Promise of Hunters Ridge

by Sarah Barrie

  ‘I’ll make up for it. I want to be on this taskforce.’

  ‘Too bad.’

  Stuart’s chair scraped noisily as he got to his feet. He paced, rubbing the back of his neck in agitation. ‘There’s got to be some way to convince you.’

  ‘Okay, how about this? You go back to doing whatever you’re doing and you do it well. I mean, you prove you want this, that you can do it. Get an A-plus for attitude and dedication, get glowing references from your team. You do that, then next time I need to put a team together I’ll consider giving you another shot.’

  ‘I want to be back on this one. I’m wasted where I am.’ Stuart pressed a finger into the desk to emphasise his point. ‘It’s a joke—a punishment.’

  ‘That you earnt. Suck it up and take it.’

  ‘Suck it up?’ His face turned red. ‘You think I’ll need to learn anything from you in a year’s time? In a year’s time, I’ll have your job!’ He walked out.

  ‘That is not a happy human,’ Indy commented lightly.

  ‘It’s like dealing with a spoiled child.’

  ‘Right. And spoiled children tend to chuck tantrums. Watch your back.’

  ‘Yeah. I’m going to go for a drive and talk to some of the residents in the area you’ve pointed out. Take a look around.’

  ‘And check on Mia?’

  ‘She’s out that way.’

  ‘Want some company?’

  ‘Sure.’

  * * *

  ‘Good morning, Cassie!’ Mia said, stepping out of her car.

  Cassie was standing with two men in National Parks uniforms. ‘Hello, Mia. You found it all right, then. This is Matt and this one’s Sam. They’re letting us in and hanging around.’

  ‘Thanks—hi,’ Mia said. Matt was in his fifties, she decided, tall and strongly built with a kind face. Sam was younger, perhaps just starting out. Taller again, lankier. Both returned her greeting with friendly smiles. She caught the interest in Sam’s, kept her expression polite.

  ‘I’ll unlock the gate but we should probably leave your cars here and just pile in ours,’ Matt was saying. ‘There’s not a lot of parking space in there, and the cars will only get in the way of your pictures.’

  ‘Sounds great, thanks.’ Mia began unloading equipment from her car.

  ‘Can I be of assistance?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Oh—I’ve got it, thanks.’

  ‘It’s fine, I’d like to help.’ He reached to take her tripod but her camera case strap got caught around it and pulled from her shoulder. She somehow got a hand on the case before it crashed to the ground. Just.

  She bit back a curse. ‘How about you take the tripod over to the other car?’

  ‘After you.’ He put a guiding hand at her back. ‘Be careful, the ground’s a little rough.’

  She told herself it was sweet, not annoying, and nodded. Sam offered Cassie the other front seat, then squeezed in the back with Mia. She was damn sure he didn’t need to squeeze quite as much as he did.

  ‘So you’re a photographer.’

  ‘You don’t miss much do you?’

  When his expression dropped she softened the comment with a teasing smile. He brightened.

  ‘Are you staying around here? I live in Kandos.’

  ‘Mia was a city girl, but she lives in Hunters Ridge now,’ Cassie said helpfully.

  They followed the short track until the old settler’s hut came into view. Tiny, run-down, but patched up in places, it presented an interesting subject.

  ‘Isn’t it amazing,’ Cassie said, stepping out, ‘that a whole family lived in this tiny house.’

  ‘It’s a wonder no one killed each other,’ Mia said.

  ‘They would have been too tired by the end of each day to worry about it. Life was hard for the early settlers. There’s a little graveyard at the back that’s testament enough to that.’

  ‘I’ll get some photos of that too, if you like.’

  It didn’t take long before Mia had the shots she needed, even with Sam peppering her with questions. She went to the back of the hut and looked around. What she suspected was the graveyard was overgrown and surrounded by an iron fence. A closer inspection revealed headstones. Sadly, too many of them belonged to children. She took a couple of shots.

  ‘Look at them all,’ Sam said from right behind her. ‘They must have had a lot of kids.’

  ‘Lost a lot,’ Cassie said, joining them.

