by Sarah Barrie
‘He has something to tell me. Something exciting, apparently. And I’m a bitch because he’s all for getting over it and being friends and I’m struggling to be nice at all.’
‘Tess, don’t be naïve. He’s not the type to let go that easily. He’s come up with some way to lure you back in. Or at least he thinks he has.’
‘Well, he’s going to have to let go. I’m over it.’
‘I can tell. Besides—’ Indy smiled and there was a definite teasing quality to it, ‘—according to Callie, you’ve been eyeing off Jared.’
‘She’s still on about that?’ Tess really didn’t need this right now, but it was probably better to make light of it. ‘So what? Jared’s good to look at.’
‘Thanks, so are you,’ Jared said as he walked in and dumped his things on the floor. ‘Hi, Tess. Indy.’
‘Hi, Jared. Long day?’ Indy asked, burying a smirk.
‘Yeah. Just packing up.’
Oh God. Tess felt heat flood her cheeks so she turned away, pretending to be busy finding her phone in her bag. When she dared glance up, Jared was yanking at his tie with a slight scowl. He dragged it off then he undid the top button of his shirt. She took in his tousled appearance as he tossed the tie into his bag and rolled up his sleeves.
‘If you need to talk about the case,’ she said to Indy, in a desperate attempt to run away, ‘we don’t need to worry about dinner.’
‘Dinner?’ Jared asked, grabbing his jacket from his bag. His eyes hit hers with a bit more than their usual punch and she felt a pleasant jolt.
‘We’re thinking Sakura,’ Indy said. ‘Wanna join?’
‘I haven’t eaten since this morning, thanks.’
‘Then let’s get out of here.’
‘Jared?’ Emily said from the doorway. ‘Sorry, I know you’re off shift but Tank Finlay was hoping to speak to you for a sec?’
‘We’ll deal with him on the way out,’ Indy said.
Tess followed them to the front desk, where a large tattooed bikie type stood with a young woman Tess supposed was his daughter.
‘Hi, Tank,’ Jared said. ‘And Riley, right? What can I do for you?’
Tank lifted a bag. ‘I’ve had some jewellery come in. It looks a bit like some of the photos you showed me last week. Got held up in the office doing paperwork, but thought I’d drop in on our way home for you to look at tomorrow. Didn’t think you’d still be here.’
‘You just caught us. Let’s take a look,’ Indy said, taking the bag. ‘Em, have you got those inventory photos handy from the break-ins?’
‘Sure. I’ll grab them.’
‘We’ll be back,’ Indy told Jared and followed Emily into another room.
‘Sorry to hold you up,’ Tank said.
‘No worries,’ Jared said. Then to answer Tank’s curious stare, he continued, ‘This is Detective Atherton’s sister-in-law, Tess. The one I mentioned the other day. She takes hikes out into the national park.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Tank said to Tess with interest. ‘Riley’s heading out there in the not too distant future with her friends. What’s the name of your guide, Riley?’
Riley pulled off a perfect teenage huff. ‘Aaron Jackson. Not that we need a guide for the South Coast Track, right?’ she asked Tess.
‘That depends entirely on your experience,’ Tess said.
‘Which is next to none,’ Tank said. ‘Detective Denham seemed to think this Jackson was all right. Would you agree?’
Tess kept her face carefully blank. ‘Yeah, Aaron’s very experienced.’
‘That’s good to know. When Riley said he’d take them when no one else wanted to, I did wonder.’
‘Probably because of the time of year.’
‘So it’s winter, but so what?’ Riley asked. ‘That just means it’s a bit colder, right?’
Tess wasn’t keen on getting too much more involved but both Tank and Riley were watching expectantly. ‘It’s not the best time of year to do that kind of trek. It’ll be cold, most likely wet and muddy and the daylight hours are shorter. If you wait until spring you have a much better chance of good weather and you can enjoy the beaches and the views, and you’ll be more comfortable walking and camping. The weather can turn in an instant at any time of year but in winter it’s at its worst.’
Riley’s face closed into an annoyed frown. ‘The weather forecast doesn’t look too bad.’
