Indigo Storm

by Fleur McDonald

  Simon hoped that by now Dave had received his message and communicated it to Ashleigh. He still didn’t know for sure if this Dave Burrows knew where Ashleigh was or how he fitted into the picture. The last he’d heard, there hadn’t been an information report on her.

  All Simon could do was hope that she would stay hidden and safe.

  ‘Can I help you?’ the man asked, sounding bored.

  ‘I hope so,’ Dominic answered in his most pleasant tone. ‘I’m wondering if you’ve had any pocket watches pawned here recently?’

  Simon watched as the man froze and looked closely at both of them. He pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. ‘And why would you be asking that?’

  ‘Because we want to know,’ Dominic sneered.

  Simon stood back, still watching the man. It was clear he had bought the pocket watch. Maybe it was even on display. Dominic was so stupid, he hadn’t even thought to look for it before asking the question.

  Quietly, Simon moved over to a jewellery cabinet and peered in. Rings, necklaces and bracelets covered the top shelf. On the second shelf, there were watches, coins and a few other trinkets.

  The watch wasn’t there.

  ‘I have a privacy policy that I have to adhere to, I’m sorry.’ The man looked back down at the paper, as if he were dismissing them. ‘If you had the ticket—well, that would be a different story.’

  Simon walked over to the counter, hoping to stop Dominic from doing anything stupid. ‘We’re just wanting a little information on the person who might have pawned it,’ he said, as he tried to make eye contact with the man.

  ‘Sorry, can’t help you with that.’

  ‘We’d be very grateful if you did.’

  The man shook his head again. ‘Sorry, no can do.’

  Dominic elbowed Simon out of the way and slammed his hand down on the counter, before leaning forward and grabbing the man’s collar and pulling his face towards his own. ‘Who. Pawned. The. Watch?’ he spat.

  The man screwed his face up as Dominic’s spit landed on it.

  ‘Let go of me or I’ll call the police,’ he said in a frightened voice.

  ‘I’d like to see you try while I’ve got hold of you.’

  ‘It was a girl,’ he gasped.

  Simon put his hand on Dominic’s and tried to get him to loosen his grip. ‘He’ll talk more if you let him go,’ he said. There was no way that he could be party to Dominic hurting anyone else.

  Six months ago, it wouldn’t have bothered him. Back then, Dominic still had a hold over him. Now, he didn’t care a toss what Dominic thought and he, Simon, would protect the people he wanted to hurt.

  He’d worked it out on the plane to Adelaide. It was the way Dominic kept people living in fear that had made Simon start to despise him; it was the way he had dominated Ashleigh and then physically abused her. But the truth was, as each year went by, he was more disgusted with himself for his weakness. He had to stand up and be strong at some point in his life, and that was now.

  Simon ignored the glare Dominic shot at him and kept pulling Dominic’s hand away, until he finally released his grip and the man sank back onto the stool.

  He raised a hand to his face and wiped away the saliva that was gleaming on his top lip. ‘It was a girl,’ the man repeated, looking over at Simon. ‘She haggled on the price a little bit, but I didn’t shift much.’

  ‘Did she have anyone with her? What did she look like?’ Dominic rasped.

  Simon glanced over at him, and saw his chest heaving and the veins in his neck pulsating. He feared that if Dominic didn’t get the information he wanted, he wouldn’t be able to control himself and all hell would break loose.

  ‘She was by herself. And she didn’t look much like the photo on her licence, I can tell you that much,’ the man said. ‘Her face was skinnier and not as round as in the photo. She mentioned that she’d lost weight since it was taken.’

  ‘What did her hair look like?’

  The man didn’t answer.

  ‘Answer me!’

  ‘I’m thinking,’ he said, his voice raised in panic. ‘I can’t rightly tell you. It was sort of shaggy. About to her shoulders, but all raggedy. And the colour . . . I think it was dark. I can’t tell you anything more.’

  Simon stepped in between Dominic and the counter. ‘Did she say where she was living?’

