Vanished

by James Delargy

  ‘Are you certain?’

  ‘I’d testify to it,’ revealing that she had seen too many cop shows. ‘And the guy with her looked like this guy,’ she said, pointing to Ian Kinch.

  ‘Why didn’t you come forward earlier? Her photo’s been on the news for weeks.’

  ‘I don’t watch the news. It’s all fake.’

  Emmaline left it at that. Visual confirmation of Ian Kinch and Naiyana Maguire at the motel together. The affair was real. And the consequences had been deadly.

  Before leaving the motel, she had a final request. She checked the log for other visitors. Nikos Iannis. Chester Grant. Or three men staying for a night and checking in together. The mining crew couldn’t live down the tunnel permanently. But none of them had stayed for a night. Not at the Stay-Here anyway.

  112 Emmaline

  Emmaline relocated her team to a restaurant in Wisbech. Having not stopped to eat all day she was starving. There she pieced together what she knew over a three-course meal that was minimal on quality but generous with portions. Barker’s suggestion.

  She started with the basics. ‘On an unknown date but likely towards mid-to late November, Ian Kinch, Mike Andrews and Stevie Amaranga move into Kallayee on a mission to mine for gold.’

  ‘And find some success as evidenced by the gold sales,’ said Oily.

  ‘It seems so. Then on thirteenth December the Maguire family move into Kallayee. Initially both parties are unaware of each other. Long enough for the family to settle a little and start to fix up the house. The mining likely explained the rumbling noises that Naiyana hinted at in their videos.’

  ‘The earth was growling as if ready to attack,’ said Rispoli, quoting Naiyana Maguire from the second of her vlogs.

  ‘Then somehow they discover each other’s presence. Or more precisely, the family discover the miners’ presence. I’m sure the miners knew the family were there immediately.’

  ‘When did they meet?’

  ‘We can’t be sure but the nineteenth is my guess. With Lorcan and Dylan out of town in Kalgoorlie, maybe the miners tried to make contact.’

  ‘But we don’t know this for sure,’ said Anand.

  ‘And we won’t unless we find either the miners or the family,’ said Emmaline before continuing. ‘All we know is they meet. Maybe both sides try to co-exist or maybe there is tension from the start. Both know that the other is there illegally so maybe this allowed for a kind of unsteady truce between them.

  ‘What it didn’t do was interrupt their lives. Not at the start. Both Lorcan and Naiyana were seen in town, purchasing housing materials and groceries. The miners’ movements are less known but we can assume they had to eat and drink too. But they probably ventured further afield or had a stash of goods to raid from.’

  ‘So is the heat off Nikos Iannis and Chester Grant?’ asked Anand.

  Emmaline shook her head. ‘I don’t want to discount them entirely yet. We can’t be certain that Lorcan met with Nikos Iannis, but we know Nikos was desperate to get that data back. Information that is still missing.’

  ‘Or so he claims. It might be a cover story for the murder,’ said Rispoli.

  ‘But even if they did know where Lorcan was, why kill him but take Naiyana and the child?’ said Barker.

  ‘These things aren’t necessarily concurrent,’ said Emmaline. ‘Lorcan did say in his message that Naiyana was gone. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe she was killed to put pressure on Lorcan, who then escaped with his son and was killed.’

  To Emmaline this still seemed like the most obvious solution. Or would have if there weren’t so many possibilities flying around.

  ‘Chester Grant, however, admits to meeting Naiyana on the thirtieth. Briefly. She was privy to sensitive information he wanted desperately to keep secret.’

  ‘Information that is now public,’ said Anand. ‘He’s on the brink.’

  ‘But back then keeping it secret was a priority.’

  ‘And easier done if Naiyana was dead. Giving him motive,’ said Rispoli.

  ‘He didn’t have time to follow her back to Kallayee and make his later meetings but he might have had someone else do it. An attempt to silence her that got out of control, killing Lorcan and then Mike Andrews and Stevie Amaranga as witnesses,’ said Oily.

