Emerald Springs

by Fleur McDonald

  Amelia froze. Steel ear tags were really unusual. Only sheep owners who couldn’t afford to lose their record number used them. That meant stud sheep.

  She walked over to them, tucking her hand behind her back, and looked them over. The name of the stud and the identification number were clearly engraved into the long side of the tag.

  ‘Oh my . . . Bloody hell!’ she whispered, as everything began to make sense.

  These were the tags from the ewes that had been stolen from Paul.

  Images flashed through her mind. Graham hanging out with the Andrews boys over the past year, when they’d never been friends at school. Will befriending Chrissie, then dumping her just before the robbery. And Mike and Tony, security guards on the first shift. They would have known or at least heard what was happening during the night of the rodeo.

  So, now it seemed there was Graham, Mike, Tony, Will and Dani involved. What a clever little crew.

  Amelia’s mind raced ahead as she tried to connect the dots. Dani’s words on the night of the brawl might make sense if Graham had got cross with the other men for hurting his sister. The Andrews boys had been in the scrum, seemingly trying to calm things down. But of course, Jim Green had been at the centre of it.

  Maybe he was involved too. Jim had a truck. Jim had money problems.

  ‘Bloody hell, bloody hell, bloody hell.’ Her whole body was trembling, and she could hear the fear in her own voice. She had to get out of here.

  Amelia pulled out her phone to ring Dave, but there was no signal. Shit, she’d forgotten this farm was in a dead spot. Thinking quickly, she opened the camera app and started snapping pictures of the tags.

  Hearing a noise behind her, she spun around fearfully. Just the cat, rubbing himself against the doorway. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and, after one last glance at the ear tags, almost ran down the stairs, out of the shed and back towards the house, keeping her eyes open for the boys.

  She needed to find Anne. But how could she tell her friend that she thought her sons were involved in the robbery? How would Anne react? She’d be furious! And devastated. She was so honourable and upright. Didn’t tolerate lies of any size.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Amelia muttered, as she stalked across the yard. Maybe Dave would be the better option, she thought. She pulled her phone back out and looked at it once again. Yep, that was what she’d do. She’d get in her car and drive away right now. Let the police deal with it. As much as she wanted to clear her name and confront these bastards, she didn’t need to get hurt or die being a hero.

  A little voice niggled in the back of her mind. You don’t know that they’ve done the other crimes, it said. Maybe they just stole Paul’s sheep. Maybe it was opportunistic. That could be what Dave would say. Or he could accuse her of planting the ear tags in the shed . . .

  ‘Milly! Hey, Milly!’

  With her heart thundering, Amelia turned around and saw Anne heading towards her, holding a bucket. She took a deep breath, her mind racing, trying to work out what to do. What if Anne didn’t believe her, or got angry? No, Amelia was still sure that Dave was her best bet. Maybe the old Amelia would have told Anne: the one who did things without thinking them through. The ditzy one.

  Summoning up her best smile, Amelia called out to Anne: ‘Hello! I’ve been looking for you. I couldn’t get anyone to hear at the house, so I went for a bit of a stroll trying to find you.’

  ‘Sorry about that,’ Anne said. ‘I thought I’d have time to feed the chooks before you got here, then I found the trough was overflowing so I had to fix it.’ Anne swung an arm over Amelia’s shoulders and gave her a gentle look. ‘How are you, love? You’re looking like you’re having a hard time of it.’

  What? How could Anne know? Then Amelia remembered. Graham’s death. She swallowed hard. ‘Fine,’ she answered, hoping her voice didn’t shake. ‘I’m fine. I’ve taken Mum over to Dani’s. I thought it might help with the grieving process. It’s horrible seeing her like this, Anne. Not getting out of bed.’ As Amelia said Dani’s name, she wondered again if her mother was safe there, then dismissed the idea. Of course she was. Wasn’t she? Why would Dani hurt Natalie?

  Anne patted Amelia’s arm. ‘It’s hard when you can’t organise the funeral straight away,’ she said with feeling. ‘It gives you something to do, something to focus on. I know. And look, I’ll be coming down to help this week, however I can.’

