Undara

by Annie Seaton

  ‘First of all, we need to confirm you are Travis Thomas Carlyle.’ The detective inspector was doing the talking and the other guy had pulled out a notepad and a couple of sheets of paper.

  He nodded. ‘That’s correct.’

  ‘And you are the owner of an apartment in Stuart Street in North Ward in Townsville?’

  Relief coursed through Travis; he hadn’t liked their attitude. ‘Sorry, it looks like you’ve had a wasted trip. That’s not me.’

  ‘I need you to be truthful, Mr Carlyle. This is a serious matter, and if necessary we’ll take you back to the station in Townsville for further questioning.’

  Travis shook his head, bemused. ‘Look, you’ve obviously got me mixed up with another Travis Carlyle. I don’t own any property anywhere apart from here—Hidden Valley. Surely there are records you can check.’

  The detective nodded, his expression grim as he stared at Travis. ‘You’re correct. As you say, there are, and we have. What’s your date of birth?’

  ‘The tenth of the third, seventy-five.’

  The other detective picked up one of the pieces of paper and passed it to the inspector with a brief nod. He glanced at it and passed it to Travis.

  ‘This is a copy of the strata invoice for the apartment.’

  Travis looked down at it. The invoice was made out to someone with his name and was addressed to a post-office box in Townsville. Again, he shook his head. ‘Look, there’s a mistake. I don’t have an apartment or a post-office box in Townsville.’

  ‘Were you in Townsville on the fifteenth of January?’

  Frustration coursed through Travis. ‘Mate, I haven’t been to Townsville in the past twelve months. I’m not sure what you’re on about, but I’ll say it again. You’re talking to the wrong person.’

  The inspector glanced across at his colleague and he handed another piece of paper to Travis. ‘You have an account with the City Bank in Townsville? And can you confirm this is you identified on this bank record.’

  Travis skimmed the document, and anger gripped his chest at the breach of privacy. The details on this document were correct: his name, address at Hidden Valley, and the date of birth. ‘Yes, this is my private bank information, but I’d like to have it noted down that I’m angry that my private details have been accessed. That’s one of the reasons I don’t do online banking. But it seems my details can be pulled up at a whim? Where’s the privacy in that?’

  ‘We’re investigating a very serious matter, Mr Carlyle. If you’d look at this, you can see that we know that the apartment is yours. This is a record of the strata fees coming out of your account. The account you’ve just confirmed as yours.’

  Travis took the bank statement that was handed to him. His name was at the top, but when he scanned the document, he laughed. The account number was unfamiliar, and the deposits and withdrawals were larger than any he’d made since the last cattle were sold for live export about seven years ago. ‘Mate, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. This isn’t my account.’ His eyes flicked to the bottom of the page. ‘About the only thing like my account is the current low balance.’

  ‘Perhaps you can explain to us how that’s occurred. It’s in your name, it uses your identification, and it pays the fees on your unit. It’s also been used to purchase significant amounts of cryptocurrency,’ Baker said.

  ‘What?’ Travis’s breath caught as he stared at the detective. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘It’s been used to purchase significant amounts of cryptocurrency.’

  A cold feeling settled in his chest as the words hit Travis. ‘Cryptocurrency?’

  ‘Enough of this prevarication. Mr Carlyle, would you please roll up your sleeves?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Roll up your sleeves.’

  Travis unbuttoned both cuffs of his work shirt and rolled them up to his elbows. Both men stared at his forearms and then exchanged a glance.

  ‘Can you confirm your whereabouts on the fifteenth of January?’

  ‘Yes, I was here. I haven’t been off the place since I went to Mt Surprise for a cattlemen’s meeting about three months ago.’

  ‘Is there anyone who can confirm that?’

  ‘Yes, my boys have been home since just after New Year’s, and I see the group over at the university camp a few times every week.’ When the inspector frowned, Travis explained about the research in the tubes. He picked up one of the newspapers from the coffee table and glanced at the date. ‘The fifteenth, you said? What day of the week was it?’

  ‘Tuesday, two weeks ago.’

