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Patricia Wolf: Outback (2022) (DS Walker #1)
WHEN: Saturday, 5 November 2022 (Day T), not exactly summer yet, but already torrid in outback
WHAT: German backpackers Berndt Meyer and Rita Guerra are kidnapped and held hostage (simply gone missing to the unknown public) by an unidentified male drug addict on the Smithton Highway between Caloodie and Smithton, a servo 203 km to the west of Caloodie
WHERE:
Caloodie Queensland - one-station town, closest airport at Hopeville which is a bigger town and some 200 km east; Smithton, not far away from Simpson Desert, is 203 km to the west; ~1000 residents not that small by outback standards; 7-hr drive from Brisbane (850km or so; road speed limit is 110km/hr); has a small hospital, a school (2 wooden houses on stilts), a church w/ vicar and dwindling congregation attended by Grandma for Sunday sermons; a bakery (Ann works there), a supermarket, Harri's at the corner (sporting goods); a servo w/ carwash; a butcher, a bottle-o;
WHO:
Berndt Meyer - wanker, age 24, blue eyes, light-brown long hair to shoulders, brightly coloured hippy fisherman’s trousers, arty tattoo, kinda sandals, to work w/ Rita for 3 months in outback to maintain their visa; stayed Friday night at Caloodie; Rita & Berndt both u/ 30; scheduled to start work at a ranch from FRIDAY so a day late already; right now at 50 km from Caloodie and probably 150 km from next town; "in the middle of nowhere"
Carl Meyer - Berndt's father
Rita Guerra - age 23, pretty, slim w/ long dark hair, sandals; driving a 15-yr old black Ford Fiesta in outback w/ scorching temp of 41C at 12.30pm Saturday; left Sydney 3 days ago and driving to Glen Ines station @ Smithton owned by Andy Miles for a 3-month gig there; had lived in Sydney for 6 months staying in hostel, traveled there from Berlin which has a harsher winter (Sydney balmy); worked at Sportsgirl fashion chain; didn't take school that seriously and had a career plan when 13; left Berlin almost a year ago to travel in SE Asia and Australia; met Berndt eaerly in journey in Bankok at a hostel
Barbara Guerra (Babs) - Rita's older sister, age 32 w/ short dark hair, messy but fashionable haircut; olive-skinned, big brown eyes, dark lashes that sweep onto her cheeks, full lips sometimes using red lipstick, sinuous, alluring, 3 studs in each ear lobe, somewhat deep and husky voice, wearing a short-sleeved red blouse; desperate worry on her face WRIT LARGE; thinks Rita a bit of a flake; Detective Sergeant, works at the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the state criminal police office for Berlin (LKA); got promotion recently to DS and bought a small flat; doesn't drive much in Berlin, bike instead around city, occasionally drive her mum's little Peugeot 108 (nicknamed the Roller Skate); grandma Chilean still living; parents came to Germany during Pinochet regime, family is everything in Chile; to Terri Johnson, Babs "hadn't looked much like a cop. Too small, barely up to Walker’s shoulders in height, to start with, and with the earrings and the stylish haircut she looks more like a singer in a band", but could be formidable in demeanor standing w/ arms crossed and sparks of anger in eyes, reminding Walker of his grandma
Uli Fischer - inspector, Barbara Guerra's superior at LKA
Monika - Babs' close friend ; pink hair, work at art gallery
Anika - another friend, recently married (first among the friends) to Olaf (reliable verging on boring) and pregnant; this Saturday her birthday will have a party for drinks and pizza,
