Shadows of Hunters Ridge

by Sarah Barrie

  ‘But how did he know we’d be there?’

  ‘He’s probably been staying there. That could be why he killed her. He wanted to be close by,’ Lee said.

  ‘With Louise on the bed like – with that?’

  ‘He’s sick, Ebs. But we’ve got him now. And he’s never getting away. He’ll never hurt anyone else. Not ever again.’ Cam placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  ‘No, but Rob’s still out there. What if he comes for me himself?’

  ‘He can try,’ Lee growled. When his phone rang, he stepped away to answer it.

  Ebony watched quietly, heard, ‘About how you’d expect. What’s happening with Martin? You need to make him talk. I don’t care how you get the information – leave me in a cell with him for five minutes, I’ll get it myself – but you need to make him give it up. Fuck legally. I want the son of a bitch dangling by his balls. What? Yeah, hold on.’ Lee moved back to the table and put the phone down, pressed the speaker button. ‘You’re on.’

  ‘Cam, your father’s here.’

  Cam’s eyes widened. ‘He’s what?’

  ‘He’s been putting pressure on. Somehow, he’s been in Martin’s ear.’

  ‘He can’t be stepping in as defence. Other than the complete conflict of interest, and no matter what else he’s capable of, he’s not going to help him get away with hurting Ebs. What the hell is he up to?’

  ‘I don’t know, but if that hard-as-nails old bastard jeopardises my case –’

  ‘He won’t. I’m coming now.’

  ‘All right, and I need to see Ebs, but Charmaine is on her way out there. Better have someone on standby to calm her down until Ebs gets back.’

  ‘I should be here when your mother arrives,’ Ally told Ebony once they’d ended the phone call. ‘Do you think she knows to come here or will she go to your place?’

  ‘She’ll come here. I’ll call and let her know what’s going on.’

  ‘Take Mia with you to Mudgee. It’ll be good for you to have her there,’ Ally said.

  ‘Yeah, of course I’ll go,’ Mia said. ‘I’ll just get changed.’

  Ally wrapped her arms around Cam. ‘You’ll sort this. And you’ll work out some way of working with your father. I know you will. Because you’re both brilliant and we need you both to make him tell us how to find Rob.’

  ‘I know.’ Cam kissed her on the forehead before turning his attention to Lee. ‘I’m not forgiving him for what he did, but Ally’s right. There may need to be a temporary truce in place while we sort this.’

  ‘Maybe you should think about making it a permanent one,’ Lee suggested. ‘It would be nice if Ebs had her family all on side – really on side – while she gets through this.’

  ‘While we all get through it,’ Ebony said. ‘This affects everyone.’

  An hour later Ebony walked into the station between Cam and Mia. ‘This should be fun,’ she muttered, already dreading it.

  ‘Oh, stop it. Your father’s just a big pussy cat.’

  ‘Only you would make that analogy, Mia.’

  ‘He’s here, isn’t he? You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.’

  ‘Mine yes, but …’ Her gaze slid up to Cam.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Cam said under his breath.

  ‘There you all are,’ Cameron Blakely said when he spotted them. ‘Ebony, how are you?’

  ‘Hi, Dad.’ She smiled, knew better than to step in for a hug. There were no public displays of affection while her father was in his business persona.

  Mia, however, didn’t seem to have read the manual – because she stepped straight in and kissed him on both cheeks, grinning cheekily. ‘Hi, Dad.’ It was a bit of a stretch, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘Nice to see you again, Mia.’ His voice was professionally courteous but Ebony caught the twinkle in his eyes. ‘Let’s find a quiet corner and sit down.’

  ‘You want to tell me what you’re doing here?’ Cam asked. ‘Rumour has it you’ve spoken to Martin.’

  ‘I certainly have not.’ Cameron sniffed and lifted his chin. ‘I was simply in the vicinity of the holding cell here at the police station, chatting to one of the detectives.’

  ‘And you got him to talk?’ Cam asked.

  ‘Blood out of stone, that’s Dad,’ Ebony murmured.

