Red Dust Page 24

  'G'day,' the policeman said amiably, flashing his credentials at the man. 'Late night, huh?'

  'Somethin' like that,' the driver replied.

  'Where ya off to?'

  'Wakefield,' he said, naming a town on the outskirts of Adelaide.

  'Oh yeah? Well we're just doing a routine check of paperwork, mate. Can we take a look?'

  The man climbed up the steps and got a folder out. He handed it to the policeman, who opened it and checked through the weigh bill. 'Got anyone travelling with you?'

  'Ah . . .' The man looked back at the truck. 'Yeah, a mate.'

  'Good thing.' The copper nodded. 'Helps you stay awake on these midnight shifts, hey?'

  'Yeah.' The man scratched his head uncomfortably.

  'No worries. Only thing I noticed wrong was the date. You need to put today's date on there; you've used yesterday's. But there's no other problems. Sorry about having to pull you over. Keep getting emails from the stock squad asking us to check a couple of trucks a week. Reckon those blokes haven't got anything better to do than make work for us lowly uniforms! Cheers, mate, catch you later.'

  Looking relieved, the driver grabbed his paperwork, mumbled goodbye and was back in the truck as quick as a flash.

  Jack looked over at the driver. 'All right?' he asked.

  'Yeah,' the other man said harshly. 'Stuffed if I'm doing this again. Bloody cattle truck on the road at this time of night heading towards Adelaide. Bound to get picked up. It's too bloody obvious.'

  'Hey,' said Jack, 'don't panic. It's the last shipment from around here. We're all disappearing after tonight.'

  The two men watched as the cops drove past them. There was silence in the cab until another cop car raced by with lights flashing.

  'Busy night,' commented Jack.

  'Hope that's all it is,' said the driver sourly.

  A few more kilometres along they passed another cop car sitting by the side of the road. As Jack looked down, he could see the illuminated face of a police-man talking on his mobile phone. 'Good to know the cops follow their own rules,' Jack said. 'Bloody stupid idiots. There's cops everywhere tonight and we're just sailing through with a truckload of stolen cattle. Wankers.' Jack stared into the darkness. It was definitely time to leave South Australia.

  As they continued down the highway the occasional car passed them but the road was mainly deserted by the time the driver turned the truck onto a dirt road leading to the holding paddocks behind the BJN Abattoir. It wasn't the main entry; all the stock trucks that were carrying killable stock went through the front gate and unloaded in the main stockyards. This was the track that the truck followed when they had stock on board for keeping. Jack jumped out to help unload and the driver could see Brad standing at the loading ramp, ready to direct him. Throwing the truck into reverse, he backed it in slowly. Brad took out the pin that held the back door of the crate shut and slid the door open.

  The startled Hayelle Stud cows with their calves needed some encouragement to leave the truck. Brad climbed onto the top of the crate while the driver moved inside it trying to encourage the cattle down the ramp and into the cattle yards.

  Jack swore. 'C'mon, you bastards, we haven't got time for this.' He climbed up onto the crate as well.

  'Let's go, go, go!' Dave yelled into his mouthpiece. Four cars flew around the corner with spotlights blazing.

  'Police! Put your hands where we can see them,' Craig shouted through a loudspeaker. Suddenly there were men rushing everywhere. Police wearing bulletproof jackets, wielding handguns and yelling. The cattle started to bellow loudly as they smelled the fear of the three men in the truck.

  One officer braved moving inside the crate to grab the cowering driver and quickly cuffed him.

  Another two coppers were trying to control Jack. He was doing his best to fight back, throwing punches and yelling, 'I'm not goin' back inside, ya bastards.'

  Dave couldn't find Brad.

  'Shit,' he swore. 'He's not gonna get away.' Searching the inside of the crate with a torch, he finally found Brad hiding behind one of the big iron doors that kept the cattle in pens. Dave saw him and stopped. 'Gonna come with me, mate?'

  'Get stuffed,' Brad replied, looking around desperately.

