Indigo Storm

by Fleur McDonald

  Simon had rubbed his hands together and kept glancing over his shoulder. He didn’t know who this man was or why he was speaking to him. Or how he knew Simon was involved with Dominic.

  The man’s message was clear, though—a contact and a number to call if there were any threat to Ashleigh.

  The name was that of Detective Dave Burrows.

  Sighing deeply, Simon went to his desk, took out a piece of paper and a pen and began to write. He described how he had been roped into Dominic’s gang and what they had done since he had been involved with them. He wrote as much as he knew of Dominic’s business dealings and, lastly, about the assault on Ashleigh and why she had left.

  When he’d finished, he put it in an envelope and wrote on the front: ‘In the event of my death, please post,’ giving the address of the organised crime unit. He left it leaning against the phone on his desk. He could only hope that if something happened to him while he was away, the police, not Dominic, would find the letter.

  He began to pack his bag slowly. Every time he placed an article of clothing in the suitcase, he felt like he was taking a step closer to death.

  The next morning when Dominic pulled up outside his house, Simon walked out to the car with a feeling of dread. He’d tried all night to get through to Dave, without success.

  After a silent drive to Canberra airport, Dominic handed Simon his ticket and they both checked in their bags.

  ‘I’m going to get more coffee,’ Dominic said.

  Simon nodded.

  As soon as Dominic was out of sight, Simon raised his phone to his ear and dialled.

  This time, an answering machine picked up.

  His heart rate sped up as he listened to a woman’s voice telling him he’d called the Barker police station and to leave a message. He cleared his throat, keeping a close lookout for Dominic, then started to speak.

  ‘This message is for Detective David Burrows. My name is Simon McCullen and I was with the New South Wales police force. I have been stood down, pending an internal investigation regarding my dealings with one Dominic Alberto. I was given you as a point of contact regarding the missing person case of Ashleigh Alberto. Mr Alberto is travelling to South Australia to search for his missing wife. I believe that Mrs Alberto may be in danger.

  ‘I am not contactable.’ He was about to say more when he saw Dominic walking back towards him. Hoping that he hadn’t seen what he was doing, Simon very slowly turned away from him and slid the mobile phone into his pocket.

  It didn’t matter that he hadn’t said everything he’d wanted to. He’d got his main message across.

  Chapter 30

  Eliza walked slowly down the main street of Blinman, with a weeding tool in her hand. Everyone was out and about, making sure the town was tidy and presentable.

  So far today, she’d pulled out two bagfuls of weeds and cleaned the windows of Maureen’s store, and she’d just about had enough. The flies were crawling all over her and it was the first really hot day she’d experienced since she’d arrived. Up here the sun certainly had a different feel than in Jindabyne. Its fierce heat was unrelenting and made the air feel like it was crackling.

  ‘It’s a bit unseasonal,’ Reen had agreed, when Eliza had asked if it usually went from being cool in the morning and bearable in the afternoon one day, to baking the next. ‘Might get a thunderstorm if the heat keeps up.’

  Eliza had glanced disbelievingly up at the sky. It was a clear blue and she couldn’t see a cloud anywhere.

  Reen saw what she was doing and laughed. ‘Oh, you won’t see anything yet,’ she said. ‘It’ll be later on this afternoon, when you least expect it. You might look up and one moment there’s nothing there, and, five minutes later, when you look again, you’ll see just a wisp of cloud. Then, before you know it, the clouds have formed. Then they join up and, the next minute, you hear the rumbles.’ She sighed wistfully. ‘I love thunderstorms.’

  ‘I can’t wait to see one,’ Eliza said. ‘I’ve been reading up on how to take photos of lightning.’

  Reen laughed. ‘You should be able to get plenty of practice. Trouble is, if it’s been a good season and the dry storms come through, they can start fires.’

  ‘Where’s the closest fire brigade?’ Eliza asked.

  ‘Honey, there ain’t no such thing up here. It’s all of us doing the best we can. Some of the places are inaccessible and they just have to burn. All the pastoralists have fire units, and there’s a small one in town here that we all take turns jumping on.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Well, the blokes do. Us women, we tend to just feed everyone.’

