Ellie heard the car rumble into life outside and listened to the other sounds of the vet moving around. The suck and hiss of the pump was still going. The clock on the wall behind seemed loud in the stillness.
She bent over her knees. She’d been threatened before, but Nina had always been there. Twice they’d been picked up by rebel groups in Afghanistan looking for a way to push their causes. Grubby men with rotting teeth, wearing filthy turbans and sporting the poor hygiene of extreme poverty. Ironic the men were toting brand-new Kalashnikovs, but barely able to feed themselves. Both times, she and Nina had been rescued by gun-wielding soldiers. On those occasions, there had been bloodshed.
Nick had the same air of grim competence and she knew beyond doubt now that he had to be involved in law enforcement and was probably ex-military. That composure under stress and hardness of body only came with years of training and discipline. The aura of arrogance in taking on two unknown assailants had been unmistakeable. And first-name terms with the local police?
She did deserve answers, but the events of the night gave her a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they were on the same side after all. She shivered. Never before had she experienced the overpowering urge to seek safety in a man’s arms. Even as she resisted tonight, being in his arms had felt so right, so secure . . .
But what did he really want from her?
‘Ellie, you can come through now,’ Liz called from the surgery room.
Shadow was motionless on the table. ‘How’s he doing?’ Ellie stroked the black muzzle.
‘An amazing amount was still in his stomach. Looks like they used mince to carry the poison. That’s good news. Lots of fat in it and there was a large amount undigested. He’s sedated now. We’re at better than sixty–forty odds now. Where’s your mate gone?’
‘Off to the police station.’
‘Are you all right, honey? I can give you a mild sedative.’
‘Fine now, thanks. It was just a shock.’ She was reluctant to tell Liz the whole story. ‘Should I stay here tonight, then?’
Liz shrugged. ‘I don’t think it’s going to influence the outcome. I’ll wait for another half-hour or so and then check in early tomorrow. There is nothing else we can do now. It’s up to your big boy’s strong constitution.’
Ellie sighed. ‘I suppose I’ve got to wait for Nick to get back. We came in the same car.’ She dreaded facing the house without Shadow, but she’d have to.
Liz started tidying up the surgery. Ellie sat by Shadow, the sweep of her hand over his glossy coat comforting her as much as the dog. The moment when her door burst open and two thugs rushed into her house seemed like a lifetime ago. She glanced at her watch. Four hours ago, that was all. Four hours and still her hands weren’t steady.
The dots were joining up. She had more faces for her montage. Critter and his mate were definitely tied in with O’Sullivan and
The White Bird
. So was Nick Lawson. Was she making the right decision not to make a formal statement? Yep. She knew from following victims of crime that the legal process could cause more harm than the original attack. She was going to need all her energy if she was to unravel the mess Nina had left behind. Had her sister crossed the line, walked on the dark side? The men were clearly searching for Nina’s laptop. Ellie hoped her father could shed some light on its whereabouts because she was convinced it held the key to what was going on in the Bay.
She didn’t want to admit it seemed more and more likely that Nina had been in way over her head. Ellie was closing in on the truth and Nick Lawson was inextricably connected to it all.
Nick yanked the park brake on, stopping in front of the vet surgery. ‘What do you mean the investigation’s been handed to the Federal Police?’
‘It’s moved out of our jurisdiction,’ his boss replied. ‘I’ve only just had the call myself and please don’t think I like being awake at this time of night. You need to be back in Sydney tomorrow for a debriefing and handover.’
‘Tomorrow?’ Nick was furious. ‘That’ll be after I’ve had some sleep since it’s already past midnight and I’m unlikely to make it to bed any time soon. Something happen to the protection you were organising for Ellie Wilding?’
‘She’s not our concern, Lawson. The police can deal with it.’
‘Her frickin’ dog has been poisoned, she’s had two men invade her home and threaten her with a gun and the local cops were never informed she needed protection. You might sleep at night with people’s blood on your hands but I can’t. I’ll talk to you when I wake up.’
