by Des Hunt
However, it wouldn’t help save her from Bryan and his dogs. They could end up being more dangerous than the Neanderthals. If those dogs came anywhere near this part of the farm, they’d probably pick up her scent. Zac shuddered as he thought of what the dogs would do if they got hold of Alex.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Jess.
Zac stood. ‘I need to pee.’
‘And that makes you shiver?’
He gave a crooked smile. ‘Yeah, it’s a male thing.’
Jess accepted this with a smile of her own.
Outside, he kept to the shelter of the bushes as he made his way back to Waiariki Stream. He didn’t really need to pee. It was a ruse to check on Bryan’s vehicle without alarming Jess.
The ute was gone, but the foot and paw prints hadn’t. To Zac’s relief, they were all down in the stream, the usual route up the valley.
He almost turned back then, satisfied that they hadn’t gone near Hermit’s Hole. Yet something made him follow the tracks across the stream and past the log crossing. Just as well he did, for around the next bend the tracks moved back across the stream. He, too, crossed and followed them until they met with the vegetation along the side of the valley. There the prints disappeared, but it was easy to see where they’d gone: there was a foot track leading up a ridge.
Zac climbed it for a few minutes until he reached a place where the foliage was flattened. Several cigarette butts suggested that this was a common resting place. He wondered why.
A quick look around soon provided the answer. The place provided excellent views of the coastal flat lands, both the homestead paddocks and those near Hermit’s Hole. It was the perfect place for spies to sit and observe those who moved below. Zac had no doubt that at some stage he or Jess had been in the sights of some of those spies, whoever they might be.
‘That was a long pee,’ said Jess, when Zac returned.
He told her what he’d found.
‘Who do you think it was?’ she asked when he’d finished.
‘I know Bryan and Sean have been there, but I don’t know if they’re the ones who left the cigarette butts.’
‘What about the Neanderthals? I’ve seen Yuri smoking.’
Zac nodded silently.
‘Just as well we’ve got that tracking device,’ said Jess.
‘That’s if it works,’ replied Zac. ‘We need to test it.’
Jess pulled out her phone. ‘There’s no signal in here.’
‘Maybe it’s time for Tasha to go out for a pee,’ said Zac.
At the sound of her name, Tasha lifted her head.
‘Toilet time, Tasha,’ said Jess. ‘Your baby will be safe here.’
Tasha lowered her head to Alex. Satisfied that the kitten was okay, she slowly got to her feet and moved to the door.
‘She’s pretty smart, isn’t she?’ said Zac.
Jess nodded. ‘She’s wonderful.’
Outside, Tasha walked through the bush until she found a suitable place. Jess kept an eye on the phone until there was a signal. Immediately she texted where r u.
It took less than a minute for the reply to come back: 41° 19.643' S, 174° 39.319' E.
‘Where’s that?’ said Jess.
‘Right there!’ said Zac, pointing at Tasha who was now scratching leaves into place. As soon as that was done, she quickly returned to her home.
Instead of following, Jess copied the text reply through to the mapping app. It took some time before the satellite image downloaded and they could check if it was the right place.
It was! The X marking the spot where Tasha had toileted was exactly where it should be.
Satisfied that the tracking device worked, they returned to Hermit’s Hole. After making sure that Tasha and Alex were comfortable, they topped up the water and food bowls and left.
On the trip back to the house, they kept to the cover of the bushes for as long as possible, moving out into the open only when they reached Waiariki Stream. Although there were no vehicles around, Zac took a cautious look up to the ridge. There was nothing to see. As he suspected, he couldn’t make out the spot where the cigarette butts were; any spies would be invisible. He searched around, wondering if there were other vantage points.
There were many, though most were at the top of the hills. A reflection from something on the ridge line by the turbines caught his eye. He pointed it out to Jess.
‘They were working on a turbine as we came through this morning,’ said Jess.
‘What time is it?’
Jess looked at her phone. ‘Five forty-three.’
‘What time do they knock off?’ asked Zac.
