Down Among the Dead Men (Entangled Ignite) (15 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Steve looked a lot brighter than the last time she’d seen him. When he opened his door to her, she could see that he’d been working on his laptop at the small table.

“How’s the pain?” she said as she entered his room.

“Well, that’s a nice way to talk about me.”

She grinned. “I see you’re up and about. You sound better and you must be feeling better if you’re cracking jokes. Your eye’s a lot less swollen. Is everything healing properly?”

“I’m feeling almost normal, thanks. I told you I only needed a couple of days’ rest. I’ve had worse injuries on the football field. I really don’t need Brenda fussing over me, but she won’t listen.”

“She’s determined, is our Bren,” she said, trying to smother her grin.

“Are you going to sit down? You’re making me nervous.”

“Yeah, right.” She sat on the edge of the bed, then glanced around the tidy room, unsure how to start.

Steve turned the chair to face her and sat on it. “Why do I get the impression this is not a social visit?”

“Maybe because you’re paid to be observant,” she said. “I haven’t done anything like this before. I’m not sure how to say it.”

He stopped smiling. “Sounds serious. Take your time.”

“Um, this case you’re working on…does it involve an international smuggling operation?”

His eyebrows shot toward the ceiling but his voice remained calm. “I told you I couldn’t talk about it.”

“I know. I’ll take that as a yes.” She frowned at the floral bedcover. “Say a person, a hypothetical person, that is, knew where to find a cache of opals that had been stolen by the smugglers.”

“Go on.”

“And say the person arranged for the smugglers to be there when you arrived, would you be able to ignore the fact this person had told you certain lies, which were really only lies of omission? Would one counteract the other?”

“Caitlyn, how hypothetically are we talking here?”

“I’d be grateful if you’d answer my question before I say anything else.”

He scratched his chin before speaking. “You must understand, I can’t promise anything without knowing the details. Look, if you have some information, tell me. The people involved in this activity are dangerous. The sooner they’re under arrest, the better for your safety.”

“I know.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Okay, no more hypotheticals. I do have some information. I know where to find some opals and I believe DeLonghi and his associates are looking for them.”

He looked at her intently. “How do you know about DeLonghi’s activities? Did I make a mistake when I ruled you out of being involved in this?”

“I’m not involved,” she said firmly. “Not with the bad guys, anyway.” She paused. “I’ve been looking for Wally Bracken—he’s gone missing, you see—and along the way I discovered some other things.”

“Looking for Wally? This is the father you told me had gone away?”

She nodded. “I haven’t seen him since I was a child. I was trying to find him to help my mother, then I met Max and wanted to find him for her sake, too.”

“And have you found him?”

“Well, yes, sort of. He’s dead. I know where his body is and the opals are there as well. It looks like he’s been stealing opals from other people’s claims.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, I’m with it so far, but what’s the connection to DeLonghi?”

“I followed an associate of his, John Chettlewood—but we know him as Chet—to the claim. I think he was working for DeLonghi and was supposed to collect the opals for him.”

“And how do you know he’s an associate of DeLonghi’s?”

“He was with DeLonghi the night I spoke to him. Remember when I met you in the pub and I spoke to the guy in the suit? Well, Chet was the scruffy one with them. I suppose you knew exactly who DeLonghi was that night, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “You didn’t?”

“No, not then. I only found out later.” She flapped her hand impatiently. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I followed Chet, the scruffy one.”

“On your own?”

“Not exactly.”

“With Dale?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “But he hasn’t done anything wrong, he was just helping me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m damn glad he was there.”

“I think I can arrange for DeLonghi and his partner to go to the mine to get the opals. You can follow us and arrest them.”

“Just like that?” His eyes narrowed. “These people are not idiots. They’re not gentle, either. As you’ve seen.”

“I know.”

“So why take the risk? Why not give me the location of the opals—”

“And Wally’s body.”

“—and leave it to us?”

“Because,” she said earnestly, “this way, you’ll have the criminals as well as the evidence you need, won’t you? You’ll be able to make sure they’re locked away where they can’t hurt anyone else. Max, for instance.”

