Diamond Sky

by Annie Seaton

  ‘I saw what happened last time I played.’ His gaze was intense on her. ‘You get discarded and replaced.’

  When they reached the mess, Paul and Dave were sitting at the usual table and they both greeted her with a wide grin.

  ‘Hey, guys.’ She crossed to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

  ‘Hey, Dru. Good to see you back. Have a relaxing break?’ Paul leaned back in his chair.

  ‘Really great, thanks.’ Dru sat down and looked around. Connor had taken the seat opposite her. ‘No Rocky or Liam yet?’

  ‘Liam’s working but Rocky said he’d be here in a few minutes. He left his bag out on the site and had to go back up the hill.’ He shot a sly glance at Connor. ‘Told us we had to be on our best behaviour because you were playing tonight, Connor.’

  Dru was surprised when Connor laughed. ‘No need to do that. I’m off duty for twelve hours.’

  ‘You’ve sure had your work cut out for you lately.’

  Dru watched as Connor replied with a grin. ‘How’s that?’

  Maybe it was just women he had trouble relating to. She’d done her best and tried to be friendly, so he could take it or leave it. She stared past him out the window. Darkness was falling quickly and the lights of the buildings up the hill lit up the night sky.

  ‘All the breakdowns in the past week,’ Dave said.

  Dru rolled the cold water bottle over her forehead. Now that she’d got used to the cooler temperature in here, she was feeling hot again. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘You name it; it’s probably broken down this week.’ Paul pointed in the direction of the plant. ‘The processing plant was out for twelve hours one day while you were rostered off. They had to get the data restored from the backup in Perth before it could run again.’

  Dave joined in. ‘There was a batch of bad fuel at the depot and two of the dump trucks broke down too. Luckily it was the same day the processing plant was out.’

  ‘Do they know what’s happening?’ she asked. ‘Or is just coincidental?’

  Connor turned to face her. ‘Could be to do with the electricity supply to the site. Most things here are computer driven, so once the computers get spiked, there’s a problem.’

  ‘Might explain why my air con’s carked it,’ Dru said with a grin. ‘Although that’s pretty small in the scheme of—’

  Her words were cut off by the scream of a siren from outside.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ Paul exclaimed. ‘That’s the mine rescue siren.’

  They jumped to their feet as one and the outside door slid open. A man Dru didn’t recognise ran in.

  ‘We need some manpower up at the top of the hill, guys. One of the utes has gone over the pit and there’s someone trapped in it.’

  A cold feeling lodged in Dru’s stomach. As they reached the door, she put her hand on Paul’s shoulder. ‘Didn’t you say that’s where Rocky was going?’

  Chapter 20

  Connor’s ute was parked outside the staff mess. ‘Do you want to come with me?’

  Dave and Paul opened the back doors and jumped in. Dru ran around to the passenger side.

  ‘Can you please stop halfway up the hill at the dongas?’ she asked as Connor slammed the ute into gear. ‘I need my boots.’ He roared up the hill and swung past the dongas before coming to a sudden stop.

  She jumped out and he waited, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. She came out carrying her boots and a pair of work pants. She jumped back in and threw them on the floor as they sped across the plant toward the pit. He wondered what the hell had happened. As soon as he’d heard that Cardella had gone back out in the mine site—which was against policy—his suspicions had been aroused. And Dru’s sudden attitude change had his bullshit meter swinging high. That night at the caravan park she could barely tolerate his presence, but now she was trying to engage him in conversation every time he turned around. He looked across at her, wondering if somehow she had twigged that he was onto her. Her forehead was creased in a frown and she was staring intently ahead through the windscreen. A convoy of vehicles was making its way up the hill.

  He parked the ute next to one of the big trucks. Paul and Dave were out before he’d even killed the engine. Dru jumped out and reached in for the pair of work pants she’d thrown onto the floor with her boots. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair had come loose from her braid.

  She caught him looking at her but she looked away and laced her boots up. ‘God, I hope he’s all right.’ Her voice was low and intense.

