by Valerie Parv
Instead he said, “Then Max Horvath is due some mighty big shi…stick any day now.”
Cade was in the office, studying figures on a computer screen. He looked up when Jo and Blake walked in. “Judy around?” Blake asked in the direct way of outback men.
Cade tilted his chair back. “Out at the airstrip, working on her plane. Des is at the muster camp with Andy. I’ll be going there myself after I finish here.”
Jo chewed her lip. “Should Des be doing that?”
Cade stacked files into an untidy heap. “Try and stop him. Don’t worry, Andy won’t let him overtax himself.”
Blake stabbed a finger at the screen. “Are those figures getting any better?”
“Not since I was last home. I paid some of the bills and I see you and Tom have been doing the same, but it’s like trying to turn off the wet season. If one of us doesn’t win the lottery soon, or find Great-grandpa Logan’s diamond mine…” He left the rest of the prediction unspoken.
“So much for your karma,” Blake said as they walked back to the Jeep after refusing Cade’s offer of coffee or a cold beer. She had thought longingly of a shower, but such luxuries weren’t in the spirit of the survival exercise, so she had settled for leaving an assortment of batteries with Cade to recharge. She knew that Blake was anxious to get out to the airstrip.
His frustration wasn’t with her, Jo sensed. As a man of action, Blake had a low tolerance for situations he couldn’t change or control. Not so different from Jo herself. She was also curious to hear Judy’s explanation for her secret dawn visit to Dingo Creek.
Homesteads on many of the properties in the Kimberley had been established before aircraft came into regular use, Jo was aware. Only in later years did the owners have to consider where to put an airfield, preferably one that would remain dry and accessible during the monsoon season, when it might become their only link with the outside world.
The site for the airstrip on Diamond Downs had been selected with The Wet in mind, Blake explained as they drove. The surface was so well compacted and the runoff so efficient that even several inches of drenching rain overnight wouldn’t close it to aircraft. Even so, the site looked primitive to Jo, used to sleek black surfaces and modern buildings.
The airstrip was no more than a gash of red earth, bulldozed flat and with every stick and stone scoured away. The perimeter was marked by white-painted oil drums. A wind sock hung limply from a small building made from corrugated iron.
The cloud of dust thrown up by the Jeep announced their arrival long before they reached the plane that was Judy’s livelihood. It was Jo’s first close-up look at the single-engine Cessna, and she was impressed by the plane’s well-maintained appearance.
Judy emerged from the engine cowling, wiping her hands on a grease-stained rag. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Not that I’m not pleased to see my big brother anytime,” she added, her smile including Jo. Then she frowned. “Oh no, don’t tell me something’s happened to Dad?”
“Des is fine. He’s with Andy out at the muster camp,” Blake hastened to assure her. He looked over her shoulder at the Cessna. “Problems?”
“A leak in the exhaust port. Nothing a five-dollar gasket and an hour of my time won’t fix. If I leave it until the next oil change, I might have to replace the exhaust riser and that means sending out important bits to have them machined, costing me thousands of dollars and days of unscheduled downtime.”
Jo let her surprise show. “All because of a leaking gasket.”
Judy dropped the rag onto an oil drum. “It’s usually the way with planes. Leaks, cracks and chafes in the engine compartment always get worse, and costly, very fast. Left unattended, that gasket could end up in an in-flight fire. So I hope you don’t need to be anywhere important for at least a couple of hours.”
“We didn’t come looking for a ride,” Blake said. He gestured toward the small building. “Let’s go inside out of the sun.”
Judy looked alarmed. “It’s hotter in there than out here. I don’t think you…”
“Everything okay, Judy?” came another male voice.
Blake spun around, an oath dropping from his lips and dragging Jo’s attention to the building. Framed in the entrance was a man of about Blake’s height and build but with a fleshier look to his features, as if he’d once been as ruggedly fit as Blake but had let himself go.
