by M. C. Norris
“Well,” Cooper said. He collected his file and stood up. “Thanks for the drink.”
“That’s it?” Mia said. “Is there anything else I can do to help? I know these people.”
“Sorry, but everything I need is in this file. I’ll see you when I get back.”
“Wait.” She came around the other side of the bar. “If you had everything you needed to know, why come here?”
“They didn’t have anything to drink back at the police station.” He thought it was odd to call a pub the Suicide Forest. Even more odd that this was the only one close to the police station and that all its patrons had vanished on a hunting trip while the outside world was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.
“You’re going to search for them right now? On your own?” She grabbed his arm.
He stopped. “Sure, why not? I’m just wasting time waiting around the office for the others to get their act together.”
“But you don’t know the area. You don’t know the people. You said it yourself—it’s dangerous out there and there’s no knowing what it’s going to be like when you get there.”
“Are you done lecturing me?”
She sighed. Shook her head. “You’re right. We can’t waste time while they could be out there dying. I’m coming with you.”
He turned away from her and pushed through the door. She hung back a moment, her head stuck in a tailspin, trying to process the information. What did she just commit to? She ran the scenario through her head again. Cooper had short hair and blue eyes. Big muscles. Why did that matter? He was the new cop in town. He had no idea what he was doing. Of course she couldn’t let him go off on his own. She threw her towel on the bar, grabbed her bag, turned off all the lights, and switched the open sign to closed.
He was on the phone when she came outside. She locked the pub. There were only the two vehicles in the dirt parking lot. She hopped in the passenger seat of his Land Cruiser and waited for his call to end.
He paced around the car a few minutes, staring at the ground, kicking up dust. Mia could hear lots of “yeah’s” and “nah’s” and other short replies before he hung up. He hopped in the driver’s seat, glanced at Mia, and started the engine.
“That was the police chief, yeah?” Mia played with the radio station.
“Yeah,” he said.
“He doesn’t want you going off on your own, right?”
“Of course.”
“But you didn’t tell him, did you?”
“I didn’t tell him, no.”
“He knows you’re going anyway. But he doesn’t know you kidnapped his daughter.” She watched Cooper for a reaction. A surprise at the relation between the two.
“Police Chief Harris is your father, huh?” he said. He turned the radio down a little and he turned the air con up. “That’s gotta suck.”
Mia shrugged. “He is who he is. Turn left up here,” she pointed out the intersection. “You don’t seem to care what he thinks of you.”
“I don’t even really know the guy.” He turned.
“So you don’t really care what anyone thinks then, huh?”
He shrugged. “Not really, no.”
The road became wide and empty ahead. The signpost listed a few towns ahead spread far apart. The remote middle Australian bushland became more remote by the kilometre.
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