  'Good thing these cattle are quiet. Get some of those friendly buggers from up north and ya wouldn't be hiding inside there. They'd all want to eat ya for breakfast.' Slowly he advanced closer to where Brad stood. 'You want to tell me why you've got it in for Gemma Sinclair?'

  'Get stuffed,' Brad said again, edging away from Dave and towards the dead end of the crate.

  'No worries. We'll ask you again when we get down to the station.' Dave had his handcuffs out, ready. He was sure that Brad was going to make a run for it through the cattle. Dave could tell he had no idea about stock and in fact he was frightened of these gentle beasts, so he knew that Brad wasn't going to get away. He could hear all the shouts from the ground and knew the two other blokes had been apprehended.

  Suddenly, Brad let out a massive scream. 'You ol' bitch, get off me foot, ya fat bloody cow.' He crumpled in a heap on the floor as the cow tagged as Y38 chewed her cud and stood on Brad's foot. Dave laughed at the man who was covered in sloppy cow shit, writhing in agony on the floor.

  'I'd stand up if I was you, buddy. You won't be coming in the bloody front of the cop car looking like that. We'll need to hose you down and even then you'll still bloody stink. C'mon, stand up, ya mug. You'll get kicked in the bloody head otherwise. Hey, Jonno, open the side loading gate, will ya? We'll get this bloody idiot through there so we don't have to get in with the cattle.' Dave waited until Jonno was near the gate and climbed down to haul out Brad. Two sets of strong hands grabbed at him and hauled him through another heap of fresh manure, smearing it over the front of his shirt and face. Dave cuffed him and said 'C'mon, let's get you over to the yards and hosed down. Jonno, he can travel in the back of the paddy wagon, stuff having him in the front. Cor, he bloody reeks.'

  Jonno grabbed a sorry-looking Brad and said, 'C'mon, let's go.'

  With all three men in cuffs and in separate cars, Craig and Dave headed back to the Port Pirie police station to charge them. Craig made a quick phone call to Jess.

  'It's all done. We've got Brad, Jack and the cattle.'

  'My hero,' Jess gushed. 'Now about that drink . . .'

  Craig laughed. 'I think I might be tied up for the next couple of days, but darlin', after that, you're on!'

  Chapter 31

  Jess packed her bags early Sunday lunchtime so as to give Gemma and Ben some time alone.

  Ben had spent the weekend at Billbinya. Once Friday night was over and Brad and Jack were behind bars, Ben had seen a new side of Gemma. She was like a different person. She laughed, she sang – terribly, Ben had to admit – and the tension left her face. She radiated life and fun. When Ben had commented on it, she'd smiled at him and said, 'There's no one left to hurt me. It's all done.' He'd hugged her to him.

  Ben and Gemma waved goodbye to Jess then shared one last cup of coffee and a kiss before Ben climbed into his car and headed back to Pirie. Ned's heart attack had left him a huge workload and it would start in earnest on Monday.

  The phone was ringing as Gemma went back inside. Snatching it up, expecting it to be Ben even though he'd just left, she was surprised to hear Paige's voice.

  'Hi, Gemma, it's Paige. How are you?'

  Gemma settled back in her lounge chair, ready for a chat. 'I'm great, Paige, how are you?'

  'Great. How's your arm?'

  'Yeah, pretty good. Got most of the movement back in it now, and all the swelling from the bruising and stuff has gone down, so I'm almost back to normal.'

  'Excellent, how did shearing end up?'

  'Really well. The second week just confirmed my thoughts about the first. Good quality wool, and lots of it, equals profit ability!'

  'That's really good to hear, Gemma. I'm pleased things are working out for you. Hey, I have tomorrow off, and I
thought that since you don't come to town much, how about I come out for the day?'

  'That would be great, Paige,' Gemma said sincerely. 'We can have a proper catch-up.'

  'Okay, I'll be out in the morning then. Can I bring anything?'

  'Just yourself. It'll be good to see you. Bye.' Gemma hung up the phone. Smiling, she hugged herself. Between Friday night's events and Ben's warm kisses, Gemma felt the happiest and most relaxed she'd been in ages. Roll on life!