‘Since when can you trust a long-term weather forecast?’ Tank said. ‘You’re not going for another couple of weeks yet.’
‘Regardless,’ Tess said with a shrug, ‘that area has its own weather. On average out there it rains every second day—in winter, often more than that. You could be lucky and get a week of sunshine, but it’s unlikely.’
Doubt crept onto Riley’s face. ‘But it’s not impossible, right? I’ve been looking on the internet. Lots of people have gone in winter and had okay weather. And there’s not so many people walking the track. We could have it almost to ourselves if we go now.’
‘Also true. You could get lucky with the weather and if you’re fit enough, you won’t have a problem making the distances in the shorter daylight hours.’
‘And at the end of the day we camp around a nice warm open fire and—’
‘Nope,’ Tess cut in. ‘The national park is fuel stove only.’
‘You really sure you want to do this after hearing all that?’ Tank asked Riley.
‘Of course,’ she snapped. ‘We’re all fit and prepared for the worst. And we’re from around here. We’re used to the weather. It’s the only time we can all fit this in. Besides, I can’t believe our guide would agree to take us if it was going to be that bad.’
‘I’m a bit surprised he did,’ Tess said. ‘He doesn’t normally do that hike mid-winter. But good luck,’ she added with a smile. ‘I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.’
‘Thanks,’ Riley replied coolly as Indy and Emily reappeared.
Indy handed over the case. ‘This isn’t what we’re looking for, but thanks for checking.’
‘I didn’t think the owner looked the type but you never know,’ Tank said. ‘How’s it going, anyway? Any closer to finding out who’s responsible?’
‘We’re still looking into it,’ Jared said.
‘You must have some idea.’
‘Why the interest?’ Jared asked.
‘Tell the truth, I’m getting sick of second-guessing everyone that wants to pawn something—more than usual anyway.’
‘Well, you haven’t found anything stolen,’ Indy said. ‘But thanks again for coming in, we really appreciate it.’
‘No problem. Would you let me know? If you find the bastard? Bad enough he’s stealing, but the murders are something else.’
‘We’re not sure they’re connected yet,’ Jared said.
‘Of course. Bye then. Thanks for the chat, Tess.’
‘Right,’ Indy said. ‘Are we ready to go? Tess?’
‘Huh? Oh. Sure.’
The casual restaurant wasn’t busy so near to closing and their meals came quickly. ‘So there wasn’t anything interesting in that stuff Tank brought in?’ Jared asked Indy.
‘It really didn’t look much like what was stolen at all,’ Indy said after swallowing a mouthful. ‘Did you leave him photographs?’
‘Yeah. I thought he seemed unusually interested in the case.’
‘A bit. But it’s understandable he’s worried about accidentally taking on stolen goods. And we’ve been breathing down his neck.’
‘Yeah, that and Darren thought he saw our POI in his shop. I still think something’s off about that kid Tank’s got working there.’
‘Perhaps. But we shouldn’t be talking about this outside the office,’ Indy said.
‘Don’t mind me!’ Tess said, lifting her eyes to a row of large lanterns hanging from the ceiling. ‘I’m just trying to eat the meal I was conned into waiting forever for. I could have been home in bed by now.’
‘Don’t be offended,’
Jared said. ‘Indy’s just doing her boss thing.’
‘Boss thing?’ Indy repeated, brow raised.
‘With great power comes great responsibility,’ he said.
‘Voltaire?’ Tess asked in amusement.
‘Uncle Ben. Spiderman.’
He sounded so indignant she laughed. ‘Right. But I can’t quite picture Indy in a Spiderman suit. I see her more as a fighting for truth, justice and the American way kind of girl.’
‘I’m Australian now,’ Indy pointed out, but she was ignored.
‘Ah, Superman—make that Supergirl,’ Jared continued. ‘She was blonde, wasn’t she?’
‘True. Okay. Wonder Woman?’
‘You two are hysterical,’ Indy said, deadpan, but Tess caught the humour lurking in her eyes. Then, noodles halfway to her mouth, Indy groaned and grabbed her buzzing phone. She glanced at it, frowned. ‘I need to run back to the station for a sec. Won’t be long.’
