Deadman’s Track

by Sarah Barrie

  She heard the purr erupt from her throat. ‘Maybe because you talk too much.’

  ‘You’re right. I should just shut up.’ He put his mouth to better use, devouring hers while his hands traced the lines and curves of her heated, pulsing body. She wondered if she’d been too forward, too fast, then, as the need between them pushed them on, decided she didn’t care. His hands slid under her thighs and lifted her off the ground as he turned around and pressed her back against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gasped at the intimate contact of being plastered so fully against him.

  ‘Lock the door,’ he muttered against her mouth and she reached out blindly to the lock.

  ‘Phone?’ he asked, destroying her ability to think as he moved against her.

  ‘Purse. Bench.’

  He held her in place with one arm long enough to pull his phone from his pocket, dropping it next to hers. ‘Bedroom?’

  ‘That one.’ She pointed. When he carried her through the door, she kicked it shut. Tonight the world was going to have to survive without them.

  CHAPTER

  28

  Tess struggled out of the supermarket, arms loaded with her regular groceries as well as extra supplies for the hike. It was coming up fast, and her head wasn’t really in the right space for it at all.

  She’d finally said goodbye to Jared just before 2 am. When she’d closed the door she’d already been looking forward to seeing him again. And she’d been sleepy, sated. Then she’d picked up her phone to set her alarm, and that’s when she noticed the messages. Aaron needed to talk to her. He needed to make amends. He didn’t know what had come over him. He was sorry. They couldn’t leave things like this. Would she give him a chance to apologise? Could he pop over for just a few minutes? Could she at least call him back? She’d left her phone muted and ignored the buzzing while she caught a few hours’ sleep. But more messages had been waiting for her when she woke up, and they hadn’t stopped.

  She reached the car and popped the boot. When her phone pinged she pulled it from her bag. And here was another one. Why hadn’t she called? He’d been waiting all day. She scrolled back through his messages. Uneasiness washed over her. This wasn’t right. Wasn’t rational. Maybe she should call him, just to tell him to stop.

  ‘Tess!’

  The sound of Aaron’s voice behind her had her spinning. ‘What? Are you following me now?’ she asked, incredulous.

  ‘Huh? No, of course not,’ he replied with a smile that was too warm. ‘I was getting petrol. Spotted you from across the street. Any reason you’ve come into Hobart to do your shopping?’

  ‘I needed a couple of things for the hike I can’t get anywhere else. Why?’

  ‘The hike I passed on? Riley Finlay?’ he asked as though surprised. ‘I didn’t think you’d go for it.’

  ‘That’s not the impression you gave them.’

  ‘You’ll have to be careful out there. At this time of year—’

  ‘Aaron, I really have to keep moving. I’ve got more things to do.’

  ‘Can’t you just spare a minute?’ he asked hopefully. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to you. You’re not still mad and ignoring me, are you?’

  ‘Not exactly. But I don’t know what else there is to say.’ As she bent to pick up the last of her groceries, he swooped and loaded them in, then straightened to stand just a bit too close.

  ‘I thought we’d agreed to be friends,’ he said gently. ‘You ignoring me doesn’t really fit with that.’

  She stepped back to shut the boot, smiled coolly. ‘I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.’

  ‘Oh, yeah?’ His voice dripped with accusation. ‘Busy last night, were you?’

  Her stomach flipped nervously. Here it was again, that lightning-fast shift from overly warm to spitting rage. Now what? She took another cautious step back, but she wouldn’t cower. ‘I don’t appreciate being bombarded with messages late at night,’ she said, voice not quite as strong as she would have liked. ‘I’m certainly not going to answer them at two in the morning.’ She turned her back on him to get in the car.

  ‘Well, I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything, would I?’ His hand shot out, holding on to the door as she climbed in to prevent it from closing. ‘You lied to me, Tess.’

  A chill ran down her spine at the tone, the look. ‘I never lied to you. And what I do now is my own business. Goodbye, Aaron.’ She reefed at the door handle and it shut with a bang. She started the car with trembling hands, put it in gear and drove away as calmly as she could.

