Killer Ute (5 page)

12

Felicity decides that she and Max will go to the jetty to meet Mei and her father and tell them she can't stay.

‘But I have to go.' It bursts out of me. Felicity turns to give me a startled look and I turn my tone down a notch. ‘Mei won't understand. We planned this.' I have a wavery feeling in my gut. I have to see her.

Felicity looks to Max for help so he answers me instead. ‘If the guy who spoke to you is in with Scott, he knows only you. And Dev now.'

‘Yes,' Felicity adds, ‘he may not realise we're with you. That ute was out of sight when we turned the corner yesterday.'

‘Unless he saw you diving together,' Max reminds her. Now I know why Max didn't think that was a good idea.

‘But isn't there some way we could go to the jetty so no one recognises me?'

There's a silence as if they are deciding who's going to tell me the bad news. They silently choose Max. ‘Do you want Mei to be in danger?' he says.

‘Of course not.'

‘As soon as you're seen talking to her, she could be a target too.' It hits me then what being a target might mean. Being pushed off the road – just scare tactics? Or worse?

‘This way is safer for Mei.' Max's voice is encouraging, wanting me to see his point.

I don't like it but I understand. ‘Can you give her a note for me?'

Max sits back and smiles. ‘Sure, good idea. That way she'll know we're on the level.'

Good idea
, he said; at least I've had one good idea.

‘Can I say what's happened? She won't buy it otherwise.'

Felicity bites her lip; I haven't seen her do that before. She hesitates before she speaks, so I know she can see I'm upset. ‘Say you're not on a holiday but don't mention the accident yesterday. We still don't know for sure. Have you told her already?'

‘No.'

Felicity smiles at me. She doesn't hug me like Gran would but I see the sympathy in her eyes.

I leave them to work out the details of meeting Mei and go to my room. I find some paper and a pen in a drawer.

Dear Mei

I'm so sorry about this but there's nothing I can do. I've just found out we're not on a holiday at all. We're kind of in witness protection because of the court case. That means you can't stay – they say it's not safe. I guess protecting Dev and me is enough for them. I'm sorry you went to so much trouble to come. I thought it was a good idea at the time. See you when I get home. I don't know when that will be. Please tell Gran I love her. Joel.

I toy with the idea of putting a kiss next to my name. This hurts worse than a punch in the guts. Mei will only be a few kays away and I can't see her. I think of stowing away in the back of the four-wheel drive, but Dev would find out and I've caused him enough trouble. Then I get this horrible thought. I don't know where it comes from but it swoops in on black wings and settles behind my eyes. Will Dev even want to hang around me with all this going on? When he answered my ad he probably thought I'd be a quiet kid with no problems, not one being stalked, and now he is too. I can't stop thinking about it; the thought flaps around and grows bigger by the second.

Even though my door is ajar, Dev knocks. It makes me jump. ‘What are you thinking about, mate?' He's frowning at me, like he knows what I've let into my head. The flapping thing folds up its wings and I decide to tell him. That's what Dev says I should do when I'm thinking too much. ‘I'm sorry I'm so much trouble. I wouldn't blame you if you'd had enough. You never asked for this. I'm just stupid and now you're in danger too.'

Then Dev does an amazing thing. He comes in, sits on the bed and pulls me towards him. It's none too gentle and a few of his chest hairs get stuck up my nose but I don't care. ‘Don't think like that, mate.' He says it firmly like an order I have to obey.

‘But how?' It comes out like a squeak.

‘You think of something else, something true. Say this after me:
I am not stupid and this situation is not my fault
.'

It's like saying the truth words in the court and I stumble over them. Dev makes me say them again. ‘Here's another one,' he says. ‘
This is hard but I will do my best
.' I repeat that too and he sets me back a bit so he can see my face. ‘If you are doing your best, you can't fail. And all three of us will do our best for you, Joel.' That's when I see the tears in his eyes; he blinks but they stay there. I know they're just for me.

Dev hasn't finished. ‘This isn't easy, mate – no one's saying it is, but whenever you get thoughts you can't handle, remember they are only thoughts. You can decide to change them, tell them to go, and think a true one.'

