few days, and I want to pack as much adventure in as possible. I love your country.”
“Yeah, it’s bloody beaut. Best place on earth, if ya’ ask me.” He raised the bottle and tipped the air in a salute. He took another long slug of beer and leaned forward. “Go ahead. Take a look at those brochures.”
Amy lowered her voice and leaned across the table. “Have you heard of Bungumby Lodge? It’s on the outskirts of Laura.”
“Yeah, it’s a well-known place. It’s a bit rustic. Let me see.” He reached for a brochure and began to read out loud. “No modern conveniences, no telephones…”
Amy reached over grabbed the pamphlet. “Sorry,” she said lowering her voice. “I um, don’t want anyone to know where I’m going.”
The man was still there. If he’d followed her, he’d have a rental car. She’d go out to the parking lot and copy down the license plates of any rentals. Then she’d make note if any of those cars followed her. Brian stared at her a questioning frown on his face.
“You know…a young woman, alone,” she said. “Can’t be too careful.”
He nodded.
She read the rest of the pamphlet. No televisions in the cabins, telephone available in the lodge. Nature is the entertainment. Midnight guided strolls to the falls, and into the Daintree forest, tours offered to the Great Barrier Reef. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t concentrate.
“You know what this means, don’t cha’?”
Amy shook her head.
“Spiders, snakes, mossies, and flies.”
“Is the place clean?”
“Yep. People that run it are great cooks, too. Or so I’ve heard, never been there m’self, hard to get to, on a Harley. Even the paved roads are a hazard. You’ve got cattle stations out that way and they’re unfenced. The cattle are bloody stupid and wander onto the highway. You can have a huge Brahman bull walk along the side of your car. Between them and the kangaroos it’s dangerous, especially early morning, and at dusk.”
A tiny thrill ran through her when she read about the Thompson family, and the ecologically sound retreat they’d owned and operated for over twenty years. Could she book into a cabin and risk her ex-husband being on the property, and maybe in the cabin next door? She should check it out first. Do a day trip. Find out who else was staying there. With only twenty cabins that shouldn’t be too hard to do. She had people skills. She knew what questions to ask. “How long does it take to get to Bungumby?”
Brian pursed his lips. “About three hours, maybe four. If ya’ want to do a day trip, I could go, share the driving. I’m off tomorrow, have to be back in Cairns by nine or ten o’clock in the evening. I’m a high school science teacher, got summer camp. Monday…can’t be late.”
A teacher ? Amy sat back in her chair. Who’d have guessed?
“It’s a bit rough, a girl on her own out in the country.”
Amy widened her eyes. This could be good. It was a risk, he was a stranger, but maybe it was a necessary risk. She glanced across the room. The man stood, walked to a nearby table. A man with gray hair sticking out from below a baseball cap sat with his back to the room. The creepy man said something. The guy handed him a salt shaker and creepy man took it and went back to his seat.
“Thank you, Brian. I’d love the company but I need to get some sleep, now. Here’s my telephone number. Give me a call in the morning, and I’ll tell you where we’ll meet.”
Brian wrote his number down on a thick cardboard coaster and handed it to her. “This is my mobile. It’s always on. Call me if you need anything. Or if ya’ change your mind.”
The strange man rose, pushed back his chair and walked into the men’s room.
“I have to run,” Amy said. She tossed money on the table and hurried outside and scanned the cars in the parking lot behind the pub. No rental vehicles, he must have parked on the street. She hurried along the rough road toward the parking lot of
“Yeah, it’s bloody beaut. Best place on earth, if ya’ ask me.” He raised the bottle and tipped the air in a salute. He took another long slug of beer and leaned forward. “Go ahead. Take a look at those brochures.”
Amy lowered her voice and leaned across the table. “Have you heard of Bungumby Lodge? It’s on the outskirts of Laura.”
“Yeah, it’s a well-known place. It’s a bit rustic. Let me see.” He reached for a brochure and began to read out loud. “No modern conveniences, no telephones…”
Amy reached over grabbed the pamphlet. “Sorry,” she said lowering her voice. “I um, don’t want anyone to know where I’m going.”
The man was still there. If he’d followed her, he’d have a rental car. She’d go out to the parking lot and copy down the license plates of any rentals. Then she’d make note if any of those cars followed her. Brian stared at her a questioning frown on his face.
“You know…a young woman, alone,” she said. “Can’t be too careful.”
He nodded.
She read the rest of the pamphlet. No televisions in the cabins, telephone available in the lodge. Nature is the entertainment. Midnight guided strolls to the falls, and into the Daintree forest, tours offered to the Great Barrier Reef. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t concentrate.
“You know what this means, don’t cha’?”
Amy shook her head.
“Spiders, snakes, mossies, and flies.”
“Is the place clean?”
“Yep. People that run it are great cooks, too. Or so I’ve heard, never been there m’self, hard to get to, on a Harley. Even the paved roads are a hazard. You’ve got cattle stations out that way and they’re unfenced. The cattle are bloody stupid and wander onto the highway. You can have a huge Brahman bull walk along the side of your car. Between them and the kangaroos it’s dangerous, especially early morning, and at dusk.”
A tiny thrill ran through her when she read about the Thompson family, and the ecologically sound retreat they’d owned and operated for over twenty years. Could she book into a cabin and risk her ex-husband being on the property, and maybe in the cabin next door? She should check it out first. Do a day trip. Find out who else was staying there. With only twenty cabins that shouldn’t be too hard to do. She had people skills. She knew what questions to ask. “How long does it take to get to Bungumby?”
Brian pursed his lips. “About three hours, maybe four. If ya’ want to do a day trip, I could go, share the driving. I’m off tomorrow, have to be back in Cairns by nine or ten o’clock in the evening. I’m a high school science teacher, got summer camp. Monday…can’t be late.”
A teacher ? Amy sat back in her chair. Who’d have guessed?
“It’s a bit rough, a girl on her own out in the country.”
Amy widened her eyes. This could be good. It was a risk, he was a stranger, but maybe it was a necessary risk. She glanced across the room. The man stood, walked to a nearby table. A man with gray hair sticking out from below a baseball cap sat with his back to the room. The creepy man said something. The guy handed him a salt shaker and creepy man took it and went back to his seat.
“Thank you, Brian. I’d love the company but I need to get some sleep, now. Here’s my telephone number. Give me a call in the morning, and I’ll tell you where we’ll meet.”
Brian wrote his number down on a thick cardboard coaster and handed it to her. “This is my mobile. It’s always on. Call me if you need anything. Or if ya’ change your mind.”
The strange man rose, pushed back his chair and walked into the men’s room.
“I have to run,” Amy said. She tossed money on the table and hurried outside and scanned the cars in the parking lot behind the pub. No rental vehicles, he must have parked on the street. She hurried along the rough road toward the parking lot of
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