Deadman’s Track

by Sarah Barrie

  She’d just gotten out when her phone rang. The voice on the other end told her all flights had been grounded until the weather improved.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Jared asked in a gravelly, sleep-filled voice.

  She sat on the bed and he dragged her down for a lazy kiss. ‘There’re no planes today. Weather conditions aren’t good enough. It’s supposed to clear in a day or two. So no Melaleuca until then. If we’re still going to make it back on Riley’s schedule I’m going to have to push them harder than I would have liked.’

  ‘Damn,’ Jared muttered.

  ‘It’s not that bad, is it?’ She ran a finger lightly down his chest.

  He caught it, kissed it. ‘I need Riley safely out of the way so Tank will talk. I’ll have to figure out something else.’

  She considered that, saw the worry in his face. Sighed heavily. ‘Okay, look. Bearing in mind I would generally never suggest this because who wants to walk in the pouring rain and the mud, but under the circumstances, I suppose we could go in from the other end. Start at Cockle Creek and hike out to Melaleuca.’

  Jared’s concern only increased. ‘You were the one who said it was too dangerous to head out there in bad weather.’

  ‘We’ll go slow and steady, hope the rain clears quickly. We’ve got a couple of extra days up our sleeve so we can bunk down out there if we have to. Riley and the others will still be out of the way and on the track.’

  ‘No. I don’t like it,’ Jared said. ‘I’m not going to be responsible for you putting yourself and those kids at risk.’

  What was left of Tess’s good mood evaporated as every argument she’d ever had with Aaron came flooding back. ‘You’re not responsible. I am. I said I’d take them out, I’ve told you I can do it safely!’ She heard her voice rise, lowered it. ‘This is what I do. We’ll be fine.’

  Jared swung up into a sitting position, face grave. ‘Tess, you can’t—’

  ‘Yes, I can!’ she snapped. ‘God, you’re all alike! Do this, don’t do that, yes you can, no you can’t! It’s like the second you sleep with a guy he thinks he owns you.’

  Jared rubbed his forehead, sighed. ‘That’s not true. I just don’t want anything to happen to any of you because you’re trying to do me a favour. I’d prefer you didn’t liken me to Aaron.’

  ‘And I’d prefer you didn’t act like him.’ She huffed out a breath. ‘I’m sorry, but I really need you to be different.’

  ‘Tess, I am.’

  He didn’t quite grate it out, but she could see the temper, and was too frustrated and angry herself to care. ‘Great, prove it. It’s a three-hour drive to Cockle Creek. Get up. I need someone to drive the shuttle bus.’

  Jai heard the footsteps on the stairs moments before Riley burst into his room.

  ‘You’re ready!’ she said.

  ‘Yeah. Of course.’ Of course he was ready. He’d spent what had remained of last night in the backyard shed, petrified Pax’s thugs would turn up and murder him in his bed. But they hadn’t come, so maybe it had been a mistake. Maybe they hadn’t been meant to kill him. But he didn’t quite believe it. The sooner they were out of here, the better.

  ‘Excellent. Wait—what happened to your face? Who hit you?’

  ‘Oh, um … no one.’ He’d rehearsed his excuse after seeing himself in the mirror just a moment ago. ‘I climbed up on the footstool to get my sleeping bag from the back of the linen cupboard and the damn thing slipped. Whacked my jaw on the shelf.’

  ‘Did you ice it?’ she asked. ‘It looks so sore.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. Looks worse than it feels,’ he lied. Then he pulled her in for a kiss, pressed the box into her hand and covered it with his own. ‘Happy birthday, Riley.’

  ‘Thank you!’ She opened it excitedly. And damn, she started to cry.

  ‘You don’t need to worry about anything,’ he told her. ‘I’ll take care of you. I’ll always take care of you, no matter what. I want to marry you. I do want to wait just a bit—until I have some more money put away so you can have a beautiful wedding and the house by the beach and everything you want. But that ring’s a promise. It’s a promise that that’s what I’m working towards, saving for. I love you, Riley.’ He took the ring and slid it on her finger.

