by Helene Young
‘Stirling’s related to why you’re in protection?’ Noah didn’t look happy.
Conor nodded.
‘Bloody hell,’ Noah muttered. He turned to Darcy. ‘You go, see Rosie. Looks like I’m not going anywhere until I’ve heard this.’
‘Okay,’ Darcy replied, grateful that she was no longer making all the decisions.
‘Take the hire car. And bring back some more food as well. Just be back by one-fifteen so I can get to the airport.’
She nodded and gathered her wallet, phone and iPad. The two men were already talking. What would Noah make of Conor’s claims about Grant? she wondered. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or saddened that there may have been another explanation for Grant’s crazy behaviour. Her bottom lip felt bruised and she ran her tongue over it as her cheeks flushed. Grant didn’t have a monopoly on crazy behaviour. What if Conor said something to Noah?
As she bumped back up the track she glanced in her rear-vision mirror. The building looked derelict. No sign of the car. Just another deserted farm, hiding even more secrets.
She hit the road driving as quickly as she dared. Her thoughts swung back to the most important person in this whole sorry drama. ‘Hang on, Rosie,’ she murmured. ‘Hang on.’
23
Conor finished talking and the silence settled around them. The whisper of wind through the grey tips of the grass was a soft sigh of regret.
‘Where did you get the copy of his autopsy report?’ Noah asked. He was looking for holes in the story, inconsistencies. He didn’t like the direction his thoughts kept heading. This was all smoke and mirrors. Add in the information from the inspector in Brisbane and the whole ugly picture was taking shape. How long would Conor continue lying? And there was something a little too cocky about the other man right now. The undercurrent between Conor and Darcy was all too obvious. It made Noah angry and sad in equal measures, but he had a job to do. No time to worry about missed opportunities. That would come later. Again.
‘The John Tonge Centre keeps the records.’
‘Yes, but how did you access those records?’
Conor looked down. ‘I didn’t need to. The local doctor’s surgery still had a copy.’
‘Doctor Chappell?’
‘No, the older one.’
Noah was perplexed, then it hit him. ‘Beverley Fletcher supplied you with a copy?’ He was incredulous, but then hell hath no fury and she had been very publicly scorned.
‘She did. She scanned it and emailed it to me. My wife was a doctor. I still had electronic signatures with hospital logos on Annabel’s computer. Bev Fletcher thought she was giving Grant’s grandmother closure. She didn’t question a Gmail address. That was a month ago. I made an enquiry, it all looked very official. I doubt she thought twice about it. I doubt she even read the report.’
‘So she has no idea?’
‘Why would she?’ Conor looked puzzled.
‘I always wondered what she did and didn’t know.’
This time Conor narrowed his eyes. ‘You’re not surprised. You knew already?’
Noah nodded, feeling the weight of his inaction pressing on his chest. ‘I found out the day before Grant died. I should have gone straight to Stirling, but instead I argued with Grant. Afterwards I should have done something about it instead of trying to get as far away from Stirling Fletcher as I could.’
‘How old were you?’
‘Nineteen. Grant and I were the same age. Darcy is three years younger.’
‘Was he supplying anyone else?’
‘I have no idea how many of the team were on it,’ Noah replied. His anger was building. Anger at himself for his inaction and anger at Stirling, at Rod Reeves, for playing god with young men’s lives.
‘Did Grant know he was taking steroids?’
‘Yes. Winning was all that mattered to him. The prize was always in sight. Sixteen years ago they were just starting to hand out lucrative contracts and he was good enough to have gone right to the top. He had talent, dedication and the right attitude. His family was pretty poor, so sport was the only leg-up he was going to get. Sport was his pass out of Banksia Cove.’
‘Would he have administered the drugs himself?’
‘I don’t know, but Stirling was a control freak so I doubt he would have handed over anything more than a couple of doses at a time. We all took the supplements he gave us on the spot.’
‘Clear’s highly concentrated.’
‘So maybe Grant took too much that day or maybe Stirling was experimenting. Maybe he’d increased the dose for Grant weeks before. Grant had been getting more and more aggressive, but that day he was off the planet; he had no sense of the seriousness of the situation. Darcy was scared out of her mind.’