  ‘No! I just photocopied her licence, took the pocket watch and gave her the money. If I’d known it was going to bring you two to my door, I’d have told her to go somewhere else.’

  ‘Can you tell us anything more? What she was wearing? Anything!’

  The man shook his head. ‘Nothing. I remember the weight loss and hair colour change. And she seemed nervous.’

  ‘I want the pocket watch,’ Dominic said.

  ‘I don’t have it.’

  Dominic let fly with an expletive and made a sudden move towards the man.

  Simon caught hold of him just before he reached the counter. The man cowered against the wall.

  ‘I don’t have it, I promise you. The police have already taken it.’ He was almost sobbing and Simon assumed nothing like this had ever happened in his little shop.

  ‘Thanks for your help,’ he said, keeping a firm grip on Dominic. ‘We’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention our visit.’ He gave the man a small smile and pushed Dominic towards the door. ‘You’re not going to get anything else out of him,’ he said quietly in his ear. ‘You’ve probably made a big enough impression, so let’s get the fuck out of here.’

  Dominic shrugged his shoulders, rearranged his clothes and turned back to the man. ‘If you mention this to anyone, I will come back and kill you.’

  ‘I won’t say a thing. You have my word. I’ll take it to the grave.’ The words tumbled out of the man’s mouth in his speed to reassure them.

  Out on the street, Simon turned angrily to Dominic. ‘Well, that was fucking memorable. That bloke in there is never going to forget either of us now. He’d probably even be able to pick us out in a line-up. Did you have to throw your fucking weight around?’

  ‘He was being smart. Not answering the questions.’

  ‘Better to be a little less pushy than draw any more attention to ourselves by getting angry. You’re a fuckwit.’ Simon turned and walked down the street.

  Once again, all he could do was hope that Burrows had got his message and knew how to contact Ashleigh. Dominic was becoming more of a loose cannon by the hour.

  Dominic went back to his darkened corner in the pub. The place was grotty and the carpet was stained. The few men who were sitting at the bar looked like they had been there for years without moving. They smelled like that too. He wished there were somewhere cleaner and nicer he could be. Somewhere that overlooked the water, maybe. It would calm his nerves. He signalled to the barman to bring him another two whiskies.

  Simon was sitting with his back to him. That worried Dominic. There was something unpredictable about his copper mate these days and he wasn’t sure he trusted him fully. But he still needed him.

  Dominic raised a fresh glass of whisky to Simon.

  Deep in thought, he didn’t notice when two new people arrived in the pub. By the time he realised they were standing at the bar, talking to the bartender; he couldn’t know how long they had been there. Their voices filtered through the mist of his anger and pierced his brain.

  Could that woman be her?

  He glanced across at Simon, who had swivelled around to face him, his eyebrows cocked in the same question. Dominic tried to make himself unnoticeable, all the while listening and watching intently.

  She had black hair that reached her shoulders, with purple streaks running through it. Her skin was very brown, and she was wearing shorts and a singlet.

  He couldn’t see her face.

  The woman spoke: ‘We really appreciate your donation, Martin. It’s very generous of you.’

  It was her.

  ‘No trouble at all. Good cause
and all that,’ the bartender replied.

  From what he could see of the man standing next to her, he had a red neck and weathered hands. He wore a broadbrimmed hat. A farmer? A fisherman?

  ‘Can we come round the back to pick it up?’ the man asked Martin.

  ‘Yeah, if you drive to the storage shed right at the back of the block, you can get it from there.’ He fished around under the bar and handed them a key. As Ashleigh reached out to take it, her hair fell forward. Dominic watched as she tucked it back behind her ears. It was a gesture he’d seen thousands of times before.

  ‘Beautiful, thanks muchly. Eliza will bring the key back as soon as we’re finished. Are you heading up to Blinman for the cook-off? You came so close to taking out the grand prize last year!’

  Dominic kept watching the three of them chatting, his fingers covering his face.

  ‘I’ll be up there for sure,’ Martin said.

