by Jennie Jones
‘I was planning on visiting Damon and Robert.’
‘That needs to be the police.’
‘Not necessarily.’
Jack found a grim smile at the sardonic tone. ‘Okay, do a drive-by. Let me know if there’s any activity, then head out to the mine.’ Again, it would be more or less unobtrusive if anyone out there spotted Solomon Jones’s vehicle. ‘Do nothing at the Baxters’ properties. Nothing, Solomon. Gauge the situation, no more.’
‘What will you do?’
‘I’ve got Jax with me. I’m heading out to her place to check the animals and see if Frances and Billy are there. I’ve got every available cop on the lookout for them, but I don’t want to make a fuss and have everybody scarper. Leave Damon and Robert to me.’
‘I’ll call you after I’ve done my drive-by,’ Solomon said, without agreeing to Jack’s directive about the Baxters.
Four minutes later Jack was driving the troop wagon, Donna and Davidson behind him in the arrest van.
For the first time in his life he wished he could go in with sirens wailing and lights flashing. The silence in the cab, with Jax so tense beside him, put him more on edge than he’d ever been.
‘Why do you think she’s gone back to the farmhouse?’ Jax asked for the second time.
‘Just a hunch.’ He reached out and put a hand over hers.
She pulled it away and dialled Frances on her mobile again.
‘She’s still not answering.’
Jack had texted Frances too. He thought he might have some pull with her, in both his official capacity as a police officer and that of a friend.
There’d been no response. None from Billy either.
He hadn’t yet told Jax about the possible existence of animal fighting rings, not wanting to heighten her worries until he had to. There was currently only himself, Will, and now Solomon, who had suspicions about it. Nothing had been clarified.
The problem with organised dog fighting—or any animal fighting rings—was that they were difficult to trace. The participants would get a text message an hour or sometimes only thirty minutes before a fight, advising them of the location. Although a few rings had been cracked, others started up elsewhere.
Bivic was obviously the organiser behind this animal fight ring. He had every means to make it happen. It wouldn’t surprise Jack if he already had a list of fighting dogs and their owners who were prepared to come out to Mt Maria for some sport. Will had said there’d been nothing on any local radar in the last two years—which made it a perfect place to start a new arena.
The bull must have been stolen, and there were now a myriad of animals missing or taken. A puppy Bullmastiff, five working farm dogs. What Jack didn’t understand was why they’d taken family pets. Plus goats, chickens and a lamb—unless they were going to use them as bait to get the blood up in the main fighting dogs.
Bastards.
He tightened his resolve to find those responsible.
‘Do you think someone took her?’ Jax asked.
Jack held it together, but it was the one scary scenario that had played out in his head back at the station. ‘She’s probably with Billy.’
‘Has all this got something to do with your undercover job?’
‘That’s drugs.’ There was no need to lie, not now. If they didn’t find Frances soon, he’d be pulling Bivic in, whether he had evidence enough for Operation Blue Tongue to charge him or not.
It was another four or five minutes to Jax’s place, and the tension in the cab was palpable so he kept talking. ‘We think there’s a drug trafficking ring run by workers at Lizard Claws. That’s why I’m here.’ A few years back the demand for workers was so high that if the mine management did a test for drugs and alcohol, workers simply didn’t go in that day. Those who did and who tested positive, didn’t get sacked. They got a ticking off. Some of these guys were repeat drug users and none of them lost their jobs. Test positive now and you were on the next plane out—a direct result of the police crackdown to stamp out drug use at mine sites, or at the least reduce incidents of use or possession.
‘What does that have to do with Frances and Billy?’ Jax asked.
‘The man I told you about, Roper’s nephew—Bivic—is undoubtedly the trafficker. I think he’s pulled in the Baxter boys to help with whatever it is he’s doing.’
‘Oh, God, Jack, I’ve never been so worried.’ She said it quietly, staring ahead and pressing her knees together.
As soon as they turned off and headed down a side road for Jax’s place, they heard the dogs barking relentlessly.
‘What’s going on?’ Jax said. ‘Why are my dogs loose?’
