“She’s a far better reader than I am,” Matt said.
Faith poured the drinks and Georgie said, “Let’s talk about why we’re here.” She squeezed Matt’s hand. “Penelope needs to know about Stonefish.”
Sam didn’t seem surprised by the name.
“She caught some poachers on the reef yesterday and they held a gun on her,” Georgie continued. “Could be another one of Stonefish’s operations.”
“Where should we start?” Darcy asked.
“Stonefish Enterprises tried to buy Retribution Ridge,” Brandon said, his voice flat. “When Dad refused, they arranged for the car crash which killed our parents.”
What? Penelope looked at Georgie to confirm. Georgie nodded, expression sombre. Penelope blinked, trying to figure out what to say. “Why did they want the station?”
“We didn’t know at first,” Darcy replied. “They tried sabotage and kidnapping to force us to sign.”
“Is that why Matt was kidnapped?” Penelope asked.
“No. That was for revenge,” Georgie said. “They kidnapped Lara. They have a habit of finding people’s weakness, using their love for family to force people to do their dirty work.”
“We got our first real insight when Ed gave Tess a lift here from Perth,” Faith said. “She witnessed the man we thought was in charge murder someone.”
“Ed?” Penelope asked.
“Youngest brother,” Amy explained. “You’ll get used to everyone soon enough. He lives in Perth and was coming up for our wedding.”
“Anyway,” Brandon continued, “Tess discovered the secret cellar, and then last month Georgie found the journal of our original ancestor, the one who first settled the area.”
Secret cellar. OK, now they had to be making fun of her. She scanned their faces, and no one had the glimmer of a smile. “Are you serious?”
“It’s a lot to take in,” Georgie agreed. “We’ve had time to process it, and Sam was here for a lot, so he’s up to speed.”
“Last month, Georgie and I ran across some animal smugglers who were part of Stonefish’s operations,” Matt said. “The police got involved, and I was kidnapped as revenge for ruining the operation.”
“I shot the kidnapper in self-defence,” Georgie said. She traced a scratch on the table. “That’s why the PAWS rifle was taken.”
Penelope gasped. “Did you kill him?”
Georgie nodded and Matt wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, neither of them looking at the others.
Brandon narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
“Lilian’s journal revealed there’s treasure buried somewhere on the Ridge and we believe that’s why Stonefish wants the Ridge,” Faith said.
Penelope shook her head. “You can’t be serious—kidnapping, buried treasure, murder, and secret cellars?”
“We’re sick of it, to be honest,” Amy said.
“Stonefish has more than the animal smuggling operation up here,” Brandon added.
“Brandon and I are going diving tomorrow to see if we can find anything out at the Muiron Islands,” Sam said.
Penelope glanced at him. He’d been silent throughout. “Like what?”
Sam shrugged.
Her brain worked furiously. “You think those poachers are part of the bigger operation?”
“We’ve learnt not to underestimate them,” Darcy said.
