Death on Dangar Island

Monday Evening

‘So, of course, I got in where it looked nice and calm,’ continued Israel. ‘It was a perfectly logical thing to do. I remember someone on the beach shouting, but I never dreamed he was shouting at me. I went in up to my waist and then suddenly it felt like a giant hand had grabbed me and pulled me off my feet. The next thing I knew, I was being swept away and I was petrified. I was certain that I would die that day. I couldn’t even gather the courage to try to swim against the fearsome current. I just gave up.’

‘It was actually the best thing you could’ve done, mate. I keep telling you, going with the current was the best thing you could’ve done. If you try to fight the water, it will always win.’ Gary winked at Dot. ‘So there I was, watching this little guy just stroll right into the rip, and I’m charging down the beach yelling at him not to be stupid but he pretends that he can’t hear me and just keeps going. That’s when I knew I’d need a rescue board. Luckily we always keep a spare down on the sand in front of Backpacker’s. I grabbed it and paddled out to him. Once I get there, he latches onto the board and he says the craziest thing I ever heard one of my rescues say.’

‘You must remember, Dorothy, that I was quite delirious by the time Gary reached me. All I could say to him were the words that were rattling around my head as the sea swept me away.’

‘All right,’ cut in Dorothy, ‘don’t keep me in suspense. What did you say?’

‘I said to him, “Did it ever strike you on such a morning as this that drowning would be happiness and peace?” You must understand, Dorothy, that I was quite convinced that I was about to die and so this quote just kept going around in my mind as I prepared myself for the end. Quite poetic, don’t you think?’

Gary puffed out his cheeks and made a disparaging noise. ‘I thought it was bloody nonsense and I still do. He wasn’t dying. He wasn’t even close.’

Dot snorted. ‘So what did you say, Gary?’

‘I told him to shut his mouth or he’d swallow more water. Then I yelled at him to get on the board so I could get us facing the right way to get back to shore.’

‘He was not very polite, I can tell you that much, but I am eternally grateful to him for saving my life. When we got back to the beach, I thanked him profusely and promised to only ever swim between the flags in the future. I then offered to buy him a beer when he finished work.’

Gary laughed. ‘That was the first sensible thing you ever said to me, mate. The rest as they say is –’ He was interrupted by a neck-tightening screech. ‘Sweet Mother Mary, what in God’s name is that racket, Israel?’

It was a rhetorical question, because the little man already had his phone out and was about to push the button to receive a call. He’d programmed in the cry of the South American seriema for this particular number because he knew its ear-splitting tone would attract his undivided attention. He moved rapidly into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Dot and Gary were left looking at each other in bemusement.

Gary looked over at his guest and shrugged. ‘Sorry, Dot. He does this kind of thing sometimes. I’m sure a shrink would have a name for it, but I just think of it as a quirky personality trait.’

‘That’s okay, Gaz. You can fill me in on all the news you two have picked up today while he’s in there doing …’ she threw a disparaging glance at the bedroom door … ‘whatever he’s doing.’

Gary sighed to himself. Dot’s prying was understandable given recent lively events. ‘Yeah, well … we chatted to a few people round the place, but I haven’t really got anything juicy to tell you, I’m afraid. I don’t know if we mentioned last night, with all the drama going on, but that bloke Mitchell threw us a curly one. He told us he’d seen a couple of girls with snakebites around the place! Turns out he was talking about that piercing on the girl’s lip. Apparently they’re called “snakebites”.’

Dorothy took a long thoughtful sip of Israel’s sauvignon blanc. ‘Is that right? I guess he’d know, being such a fan of snakes?’

‘What d’ya mean?’

‘Oh, I’m told he keeps them as pets.’

‘What? Nah!’

‘Yeah. I’ve heard he keeps them in boxes and feeds them. Don’t suppose it means anything, but it’s a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think? I wonder if the snake that got her could have been one of his little “friends” that got out for the night?’

‘You didn’t mention Mitchell keeping snakes as pets yesterday.’

‘Yeah, well, maybe that’s because I was bloody well traumatised. First a girl dies right outside my back door, and then a huge snake turns up in my lounge room! I was lucky I could remember my own name.’ She shot him a sly look. ‘By the way, I heard that you spent an hour or so in the company of Miss Megan Scott this morning. What’s going on with that?’

Gary moved into the shadow cast by the deck’s support post in the late afternoon sun. What was it about this island? Did everyone spend their time watching everyone else? He didn’t want to talk to Dot about what had happened at Megan’s, but how could he avoid it? He remembered something Israel mentioned on Sunday morning. It gave him a chance to change the topic.

‘Hey, did you hear anything strange in the wee hours of Sunday morning? Israel said some kind of screeching sound woke him up at about three o’clock.’

Dot gazed into her empty wine glass, considering Gary’s question. ‘Nope,’ she said, after a brief pause. ‘Didn’t hear a thing, I’m afraid. I’d been gasbagging with an old friend on the phone that night and was up till about midnight. By three in the morning I was dead to the world. Listen, if you don’t want to tell me about your visit with Megan, I won’t hold it against you. I know she likes to play her cards close to her chest, so I won’t put you on the spot.’

She looked up at the darkening sky and made a small show of checking her watch. ‘It’s getting on. I think I’ll go home and get some tea together. Tell Israel to hang on to the bottle I brought over. Maybe we can catch up in the next couple of days and we’ll drink it then.’

Gary stood up and followed her over to the set of stairs that led down into the garden. ‘All right then, Dot, I’ll let him know. We’ll catch up soon, I’m sure.’

She was already halfway down the path to their gate before she turned to squeeze out a stiff smile and a wave.

I wonder what that was all about? he thought as he watched her go.

Fifteen minutes later, Israel burst into the kitchen, quickstepped across the floor, looked down the hallway, and then checked the balcony. ‘Is she gone?’

Gary glanced up from the chicken and mushroom risotto he was carefully stirring. ‘Yep.’

Israel’s eyes were bright and his face was flushed. All his movements were clipped and energetic. ‘Good. Very good. I’m not sure how you managed to get her out of here, but it’s important she isn’t party to our discussion. I’ve received some news from my contact. The preliminary autopsy has been completed, and there’s been a development – Roxanne was pregnant when she died.’