  She flung herself into him, held tight. ‘I don’t need a big wedding and I can help save money, too. The school I’m interning at love me. I’m sure when a position comes up I’ll get it. We’ll have more than enough. Besides, I don’t want anything else right now. Just you.’

  He held on to her for several moments and let himself believe that one day he’d be able to keep his promise. But he’d had to say it, even though he wasn’t sure. In case he didn’t get another chance. If something did happen, she’d know what she meant to him. And that was important.

  He stepped back and brushed the tears from her face. ‘Let’s go hiking.’

  She gave him a watery smile. ‘I had a moment last night where I thought maybe we shouldn’t. I know you don’t really want to leave Evan in respite, and I wasn’t sure I should leave Dad with everything that’s been going on. I told him we could stay home, forget the whole thing.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘That we had to go. That he was putting his foot down. That we both needed a break and he’d paid a heap of money he wasn’t getting back. He practically kicked me out the door.’ She stared at the ring in wonder. His own gaze dropped to it. He frowned, looked closer. His heart stopped.

  No. That was impossible.

  ‘Let me see it for a minute,’ he said, sliding it back off her finger.

  ‘Why? What’s wrong?’ She almost snatched it back.

  His heart pumped viciously in his chest as he saw the small marking on the inside. Not Riley’s ring—Madison’s. ‘I think it might be a bit loose,’ he managed through his own panic. Pax was bound to come looking for him. He’d leave it on the table and Pax could take it. Hopefully he’d leave them alone. Jai had enough cash to buy her a replacement. ‘Why don’t we pop it away until after the hike and I’ll get it altered?’

  ‘No way! It’s a perfect fit.’ She took it from his shaky fingers and slid it back on. ‘It’s never leaving my finger again.’

  ‘You shouldn’t take it on the hike,’ he said more sharply than he meant to. ‘It could get lost.’

  ‘It won’t get lost. I’ll take care of it. Jai, what’s wrong with you?’

  Maybe Pax’s boss wouldn’t notice. The rings were almost identical. The dickhead that had taken the ring hadn’t realised the mistake last night. He could be panicking for nothing.

  He looked down at the mixture of confusion and hurt on Riley’s face. If he was going to tell her, now was the time. But how could he tell her without telling her all of it?

  ‘Nothing,’ he finally blurted out. ‘Nothing I just … would hate for you to lose it.’

  ‘I won’t,’ she promised. ‘I know how hard it must have been for you to afford this. I’ll treasure it. Always.’ She groaned when her phone rang. He watched her face fall as she answered and he wondered what else could possibly have gone wrong this morning. But then the worry lifted and she was smiling into the phone.

  ‘Our flight’s been cancelled because of the rain,’ she told him a moment later. ‘But Tess said we can walk the track from the other direction.’ She took another happy look at her ring. Sighing, she held his face in her hands and kissed him again. ‘This is going to be great.’

  He checked out the window several times while they waited for the shuttle bus, expecting Pax or one of the gunmen to turn up at any moment. A million miles from nowhere had sounded like a nightmare up until this morning. Now he couldn’t wait to go out there. Now it seemed like the only safe place on earth.

  The shuttle turned up at nine and Tess and Jared helped them load their gear. There was a weird vibe between them, and when he’d repeated the lie about his bruised jaw to Denham, he wasn’t sure the guy believed him. Why had the detective come, anyway?
Riley had said she’d thought he and Tess were a couple, but they weren’t acting much like it.

  Brock, Jasmin, Chris and Alex were already on board, as well as a middle-aged couple who introduced themselves as James and Libby, a couple of local lawyers. James had a serious face and a head of perfectly cut greying ginger hair, a bit of a stomach protruding over the belt of his jeans and the soft appearance of someone who spent all their time behind a desk. Libby was willow slim and had a fragile appearance. Makeup. Who wore makeup on a hike? But she had a kind smile, which he returned as he introduced himself. Riley quickly greeted the couple on her way to the back of the shuttle, straight to Jasmin. The two girls gushed over the ring while Brock moved to take a seat next to him.

  ‘You’re keen. Trying to make me look bad?’ he joked.

  ‘Nah,’ Jai scoffed. ‘Riley and I have been together forever. You and Jasmin are a new thing.’