  Aaron had seemed so sure of himself. How could he know she’d been with Jared last night? There’s no way. Not without spying on them.

  ‘Don’t be stupid, Tess,’ she muttered as she weaved her way out of Hobart. Aaron was guessing. Jealously imagining, perhaps. And he was leaving, so there was no need to worry about the mood changes, the insinuations, the accusations, or the look that had come over his face that had made her want to shrink back and run. ‘Stop it.’

  The incident at Fedder, the gunmen at the pawn shop, this nastiness with Aaron were all turning her into a nervous wreck. She needed to get away from it all. Some time in the wilderness on the hike she’d been worrying over might just turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

  A slow-moving truck in front of her had her glancing in her mirrors then over her shoulder to change lanes. She pulled out, did a double-take and checked her rear-view mirror. Was that Aaron’s car?

  Shit.

  Coincidence? He did come this way to get home, so probably.

  But right behind me?

  She kept driving, slowed to below the speed limit, but he never passed her, just stayed a few cars back. Because her mind was going crazy with unsettling thoughts, she called Indy.

  ‘Hi, sorry, are you busy?’ she asked when Indy answered.

  ‘Just waiting on Jared to tie up a couple of things for the day, what’s up?’

  ‘Probably nothing. Are you on your way home soon?’

  ‘Okay seriously, Tess, what is it?’

  ‘Again, probably nothing, but … Aaron’s acting a bit unusual. I’ve had about a hundred messages from him since last night, he ran into me at the shops earlier apparently by accident, and now he seems to be following me. Look, I know it’s quite possible he really was just getting petrol and spotted me, and now he’s on his way home too. That’s probably exactly what’s going on.’ She laughed hollowly. ‘Maybe I’m just on edge in general.’

  ‘Perhaps. What did he say when you ran into him?’

  ‘He—Indy, I think he’s been watching me. He knew I’d seen Jared last night and he wasn’t happy about it.’

  ‘Okay. Are you going straight home?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Good. No stops. If he follows you past his turn-off, call Logan. Make sure he’s waiting at the guesthouse for you. He’ll deal with Aaron.’

  ‘Yeah, okay.’ The idea was a comforting one. ‘I will.’ She was already feeling better just telling Indy, was starting to feel silly.

  ‘I won’t be far behind you anyway. Jared’s just walked in, I’ve got one thing I absolutely have to do, then I’ll ditch the rest, come find you at home and we’ll talk about it, okay?’

  ‘Thanks.’ Tess ended the call as the towns gave way to hills and river, and the pretty stretch of the Lyell Highway took her closer to New Norfolk. She really hoped Aaron would turn off. She’d rather feel silly than deal with any more upset.

  The car’s temperature alert went off, dragging her attention to the dash. ‘Shit!’ It was too high. She looked closely at the bonnet and noticed thin wisps of smoke from the engine. She looked for somewhere to pull over. The highway might be pretty but there wasn’t a lot of room for getting off the road. She wasn’t far from Murphy’s Flat. There was a rest stop nearby.

  Another thought had dread stacking on dread. Where was Aaron? She was about to stop in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t see him, so she called Indy again, got voicemail. ‘Call me back,’ she
managed. ‘Something’s wrong with the car.’

  The car limped off the highway just as the sun was touching the tops of the mountains, reminding her it’d be dark soon. Indy had said she wouldn’t be far behind, and she was still closer to Hobart than home. But if Indy didn’t call back in the next minute or two she’d try Logan. She climbed out, swiped at the smoke coming from under the hood and took a few steps away from it. There was no way she was getting any closer to the engine for the time being. She rubbed her arms against the chill of the late afternoon and looked around. Hills to the left, wetlands and the river to the right. A car shot past, another not too far behind. Since she was on the main road almost everyone took from Hobart to anywhere in the northwest, she was far from isolated, but at that moment it felt like it. And Aaron couldn’t be too far away. Stuff waiting for Indy, it wouldn’t hurt to call Logan too.

  Before she could do more than think it, tyres crunched on the road behind her, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She knew who it was. She slowly turned around, swallowed her nerves.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Aaron asked, getting out of his car. ‘Radiator?’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, ignoring the question.