  Against her feelings, Amelia smiled and squeezed the older woman’s arm. ‘Thanks, Anne. You would have to be the most perfect person to offer. After all, you know what it’s like to lose someone you love.’

  Anne’s expression changed to deep sadness. ‘Yeah, I do,’ she answered softly. ‘When Greg was killed, I didn’t think I could ever get over it, but time moves on and lessens the pain.’ She shook her head and Amelia knew talking about her dead husband was hard—in fact, Anne almost never did. ‘But once the funeral is over, you don’t have any option but to start moving forward. Speaking of, I think it’s a great idea that you came out here to do some office work. Keeping busy is a big help.’

  ‘Yep, that’s what I’m hoping.’ Amelia looked around as they walked towards the house. ‘That rain has been great, hasn’t it?’ What had started as a green tinge was now a thick carpet of feed. The sheep in the paddock next to the shearing shed were out grazing contentedly in the sun, while the milking cow sat in the shade of a large gumtree, chewing her cud. ‘Makes such a difference.’

  ‘That it does,’ Anne answered, smiling cheerfully. ‘I love it when the land comes to life.’ They walked up the steps and she held the door open, motioned Amelia inside. ‘Have you had breakfast?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine, thank you.’ Amelia realised she was still holding her phone in her sweaty hand. She slipped it into her back pocket and looked around the sunlit house. ‘Where are the boys?’

  ‘Mike and Tony are out in the boundary paddock, fixing up a fence. Had some cattle trample it when that brief storm came through on Sunday night. And Will said he had to go to the doctor, though goodness knows what for! He’s a fit young lad. But I don’t suppose his mother needs to know everything about what he’s up to, do I?’ Anne grinned and shook her head fondly.

  Amelia tried to smile, then turned the conversation back to the weather. Another half-inch of moisture had been much appreciated and the thunder had been so loud, the glasses in the cabinet at Granite Ridge had rattled together, and the light had flicked on and off as the power surged.

  ‘Right, well,’ Amelia said, ‘I’ll get on with reconciling the bank account, if you like.’ She was keen to get finished and leave before any of the brothers came home.

  Turning on the kettle and getting a cold roast lamb out of the fridge, Anne said, ‘I’ve left the statement and the few invoices that came in the last mail on top of the computer keyboard. Should all be fairly self-explanatory.’

  ‘No worries.’ Amelia headed towards the office and let out a breath as she sat down. Working quickly, she opened the mail and ran her eyes over the statement before opening the accounting program on the computer and entering some details. As she worked, she realised the bank statement hadn’t been imported from the bank’s website. She shifted a few papers, looking for the security token that would allow her access, before pulling open the top drawer where it was usually kept if it wasn’t on the desk.

  Amelia rummaged about, then stopped. She stared into the drawer and then started to breathe very fast.

  After glancing over her shoulder, she grabbed the familiar phone from the drawer and pressed a button. There was a photo of Graham and Dani taken at a footy club wind-up. It was Graham’s phone.

  Staring in confusion, Amelia wondered how on earth it could have got there, then realised Will must have stolen it on the night of the engagement party.

  She heard Anne open and shut the fridge again, and quickly shoved the phone in her front pocket with shaking hands.

  Surveying the office with new intere
st, she wondered if there was any other evidence hidden there. Nothing looked different to how it usually did and Amelia knew she couldn’t go through filing cabinets without Anne wondering what she was doing. But she could open the cupboard door . . .

  Kicking back the chair, Amelia leapt up and opened the tall timber cabinet in the corner, where Anne kept her stationery supplies.

  ‘What do you need, Milly?’ Anne asked from the doorway.

  Amelia jumped at the sound of her voice. ‘Just looking for some printer cartridges and more paper,’ she stammered, as her eyes fell on a John Deere GPS guidance system. The small screen and cords were tucked away under a pile of papers, but Amelia was certain about what it was.

  She also knew one had been stolen in the robberies. Was this it? Normally a GPS guidance system wouldn’t be hidden away in a cupboard—it would be in the tractor being used for spraying and then seeding. Bending over to get a better view, she pretended to fumble with some paper, while her eyes made certain of what she was seeing. When she couldn’t pretend anymore, she shut the door with a sheaf of paper in her hand and held it up for Anne to see.

