Something to Hide Read online

  Fleur McDonald has lived and worked on farms for much of her life. After growing up in the small town of Orroroo in South Australia, she went jillarooing, eventually co-owning an 8000-acre property in regional Western Australia.

  Fleur likes to write about strong women overcoming adversity, drawing inspiration from her own experiences in rural Australia. She has two children, an energetic kelpie and a Jack Russell terrier.

  Website: www.fleurmcdonald.com

  Facebook: FleurMcDonaldAuthor

  Instagram: fleurmcdonald

  OTHER BOOKS

  Red Dust

  Blue Skies

  Purple Roads

  Silver Clouds

  Crimson Dawn

  Emerald Springs

  Indigo Storm

  Sapphire Falls

  The Missing Pieces of Us

  Suddenly One Summer

  Where the River Runs

  Starting From Now

  The Shearer’s Wife

  DETECTIVE DAVE BURROWS SERIES

  Fool’s Gold

  Without a Doubt

  Red Dirt Country

  Something to Hide

  First published in 2021

  Copyright © Fleur McDonald 2021

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

  Allen & Unwin

  83 Alexander Street

  Crows Nest NSW 2065

  Australia

  Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

  Email: [email protected]

  Web: www.allenandunwin.com

  ISBN 978 1 76087 682 1

  eISBN 978 1 76106 145 5

  Set by Bookhouse, Sydney

  Cover design: Nada Backovic

  Cover images: Laura Kate Bradley / Arcangel Images, Anna Price-Adair and iStockphotos

  In memory of Sarah, editor extraordinaire. We are so sad you didn’t get to hang out your editor’s shingle again. Thank you for our five books together.

  I am because of who you are.

  To those who are precious.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  EPILOGUE

  AUTHOR'S NOTE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  DV ASSIST

  Chapter 1

  ‘I met a friend of yours today,’ Mel said as she heaved the heavy shopping bag onto the kitchen bench.

  Dave bustled in behind her with Bec in his arms.

  ‘Really? Who was that?’ he asked as he set their daughter down and watched her toddle off into the lounge room and turn on the TV. He waited by the door for Mel’s answer, listening for Alice’s cry from outside.

  ‘I’ve been trying to remember his name ever since I got back into the car.’ Her brow creased with annoyance. ‘I don’t think I took it in. Just after I met him, Alice started to grizzle, and I was keen to leave. There’s nothing fun about being in a supermarket with a crying baby.’

  ‘Hold on, I can hear her now. I’ll be back,’ Dave said, jogging from the house to lift the newly woken Alice from the car capsule.

  The sun was shining, and even the chilly wind that swept down the quiet street couldn’t dampen the glow in his chest. Last night, Mel had come into their bed for the first time in many weeks. They’d shared whispered talks, cuddles and occasionally a laugh as memories from better times surfaced. When Alice woke and demanded her mother’s breast, Dave had fetched her for Mel, then taken the baby back to the cot. Tonight, the spare room would be empty again, he was sure.

  Last week’s counselling session hadn’t brought out anything he didn’t already know. Mel wanted him to leave policing. She was adamant. But so was Dave. He wasn’t going to do that. He had insisted they could make compromises that would benefit them both and their family.

  The counsellor had convinced them to work together. To each make a little more effort at home: for Dave not to walk out the door and go to work when he was angry; for Mel to listen rather than shut Dave out while he told her something she didn’t want to hear. For them both to be a little more open-minded and thoughtful of each other.

  ‘Hey, look at you, Miss Alice,’ Dave cooed as he unbuckled the straps and picked her up.

  Alice gave a couple of hiccupping cries and closed her eyes.

  With his daughter in his arms, he nudged the car door shut and glanced around the street—an old habit—before going inside, where Mel was unpacking the perishables into the fridge.

  ‘How did you and this fellow get talking about me?’ he asked as he went through to Alice’s room and placed her gently in the cot. He drew up the covers and pulled the door to before checking on Bec. She was curled up on her child-sized unicorn couch watching George the Farmer, her hair falling over her eyes. Dave smiled and ducked back into the kitchen.

  ‘So?’ he asked again.

  Mel straightened. ‘Well, it was strange. I didn’t notice him, then suddenly he was right there in front of me. Almost like he waited and stepped across my path. Alice was in the sling on my front, and I was busy looking down at what I was buying.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Dave said. He reached into the shopping bag for two tins of tomatoes and put them in the pantry, just as a trickle of concern ran through him.

  ‘I apologised,’ Mel continued, ‘and then he just said, “Aren’t you Dave Burrows’ wife?” Or something like that.’ She shrugged.

  Dave stilled and turned to look across at Mel. ‘And what did you say?’

  ‘Yes, of course, you duffer! Are you still looking for proof we’re trying?’ She flashed him a half smile.

  ‘What?’ Dave was confused, his mind full of criminals who might want to take revenge on him by approaching Mel, rather than on their marriage status. ‘No. But you told him who you were?’ He knew he sounded incredulous.