  ‘Heading home. Lucky I spotted you,’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, you just ran into me … twice in one day.’

  ‘Yes, and I could have left you here to fend for yourself after the way you spoke to me earlier. But I didn’t. Because someone has to look after you.’

  She managed a tight smile. ‘Thanks, but I’m fine.’

  ‘It’s getting dark and it’s freezing. Lock your car and hop in mine. I’ll give you a lift home.’

  She didn’t trust him anymore. Couldn’t do it. ‘I don’t want to leave my car out here like this,’ she said. ‘I’d rather wait for a tow.’ She opened the door to get her phone out.

  The car door slammed shut before she could lean in, startling her. She stumbled backwards several steps, staring at Aaron in disbelief.

  ‘That’s not a good idea,’ he said with a slow shake of his head and a dangerous gleam in his eyes. ‘The car could catch fire. Explode. You need to stay away from it.’

  ‘It’s not going to …’ She wanted to tell him not to be stupid. The car wasn’t going to explode. But he clearly didn’t want her calling anyone. The realisation had her heart thudding in her chest. Another thought slammed into her mind. Had he done this? Had he done something to her car then followed her, waiting for the car to stop?

  ‘What did you do?’ she whispered.

  His eyes remained cool, detached. ‘It’s dangerous out here on the side of the highway. You never know who might come along. Or why. Get in my car, Tess. Now.’

  CHAPTER

  29

  Jared walked into Indy’s office and found her on a call. She spotted him and lifted a finger. He’d been hoping to sneak off a few minutes early—a stint at the morgue watching Mrs Ted’s body being disassembled in the autopsy room had his stomach feeling queasy and his head pounding. The look on Indy’s face suggested that wasn’t going to happen.

  ‘Tell me this is good news?’ he asked.

  She turned her monitor around to show him a picture. ‘Paxton Orvist,’ she said triumphantly. ‘We found a partial fingerprint on a toilet roll in the neighbour’s rubbish. Twenty-seven years old, spent some time in the army, dropped out. Served most of his young-adult life in the same prison as Cochrane on sexual assault and attempted murder charges. He was only released a month before our first break-in. Height and build match our POI.’

  ‘I imagine you’ve already got everyone in creation looking for this guy?’

  ‘Of course. And there’s something else. Orvist and Cochrane didn’t just spend time in the same prison, they were friends. According to one of the guards, they spent a lot of time together in the lead-up to Orvist’s release.’

  ‘So Cochrane knew both men, one good at moving stolen diamonds and the other capable of murder. Orvist is seen in Finlay’s shop, jewellery most likely belonging to Madison Wilde is discovered in the shop … Finlay’s been lying. He knew Orvist all along. They’ve been in on this together.’

  ‘Which is why I’ve already got him waiting in Interview 2. Let’s go talk to him.’

  Tank Finlay scowled at them from his seat as they walked in. ‘About time. You want to tell me why you’re talking to me again instead of finding the little bastards who broke into my shop?’

  ‘Cut the bullshit, Tank,’ Jared snapped. ‘We know exactly what this is about, so why don’t you start again?’

  Tank dropped his head and stared at the table. ‘I don’t know who broke into my shop.’

  ‘If you don’t start cooperating,’ Indy said, ‘we’ll just go ahead and charge you for your involvement in the murders of Madison Wilde and Brendan Sash. We’ll have to assume that you were intent on selling the diamonds from the robbery and—’

  ‘Look, okay. Okay. It’s not what you think. I had no choice.’

  ‘Keep going,’ Indy said, leaning back and folding her arms.

  Tank took a deep breath. ‘You know I rolled on Cochrane. I did it because I didn’t want to go back to prison, because my wife had died and I needed to raise my daughter. I made a stupid mistake getting tied up with my gang again and the cops gave me a way out. I came down here to get away from it all. I hoped he’d let it go, wouldn’t look for me. But he found me.’

  ‘And he very kindly gave you your old job back?’ Jared asked.