‘You were there?’
‘I was.’ Noah walked a few steps away and looked down the valley. In the distance the green pastures his father was currently using to graze his herd stood out like a shining oasis in the late morning sun. It had all been so simple then, so straightforward. A hawk hung in the breeze, its brown and white plumage stark against the blue of the sky. The fog had burned off in the mid-morning sun, and there was nowhere for any rodent to hide in the paddock. The hawk folded its wings and arrowed to the ground, pulling up short in a flurry of feathers. Seconds later it rose into the air, a struggling bundle of fur caught in its talons.
He turned around to Conor. ‘It’s ironic that Darcy’s gone to such lengths to keep you safe, the man who’s finally going to take down her father. They’ve never been close. Girls are second-class citizens in Stirlo’s opinion. He and Grant were more like father and son. Grant’s old man was never there. When Stirlo tucked Grant under his wing, he came out of his shell.’
Conor frowned and Noah had the distinct impression he was hiding something else when he asked, ‘What did Grant’s father think of that?’
‘I doubt anyone asked him. He was too busy working up at Gladstone, keeping their heads above water, just. Grant’s mum died when he was young. I heard she committed suicide, but that’s only hearsay. Grant pretty much ran wild until the Fletchers turned up.’
‘Convenient.’
‘Convenient?’ Noah pounced. ‘What do you mean?
Conor breathed in, breathed out with a sigh. ‘Stirling Fletcher was Grant’s biological father.’
‘Bullshit!’ Noah spun away, took a step. Unease was crowding him. He faced Conor. ‘What’s your proof?’
‘Birth certificate.’ The other man’s gaze was unwavering but Noah saw the truth in it.
‘And how did you access that?’
‘I may have been AWOL from the Witness Protection team, but I still have contacts in ACC. It’s a simple enough request for a law enforcement agency, you’d know that. They confirmed it.’
‘Bloody Stirling. No wonder he didn’t want Grant and Darcy to ever get together. What a fucking idiot.’
Noah turned to face the valley again. The hills in the distance were flat-topped, a clear demarcation between earth and sky. Black dots showed on their flanks. Daisy Hill cows out to pasture. It all looked so serene
‘Why didn’t Grant’s old man know? He was mightily proud of his son.’
‘We’ll never know now.’
‘We’ll only know if Stirling tells and he’s not exactly a reliable witness.’ Noah’s phone rang. He was officially on a day off, but he was waiting for another call from the inspector in Brisbane. He didn’t recognise the number.
‘Noah speaking.’
‘Noah? It’s Beverley Fletcher.’ Her voice was too bright.
‘Mrs Fletcher. How are you?’
‘Is Darcy with you? She’s not answering her phone.’
‘No, she’s just left. Maybe her phone’s flat. Can I pass on a message?’
There was silence, a pause that made him think Beverley was struggling with tears. ‘Yes, I suppose you can. It’s just . . .’ She stopped and he heard her take a sharp breath. ‘Tell her Amelia’s missing. She needs to talk to
Stirling, just this once. She needs to listen to her father.’
‘Amelia hasn’t just walked off by herself?’
‘She’s just a baby!’ She sobbed clearly this time.
‘How can I help?’
‘It’s too late for that, Noah.’
‘Try me. Is this about Rod Reeves and Stirling, Grant White’s death?’
He heard her gasp.
‘You know? How could you know?’
‘It’s my job to know. You remember that nice man from the yacht? You took him some clothes in hospital? He’s just finished telling me a fascinating story. Stirling’s not going to come out of this squeaky clean, Beverley. Now, tell me what’s happened to the little girl. Let me help.’
‘They took her. They waited for me to arrive this morning and when Chantelle buzzed me in through the security gate, they forced their way in too. She’s only a baby. They said if Darcy didn’t hand over that man, then they’ll kill her. Chantelle’s hysterical. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Ring the police in New South Wales. ‘
‘But they said if I did that, they’d kill her.’