  ‘Pretty awful, huh?’ Sam threw an arm over Mia’s shoulder in a ruse of leaning closer to read a headstone. ‘Tell you what, when you’re finished here we should—’ The sound of a car caught his attention and he stopped.

  Mia took the opportunity to step around him and spotted Ben and Indy driving in. She smiled and strode over to their car.

  ‘Hey. Checking up on me?’

  ‘You bet.’

  ‘Do me a favour,’ she whispered. ‘Kiss me.’

  His eyes danced with humour. ‘Admirer?’ He grabbed her playfully and dragged her in.

  It might have been for show but the kiss had her knees turning to jelly.

  ‘I saw the move on my way in,’ he said in her ear. ‘Lucky you asked me to kiss you—I was considering knocking him flat.’

  She smiled because she could see he was just teasing. ‘Matt, Sam, this is Ben and Indy.’

  They exchanged greetings. ‘Cassie, have you met Indy?’

  ‘No. Pleased to meet you.’ But Cassie’s cold tone was back.

  Mia exchanged a look with Ben. ‘We’re just about done. What are you up to?’

  ‘Rob was spotted out this side of town on a fire trail yesterday. We’re just looking around.’

  They spent a few minutes talking, then Ben and Indy headed off.

  ‘I hope you know what you’re doing with that one,’ Cassie said to Mia.

  ‘With Ben?’ she asked in genuine surprise.

  ‘Too cocky and full of himself for my liking.’

  Mia’s brow creased. ‘Ben’s neither of those things, Cassie. He’s—’

  ‘All right, all right! Just do yourself a favour: when you’re ready to get serious, find a decent local man, eh?’

  Cassie lived just a little further out of town, the rangers’ station was further out again, so they took off one way and Mia turned her car the other. There’d been comparatively little conversation with Sam after Ben’s arrival. That had been a relief, as was having the photos done. Now she could start putting the book together. She played around with some ideas in her mind, layouts she imagined would look good in print.

  She’d only made it a couple of kilometres down the road when smoke started coming from under the bonnet.

  ‘Shit.’ She glanced down—the temperature gauge was reaching for the roof. Finding a safe spot, she pulled off the road. Then she looked around. She was somewhere on a stretch of road that wound its way through the bush before reaching the open paddocks of the Murray Grey stud just outside of town. But how far out was she? Not far by car, she thought, but a decent distance on foot. She checked her phone, hoping she was close enough to get reception. ‘Of course not,’ she muttered.

  This was the main road into Hunters Ridge, so there was bound to be traffic—even for a small town. Maybe even someone she knew. But resigning herself to the possibility it could be a long time before one of those people came past, she grabbed her water bottle and climbed out, locking the car. She’d start walking and hope for the best.

  Her car was just out of sight when the sound of a trail bike started up somewhere behind her.

  Shit. She looked around nervously, listened. Lots of people have trail bikes out here. It revved a couple of times from somewhere around the last bend. Somewhere near her car.

  Her heart rate picked up, and she moved further off the road and closer to the shelter of the trees. The bike was coming, but not fast. Slowly. As though looking for someone.

  Could be a local. They could have seen my car and be looking for me. The bike came into view. A dirty red t
rail bike. Was it the same one she’d seen at the church? The rider was wearing a helmet, jacket, jeans.

  Rob?

  The bike stopped a fair way back. There was a threat in the way he sat there, revving that bike, staring at her.

  She quickly made it round the next bend, then dived into the thick scrub. Heart in her throat, she crouched, waiting. The bike chugged quietly and slowly along the road. She stayed low and strained to get a look at it through the trees. A car heading into town overtook the slow bike with a honk of the horn, and kept going. Too fast for her to jump out and flag it down. The bike, almost idling, crept closer.

  The engine shut off. There was crunching and dragging as it was wheeled into the bush.

  It had to be Rob.

  Was he the reason her car wasn’t working? Had he tampered with it while she was at the hut? She backed up carefully and tried not to make a noise. When she looked around there was no sign of him, no sound. Where had he gone?

