by Jennie Jones
‘So,’ he said. ‘We’ve got graffiti at Roper’s place along with two stolen goats, we’ve got similar drawings at Jax’s place along with a rammed fence, and we’ve got a bull.’
‘Odd, huh?’ Jack said, throwing Will a look. ‘I haven’t got a thread yet. Have you?’
‘I’m currently working on why you’re making visiting the mine a priority.’
‘No priority. Just a friendly, like I said.’
Will looked away. ‘I think you’ve got more of an idea of what might be going on than I have and that worries me.’
Jack said nothing. It felt like he was letting Will down by not telling him about the op, but he was under orders.
‘Those two we’ve got on curfew work out at Lizard Claws too,’ Will said, in a tone that stated he was still fishing and he didn’t care that Jack knew it. ‘I suppose that also interests you.’
‘They had canvas sheeting and rope in the back of their vehicle. I’m interested, but only in why nick items like that in the first place.’
‘Plus all the electronic gear.’
‘Yeah, that too.’ There was no evidence yet to support that the two on curfew were given these items as payment for drugs, but that’s what Jack’s op believed had happened. In which case, had those items been stolen in the first place, in order to pay for the drugs? The men had been stood down from Lizard Claws mine site until an investigation was undertaken and completed, and they were living at the motel in town.
‘So why have detectives in Kalgirri taken this off us?’ Will asked.
‘Not sure.’
‘But it’s another connection to Lizard Claws.’
‘Let’s take it as it happens,’ Jack advised.
‘Right,’ Will said. ‘Let’s do that.’
Jack took a breath and brought his mind off the conversation with Will yesterday, and back to the present and his office, with the smell of antiseptic, air freshener and his third cup of coffee that morning, which had gone cold.
He gave thought to his current situation. He had twelve officers. A lot for a town with only 350 residents, but they had another 700 or so living in the communities or on the dozen pastoral stations, and they patrolled 133,000 square kilometres all up. Most of it red dirt, a lot of it old tracks and low, seemingly never-ending bushland. Not that they could patrol that distance anywhere close to regularly.
They kept an eye on the eleven mine sites in the area and an even closer eye on the workers who popped into town for some rest and relaxation, which usually meant trouble for the cops. They had one of the only pubs within a four-hour drive.
Plus pension day on Thursdays.
The amused thought he’d had about doubling rosters that day made him think more about his officers. Louie and the cocky one, Johnson, who’d nicked a scone, weren’t Jack’s type although he gave them their due: they were decent cops but he doubted Louie would get anywhere above sergeant rank. Donna was a different kettle of fish entirely, and he wanted to talk to her about where she was heading.
Then there was Will Bennett. Sergeant for the last eight years and seemingly with no hankering to move up. He’d been acting senior sergeant a couple of times when Luke was on leave. Donna had done a couple of stints acting up as sergeant when Will went on leave.
Will would only be in Mt Maria another year. How would he feel when his tenure was up? He was fully ensconced in the town as far as Jack knew. What would Barbara do, having to pack up house and take two children out of school? Probably just get on with it. She’d married into the department.
How would Jax cope if they got it together? It was a worry, because Jack wouldn’t want to take her out of her known and loved environment, but what the hell would Jack do if they stayed in town?
Become a snake wrangler. Pram fixer. Or trade camels. He’d never seen so many feral camels as he had out here.
The strangest thing occurred to him. Throughout his career, he’d been used to working with a team, but always knew that when he was undercover he was on his own. He preferred it that way. He didn’t trust many people in the first place. Knowing that Luke had Will as a backup and decent offsider made him realise for the first time that he had nobody.
‘Sarge!’ Jimmy called, breaking Jack’s reverie.
‘Mary’s on line three,’ Jimmy said. ‘She and the ladies have a flat battery and they’re asking if we can kindly assist.’
‘Where are they?’
‘About quarter of a mile from the museum.’
He thought about it for a second, glancing at the multitude of files strewn across his desk. Most of yesterday’s policing had been sorted. Today he was faced with paperwork or rescuing the Agatha Girls. Tough call.