Another foster brother she hadn’t heard about? Jo wondered, but Blake’s angry body language contradicted the idea, even before he said, “What the devil are you doing here, Horvath?”
So this was Max Horvath, the neighbor who held the mortgage over Diamond Downs and wanted ownership of the land more than he wanted repayment. His gaze roved over Jo’s body, making her feel distinctly uncomfortable. She knew why, having met his type before in the city, usually on the wrong end of a story about something like organized crime. What on earth was he doing at the Logan airstrip with Judy?
The other woman stepped into Blake’s line of sight. “I invited him, Blake. No need to get agro about it.”
“No need at all, Stirton,” Horvath said, moving closer to Judy.
Jo saw Blake’s hands ball into fists. “Get away from her.”
Instead, Horvath dropped an arm possessively around Judy’s shoulders. “Is that any way to talk to your future brother-in-law?”
Blake looked as if he might explode. Pointedly ignoring the other man, he asked, “What’s going on, Jude?”
Judy shifted from foot to foot, plainly less comfortable than Horvath. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet, only to give Max the chance to convince me. I was going to tell you, Blake, but I haven’t had the opportunity.”
Her foster brother folded his arms across his broad chest. “You have it now.” His tone said she’d better make it good.
“Max came to see me to discuss Dad’s mortgage. We started talking about the old days.”
“We had no old days with him.”
“That’s not true, at least on my account. We did date for a time,” Judy reminded him. “And when you and the other boys were younger, we did a lot of things together—swimming, fishing, endurance rides, lessons with School of the Air together.”
Blake’s face didn’t change. “All that was a long time ago, because our fathers were such good friends.”
“Before you moved to Perth?” Jo asked.
Horvath switched his attention to her. “You’re the journalist Judy told me about.”
She nodded. “Jo Francis, Australian Scene Weekly.”
He didn’t offer his hand or move from Judy’s side. “G’day. To answer your question, when my folks split up I drew the short straw and went to live with my mother in the city.”
“Hardly the short straw,” Blake argued. “You never made any secret of disliking outback life.”
“I came back for visits whenever I could.”
“When the court ordered you to spend time with your father, you mean.”
Judy’s expression darkened. “Stop it, both of you. Anyone would think you were both still thirteen instead of thirty.”
“Some things don’t change, like leopards and their spots.”
Horvath tightened his hold on Judy. “You’re right, some things don’t change. I’ve always cared about this little lady.”
For a fraction of a second, Jo saw something flare in Judy’s gaze, then it was gone. She wasn’t as relaxed about this as she wanted Blake to think. What was going on here?
Blake was too furious to notice the discrepancy. “You can’t be serious about taking up with him again? You know he’s only after Des’s land.”
Judy’s head inclined in agreement, surprising Jo, as well as Blake. “I should probably be insulted by that, but you’re right. Max has been honest about wanting to find the old diamond mine. But if he does, think what a difference it will make to Dad.”
“You really think he plans to share the spoils? As soon as Horvath takes possession of Diamond Downs, Des will be out of here fast
er than a crocodile grabbing a calf drinking at his water hole. And the consequences will be just as deadly for your father.”
“Max has promised to take care of Dad and me.”
“And you believe him?”
“Of course she does if we’re to become engaged,” Horvath said. “Judy’s an adult. She doesn’t need your approval.”
“What she needs is her head read,” Blake snapped. “I don’t see a ring on her finger.”
Judy glanced at her left hand. “It’s much too early for that.”
“Do me one favor,” Blake asked. “Hold off making this official until you’ve had time to think things over.”
“She’s had years since I first popped the question,” Horvath insisted.
Blake ignored him. “Jude?”
“I won’t be rushing to a jewelry store, if that’s what’s worrying you. In any case, I can’t go anywhere until I finish up here. While I have the cowl doors pulled, I may as well do a complete engine compartment inspection. I also need to take a look at the overvoltage annunciator. The alternator is tripping off-line and I suspect the relay may be bad.”
