by Jennie Jones
He knew all there was to know about Fellows, but not about Fellows with Jax, or how he’d taken Frances off Jax. He was sure Jax had been coerced and ‘persuaded’ into giving up her baby. She couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Frances was now. Just the thought of what had happened, and how she might have got pregnant in the first place, near enough killed him.
‘Thanks for taking my call so late,’ he said to Vicky.
‘How’s life in the red dust?’
‘Easy. I might stay.’
She laughed. ‘Are you going back to Sydney?’
‘I appreciate everything you’ve told me, Vicky.’
‘No problem,’ she said. ‘But really, when are you heading back?’
‘I’m not. I’ve got it all here.’
Vicky laughed again, presuming he was joking.
He finished the call and snatched a breath. There was so much noise in his head, but a second after he put his mobile down, the sound of a door opening outside in the hallway had him alert and on his feet. It was almost 1 am. Everyone ought to be off shift.
When his office door opened, he grabbed his pistol from where he’d left it on the desktop.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Will said, stepping inside. ‘You scared the shit out of me.’
Jack might have said the same. He put his pistol onto the desk.
Will holstered his Glock. ‘What the hell are you doing at the station this late?’
‘Had something I needed to tend to,’ Jack said steadily. ‘How come you’re still on duty?’
‘Burglary. Farm equipment. Out at RDO 7845. It’s a hundred clicks north. We’ve been out there since 8 pm.’
Jack suddenly realised he hadn’t checked that all officers had signed off shift when he’d let himself back into the darkened station. After seeing Rosie, he’d read everything on the system about Fellows and had then gone to the studio flat above the newsagent’s to give himself time to figure out how to handle Jax. How to approach her. He’d changed out of uniform into jeans and a shirt and let himself back into the station, waiting it out because he hadn’t been able to get hold of Vicky that early in the evening and he’d wanted to speak to her while at his desk, in his office, so he had police access to anything he needed to see.
‘Next time you fancy popping into the office while off duty,’ Will said, ‘call me. Send me a text. Tweet me! I got the fright of my life!’
‘Will—’
‘Thought someone had broken in and all the alarms had been disabled.’ Will tilted the mic on his shoulder. ‘Stand down, Davidson. It’s Jack.’
‘Right, Sarge. Jesus. This is a first.’
‘Come on in and sign yourself out.’ Will let his mic go. ‘Jesus, all right,’ he said to Jack, his frown so deep any natural humour and likeability in the man was cloaked in adrenaline. ‘Davidson was out the back, weapon drawn.’
Jack gave him a few seconds to calm down. He was steady, disciplined and knew just about everything there was to know about policing. No wonder Luke trusted this man. Jack was about to do the same. ‘Will,’ he said again. ‘There’s a situation with the drug trafficking. Make sure Davidson signs out and leaves and I’ll tell you all about it.’
Instinct told Jack he needed backup, and he needed it here, on the ground, not from Kalgirri. The op wouldn’t treat any town issues with a priority, not wanting to blow cover while they pursued Bivic, but Jack was sure that trouble was on its way for Mt Maria.
Ten minutes later Will thumped his desk with his fist. ‘I knew it!’
‘Don’t go hysterical on me,’ Jack said.
Will eyeballed him. ‘Does Luke know?’
‘He knows I’m undercover, but not why. He suspects we’re looking for a drug ring though.’
‘So why are you telling me? Bloody detectives,’ he added, narrowing his eyes. ‘Coming in and taking over. Thinking they know it all.’
‘It’s not what I intended.’
‘But you didn’t think Luke and I could handle it, did you?’
Jack didn’t flinch from Will’s glare. ‘Not true.’
‘Does this Operation Blue Tongue lot know you’ve told me?’
‘No.’
‘So you’re going behind backs.’
‘Yes.’ That should give Will enough information to appease the situation to some degree. Detectives often put uniformed officers down, thumbing their noses at those who walked the streets, sometimes in danger, often in the firing line for any flak. Jack had never done this, at least he’d tried to keep it to a minimum, but he’d seen it happen, and sometimes it happened in a derogatory and aggressive manner.
