Down Among the Dead Men (Entangled Ignite) (6 page)

That’s what he was here for? She glanced at Max. “No, I can’t. Sorry.”

Max shrugged. “Don’t stay in on my account,” she said. “I’m babysitting tonight, anyway.”

“In that case, I guess I could.” If Max was going to be out, she might as well have a drink with him. It would give her a chance to discover whether he was involved with Wally, which still seemed unlikely, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility. She nodded. “Thanks, I’ll meet you there at seven.”

…

Housework had occupied much of her afternoon, so she was ready for a night out by the time she parked the Valiant outside the pub. Steve met her at the door and once inside, he bought the drinks while she claimed a table.

He did a double-take as he sat down and passed her a glass. “What’s happened to your eyes? They look painful.”

“They are painful. I got caught in the dust storm this morning.”

“Ouch.” Steve stared at her. “How did you get caught? Where were you when it hit? It sure was a doozy.”

“I was out on the opal fields.”

“Why? Do you have a mine?”

“A claim.” She gave him a smug smile. “The locals call them claims, not mines.”

“I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

“I don’t have a claim, but my uncle does. I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“Were you on your own?”

“No, with a friend.” She frowned. She didn’t see what that had to do with anything. He was asking a lot of questions without telling her anything about himself. “What are you doing in town, Steve?”

“Just passing through. You were going to tell me what you’re doing here.”

She blew out a breath. Hadn’t taken him long to turn the conversation back to her. “My father needed to go away on business, so he asked me to come and stay with my sister. As it happened, I’d been thinking about writing a book on opal mining, so it offered a good opportunity to do some research, and I was happy to agree. I’m afraid that’s the whole story, and it wasn’t so long after all.”

“Interesting, though.”

She tilted her head. “Which way were you traveling when you decided to take a side trip to Minagoona?”

“I was heading for Alice Springs. I needed to get out of Adelaide for a while. Stress at work, you know?”

“Oh? What type of work?”

He gave a small shrug. “Banking. Financial services. Nothing exciting.”

She relaxed. Steve seemed harmless and she wouldn’t be surprised if banking was boring, which would explain why he asked so many questions.

“Same again?” she asked as she gathered their glasses. When he nodded, she headed for the bar and waited for Brenda to finish serving a group of miners.

“I’ve been waiting for a chance to catch you alone,” Dale said from behind her.

Her pulse kicked up a notch. His words of that morning replayed in her head. He liked her. She liked him, too, there was no doubt about that. Each time she saw him, the pull she felt toward him became stronger.

She half turned as he leaned on the bar next to her. She checked over her shoulder before asking, “Do you have news?”

“I do, as it happens.” He paused, staring into her face. “Do you have any eye drops?”

Her eyes must look bad, what with both Steve and Dale both commenting on them. “No. But never mind that, tell me what you know.”

He lowered his voice. “Have you met Miriam at the store?”

“No, but I plan to do some shopping tomorrow, so I expect I’ll meet her then.”

“More shopping? Max bought up half the store the other day.”

“Not that type of shopping. I believe in fresh food. The store does get fresh food delivered, right?”

“Not any day that ends in a ‘y.’”

“Really?”

“No, of course it gets fresh food.”

“Right. So, I’ll be meeting Miriam tomorrow. What were you going to say about her? I can’t stand here chatting for too long.” She tilted her head in Steve’s direction. “I’d better get back. Steve’s new in town, but he’s definitely not Chet. Max doesn’t recognize him at all.”

Dale’s smile faded as he gazed at Steve. “Why are you having a drink with him?”

“I’ve been giving him the third degree.” Although he’d questioned her as much, if not more.

His eyes blazed as he said, “Who is he? What’s he doing here?”

“Holiday, he says. He’s in banking, so I guess he needs it.” Was Dale…jealous? Or just concerned about her? “I’ll be careful.”

“You’d better.” He stared at her, his eyes intense.

Jealous, she decided. Her skin prickled. There was an undeniable thread of attraction developing between them, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to resist it. She trusted him in a way she couldn’t bring herself to trust anyone else. She caught sight of Steve watching her. “Um…so, Miriam?”

