Cry of the Taniwha Page 11

  That was enough for Cecil. Any remaining defiance disappeared and in its place came fear. He stood and went to his dresser. After fiddling in the bottom drawer for a while, he returned with a small box. ‘There!’ he said.

  Matt took it and, after checking that all nine coins were there, they left.

  Jackson was all hyped up as they rode home, going on and on about how he’d crashed his bike into The Gawk’s and brought him down. Matt was more subdued. He was concerned about the way Jackson had used the gang to threaten Cecil. To Matt it was no different than what the gang had done to him. The most worrying thing was how effective it had been. Clearly, the Dubexkay were well known and feared in the town. He worried about what might happen if Skulla and his mates got bail on Friday, and were once again loose on the streets.

  Chapter 18

  In the evening Matt went to the hotel to find Eve, hoping to resume the relationship now that he had the metal detector back. He still didn’t think it would find any diamonds, but if it made her happy and meant he could spend more time with her, then he’d search the whole of Rotorua if need be.

  The hotel was a lot busier than the other times. Both computers were in use, and the bar was full, mostly with males, many of them bearded.

  He was about to telephone her when she tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Hi, Matt!’ Again the big smile. The previous night’s argument seemed to have been forgotten.

  ‘Hi, Eve! What’s with all these people?’

  ‘They’re geologists. There’s a conference on for the next three days.’

  Matt looked around. Geologists, eh? That would account for all the beards. Then he spotted Ian talking to a group up at the bar. He pointed him out to Eve: ‘That’s the guy I gave the terrace samples to.’

  ‘I know!’ she said, smugly. ‘I’ve just been to his presentation.’

  Matt blinked. ‘How’d you get there?’

  She grinned. ‘There was no one on the door checking, so I just walked in.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because if the diamonds are in the mud hole, then he’s the sort of person who will know how to get them out.’

  Matt gave a little chuckle. Clearly, diamonds were still top of her Want List. ‘Did you understand what he said?’

  ‘Course I did. It wasn’t all that difficult.’ A smile. ‘He talked about you and the samples. He used them to support his theory. He’s found a way of forecasting steam eruptions using a thing called the Alfesi Index. Your rocks confirmed his ideas.’

  Matt grinned, pleased that he’d been acknowledged.

  ‘But what’s scary,’ continued Eve, ‘is that he reckons there’s going to be an eruption here at Whakarewarewa sometime in the next few weeks. He’s taking people around the place tomorrow to show them. I’ve talked to him, and he says you and I can go. Do you want to?’

  Matt nodded. Yes, it could be interesting. Plus it would help take his mind off Skulla and Co. He then outlined to Eve all that had happened since his last conversation with her.

  ‘So, we can go looking for diamonds again? Where shall we look?’

  He was prepared to look anywhere so long as she was with him. But he felt that he should dampen down her expectations. ‘Australia probably,’ he said with a smile. ‘Because that’s where Edward Basham must’ve taken them. He had to still have something left after Jack Boult robbed him, or they wouldn’t have been able to pay for the ship. I think the diamonds are gone, Eve.’ Then he added quickly, ‘But we can take another look around the mud pool if you like.’

  Eve did like, and they decided they would do it the following day, after they’d done Dr McMillan’s tour.

  Friday morning dawned another scorching summer’s day. Jackson and Matt joined up with the geologists in the foyer of the hotel. No sooner had Matt introduced Jackson to Eve than they were on their way.

  From the hotel they followed much the same route that Matt had taken on his first morning in Rotorua. After crossing the bridge, Ian guided them through some bushes until they were standing on a bare, white area dotted with craters and small lakes. There was no track here, and Ian made sure they followed almost exactly in his footsteps. Eventually, they gathered around a small, steaming pool.

