Double Take (18 page)

“I'll let you know when I'm ready,” Thomas said. “Then you blokes take a seat around the table and have a normal conversation. See how this goes.” He grabbed the tape recorder. “Good?”

“Good.” Shearer assumed charge of the three remaining blokes.

Steel had been told the court recorder could pick up sound from a distance of up to fifteen metres. But obviously the closer the better. They'd been pretty lucky to get this one. It was top of the range and his mate at the Brisbane courthouse had only lent it to him on a twenty-four-hour proviso. And Steel was mighty happy it'd only cost him a carton of XXXX beer. Unlike what his other mate Andy had charged for the use of his prized rubber dinghy. That damn thing would cost a weekend of shovelling concrete. And knowing Andy, he wouldn't forget about it either.

Steel followed Thomas downstairs, searching for access to beneath the building. They found several broken boards near the rear stairs. He groaned as he squeezed his body through the gap. He wasn't as nimble as he used to be.

He shone his torch ahead of him and instantly regretted volunteering to go downstairs when his torchlight highlighted a cobweb dangling off one of the rafters. A chunky spider hanging upon it scurried upwards as the light played over its hairy body. Steel shuddered. He could handle snakes, toads—hell, even crocodiles if he had to. But spiders were a different story. He'd rather stay right where he was.

Something shiny in the middle of the room caught his eye and he shone the torch over it. It was a chocolate wrapper. Violet Crumble by the look of it, his favourite. Then he noticed what looked like a track carved into the dirt.

“Looks like some kids have been playing here,” said Thomas.

By the condition of the track, the kids had been here often, and probably recently. Steel noted the marks in the dirt looked like toy car tyre marks. “I wonder if they've seen anything.” For their sake he hoped not. God knows what these guys would do if they came across eavesdroppers. Especially that Pete fellow, he didn't look the magnanimous type.

Steel remained put and shone his torch ahead as Thomas moved further towards the front of the shed. It wasn't long before Thomas was on his hands and knees. “This is gonna get tight,” he said.

He wasn't kidding. A man like Thomas needed a fair amount of breathing space and right now he was about as crammed in as a sumo wrestler in a sidecar. Eventually he couldn't move any further forward and Steel was relieved when he pulled the tape recorder from his bag. Steel couldn't get the chunky spider from his mind and each time Thomas poked his head up between the floor joists, he imagined spider webs trailing along his neck. The sooner they got out of there the better.

Thomas squeezed the Saber. “You blokes ready?”

Steel heard shuffling of chairs. “Ready.”

“Go ahead,” Thomas said into the walkie-talkie.

Seconds later Steel heard the whir of the tape, and just as loud was Shearer's voice from above. He'd expected that they'd have trouble hearing them, but it was as if there was nothing between them. Maybe the empty room above amplified the sound.

Thomas clicked a button. “Okay, let me check this.” He rewound the tape and listened to the recording. The audio was excellent and once again Steel had a niggling feeling this was all just a little bit too easy.

Thomas held the Saber to his mouth and clicked a button. “All right. We're good.” He turned to look over his shoulder, and Steel moved the torch so it didn't shine right into his eyes.

“Think we're all good. Let's get back up top,” Thomas said.

Steel didn't need the suggestion twice. As Thomas shuffled backwards, Steel panned the torch around, seeking out the creepy-crawlies. “You know what troubles me?” he said when Thomas was nearly at his side.

“What's that?” Thomas stood, as much as he could anyway, and dusted off his knees.

“Someone's been spending a bit of time down here. There's no rat shit or anything, and it doesn't smell too bad. In fact I reckon it smells kind of sweet, like aftershave or perfume.”

“I noticed that.”

“What if…” Steel paused as he chewed over his thoughts. “What if this was where she made those audio tapes?”

Thomas cocked his head at him. “Then why didn't she just say that. I mean she's led us here anyway.”

“I know, that's what messes with the idea.”

“So what's your theory?”

“Wish I had one. I just hope Miss Black isn't screwing with us.”