He disconnected the call and tossed the phone on the seat next to him. He figured he’d just handed in his resignation.
He wanted to punch something, preferably O’Sullivan and his mates, and if not them, then his boss would do. He knew if he left Half Moon Bay Ellie would be completely exposed to danger without anyone in her corner fighting for her. Before he left tomorrow he had to convince her she needed to seek police protection or at the very least stay somewhere secure.
His temper flared again when he found the front door of the surgery unlocked. He walked in to find both women dozing in their chairs, Shadow asleep in a recovery cage near them. Ellie’s obvious exhaustion disarmed his anger. His eyes roved over her face, committing it once more to memory.
Hollows were etched into her cheeks. Her long lashes were dark against her skin, her full mouth relaxed in sleep. The welt on her cheek was an ugly stain. With her head tilted to the right, the neck of her long-sleeved T-shirt had slipped to one side. Her smooth shoulder rose and fell with each breath. He wanted to press his lips against that satiny skin and taste the subtle sweetness of Ellie Wilding. He wanted to run light fingertips over the elegant curve from her jaw, down her neck to that point where her breasts started to swell. Hers was an understated beauty. No make-up and no jewellery, bar her chunky watch. No artifice. Her damp hair was drying into curls, the light in the surgery bringing out the russet tones in the blond. He closed his eyes against the unbearable urge to touch her. When he opened them again and glanced across at the vet he was startled to find her regarding him with open curiosity.
‘Something else wrong?’ Her words jerked Ellie awake. She sat up, rubbing her eyes against the glare of the bright lights.
‘Time to take Ellie home,’ he replied. ‘Or were you two sleeping beauties planning on staying here tonight?’
‘No,’ Liz said, getting to her feet. ‘We were waiting for our prince to re-appear and seems like he just rocked up, so we’re out of here.’ She squatted next to the dog. ‘Shadow’s doing okay. He’s up to about an eighty per cent chance of survival now.’
Ellie joined her, running her hand down his back, whispering soothing words, but the dog didn’t stir, his ribs rising and falling with shallow breathing. With a last kiss to his head, Ellie reluctantly allowed Liz to lock the door of the cage.
‘What time can I come back in the morning?’ she asked.
‘I’ll be back early. Any time after six will work.’ She peered at her watch. ‘Come on.’ She flicked the lights off and ushered them out the door. ‘Bye, guys.’
She folded her lanky frame into a little red convertible and sped off in a cloud of spray as Nick slammed the door of the LandCruiser. Ellie gave a tired shake of her head. He looked at her across the darkened car. ‘Ellie, what do you want to do tonight? Do you want to go home or come to the pub with me?’
She frowned at him. ‘I don’t need a drink. And they’d be shut anyway at this time of night.’
‘I wasn’t thinking of having a drink. I’m not leaving you by yourself tonight. Too much has happened. Besides, we need to talk . . .’
‘I don’t need protection.’ Her words lacked conviction.
‘Sure you don’t, but I’m not leaving you alone. Mavis and Ron?’
She looked horrified. ‘It’s way too late to be knocking on anyone’s door.’
‘Then either the pub or I stay at your house.’
‘Home, then, but no tricks.’ There was no mistaking the sadness in her voice, nor the exhaustion.
‘No tricks. Just the truth and then some sleep. Scout’s honour.’ He held up two fingers. It worked. She almost smiled.
‘Yeah, right, and what troop did you belong to?’
‘Bondi Beach F troop, since you asked. Made it all the way to Venturer Scout before I realised chicks didn’t dig weird hats, just surfboards.’ He was trying to lighten the mood.
‘Really?’ She shifted in her seat. ‘And what made you live your life based on someone else’s likes and dislikes?’
‘Too much testosterone even at that age, I guess. Boys will be boys.’ He grinned. ‘Are you telling me you rode your board just for the love of it and not to prove a point? I bet you were feisty at sixteen.’
