Emerald Springs

by Fleur McDonald

  ‘No!’ The word shot from Tony, and he moved to get out and run to her.

  Mike grabbed his shoulder in a vice-like grip. ‘Don’t be so fucking stupid,’ he said in a low voice. ‘You want to end up like that?’

  ‘What about Will?’

  ‘He’ll have to fend for himself.’

  ‘Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do?’

  ‘Get away from here.’

  The two boys sat still, filled with horror. This was much worse than they could have ever imagined.

  ‘C’mon,’ said Mike, letting his brother go, ‘we have to get back to the truck and get the fuck outta here.’

  ‘Why don’t we keep driving in this?’ Tony asked.

  ‘It’s stolen—there’s probably a notice out on it, you idiot. No one will know about the truck yet. We can probably get away in that.’

  There was still no answer from Amelia. Fear welled up in Will as he realised she could have fallen unconscious. Or worse. Fumbling for his phone, he pressed a button and the screen lit up. He held it out like a torch and saw Amelia crouched in the far corner, her eyes wild and a bag of meat in her hands, held up like a weapon.

  ‘Stay away from me,’ she said.

  Holding out his hand, he said, ‘I know you don’t want to trust me, but I’m about your only hope at the moment.’

  Amelia looked at him with terror. ‘It was you the night of the robbery. It’s your voice I recognise. Not Graham’s. Thank God.’ Then she frowned. ‘Why . . . why do you sound so much like Paul?’

  Will was getting agitated. ‘Come on, Milly, we’ve got to get out of here! Yeah, I was there, but it’s not what you think. I was trying to stop them from hurting you.’ He reached forward quickly, needing her to get up, needing her to move right away.

  Finally Amelia dropped the meat, uncurled her body and tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell against a lamb carcass, then onto Will. She let out a little squeal and he clapped a hand over her mouth. ‘Shh! It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t make any noise!’

  Amelia’s eyes widened in fear, but he couldn’t stop. They just had to get out of there. Half-dragging, half-carrying her towards the door, he bumped into frozen carcasses and they tumbled into the garage. Then, peering out into the sunlight, he let his eyes adjust to the brightness before working out there was no one around.

  ‘This way,’ he said in a quiet voice. He hurried Amelia as quickly as he could along the side of the house. When they rounded the corner, they both froze when they saw a car in the driveway.

  ‘Dave,’ Amelia gasped out, and started to cry.

  ‘If you’re not going to talk, I’m not going to make you,’ Dave said as he sat opposite Anne in the Barker station’s one and only interview room.

  The sour-faced woman crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.

  ‘But you know the judge will make it a lot easier on you if you cooperate.’

  She huffed at him. ‘The judge won’t listen,’ she said. ‘The judge won’t care. No one has cared about me for decades. Nothing’s gonna change now.’

  Dave thought she sounded almost manic and wondered if they should get a doctor to her. ‘So you’re not going to tell me anything? Not where the sheep tags came from, not where the GPS system came from. Not why you locked Amelia Bennett in a coolroom and threatened her with a gun. Nothing?’

  Anne sat still for a moment, then brought her head up and looked him in the eye. ‘I’d tell you everything,’ she said, ‘but there’s no point. You won’t listen, you won’t give a shit. You, my friend, can get fucked.’

  ‘We’ve taken two suspects into custody, Anne Andrews and her son Will,’ Dave reported back to Steve.

  ‘And the girl in the coolroom?’

  ‘We’ve got her too. She’s okay. Cold and frightened, but okay. She’s at the hospital with her family now.’

  ‘Good,’ Steve answered curtly. Maybe he was still annoyed that Dave had disobeyed a direct order.

  ‘I want a plane put up,’ Dave said. ‘To follow the Andrews brothers. I have the driveway being watched to see when they leave—I want them on the road. We won’t try to stop them until the STAR Group gets here.’

  ‘Expensive. Why not just give chase and set up some road blocks?’

  ‘We’re going to have to let them think they’ve got away,’ Dave replied. ‘One of them is violent, as you know, and they probably have access to firearms like most farmers. I’m not sure, but Anne won’t talk, other than to spit obscenities at us. I’d rather just watch and wait. Take ’em down when it’s safe.’

