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Bindi gathered up her plate and those of the guests beside her and took them into the kitchen on her way to the boardroom. Steve was already headed that way ahead of her. Of course, Nash would’ve invited him, because he needed to stay abreast of everything that happened on the station. A gust of relief left her lips at the thought she wouldn’t have to face Mack with only Nash as a buffer. Perhaps with Steve in the room, Mack would stop sending her those glowering stares.
Mack was the last to enter the room, and he shut the door behind him.
“Good evening, everyone,” Nash said as Mack took a seat right next to Bindi. And then leaned on the table, so that his arm was mere inches from hers. Couldn’t he have sat on the opposite side? She could practically feel the electricity crackle between them. Would it look bad if she subtly moved away? Gritting her teeth, she decided to stay where she was. She was a big girl, and she could handle this small problem of Mack and his ego. Two could play at this game, she decided. Instead of moving away, she moved ever so slightly closer, so she could almost feel the fine hairs on his forearm tickle hers.
Bindi quickly decided that was a dumb move, however, when all her awareness funneled into her left arm, and the corner of Mack’s mouth lifted in a smirk.
Before she could determine whether to back down and remove her arm from the table altogether, Nash spoke. “I had a call from Senior Sergeant Johnson in Cairns earlier this evening. And I thought you’d like to hear the update.”
Bindi sat up straighter, taking the opportunity to drop her arm beneath the table, where she rubbed at her skin with her thumb to remove the tingle of Mack’s proximity.
Mack said, “Damn straight. What’s the news?”
“There are a couple of things,” Nash said, holding first Mack and then Bindi with his gaze. “Forensics have finished their investigation on your vehicle and concluded the lug nuts were most likely tampered with. It’s hard to say exactly once the wheel has fallen off, but it seems they might’ve been loosened so they were only just holding on by a single turn or two. A brand new vehicle like yours is highly improbably they just fell off by themselves. I’m surprised you got as far down the road as you did.”
Mack grunted and tapped the table with his fingers. “Damn, I was stupid not to check my truck before we took off.”
“There was no way to predict something like this,” Steve cut in evenly.
“Steve’s right,” Nash said. “Whoever did this had a fair idea what they were up to.”
“Yeah, probably hoping both of us died in the crash,” Mack answered with a dark frown.
“We’ve opened an investigation into the crash,” Nash went on. “Constable Willow—he’s my offsider—will join forces with Constable O’Hare from Cairns and see what else they can uncover.”
“Will they be able to interview Clarissa Melman?” Mack demanded. “I told you, she’s the one behind all this.”
Nash turned his cool, blue gaze onto Mack. “No, not in the first instance. We don’t have any jurisdiction in the USA. And we also don’t have any evidence she’s involved. There has been no sign of this man you said accosted you in the parking lot. No witnesses to the altercation, and without a good description of the man, we don’t really even know where to start,” Nash said, his eyebrows drooping a little. “But if we can gather enough proof, we might be able to convince our buddies in Texas to bring her in for a chat.”
Mack let out a gust of air. Bindi could see he was frustrated, but Nash was right, all they had to go on was Mack’s word that this woman was corrupt. It was going to be much harder to prove it.
“Which brings me to the second item on our agenda,” Nash added. “We caught up with your friend, Matieu Waititi.” He speared Bindi with his sky-blue gaze.
Mack gave her a quizzical glance and Bindi told him hurriedly, “That’s Mutt’s real name.”
“And?” they both chorused in symphony.
“What did he say?” Bindi added.
“And he denies all knowledge of tampering with your truck. His mates back up his story, confirming he crashed out in their hotel room and didn’t wake until late the next morning.”
“Hmm,” Bindi mused. That didn’t sound good. Mutt’s two friends were giving him an alibi. It seemed they were back to square one.
“We’re checking to see if there’s any CCTV footage of the area. I believe there was a camera set up to monitor the parking lot at the rodeo.” When Bindi raised a surprised eyebrow, he added, “There’s a lot of money tied up in some of those vehicles and trailers parked in that paddock. Most councils like the rodeo organizers to keep an eye on things, nowadays. It stops them from getting sued.”
Bindi was surprised, but the way Mack nodded sagely, he was obviously well versed in these small technicalities.
“Constable O’Hare also interviewed the stall holders closest to your end of the parking lot to see if they saw anything that night. But a lot of them were already packing up for the night, and now they’ve moved on to the next show, so it’s going to be hard to catch up with them all. She’s also talking to a group of the bronco riders who were supposedly drinking with Mutt and his mates before the incident where he attacked you. We’re trying to piece together a picture of his movements that night.”
That all sounded good to Bindi, who knew very little about police procedure.
“Did you find the missing lug nuts?” Mack asked, his voice rising with frustration. “What about searching Mutt’s car? Or his house? At least to rule him out.”
“We’re working on that,” Nash acknowledged. “We need a warrant to do those things, and we need to convince the judge before we can go waltzing on in there.” Nash kept his demeanor calm, not letting Mack’s exasperation ruffle him. Bindi supposed a cool head was a trait most police officers possessed in spades. Dealing with difficult customers was likely a daily event.
Nash went on, “Mutt doesn’t seem to have any fixed address. At least not one that we can find. He appears to be couch surfing around friends’ and acquaintances’ houses in Cairns. A bit of an itinerant. So it’s going to be hard to pin him down.”
“How long has he been in Australia?” Bindi questioned, Mutt’s words coming back to her. “Because he kind of hinted that he’d come here to find me.”