He checked his watch: 11 am. Will would be in soon, and he wanted to ensure Will was around when he called the mine manager. Best to make it all look aboveboard.
His attention was caught when someone crossed the doorway to the office. ‘Louie.’
Louie halted.
‘Jimmy!’ Jack called. ‘Tell Mary I’m sending Sergeant Lee and tell them I’ve had a word with him regarding their concerns.’
‘What’s this?’ Louie asked, stepping into the office, cap in hand. Jack wondered if it pissed him off having to wear the cap because it must mess up the short, manicured spikes on the top of his head.
Plus, he chose to wear the load-bearing vest instead of the belt. What idiot would choose to wear the vest in this heat? The belt was bad enough. ‘The Agatha Girls have a flat battery. I presume it’s Mary’s vehicle. You and Johnson can sort them out since we’re a bit slack. Jimmy will give you their position.’
‘I’m supposed to be out with Donna.’
‘Next time, check the roster before you leave your shift.’
Louie walked into the office and checked. ‘Why aren’t I with Donna? We’re usually paired up.’
‘Because you’re taking too much interest in her.’
‘So? And what’s all that about having had a word with me? What concerns have the old birds got now?’
Louie took note of Jack’s stillness, obviously unsure about whether to head in with his backchat. He wanted to; Jack could see it in his eyes. What was it? Boredom? Perhaps he was the kind of copper intended for the city streets, or more likely, he’d make a better detective than a police officer.
‘The ladies told me they thought you were out to get them in some way. Said you told them to stop making trouble when they advised you they thought they were followed.’
‘Who would follow them?’
‘According to them, somebody did.’
‘We can’t rely on them. Especially Mrs Frith.’
‘Do you have something against her? Or any of them?’
‘Only that they’re a pain in our backsides.’
‘Let me worry about that.’ No-one was on overtime at the moment, they were all working normal hours, and maybe getting a bit slack because of it. He needed to energise them with more than a buckled pram wheel and a flat battery. The district training officer from Kalgirri was due out next week so they’d all get weapons training. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted them to come together a bit more, build rapport. They probably felt like they’d lost it this week, with Luke gone and an ex-detective in the hot seat.
Maybe he’d throw a barbecue for them all, if he got time to go out and buy the sausages.
He glanced at the wall clock. ‘You’re on shift in three minutes. Get kitted up and get going—and Louie,’ he added, ‘any further complaints about you and we’ll be having a little chat.’
‘What has Donna said?’
‘Why would Donna say anything? Have you given her cause to make a complaint?’
‘Of course not.’
‘So we’re done.’ Jack went back to his paperwork.
Louie stood in the office for a few moments before moving off, but Jack ignored him.
For the next half-hour, time ticked by as Jack studied rosters and human resources reports. He was waiting for Will to arrive so he cou
ld call the mine and begin his unobtrusive enquiries about Bivic, and he needed Will to hear that conversation. At some point he was going to have to bring Will into the op, but not yet. If word got out that Jack was undercover, it’d not only blow his cover, but Bivic would scarper, the op would be pissed off and Jack would be pushing paper for another year. He was under orders to tell no-one, but he wanted Will to get a taste of what was going on. He had a feeling he’d be needing backup sooner than he’d anticipated.
The office was quiet, the front desk was quiet, the phones weren’t ringing and his mind was full of Bivic, the op—and any likely danger for Jax.
Jax gathered the empty espresso cups from her friends and put them onto the verandah railing. Rachel was leaving that afternoon, heading for her long, restful holiday by the beach. Donna had popped over on her way to work.
Jax leaned against the railing, not wanting this time with her friends to end, but they’d both only come over to get together quickly one last time before Rachel left.
‘How come you’re not with Louie?’ she asked after Donna said she’d be out with one of the other officers today, and from now on, or so it appeared.
‘Jack changed the rosters. I’m a bit pissed at him actually.’
‘Jack? Why?’ Rachel asked.
‘He’s got to be doing the man thing. The protect the little woman thing. You know how much I hate that when it goes overboard.’
