Mary was glancing from Ellie's face to Harvey's, trying to read them. Ellie was sipping her port and kept her eyes on Emmie. She wouldn't look at Mary.

'That sounds great, Em. Thanks for showing her. We can stop at the one on the road back to our place. Come on, Mary, we'll get going. Thanks for the port, Em. d.a.m.n good drop, that!'

Mary hadn't said a word. She caught Ellie's eyes as they rose to go to the front door. Her mouth pinched disapprovingly. 'I'm glad it's such a lovely day. Harv and I will enjoy a stroll through the nursery.'

Mary linked her arm through Harvey's as she spoke. 'Let's stop and have lunch at that nice little place where we can sit outside in the sunshine, Harv. Bye Emmie, Ellie!'

'Bye Em, bye Ellie!' He glanced quickly at Ellie as they walked to the car.

'Well Ellie. We could have cut the air with a knife,' Emmie said.

'Mum, you're an angel. Thanks for taking her outside. I really needed to talk with Harvey and it was so d.a.m.n awkward trying to stay composed with Mary there.' Ellie sat down again.

'Ellie, I don't like being party to things like this, you know, but I had to get out of the room myself. Mary was behaving a bit unusual. I'm quite concerned that she may be unbalanced. She barely looked at the flowers. She was breaking her neck to get back inside. She's no fool!' Emmie gave Ellie a knowing look.

'Mum, I know it's wrong, but what can we do? You know how we feel about each other. Mary told me herself that they have no marriage, that act she just put on was ridiculous. I've said it before and I'll say it again, why doesn't she just set them both free and get on with a happy life?'

'Ellie, I have no answers to anything anymore, but I don't like it. When you and I spoke about this a while ago, I honestly thought things would iron themselves out. Now, I see what this is doing to Mary in particular and, love, it worries me.'

As Harvey drove along Jindera Road, he felt like shouting at Mary. He wanted to know what she was cooking up in that head of hers. The way she had gone on at Emmie's was embarra.s.sing. Emmie would know that Mary wasn't herself.

One look at Mary's face told him not to mention it.

She still had her hand clasped tightly on his leg. As they approached the nursery, she said, 'I don't want to get the flowers today. I'd prefer to just have lunch. I'm starving.'

'If that's what you want. Do you feel alright?'

'Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?'

Harvey noticed the rise in her voice and bit back his retort, instead replying, 'Ok, love, if you say you're alright, we'll go and eat.'

Splashed over the front page of the Border Mail was the news of Eric's arrest. The bush telegraph went into overdrive! The gossips had a field day. Tongues wagged over fences, in the grocery stores and in the pub.

'Told ya's it was one of tha Masons!' Bill O'Toole's voice was heard above the general hum of drinkers at the bar. 'They won't think 'emselves so flamin' good after this!' He sn.i.g.g.e.red.

'Well, it's gonna be interestin' at the trial. I'm gonna be there, that's for sure,' another local smirked.

'What I don't understand is, if Eric Mason's the bug why did he centre most of the friggin' fires on his own family and himself? Bit weird, ain't it?' another bloke questioned.

'Who knows, mate,' O'Toole replied. 'Who cares? The cops got him. That's all that matters.'

'Well, time'll tell still. There ain't been any fires for a while so maybe he did do it,' muttered another drinker.

Sam and Arthur were outside at Kia-Ora with Karl and Digger when Nat and Rex dropped in.

'Gidday, how's everythin?' they asked, shaking hands and accepting the offer of cold beers.

'G'day, we've just been talkin' about this mess with Eric and the idiot cops,' Karl answered.

'b.l.o.o.d.y stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.ds,' Rex replied. 'This stinks of a set-up, ya know!'

'Too d.a.m.n right it does!' Sam agreed. 'Those city b.a.s.t.a.r.ds show up and five b.l.o.o.d.y minutes later they arrest Eric!'

'Yeah, an' you tell me how the friggin' h.e.l.l they got any evidence!' Arthur added. 'They didn't even come out an' look at any of the fires, never once went over what was left of anythin'. Didn't wanna dirty their f.u.c.kin shoes...'

'You'se are on the money; it reeks of a setup, that's for sure,' Digger said. 'Bennett and Simpson have been on the case for months and months and they came up with stuff all. So tell me, how can these city p.r.i.c.ks waltz in and bingo, they have an arrest?!'

'Yep, smells bad ta me, mate. Real bad,' Nat said. 'We're here ta give Eric our full support. We won't take s.h.i.t from any b.a.s.t.a.r.d either. Ya know there'll be plenty of flack from some of tha locals. There's a lot who'll swallow what the cops're sayin'.'