  ‘It mightn’t be him.’

  ‘How the hell could a ute go over the edge of the pit?’

  Connor shook his head. ‘It’s got me beat how a lot of things happen on this site.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ She jogged along beside him to join the group of workers in hi-vis vests who were lined up at the edge of the hill.

  ‘Too many accidents.’

  At the top of the hill there was a jagged break in the wire fence. He pointed down the slope. Three spotlights were shining on one of the terraces about fifty metres below them, where one of the Matsu utes was on its roof.

  ‘It’s Rocky’s ute, I’m sure.’ Dru’s voice shook.

  Dave ran back over from the covered area where the tourist information was. ‘The mine rescue guys are already down there with him. They don’t need us.’

  Dru’s voice shook as she clutched his arm. ‘Any word on how he is?’

  ‘I don’t know anything else, love. That’s all I heard.’

  ‘Oh God. What if he’s—’

  Sympathy flooded through Connor. It was an unfamiliar emotion. He took her arm before he could change his mind; her distress was growing the closer they walked to the edge. ‘This way, Dru. We can wait at the top of the hill. They’ll bring him up that way.’

  He was surprised when she let him lead her over to the shelter. He tried to distract her by pointing to the signs with the information about the mine for the tourists. ‘I didn’t know any of this was up here.’

  She lifted her head and the sheen of tears glinted in the moonlight. ‘A lot of the cultural stuff there is Rocky’s work. He’s proud of his association with the mine. And he’s proud of his heritage.’ She let out a short laugh but there was no mirth in it. ‘No matter what a rude old bugger he can be sometimes.’

  ‘He’s a good man.’ Connor kept his voice calm. He still held Dru’s arm lightly, even though she’d stopped shaking. ‘He thinks very highly of you. I heard him defend you in the staff mess one night.’

  ‘That’d be Rocky. He reminds me of an old friend who worked on our farm when I was growing up.’ Her voice hitched. ‘I feel comfortable with him.’

  ‘Where did you grow up?’ Connor hadn’t delved into her past before her university days.

  ‘In the Territory. On the edge of Kakadu.’ Her voice was soft as she stared at the lights flashing around them. The lights of the mine ambulance lit the signs in regular flashes of red and blue. The on-site medico climbed out of the passenger side and walked around to the back of the vehicle and opened up the doors.

  Just then there was a cheer from the edge of the hill. ‘The stretcher’s on the way up.’

  Dru grabbed at Connor’s arm with her free hand. ‘Oh, please, let him be okay.’

  ‘If they’re bringing him up rather than sending the paramedics down the hill, that’s a good sign.’

  ‘It is, isn’t it?’ She pulled away from him and folded her arms tightly across her chest. ‘I’ll be sure to give him a serve when they get him up here.’ Her voice hitched again and once more something akin to sympathy ran through Connor. He tried to tell himself that this woman was his chief suspect and that the injured man was quite likely to be her accomplice, but he was having difficulty focusing on that. All he could see was Dru’s pale face and her lips trembling as she stared up at him, her eyes shadowed as the flashing lights moved away.

  He put his hand out and then pulled it back before he could touch her. The smell of he
r perfume lingered on his fingers from where he’d held her a moment ago.

  The radio inside the ambulance crackled into life and they both turned to listen. ‘Patient is in a stable condition. Conscious and lucid. He’s insisting he wants to speak to Dru Porter. Can someone get her up here?’

  Dru’s eyes widened and Connor followed her as she stepped toward the paramedic. ‘I’m here.’

  The radio crackled again. ‘We can’t do a proper examination because he’s clutching a bag to his chest and hanging onto it for dear life. Won’t let go. Says it’s for Dru Porter and no one else.’

  Connor stood stock still. Maybe this was the evidence he’d been waiting for. He turned to Dru and kept his voice neutral, hiding the excitement that had fired in him.

  ‘What’s in the bag?’

  She shrugged but her voice was hesitant. ‘I have no idea.’

  They waited a few more moments and another cheer came from the group by the fence, louder this time.

