the hallway, checking the street from Heidiâs bedroom window while Andrew put his feet on the coffee table, lit the joint and settled into the dreamy country strains of âNatural Beautyâ.
Tim came back into the room squeezing a grip strengthener and continued pacing. âSheâs seeing someone else behind my back, Andy.â
âWhat?â
âSheâs been acting weird ever since she started this modelling bullshit on the Gold Coast. Sheâs always coming home exhausted. And sheâs always got new stuff. Usually she says she buys it, but itâs bullshit. Theyâre presents, I can tell.â
âHow do you know?â
âThe stuffâs never her style.â
âDo you think sheâs got a sugar daddy?â
âWho knows? Maybe itâs some sleazy old advertising exec. Just pouring presents and money on her until she gives in. How can I compete with that? What have I got? Nothing! I canât buy her Dolce sunnies and fucking perfume.â
Tim disappeared into his bedroom. He came back carrying a large black boutique shopping bag and dropped it on Andrewâs lap. âLook at all this.â
Andrew peered at the assortment of panties, g-strings and bras.
Tim picked out a leopard-print bra and held it up. âJade would never wear this.â He dug a handful of lingerie out of the bag and threw it on the couch. âLook how ugly all this shit is?â The grip strengthener creaked in his hand. âDo you want to see something else?â Tim tossed the grip strengthener on the couch, scooped up the underwear and stuffed it back into the bag. He returned the bag to his room and came back with a plain white shoebox. âCheck this out,â he said.
Andrew put the box on his lap and opened it. Cash. It was a quarter filled with fifty and hundred dollar notes. Probably a couple of thousand dollars. He picked up a handful and a G-bag filled with white powder dropped out. When he moved aside the cash, he saw a dozen powder-filled bags, maybe more.
âWhat is it? Speed?â he asked.
âCoke,â Tim replied. âI donât think sheâs modelling on the Gold Coast at all. I think sheâs fucking a coke dealer.â
âShitâ¦â âIâve never seen a single photo of her modelling. Not a single catalogue. She says sheâs too embarrassed to show me. Itâs bullshit. And all this coke! I worry about her, man.â
On top of the bags of coke was a memory card from Jadeâs camera. The photo of her in black lingerie getting ready for a photo shootâwhy hadnât she shown her photos to Tim? Andrew was about to ask, but remembered the photos of him posing beside the marijuana plants. Tim would think he was an idiot for letting Jade take those photos. He let the cash drop back into the shoebox, replaced the lid and handed it to Tim.
âThatâs fucked,â he said and left it at that.
Tim paused on his way back to his room. âThanks for your help tonight,â he said. âIâm no good when things mess up. The thought of owing people moneyâor the cops getting involvedâstresses me out. Itâs good to know that when shit goes wrong, youâve got my back.â
Andrew thought about mentioning that heâd only agreed to legal protection for the hydro, not for anything else, but he let it slide when Timâs eyes glassed over.
âMum was like me too,â he said. âShe killed herself when I was ten. Dad and I moved up here to start over. He changed our names and moved us onto the commune in Nimbinâ¦As though that might fix everything.â
Andrew stared at the faded patterns on the Persian rug. âIâm happy to help, Tim. Anytime you need it.â
âThanks. I appreciate it.â He paused. âIâm going to bed.â
Andrew waited up another few hours listening to music, reading one of Heidiâs books, Breaking open the