Promise of Hunters Ridge

by Sarah Barrie

  He gently traced the line of her cheekbone with the backs of his fingers. ‘Mia …’

  His mobile shrilled and his eyes closed in annoyance. He had to answer it, but for two more rings he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  It was Mia who stepped back. ‘You better get that.’

  ‘Right.’ He pulled it from his pocket. ‘Bowden.’

  ‘Chapel’s dead,’ Russ told him. ‘Same place he met up with Mia.’

  ‘I’m on my way.’

  Mia smiled in understanding as he hung up. ‘See ya.’

  ‘Yes, you will. But … in case this drags on, I’d better take a key with me.’

  Mia followed him to the door, pulled her keyring from the hall table and removed a key from it. ‘I’ll need it back—Ally’s got my spare.’

  ‘It’ll be back before you need it. I’ll put a car on the house while I’m gone.’ He kissed her once more, a brief promise, and walked away. Getting his head back on the job was going to be an issue.

  He arrived at Pipers and made his way through the crowd, ducking under police tape to step around other officers and behind the barrier that hid Chapel’s body from the curious public.

  ‘Russ,’ Ben said.

  ‘That was quick.’

  ‘And the timing sucks. Did you get to spend any time with Janine?’

  ‘A bit.’

  ‘I didn’t expect this one.’ Ben nodded at the body. Dressed in black and shoeless, Chapel was sprawled on the ground, face up. A gunshot wound to the chest was the obvious cause of death. ‘Who found him?’

  ‘Apprentice chef taking the rubbish out.’

  ‘No witnesses?’

  ‘No one.’

  ‘Someone must have heard something.’

  ‘Around here?’

  ‘Murder weapon?’

  ‘We’re searching. Nothing yet.’

  ‘Have you searched him?’

  ‘Got a phone off him, his own weapon was concealed in his jacket.’

  ‘He knew the perp.’

  ‘Or he was just taken by surprise.’

  ‘You don’t lurk around this area and get taken by surprise,’ Ben said.

  ‘Got to wonder what he was doing back here.’

  ‘We’ll know more when Adriana’s had a look at him.’

  The process was long and tedious, and not helped by Stuart’s arrival. By the time Ben got back to Mia’s, it was the early hours of the morning. He crept in, deciding not to shower in case he woke her. Instead he kicked his legs up on the lounge and was instantly asleep.

  CHAPTER

  22

  The sound of a cup being placed on the coffee table beside him woke him up. He smiled lazily when he opened his eyes to Mia. ‘Good morning.’

  ‘Good morning. What time did you get back?’

  ‘Around three, I think. What time is it now?’

  ‘Six thirty. I wasn’t sure when you needed to be up.’

  ‘That’s perfect, thanks.’ Then he noticed her attire for the first time. ‘You’re showered and dressed early. Where are you off to?’

  ‘Nowhere for a couple of hours. After I work out it’s really better I shower straight away.’

  ‘You’ve already run?’

  ‘And the rest.’

  He swung to a sitting position. Grimaced. He wasn’t getting any closer to her in this state. ‘I’d better have a shower too. I’ll be quick so the coffee doesn’t get cold.’

  True to his word, he was fast, and took his still warm coffee onto the balcony where Mia was busily working on some photos on her laptop. The sun was coming up, the street was already busy, the radio was on. A day like any other. Except it wasn’t. All he wanted to do was get his hands on her again. Looking back, it was hard to believe he’d kept them off her so long.

  She spun quickly, a little too quickly, then smiled and relaxed when he stepped into view. Sort of relaxed. She was doing that thing with her fingernails at the edge of the keyboard, chewing on her cheek like she did when she wasn’t sure what to say. Her eyes were focused on the screen, the finger of her other hand tapping lightly in place over a key in time with the radio.

  Jittery, he decided. Mia was jittery. The idea put a smile on his face. And he had a pretty good idea how to fix it. He put his cup down out of the way, moved hers, and slid her laptop back too—just in case. Then he pulled her to her feet. Before any sound had the opportunity to escape her startled mouth he covered it with his.