  ‘Easy does it.’ Two of the mine rescue team appeared over the lip of the drop and pulled themselves up and over. ‘One more level and we’ll have him out.’

  Connor put his hand on Dru’s shoulder as they waited; he was not going to let her take a step away from him. For a brief moment guilt ran through him when she turned with a grateful smile.

  ‘Thank you. I’m sorry I got so upset before. I . . . I . . . it made me think of something that always upsets me. I don’t handle medical stuff very well.’

  ‘Happy to help.’

  She held his gaze for a moment and when she reached up and squeezed his hand, it was all Connor could do not to express his disgust with a smart retort. She was a consummate actress. All she was worried about was losing her offsider. He recalled the pictures he’d seen of Dru in Dubai with her fancy Arab boyfriend. This woman in work clothes with dust smeared on her face was a long way removed from the elegant creature in those photographs with almost a million dollars in her bank account.

  Yes, she was good. Bloody good. Equal to the best he’d seen.

  Remember that, Connor. Don’t get sucked in. A pretty face led to your downfall last time.

  *

  Dru held her breath as the two men reached down and took the end of the stretcher as it was lifted over the edge of the drop. Slowly they pulled it up from the man out of sight on the level below. The indentations in the pit were each only two metres high, and Rocky was only a small man, so the weight of the stretcher would be manageable. The spotlights were angled around and she dropped her head as the brilliant white lights were directed onto the stretcher.

  ‘Jeez, turn those bloody lights down. You tryin’ to blind a bloke?’

  Dru sagged with relief and stepped away from Connor’s protective grip as Rocky’s voice reached her. The two men on the top level slid the stretcher over the last few metres.

  ‘Bring the ambulance closer,’ someone called out.

  Dru hung back, reluctant to get in the way of the medical staff, but also torn, wanting to see for herself that Rocky was all right.

  ‘Give me the bag, mate. I need to open your shirt.’

  ‘Get your hands off me and leave my shirt alone.’ Rocky’s voice was loud. ‘I only bumped me head. The rest of me is fine.’

  ‘Just let me hold it for a minute? Please?’ The paramedic had stepped forward. ‘We want to check out your heart.’

  ‘I’ll give it to Dru. Go and get her and then you can do whatever you want.’

  ‘I’m over here, Rocky.’ Dru stepped forward and felt Connor follow right behind her. ‘What on earth have you done? How the heck did you end up down there?’ Her voice shook again as she thought of how bad it could have been. She looked down at the stretcher as the paramedic leaned over Rocky. Blood had trickled from a cut on his temple and she drew a quick breath. Maybe he had a head injury. She let her gaze travel down from his face and saw that he was gripping a small hessian pack to his chest.

  ‘Come on over here. I’m sorry I missed our poker game, but I had to get my bag.’ Rocky’s voice was getting fainter and alarm ignited in Dru’s chest.

  ‘What bag, Rocky?’

  ‘This one.’ As she leaned over him he held it up and put it in her hand but didn’t let go. ‘It’s really important, Dru. I know you’ll look after it for me, if anything happens. You’ll know where they have to go.’

  Dru sensed movement in front of her and looked up as Connor walked around to the other side of the stretcher. He looked at her, his face unreadable.

  ‘Promise me you’ll look after them. You know who to give them to, don’t you?’

  Dru had no idea what Rocky was talking about but she nodded to soothe his agitation. ‘Of course I will. And as soon as you let these guys get you down to the clinic and look after you, the quicker you’ll get better and you can have them back.’

  Whatever ‘them’ was, she wondered.

  ‘Good girl,’ he muttered and his voice was slurring. ‘Knew I could trust you. But no other bugger around here.’ Finally he relinquished his hold on the bag and Dru held it close.

  ‘Don’t trust anyone,’ Rocky said. ‘You know who to give them to.’

  Chapter 21

  Dru walked back to Connor’s ute after they’d loaded Rocky into the mine ambulance. The medical officer had assured her that as far as he could tell, Rocky’s injuries weren’t serious and the slurring was most probably from shock. He’d hit his head on the side of the ute cabin as it had rolled but the cut wasn’t deep. They were more worried about concussion than anything else.

