by Annie Seaton
Pushing herself up to her feet, she took off at a slow run, bent over, desperately looking around for somewhere to hide. A pile of dead branches from a large boab tree blocked her way and Dru skirted around them. She took a moment to look up; Liam was picking his way down the hill and not looking directly at her. Ahead was a stand of boab trees and she ran quickly and pressed herself behind one with a huge trunk. Shuffling around it, she noticed a smaller tree with a narrow opening at its base. She stared at it for a moment before glancing back at Liam. He’d stopped about a third of the way down and was looking back up the hill. As Dru watched him, working out if she could dive across to the tree before he looked back down to her, the sound of another vehicle coming along the road reached her.
Thank God.
She scurried across to the tree and used her good hand to push away the cobwebs that covered the tiny space. Trying not to think of spiders and snakes or other creatures living in the tree, she crawled into the hollow. As Dru lay back, the dead leaves crackled and a roaring buzz filled her ears as her vision faded to black.
Chapter 36
Connor grunted with frustration as he planted the accelerator to the floor. The back of the ute fishtailed and by the time the boom gate came down behind the vehicle, he was a hundred metres down the road. The bitumen turned to gravel but he didn’t slow as he turned off the entry road and headed east across the desert.
Bloody hell.
Dru was on the road ahead . . . and so was Liam Carruthers. He would never forgive himself if Carruthers hurt her. He would never forget the feeling that had coursed through him when Adam revealed their connection. The moment he realised that Liam was out there in the desert, chasing after the diamonds he believed were in Dru’s bag.
Connor gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead. In the far distance a pall of dust indicated that a car was on the road ahead. Perspiration ran down his face and Connor brushed it away angrily, forcing himself to slow down slightly. He’d be no use to Dru if he rolled the car. The road was getting worse the further he went.
‘Shit!’ The exclamation left his lips as he crested a slight incline. Dru’s car was parked at a crazy angle and its front wheels were hanging over the incline at the edge of the road. A few hundred metres ahead, a Matsu ute was roaring away, heading north. It was Carruthers’ ute; Connor recognised the tailgate with the missing letter. He slammed his foot on the brakes and swerved to a stop. Opening the door, he jumped out and ran to Dru’s car. The driver’s side door was open but she wasn’t there. Her phone was on the passenger seat with her small pack. He looked into the back; the larger bag was no longer there. So the bastard had taken her and the bag with him. Connor slammed his fists on the roof of the car as anger coursed through him. He turned to run back to his ute but stopped as he noticed what looked like blood on the road beside Dru’s car. He crouched down and touched the damp soil. It was still warm and sticky. He looked around but couldn’t see any more.
Rage consumed him. He’d kill the bastard if he’d hurt Dru. He ran for his ute and this time he pushed it to its limit as he tried to catch up to the vehicle in front of him.
Connor held back his temper and focused on the best strategy to approach Carruthers. He wouldn’t put Dru in any more danger than she was already in. When Carruthers’ ute appeared ahead, he eased back on the accelerator. As hard as it was, he made sure he stayed at least a kilometre behind. After they had both turned onto the sealed Great Northern Highway, Connor kept half an eye on the road and pulled out his phone. He hit speed dial for Greg and flicked the phone onto Bluetooth.
‘Come on, mate, pick up, pick up.’ It was close to six o’clock and Greg was probably on the turps by now. A surge of relief ran through him when Greg picked up and his voice was clear and not slurred. ‘Hey, Kirkie, how’s it hangin’? Sorry, I’ve got nothing more for you, mate.’
‘Forget that. I need your help, Greg. It’s Liam Carruthers and he’s got Dru. I’m going after them now.’
‘Jesus! Where are you? What do you need me to do?’
‘We’re on the road from Matsu to Kununurra. I’m behind the bastard, and he’s just turned onto the highway north. I know the mobile service drops out on this part of the road. Can you call the Kununurra police and tell them what’s happening? If they won’t listen to you, insist they call John Robinson in Perth. He was going to put them on standby anyway. We’re about an hour to the south of town.’ Connor took a breath. ‘After that, call John Robinson and tell him it’s Liam Carruthers who’s running the diamond racket. Tell him I’ve got evidence and at least one accomplice—maybe two: Hennessey is involved, and possibly Steve Jarvis as well.’
