonder what his first thought was when he woke up.’
‘Obviously the need to get out of there on the double,’ Dave laughed, then sobered as Melinda’s face flashed in front of him.
Spencer looked over as silence filled the car.
‘Don’t worry, mate. She’ll get sorted.’
‘I hope so,’ Dave muttered.
Melinda re-read the application letter, making sure there weren’t any spelling or grammatical errors.
Everything Kathy had said to her today had hit home. Who was she to complain? She wasn’t the only woman who had had her life upended. Kathy told her she’d shifted six times in the twenty-five years she’d been married to Spencer.
And Dave. Her gorgeous, driven Dave. He’d been kicked off the farm without warning. His dream of being a farmer had been shattered by his father, but he’d set a new goal and was heading for it. Barrabine was a step along the way.
Maybe there wasn’t a job in paediatrics at the hospital, but there was one in community health. Kathy had driven past the community health centre on the way to pick up the meals for delivery. Melinda had been surprised to see a line of cars parked out the front on a Saturday. Two grubby, wild-haired children were in a playground inside the fence, while a woman sat in the shade of the verandah and watched them. She was sure if she’d wound the window down she would have heard their shrieks of laughter. The building looked new and freshly painted, even with the lining of red