  ‘Okay, as well as my sons and my stockman, Dr Rees and most of the university workers will be able to confirm that I was here.’ He narrowed his eyes as he thought back. ‘Tuesday nights my brother goes to his rifle meetings, so that means that was the night I was working on a proposal with Dr Rees. Right here in this living room. My sons were here too.’

  ‘Thank you. We’ll talk to your sons and to Dr Rees. It does sound like there has been some confusion.’ The detective inspector leaned back in the chair and his set expression lightened slightly. ‘Is that offer of a cuppa still on?’

  Travis went to the kitchen and put the jug on. As he reached for the teabags and the sugar, his mind was working furiously. Until he knew what was going on, he didn’t want to mention Gavin, but the reference to cryptocurrency had sent a hollow feeling in his stomach, but the unit and the bank account were a mystery.

  As he carried the mugs of tea into the lounge the boys rode past, heading towards the yards, a couple of beasts ahead of them. ‘There’re my boys now. They’ll be here soon.’

  ‘And Dr Rees? Where would we find her?’

  ‘Normally over at the camp. It’s about three kilometres further along this road, but I know she’s away. She left early this morning to head for the airport at Townsville. She’s flying to Brisbane this afternoon for a couple of days.’ Travis lifted his mug and took a sip as he gathered his thoughts. Finally, he set his cup down and held the detective’s eye.

  ‘There must be something serious going on if you’ve taken the trip from Townsville to talk to me. May I ask what the investigation is about?’

  Detective Inspector Blake held his gaze steadily. ‘Over the past few months, there have been several assaults and robberies involving female backpackers around pubs in Townsville.’

  ‘Yes? Go on. I’m interested to hear how the hell you think I could be involved in that. How that led you up here to me?’

  ‘Last week, an English girl was robbed and taken to a location in a car. When her assailant left her in the car, she woke and took note of her surroundings. She pretended to be asleep when he came back. We have good reason to believe she was given a date-rape drug.’

  ‘Are you saying she was sexually assaulted?’ Travis’s gut churned as he thought back; Gavin had been in Townsville on the fifteenth. He hadn’t missed a rifle club meeting for the past three Tuesdays.

  ‘No. At this stage we don’t believe any of the assaults are sexually motivated. It appears that robbery is the main motive.’

  ‘Can I ask one more thing?’

  Blake nodded.

  ‘Why did you want to look at my arms?’

  ‘The man who assaulted the English girl had a severely scarred right forearm. A burn injury. And the address was the unit that you say isn’t yours.’

  Travis leaned forwards and covered his face with his hands.

  * * *

  ‘Gavin.’ Travis nodded at the detectives when Gavin picked up the call. ‘Where are you?’ Once he’d told them that it was Gavin whose right arm had been scarred from a childhood burn, and that he’d been in Townsville recently, they’d swung into action. At their request, he’d called Gavin. The revelations about the unit and the bank account that had somehow been started in his name, and the amounts that had gone in and out of the account had left him reeling. He knew his brother had issues, but the thought that he’d been involved in the sort of thing the detective had d
escribed made him sick to the stomach.

  ‘Travis? What’s wrong?’ Gavin sounded impatient.

  ‘I’ve got a problem here. I need you back at the house.’

  ‘What problem?’

  Travis thought quickly. ‘Cassie’s in hospital and the boys have to go to Alison’s to help her out. I need you to give me a hand. We didn’t get finished. Where are you?’

  ‘Sorry. I decided to come down to Townsville. So I’m not going to turn around and drive straight back up there.’

  ‘So where will you stay tonight?’

  ‘Why?’

  As Travis waited he thought he heard a flight called in the background. ‘Are you at the airport?’

  ‘No,’ Gavin snapped. ‘I’m at the shops. Is that all right with you?’

  Travis looked up as Blake gestured to him to let it go. ‘Okay, okay, don’t get shitty with me. Just get back here as soon as you can. I’ve still got cattle to move and the water’s coming up fast.’ He ended the call without saying goodbye, as he would if he had the shits with Gavin. He turned thoughtfully to the detective.

