Killer Ute (8 page)

22

The next morning at breakfast Felicity tells us she's been in contact with the local policeman. ‘He's coming over.'

‘Won't he be seen?' Mei asks.

I also wonder about a flashing police car roaring through the park.

Felicity smiles at us. ‘No, he'll be in an unmarked car and he'll park further away. He'll tell us what to do when he gets here.'

We all wait around. It's hard to concentrate on anything. What is there to do except clean up the kitchen tent, tidy our sleeping tents, go to the toilet? That takes longer than usual with digging up dirt to throw into the communal hole like it's a compost bin, but there's still time to spare. Mei writes in her diary, and I actually start reading one of the novels she's brought. It isn't bad – it's all about a guy surviving a shipwreck in the old days.

Then we hear whistling. Felicity motions for Mei and me to go into her tent. I peek out the window. Soon Felicity is smiling so the whistler must be the policeman. He's dressed like any old hiker and gives her a bag of food. She brings him over to Dev, and they start talking. Dev's frowning. Uh-oh. Something's wrong. Soon the men are arguing. I can't hear what they're saying but Dev's face is turning red. Finally Felicity gets them to calm down and she calls to Mei and me.

When we get there, Felicity looks at me for too long, which makes me uncomfortable. Actually, all the adults are staring at me. What's up? I check their faces one by one. Dev's not happy. Felicity seems nervous; she's started to roll her lip between her teeth. The officer looks expectant, as if he's going to ask me to do something important. I steady myself.

‘Joel.' He clears his throat. ‘I am Constable Dylan Jones, and I need a favour. You don't have to do this, but we will be taking precautions—'

‘What is it?' I cut in. I can't stand suspense like this.

His gaze rests on my face for a while. I've surprised him, I can tell.

‘The ute is gone so we'd like you to go down to the beach where you saw it and—' his voice hooks me in; it sounds kind of urgent, ‘—and go fishing. I hear you're good at it.'

Dev wipes his face. Felicity is chewing her lip. Mei's shaking her head, and I can see it all. See what Mei said about sitting ducks. This police officer doesn't know me from a bar of soap. Would he ask his little brother to do this?

The officer clears his throat again, even though he doesn't seem to have a cold. ‘You don't have to, mind, but it would be the best way to flush this guy out. We can catch him when he comes out into the open to talk to you.'

Forget sitting ducks, forget targets. He wants me to be bait. Bait for the catch.

‘What if he swallows me, hook and all?'

Amazingly, Constable Jones understands me. There's a shadow of a grin on his face. ‘It won't come to that. There'll be six officers hidden in the scrub. We'll have reinforcements from Mount Gambier. We'll wire you. You'll only have to whisper if you are frightened and we'll hear you.'

Felicity breaks in, ‘You don't have to, Joel. There are other ways.'

‘But you said this is the best way,' I say to Constable Jones. ‘I'm sick of hiding. I just want this guy to get out of my life.'

He says nothing, just watches me. He has green eyes like a rough sea.

‘I don't like it,' Dev says. ‘The bloke might have a gun. What if I'm the bait instead? The bloke in the ute must know me by now.' There's a twist in his mouth as he says that. ‘Wouldn't that work?'

Everyone is quiet. The guy in the ute wants me, not Dev. And there'll be no evidence until he's caught going for me. No evidence to put Scott away for good.

‘I'll do it,' I say.

‘No!' That's Mei. Dev closes his eyes. Felicity's lip starts bleeding and she licks the blood away.

The officer smiles at me. ‘We can have it organised by late this afternoon. You're a brave lad.'

Or just stupid
, I think.

Constable Jones leaves us to it. He's off to make the ‘arrangements', then he'll phone instructions through to Felicity. Before he leaves, he speaks with Felicity out of earshot. More talk about baiting, I suspect. Felicity's standing pretty close to him. She's real pally with the police. But when she comes back she's frowning.

Guess it's the worry that makes me fly off the handle later in the afternoon. At lunch I can't get it out of my head that this could be my last meal. What if the police aren't in the right spots? What if the guy comes from a different place? Why did I say I'd do it?

After lunch I go to the toilet and spend longer than I need to but it's private at least. When I come back to my tent, Felicity is in there again. She and Dev are hugging and I just see red. How dare she? Isn't it immoral or something? I can't help myself and I burst out, ‘What are you doing here?'