  ‘Well, yeah …’ She gave a sunny smile. ‘He wanted me to pass his regards on to you.’

  ‘Mummy?’ Bec stood in the doorway. ‘I’m hungry.’

  Mel gently pushed past Dave and took out a box of Jatz crackers and cut up some cheese. Dave watched as she put it all on a plate and handed it to Bec, who promptly disappeared back into the lounge room.

  ‘And you can’t remember his name?’ he persisted, stepping closer to her.

  ‘No. It’s baby brain, I tell you. I can’t remember what I did yesterday!’ She looked at him. ‘I’m sorry. I am trying, you know.’

  Dave put his hands on Mel’s arms and looked directly at her. ‘Mel, this is important. What did he look l
ike?’

  ‘Ah,’ Mel frowned again. ‘I don’t know …’ Her voice trailed off.

  Dave didn’t let her finish before he cut in again. ‘Tell me exactly what he said.’

  Looking up at Dave, her eyes now shone with fear. ‘Oh no.’ She swallowed hard as realisation hit her. ‘He said he was a friend of yours. From—’ She paused and thought hard. ‘From out bush, I think.’

  Dave wanted to shout out names. Bulldust? Or Ashley? But he knew he couldn’t put words in her mouth. One of the first interview techniques taught during detective training was never to do that. ‘What did he sound like?’ The words snapped out of him.

  ‘Sound?’

  Dave’s heart was beating hard and a knot of fear was sitting like a stone in his stomach. It was one thing to be an investigator on a case that involved dangerous criminals; it was another to have strangers approach his family. ‘Hard voice? Nasal? Deep?’ he offered, forcing his tone back to quiet and comforting. ‘Did he speak slowly or quickly?’

  Mel leaned back against the kitchen bench, her arms folded. ‘Um, quietly.’ She frowned, the way she did when trying to dredge up a memory. ‘Yeah, quiet. He spoke slowly, like he was drawing the words out.’

  Dave knew he couldn’t prompt her. Couldn’t ask about a beard. About vivid blue eyes. About the tattoos on Bulldust’s knuckles. Bulldust’s features, that he knew by heart.

  ‘Height?’

  ‘Dave,’ Mel glanced over her shoulder to the lounge room, then down the passage to Alice’s room, ‘you’re scaring me.’

  He wanted to shake her for being so stupid—for admitting who she was to a stranger who approached her out of the blue when she had their baby with her. This turn of events frightened him, which in turn made him angry. It wasn’t as if Mel didn’t know who Bulldust was, that he was out there somewhere holding a grudge against Dave. In fact, it had been Bulldust’s threat to kill Dave, and Mel’s reaction to it, that had started their recent spate of marital problems. Actually, if he was honest with himself, all of their problems had stemmed from being undercover.

  ‘How tall, Mel? Measure him against me.’

  She put her hand over his head.

  ‘Hair?’

  ‘I don’t think he had any. No, I remember glancing at the overhead light reflecting off his head.’

  ‘Other facial features?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘No beard?’

  ‘No.’ She sounded more certain. ‘I remember thinking he needed a shave.’

  ‘Just stubble, then?’

  She nodded, running her hands up and down her upper arms. Dave knew the gesture. She was trying to comfort herself. He should go to her. Put his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

  He couldn’t. It was more important that he remain the professional detective so he could protect them all.

  ‘Any tatts that you saw? An accent?’

  ‘He was wearing long sleeves. Yeah, long sleeves. A blue cotton shirt. Like a work shirt.’

  ‘For a suit?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, more like what you wear for the stock squad. Like farmers wear.’ She paused. ‘Dave?’ She looked at him questioningly. ‘He wouldn’t be …’

  Dave spoke calmly. ‘He could be. Now, listen to what I say very carefully. I need you to pack a bag for you and the girls. I have to get you all somewhere safe.’

  Mel took a step towards him, then backed away as if Dave were the problem. ‘I’m scared.’

  He grabbed her in a bear hug, not letting her pull away from him. ‘I understand that, and I don’t like this much either. But we have to take precautions in case this man is Bulldust.’ He took a breath. ‘You need to take the girls and go somewhere safe.’

  ‘But I’ve got you.’ Mel’s voice was muffled against his chest.

  He sighed. ‘That won’t be enough. It’s me he’s after. And he won’t stop.’

  Fighting the anger rising inside him, Dave drove carefully, his eyes skipping between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror. He’d had enough dealings with Bulldust over the past two years to know that if he was the one who had approached Mel, he wouldn’t have stopped at the supermarket—he would have followed her home. The man was intent on revenge. Dave had gone undercover to gain Bulldust’s trust. He’d befriended him, then betrayed that trust, the trust that was between friends. Everything had been taken from Bulldust—his daughter, his business, his freedom—and Dave had seen firsthand what Bulldust did to people who double-crossed him.

  Usually they ended up dead.

  From Mel’s description of the man it could have been Bulldust. The last time Dave had seen him, he’d had a long beard, but that could have easily been shaved off. It was the voice that interested Dave. Quiet. Slowly spoken.

