Romy was now actively using her skills as part of the investigation, instead of standing in the corner of the hatchery office like some dusty ornament that Stone had forgotten about.
Now she was in the thick of things, as her thumbs moved the controls, steering the drone to hover right above them.
‘The picture quality is amazing.’Amara pointed at them on the screen.
‘Now can you see the different hat styles, Duchess?’Stone playfully tapped Amara’s hat brim, earning him the dramatic eye roll of an annoyed sister.
‘Go that way.’Craig pointed to the edge of the drone’s screen.‘Head for the southern fence line.It looks freshly used.’
‘Lenora, do you guys use the back gate often?’Stone asked.
She shrugged.‘You’ll have to ask the security guys who man the perimeter.’
‘I will.Get in children, Daddy Stone is driving.Romy, can you steer that while I drive?’
‘Of course.’She wasn’t stopping, not now she had permission.
‘Lenora, can you radio Doug to meet us there?’Stone asked.
‘Who’s Doug?’Amara tossed her heavy-looking backpack into the ute’s back tray.
‘Security guard.He waved us in when Romy and I first arrived.’Stone opened the passenger door for Romy, his hand gently on her shoulder to guide her into her seat.‘You can take the front seat so we can all read over your shoulders.’
Now it was Romy’s turn to roll her eyes.She might not like it, but if she were in their position she’d do the same.Besides, she wasn’t going to tell Stone she was used to it when directors searched for that perfect shot.
Leaving Lenora at the hatchery, Stone followed the map and cruised along the dirt road.Romy took the drone high, giving them the best bird’s-eye view of the place.She could see the road patterns and the entire layout of their operation.It was huge.
‘Look at all those ponds.’Amara hovered over Romy’s left shoulder.Her perfume sweet and subtle like a grandmother’s vintage handmade soap.
‘They’ve got some enormous swamp puppies basking in those waterholes.’Craig peered over Romy’s other shoulder.‘How many snapping handbags have they got here, Stone?
‘When the breeding season spawns a batch of new hatchlings, they average around 1500 crocodiles.Off-season, they’ll have 200 adults, and over 500 juveniles.’
‘That’s a lot of cold stock.’
‘Why the term cold stock, considering they live in such a tropical environment?’Romy had heard those words used a few times today.They didn’t fit, when the heat was like summer.Not that she was complaining, summer was always a good time for her, where she could almost taste the nostalgia on the humid air, of iced teas, beach blankets and suntan lotion.
‘It’s a term for cold-blooded creatures like crocodiles and other reptiles.I believe zoos use the same term.Or we just made it up.’Stone smirked at her as if he had a secret he was dying to share.He was such a tease.
He drove them along the fence line, that had a long dirt mound running along their left.On the right stood a high mesh fence with barbed wire rolling across the top.It gave the illusion of driving along the outer perimeter of a dam wall, that cleverly hid a series of large ponds, where countless crocodiles lazed in the sun, swam, or slept along the banks.Some of them had to be bigger than Stone’s ute.‘I’ve never seen so many crocodiles.’
‘Me neither,’ said Amara, still watching over Romy’s shoulder.‘Have you, Craig?’
‘I’ve been to a few croc farms in my time… Stop, Stone.’
‘What do you see?’Stone cranked on the handbrake.
‘Tracks.’Craig’s shadow stretched over the dirt track, highlighting his hip-swaying rugged walk of a real-deal cowboy.He motioned to Stone to follow him down the track with head down, his cowboy hat shading his eyes.
Romy steered the drone around to capture Craig in action.He was a thirst trap for someone, just not her type.Not when she had Stone sitting next to her—who’d leaned in as if to share a secret, and not to just peek at her screen.Every time he did that, she’d try to hold her breath to stop inhaling the divine musky earthy aroma that was unique to Stone.‘What is Craig doing?’
‘Tracking.That cowboy can tell you what tyre tread fits what type of vehicle.’
‘I get Craig learned to track animals from hunting out here,’ said Amara right behind the drone operator.Romy had momentarily forgotten Amara was there.‘But tyre tracks?’
‘Craig told me when he worked in the city’s export yards, he’d get so bored, being made to clock on Monday to Friday, even when they had no cattle in their yards.So, he’d walk around the car park to escape the paperwork, and it ended up becoming a game to try and track what vehicle was what.Admit it, Duchess, it’s a skill that works well for us.’
Amara pointed to the top of the drone’s screen that caught some movement ahead.‘There’s an ATV coming?’