Felicity jumps away from Dev as though she's burnt, and mumbles she's sorry. Then she rushes out of the tent. Dev's not too pleased with me. ‘What was that for? Couldn't you see she was upset?'

‘Yeah, upset because I reminded her she was doing something wrong.'

Dev frowns. ‘What are you talking about? Felicity was upset about something so I put my arm around her. There's no crime in that.'

I look up at him. Could it be true – that's all it was? And instantly a wave of guilt washes over me. What if Dev actually likes Felicity? Don't I want him to be happy?

Dev sits on the mattress and motions for me to join him. ‘Look, if this thing with the police is bothering you too much, you don't have to do it.'

I shake my head. I don't want to back out of that now. We could get rid of Scott for good.

‘Then what else is bothering you?'

Should I tell him? I haven't said lately that I want him to stay forever. I hoped it would be understood. He gets on so well with Gran. Couldn't it stay that way? And all of a sudden tears sting my eyes.

‘Joel? You okay?'

I shake my head again. ‘I want you to stay with Gran and me for always. I want you to be my dad. My real dad. But I want you to be happy too.'

I look up and see the realisation dawning in his eyes. ‘You thought Felice and me . . .'

‘Felicity is awesome. If she likes you, Gran and I won't stand a chance.' I stop and stare at the floor. I've ruined it now – what bloke's going to like being told who he can't like. I wouldn't want someone telling me not to like Mei. I wipe my arm over my eyes.

‘Joel. Look at me.' When I do, Dev says, ‘There is nothing going on between Felice and me. She likes Constable Jones. They're having some trouble at the moment but they'll sort it out.'

‘Constable Dylan Jones? The officer who was here?'

Dev smirks. ‘The very one.'

I manage a grin. ‘So you still want to come home and live with us?'

‘You better believe it and I can do better than that. I've been thinking while we've been away, and I was going to ask you this at a better time but maybe this is the best time, considering . . .'

‘What? Tell me.'

He purses his lips. I don't think I've ever seen him do that. ‘Nothing's ever been said about how long I'll stay with you and your gran, but what if I said I wanted to live with you for good?'

I give a whoop before I throw myself at him. He chuckles. ‘I reckon I'll take that as a round okay.'

How cool would that be, a dream come true! Then I pull away. ‘What will it mean for you and me? You'll be my dad for always?'

Dev's hands tighten on my arms. ‘You bet, mate.'

I'm so happy I can't even think about being scared. ‘I've dreamt about you staying forever.'

He smiles. ‘Have you, mate? It's rare I make people's dreams come true.' Then he says, ‘Aren't you counting your chickens before they're hatched? I have to ask your gran first. She might have got another boarder in while we've been away.'

I just laugh. Gran would want me to be happy, and you never know, maybe down the track my next most-secret wish might come true too. I race off to apologise to Felicity. I even hug her. I catch her winking over my shoulder at Dev, and it doesn't bother me a bit.

23

The afternoon wears on. There's a space in my head where I feel I'm floating – the space that knows Dev will stay for good. But I'm getting edgy again. When will Felicity's phone ring? It's like even the bushes and trees are waiting. There's a heavy stillness and heat in the air. Bet it would be cooler on the beach, but we're not allowed down there. Even Mei can't concentrate on her writing.

We're peeling spuds for tea when the phone finally rings. Felicity fumbles it open. ‘Yes? Dylan. Right.' She ‘hmms' a few times, says, ‘Are you sure it's safe?', listens for a bit, says ‘okay' and snaps the phone shut.

We all look at her. Dev's come over to hear what she has to say. ‘It's on this evening. The police will come by boat from the north.'

I'm impressed. ‘Like those SAS guys.'

She carries on. ‘Constable Jones and Max will come and then we . . .' she glances at Dev, ‘. . . will take you down there. The only thing is there won't be six officers, only four, counting Dylan, I mean Constable Jones, but he says it will be enough.'

‘What if there's more than one bloke?' Dev says.

‘Dylan doesn't think there will be. Besides these officers are highly trained and they have surprise on their side.'

Dev steps closer. ‘I'm going too, that makes five.'

Felicity is quiet and I can tell she doesn't think it's a good idea, but she just presses her lips together. ‘We'll eat tea first,' is all she says.

