Riverboat Point

by Tricia Stringer

  The sirens grew louder and outside red and blue lights flashed off every surface. Gnasher swung his gaze from Belinda to the bright lights outside.

  “All okay now, Gnasher mate,” Ethan said. “Help has arrived.”

  CHAPTER

  48

  Savannah’s heart hammered. She sat bolt upright. Light filtered in around the edges of the curtains. She’d been in a deep sleep but something had woken her. She listened. There was nothing more than the usual morning sounds of the river waking up to a new day. She lay back on the bed.

  She wished she could write the last two days off as a bad dream but she couldn’t. At least Li would be all right although there was concern about her friend. Hung’s condition was critical.

  The police had questioned Savannah then handed her over to the ambos. She’d been diagnosed with mild hypothermia and made to take a warm shower and put on dry clothes. She had Belinda to thank for the warm jumper and that, along with the blanket and the tea, had kept the worst of it at bay. Ethan’s insistence she take off her wet running pants probably helped as well. She rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head. She didn’t want to think about him.

  The police had been so good. That first night, once everyone had left, they told her they’d have someone watching her house. They’d taken both Belinda and Ash into custody but it turned out they were already people of interest to the police along with their father and a few others. With a female police officer outside she’d finally crawled into bed in the early hours of the morning. She’d slept until the police had called to question her again. They’d found her car in another shed on the Palmers’ property but she couldn’t have it back for a few days yet. After that the visitors began arriving, carefully vetted at the gate by the police officer.

  Mandy was first. Riverboat Point was abuzz with the news – everything from Savannah being whisked away to hospital in a helicopter to Belinda and Ash making amphetamines in their house. Mandy had come to sort out the fact from the fiction. She’d also whipped around the shack and given it a clean and brought fresh bread, milk and a homemade cake.

  Next came Faye. She had flowers and a tray of Nell and Bob’s pasties. They sent her their love. Savannah hoped she’d told the story well enough for the rumours to be replaced by the facts around town but she wasn’t holding her breath.

  Ethan called in as well. It was awkward between them. He didn’t stop long. Just wanted to check she was okay. Jasper stayed on her front verandah for a couple of hours, sleeping in the sun.

  Reporters tried to come onto the property but the police shut her front gate. There were helicopters buzzing overhead and extra boats out the front. Jaxon’s phone kept ringing. She let it go to the answering machine. She kept the blinds half closed and stayed inside all day. When she flicked through the television channels she caught glimpses of the shack from the river and overhead shots. The smashing of a major people trafficking ring was big news. All Savannah felt was exhaustion. She was grateful when the sun went down last night. She’d taken Jaxon’s phone off the hook, turned off her mobile and fallen into a deep sleep when her head touched the pillow.

  Today she wasn’t sure what to do. She hoped the reporters would have moved on to something new so she could go outside. She needed fresh air and she wanted to visit Gnasher, see how he was getting on.

  The back door rattled. Savannah sat up again. It was locked but it meant someone was in her yard. Maybe Ethan? The door opened. Her heart raced. She knew it had been locked, she’d double checked all the doors and windows before she’d gone to bed.

  She jumped out of bed and picked up her dumbbell.

  “Sav,” a familiar voice called. “Are you in there?”

  She dropped the dumbbell onto the bed and stepped around the door.

  “Jaxon!”

  “I’m home.” He held out his hands in a “ta-da” pose.

  “You should never have left,” she snapped.

  She pulled a jumper over her pyjamas and pushed past him to the sink.

  “I thought you’d be pleased to see me.”

  “I’m glad you’re back,” she said and flicked on the kettle. “But I’d rather not be seeing you.”

  “That’s a bit harsh.”

  Savannah glared at him. He looked tanned and relaxed. His fair wavy hair had grown long, giving him a surfy appearance.

  “Where have you been, Jaxon?”

  “On holiday.” He held his arms out wide again. “You managed the houseboats okay, didn’t you?”