  ‘This is one of our sample pools,’ Ian explained. ‘We sample here at midday every day. The samples are taken back to the lab to be analysed for aluminium, iron and silicon, so that we can calculate the Alfesi Index. The values have been steadily increasing for some months now. That indicates that the groundwater is coming into closer contact with gases from the magma below. Somehow the groundwater has managed to penetrate deeper and hence closer to the magma. This can’t be detected by seismometers. If we can perfect the process, then we will be able to predict hydrothermal eruptions with some certainty. The key thing is to find the threshold—the index value which occurs just before an eruption.’

  ‘Do you have any idea what it is?’ came a voice from the gathering.

  ‘The water that we got from the terraces indicates that it is likely to be double what we’ve got here.’

  ‘So we’re not going to get blown up today?’ This was followed by nervous laughter.

  ‘No,’ said Ian, cautiously. ‘Not right here. But if you follow me, I’ll show you what is happening on the fringe of the field.’

  Again they followed in his footsteps, and to Matt it seemed that they were all treading a little more softly, as if fearing that a thump on the ground might trigger an eruption.

  The next stop was by a pool at the other side of the area, closer to the forest.

  ‘This is another of our sample sites,’ said Ian. ‘Yesterday’s test gave an Alfesi Index just short of the terrace water.’

  There was a murmur of concern.

  ‘However,’ continued Ian, speaking above them, ‘that doesn’t mean there is definitely going to be an eruption. As you can see, this pool is letting off a lot of steam. If steam is being vented, then it could mean that the pressure is not building up. We don’t know. But if today’s reading is higher than yesterday’s, we’ll fence off the surrounding area with tape. We don’t want to alarm people, and yet we don’t want them hurt either. We feel it’s better to take the precaution now, than to be sorry later.’

  From there they moved into the scrub, and shortly afterwards they were into the mud-pool clearing where they were greeted by a loud croak from Old Tani, who had been feeding at the edge of the scrub. A few beats of his wings and he’d moved out of their way to sit on one of the branches of the felled pine tree. From there he gave them all the evil eye as they filed around the crater.

  When they were all in place, Ian continued. ‘Even though this eruption happened more than a hundred-and-twenty years ago, we know the timing very precisely as it happened in the middle of the Tarawera eruption. During that night, there was increased geothermal activity throughout the Rotorua region. Sometime around four-thirty in the morning this erupted. It seems there was no mention made of it at the time, and that’s not surprising as ash was falling all over the area. But someone did witness it.’ He pointed over to the hole where the skeleton had been. ‘And he was found buried under the debris just last week. He was the one who had the terrace samples which were found by that young lad over there.’

  Matt stood looking at the ground while the assembled geologists smiled at him.

  ‘It’s likely that the samples would have been lost in time if the eruption hadn’t occurred. Whatever the man was doing with them here, he did a great service to science, for they provide information about what was happening around Tarawera right up to the time of the eruption. If we can interpret that information correctly then we could well prevent similar future tragedies, and that is the main reason for our research.’

  That, apparently, was the end of the tour. After some questions, Ian gathered his group and guided them out of the clearing and on the way back to the hotel. Matt, Jackson and Eve stayed behind. Eve said she wanted to see all the places where the discoveries had been ma
de.

  Matt let Jackson give the guided tour. He and Eve appeared to have hit it off right from the start. She seemed to have a knack for including people and making them feel valued.

  After seeing where the locket was found, they examined the hole where Jack Boult was buried. All the time, the heron watched them with suspicion.

  ‘That bird gives me the creeps,’ said Eve. ‘Is it always here?’

  ‘Old Tani?’ said Jackson. ‘Yeah, he’s here all the time. Watching and checking. That’s what Old Tani does.’

  ‘Hone reckons he’s one of the forms of a taniwha that guards all of this area,’ said Matt.

  ‘Is he a good or a bad taniwha?’

  ‘Depends,’ said Jackson. ‘If you treat Old Tani good, he’ll treat you good. You treat him bad, then you’d better watch out.’

  ‘How’s he feeling about us?’ asked Eve.

  ‘Not good. If you had your home cut down, how would you feel?’

  ‘Is that why he’s giving us the evils?’

  ‘He’s still making up his mind about us.’