  ‘Excellent,’ Ashleigh—or Eliza—said. ‘Righto, we’d better get on. We’ve got a heap more donations to pick up.’

  ‘Drive safe. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Jacob.’

  They shook hands, and the two of them walked out of the pub without noticing anyone around them.

  Dominic let out a breath, unable to contain his glee. ‘We got her.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s her?’

  ‘Positive. The voice . . .’

  Simon nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought too.’

  Dominic went to the window and stared out. Ashleigh and this man . . . Jacob? Was that his name? They were walking to a dusty dual cab. Ashleigh looked up at him and laughed at something he said.

  Dominic watched the way she walked; the gentle sway of her hips and her rapid steps were all-too-familiar.

  Anger welled so brutally in his chest, it almost took his breath away. He watched as they drove behind the pub and out of sight.

  Returning to his seat, he made sure he sat with his back to the door and waited for her to come back inside.

  Simon did the same, his heart thumping.

  Minutes later, the door pushed open and Simon felt Dominic stiffen beside him. He tensed too, in case he had to tackle Dominic. He wouldn’t let Ashleigh get hurt.

  ‘Thanks, Martin. Thanks again for donating. All of the Blinman community really appreciates it. See you soon.’ Her voice rang out clearly through the quiet pub.

  ‘See you, Eliza. I’ll be up there next week.’

  Seconds later, the door had closed.

  Chapter 34

  Dave had pondered Dessie’s words on the long drive back to the police station. The chaplain was right, he finally decided. I have to put the report in.

  As he walked into the Barker police station he was greeted by Joan, who worked on the front desk. Her face was flooded with relief. ‘I’m mighty pleased to see you,’ she said.

  ‘I like that type of greeting,’ Dave grinned, then looked serious again. ‘Unless you’ve got bad news for me,’ he went on, watching her carefully.

  ‘Not bad news. Just odd, and a bit scary.’

  He gave her his full attention. ‘Sounds interesting.’

  ‘Listen to this.’ She hit play on the answering machine.

  Dave listened to the message in full and asked her to play it again.

  ‘There’s that name again,’ he muttered. ‘How the hell does he know me? And how the hell does he know I know where Eliza is?’ He thought for a moment before focusing on Joan. ‘Did you play this to Jack and Andy?’

  ‘They haven’t been in since we got it. I called Kim to ask when you were going to be back, as I knew this would be categorised as urgent, but she didn’t know. I was just hoping it was today. And, well, here you are.’

  ‘Right, leave it with me. Don’t delete it.’ He strode off to his office, shutting the door behind him. Running his fingers through his hair, he quickly made a decision.

  ‘Reen?’ he said into the phone. ‘Is Eliza around?’

  ‘No, she and Jacob have gone to Port Augusta, to pick up some of the donations. Do you want me to get her to give you a call when she gets back?’

  ‘Yeah, please. Don’t frighten her, but let her know it’s very important.’

  There was a silence. ‘Anything you can tell me?’

  Dave hesitated. ‘I think her ex might have a bead on her.’ He heard a sharp intake of breath.

  ‘As in, knows where she is?’

  ‘It’s highly unlikely that he knows that she’s in Blinman. More likely, he knows she’s been in Port Augusta and is using that as a starting point.’

  ‘But that’s where she is today!’ Reen’s voice rose in panic.

  ‘I realise that. I can’t be sure if he’s even there yet, so don’t worry too much. Just get her to give me a call when she gets back.’ He looked up at a soft knock on the door. Kim popped her head in and smiled, but backed out again when she saw he was on the phone.

  Dave covered the mouthpiece with his hand. ‘It’s all right, I’m nearly finished—come in,’ he said to Kim. Turning his attention back to Reen, he asked, ‘Okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ she answered, sounding unconvinced.

  ‘Any problems or anything weird, just let me know.’

  ‘When are you back up here?’

  ‘In the next couple of days. I’ll be coming to stay until the cook-off.’

  ‘Right. I think I’ll be pleased to see you.’