“Right.” He frowned. “She remembers a man coming into the store with Wally. It could have been Chet. She heard him say he was staying in Coober Pedy. I think I should go to Coober Pedy and ask around there.”

“Not on your own. I’ll come, too. Oh, wait, no. I can’t leave Max alone. We don’t know who might be out there waiting for a chance to do something.”

“I agree, and it will take the whole day. A few hours to drive there, a couple of hours asking around, and back by dinner time. But I have an idea.”

“Go on.”

“Wednesday is Rose’s day off this week. I could ask Max to babysit Ginny, then she’d be away from the servo if anything happened.”

“Wouldn’t you have to pay her for the whole day?”

“Yes, but that’s not a problem.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go on Wednesday.” Several hours in the truck alone with him. The prospect wasn’t at all horrifying.

“Well, don’t you two look cozy?” Brenda said.

Startled, Caitlyn jerked her eyes away from his face. She’d been staring, but then, so had he, but had he been pondering the same thought?

“Same again, dear?” Brenda asked as she took the glasses from Caitlyn.

“Yes, please, Brenda. How are you?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m tired.”

“I’m not surprised. You work such long hours.”

“It’s not the hours I’m worried about. I’m tired of all the cooking.”

“Oh, I see.”

“A little bird told me you used to do it, too.”

“What, cooking?” She gave Dale an accusing look.

“Listen, I’d like to make you a proposition,” Brenda said. “How would you feel about taking over the cooking here temporarily? Lunch and dinner. We’d pay you, of course. Maybe not as much as you’d make in the city.”

Nowhere near what she’d make in the city. No question about that.

“But we’d make it worth your while because it would be as good as an overseas holiday for me. You could cook anything you like. I wouldn’t interfere.”

Caitlyn opened her mouth to refuse, then hesitated. She hadn’t come on this trip to work, but since she’d quit her job before leaving Sydney and could be stuck here for weeks, she would run out of cash at some point, and that could be a problem. This might be just what she needed.

There was another reason she was considering Brenda’s offer. Being in the pub, she would see everybody in town as well as the people passing through. She would be invisible and could observe them, maybe even overhear the odd conversation. “Can I think about it and let you know?”

Brenda sighed. “When people say they’ll think about it and let you know, you already know they’re not going to do it.”

“Not in this case. I want to talk to Max about it, that’s all.”

Brenda smiled. “All right. I’ll look forward to hearing from you when you’re ready.” She hurried over to her next customer.

Caitlyn picked up the two refilled glasses and turned to Dale. “If I do it, I’ll have less time for looking around, but I might see someone interesting here.”

“Yes, well, we’ll work something out.”

“I guess we will.”

“Will you ask Max about the babysitting for me?”

“Yes, and assuming she agrees, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He nodded. “And remember, be careful.”

“Steve’s all right.” She headed back to the table where Steve was waiting for her. “Sorry I took so long. I’ve been offered a job,” she said as she sat down.

“Doing what?” He leaned forward. She could say one thing for him, he took a keen interest in everything she said.

“Cooking. Here at the pub.” Sipping her drink, she considered the offer.

“Oh.” He grimaced and sat back. “I’ve eaten here, so I can see why they’d need someone. Are you going to take it?”

“I don’t know. It could be good, but I’m concerned about the time commitment. I’m only here for a short time and I don’t want to spend all of it working, but the money might come in handy.”

“Do you have money problems?”

She snapped her head up to look at him. What kind of question was that for a stranger to ask? “No, I don’t,” she said sharply.

“Sorry.” Steve grimaced. “That was rude. Being in banking, I see a lot of people who do, that’s all.”

“Yes, I suppose so.” She finished her drink and put the glass on the table. “Anyway, it’s been very nice, Steve, but I’d better be off.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Thanks, but I can manage.” She wanted to make it clear that the evening was over, and besides, she didn’t need his protection. She was determined not to be taken by surprise by Delvin or anyone else again.