  “Managed! What possessed you to set me up like that? I’ve had to put my life on hold to look after your business so you could play whatever game you were up to. I knew nothing about houseboats. Then there was Ethan. Getting your supposed friend to pretend to like your sister was a terrible idea. I could throttle you, Jaxon.”

  “Whoa, Sav, take it easy,” he said when she finally paused for breath.

  “Take it easy! Your bloody neighbours were running a people smuggling racket using next door as a halfway house.” Savannah shoved a teabag into her mug and poured the hot water.

  “Yeah. The police told me on the way in, after I proved to them who I was. The road’s a bottleneck.” Jaxon made himself a coffee. “I did think there was something odd about Belinda and Ashton.”

  “Odd!”

  “Brother and sister yet almost like a married couple.” He rolled his eyes. “Creepy. That’s why I left that stuff in my notes. I knew you’d work it out, Sav. You’re like a ferret – when there’s a mystery to be solved you’re on to it and you don’t let emotion cloud the issue.”

  “I could have been killed.”

  “Surely that’s a bit extreme,” he said.

  “It was serious, Jaxon.” Savannah put her hands to her hips. “Ashton Palmer is an evil man and Belinda is even worse. The police have had their eye on them for a while. They nicknamed Belinda the Ice Queen. I thought her drinking habits were bad enough but evidently she lures men to do her bidding and also likes to use drugs.”

  Jaxon shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sav. I never expected all this to happen. I’m glad everything turned out okay.” He strolled over to the couch and kicked off his boots. “Thanks for looking after the place so well. How did you get on with Ethan?”

  Savannah opened her mouth to speak then closed it and shook her head.

  “I’m going to have a shower,” she said.

  When she came out of the bathroom he was watching the TV.

  “We’re famous,” he said. “That’s my place there.” He waved the remote at the screen. “Your sleuthing sure put Riverboat Point on the map.”

  Savannah ignored him and went to get dressed. The last thing she pulled on was her hoodie. In the kitchen she wrapped up a couple of Nell’s pasties.

  Jaxon came to see what she was doing.

  “What’d you do to my statue?” he groaned and walked past her to the window sill where she’d left the pieces of broken motorbike.

  “I broke it trying to save my life.” Savannah glared at him. “Is that okay with you?”

  Jaxon gave her a remorseful look. “Yeah. Of course. It’s just that it was kind of special. Mum gave it to me.”

  Just for a moment he looked like a little boy. Savannah wanted to wrap her arms around him.

  “They look good,” he said poking at the plastic around the pasties. “Are they Nell’s?”

  Savannah smacked his fingers away.

  “There are more in the fridge.”

  She put the pasties in her backpack then headed to the back door.

  “Where are you going?” Jaxon called.

  “Out.”

  “I wouldn’t. There are still a lot of reporters and sightseers out there.”

  Savannah shut the door on him. She had already thought about that. She wanted to see Gnasher. If she went through Ethan’s yard and over his side fence she was in the reserve. She could walk through that till she got to Gnasher’s boundary.

  The minute her feet we
re in Ethan’s yard Jasper was sniffing at her. She gave him a pat.

  “Sorry, buddy,” she said. “These pasties aren’t for you.”

  “I don’t suppose they’re for me either?”

  Savannah spun at the sound of Ethan’s voice. She hadn’t seen his bike so she’d assumed he was out. He came out of the shed wiping his hands on a rag.

  “They’re for Gnasher. I’m cutting through the reserve to get to his place.”

  “Was that Jaxon’s bike I heard?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m glad he’s home.”

  He held her gaze a moment. He had an unreadable look on his face.

  “I’ll come with you to Gnasher’s,” he said.

  “I don’t need someone to hold my hand.”

  “I know you don’t but I’d like to see Gnasher too. He won’t be liking all this noise and the helicopters really freak him out.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll just put Jasper in his yard. Gnasher has a few booby traps that can catch out the unwary.”