  ‘I told you, I never spoke to him. I simply mentioned to the detective that I’d had a client once in a similar situation to Martin. He’d belonged to a gang and was just following orders when he was arrested, because he knew he’d be killed himself if he didn’t do as he was told. I also mentioned that this client of mine had faced a life sentence with these other gang members, who, once caught, were sure to believe he’d ratted on them. The detective and I couldn’t help but hope that when Martin’s counterparts were caught – and with all the evidence building, it shouldn’t be too long – that they’ll be less paranoid. Because neither of us could think of anything worse than having to look over one’s shoulder for the rest of one’s life behind bars.’

  Cam’s eyes narrowed. ‘So Martin was just … nearby?’

  ‘It’s not a large station. It’s amazing what you can pick up.’

  ‘What else did you say?’ Mia asked.

  ‘Just that my client gave up some names, a couple of pertinent details, and in return got his sentence reduced, and what there was of it was carried out in a separate prison.’

  ‘Would Martin get those things, if he cooperated?’ Ebony asked.

  ‘I have no idea. This wasn’t about Martin. I couldn’t become involved in that – it wouldn’t be legal.’

  ‘Yet you planted seeds so that when Ben heads back in there, he has something to talk about,’ Cam said.

  ‘Not at all. He simply, perhaps, overheard a conversation.’

  ‘It could still be argued –’

  ‘By who?’ his father asked.

  Cam walked around. ‘You think the law is your own personal plaything. Everything’s manipulable, the law, the people, the cases …’

  ‘Here we go …’ Ebony muttered to Mia.

  ‘That’s how you win, Cameron.’

  ‘Yeah, at all costs. Great work, Dad.’

  ‘A man who wants nothing more than to slit your sister’s throat is sitting in the next room and you’re arguing with me over the ethics?’

  ‘One day your manipulations won’t work, and if this is that case, you could help that bastard in there get away with everything.’

  ‘You know better than that. You have no respect. What’s this really about – Dalton?’

  ‘I have a hell of a lot of respect for who you are – for what you are. Probably more than you deserve. But if you want to make this about Lee, fine. Let’s have that out, right now. I get why you did what you did in court, I get the line of questioning, the raising doubts, the shifting blame. I get all the games, the manipulations, the bending of the truth. I get that you did the job you were paid to do. But you went too far. And I damn well know that you know you went too far.

  ‘What I don’t respect is that you can’t say so. What I can’t forgive is that to this day, you treat a good man as though he really was the bastard you created to win the case. You refuse to see him any other way so you can justify your actions and appease your own guilt. But that man isn’t Lee. And he doesn’t deserve it. And because I respect you, I expected better than that.’

  ‘Am I interrupting?’ Ben came in and looked from Cam to his father, who was suddenly unusually quiet.

  ‘How are you, Ebony?’

  ‘I’m okay.’ She took a steadying breath, because the upset was there, as it always was when Cam fought with their father. ‘What’s going on with Martin?’

  ‘I want to apologise, Ebs. I didn’t know Martin was back in Hunters Ridge. He swapped cars with an acquaintance of his in the city. Left his phone in it. It threw us off. We’ve got the friend in, we’ve been talking to him this morning. He says they swapped vehicles because Martin needed a car while he got
the back of his fixed, and this panel beater friend was going to take care of it for him.

  ‘Ebony, I need your statement, I’ll have someone come and help you. I have to go back in with Martin. Apparently he’s feeling cooperative.’ Ben looked pointedly at her father, whose pleasant expression didn’t waver. ‘Know anything about that?’ he asked Cameron.

  ‘Groundwork is laid, detective. I don’t need to remind you how important it is that you get this right.’

  ‘Of course not. You haven’t overstepped any lines, I hope?’

  ‘I know how it works. Just get it done.’

  Ebony did as requested, and when she was done, followed Cam and Mia down the road for coffee. It seemed like such a normal thing to do, but the world was still off balance, unreal.

  ‘I asked your father if he wanted to have coffee with us, but he didn’t want to leave the station until he knew the outcome of Martin’s chat with Ben,’ Mia said.

  ‘Fine by me,’ Cam said.

  ‘Mia, why are you so nice to my father?’ Ebony asked.

  ‘Because I like him.’

  ‘And?’