  ‘But that’s a big secret to keep. Even bigger than the one he was already hiding,’ said Emmaline.

  ‘So we can rule him out?’

  ‘As a killer? I think so. But not as a co-conspirator for now.’

  ‘But that still leaves Ian Kinch, Naiyana and Dylan Maguire unaccounted for,’ said Rispoli. ‘If they had fled to protect themselves, they would have made themselves known by now.’

  ‘Yes. We know from Seamus Maguire that the house was in disrepair. That Lorcan was keen on leaving but she wasn’t. Given that Naiyana had told her colleague, Leona Sanchez, on the twenty-first, that she missed Perth and wanted to go back means that something changed in those few days.’

  ‘The affair,’ said Anand, watching on like it was a soap opera.

  ‘If they only have a short window of opportunity they meet on Keenan’s Run where the tyre tracks are. Other times they meet further afield like the Stay-Here. A quickie in the afternoon, illicit and thrilling. Not a bad position to be in,’ said Emmaline, with a smile she directed at everyone but which lingered on Rispoli.

  ‘Until it is discovered,’ said Oily, interrupting the moment.

  Anand interrupted him. ‘We can’t be one hundred per cent sure it was discovered.’

  Emmaline nodded. ‘True. We can’t know if either Lorcan or the miners were aware of it. What we do know is that there were some new housing materials that weren’t paid for through the family’s account or by Seamus Maguire. We can only suppose that Ian gave the family money. Perhaps to buy their silence, perhaps to keep Naiyana around.’

  ‘Which wouldn’t have gone down well with the other miners whether they knew about the affair or not,’ said Rispoli. ‘There would be a lot of anger.’

  ‘Something is said. Anger spills over into violence,’ said Emmaline.

  ‘But who kills who?’

  That remained the big unknown.

  ‘What’s certain is that Lorcan and Dylan were running away from someone when Lorcan was killed. Maybe the quad tyres were slashed to force them to flee on foot.’

  ‘Maybe they were fleeing Mike Andrews and Stevie Amaranga,’ said Barker.

  ‘Then Naiyana and Ian return. Mike and Stevie confess and Naiyana orders her lover to take revenge,’ said Anand.

  ‘Or they decide they don’t need Mike and Stevie any longer and kill them first. Lorcan then finds out about the affair and he is disposed of as well,’ said Oily.

  ‘All of which doesn’t rule out a third party,’ said Emmaline. ‘A professional hired by Chester or Nikos who chases the father and son down and then kills the witnesses. Ian and Naiyana might have returned to find everyone gone. They spot the blood in the dirt and decide to flee themselves.’

  There was silence around the table. They were going in circles, the affair only adding to the possibilities.

  113 Lorcan

  The buzzing noise could only mean one thing. Mike was trying to steal the quad. It also meant that he wouldn’t hear him approach.

  Leaving Dylan in the house, safe behind the overturned bed, he took the rifle and stalked back to the coal shed.

  The two utes were already there and by the time he sneaked into position the quad bike had been switched off and only the sound of angry voices remained.

  He considered heading back to the house and taking cover again but was worried Mike would feed Nee and Ian some bullshit – truthful bullshit – that he had shot Stevie.

  Mike being around changed his plan. He had gambled on the arsehole scarpering, allowing Lorcan to blame him for killing Stevie in Ian’s absence. By hightailing with the gold Mike would have looked even more guilty.

  With the heightened tension having turned to murder, Ne
e would surely agree to leave. And if she remained stubborn? He would leave on his own and take Dylan. That seemed the sensible course of action. Go to his relatives in Adelaide and lay low. Ian wouldn’t have any problem if he laid low surely. Nee would follow. She would have to. To see Dylan. Then away from the strange draw of this place, they could talk.

  But something held him back. He was glad to see Nee, glad that nothing had happened to her. But he realized something else: his lack of concern when she was away. He wondered if that told him something. To truly love someone surely you had to be concerned for their well-being. Especially letting her drive off for a meeting with a relative stranger in the middle of nowhere. But he had been more concerned for himself and Dylan. And yet he had left Dylan behind to do this. It was as if he was shedding parts of his life, subconsciously reverting back to being a free spirit, with no family or ties to be responsible for.