With a slow nod, he seemed to accept what she’d said. “You’re not going to meet them alone?”

“No, I’ll have a couple of friends nearby for protection. Look, I promise, if my plan doesn’t work, I’ll lead you to the opals and you can take over.”

He leaned his head against the pillow behind him. “I’m going to go along with you, against my better judgment.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s arranged. I’ll need to tell Dale and Josh who you are, though. Hey, when this is over will I need to call you Anthony?”

He smiled. “No, I prefer Steve.”

“Oh, I thought it was just your undercover name.”

“It’s also the name that my friends use.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Steve it is.”

He nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

On the way home, Caitlyn stopped off at Dale’s to drop a scribbled note into the mailbox. As well as asking him to meet her later, she wanted him to obtain DeLonghi’s phone number for her, and she was pretty sure he’d have a contact who would be able to find it. She knew he’d have a serious problem with her request, but she could only hope he’d do it regardless.

She asked Josh to be at the pub when she finished work but refused to tell either him or Sally the purpose of the meeting. After exchanging glances, they both nodded.

“Just be careful,” Sally said.

“We’re only going to talk,” Caitlyn said.

“Yes, but it’s what you’re talking about that worries me.”

She refrained from telling Sally that there was nothing to worry about, because she couldn’t in all honesty be sure of that.

…

When she’d finished work, she slid slices of blueberry pie onto two plates and headed out of the kitchen. She found Josh laughing with a small group of miners and smiled. People tended to take to the easygoing giant, and she could well understand why. She found a table and Josh arrived to take a seat soon after. He happily dug into his share of pie while they waited for Dale.

“Been having an interesting chat with some of the blokes from around here,” Josh said. “They reckon some of the old-timers can smell where the opal is.”

“Really? You fancy being an opal miner, Josh?”

“No. It’s a hard life. A bit like fishing.”

She screwed up her face. “Fishing? It’s nothing like fishing at all.”

“Yeah, it is. Too much water mixed in with the fish. Too much dirt mixed in with the opal.”

“Oh. Right.” She grinned. “You’re not going to take out a claim, then?”

“Nah. Can’t help thinking what it’d be like to strike it lucky, though. Would solve a lot of problems.”

“I’m with you there, but you wouldn’t get me down one of those shafts. No way on Earth.”

“Well, technically you wouldn’t be on Earth, you’d be under it.”

“My point exactly. I’ll get us a round of drinks.”

Dale turned up just as she was placing a beer in front of the vacant chair.

“That’s yours,” she said. “So is the pie.”

“And it’s good pie,” Josh added.

“I need you both to help me.” She looked from Dale to Josh. “Yesterday, Dale and I found Wally’s body.”

“Ah, so he’s dead, then. Poor Max.” He frowned. “I know she expected something like this, but still, it’s rough on the kid. She’s all alone now, isn’t she?”

“Except for me.”

He gave her a slow nod. “What do the police say about it? Was it natural causes? You have been to the police, I take it?”

“Not exactly. There’s more, Josh. It turns out Wally had connections with an international gem smuggling operation.”

Josh let out a low whistle.

“It seems, along with Chet, he was responsible for supplying the opals. Dale saw some opals in the mine with Wally. Did you find out who owns the mine?” she asked, turning to Dale.

“Yes. The Ludecki brothers. They’re young and keen. Luckily, they’re away till the end of this week. Which Wally probably knew very well.”

“The thing is, the Federal Police have the smugglers under surveillance. They’ve followed them here.”

Dale’s head snapped up. “You know this for a fact?”

She nodded. “I’ve been talking to an undercover officer.”

His eyes narrowed.

“And if we go to Michael about what we’ve found, we’ll be making it awkward for him because he hasn’t let Michael know about his presence in town.”

“For whom?” Dale asked.

Caitlyn avoided his eyes. “Steve.”

Dale and Josh exchanged a glance. Dale put down his fork and pushed the plate away. “How long have you known this?”

“Since the day we found him at the side of the road. When the two of you carried him into the house, his warrant card holder fell out of his pocket and I picked it up.”

“But you didn’t say anything.”