Chapter Six

On her way home, Caitlyn heard a sudden short burst from a siren, looked in the rear-view mirror, and saw a familiar police vehicle behind her, lights flashing. She steered the car to the side of the road and waited for Sergeant Peterson to walk to the window.

“Is this your vehicle?”

She frowned up at him. “No.”

“Are you aware that it contravenes the noise regulations for a vehicle on a public road?”

“No, but who is it going to bother around here? I’m the only person on the road.”

“All the same, it’s too loud.” He took a notepad from his pocket and wrote on it.

“Are you on duty? You’re not in uniform.”

He peeled a page from the pad. “This is a defect notice.” He slapped it on to the windscreen, where it stuck. “You can’t drive this vehicle any farther.”

“What?” She stared at him, incredulous. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” He stalked to his Land Rover.

She pulled the keys from the ignition, grabbed her purse, and climbed out of the car, hoping to catch a lift with him. No chance. He did a U-turn and set off in the opposite direction. She waved her arms, but if he saw her in his mirror, he gave no sign of it. As the sound of his engine died away, silence stretched around her.

She could see why Max didn’t like him. Would it have hurt him to bend the rules a little, at least let her get back to the servo?

She glanced back at the car. How would he know if she drove it back to the servo? Even if he came this way and saw that it had gone, he wouldn’t be able to prove that she’d driven it and hadn’t towed it. But if she lied, she’d have to involve Max in the story and she didn’t want to do that. Max had enough to deal with.

Besides, they could tow it back to the servo soon enough, and it was a great night for a walk.

Several minutes later with the servo in sight, she tipped her head back, gazing at the never-ending sky filled with countless stars. No ordinary sky muted by city lights, but the mind-blowing sky she’d heard tourists rave about. The town’s few streetlights was barely visible at this distance, and there was the Southern Cross, right where it had been when her father first pointed it out on a family camping holiday, a very long time ago.

A sob surprised her. She thought she’d done with crying for her father twenty years before. He hadn’t been worthy of her tears back then and he certainly wasn’t now. He deserved them even less now that she knew more about him, but to an eight-year-old, losing him had cut deep.

“Oh, Dad,” she said aloud. “Why did you have to turn out to be such a shit?”

She wiped the tears from her face and with the same decisiveness, shut down the memories. She covered the remaining distance quickly, and when she found that no lights were on inside the house, she left it that way. She knew her way around well enough to let herself in, lock up, and find her way to the bathroom.

As she headed for the kitchen, a shadow moved ahead of her and it wasn’t Max. It crossed the kitchen, and she ducked back out of sight, scalp prickling in disbelief. A man, and a large one at that. She heard the back door click as it closed.

Caitlyn waited a moment to be certain he’d gone, then jerked to life and ran across the kitchen. She pulled the door open and leaned outside. Though her eyes were accustomed to the gloom, she saw no sign of the prowler, and after shutting the door, she locked it with the key hanging from the knob, double-checked the deadlock and flicked on the light before turning to scrutinize the kitchen.

Nothing out of place. Exactly as she’d left it. She walked back into the lounge room and switched on the light. Again, nothing struck her as odd. She hurried along the passage to Max’s bedroom and pushed open the door. Max was asleep and her room looked much the same as it had earlier. She stirred, pulling a face in her sleep. Caitlyn backed out of the room, closing the door softly. Her hands were shaking. She stood there for a long moment.

Someone had been in the house, someone large and male. And Max had been alone. She would have been defenseless. Did someone know that she’d had to walk home, delaying her return? If so, it would mean that person had been watching her. But who?

She was glad that Dale had come up with the idea of Max babysitting while they went to Coober Pedy. She’d feel a lot better knowing that her sister wasn’t here alone all day.

…

The next morning, she gave Max the bad news about the car.

“Michael’s a jerk,” Max said. “It was a bit noisy, but not bad enough to defect.”

“I don’t know who he thought would complain about the noise out here. I reckon he’s got an inflated sense of his own importance.”

“Too right. How did your date with Steve go?”

“It definitely wasn’t a date. It was just a friendly drink, and as such, it was fine. He’s a nice guy.”

