Kakadu Sunset (32 page)

Heather dropped her eyes. ‘Yeah. Not answering.’

Ellie pulled out her phone. ‘I’ll try.’

Heather quickly grabbed her hand. ‘No point. I just called her.’

‘Are you sure you’ve got the right number?’ Ellie pulled up Gina’s details, and read the number as Heather double-checked it on the sheet in front of her.

‘Yep, that’s right. I’ve just tried it, twice. It went to voicemail.’ Heather stared at her as her words ran together. ‘Maybe her phone’s flat. Or maybe she did go on the sunset cruise. There’s no service up on the billabongs anyway. I have to go. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.’

Something wasn’t right. Heather was acting strangely. A shaft of unease lodged in Ellie’s throat. This all felt wrong.

‘Okay, you go then. She must have gone on the sunset cruise and didn’t realise how late it came in. That’s the only place she could be.’

‘Thank you.’ Heather picked up her bag and headed quickly for the door.

‘Heather?’ Ellie was surprised at her friend’s haste to get away. ‘Will you please swing by the bistro and tell Amanda not to wait for me?’

‘All right.’

Ellie frowned as the door closed. She crossed to the window; it was almost dark. She watched Heather turn in the opposite direction to the bistro and hurry across to the back of the day spa. Bill’s old Land Cruiser was backed right up to the staff entrance. Heather opened the driver’s door, jumped in, and black smoke billowed from the exhaust as she drove towards the main gate of the lodge. She indicated and turned onto the highway.

Thanks pal, for telling Amanda not to wait
. Heather’s behaviour was bizarre. Ellie frowned as she walked over to the children. She pulled down a couple of large cushions off the sofa and switched the television on. Once the kids were engrossed in the children’s program, she took out her phone and flicked through until she found Gina’s number and pressed call. Like Heather said, it went straight to voicemail. She wondered if she should call David to see if he knew where Gina was; it wouldn’t hurt.

She kept her voice low as she called Call Connect. ‘Parliament House, Darwin, please.’ Once the call was picked up she asked for the office of the Chief Minister. While she waited for it to be answered, she dropped into the chair at the desk and reached over to the drawer. It was partially open and a piece of bright red paper was caught in the top.
‘No fracking for Kakadu’
was emblazoned across it in big letters. A public meeting was happening tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.

She opened the drawer wide to pull out the paper for a closer look, and something shiny caught her attention.

Ellie gasped and put her hand over her mouth, but the children were too engrossed in the television to hear her. She reached in and pulled out a crystal-encrusted phone case. There was an iPhone loose in the drawer beside it.

5.00 pm Friday
Parliament House, Darwin

‘You bastard.’ David closed his eyes and grasped the handset tightly as the chilling laugh came through the line. ‘Where is she? Where are my children?’

‘David, David. Calm down. There’s no need to be like that. She’s in good hands.’

Fairweather’s voice sent ice through David’s veins. He’d been trying to reach Gina ever since the news had broken of Panos Sordina’s murder that morning. After several attempts, he’d given up on her mobile and called the main number of Makowa Lodge, but there’d been no answer when they’d put the call through to the room. He’d tried to convince himself that she’d let the battery run flat, or she’d gone out and left the phone in the room, but deep down, his conviction that something was very wrong gelled into certainty as the hours had passed: Fairweather had her. The confirmation turned his stomach to liquid.

‘Your wife is fine.’ His voice was friendly as though they were having a social conversation. ‘But you know what you have to do, don’t you, to make sure she stays fine?’

‘Why? Why now?’

‘You let me down with the boundary change vote, David. So I thought you needed a little prompting to make sure you vote the right way this time.’ Fairweather sighed. ‘I really thought I had made the consequences clear to you.’

David clenched his hand around the phone. He had no choice but to submit. ‘I will vote for your drilling licence. You have my word. But so help me, if you harm one hair on Gina’s head . . .’ He kept his voice level and strong.

‘Now, now, David. You don’t want to get me cross.’ Fairweather’s voice hardened. ‘One of your colleagues made me cross yesterday. And I heard on the radio he had a very unfortunate accident last night.’