  A snapping sound had her head swivelling. She moved quickly away, checking her phone, praying for a bar of service. Another noise, the swish of a branch; something moved in the scrub behind her. Again she spun, saw nothing. Could have just been an animal. Could have been, but she knew that this is what he did. He was a hunter. He tracked his prey.

  She moved on, cursing every small sound she made. Another noise close by. Crackling in the undergrowth this time. Her heart was pounding, breath shallow. Somehow he’d gotten in front of her. He knew where she was. He had to. There was no point being quiet. She prepared herself to run across the road, get to the other side—perhaps get in front of him again. She could do it. She glanced around, taking a couple of fast, deep breaths. Sprinted.

  She heard the car approach as she leapt onto the road. A police car. How could she be that lucky? She waved frantically, and it slowed, then pulled over. She raced to the passenger side. The door was locked. The window slid down.

  ‘Thank you! I need to—Stuart?’

  Stuart Perkins looked at her through the open window with interest. ‘Mia Morgan. Fancy seeing you here. Problem?’

  ‘Rob’s chasing me. My car broke down back there and—’

  ‘Rob Littleton’s here?’ He had a hand on the seatbelt and the other on the door as he checked all sides. ‘Where is he?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘He’s chasing you … somewhere?’ He made a show of looking around again. ‘I don’t see him.’

  ‘He’s in the bush. He was on his bike and then he got off and followed me in on foot. Can you unlock the car? Please?’ She didn’t like the look on Stuart’s face. It had turned imperious, nasty, calculating.

  ‘The thing is, I’m not on the case anymore. I might have been able to help you, but because of you, I’m out.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘And I can’t see a bike. Or Rob Littleton. Anywhere. I think you’re creating a drama so I’ll give you a lift back to town. You’re good at creating dramas, good at fucking with people, aren’t you?’

  Was he kidding? Her gaze darted around nervously. ‘Look, I just need you to get me out of here.’

  ‘Does it say taxi on the top of this car?’

  ‘Stuart, Rob is chasing me. Let me in.’

  ‘Nah, don’t think you’ll fit.’ He was actually smirking. She was running for her life and he thought it was funny?

  She took another desperate look around. ‘Please!’

  ‘Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it? You want a lift? Thumb for one.’

  He was going to leave her here? No, he wouldn’t. He was just scaring her. But just in case, she desperately tried another tactic. ‘Don’t you want a chance to catch him?’

  ‘Oh, Mia, Detective Bowden’s made it very clear he doesn’t want me to have anything to do with catching Rob Littleton. Besides, he’s not coming out while there’s a police car hanging round. When I leave, however … who knows? Good luck.’

  The window slid back up. She banged on it, searched for something heavier on the side of the road to smash it. If she had to, she’d give the bastard a reason to arrest her. But he drove away.

  She stood, shocked, until the car disappeared, then realised she was alone again. She turned a slow circle, every sense on alert. Had Rob gone when he saw the police car? Or was he hiding?

  She heard a chuckle. A very deliberate, very menacing chuckle from somewhere to her left. She backed away from it. Her breathing already ragged, her chest tightened further as her gaze darted everywhere. Could she outrun him? She had to try.

  She took off, straight down the middle of the road, kept watching, listened for the kick of an engine. She moved fast; up a rise, around bend after bend until she could see the long stretch of cleared land that marked the outskirts of Hunters Ridge. She stopped for a second, listened. Silence. A quick drink of water for her parched throat. Still silence.

  She took off again, kept going until her lungs ached impossibly, until she could barely breathe, until she reached the sign for the cattle stud. Slowing to a jog, she pulled her phone from her pocket. Emergency calls only. She was pretty sure this qualified. She unlocked her phone, and by the time she had pressed two buttons her service was back. Better to call Ben.

  When he answered, she didn’t give him a chance to say anything, just blurted out as much as her breath would allow.

  She heard the bike. It jolted her tired system and moved her feet back into a sprint.

  ‘He’s coming. He’s back on the bike.’

  ‘Head for the nearest house. I’m on my way. Can you stay on the phone?’

  ‘I can’t run as fast.’ And God, it was getting harder. How far had she come?

