Georgie’s heart squeezed. Only a few weeks ago, they would have pored over the journal together. Now he had someone better to share it with. Ed hadn’t even asked her permission to take it.
She rubbed her eyes. Stupid to be upset. She was happy Ed had found someone to love. If only it didn’t make her feel so alone.
She spread out the cloth to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, and then double-checked the tin. Upstairs, she heard Ed’s and Tess’s excited voices.
No use moping down here. She gathered up the brown journal with the tin and cloth and carried them upstairs.
***
Matt Roe placed the last of his fencing tools in the back of the ute and lifted his Akubra to wipe the sweat from his brow. The sting from the sun was harsh this afternoon. He grabbed a bottle of water from his esky and radioed Darcy. “All done here.”
“See you back at the house.”
Matt hesitated, taking a swig of water. “I might visit my folks first.”
“Roger that. Say hi to them for me.”
Matt cradled the radio and stared off to the red ranges of the Cape Range National Park in the distance. He’d promised Darcy he wouldn’t go off alone to explore the tracks they’d found, but what he hadn’t told his best friend was some of those tracks led toward places that were sacred to his people, the Bayungu.
Though he knew the words to appease his ancestors and to allow Darcy to come with him, the discomfort still sat on his shoulders. Darcy wouldn’t judge him for following his traditions, but Matt always felt weird discussing anything spiritual. He’d heard the dismissive tones of people discussing indigenous ‘superstitions’ before, and he hated the judgement, hated being torn between the two worlds.
Easier to avoid the topic and go by himself.
He climbed into the old ute, twisting the key a half turn back before turning it the correct way to start the car. After double-pumping the clutch, he put the ute into gear, and slowly headed towards the ranges. He could ask his father to come along, but the tracks had been made by someone at Stonefish, and he didn’t want to put his father in danger.
As Senior Constable at the Retribution Bay police station, his sister, Nhiari would be pissed off at him for going alone. Though in his defence, she hadn’t explicitly told him he couldn’t explore the tracks when Matt had first told her about them. Back then, he and Darcy had found nothing out of the ordinary, but Matt wanted to take a closer look to ensure Stonefish wasn’t desecrating sacred land.
The ute bumped over the rough red dirt. Matt kept his speed low and an eye on the temperature because the old beast had to be babied. They didn’t have the funds to buy a new one and though Brandon had brought a new ute when he’d returned to the Ridge, Matt was the only one who could get this old thing to run reliably.
The sun low in the sky made it hard to see more than a few metres ahead and he slapped down the sun visor, squinting against the glare.
He was wasting his time. There wouldn’t be anything out here. He could be at the homestead having a cold beer rather than roasting in the ute.
Matt flicked on the air-conditioning and the engine groaned. Damn it. He switched it off and wound down the window instead. The warm breeze helped a little.
It took almost an hour to reach the ranges, and he slowed, scanning the ground for the tyre tracks. There.
He followed them and reached the base of the ranges where he turned off the engine and sat for a moment, listening.
A few bird calls, and in the distance the hush of the ocean, but it was mostly silent. The slam of the car door echoed as he got out.
He greeted his ancestors and moved towards the caves in the rock face. To his left he heard a faint thump like something hitting plastic. Not normal.
Frowning, he moved into the bush, walking carefully, scanning the area for more footprints. Only a few metres in, he discovered a plastic container buried in the ground, about the diameter of an old dustbin lid and a foot deep. Inside was a thorny devil lizard trying to clamber up the smooth sides.
Had to be a smuggler’s trap.
Matt scowled. So that’s what the bastards were doing out this way. Always stealing from the land. He lifted the trapped thorny devil from the hole and placed it on the hard dirt. The animal lumbered off into the bush as Matt checked his phone for reception. Nothing. He’d have to wait before he called the police. This was men’s land, and Nhiari wouldn’t be pleased when he insisted they send Constable Colin Lipscombe to investigate.
Matt explored the surrounding area and found another four traps, so took photos of each one. He wasn’t on Ridge land anymore, so there was no need to involve Darcy. This was Bayungu land.
He drove to his parents’ place, a collection of house and buildings not too far away. His mother came to the door before he’d got out.
“Matt! What are you doing here?”
“I was in the area,Bibi.” He hugged his mother and followed her inside. His father sat at the kitchen table peeling potatoes. “Hi,Babu.”
“Good to see you.”
