All Alone - 12. Alo Chapter 12

“That will be good, we usually work on ½ a metre-thick walls, but that can be adjusted to whatever thickness you require” I was informed. “Very well, I will see your staff on Monday, thank you” I replied. Happy that work on rebuilding was going to start a lot faster than planned, I left Angus in the apartment and headed down to the machinery shed, where I refuelled the loader, and headed south to where I wanted to have the backpackers located.

A nearby giant sand dune, that was covering up a lot of vegetation, was the perfect supply of sand for the walls, and I got to work with carting the sand to near the spot where I wanted to put the backpackers. By the time that I had a good-sized pile of sand, it was approaching lunch time, and I picked up the radio mic in the cab to call the lads, “Lloyd to Matt are you receiving me over?” I called.

“Loud and clear boss, where are you, over” I heard Greg reply, which made me smile, “I am 4 kilometres south near the cliffs, can you come and collect me, as I want to leave the loader here, over” I responded, “Ok, be there shortly, over and out” Greg replied. While I was waiting, I started to level out the ground, where the backpackers will be located, and I was nearly done, when the jeep arrived, with just Greg in the driver’s seat.

I shut down the loader, and put some rocks under the wheels, before making my way over to the jeep and climbed in, “Back home for lunch please driver” I said to Greg who just chuckled, “Is this the site for the backpackers?” Greg asked as we headed back to the visitors’ centre, “Yes, it is, what do you think of the location?” I replied.

“Perfect, great views, and with a large beach, there is plenty of sunbathing area” Greg replied. Back at the visitor’s centre, we entered the apartment, to find Matt finishing preparing lunch for all of us, with Angus eating from his bowl, stopping briefly to wag his tail and yap on my arrival.

After lunch, the lads volunteered to help me with the afternoon work, and we loaded the back of the jeep with wood and lots of short steel pickets, a hammer, some bags of cement, a couple of buckets, a wheel burrow and two shovels, we headed back south to where I left the loader, and once I was on the loader, we headed 3 kilometre’s further south, to where the first caretakers site will have improvements made.

After I had cleared away and levelled the ground for the gazebo and caravan slab, we began to put down the edging for the two slabs, once we had measured them out. With the caravan slab set out and ready, Greg and I started on the second edging, while Matt headed down to the beach with the two buckets, to retrieve some water to make some concrete.

When Greg and I had finished the frame work, and Matt just finishing making the first load of concrete in the wheelbarrow, we began laying the slab. It was almost dark by the time we had finished the first slab, and after washing down the wheelbarrow and shovels we loaded up the jeep, and leaving the loader on site, we headed back to the visitor’s centre.

After dinner I took Angus for a long walk around the homestead paddock, and this is when there was a light on up at Jem and Angela’s house, which I though was a little strange, but decided that it had been accidentally left on. The next morning, with it being Sunday, I stayed as quiet as possible to let the lads to sleep in, and I took Angus for a long walk, before returning for a quick breakfast, taking Angus with me, we took the jeep down to where we were working yesterday, and I got to work to remove the framing from around the caravan slab, which looked perfect.

Once that was done, Angus and I headed down to the beach for a swim, as it was getting very hot very fast. As we arrived back at the jeep from our swim, I heard Matt calling me on the radio and he didn’t sound very happy.

“Hi Matt, Lloyd receiving you” I said after grabbing the mic quickly. “Nicholas is here on the station, he met up with his parents in Carnarvon, and has the gate keys to get in. He woke us up and is demanding that we get to work and clean up the mess of the rubble andrefuses to listen to us” Matt replied.

“Ok mate, just stay in the apartment and don’t let him in, as he isn’t allowed in unless he has yours or my permission, and I will be there shortly” I replied, as I picked up Angus and put him in the back, and jumped into the driver’s seat.

I decided not to rush it, that Nicholas can just wait, and when I arrived at the front of the visitor’s centre, I could hear some shouting inside.

The front door was unlocked, so I walked straight in, and headed down the hallway to where a man I had not met yet, was at the apartment door, banging on it and shouting. “Excuse me, are you Nicholas Dalworth?” I asked nicely and I stuck out my hand for a handshake. As Nicholas turned around, I could see a younger version of Angela standing in front of me.

“Of course, I am, and who are you?” Nicholas spat out, ignoring my hand, “My name is Lloyd Templeton, I am the station’s hospitality manager” I explained, “Yeah, me mum said something about you being here, now rack off while I get this lazy arsed, station worker out of here, to do some work clearing up these stock piles of mess outside” Nicholas shouted back, as he recommenced to bang on the door.

“Firstly, you will stop banging my living quarters door, and secondly it is Matt and Greg’s day off today, so they do not have to do any work” I replied calmly, as I stepped closer cautiously, suddenly Nicholas turned and came charging at me and swung his fist at my stomach, making me bend over in pain, and Angus began to growl loudly.

“Down boy, I am fine” I said to my dog, who backed off and came up to me, where I patted him gently, as I spotted the apartment door open a little.

