by Annie Seaton
And here at the mine she was safe.
The roar of a jet engine filled her ears as the daily plane appeared over the open cut mine to the south. It was later than she’d thought. Dru headed for the seclusion of her room.
Chapter 3
Connor straightened in his narrow seat as the Virgin Airlines charter plane banked to the left on the approach to Matsu Diamond Mine. The plane was full of workers flying in for their two week roster of twelve hour shifts. He had requested a seat by himself and had watched with interest as the staff greeted each other when they’d boarded the plane, before settling down in their seats with headphones to keep themselves occupied for the three hour flight.
Being an observer was an integral part of his job. His hippie mother had always attributed his acuity and keen perception as being handed down in some sort of mystical way. She’d called it the sixth sense. But what he’d known and done naturally since he was a child had been defined for him by his studies of psychology. Connor preferred to put it down to simple intelligence and using his senses to form a coherent response to another human being by observing their actions and body language. No hocus pocus about it; it was logical and scientific. The biggest mistake he’d ever made had been following instinct. He shook his head and forced that time from his mind. That was in the past and he’d moved on.
Connor looked down at the landscape below. A couple of narrow creeks in the far distance glinted silver in the sunlight as the plane began its descent.
He thought back to that initial discussion with John Robinson. Once he’d agreed to take on the job, it had only taken days for the contract to be drawn up and a hefty deposit for his fee was paid into his account. The balance at the end of the investigation would set him up for a couple of years. It was time to take a break; Connor was well aware he was on the road to burnout if he kept up the pace he’d set for the past few years.
But worse than that he was losing his edge. The last couple of busts in Thailand had been more dangerous than usual and he’d taken too many risks. Chasing down a diamond thief would be a walk in the park compared to the past few cases in South-East Asia.
Before flying to Matsu, he’d met with the CEO again, and Don Finlayson had flown down to Perth to outline the undercover role he had set up for Connor.
Their internal investigation had identified three suspects. John had outlined the three staff who had been flagged as persons of particular interest.
‘It’s a starting point,’ John had said before he’d turned to Don. ‘I’ll hand over to you, Don.’
Connor prepared to take notes as Don clicked on his iPad.
‘First up, there’s Liam Carruthers, one of the truck drivers.’ Don Finlayson had a strong Scottish accent. ‘He’s been flashing around photos of a couple of properties he’s bought on the Gold Coast recently. And during most of his rostered breaks he travels overseas. In the past four months, he’s met his partner in—’ Don referred to his notes on the iPad in front of him on the table ‘—Paris, Las Vegas, Singapore and Hong Kong.’
Connor lifted his head. ‘No other source of income identified?’
‘That’s over to you. Just the bragging about the money and showing photos of the casinos he visits,’ Don said. ‘He’s definitely being bankrolled by somebody. We pay well at the mine, but not well enough for the lifestyle he’s recently taken up.’
‘I’ll check him out thoroughly.’
‘Second on the list—’ Don glanced back down at his iPad ‘—Rocky Cardella. He’s a long term Indigenous employee who works across a few different sections in—’
‘Why have you flagged him?’ John Robinson had mentioned Cardella at their initial meeting but Connor recalled that he had dismissed him. Connor didn’t want to know the work details, only the reasons he had been flagged initially, but Don continued in the same slow, deep voice.
‘He’s been with us since the early days. The very beginning, in fact. Cardella was actually working with the geologists who discovered the first diamonds on the site back in the late seventies. He’s the longest serving employee on site and he knows the place like the back of his hand. Because of cultural considerations he has a little bit more freedom in how he comes and goes off site.’ Don sat up straighter and rested his elbows on the table. ‘He might know a way off site without going through security but we haven’t picked anything up on the security cameras. And we’ve been watching him closely since the diamonds surfaced. There are some other issues there, but I won’t go through them now. You’ll find them in his file.’
‘What do you mean by “cultural considerations”?’
Don went to answer, but John interrupted him. ‘Rocky is a member of the Indigenous board—the traditional owners that we liaise with. Don’s added him to the list because of his freedom to come and go. He identifies with the Kija and Miriwoong people and he was a primary influence in the drawing up of the Matsu Participation Agreement. I told you about the issues that are being raised up there at the moment and I suspect he is behind them. I don’t know what his motivation is. Could be genuine. Could be a cover for something else. I’ve argued with Don on this because I don’t agree with his inclusion as a suspect, but I realise I can’t be swayed by my gut feeling.’
Connor nodded. Suspicions and gut feelings weren’t good enough on their own. ‘Worth looking at if he can leave without going through security.’
‘I doubt very much if he is involved. Working at the mine for so long, he has a balanced view and he was invaluable when we were negotiating the new agreement with the traditional owners. But yes, I know I have to keep an open mind.’
Don and John had exchanged a significant glance when they’d moved on to the next flagged staff member.
‘The most likely suspect in both our minds is someone who came from Dubai just over nine months ago—Dru Porter.’
Connor’s interested quickened and he nodded. ‘Dubai? What’s his position here?’