'Yeah, we've warned Eric. He's gonna have ta be strong. He's got a few weeks of h.e.l.l in fronta him,' Sam replied. 'I tell ya, I'd love ta know who this eye witness is. Whoever it is, is lyin' through their f.u.c.kin' teeth!'

'Well, we'll have ta keep our eyes open. Someone's up ta no good, that's for sure. Hasn't been a fire for a bit either. Seems mighty strange, don't ya think?' Rex said. 'We're not scalin' back the patrols; that friggin' bug's still out there.'

's.h.i.t no! The patrols are still happenin'. Stoppin' would be just what the b.a.s.t.a.r.d wants!' Karl replied angrily. 'We'll keep at it til we get the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. The cops can go ta h.e.l.l!'

As the week for the hearing drew closer, the weather had grown colder. Foggy mornings and cold frosty nights meant it was a good time to spend inside in front of a cosy warm fire.

There hadn't been one suspicious fire. This only added to the speculation about Eric!

Eric was trying to remain calm but finding it extremely hard to do so. He'd suffered plenty of snide remarks and outright nastiness over the weeks leading up to the hearing. Although there were still plenty who dropped in with a friendly smile, kind words of support and a cold beer, trying to deal with the hurt from the other people who believed the charges was hard and the distress was clearly evident on his face.

No one enjoyed nights out during the weeks leading up to the court case. Kathy went to the drive-in with Eddie a few times but mostly the young ones hung around the house.

Dawn was very concerned for her son. She knew just how this would be affecting him. Eileen wasn't coping well either. She was very short-tempered with everyone.

Jeff kept himself busy with jobs around the property and taking his turn on patrol. He had a run-in with the detectives recently. He had been defending Eric again and they hadn't liked it one bit. They were extremely rough on him. He realised that he did get a little too close to the bone when he brought up that Eric couldn't be in two places at the one time, that he had an alibi for the diesel fire at Kia-Ora. They didn't want to discuss that.

Dawn had run into Ivy Gelding in the local supermarket and could hardly restrain herself from lashing out at the woman. Ivy had quickly turned away and dashed down another aisle, but not before Dawn caught the look of guilt on her face.

Eric had strong support from all the family and his friends. It was now up to the court.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

'Win, would you fix this b.l.o.o.d.y tie?'

'Yes Karl, just a minute.'

'If we didn't have to go through all this friggin bulls.h.i.t, I wouldn't have to worry with this get up!'

'Come here, Karl. We all feel the same. G.o.d will see that Eric's proven innocent. He won't let an innocent man go to gaol!' Win fixed Karl's tie and patted his cheek.

Today was going to be a tremendous strain on everyone.

As Eric walked toward the courthouse steps, he could feel the eyes of the crowd on him. He wanted to shout out at them, to tell them he didn't light the d.a.m.n fires! He went up the steps and met his barrister, Mr Kurl. He'd had numerous meetings with the man in the past several weeks and had complete confidence in him.

Eric entered with Kurl, followed by Dawn, Jeff and Eileen. Three rows of family and friends were visible proof of support. Just to know they were all there made him feel better, but it didn't stop the p.r.i.c.k of tears behind his eyes. He was determined not to break down.

The courtroom filled, the doors closed and a voice told everyone to rise. The magistrate, Mr Walsh, entered and was the focus of everyone's eyes.

The prosecutor called his witnesses and the court listened intently to the outline of the crimes Eric was alleged to have committed.

Ivy Gelding was called. She kept glancing down to her lap and was asked numerous times to keep her head up and to speak clearly.

Father Damien was called and sworn in. A gasp rippled through the court room.

'So, this is the eye witness,' Ellie whispered to Win. 'Smarmy little b.a.s.t.a.r.d.'

He told of how he had seen Eric enter the tank shed. The prosecutor went over and over this with Father Damien.

He was adamant the person he saw was Eric.

The courtroom became restless as family and friends digested this evidence.

'Father Damien's lying! How can he call himself a man of G.o.d when he stands up there and blatantly lies after swearing on the Bible to tell the truth and nothing but the truth! How dare he do this to Eric!' Win turned and whispered back to Ellie.

Further questioning by the prosecutor continued, with Sam called to the stand. He was questioned about his alibi for Eric's whereabouts on Christmas Eve.

Dawn was called next to give evidence. She told of Eric being at her dairy, cleaning it out, on the day of Ivy Gelding's fire.

Dawn was unbelievably in control. She answered every question thrown at her in a clear and precise voice.

