‘I want to thank you for what you did with my daughter Pon.’

‘I was pleased it worked. As I told you on the phone, I’d only done that once before with someone in a coma.’

‘Wombat told me. May I ask about the process behind your prayer? Is it some sort of mental telepathy you have with those on the brink of death?’

Haut shrugged.

‘It’s to do with God. I pray; he responds.’

‘How?’

‘The response fills my mind. It’s sometimes from a flash of light.’

‘You told me “God is merciful” when you intervened with Pon …’

‘That was easy to grasp. It meant your daughter would be spared. Sometimes when I pray very hard, the answer can be more complicated. I have to write things down.’

‘It doesn’t stay in your mind?’

‘The answers are not from my mind. I must record them.’

Cavalier took notes.

‘Wombat and I thought it would be good if I wrote a report about you and your oil discoveries.’

‘Can you read an assay report?’

‘I had a stint as a financial reporter when I first began in journalism. But that was long ago.’

‘I can bring you up to speed,’ Haut said, bustling to a backpack and pulling out a folder. ‘Have a look at this. It’s a summary of our assay results for our oil drilling on all our wells on North Bruny Island in Variety Bay, and at this mine. The full report is locked in my Hobart office.’

Haut went through the superficial report, explaining much of it as Cavalier probed and used a tape recorder for the discussion. After an hour, Cavalier was impressed.

‘Wombat told me you had a huge oil discovery last week on Bruny,’ he said.

‘Massive! There’s a mighty load under the island running into Bass Strait. It was the biggest gush ever seen in these parts. Had to do a lot of work to seal the well.’

‘How big is “big”?’

‘I estimate that it’s bigger than anything in the Persian Gulf.’

6 BIG MAC

6

BIG MAC

An eighty-five kilogram bull-mastiff wandered into the tent, looking somewhat sheepish.

‘Mac! Where have you been?’ Haut asked. The dog stepped forward in supplication and licked his master, who stood to greet him. Mac got up on his hind legs and rested his paws on Haut’s shoulders. Then he noticed Cavalier, and seemed uncertain about the stranger. Haut stood between Cavalier and the dog.

‘Mac, this is Victor, he’s a friend, right? Got that?’

‘That head is as big as a lion’s!’ Cavalier marvelled.

The dog glanced at Cavalier, still unsure. He gave a slight growl. Cavalier stood and reached out the back of his hand. Mac sniffed it, glanced up with a begrudging look and wandered outside the tent again.