  Eliza shook her head. Still, she thought, there’s no hospital or police station; why would there be a fire brigade?

  A ute drove in with a pile of wood on the back, and Eliza recognised the vehicle as Jacob’s. She smiled and waved as he slowed down.

  ‘Come and give me a hand?’ he asked, leaning over to the passenger’s side window and smiling back at her.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Gotta get all this wood unloaded. We light a huge fire the morning of the cook-off and, as you can see, there’s not a lot of wood around here, so we bring it in from the stations.’

  Eliza turned to Reen. ‘Can you do without me for a little while?’

  Reen waved her away. ‘Go on, you two, I’ll be fine.’

  Eliza climbed into the ute and Jacob drove the short distance to the creek. There were plenty of other utes with piles of wood on them. They climbed onto the back of Jacob’s ute and started throwing the wood into the pile.

  ‘Have you been out to the park recently?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘No,’ she answered as she hoisted another large branch onto the pile. ‘It’s school holidays, so I don’t really need to go. I’m sure I’ll see the girls here and they’ll have a heap of stories to tell me when I do.’ She reached back for another one, and her hands connected with Jacob’s as he also reached for another.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said and immediately pulled her hand back.

  ‘I don’t bite, despite what you may have heard,’ he answered, his eyes twinkling.

  Eliza turned away before he could see her smile. ‘Tell me a bit more about the cook-off,’ she asked, stretching her back. Looking across the creek bed, she could see Mark and Stu shovelling ash out of fire pits. John Caulder had made a rare appearance in town and was standing next to Dessie’s four-wheel drive, deep in conversation with the minister.

  ‘It would be easier for you to experience it than for me to tell you! But I’ll try. All the tourists start to roll up a day or so out, and set up their caravans and camper trailers.’

  ‘Where do they all park?’

  Jacob spread his arm to indicate the whole area. ‘Anywhere they like. If they end up out at the golf course, there’s a long drop they can use out there, but, honestly, just as long as they’re here, we don’t care where they park.’ He threw off the last piece and then jumped onto the ground, his hat falling off. He offered his hand to Eliza and helped her jump down before he picked it up. ‘The morning of the cook-off, we stoke the red steer.’

  ‘The what?’ Eliza crinkled her brow as she looked at him.

  ‘Sorry, the fire. We get the fire going and make sure we’ve got coals. You need coals to cook with, not flames.’

  Eliza nodded and swiped at flies, wishing she’d brought her fly net with her.

  ‘When it’s ready, me and a few others cart all the coals around to the entrants, put them in the fire pits and let them loose!’ He turned and grinned at her. ‘We’re called the fire boys,’ he said in a suggestive tone while wiggling his eyebrows at her.

  Without thinking, she quipped: ‘Tell me you wear a uniform? I like men in uniform.’

  He snapped his fingers at her. ‘See? You’re flirting with me! Good girl. Nice to know you haven’t totally sworn off men.’

  Eliza blushed and turned away, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

  ‘Hey,’ Jacob said quietly, gently tu
rning her back to face him. ‘I’m only joking. Don’t panic. Whatever you’ve been through, I know you’re not ready yet. But when you are, I’m first in line, okay?’

  Eliza realised she had no damn idea what to say to that.

  What she did know, through Dave’s kindness after he had confronted her about her true identity, was she didn’t need to be as frightened of men as she had thought. And it wasn’t just Dave who had proved this. It was Chris, Jacob, John and Dessie.

  Not all men were bad.

  It was Dominic who was.

  She glanced up at Jacob and realised he was still looking at her. She blushed.

  ‘Eliza! Hey, Eliza? Uncle Jacob! ’

  Grateful for the distraction, she turned, and saw Heidi and Tilly running towards her.

  ‘Hello, you two,’ she said, trying to act like nothing of note had been happening. ‘What are you doing all the way up here?’

  Heidi gave her a strange look. ‘It’s not that far.’

  ‘No,’ Eliza agreed. ‘It’s not really.’ What a thing to say, she thought, embarrassed. Jacob’s words had really thrown her.