“Agreed. What was your take on her anyway?”

Steel wished he had an answer. “I've been replaying the meeting over and over in my head but I just can't make sense of it.” Maybe it was because he was tired, or maybe because he was hungry, or maybe because he was crawling around under a building with hairy spiders, but as the early morning hours slipped by, the knot in the pit of his stomach had started hardening like concrete. “It's like being sucked into a tornado. You can't do anything but hang on until the monster is ready to spit you out.”

Thomas screwed up his face at Steel. “Sounds too poetic for me. But too many aspects of her story ring true. The tapes. The photos. Even if everything else about her screamed fake.”

“Yeah, she's about as genuine as a Rolex watch in a Bali market.” Steel had to shove his pessimism aside. “But the point is moot. The information was good enough to get a search warrant, so that's good enough for me.”

“Agreed. Something's going down in about ten hours.”

They returned to the front door and Steel stepped aside to let Thomas enter first. The other men were sitting in the dark.

“Okay, recording equipment's ready. Now we just have to sort out who's going where,” Thomas said. “First up, who wants lookout duty?” They had decided earlier that someone needed to watch from the street, and hiding in one of the giant fig trees that lined the curb was the only option. The lookout person would not only notify Thomas of the robbers' arrival, he would also be the liaison between Steel and Thomas. Steel would have to park his car several streets away, and his only manner of contact would be via walkie-talkie relay.

“I'll do it,” Eden volunteered. Probably an attempt to make up for the incident with the bats earlier.

“Great. Thanks Eden.” Sitting in the tree all night would be a shit job, damned uncomfortable too.

“Steel, are you still heading back?” Thomas asked.

“Yep, I've got to make all those calls in the morning.” The mountain of phone calls weren't going to happen from here. Steel didn't feel right leaving his men alone, but his hands were tied. With Thomas in charge he was certain the four of them could handle it. And by the time the action actually happened, he would be waiting in his car in one of the nearby streets ready for the signal to join them anyway.

“Right, so that leaves the rest of us,” Thomas said. “I reckon downstairs is as good a place as any to hide. You guys, okay with that?”

Parker shrugged. “Sure. Sounds cosy.”

The decisions were done, and there was nothing more to do now but wait.

“Come on, Eden, I'll help you up that tree,” Steel said. As Eden walked out the door, Steel paused to touch Thomas's shoulder and an unspoken good luck wish was silently communicated between them. Saying it aloud was considered bad luck.

Steel walked down the three front steps and onto the gravel driveway. As he strode away from the building he heard the front door shut and the padlock click into place. The moonlight was sufficient to outline Eden walking ahead of him. At the end of the driveway they paused, squatted down at the edge of the cul-de-sac where the overgrown weeds met the bitumen, and listened. Complete silence.

“Let's go.” Eden went first and Steel stayed close behind as they headed for a tree across the road.

Steel was reluctant to use his torch and as he peered up into the tree he welcomed the small glimmer of moonlight filtering through the foliage. He was fairly confident Eden could navigate his way up the thick branches.

“So you know what to do?”

“As soon as I see any cars, I let Thomas know first. Then you.”

“That's right. Once both cars are here, I'll drive up and block off their exit, then you climb down and join me and we catch up with the others. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Steel passed the Saber over. The rookie shoved it into one of his pants pockets and the torch into the other. Without a word he launched onto the first branch and began to climb. In practically no time he was lost in amongst the tree's thick branches. With nothing else to do, Steel turned on his heel.

“Hey Sarge, you there?”

Steel stepped back to the trunk. “I'm here.”

“I think there's something in the tree.”

Steel could hear the uncertainty in Eden's voice. “Like what?”

“I don't know but it really stinks.”

“So the tree smells. Sounds pretty normal to me.”

“Nah, you don't get it. It's putrid, like there's something dead up here. I need to turn on the torch.” With each word tumbling from Eden's mouth, his voice escalated a notch or two.

“All right, all right. Calm down. Get yourself steady before you turn the torch on. Okay?”

