Authors: Garry Disher
They were betrayed by a watch. Wyatt
heard the faint double beep that indicated the passing of another hour. What
hour? Ten, Wyatt guessed. He advanced cautiously to the doorway of the main
bedroom.
The angle was bad. He had to get to
the other side of the door. But he wondered if the gunman had adjusted to the
dark by now, letting him register any shape crossing the gap. Wyatts best
chance was to present a confusing shape. He dived, rolled and got to his feet
again. There was a shot as he passed by the door, but it went high.
Suddenly there were five more shots.
Wyatt heard the slugs punch through the plasterboard wall, spaced at groin
height. The last one emerged a hands breadth from his hip. He didnt move.
Leah yelled out: Quick, his guns
empty.
It was a ruse. But the fact that
they were trying it could mean they were off-balance for a moment. Wyatt threw
himself through the door and came up with his .38 aimed and ready.
Leah moaned. Hes got a knife.
Wyatt focused on her, a dim shape
against the curtain. The man stood behind her, one arm around her torso, the
other at her neck. In struggling they had disturbed the curtain a little. Weak
moonlight lit the room; Wyatt could see it glinting on the blade under Leahs
jaw.
Throw your gun down, the man said,
or I cut her throat.
Go ahead, Wyatt said, cut.
He could hear the next-door
neighbours beneath the window outside. Should we knock and see? one of them
said. Its just the wind, the other said. Wyatt looked around the room,
sizing up the walls and furniture abstractedly. The gunman had only his arms
and half his face showing. A voice outside said, Come inside for Gods sake.
A door banged.
Drop it, the man said again, or
she dies.
Fine, Wyatt said.
It didnt matter to Wyatt which one
he killed first. Killing Leah first would give him a clear shot at the man. But
the man had the weapon. He might throw the knife. Wyatt raised the .38. He
turned a little to one side, held his arm fully out, and pulled the trigger. It
was quick, practised, tight, like a dance step.
The bullet caught the man in the
throat, jerking him back against the wall. The arm around Leah stiffened, then
relaxed, and she pushed free of him. The blood welled in his throat.
Wyatt said nothing. He turned the
gun on Leah.
But she was a bad target. The gunman,
sitting on the floor now, raised the knife to throw it. As Wyatt followed Leah
with the gun, he saw her dart down, wrestle the knife away, and jerk back.
That was when he saw the handcuff.
He took his finger from the trigger but kept the .38 trained on her. The man on
the floor coughed, a liquid sound in his throat, and fell sideways, twitching
once or twice.
Leah looked at Wyatt. You might
have hit me.
Wyatt nodded. But I didnt.
She held her arms around herself. But
you might have.
* * * *
THIRTY-SIX
Wyatt
knew that he was being unfair. He knew how his coldness discouraged people and
coloured the way he saw the world. He pocketed the gun as a way of saying that
he was disarming himself, then slumped back against the wall to wait, knowing
it was too soon to touch her.
Leah shivered, her arms wrapped
around her chest. The hand-cuffs swung on her left wrist. Ill be all right in
a minute.
I doubted you, Wyatt said. I
shouldnt have.
She didnt approach him but let go
of her arms and seemed to notice him properly. Youve changed your appearance,
she said. She shivered. Everythings weird.
Wyatt sat on the bed and pointed at
the body. Did he tell you anything?
He said his name was Letterman and
he was hired to kill you. Apparently you trod on somebodys toes.
Wyatt gestured in frustration. A
Sydney mob. Its so stupid. Clearly theyre not going to let go of it, so now Ill
have to talk to them.
Leah sat next to him on the bed. Talk
to them? Will they listen?
Theyll listen.
Do you know who?
Ill find out.
They were silent, looking at the
body. He was waiting at the farm, Leah said. Snyder had been in contact with
him.
That figures. Its my guess
Letterman put the word out offering big bucks to anyone who knew where to find
me.
He must have followed Snyder from
Melbourne.
Wyatt nodded. And he wouldnt have
paid Snyder the full amount until he was sure hed found me. Thats why Snyder
was so keen for us to go back to the farm instead of running. Hed missed out
on the payrollhe didnt want to miss out completely.
By now their shoulders were
touching. It calmed Wyatt and seemed to calm Leah. She rested more heavily
against him. What went wrong? she asked. Judging by the way Snyder and
Letterman acted, they were just as surprised as we were.
Wyatt told her what hed found on
the road. They hijacked our job, copying it detail for detail.
Leah looked closely at his face. Because
I brought in Tobin, she said, you thought I was behind the whole thing?
Its happened before. Tell me about
him.
She rolled her shoulders in
embarrassment. You know that guy you got the bike from, the one who pissed you
off? I got Tobins name from him. I thought youd get mad if you knew Id gone
to him again.
Wyatt didnt push it. Tobin was a
distributor of bootleg booze, videos and cigarettes. Maybe his supplier was
behind it. He put his arm around Leahs shoulders. She made a noise in her
throat.
Then he felt her stiffen and jerk
away from him. I cant stay in the room with him there.
She got to her feet and went
downstairs. Wyatt changed into his own clothes and shoes, the searched
Lettermans pockets until hed found the keys to the handcuffs. But something
about the big mans shape bothered him. A minute later he was counting out
thirty thousand dollars from Lettermans moneybelt. He pocketed twenty thousand
and went downstairs. The bottom half of the house was full of smoke. He gave
Leah the keys and ten thousand dollars. Take the cuffs off, he said. Pour
yourself a drink Ill be back in a moment.
Checking that no one was standing in
the garden next-door, he climbed to the roof and removed the chimney cap. When
he got back inside Leah had opened all the doors and windows. She handed him a
glass of Scotch. It was fiery and reviving. What do we do now? she asked.
Dump the body, Wyatt said simply, and
get our money back.