David eased himself down into his chair as Fairweather’s meaning registered. ‘Sordina?’ His voice was hoarse and he struggled to take a deep breath. The air was thick and hot, and a trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face. ‘Where are my children, Russell?’

Fairweather laughed. ‘I really don’t know. I’ll be in touch soon, David.’

David stared at his mobile as the call disconnected at the other end. His hand was shaking as he put it down on the desk and searched frantically for his car keys. Everything was moving in slow motion and his ears buzzed as though a thousand cicadas were in his head.

Oh God, where are Andrew and Binny?
Surely they hadn’t been left alone in the apartment.

He’d try Gina’s phone one more time before he jumped in the car and raced down the Arnhem Highway. Maybe she still had it on her. Maybe she’d hidden it, or switched it off.

His fingers were shaking as he pressed speed dial. David stared straight ahead, willing her to pick up. Again it went straight to voicemail. As he threw it to the desk in frustration, the landline on his desk buzzed and he grabbed the phone. ‘David Johnson. Who’s calling?’

‘A call for you, David.’ Helen’s voice was hesitant. ‘She wouldn’t say who it was, just that it was important. Do you want to take it?’

‘Yes. Please.’

The call clicked across. ‘Who is this?’

‘It’s Ellie. David, is that you? Look, I’ve got Gina’s phone and I’m a little bit concerned.’

Ellie? Why does she have Gina’s phone?

‘Ellie. Listen to me.’ His voice was shaking as he rushed the words out. ‘Do you know where Gina and the children are?’

‘Andrew and Binny are right here with me.’

Thank God
. ‘Are they okay?’

‘Yes. They’re fine. We’re in the crèche. Gina dropped the kids off here this morning, but David –’ He could hear the hesitation in Ellie’s voice ‘– she’s very late coming back. I was wondering if she mentioned going on a tour or anything.’

Relief that Andrew and Binny were safe was overlaid by his desperate fear for Gina’s safety. ‘Ellie, listen to me. Listen very carefully. Hang up the phone and wait. I’ll call you back from another line.’ David was sure that Fairweather had his phone tapped, somehow, and he didn’t want him to know what he was planning. The man’s reach seemed to spread everywhere.

David threw the phone onto the desk and ran for the door, his car keys in his hand.

*

Ellie locked the door and drew the blinds while she waited for David to call back. For extra security she pulled a large box of toys against the door. David’s voice had sent a shiver down her spine. Something
was
very wrong. It was only a few minutes until the phone rang and Ellie snatched it up.

‘David?’

‘Listen carefully, Ellie. I want you to do everything I say. Where do you live?’

‘In a staff apartment at the back of the lodge.’

‘Look, I know it’s a big ask, but I’m on my way to the lodge now. Can you get the kids over there and lock the door until I get there? And don’t tell a soul.’

‘I can do that. David, what’s going on?’

‘I’ll explain when I arrive. You said you’ve got Gina’s phone. How much charge has it got?’

‘It’s switched off. Wait a minute.’

She powered it up and waited. The battery icon showed about eighty per cent. ‘Plenty.’

‘Good. I’ll call you on it when I get there.’ David’s voice dropped and Ellie sensed he was trying to hold it together. ‘Are you sure the kids are okay?’

Ellie looked over to the corner. Binny had fallen asleep against her brother and Andrew’s eyes were heavy. ‘Yes. Yes, they’re fine. Ready for their dinner, I guess, but I’ll feed them.’

‘Keep them safe. Lock the door and don’t let anyone in. Not even anyone you know. Not even anyone you trust. No one. And Ellie, thank you. I owe you.’ David’s voice cracked as the call disconnected.

Ellie carried Binny on her hip, and she locked her little arms around Ellie’s neck as they walked the path to the back of the lodge. Binny’s soft lashes brushed Ellie’s face in a butterfly kiss as her eyes closed. Ellie inhaled the sweet smell of the little girl’s hair and took a deep breath. She wondered where Gina was. And worried why Kane was so late getting back.

‘It’s nearly dark. Binny doesn’t like the dark.’ Andrew clung tightly to her hand and he yawned. ‘And I’m hungry. Have you got chips at your house?’