  ‘Might feel like forever but, mate, are you sure? There’s heaps of time to worry about marriage and stuff later, right?’

  ‘You never know,’ he replied, thinking about Pax, and about the man who’d already made the hike more uncomfortable than it needed to be by almost getting him killed.

  The bus headed out of the city through suburbs and bush and farmland, and beyond, where rainforest occasionally parted to show the sparkling blue water and white sandy beaches of the coast. The surfaced road became gravel as they approached their destination and campsites popped up, some with tents and campervans inhabiting them. Then they were crossing a bridge and pulling up at a small parking area overlooking more coastline. Jai wished he was in the mood to appreciate the scenery and winced when he realised he’d chewed a fingernail too short. If Pax didn’t kill him, his own nerves might.

  ‘Here we are!’ Riley turned her attention to Jai as she got up from her seat. ‘Ready?’

  He managed a smile, a nod. ‘Let’s do it.’

  Tess and Jared climbed out first to unload the gear. Jai grabbed his and Riley’s packs, moved them out of the way, and noticed Riley and Jasmin were further away reading a sign. It was a visitor’s notice: YOU’VE REACHED THE END OF THE ROAD. He thought it was probably right in more ways than one.

  CHAPTER

  32

  Tess felt the first raindrops hit her as she gathered the group together. ‘I’m guessing we might be held up at least once, maybe more,’ she told Jared stiffly. ‘I’ll be in touch if our schedule changes.’

  ‘Good luck,’ he said in much the same tone. They hadn’t spoken more than was necessary since the argument. She’d felt the disapproval pouring from him as they’d picked up the hikers and loaded the bus, and hadn’t she had enough of that from Aaron? Still, she’d expected more objections as the morning progressed. Aaron would have insisted on being right, gotten nasty or at least patronising. Jared had done none of that. He’d kept whatever thoughts he had to himself and brought them out here anyway. She was all too aware he didn’t agree with them going, that he was annoyed at the way she’d spoken to him and that had gotten her back up even further, but … perhaps he had a right to be. She’d probably overreacted. A part of her really wanted to talk about it and clear the air. But there was no chance to talk about it now, so she smiled briefly and stepped away.

  ‘All right, does everyone have their waterproof covers on their packs? Water handy? We’re going to head over to the registration shelter first, sign on. Grab your stuff, let’s go.’

  They crossed a boardwalk and signed on. Tess noted no other hikers had logged on in the last couple of weeks. That wasn’t surprising for the time of year, and almost everyone that was going to brave the hike did it from the other direction.

  The group were chatty as they began the walk that took them through light forest. The walking here was easy, a mix of rocky path and boardwalk and the rain was holding off, making the trek more pleasant. But as if she needed reminding of the cold, the surrounding ranges came into view, dusted heavily with snow.

  Libby and James walked with her, while Riley’s group was a few metres back.

  ‘So you’ve done this walk a few times?’ James asked.

  ‘This particular one I’ve done four times, though never from this direction. I’ve always flown groups in, come back. But I know the way, don’t worry.’

  ‘We were so glad you could take us,’ Libby said. ‘It’s just what we needed.’ She slipped her hand into James’s. ‘Right, hon?’

  James’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘A long walk with a heavy pack in the freezing cold? Absolutely.’

  Libby’s expression became hurt. ‘You said—’

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ he said. ‘Sorry. I’m sure it’ll be great.’

  ‘We’ve been working on our marriage,’ Libby admitted. ‘Our counsellor said to do something together away from the office. It’s not easy running a business, living and working long hours under each other’s noses, and well … we just need to take some time to remember why we’re together in the first place.’

  ‘I hope it works out for you,’ Tess said, not only for their benefit but for the hiking group in general. Having two people at each other’s throats the whole way wouldn’t be fun. It would make for a long nine days.

  They continued to where forest opened up to the wet, button-grass plains of Blowhole Valley before the track darkened again with scrub and fern.

  ‘Oh, is that the ocean I can hear?’ Libby asked.

  ‘Yep. It’s still a fair way off, but we’ll get there.’

  She kept them going until they reached the black, sloping cliffs of an exposed bluff.