  This morning she smelled like summer, a scent for the daytime. His hands slid around her narrow waist and—screw it—found their way under her shirt. He’d wanted to feel the smoothness of her skin for so long, and when he did, she shuddered and sank a little, as though the strength in her legs deserted her. He drew her arms up behind his neck and she linked them there, her breath trembling out as his fingers ran back down her raised arms, along her torso. Her body arched, her head fell back. He took the opportunity to tease the sensitive areas of her neck with his mouth. Another shudder, a gasp, then his mouth returned to hers, and he sank with her until she dropped her head forwards to hide in his chest, her breathing as heavy as his.

  ‘That’s the “good morning” I would have given you earlier had I not still been in yesterday’s clothes.’

  She nodded against his chest, a hmm sound coming from her throat. When she didn’t move, he caught her face in his hands and stepped back to look into her eyes.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m not sure. You caught me a bit off guard.’ Her expression went from happily dazed to playful. ‘We’d better try that again.’

  Ben went back out to Pipers Hotel to speak to the apprentice chef who had found Chapel’s body. He knew Russ had already taken care of it, but he’d been hoping something else might have come to the young man overnight: one detail, one small fact that would give him a clue. But the kid had been so completely freaked out he hadn’t turned up for work.

  Because he was already there, Ben went around the back to take another look. The scene had been cleaned up—there was no sign the murder had taken place. With everyone who had been over it, he didn’t expect to find any more evidence, just wanted to get a feel for the area, for where everyone had been, for how it could have happened.

  A shuffling sound had him spinning, hand on his weapon. A man dressed in tracksuit pants sporting gaping holes and several layers of mismatched shirts appeared from behind the Cleanaway. Filthy was an understatement. Ben felt an immediate pang of sympathy for the man who eyed him warily before turning his back on him to inspect the bin.

  But it wasn’t the clothes or the dirt that caught Ben’s attention. The man’s shoes were an expensive brand. Too big. Looked almost new. Like the ones Chapel was missing when he was found.

  ‘Hey, buddy.’

  The man turned a cautious, heavily lined face to him briefly. ‘Don’t know nothing. Wasn’t there. Wasn’t me.’

  ‘No worries, I get that. Can you tell me where you got your shoes?’

  ‘Can’t have my shoes. My shoes. Finders keepers. Can’t have my shoes.’

  ‘That’s okay. I won’t take your shoes. Finders keepers. Did you see what happened to the guy who was wearing them before you found them?’

  The man thought about that, looked again. ‘You’re not gonna take my shoes?’

  ‘No, I’m not going to take your shoes. I’m just hoping you might know what happened.’

  He lifted his fingers like a gun. ‘Nice suit. Got the money? Bang.’ His eyes widened as though seeing the scene again. ‘Bang. Can’t have my shoes.’

  Ben edged along beside the man as he tried to move off. ‘The shooter was wearing a suit? Was it a man? What did he look like?’

  ‘Nice suit. He took the phone. I took the shoes. Finders keepers.’

  ‘Okay, thanks. Hey, you want a meal? Here.’ Ben passed him a twenty.

  ‘KFC. Thanks. Goin’ KFC.’

  Ben watched him leave. He’d said the shooter had taken the phone. If Chap
el had known the shooter, the shooter would have taken Chapel’s main phone to hide any evidence of their dealings. But a phone had been found on Chapel. He was betting it would be the one he’d only used to contact Mia, but he’d have to confirm that. Another attempt to implicate her? If that was the case, the shooter was the same person who’d tipped off Davis Walker—Liam Jones?

  He went back to his office, dug out the photos Davis had handed over. Who had tipped him off? He thought back to Mia’s account of the events. She’d only just had time to get to the meeting place after receiving the phone call. Because she’d been out at a dressage comp. The same dressage comp Davis had photographed her attending.

  Davis had been in Hunters Ridge that day.

  He got on the computer, pulled up the article Davis had written on Mia with that big, splashy photo. He sat back, thinking. Cam had said that after the event, Linda told Davis the next morning she wouldn’t be having him back. The next morning. Davis couldn’t have been at that meeting. He was never there. Someone else took those photos and passed them on to him. And Davis, who had yet to get back to Ben over the mysterious source, was going to tell him who that person was.

