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CHAPTER FOUR
DAISY FORCED A smile onto her lips.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” She stood up and extended her hand. Act normal. Act completely normal. Her heart was galloping a million miles an hour. Please don’t let him feel the tension running through her hand. “But I don’t recognize you.” She arched an eyebrow and looked directly into his face, as if considering his features. “I’m pretty sure we haven’t met before. This is my first time in North Queensland.” She gave what she hoped was an unaffected laugh. “And now I’m kinda wishing I never came.”
The man Dale had called Steve took her hand, studying her face intently as he shook it. After what seemed like days, he finally said, “No, I guess you’re right, we haven’t met.”
“Maybe I have one of those faces. You know, a common face, that looks similar to others,” Daisy said.
Dale gave a cynical snort. “You have one of the least common faces I’ve ever seen.” Then he seemed to comprehend what he’d said, and turned away to face the window. But not before she noticed a red flush creeping up his neck.
“Anyway, nice to meet you.” Steve dropped her hand and turned his attention to Dale. “So, you moved those cattle?” When Dale inclined his head in reply, Steve launched into an in-depth inquiry as to the cattle’s health, their feed rations and other technical questions Daisy didn’t understand or care about.
She took a step away from the duo and breathed in quietly. Holy shit, Steve’s comments had rattled her badly. Her mind was whirling with scenarios. Where could he possibly have seen her before?
When she and River first fled Perth, River’s face had been splashed all over the media in Western Australia. He was a person of interest in the murder of Daniel Stephens, a gang member and well-known troublemaker, as well as a small-time drug dealer. Now, she was terrified that the police had gotten wind of her involvement and released a picture of her to the media as well, in a bid to track her down. Had her face been splattered all over the newspapers, too? Daisy’s breathing became ragged at the thought. Please, please, please let it not be true. If the police had listed her as a wanted person, then her life was truly over. And if the police knew about her, then the gang members who were hunting River might also be looking for her, too.
But even if the media had run a story about River—and perhaps one about her—in Western Australia, it was unlikely to have reached Queensland. Or at least, that’s how she understood it. The cops had no reason to suspect they were in Queensland, and while they may well have alerted the police in other states to be on the lookout for the runaways, they probably wouldn’t have told the newspapers. She and River were insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Surely, everything would’ve died down over there?
With the police, at least. She wasn’t sure if River’s gang would ever stop hunting for him.
She needed to call her mother. It was risky, but Evana would be able to tell her what was going on. She and her brother had been in Queensland for a month, and she’d only talked to her mother once in that time. Daisy and River had purposefully kept contact with their family to the bare minimum. The less they knew, the better. Evana had been the one who encouraged Daisy to take River and run. She was the one who’d organized a place to stay at Koongarra Station; she had a friend who owed her a favor. She’d also been the one who helped come up with a rock-solid story to fool the rest of the family, that Daisy was in the Kimberly, visiting a sick relative. So when the police questioned her whereabouts, that’s what her extended family told them. Daisy had done everything her mother urged her to do. Because it would destroy her mother if River ended up in jail. Her mother hadn’t been told about the other, much more dire problems she and River were facing. She’d kept the information that River’s life was in danger to herself. There was absolutely nothing her parents could do to help, so it would do no good to send them into a panic. Daisy did it all alone, because she was a good daughter and a good sister, who did what was required to keep the family safe.
If she called her mother, she’d have to be careful her father didn’t answer. Evana had purposefully kept him in the dark. Because he would’ve turned them in. Scott Lewis was a good man. He’d played for the West Coast Eagles football team in his youth, and had even coached some of the state WAFL teams after his career as a player ended. He was respected in the community. A pillar of hope, and a champion for their culture. He’d believed the story that Evana told him about Daisy returning to the Kimberly. Partly because Aunty Sharia really was sick, and because communication was so unreliable up there, and because her father would never in a million years believe Daisy was capable of deceit. So, Scott believed Evana’s story, and helped her convince the cops it was true. Daisy had spent nearly two years on country before she started uni and had forged strong connections with some of her closer family up there. Aunty Sharia had been one of those people Daisy was devoted to, and Scott easily believed that Daisy had hopped on a plane and flown up to the isolated community to help her out. He never even thought to question why she’d left right in the middle of a police investigation into her brother’s whereabouts. He trusted she knew what she was doing, and in his eyes, Aunty was equally important as River and his antics. It’d kill her dad to find out what was really going on. Daisy hung her head. And it was killing her to do this to him. If only—
Dale’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Where did you say you were from again, Daisy?”
“What?” Daisy looked up. “Oh, sorry, I was a million miles away.”
“I could see that.” Dale’s eyes were full of concern. And something else that Daisy couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“I’m from Darwin.” She’d chosen the location because she knew it well enough to fool most people. Her two-year sabbatical before she started uni was spent traveling and exploring the country where her dad had been born. Reconnecting with his people; her people. Darwin was also far enough away from Perth to hopefully deflect questions about who she really was. “But I’ve been working for the past year at Monash University in Melbourne.” Again, she’d chosen this uni to throw anyone off the scent from her study at the University of Western Australia. As long as nobody dug too deep into her story, she’d be fine.
