Peter Corris - The Empty Beach

He went up the steps and knocked on the front door. After a minute or so, a man I hadn’t seen before opened the door. The untidy man started talking and the other guy began shaking his head. I bent as low as I could, given that my ribs were starting to hurt insistently, and scooted across to the car. I opened the back door, rolled in and pulled the door shut. There was nothing to hide under. I just scrunched myself down on the floor and hoped.

The door opened, there was a slap as something hit the back seat, the door slammed, the springs creaked and the car started. I stayed down for twice as long as I thought I needed to and when I risked a peep we were clear of the property. I looked at the driver, but you can’t do much in the way of character assessment from the back of a head. He had dandruff. I sat upright behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He started and swung the wheel.

‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘Steer straight.’

‘Who’re you? What do you want?’ His voice cracked and broke with alarm.

‘I’ve had a bit of trouble back there. You got me clear of it. I want to go to the railway, that’s all.’

‘The police, more likely.’

I brought up the Browning and showed it to him. ‘I didn’t want to do this, but it has to be the railway. I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘Are you a prisoner?’

I laughed but the sound came our harsh and humourless. ‘No; it’s too complicated to explain. Do you know whose house that is back there?’

‘No.’

‘What the hell were you doing there?’

‘Canvassing. I’m the Labor candidate for the state election.’

‘Jesus. What did he say to you?’

‘Told me to piss off.’ The conversation seemed to give him some confidence. ‘Uh, Bill Anderson’s my name. What’s yours?’

‘Good name,’ I said, ‘top of the ballot. I’ve voted Labor all my life, when I’ve voted. Gough Whitlam’s the greatest Australian this century.’

‘That’s right.’

I was going to ask him where the hell we were, but I thought it might scare him. People who don’t know where they are sometimes don’t know other things, like that they shouldn’t kill people. The country was familiar anyway, flat, with the hills in the distance, well-watered. The side road hit the highway and I knew where I was-Camden, Macarthur Onslow country, wool country, fat lambs and fat cheques. I hadn’t told him my name and he hadn’t said he was going to take me to the railway station, but we were still moving and still talking.

‘What hope do you have around here, Bill?’

‘Not much. Safe Country Party, but you never know.’ He turned onto the highway.

‘Is this the way to the railway station?’

‘Yes. I don’t know why, but I suppose I’ll take you. I don’t really think you’d use the gun.’

‘You’re right, I wouldn’t. I’ve got an aunt in Camden; I’ll tell her to vote for you. Hell, I’ll get her to man the booth.’

He laughed. ‘Well, I’ll need everyone I can get. Can you tell me what sort of trouble you’re in?’

‘No, it’s Sydney trouble. I’m going back to sort it out.’

‘With the gun?’

‘No.’ I dropped the gun onto the front seat beside him. ‘Where’s the station?’

‘Bout a mile. Got any money?’

I’d felt the tightly folded money dig into me several times during the ordeal. It was still there.

‘A bit. Trains regular?’

‘No. Look, I’ll drive you into town.’

I was surprised, and moved to the side to get a better look at him. He was thirtyish and the fair hair fell forward onto his forehead and hung down over his ears. He had a beaky nose and a strong chin. He needed a shave.

‘I’ll buy the petrol, then,’ I said. ‘You can stop anywhere. Nobody’s looking for me yet.’

We crossed the Nepean River and Anderson stopped at a BP station. A liquor store across the road beckoned and I went across and bought a six-pack. I paid for the petrol, got in the front seat and offered Anderson a beer. He shook his head.

‘Never touch it before five. Can’t in my game.’

‘Which is what?’

‘School teaching.’ He started the car and we headed for Sydney. ‘It’s amazing, you know. That gun was on the front seat the whole time we were there getting the petrol. The garage bloke didn’t see it, or if he saw it he didn’t care.’

‘It’s television,’ I said. ‘We’re learning to love the gun.’

‘Is it yours?’

‘Hell, no. I took it off a heavy back at Sunnybrook Farm.’

He grunted and concentrated on driving. The car was a Datsun with a lot of miles on the clock; it bounced around and I had the feeling that Anderson was nursing it. I sucked on a can, conscious of the delicious cold sting of the beer on my cut mouth. I put the gun on the floor and looked out of the streaky window. The Camden district is littered with sandstone buildings drenched in convict sweat. It’s all worth a look on a relaxed drive, but I wasn’t relaxed.

‘Are you just being the original good bloke, or are you helping me for a reason?’ I opened the second can and put the empty one carefully down beside the Browning.

‘Bit of both,’ he said. ‘I’m curious about that house.’

‘Why?’

‘There’s a mystery about it. No-one seems to know who owns it. It changed hands a while back. Do you know who owns it?’

‘No.’

‘Another thing. I’ve been told that some pretty high-up people in the opposition have been spending some time out there recently. I thought I’d call in and have a look. Do you know anything about that, a political angle?’

‘No. It shouldn’t be hard to trace the owner, though-registers and such.’

‘I did that. It’s a company. I forget the name, but I tried to trace it and got another company.’

‘Ah, ha. Like that.’

‘Yes, and now you pop up all beaten up and carrying a gun. Pretty interesting.’

‘Yeah. Tell you what, I’ll be looking into all this in Sydney. Anything useful I turn up I’ll put you onto. Okay?’

‘Take one of the leaflets.’

I reached back and got one. It advised voters to go for Anderson first up and featured a picture of him with his hair trimmed and wearing a tie and a smile.

‘Office number’s on the back.’

I put the paper in my pocket and finished the can. My head hurt where it had hit the pavement; my wrists hurt where they’d been roped; my shoulder ached and my ribs throbbed. I was in great shape.

The traffic wasn’t too bad at that time of day and we moved along smartly towards the metropolis. When I asked him to stop, he looked across the road, surprised.

‘The university?’

‘Yeah. I’m a professor of philosophy.’

He laughed. ‘Hope to hear from you.’

I wished him luck in the election and he drove away. That left me tramping down Glebe Point Road towards home. The Browning inside my shirt was a bit avant-garde, but the four cans in their plastic collars were just the thing for the neighbourhood.

Hilde was at home and she went straight into action when she saw me. She ran a bath and got busy with the cotton wool, antiseptic and adhesive tape.

Very nasty,’ she said, looking at the shoulder and the ribs. ‘Open your mouth.’

I did and swore because it hurt.

‘Lucky you didn’t lose some teeth.’

I nodded. I’ve lost a few over the years and can’t spare any more. It seemed I’d put a few teeth into my tongue and that one of Rex’s punches had split the skin inside the mouth and pulped up one section of gum a bit. I wouldn’t be chewing on any steaks for a while. While Hilde dabbed at me, I thought of a few of my friends who’d fought professionally in the late 1950s. I could remember the girlfriend of one of them saying that she was the greatest soup maker in Sydney because that’s all her bloke could eat most of the time. I’d walked into a moving piece of two by four in one of my early jobs and Cyn had cried when she saw me. I tried to push the memories away.