  ‘Sure. I’ll get a plane on standby from Port Augusta.’

  Dave ended the call, picked up his cold coffee and drank the last mouthful. ‘Joan, can you make sure Anne has something to eat and drink?’ he asked.

  She nodded, looking pale. ‘I just can’t believe . . .’ She walked off in a daze.

  Dave squared his shoulders and strode into the interview room, where Will was now sitting, looking down at his hands folded on the table in front of him.

  ‘Got yourself in a bit of a fix, haven’t you?’ Dave asked as he sat down and crossed his legs. The boy seemed lost and found at the same time. His face held fear but also anticipation, his body language was open and it was clear to Dave that he was keen to talk. Unlike his mother.

  ‘I tried to come and talk to you earlier,’ Will said softly.

  Dave nodded. ‘I know.’

  ‘I even left evidence around where you blokes would find it. But it seems that Amelia did, instead.’ He put his face in his hands.

  ‘So why don’t you start at the beginning?’ Dave asked.

  Will looked up and met his eyes. ‘There were two types of robberies. The ones where we stole things to put a crop in, and the one where we knew we could sell the goods with our produce. There were other reasons for that one, too.’ He rubbed his eyes. ‘Mum had her reasons.’

  ‘Are you admitting you were involved? If you are, I need to caution you.’

  Will nodded and then listened while Dave reeled off the caution. ‘Do you want a lawyer?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Okay. For the benefit of the tape, present are Detective Dave Burrows of the Adelaide Metro Police interviewing William Andrews and the time is 5.37 p.m. Right-o, tell me all about it.’

  ‘The diesel, chemical, GPS system and rodeo money was so we could get a canola crop in. We wanted to because that’s where the money is. But that crop’s so bloody expensive to get in the ground, and the first few months you always need to be on the boomspray getting rid of insects and so on. Money was really tight.’ He sighed. ‘We needed a boost and Mum came up with this idea.’

  ‘Okay, and the other robbery? The ewes?’

  The door opened and Andy stuck his head in. ‘Good to go, Dave,’ he said.

  Dave stood up and told Will he’d have to wait, then locked the door and turned to Jack, who’d been standing outside. ‘You all right to sit in with the suspect?’ The young cop nodded.

  Hurrying into the main office, Dave asked Andy for the information. ‘They started to move in a rigid truck about half an hour ago. They’re taking the back tracks towards Port Augusta. The bird is up and watching them from a distance.’

  ‘Any firearms?’

  ‘Can’t tell.’

  ‘Show me on the map,’ Dave instructed.

  Andy pointed out the route the brothers were following, and Dave then indicated a couple of corners on the map. ‘We need to put road spikes here and here. Can we get some there before the truck hits that part of the road?’

  Shaking his head, Andy said, ‘Can’t get there in time.’

  ‘Okay, tell me where you can get to.’ Dave stared intently at the young man, willing him to have a go and give him a spot.

  ‘There’s a couple of patrol cars sitting about here,’ Andy said, hesitantly, as he pointed to the place. ‘They’re about twenty k’s from your preferred spot. The STAR Group aren’t far away from there, either. We can get ther
e too, if—’

  ‘Right,’ Dave said. He hurried out of the station with Andy close behind.

  Dave adjusted his headset and held his binoculars to his eyes.

  ‘Suspect vehicle is approximately one kilometre from road spikes,’ the voice said from the plane.

  ‘Affirmative,’ Dave said. ‘Tell everyone to get ready,’ he instructed Andy.

  They both watched the corner where the truck was about to appear.

  ‘On the countdown, boys and girls,’ Dave said. ‘And five, four, three, two . . . Suspect sighted! Wait for my call.’ He watched as the front tyres burst and the driver struggled to control the truck, then brought it to a halt. ‘Go, go, go!’

  The STAR Group raced out of their bus, pulling open the doors of the truck before the two men inside had a chance to react. Within seconds each of the Andrews brothers was lying face-down on the ground with two officers on top of him. They were cuffed and hauled upright, and put into the back of the waiting patrol car.

