Bright Air - Barry Maitland [0]
“Maitland offers his readers a gripping drama … It’s a mark of his skill as a crime writer that we leave the book wiser, more knowledgeable about the natural world, as well as deftly entertained.’
—Weekend Australian
‘… will entertain those after an intelligent, realistic crime novel.’
—Canberra Times
‘Consummate powers of description distinguish Maitland’s thriller from the pack as he takes a break from his British police procedural series for an ambitious exploration of loyalty, betrayal, loss of innocence and guilt.’
—The Advertiser
‘Maitland is one of the famous five of Australian crime fiction … Bright Air shines.’
—Sydney Morning Herald
‘… a compelling story in an original setting you won’t want to miss.’
—Woman’s Day
‘… a terrific thriller … beautifully, leanly written; the characters and places drawn with skill.’
—Weekend Herald, NZ
‘… disarms criticism with his sparkling writing, penetrating psychological insights and powerful story-lines. Maitland also ruminates about risk and contingency, and there are curious parallels with Tim Winton’s Breath in the exploration of extreme demands on physical and moral courage.’
—The Monthly
Also by Barry Maitland
The Marx Sisters
The Malcontenta
All My Enemies
The Chalon Heads
Silvermeadow
Babel
The Verge Practice
No Trace
Spider Trap
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
This edition published in 2009
First published in 2008
Copyright © Barry Maitland 2008
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218
Email: info@allenandunwin.com
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
from the National Library of Australia
www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 1 74175 763 7
Set in Fairfield by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Margaret
And with many thanks to Annette, Angela, Ali, Kirsten
and Lyn for their invaluable advice, and to Tim
for sorting my Jumars from my prusiks
Heart hammering, she leaped up onto the ridge and began to run. The rock was fractured, treacherous, and her flailing feet sent stones skittering down the steep slopes on either side, from which flocks of seabirds rose protesting into the air, swooping and squealing. The equipment attached to her harness chinked and banged against her thighs as she ran, threatening to make her stumble. From behind and below she heard the shouts of her pursuers, calling her name, pleading with her to stop, but rage and fear drove her on. How could they have done this? She thought she heard one of them cry out in panic, as if falling, and she half turned her head to see, missing her step in the process. She scrambled for a handhold as her feet slid out from under her and she found herself hanging from the rock face. Looking down she saw the huge breakers crashing into the base of the cliff, a hundred metres below.
1
Love casts a strange light over everything. I recall the moment precisely, as if watching a loop of dazzling film played at half speed.
Through the French windows I can see one of our regular guests, Justice Rory McGregor of the Supreme Court, sitting on the terrace with a fat document on his knees. It is a late Sunday afternoon