‘My dad preferred to call it determined. Nothing wrong with being independent.’
They both fell silent. The rhythm of the windscreen wipers added a heartbeat to the warm cocoon. As they neared her turning, she took a shuddering breath. He reached across and gripped her hand in a quick squeeze.
‘Relax. There’s an all-stations alert out for them.’
She nodded.
‘Okay?’
She pushed herself straighter in the seat. ‘It’s worse than being robbed. It’s going to take a long time to banish those memories from the kitchen.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
‘You’re sorry? I should be thanking you for turning up.’
‘Don’t.’ The word was torn from him. ‘Don’t thank me. Wait till you hear the story, then make up your own mind.’
‘Is it really that bad? I think I’ve already guessed most of it.’
God, he hoped not. ‘I need a coffee first.’ He parked the car behind the house and reached across to pull the gun out of the glove box. He couldn’t miss the expression on Ellie’s face as he tucked it into the small of his back. ‘Sorry, but I don’t want to leave it in the car.’
‘Maybe now I can understand why you carry it.’
The rain had let up again and they sloshed across the sodden grass. The only sound was the water dripping off the trees.
Ellie paused at the back door and waited for him to catch up. ‘You first?’
‘Of course.’ He searched for the right words. ‘You’re going to feel unsettled for a while after this.’
She nodded at him, her expression pensive. ‘I do.’
‘It will pass. Come on.’ He held the door for her. ‘You know where the light switch is better than I do.’
She reached around the corner to flick it on and brushed against him. The tension between them simmered below the surface still and she shied away from him. He went through the door on full alert. Had anyone else turned up uninvited?
‘Coffee?’ she asked, following him into the kitchen.
‘Thanks,’ he nodded. ‘White and two.’ Heading down the corridor, his gaze swept from side to side as he nudged open doors, his hand on his gun. Relieved that the rooms appeared empty, he winced at the open drawers and cupboards and the mess strewn around, the polished floorboards hidden by the debris. They’d been seriously searching, but it seemed they were two of O’Sullivan’s thugs, not the contract killers the Feds had warned ICAC about. So where the hell were the hit men?
‘Yeah, I know. NATO standard issue, apparently,’ Ellie muttered to his departing back. She reached behind the coffee machine and turned it on. Just hours ago she’d sat in that wooden straight-backed chair, wondering if she’d see the sunrise. She knew she was imagining it, but even the rank odour of the two intruders seemed to linger in the air. The rain was pouring down again outside so she had to resist the urge to throw every door and casement window wide open in an effort to exorcise them from the house.
She massaged her temples, feeling the ache in her muscles as she looked around at the mess. She didn’t even have the energy to know where to start. The coffee machine reached brewing temperature and she pressed the button.
Photographs were strewn on the floor and she gathered them into a loose bundle. The top photo was the close-up of the Afghani man, Hamid Daulat. Just before the men burst into her house she’d found him in previous photos in her digital archives. A roadside bomb had killed his father shortly after Nina died. Hamid had filled the power vacuum and in the ensuing two years he’d become a seriously well-connected politician with a huge following. If Ellie hadn’t rejected everything about Afghanistan, she would have known that. He had a large presence in the media, with story after story on him and his tribe. His hometown region was right in the middle of poppy country, where farmers had little or no option but to continue farming the crop to make a living. She knew better than to judge the farmers. Nothing was ever simple in a Third World country, let alone one so battered and bruised by war after war.
She stirred sugar into the coffee. Nick’s footsteps echoed across the floor and she tensed, waiting for him to touch her, wanting him to touch her. When he didn’t, she turned to find him leaning against the doorframe, his expression unfathomable.
‘Where do you want to start cleaning up?’
‘I don’t. Not yet. Let’s drink this out the front.’
She handed him the mug, unable to still the tremble as his fingers touched her hand. He followed her through the gossamer curtains. The wide chamfer boards of the verandah creaked under their steps.
‘Curl up in your favourite chair, then.’
