Burning Lies

by Helene Young

  He dropped the beer bottle into the recycling bin with a loud clunk and, despite the exhaustion, opened his laptop. It glowed and sprang to life. He left it downloading files. He needed a shower first if he was to have any chance of clearing his head.

  For ten minutes he stood under the falling water, replaying the day in his head. A man couldn’t be blamed for dwelling on the last couple of hours and wishing a curvy redhead was sharing the shower with him. It took some effort, but he sent his thoughts back to Derek ‘Speedy’ Barton and Kaitlyn’s startling question. Did she know more about Speedy than she was letting on? She’d worked closely with the man for the last few years.

  The rural firies were a hard-working bunch of volunteers who gave generously of their time with no reward and bugger-all thanks. They turned out for fires, for road accidents, for pet rescues and for storm damage. It would devastate them to find out that one in their midst was doing the job not for the honour, but for the sick satisfaction he gained from lighting fires.

  Ryan considered what he knew. Speedy had already served time in prison for arson. Ryan was all for rehabilitating people. Sure, you could help a person turn their life around if you gave them literacy. Prisons were full of people whose poor education made their downward spiral tighter, faster and more vicious.

  But if you had a person who had a history of lighting fires, a high IQ, and a seemingly normal life before he was imprisoned? Ryan figured the chances of rehab were slim. An arsonist had a compulsion that general society didn’t understand and couldn’t deal with.

  Ryan was confident Speedy had no idea he was under surveillance. He’d done the job long enough to know when he’d been rumbled. More likely the scowl of animosity he saw in the man’s face whenever they met was because Speedy considered Ryan incompetent. Although, Ryan had now added hitting on Kaitlyn to his list of transgressions.

  Was Speedy’s motivation fraud? Was McCormack Mines paying him? Was that why Grant McCormack was still in the area – making sure the job got done?

  His best guess was that Speedy had gone rogue and was acting alone. Was Speedy targeting Greentrees because they’d called him off? The team in Sydney didn’t seem to be making headway. Not fast enough for Ryan, anyway. They were missing something.

  He turned off the shower and, in clean clothes, padded back to his computer, hearing the old house creak around him. He’d got used to the expansion and contraction of the old weatherboard. Sometimes he felt as though the house rumbled in agreement with his thoughts.

  He scanned the files that had downloaded. Jackson had done time for torching the house of a known paedophile in a western suburb of Sydney. He’d been given a five-year jail sentence, of which he’d served three and a half. There’d been a good deal of publicity over the trial and a good deal of public support. It was easy to like a guy who’d got one back for the victims. Ryan knew the reality was different. A new crime didn’t right the first one. He jotted down the name of Speedy’s half-brother, Christopher Jackson, now deceased, who’d refused to give evidence at the trial on his brother’s behalf.

  In jail, they’d determined Speedy had an above-average IQ, with below-average education. He completed a degree in business management during his sentence. He was the perfect candidate to reinvent himself and take a new identity. His stepfather and mother were both dead, killed in a car accident when he was in his twenties.

  The report then went on to mention the half-brother again. Christopher Jackson was another arsonist, but one who had died in his fire. Ryan would have laughed, except that the fires Christopher Jackson had lit cost lives as well as millions of dollars’ worth of property damage in Canberra. It made a strong case for genetic criminality in that family.

  Idly, Ryan scanned further, until a photograph caught his attention. He stopped with a sharp grunt. The computer flew across the desk, just stopping short of the edge before he dragged it back again, scattering papers.

  ‘Holy fuckin’ hell.’

  Five years ago, Christopher Jackson had had a wife and young son. The internet connection couldn’t keep up with Ryan as he searched for more information. The news articles listing the devastation from the fires that had killed Chris seemed endless. So were the stories detailing how Chris had killed his father-in-law, Stephen Scott, and burnt down his family home. He made Speedy’s crimes look insignificant.

  Ryan felt a punch to his gut as he read the next story, his heart hammering. For a brief second he buried his head in his hands. The photo of the bereaved wife, her small son in her arms as she walked beside her grieving mother, was stark. The expressions on the faces of the people hectoring the trio as they entered the courthouse were ugly.