DS Lucas Walker - age 35-40; 6'3 (1.9m) tall, golden-brown eyes, slim build, strong, broad-shouldered, long limbs, well-defined muscles w/o being bulky, light brown, curly hair (probably medium-length), going blond at the hair tips from the sun, Detective Sergeant (DS) at the drugs and organised crime unit (OC) of the AFP (Australian Federal Police) in Sydney; on compassionate leave at paternal Grandma's place in Caloodie, Queensland; raised by Grandma so closer to her than to his mom; worked as analyst when first joined Feds; inherited mom's math smarts, graduated top of class, but desk job not suit; Rutherford push him to be undercover detective b/c suits his streak of independence; last case Lebanese OC group in Sydney; at Caloodie, drive a ute; has lived w/ mum in the States, his drive and natural preference for action make him less cautious and reflective, but love bush, sense of humor, belief in fairness and importantce of family (so does Blair); have a sweet tooth (cherry ripe+chocolate milk+lamington) and big appetite, epicure and glutton; swim 0.5hr/day to clear mind; understated style and bad-boy appeal of an undercover cop
- dad died in car crash when he was a baby and mum was offered a place at a uni in the US doing her MA and Phd in math
- left Grandma's when he was 11, after 8 yrs of living there, attending little primary school, feeling utterly at home in the remote bush community
- his mum finished PHD at MIT and published mathematical theory that made her name. she married another professor Richard Kline and have a baby sister, Grace, w/ Richard; moved to Boston to live w/ mum, Richard, Grace
- return to Australia after university in the States
Mother - lives in Boston, finished PHD at MIT and published mathematical theory that made her name; teach at MIT, she married another professor Richard Kline and have a baby sister, Grace, w/ Richard; moved to Boston to live w/ mum, Richard, Grace; mum otherworldly, wrapped up in math and in teaching
Richard Kline - mum's 2nd husband, bookish, quiet, work harder than mum in forging a close bond with Walker, thus in some ways closer to Walker than his mum; gone sailing w/ Walker on some weekends, Richard and Walker enjoy each other's company in a relaxed, men-of-few-words kind of way
Grace Kline - Lucas Walker's younger sister of 19 living in Boston, daughter of mum w/ MIT prof. Richard Kline; has a little fluffy white dog w/ ears dyed bright pink; she bound Walker and mum together,
Ellen - Walker's ex-girlfriend in Sydney; w/ her blow-dry and blonde streaks; half-hour long make-up routine, diamond earrings, Rolex watch and vast walk-in wardrobe; glamorous, seem drawn Walker’s understated style and bad-boy appeal of an undercover cop
Lucille Walker (Grandma) - matriarch of the whole Walker's family in Caloodie QLD (Grandad passed away); dying due to cancer, return home from hospital for her last leg of life; Grandad bought their house from a Chinese bloke and, following the Chinese precedent, also grow veggies and sell them and eggs in town.
[NB: Lucille (grandma)and Lucas (grandson) share common origin from Latin root of "Lux" meaning light, illumination, brightness, etc.]
Michelle - Walker's aunt and Blair's mum; went to same highschool w/ Sheree Miller's (another misper and drug user) mum
Blair Mitchell - Walker's cousin, age turning 34 on birthday (DOB: 13 November 1988) closest to Walker in age more like a bro., hasn't left QLD barely leaves Caloodie, calm and quiet, observer not cynosure, commenting on Mike "That bloke makes ya ears bleed", live w/ wife Tracy and 2 kids (9-yr Zoe and 6-yr Ruby, both girls) and new kitten on Mission Road, near Grandma's; has ambitions to open an outback eco-tourism venture; having spent yrs working on bush, on cattle stations across the region, but drought draining up jobs; having partnered 2 friends, traditional owners of the land, to launch eco-tourism adventure company