  ‘You usually are,’ he said with a smile in his voice. ‘Okay, I’ll catch you later, but ring if you need to.’

  ‘Sure.’

  He hung up the phone and held his arms out to Kim. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said before kissing her.

  ‘Mmm, nice,’ she muttered against his lips. ‘I’ve missed you.’

  He held her close, breathing in her perfume, then kissed the top of her head.

  ‘You have to go back up there again?’ she asked.

  ‘Yep, and you can come next time, if you like. There’s always plenty of helpers needed to get ready for the cook-off.’

  ‘Anything to spend more time with you.’

  He kissed her again, then tightened his arms around her. ‘I really have missed you.’

  ‘What’s going on, sweetheart?’ she asked into his chest.

  He began to tell her about Eliza and the phone call. About his uncertainty regarding filing the report and about Dessie’s advice.

  ‘You know Dessie is right,’ Kim said.

  He nodded.

  ‘Why aren’t you ringing Adelaide and getting other officers involved?’

  ‘I’m about to. This has gone beyond what I can deal with myself.’ He sighed. ‘I really believe that he’ll hurt her, if not kill her, if he finds her.’

  ‘What about shifting her to somewhere different? Adelaide or Sydney?’

  ‘I’ve got to go through the right channels to do that and we have to prove there’s an actual threat against her.’

  Kim crinkled her forehead. ‘There is an active threat against her. You’ve got that message saying so.’

  ‘From a cop who’s under investigation by Internal Affairs.’

  Kim walked to the window and looked out. Dave knew by her stance she was about to argue with him. That was all right. He knew what she would say and he agreed with her.

  ‘It’s Eliza’s life you have in your hands.’

  ‘I know,’ Dave answered. ‘It’s okay—I’ll call in STAR, as soon as I need to,’ he went on, referring to the Special Tasks and Rescue Group, ‘but I need to report to Steve first.’

  Kim turned back to him with a lovely smile. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ she said.

  Everything was organised. Dave had filed his report and spoken to Steve, his boss, and organised to have Simon’s message emailed to him.

  Steve and Dave had worked together on the rodeo money theft and they respected each other. However, Dave knew that what Steve would like to do and what he was able to do were often two different things. He had to work within budgets that didn�
��t always enable him to provide the equipment or back-up that Dave wanted.

  In this case, Steve was assigning Adelaide detectives to try to find out more about Dominic Alberto and Simon McCullen. Unexpectedly, Steve had also offered to put surveillance cameras in the national park to assist with the poaching investigation, which Dave had requested earlier, but said that Dave was more than capable of doing forensic work out in the field. He also said he would get a warrant to put a tap on Dominic’s and Simon’s phones. Whether he would be able to do so would depend on the amount of incriminating evidence the Adelaide detectives could find on both men.

  Three days later, Dave and Kim pulled into Blinman.

  ‘I’ve made Eliza go and stay with Jacob for a while,’ Reen said by way of greeting.

  ‘Not a bad idea,’ Dave answered as they all made their way to the verandah.

  ‘I thought she could go and stay at the park with Chris, but there’s too many people coming and going through there. He might be one of them.’

  ‘Honestly, Reen, why would he target Blinman? He probably doesn’t even know the town exists,’ Kim interjected.

  ‘I know, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.’

  ‘We all would be.’

  They stood silently together. It was still warm even though the sun was sinking over the hills. Voices drifted over from the pub and a swarm of flies buzzed under the tin verandah.

  ‘Well, I’d better get going,’ Dave said, soberly.

  Kim turned to him, her face set. ‘You’ll be careful, won’t you?’

  ‘I always am, Kimmy,’ he answered.

  As she tried to smile at him, he continued, ‘You know this is important.’

  She swallowed and nodded.

  He bent to kiss her, then quickly walked down the stairs without looking back. As he did, he heard Reen say: ‘Come on, let’s go and sit in the beer garden and have a drink. God knows we both need it.’

  With that, Dave knew that Kim would be just fine. Reen would look after her.