“You didn’t mention other problems with the plane apart from the oil leak before,” Horvath complained.
She shrugged and moved away from his side. “As I told Jo, there’s always something to worry about with a plane. So you see, Blake, I won’t be going anywhere at least until tomorrow.”
“I have to accept that,” Blake said grudgingly.
“You have to accept that you can’t come between us,” Horvath insisted. “Your sister has finally realized how much I love her and want to be with her.”
“How much you love Diamond Downs is more likely.”
Horvath looked uneasy. “We haven’t decided which property we’ll live on after we’re married. Probably this one, as it needs the most work to bring it back up to scratch.”
“And promises you the most benefit.” To Judy, he said, “What does Des think about your decision?”
She glanced away. “We haven’t told him yet. I want to talk to his doctor first and make sure we choose the right time. I’m sure Dad will be glad to see an end to this pointless feud.”
“If it doesn’t kill him first.”
Judy’s sudden pallor made Blake’s cold expression soften. “I shouldn’t have said that. I know you always have your dad’s best interests at heart.”
Judy touched her brother’s arm. “This has nothing to do with you, Blake.”
He really looked at her then, and Jo saw a frown furrow his brow as if he’d finally realized that all was not as it seemed. She watched him master his anger with an obvious effort. “Then I’ll have to trust you, won’t I?”
Rather than finding the exchange reassuring, Horvath looked irritated. “This is very touching, but I don’t think she needs your trust or your good wishes, Stirton. This is between Judy and me.”
Blake gave his sister a thoughtful look. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“You trusted me to share the secret of your hideout cave when we were kids,” Judy said. “That worked out okay, didn’t it?”
An odd expression came over Blake’s face. “Yes, it did. You think the situations are comparable now?”
“I sure do, so there’s no need to pull the big-brother act,” she said, looking relieved. Then she frowned a little. “What did you come to talk to me about?”
Jo waited to see if Blake would mention the videotape of Judy taken at the creek that morning, but he shook his head. “I’d rather discuss it later.”
Out of earshot of Max Horvath, Jo surmissed and wondered if Judy would get the message. Evidently she did. “I’ll be home this evening if you want to drop by the homestead. Why don’t the two of you come to dinner?”
“I can’t make it tonight. My bank manager’s coming over,” Horvath said as if he’d been invited.
“We’re seeing each other, not joined at the hip,” Judy said, sounding tired. “I’m sure I can entertain Blake and Jo without you.”
Not exactly a doting girlfriend, Jo thought. “Maybe I should stay at the camp.”
“We both should, to keep faith with the terms of your assignment,” Blake told her. “Why don’t you come to the camp and have dinner with us?”
Judy thought for a minute. “Why not? Dad’s spending the night at the muster camp with the men, and Cade’s driving out there this afternoon to make sure everything’s all right.”
“Then we’ll see you tonight at camp.”
Horvath looked from brother to sister. “Should I put the bank manager off?”
Judy’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Sweet thought, Max, but only if you really want to. I’m sure the dinner won’t be anything special and it’s probably best that you go ahead with your plans.”
In light of Judy’s discouraging response, Horvath mumbled something under his breath. Jo didn’t catch what was said but evidently Blake did.
“Care to repeat that?” he challenged.
Judy gestured with the spanner. “Max, did you find the multimeter for me?”
Looking almost relieved, Horvath nodded. “I’ll get it.”
Judy shrugged. “Duty calls. See you both later.”
Blake was deep in thought as they walked silently back to the Jeep. “You don’t think she’s really in love with Horvath, do you?” Jo asked when they were safely away from the other two.
He pushed his hat back on his head. “At first, I didn’t know what to think. Horvath’s always had a thing for Judy, but she wouldn’t give him the time of day until now. Of course, women are a strange mob.”