He wove his way slowly up the driveway track, careful of the dogs. The paddock gate was swung open and dogs were running, sniffing, peeing and barking all over the open space.
‘Let me out, Jack.’
‘Sit tight,’ he told her, as he scoped the property. The bull was still paddocked where it should be. The house looked secure; front door closed. The aviary hadn’t been touched as far as he could tell, neither had the stock room next to it.
He ran an eye over the dogs and couldn’t see Winston. If they wanted only one dog, they’d take the big one. The dog who might stand some chance against the trained fighters. For a few minutes, at least.
He’d seen a lot over the years, but he could still hardly comprehend how some people treated animals.
Jax was out of the wagon, heading for the house, as soon as he pulled the handbrake.
He leapt out and went after her. ‘Stop.’ He caught her arm, pulled her up and drew her behind him. ‘Wait here.’ He said it sternly enough so she’d hear through her anxiety.
Donna drew up in the arrest van and she and Davidson got out. ‘Donna, you’re with me. Davidson, stay with Jax.’
A few minutes later, the house had been searched along with the stock room next to the aviary. All clear, nothing disturbed. It looked like they’d just wanted the dog, but where was Frances and what was Billy up to?
He walked back to Jax and indicated, with a nod of his head, that Davidson move out of earshot.
‘What’s happening?’ she asked, eyes filled with worry. ‘I’ve done a quick headcount and Winston’s gone. So have Bella and Kirby and one other—a Staffy called Petal. Have Frances and Billy taken them?’
He took hold of her shoulders. ‘Jax, I think Bivic is organising a dog fighting ring.’
She paled so fast, he took a firmer hold of her.
He spoke quickly but carefully as he relayed the pertinent elements of what he knew and what he didn’t know.
‘But this sort of thing doesn’t happen out here!’
‘I’m afraid it happens everywhere.’
‘But not here.’
‘It’s Bivic’s doing,’ Jack said. ‘He’ll be drawing in animal fighters from anywhere and everywhere. There’s big money in it. It’s organised crime at its most organised and this is a vast district. They could be anywhere, and be capable of moving the ring at a moment’s notice.’
She leaned her forehead against his chest and he held her, giving her a few moments to take it all in. He still had no idea how or why Bivic was using the Baxters, but given the childish drawings, it had to be them. Maybe they’d borrowed Bivic’s vehicle to ram the fence, or maybe Bivic had done the driving.
But this was why the two on curfew, and Billy, who’d been shifting gear for his brothers—probably unsuspectingly—had canvas and rope in their vehicles. This was why Bivic had been buying star pickets and white wire from the hardware store that day Rosie had met him. He was building a fighting arena. One he intended to use time and time again; one that could be dismantled quickly and set up elsewhere. They’d either be using the canvas to cover the ring equipment, or possibly keeping the canvas down so it was quicker to clean up any mess after the fights. Roll it up, cart it way out bush and dump it or bury it. They wouldn’t leave carcasses to rot, not with so many people such as hikers and mine-site vehicles using
all the old tracks.
Under usual circumstances, dog fighting in open areas wouldn’t be so neat and tidy. Bivic was obviously making a show, a spectacle. He’d charge entry for those watching, too. It was a grand scheme, and one he might have got away with. Billy had obviously discovered what was going on, and now Frances was also, somehow, drawn into it.
‘I didn’t know,’ he told Jax, wanting to assure her he wasn’t lying and hadn’t hidden this from her when he first arrived in town. ‘I was sent here because of money coming in and out of the Lizard Claws mine and we thought it was drug trafficking. I still think that’s Bivic’s main game, but I now believe this is some sort of sideline kick for him.’
The fights would happen on his rostered days off, but even while on shift at the mine, he’d be in control of everything: the trafficking, plus the organising of a fighting ring. He’d be pulling in money from the dog fights, and recruiting drug traffickers from those who brought their dogs to pit them against another.
Jax lifted her face, her eyes full of sorrow. ‘But where’s Frances?’
‘I’ve got every available officer looking. We’ll find her. We’ll find them both and we’ll find the dogs.’
‘But what if we don’t? What if Frances and Billy are with Bivic?’
