Page 9 of Outback Skies


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When he was sure he was out of sight, he pulled out the phone and pushed the button, hoping like hell that Mike wasn’t in a meeting or something and could take this call. Finn was breaking protocol by calling in the middle of the day, but Mike would understand once Finn told him why.

Mike answered on the sixth ring.

“Are you somewhere we can talk?” Finn asked urgently.

“Yes, I’ve stepped outside,” Mike replied. “Go ahead.” His boss didn’t waste any breath on the niceties.

Finn relayed the morning’s events, and Mike listened without comment.

“It’s an interesting development,” Mike said after Finn had eventually wound down. “I know it might feel bad to you right this second, but this might be the break-through we’ve been waiting for.”

Finn considered his boss’s words. It was true. The murder was a terrible thing for Wombat. But if it was connected to the drug gang, and Finn had a gut feeling it was, it also meant thatsomeone in the drug syndicate was getting sloppy. Or arrogant. Or both. And perhaps it meant they were closer to figuring this thing out than they’d thought.

“It’s frustrating that the local cops are now involved,” Mike went on. “But if we can collaborate with them, they might actually be of some help.” Finn was dubious. He’d had dealings with local police before and they tended to go at things like a bull at a gate, ham-fisted, without any finesse, or attention to detail. That was the reason Finn had been recruited to this particular Special Drug Squad in the first place. Mike Rogers had studied Finn as a young and upcoming detective and liked his attention to detail, his organization skills, and his ambition, and hired him on the spot.

“I’ll get on the phone and talk to the Senior Sergeant Johnson in charge over in Cairns, see if I can stop them from going apeshit if they find drugs in Wombat’s truck and tipping off the drug lords that we’re after them,” Mike continued. “I think it’s time to reveal yourself to this Senior Constable King. Do you think we can trust him?”

Finn sighed. It looked like he’d be dealing with the local force, whether he liked it or not. He considered the question for a few seconds. Corruption could be an issue inside the Queensland Police Force. The drug ring had endless money and a long reach when it came to bribing susceptible cops. But Finn didn’t think Nash was one of those cops. It was always impossible to tell one-hundred percent, but if the rest of the Stormcloud crew thought he was good, then Finn would have to, as well.

“Yes. I believe so,” Finn replied.

“And what are the odds that this is an inside job?” Mike asked crisply.

Finn didn’t know how to answer that. Because it meant someone he worked with could be the murderer. He was prettysure Dave and Carrot weren’t involved. He slept in the same tent as them. Surely, if one of them had crept out in the dead of night, Finn would’ve heard something. But come to think of it, Davehadgot up to relieve himself last night. Had Finn heard him come back, or had sleep reclaimed him beforehand? He couldn’t be sure. There was Scanner and his girls. Yesterday, Finn wouldn’t have questioned if they could be involved. Certainly not in a murder as violent as Wombat’s. But human beings were complex creatures, and Finn had come across stranger things than this in his line of work.

“It’s a possibility, Sarge,” Finn admitted.

A twig snapped, and Finn lifted his head, then took the phone away from his mouth.

“Finn, is that you? Who are you talking to? And don’t you tell me it’s your bloody wife.”

Shit, not again.

Indy was stalking through the bush toward him.

CHAPTER FOUR

FINN GLARED AT Indy, blue eyes like chips of ice, and Indy suddenly wondered if she’d misjudged him. Had she been a fool to follow him out into the floodplains alone? What if he were the murderer? And she’d just presented herself up like a sacrificial lamb.

Clenching her fists into balls by her side, she stopped walking. Perhaps she hadn’t thought this through properly. She’d watched Finn slip out of the camp, even while she’d been talking to Steve and the others about Wombat. When her curiosity had become too much to bear, she’d excused herself and followed Finn’s wraithlike figure through the scrub. He was being careful, not wanting to be seen, and that cemented the idea in her head that he was up to something dodgy. And she needed to know what. Maybe she should’ve told Dale about Finn’s nocturnal activities last night, after all. It suddenly occurred to her he could be involved in the murder. Perhaps he’d been calling in backup to help him deal with the cops, or to get him out of here. But it was too late for any of that. Finn was striding toward her.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. “If you don’t tell me what you’re up to, I’m going to go straight to Nash and tell him you’re acting strange.”

A spike of adrenaline made her stomach flutter as he came right up to her. But she stood her ground as he towered over her, a frown marring his handsome face.Never show your fear.It was something she lived by. He lowered his gaze and those bright-blue eyes pierced into hers.

“Shit, Indy,” Finn said, running a hand through his hair and taking a step back. She released a shaky breath. “Why do you have to be so…”

“So what?” she demanded.

“So bloody annoying,” he retorted. He huffed out an exhalation, and seemed to be considering her, phone still dangling in one hand. “I’m assuming that if I ask you really nicely not to tell anyone what you overheard, you’re not going to agree?”

“Not unless you give me a really good reason,” she shot back.

“Shit,” he said again and took her by the arm to lead her deeper into the scrub. “Come with me, then.”

She shook him off. “You’re not taking me anywhere.” She glanced over her shoulder; she was still close enough to camp that if she screamed, they might hear her.

Finn dropped her arm and held up his hands in supplication. “Shit, sorry. Look, it’s not what you think. I’m not going to hurt you.”

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