  Kaitlyn Scott, nee Jackson, was right in the middle of this fiasco. How did all this fit together? Was she somehow complicit in it? Did she know what Speedy was doing?

  Only hours before, he’d kissed her lips and run his hands over her body, losing himself in the warmth, the welcome in her arms. The idea that she might be lying to him, might not be who she seemed, swamped him in a rising tide of disappointment and sorrow. Exhaustion finally hit. He toppled into bed.

  Had he been played for a sucker after all? he thought, before his brain surrendered to sleep.

  Chapter 37

  ‘KAITLYN, love?’

  She heard the words but couldn’t quite raise herself out of sleep. Every muscle ached. She could have slept for another five hours.

  ‘Ryan’s jacket’s here and Daniel answered his phone. Kaitlyn, wake up.’

  Kait sat up so fast she nearly knocked her mother off her feet. ‘What? Tell me that again.’

  ‘Ryan’s jacket. It was on the chair. The mobile phone in the pocket rang, so Dan did what we’ve trained him to do with the home phone. He answered it politely. The man on the other end wasn’t so polite.’ Julia’s mouth was pinched tight and she was wringing her hands.

  Kait placed her hands over her mother’s. ‘It’s okay, Mum. It can’t be that bad. Tell me what he said.’

  ‘He said he was going to kill us all.’

  ‘Okay, that’s bad.’ Kaitlyn threw back the bedclothes, struggling to hide the fear revving inside her. ‘When did this happen?’

  ‘Just now. I had to wake you. Daniel’s crying. He said the man was swearing a lot.’

  ‘Okay, okay. I need to get that phone to Ryan.’

  Julia shook her head. ‘Is he caught up with something bad?’

  ‘I’m not sure. I think he’s undercover, but maybe I’m wrong. Only one way to find out.’ She dragged on a pair of trackpants and a T-shirt as she spoke. ‘Where is it?’

  ‘On the table.’ Julia followed her into the lounge, where Daniel was sitting, looking forlorn.

  She dropped a kiss on his head and wrapped a quick hug around him. ‘It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. I’ll be back.’ Then she ran for her car, pocketing the phone and scrunching Ryan’s jacket under her arm.

  She was doing twenty when she hit the road. The car’s back end fishtailed as she floored the accelerator. The phone in her pocket vibrated, then rang. She ignored it. No way was she giving them any more information.

  Dust flew in a cloud as she stabbed the brakes and rocked to a stop at the foot of his stairs.

  ‘Ryan? Ryan!’

  She heard footsteps. The door opened and a freshly showered Ryan stood in the opening, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. ‘Kaitie, I thought you’d never call,’ he said, a glint in his eyes. God, he was gorgeous, but she pushed the thought from her mind, her anger keeping her focused.

  ‘Missing anything?’

  He stopped smiling. ‘Kait, what’s wrong?’

  ‘You left your phone behind. Dan answered it.’ She watched him change before her eyes. Fear, anger, panic all flittered across his face. Anger won.

  ‘He did what?’ He stalked across the veranda and loomed over her.

  ‘You don’t want other people to answer your phone, don’t leave it lying around.’ She
tossed it up to him. He caught it, one-handed. ‘And the man who rang apparently wants to kill us. I hope he doesn’t have an address!’ she yelled.

  ‘Fuck. Don’t you train your boy to leave other people’s things alone?’

  She almost spat the words at him as her anger shifted up a gear. ‘If that phone is what I think it is, then it should never be away from your side. So don’t you dare try to shift the blame to a seven-year-old boy who thought he was doing the right thing.’

  The fight went out of Ryan. ‘You’re right. I didn’t realise. My mind was elsewhere. What a cluster fuck.’ He sat down on the top step and turned the phone over in his hands.

  ‘Is this the arsonist?’

  ‘No. Another matter.’

  ‘Official?’

  ‘Kait, don’t; don’t ask what I can’t answer.’

  ‘So, it’s okay to screw me, but you can’t give me a fucking honest answer when my son’s just been threatened over the phone?’ Her voice was hoarse. She’d let him in. It was her fault there was danger for her family. She’d let her heart rule her head.

  ‘I can’t. With your background, you know that.’ He didn’t react when she glared at him. His jaw was set solid.

