Dammit. He hurled the towel aside, fear spiking in his gut. I knew it. He hadn’t got this far without having a sixth sense about nosy strangers.
They had to be cops.
Barely five minutes later, a Prius pulled up out front. Harrison Burns got out and jogged up the path, dodging overgrown bushes on the way. Moments later Chad heard a confident rap on the door. He answered it and looked at Harrison unsmilingly.
“Hey man.” Harrison reached out a closed fist to bump knuckles. “All finished?”
Chad ignored the fist and pointed to the path that led around the side of the house. “I’ll meet you around at the gym, okay?”
Harrison’s smile stayed in place, but his eyes grew hard. “That’s where you keep the stuff?”
“That’s where I keep everything that’s important to me,” Chad said. “I just need to get something; only be a moment.” With a sharp nod, he closed the door in Harrison’s face. Just doing that gave him a jab of satisfaction. He hated entitled little pricks like Harrison Burns.
He found the file he wanted on the computer, hit the print button and waited while the printer spat out half a dozen pages of generic advice on training. Later, he would enter into his business records that Harrison Burns had come to see him for advice on a training program.
When he reached his backyard gym, Harrison had picked up a 2-kg weight and was doing some arm curls. He grinned at Chad as he walked in. “Am I doing this right?”
“Too fast,” Chad said. “If you’re serious about getting fit, you have to do it the right way.” He indicated the second chair at a desk he’d wedged into a corner. “Sit down.”
Harrison put down the weight and sat down. His eyes were overly bright, and when he sat down he jiggled a knee up and down. Chad recognized the signs of someone who needed a hit. Ignoring that, he handed Harrison the sheaf of papers. “I’ve printed out some advice about training in general. Go through it, and see if it sounds like something you be prepared to commit to.”
Harrison took the papers with a frown. “Thanks. Maybe one day. What about the other stuff, man?”
“Other stuff?”
“You know what I mean.”
Chad leaned back and folded his arms. “Harrison, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m not into drugs. Not steroids, not recreational – nothing. I’m just a personal trainer. If I can’t help you with that, then you’re in the wrong place.”
For a moment he thought Harrison was going to launch out of his chair and punch him. He tensed and placed his weight on his feet, ready to spring up and defend himself, but Harrison found some measure of control from somewhere, visibly reining himself in. “Come on, mate. You worried I’m going to say something to someone? I know you’ve got the goods. I need a hit bad, mate.”
“I don’t deal drugs,” Chad said again. “Never have, never will.” His eyes went to Harrison’s grubby shirt, wondering if there was a wire hidden beneath it. Sure, the guy needed a hit, but that didn’t mean the cops hadn’t recruited him. “Personal trainers like me, we always have to face suspicion. Too many athletes have used performance-enhancing drugs. They give us all a bad name.”
Harrison wasn’t having any. “Jason said he got them from you. And I bet Tyler has too, hasn’t he?”
“Then I’ll be having a word to Jason,” Chad said heatedly. “Clearly, he’s protecting his real supplier. If his implicating me, then it might be time I found myself a new housemate.” He nodded at the information he printed out. “I can see you’re a mess, man. My advice is: get off the drugs, get fit, get a life. But I can’t help you.”
Parked just down the road in the shade of an old tree, Georgie and Scott heard the angry screech as the Prius backed out of Chad’s driveway. A moment later he roared past them, his jaw set.
“And that,” Georgie said, “is why I wanted to come in person. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have seen Chad’s visitor. Interesting, is it not?”
Scott drew a check mark in the air. “Score another one for the good guys. Are you still going to call in and pretend you’re selling insurance?”
“No need. Judging by the way Harrison peeled out of there, I’m guessing he didn’t get what he wanted. And we now know there’s a connection between all three of them.” Georgie settled back in her seat. “Let’s go.”
Scott looked at her quizzically. “Go where?”
“Back to Huskisson,” Georgie said with certainty. “And wait. Things are happening.”
10
Too Many Questions
When Jason got home after his shift at the pub, he found a tightly-coiled housemate waiting to pounce.
He’d never seen Chad so annoyed — or so worried. And that was saying something, because they had had a couple of close shaves with stupid kids who were determined to get the drugs they needed no matter what.
“I told you to be careful, didn’t I?” Chad was clearly struggling to rein in his emotions. Jason felt his gut clench. The more controlled Chad was, the more dangerous he was. He had felt the sharp edge of Chad’s temper a few times when they were growing up a few doors apart, back in Sydney.
Here in Sussex Inlet, Jason hadn’t experienced Chad’s anger first hand – not like some of the more unlucky people he’d heard about. He knew Chad was getting sick of having him there, though. He was pretty sure that if they hadn’t been such good mates as kids, Chad would have kicked him out by now.
“I have been careful, man,” he said defensively, swallowing hard when he thought of the way Chad had slashed a finger across his throat in the pub earlier. “Why, what’s happened?”
“I told you that I’d had word from Sydney, that there were coppers around, digging into the trade down this way. Undercover. Didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you told me. And like I told you, I have been careful. I can pick cops. What’s going on?” Jason stared at him. Something major was biting Chad. But no matter what how he wracked his brains, Jason couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong.