‘And the trouble you’re here for—undercover—is now in our town,’ Will said. ‘Am I right?’
The first thought in Jack’s head was about how Will had called it our town, which meant he was including Jack in the ownership. But he didn’t have time to wrangle with that one just yet, or with his supposed decision that he was never going back to Sydney or maybe even to Kalgirri.
‘That DUI we sent back to Boondurra,’ he said to Will. ‘I want you to look into the theft of the two cats and the ram.’ His gut was telling him the stolen animals and the graffiti-style drawings were somehow connected to the drug dealing. ‘I want you to look at any thefts in the Northern Territory that might correspond to the gear we found, and ask about any recent known drug trafficking.’
‘I was told the detectives in Kalgirri are concentrating their search area around WA and South Australia.’
‘Yes, but you think the bull came from the Northern Territory—’
Will nodded. ‘There could be a connection. But are you bringing me in fully on this one? Whatever it turns out to be.’
Jack only had to think for a beat. ‘Yes,’ he confirmed. ‘But don’t say I told you so.’ He needed someone at his side, because Jax was undoubtedly in the firing line somehow, even if only on the sidelines of whatever was going on.
‘Great. You’re putting me in exactly the same position you put Luke in a few months ago,’ Will said. ‘I have to take orders from you, but I’m not allowed to let anyone know that I too am now working undercover. For a bloody detective.’
‘Sorry.’ He nearly added, ‘and it’s ex-detective, maybe ex-cop’ but didn’t want to explain to Will. Only to Jax. It was a new thought for Jack Maxwell too.
Will scoffed. ‘At least you’re including me,’ he said in a conciliatory tone, then lost the sarcastic look altogether. ‘That burglary out at RDO 7845. They hadn’t been using the tractor; it had been stored. They only noticed it missing when they discovered tonight that they’d had a dog taken. Someone snuck in and stole a puppy Bullmastiff.’
Jack paused. It wasn’t unusual for dogs to be stolen, especially certain breeds or certain types. ‘What else was stolen?’
‘Nothing. They could have taken a lot of expensive computer and sound system equipment from the shed where the mother dog and her pups were housed, but they left it. Just took the fattest little pup.’
‘There’s something weird going on, Will.’
‘Tell me about it. Bring me up to date on what you know and don’t leave anything out.’
‘I’ll switch the coffee on.’ Jack got up and went to the other side of the office, filling Will in on everything he knew about Operation Blue Tongue, the drug trafficking and Bivic, as the percolator brewed fresh coffee.
The association of the Baxters with Bivic gave him cause for concern. Bivic was known to have a mean sense of humour. ‘Someone’s been on Jax’s property,’ he said as he came to the end of the tale about the operation. ‘It could be the Baxters pissing about, but it might be Bivic, looking for some additional fun.’ He’d once kidnapped the girlfriend of a man who owed him 200 bucks, hacked into her social media accounts and posted disturbing, naked photos of her. For a laugh.
Jack took another sip of his coffee then put the mug down. It suddenly tasted bitter. ‘The Agatha Girls are involved somehow, too.’
‘Sur
ely not,’ Will said. ‘They’d have told us if they’d come across anything dubious. Mrs Arnold might be a pensioner sleuth, but she would never stand in the way of the law.’
‘Maybe.’ But something was amiss with them. Mrs Frith in particular seemed to want to say things that Mrs Arnold felt were out of turn. ‘It’s Jax and Frances I’m really worried about. Solomon is too. He’s doing a night watch.’
Will’s eyebrows rose. ‘Is he armed?’
‘Don’t know.’ Both men stared at each other, then looked away, silently acknowledging the probability that Solomon was armed, and neither wanting to know. He was ex-Commando; they might need him again, as Luke had needed him when all the troubles for Rachel were brewing. Regardless of how much the man had pissed Jack off, he couldn’t help but feel a genuine trust in him.
‘I want you to keep an eye on Jax’s place in the day,’ Jack said. ‘I’m going to pair you with Donna.’
‘You’re bringing her in too?’