I give him a shaky smile.

‘And if it gets so bad you can't think of a good thought, come and ask me – I've got plenty for you.' His voice breaks for a second and he blinks again; I don't dare say a word and we sit together in silence.

After a while I say, ‘Thanks.' Then I add, ‘I wish I could see Mei though.'

‘Yeah. That's tough, mate.'

Then I remember he lost his wife and kid, so I decide not to complain. That would be worse. At least this way Mei will be safe and I can see her when I get home.

Dev leaves the room and takes the note to Felicity. I hear her ask how I am, and Dev's low answer, ‘He'll work it through.' It makes me feel warm to my toes; Dev believes in me, but I also feel like crying. I'm not upset because of what might happen, but because I can't see Mei. She'll be so disappointed. I hate to let her down and not be able to explain in person. I really wish I'd kissed her on the beach before I left.

13

Dev and I are doing a job for Max while he and Felicity are in town. Dev says it will keep our minds off our ‘situation'. At least Dev has fewer lines around his eyes than he did this morning. We're both a bit subdued but we're working up a sweat and it feels okay. We're moving bales of hay from the home paddock to the shed behind the house. It's good to be strong enough now to be able to lift one by myself. I doubt I'd have been able to do it last year, I was so scrawny. We're tossing the bales onto the back of the ute and then Dev will drive them to the shed.

We've almost got the tray filled and Dev's about to toss his bale on when I shriek at him to keep still. ‘Snake! Dev, there's a snake on the side of the bale.'

It's only half a metre long but it's uncoiling just centimetres from his hand. I pull the shovel out from the tray. Snakes are pretty silly but they can move fast in summer when scared, and right now this one has nowhere to go to escape from Dev. It'll bite him from fear if we don't get it off there. If Dev drops the bale, we'll be in just as much trouble: it won't know which of us to chase first. I think of casting a fishing line as I whip that snake off the hay with the handle end of the shovel. It flies through the air and lands three metres away in the stubble. We watch in case it comes out; if it does I'm getting in the ute. We stand still for a few minutes, but we don't see a thing. The snake would have forgotten we're here by now. And all of a sudden I hear a snort. I turn to see Dev down on a bale. He's laughing so hard, his eyes are screwed up, his mouth's wide open. It sure is a sight – infectious too. In no time we're both rolling in the stubble.

‘I can't believe it,' Dev says when he can talk again. ‘There's possibly someone stalking us and I nearly get bitten by a snake.' I'm not sure what's quite so funny about that but we're laughing again. I think I'd rather take my chances on a snake than that monster ute. At least snakes aren't thinking up ways to get you. The laugh has done us good. Dev looks more relaxed than he has since we went to court.

We're stacking the bales in the shed when we hear Felicity's jeep. This time they thought it best to leave the four-wheel drive at home, just in case. I'm dying to know what Mei said so I help Dev finish the job quickly and we stride over to the house. Max and Felicity are already inside by the time we come in. I can hear the kettle boiling. Felicity turns to face me. ‘I have something to tell you, Joel.'

Yeah, I know she does. ‘What did Mei say?'

‘She was okay with it.' There's something in Felicity's face; I can't work it out. She looks kind of frustrated but she's smiling too. ‘I have a surprise, well, you will think it is a surprise.'

Another outing? Nothing will compensate for Mei right now.

Just then Felicity's bedroom door opens and who should walk out but Mei! Her eyes light up when she sees me, but as usual, when it comes to Mei, I can't move my feet for love nor money.

‘Mei.' Dev steps forward and holds her hands. ‘I'm so pleased to see you.' Dev really likes Mei; his face goes soft and gentle whenever he sees her.

‘How – how?' That's me, of course. Hardly significant words, but Mei doesn't seem to mind. Felicity is leaning against the bench, watching us all.

‘Dad had already dropped me off at the jetty and left before Felicity and Max came. We didn't know anything was wrong. He'll be back tomorrow night. He knew I'd be safe with Dev, so—'

‘So Felicity and Max had to bring you back here. Did you get my note?'

She nods, her eyes watchful all of a sudden. ‘I'm sorry you're in trouble, Joel.'