‘Rightio, I’m on it. Be careful, mate.’
Connor tagged Carruthers’ ute all the way to Kununurra; it frustrated the hell out of him that he was too far back to see if Dru was in the vehicle with him.
Monotonous red desert and scrubby bush flashed past his window in the fading light. It seemed as though everything was in slow motion. The time dragged and Connor pushed away the worst scenarios that kept filling his thoughts. All he could hope was that Carruthers hadn’t yet looked for the diamonds in Dru’s bag. He gripped the wheel until his knuckles were white.
It was almost dark when they caught up to a line of caravans on the highway close to Kununurra. Connor eased back his speed. As he pulled further back, flashing lights appeared from the north. As Connor watched, a police car turned across the road and blocked Carruthers’ path. Connor’s grip on the steering wheel relaxed and he pulled over to the side of the highway behind the police car. By the time he was out of his ute, they had Carruthers face down against the bonnet of his vehicle. Connor ran to the front and looked inside. It was dark but Dru’s bag was the only thing inside.
‘Where is she?’ He turned to Liam and reached to grab him, but one of the police officers stepped between them.
‘We’ll deal with this, sir.’
‘What have you done with her?’ Connor put his face close to Carruthers’ but the man stared back at him, a scowl on his face.
‘The woman whose bag he has in his vehicle—’ Connor choked on the words as he approached the senior police officer ‘—her car is abandoned about eighty kilometres back on the Matsu road and there’s blood on the ground. She’s not there. He’s done something to her.’
This time Connor couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Carruthers’ chin and pushed his head back against the ute. Two of the police officers turned away and the senior guy moved closer.
‘Where is she, you lowlife?’ Connor growled. ‘What have you done with Dru?’
‘This is assault. Get him off me.’ Carruthers jerked his head away from Connor’s grip.
‘What the fuck have you done with her?’ Connor yanked Carruthers’ shirt with his other hand.
‘You can’t pin it on me. She took off into the desert.’
Connor’s mouth dried. ‘Where?’
Carruthers shrugged. ‘Back there somewhere.’
‘I’m going back to find her,’ he called to the senior officer as he shoved Carruthers again. ‘Can you get a search team together?’ Connor ran back to his vehicle and slammed it into gear. He threw it into a U-turn when the road was clear and dialled Greg again. ‘Greg, Dru’s not with him. I’m going back to where her car was.’ Frustration gripped him. It was at least an hour back there.
‘Shit, that’s not good.’
Connor cursed as he came to a line of slow traffic. ‘Jesus, there’s a bank of traffic heading south.’
‘I’ll get there as soon as I can,’ Greg said. ‘I’m on my way into town. I’ll be behind you.’
‘Do you know anyone who knows this area well?’ Connor glanced in the rear-vision mirror and pulled out, overtaking three long caravans. ‘The desert, I mean.’
‘Not really. But Wipporing’s not far from the mine. There’s an Aboriginal settlement there. Do you know any of the local blokes at the mine?’
‘Jesus, yes. Rocky Carde
lla, but I don’t know where to find him.’
‘Leave it with me, mate. I’ll track him down. See you in an hour or so.’
The trip back on the Great Northern Highway was frustrating; a couple of times Connor had to slow as kangaroos crossed the road ahead of his car. Once he turned onto the dirt there was no traffic and he put his foot down. He glanced back; one of the police vehicles was behind him. He let out a relieved breath. At least there’d be someone to help him until Greg turned up.
Eventually his headlights revealed Dru’s sedan in the distance. He pulled up, raced across and flung open the driver’s side door. He scrabbled around in the dark, looking for the lever that popped the boot. Finally his fingers found it underneath the left side of the steering column. By this time, the two police officers had crossed the road and stood beside him with a torch. He flicked the lever with a click.
‘What are you looking for, mate?’