  Mia grinned. ‘And because I like you, and Cam. We’re all family now, and I have this idea that families should get along. I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t help myself. I strive for unity.’

  ‘I’m not sure he deserves it.’

  ‘He’s here, and yeah, he’s bending the rules without breaking them. But he’s using every bit of his brilliance to keep you safe. Even sacrificing some of that big mountain of pride of his. And I think, perhaps, Cam, you made a dint with that speech.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Cam said. ‘I’m sorry about that, Ebs. I shouldn’t have started that then.’

  ‘If it helps you both get over this, then it’s worth it. Next to deal with is Mum,’ Ebony reminded them. ‘I hope Ally has her reasonably calm. I don’t think I can stand any more big, emotional stuff.’

  ‘When we’re finished here, we’ll go into that little patisserie over there and buy something laden with sugar,’ Mia suggested. ‘As a mood enhancer.’

  ‘We can’t be too long, Mum –’

  ‘Will be relieved to see you come home looking a lot less flustered and bearing sweet treats.’

  Ebony sent Cam a sceptical look.

  ‘She’s optimistic,’ he said in response. ‘But she’ll learn.’

  CHAPTER

  27

  Lee wasn’t expecting company, and he knew something was wrong as soon as Ben stepped out of the car.

  ‘I’ve got some news about Martin,’ Ben said. ‘Have you got time?’

  ‘Yeah. The others know you’re around? We could head over there.’

  Ben blew out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind a beer and a chance to gather my thoughts before I recount this to them.’

  ‘On it.’ Lee went into the kitchen, reappeared with two beers and cracked the tops, then handed one to Ben.

  ‘Thanks. How’s Ebs?’

  ‘She was with her mother most of yesterday evening. It was a good thing Mia was there too, because Charmaine was a mess and Ebs needed both the girls to help calm things down. I’m going to head back out there tonight for dinner.’ He didn’t add he’d had to work off his frustration and anger with some hard manual labour. He was worn out, but feeling less like putting someone’s head through a wall.

  ‘Sounds like Ally must be cooking her arse off.’

  ‘Yeah and, as she is, I’m sure you’re welcome to join us. You gathered your thoughts yet?’

  Ben took a long swallow of beer and stared out over the paddocks. ‘Martin’s dead.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He was being transferred to remand early this morning. He was going to talk, Lee. He was going to make the deal. He’d set up a meeting with his lawyer. So I headed out to the prison. Except the wagon never made it – someone ambushed them. Two officers were shot, Martin had his throat cut.’

  ‘Jeez … Wait – he was murdered, not rescued?’

  ‘He was shut up. One officer was killed outright, the other one’s in a serious condition. I only have sketchy details from him so far but he said a car rammed them, sending them several feet down an embankment. He only saw one perp, and he wore a mask with a grinning face. The car he used had been reported stolen.’

  ‘The same guy who was stalking the surgery, watching Ebs.’ Ice settled over Lee’s skin as he thought about it. ‘She was out on the street with him. Any idea who he is?’

  ‘When we raided the house where Martin had been keeping his dogs, we found food, the electricity was on; male toiletries were in the bathroom. The DNA didn’t match Martin’s or Rob’s. At the time, on a hunch that the prowler incident and all the rest of this had to be related, I had the DNA on the cigarette butts outside the surgery compared to more found at the house. It’s come back as a match.’

  ‘So the guy knew Martin – was staying there, watching Ebs. Then he’s turned on Martin.’

  ‘There’s one more thing. Martin claimed Ebony was provoking him – sending him messages, hassling him and daring him to retaliate.’

  ‘Ebony wouldn’t have done that.’

  ‘No. But I checked it out and the texts were on Martin’s phone. They were made anonymously and we’re having trouble tracking their source.’

  ‘That’s impossible, isn’t it?’

  ‘Not even close. If you have a bit of know-how it’s a relatively simple process.’

  ‘So someone wanted him to go after Ebony? Why?’