Anna - Walker's cousin, w/ partner and kid
Ginger - Grandma's red heeler cattle dog (girl dog), dingo descendant; true-blue Queenslander just like Grandma
Dan Rutherford (Chief Inspector) - Walker's AFP boss
Susie Cheever (Suse) - Walker's colleague, technician specializing in enhancing video image; like red lipsticks, happily married and delighted to flirt
Tony Chisholm- chief superintendent in Queensland Police, "pig" for the Markovich's Vandals gang
Dave Grogan - Senior Constable at Caloodie, Queensland; "bush cop", tall, big w/ blond hair pale to white; chubby face, skin pink and pale, paunchy; age early 30 at most
Lisa Grogan - Grogan's wife, whining about living in outback for 5 years; chum w/ Tina Monroe and drink together often
Olivia Grogan - older daughter, slim tanned like Lisa
Amelia Grogan - younger daughter, pale skin and chubby face like grogan
Sarah Jordan - senior sergeant at Hopeville; solidly built, short blonde hair, grey-blue eyes;
Lucy - servo attendent
Ali - local pub's female owner (pub name: the Federal); Walker's classmate; slim, no taller than Babs, brown-skinned w/ dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, a series of tattoos runs up her right arm; waring black shorts and a bright yellow t-shirt w/ XXXX written across the chest
Mike - Ali's husband, busybody and gossip, "That bloke makes ya ears bleed" (Blair Mitchell), love being the one in the know, need to think he's the center of the town's universe
Paul Johnson - also at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; runs company called Johnson's Transport
Terri Johnson - Paul's daughter, run day-to-day operation of company, light-brown hair, pulled back tight from round face into a ponytail; broad nose and fleshy cheeks; wearing 3/4 lengh trousers and ovrsize T-shirt to conceal body shape
Darryl Foley - age late 30s; thin, dark eyes, russet-coloured, wavy long hair on shoulders; has beginnings of a ginger beard, slim, handsome, drive white Toyota Hilux; drive truck for Paul Johnson; on 10 May 2021, day of Sheree Miller's missing, he drove the truck and had the refrigerated unit from Brisbane back to Caloodie so passing Hopeville; Paul doesn't really like him, but Terri like him and was glad he finally asked her out; killed Sheree Miller of Hopeville in May 2021/Sylvia Stevens of Mount Isa in 2017 (but if also killed Tanya Bowen in Barcaldine in 2019?); he was merely 3 when his father walked out the door and never came back; extremely abusive mum and had serious mental trauma when growing up
Steve Burnett - drive truck for Paul Johnson for 5-6 yrs; Paul trust and really like him and always drink w/ him after work; on 10 May 2021, day of Sheree Miller's missing, he drove the truck and had the Hopeville cattle run so also passing Hopeville;
Angus Jones - at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; slept at the hotel on Saturday (or Friday?) night after drinking a few too many per Ali; drive dusty white ute, face toughened by land life, thin, bag of bones, skin nut-brown tinged w/ red, face dotted w/ large freckles from sun, eyes half-closed in permanent squint against sunlight, wearing battered cowboy hat and pale-blue shirt; has a property, Landsdowne, about 50 km out west (it turns out Jones has half a dozen property in Caloodie and Hopeville and 2 in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast) . Doing it tough right now. Missus left him a couple of years ago, drought’s a shocker and he’s losing money every day trying to keep his stock alive. He drives a truck for a Brisbane outfit once in a while, just trying to keep afloat.
