Od Burge

By Keith Bartley

A young detective in a foreign land is desperate to discover how a murderer and a thief can disappear from the face of the earth.

A killer has realised his long run of luck in evading detection and capture is in jeopardy. Will he murder again before his luck runs out?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398429475

Keith Bartley

Keith Bartley Born on the 1st of May 1956, in the NSW western town of Nyngan, to George and Mavis Bartley. Brother to five siblings. Keith began his education in the little village of Girilambone, at the Girilambone Primary School. Completed his High School Certificate at the Saint Joseph Convent in Nyngan, and began his working career at the age of fifteen, with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, Nyngan Branch. Continued in the Banking Industry for a few years before switching to the Hospitality Industry. His working life took him to several country towns, and the city of Sydney. He was married in Sydney and divorced a few years later. He returned to Dubbo where he re-married and raised two boys. He spent the last twenty years of his working life in the Haulage Industry, working for a Storage and Distribution Business in Dubbo. Keith has now retired to the NSW country town of Tottenham, where he hopes to pursue his passion for writing.

Book preview

1967 January

Girilambone. A tiny village situated near the centre of NSW, Australia, at the gateway to the Outback.

Sunday morning, 7am, and the sun was already generating a steady heat.

It was 85 degrees. It would reach 110 degrees by 3 pm today.

Kevin Brandon was walking to his mate Larry’s house. They had planned to meet in the park, but Kevin was hoping to see his sister, Wendy, and so, he had talked Larry into waiting for him, at Larry’s family’s house.

Kevin was in love.

Larry’s sister Wendy didn’t know that. This was Kevin’s biggest problem in life at the moment.

Larry and he had been mates for years. They were the same age and had been in the same class at school. Three years previous, Wendy had been in a serious car accident with her father, Jim.

Jim Holmes didn’t survive, leaving his wife Betty to raise the two children alone.

Wendy did survive, but not unscathed. She received terrible scarring to her face. Disfiguring her, to the point, she wouldn’t socialise.

The disfigurement didn’t worry Kevin. He could see past the scarring. To him, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. If he had the power, he would wave his magic wand and turn her face back to the way it was. Not for him. Just for Wendy. Just to make her happy again. He knew she liked him. She had kissed him once. On the lips too!

It had been at a school dance. He was sitting on a bench alone, he didn’t like to dance. She had come and sat next to him, and in the semi-darkness, she had leaned forward and kissed him. As quick as that, she was gone, leaving him to bask in the memory. A memory he could recall clearly to this day.

Then, very shortly after that she disappeared. She went to Orange and was gone for almost a year. It wasn’t long after the accident. They had an Aunty who lived in Orange. She had been staying with her. When she returned, she was a different girl. Almost to the point she had been, just after the accident.

She became very secluded, didn’t want to associate with anyone.

Something bad had happened to her. He didn’t know what.

But he would never give up on her.

Kevin was an only child and lived with his mum and dad. His mum was a religious woman.

Church services were only held once a month in the little village and Amelia Brandon never missed a sermon. His father Sam was a shearer and a very heavy drinker. Sam was not a religious man, and he never went to a sermon.

He believed in tough love, and Kevin learned early in life, not to gather the ire of Sam Brandon.

Kevin reached Larry’s house and tapped on the front door. It opened immediately.

‘G’day,’ Larry said, flashing his big grin.

‘Hey mate,’ Kevin said, craning his neck to see past Larry’s big frame.

‘Ready for a big day, buddy?’ Larry said.

‘Um, yeah, ready,’ Kevin murmured.

‘Righto,’ Larry said, ‘Let’s get cracking.’

‘OK,’ Kevin said, a little reluctantly. Looks like no glimpse of Wendy today.

Larry came bounding out the front door and they set off.

They were heading out to explore the abandoned Girilambone copper mine. Well, almost abandoned. It hadn’t been properly mined since 1907, however from about ten years previous, an Old Italian migrant had begun prospecting. He was a loner, who alternated between Girilambone and Lightening Ridge. He fossicked for opal at the Ridge, and copper, at Girilambone. His name was Alf. Nobody was too sure of his surname. Just old Alf!

He lived in a run-down cottage on the edge of the little town, drove an old blue VW Combi van, and, although he lived at the house, he mostly slept and ate in the van.

Old Alf was about as close as you could get to a hermit. He didn’t associate with any of the townsfolk. He purchased his groceries from the town store once a month, and a case of vodka from the publican at the local Hotel, the aptly named Thirst-Quencher Hotel, as required.

The house could just be seen from Larry’s place, and the van was visible; parked as always at the front of the old house. This was good, because they didn’t want to bump into Alf.

He did sometimes walk to the mine, but most times drove the van, but the boys were pretty confident he would not be there today. Alf didn’t work on Sunday. He was not a religious man, and never went to church, but he just did not work on Sunday.

Sunday was his day with the vodka bottle. By mid-afternoon on a still day, his voice could be heard singing an Italian operetta. Was he in tune? Was he out of tune? Who would know? Certainly, none of the townsfolk. Most of their music came from the ABC radio, or, from the not too far distant, Dubbo local radio, 2DU. Plenty of Slim Dusty, but not much opera.

The walk to the mine was a good half hour walk, and by the time they reached the entrance to the small open cut, the sun was popping the sweat from both their bodies.

‘Boy, I’ll be glad to get out of this heat Kev,’ Larry said.

‘Me too,’ said Kevin. ‘Will be beautiful underground. Temperature drops to a cool 55 degrees.’

‘OK, mate, let’s get going,’ Larry said.