  ‘Put it in your pocket but don’t hang up.’

  She did, scanning the landscape for the nearest house. The cattle stud had a long driveway weaving its way to a homestead nestled into gentle hills. Its entry was about half a kilometre on. Somewhere behind her, still in the bushland, the bike was getting closer.

  Rather than continue along the road—she might not make it—she dived through a post and wire fence. A sharp zap from an electric line had the last of her breath rushing from her chest, dropping her to the thick carpet of improved pasture. She got her feet under her, cut through a long paddock, eventually approached a herd of large white cows that scattered, bawling. Ahead of her someone came out of a shed, lifted a hand to their eyes against the sun and watched her approach. She almost collapsed with exhausted relief.

  When she got close enough she recognised the face but didn’t know the man. ‘Sorry, hi. I’m …’

  The bike roared down the road and into sight. It slowed dramatically, paused. After a long moment it turned and tore off away from town.

  CHAPTER

  30

  ‘He left her there?’ Indy asked in shock.

  ‘With a “payback’s a bitch”.’

  ‘Payback for what?’

  ‘He blames Mia for my attitude towards him. And he was pissed, because he came out here expecting to get back on the taskforce and it didn’t happen. He told her he couldn’t help because I didn’t want him on the case or something.’

  ‘She could have been killed! That’s a gross dereliction of duty.’

  ‘I’m not letting this go. He’s going to be kicked off the force.’

  ‘He’ll deny it.’

  ‘I think I’ve got that under control. I’m flying back to the city in two hours.’

  ‘Good luck.’

  He didn’t think he’d particularly need it. His friend in forensics had already gotten back to him and Ben was pretty confident he could talk Stuart into a tangle. The little bastard was lucky that was all he was going to do. He wanted to hurt him. And he had the element of surprise on his side.

  Surprise was what was on Stuart Perkins’ face when he spotted Ben in the conference room in Sydney HQ he’d just been asked to enter. It turned to unease when he saw the inspector was also present.

  ‘Changed your mind?’ Stuart asked Ben. ‘I’m back o
n the team?’

  ‘Take a seat. I’ll just be a moment.’ Ben got the commissioner on video call, then turned the laptop around to face Stuart.

  ‘What’s this about?’ Stuart demanded.

  Ben cleared his throat. ‘Earlier today Mia Morgan was on the road just out of Hunters Ridge. Her car had been tampered with by Rob Littleton, who proceeded to stalk her through bushland.’

  He saw Stuart immediately start to perspire, saw the tension creep in. But the man simply shrugged. ‘Oh, well, sorry to hear that. Is she dead?’

  ‘She escaped. No thanks to you. She said you refused to offer assistance.’

  ‘What?’ Stuart’s act of utter shock and offence was pretty good, really. It made Ben’s blood boil. ‘Man, that woman has it in for me.’

  ‘So you didn’t see Mia or her car when you travelled along that road at approximately ten twenty am this morning?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘The car was right there on the side of the road. You passed it.’

  Stuart shifted in his seat. ‘Look, okay, maybe I saw what might have been her car on the side of the road. But she wasn’t in it. She absolutely wasn’t there. Even if she had’ve been, she wouldn’t get in the car with me. And for all I knew she was parked there on purpose or had already been picked up by someone. How the hell should I know what that woman is up to?’

  ‘How would you know what Mia’s car looks like if she wasn’t with it?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Since when have you ever laid eyes on Mia’s car?’

  ‘I don’t know … Must have been when we went to her place.’

  ‘It was in the garage.’

  ‘Then I must have read what it was in a report.’

  ‘Oh, yeah? What was it?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Oh yes, definitely sweating now.

  ‘Make, model, colour?’

  ‘I can’t remember! Geez, this is crazy. I saw a car on the side of the road. Because you brought this all up, I assumed the one I saw must have been Mia’s. Maybe it wasn’t!’

  Time to move on. ‘But Mia wasn’t there.’

  ‘No! Fuck. I’m so sick of this bullshit. Uncle Gav, this is just the sort of bias I’ve been talking about.’