  ‘Where are we?’ Riley asked, catching up to gaze out over the incredible view. The ocean was wild in the turbulent weather, but the wind wasn’t as bad as Tess had feared. ‘This is South Cape Bay. Over to the left is South East Cape which is the southernmost point of Australia, to the right is Lion Rock. If anyone wants to stop for photos, this is a good spot.’

  ‘How much further today?’ Jasmin asked, dropping her pack to rub her shoulders.

  ‘It’s not a long walk today. We’re about two-thirds of the way to our campsite already,’ Tess said. ‘We’re going to follow the cliffs a couple of hundred metres further, then take some stairs down to the beach. But once we get back up off the beach, there’s going to be some steep and muddy uphill trekking through the scrub before we make it to our campsite at South Cape Rivulet.’

  Jasmin rolled her feet around in her boots. Tess stared at the boots. They looked brand new.

  ‘Did you wear those boots in?’

  ‘Wear them in?’ Jasmin asked blankly.

  ‘As in do some walking in them before today.’

  ‘No, I only just got them two days ago. They’re expensive. I didn’t want to wreck them before we started.’ She wiggled them. ‘Nice, huh?’

  ‘Hmm.’ Tess briefly wondered if anyone had done any of the reading she’d given them or if it had all been left in the shop following the break-in. Perhaps she should have chased that up. By the end of the day or tomorrow, tops, Jasmin’s blistered feet were destined to be the next drama and who knew what was to come after that?

  ‘Did you bring bandaids?’

  ‘Yeah. I brought everything.’ Jasmin laughed.

  ‘Hey, Tess,’ Riley called. ‘Can you take a picture of us?’

  ‘Sure.’ She waited for them to hand over cameras and phones and bunch together. Alex, Chris and Brock shuffled around by the edge, looking over the cliff. Chris shoved Alex, grabbed him and pulled him back. Tess’s heart leapt into her throat.

  ‘Don’t get too close to the edge,’ she warned them. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘We’re fine!’ Alex said, still messing around as though determined to do the exact opposite.

  Here we go. ‘National Parks have posted signs at different places along the track. If you don’t want to listen to me, at least read them, okay? I’d rather not have to perform any rescues or explain to anyone’s families why they didn’t make it back.’r />
  Jasmin spotted the sign Tess was talking about and jogged over. ‘“Cliff edge can collapse without warning”,’ she read. ‘“Severe hazard area”!’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Chris said. ‘They have to post those signs to protect themselves from idiots. Don’t worry about it.’

  Jasmin shook her head. ‘“Severe risk”, “use caution”, “the area is only for experienced visitors” … You should come and read this!’

  ‘Lighten up, Jas,’ Brock called, then said jokingly to Tess, ‘Now you’ve done it. I’d be surprised if she doesn’t want to go back and we’ve only just started.’

  ‘She’s not the one who should go back,’ Tess snapped at him. ‘I said I wasn’t taking anyone out who wouldn’t listen and follow instructions. Make up your minds. Because unless you’re prepared to do what I tell you, when I tell you, I’m not taking you any further.’

  The boys stared at her for several seconds before their smiles dropped. Alex said something under his breath she couldn’t catch but they all smirked at each other.

  ‘Fine,’ Brock agreed, annoyed. ‘Can we just take the damn photo and get going? You know, away from these dangerous cliffs?’ he said, wide-eyed and sarcastic.

  ‘Pull your head in, Brock, and smile,’ Riley ordered without heat.

  Tess took their photos for them, handed their phones and cameras back and hoped the three boys would settle down once they got further on their way. ‘Okay, let’s get moving.’

  Jasmin took her camera from Tess, then as she stepped back, almost tripped over her pack. James grabbed her arm to steady her.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  Jasmin looked up into his face, flushed pink. ‘Yeah, thanks.’

  ‘Everything okay?’ Brock asked, staring at the hand on her arm.

  ‘Yeah, I’m just a klutz.’ Jasmin laughed, but her eyes returned shyly to James’s. ‘Thanks.’

  James chuckled, his smile fading as he caught sight of Libby’s face behind Jasmin’s. ‘You said that already. No problem.’