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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DALE COULD CALL the cops if he wanted to, but Daisy wasn’t waiting around for them to show up. River needed her. Besides, River didn’t want the cops anywhere near him. If it turned out there was something dodgy going on with this strange man at the gold mine, then she had no problem calling the cops, as long as River had a chance to disappear before they arrived. He was already putting himself in all kinds of danger merely by being on the property. If he was around when the police arrested this guy, he’d end up in jail.
“Well, if you won’t let me call the police, then I’m definitely coming with you,” Dale growled.
“Fine,” she snapped. “Then, let’s go.”
“As soon as I tell Steve what’s happening.” Dale was doing up the last button on his shirt.
“No!” she squeaked in alarm. If Dale told Steve, he’d have to reveal River’s part in all of this. She was still desperate to save him, if she could. “Please don’t,” she amended. “What if we leave a note? If we’re not home by the time he gets up in a few hours, then it probably means we need help, anyway.”
Dale stared at her, his jaw muscles obviously working overtime as he considered her request. “Fine,” he snapped, mirroring her earlier tone. “Follow me, and keep it down if you don’t want to wake everyone else.”
She slipped on her sandals, but Dale kept his boots in his hand as they tiptoed down the hallway and into the living room, where he went over to a desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. He clicked on his phone flashlight app and wrote a hurried note, then left it on the coffee table in full view. Daisy jiggled up and down on her toes, impatiently. But he soon led her to a door she hadn’t noticed before leading to outside the building. Without saying a word, he motioned for her to precede him and closed the door without making a sound, then sat down and quickly pulled on his boots.
“It’s actually quicker to get to the shed this way,” he whispered.
The machinery shed was dark, and she was glad Dale was there, otherwise she might’ve fumbled around for quite a while before she found the keys.
“We’re going to push the ATV down the path for a way,” he explained in a hushed whisper. “I don’t want the sound of the engine to carry to the lodge. Once we’re at the riverbed, we can turn it on.”
Daisy nodded, she’d push the ATV all the way to the gold mine, if it meant she could see River.
Pushing the ATV wasn’t as hard as Daisy expected, although she stumbled a bit in the darkness. They finally made it to the riverbed, and Dale told her to jump in.
On the ride over, Dale quizzed her about exactly what River had said on the phone and asked which particular abandoned shaft this phantom man was hiding in, so he knew where to aim for; the abandoned township covered a large area, and there were upwards of a half-a-dozen abandoned shafts, all safely boarded up, as far as Dale knew. Daisy didn’t appreciate his tone; it was almost as if he didn’t quite believe her. But then he hadn’t heard the absolute certainty in River’s voice. Certainty that this man had something to do with Karri’s murder, although what sort of clues he’d found, he hadn’t bothered to elaborate over the phone. Dale also hadn’t heard the fear in River’s voice. It was the fear that was driving Daisy to hurry to her brother. Nothing scared River. He was usually so full of cocky arrogance and bluster, believing he was untouchable. Something about this man was making him afraid.
She really hoped River waited for her to arrive and not do as he’d threatened. He said he was going to move in closer, to see what other evidence he could gather while the guy was sleeping. He also said he had a plan to capture the man. There was only one way in or out of the shaft, so he’d set a trap at the entrance.
Why couldn’t Dale drive any faster? She glanced at his profile, seeing the grim line of his mouth and the square set of his jaw. She shouldn’t be so uncharitable; he was doing the best he could. He hadn’t had to come with her. And he’d had every right to warn Steve and Daniella about what was going on. This involved them, too; it was happening on their property. He was doing all of this for her. To help her.
She wished she hadn’t mentioned what her mother would think of him. But it’d slipped out. Because lying there in the afterglow of their amazing sex, she’d been thinking about what her life would be like if Dale were in it. Which was stupid, because no sane person could ever see the two of them together. Even if River wasn’t in the equation, and even if she wasn’t on the run from the law, her life was in Perth. And his was here in North Queensland, four-thousand kilometers away.
“I’m going to turn the headlights off, so they don’t see us coming. It might get bumpy, so hang on. I’m going to stop in the riverbed; we’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.”
All good ideas, and she was glad again that Dale was here. She would’ve been in such a hurry to get to River, she probably would’ve driven straight into the abandoned township and given herself away. Or at the very least, given River away.
The surrounding bushland was plunged into darkness as Dale turned off the lights. He slowed the ATV to a crawl as his eyes adjusted. It didn’t take long for her to make out shapes in the dim light. The tops of the trees were silhouetted against the sky, and large boulders loomed out of the dark. Soon Dale was proceeding with more confidence. He must know this trail like the back of his hand.
An owl hooted directly above them. It was a forlorn sound, and Daisy felt a shiver of premonition run down her backbone.
“We’ll leave the vehicle here,” Dale whispered a few minutes later. “Grab the flashlight from the glove box,” he commanded, and she felt around in the compartment until her fingers closed around the small metal cylinder.
Daisy didn’t know how much farther it was to the gold mine, but she hopped out almost before Dale had completely stopped, eager to get there as soon as possible. She stubbed her toe on a river rock and nearly fell.
“Slow down and wait for me,” Dale hissed from behind her. “You won’t do anyone any good if you fall and break your leg before we get there.”
She slowed to let Dale catch up with her, but her feet kept wanting to break into a run. They were so close. She needed to see for herself that River was okay.
“There are also snakes around at night, so be careful where you step.”
Snakes. Daisy recoiled into his chest, lifting her feet as if she might magically levitate off the ground. Dale had mentioned they needed to watch out for snakes during the day, but not at night. Pull yourself together. She took a deep breath. She was here for River. No stupid snake was going to scare her away.
“And don’t forget about the cane toads,” Dale added. It was too dark to see, but she was sure that man was smirking at her.
“If it’s the shaft I think it is, it’s the one farthest away from the town,” Dale continued. “It’s a good ten-minute walk.” Which would make sense. Any tourist poking around was unlikely to go that far out, so it’d be the perfect place to hide. How the hell had River found this guy?
Daisy let Dale take the lead, keeping as close as possible to his heels, not wanting to get lost. What would she have done if she’d come out here on her own? It would’ve taken her all night to track down River.