She drank deeply from the glass. Just
like that.
Did the neighbours see Letterman?
No.
All the same, youd better have a
story ready in case they ask about him or his car or the noise tonight.
Meanwhile help me put him in the boot. Ill dump him and the car in the city
somewhere.
Leah had the look of someone who
knows that the relaxing is still a long way off. What if they ask me about
you? What if they recognise your picture?
I look different now and I kept out
of sight whenever I stayed here. But the short answer is, distract them. Dont
just say Im a brother or something, you have to make them feel embarrassed for
asking. Tell them Im your Jesuit priest brother, your detective cousin. He
put down his glass. Id better be going. Help me with Letterman.
They loaded the body into the boot
of the Valiant. The wind-tossed street was dark; no one saw them.
Let me go with you, Leah said.
The coldness grew in Wyatt again. No.
Wait here.
You think Ill get in the way, she
said. You think Ill get hurt.
He was uncomprehending. He hadnt
been considering her at all. He knew only that hed been crossed and he had to
do something about it and he could best do it alone. Get some rest, he said. Air
the house. Reassure the neighbours.
He got into the drivers seat of
Lettermans car and wound down the window. Leah put her face to the gap and
clasped the top of the glass. Are you going to Tobins?
He started the engine. Its the
only link we have. He looked at her strained face. He was unused to smiling.
He touched her wrist briefly. Okay?
She stood back. Good luck.
Luck wouldnt come into it but he
said thanks and started the engine.
He drove out of the hills and down
into the centre of Adelaide. It was midnight when he passed through Enfield and
the streets were quiet. The industrial estate was deserted. Cheerless lights
were burning outside most of the buildings, throwing shadows into the door and
window recesses. He turned off the headlights and drove once around the
perimeter. There was no sign of security guards but he knew a patrol would be
along later. He remembered seeing the Mayne Nickless calling cards in Tobins
doorframe.
Wyatt parked the Valiant behind a
stack of empty crates. Tobins office and shed were in darkness but he
approached quietly, keeping to the shadows. He got to the side wall and waited,
listening for two minutes. The side window was locked. He checked the front
door. It was also locked. A thumbtacked note said, Back next week. Scribbled
under it were the words, No cash on premises.
There were no external indications
that Tobin had fitted an alarm system. Wyatt cast back in his mind to the day
when he and Leah had first met him. He was sure there were no wires, cameras or
electric eyes.
The glass in the side window was
fused to wire netting, and he didnt want to be spotted at the front of the
building, so he broke in through the back door.
Tobin wasnt there. The air was
stale, as if no one had been in the place for several days.
Wyatt began a search of the office.
There was nothing else he could do. Checking that no headlights had appeared
outside, he turned on Tobins planet lamp and adjusted the shade until it was
an inch from the desktop. In the muted light he began to go through the drawers
and files.
He didnt know what he was looking
for but he knew hed found it when he opened the grubby ruled desk diary and
learned what kind of company Tobin had been keeping.
* * * *
THIRTY-SEVEN
The
car was legitimate so there was no point in stealing one. His face and clothing
were different so he wasnt expecting second looks from nosy cops and
civilians. But hed be put away for life if he was found with a body in the
boot. Checking again for Mayne Nickless patrols, Wyatt dragged Letterman inside
and dumped him in a back room.
It turned midnight as he drove away
from the industrial estate. He went left at Gepps Cross and settled in for the
two-hour haul to Goyder. The traffic was lighta lonely taxi, a couple of panel
vans drag-racing away from the lights, a big semitrailer with Western
Australian plates. If Wyatt were an ordinary citizen he might have been tempted
to put his foot down. He didnt. He slowed for yellow lights, used his
indicators, sat just under the posted speed limits. He turned on the heater and
set the radio to an all-night jazz program. Thirty minutes after dumping Letterman
he had left the city lights behind and was driving through orchard country lit
by the stars in the black sky.
Trigg must have thought all his
Christmases had come at once when Tobin came to pick up his regular consignment
of bootleg videos, booze and cigarettes and told him about the Steelgard hit.
Trigg was already linked to Steelgard: Wyatt remembered seeing the Steelgard
vans refuelling in Goyder, remembered the day he saw Venables talking to Trigg
in Belcowie.
He pushed on through the dark farmland,
fitting the pieces together. Now and then he passed through small towns At
night they appeared to flatten their bellies to the ground. The shopfronts
seemed to hide under drooping verandahs. Dewy cars turned their backs away and
the street lamps were meek and blanketed. It was all depressing. Wyatt
preferred the open road, where he had the sensation of riding across the roof
of the world.
He reached Goyder at two oclock in
the morning. Trigg Motors was lit up like a strip of pinball parlours. The big
Ford sign glowed blue and white like a sail above the entrance and someone had
been liberal with fluorescent paint on the showroom windows. The cars bared
their chrome teeth at Wyatt as he cruised slowly along the front of the
building. He turned right, and right twice again, circling the block. There was
no sign of lifeno security guards, cranky Alsatians or randy teenagers.
A couple of cars were parked outside
the service bay. Wyatt guessed theyd been left there for a service or a
tune-up in the morning. He parked Lettermans Valiant next to them and got out,
quietly closing the drivers door behind him.
He ignored the administration block.
The money might be stashed away there but first he wanted to satisfy himself
that he was right about what had happened a day and a half ago.
He started with the buildings at the
rear of the blocktwo corrugated iron sheds, each large enough to hold a truck,
and a small prefab hut next to an iron shipping container. The prefab building
was raised a foot off the ground. It had aluminium frame doors and windows and
two cement steps leading to the front door. The windows were curtained in some
frilly domestic material. It puzzled Wyatt until he heard the unmistakable
squeak of bedsprings. Someone was asleep in there.