‘Yeah, so am I, and more sorry you're in it too.' I turn to Felicity. ‘So we take her back tomorrow?'

‘We'll see how it goes. Mei says that a man also spoke to her in your hometown, Joel. So if he's here, he could have seen us pick up Mei. If that's the case, we might not be able to risk taking Mei back straightaway.'

‘What will her father do?'

‘The police will let him know.' Felicity seems to have an open line to the local police station. ‘Why don't you kids go outside for a while? Dev and I will start dinner.' Dev gives me a wink. I'm so happy to see Mei I can't even worry about Felicity and Dev having a romantic moment cooking tea together.

I finally prise my feet from the floor and take Mei out to see my favourite pine tree. We climb to the lower branches and sit swinging our legs. ‘I'm glad you're here,' I say. ‘I felt so bad . . .' but I can't finish.

Mei knows what I mean. ‘When they told me I couldn't stay, I felt terrible too, but there's nowhere I could've gone.'

There's a question I have to ask her. I hope she doesn't mind. ‘What did the guy who spoke to you look like?'

‘He looked normal enough. I can't remember much. He said he knew Dev and wanted to catch up with him. I told him where you were. I'm sorry, I didn't know.'

‘He's a clever customer all right. He asked me for directions, which I couldn't answer, of course. I suppose Scott must have given him a picture.'

‘Would Scott get your inheritance if something happened to you?'

‘No, but you never know what he thinks.'

‘Are they just trying to scare you so you'll change your story in court or what?'

‘I dunno. I don't think Felicity and Max know either. We'll have to wait and see. And keep a low profile.' With Mei here I can almost joke about it. She has a strange effect on me. ‘Come on, beat you to the top.'

I do beat her to the top of the tree but not by much. We stare out at the coast. ‘I miss fishing so much. We went diving the other day. That was what gave me the idea to ask you to come. I knew you'd like it here too.'

Then I remember the flying fox. ‘You won't believe what's at the creek.'

We scramble down the trunk and I add a few more scratches to the collection on my face and hands. Mei gets a few on her legs; she's not wearing jeans, only shorts.

When she sees the flying fox she jumps on the spot. Her long black ponytail slaps around her bottom. ‘Let's get on it now.' She insists we go together. I don't mind. When we launch off she squeals with her face turned up to me and halfway down I do what I've been wishing all week. I kiss her. I can't tell whether that dip in my insides is from the flying fox or the kiss. We manage to do it again before we hit the other bank with a bump. We tumble off, laughing.

There sure is nothing like kissing on a flying fox.

14

There's another conference over dinner. We're eating lamb
chops outside on the verandah. Felicity loves eating outside. I've picked my chops clean already, just starting on the mint peas. Felicity's also made mashed parsnip using parsnips from the vegie garden. She's joking about not having to go into town to buy food. ‘We can kill a sheep and we have enough vegies, herbs too.' Mei looks horrified at the idea of killing a sheep. How does she think the lamb chops got on her plate?

‘Joel.' Felicity's laying her knife and fork down; they clatter slightly on the plate and lie still together. ‘Can you remember anything else about that ute?'

Max cuts in before I can answer. ‘Tell us everything you saw.'

‘I already have.'

‘Again,' Felicity says, ‘please, just in case.'

‘It was grey – huge. The wheels weren't the originals, I'm sure, because the ute was so high off the ground. It looked bigger than a Ford F100—'

‘You think it was a Ford?' Max has a notebook out, and is reaching for his pen.

‘I dunno, when I looked behind me I was just trying to hang on – it was more of an impression. I didn't see details, but it had aerials as big as goalposts, a bullbar like a cowcatcher on a train. Lights everywhere, on the roof, on the front. It was deadly like a roo shooter's outfit. It could have pushed a tractor over the edge of a cliff.'

‘It must be a V8.' Max pauses before asking his next question. ‘So you didn't see the registration or any special marks?'

I almost laugh. As if I could have noticed the rego while I was skidding off the road! I decide to be polite. ‘No,' I say. ‘But there were bull horns on the back window.'