  He watched the argument unfold, Mike getting off the quad and raising the rifle. Informing them that Lorcan had killed Stevie. The truth-telling bastard.

  The argument moved on to protection. And the gold. Mike waved the rifle. Then a shot rang out.

  The bullet clanged into the tin beside him, ricocheting off in a random direction. Had Mike spotted him? He gripped the rifle tighter, ready to pounce. But Ian was on top of Mike, wrestling for the weapon. It was an unfair fight, two punches to the gut breaking Mike’s resistance.

  Ian climbed to his feet, holding the rifle. Lorcan knew he would be vindicated. There was no way that they would believe Mike now.

  He considered coming out of hiding. Hands up. Without the rifle. Show that he was not the threat Mike insisted he was. As he considered his next move he watched Ian make sure that Nee was okay, something in the tenderness with which he said it, raising his suspicions.

  Then Ian shot Mike in the head. Lorcan found himself unable to breathe. Stevie’s death had been a tragic accident but this was an execution. Then Ian turned to Nee. Lorcan groped for his rifle as he watched on, hoping to fire at least a warning shot before Ian killed his wife.

  But instead Ian wrapped his arm around Nee, holding her close, as if drowning out everything that had happened in the last few minutes. He delicately kissed the top of her head.

  Blindly, he found the rifle. Still Ian and Naiyana held each other. Longer than just a reassuring hug. The truth dawned. They were together. Questions bounced around his skull. How long had they—? When did it start? Given that she was so resistant to living here at the beginning it must have developed here, when he was working on the house, or when she was out doing those pointless vlogs. When she was in town getting groceries and supposedly checking out that school. She’d had plenty of opportunities. He had been so blind. Betrayed. Taken for a fool. The rifle felt hot in his hand. He could kill both of them. He had already killed once. He could kill again, he tried to convince himself. Planned this time. Planned and executed. He could claim self-defence. His life threatened by Ian and his rifle. But would Nee back him up? Where did her loyalties stand now? With him or Ian?

  As he contemplated his next move, he overheard the lovers – the thought made him snarl – discussing the bodies. About moving them. Ian was trying to get her to focus on getting rid of the evidence. But she wanted to check on her husband and her son. Now.

  Lorcan knew that Nee would win the battle in the end. She always did. He also knew that he couldn’t be caught out here. They couldn’t be allowed to realize what he knew. He needed to get back to the house and plan his and Dylan’s escape. There was no manual for that on YouTube.

  114 Lorcan

  He couldn’t remember running that fast ever. He felt like Usain Bolt as he shot out from the rear of his hiding place and back to the house in two minutes flat. Charging in through the door, he didn’t pause to catch his breath. There were things to do. Like act calm. Not easy to achieve as his lungs scrabbled for air, his heart pounding and his head full of new, horrifying images.

  A narrow miss from a stray bullet.

  Mike shot in cold blood.

  And a loving embrace between his wife and another man.

  Plus, on top of all that: Stevie’s death by his hand.

  None of it would be easily forgotten. It had all gone so wrong. He had only wanted the gold to start a new life for his family elsewhere. Ian, Mike and Stevie could always dig for more. He would have packed his family up – though now he suspected Nee might have stayed – and left for Adelaide. Or beyond. Not Kallayee. What had been simple robbery had become much more sinister. He had killed a man. But that had been a tragic accident. Ian had outright executed someone. Why stop there? Why not come after him and Dylan?

  Despite his heart and brain working overtime his lungs began to recover. It was time to leave.

  Lugging the pulley behind the door he made for the bedroom, yelling for Dylan to get ready to go on a trip. Entering the bedroom he looked behind the bed.

  Dylan was not there.

  Or in his own bedroom.

  Or the kitchen. Or the living room. He wasn’t even outside tending to his mining operation. Dylan was gone.