His mind ranged over his customers; mostly people who came to the pub so he could slip them something. There hadn’t been anyone new sounding him out for the stuff that Chad handled. They were all regulars, and none of them were likely to talk to the cops.
Nope. His conscience was clear. Frowning, he shook his head at Chad. “If someone’s onto you, it ain’t through me.”
Chad sent him a hard stare. “I was in the pub today, remember?”
“I know, I saw you.” Chad liked to sit in a corner, Jason knew, eating his meal and pretending to read the paper while he checked out the scene. On occasions he would sit there for ages, with an empty plate and drained glass in front of him, without bothering to acknowledge Jason’s presence.
Jason had an uneasy feeling that Chad might sometimes be doing it to check up on him. Which kinda stuck in his craw, because he’d never given him any reason to doubt him.
“And while I was sitting in the pub,” Chad said in a dangerously civil tone, “I heard you talking to that American chick. And the bloke with her. They were asking a lot of questions.”
Jason thought back to the conversation with the two people who had come in for a drink. The American girl wasn’t exactly someone you’d forget – accents like that weren’t that common in Sussex Inlet. “Yeah, no – not really. What do you mean?”
“I heard them.” Chad’s patience was running low. “Asking you if you’d worked for Chris Moore, and how long you’d been here.” Chad’s voice grew even quieter, but there was considerable heat there. “You don’t think those are odd questions to be asking, in light of what happened on that program?”
Jason stared at him. “You’re not trying to tell me that you think they were undercover?” He felt queasy, but at the same time incredulous. He’d never seen those two before, but they were typical of most of the tourists who turned up. They all liked to talk… and what had they said, after all? Only that they’d been out kayaking around the Basin. It was natural that they’d mention who the
y’d gone with.
He said as much to Chad. “Nah, man. You’re barking up the wrong tree there. They’re nothing but tourists. Just hired Chris Moore to take them around the Basin for the day, that’s all.”
“And you had to open your big mouth and tell them about drugs in the program! What, are you crazy or something?” Chad’s fists clenched. “I have to consider whether I can trust you enough to keep doing this. I can’t afford to keep anyone around who is going to bring us all down.”
“You’re wrong.” Jason made his voice confident, although the churning in his stomach belied his tone. “I tell you, it’s nothing.”
Chad walked to the window and pointed out at the street. “If it’s nothing, maybe you can tell me why they were driving past here earlier? Why they went up the street, and then came down again, checking out this place?”
Briefly, Jason closed his eyes. Oh no. No, no. Had he blown it?
“It’s got to be a coincidence, that’s all,” he said nervously. “Just tourists, checking out the town.”
“Yeah, sure. Checking out the town, which just happened to take them right past this place.” Chad turned around, fixing Jason with a heated glare. “And the very same day, Harrison Burns turns up here looking for a supply of whatever makes him happy. Too many coincidences for my liking.” His voice grew more menacing. ““I’ve worked hard to set things up here. Turned my personal trainer business into something legit, to give myself a profile in the community. I don’t want it all to be ruined because of you.”
Defeated, Jason shook his head. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know. You know I wouldn’t dump you in it. We go way back, don’t we?”
“Which is why you’re still here. But don’t count on past friendship to get you out of this.”
Chad paced the room, and held up his hand for quiet when Jason went to say something else. “Be quiet. I’m thinking.”
Finally he stopped and looked at Jason speculatively. “You still in contact with Drew Moore?”
“Haven’t been for a while. He pretty much cut me dead after the Harrison Burns business.” Resentment edged Jason’s voice.
“Well, you’ll have to think of a reason to go see him again. We need to find out more about the two that came into the pub today. If they were out with his dad, then he’ll be able to tell you something about them. Once we know who they are, and what they’re doing here, then I can figure out what to do next.”
He moved across to stand in front of Jason, his eyes colder than Jason had ever seen them. “See Drew, find out who they were, then come back and tell me.”
“Sure.” Jason had no idea how he was going to make that happen, but he wasn’t about to argue with Chad in his present mood.
“Do it now.”
“Fine. Fine.” Jason threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll go now.”
He spun on his heel and slammed out of the back door, down the steps and along the path, striding back to his car.
If Chad was right, and those two in the pub had been undercover, then he’d screwed up. Well, he didn’t need to be caught up in any police investigation of what was going on down here in Sussex Inlet. He’d try to find out who those two really were, and if it look like things were getting too hot, he was out of here.
He owed Chad Royston nothing.
Jason found Drew’s wife Emma sitting at the counter of his boat repair business, filling in some kind of ledger. She glanced up at him, and her normally cheerful face closed up right away. That got Jason’s back up for a start. Snippy little thing, Emma Moore. Thought she was too good for the likes of him.
“Hi Emma,” he said cordially. “Drew around, by any chance?”
“No,” she said coolly. “He’s out quoting on a job.”
“When do you expect him back?”
“No idea. After the quote he was off to Nowra to do some work on a boat.” Her eyes returned to the ledger and she continued making notes.