‘It’s a she. Dru is short for some long female name.’ John picked up another file from his desk and flicked over a page. ‘Drusilla Porter. She’s an engineer and she was working on the Ain Dubai—you know that Ferris wheel project in Dubai? There was very little information about why she left the company and she was quite adamant at her initial interview that her connection to Dubai remained confidential.’
‘There’s a big difference between working in Dubai and here. I imagine the salary and the perks in Dubai would be much better.’ Connor nodded thoughtfully. He’d make his own decisions but John was right to flag this Porter woman.
‘She halved her salary to come here.’
‘That’s noteworthy,’ Connor said.
‘There’s not a lot of information in her file, but she was employed in an environmental capacity in Dubai, same as here. This is only her second job. She’s a fairly recent graduate and we don’t know much about her.’ John handed over to Don.
‘On site, she’s efficient, does her job well, and keeps very much to herself.’ Don glanced down at his iPad. ‘She did express an interest in being a part of the cultural committee and as part of her role she consults with the traditional owners regularly to ensure that the rehabilitation is culturally appropriate.’ He lifted his gaze to meet Connor’s eyes. ‘What may be of interest to you is the only person she seems to have struck up a friendship with is Rocky Cardella.’
Connor nodded and drew a connecting line between the two names.
Don glanced at John as he spoke. ‘There’s one more thing you need to be aware of.’
‘Yes?’ Connor said.
‘Over the past six months, we’ve had problems with the security cameras on site. Persistent choppiness of the feed, and intermittent freezing of the video. We’ve had the technicians up from Perth a number of times but the problem always reappears a few weeks later.’
‘Are the cameras hard-wired or wireless?’ Connor asked.
‘Wireless,’ Don replied.
‘Okay, I’ll have a look at th
at too.’
‘The dates and times of the interference episodes are in one of the reports in your file.’ John added. ‘It may be significant, or it may not. That’s your brief.’
Connor sat back and folded his arms. ‘Okay, so just to summarise where you’re up to . . . only the three persons of interest? What other evidence do you have?’
‘That’s the problem. We have nothing more. Nothing apart from supposition and tenuous links and coincidences. Rocky and Dru are the only ones who may ever have opportunity.’ John shook his head and then stared at Connor. ‘I want you to get the evidence so we can put a stop to this as quickly as possible. As well as the cultural issues, there are other problems affecting our share price at the moment. If news gets out that there has been such a significant theft, our stocks will plummet, and that could impact on the approval for the second underground mine. Do whatever it takes . . . and do it fast.’
Don stood and shook his hand. ‘You need to know I’m taking some personal leave for a month. While I’m off, Adam Hennessey, my second-in-charge, is running the security section, but John and I have both agreed that he doesn’t need to know about the thefts, or your undercover role.’
‘The fewer who know the better,’ John added.
Connor had left the meeting deep in thought. He had a lot of information to sift through, as well as reading up on what his undercover role as the workplace health and safety officer would entail. Being a compliance officer on a working mine site was a far cry from the old occupational health and safety committee he’d been on ten years ago in the Federal Police.
Now he looked around the plane but didn’t recognise any of the faces. John had provided photos of Carruthers, Cardella and Porter. Three very different people in a large staff. If those leads turned out to be dead ends, it might prove to be a longer and more difficult job than the CEO hoped for. The camera issue was one that he would prioritise.
The landing gear of the plane lowered with a whir and a thud; Connor’s eyes widened as he took in Matsu Diamond Mine below. Much bigger than he’d anticipated; it looked like a small town from the air. Dozens of buildings dotted the large site and a network of roads surrounded the mine on three sides. Several car parks wrapped around the various buildings and three bulk storage tanks. On the western edge was a large hill that brought to mind the pyramids of Egypt. The plane completed a circle over the site in preparation for landing. On the second pass over Connor realised it was the regular terraces of an open cut mine that gave the hill the look of a pyramid.
The wheels hit the tarmac and the thrust reverse engaged with a roar. A fence covered in purple bougainvillea flashed past as the plane slowed to a taxi and turned towards the terminal.
Chapter 4
Dru rolled over and opened her eyes with a start, feeling like she’d barely slept. After reading Megan’s third long message in as many hours, her daytime sleep had been fitful and filled with crazy dreams. She’d been dreaming about rocks crashing into a huge digger with three buckets but the constant banging in her dream was someone pounding on her door.
‘Seven o’clock start and bring your dough with you, love.’ Rocky’s dry laugh reached her as his footsteps passed by her window. ‘Gonna whip your butt tonight, lady.’
She turned and buried her face in the pillow with a groan. Her eyes were gritty and her throat was dry. Opening one eye, she lifted her head and squinted at the clock.
A quick swim in the pool and she’d still have time to shower and grab an early dinner before she met the guys. A bit of fun would take her mind off the problem that Megan’s request had presented. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Dubai; she wasn’t prepared to take the risk.
Please, Dru. I’ll just die if you won’t be my bridesmaid.