  ‘How are you, squirts?’ Jacob asked, reaching down to ruffle both the girls’ hair. ‘Been a while since I’ve seen so much mischief in one place.’

  Tilly had a serious expression on her face. ‘We’re not as much mischief as someone is.’ She scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot and looked up, her head on one side.

  Eliza could see she wanted to spill the beans about something. ‘That sounds mysterious.’

  Heidi elbowed her sister. ‘Shh. You’re not supposed to say anything.’

  Jacob squatted down, and looked from one girl to the other. ‘You can always tell your Uncle Jacob anything and he’ll never say a word to anyone, you know that!’ He winked at each girl.

  Eliza swallowed hard and wondered if he had any faults. He had to. Everyone did.

  Tilly fixed her sister with a stare. ‘I know,’ she said in a stern tone, ‘but Eliza’s been out there a lot and she might have seen something. That’s the only reason I’m telling her. And Uncle Jacob is her boyfriend, so he won’t say anything.’

  ‘What?’ Eliza said before she could stop herself. ‘No.’ She paused. ‘Where did that come from, huh?’ She didn’t dare look at Jacob. She knew he’d be grinning at her. ‘What cheeky rabbits you are!’

  ‘You just looked like it, that’s all,’ Heidi said before turning to her sister. ‘I told you not to say stuff like that.’

  ‘It’s okay, girls,’ Jacob broke in. ‘Rest assured, we’re just mates.’ He slid a sideways glance at Eliza and winked. ‘For the time being,’ he finished in a lower voice.

  She glared at him, then turned her attention back to the two pairs of brown eyes staring up at her. ‘So, what’s your news, then?’ She sat down on the ground, crossed her legs and patted the dirt beside her. ‘It sounds like it’s a big story, so we might need to sit down.’

  ‘So big it needs milkshakes?’ Jacob asked.

  Tilly frowned at him. ‘Uncle Jacob! This is important.’

  ‘Sorry, Tilly. I just thought you might need a chocolate milkshake for strength.’

  ‘Someone’s been stealing animals and eggs in the park,’ Tilly blurted out before anyone could interrupt her again.

  There was a silence and Eliza blinked a couple of times, trying to take in what she had said.

  Beside her, Jacob let his breath out in a ‘whoosh’ and slid to the ground too. ‘That’s pretty serious, little dude,’ he commented. ‘Where have you heard this?’

  Heidi launched into the story of how they found the emu eggs missing and what Dave had done when he’d gone out there.

  ‘Hey, you lot!’ Mark Patterson called as he started shovelling out another fire pit. ‘Not slacking off, are you?’

  ‘Looks like you’ve got everything under control, Mark,’ Jacob called back, giving him the thumbs up. ‘You don’t need us!’ He turned his attention back to Tilly. ‘Sounds like Detective Dave is managing it, though.’

  ‘I guess,’ Heidi said, her head cocked. ‘Have you seen anything funny, Eliza?’

  ‘Not really, Heidi. I’m not sure what I’d be looking for, though. I think you two would know more about it than I would.’

  ‘But I think we should go out and see if we can catch them. These people are really naughty, Uncle Jacob.’

  ‘I totally agree with you,’ he said, pushing his hat back further on his head. ‘But this is not a job for little people. You’re too precious to be wandering around the bush at night when there’s bad people out there.’

  Heidi and Tilly glared at him. ‘We weren’t going to go by ourselves,’ Tilly said. ‘We wanted you to come with us.’

  Eliza quickly held up her hands and shook her head. ‘That’s a very big no-no, Tilly. It’s dangerous. I’m pretty sure these people don’t want to be caught, so they wouldn’t be nice to you if they found you watching them.’

  The girls looked disappointed. ‘But we’ve got to help,’ Heidi whined.

  ‘This is a lesson in patience,’ Jacob started. ‘Something I know a lot about.’

  Eliza avoided looking at him.

  ‘Detective Dave is going to know how to catch these people and he’s going to need time to do it. So, the best thing you girls can do is watch and listen, but nothing more. No nightly jaunts out into the bush, no questions for tourists—just watch and listen, and tell Dad, or me or Eliza or Dave, if you see or hear anything.’

  Tilly crossed her arms.