  Gemma was helping Garry tidy up the shed and change the oil in the neglected utes when Paige arrived. She got out of her tiny vehicle and gingerly stepped over the dusty ground to the shed. Gemma came out to meet her, wiping her oily hands on a piece of rag.

  'Paige, hi! Sorry, I'm a bit of a mess – just helping Garry. But look at you. You look great!'

  Paige was wearing pale blue three-quarter pants and a white linen top. A red silk sash was tied around her waist.

  'Thanks – you look better than when I saw you last!' Paige joked.

  'Absolutely. Life is brilliant. Come on, I'll make some coffee.'

  The girls went into the house talking nineteen to the dozen. Old times, recent times, life since school. Gemma was surprised at how much there was to talk about with Paige. She really must convince Jess that they all needed to catch up for a meal.

  'So tell me more about Ben,' Paige said as the afternoon drew to a close. 'He sounds too good to be true.'

  'He's the right medicine for me at the moment! He's so gentle, loving. Really considerate. Just an allround good guy. And he can talk cattle and farming, which is really important to me. I've found it hard since Adam died not having anyone to discuss things with. Especially things I'm passionate about. I love farming, I love cattle. It's just fun!' Gemma watched as Paige got up to look at all the photos that Gemma had around her walls.

  'Do you miss Adam?' she asked.

  'Yeah. Not as much as I did, and I've found out some really terrible things about him since he died, but it's never diminished my love for him.'

  Paige turned around to face Gemma. 'Tell me how you felt when Tim died,' she said.

  Gemma raised her eyebrows at the change of subject and crinkled her forehead in thought. 'Yeah, that was nasty, wasn't it? I dunno. It was only my second brush with death, I guess. Claire dying was the first time I'd lost anyone really close and I think her death affected me more than Tim's. I mean Tim was in our group and everything, but he was just a guy, you know what I mean? I was with Adam; Tim was just . . . just . . . I don't know – there I guess. But the whole thing was crap.'

  'Did you hate me?' Paige asked quietly.

  'No! Well, maybe a little. But only for a while. I guess the whole thing was such a shock and none of us knew that you were involved with Tim. You guys did a really good job of keeping that quiet. Did you really think Tim was going to leave Claire for you? Was that seriously what was going to happen?' Gemma smiled to soften her words.

  Paige flopped onto the couch and looked at her hands sadly. 'Yeah, I thought it was. As time's gone on though, I've always wondered. Tim had made quite a few decisions before that dinner and I'm not sure I was involved in them. That's why I threw the photo on the table in front of Claire, think I got pissed off at that and wanted to hurt him.' Paige picked at her fingernails.

  'Had he broken up with you?' Gemma asked quietly.

  Paige picked at her nails a bit more and then looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. 'Yeah. The morning of the party.'

  'Oh, Paige. The whole situation was dreadful, but as Ben said to me the other day, you need to put it behind you to be able to get on with life. Forgiveness is the only way to be able to live in peace. You need to be able to forgive yourself for what happened.'

  Paige looked at Gemma quizzically. 'Why do I have to forgive myself?' she asked. 'I didn't do anything wrong.'

  Gemma was momentarily taken aback. 'Oh, but I thought . . .' Her voice trailed off.

  Paige stood up and walked across to look at Gemma and Adam's wedding photo on the wall. She traced Adam's face gently and turned to look at Gemma. Her eyes glittered and, for the first time, Gemma felt slightly unnerved.

  'I knew Adam quite well, actually – just in recent times,' Paige said conversationally. She looked at Gemma brightly and a cold feeling settled at the base of Gemma's stomach.

  'Did you? Adam didn't say he'd run into you again,' Gemma answered lightly.

  'Mmm. I'm not surprised that Adam didn't tell you. Meeting me, he would have wanted to keep a secret.' Paige walked over and stood before Gemma, towering over her. 'Met him again through Brad, in fact. They were pretty good mates.' Gemma couldn't hide her surprise as Paige continued on. 'Brad's a bit of a honey too. Bet you didn't know we're married?'

