We came to the brow of a hill and I braked to a standstill. I had not expected such a panoramic view. The motor bike engine still ticking over, I was momentarily awestruck by the scene before me.
The road dropped away to a vast plain that at first seemed to stretch on forever, then, dimly, I saw distant smoky blue hills. They might have been the product of my imagination so insubstantial they seemed, but I knew of their solidity from the map I had studied of the area.
In the middle distance, I could see a belt of trees snaking across the landscape from horizon to horizon. They followed The Great River, which here crossed the now arid flood plain that had once, aeons ago, been a great lake or inland sea.
In the midst of the aridity, and swelling like a green tumor on either side of the river, was the irrigation area with its grapevines and citrus trees. In the midst of this green, I could see the smudge of the town I was to work in, Egret Reach.
I turned in the saddle to look at Janet, sitting on her child’s safety seat, buried beneath her crash helmet; she had been wonderfully patient during the ride from the city.
“All right, sweetheart?” I asked.
“Yes, daddy,” said a muffled little voice.
“Won’t be long now, my love. Not far to go.”
I thought I saw a wan smile behind the visor of her helmet.
“How could she?” I thought, “How could she?” But I musn’t think of that.
I kicked the bike into gear and took off down the hill to the plain below.
Approaching the town, I was on the look out for “The Egret Reach Motor Inn.” Given the size of the town it did not take me long to find it.
The Inn, like many of its kind, tended towards pretentiousness. It combined a varied collection of architectural styles, with Mock English Tudor predominating. The one feature that strove towards anything local was a somewhat unpleasant, poorly executed, monster sized painted cement statue of an Egret, standing on a lawn that fronted the road.
I pulled the bike into the inn’s parking area, turned off the engine and dismounted, hitching the bike onto its stand.
I began to unbuckle little Janet and take off her helmet. “I feel all stiff, daddy, she said.”
I was feeling somewhat that way myself after the long ride, so I lifted Janet off the seat and made my way to the door marked “Reception”, carrying her. At four years of age, she felt as if she weighed almost nothing at all.
We went in the reception area and approached the desk. I stood Janet on the floor. No one was in sight, but there was a bell, so I rang it.
There was a brief pause then a woman came through an arch behind the reception desk.
“Got here all right, then?”
“Yes, Mrs.Albright.”
“This your daughter?” Pointing at Janet.
“Yes. Say hello to Mrs.Albright, Janet.”
“Hello Mrs.Albright.”
“Hello Janet. You’re a pretty little girl, aren’t you.”
Janet hid behind my leg.
“Bit shy I’m afraid, Mrs.Albright.”
“Let’s drop the Mrs.Albright, shall we? Alice will do. And of course, I know you’re Paul.”
Alice Albright had interviewed me in the city for the position of chef at her newly acquired Egret Reach Motor Inn. I had taken the job at considerably less than I could command in many of the top class restaurants in the city, but then, in a way I was on the run.
Alice had been perfectly candid with me during the interview.
“At the moment the place looks tasteless and the accommodation very average – rated three star. Most of the time its less than half occupied and the previous owner went bankrupt. I’m aiming to build it up into something really worthwhile, perhaps even making it five star eventually.”
“Pretty tough proposition,” I had commented.
“Yes. “I’m gambling everything I’ve got on the place. The Shire Council is working to build up the town as a tourist and holiday resort. It’s situated on a beautiful bend in the river, with good fishing and plenty of wild life beyond the irrigation area. They are building a marina and have bought one of the old river paddle steamers; the “Jeremy Flynn”, to run day river trips, and are generally sprucing up the town. The shopkeepers are co-operating, painting the exteriors of their shops. Also there’s talk of a winery being established in the area.”
“Sounds good.”
“Yes. There were two cooks working at the Inn when I took over. I had to sack one because he was lazy and unhygienic, the other, a local woman, is stretched to the limit and likely to end up in the divorce court if her husband doesn’t see more of her. That’s why I’m looking for more help, but I do not just want a cook, I could get one of those locally. I want a fully-fledged chef. The present cook Agnes Dean will take on breakfast and lunches under the chef’s direction as far as the menu is concerned. The chef will take over the evening dinners, and I’m looking for high quality meals.”
“You mean first-class restaurant standard?”
“Yes. So far, the Inn restaurant hasn’t been open to the locals, but I’m going to change that. They may constantly moan about the prices they get for their fruit, but there’s plenty of money around the town, but when it comes to a decent place to eat out, there’s nothing. I’m going to provide it.”
“You’re taking on a lot.”
“I know. Now, I can’t afford to pay the sort of money that you people can command these days. Also, I’m going to be asking a great deal, of whomever I employ. I don’t want a fly-by night; I want someone who will stick with me. So why would a young chap like you take on this sort of job?”
