Page 66

‘You won’t be able to see where you’re going. That’s what you said before.’

‘It will be light at dawn.’

‘Graysen, please tell me you won’t go up to the trail? That you’ll stay down in the bush.’

‘No, not unless I have to. I’ll be able to follow the sun and head east and eventually I’ll come to Standley Chasm. If I go too far to the south, I’ll hit the main road so wherever I end up, there’ll be a way to get the word out and get help for Andrew.’

‘I’ll be patient and I’ll sit it out tomorrow and stay safe. You focus on getting us help. We’ll be okay.’ Sandra looked up and blinked as her eyes teared up. ‘You be so careful. You’re the one who’s taking the risk. We’re tucked away here safely; they can’t cover all the trail looking for us. It’s a huge area and anyway they don’t know that we know what they’ve done.’

‘Do you know what I think?’

‘What?’

Graysen held out his hand. ‘Come on, I’ll tell you while we go back and check on Andrew.’

Sandra slipped her hand into his, enjoying the warmth and security of Graysen’s hold.

‘I suspect they don’t want to be identified. As I flicked through my camera and noticed that those photos of Paul and Cecily were gone, there didn’t seem to be as many photos as I thought on that card, but I was only looking for the ones of Paul and Cecily at the cliff. Now, I suspect it wasn’t Paul. I’d say that Zed or Miska have deleted any photos of them from the card.’

Sandra frowned. They were almost back to the rock where Andrew was. ‘But what about the others? Haven’t they taken photos of everyone on their phones? I have. I snapped photos of everyone the other night around the campfire.’

‘And where’s your phone now?’

‘In the truck,’ she replied slowly.

‘Exactly and where do we think they’re going now?’

‘To the truck.’

‘They’re obviously not stupid, Sandy. If they haven’t already got to your phone, they will.’

‘It just seems so complicated and contrived.’

‘Murder usually is.’

Sandra thought back to the past and the events that had led to Peter’s murder, and the things that Russell Fairweather had done to try to get his hands on the millions of dollars he would have gained had his scheme worked.

‘And it’s usually motivated by greed, isn’t it?’

‘It is.’

Andrew was asleep on his back, and his face didn’t look as flushed.

‘He looks okay,’ Sandra said. ‘No worse anyway. It’s probably the first time he’s stopped.’

‘Let’s start cleaning his abrasions and get some painkillers into him.’ Graysen let go of her hand. ‘We’ll try to make him more comfortable. We can clear the small loose rocks on one side of him, so the ground is clear, and move him closer to that rock. It should hold some warmth for a while.’

‘I’ll give him my jacket and he can use it as a pillow.’ She looked up at Graysen with a smile. ‘The only thing is though, you’ll have to keep me warm tonight.’

‘I won’t have any problems doing that, Sandy.’ He pulled her close again and when she tipped her head back, Graysen’s hand cupped her cheek. His lips were warm against hers and she let out a soft sigh against his mouth.

‘The sooner our lives get back to normal and I can get to know you better, the happier I am going to be.’ Sandra’s lips were still close to his as she spoke.

‘We just have to be positive and do the best we can. Come on, we’ll get started. You sort the water bottles and I’ll get the Panadol out, and then I’ll clear those rocks away.’

Chapter 21

McLaren Mango Farm