‘Beverley, I am the police. You’ve already called me.’
‘But you’re different. You’re in Queensland. You’re Noah.’
‘I don’t think that’s going to make any difference. You need to call New South Wales police.’
‘But they’ll kill her!’
‘Beverley, where are you?’
‘At Stirling’s house.’
‘Do you have a mobile?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then give me the number and your address and I’ll ring you back shortly.’
Noah scribbled down the details and hung up. Conor was watching him intently.
‘Know anyone likely to kidnap a small child?’
‘Fuck.’ Conor surged to his feet. ‘Don’t look at me like that. I can’t even make a phone call right now let alone organise a child abduction.’
‘So who would?’
‘Rod Reeves and his organisation.’
‘Organisation?’ Noah’s temper was on the verge of snapping as Conor stayed silent. ‘Russian mafia, you mean? I worked that out for myself, but it might have been good to know three days ago you weren’t an innocent sailor caught in a storm.’
Conor’s face was grim. ‘It’s why the ACC were so interested and if he can shoot my family in cold blood, what’s the life of a young child? Who is it? Someone I know?’
‘It’s Stirling’s latest addition to the gene pool. Amelia. Eighteen months old.’
‘Bastards.’
‘An eye for an eye. Darcy gives you up, then Stirling gets his princess back.’ Noah couldn’t stop the shudder that ripped through him. If Stirling had to choose between his daughters, Darcy was going to come off second best. Again. He dialled as he walked away. Noah would use every contact he could to secure Amelia’s safe return because that would help keep Darcy safe.
It took longer than he wanted, but he was satisfied when he hung up that the wheels were starting to turn. There was no way this was just about some illegal steroid use and match-fixing. He’d done a stint in the organised-crime division and knew that Russian crime syndicates had muscled into Australia in recent years. If Rod Reeves was up to his neck in it, Conor Stein was as well. You didn’t cook the books for the Russian mob without earning their trust – or losing it.
Conor was sat on one of the fallen tank stand’s legs. He looked up as Noah approached. ‘I bet you wish I’d gone down with Phoenix.’
‘Not really,’ Noah retorted. ‘I’d much rather see Stirling Fletcher hung out to dry even though it’s going to hurt Darcy. If I’d known for certain the steroids contributed to Grant’s death, I would have done more than keep an eye on Stirling back then. He deserves whatever you can throw at him. But his little girl doesn’t deserve to be a pawn in this game and neither does Darcy.’ He checked his watch and went in for the kill. ‘But there’s more to it, isn’t there. We’ve got two hours until Darcy’s back. I want the truth, Conor. You owe me that much.’
‘I’ve told you the truth,’ he said, holding Noah’s hostile gaze.
‘No, you’re an accomplished liar. Never trust a man who looks you dead in the eye.’
‘I’ve got nothing else to say.’ Conor held up his hands. His annoyance seemed feigned.
‘This is a hell of a lot of grief for something that’s ancient history. Russian mafia, Rod Reeves, Stirling, they’re all connected. The truth. Now.’ Noah moved a step closer and loomed over the seated man prepared to use more than words to get an answer this time.
Conor glared at him, then laughed. ‘Never write off a small-town policeman.’
‘No shit.’ For a long moment neither moved.
‘One: Rod Reeves is Russian,’ Noah said, holding up one finger. ‘Doesn’t sound like one, but he’s first generation Australian with Russian parents. Two: there’s a rental car driving around Banksia Cove hired by a man with a Russian name and he may just have caused the mother of all traffic accidents so that he and his mates could hunt you down with the police tied up elsewhere. Three: Rosie was worked over by professionals who knew how to deliver maximum pain while keeping her alive so she’d talk. Four: your family was gunned down in a classic Russian mafia hit. Five: you’re the financial controller for a company owned by a Russian family that has links in Ukraine and every small country with a name ending in Stan that used to be part of the old Soviet Union.’ He’d kept his voice measured the whole way through, but he watched as each new educated guess hit home. Conor had paled. ‘How much did you steal from them, Conor? What did you do? What do you know?’