Jess shrugged. ‘Sometimes they work late.’ It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
Zac could now see that it was a windscreen reflecting the setting sun. A very big windscreen. Big enough to belong to a monster pick-up.
Chapter Twenty
Dinner that night was lasagne and mixed vegetables with heated bread rolls. This was followed by lemon meringue pie smothered with cream.
‘This is fantastic,’ said Zac, dishing up a second helping of pie. ‘How come you haven’t cooked this before?’
‘I save the best cooking until we have guests,’ said Crawford. He looked over to Jess and winked. She chuckled.
Zac got it. ‘You didn’t cook it, did you?’
‘Unfortunately, no. I wish I could make something this tasty, but my culinary expertise doesn’t stretch to desserts. Jess’s mother made it.’
‘This is my favourite,’ said Jess. ‘Mum usually only makes it for special occasions. I think she must be trying to impress you, so you’ll give out some secrets about the book you’re writing.’
Crawford pulled a face. ‘I wish there were some secrets, Jess. So far I’ve written nothing that’s useful. Changing from non-fiction is proving more difficult than I anticipated. I’ve done a lot of financial writing, but I’m finding that fiction requires a different set of skills.’
‘What sort of novel is it?’
‘What genre? Hard to say. I want a contemporary story with links back to the past. Not a historical novel, but one with aspects of history. I also want it to be exciting. Maybe that’s the problem. I’m trying to blend too many different genres.’
‘Any romance?’
‘I’m thinking about it.’
‘You need some steamy sex scenes,’ said Jess.
Crawford’s face went red. ‘No,’ he said slowly, ‘I don’t see myself writing those.’
‘Pity,’ said Jess. ‘That’s what Mum likes to read.’
Crawford stood and started collecting dishes. ‘Yes, well,’ he said. ‘We’d better get these done so I can get back to it.’
After the dishes, Zac and Jess went on the computer to check on the Phantom of Terawhiti.
The sightings now stretched from Makara all the way to Johnsonville. Another two photos had been added. One of these was so obviously false that Zac and Jess couldn’t help but laugh when they saw it.
Other photos weren’t so laughable. One showed Mikhail Popanov on safari in Africa. He was pointing to a branch of a tree where a leopard was eating an antelope. Another showed him in East Russia alongside leopard tracks in the snow. The link between the Phantom of Terawhiti and the Russian billionaire was now accepted as fact.
As they were browsing through all of this, the computer chimed to indicate an email had arrived.
‘You’ve got mail,’ said Jess.
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Zac. ‘It can wait.’
‘Are you hiding it from me?’
‘Nah. It’ll just be spam.’
Jess gave him a nudge. ‘But what if it’s your girlfriend?’
‘I don’t have a girlfriend,’ said Zac, his voice starting to show annoyance.
‘You might have now. How will you know unless you open it?’
Zac gave in. ‘All right! I’ll open it.’
He did so.
‘Who’s Hayley?’ asked Jess, readi
ng from the header. ‘I thought you didn’t have a girlfriend.’ Her tone was suddenly chilly.
‘I don’t; Hayley’s my sister.’
Jess’s body relaxed. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘What’s she got to say?’
He opened the message.
Hi, Zac
What’s this Phantom of Terawhiti that’s all over Facebook? That’s where you are, isn’t it? Have you seen anything? Sounds exciting.
We’re in Moscow at the moment. That’s in Russia, in case you didn’t know! Last night we went to The Nutcracker at the Bolshoi Theatre. It was fantastic!!! I love Europe. I don’t want to ever come home.
I see dear Uncle Stanley’s now being investigated by the US government. Serves him right. But I bet it’s not making your life any easier.
Hope Dad’s not being too much of a pain.
Luv u bro
Hayley
‘Wow! Your sister’s in Moscow.’
‘And Mum,’ added Zac.
‘What’s The Nutcracker?’
‘It’s a ballet. Hayley is crazy about ballet. That’s why they’re over there.’
Jess thought for a time. ‘It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘They’re Kiwis in Russia and we’ve got Russians over here.’