Now what? Tess wondered. She smiled at Jared, feeling strangely awkward. Probably due to the stupid comment she’d made back at the station about him being good to look at.
‘How come you were in town tonight?’ he asked.
‘Special Search and Rescue meeting. Some shuffling going on. Indy just happened to call at the right time to catch me.’
‘So … you run a guided hiking business, help run a guesthouse and cattle stud, and volunteer with Search and Rescue. What do you do with all your spare time?’
She grinned. ‘It’s never boring.’
‘Any other interests?’
She shrugged, shifting slightly under the weight of his full attention. ‘Lots of things. I also like training and competing with horses when I have a chance. Why?’
‘Curiosity.’
‘Tess.’
Her stomach sank. He had to be kidding, she thought as she turned in her chair. ‘Aaron? Hi. Where did you come from?’
‘I hung around talking to Craig for a bit after the meeting, called in for takeaway.’
She decided he probably wasn’t following her; he did like the food here. But his voice was as full of accusation as she’d ever heard it, and she remembered she’d told him she was too tired for a meal.
‘Right. Ah … you know Jared.’
‘Yeah. Hi.’ Aaron’s tone was one degree above frosty and his eyes barely flicked Jared a glance before returning to Tess. ‘I thought you were going straight home.’
‘I was. Then Indy called and needed to see me and we were both hungry so she suggested we grab something.’
‘And yet you’re eating with Detective Denham.’
Hell. ‘Look, Aaron. This wasn’t planned. Indy’s just ducked back to the station. You must have walked right past her.’
‘That’s funny, I didn’t see her.’ The amount of venom dripping from his tone rendered Tess momentarily silent.
‘I hope you’re not calling Tess a liar,’ Jared said. The words were casually and quietly spoken, but there was an underlying threat that stopped both Aaron and Tess in their tracks. She looked from one man to the other and back again. They were an impressive pair as they faced off. Except Aaron suddenly seemed smaller, less sure of himself, and for several seconds, he didn’t appear to have an answer. She almost felt sorry for him.
Then he turned hate-filled eyes back on her. ‘You got him jumping to the rescue now?’
‘No. Aaron—’
‘Tess isn’t the kind of woman to need rescuing,’ Jared said in that same, quietly loaded tone. ‘You should know that.’
Aaron straightened to full height, his face furious. ‘I think I’ll find somewhere else to eat.’
As he approached the door, he almost bumped into Indy coming back through it.
‘Aaron! Hello,’ Indy said.
‘So there,’ Tess muttered under her breath when he turned surprised eyes her way before pushing through the door.
‘He really wasn’t expecting to see her, was he?’ Jared said. ‘Sorry if I’ve made things more difficult.’
‘Don’t be,’ she said. ‘We’re not seeing each other anymore. That’s over. And even if we were, I still wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.’ She didn’t want to have this conversation. The entire situation was embarrassing. ‘He’ll get over it.’
‘I thought you said he was okay about the break-up,’ Indy said, sitting down. ‘He didn’t particularly look it.’
‘He came in for takeaway and thought I’d lied to him, blown him off to have dinner with Jared.’
‘Ouch. Unlucky coincidence.’
‘I should have just had a quick meal with him, heard him out. But now that I’ve called it quits, I see him coming and I want to run the other way. That’s horrible, right? What’s wrong with me?’
‘You keep asking, I keep saying …’ Jared muttered.
She felt a little jolt of pleasure over the guilt. ‘It’s just that he’d said he was fine with it, but needed to talk to me. Now he thinks I’m lying to him.’
‘And I have no idea why you care,’ Indy said. ‘How’s the wrist? The one your friend just about broke when he had the shits in the bar?’
‘He what?’ Jared asked sharply.
‘He was upset,’ Tess told Jared. ‘He wanted to marry me, but I called it quits.’
‘Stop making excuses for him.’ Indy gathered up the last of her noodles. ‘You bent over backwards to make it work. It didn’t. You’re better off without him.’
‘Can’t argue with that,’ Tess said. ‘I don’t know why I thought I needed to find anyone. I’ve decided I’m happier on my own.’