  They set off together. A couple of times Savannah found Ethan steering them in a slightly different direction than she would have taken. She had to admit if she’d been on her own she probably would have got lost. She didn’t like the sound of the booby traps either.

  She let Ethan help her over the fence into Gnasher’s property then she followed him carefully through the bush until they came out halfway along the track that led in from the road.

  Ethan paused when they reached the clearing. All the tarpaulins across the front of Gnasher’s shed were rolled down.

  “Friendly incoming,” he called.

  They stopped and listened. After all the noise of the last few days it was relatively quiet here.

  “Gnasher,” Savannah called. “Can we come in?”

  “No-one stopping you.”

  She looked at Ethan. He raised an eyebrow then led the way to one of the tarps that had a loose flap. He lifted it for her and she stooped under and inside.

  Savannah put the pasties on the table then turned slowly, taking in the huge space. She’d hardly taken any notice when she’d been here with Li. Where Gnasher stood in the back corner of the shed there was the beginnings of an internal wall but the rest was like a large open-plan house. Each area set out as a room but with no walls. She was glad there were no doors across the front either. It would have felt too closed in after her time in Belinda’s shed.

  “I like this idea,” she said brightly. “You can change the space to suit.”

  “You’re a smart woman,” Gnasher said. He put down his hammer to shake her hand. “Not many people understand the potential.”

  “How’ve you been?” Ethan asked.

  “Keeping busy.”

  “Are you building this wall?” Savannah asked.

  “No-one else around,” Gnasher said.

  “Gnasher’s a carpenter by trade.” Ethan rubbed his hand along the beam that would obviously become a shelf. “A darn good one.”

  “I’ve got a job for a carpenter,” Savannah said. “Well, Jaxon might.”

  “Is he back?” Gnasher asked.

  “This morning.”

  “He knows when to turn up,” Gnasher said. He scratched his chin. “Listen, how’s that young girl getting on? The one that turned up here.”

  “I believe she’s doing well. She should recover but I don’t know what the future holds for her.”

  “I never meant her any harm you know,” he said.

  “I know. It must have been a shock having her turn up out of the blue like that.”

  “How’re you getting on with the TV?” Ethan changed the subject.

  “Not watching it.”

  “Pity to miss all that good footy,” Ethan said. “Another cracker of a game coming up this weekend.”

  “If it was just the footy I would, but all those ads about people’s lives and crap and then the ones about car crashes and depression and cancer. It’s enough to drive a man to drink. I don’t want to watch that.”

  Savannah inspected the set-up he had. It looked brand new.

  “Is your DVD recorder connected?” she asked.

  “Yeah but I may as well just listen to it on my tranny as watch it after it’s over.”

  “You could just watch it slightly delayed.”

  Gnasher frowned at her.

  “Set it to record, leave it ten minutes or so and then watch it. When it gets to the ads, press fast forward. It won’t be quite in sync with the live game but almost.”

  Gnasher’s frown changed to a grin.

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Ethan said.

  “You’ve got no brains. That’s why you’re a digger.” Gnasher slapped him on the back and laughed.

  Savannah showed Gnasher the pasties and they left him a happy man.

  They didn’t speak on the way back but when they climbed into Ethan’s yard he stopped and waited for her.

  “Mind if I come over and see Jaxon?”

  “Do what you like. It’s a free country.”

  Savannah’s words were snappish but that’s how she felt. Damn the pair of them. They were welcome to each other’s company. She sure didn’t want it.

  CHAPTER

  49

  Ethan knocked on Jaxon’s back door, a sixpack under his arm. Footsteps sounded then the door flew open.

  “Ethan, buddy.” Jaxon wrapped him in a hug and slapped his back. “Good to see you. Glad you came prepared. It’s a bit of a dry show here.”

  “Thought I’d come and see how your holiday went.” It was just an excuse really, another faint chance that he might get Savannah to see reason. He was a bit annoyed with Jaxon himself. It wasn’t his fault the Palmers were rotten but it could have been very bad for his sister.