She sensed anger behind Dale’s words. She didn’t blame him. She’d have been angry if he’d been the one keeping secrets. “I wanted to, but I promised him I wouldn’t blow his cover to anyone.” She stared at Dale, willing him to understand. “Even you.”

He took a deep breath. “Yet now you’re telling us. Why?”

“I asked his permission. He knows I have to tell you both so you’ll agree to help me. I want to contact DeLonghi—”

“I’m not happy about that.” Dale folded his arms across his chest. “Why put yourself in danger?”

Josh shook his head. “I’m with Dale on this one, Caitlyn.”

“I’m going to tell him I can lead them to the opals. I’ll be safe until they’ve got what they want, and by then it will be too late because the Federal Police will be there to arrest them. Of course, I wouldn’t have a hope of finding the mine again without you, so I hope you’ll agree to come with me.”

Dale grimaced. “Why bother? Why not give Steve directions and stay out of it?”

“Because if he can catch them red-handed taking the opals from the mine, it will help his case against them. And then there will be more likelihood of them going to jail. If we just lead the Federal Police to the opals, DeLonghi will guess we were responsible and want retribution. He’s already threatened Max and me, remember.”

After a tense silence, Dale let out a long breath. “All right.”

“What about me?” Josh asked.

“I want you to be nearby while I’m talking to those guys in case they try to hurt me or grab me.”

He nodded. “I can do that.”

Dale rubbed a hand over his face. “I see your point, but I don’t like it.”

“I’m not asking you to like it, but I am asking for your help. I can’t do this without you.”

He looked away for a moment, then gave her a resigned nod. “All right. Whatever you need.”

She blew out a breath. “Thank you. Did you manage to get the phone number for me?”

“Yes.” He patted the breast pocket of his shirt. “But there must be a better way than phoning DeLonghi directly. For a start, he’ll be suspicious. Why would you have his phone number? It’s not freely available. He’ll assume you have some connection with the police. And besides that, he might bring a backup team with him. Josh and I would be no match for a whole team.”

She pictured the scene and shuddered.

“Then there’s the Chet factor.”

“The what?”

“Chet knows where Wally is. If he’s with them, he might be suspicious when you lead him to the claim where he found Wally’s body. He might assume it’s a trap and panic them.”

“You’re right.” She sank down in the chair.

“On the other hand,” he said, “Chet could be useful.”

“How?” Hope flickered.

“He might know when they’re due to come up here again. If we knew, your meeting with them could look accidental, and you wouldn’t need to contact DeLonghi directly.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Ask Steve to have him picked up and questioned.”

Josh nodded. “Dale’s right. You’ll arouse his suspicions if you ring him. Far better to make it look like a chance meeting.”

“What if they aren’t planning to visit for ages? Or what if Chet won’t talk?”

“They’ll be back if they want the opals, and as Wally’s already late delivering, my bet is they’ll be here soon.” He shrugged. “If they’re not planning a trip, Steve could convince Chet to arrange a meeting here. He won’t want them to know that he’s been picked up by the police because they’ll assume he’s talked. He’ll need police protection.”

“Right, I’ll talk to Steve about that.” She smiled at both of them. “I’m glad you’ve decided to help. Both of you.”

“Don’t see that I had a choice,” Dale said. He pushed back his shirt sleeve to look at his watch and grimaced, then drained his glass. “I have to go.”

“I hope I’m not causing trouble for you.”

He gave her a direct look. “It’s a bit late for that, Caitlyn.”

She’d asked a lot of him since they’d met. She couldn’t blame him for having had enough of helping her, especially now with his wife back in town, and other priorities in his life.

“It’ll soon be over,” she said. “You’ll be able to go back to normal then.”

She tweaked his sleeve as he stood. “Cheer up. Where’s that sexy smile?”

His eyebrows shot up. “Sexy?”

“Figure of speech.” She gave herself a mental kick.

“Hmm. Not much to smile about right now.” He turned toward the door. “Let me know when you’ve fixed things up with Steve,” he said over his shoulder.

“Sure.” She watched him go, then turned back to catch Josh in mid-smirk. “What?”

“You’ve got a good bloke there. What are you doing, playing hard to get?”