‘They’re not connected,’ said Zac.
‘Yeah, I know. But it is interesting.’
‘I can’t imagine Ivan and Yuri at a ballet.’
‘No!’ agreed Jess. ‘They’d be more into stuff like bear-baiting.’
Knowing that Jess was sleeping in the house, just a few metres away, was disturbing for Zac. It affected his thoughts and his sleep. Twice he woke needing to pee, but he put it off, thinking that a light or flushing toilet might disturb her.
On the third occasion, though, he had to get up: it was either that or pee in the bed. He groped his way along the dim passageway, past Jess’s closed door and into the bathroom. There, he shut the door before flicking the light switch.
After he’d finished, he tried to flush the toilet with just a little water to keep the noise down. That didn’t work: the toilet gushed like it was Huka Falls. Then came the refill. This was even louder. He kept the door shut for the eternity it took to fill the cistern. Only then did he turn out the light and return to the passageway.
His eyes, blinded by the light in the bathroom, were now useless. Wall and doors looked just as black. He accidentally touched Jess’s door. It opened with a creak that echoed through the house.
Zac froze.
Having opened the door, he was now faced with a dilemma. Should he close it and risk another creak or leave it open for her to find in the morning?
He chose to leave it open. But before he had a chance to move away, the room filled with a flash of light. For a moment he could see the outline of her body beneath the bedclothes. Blackness returned. He took off, not wanting to be discovered.
Only when he was back in his bed did he think about the cause of the flash. It couldn’t be the lighthouse because he hadn’t seen it on other nights. Then another flash came, lighting his room. This time he recognized what it was.
‘Lightning,’ he said to himself.
Satisfied, he rolled over and promptly went to sleep.
If sleep hadn’t come so quickly, he might have thought about it some more. He might have realized that on neither occasion had he heard the crash of thunder.
Chapter Twenty-one
Zac was dreaming about lemon meringue pie when a distant voice called.
‘Zac!’ A female voice. ‘Wake up!’
But he didn’t want to wake up — there was still some pie left in the dish.
The voice became more urgent. ‘Zac! Someone’s shooting. I heard shots.’
That got through. He opened his eyes to darkness less complete than earlier. Light was coming from the passage, outlining Jess standing in the doorway.
‘Shots?’ he asked.
‘Yes! From outside!’
‘I heard them too,’ said another voice. This was Crawford. ‘Get something warm on. I want to take a look.’
Zac scrambled out of bed and pulled on yesterday’s clothes over his pyjamas. He was in the lounge in less than a minute. Crawford was holding the LED spotlight.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I’m not going to get too close; I just want to see what’s going on. You two, stay in the house.’
Jess gave Zac a look that said she knew what was going on — and it was all bad. Zac replied with a nod that he hoped was reassuring. They both hurriedly moved to stand by the French doors that led from the lounge to the deck. Standing half-hidden by the curtains, they peered into the darkness.
They could see two sources of light. One was shining from the other side of Waiariki Stream. The other was on their side, moving as if held by someone running towards them.
Then the movement stopped. The beam focused on something just short of the house — an animal, running. The light caused the animal to stop and look back.
‘Tasha!’ yelled Jess, running out onto the deck.
The cat turned towards them, her eyes searching into the blackness.
A shot was fired.
Dirt alongside Tasha jumped into the air.
She looked back, unsure what to do.
‘Dad!’ cried Zac, as he joined Jess on the deck. ‘Turn on the spotlight!’
Another shot was fired.
Tasha leapt into the air as the ground exploded under her feet.
The spotlight came on.
‘Blind them!’ screamed Zac.
It took long seconds before Crawford found the shooter and centred him in the beam. Another shot was fired, slamming into the dirt at the side of the house.
Jess screamed.
‘Stop shooting!’ yelled Crawford.
The shooting stopped. But only because Tasha was on the run again, heading towards the trees and the darkness.
The attackers took off after her, moving out of the spotlight.
‘Stop!’ shouted Crawford. ‘You’re trespassing!’ He swung the spotlight until he had them centred again, and then kept it there as they ran towards the trees.