Hippy - at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; at least in his late 40s, a drinker, muscular arms above a protruding pot belly; white blond, straight and gleaming hair falling to shoulders (used a straightener per Babs); a pair of black aviator sunglasses back on head, holding the front strands away from face; Babs visit his home, neat as pin, a suburban housewife's house
3 drug addicts all meth heads:
Donald Taylor (Donnie) - age 18 or 19; stick-thin w/ a ruined face, meth sores dotted on forehead and cheeks, burn marks around lips, mum died a few yrs back; sister can't stop him wasting life on drug, works at Returned & Services League (RSL) as part-time cleaner; been to Hopeville a couple times but never been to Smithton
Todd Ford
Dawn Geddes - habitual meth user but not dealer, persistent petty criminal incl stealing from kin and kith; broke no money; did a stint in rehab in Toowoomba but relapsed; usually in Hopeville these days collecting dole and come back only when desperate, Geddes daughters were friends w/ walker when kids
Mrs. Geddes - mother of Dawn Geddes
Sheree Miller - Australian Aborigine, misper and drug user, possibly killed by boyfriend Matt Monroe but body never discovered; Monroe's empty car found at road side of the Warrego Highway outside Hopeville in the early morning of Monday, 10 May 2021 (18 months preceding Day T) w/ her bag in the boot
Matt Monroe - well-built, tattoos on both arms and neck, seemingly bikie gang Vandals member; long-time abuser and meth dealer; wife/GF Kelly and an infant girl
Tina Monroe - Matt's mum but look late 30s at most, long blonde hair, tanned skin, happy to display her curvaceous possibly surgically enhanced body on instagram; live on farm a 15-minute drive out of town, farm owned by Angus Jones;
Stefan Markovich - Tina's meaty boyfriend, 6-6 tall, bald, a giant of a man; all chest and muscle and tatoo, virility and violence w/ dark-brown pit bull of ears of small triangles; Harley-Davidson in carport; Vandals' head honcho; Brian Brugess is Vandals' Brissie-based lawyer
Nick - Stefan's No.2
[Vandals - 1500+members across QLD and NSW, one of the biggest Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs) in Australia; founded by a bikie Pedro Silva who headed the group until 2015 wehn he was convicted of murdering a cop, thereafter overtaken by Stefan Markovich; Matt Monroe seems to belong to Nike-bikers, a younger affiliate-sporting red Nikes clothes, wear tattoos, expensive jewellery adn luxury cars as aesthetic status statement]
Telstra blokes - young, also at the Federal when young couple were there
Tommy Simpson - local artist, donated two stained-glass windows in a simple abstract pattern
Pun/Play of Words
- Back in the car, Walker turns to her, Barbara Guerra, with a smile. ‘We’re having a barbie this arvo for Blair’s birthday and I’m under orders to bring you back with me.’ (barbie is both barbecue and barbara)
Cultural Reference
1. Ludwig Leichhardt - outback explorer, missing for 175 yrs and remains never found
2. General Pinochet v. Allende's administration (left-wing) in 1970s's Chile (Clodomiro Almeyda, the former foreign minister)
WHEN: Saturday, 5 November 2022 (Day T), not exactly summer yet, but already torrid in outback
WHAT: German backpackers Berndt Meyer and Rita Guerra are kidnapped and held hostage (simply gone missing to the unknown public) by an unidentified male drug addict on the Smithton Highway between Caloodie and Smithton, a servo 203 km to the west of Caloodie
WHERE:
Caloodie Queensland - one-station town, closest airport at Hopeville which is a bigger town and some 200 km east; Smithton, not far away from Simpson Desert, is 203 km to the west; ~1000 residents not that small by outback standards; 7-hr drive from Brisbane (850km or so; road speed limit is 110km/hr); has a small hospital, a school (2 wooden houses on stilts), a church w/ vicar and dwindling congregation attended by Grandma for Sunday sermons; a bakery (Ann works there), a supermarket, Harri's at the corner (sporting goods); a servo w/ carwash; a butcher, a bottle-o;
WHO:
Berndt Meyer - wanker, age 24, blue eyes, light-brown long hair to shoulders, brightly coloured hippy fisherman’s trousers, arty tattoo, kinda sandals, to work w/ Rita for 3 months in outback to maintain their visa; stayed Friday night at Caloodie; Rita & Berndt both u/ 30; scheduled to start work at a ranch from FRIDAY so a day late already; right now at 50 km from Caloodie and probably 150 km from next town; "in the middle of nowhere"
Carl Meyer - Berndt's father