“Nicholas, that was not called for, so please leave this building” I said after getting my breath back, “Not called for, I will tell you what is not called for, you will call me Mr Dalworth, and I can do whatever I want to, as this is my home, now get out of my way” Nicholas stated, as he punched me again, this time on the cheek, and I went crashing down on the ground.

When I woke up next, I was in a hospital bed, but not sure whereabouts, as I groaned as I moved my head, and a nurse was at my bedside moments later. “Mr Templeton, it is good to see that you are awake, you are at Royal Perth Hospital, Head trauma Unit, you were flown here by the RFDS earlier today” the nurse said before leaving, and she returned with a doctor following.

“Mr Templeton, you have a small fracture in your jaw, and severe bruising of the abdomen, plus some bruising to the back of your head, you are a very lucky young man” the doctor announced, “Don’t worry, your dog Angus is being looked after by Matt” the nurse added, and I became sleepy again and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up next time, it was almost dark, and there was a dinner tray next to me, and since I had missed lunch, I was quite hungry, so I ate all the cold meal.

When I finished, I spotted the flowers and card, and I wondered who they were from, and when a lady came to collect my meal tray, I asked her to hand me the card, which she did. “Get well soon, missing you heaps, Love Angus, PS, Uncle Matt says that he and Uncle Greg have been warned not to say anything about what happened, except that you tripped over me and hit your head”.

I frowned at this, as I couldn’t’ remember what had happened, so I put the card down, and went back to sleep. When I woke the next day, a breakfast tray was already delivered, so I ate the cereal, fruit and juice, and left the cold toast untouched. The card that I read last night, was standing up, on the bedside table, and another card was now next to it, which I reached for, to see who it is from.

“Lloyd, get well soon mate, we miss you on the station, Nicholas told us about how you tripped on Angus and fell down hard on the ground, look forward to your speedy return. Jeremy and Angela”, I frowned at the card as I tried to think back to what happened, but it was all a mental blank, so I put the card down and lay back down.

Later in the day, I had a cat scan on my head to check that there was no other damage, apart from a sore jaw, stomach and head, and I was informed that I would be staying for a few more days, before I would be able to be discharged.

I discovered that my mobile and wallet, were in the bedside cupboard drawer, and I turned on the phone and dialled the number for my work sat phone, and when I heard Matt’s voice I smiled.

“Hi mate, it is your friendly injured boss speaking, I don’t remember anything, of what happened, it that correct that I tripped over Angus, and if so, why do I have a badly bruised stomach?” I said to Matt.

“No boss, you didn’t trip at all, that is the excuse Nicholas made us say, or else we would get the same treatment as you did, a good hard punch in the stomach.

He was the one who hit you on the jaw and made you fall over, after he had punched you, and he just left you lying there and left the building, and we had to call the RFDS to come and get you, as you were unconscious for so long”.

When we called Jeremy to tell him what had happened, we were told that Nicholas had already called and told them what had happened, which was all made up, we didn’t want to cause any trouble, so we didn’t contradict what Nicholas has said, we just stayed out on the station all day, with Angus with us” Matt replied.

“I see, well I have found out I will be here for a few more days, so I will see you at the end of the week sometime” I said before ending the call, just as a snippet of memory came back, of me approaching Nicholas as he was banging on the apartment door. Next, I called my boss at the law firm, to let him know that I was in hospital in Perth, explaining that I had been injured at the station, and was flown down by RFDS yesterday.

After a brief chat about how work was going without me, I volunteered to resign, since they now had a good worker to replace me, and reluctantly the boss accepted my resignation, and informed me that they had received a cheque from the insurance company for the damaged satellite communications dish and equipment, so I was not to worry about it. Feeling restless, I went for a walk around the corridors before dinner time, taking it slowly as I was still feeling a lot of pain with each step.

The following morning, I was feeling a lot better, and I was awake before the breakfast tray arrived, so I had warm toast to eat this time, and I ate everything on the tray. After breakfast, I went for another walk, a little further this time, as I wasn’t in so much pain, and it was while on this walk, that everything came flashing back into my memory, of the whole incident. I stopped and slid down onto the floor, and a few moments later a nurse came rushing up to me.

“Lloyd are you ok, here, get off the cold floor, and I will help you back to your bed” the nurse said to me. As we passed the nurses station, I saw a police officer talking to a doctor, and I stopped, when the doctor saw me standing there, he said something to the officer, who approached me.

“Mr Templeton, can I have a brief chat with you please” the officer asked me, “yes I need to speak to the police, I have just remembered what happened to me” I responded, and a few minutes later I was back in my bed, and I began to describe what had happened on the Sunday mid-morning on the station, and I showed him the card that was from Angus, written by Matt.

“Your doctor contacted us, because they believe you were assaulted and not just tripped over a dog as they were informed, as your injuries to your jaw and abdomen, are not consistent with a just a tripping fall, we will need to speak to any witnesses to this incident” the officer said to me, and I gave him Matt and Greg’s full name, and approximate ages, and the phone number for Jeremy’s satellite phone, before the officer left.