Max licked the tip of a finger and used it to pick up toast crumbs from her plate. “So, you’re not going to date him, then?”

“No, of course not. Would you like some more toast?”

Having used all the bread, Caitlyn went to the freezer for another loaf. “Hey, Max,” she said, puzzled. “There were three loaves in here yesterday. Now there’s only two. Did you use one?”

“No. Are you sure there’s not three?”

“Positive. I might be older than you, but I’m not senile, you know. The box of fish fingers you bought is gone, too.” She closed the door, thinking about the man she’d disturbed in the kitchen. “Maybe that’s what…” She caught herself and stopped, not wanting to frighten Max.

“Maybe that’s what?”

“Um…last night, I saw someone in here when I came home from the pub. A man. I don’t think he heard me coming because I was on foot. If I’d been driving, he would have heard the Valiant, no doubt about that. He was in the kitchen and ran out the back door.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Who was it? What did he look like?”

She shook her head. “I only saw him for a moment, and it was dark. He left in a hurry. I had a quick look around and didn’t think he’d taken anything.” She jerked her head toward the freezer. “But now I’m thinking that whoever it was, maybe he took the food.”

“Well, if that’s all he did, it’s not so bad.”

“Agreed. But I interrupted him, and he probably didn’t expect that. Who knows what else he might have done, given time? We’ll have to be more careful about locking the doors. You can’t go to bed and leave them unlocked if I’m not home. What time did you get back from babysitting?”

“Rose brought me home at about ten. And I did check the doors were locked before I went to bed.”

“You did? You’re sure?”

“Uh-huh.”

Caitlyn walked to the back door and examined the lock, then the frame. “It doesn’t look like it’s been forced at all, so if you’re sure it was locked—”

“I am.”

“Then he must have used a key.” She looked back at Max. “Do you know anyone who has a key other than you, me…and Dad?”

“No.”

“It could have been him, then, couldn’t it? Maybe he’s hiding out somewhere and coming back here when he thinks it’s safe. Have you noticed any other food going missing?”

“No.” Max chewed on her bottom lip. “But I haven’t really thought about it. I just eat what’s there.”

“We’ll have to pay more attention to that from now on as well.”

“Okay.” Max scraped back her chair. “When you get a chance, you’ll have to drive the tow truck so we can fetch the Valiant.”

“Sure. By the way, Dale wants you to babysit tomorrow for the whole day.”

Max did a double-take. “All day?”

“Yes, we’re going to Coober Pedy, following a lead about Chet.”

“Okay. That’s cool.”

Caitlyn watched her go. Max did a good job of pretending not to be scared, but there was no way she could be as unaffected as she seemed.

…

On Wednesday morning, Dale collected Max and took her back to his house, then returned to pick up Caitlyn. When she was in the truck, he opened his canvas bag and removed a small bottle. “For your eyes,” he said, holding it out to her.

“Eye drops? That’s really thoughtful.” Smiling, she took the bottle, grateful for the offered relief. Her eyes weren’t as painful as they had been, but they were still painful.

“Hey, no problem. I know what it’s like. I used to wear lenses myself, but I find glasses more practical out here in the dusty environment.” He glanced across at her. “If you want music, it’s old school. You’ll have to find a CD.”

She opened the glove box and sorted through dozens of CDs.

“Max said something about the Valiant being defective? Engine trouble?”

“No, it works just fine, but Sergeant Peterson said the exhaust is too noisy.”

Dale laughed but stopped abruptly. “You’re not joking?”

She shook her head and selected a CD. “Abba. Who will you be, Agnetha or Frida?”

“Agnetha,” he said promptly. “The blond wig suits my coloring best.”

That made her smile and she slotted the CD into the player. The first notes of
Dancing Queen
came from the speaker. “Anyway, never mind about Michael. I have to tell you what happened once I got home last night.”

“Is this about your date? If so, I’m not sure I want to know.”

“My date? What, Steve? No, he wasn’t my date, and I definitely didn’t take him home.”