‘Isn’t he supposed to do that because he’s OIC?’ Jax asked gently.
Donna scowled. ‘I can handle Louie. In fact, I was enjoying handling him.’
Jax’s mobile rang and startled her. She wasn’t used to having it with her and she must have upped the ring volume because the bird trill warbled so loudly that her friends winced.
She checked the caller ID then slipped the mobile back into her pocket, unanswered.
‘Who was that?’ Donna asked.
‘Jack. He’s pestering me.’
‘Isn’t he supposed to do that because he’s OIC and you have a problem with intruders?’ Donna asked, brow raised.
Touché. ‘It’s because he saw Solomon kissing me. My cheek!’ she added quickly when both friends stared at her.
‘What did happen between you and Jack?’ Rachel asked.
‘She won’t say.’
‘I’m going to keep prying.’
‘Let me know when she opens up. He’s a good cop,’ Donna added. ‘He’s a good boss too, apart from taking away my fun times with Louie.’
Jax had hoped Donna would go for promotion and felt sure she’d get it over Louie Lee, if that had been an issue with them both being tenured at Mt Maria. She wasn’t sure how it worked. But Donna hadn’t wanted to leave town before the end of her tenure. Not that this was likely to have happened straight away. It would probably take months for her to get a city location close to where her mother lived. Plus, Donna wasn’t a city cop anymore. She’d done all that and seen more than Jax liked to think about. But it was her nine-year-old daughter, Claire, or Clarrie as she was mostly known as, that Donna worried about. She felt she’d get better chances of childcare and so forth if she was in a city. Clarrie’s father had hit Donna. Just the once—more than enough. He’d packed up and left. Donna refused to press charges, which surprised Jax, although, strangely, Rachel had understood. Possibly because it had all happened to her, but on a much bigger scale.
Jax took a look at her new best friend. Luke had done so much good for Rachel since they’d met. Sticking by her and not pressuring her for anything more than just loving him and being with him. Luke wanted marriage. Rachel was still unsure. Not about her love for Luke—that was all-consuming—but about herself, her persona. She’d had four names in her life. Four—just to stay hidden from her criminal ex. She was still finding herself, she’d told Jax. Still getting used to being Rachel Meade, a woman who was in a healthy relationship, a woman who didn’t have to look over her shoulder.
‘I can’t help but like Jack,’ Rachel said. ‘He’s built like a footie player, but he can wear a suit and not look out of place in it. He’s kind. He’s funny. He can look after himself. He’s armed—and he’s got sex appeal.’
‘He’s definitely worth looking at,’ Donna said with a grin at Jax, egging her on to agree or at least say something.
‘Has he asked about Frances?’ Rachel said. ‘Or have you told him?’
Jax shook her head. ‘Only you two, Luke and Rosie know about Michael.’
‘Don’t you think he needs to know?’ Rachel persisted.
‘Why? He’s not staying.’
‘Do you know that for sure?’
‘She hasn’t let him in yet; how can she know for sure?’ Donna said. ‘She hardly looked at him when he was town three months ago, let alone spoke to him.’
Jax pursed her lips. Should she tell them what he’d done in Kalgirri—or what she’d seen? Somehow, it felt like a betrayal to Jack if she did that. He was here again, and still wanting to make his explanations—or excuses. Should she give him the chance? But how to do that while still making it clear she couldn’t have any relationship with him—if that’s what he was looking for. ‘He doesn’t need to know about Frances, or Michael, because we’re not getting close in a personal way. But he is okay to look at,’ she added with a cheeky smile she hoped would lead both of them off the subject of how good-looking, big, tough and strong Jack Maxwell was.
‘I heard about him calling you Isabelle. It’s lovely.’
‘He’s teasing me.’
‘No, really,’ Rachel insisted, ‘it’s the way he pronounces it. Like it’s the name of his favourite poem or classical music piece.’
Jax felt herself flush. He did say it tenderly, but it was a romantic-sounding name to begin with, and would probably sound tender no matter what man spoke it. Except there was an underlying sensitivity in Jack’s tone when he pronounced it.