A reluctant smile had tugged at her lips as she’d read Megan’s message. Even though she was a drama queen, Megan had been a great friend to Dru for the two years she’d spent in Dubai. Sam, her fiancé, had been one of Dru’s colleagues on the Ain Dubai project and she’d met Megan the first week she’d arrived in the city. But although they had developed a close friendship, she had only ever told Megan a little of what had happened; she wasn’t sure that anyone would even believe her. Dru had been mortified that she had let things get to the stage they did. Zayed had been so jealous of her friendship with Sam and Megan, and he had even threatened Sam’s job once things began to get nasty.
The thought of seeing Zayed terrified her. She closed her eyes again and pulled the shutter down on those thoughts as her heart skittered up a few beats and the familiar clamminess prickled at her neck. She rolled over and lifted the loose hair from her collar as she picked up the phone and read Megan’s most recent entreaty for the third time.
Dru darling, we’ll look out for you. Promise, promise, promise. We won’t leave your side. Oh, please, please, please, Dru. I’ve found you the most gorgeous cerulean blue pantsuit. It will go so well with your blonde hair and your fair skin. I know you won’t wear a dress and heels . . . although I don’t know why. You are way too self-conscious about your height.
Don’t say no straight away, think about it. PLEEEASE xxx
Email me and tell me when you are off shift and I’ll call. Please be a sweetheart . . . it would mean the world to me. You’ve got two weeks to let me know. How generous am I? Love Megs xxx
Megan was burying her head in the sand if she thought there’d be no risk if Dru went back to Dubai; but it was a problem Dru would sort out later. Right now she had a poker game to go to. If there was one thing guaranteed to take her mind off her constant worrying it was a poker game with the guys. Rolling over, she climbed out of bed, grabbed her swimmers and slipped them on before knotting a sarong over the top and tucking her braid into a baseball cap.
When she reached the pool, Dru was pleased to see she was the only one taking a late swim. The final shards of sunlight were playing on the desert; the scrubby savannah grasslands picked up the yellow hues from the setting sun and the occasional splash of red flowers of the sticky kurrajong trees glowed brightly against the spinifex grass at the base of the Matsu hills. The Kimberley desert was the opposite of the man-made artificiality of Dubai; she knew where she preferred to be.
The warm air caressed her skin as she slipped the sarong off and placed it on one of the chairs with her baseball cap. As she kicked her thongs off and crossed to the diving blocks, the sun set in a golden flash and the sky faded. The evening star appeared as a pinprick in the indigo sky. Blue, golden and white; she’d been fascinated with the stars growing up. She and her sisters had often lain on their backs in the backyard of the family farm in the Territory watching for shooting stars, ignoring Mum’s dire warnings about snakes.
Mosquitoes were the only bites they’d suffered back in those wonderful childhood days. Dru closed her mind and refused to let the memories drift in.
Stepping up onto the diving block, she stood with her toes over the edge of the pool, tucked her chin down and stretched her arms over her head. She rocked gently, anticipating the moment when the cool water would slide over her heated skin before pushing her feet from the diving block and gliding almost soundlessly into the cool water. She broke the surface and took a deep breath before setting off on the first of the twenty laps she had time for before the card game.
*
On arrival at Matsu, Connor had met with the site manager and filled in the appropriate paperwork before being shown to Adam Hennessey’s office in the administration block for a security induction. Hennessey was out on the mine site and his administration assistant, Jennifer, settled him at a small desk beneath the window with three large folders.
‘Adam’s been trying to get rid of this induction role; especially with Don on leave, he spends most of his time out on the site. You can’t go out there until you’ve read them all and signed off,’ she said with a smile. ‘But I guess that’s second nature to you, being a safety officer.’
Connor smiled back. ‘I probably wro
te the templates they’re based on.’ Might as well immerse himself in the role from the start.
‘Well, I won’t say anything about them being boring then.’ The young woman flicked him an appreciative glance before leaving Connor to read. ‘Happy reading. I’ve put some biscuits out for you and there’s a coffee machine over in the kitchen up the hall.’
He nodded and settled in to read through the documents. Yep, boring as batshit, but essential on a worksite.
After reading the security induction in depth, Connor fired up his laptop and made notes on possible security weak points. There were a couple of extra places where the security could be breached additional to those Don and John had identified.
By five o’clock he had an excellent understanding of the processes at the mine. The compliance documents for each department had given him a clear overview of how the site worked. He still had to get his head around the jargon so it sounded as though he knew what he was supposedly checking up on as he roamed around the site. But over the past three weeks, Connor had read up on the safety officer role so he was confident he could carry it off without alerting anyone to the fact that he was in there in an undercover capacity.
Half an hour later the door opened and Jennifer leaned around holding a set of keys.
‘Almost done?’
‘Yes, all read and signed.’
He walked across and handed the signed documents over to her as she stepped into the room.
‘Thanks. Adam asked me to convey his apologies. They’re having trouble with one of the cameras at the fuel depot where the tourist buses refuel and he’s not going to be back anytime soon.’ She held the keys out to him. ‘He asked me to give you these and directions to the village. He’s set you up with an office along the corridor here and he’ll show you tomorrow. Meanwhile there’s a ute for your use. The number is on the key. It’s in the car park outside this building. And you’re in Apartment 16.’ She grinned at him. ‘Lucky you. Right near the pool.’