Steel stepped back as he waited for an answer. But there wasn't one. For a split second the torch lit up the middle of the tree's canopy and then all hell broke loose.

Eden screamed and the tree exploded into a writhing frenzy of bats that took to the sky with a vengeance. Their ear-piercing screech was deafening, but Eden was even louder. The torch dropped from his hand and hit a few branches on its way down. Steel snatched it as soon as it hit the dirt and shone it up the tree. Eden was now dangling beneath a branch. His legs were flailing about and Steel no longer cared about the noise; he was more worried that Eden was about to face plant at his feet.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. The bats were soon just a faint noise in the distance and Eden had a decent purchase on the tree again. Steel knew the poor kid would be shitting himself, but he needed him to calm down before he lost his nerve altogether.

“Eden, get your arse down here.”

Eden didn't reply but he did start to move and was soon on the lowest branch. The rookie couldn't even look at him.

“You all right?”

Eden nodded.

“Okay, here's the torch.” Steel noticed Eden's trembling fingers as he reached down for it. “Now that you've cleared the tree of the bats, you'll be fine. You got your head in the game?”

Eden finally looked at him. It was too dark for Steel to see his features. “Yes, boss.”

“Good. Now head on up, and try to get comfortable.”

“Can't I just stay on the ground until sun-up?”

Steel was certain no-one was watching the street, but the niggling feeling something wasn't right had him wary. “Okay, you can stay here by this trunk until dawn, but the second that sun hits the horizon, I want you up there watching. I don't want those guys rocking up without you giving Thomas warning. Got it?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Steel eyeballed him once, then strode away. He crossed the road and walked down the driveway back to the boatshed. At the back of the shed, he paused at the broken boards. “Hey Thomas, you guys all good?”

Thomas stepped into his vision. “What the hell was all that noise?”

“Bats,” Steel said matter-of-factly.

“Again? What's with Eden and bats?”

“No idea. The poor kid nearly fell out of the tree. Anyway, he's all set now. If you guys are good I'll head back.” He glanced at his watch: 3:47 a.m. Time for a bit of shut-eye.

“Got it all under control here, sir.” He wriggled his eyebrows. “Roll on Melbourne Cup.”

D
onny pulled the car to a stop halfway up the steep driveway that ran alongside the bank. From the passenger seat Jack had a perfect view over the Brisbane River. The brown water was flowing slowly and a couple of cruising boats left a small wave in their wake. The scene would have been calming if his heart wasn't a thundering battle drum in his chest. Their position on the driveway meant he could only see the top half of the bank's floor to ceiling windows. He was grateful he couldn't see through the blackened-out glass. He didn't want to see any of the faces inside.

In the back seat Jimmy kept up his nervous yabbering. The second they'd grouped together, he started talking and he hadn't shut up since. It was a sure sign his brother was on edge but Jack's patience was wearing thin. In the driver's seat, Donny was busy nibbling on his fingernails. Obviously nervous, too.

By contrast, Rachel hadn't said a word. Jack glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. She appeared calm, as if what they were about to do was an everyday occurrence. Her hair was up today, weaved into an intricate pattern more suited to a woman on her way to a classy restaurant than a bank robbery. She'd chosen more discreet earrings this time. Even so, he was pretty certain the giant diamond studs were real and worth a lot of money.

Jack wondered about her motives. Was the bond they'd made all those years ago really that strong? One thing was for certain: her life would've taken a completely different turn if she'd done time like he had. So maybe she factored a lot of weight into the sacrifice he'd made. None of them would be here otherwise. But of all of them, Rachel had the most to lose if this went to shit.

He shoved the negativity aside and thought of Candice. He needed to maintain his focus on her and only her. His greatest fear wasn't robbing the bank, or getting caught; it was failing her. She needed this and it had better work.

“Who'd you bet on?” Jimmy said.

“What?” Rachel snapped.

“What horse did you pick?” He spelled it out as if she were a dummy and Jack truly wished his brother would shut up.