“Ah, well, the top-end wet season won’t be completely foreign to you, then.” Steve said. She noticed his Drizabone was dripping on the floor. Obviously, a man who was used to someone else cleaning up after him, or who was so focused on his job that he had no time for petty things such as wet floors. The older man had a friendly face, open and honest, with kind brown eyes. She thought she might like him, given the chance.
“No,” she agreed. “But this is a whole other sphere of wilderness up here. I’m sorry I got caught out, and you had to end up hosting me because of my mistake.” She tipped her head on the side and gave a vulnerable half smile.
“Not a problem.” Steve waved her apology away. It looked like he’d fallen for her damsel-in-distress act. Dale, on the other hand, was staring at her through narrowed eyes. He’d seen her in action this afternoon at the creek and wasn’t so easily fooled.
“I need your help stabling all the horses before this storm gets any worse. Wazza radioed in to say he found a hole in the fence in Portico’s paddock when he was moving the cattle this morning. He’s gone back to repair that. Karri is supposed to be helping me, but I can’t find her. Damn girl has disappeared again. So, it’ll have to be you, I’m afraid.”
“Sure thing. I’ll just show Daisy to the staff quarters; she can have Paula’s old room. And I’ll get her some dry clothes. Then I’ll be straight up.” Dale gathered up their empty plates and other utensils. “See you soon,” he promised, as Steve went out the door. Daisy grabbed her backpack from the floor next to the lounge where she’d dropped it, and followed Dale.
“I hope you don’t mind staying in here?” He held the door open for her and she went out into the hallway.
“Not at all. Any bed is better than sleeping in my car, thank you.” Daisy stopped outside the door as a thought occurred to her. “Would I be able to borrow a phone? Mine’s out of charge and I’ve lost my charger. I’d like to call my mother. She’s a worrier. She’ll hear about this storm and be thinking the worst. I’d like to put her mind at ease, if that’s okay.” Her request might seem a little odd, but it was true that her phone was out of charge, and stupidly she’d forgotten the charger at the hotel room in town. It was also true that the less she used her mobile, the better. She was pretty sure her phone wasn’t being tracked by the police, but just in case it was, it’d be prudent to use another phone.
“Yep, here, use mine. I’ll organize a charger for you, if you like.” He handed her his cell from out of his back pocket, then seemed to consider his words for a second, then added, “I was thinking earlier. We could always try calling Bryan, the manager, up at Koongarra. If he’s around, he might take a message up to the community, to your work colleague, for you.”
Daisy was lost for words. “Oh, yes…that’s actually a good idea. Perhaps I’ll do that from your cell, if that’s okay?” That wasn’t an option, but Dale didn’t need to know that.
Last time Dale had mentioned Bryan, Daisy had deflected the question. Bryan was the station manager, employed by the Kuku group, and as such, he knew most of everything that went on around the station. Dale probably assumed that because she was working for the community, she was either staying at the main residence with Bryan, or in the community itself. But she’d failed to mention that she and River—Ryan, she needed to remember to call him Ryan—were actually staying in the old Back Paddock Outstation, on the far edge of the property. The outstation had been a temporary measure, hastily built ten years ago as a place to stay while the main homestead was constructed on the other side of the station. It was on the original site picked out for the permanent residence, and sheds and water tanks had already been set up, before Bryan changed his mind. After advice from a consultant, he chose a site on higher ground, well away from the floodplains, and with plenty of room to build the large cattle yards he’d need. The outstation was nothing more than three shipping containers tacked together, with a false roof over the top and a couple of metal sheds scattered around a cleared area. It was nestled close to the river, as well as having its own water tanks, so there was access to a water supply. But it was incredibly basic, with small solar panels and a generator for electricity, furnished with sparse, second-hand furniture. At least there was a refrigerator and a gas stove for cooking. But that was about where the luxuries stopped.
Bryan knew they were staying at the old homestead, but she’d never met him. He’d been fed the same cover story as everyone else, that they were environmental consultants, here to confer with the elders of the indigenous community. He was more than happy to leave them alone; it seemed that Bryan was a traditionalist; he didn’t go in for all these new-fangled ideas and farming methods. Which was fine with Daisy. If Bryan stayed away, he was one less person who might identify them.
Dale seemed like a decent guy. It was a shame she had to lie to him. She’d have to add him to the growing list of people she was consciously misleading. It was getting longer by the day, and the idea almost gave her hives. She hated people who lied. Which meant she was fast coming to hate herself. Daisy had been a strict rule-follower when she was a child. Even now, her mum liked to say that she had too much integrity for her own good.
“Good idea,” Dale replied. “You can give my phone back at dinner.”