  He called, left a message. Then he went in search of Russ. Russ wasn’t in his office so he headed for the cafeteria, because Russ was pretty regimented with his break time. He hadn’t even stepped into the room when he heard Stuart’s voice echoing out the door.

  ‘So she goes to see Boland, who knows where the hunters are and is a known associate of Chapel, meets with Chapel and pays him cash. Over the next week the hunters involved in the Hunters Ridge hunt in which she was abducted are murdered in classic Chapel hits. Mia gets a text from Chapel to say the jobs are done. While Mia’s out at Hunters Ridge, everything settles down. Mia comes back to the city and disappears for the afternoon and that night we find Chapel dead at their known meeting spot. The murder weapon is the same make of gun that she says mysteriously vanished from her home. Is it that fucking hard?’

  ‘I know the facts, Stuart,’ Ben said, stepping into his line of sight, ‘that’s why I’m the lead investigator in this case.’

  ‘Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn’t be.’

  There was silence as the half-dozen other cops in the room stopped, shocked.

  ‘My office.’

  Ben turned and almost collided with Russ. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Stuart thinks perhaps he’s better equipped to run this investigation. We’re going to have a quiet chat about that, and about conduct.’

  ‘I think I’ll sit in.’

  The three men went into his office and Ben closed the door before turning on Stuart.

  ‘Where the hell do you think you get off, carrying on like that?’

  ‘I only stated the facts of the case,’ Stuart argued. ‘So explain to me, please, what I shouldn’t have said.’

  ‘I’m not sure I have time to introduce you to the concepts behind teamwork, loyalty and shutting the fuck up. So I’ll tell you that I know it doesn’t look good when you lay out the basics of Mia’s involvement, but I’ve got another theory.’

  Stuart smirked. ‘I’m dying to hear it.’

  ‘Shut up, Stuart,’ Russ said. ‘You might learn something.’

  ‘I think the cop involved in all of this is using Mia as a convenient scapegoat,’ he said, staring hard at Stuart.

  ‘You don’t even know there is a cop involved,’ Stuart scoffed. ‘That Liam guy? It’s Littleton. End of story.’

  ‘And,’ Ben continued, ignoring the interruption, ‘I’m on the verge of being able to prove it. When I do, you’re not going to want to look like much more of an idiot than you already appear. So keep your mouth shut.’

  ‘How’s that?’ Russ asked.

  Ben briefly explained about the homeless man and Davis Walker.

  ‘Doesn’t sound like a very reliable witness,’ Stuart argued. ‘And so what if Davis got the photos from someone instead of taking them himself? The evidence they provide is the same.’

  ‘How the hell did you make detective?’ Russ asked in bewilderment. ‘Ben, this could be something—could be. But it doesn’t prove anything. You need more.’

  ‘I know, and I’m going to get it. I have another idea …’ He decided against saying anything more in front of Stuart. ‘But there’s something I have to do first. Let’s aim for a lunchtime meeting tomorrow and I’ll explain everything then.’

  He didn’t waste any time getting to the prison. Once there, Ben sat down opposite Brent Boland and got straight to the point. ‘I need to talk to you about Chapel.’

  ‘Oh, come on, man, I told you, I can’t give you that.’

  ‘Why not? Right now you can’t really be in any more trouble.’

  ‘No, but I could be dead.’

  ‘Well, Chapel won’t be killing anyone else. He was murdered.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Yeah. Any idea who might have wanted to kill him?’

  ‘Lotta people, I’d guess.’

  ‘Specifically?’

  ‘Dunno.’

  ‘How did you contact him, Brent?’

  ‘What’s it matter? You won’t be talking to him now.’

  ‘You let me worry about that. How?’

  ‘I told ya, I can’t say.’

  ‘How about we start revoking some privileges around here?’

  He smirked. ‘Ain’t got none.’

  ‘Right, then I guess I’ll have to go straight to talking to the other inmates.’

  ‘What have they got to do with anything? They don’t know nothing.’

  ‘No? Well, they’re going to know you’re talking to me.’

  ‘I’m not talking to you!’

  Ben just smiled. ‘I wonder what these snitches you’re worried about will do if they find out you’re passing on information.’

