The lady turned and smiled. “The house isn’t used to the sound of shoes.”

Reprimand accepted. “I’m sorry. Should we take our shoes off?”

“No, no. I didn’t mean that you shouldn’t wear shoes. It’s just that people don’t wear shoes around here.”

She was right. Jack was overdressed in his jeans and polo top, which now felt like concrete and plastic. His feet were hot, enclosed and trapped in his leather boots. Cath wore jeans and a top as well, but she’d taken her shoes off. She gave him a smile. Their host was barefoot and wore a loose-fitting light blue dress, and her hair in a bun.

Sheila led them into a small kitchen with a solid timber table and invited them to sit.

“Could I get you something to drink? Cup of tea or coffee? Or I have chilled water in the fridge.”

They both agreed to water. Sheila smiled and rounded up three glasses and got the water jug from the fridge.

Jack looked around the kitchen. Nothing seemed damaged. There were sketches of people and nature grouped together in one part of the wall, and a poster near the passage showing a silhouette of a body behind layers of different colours: red, amber, and green. The sound of a chainsaw caught his attention, and he turned towards the sound. The open kitchen window gave a view of the park, and men in yellow tops worked on a large gum tree. A brief gust of wind brought the smell of eucalyptus from the gum tree through the window.

Jack took a large breath as Sheila poured clear water into his glass.

“Lovely smell isn’t it? It’s peppermint from the gum tree. The crushed leaves are really bringing the smell out. Calming and soothing, wouldn’t you say?”

He took another breath. “Definitely calming and soothing.”

“Ms Boone, thanks for taking the time to see us,” Cath said. “I’ll get the ball rolling as I think Jack is maybe in some kind of trance.”

“Please call me Sheila.” She looked at Jack. “Koalas like the leaves too, and you know what they say about koalas—they’re always stoned.” She smiled. “But that’s not true. They sleep a lot, maybe up to twenty-two hours a day, something to do with energy required to digest the eucalyptus leaves. They apparently smell like cough drops too.”

They all smiled.

“You suffer much damage from the earthquake?” Cath asked.

“Not really. Just a couple of broken picture frames. But the house stood its ground. Well built, I would say. But sadly, the poor tree didn’t survive. We were lucky no one was injured when it came down. There were a few people around in the park at the time. It’s been good that there’s been no aftershocks but I know it’s only been a few hours, but still.”

Sheila headed back to the kitchen bench and sliced a lime. She returned with the slices and a small pair of tongs, placed the plate on the table, dropped some slices in her water, and offered them both the lime slices. Jack nodded, and Sheila dropped slices into his glass.

“I suppose you’re here to talk about Thomas?”

“Yes, we are,” Cath said. “We’re trying to track him down, as we’d like to have a chat with him.”

“He’s a confused person, you know. I think we ended up in a relationship because I believed I could help him, but I got sick of second-guessing what he was up to. We had a shallow, artificial relationship.” She paused. “I was warned about the rebound effect but ignored it. He’d just come out of a damaging relationship. He was wounded by it all and there was a child involved, but sadly there was no contact. Not his choice, I believe.”

Jack sensed a sadness in Sheila and wanted to give her a hug. Those eucalyptus vapours must still be affecting him. She paused again and looked out the window. “What’s he done?”

“He’s a person of interest,” Jack said. “Going off track for a minute, I noticed your poster.” He pointed in the direction of the poster. “I’m curious, and it’s not because I’m drugged by gum leaves.”

Sheila and Cath turned to look at the poster.

“It’s tied in with meditation and energy fields—auras, as some like to call them. I used to be into those things but I’m not sure any more. It’s interesting—when Thomas was here, he informed me I was giving off an amber aura. I saw that as a positive sign. Amber involves change, maybe change in a spiritual sense.”

Seeking change in a spiritual sense? Jack wasn’t sure how accurate her aura reading was. His was apparently amber, but he wasn’t seeking spiritual change. Not that he was aware of, anyway.  

“Did he use glasses to tell you that?” Cath asked.

“Yes, he did. Funny—I got him on to those things. Surprised he’s still into it. But he could be strange at times. He gets obsessed with things. I think he had some kind of mental disorder but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Once he got into the drugs, that was it for me. Sometimes I felt like I was talking to another person. I sensed aggression there, and sometimes I was afraid.”

“Why do you think he paid you a visit?” Cath asked.

“Not sure. The earthquake happened at the same time, so we didn’t have much time to get down to pleasantries. We ended up under this table.” She tapped the tabletop. “It was more taking in what was happening around us than chatting about life.”

“Do you know where he’s staying?”

“Nope. Once again, we didn’t get time to chat. I headed over to the park to see if anyone needed assistance. I asked Thomas to come with me, but he stayed. When I returned, he was gone.”

“And no idea where to?”

“Absolutely none.”

“Would you say he was a loner?”

“Yes and no. He started going to regular meetings of some sort when we were together. He wouldn’t tell who with or where. It was all hush-hush, like some secret society. I once saw him practising a weird type of handshake in the mirror, so maybe he’d become a Freemason. He told me the handshake had something to do with martial arts.”

“And you don’t know where the meetings were held?” Cath asked.

“Nope. Oh, and there was one other thing. Thomas hated Christians. I don’t know whether it was because of his upbringing or tied in with his relationship breakup, but there was some Christian context. Yes, he had a real hatred there. I even sensed it when he visited me and we touched on the subject of Jesus. I felt the vibes in the room change.” Sheila rubbed her fingers over a knot in the timber table. “Wouldn’t be surprised if the group he was involved with had the same dislike of Christians. Probably want to rid the world of them.”  

Jack knew of such people. “Thanks, Sheila. That could be of interest.” It was time to bring the interview to a halt. “We’re taking up a bit of your time, so we’ll leave you in peace. We’re staying in Noosa for the night if you want to contact us.” Jack handed her his card. “And if there’s anything else, we may contact you again. Can we have your mobile number?”

“Don’t have a mobile. I’m on what you call a digital detox. But I have a landline.” She wrote it down and handed it to Jack.

They stood.

“Sheila, do you have any photos of Wiley?”

She shook her head. “Digital detox and clutter free.”

Cath smiled at the simplicity of it all. “Sheila, having lime in the water was so refreshing. Might develop that habit.”

“It’s a good one. Come outside and I’ll give you some limes to take with you.”

Cath looked at Jack. He nodded and picked up his glass to finish off his water. He smiled at Sheila. “We need a picture of Wiley. We may be able to put an image together from CCTV footage. If not, we may need your assistance. We would get one of the local officers to organise a time with you and put together a sketch.”

“No need. I enjoy sketching and I have been blessed with visual memory. I can put a sketch together for you.” She looked at the Jack’s card. “I’ll email it to you.”

Cath looked as puzzled as Jack felt. No mobile, but email?

“The local library is good for the digital detox person.”

Cath gave Sheila her card. “Email it to me. I monitor my email a bit better than Jack.”

They went into the backyard to get the limes. The backyard was like a farmer’s market and the magnificent sunset added to the atmosphere. They walked past a tomato patch. Sheila stopped and gave them each a tomato.