Outback Blaze (36 page)

Sally sighed, shaking her head as she looked past them at the horse. ‘I'll take some bloods in a moment and that should tell me a lot more, but yeah, it looks suspicious to me. I've been Riley's vet for the last six months and he was a healthy horse. I would have predicted him having a long life ahead of him yet.'

‘Shit.' What the hell was going on here? Something told Drew this latest crime was linked to the fire but what kind of person would stoop so low as to murder a horse? In his opinion, most people found it easier to take the life of a human than an animal. Even some of the world's most prolific killers had loved their pets.

‘Yes, that about sums it up,' Sally said. ‘Look, I imagine you'll want to get started on this case as soon as possible, so I shouldn't leave it any longer to take blood. If you'll excuse me.'

Sally fetched the equipment she needed from her van, then Ruby sat with her, holding Riley while she took the samples. Mike and Drew talked to the O'Neils, questioning whether they'd seen anything suspicious when they'd arrived an hour or so ago.

‘I'm sorry,' Tilley said with an apologetic shrug. ‘I was in a rush because I had to drop my older boys at football and I wasn't paying much attention, but I didn't see anything odd.'

‘Macy?' Drew looked down at the girl.

‘I'm sorry.' She crumbled into a puddle of tears again.

‘I hate to leave Ruby like this,' Tilley said, ‘but I think I need to take Macy home. This has been a terrible shock for her.'

‘Yes, that's fine,' Mike answered. ‘We might need to talk to you again and obviously give us a call if either of you remember seeing anything odd.'

‘We will. Promise.' Tilley looked down at her daughter and pulled her even closer. ‘Come on, honey. Let's go.'

‘I want to say goodbye to Ruby.' Before any of them could say that might not be a good idea right now, Macy broke free of her mother and ran.

Ruby turned at the hurried footsteps, opened her arms wide and the two of them held each other tightly. Drew's heart threatened to fail him again, as if it were brimming with emotions he didn't want to let out. Riley's death likely meant the end of Ruby's horse-riding business. She hadn't many clients left but he'd felt confident she'd be able to build them back up again. But now…

He shook his head. He had to take feeling out of the equation and start thinking like a cop. Why the hell would someone do this? Who were they trying to punish? Was it linked to the fire or not? Or worse, could it be linked to him? There were a million more questions in his mind lining up for an answer and he wouldn't rest until he had some.

The next couple of hours were hectic. Sally called for assistance to remove the horse and Mike arranged for the bloods to be rushed to Perth for testing. Drew questioned Ruby as tenderly as he could about whether she had any idea who could have done this, but it simply felt like they were going over old ground. It seemed even less likely that Jonas would be involved in killing a horse, but this crime also felt personal. There was also the awful possibility that someone in the town had done this to let Ruby know what they thought about the Joneses' betrayal.

The gossips had all but sentenced Ruby's parents for arson and although there was no evidence, their leaving town hadn't done them any favours. He didn't leave Ruby's side, watching her every move as the horse was taken from the paddock, but when Sally and Riley had gone, Mike mentioned the need for them to get back to the station.

‘I don't want to leave you,' Drew said, looking up at Ruby who was now perched on Roxie like she intended to spend the rest of her life up there.

‘You need to.' Ruby patted Roxie's neck as she looked down at him. ‘You need to go and find out who did this. I need to know.'

‘I will. I promise.' He rubbed the back of his neck. His whole body ached with stress and he hoped like hell he could keep that promise. ‘Can I call someone to come sit with you until I get back?'

She shook her head and sounded scarily calm. ‘I'll be better by myself, just Roxie and I. You know I need time alone to deal with things like this.'

‘Yes.' Whether he meant to or not, whether it was fair or not, he'd grown close to Ruby in the last week or so and he did know this about her. It didn't mean he liked the idea of her being alone. ‘Okay, but you'll call me if you need anything, right?'

‘I will.' She smiled down at him but the gesture didn't reach her eyes.