All sorts of scenes had run through Connor’s head as he’d raced down the highway.
‘He might have locked her in the boot.’ Connor held his breath as he walked around to the back of the car and lifted the boot open.
He put his hand to his face as he stared at the space faintly lit by the interior light.
It was empty.
*
When Dru woke, it was pitch black and her arm was stiff and throbbing. She blinked and opened her eyes wide but she couldn’t see anything. Tendrils of panic wound their way around her chest. She’d hated the dark ever since Dad had died.
Her mouth was parched and her head was sore where Liam had pulled at her hair. Her arm was burning and when she tried to move it, it was stuck to the front of her T-shirt. She ran her tongue around her mouth but it was as dry as her lips. All was quiet around her but she wasn’t game to move in case he was still out there.
Dots of light danced across her eyes and she wondered if Zayed had a torch and was looking in all of the trees. A bubble of laughter threatened as she imagined him walking from tree to tree in the desert. How did he get here? Had he finally found her? Then she realised if she closed her eyes, the lights were still there. And it wasn’t Zayed looking for her, it was Liam. Hot tears splashed her cheeks and Dru put her finger up and tried to wipe them away, but she was too tired and it hurt her bad arm. Closing her eyes, she let sleep take her into its soothing depth.
Something ran across her bare leg and she jerked awake again. She didn’t have enough energy to crawl away from whatever creature was in here with her. She closed her eyes again and whispered, ‘Connor, come and find me . . . please.’
But the night was still and there was no one to hear her.
Chapter 37
‘Thank you.’ Connor nodded at the police officer who handed him a bottle of cold water. He leaned back on the ute and stared past her. The sky was gradually lightening on the eastern horizon. Shards of gold lit the clouds hovering over the desert and the inky darkness of the sky began to fade.
Frustration held him rigid; they had searched all night to no avail. His clothes were stiff with perspiration and his legs were aching from climbing up and down ridges. The group of searchers had grown as the night had progressed; more police had arrived and John Robinson had ordered the mine rescue team to join the search. They had mapped a search grid; five kilometres up and down the road and three kilometres into the desert on each side. A couple more blood splatters had been found, but nothing more.
‘How you going, mate?’ Greg appeared beside him as Connor wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘It’s like looking for the proverbial needle, isn’t it?’ Connor put the empty water bottle on the roof of the car. He stretched his leg out as a cramp seized his thigh.
‘You need to have a rest. You’ve been going nonstop all night.’
‘We don’t even bloody know if we’re looking in the right place, do we?’ He slammed a fist into his palm. ‘Christ, she could be anywhere.’
‘Calm down, Kirkie. You’ll be no use to anyone if you lose the plot. Didn’t you follow Carruthers all the way from here?’
Connor nodded.
‘And you didn’t see him pull up, so she has to be around here somewhere. She might have headed back towards the mine.’ He looked at Connor quizzically. ‘Hold on. There’s more to this than just a missing person, isn’t there?’
‘Yeah, I owe Dru for thinking she was in this.’
‘It wasn’t that bad a call. That money in her account was a flag. It would have fooled the best.’ Greg regarded him intently. ‘Is that all?’
Connor looked at Greg as the sun cleared the horizon in a burst of golden light. His old partner had shaved and had a haircut since he’d last seen him, and was looking a lot closer to normal than he had for a long time.
‘Dru’s a pretty special person. She’s been through a lot over the past few years.’ He shook his head and pushed away from the ute. ‘Come on, we’re wasting time. It’s going to get bloody hot in the next couple of hours and she’s been out there all night without water.’
‘Wait.’ Greg grabbed his arm.
A vehicle was coming in quickly from the west. They both stood and stared as the dust cloud got closer. Connor started forward as it slowed to a stop.
‘It’s Rocky!’
The Aboriginal man climbed out of the ute and crossed the road to Connor. ‘Sorry, I was visiting some family over on the other side of the Bungle Bungles. I only just got the message.’ He looked around at the group of people, waiting for instructions. ‘I guess she hasn’t turned up yet?’
‘No.’ Connor took a deep breath. ‘I’m heading out again now.’