I can hardly eat a thing. Constable Jones had brought sausages and chops, but my sausage gets stuck in my throat. I feel like a fish that's swallowed a hook with the worm. And now I'm about to find out what the worm feels like too.

Dev rubs my back a bit and my insides lift. I only have to get through this one thing, and we can go home, and Dev will be my dad for keeps. I hang onto that thought as long as I can.

A motorboat hums in the gulf and not long after Constable Jones and Max arrive in dripping wetsuits. I stare at Constable Jones and he explains, ‘We can't risk bringing cars into the park again. Better to sneak in by sea.'

Felicity, Mei and I put wetsuits on as well. That's Felicity's idea. ‘I may be in the water hiding behind rocks for ages,' she says. ‘We don't know how long it will take the guy to come.' It's decided we should walk along the coast, keeping a ‘low profile'.

‘How will he know I'm there?' I ask.

Felicity watches me thoughtfully. ‘If he's as thorough as he has been to date, he'll know. Besides, how's your singing voice? That should draw his attention.'

I look at her in horror, and she grins. ‘Or you could whistle?'

‘It'd scare the fish,' I protest.

Her smile fades. ‘Tonight's not about fishing.'

Constable Jones tucks a device like the thinnest MP3 player under my wetsuit near my shoulder, and a wireless bud in my ear. ‘Can you hear?' Even though he whispers, his voice is right in my ear. I nod. ‘The microphone will pick up what you say.'

We're all silent as we walk down to the water. Mei's coming too so she's not alone at the campsite. She would hate that. She and I check the rock that Barney always sits on, but he's nowhere in sight. Guess he's gone back to his family on Kangaroo Island or somewhere. Wish I could go home too.

Finally we near the beach where we saw the ute, but it looks deserted. The other police must be in their places for we don't see anyone else. We crouch low.

‘Sit on those rocks.' Constable Jones points to a group of huge rocks jutting out into the sea with spray splashing on them. He's done his homework; it looks like a good spot to fish. ‘Don't look around for us, but keep your wits about you,' he says. ‘We don't know if he'll grab you or try to push you off the rocks.'

Great
, I think.
What a stimulating choice
.

‘If he grabs you before we get to him, don't fight – it might antagonise him.'

I didn't realise the guy would get close enough to touch me.

‘Joel?' I look up. ‘Don't worry, we're all here,' Constable Jones says. ‘Dev, Mei and I will be in the scrub not far away. Felicity will be hiding near you on the other side of the rocks, so if you fall in, she will fish you out.'

That's if I don't knock myself on the head.

‘You okay?' he asks.

I nod.

Felicity whispers, ‘It's not too late to back out, Joel.'

I shake my head. Constable Jones believes I can do this. That means a lot to me. Mei gives my hand a squeeze and I give her a hug in front of everyone. Then I pick up my rod and tackle like I don't have a care in the world and stride across to the rocks.

24

I'm sitting on the biggest rock when I hear the ute rumble up. I check behind me. It looks like a monster hiding but I can see its aerials like feelers above the scrub. I sigh and cast my line. I like this rod; it was Grandad's. I try to think of nice stuff like Dev, Mei, Grandad, but thoughts of the guy keep crowding in like hungry horses. Will the guy see me? Will I see him before he grabs me? There's a splash behind me. He's come already?

‘Joel.' It's a whisper. Mei.

‘What are you doing here, Mei? Go back.'

‘No way. I slipped away while Constable Jones was checking his earpiece. I don't want you to be alone.'

‘And I don't want you here.' It doesn't come out right and for a moment her face crumples. She hates being alone and she's made a huge sacrifice for me, but I have to explain. ‘Look, I won't be able to help you if he pushes you off the rocks or something.' I don't say the worst, like what if he grabs her to threaten me? I'd never let anyone hurt Mei.

Constable Jones's voice crackles in my ear. ‘What's she doing there? Get rid of her.'

It feels weird talking to thin air. ‘I've tried, she won't go.'

His voice comes through again. ‘It could make it harder for us and for you too.'

Tell me about it.

Constable Jones sighs. ‘Okay. Remember, don't rile the guy, do whatever he says. We're not far.'