Eric was the last one questioned. The prosecutor gave him a very hard time. He shouted and persisted with a very intense line of questioning. He continued to berate Eric about the mosquito coils the detectives had discovered in his sleepout and in the tank shed.

The manner in which he presented the case impressed everyone in the courtroom who didn't know Eric.

Eric fully cooperated, continuing to stand his ground. At no time did he falter.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr Kurl applied for the lifting of the curfew imposed on Eric, pointing out that the fire on Gelding's property was a daylight occurrence and, seeing that the mosquito coils used as time-delaying fuses, what really was the point of a curfew?

Mr Kurl was successful. The court was adjourned until 10.00 the next morning.

The whole family gathered outside the courthouse. The topic of conversation was Ivy Gelding and the priest.

'She was h.e.l.l bent on having everyone believe Eric was on her property to burn the b.l.o.o.d.y haystack. Also, her behaviour when she was on the stand. She kept looking at her hands in her lap,' Ellie said. 'What was that all about?'

No one could understand the priest. He knew Eric well. Indeed, Eric had done work at the seminary for the priest many times. Every fire that had taken place had the priest hovering around it, giving his so-called support. Now he was giving evidence to try to convict Eric!

'That lyin' no good little weasel can stay the h.e.l.l away from my place,' Sam said angrily. 'He sat up there on that stand and lied his ferret head off!'

'Yeah, silly old coot really believes it was me,' Eric snapped.

'Tomorrow I'll be called up, mate, and we'll sort it all out,' Des told him sincerely.

'Mr Kurl will have his say tomorrow and he'll give the prosecutor a run for his money,' Sam a.s.sured them all.

'Well, one thing's for sure, Father Damien will not be welcome in any of our homes after this,' Emmie said. 'Dave never did like him!'

After dinner that evening, no one wanted to stay up and talk. They'd all had a big day and it had taken its toll.

Eric lay in his bed. Sleep, he knew, wouldn't come easily. He went over the details of the day in his mind. He was worried what tomorrow would bring, then the memory of Dave entered his mind and he felt a sense of inner strength come over him. A prayer he'd learnt as a child came back to him, and he whispered it to himself, not forgetting one word. As he said 'Amen', tears finally came and trickled down his cheeks. His body heaved with built-up emotion until, finally exhausted, he drifted into a restless sleep.

The people in the courtroom stood once again for the magistrate.

Mr Kurl called Eric up to the stand first and went over the details of his charges, asking the appropriate questions. Eric gave the same cooperation as he did the day before. Mr Kurl was satisfied and Eric returned to his seat.

The next witness was Ivy Gelding. Mr Kurl was quite brutal with her and she showed none of the confidence that she had previously. Mr Kurl had her where he wanted her and he knew it.

He grilled her until she was not sure whether she had seen Eric first or the smoke. She sounded so unsure that Mr Kurl called an end to her testimony, making her look very foolish. Compared to Eric's consistent account, which he'd maintained over the past two days, her testimony sounded rather feeble.

Father Damien was the next witness. He maintained that what he said was accurate. Mr Kurl didn't elaborate too much on the priest's evidence. He said, 'No further questioning,' and went on to tell the court of how Eric had suffered at the hands of the firebug himself. He then called Des to the stand.

Mr Kurl gave the date and the time of the morning Eric was alleged to have entered the tank shed. He asked Des where he was that morning at that precise time.

'I was riding my bicycle along Centaur Road. I'd been to see Jeff Hickson and I noticed the shed door was open, so I leaned my bike against the fence and went over to close it.' Des looked confidently at the faces watching him. A hush came over the courtroom as Mr Kurl went on.

'So, you say, in actual fact, Father Damien saw you, not Eric Mason, go to the tank shed on December 24th?'

'That's correct.' Des' voice echoed clearly through the Court.

'Thank you, Mr Mason. You may step down.' Mr Kurl thanked Magistrate Walsh and returned to his table.

The court was again adjourned until 10.00am the next day.

There was a buzz of voices as everyone filed out of the courtroom. Dawn and Emmie went off to the ladies' room. As they entered, Ivy Gelding was in there, furiously scrubbing her hands.

Dawn could see she had what looked to be blue ink on her hands.

Ivy glanced up at the two women red-faced then quickly glanced back to her hands which were covered in a slimy mixture of soap and blue ink.

Rinsing off the blueish suds, she grabbed some paper towel and rushed out the door looking fl.u.s.tered and guilty.

'That b.i.t.c.h had ink all over her hands Emmie! I'd say that was why she kept looking down. She'd written notes on her hands!' Dawn said in utter amazement.