‘Shame.’ Jared sat back from his empty plate with that half-smile of his on his face. ‘If you ever change your mind …’
Indy choked on her final mouthful, couldn’t seem to stop coughing. Tess barely noticed. Jared’s eyes had locked on hers with an intensity that said, I’m not joking.
The buzz of awareness that shot through Tess seemed to jumble any words she wanted to say. She glanced away to get her head back in the right space. Did he mean it, or was he just trying to make her feel better? Despite her rather stunning physical reaction to him, the break-up with Aaron was still raw, his nastiness echoing in her head. She was feeling too hollowed out to say anything witty or flirty in reply. She wasn’t exactly proficient in those sorts of conversations at the best of times.
A charged silence had descended on the table. She needed to say something. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’
Jared’s smile widened, eyes warm and amused.
‘I don’t mean to interrupt,’ Indy said with a roll of her eyes and a check of her watch, ‘but we should get going. Ready?’
CHAPTER
18
‘Fitzgerald spoke to his partner Stiles around 11 pm,’ Jared told the team the following morning. ‘Fitzgerald said he was cruising the town for a nightclub. He sounded intoxicated and Stiles believes he was alone at the time. We need to check surveillance, try and track him down. Emily, you’ll get on that asap with Johns and Williams.’
‘Will do.’
‘We also need to keep up the surveillance on the nightclubs. Roberts, how are the rosters for extra patrols this weekend?’
‘All done. There’ll be a big presence in and around the hotspots and out on the street.’
‘Great. We had one possible sighting of our POI at the Quick and Easy Cash pawn shop on Harrington Street. Keep your eyes open.’
‘Are we releasing the sketch to the media?’
‘On the morning news as we speak. Expect a flood of calls and false sightings. You’ll be wading through them for days but we only need one to be on the mark. The Wildes are understandably pushing for answers and the media aren’t going to let up, but don’t let the pressure get to you. We’ll catch this piece of shit, just do what you do.’
As everyone collected their things and left the room, Jared stared at the sketch. ‘He’ll go to ground,’ he told Indy, ‘once he sees his image in the media.’
‘There’s not a lot
of choice. We’ve shared the picture around already. If we don’t release a statement and image officially, the media are bound to still get hold of it.’
‘True.’
‘Autopsies are set for this morning. I’m going to attend.’
‘You need me there?’
‘No, you’ve got enough to do. I’ll let you know the results.’
‘Thanks. I’m going to do a bit more digging. I think Tank may have been lying. That kid, Jai … something’s going on. I need to know more about him.’
Relieved at avoiding the autopsy, he looked up Jai Wharton, found nothing then got caught up chasing up some of the phone calls that had started filtering in over the morning news. Between that, squeezing in a quick lunch then discussing progress with members of the team, by the time Indy breezed in with coffee he wasn’t really sure where the day had gone. He checked his phone, noticed it was after five.
‘Go home,’ she told him, dumping the cup in front of him.
‘Yeah, there’s just a couple more reports I’m curious about. How did you go at the autopsies?’
‘Nothing unexpected. Anything at your end?’
‘We got back a result on our partial shoe print from the boat. Size nine men’s Volleys.’
‘Whoever he is, he isn’t spending his diamond money on shoes. Any decent tip-offs?’
He groaned. ‘One claimed to have seen our POI dressed in a clown outfit outside her bedroom window, another saw someone a bit like him partying interstate last year, another one looked like him but with purple hair on a train in Melbourne and—hand to God—I got one stating he was Elvis.’
Indy chuckled. ‘Some people think they’re funny.’
‘Some people need Tasering.’
She laughed again but it was followed closely by a yawn. ‘I hope our POI’s unhappy about seeing his picture on the news.’
‘The idea makes me feel slightly better about the world. And on the topic of how we’re all feeling, how’s Tess today?’
‘Haven’t spoken to her.’
‘That Aaron guy was completely out of line.’
‘I’m pretty sure your blatant flirting helped drag her out of the dumps a bit.’
‘Good to know.’ Then he shrugged. ‘It was a serious offer.’
