Outback Blaze (37 page)

‘Eugh, yuk. Time to open some windows,' she said to herself. As she flung open all the windows in the small house, she wished she'd brought some music and her earphones. As well as musty, it was silent, almost eerily so.

‘I'm just being stupid,' she said and went to get the vacuum. As she ran it over the floors in the bedrooms she found lots of cat hair on the carpet. She wondered if the tabby on the veranda had somehow found a way to get inside and set up house. Maybe he was also responsible for the strange noises. She couldn't help but laugh at the idea that Faith's snobby alumni acquaintance might have been freaked out by a small scruffy-looking cat.

Switching off the vacuum, she reached up to straighten the mirror that hung over the dressing room and as she did so the piano in the lounge room sounded. Her fingers froze on the edge of the mirror. She leaned slightly sideways to peer out of the window and saw Adam's ute approaching from a distance but that did not explain the attempted music.

And there it went again. Her heart practically clawing to get out of her chest, Ruby forced her fingers to uncurl from the mirror, then she pulled the metal tubing off the vacuum, psyched herself up for confrontation and tiptoed out the room. With one more clatter, the noise stopped just as she appeared in the entrance of the lounge room.

She snapped her head left and right, the hairs on the back of her neck signalling her fear, but no one was there. A car door slammed outside and she heard footsteps jogging up the path. That's when the blasted cat slunk out from behind an armchair, looked distastefully at her and then sauntered back outside through the front door, which she'd left open.

Adam appeared in the doorway. ‘You look like you've seen a ghost,' he said, frowning at her. ‘Are you okay?'

She pressed her hand against her heart to still its pounding and let the wand of the vacuum fall against the couch. ‘I thought I'd heard one a moment ago, but it was just some cat playing kitten on the keys. Is it yours?'

He shrugged. ‘Kinda. It just turned up a few months back. Mum and I both feed it and it's a good mouser.'

Ruby took a deep breath, still waiting for her pulse to return to normal. ‘I swear I'm not myself today. Usually a few weird noises wouldn't freak me out.'

He crossed the room and squeezed her shoulder. ‘You've had a tough time. And trust me, this place freaking people out is starting to become a bit of a habit. I find myself listening for strange noises whenever I step inside.'

They both laughed.

‘Now, next question,' Adam said with a smile as he pointed his thumb outside. ‘What's with the horse?'

Ruby looked to the floor. Although it made sense in her head, she realised what she was about to say might sound a little paranoid. ‘I'm sorry. I had to bring her. I'm too scared to leave her at home after what happened to Riley.'

‘Hey,' Adam closed the gap between them and took her in his arms. The action didn't make her hormones sing like they did whenever Drew hugged her, but it provided just the comfort she needed. ‘I don't blame you. I'm so sorry about Riley.'

‘Thanks,' she sniffed, not wanting to totally succumb to hysterics in front of him.

‘Look,' he said, pulling back slightly, ‘you can't take Ruby with you wherever you go but I totally understand your fear about leaving her. We've got plenty of room, you're welcome to house Roxie here until the police eliminate the danger.'

‘Really?' She looked up at him and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Just the thought of leaving Roxie with Adam, off the beaten track, eased her anxiety. ‘That would be wonderful.'

‘It's settled then,' he smiled. ‘Why don't you finish up here? I'll go check the gate in the house paddock where we'll put her. I promise I won't let anything happen to her.'

‘Thank you.'

Adam left and Ruby returned to the cleaning, thankful that the musty smell had evaporated and the cat had disappeared for the time being.

*

It was harder than she thought leaving Roxie with Adam, but Ruby knew she couldn't keep the horse with her twenty-four-seven and she had to be safer at Annadale than in town. Esther Burton had even come outside when they were settling Roxie in the paddock and appeared to be quite taken with the horse. Ruby hoped Roxie would give Esther reason to smile and judging by the look on Adam's face as he watched the interactions between Roxie and his mother, he was thinking the same thing.