Ruby spent what was left of the afternoon in the paddock, alternating between riding Roxie and scouring every inch of the ground and fences for clues. The idea that someone had come onto her property while she was home and done this filled her with a kind of rage she'd never felt before. But rage was better than grief. She'd already cried a billion tears and she feared if she started again she'd never stop. She resisted the urge to call Drew and ask for progress on the case. He'd call her the minute he had anything.

Even when they weren't riding, Roxie shadowed her, providing the kind of comfort only animals can give. Ruby didn't want to leave her on so many levels, the strongest of those being fear. Fear that if she went inside for the five minutes it would take to grab a bite to eat, whoever had killed Riley would take Roxie as well.

The afternoon darkened into night. The thin jumper Ruby had been wearing all day became insufficient for the evening air. She hadn't eaten since lunch and she desperately needed to go to the toilet. There was only one thing for it.

Two hours later when Drew let himself into the house he found Ruby and Roxie sitting in the lounge room watching a black-and-white movie. Well, Roxie was standing behind the couch, a bemused expression on her face as if she didn't know what to do with her new surroundings.

Drew raised his eyebrows as he crossed the room towards Ruby.

‘Don't say anything,' she said, eyeing the delicious smelling paper bag in his grasp. ‘I couldn't bear to leave her outside.'

Credit to the man, he reached behind the couch to rub Roxie's neck and then sat down beside Ruby. He placed the paper bag on the coffee table and removed two Palace burgers. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn't help but grin.

‘How did you know I wouldn't have cooked?'

He unwrapped one burger and handed it to her. ‘Just a hunch. I'll bet you haven't eaten all day.'

She didn't tell him he was right, but simply lifted the food and took a bite. She hadn't been hungry or so she'd thought until now, but maybe it was more that she couldn't summon the enthusiasm for anything. After the first mouthful, she leaned forward, picked the remote up off the coffee table and switched off the TV.

‘Can I get you a drink?' she asked.

He shook his head, finished his mouthful and then said, ‘I'm right.'

‘So I'm guessing you've got no real leads yet?'

‘I'm sorry, Ruby.' The expression on his face said all this and more.

‘It's okay.' She placed her hand on his. ‘I know you'll do everything you can.'

They ate the rest of their meal in silence and Ruby couldn't help but yawn as she gathered up the wrappers to go and put them in the bin. To say the day had been emotionally draining would be a mammoth understatement.

‘You need to get some rest,' Drew said, placing a hand on the small of her back. ‘What are we going to do with Roxie tonight?'

‘She can stay in the kitchen. The floor is tiled so it will be easy to clean in the morning. I'll fill up the sink in case she needs a drink and the house has got a good locking system so she should be safe.'

She waited for Drew to tell her she was being ridiculous, but the fact he didn't try to alleviate her fear told her she had reason to be scared.

‘I understand you want to keep her close, but is the kitchen safe for her?' he asked. ‘You know more about horses than me, but my understanding is that if something startles her in here she could try to run.'

Dammit, he was right. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid as to risk Roxie's safety in such a manner. ‘You're right, but…' She didn't know what to do.

‘How about we sleep in the shelter near her?' he suggested. While she turned this idea over in her head, he added, ‘I know it's cold, but if we take out lots of blankets and use each other's body heat, we should survive the night and we'll hear if anyone comes near.'

Sleeping outside in the middle of winter was almost as crazy as letting Roxie sleep inside, but Ruby saw no better solution. ‘You'll sleep out there with me?'

He nodded. ‘Of course.'

She silently thanked the Lord above for this amazing man.

Together they collected everything they needed for a night out in the elements. Ruby put on three more layers of clothing and gave Drew some of her father's fleeces to go on top of his minimal clothing. If the reason they were doing this wasn't so horrible, it would seem exciting and romantic. When they were ready, Ruby collected Roxie from the lounge room and led her outside. Drew made sure the house was locked and they walked the short distance to the paddock.