Rita Guerra - age 23, pretty, slim w/ long dark hair, sandals; driving a 15-yr old black Ford Fiesta in outback w/ scorching temp of 41C at 12.30pm Saturday; left Sydney 3 days ago and driving to Glen Ines station @ Smithton owned by Andy Miles for a 3-month gig there; had lived in Sydney for 6 months staying in hostel, traveled there from Berlin which has a harsher winter (Sydney balmy); worked at Sportsgirl fashion chain; didn't take school that seriously and had a career plan when 13; left Berlin almost a year ago to travel in SE Asia and Australia; met Berndt eaerly in journey in Bankok at a hostel
Barbara Guerra (Babs) - Rita's older sister, age 32 w/ short dark hair, messy but fashionable haircut; olive-skinned, big brown eyes, dark lashes that sweep onto her cheeks, full lips sometimes using red lipstick, sinuous, alluring, 3 studs in each ear lobe, somewhat deep and husky voice, wearing a short-sleeved red blouse; desperate worry on her face WRIT LARGE; thinks Rita a bit of a flake; Detective Sergeant, works at the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the state criminal police office for Berlin (LKA); got promotion recently to DS and bought a small flat; doesn't drive much in Berlin, bike instead around city, occasionally drive her mum's little Peugeot 108 (nicknamed the Roller Skate); grandma Chilean still living; parents came to Germany during Pinochet regime, family is everything in Chile; to Terri Johnson, Babs "hadn't looked much like a cop. Too small, barely up to Walker’s shoulders in height, to start with, and with the earrings and the stylish haircut she looks more like a singer in a band", but could be formidable in demeanor standing w/ arms crossed and sparks of anger in eyes, reminding Walker of his grandma
Uli Fischer - inspector, Barbara Guerra's superior at LKA
Monika - Babs' close friend ; pink hair, work at art gallery
Anika - another friend, recently married (first among the friends) to Olaf (reliable verging on boring) and pregnant; this Saturday her birthday will have a party for drinks and pizza,
DS Lucas Walker - age 35-40; 6'3 (1.9m) tall, golden-brown eyes, slim build, strong, broad-shouldered, long limbs, well-defined muscles w/o being bulky, light brown, curly hair (probably medium-length), going blond at the hair tips from the sun, Detective Sergeant (DS) at the drugs and organised crime unit (OC) of the AFP (Australian Federal Police) in Sydney; on compassionate leave at paternal Grandma's place in Caloodie, Queensland; raised by Grandma so closer to her than to his mom; worked as analyst when first joined Feds; inherited mom's math smarts, graduated top of class, but desk job not suit; Rutherford push him to be undercover detective b/c suits his streak of independence; last case Lebanese OC group in Sydney; at Caloodie, drive a ute; has lived w/ mum in the States, his drive and natural preference for action make him less cautious and reflective, but love bush, sense of humor, belief in fairness and importantce of family (so does Blair); have a sweet tooth (cherry ripe+chocolate milk+lamington) and big appetite, epicure and glutton; swim 0.5hr/day to clear mind; understated style and bad-boy appeal of an undercover cop
- dad died in car crash when he was a baby and mum was offered a place at a uni in the US doing her MA and Phd in math
- left Grandma's when he was 11, after 8 yrs of living there, attending little primary school, feeling utterly at home in the remote bush community
- his mum finished PHD at MIT and published mathematical theory that made her name. she married another professor Richard Kline and have a baby sister, Grace, w/ Richard; moved to Boston to live w/ mum, Richard, Grace
- return to Australia after university in the States
Mother - lives in Boston, finished PHD at MIT and published mathematical theory that made her name; teach at MIT, she married another professor Richard Kline and have a baby sister, Grace, w/ Richard; moved to Boston to live w/ mum, Richard, Grace; mum otherworldly, wrapped up in math and in teaching
Richard Kline - mum's 2nd husband, bookish, quiet, work harder than mum in forging a close bond with Walker, thus in some ways closer to Walker than his mum; gone sailing w/ Walker on some weekends, Richard and Walker enjoy each other's company in a relaxed, men-of-few-words kind of way
Grace Kline - Lucas Walker's younger sister of 19 living in Boston, daughter of mum w/ MIT prof. Richard Kline; has a little fluffy white dog w/ ears dyed bright pink; she bound Walker and mum together,
Ellen - Walker's ex-girlfriend in Sydney; w/ her blow-dry and blonde streaks; half-hour long make-up routine, diamond earrings, Rolex watch and vast walk-in wardrobe; glamorous, seem drawn Walker’s understated style and bad-boy appeal of an undercover cop
Lucille Walker (Grandma) - matriarch of the whole Walker's family in Caloodie QLD (Grandad passed away); dying due to cancer, return home from hospital for her last leg of life; Grandad bought their house from a Chinese bloke and, following the Chinese precedent, also grow veggies and sell them and eggs in town.