  ‘So we’d believe Martin was the threat. I think our perp has been sabotaging him and using him as a buffer. But when Martin was caught, he was forced to ambush the truck to keep him quiet. I think the plan has been to get rid of Martin, either on the authority of the group or, if not, then for some other reason, all along. The group appear to have a hierarchy, so perhaps whoever this other person is wants his position in the system, but I’m only guessing.’ He sat back, stared at the sky. ‘There’s too much guessing. I could be completely wrong. I don’t like it. The point is, he’s got an agenda and Ebony is still at risk.’

  ‘So what next?’

  ‘We have Martin’s phone. We’re going to find the source of every call he made prior to swapping vehicles and investigate everyone he’s spoken to. We know what areas he visited in the city prior to the switch, so we’re going to go through closed-circuit camera footage in those areas and see if we can find evidence of who he’s been visiting. I’m going to interview his mate again – I think I can get more out of him. We’re also doing background checks on every male known to have been living in the Hunters Ridge area for less than twelve months.’

  ‘What about the DNA?’

  ‘No match has been identified from the national database. We obviously need to keep a close eye on Ebony, assume this guy could come after her at any time. Keep chasing every line of enquiry we can come up with.’

  ‘So we need to tell Ebs, and I don’t want to. I don’t want to frighten her.’

  ‘Right now, frightening her is the best way to keep her safe.’

  ‘Then let’s get it done.’

  ‘Right – you reckon it’s so easy, you do it.’ Ebony handed Mia the tranquiliser gun.

  ‘I don’t need the practice – you do.’

  ‘Go on, Mia, worried you’re rusty?’ Ally asked.

  ‘Hell, no. But Ben said no.’

  ‘Who are you?’

  Mia glared at her sister. ‘You sit on my shoulder and tell me to behave, then you whisper in the other ear and tempt me to be evil.’

  Ally grinned. ‘Okay, I apologise.’

  ‘How did you get a licence?’ Ebony asked.

  ‘For my handgun? Sport shooting.’

  ‘Sounds interesting.’

  ‘It’s fun, but you have to be careful and take it seriously. Guns aren’t toys. You’re being hard on yourself over not wanting to shoot this thing, but I’d be more worried if you weren’t. It’s
a dart gun, true, but it could still do serious injury.’

  ‘That actually makes me feel a bit better. But I still don’t think you can hit that far target.’

  ‘You’re stalling because you don’t want to use it. Just send it back, Ebs. You’ll make do without it.’

  ‘Fine – I’ll practise.’ She pointed the gun at the target.

  ‘You’re never going to hit anything like that,’ Mia said. ‘Let me show you.’

  ‘Cam already did. It doesn’t make any difference. I have this stupid fear of firing it.’

  Mia thought about that, then smiled to herself. ‘Okay, this is not a gun.’

  ‘It’s not?’

  ‘Think of it as a … medication projection device,’ she said with a grin, taking the gun from Ebony and playing with it, getting the feel of it. ‘Its only purpose is to reach further than you can to get the right medicine into the sick animal. Like a super-fast extendable arm.’

  Ebony nodded slowly. ‘Not bad.’

  ‘Now wait.’ Mia disappeared, then reappeared a moment later and jogged over to the target to draw an inverted triangle on it. ‘This is not a target circle. This is a deer’s butt. See the tail? You need to hit that.’

  ‘Yes, but that’s not where I would put the dart.’

  ‘Can we not be pedantic, please?’ She came back, put Ebony in position. ‘You’re not going to shoot this animal. You’re going to imagine your arm extending straight out from the tip of this device in a straight line to inject the medication, got it?’

  ‘Big long arm. Right.’

  ‘Look along there … that’s where your arm is going to end up. Good, now when you’re ready to inject, squeeze your finger.’

  The dart shot out. It hit wide, but still hit.

  Ebony had to stare at it for several seconds – even with Ally’s ‘Woo hoo!’ – before she registered she’d actually hit.

  ‘Well done,’ Mia said with a grin. ‘We should try again.’

  ‘Let’s just stick with this for now.’ She laughed. ‘Look at my hands shaking.’

  ‘A bit more practice, you’ll be okay.’

  ‘I don’t think so. I thought once I hit something it’d click, but I still don’t like it. I think I’ll just have to hope Nick doesn’t leave or that whatever other vet I end up with doesn’t mind doing it.’