There were two ways to enter the mine that the boys knew of. One was by direct shaft. This involved climbing down a shaft using an old wooden ladder fastened to the shaft wall. Untried and untested! Probably never been used since the mine became abandoned.

The second way was through the open cut.

This involved a ladder also, however, this was the entrance old Alf used, so considered the safest way, and the only way to go.

The ladder didn’t run straight down, it sloped out at a 45 degrees angle, connecting the top of the entrance to a ledge, and then, the opening of a tunnel. A distance of about 30 feet. This meant, as you climbed down, you were leaning at such an angle you could see the view below. The view below consisted of absolute, nothing. Nothing that is, but air. A huge drop and a dark seemingly bottomless pit.

Larry was like a monkey. He bounced down effortlessly. Bounced, because the ladder bowed with your weight.

Kevin wasn’t so keen.

‘Come on,’ Larry yelled.

‘Christ!’ Kevin said. ‘I dunno about this, Larry. Are you sure this is safe?’

‘Course it is,’ Larry shouted back.

Kevin began his decent, one foot after the other. He wasn’t game to look down. He tried to focus on the top of the ladder. He was practically lying on the ladder sliding himself down, feeling with one foot for the rung and taking the weight before feeling with the other foot and slowly repeating the process.

Half way he froze.

‘I can’t do it,’ he whispered.

Larry peered up at him, starting to panic himself. Jesus, he thought, he can’t get stuck there.

‘You’ll be right,’ he said. ‘Keep going.’

The sweat was covering Kevin’s body, not helping, making everything slippery. He was sure he was going to fall. The sensation was overpowering his thoughts.

Slowly, he began to move again.

He forced himself to keep going and finally reached the end.

‘Not sure this is such a good idea,’ he said to Larry.

‘Ha ha ha, sure it is.’ Larry said. Big grin back on his face.

‘Come on, let’s get moving. Tough bit’s over.’

The tunnel entrance was only four feet high and about the same wide.

Larry pulled a torch out of his pocket and switched it on. He stooped his large frame, and made his way through.

‘Come on, Kev,’ he said.

Kevin pulled his torch out of his pocket and turned it on before following Larry through the small gap. He was a good six inches shorter than Larry, and skinny, so, fit through with ease.

Inside, the tunnel opened up to about five feet high and four feet wide. Both boys had to stoop, and they continued on, shining their torches around, creating eerie patterns on the stone walls and ceiling. Chipped out so many years ago by men with picks and shovels. Both of them were silent. There was no sound apart from the shuffling of their feet as they made their way along.

After five minutes, the tunnel came to end. It just stopped. A wall of stone in front of them.

‘What do we do now?’ Larry asked.

‘Look,’ Kevin said. ‘To the left. There’s a hole.’

‘Got a ladder in it,’ Larry said shining his torch down.

Larry took the lead and climbed down. Kevin followed. It wasn’t deep. About six feet and once again they found themselves in a tunnel, similar to the first.

The temperature had dropped dramatically, by this time, and both boys felt a welcome chill as the sweat reacted to the underground climate.

This tunnel curved to the right and continued on for another thirty of forty feet. About half way along it split into two.

‘Left or right?’ asked Larry.

‘Let’s go left,’ Kevin suggested, and so left it was.

As with the first tunnel, this one came to an end also, and another hole appeared. They climbed down again and found themselves in a larger tunnel. This one was a bit different. At their feet was a railway track, and right in front of them, a small railway car. A metal box with metal wheels, just big enough for…well, for two teenage boys.

‘Look at this!’ Larry exclaimed.

He bent down and gave the carriage a push.

There was a high, pitched screech, as the cart moved a few inches. Kevin shined his torch ahead, to try and see how far the track went. It was impossible to tell, as the tunnel seemed to veer left.

‘Hop in,’ Larry said, ‘I’ll give you a ride.’

Kevin got in the carriage, thinking as he did so. I’m going to regret this.

He moved to the front, and shone his torch ahead, just as Larry started to push.

This is alright, he thought.

The carriage picked up a little pace, then some more, and suddenly Kevin felt the fear.

‘Shit, Larry. Stop! Slow down you bloody idiot,’ he yelled.

But Larry wasn’t stopping. He pushed even harder, and suddenly was running at top speed.

‘STOP!’ Kevin screamed. He really was terrified now. He was pointing the torch with one hand, and hanging on to the front of the carriage with the other.

Suddenly, he felt a thud in his back, and he realised Larry had jumped in with him.

Now they were both in the carriage, and flying.

The rail line sloped down and even though Larry wasn’t pushing, they were picking up pace.

Thoughts started to race through Kevin’s head.

What if there was a solid wall of rock at the end of the line.

Worse…What if there was a huge gaping crater?

They were dead!

Kevin shined the torch ahead. It was impossible to see with just torchlight, hurtling along like this. The walls seemed to be closing in on them. Jutting rocks screaming past them just inches from their faces.

‘YAHOOOOOO!’ Larry screamed.

Kevin’s heart almost stopped. He was clinging to the front of the carriage with both hands now, clinching the torch with one, trying not to lose it. But when Larry yelled, it slipped from his grasp, disappearing under the carriage.

‘You bloody lunatic!’ he shouted.

Larry answered with a long laugh, and suddenly the carriage started to slow.

The line was sloping upwards and slowing them down.

Kevin’s heart started to beat again.

It quickly rolled to a stop and Keven leaped out. He didn’t want to be caught going backwards for the same ride.

‘You could ’a got us killed,’ he said.

But Larry didn’t hear him.

He was too busy laughing.

Larry finally got control of himself and hauled himself out.

‘Cheer up,’