“Oh. Okay.” He sounded relieved. “What happened?”

“I think I saw Wally.”

He shot her a frowning glance. “What?”

She told him about the man in the kitchen and the missing food. “My theory is that he’s alive but running scared.”

“If it was him.”

“He could be hiding from someone he expects to come looking for him at the servo. But why doesn’t he care about Max and her safety?”

“You could have it right about him hiding out. From what I know about him, I wouldn’t put it past him to think of his own skin and forget about Max. But I’m not convinced it was him last night.”

“Why not?”

“Someone could have manipulated the lock.”

“It didn’t look like it had been forced.”

“But it could have been picked, and you’d never know.”

She was silent. She’d felt better assuming it was Wally, stealing food. At least the intruder wouldn’t have been a threat to Max’s safety, but a complete stranger picking the lock was a different matter.

Dale seemed to pick up on her concern. “Another possibility is that Wally’s murderer could have taken his house key from his body.”

“Oh, great.” She made a face, trying to make light of the worrisome thought. “That makes me feel much better.”

He shrugged. “I’m only pointing out that there’s more than one answer.”

“I know.” She grimaced. “Say it was Wally’s murderer. What do you think he was looking for?”

“Who knows? Money. Opals. Whatever this whole thing is about.”

“Okay, so how do you explain the missing food?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Max used it. Maybe you’re not used to the amount of food a teenager can put away?”

She rolled her eyes. “Max is always hungry, but it’s not that. I know for a fact that there was another loaf in the freezer last time I looked. Tell me something. What happened to Max’s mother?”

“Before my time, I’m afraid.” He shifted a questioning glance her way. “Max won’t tell you?”

“I don’t want to ask in case it upsets her.”

“Ask Brenda. She’s bound to know.”

“Yes. I will.”

The scenery had been changing gradually, she realized after a couple of hours driving. Instead of saltbush desert, they were driving through a much rockier landscape unlike anything she’d seen before, dotted with odd-shaped, flat-topped hills. A little while later she spotted mullock heaps of the opal fields, but these were whiter than those around Minagoona and they reflected the late-morning sun as they stretched a long, long way into the distance.

“I’ve heard that most people who come to the opal fields are running away from something,” she said, breaking the comfortable silence they’d fallen into.

Dale glanced her way. “I don’t know about
most
people. It’s a good place to disappear, if you need to. It’s also a good place to get away from people if you like being alone.”

“What about you? Are you running away from something, or do you like being alone?” She regretted the words as soon as she’d said them and gave him a wry smile. “Don’t answer that. I shouldn’t have asked.”

He was silent for a while, then his mouth twisted and he said, “You’re right, I am running away from something. I don’t want to talk about it, but it’s not illegal and I’m not dangerous. You’ll just have to trust me on that.”

“I do. Do you mind me asking…are you widowed or divorced?”

“Separated.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry.”

“For the marriage or the separation?” Without waiting for an answer he said, “In the end, the marriage was so bad that the separation was easy.”

“Is that what you were running away from? Your bad marriage?”

“No, and like I said, that’s not something I want to discuss.”

“Okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

They drove into the sprawling, dusty town of Coober Pedy and Dale parked the truck. Caitlyn went into the local pub with Dale and listened while he asked questions. He knew how to talk to miners and was better at making inquiries than she would ever be. He had more chance of getting the information they wanted.

When he didn’t discover a thing, they went on to the next business, a miners’ store, then a mechanic, an opal seller, a bottle shop, and a pharmacy. A breakthrough finally came when Dale visited the home of a fellow lapidary. He emerged after ten minutes or so, looking much more cheerful.

“Yuri says he knows a bloke called Chet,” he said. “He doesn’t live around here. He comes up a few times a year in a green and white Kombi van and stays at the caravan park. He remembers seeing him just before Christmas. I’ve asked him to let me know if he sees Chet again. It could be a coincidence.”

“Or he could be our man.” Excitement made her grin. “What shall we do now?”

“Keep an eye open for a green and white Kombi van.”

“Is that all? There must be something else we can do.”

“We need to head back now.”