Yeah, not far as long as the guy doesn't pick us off with a gun. I went spotlighting with Grandad a few times on the farm. He could shoot a fox from three hundred metres. I look behind again.

Immediately Constable Jones's voice is in my ear. ‘Try and relax, Joel. Keep looking ahead.' So he can see my every move. It makes my skin prickle. Who else can?

Mei starts talking normally about school. I can't believe she's acting like we're on a picnic. ‘Shawn's found someone else to pick on – a Year 8 kid from down the coast. The poor kid doesn't play sport. He can write good poetry though.'

‘Shawn will kill him just for that.'

‘He's braver than he looks.'

I touch her hand. ‘Like you.'

She flushes while I think about what it is that makes kids like Shawn pick on other kids. Look at Scott – he's in jail because he's still picking on people. He's a dangerous person. Wonder what his family was like? Then I think of Dev, and I tell Mei my news. ‘Dev's going to stay for good.'

Mei hugs me. ‘I'm so happy for you, Joel. Oh, I knew it . . .'

And just as I'm about to ask her how she knew, I hear Constable Jones's voice. ‘Steady now, Joel, he's coming.'

A man shouts, ‘Hey kids! What are you doing out there?'

I look around. It's a bloke I've never seen before: sandy hair like Scott's, shaved off close to his head, muscly, tall. I take in the strength of him. I wasn't expecting someone who actually looks like the ute.

‘It's dangerous out there. Come back to the beach.'

Constable Jones is in my ear: ‘Do what he says but don't get in the ute.'

I start to reel in my line, but the bloke gets impatient. ‘Move it.' He doesn't sound like a do-gooder saving me from a dangerous place for my benefit. Mei picks up my rod and reels it in as I climb over the rocks and jump onto the beach.

‘You too,' the man calls to Mei. She climbs down and digs the rod into the sand as I wait for her. ‘Keep behind me,' I whisper.

At least the bloke isn't pointing a gun at us. ‘What are you doing here?' he asks again. Does he smell a rat? He's staring at Mei.

‘Fishing,' I say as calmly as I can.

The man's glance flickers back to me. ‘So you brought your girlfriend. That's real nice.' He gives a blokey grin, but I don't like it. His face shows all the bad stuff he's thinking. ‘What's your name, kid?'

‘Joel.'

The man's grin widens as if he knows me. Bet he thinks this is easy. ‘Hey, Joel . . .' he emphasises my name, ‘. . . come up to my camp and have a beer. Oh, you're too young, aren't you? I might be able to find something else.'

I hesitate. ‘Do what he says,' Constable Jones had said but ‘don't get in the ute.' Wouldn't that include going to his camp?

‘You'll have to bring your girl. We can have some fun together. She's a real good-looker.'

I stiffen. This guy is bad news and I'm not sure what to do. Are the police hidden that far up?

‘I won't like it if you refuse. I could get real disappointed.' And I can see how mean and disappointed he could get. His eyes narrow and glitter. They're like a cyclone ready to cause havoc. Mei and I are in big trouble. Why does he want us at his camp? Does he have a gun there, another bloke? Is Constable Jones not speaking because I'm too close to the guy – he'll hear the crackling?

I'm warned by my instincts. I don't want to go to his camp. ‘No,' I say more firmly than I feel. I hear Mei's indrawn breath, but she keeps quiet.

The bloke says plenty. He shouts it with his face screwed up and ugly. ‘You little jerk. You're ruining my mate's life. I was going to go easy, talk to you, but you don't deserve it. You're everything he says you are. How would you like to see your little friend's life ruined?' And he pulls Mei towards him by her arm.

‘Ow.' She doesn't scream but I can tell he's hurting her.

Suddenly I hear thumping in my head, like a herd of horses galloping around the bend. ‘Let her go,' I shout, and the bloke starts laughing. The sudden change is unnerving. He drops Mei's arm and grabs me around the neck. If it was Shawn Houser, I'd know what to do, but this guy is so big, I can't kick out, can't reach him. He's looking at me all interested as if he wants to see how long I'll last without air. He's crazy like Scott. I hear crackling in my ear and in the distance, screaming, a voice calling, ‘We're coming, we're here.' I feel like I'm diving underwater and my tank's on empty. I try to stay calm as though I'm rising to the surface from a long way down. All I can hear are my ears popping. Then I don't hear anything at all.