  Had Naiyana and Ian beaten him here and taken him? Surely not. He would have heard the vehicles. So where had he disappeared to?

  * * *

  His thoughts were disturbed by the insistent shove at the front door. Dylan had come back. Lorcan felt a flood of relief. He had gone to find his father but had given up. There was still time to escape.

  But the voice was Naiyana’s, not Dylan’s.

  Lorcan took a couple of breaths and considered his next move. If he stayed quiet, she would force her way in and immediately wonder where Dylan was. Talking to her might buy him some time. If he could keep it together.

  Removing the heavy doorstop, he put his hands in his pockets to mask the persistent shaking. She asked about the pulley and then Dylan. He explained that their son was asleep, exhausted from running after the quad all morning, trying to sell the lie, trying to control himself.

  She took a step inside as if going to check. If so, he would have to tell the truth. That Dylan was gone. But she stopped, staring at him, accepting the explanation. Then Ian spoke. Wanting to know when he got back to the house and why the quad tyres were slashed, distrust oozing from every word.

  Lorcan was confused himself as to why the tyres were slashed. So he played on it. Taking his quivering hands from his pockets he held them up and told them he had nearly crashed earlier so had given the quad up. By now he felt that he was running out of luck. He didn’t know how long he could continue devising barely plausible stories. His mouth felt like the desert outside.

  Then Ian accused him of trying to take the gold. Had he realized that Mike was telling the truth over Stevie’s shooting? But Lorcan had one final play, reversing the accusation and questioning Ian’s whereabouts and who he was with.

  That bought a moment’s silence, a flustered Nee glancing at her lover. He felt sick to the core.

  Then they left, separately but together, Lorcan waiting until the vehicles disappeared from view before sliding down the wall to stop himself from collapsing. But he didn’t have time to sit around. He needed to find his son.

  115 Emmaline

  On leaving the restaurant they caught a break. The family’s white Toyota had been found. With a worrying amount of dried blood on the dashboard and in the footwell.

  It had been discovered by police in the Northern Territory, off the road and half-torched. Emmaline wanted to get to the scene. The choice was a long drive up the Great Central Road or a bumpy flight from Leonora on a privately hired twin-prop. She chose the latter. Two hours of discomfort rather than fifteen.

  Though the scene was technically out of state she was granted automatic authority from the Cross-border Justice Scheme, a partnership between the West, NT and South Australia. It had been designed for cases of this type, removing the territory borders to improve law enforcement, so that offenders couldn’t escape justice by going interstate. The region i
t covered was known as the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) lands. Something she was glad she didn’t have to spell out on the forms.

  On the flight she studied the details of the report. The officers who had found it noted that it looked like the fire had been started deliberately, the smell of accelerant lingering. It had failed to take hold though, so it was presumed that the occupants left before it did and were therefore unaware that it hadn’t been destroyed. Or they’d been spooked by something, thought Emmaline, possibly the worry over a national search for the vehicle. The fugitive – or fugitives – had given themselves a two- or three-day head start until the family’s disappearance might reasonably be noticed. After that they would have been piloting a ute that may as well have had a giant spotlight on it.

  A trace amount of gold had also been found in the truck. Which suggested they had more to sell.

  But it was the blood on the dashboard that was the most disturbing factor. An intensive search of the nearby area was already under way. Looking for a body. With the focus on Naiyana and Dylan Maguire.

  Emmaline arrived at the scene in three hours. The ute was indeed off the road, hidden and half-torched, the white paint tarnished black and silvery in parts. She peered in the passenger window. A significant amount of blood coated the dashboard, still visible even though the interior was scorched.

  ‘So he killed them?’ said Oily, looking around the rest of the vehicle.

  ‘Why bring them nearly two thousand kilometres if he was only going to kill them?’ asked Emmaline. ‘It would have been easier to do it back in Kallayee.’

  ‘What’s to say he didn’t?’

  ‘The missing bodies. If there had been an argument between them, there would be bodies nearby. Of either of them. We have to proceed on the assumption that all are alive. But one or more is injured.’