  “I spent most of my time on the east coast of New South Wales. Learnt to surf. It was wild.”

  They popped the tops of their beers.

  “Cheers, mate,” Jaxon said. “I appreciate the help you gave Sav.” He jerked his head over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “She’s in the bedroom. Not talking.”

  “I can hear you, Jaxon.”

  “You can’t hate me too much,” he called. “You’re still here.”

  “I’ve got no car or I would have left as soon as you got home.” She pulled open the door. “Is there one of those for me?”

  “Sure,” Ethan said and handed over a bottle.

  She waited for them to sit on the couch then went and sat on a chair at the table.

  Ethan stood up and tugged his wallet from his back pocket. “I’ve got some money from the boats that went out Tuesday,” he said. “With everything that happened I forgot about it.”

  “I’m sure I owe you more than that,” Jaxon said taking the money. “I’ll sort all that out later.”

  “You got the boat fixed then?” Savannah said.

  “I did,” Ethan said.

  “What was wrong with it?” Jaxon asked.

  “You would have had to clean it by yourself as well,” Savannah said.

  “The group that were on board when it broke down had done a good job. It wasn’t too hard.”

  “What was wrong with it?” Jaxon repeated.

  “Snapped steering cable.” Savannah and Ethan answered in unison.

  “Belinda delighted in telling me how they’d been sabotaging the boats.” Savannah glared at Ethan. “Ashton did the dirty work while she kept watch on the shack from the sundeck of one of the houseboats.” She turned to Jaxon. “She told me all this while she was pointing a gun at my head.”

  “I always did think there was something hard about her,” Jaxon said. “She hadn’t reckoned with running up against my sister though.”

  Ethan was still thinking about the sabotage and how he’d thought Savannah was being paranoid.

  “I’m sorry I brushed aside your concerns,” he said.

  “The police found the missing signs in the shed with my car,” she said.

 
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

  “I noticed those homemade ones on the way in,” Jaxon said. “Who made them?”

  “We did.” They spoke in unison again.

  Jaxon raised his beer in a salute. “They look good.”

  He knocked some envelopes from the arm of the couch with his elbow then bent down to gather them up.

  “I picked up the mail on my way through town. There are two letters here addressed to you, Sav.”

  “Who would write to me here?”

  Jaxon passed them to her. The first one was quite thick. She turned it over and frowned. “Jan Warner. Why does that name ring a bell?”

  “Jan and Fred,” Jaxon said. “They’ve been regular customers.”

  “Not anymore,” Ethan murmured, taking in the look of thunder on Savannah’s face.

  “Bloody Fred,” she snarled.

  “What’s wrong with Fred?” Jaxon asked. “He enjoys the houseboat life. Drinks a bit much but he’s harmless.”

  “Harmless!” Savannah glared at her brother. “His attitude was bad enough but he lied. He said they’d hardly used any fuel and they had.”

  “Hope you took it out of his bond?”

  “He didn’t pay his bond.”

  Jaxon frowned at her. “Why not?”

  “He was my first customer and I forgot. He said he did too. Anyway, that wasn’t the worst of it was it, Ethan?”

  Ethan shook his head, surprised she had suddenly included him.

  “He looked me in the eye,” Savannah continued, “and said they’d left the boat in clean condition. One bathroom was putrid and there was a hole in the wall where the toilet roll holder had been pulled out.”

  “Doesn’t sound like Fred,” Jaxon said. “What’s Jan say?”

  Savannah ripped open the envelope. A letter fell out.

  “Hell,” she said. “There’s a wad of notes in here.” She held them up.

  Ethan studied her as she glanced over the page. She was looking more like her old self. There was colour back in her cheeks and her eyes were bright. He wished he was sitting beside her. He watched as she counted the money.

  “Five hundred dollars!”

  “Risky to send through the post,” Ethan said.