  Boland’s hands clenched on the table. ‘You’ll fuck up everything!’

  ‘Too bad.’

  He got angrily to his feet. ‘That bitch shoulda killed you by now!’

  ‘About that. I’m adding attempted rape to your list of charges.’

  ‘Worth it,’ he said with a sneer.

  Ben slammed his hands on the table. ‘You’re never getting out of here. You’re never going to touch a woman again.’

  ‘You’re not the only cop willing to deal, Bowden. I’ll be out before you know it.’

  ‘I don’t know who’s promised you what, but don’t bet on it.’

  ‘And the first thing I’m gonna do,’ Boland continued, ‘is pay Mia another visit.’

  Ben stood, his expression filled with loathing. ‘You might walk in. You won’t walk out.’ Disgusted, but armed with the information he’d come for, Ben left him there. Brent Boland was dealing with another cop. And it wasn’t one of Ben’s team. He was betting Liam Jones had made him some other deal that had nothing to do with giving up information, and everything to do with framing Mia so he could murder the other hunters. But why?

  Mia heard the key in the door as she was finishing up work for the day. Her pulse jumped, and she smiled to herself. She thought perhaps she should be cautious of this new development in their relationship but she was too happy about it. Then she saw his face. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Chapel was murdered last night. In the same place you met with him to get that information he was supposed to have given you. I’ve been dealing with that most of the day and I need to talk to you about it.’

  Someone had murdered the Hulk. It was almost inconceivable. ‘So now we’ll never get the information. Unless somehow Brent Boland can still get his hands on it. Should I talk to him again?’

  ‘No. Mia, Russ is probably going to ask you where you were yesterday evening between work and when you got to Bear’s.’

  Her brow shot up. ‘Was that when he was killed?’

  Ben nodded. ‘Around six pm.’

  ‘That’s about the time I got to Bear’s.’ Surely, surely Ben couldn’t think she’d disappeared to murder the man?
Her heart sank. ‘And Russ is probably going to ask me because you don’t want to?’

  His face darkened. ‘Stop it.’

  She searched his eyes and saw only concern. ‘Okay, sorry. Force of habit. I went … I had a meeting at two then I went out to North Head Lookout.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I … wanted to.’

  ‘By yourself?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did anyone see you? Did you speak to anyone?’

  ‘No—wait, yes. But I don’t know who they were.’

  ‘That doesn’t help.’

  ‘They were two young guys, maybe early twenties, both blond, heavy accents—Scandinavian. They were staying at the backpackers’. I imagine they meant the Manly one.’

  ‘That’s slightly more useful.’

  ‘You really think I’m going to need an alibi?’

  ‘No. But I don’t leave anything to chance, you know that. I’ll chase it up.’

  ‘Ben, I’m not stupid,’ she told him quietly.

  ‘You don’t need to tell me that.’

  ‘Everything Stuart Perkins said—it’s what people are thinking, right? Now the guy I supposedly paid to murder everyone is murdered at that same meeting spot, and I just happen to be back in town and by myself at the time he was killed. It’s a pretty simple theory.’

  ‘It’s too simple. Because you’re not stupid. And you’d have to be to work that way. Don’t pay any attention to Stuart.’ He slid his hands along her arms. ‘I don’t want you to worry about it.’

  ‘I won’t,’ she told him, then forced a smile onto her face. ‘Because I know you’ll figure it out.’

  The hands went around her. ‘Mia Morgan finally trusts me?’

  ‘I do,’ she said. She twined her arms around his neck and had to tip her head back to look at him. His eyes narrowed playfully.

  ‘Why were you talking to those two backpackers?’

  ‘Because they thought I was pretty.’ She fluttered her eyelashes.

  ‘Pretty’s too tame for what you are.’

  She’d always imagined if they ever gave in to each other it would be in a frenzy, a mindless rush. Ben surprised her. He always surprised her. He lifted a hand to her face, his fingers gently tracing the delicate angles of her cheek and jaw, her lips. The heat in his eyes alone was enough to kickstart her heart and raise her own temperature to soaring. She was nervous. She was never nervous. She briefly put some consideration into the butterflies in her stomach. Yeah, nervous. But God, she wanted him.