  ‘I only filled that printer up a couple of days ago,’ Anne said. ‘Those boys! I never know what they get up to in here.’

  Obviously, Amelia thought. She smiled and said, ‘It’s a bit like the fridge. It seems to get emptied as soon as it’s full. I’ll get on.’

  Anne looked at her strangely. ‘Are you sure you’re okay, Milly? You seem a little tense, love.’

  ‘I’m fine. I think it’s just all the . . .’ A lump in her throat appeared from nowhere and genuine tears formed in her eyes.

  ‘Oh, Milly. It’s all a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?’ Anne gave her a hug. ‘Don’t worry, it gets better. Look, how about we give this a miss now and you go and pick up your mum and head home to your dad? You need to be with family at a time like this.’

  Amelia nodded, allowing a tear to slip down her cheek, then let herself be led out of the office. As she walked she could feel Graham’s phone digging into her thigh. She had everything she needed. She’d go straight to Dave and he’d piece it all together. The nightmare would finally be over and done with.

  ‘Now look, before you go, do you want some pork chops?’ Anne asked. ‘The boys killed a couple of pigs and they’re all cut up in the coolroom. I just haven’t had time to bag and freeze them yet. Come and take them home to your folks.’

  ‘That would be lovely,’ Amelia said in a low voice.

  ‘Follow me.’ Anne led the way out past the laundry and into the garage next to the shearing shed, where a mobile coolroom was stored. The motor clicked on just as Anne opened the door.

  Amelia could see at least four carcasses hanging there. ‘Done a big kill, Anne?’ she asked as the older woman grabbed some plastic bags from inside the door.

  ‘Yeah, we did pigs first, then started on some lamb. That’s the lamb you can see hanging there. Can you just hop up in there and hold back that carcass? I won’t be able to get to the back otherwise.’

  Amelia stepped into the coolroom and did as she was asked. Then, sensing movement and hearing a strange click, she turned her head.

  Anne was holding a gun, pointed at Amelia’s head. ‘Give me your phone,’ she growled, her eyes narrowed.

  Amelia, wide-eyed, stared at the woman she called a friend. ‘Wh—what?’

  ‘Your phone. Now.’ Anne held out her hand.

  Amelia tried to put her foot forward and get out of the coolroom with force, but Anne waved the gun at her. ‘It’s loaded,’ she said calmly. ‘And I will use it. Give me your phone.’

  With trembling hands, Amelia reached into her pocket and handed Anne her phone. ‘It doesn’t work here anyway,’ she said, with a bravado she certainly didn’t feel. ‘There’s no signal.’

  ‘Well then, you won’t mind not having it.’

  Anne slammed the door and bolted it from the outside. In the frozen darkness, surrounded by dead animals, Amelia began to scream.

  Chapter 36

  Will Andrews parked his ute in the main street of Torrica and blew out a breath. He’d told his family he was going to the doctor. Acting quickly, so he didn’t have time to back out, he jumped from the ute, walked across the road to Torrica Farm and General, and yanked open the door.

  Inside he looked for Chrissie’s curly red hair. There she was, in the back office. Swallowing hard, he strode over, walked in and shut the door behind him. Chrissie looked up, her mouth opening into an O before Will started to talk.

  ‘Sorry I haven’t been in contact. I wanted to call you. But I couldn’t.’ His words came out in short, sharp bursts. ‘I’m really sorry. I like you a lot.’

  Chrissie half-rose from her chair and then sat down again. ‘Okay . . . ?’

  ‘I’ve got to go and fix something. And when I’ve done that, you’re not going to want to see me again.’

  Chrissie tilted her head and looked at him. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Look, I’ve got to go now. Go and fix it. I just want you to know that I’m sorry and I’m trying to make it right.’ His heart was pounding. He left the room, rushed out of the store and strode back across the street, where he got into his ute and turned towards Barker. He had a date with the police station.

  ‘I’m really sorry, John, but this is something we have to do.’ Dave’s voice filled with sympathy as the man in front of him seemed to crumble.

