‘That’ll be Doug.’Stone stopped the ute, and they all climbed out to meet the buggy.The dust from the vehicles washed over the double-mesh gate like red smoke, softly settling on the surrounding silver-leafed shrubbery edging the native scrublands.
‘If it isn’t Cowboy Craig.’Doug, the security guard, squeezed out from behind the wheel of the ATV, hoisting his trousers higher.
‘Doug.How’s Tommy?’Craig shook hands with Doug like old friends.
‘Good.My boy is graduating high school this year.’
‘Struth, I remember him in the stockyards when he was this big.’Craig held his hand up to his hip.
‘Do you know the security guard, too?’Romy quietly asked Amara, standing back by the ute’s bonnet as the three men chatted.
‘No.I just transferred out here six months ago.It’s good that Craig and Stone know the locals.At first, it irritated me how casual those two yahoos were on the job.But it works.The gossip they pick up gives us stacks of clues, taking their chitchat to a whole new level that opens a lot of doors for us.Finn is a smart operator.’Amara sighed with admiration.
‘I had no idea.’Romy hadn’t grasped how complex the farm really was—not until she sent the drone higher and saw the full sprawl of Saltscale from the sky.Below, Amara listened to the men talk.
‘Listen, mate…’ Craig pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat.‘We’re looking for a trade van of sorts, that stopped at this gate.There were two men…’ Craig pointed to an assortment of scuffed tracks in the soft red soil.‘Guessing by how the tracks have dried out and the low breeze we’ve had today, I’d say they came through here at around 1am.’
‘Bugger me, that’s when the night guards take their smoko break.’Doug shook his head as everyone looked at their watches.
Even Romy noted the time.Just after two, putting them 13 hours behind the bad guys.
‘Can you open the gate so we can see where they went, Doug?’Stone asked.
‘No worries.’The security guard went through a thick set of keys he carried on a long chain, trussed to his belt.
‘Use this gate often?’
‘Never.’It took Doug a while to find the right key, approaching the chunky padlock holding the double gate together.
‘Wait!’ Amara raced over with her heavy backpack.‘I need to do fingerprints on that lock.I’ll also need to fingerprint all the staff for a comparison.’
‘Knew there was a reason we brought you.’Stone stepped back, giving Amara room.
Amara dumped her backpack on the ground, unleashing a cloud of red dust to rise around it.She unzipped it to reveal all sorts of tools they’d need for outback investigations, including a fingerprint kit, disposable gloves, plastic evidence bags, some fancy multi-tool, and a first-aid kit, plus a whole lot of other paraphernalia that Romy didn’t recognise.
Sliding on her gloves, Amara quickly got to work dusting over the lock.‘Craig, can you take photos with my phone, please?’Amara handed it to Craig.‘It should have the date and time stamp setting turned on already.’
Romy licked her lips, eager to help as a videographer.
Stone shook his head at her.‘You just keep being the eye in the sky, shortcake.’
‘Yes, boss.’Romy grinned, as her thumbs danced deftly over the control panel, adjusting the drone’s altitude and camera angle as she framed the perfect shot.
‘Don’t say that.’Amara scoffed as she dusted the padlock with powder.‘Next he’ll be wanting you call him King Stone from here on out.’
‘Would that mean I’d outrank a duchess with that kind of title?’
‘At least you’ve stopped calling yourself the white knight.’
Stone’s light chuckle filled the air, making Romy smile at the sibling-like banter he had with Amara.But then he slid on that sexy seriousness, as he glanced at the security guard.‘You’ve been here a while now, haven’t you, Doug?’
‘Ten years.Nearly as long as you’ve been stirring up trouble around here.’
‘What do you think happened?’
‘It’s got me beat.’Doug readjusted his hat that made up part of his security guard’s uniform.‘The team who worked last night’s shift are a good team.They didn’t see anything suspicious, and no one noticed the crocs were gone until the Rowntree’s raised the alarm.’
‘Who told you first?’