‘I’ve got Solomon keeping an eye on him. Twenty minutes ago Bivic was at Lizard Claws. I think Billy and Frances have gone to rescue the dogs—wherever they’re being kept. They’re unlikely to come into contact with Bivic.’ Unless he’d been forewarned that the cops were onto him. After scoping out the Baxter boys’ places, it would take Solomon another twenty or so minutes to get to the outskirts of the mine, hide his vehicle and make his way on foot to the camp, where he still had to stay hidden. First, he’d have to get past security, but Jack wasn’t worried about that. If anyone could get past them, Solomon could.
He made a mental note to advise Zenith Security Management, who oversaw most of the security work out this way, to double-check security procedures. He’d talk them through it if need be. He knew one of their managers and had overseen some training exercises with him and his team a number of times when he’d been in Kalgirri—when he hadn’t been pushing paper.
‘What about the injured feral dogs you took in?’ he asked, as a thought hit him.
‘Still in their enclosure.’ Understanding crossed her features. ‘Oh, God—that’s what happened to them. They were used for fighting. Is that what you think?’
‘Possibly.’
‘How can people do this!’
He pulled her against him, giving her support. He didn’t know which animal would have the better chance of living—the trained fighter or the feral combatant. Quite often, the main fighting dogs were taken good care of. They’d use them against the lesser experienced dogs. They were worth a fortune; their owners wouldn’t have them pitted against other main fighters, unless there was big money involved.
Jax pushed from him. ‘I have to get the dogs paddocked,’ she said, pulling herself together and making a move away from Jack.
He caught her arm. ‘No time, sweetheart. They’ll be okay.’
Her face crumpled. ‘All right,’ she said, pushing back her hair, looking bemused and scared.
He paused. They had a couple of minutes. ‘Let’s put their food out in the paddock,’ he suggested, ‘and get as many of them secure as we can.’
She turned and ran for the stock room.
‘Davidson!’ Jack called. ‘Help me get these dogs rounded up.’
It took nearly ten minutes; the dogs were so fired up, some fretful, that it had been hard to get them into the paddock or their kennel runs, even with the temptation of food.
Jack was leading Jax to the troop wagon when Jimmy spoke over the radio.
‘Mt Maria base to Kilo-Mike 102.’
Jack lifted the mic from his shoulder. ‘Kilo-Mike 102. Go ahead, Jimmy.’
‘Mrs Arnold just called. I’ve given her your mobile number. She sounded distressed.’
Before Jack had time to respond, his mobile rang.
‘Any heads up?’ he asked Jimmy.
‘Haven’t got a clue, boss, but it sounded like she was on a bloody farm.’
Jack released the mic and answered his mobile.
‘Senior Sergeant Maxwell,’ Mrs Arnold said. ‘I need to inform you of suspicious activity on a track about five kilometres east of the museum.’
‘And?’ he asked as Jax stepped closer.
‘Animals,’ Mrs Arnold said. ‘There were animals locked up in an old shack.’
‘Which track and where?’
‘Is it Frances?’ Jax asked, her voice taut with fear.
Jack shook his head. ‘Animals.’ He put his mobile on speaker as Mrs Arnold gave him coordinates.
‘What do you mean were locked in the shack?’ he asked.
‘We took them. We weren’t leaving them there. They’re with us at the museum. Two of Jax’s dogs are here. The little one she brings to town sometimes, and the Poodle-Schnauzer cross. There’s a Staffordshire Bull Terrier here too, who seems to get along well with Jax’s dogs so we presume it’s one of hers too.’
Kirby, Bella and Petal the Staffy. But no Winston.
‘Is Frances there?’ Jax asked.
‘Mrs Arnold, have you seen Frances or Billy?’
‘They passed us on our way out to the museum. Billy was driving recklessly, at least twenty over the speed limit. Frances was with him.’
Jack checked his watch. ‘Where were they heading and what time did you see them?’
‘It was just under an hour ago and we have no idea where they were going but they were heading north. Is there an issue?’