Ellie glanced over at the bistro. One of the lodge buses had just dropped off a large group of tourists from the sunset cruise and they were heading for the restaurant. God knows, she’d be lucky to find a lettuce leaf in her fridge and there was no kid food in her tiny pantry. She considered a detour, but David had been quite clear about keeping the kids out of sight. No, she’d call the bar and get some food sent over once they were safely in her apartment.

A large dark car cruised slowly down the road towards them and Ellie’s heart rate picked up.
Henry again?
She stepped out off the path into the shadows at the side of the building, pulling Andrew in with her.

She leaned down and whispered urgently as Binny snuggled further into her shoulder. ‘Do you know how to play hide and seek?’

Andrew nodded.

‘We are going to hide and be very, very quiet. Okay?’

The car cruised past with its lights dipped low and Ellie let out a sigh of relief when she saw the Jeep insignia on the back door.

Kane was back.

David’s words filled her head as they pressed back into the shrubbery.

Not even anyone you trust
.

8.00 pm Friday
Black Jungle Springs

Gina rolled over from her side to her back and bit her lip, stifling the cry that threatened as her elbow scraped on the rough timber wall beside the bed. Her hands had been bound together; the tie from the day spa bathrobe secured them tightly in front of her pregnant belly.

The first time she had regained consciousness, she’d been on a soft bed in a darkened room. As she looked around frantically, trying to work out where she was, another prick in her arm had dropped her back into the blackness that fogged her mind.

‘I’m so sorry.’ She was sure she heard a husky whisper but the thread of sound faded as the darkness descended again.

Next time, she’d woken enough to lean against the woman who helped her from the bed but Gina had not been strong enough to resist when she’d put her arm around her and quickly walked her to a door. She’d closed her eyes gratefully as she’d been laid down and covered with a soft blanket. The soft fibres tickled her nose as a car door closed quietly but she’d drifted back to sleep.

When she’d woken this time, she’d been lying in a vehicle that bumped and scraped over a winding road. Opening her eyes a crack, she held herself steady as the car swayed from side to side, stifling a cry when the car hit a bump. The roof above her was torn and splattered with drops of what could have been blood. Her stomach roiled and she hitched a breath. As her eyes became accustomed to the faint light, she tilted her head slowly, but all she could see was the back of the stained seat behind her. When she was sure there was no one watching her, she opened her eyes wider and turned her head to the side. A smell of something putrid reached her nose. It was almost dark, but there was just enough light to make out she was in the back of a large vehicle.

‘Are you awake?’ The car slowed a little.

It
was
Heather from the crèche; she’d recognise that husky voice anywhere. What had she done with Andrew and Binny? Were they all right? Bile burned her throat as nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

‘Where are we?’ Gina’s voice broke. ‘Where are my children?’

‘They’re with Ellie.’

‘Ellie?’ Dio,
Ellie is involved in this too? And she had made friends with her?

Gina licked her lips. Her mouth was so dry. ‘What did you give me?’

‘Nothing bad. Don’t worry. It was just something to put you to sleep for a while. I’m sorry I had to do this.’

‘What are you doing?’

‘Please don’t be frightened.’

Gina tried to sit up but a cramp seized her lower back. She lay back and took a deep breath.

‘It’s going to be all right. Just stay calm.’ Heather’s voice was firm.

Gina’s body slid back a little as the vehicle traversed a steep incline and she closed her eyes again.

Where were they going? Was this man going to be there? It had to be the one who had threatened David.

Ellie? What did Ellie have to do with it?

‘Are you really sure my children are safe?’ Gina’s voice cracked; her mouth was dry and she needed water.

‘Yes, Ellie will look after them.’

Another few minutes and the car rolled to a stop. She closed her eyes as the car door slammed shut. The door at the back of the wagon opened with a squeak.

Gina didn’t resist when Heather held her ankles and gently pulled her along on her back until her legs hung over the rear of the car. She pushed herself up on her elbow.

‘You’re going to have to stand up and walk.’

‘I haven’t got any shoes.’

‘It’s all right. It’s only a little way on the grass. I’ll keep an eye out for snakes.’

Gina shivered but she didn’t resist when Heather took her arm gently and pulled her up to a sitting position.