  ‘He said he’s at a shopping centre, but I’d swear I heard a flight called.’

  ‘What do you think he was doing? Would he be flying somewhere?’

  Travis shrugged. ‘I doubt it. But from what you’ve told me, I’m beginning to wonder if I know my brother at all.’

  CHAPTER

  26

  Travis was too wired to sleep. He sat at the kitchen table in the dark, long after the boys had gone to bed. Alison had called earlier to tell him that they were home from the hospital and that Cassie was much better. Relieved to know that she was on the road to recovery, he’d let his thoughts go to Gavin. Disgust warred with disappointment and anger that he’d had no idea what his brother was up to. He cupped his hands around the now cold mug of coffee and wallowed in self-disgust.

  If everything that the police had said was true—and he had no doubt that most, if not all, was right—Gavin would be up on fraud charges, and even worse, assault and robbery. In a way, he blamed himself for letting Gavin get away with so much, but he’d always felt responsible for him, even as adults, particularly since their mother had begged Travis to look out for his brother.

  His mum’s eyes had been full of sadness as she’d gripped Travis’s hand, her own hand thin and her rings rolling loosely around claw-like fingers.

  ‘Please promise me you’ll take care of your brother, please. He’s not like you, Travis. He’s different and he needs a lot of guidance. That’s why we couldn’t send him away to school like we sent you. We tried once. I never told your father …’

  ‘Told him what, Mum?’

  ‘Gavin hurt me a few times—physically—but I didn’t want to make things worse for him. I blamed myself. I was the only one he was cruel to. I went to a doctor and he gave me some anger-management things to try, and it seemed to work for a while. So you have to promise me you’ll take care of him …’

  He’d promised, and he could remember the day as though it was yesterday, but it was over fifteen years ago. Alison had been out in the waiting room on the verandah with the twins—he could still hear the toys clattering on the wooden floor of the cottage hospital at Mt Surprise. Gavin hadn’t even bothered to come to the hospital. It was at times like that Travis knew there was something different about his brother. Most people took him as being shy, but he used that perception to cover a calculating nature where getting his own way was the only thing that mattered. He was whip smart, and his mathematical ability and computer skills were extraordinary, but his lack of a work ethic—and the fact that he let a lot of people down—never seemed to bother him. Having to pull his weight on the station had caused so many disagreements over the last two years, Travis had almost given up.

  It was always about Gavin, and Travis knew he’d been guilty of letting him get away with it, too. Maybe if he’d been harder, it wouldn’t have come to this. He stood and crossed to the sink and rinsed his cup.

  Fraud and assault. And that bloody bank account. The amounts that had gone in and out of the account were staggering. Anger began to simmer. Not only had he somehow started an account in Travis’s name, Gavin had had the hide to keep taking money from the property when he’d been making so much on the side. He closed his eyes and wondered what the hell he was going to do. One of the first things would be a trip to Townsville to the bank.

  As Travis turned towards the door, headlights arced across the wall before a vehicle turned into the driveway. He hurried to the window, wondering what he would do if it was Gavin. Blake had said if his brother turned up to call the police, no matter what time of day it was. The headlights went out, and as the door opened, Travis realised it wasn’t Gavin’s red ute but the Troop Carrier that Emlyn usually drove.

  In all the drama of the afternoon, he’d only given a fleeting thought to her meeting at the university. He’d half expected her to call when it was over, but he knew she’d been going to see her husband tonight. She’d call with news when she was able to—if there was any news. Now he had a hell of a lot more to worry about than the sponsorship deal.

  Travis opened the front door and walked down the steps, surprised to see both Greg and John get out of the Troopie.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked.

  John stood beside the car. ‘We hope so. Have you heard from Emlyn?’

  The hair rose on the back of Travis’s neck. ‘Why, what’s wrong?’

  ‘She didn’t go to the meeting, and she hasn’t turned up at her husband’s place. David called a little while ago, trying to find out which flight she was on and where she could be.’