  Matt smiled to himself. Jackson was sounding just like Hone. Maybe it was only an act for Eve’s benefit. Whatever the reason, it was a lot better than hearing all the gang slang.

  They moved through to the clearing where Matt had found the sovereigns. Matt took over from Jackson. When he got to the events of the afternoon before, he pointed to the lookout.

  ‘We were up there and saw The Gawk hanging around in here. That’s when we decided to get him.’

  ‘There’s someone up there now,’ said Eve.

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Above the lookout; in the bushes.’

  Yes, there was—or at least a shape like a human. Then it moved and Matt could see it more clearly.

  ‘That’s Zirk!’ said Jackson.

  ‘He’s checking on us,’ added Matt. ‘He’s been there most of the week.’

  ‘Then let’s give him something to check on,’ said Eve. She moved onto the bare ground and started searching around.

  ‘Stop it, Eve!’ said Matt sharply. ‘It’s not a game!’

  But just then Eve spotted something half-covered in sinter. ‘There!’ she shouted, dropping to her knees. She scratched around for a moment, throwing dirt everywhere, before coming up with a piece of broken glass. Then she leapt to her feet and began dancing around the clearing, holding the glass in the air so that it glinted in the bright summer sun.

  ‘I found it! I found it!’ she sang as she danced. ‘I found the Rothery Stone. The most valuable diamond ever.’

  Matt looked up to the hill and saw that Zirk had moved out of the bushes and now had the binoculars aimed at them. ‘You’ve sucked him in,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Good,’ said Eve. ‘And now I’m going to bury it again. I bet he comes down and tries to find it.’

  She did just that, smoothing the sinter so that you couldn’t see where it had been.

  ‘Now let him come hunting for that,’ she said with an evil smile.

  Matt couldn’t help but admire her. The gang member would now be thinking all sorts of things. He felt himself relaxing. He sure enjoyed having Eve around. Maybe he should treat it as a game as well. Perhaps he’d got himself all uptight over nothing.

  Chapter 19

  Over lunch, Matt repaired the metal detector. A wire in the search coil had been broken, either when The Gawk had smashed Matt’s bike or during the crash with Jackson. Matt decided he would add more turns to the coil to make it more sensitive. That would mean they’d detect more rubbish, but it might also mean they’d detect any diamonds that had a small amount of metal attached. If the Rothery Stone was there, then they might be able to detect what was left of the chain.

  Unfortunately, when they got to the area they found it surrounded with tape: the midday reading must have been higher yet again, prompting Dr McMillan’s team to seal off the area. The tape was draped from tree to tree, bush to bush, even seed-head to seed-head—anything that offered some support. The message was repeated over and over.

  Dangerous Area Please Keep Out Dangerous Area Please Keep Out Dangerous Area

  After a brief discussion, they decided to abandon the search and go to the museum instead. Matt wanted to hand over the sovereigns, and Eve had her papers to deliver.

  They took both of the bikes to town. Eve and Jackson shared one while Matt struggled along on his. They left it at a repair shop before walking the short distance to the museum.

  Billy greeted Jackson and Matt as if they were all cuzzies. When introduced to Eve, his welcome was just as warm.

  ‘What brings you all here?’ he asked with a big smile. ‘You come for a bath?’

  ‘Nah,’ replied Jackson. ‘We’ve got plenty of mud at home.’ He then plonked the box containing the sovereigns on the desk. ‘Thought you might want these.’

  Billy opened the box as if it might contain venomous spiders. When he saw what they were, his face beamed with pleasure. He came from behind the desk and gave Jackson a big hug. Matt could see that it was much more than a thank-you for the sovereigns; it was also an appreciation of the boy’s honesty in bringing them in.

  ‘We’d better put these somewhere safe before somebody steals them,’ said Billy heading towards the stairs up to the curator’s office. He looked at Eve’s bundle of papers. ‘I see you’ve brought us gold of a different kind. The curator will probably be more interested in those than in these things.’