‘Did you notice the driver? Was it the same man who spoke to you in the toilets, do you think?'

‘There was no driver. It was like the ute was driving itself.'

Max is frowning at me. ‘You mean you didn't notice him? It happened too fast?'

‘Maybe,' I say. It's too hard to explain. ‘Why are you asking?'

‘We saw a ute in town.'

‘Was it that one?'

‘Let's just say it fits your description, including the bull horns,' Felicity interrupts. ‘This one had tinted windows too. That would explain why you didn't see the driver.'

‘So he's still around?'

There's silence around the table. Mei holds my gaze. A willie wagtail chatters to us from the birdbath by the verandah. Then Felicity sighs. ‘The police can't do anything until we're sure or have some proof, like a rego. The guy who asked you directions may be a genuine tourist. What did he look like?'

I try to remember. ‘I never took a lot of notice, didn't think it would be important. Jeans, he wore jeans, a T-shirt. Short hair, dark, tall enough—'

‘Facial hair?'

‘A moustache, I think.'

Mei breaks in. ‘That sounds like the guy who was waiting at the school bus stop on Tuesday. He asked us all about Dev and Joel. Shawn Houser said he didn't know.' Then she adds quietly, ‘But I did.' I bet she's still feeling bad about that.

‘Maybe he was watching the house and realised we weren't around,' Dev says.

‘He wouldn't have gone near Gran, would he?' I see the muscles tighten in Dev's neck at the same time I clench my fists under the table. If anyone goes near Gran, there'll be me to contend with, Dev too by the look of it.

Mei and I are doing the dishes tonight. I'm washing and Mei's drying. Felicity has a rule: whoever cooks doesn't do the dishes. I don't mind doing Felicity's dishes but I think I'd rather cook. ‘Let's do tea tomorrow night, eh?'

Mei checks out the freezer. ‘There's chicken strips. Let's make stir-fry.' She puts them on the bottom shelf of the fridge to defrost while I hope Felicity doesn't have any other dinner plans for tomorrow night.

‘I wish we could go to the beach.'

‘Yeah.' Mei glances at me in sympathy. It's like being caged in, not going to the sea when I want to. She hangs up the tea towel, and stops still. ‘Listen to that.'

‘What?'

She gestures towards the living room and then I hear Dev's determined voice. ‘Joel needs to get out sometimes.'

Mei raises her eyebrows at me and I smirk.

‘You can't coop us up like this.'

‘Then we'll come too,' Felicity says.

This sounds good. Mei and I move closer to the doorway. Then Dev says, ‘There are lots of bikers in town at the moment. At night he won't notice us. But you and Max can't be seen with us.'

Felicity goes quiet.
Yes!
Dev's done it, whatever it is. ‘Be careful,' is all Felicity says.

Mei and I walk into the lounge room; I can't wait to see what this is about. Max is frowning. ‘You guys aren't the easiest guests we've had staying here.' Is that an insult? I check out Dev's face. For some reason it makes him grin and Max goes over and slaps him on the back.

Dev sees me. ‘Come on, mate, get your jacket.' Then he says to Mei, ‘I just have to take him out for a bit. We won't be long.'

Mei is a great mate. I bet she'd like to come too but she can see this is Dev-time for me. She knows how much I need it.

On the way out to the bike, Dev says to me, ‘I have to see this ute – see what we're dealing with.'

‘Sure thing.' This is getting more interesting by the minute.

We put on our helmets but Dev doesn't start up the bike. We wheel it out onto the gravel road and keep pushing almost to the highway. ‘This is a precaution,' he says. ‘If that guy has caught on about Max and Felicity and is hanging around the area, at least we won't lead him to the farm.'

That makes me glance around. It's after ten, dark now, but out here I can see the tea-trees lining the road, black against the navy sky, the stars coming out. In one way it's hard to imagine we have to be careful, until I hear a rustle in the grass and I jump. Dev chuckles. ‘Probably just a fox, mate.'

Before we reach the highway, we check left and right but can't see anything out of the ordinary. We swing onto the bike and Dev brings it to life with a roar. I savour the shaking that goes from my legs to my head and then we're off.

