‘Who?’
‘Like me.They knew everything about me.’Bastion pressed a hand to his chest, the anguish thick in his voice.‘They approached me because they knew I had a student debt and was barely making ends meet.They approached Dane, too.Who knows how many others they’ve pulled into their operation?And it all started with a tap on the shoulder in the pub.’
Just like Finn tapped Stone’s shoulder in the pub to join the Stock Squad.
Bastion stepped backward towards the water’s edge.
‘Get back here.’
‘No.I deserve this—for what I did to those poor creatures I admired.I was training to be a vet who specialised in crocodile care, that’s how much I loved them, and I still let it happen.I’m doing this my way!’Bastion’s face twisted with torment, his shoes sinking into the soft riverbed as water lapped around his knees.‘I deserve this.’He took a step back and opened his arms wide.
In the blink of an eye, a massive crocodile exploded from the murky river, lunging at Bastion.
‘NO!’Stone ran for the riverbank as Bastion’s horrific screams pierced the air.
Romy dropped everything.The shattering crunch of the shell from her drone’s controls was loud.It didn’t matter to her, she had to get involved.
She jumped over the side railing and sprinted down the muddy riverbank.
‘No.Don’t go.’She gripped on to Stone’s hand.‘You can’t save him.I don’t want you to go.’Through her tears, she used all her strength to drag Stone back from trying to save Bastion.
She had to keep Stone safe, and away from that sickening bone-crunching sound as the large crocodile’s death roll churned the water white.‘Don’t leave me, Stone.Please.’
‘It’s okay, Romy, I’m right here.I’m okay.’He held her to his hammering chest, shielding her from the horror.‘We’re okay.’
But then it got so much worse when the river soon became eerily silent and flowed the colour red…
Thirty-four
‘I demand to see my daughter!She needs to be dealt with by ME!’Malcolm Rowntree hammered his enormous fist on the front counter of the Elsie Creek Police Station.‘Where is the little thief?’
‘Easy, Malcolm.’Policeman Porter held up his hands on the other side of the reception area.‘I can’t help you unless you calm down.’
‘He’s right, Mal.’Celeste tried her best to calm the raging bull.‘We aren’t helping Lenora by being mad at the police.They’re just doing their job.’
Jed nodded alongside his mother.‘Come on, Dad, they recovered our stock, and that’s good news.Isn’t that right, Stone?’
Stone was coming down the corridor in search of another cup of coffee, as his excuse to escape the paperwork happening in the Stock Squad’s office.Filling out reports about what happened, collating all the evidence from the unfortunate series of events, was an endless task.
Made worse when he had to relive Bastion’s final moments as he wrote out his statement, to then front Finn for a proper police interview like he’d done the wrong thing.
ProtocolAmara had told him, while telling him to keep his responses brief—andat no time be a smart-arse.
It had Craig worried enough to want to call in his wife Izzy, the lawyer, to help defend Stone.
But thanks to Romy’s drone footage that had captured the entire scene—even after she dropped the controller.The drone had stayed airborne, recording everything from above.He hadn’t heard it hit the ground, but he’d seen her running—not to save her gear, but to save him.And that was a big move for someone who chose not to get involved while filming.
Yet what she’d captured on film… changed everything.Effectively clearing him of any wrongdoing of poor Bastion’s death—but it also showed the clear fear Romy had for Stone.She cared for him, deeply.
It still didn’t make him feel any better.
But there was one sliver of hope out of all this…
‘We’ve recovered all your missing stock.Even the ones that Bastion had with him when he drove off the bridge.’Of course, Stone had to save the livestock, diving back into the water to hitch a cable to the back of Bastion’s van to get it back onto dry land.
Even though Romy was against it, and Finn was hesitant, it was Craig who gave him the winch cable, connected to the Stock Squad’s vehicle.To save those baby crocodiles, Stone had to do it.He needed something good to come out of this crappy day.
That’s when Finn dragged out his big bag of tricks, pulling out a handful of stun grenades, and wasn’t afraid to use them.It effectively cleared out all the crocodiles in that part of the river, allowing them to drag the van and its precious cargo free.