I might have asked, “Why would a young woman like you be risking everything?” I decided not to.
She was a good looking woman of no more than thirty years of age, with a lovely oval face, auburn hair drawn back severely, and with rather forbidding eyes that seemed to look into your soul. Those eyes were on me now as she awaited my reply.
“If I were offered the job, and if I accepted it,” I said, “I would do so because I want a change. By the way, I have a little girl, my daughter, who would come with me.”
“I see.”
I think she was able to read sufficiently into what I had said not to venture closer questioning.
“What age is your daughter?”
“Four.”
She became slightly agitated and her face paled. She paused for a moment, looking as if in her mind she had gone off somewhere else.
I thought she was going to terminate the interview pointing out the inappropriateness of my bringing a child, especially one so young, with me.
Instead she gave a slight shake of her head, and began to speak again.
“Well, as I shouldn’t expect you start preparing meals before mid afternoon, although I would expect you to prepare the menus for all the meals and make out orders for supplies, you could have her with you quite a lot of the time. I’d be prepared to keep an eye on her after that, and I’ll make a special bedroom arrangement for her so I can look in on her during the evening.”
I gathered from the way she was speaking that I had the job, although why she would want someone with a small girl in tow, I couldn’t fathom. Even more surprising was her suggestion that she take some responsibility for Janet by “Looking in on her.”
My conjecture was correct; I got the job, with the understanding that if after three months we found we suited each other, we would sign a two-year contract.
So here I was in Egret Reach, and Alice Albright went on, looking at Janet, “She really is a lovely looking little girl, isn’t she?”
“Yes, takes after her mo…”
Why couldn’t I shake that woman out of my mind? Sybil had not only deserted me, but our little girl as well.
I had arrived home at 1.45 a.m. one night to find the house deserted and a note which simply said, “Janet with your parents. I’m leaving you. Don’t try to find me.”
At that moment, everything took on an air of unreality. This couldn’t be happening. I had kissed Sybil and Janet goodbye when I left for work as usual. Nothing had indicated to me that this was going to transpire. I went through the house looking for I didn’t know what, then I opened the wardrobe door. All Sybil’s clothes had gone.
I glanced at the answering machine beside the telephone and saw that three calls had been recorded. “She’s ringing to tell me it’s all a silly joke,” I tried to convince myself, but they were all calls from my parents.
The first two were addressed to Sybil, asking what time she was coming to pick Janet up. The third was for me.”
“Paul, we think there’s something wrong. Sybil brought Janet round and asked if we would look after her for a couple of hours as she had some business to attend to. It is now eleven p.m. and we haven’t heard from her. Please call us when you get home, it doesn’t matter what time.”
I rang and my mother answered. I read her the note.
She was aghast but said that Janet was now in bed and I could come over to them to sleep if I wished.
Still unconvinced of the reality of what was happening, I said I would stay home and call round in the morning. I suppose I still had the vain hope that Sybil would turn up. I did not sleep that night, but sat waiting.
I was setting out for my parent’s place next morning when a neighbour, Mrs.Armitage, came up to me.”
“She’s gone, hasn’t she?”
“How do you know?”
“The whole street knows about it. One of us should have told you long ago. What do you think she’s been doing when you’re at work every night?”
I said nothing, and she went on:
“She’s been having visits from the bloke who runs that sleazy club in town. The one where they have the male strippers. She went to it one evening with a couple of girl friends. Must have got mixed up with him then. He turned up about half nine last night, and the next thing they’re putting her clothes into his car, then they’re off.”
If I’d been in my right mind I suppose I would have thought, “Nosy old devil,” but as it was, her information not only made me feel sick, it also brought me one step nearer reality.
I started the bike and roared off to the club that Mrs. Armitage had mentioned, “The Big One.” Not only was it closed, it had clearly been vacated. I went to my parents.
Apart from all the anti-Sybil criticisms from my parents, they offered to look after Janet until I managed to sort things out.
The first thing to sort out was me. I castigated myself for having a job that left a very attractive wife alone at home night after night, but then, she had known about this when we got married.
To cut a long story short, after a couple of months of waiting and searching for Sybil, I ended up selling the house and its contents and moved in with my parents where I could be close to Janet. I think my parents would willingly have taken over Janet completely they loved her so much, but I would not have that. I loved and wanted my girl, and however difficult it might be, she would stay with me.
I wanted to get away from the place that had caused me so much pain, and so I was now at Egret Reach.
Looking at my motor bike attire curiously, Alice asked, “Where did you park your car?”
“Came on the motor bike.”