‘No. I’ve already gone too far telling you. We’ll just let Donna know the facts, not that I’m undercover.’ She’d police as she was supposed to. She’d also be watchful of her friend. ‘Until we know what this connection is between the animals and the drug trafficking, I don’t want any felon unnecessarily alerted.’
‘You think they’re hiding the drugs in the animals?’ Will asked, his features etched in disgust.
Jack shuddered. ‘I don’t think so. I bloody hope not.’ He took his focus off the images that suddenly appeared in his head. ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but somehow, the trafficking, the stolen gear from those two on curfew, and all the incidents concerning animals are associated. Although I get the feeling they’re sidelined, not one and the same.’
‘Bivic’s doing? Something on the side? For fun?’
Jack nodded.
‘What do we tell our officers?’
‘Let’s give them minimum info. Enough to have them keep their eyes peeled. We’ll play everything as normal. Tomorrow I’m supposedly on a rostered day off.’ Except he wouldn’t be. From now on he was on shift 24/7. ‘Let’s make people think that’s exactly what’s happening.’
He stood, shut down his computer and picked up his Glock, shoving it into the back waistband of his jeans. He’d said nothing to Will about Michael Fellows because that wasn’t an official issue, but there was one more thing he needed to police tonight and Jax was the only one who could give him information.
‘Where are you going with that weapon?’ Will asked.
‘Jax’s place.’ To have the conversation she didn’t want to have. ‘I’ll take the station mobile. Shut down the office, would you?’
Will stood, fronting him. ‘You can’t take that pistol. You’re not on shift.’
‘I’m undercover, Will. I’m still a detective. I can do what I want.’
Outside the cop shop, he pulled out his mobile and rang Solomon who he now knew was doing a night-time vigil at Jax’s place. ‘I’m heading out to see her. As soon as you see me arrive, you can piss off.’
He cut the call and got into the wagon.
Fifteen
Jack killed the engine and got out of the troop wagon, quietly closing the door.
The light on the verandah was on, mosquitoes buzzing the glass shade. The house was darkened, with only a dim glow from somewhere inside. A lamp, maybe.
He didn’t bother looking around for a sign of Solomon. The man would be watching, and hopefully packing up whatever he was carrying and legging it back to his own place now he’d seen Jack arrive. Jack had no intention of leaving Jax and Frances alone tonight. Solomon would know that.
A shadow flickered across another light. There was a small barn to the left of the house, next to the aviary. The doors were open and a light was on inside. Again, the shadow crossed the light.
It was gone 2 am, but she was up. He’d somehow known she would be, just as he suspected she knew he’d be coming to see her.
He halted when he got to the doors, not wanting to frighten her, but she turned and looked at him, her expression showing no surprise.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ he asked.
‘I had a feeling you’d turn up.’
‘Is that why you’re out here?’
‘I didn’t want Frances to know you were here. I didn’t want her to hear us talking.’
‘So we’re going to talk?’
She nodded.
He paused for a breath. ‘I know about Fellows. I know what happened to Frances.’ It was only fair she knew this straight away.
She flinched. ‘I thought you might.’
He stepped inside. It was a small barn, with a single stable. It was clean and had been turned into a stock room. There were stacks of feed bags, dog beds, leashes, water bowls and an old kitchen sink. The tap dripped every few seconds. ‘Before we get to that,’ he said, ‘I’m going back to a conversation we had the other day. About our night in Kalgirri. I’m going to tell you what happened.’
She said nothing, but she put a hand onto the top railing of the old stable gate and gripped it.
Jack had to gain her trust, on so many levels, and the only way to begin was to do what he’d wanted to do when he arrived in Mt Maria. Tell her the truth about that night.
‘I was undercover on an op in Sydney,’ he began. ‘I messed something up. It put me in Kalgirri on a desk job. That’s how I met you. But a woman I’d been associated with on the op in Sydney followed me. I didn’t know it until she rang while we were having dinner. She told me she’d seen me go into the hotel earlier that day and that she’d come back that evening because she had to talk to me.’