  ‘Thanks for your honesty,’ she snarled, before spinning on her heel and wrenching the car door open. Seconds later she left him in a cloud of dust and a spray of gravel. She tossed his jacket out the window with a frustrated cry.

  ‘Fuck him!’ She refused to give in to the prickle of tears. Feeling sorry for herself had never worked. Deal with it, girl.

  Julia was waiting by the front door. ‘Is Ryan all right?’

  Kait almost laughed. Did Julia not realise they could be in danger? Was Ryan all that mattered?

  ‘He’s got his phone back. He’ll be fine now.’

  ‘Was he angry?’

  ‘I’m angry that he left it here.’

  ‘But he must be in trouble.’

  ‘And now we’re caught up in it too. For heaven’s sake. I slept with the man, I didn’t expect threats on our lives to follow on from that.’

  Julia’s lips pinched tight. Sex before marriage was still a taboo in her books. ‘What’s done is done. What do we do now? Report this to the police?’

  ‘He is the police.’

  ‘Right.’ Julia looked uncertain. ‘Then we’ll be fine?’

  ‘No.’ Kait couldn’t give her hope. ‘Not necessarily. What time is it?’

  ‘Eight o’clock.’

  ‘Dan’s missed the bus.’

  ‘He was too upset.’

  ‘Of course he is.’ Kait felt like smacking the side of her head. She was distracted, not thinking, off balance. She was even snapping at her mother. And she knew where the real blame lay. She went to find her son.

  What the hell had she been thinking? She shouldn’t have let herself believe the impossible. Love was not for her.

  Dan was sitting under the rose gum, shredding leaves. He didn’t look up as Kait dropped onto the grass next to him. Sticks dug into her bottom and thighs. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear that, Dan.’

  ‘But what about Ryan? The man said he’d cut him into little pieces.’ His eyes still brimmed with tears and a smear of snot coated his top lip.

  ‘Shh, shh, shh.’ Kait wrapped her arms around him. There was no resistance in him as he leant into her. ‘It’s just a misunderstanding, Dan. No one’s going to hurt Ryan.’ Except me, if I get a chance to kick his shins. ‘Ryan said it was just a mate being silly. Playing tricks on him.’

  ‘Really?’ Dan didn’t sound convinced. He looked up at Kait’s face, searching for the truth. She’d had five years to perfect the art of hiding her emotions. She summoned a grin.

  ‘Yep. He said they were old school friends and Ryan forgot to ring him for his birthday because he was so busy yesterday.’ She warmed to her lie. ‘So, this was his silly mate’s payback. Ryan’s very sorry you were scared by it.’

  Dan sniffed, his shoulders going back. He sat up straight, only tear stains left on his cheeks now. ‘I wasn’t scared. I was worried.’ His eyes were still red. ‘For Ryan. He’s my friend. I like Ryan. Nana likes Ryan.’ Kait felt the weight of his words settle in her stomach, dragging her lungs down. She made a conscious effort to relax her muscles. The devil was in Dan’s unspoken words.

  ‘And Ryan likes you too,’ she replied.

  ‘Right.’ He swiped his nose across the back of his hand, leaving stray pieces of leaf dust on his face. Kait flicked them off, searching for more comforting words that wouldn’t add to the lie.

  ‘And do I still have to go to school?’ he asked.

  She looked at his hopeful face. ‘No. You can stay home. We can do something together. Just you and me.’

  ‘And Ryan?’

  She shook her head, her mask in place. ‘No, he’s a bit busy at the moment.’

  ‘Aww.’ The disappointment on her son’s face was more than she could bear. When had Ryan become so central to Dan’s life? How did it happen so fast?

  ‘Can we visit him later?’ Dan asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ was the best she could manage, pushing to her feet. ‘Let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving, how about you?’

  ‘You like Ryan too, don’t you?’ Dan left a trail of eucalyptus bits behind him as he shuffled along beside Kait. ‘Mum?’

  ‘Of course. He’s a nice man. Now, what do you say we go into town and buy some croissants for breakfast?’

  Dan’s eyes were round now. ‘Again?’

  ‘Sure, why not?’