It was Bryan and Sean: Bryan with the rifle, Sean with a large torch.
Tasha had gone, lost in the black of the trees.
Jess grabbed Zac’s arm. ‘She was coming to us,’ she cried. ‘She was coming to us for help.’
Zac nodded, unable to speak.
Bryan and Sean had stopped at the edge of the trees. They were talking to each other, arguing. While the words that reached the group on the deck were unclear, the message wasn’t: Bryan wanted to follow Tasha into the bush; Sean did not.
All the time, Crawford kept them centre-beam. It was probably this, more than Sean’s argument, that finally convinced Bryan. He lowered the rifle and fiddled with it for a moment. Sean turned off his torch and began walking towards the house, holding up his hand to shield his eyes from the spotlight’s beam. Reluctantly, Bryan followed.
‘Is that thing unloaded?’ asked Crawford when the two men reached the deck.
‘The safety’s on,’ said Bryan.
‘Take the bullets out!’
‘Nah!’ said Bryan, sticking out his chin.
Crawford stepped towards him and poked him in the chest. ‘One of those shots nearly hit us.’
‘Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t blinded me with that thing!’ Bryan said defiantly. He pointed at the spotlight which was now shining down at the deck. ‘I would’ve shot that freakin’ leopard otherwise.’
Crawford lowered his voice. ‘Take. Out. The. Bullets.’
‘Nah. You can’t make me.’
‘I’ll have you up on firearms charges,’ said Crawford. ‘Reckless discharge of a firearm, endangering lives.’
That got through to Bryan. He glared at Crawford, thinking.
‘No, you won’t,’ he finally said. ‘You don’t know who we are.’ He turned to his mate. ‘Come on. Let’s get out of here.’
As Bryan began
to walk away, Jess said, ‘Bryan Dixon, Burma Road, Khandallah.’
He stopped.
Zac pointed to Sean. ‘And Sean Turner. I don’t know where you live, but I’m sure we can find out.’
Crawford looked from Jess to Zac and back again. ‘You know these two?’
‘We’ve come across them before,’ said Zac. ‘And they’re all over the net.’
Jess added, ‘Bryan doesn’t have a firearms licence because he’s been up on charges before.’
Crawford gave Bryan an evil smile. ‘So if it happens again, chances are you’ll go to prison.’
Bryan tried to stare him down, but Crawford wasn’t giving way.
‘Now do as I say and take out those bullets.’
Bryan did so.
‘Okay,’ said Crawford, in a friendlier voice. ‘Stand right there where I can see you and tell us exactly what happened.’
Sean told the story with Bryan adding bits every so often.
As Zac had feared, the two hunters had seen him and Jess walking across the terrace. While they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they’d suspected that it was something to do with the leopard and so they’d come back in the early hours of the morning.
They had driven the ute into the hiding place and just turned out the lights when another vehicle pulled up behind them.
‘A freakin’ big monstrous thing,’ said Bryan.
Sean nodded before continuing. He said they’d waited until the occupants got out of the vehicle and moved away. Then they’d followed them. This hadn’t been difficult as the other guys both had torches. One of them had also been carrying a weapon.
‘At first they seemed to know exactly where to go,’ said Sean. ‘But when they got to a patch of bush they had to look around quite a bit before they found it.’
‘We hung back,’ said Bryan. ‘Both of them were freakin’ big guys.’
‘Ivan and Yuri,’ said Zac. ‘They’re Russian mafia.’
Crawford’s eyes went wide.
‘Not surprised,’ said Bryan. ‘They looked like mobsters.’
‘We didn’t see exactly what happened next,’ continued Sean. ‘They’d moved out of sight into the bushes. But after a while, there’s this high-pitched growl. Next, all hell breaks loose. There’s snarling, screaming, swearing. The leopard flies out of the bush towards us. By then I’ve got the torch turned on. Bryan takes a shot at it. Misses. He shoots again, and misses. Then the big guys come into view. They’re a mess. Blood everywhere.’