[NB: Lucille (grandma)and Lucas (grandson) share common origin from Latin root of "Lux" meaning light, illumination, brightness, etc.]
Michelle - Walker's aunt and Blair's mum; went to same highschool w/ Sheree Miller's (another misper and drug user) mum
Blair Mitchell - Walker's cousin, age turning 34 on birthday (DOB: 13 November 1988) closest to Walker in age more like a bro., hasn't left QLD barely leaves Caloodie, calm and quiet, observer not cynosure, commenting on Mike "That bloke makes ya ears bleed", live w/ wife Tracy and 2 kids (9-yr Zoe and 6-yr Ruby, both girls) and new kitten on Mission Road, near Grandma's; has ambitions to open an outback eco-tourism venture; having spent yrs working on bush, on cattle stations across the region, but drought draining up jobs; having partnered 2 friends, traditional owners of the land, to launch eco-tourism adventure company
Anna - Walker's cousin, w/ partner and kid
Ginger - Grandma's red heeler cattle dog (girl dog), dingo descendant; true-blue Queenslander just like Grandma
Dan Rutherford (Chief Inspector) - Walker's AFP boss
Susie Cheever (Suse) - Walker's colleague, technician specializing in enhancing video image; like red lipsticks, happily married and delighted to flirt
Tony Chisholm- chief superintendent in Queensland Police, "pig" for the Markovich's Vandals gang
Dave Grogan - Senior Constable at Caloodie, Queensland; "bush cop", tall, big w/ blond hair pale to white; chubby face, skin pink and pale, paunchy; age early 30 at most
Lisa Grogan - Grogan's wife, whining about living in outback for 5 years; chum w/ Tina Monroe and drink together often
Olivia Grogan - older daughter, slim tanned like Lisa
Amelia Grogan - younger daughter, pale skin and chubby face like grogan
Sarah Jordan - senior sergeant at Hopeville; solidly built, short blonde hair, grey-blue eyes;
Lucy - servo attendent
Ali - local pub's female owner (pub name: the Federal); Walker's classmate; slim, no taller than Babs, brown-skinned w/ dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, a series of tattoos runs up her right arm; waring black shorts and a bright yellow t-shirt w/ XXXX written across the chest
Mike - Ali's husband, busybody and gossip, "That bloke makes ya ears bleed" (Blair Mitchell), love being the one in the know, need to think he's the center of the town's universe
Paul Johnson - also at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; runs company called Johnson's Transport
Terri Johnson - Paul's daughter, run day-to-day operation of company, light-brown hair, pulled back tight from round face into a ponytail; broad nose and fleshy cheeks; wearing 3/4 lengh trousers and ovrsize T-shirt to conceal body shape
Darryl Foley - age late 30s; thin, dark eyes, russet-coloured, wavy long hair on shoulders; has beginnings of a ginger beard, slim, handsome, drive white Toyota Hilux; drive truck for Paul Johnson; on 10 May 2021, day of Sheree Miller's missing, he drove the truck and had the refrigerated unit from Brisbane back to Caloodie so passing Hopeville; Paul doesn't really like him, but Terri like him and was glad he finally asked her out; killed Sheree Miller of Hopeville in May 2021/Sylvia Stevens of Mount Isa in 2017 (but if also killed Tanya Bowen in Barcaldine in 2019?); he was merely 3 when his father walked out the door and never came back; extremely abusive mum and had serious mental trauma when growing up
Steve Burnett - drive truck for Paul Johnson for 5-6 yrs; Paul trust and really like him and always drink w/ him after work; on 10 May 2021, day of Sheree Miller's missing, he drove the truck and had the Hopeville cattle run so also passing Hopeville;
Angus Jones - at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; slept at the hotel on Saturday (or Friday?) night after drinking a few too many per Ali; drive dusty white ute, face toughened by land life, thin, bag of bones, skin nut-brown tinged w/ red, face dotted w/ large freckles from sun, eyes half-closed in permanent squint against sunlight, wearing battered cowboy hat and pale-blue shirt; has a property, Landsdowne, about 50 km out west (it turns out Jones has half a dozen property in Caloodie and Hopeville and 2 in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast) . Doing it tough right now. Missus left him a couple of years ago, drought’s a shocker and he’s losing money every day trying to keep his stock alive. He drives a truck for a Brisbane outfit once in a while, just trying to keep afloat.