  ‘Has he tried calling her?’ Travis frowned. ‘Come inside, it’s too wet to stand out here.’ He opened the front door and ushered them in. ‘I’ve been dealing with the cattle most of the day, but there weren’t any messages on the phone when I came in.’ Travis sat down and stared at John as he sat opposite him.

  ‘Yes, we’ve all tried to call, but her phone goes straight to voicemail.’ John leaned forwards and lowered his voice. ‘David is very concerned for her wellbeing. She’s had some pretty rough times over the past year, and he’d been worried about her being up here alone for the few days before the rest of us arrived. He said he called her once and then she turned off her phone, so he was emailing her every night, and she was replying.’

  A muscle jumped in Travis’s cheek, and he bit down as a surge of concern shot through him. He held the professor’s gaze steadily and focused on keeping his voice level.

  ‘Can you talk to the airline? Maybe they were late getting there?’

  John shook his head. ‘The meeting was scheduled for five. I’ve been on tenterhooks waiting for her to call as she promised, and then David rang.’

  ‘Lucy said she booked her onto the early-afternoon Jetstar flight,’ Greg said. ‘She should have landed in Brisbane about three and Lucy said she had a cab charge to go straight to the uni.’

  ‘Lucy’s already tried the airline,’ John interjected, ‘but it’s almost impossible to talk to a real person. The lines are busy, and with school going back this week, it’s worse than usual. Besides, there’re privacy issues, and they probably wouldn’t be prepared to say if she was on the flight or not.’

  Travis sat back down. ‘Has anyone called the police yet?’

  ‘I don’t think so. It’s only been a few hours, and David wondered if he was overreacting, but I do know he’s worried. And so am I.’ John held Travis’s gaze. ‘Do you know much of Emlyn’s story, Travis?’

  He shook his head. ‘I know she’s separated from her husband, and I assumed she’d been in an accident. She did tell me she’d been in hospital when she felt faint one afternoon, and I’ve noticed the burn scars on her forehead and arms. And she didn’t look well when she arrived.’ Travis ran his hand through his hair.

  ‘It’s not common knowledge at the university. Emlyn is a very private person. But in terms of mental health, she’s st
ruggled significantly over the past year. She survived a light plane crash last year, and she lost several family members, including—’

  Travis couldn’t help interrupting. ‘Jesus, that’d mess with anyone’s mental health. But surely you don’t think …?’

  ‘Emlyn’s mental health wasn’t good for many months, but David said she was recovering well. I know that she’s over the moon about our research here, and she’s been particularly focused on the initiative that you’ve been working on with her.’

  ‘But there’s still some concern that she’s decided to disappear?’ Travis shook his head. ‘Mate, I know I don’t know Emlyn’s history, but she hasn’t given me the impression of someone who was considering disappearing.’

  John’s voice was controlled, but it was clear how troubled he was. ‘David would know her better than anyone, and he’s worried that she has decided to disappear—or worse.’

  Travis stood and walked across the room; it was too hard to remain seated. ‘No. I can’t accept that. Emlyn and I have had some heart-to-heart chats as we’ve worked together. As you say, she was excited about this project, and she was really looking forward to seeing her husband. When she left here the other night, she was almost bubbling over with the anticipation of talking to the university about the project.’ Travis didn’t want to breach Emlyn’s privacy and share with John the intimate discussions they’d had about her marriage, even though he knew how determined she’d been to talk to her husband about the future. Maybe he’d misread her, but he didn’t think so.

  John nodded. ‘I know, that’s why we’ve come over at this late hour. Maybe something’s happened. Maybe she took ill and is in a hospital somewhere. Maybe there was an accident.’ He shook his head. ‘Emlyn was very keen to get back here quickly; she didn’t want to miss out on something in the tubes while she was away. She was only staying away two nights.’

  Travis sat back down. ‘I need to be frank with you.’ He lifted his hand to his chin and the stubble rasped beneath his fingers. ‘The police have already been here this afternoon. My brother is involved in something—something I had absolutely no idea about—but that’s another story. I think David’s right, though. We need to be concerned.’ He pulled out his phone. ‘I’m going to call the detectives who were here today. I’m sure they’ll get onto the airline and see if Emlyn was on the flight.’