Tank Water
by Michael Burge
MidnightSun Publishing
James Brandt knew what was going on in his hometown of Kippen and he knew he had to get away as early as he could. Apart from being a vegetarian in a farming region, James realised his sexuality set him apart and there were people in the town who thought that “poofter bashing” was good fun.
He managed to escape as a teenager but twenty years later, he had to return to his home town and his father, retired Detective Constable Daniel Brandt. Now an established journalist with the support of his partner of ten years, Dylan, his counsellor had told him that he needed to experience the town as it is, not as it was.
It was after his Cousin Tony’s wedding that he had made his break and it was to attend Tony’s funeral that he was returning to the town that buried its secrets and protected its own. His cousin Tony thought that by marrying Leanne, he would be sheltered from any attacks and the newlyweds were given the grandparent’s farm to start their lives together.
But the marriage didn’t last and Tony’s remains were removed from below the Kippen Bridge after being sniffed out by a jogger’s dog. Tony had left the farm to James and James knew that Tony’s death was not suicide. The town story was that the park below the bridge was known as a gathering place for “lonely types” and every ten years or so one of them jumped. With his father never investigating the deaths, James decides to use all his newshound skills to uncover the stagnant water at the bottom of the tank.
Michael Burge points out that while the gay-hate crimes in Tank Water are fictitious; they are based on his research into gay-hate crimes that have taken place in rural areas of New South Wales. As country cases don’t receive as much attention as the high-profile city ones, he encourages survivors, their families and friends to keep fighting for justice where it is safe to do so.
Lezly Herbert
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