  ‘Good job, team,’ Dave said as he gloved up and looked inside the truck. Lying in the centre console was a taser gun. He snapped a couple of pictures and then put it in an evidence bag. ‘Circumstantial, but useful,’ he muttered.

  He then went to the back of the truck and examined the rear left tyre. There it was, the chunk of rubber that was clearly missing in all the tread photos he’d taken at the crime scene on Saturday. He’d been right when he’d told Anne it was over.

  As soon as he’d made sure everyone was okay and the truck was secure for the trip to Adelaide, he took out his phone and dialled Kim. ‘I’m on my way down to the city,’ he told her. ‘We’ve arrested the Andrews family and we’re in the process of transporting them to the Adelaide holding cells.’ He listened as Kim let out a breath. ‘How’s Milly?’

  ‘That’s the first time you’ve called her that, Dave,’ Kim said, the pleasure in her voice clear. ‘She’s going well. We can take her home in a couple of hours.’

  ‘Good.’

  The silence stretched out between them like the distance between Torrica and Adelaide.

  ‘So . . .’ Dave started, as Kim said, ‘What about us?’

  Something tightened in Dave’s chest. ‘I don’t know, Kimmy. I’m going to be pretty tied up for the next while with this case. I’ll call you, okay?’

  Epilogue

  The picnic table had been jammed into the sand at Emerald Springs so it wouldn’t wobble and spill anything. Amelia had wanted party music, but there wasn’t a power source to run it from, so she’d opted to go with nature and hoped the birds would sing up a storm. The laughter and chatter was music enough anyway, she decided.

  Her whole clan was there. Paul, of course. Her parents and Kim. Chelle and Chrissie. Sav, Dean and their kids. Pip, Gus, Cappa and other friendly committee members and their families. Even the two local policemen, who’d helped so much and been so supportive. Amelia had noticed with interest that Jack and Chelle were spending a lot of time talking, at very close proximity.

  Of course, Graham was still missed constantly, but as Amelia looked around, she reflected that her family had made it through the past weeks of devastation with strength and grace. To have her loved ones hanging out at the springs, just as they’d once done, was a wonderful feeling. To have Paul with her and a sparkling engagement ring on her finger was even better.

  Amelia still had many shaky days and the occasional nightmare, but she was doing okay. Her paranoia had stopped soon after the arrests and she felt safe in Torrica again. She’d been through a lot and come out the other side so much stronger. With that came a new sense of comfort in her own skin. She no longer cared what people thought of her and carried herself with more confidence.

  Her parents had gone through an even more difficult time. John had made the hard choice of hiring a workman to take Graham’s place, and was beginning to make other choices that were good for him and the farm. He’d decided to sell some shares that they had been saving for retirement: life seemed a lot shorter than it had before Graham had died. John and Natalie were going to take their first overseas holiday—there were brochures about Italy, Greece and Spain in the home office. Amelia wasn’t sure when they were planning on going, but she’d make sure they wouldn’t have to think about the farm while they were away.

  Amelia’s main concern at the moment was Aunty Kim. She’d been keeping herself busy, but her bright smile had dimmed. When Dave had called her and said he was on his way back to Adelaide, he’d made no mention of seeing Kim again. And there’d been no word from him since. That had been a month ago.

  All their information about the progress of the case had come through Jack and Andy, and it hadn’t been much. The judge wouldn’t give Anne, Tony or Mike bail, while Will’s bail was set quite high and there was no one to pay it. Paul had been thinking about going down to visit his half-brother and potentially pay the bail with some of the money recovered from insurance on the ewes, but of course he was wary. As for the investigation, the police would only say that it was ongoing, and that a court date hadn’t been set yet.

  ‘Milly!’ Paul startled her out of her reverie. ‘Hey, Milly.’ He waved her over to the barbecue where he was cooking some lamb. ‘Taste this.’ He put a piece of lamb into her palm and watched her chew it.

  ‘Ohhh,’ Amelia moaned. ‘That is so yummy.’ She grinned at Paul, knowing it was his lamb from Eastern Edge.