‘I like the name too,’ Donna added. ‘I’d use it.’
‘You would?’ Jax asked, astonished that down-to-earth Officer Donna would want to be known by a name so romantic.
‘Damn right,’ Donna said. ‘I don’t often get the chance to be a real womanly woman. Not with a Glock and a Taser on my belt,’ she added, with a wide smile.
‘I thought that was how you liked it?’ Rachel said.
‘Not always,’ Donna said, her smile slipping enough to make Jax take a deeper look at her friend.
Was she lonely? It must be hard, now that she was on her own and had sole care of her daughter.
‘Better get going,’ Donna said, pulling her car keys out of her jeans. ‘By the way, did Frances come home with youth centre brochures yesterday?’
‘No. Why? Was she asking about the youth centre?’ It would be fantastic if she was beginning to take some interest in what was available in the town.
Donna shook her head. ‘Said Billy was going to get her some. Don’t worry about it.’
Something about the way Donna dismissed it had the opposite effect. ‘What’s the problem? Is it Billy? Or was Frances rude to you?’ She braced for the answer.
Donna’s smile appeared so fast it lit up her face and her eyes. ‘She’s just like you in many ways.’
‘How?’
‘Fires up quick.’
‘I’m sorry, Donna. I’ll have a word with her.’
‘Don’t. I like her as she is. She’s doing okay, Jax, and so are you.’ Donna opened her arms and took a step forward. ‘Come on, then. I’ve got to get to work, Rachel has to get to the beach and Jax has to ponder her feelings for my OIC.’
Rachel and Jax joined her for a communal hug.
‘Have a wonderful time,’ Jax said quietly to Rachel. ‘I’ll miss you.’ Love for her friends consumed her, squashing all the gaps that had filled with worry. ‘Love you both so much.’
‘Me too,’ Rachel said, choked up.
Donna broke the hug. ‘I love you both very hard.’ She looked at Rachel, holding her composure together so tightly a person mi
ght easily miss the emotion in her eyes. ‘Have a good time. Keep Luke in line and don’t come back married because Jax will never forgive you for not being at the wedding.’
Rachel laughed, a soft light in her eyes. ‘Not sure what’ll happen, but I think I’m open to some persuasion.’
‘Oh my God!’ Jax said on a shocked laugh. ‘No secret wedding! Donna’s right. I’d kill you if I couldn’t be there.’
Half an hour later, Jax was in her office doing her accounts, having said goodbye to Rachel for the next few weeks. Her thoughts were a maze and she’d already made two errors resulting in a loss in the profit and loss column instead of the small but rewarding profit the café had made in the last quarter. As soon as she had enough money, she was hiring a bookkeeper. That wouldn’t happen fast though, not with the new education bills that had already started to pile up.
She paused, listening for the sound of a car, but there was nothing but silence. She couldn’t see out the front of the house from here, in the back spare bedroom-cum-office, but Billy was on his way to pick up Frances and take her to the stables for a look around. Frances had simply shrugged when Jax asked if she wanted to go. Jax had presumed the shrug meant yes.
She’d have to ask Frances about the youth centre brochures too, but she wouldn’t ask in front of Billy. Something was up and Billy would easily lie. Frances, she wasn’t so sure about.
Pushing the P&L paperwork to one side and picking up the School of Distance Education Year 7–Year 10 handbook, she thought back to four months ago.
After discovering that Michael and then Linda had abandoned Frances, she had contacted the authorities, advising them she wanted to take the child; she’d then been treated similarly to those who were interested in being foster carers: under the eye of counsellors and of child protection. Jax had spoken to people from the Department of Child Protection on the phone, and agents had been out to Mt Maria to see her home. That’s when she’d had to tell Rosie. Rosita had been younger than Frances was now when Jax got pregnant. Their mother had tried to hide the sordidness from Rosie, but the kid was smart and worked it out. She hadn’t said much but after Jax came home from the hospital, she’d stuck even closer to Jax’s side than before. Almost like she was backing her up. Or maybe it had been because their mother had been so bitter about everything in her life not being good enough and had taken it out on her daughters.