  He was. Both he and Billy pored over the papers, fascinated by the way Eve had unravelled the information.

  ‘This is great stuff,’ said the curator. ‘It will make a fine exhibit.’

  ‘What do you think of the diamonds?’ asked Eve. ‘Do you think they’ll ever be found?’

  The curator laughed. ‘Wouldn’t that be great? If they were worth three hundred thousand pounds back then, they’d be worth many millions of dollars now.’ He turned to Billy. ‘We’d be able to finish all the redevelopment without begging everyone for money.’

  ‘I think they’re around somewhere,’ said Eve. ‘What about that strongbox? Could that have a secret compartment?’

  The curator and Billy looked questioningly at each other. ‘I’ll go get it,’ said Billy.

  A while later the strongbox was on the desk in front of them. The curator took out a ruler and began to measure the outside, recording the figures on a desk pad. Then he did the same on the inside, including opening the compartment under the lid.

  Eve’s eyes locked onto the leather notebook. ‘May I have look at that, please?’

  Billy handed it to her, while the curator continued measuring.

  Eve thumbed through the book, pausing every so often to study an entry. ‘This is great. Mary seems so much more alive when I see these things.’

  The curator simply grunted. He was now busy with a calculator. Eve continued working through the book. When she got to the last entry she stopped and looked at it for some time. She was about to say something when the curator looked up from his figures. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Everything checks out. Unfortunately, there’s no hidden compartment.’

  ‘What about this entry?’ asked Eve. ‘Tree fern trunk, also known as ponga,’ she read. ‘This, along with the metal box, was a wonderful gift from Edward. Then where is it?’

  ‘Tree fern trunk,’ repeated the curator. ‘There was nothing like that.’ He turned to Matt. ‘There wasn’t anything like that, was there? A piece of ponga or something?’

  Matt shrugged in a way that he hoped would stop further questions.

  It didn’t.

  Eve said, ‘You sure, Matt? I remember something about ponga.’

  This time Matt shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, trying to sound casual. ‘I don’t remember anything like that.’

  She stared at him for a while, but said nothing more.

  Billy also looked at Matt. ‘Well, if you do come across something like that,’ he said, ‘bring it in. We’d like to have the complete
collection if at all possible.’

  Matt nodded, but couldn’t look at the man. He knew that his lie had been detected. Now he had to find some way of ‘discovering’ the piece of ponga without admitting he’d had it all the time. At that moment he was far from happy with Eve Hastings. She needed to learn when to keep her big mouth shut.

  That evening, Nan, Hone and Matt went to the hotel for dinner. At another table were Eve and her family. Late in the meal, Eve brought her parents over and, after introductions, they all went into the lounge for coffee.

  The adults mixed readily, finding plenty in common to talk about. However, Eve’s attitude towards Matt was chilly. He guessed that she’d checked back in her notes and found that he had in fact mentioned a ponga candleholder. But instead of raising the matter she chatted with the adults, almost ignoring his existence. After an hour, the two families parted, agreeing to spend more time together before the Hastings family moved on from Rotorua.

  It was still light when Matt, Nan, and Hone walked the short distance back to the house. There, they found a police car parked outside Jackson’s place. Hone and Matt looked at each other with foreboding before heading into the house.

  In the kitchen they found Burty and Lew talking to Jackson and his mother.

  ‘We were just telling Jackson that we were in court this morning,’ said Burty. ‘A traffic case. Defendant was doing one-fifty kays down Fenton Street and claims his speedo must’ve been faulty and wants it checked. The judge tells him to forget it, as it couldn’t be out by a hundred kays. So then the defendant says the radar that picked him up must’ve been faulty, and he now wants that checked. Again, the judge tells him no way. Finally, the guy claims it must’ve been my eyesight that was faulty and says that should be checked, too. Well, the judge holds up both hands and asks me how many fingers he’s holding up? I said nine. “Right!” he declares, and then turns to the defendant. “And that’s the number of months you’re losing your licence for. Next case, please.”’