‘Time for bed, beautiful.' Ruby rubbed Roxie's neck while Drew worked to set up a makeshift bed for them in the horse shelter. ‘Doesn't look too bad,' she said, glancing down when he'd finished. They'd grabbed an old foam mattress from the garage and layered blankets over the top. It would be cramped but she had no qualms about snuggling up with him.

When they were beneath the covers, she turned to him, desperate to have his arms around her, to lose herself in his touch. But he didn't slide his hand to one of her many inappropriate places in the manner he usually did, he simply held her and she felt his lovely breath warming the top of her head.

She pressed her lips against his with a pressure that told him she wanted more. Needed it. And then slid her hands lower.

‘If you do much more of that, then my resolve to let you rest will be history,' he said, his voice low. ‘I'll take the chance we're outside to go a little wild.'

‘Sounds good to me,' she whispered. ‘I don't want to rest yet. I want you to take the pain away for a little while. Please?'

‘Oh Ruby.' He took her head in his hands and kissed her back. ‘I'll do my best.'

Monday morning, Ruby hooked up the horse float to her wagon and loaded Roxie into the back. She'd gotten through yesterday with the help of Drew – before he'd gone to work she'd rushed inside to shower and eat, then taken supplies outside to last her through the day. Drew had brought over Sunday's roast dinner from The Palace and they'd eaten it outside under the stars with Roxie grazing in the paddock. They shared two nights in the horse shelter and although it wasn't comfortable in the slightest, they'd distracted each other from the cold and discomfort and he hadn't once made her feel silly.

She didn't know how she'd have gotten through all this without Drew and was seriously beginning to worry about losing her heart to him, but that was a problem for later.

Again this morning before work, he'd sat with Roxie while she went inside to shower and dress but now he'd be gone for a full day and it became clear she couldn't go on spending all day outside in the paddock on guard duty. Drew would be working hard to find Riley's murderer but if the way the arson investigation had dragged on (and was still going) gave any indication, she wouldn't hold her breath for answers.

In the meantime she had to find a way to go on living.

First up on today's agenda was cleaning the cottage at Adam's place. He'd called the day before and told her he understood if she wanted to back out but, aside from the fact it was currently her only paid employment, she found cleaning therapeutic. Happy for an adventure Roxie settled in the back of the float and Ruby started down the driveway.

As she passed through the main street, she looked out for places she could park when she returned after cleaning. It was time to stock the pantry again and she needed to check the post office box in the unlikely event there was something from her parents. There was a great spot along the back of the supermarket car park, but another thought struck her the moment she'd decided upon it.

What would she do with Roxie while she went inside? She could grab her items quickly but inside the supermarket, she wouldn't be able to see the horse float and anyone could get to Roxie in the few moments she was gone. If she hadn't been driving, she'd have put her head on the steering wheel in despair.

‘Dammit.' She thumped it instead and the horn sounded loudly. A couple of old ladies walking along the pathway looked up and shook their heads in disgust. Groaning, Ruby lifted a hand to wave and mouth an apology.

On the drive out to Annadale farm, she decided she would simply call Simone or Frankie and ask if one of them would mind picking up a few items from the shop and bringing them out to her. Either that or get Drew to pop out during his lunch break. She took a few deep breaths and prayed Drew, Mike or O'Leary would find the horse killer soon because she couldn't expect everyone else to do her errands forever.

Arriving at Adam's farm, she drove along the long gravel road past his house and his parents' place and continued on to the cottage. She parked in front of the quaint picket fence and trekked around to the back of the float.

‘I'll be an hour max,' she told Roxie. Surely she'd be safe out here in the middle of nowhere. ‘Behave yourself.'

Roxie snorted and turned her head away from Ruby as if to say she was offended Ruby could even think such a thought. Chuckling for the first time in two days, Ruby walked up to the cottage. On the veranda a scruffy tabby cat lounged in a lone streak of sunlight. It eyed her as if it was wondering what she was doing in its territory. Being on a farm, a few kilometres back from the road, the Burtons didn't bother to lock the cottage. She let herself inside and was immediately hit with a musty smell.