  A drawl. A Queenslander.

  A little voice popped up in his mind; Spencer, his mate and old partner from his days stationed at Barrabine, had always told him never to assume. Could be someone from the north of Western Australia. Or the Northern Territory.

  Dave glanced over at Mel’s pale face, then back to the mirror. He didn’t believe in coincidences.

  Giving evidence against hardened criminals who had no respect for human life was part of the job, one of the perils of working undercover. What wasn’t routine was the error made in court when the judge divulged Dave’s home city. He wouldn’t put it past Bulldust to do everything in his power to track Dave down as soon as he’d heard that he lived in Perth.

  ‘Daddy, where are we going?’ Bec piped up from the back seat.

  ‘To visit your grandparents,’ Dave said. ‘Maybe have a sleepover. Won’t that be fun?’ He glanced in the rear-view mirror, but so far there was no sign of a tail.

  ‘But it’s daytime.’

  ‘I know, but you might stay for a few hours, princess.’

  Mel shot him a look of fury. Since they’d piled into the car she’d been silent, and the familiar distance and white-hot anger she’d been carrying around for months had resurfaced.

  The very same emotions they had started to overcome last night.

  Fuck it, Dave thought angrily. I’m going to get you, Bulldust, and make you pay for the grief you’ve caused my family. If Mel and the kids weren’t in the car he would have hit the steering wheel, but instead he looked around, always watching his surroundings, and willed himself to stay calm.

  ‘This isn’t the way to Granny’s house,’ Bec said looking out the window. ‘We usually go past the playground.’

  ‘I’m taking the long way,’ Dave improvised. ‘Just for something different.’ He wasn’t about to admit he was looking for a tail, although he thought Mel probably had already realised this.

  Mel shook her head and stared out the window.

  A few more turns and back streets and Dave was sure they weren’t being followed. Breathing easier, he started towards his father-in-law’s house, already thinking about the frosty reception he would receive from Mark.

  ‘Mel?’ Dave spoke in a low voice. ‘When we get there, I want you to go straight inside, okay? I’ll bring the girls. Don’t stop and talk in the doorway, just get inside, okay?’

  Glancing over at her, he saw anger had well and truly replaced fear.

  ‘What have you done to us?’ she hissed.

  Not having an answer, Dave was relieved to turn into the driveway. ‘Okay,’ he said, as the car came to a halt. ‘Off you go. Be quick.’

  He watched as Mel ran up the steps and banged on her parents’ front door. Mark opened it, staring at her as she caught his arm and dragged him inside.

  ‘Bec, can you undo your seatbelt and climb over the front seat to me, sweetie?’

  ‘You don’t like it when I do that. You get mad.’ Bec crossed her arms and frowned at him.

  Biting down agitation, Dave said, ‘I know, princess, but I need you to do it for me today, okay? Come on.’

  As if sensing the urgency, Bec unclipped her belt and clambered into the front.
/>
  ‘Good girl.’ He gave her a kiss. ‘Now, wait here for me. No moving.’ He slid out the driver’s door and felt for the gun at his waist as he looked around. The curtain moved inside the house and he saw Mark’s face staring out.

  Dave quickly unbuckled Alice and lifted her out of her capsule, then opened the front passenger door to help Bec from the car. He grabbed the car keys and Bec’s hand, and ran with her up the steps.

  Inside, he shut the door, locked it and breathed a sigh of relief. Bec let go of his hand as Mark’s loud voice shattered the uneasy silence.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’

  ‘Hello, Granddad,’ Bec said, running towards him with her arms outstretched. ‘We’re coming for a sleepover!’

  Mark smiled and held out his arms towards Bec for a hug, just as Ellen appeared and offered to take Alice. ‘Hello, Dave,’ she said quietly. ‘I’ll take the littlies and leave you to talk to Mark.’

  Dave smiled gratefully and handed Alice to her. Waiting until the passage was clear, he said, ‘Can we go into your office to talk?’

  ‘A different room isn’t going to make any difference to what I have to say to you.’

  ‘But it might to your safety,’ Dave snapped back. He felt momentarily appeased when he saw Mark stop for a moment and glance at the front door, before storming off to the back of the house.

  ‘Now, what’s all this about?’ Mark said as he sat behind the large wooden desk, putting distance between them. He poured himself a brandy but didn’t offer one to Dave.

  Giving the short version of the story, Dave finished with: ‘But on questioning Mel, I believe him to be the suspect we know as Bulldust.’

  ‘On questioning Mel? Do you realise you’re talking about your wife?’

  Dave stopped. Falling into police-speak wasn’t the best idea when he was talking about his family. ‘Of course I do. I’m relaying what’s happened. Now I’m going to see Bob Holden at the stock squad and make sure you’re all safe tonight. I have to get an investigation underway.’

  Mark glared at his son-in-law. ‘So, you’ve finally done it,’ he spat, rising from his chair. ‘Brought this filth—this, this precious work that you ignore your wife for—into my house, undermining the safety of my family.’