‘Hold on, Mrs Arnold.’ Jack muted the mobile and tipped the mic on his shoulder. ‘Kilo-Mike 102 to all available officers. Be alert, people, Billy and Frances might be headed north. They were last seen some fifty minutes ago just before the museum.’ He turned to look behind him, still speaking into the mic. ‘Donna, I want you to head out that way.’
‘Copy that,’ Donna said. She moved fast and got into the driver’s side of the arrest van, firing the engine as Davidson fastened the door of the stock room and ran to join her.
‘Edwards,’ Jack said, ‘I want you and Eddie out here at the Brown property and I want you to drive down the tracks that surround it. Pay particular attention to the track that crosses the southern corner. Copy?’
‘Jack,’ Donna said over the radio as the troop wagon sped down the driveway of Jax’s property. ‘What else are we looking for?’
Jack didn’t waste time. This was it. He now had to advise his officers of all possible problems so they were aware and alert. ‘The Baxter boys—but do not approach them. Report to me immediately if you see them. They’re playing some part in the organisation of an animal fighting ring.’
‘Jesus,’ Eddie murmured.
‘Joseph Bivic out at Lizard Claws is undoubtedly the ringleader and organiser. Will’s searching for a link to the stolen electrical goods, which we believe were used as payment for drugs. All those animals we’ve found are undoubtedly intended to be used for this fight ring. I don’t yet have any further information on it.’ But he’d get it. ‘No big show, people,’ he told them. ‘No lights. No sirens. Make it look like it’s duty as normal.’ He had to find Frances, but like he’d said to Solomon, he had to be careful not to spook the bad guys. Bivic was supposedly still at the mine, he had no idea where Damon and Robert Baxter were, but any number of Bivic’s cohorts might be around, and that could be dangerous. ‘We’re looking for Frances and Billy, we’re keeping an eye out for the Baxter boys, for Bivic, and for anyone we haven’t seen before. Bivic could have cohorts or gang members around. Louie, I want you and Johnson to drive out to the Baxter farm and bring in the parents. Tell them we want to talk to them about something Billy has done. Make it up; say we believe he stole something. Don’t tell them he’s missing, but ask if they’ve seen him.’
‘On our way,’ Loui
e said.
‘By the book, people. Stay safe.’
‘Am I to expect more animals?’ Jimmy asked.
‘Prepare for anything.’ Jack clipped his mic back on his shoulder and looked into Jax’s eyes, holding her gaze for a moment, wishing he could keep the official worried and concerned look out of his own eyes, but knowing he couldn’t. She was with him; that mattered most. If something bad was about to happen, she’d be at his side and he’d shield her or hold her or whatever the hell else he had to do.
‘Oh, Jack,’ she said, so quietly he felt her pain.
He drew a breath, and took his mobile off mute. ‘Mrs Arnold?’
‘Senior Sergeant Maxwell,’ Mrs Arnold said, ‘I feel it my responsibility to advise you that I came across this track I’m talking about days ago and did not tell you about it.’
‘We’ll sort that out face to face. Who’s with you?’
‘Mary, Freda and Mr Roper.’
‘Are you in any danger?’
‘No. But everything’s gone from the cleared site.’
‘Was this clearing by the old shack?’
‘Yes. There was a tractor, stored picket fences, canvas, rope—now it’s all gone. Only the animals were left.’
‘Stay put,’ Jack told her. ‘I’ll be there in under fifteen minutes. Nobody is to move from the museum unless you feel you’re in danger. In which case call me back. Lock yourselves in the museum office.’ He cut the call and texted Solomon.
Anything?
Nobody at the Baxter boys’ houses. I’m on my way to Lizard Claws.
Bivic might be spooked. Looks like they stored gear at a clearing by the mine and it’s gone. Animals found. Heading to museum now to talk to Agatha Girls. They’ve got the animals. Let me know when you’re at the mine.
‘Come on,’ he said to Jax after pocketing his mobile. He took her arm and led her to the troop wagon.
‘Jack—I still don’t get it. Why would Billy take Frances?’
‘I think Billy has been used by his brothers. Billy and Frances have got to know each other and become friends, and I think Billy’s somehow got into trouble, maybe knowing his brothers wanted the dogs, and that he’s asked Frances to help him.’