  'Can't say I did,' Gemma answered as calmly as she could. Inside she was quaking. Could she shout loud enough for Bulla and Garry to hear?

  'And you,' Paige spat at her. 'You've lived a charmed life. Unlike me. You and your friends have taken away every man I have ever loved. Like Tim. I had to fight Claire all the time for Tim's attention and he finally gave it to me. For six months it was bliss. He was kind and wonderful. Even though he was still with her, he kept telling me he just needed time to work out how he was going to break it off with her. Then on the morning of the dinner he decides he doesn't want me anymore. Cast aside like an old shoe. "My future really does lie with Claire. Sorry, Paige," he said. Like he thought I was going to take that lying down. No way, buddy. I proved that, didn't I? And then you, Gemma, you. You drove me out of town by spreading terrible lies about me . . .'

  'I did not,' Gemma interrupted, bewildered by the attack. She'd never done anything like that!

  'Oh, but you did, Gemma.'

  Gemma stared at her in surprise. 'Paige, I did no such thing. You must be mistaking me for someone else. The only thing I ever did was yell at you and if you remember, I rang the day after to apologise. I was wrong and I knew that. I was still smarting from Claire's death.'

  'And then there was Adam,' Paige continued in a shrill voice. 'I wasn't really in love with him, he still always went back to you. Just like Tim, he always went to another woman. Now you've managed to get Brad taken away from me – but you know what? Even that's not the worst thing you did. You took my father's love!'

  'Paige, you always said you didn't know who your father was. How could I take his love away?' Gemma asked.

  'When I was eighteen I managed to find the records I needed – and I found out who my dad was. And you know what, Gemma? When I approached him, he shunned me completely. I was the "repercussion of a few nights when he lost his mind", he told me. Once again, cast aside. But I saw my father coming here a lot. I saw the way he looked out for you, encouraged you. Treated you with respect. Especially after Adam died, he did everything he could to support you and nothing to support me.' Paige's face was etched with bitterness. 'Brad was already involved in stock stealing so I convinced him to help me target you. Put the stolen stock here, make everything point to you.'

  Gemma's mind screamed with horror. Paige was obviously crazy. What if she intended to hurt her? Scared and desperate to run, Gemma didn't want to upset Paige by moving too suddenly.

  Paige continued. 'Want to know who my dad is, Gemma? My dad is Ned Jones.'

  Gemma gasped. 'I never knew, Paige, I'm so sorry . . .'

  Paige turned and walked back over to the photos. 'See, Gemma? See the pattern? Any man I ever loved, or I wanted to love me, you took. That's why you need to be punished.' She took out a needle and syringe from her pocket. 'I have access to all these wonderful drugs – some of which don't even show up in autopsies.' She advanced towards Gemma as a shadow passed across the kitchen window. Puzzled, Paige looked carefully around and moved towards the kitchen. Then, changing her mind, she came back to Gemma.

  Gemma knew if she could distract Paige, she could make it to the bathroom and lock the door – but how to distract her? Her eyes fell on the coffee table book next to her hand and her
fingers inched towards it slowly.

  'Stock stealing, Paige. Why? There was no evidence of you in there at all. Jess and I tracked Brad and Jack, but you didn't come into it. How did you manage not to get a mention?' Gemma's fingers closed on the book.

  Paige's eyes swung back to Gemma, after convincing herself the shadow must have been the sun going behind a cloud.

  'BJN, Gemma. Guess what it stands for?'

  'Brad and Jack, we worked that bit out, but

  please don't tell me the N is for Ned. Ned wasn't bad, misguided maybe, but not bad.' Gemma's eyes pleaded with Paige.

  'Ned? Stupid man. Wouldn't know a good idea if it hit him in the face. No, not your precious Ned, Gemma. Nicholls. Paige Nicholls. I'm a silent partner in the abattoirs.'