‘No. Wait here with me. Tell me exactly what happened and where she went into the desert.’
‘That’s the fucking problem, mate. We don’t even know for sure if she’s out there. Carruthers won’t say a word.’
‘Liam Carruthers?’ Rocky’s brow furrowed in a frown. ‘What’s he got to do with Dru?’
‘Long story. All we know is that Dru is missing and her car is here.’ Connor’s voice shook. ‘And there’s blood on the road.’
Rocky knelt beside Dru’s car. He squatted there for a long time and Connor’s impatience grew. He took a step forward but Greg stayed him with a hand on his arm.
‘Be patient, mate. This is our best chance. We’ve done no good by ourselves and we’ve had hours to search. This bloke will know the desert better than any of us.’
‘What’s got into you, Greg? You’re usually too cynical to believe in anything like that.’
Greg’s reply was short. ‘You can be an arrogant prick at times. You always did think you knew it all, Kirk. Now settle down and wait.’
Rocky moved to the side of the road and stood at the edge of the incline with his hand to his eyes. He stared ahead across the terrain and eventually he turned to Connor and the police sergeant who had walked across to stand with them.
‘I believe she’s still out there, and she’s injured.’
‘Clever deduction, mate.’ Connor’s voice was full of frustration.
‘I know you’re hurting for her.’ Rocky’s dark eyes stayed on Connor. ‘Dru knows this landscape. She’s been working here for a while now, and she grew up in the bush. She would have known where to hide when he chased her.’
‘Chased her?’ Connor said.
‘That’s the easy part.’ Rocky gestured to the road. ‘You can see that easily.’ He put his car keys in his pocket and pulled out a torn baseball cap and pushed it onto his head. ‘Bring some water. We have to find her quickly.’ He met Connor’s gaze and Connor frowned at the worry on the Aboriginal man’s face.
Rocky turned to the police officer. ‘Make sure there’s an ambulance here when we bring Dru back. I’m worried about how much blood she’s lost.’
Greg and Connor stared at each other and Connor shook his head as a feeling of doom settled over him.
*
Dru was dreaming of her father. His arms were around her and he was
keeping her safe. The familiar smell of his aftershave soothed her. He pulled her back against his hard chest, just as he had when she was a little girl. She tried to turn around to see him but her eyes wouldn’t open. The softness of his flannel shirt tickled her face as she turned into his chest. Licking her lips, she tried to speak but her voice wouldn’t come. Her arm was throbbing and the heat had gone up into her shoulder. She woke with a start and opened her eyes; a soft filtered light was coming in through the hole in the trunk. She lowered her head and a sharp pain ran down her neck as she looked at her arm. Slowly, she pulled her forearm away from her chest and as it came away from her T-shirt, the cut started to bleed again. Dru gagged as her stomach roiled and a cold feeling ran through her blood. This time she welcomed the blackness as the pain took over.
*
Connor and Greg followed Rocky down the hill and then across to the ridge slightly to the east.
‘This is the right way.’ Rocky’s tone was full of confidence.
‘We’ve already searched down here. We’ve searched every bloody ridge, and every cave for three kilometres.’ Connor’s frustration was growing. He closed his eyes and made a deal with himself. If Dru was all right, he would change. He’d give up his investigation work and think about his future. Rocky’s quiet triumphant cry interrupted his thoughts.
‘She’s down here.’
Connor ran over to him.
‘How do you know that?’ Greg asked quietly.
‘I just know. The land tells me,’ Rocky said with a shrug. ‘I can see where she has walked up here but it was before dark last night.’
‘We’ve been here already. We’ve called her until we were hoarse and we had searchlights on the hills all night.’ Connor slipped and caught himself as the small stones skittered under his boots. He was so bloody tired but he wasn’t going to stop until they found Dru. ‘I’m going back up the top. We’ve got to look on the other side.’
‘No. Stay here. We’re going to need a few men to carry her up.’ The Aboriginal man walked around in a circle at the edge of the ridge, looking at the ground. He let out a grunt of satisfaction. ‘This is where she went down.’