“Thanks a lot.” Jo let him open the car door for her, wincing at the blast of heat that greeted her. Leaning on the door, she said, “What do you think she’s up to?”
“She mentioned the hideout cave. When we were kids, Tom and I found it first, and planned to make it our secret headquarters. The last person we wanted in there was a girl, so for ages we wouldn’t tell her how to find the concealed entrance.”
“She didn’t give up?”
“Not our Jude. She got Tom and me alone and pretended that the other one had shown her the way. Each of us showed her the way in. When we realized we’d been duped we were ready to black each other’s eyes, but we thought there was no longer any reason to be secretive, so we grudgingly welcomed her.”
Jo laughed. “So Judy learned what she needed to know.” She sobered abruptly. “Do you think that’s what she’s trying to do now?”
“If she is, she’s playing a dangerous game. Horvath’s mention of his bank manager means he’s getting increasingly desperate for funds.”
Jo eased herself into the car, avoiding the heated metal parts as she fastened the seat belt. “What makes you so sure?”
Blake slid behind the wheel and gunned the motor. “Before Shara became engaged to Tom, she was promised to a man called Jamal, a powerful but unscrupulous member of her father’s government in Q’aresh. Des gave her refuge on Diamond Downs while Jamal and his retinue stayed with Horvath.”
Jo put two and two together. “Entertaining a man like Jamal wouldn’t come cheap.”
“Right. Horvath was never good with money, and his father put most of his income back into the property.”
“So Max is asset rich and cash poor?”
“Probably a good deal poorer after Jamal’s extended stay. Word around the district is that the prince ordered the best of everything and charged it all to Horvath’s account. When Jamal was jailed in Q’aresh for plotting to overthrow the King, Horvath got stuck with the bills.”
“Finding a lost diamond mine would solve a lot of his problems.”
Blake swung the Jeep around and headed back in the direction of their camp. “It’s the only thing that will.”
“Do you think he’s getting close?”
“Judy evidently thinks so. With Eddy Gilgai’s help, it’s possible. Gilgai’s people were always said to know where the mine is, but they won’t re
veal anything because they believe Jack Logan’s spirit guards the site.”
“He died there, didn’t he?”
“So the legend goes. His body was never found.”
He lapsed into thoughtful silence and Jo watched the bush jolt by, lost in her own thoughts. She couldn’t help remembering the lecherous way Max Horvath had looked at her, hardly appropriate for a man who was supposedly committed to Judy. His readiness to take up with Jamal against Shara suggested he had few scruples. She really hoped Judy would watch her back.
By the time they reached camp, heat was shimmering off the landscape in waves. Jo looked longingly at the creek, wishing she could safely swim there.
Blake saw the look. “Don’t even think about it.”
“There must be a water hole around here that isn’t owned by a crocodile.”
“I can think of one or two.”
She was sorely tempted. “No, as Judy said, duty calls. My video diary needs updating and I’m on a deadline for my article. I’m surprised Karen hasn’t called to ask why she hasn’t received it yet.”
“Your editor sounds like a tough lady.”
Jo thought for a moment. “She’s good at what she does.”
He spread his arms. “You can be honest. There’s no one to overhear.”
Loyalty forbade it, even so. “Let’s say she’s fine to work for as long as you do your job.”
“And if you don’t?”
She let a smile show. “There’s hell to pay.”
“Then I’d better let you get on with your work.”
“What will you do in the meantime?” she asked.
“Go catch our dinner, unless you actually prefer freeze-dried rations?”
She shook her head. He also wanted to see if Eddy or Max had left any more clues, she assumed. “You get to have all the fun.”
He gave her a knowing look. “I believe you would rather explore along a muddy, croc-infested creek than sit behind your laptop.”
She hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but he was right; the adventure had far more appeal. Or was it the adventurer? “Too bad I can’t.”
He came up to her. “You know, Jo Francis, you’re an amazing woman.”