Hippy - at the Federal when the missing young couple were there; at least in his late 40s, a drinker, muscular arms above a protruding pot belly; white blond, straight and gleaming hair falling to shoulders (used a straightener per Babs); a pair of black aviator sunglasses back on head, holding the front strands away from face; Babs visit his home, neat as pin, a suburban housewife's house
3 drug addicts all meth heads:
Donald Taylor (Donnie) - age 18 or 19; stick-thin w/ a ruined face, meth sores dotted on forehead and cheeks, burn marks around lips, mum died a few yrs back; sister can't stop him wasting life on drug, works at Returned & Services League (RSL) as part-time cleaner; been to Hopeville a couple times but never been to Smithton
Todd Ford
Dawn Geddes - habitual meth user but not dealer, persistent petty criminal incl stealing from kin and kith; broke no money; did a stint in rehab in Toowoomba but relapsed; usually in Hopeville these days collecting dole and come back only when desperate, Geddes daughters were friends w/ walker when kids
Mrs. Geddes - mother of Dawn Geddes
Sheree Miller - Australian Aborigine, misper and drug user, possibly killed by boyfriend Matt Monroe but body never discovered; Monroe's empty car found at road side of the Warrego Highway outside Hopeville in the early morning of Monday, 10 May 2021 (18 months preceding Day T) w/ her bag in the boot
Matt Monroe - well-built, tattoos on both arms and neck, seemingly bikie gang Vandals member; long-time abuser and meth dealer; wife/GF Kelly and an infant girl
Tina Monroe - Matt's mum but look late 30s at most, long blonde hair, tanned skin, happy to display her curvaceous possibly surgically enhanced body on instagram; live on farm a 15-minute drive out of town, farm owned by Angus Jones;
Stefan Markovich - Tina's meaty boyfriend, 6-6 tall, bald, a giant of a man; all chest and muscle and tatoo, virility and violence w/ dark-brown pit bull of ears of small triangles; Harley-Davidson in carport; Vandals' head honcho; Brian Brugess is Vandals' Brissie-based lawyer
Nick - Stefan's No.2
[Vandals - 1500+members across QLD and NSW, one of the biggest Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs) in Australia; founded by a bikie Pedro Silva who headed the group until 2015 wehn he was convicted of murdering a cop, thereafter overtaken by Stefan Markovich; Matt Monroe seems to belong to Nike-bikers, a younger affiliate-sporting red Nikes clothes, wear tattoos, expensive jewellery adn luxury cars as aesthetic status statement]
Telstra blokes - young, also at the Federal when young couple were there
Tommy Simpson - local artist, donated two stained-glass windows in a simple abstract pattern
Pun/Play of Words
- Back in the car, Walker turns to her, Barbara Guerra, with a smile. ‘We’re having a barbie this arvo for Blair’s birthday and I’m under orders to bring you back with me.’ (barbie is both barbecue and barbara)
Cultural Reference
1. Ludwig Leichhardt - outback explorer, missing for 175 yrs and remains never found
2. General Pinochet v. Allende's administration (left-wing) in 1970s's Chile (Clodomiro Almeyda, the former foreign minister)