Retrieving my mobile, I pressed redial and hoped that Matt would be answering the phone, but it was shut off, so I decided to try calling later. Just after lunch time, my mobile rang, and I quickly answered it, “If you say anything to the cops, you will get more than I gave you last time” a voice said before hanging up, and I was staring at the phone and shaking when a nurse entered.

“Lloyd, what is it, what has happened” I was asked, and I looked over at the nurse as she approached, “I… I think it was Nicholas, my boss’s son, threatening me to stay quiet, and say nothing to the cops” I stuttered, as I continued to shake, the nurse tried to calm me down, as she pressed the call buzzer a number of times, and moments later another nurse and a doctor appeared.

I was given an injection to calm me down, and I soon fell asleep, and I didn’t wake up until early the next morning, just after dawn, as there was just a little bit of daylight coming from the windows. I struggled out of bed and went to the bathroom, returning to find a nurse waiting, and she helped me back into bed.

“Good morning Lloyd, you slept for a long time, that panic attack yesterday, must have drained you of lots of energy, how are you feeling this morning” the nurse said to me.

“Tired and no energy” I said, as I glanced at my mobile on top of the bedside cabinet, which showed three missed calls and a text message from an unknown number.

“Hi Lloyd, the boss’s son keeps threatening us, so we have quit the job, packed up and left, we have Angus with us, and will look after him for you, we arrived at Carnarvon at 4pm yesterday, and we are staying at the backpackers, while we look for some other work. Regards Matt, Greg and Angus”.

I dialled Matt’s mobile number, “Hey boss, how are you feeling?” I heard Matt say cheerfully, which made me smile, and I heard Angus yap a few times in the background, “I am getting better I think, but I had a panic attack yesterday, when Nicholas called and threatened me if I didn’t keep quiet.

Oh, by the way I made a statement to the police here in Perth yesterday, can you go the police station there in Carnarvon and do the same please, tell them everything that you saw” I replied.

“Now we are away from that bastard, we will be happy to do that for you, we may have jobs as cleaners at the holiday park in Kalbarri, we will keep you posted, and Angus is missing you very much” Matt replied, which made me chuckle. “Ok, thanks for everything, I will talk to you soon, now that I have your mobile number” I said before ending the call.

Late the following day, my phone rang, and it was Matt’s number, “We have both got the job I mentioned yesterday, thanks to a nice reference from Jeremy, which surprised us a bit, since we left with no notice, and Angus is being spoilt rotten by everyone here, we arrived late yesterday evening, and we have a ground floor bedroom, which has a shaded balcony, perfect for Angus. I must go, as I have to start work shortly, I will speak to you in a day or two, bye” Matt said, and he ended the call.

I was in hospital for a total of 8 days, and I was very pleased when I was finally released. I had organised a bus ticket to Coral Bay for the next day, so I checked into a YHA hostel, before heading out to do some clothes shopping, as I had nothing but what I was wearing.

Tuesday February 20th

After spending most of the day just wondering around the city, purchasing a few extra bits and pieces, I boarded the road coach at 9.15pm, with a departure of 15 minutes time, for the overnight journey to Coral Bay, with an arrival time of 1pm. I had decided to go up to Coral Bay first, and spend a day or two if need be, to see if I could get a lift down to the station, as I still had the station keys in my pocket, when I was sent to Perth via the RFDS.

The journey was very long and tiring, especially when it was stopping at every town on the way, at all hours of the night. We had a half hour stop at 4.30am, which I thought was a bit rude, especially when we had stopped for half an hour at Jurien Bay just after 12.30am, and our breakfast stop was at the Overlander Roadhouse at 7.30am, and another half hour stop at 10am at Carnarvon.

It was there that I decided to stop off at Minilya, instead of at Coral Bay, as I remembered that the builders should working at the station, and they would be staying at the roadhouse, as I had arranged.

When I stepped off the bus at 12 noon at Minilya, I was glad to be finally off the bus, 15 hours on there was more than enough of an experience on its own, as I walked inside with just a medium size backpack on my back. “Hello, Lloyd, how are you feeling? We heard that you had an accident at the station” the Roadhouse manager said as soon as she saw me enter.

“I am better now thanking you, and it was no accident, can I have a sit-down lunch please, I am exhausted from that bus trip” I responded.

The lady frowned and then scooted around to the restaurant area and had me sit down near the cool air-conditioner, and I ordered two rounds of ham and salad sandwiches, a bottle of water and a cup of white tea. While was eating my lunch, the manager came around and sat at my table, while there was a quiet spell.

“I wanted to thank-you for all of the business that you have brought our way, with the building crew. It isn’t very often that we get to accommodate and feed a small group like that, your meal and drinks are on the house” the manager said to me, and I could see that she was waiting for some more information on how I got hurt.

“It wasn’t an accident, and it was not the two bosses as they were down in town, and it wasn’t the station hands” I said to her, and that was all I was going to say.