It was difficult heading into the next bit but the truth had to be told. He knew that Jax’s wonderfully smart mind had likely already given the story depths. ‘In Sydney, I’d been playing her, giving her indications that I’d be taking the relationship to where she wanted it to go. My bed.’
He let her inhale and waited while she exhaled. ‘She was the girlfriend of the main man our op had our eyes on so I was wary of her reasons for approaching me in this manner. I was undercover, and I thought she might have sussed me out. It was dangerous for the op.’
‘Not for you?’ she asked, surprising him with the interruption.
‘Yeah, for me too.’ He stepped forwards, put a hand on top of hers on the stable railing and squeezed, reassuring her he was still alive and breathing.
Because he was closer, she had to look up at him. Her eyes were wide and dusky blue with enquiry. ‘They needed to pull me off the case but do it in such a way that nobody in the department, outside of the op or those still involved with the op, knew that I might have been discovered.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘There were two guys in deep. Their cover was assured. If this woman had outed me to the gang we were worried they might put the noose around the necks of the two guys who’d been undercover for twenty-five months. That’s a long stint. They’d buried themselves in this gang. My superiors had to get me out. It had to become clear that I was a cop so that the focus was all on me and only me. So we pulled this stunt with the chief whip and his wife. They were driving back from an Easter costume party. I was to follow them, stop them and arrest the wife for DUI. Except she wasn’t drunk. Hadn’t had a single drink. We knew the chief whip would put up a fuss, which is what we wanted. He took a verbal swipe at me, I answered back, cop-style, and yanked him out of the vehicle.’
She pulled her hand from beneath his. ‘You’re not supposed to do that, are you?’
He smiled grimly. ‘No.’ But it hadn’t been hard to pretend. The chief whip, recently employed back then, had an ego as wide as his mouth. He’d accused the son of a superintendent of stealing documents, when in fact he was merely covering his own theft. But he wasn’t allowed to tell Jax that bit. ‘He’s no longer chief whip,’ he said instead, satisfaction rising as it did every time he thought about it.
‘Was he the one who was done for insider de
aling on the stock exchange?’
He blinked, but didn’t verbally acknowledge any association with that.
‘Which means you being in Kalgirri was all a ruse.’
‘I got to meet you, didn’t I?’
‘You must have put up with all sorts from your colleagues.’
‘I’ve got broad shoulders.’
‘But you took the rap for something that wasn’t your fault.’
‘Part of the job.’
‘And now? What are you doing here now, Jack?’
He couldn’t tell her that either. But he smiled, glad to have her eyes glued to his and to see her concern for him. ‘Let me finish this tale. I had to take that woman out of the scene. She didn’t know you were there—that I had a date.’
‘You really couldn’t tell me? Not even something, like—I’m on a job and I have to leave you but I’ll call you later. Not even that?’
He shook his head. ‘It doesn’t work that way.’
‘But I was—we were—’
‘She was armed. She might have killed you.’
That hit home.
‘I took her up to my room, on the pretence I was going to open up about being a cop and about whatever else I knew. Once we were in the room, there was a bit of a scuffle; I arrested her, cuffed her and called it in. Then I waited until they came for her. By the time all that had gone down, over an hour had passed and I knew you’d be gone.’
‘I saw you.’
Jack inhaled. ‘When? Outside, when I was with her?’
She nodded. ‘I was waiting for a taxi.’
‘I’m so sorry, Jax.’
‘I never thought I’d ever see a man do that. Take a woman out for dinner then leave her in the dining room while he fixed himself up with another woman.’
It stung. ‘I called you.’ A dozen times. A hundred times. His calls had gone unanswered and his messages ignored.
‘It took you a month to call me!’
There was a spark of feminine outrage in her eyes and he didn’t blame her for it. He’d worried about her, knowing she’d be hurt that he’d just left her. He’d also worried about how he was going to fix it. But he’d been officially gagged, for longer than the first month after their dinner date. ‘I can tell you this story now because that op is over,’ he said. ‘The woman’s in prison for manslaughter—turns out she’d shot her boyfriend dead before visiting me. She was dangerous, Jax. I couldn’t tell you back then. Not while the op was still ongoing.’