She frowned at him. His smile was lopsided.
‘Shadow always sits beside it, so that must be where you normally are. The floor will be just fine for me.’
A crescent moon shone briefly before the racing clouds heralded the arrival of more rain. She could barely make out Nick’s face as she dropped into the squatters chair. The heat of the mug couldn’t get past the chill of her fingers to even begin to melt the freeze of fear in her heart.
‘ICAC. Have you heard of it?’ His voice was low.
‘Yeah, sure.’ She dredged what she knew from the depths of her memory. ‘Independent Commission Against Corruption. Set up by the New South Wales government in the late 1980s, early 1990s to investigate and educate public sectors about corruption. Has been something of a toothless tiger up until recent years. Busy exposing several politicians and businessmen at the moment.’
‘That’s right. It was given more power a few years ago so they could prosecute successfully. I work part-time for them and have done so for almost two years. I’m an investigator. Most of the time the work’s mundane. This time our investigations have overlapped with at least one other operation involving the Feds and Customs.’
‘Sounds complicated. Do you need to warn me of the confidential nature of the information you’re about to share?’ She didn’t care that she sounded bitchy.
Unfazed, he shifted against the square post. ‘Glad you can see the humour in it. Reports have been filtering back for some time that there are members of Garrison Council with ties to one of the largest building companies in Australia. That company has a reputation of being prepared to do anything for contracts. It seems it also has international connections with a drug syndicate, Asian casinos and a massive money-laundering operation. I was sent to investigate the building company. I’ve been there legitimately for over six months, working my way up the food chain. Everything was tracking along nicely, then you came home and stirred up a hornet’s nest that’s jeopardised the Federal Police and Customs’ investigation. You do realise they can call you as a witness after what happened here tonight?’
She nodded, cupping her mug tighter, although her shiver had little to do with the night air. ‘Yeah, but all I can do is identify the men. So what happens now?’
‘The trap is already sprung. A local fishing trawler rendezvoused with a tanker tonight and a shipment of drugs came ashore. We’ve already tracked funds transfers over the last month, now there’s a suitcase of marked money as well. A couple of phone taps are still in place and the attack on you will be the icing on the case, really.’ The words sounded smug.
‘So I was just part of the job. An expendable part.’
‘No, no. You misunderstand me. You were never meant to get caught up in this. Never. O’Sullivan mentioned a little troublemaker trying to organise a protest against the sale. From the way he spoke, I expected to find a hairy, bra-less, ball-breaking feminist, and instead discovered a fascinating, headstrong goddess.’ He smiled at her in the dark and his voice softened. ‘I wanted to warn you off. I tried every one of my personas and nothing had any effect.’
Ellie knew better than to fill the silence. He had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
He pushed on. ‘Even the arrogant arsehole didn’t work.’
‘I’ve dealt with bigger bastards than you,’ she retorted.
‘I don’t doubt that, but I’m sorry I didn’t foresee O’Sullivan would go this far. I thought I’d convinced them to let me deal with you.’
‘And how were you going to do that?’
‘It was a work in progress.’ He sighed. ‘Refill on the coffee? That one didn’t touch the sides.’
Ellie nodded towards the kitchen. ‘Just push the button on the top left. The machine will do the rest.’
He held out his hand for her cup but she shook her head. ‘No. I’m fine, thanks.’ But of course she wasn’t fine. The events of the evening and Nick’s explanation had only raised more questions. As soon as Critter had asked about the Toshiba she knew what they were looking for. Where the hell was Nina’s computer? Was Nick looking for it as well? Was that why he was really here, sticking to her like glue?
She knew she needed to find the Toshiba and fast but had no idea where to start. So far her dad hadn’t replied to her emails or phone messages, but then it had been less than a week. There was always a chance that Tom had thrown out the laptop, but she didn’t think so, considering everything else in Nina’s room remained like a shrine.
So who else might know? Ron, Mavis, Felicity? Someone had the answer.