  Eliza leaned forward and touched her knee. ‘We’re very serious about this, Tilly. It’s not something you can get involved in. Promise me you won’t.’

  Both girls looked down at the ground. Tilly picked up a handful of creek sand and let it drift through her fingers.

  ‘We need an answer, girls,’ Jacob insisted. ‘Heidi?’ He poked her with his boot.

  ‘Suppose,’ she said sullenly.

  ‘Tilly?’

  ‘I want to help.’

  ‘I know, sweetheart, but staking out somewhere at night isn’t the way. Now, promise me and I’ll go and get those milkshakes.’

  She had a very cranky look on her face when she finally looked up at him. ‘Okay.’

  Chapter 31

  Chris wiped the cobwebs from his hair, dusted down his shorts and stood for a moment, his eyes adjusting from the dimness of the shed to the bright sunlight.

  He’d counted fourteen marquees stacked in the shed and knew there were three that needed new frames. On his last trip to Port Augusta, he’d had them made up and they were in the back of the ute. Now all he had to do was find which bag held the buggered ones, and he’d be able to check that the loos in the tennis clubrooms were all in working order. After that, he’d head over to Reen and see what other jobs she had for him.

  He was trying to keep busy. When Dave had come to talk to him about the poaching, he hadn’t known how to respond or what to do. After a while, he’d decided he just needed to keep on doing what he had always done—run and look after the park. But he would be keeping his eyes a little more open and his wits about him.

  The cook-off was a great distraction for him. As much as he liked keeping to himself, he enjoyed helping out with getting ready for the big event.

  The main street was a hive of activity. A couple of kids ran across the road, shouting and laughing. Another group, of station kids, was kicking a footy down the dusty street. There were five four-wheel drives belonging to tourists parked in front of the general store—they were covered in mud and the swags on the roof racks looked like they’d been well used. Further on, near the pub, more vehicles were parked and they had obviously been driving on dirt roads too. Laughter rang out from the beer garden of the pub, where people were eating lunch. He found it amazing that a town of eighteen people could swell to as many as seven hundred in the space of a few days.

  ‘Dad!’

  He turned, and saw Heidi and Tilly crossing the street from the shop
.

  ‘Look what Uncle Jacob bought us!’ They held up their milkshakes.

  ‘Aren’t you the lucky ones,’ he said, smiling at them. He looked around to see if he could see Jacob. He wanted to talk to him.

  He inhaled deeply as he saw Eliza and Jacob walking down the steps of the store, laughing together. He pursed his lips, then turned back to the girls.

  ‘Did Eliza make them for you?’

  Tilly spoke around the straw. ‘Nope, Reen did.’

  ‘Hey, look, there’s Nicki!’ Heidi cried excitedly, seeing one of her friends from the School of the Air. ‘I’ll be back later, Dad.’

  ‘No worries, take your sister with you,’ he called after her, and watched with pride as she stopped and waited for Tilly to catch up. Chris thought to himself that he was glad he’d made the sacrifices he had to make sure his girls stayed with him.

  ‘Hi, Chris,’ said Eliza, coming to stand next to him.

  ‘Chris.’ Jacob acknowledged his brother while taking a long swig on a cool drink. ‘Reckon we’ve got everything nearly organised.’

  ‘I’m just trying to find those three marquees from last year that had buggered frames.’

  ‘Oh yeah, that’s right,’ Jacob nodded. ‘I’d forgotten. One day, we’ll get organised and make a list at the end of the cook-off, so we don’t have to try and remember what needed fixing from the year before.’

  ‘Nah, wouldn’t be as much fun!’ Chris answered wryly.

  Jacob looked around. ‘I really hope this is going to be a good one.’

  Eliza smiled at him. ‘Well, I can’t wait to see what it’s like,’ she said, her eyes shining.

  ‘Everything all right out at Manalinga?’ Chris asked, turning to Jacob.

  He nodded. ‘Things are looking a picture. I bet the park is too?’

  ‘Incredible,’ he answered. ‘It’s been a hell of a long time since it’s looked as good. And the amount of tourists we’ve had through,’ he shook his head with a grin, ‘bloody truckloads of them.’