  ‘Okay.’ He clattered through the door, the morning back in perspective. ‘Nana, Nana! We’re having croissants for breakfast.’

  If only it were as easy as that, Kait thought.

  Chapter 38

  SPEEDY circled around the back of the pub, keeping his hat low over his eyes. It had taken two days to get the information he needed. Two long days, where he’d stayed low, gone about business just like normal – driven the bus, gone to the pub – but he’d kept an eye on Ryan and McCormack. Don Adler wasn’t answering his phone. He didn’t know what the hell that meant, but soon it wouldn’t matter anyway. Bothered him a bit that young Daniel hadn’t been catching the bus. Wasn’t sure how to take that, but hopefully it wouldn’t last.

  He found the Harleys parked outside. No-brainer. Six of them in a shiny row.

  Hard experience in jail had taught him never to approach a bikie from behind. Front on, hands on display and a smile on your face. If they drew first, you were fucked.

  With a quick swallow he pushed open the door to the main bar. The change from light to dark momentarily blinded him. The noise directed him, raucous laughter and rough accents. They were grouped near the pool table, beers in raised. He made his way towards them.

  ‘G’day.’ He didn’t expect a handshake. These weren’t the sort of people who abided by normal civilities. ‘I’m Derek Barton.’ The name felt awkward on his tongue after all this time. ‘Carmichael said I’d find you here.’

  ‘Who the fuck’s Carmichael?’ The largest of the men lumbered to his feet. He must be the gang’s enforcer.

  ‘Greg Carmichael. Longbay.’

  ‘Really.’ The others stayed seated while the big man came and stood over him.

  ‘Really,’ Speedy replied. ‘Oh-one to oh-six. C block.’

  ‘So you read the newspapers.’

  ‘No, but I know Carmichael did. Every day.’

  ‘You’re the bloke that torched the rock spider’s house.’ The smallest man spoke up. All eyes turned to him; he must be Weasel Tyson, the leader. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I need some risk eliminated.’

  Weasel laughed. ‘You got to be fuckin’ joking. I’m on bail. You think I’d breach that?’

  ‘They’re not.’ Speedy nodded his head at the man’s companions. ‘It’s just a beating. Nothing more. Carmichael said you’d be up for it.’

  ‘Carmichael doesn’t run my fuckin’ life, mate,’ Weasel said with a sneer.


  ‘There’s money involved.’

  ‘Of course. If there wasn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.’

  Speedy ceded the point. ‘How much?’

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘Here. He’s staying here somewhere.’

  ‘Talk to Whizzer.’ Weasel nodded at the big man, who loomed over Speedy.

  ‘Outside. Walls have ears.’ The giant jerked his head towards the door.

  It took Speedy twenty minutes to get what he needed. Grant fuckin’ McCormack wouldn’t know what hit him.

  ‘You know someone called Ryan O’Donnell?’ Whizzer asked as they clasped hands.

  ‘Ryan O’Donnell?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Speedy shook his head. ‘Who is he?’

  ‘Friend of ours. Moved up this way from Sydney a month back. We’re looking for him.’ He tapped the side of his nose.

  Speedy considered it. ‘Bit over average height, average build, dark brown hair? Driving a four-by-four with New South Wales plates?’

  ‘Could be. Got a serious scar on his left upper arm?’

  Speedy nodded. ‘Calling himself Bradley Ryan, moved here five, six weeks ago from Sydney. Good-looking rooster with fuckin’ attitude. Said he was a fireman.’

  ‘Where’s he live?’

  ‘Place called Happy Jack Road.’

  ‘Near here?’

  ‘Twenty minutes on the main highway.’

  ‘Show us.’

  ‘I can’t, mate. I’ve got a bus to drive this afternoon. School kids.’ He knew that would resonate.

  ‘Later, then. We’ll be here.’

  ‘Right. Before six.’

  Speedy barely hid his jubilation. Maybe he wouldn’t have to deal with Ryan after all. Two for the price of one. Bikies didn’t tolerate rock spiders, either. Knew they were fuckin’ filth.

  Chapter 39

  ‘BYE, Mum. See you this afternoon.’

  Dan slapped a kiss on her cheek and bundled out the car door, slinging his bag over his shoulder, his shirt already untucked at the back.