  ‘Paul love, did you want me to get the rest of the meat from the esky?’ Natalie asked as she walked past with a smile. He nodded to her, smiling back.

  Amelia slipped her arms around Paul’s waist and gazed up at him. ‘So, sexy, what else is for lunch?’ she whispered.

  ‘Dessert, you asked about?’ he murmured in her ear. ‘Well, I’ll start here—’ he put his hand on her bum ‘—and move to here, and here, and here.’

  Amelia’s stomach twirled in a very good way and she put her lips on his.

  She was so glad that they’d been able to move on from her terrible misjudgement. It had certainly taken some talking, often into the small hours of the morning, exploring why it had happened and how it never would again. They both admitted they’d made mistakes and, at the end of it, they both knew they were so much closer than they had been before.

  ‘Hang on, we can’t start lunch yet!’ Natalie called to everyone. ‘Our guest visitor isn’t here.’

  They all stopped talking and looked at her.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Amelia asked, looking around. ‘We’re not missing anyone.’

  ‘Well, actually, we are.’ Natalie went to the pathway and said loudly, ‘You can come out now!’

  Everyone turned to watch as Dave entered Emerald Springs.

  Amelia’s grin widened, while Kim squealed and hurled herself towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly, and there was applause and wolf-whistles. Then the rest of the gathering crowded around him with questions.

  Kim and Dave disentangled themselves and he held up his hands, gesturing for silence. ‘They’re all still in custody. The evidence against them is overwhelming—the truck was full of it. The panels used to steal your ewes.’ He looked over at Paul. ‘Taser gun, ropes, everything they ever needed. And the best part is there were fingerprints on all of them.’

  Paul looked over at Amelia and she knew at once what he was thinking. She nodded. ‘What about Will?’ he asked. ‘Is he in as much trouble as the others?’

  Dave shook his head. ‘Certainly he’s being charged as an accessory, but it’s his evidence that’s put the nail in the coffin for the others.’

  Paul slipped his arm around Amelia’s shoulders. ‘How much is the bail? Maybe we could pay it.’

  Dave regarded him before nodding. ‘All right, we can talk about that later. The only other thing I have to tell you is that the Andrews were involved in quite a few other, smaller robberies in order to stay afloat—that’s why they always seemed financially stable. They were very clever with the way they sold o
ff the goods and made it all seem legit to you, Milly. Anne also had her boys steal your bank statement from your mailbox and try to frame you by anonymously slipping it to me.’

  Amelia shook her head in bewilderment, still struggling to reconcile the kindly older woman, the one she’d considered a friend, with the truth.

  ‘What about Graham?’ Natalie asked in a trembling voice, her eyes filling with tears. John moved to stand beside her and take her hand.

  Amelia gave her parents a sad look. ‘Yes,’ she said to Dave, ‘have you found a way to link his death to the crimes? Surely it wasn’t a coincidence.’

  Dave sighed. ‘That’s one thing I can’t talk about at present. I know you must be anxious for a conviction on that score, and believe me, we’re working on it. I can confirm that Graham wasn’t there for the rodeo robbery—he drew the line at that—and then he threatened to come forward when the brothers hurt you. That’s when they tried to pay him off. Will has been very helpful.’

  Amelia and her parents nodded. These were things they’d talked and speculated about many times since it had all happened.

  ‘What was Jim’s involvement in it all?’ Amelia asked.

  ‘Other than just being a nasty piece of work? Nothing,’ Dave answered. ‘He just always seemed to be in the mix, but there is nothing to suggest he had anything to do with it.’

  Then Kim smiled at Dave, her hand firmly around his waist. ‘So what’s your plan now?’ she asked.

  Amelia watched as Dave looked into Kim’s eyes. ‘To stay here and love you forever.’ He leant down and kissed her.

  Paul pulled Amelia closer and as she looked over his shoulder, she saw Jack lay a kiss on Chelle. She turned to Paul and kissed him, which lasted all of about two seconds before the kids started making sucking noises and screwing up their noses.