  ‘No, of course not. He sent Pax down with a note saying he was there for a job, that all I had to do was provide him with some cover and pull apart whatever jewellery he brought back. Cochrane said if I did that, he wouldn’t come after me or Riley. I couldn’t believe it. Of course I went along with it. I’d been worrying about the day he walked free for years.’

  ‘So it’s okay with you if someone else’s daughter is murdered as long as it’s not yours,’ Indy said in disgust.

  ‘No!’ Tank growled. ‘I never, never knew that Pax was going to kill Madison and that other poor bugger. I never agreed to murder.’

  ‘Pax and who?’ Jared asked. ‘He didn’t commit those murders alone. Who’s he working with?’

  Tank’s gaze hit the table again. ‘Dunno.’

  ‘Why should we believe you?’ Jared asked.

  ‘I’m not bullshitting. If you want me to guess, I reckon that whole thing in the shop was a setup to make me look guilty then shoot me so I couldn’t talk. Shoulda known they’d use me to cover their tracks.’

  ‘Yeah, you should have,’ Jared said. ‘So where are the diamonds?’

  ‘I handed them over the afternoon of the break-in.’ Tank’s expression was strained. ‘Please. I’m just an old piece of shit, but Riley’s a good kid with her whole life ahead of her. He would have killed her. Pax still might, if he thinks I’m talking to you.’

  ‘Let us worry about Riley,’ Indy said.

  ‘I’ll do the worrying myself if it’s all the same.’ His expression was tortured. ‘I’ll cooperate fully and go a step further. There’s a whole lot more I can say about Cochrane, about the criminals he dealt with. Some of the names you won’t believe. But I’m not doing a thing, or saying a thing, until Riley and her friends are miles away in the wilderness where nothing can touch them. And I don’t want her coming back until this is all over. Do we have a deal?’

  ‘Jared?’ Indy nodded towards the door and he got up and followed her into the corridor.

  ‘What do you think?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t think he’s in much of a position to be calling the shots.’

  ‘There are a few crucial details of this case that might rely on his testimony. If protecting Riley is going to make him feel more inclined to talk, I think we should give him those couple of days to see her off on her hike with her friends. Pick up from there.’

  ‘Then let’s do it,’ Jared said and checked his watch. ‘Pin him down and threaten him with everything in our
arsenal then cut him loose for two days. We might even get away from work on time for once.’

  ‘That would be nice …’ She trailed off as she checked her phone, then listened to the message. ‘I’ll leave you to do that last bit. Gotta go,’ she said, already hurrying away.

  ‘I said, get in the car, Tess.’

  ‘And I said, no.’ Tess stood rigid, not fully able to believe that the man she’d dated, slept with, shared a history with, could really be a threat, but at the same time unable to ignore the alarm bells ringing in her ears. She backed up warily as he approached.

  ‘What are you going to do, Tess, run all the way home?’ His words were chilling in their quiet delivery.

  ‘Why are you acting like this?’ she asked desperately.

  ‘Like what?’ He was moving slowly, not letting her put too much distance between them. ‘I’ve been nothing but caring and considerate. You’re not doing so well without me, Tess. You’re losing the plot and I’m here to help. Just get in my car and everything will be fine. Trust me.’

  She backed into her car and saw Aaron tense as though ready to spring.

  A car came in fast off the highway. Indy. Relief flooded through her. Aaron turned, smiled then waved as though the last few moments hadn’t taken place.

  ‘Okay?’ Indy asked, jumping out.

  ‘She’s fine, just a radiator issue, I think,’ Aaron said. ‘Hello, Indy.’

  Indy ignored him. ‘Tess? Are you okay?’

  Tess stared hard at Aaron, then nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I was going to give her a lift home, but she was worried about her car.’

  ‘Thanks, Aaron,’ Indy said coolly. ‘We’ll be fine from here.’

  ‘No worries.’ He got in his car and wound down the window. ‘Oh, Tess. Almost forgot. I have something of yours.’ He held a large envelope out the window.

  She hesitantly walked to the car. When she tried to take the envelope he held on to it and looked her in the eyes.