  ‘But I don’t understand why you need to look at Graham.’

  ‘We’ve found some evidence to suggest he may have known who was behind the rodeo robbery. I have a warrant to search his bedroom.’

  John just stood there as Dave, Jack and Andy walked past him, down the passageway and into Graham’s room. Quickly and quietly they searched under the mattress and bed, then through the drawers and cupboards.

  ‘Upend the drawers and see if there’s anything taped to the bottom of them,’ Dave instructed after rifling through Graham’s desk. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  He went in search of John, who was now sitting at the kitchen table, staring into space. Dave cursed himself for not bringing Kim with him. He hadn’t considered that Natalie and Amelia wouldn’t be home. It was clear John needed someone with him.

  ‘Can I call anyone for you?’ Dave asked as he sat opposite the man.

  John shook his head.

  ‘John, do you know if Graham had any financial problems?’

  The ticking of the clock above the stove seemed loud in the silence. Finally John shifted his gaze and looked straight at Dave. ‘Yeah, he did. About six months ago he asked me to go guarantor for a loan. It was twenty thousand dollars. Because he didn’t have any assets of his own, and the fact that the wage he gets from us is quite small, the bank weren’t prepared to take him on without a backer. So he asked me.

  ‘I wasn’t comfortable with it. I couldn’t see how he could make the payments with the little cash he had, but he was convinced that he could. He said his wool sales would be enough and that he wanted to expand his business. I asked him to get Milly to help him draw up a budget, but he wouldn’t hear of it.’ John’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I wish I could have made it rain. Given him a bigger share of the profits, but it just didn’t. And I couldn’t.’ His voice broke and he put his hands over his eyes.

  Dave waited him out.

  ‘He came to me . . . only a few days ago.’ John took a tremulous breath. ‘He said he was having trouble with the payments. I could have almost promised you that would happen, and part of the reason behind me agreeing to back him was wanting him to take responsibility for his own actions. He was a great one for going into a store, grabbing what he wanted and booking it up on our account without any thought of the cash flow or budget. Made it very difficult for us, some years.

  ‘So I said to him I wouldn’t make the interest payment. He had to go to the bank and try making other arrangements with them. Oh yeah, the bank would have come to me in the end. After all, I was
the one who signed on the dotted line. I’m responsible for that. But I wanted Graham to take responsibility for his own money. So I said no and hoped he’d come through.’ John looked down at his worn hands.

  ‘Dave?’

  Dave turned and saw Andy standing in the hallway. He motioned for Dave to follow him. Back in Graham’s room, Dave gloved up and looked at the map that was spread out on the bed. Routes were marked in black texta and the farms that had already been robbed were ringed.

  Dave sighed unhappily. ‘Bag it up for evidence. Anything else?’

  ‘There’s this.’ Jack handed over a phone bill. ‘See these four numbers? They’re the ones that are rung most.’

  ‘Know whose they are?’

  Both men shook their heads.

  Dave copied the numbers down and felt a glimmer of excitement in his chest. ‘I want to get traces run on these numbers.’ Alone, they wouldn’t be enough to convict anyone—but surely they’d lead in the right direction, and then the other evidence would come into play.

  Joan was sitting in her usual spot at the front of the police station when Dave walked through the door. He rushed past her, throwing a quick ‘Hi!’ over his shoulder.

  ‘I’m pleased you’re back,’ Joan said. ‘I had young Will Andrews in here a while ago—’

  ‘I’m a bit busy at the moment, Joan. Can I catch up with you about this in a while?’

  ‘Well, you can, but I sort of had a feeling it was important.’ She held out a piece of paper to him.

  Dave backpedalled, holding out his hand. ‘Did he say what he wanted?’

  ‘Only that he wanted to talk to the bloke who was the detective. He had some information he wanted to pass on.’

  Dave stopped. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘I wrote his number down there,’ Joan said. ‘He wasn’t really keen on you ringing back. Said he’d rather get in contact with you, but I insisted he give it to me. Knew you’d want it.’

  ‘Great job! Thanks, Joan.’ Dave began to walk off again. ‘Don’t suppose he said when he’d try to get in contact?’