  Connor’s was one of the last vehicles to go down the hill back to the staff village. He had waited silently beside her while they’d examined Rocky and got ready to take him to the clinic.

  ‘Come on, I’ll drive you back down.’ His voice was quiet.

  She took a deep breath as she climbed into the passenger seat. Paul and Dave had already walked back down the hill.

  As they drove past the administration building, the ambulance pulled into the bay near the medical clinic. Dru let out a sigh and slumped down in the seat. ‘I could have done without that tonight.’

  ‘Shout you a cup of coffee back at the mess?’ Connor asked with a quick glance across at her. She looked back; his face was shadowed and although his tone was friendly, as far as she could see his expression was set in its usual stern lines.

  For a moment, Dru was tempted. Connor had been friendly tonight and she was grateful for the sympathy he’d shown her. When the flashing lights had lit up the night earlier, all she’d been able to think of was the ambulance that had taken Dad away from them. It had taken all of her self-control to stop a full blown panic attack coming on. Connor’s quiet words and sympathy had kept it at bay.

  ‘Thanks. But I’m tired. I think I’ll go straight to bed. I want to get up early and go down to the clinic and check on Rocky before I start my shift.’

  ‘Make sure you look after that bag of his, won’t you.’ Connor’s voice was friendly but she sensed the undercurrent of curiosity. Hell, she was intrigued too but Rocky’s words about not trusting anyone stayed with her. She probably should have agreed to have a coffee and look in the bag down in the mess with Connor, but something held her back.

  ‘I will,’ she said lightly.

  He pulled up outside her donga and gestured to the front. ‘Your door’s open.’

  Dru was surprised by his tone.

  ‘Yes. I left it open. My air con’s broken, remember? There’ll be fresh air in there at least.’

  ‘Not very safe.’

  ‘It’s safe here. Besides, there’s nothing worth stealing in my donga.’

  ‘Pleased to hear that,’ he said. ‘Make sure you look for any critters that might have come in.’

  ‘I will.’ Dru shivered as she climbed out of the ute. ‘And Connor, thanks again. I appreciated your support tonight.’

  He nodded. She stood and watched as he drove down towards the staff car park before she turned and went inside. She
put the bag on the table and looked around as Connor had suggested, relieved to find no wildlife taking refuge in her donga. She picked up the bottle and took a swig of the water she’d left on the bench and pulled a face. It was lukewarm too.

  Too bloody hot for everything, she thought, pushing her loose hair back as she mopped the perspiration from her brow. Dru took another drink of lukewarm water before she went back into the small living area and sat on the now not-so-

  cool tiles.

  She pulled the bag over to her, wondering what on earth Rocky had been up to, and what was so important. For a fleeting moment she worried that he’d been picking up rogue diamonds from the ground, but she quickly discounted that. If that was the case he wouldn’t have been so insistent about giving them to her in front of so many onlookers. Dru lifted the bag; her arm lowered as the weight of the contents pulled her hand down. She put it on her lap and slipped open the two metal clasps, pulling the straps through before she looked inside. There was a single piece of paper and a bundle of cloth in the bottom of the bag, along with a few handfuls of loose dirt. She pulled out the paper and looked at it curiously. Latitude and longitude co-ordinates were written in heavy lead pencil and there were grubby fingerprints over the edges of the paper. A grid of twelve squares had been drawn in the centre of the paper, and five of them had been shaded in. The square at the top left had a big circle around it and there were two small drawings in the margin.

  She turned the paper upside down. Rocky—if it was his work—had drawn some sort of implement. Staring intently, she turned the paper around to the other side. It was a sketch of an axe head.

  She carefully reached in, pulled out the cloth bundle and unwrapped it. Inside there were three other pieces of cloth. Two were light with barely any weight to them. The third was large and heavy and she unwrapped that first. It contained a lump of basalt and on it there was a chalk mark.