Having left the horse float on the farm, Ruby easily found a spot in the main street just outside the supermarket and psyched herself for whatever she might face from the locals. Undoubtedly word would have spread about Riley and under normal circumstances that should elicit oodles of sympathy, but with the uncertainty of the arson still hanging over their heads, she didn't know what to expect. She kept her head down as she headed into IGA and grabbed a trolley, shopping quickly despite no longer having a reason to hurry.

‘Ruby, is that you dear?' At the sound of the older woman's voice, Ruby turned to see Mrs O'Neil hurrying down the pasta and sauces aisle towards her. ‘I'm so sorry to hear about your horse. Macy is inconsolable. I'm getting ingredients for my famous one-bowl chocolate cake, hoping that will help. She couldn't even face school today. Oh my, here I am rabbiting on about Macy's grief, you must be beside yourself.'

Before Ruby could get a word in, Mrs O'Neil wrapped her arms around her and pulled her against her ample bosom. ‘There, there, sweetheart.' She stroked back Ruby's hair in a manner her mother used to do when she was sick as a child.

The tears Ruby just managed to keep back with Adam burst forth and Ruby found herself helpless and sobbing on Mrs O'Neil's shoulders. Luckily there weren't many other shoppers at midday on Mondays, but still, Ruby felt self-conscious and tried to pull herself together.

‘Here, have this.' Mrs O'Neil pulled a white lace handkerchief out of her handbag and gave it to Ruby.

Embarrassingly this only made her cry more. As she was wishing the supermarket floor would collapse and take her with it, Mrs Brady stopped alongside them.
Oh Lord, kill me now
, thought Ruby. But the other woman surprised her by opening a packet of tissues and holding the box out to Ruby.

‘You take as many as you need, dear,' she said. ‘I'll pay for them on my way out.'

Mrs O'Neil being her usual kind self was one thing, but Mrs Brady's turnaround surprised Ruby so much her tears ceased. ‘Thank you,' she said, taking a tissue and patting it over her damp cheeks. ‘I'm just being pathetic.'

‘Good God, don't be ridiculous,' Mrs Brady tsked. ‘Even Lucifer would cry if he'd been through what you have lately.' Then she leaned in close to Ruby and Mrs O'Neil. ‘By the way, did you hear about that Ryan Forrester?'

Ruby snorted into the tissue, trying to stifle a giggle. Even in dire situations some things never changed. She could hold a grudge against Mrs Brady for her earlier unkindness, but what would be the point in holding on to such animosity? Mrs Brady and the other local busybodies were what they were and deep down Ruby didn't think they meant any harm.

‘Thanks again for the tissues,' she said, placing the dirty ones in her bag to dispose of later. ‘I guess I'd better finish my shopping.'

‘Yes, dear,' Mrs O'Neil and Mrs Brady said in unison.

‘Will we still see you on Friday at the Spring Festival and Undies meeting?' added Mrs Brady.

‘I wouldn't miss it.' Ruby nodded and then hurried down the aisle, leaving the two old ladies to discuss poor Ryan's mating habits.

After finishing her shopping, Ruby loaded the bags into her boot and then popped across the road to check her post. Most of it was for her parents and she shuddered as she wondered what the hell to do with it, but a small postcard in amongst the bills intrigued her. She took the whole pile back to her car and then examined the front of the card – camels on a beach in Broome. She turned it over and read the brief message.

Dear Ruby – I hope this card finds you well and happy. As I mentioned in an earlier letter I've finally embarked on a trip around this great country of ours. I still watch the news every night but other than that I enjoy the sights and look forward to a time I will see you again. I'm well and glowing from the lovely weather up here. Will write again soon. Love lots your Aunty Sybil. xx

‘Aunty Sybil?' Ruby frowned at the strange postcard, racking her brain for any recollections of an Aunty Sybil on either side of her family. She'd definitely never received the earlier letter mentioned. Coming up short, she peered down at the handwriting, which although not exactly familiar, did look a little like… her mother's. Her heart stopped, her mouth gaped open and then slowly, as realisation dawned, a smile stretched across her face.