First thing we do when we reach town is head for the camping ground near the beach. There are motorbikes lined up beside a group of tents. I bet Felicity didn't know Dev had this in mind. I hang back a second. How well does Dev know these bikers?

‘What if?' Did I say that aloud?

Dev turns around. ‘Mick's an old mate of mine.'

The bikers are watching cricket on a tiny TV. They offer Dev a beer and me a Coke. I know I can't drink it – the caffeine does weird things to me – but I sense I can't refuse either. I sip it and keep a close eye on those blokes. All sorts of thoughts scramble into my head. What if Scott knows them too? A lot of bikers get bad press and some know criminals even. Then I try to think of Dev. He's a good bloke; surely he wouldn't do anything stupid. But what if Dev doesn't know what these guys are up to?

‘Joel, Mick here wants to meet you.' Mick is one of the guys who spoke to Dev near the jetty. His long hair is in a plait tonight, and he has a pointy grey beard. He's not as tall as Dev, but his grip on my hand is like steel. He doesn't smile either. ‘Heard about you, mate.'

I panic. Where from?

‘Dev's told me why you're here.' I relax and my head starts to clear.

Mick's eyes do a lot of his talking for him; they're a piercing blue. ‘We'll keep an eye out for you.'

‘Thanks,' I say. I wonder if I should say something else, but Mick has finally ripped that searching gaze away. When he takes a swig of his beer, I see a cross tattooed on his forearm.

‘Come and join us,' he says, and I feel like I've passed a test, been asked to join a tribal ritual. I sit on the floor and watch cricket with them. A few of the blokes who haven't seen us before check us out and I try not to let their frowns bother me, but they can see Mick and Dev are pals from way back and soon everyone relaxes.

After Dev's finished his beer, I hide my Coke on the ground behind a tent pole, and we stand to go. Mick gives Dev a hug. They don't slap each other on the back, but clutch onto each other's jackets. I know that feeling and I can tell Dev and Mick have shared stuff I will never be told. Mick nods his head at Dev when they part. ‘Glad you dropped in, mate.' Those words aren't intense like the hug, but I understand. With Dev, too, it's what he doesn't say that you have to listen to.

Dev's turning to go when Mick calls a few guys over. ‘We'll go with you through town, mate. Better than a lone bike. You won't be noticed that way.'

How cool is that? Mick and three guys put on helmets. No one groans or complains. The youngest smiles at me; he looks about seventeen. He shakes my hand. ‘I'm Ben,' he says.

‘Joel,' I answer.

‘Yeah, I know.' Guess he overheard Dev and Mick talking, and he says it like he cares about me.

It makes me look at him closely. I'd like to ask him why he cares, but we're moving out to the bikes. Most have Harleys like Dev's. They wheel them out to the road. ‘No noise after ten, we were told at check-in,' Mick says and I hear the grin in his voice.

I always like riding with Dev but this is the first time I've ridden in a group. The growl of the engines is amplified because it's on all sides. It's like we're in a fighter-plane formation and we're being escorted out of enemy territory. It makes me realise why people like riding in a club; it makes you feel you're safe and you belong.

We slow down past the local motel and that's when I get a lurch in my gut. It's the ute. It's crouching there in the car park, the streetlight casting horrific shadows over it. All its lights are out, but it looks as if it could spring to life any second.

I see Dev point it out for Mick. This time I note the rego; it's so easy I'll never forget it. Then we ride for a few more minutes. Mick salutes us and the bikers hug the ground as they wheel around and leave. We turn back onto the highway.

This time when we reach the gravel road Dev drives straight through the farm gateway. There's no one behind us.

I take off my helmet. ‘Who were those guys? Are they a club? There's not many of them.'

‘Plenty more where they come from, mate. They call themselves the Longriders.' Dev glances at me. ‘Mick used to visit me in jail, that's how I met him, how I changed, and when I got out I rode with them. If I rode with a club again, that's who I'd like to ride with.'

I try not to think about whether that's what he would rather be doing. ‘Why are they called Longriders?'

Dev chuckles. ‘Because they're going to ride for a long time. Forever, mate.'