Conor’s mouth turned down. Noah let the silence sit. He could see the struggle in Conor’s face, the twist of his fingers. He waited.
Finally Conor spoke, his voice harsh. ‘Nothing to start with. I really was just the financial controller for Reeves International. Rod Reeves was christened Rodya Remizov, but his family anglicised it when they immigrated to Australia. I met his parents before they died. The old man used to call the shots. Gradually, as they trusted me, I started handling overseas transactions for other family companies. I wasn’t doing anything different to every other damn corporation in Australia that wants to minimise its tax liabilities. But then he started preying on my footy contacts. What he did so casually to my mate sickened me. Like it was a game, like my mate was a commodity to be traded, used. I wanted payback for him so I started gathering evidence, feeding it to ASADA, all the while I was putting traps into the systems to collate more information. I wanted justice, but then I thought I could cream some money off, look after my mate’s family. I never told Annabel that. I thought Rod wouldn’t notice, wouldn’t work it out.’
‘But he did.’
Conor nodded. ‘Only because Stirling tipped him off that I’d been asking questions. Either he or Rod must have had a contact inside ASADA or ACC who confirmed I was the whistleblower. By then I knew all about the match-fixing, the drugs. I knew he and Stirling had been doping teams for two decades. I now know Stirling stopped right then, two years ago. Cut off all contact with Reeves after the shooting. Maybe he felt guilty for telling Reeves about me. He must have thought he had enough dirt on Reeves to be safe himself. But he’s not safe from Reeves or me. He’s responsible for the death of my family.’
‘So what did they hope to gain by killing your family?’
‘Silence me, bring me to heel. Now?‘ Conor shrugged. ‘I know where their money’s hidden, I know their networks and I was stupid enough to try to leave them. The upcoming court case has global implications. Fixing a match in Australia is small change. Overseas agencies are involved as well.’
‘So why do they want you captured? Why not just kill you?’
‘Because I siphoned off a couple of million. I’m the only one with the codes for the Swiss bank accounts where I’ve hidden it. It pays into a trust account for my friend’s family. I’m no use to Reeves dead, but I will di
e. It’s just a matter of time.’ He sounded almost relieved at the prospect.
‘So Stirling, Banksia Cove? Coincidence that you’re here?’
Conor almost smiled. ‘Maybe fate. I admit I was stopping into Banksia Cove to do a bit of digging on Rod Reeves and Stirling. I wanted to see him fall, fail, both of them, but particularly Stirling. I didn’t care what it did to his family. I just wanted revenge.’
‘And now?’
‘Now?’ Conor met Noah’s steady gaze. ‘Now I’ve met Darcy. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.’ Noah wondered if somehow in all this Conor had come to genuinely care for her.
‘No, she shouldn’t.’ His words were clipped. ‘But it’s too late for that now.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Conor asked.
‘Keep you safe and hand you over to the Feds or whoever it is that will keep you alive. All the violence, all the bloodshed would be a waste otherwise.’
‘You must hate me.’
Noah shook his head. ‘I don’t question why people do what they do any more. None of us can throw stones. None of us are innocent.’
He pulled out his phone and walked away. He had secrets too, sixteen-year-old secrets that had to be told.
24
Darcy drove around the back of the hospital and parked the car in a staff space. Just because she was driving a different car it didn’t mean someone wouldn’t be looking for her. She scanned the area, then headed inside, using the ambulance entrance and fighting the urge to run. She’d forgotten how dirty she was.
‘Hi, I’m looking for Rosie. Noah said she was brought in this morning.’
‘Oh, love. She’s only just out of theatre. She’s still in ICU.’ The senior nurse came around the counter, frowning. ‘She’s probably going to have to go to Brisbane.’
‘Can I see her?’
‘Sure. Come on.’ Darcy squinted at the nurse’s name badge. Debbie.
‘Zeke’s been flown to Brisbane?’
‘Yep.’
‘Noah said his leg was a mess.’
‘He’s right.’
The nurse wasn’t giving anything away. The closer they got to ICU the more Darcy’s legs trembled. At least Rosie was still alive.