‘Mum and Dad.' Her mouth went dry as another tear, this time a happy one bubbled in the corner of her eye. They hadn't forgotten her. They were in Broome or, she glanced at the postmark, had been three days ago. But what was the reference to the news? Did it mean they were watching for news of the fire? Waiting for the real culprit to be uncovered so they could return home without the threat of punishment hanging over them?

Oh, if only she had some way of contacting them. It pained her that she couldn't tell them about Riley. Drew was certain his death was somehow related to the fire and she had faith he would find the connection and clear her parents' names. It sounded like once that had happened they would come home but until then she guessed her father wanted to keep her mother away from the stress. Although she thought them a little misguided, she could also understand his motivation.

Ruby tucked the postcard in among the other envelopes and then started back home. It would be strangely quiet there without her horses and maybe that's why she found herself turning in at the police station. No guarantees Drew would be there but she wanted to see him, and could use the excuse of asking if they'd made any progress with Riley's case.

Drew looked up at the sound of the station door opening and couldn't help but smile at the sight of Ruby. His first thought was wondering where she'd put Roxie because it had become clear over the weekend she didn't plan to let the horse out of her sight. His second was that her usual flower was still absent from her hair. Still, she was certainly a better distraction than the other locals he'd been dealing with this morning; it felt like every member of the Neighbourhood Watch had been in to question him about the sudden rise in crime. The fire was bad enough but Riley's death had set off the kind of paranoia among the locals that Drew wanted to nip in the bud.

‘I was just about to call you,' he said, standing. He shot Mike a look that told him to make himself scarce and the other officer went to sit at the computer.

‘Have you got news?' Ruby asked, hope in her face and voice.

‘Yes. It's not much but it's a start.' He lifted the hatch that made an opening in the front desk. ‘Do you want to come in so I can give you an update?'

She nodded and he ushered her through into the sterile and small staffroom. He made her a coffee, then sat two full mugs and the biscuit tin on the table.

‘They're Mrs O'Neil's Anzacs,' he said, not about to admit how much he'd come to look forward to the older woman's weekly deliveries. Such visits were one part of small town life he could easily get used to. ‘I think she's trying to make us fat.'

Ruby smiled but failed miserably in appearing interested. He couldn't blame her for wanting to get to news.

‘What have you done with Roxie?' he asked. ‘Mike said he saw you driving her down the main street earlier.'

‘I've left her at Adam's farm. He's promised to look after her until we think it's safe to bring her home.' She looked glumly into her mug. ‘Don't know what I'm going to with myself without them to look after.'

He reached out his hand and held hers. He was glad Roxie had a safe house for a bit, not the least because his back ached from two nights spent sleeping in a shed. ‘Hopefully you can bring her home soon.'

‘You said you had a lead?'

‘The blood results came back. Riley was killed with a barbiturate called Nembutal. It's known as the suicide drug of choice and is illegal in Australia.'

Ruby covered her mouth with her hand. ‘So he wouldn't have been in pain?'

‘No. Sally said its routinely used by vets so we're either looking for someone who had access to a veterinary clinic or someone who illegally imported the drug. I've done a bit of research and Aussies have recently been buying this drug online relatively easily. Federal authorities are trying to crack down, but it's a possibility our murderer got hold of the drug this way.'

Ruby's shoulders slumped. ‘I still can't understand why anyone would do such a thing. Have you got any ideas of who it might be?'

‘I wish I did, but this is the first step. I've spoken to the cop heading the Nembutal enquiry about possible leads and Mike and I are contacting every vet clinic in Western Australia to see if anyone has had Nembutal stolen. I won't stop until I've found this person, I promise.'

‘I know. Thank you.' She squeezed his hand.

‘Drew!'

He gritted his teeth and turned to the sound of Mike's voice at the door. ‘What is it?'

Mike was frowning, his hand over the mouthpiece of the station's portable phone. ‘It's the police commissioner. He wants to speak to you.'

A cold chill came over Drew's body and he failed to keep the surprise off his face. Could this be the call he'd been waiting almost three months for? Standing, he found his legs a little shaky as he crossed the room and took the phone from Mike. Nodding at his colleague, he turned to Ruby, ‘I'll be back in a moment.'