“Oh, okay. Well, I might pop in tomorrow. Can you tell him I called?”
Emma flicked him a brief glance, gave the barest hint of a nod, and then kept writing. Jason gave her a dirty look, which was a wasted effort, because she didn’t see it. He’d gritted his teeth, bid her a friendly farewell and left. No point in antagonizing her before he had a chance to talk to Drew.
He’d call back tomorrow, and Chad would just have to wait for the information he wanted.
Jeez, was he ever over this town.
11
An Invitation
The next morning, Drew Moore looked up at the sound of the bell above the door and smiled at the two who entered.
His mother, dressed in her usual soft, comfortable clothes, swished in ahead of his father. Her face was bright, and she had a grin from ear to ear. Chris’s gaze moved to his dad, coming in behind her. As usual, he didn’t look happy with life. Sure, he tried to hide it, put a good face on things – but Chris could see the difference in him. His father was growing old before his eyes.
Drew’s gut clenched with anxiety. Everyone’s lives had changed so much over a short six months.
He didn’t know if things could ever be the same again. But if he had anything to do with it, things would turn around. They had to.
He forced a grin, and leaned forward so his mother could give him the usual kiss on the cheek.
“Drew!” Her face was alive. “We’ve just come from a meeting about the inaugural Seasonal Markets. It’s going to be such a great thing for the town! There are all sorts of things happening – and if we put on a really good market, we’ll get people coming from miles around every time they’re on. We thinking markets once a month in a range of locations, but then really big ones with every change of season.”
“That’s great, Mum. You’ve been trying to make this happen for years.” He looked at his father, and was pleased to see him shaking his head at Allie, a wry grin on his face.
“You know what your mother’s like once she gets the bit between her teeth,” his father said. “I don’t know why they just don’t make her the mayor and be done with it.”
“Oh, you.” Allie dug him in the ribs. “Well, you know what I’m like with my crafts and my markets. It’s my passion.”
Chris and his father exchanged a grin. In unison, they said: “We know.” In their family, it had always been a bit of an inside joke about the bits of twine and string and filmy scarves and bits and pieces of jewelry his mother like to make in her spare time. Even in the busy early days when she and Chris had been building up the business, and looking after small children, there had always been time for craft.
“Anyway.” His mother dug into her embroidered shoulder bag. “I’ve got something for you. You were asking about photos? Dad and his groups out on the basin, kayaking? I’ve got tons of great photos here. What are you going to do with them?”
Drew accepted the bright green USB stick she handed over. He had no idea whether the social media posts he was planning would have any effect. They couldn’t do any harm. Okay, so his father didn’t know how to use any of this stuff, but it was easy enough to learn.
“I’m going to put some on the Facebook page I set up,” he said. “And I’m posting to Instagram, too. I started doing that a while back, for this business, and you’d be surprised how many people pass around information that they see on these accounts. I’ve put up photos of boats I’ve restored, comments from happy customers, some just showing boats out with people having fun fishing, boating on the basin. That kind of thing. And I’m going to use them in memes too.” He caught himself and laughed, seeing the confusion on both parents’ faces. “Don’t worry about it. A meme, it’s… you know those quotes you see with pictures of cute kittens doing funny things? And inspirational quotes from business leaders? There’s usually a picture, and some kind of quote or funny comment. People forward them to other people on social media. On Facebook.”
His mother’s eyes brightened with comprehension. “Oh, like those things that Aunt Casey is always sen
ding me!”
“Exactly,” Drew said.
“Great,” his mother said, nodding. “Sounds like a wonderful idea, Drew. Those things get sent on to heaps of people.”
“That’s why it’s called viral media. They keep getting passed on, like a virus.”
He wasn’t surprised to see his father’s eyes glazing over. Chris Moore wasn’t exactly a computer illiterate, but he just didn’t care.
Oh well. It didn’t matter whether he understood what happened behind the scenes, it only mattered that it was something that could help revive the business.
Chris slid the USB stick in his pocket. “I’ll do something with this tonight, guys. Then I’ll send it to you, so you can see what I mean.”
“That would be fantastic. And, Drew? You and Emma are coming to dinner tonight.” His mother looked mischievous. “We’ve got a special treat in store.”
Happy to see his mother cheerful and more like her old self, he grinned at her. “A surprise? And what might that be? Do I get to know ahead of time?”
“Sure. I’ve already told Emma, anyway. You’ll never guess, Drew.” Allie paused for effect, obviously relishing the surprise. “We’ve got this fantastic person I met from America coming to dinner. She’s amazing. Do you know she’s actually an eighth generation Gypsy?”
Drew couldn’t help it, he had to laugh. This was so much like his mother. She had always been a bit of a flake, but this? An eighth generation Gypsy coming to dinner. It was so up her alley. “Well, that sounds like an interesting dinner guest, all right.”
“She’s over here with her Australian boyfriend. They’re traveling around the country, seeing the sights. But Drew, that’s not the most exciting part. She’s brought her crystal ball with her, and she’s already done a reading for us.” His mother cast a brief, wary look at her husband. “You won’t believe what she sees in that crystal ball.”
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