In the few seconds that Anna waited, it replayed. She hit pause when the firefighter appeared. So that was Carol’s son?
CHAPTER
3
The firefighters were scattered around the hall, mostly sitting on the floors and leaning against the wall. Chairs were stacked against the wall, but none of the men and women who’d been fighting the fire had enough energy to lift one down. Certainly Justin didn’t. He lowered himself to the floor and set his helmet down next to him. He started to undo his jacket, but the effort was too much, so he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He could sleep for a week. Not that he was expecting to.
It had taken three days, but the fire was under control. A cool weather front had helped, but the ground was dry. The grass had been baked to straw by the sun and there were storms about; lightning always brought the threat of bushfires. They had beaten the beast back, but it was never really defeated. There were other fires still burning. The only thing that was going to let him sleep was rain. Lots and lots of cool, wet, fire-dousing rain.
‘Hey, big brother.’
Justin opened his eyes as someone slumped down next to him. It was a bit like looking in a mirror. Ben looked as exhausted as he felt. Justin was the older twin by fifteen minutes, although right now it felt like he was a hundred years old. Every muscle in his body ached. His eyes were still stinging from the smoke.
‘Hungry?’ Ben put a plate of biscuits on the floor between them. He was also carrying two mugs of coffee. The rising steam teased at Justin’s nostrils and he reached for a mug.
‘Thanks.’
‘The weather guys say there’s a change coming. If we’re lucky, it’ll rain tonight.’
‘Not a moment too soon.’
The conversation was interrupted by the appearance of the team’s leader. ‘Well, Turner, looks like you’re a hero. Famous to boot.’
‘Which one?’ Ben asked.
‘Which one of you is Justin?’ They’d only worked with this guy for a couple of weeks. Between their identical faces and standard protective gear, he hadn’t yet found a way to tell them apart.
‘That would be me,’ Justin said.
‘Here. The guys who were there tell me this is you.’ The man held his phone out.
Before Justin could move, Ben took it. He was by far the more tech savvy and never far from some sort of computer. Not that Justin didn’t know how to use a smart phone, he just wasn’t interested in social media, and that was, he guessed, what this was all about. Ben touched the screen. Justin could hear a voice but not the words. A grin crept over his brother’s face.
‘You made the news, big brother.’
Justin took the phone and played the video again. He recognised the images. Somebody in one of those cars held at the fire line had put their phone to good use. The screen showed the woman running into the fire and him helping her back again, koala and all. The newsreader’s voice did not name either of them. Probably because no one knew.
‘What a stupid woman,’ Ben said. ‘She could have gotten herself trapped. Not to mention you. I feel sorry for the koala, but putting her own life at risk …’ His voice trailed off and he reached for another biscuit.
‘Thanks, mate.’ Justin handed the phone back and waited for the other firefighter to leave. He hadn’t wanted to raise this now, but if he left it any longer, Ben would probably take what he was about to hear even harder.
Justin reached for his mug to give himself a few more seconds to collect his thoughts. It was empty. So be it.
‘That woman,’ he said. ‘I knew her.’
‘Oh?’ Ben frowned. ‘Who was it?’
Justin braced himself for the explosion. ‘Our mother.’
‘What?’
A couple of heads turned in their direction.
‘Take it easy,’ Justin said calmly. ‘Yeah. It was our mother. Rescuing a koala. I didn’t expect it, but it’s probably not all that surprising. She’s been doing this sort of thing since we were kids.’
‘And don’t I know it.’ Even after all these years, the bitterness was still strong in Ben’s voice. ‘Does she live around here or something?’
‘I have no idea. You saw the video. There wasn’t exactly time to talk.’
