Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (21 page)

‘
CASPer?
’

‘
Cartographic Aerial Surveillance Platform.
’

‘
That
’
s cool. Hey
,
can you show me the last screen? I think I recognised the area
,’
Grace asked.

He tapped an icon on CASPer and the previous screen came to life.

She was sure the image he
’
d shown her looked exactly like one of the maps she had on the memory stick The Voice had given her. Grace
’
s mind spun.
‘
How about printing capabilities?
’

‘
You bet
,
click this button and voila. Here it is
,
all yours
,’
he offered Grace the print out. 

She needed to call Jake
,
she was certain this would fit in with the other maps she had been given. Grace knew this area was in the information from The Voice. She needed to get off this plane.

Why had The Voice given her maps of this area? What interest did the corrupt politicians have in a national park? Did Crow lose his life over something he uncovered about the park that involved Sleen? The Environment Minister had to be tied into it. She only had a few so-called knowings in her career and this one was overwhelming. She would bet her life on it.

As they approached the runway
,
Adam said she could stand up to experience the touchdown. She was on her feet in a flash. As the wheels hit the tarmac
,
the plane sped up and took off to the skies again. Grace held onto the overhanging rail and let out a wail of a scream
,
laughing and gasping for breath at the same time.

‘
How
’
d you enjoy the thrill
,
Miss Journalist? It
’
s called a touch and go
,’
Adam said.

‘
It
’
s fantastic. As my body felt the safety of the ground beneath and gravity was pushing me forward
,
I was thrust back as we took off. It was an experience unlike anything I
’
ve had in my life.
’

When the plane landed properly
,
Adam Burns escorted Grace off and asked if she had a good time.

‘
Words fail me
,’
she tried to catch her breath.

‘
I
’
m glad. I hope you are able to provide us with positive publicity about the aircraft in your newspaper?
’

‘
Yes
,
I
’
m leaning towards doing a story on CASPer. It
’
s astonishing technology.
’

‘
I
’
ll make sure our Public Relations Department sends you any extra information not already contained in your media kit. Some of the wording is quite technical
,’
he said.
‘
Grace
,
would like to have a coffee with me some time?
’

Where did that come from?
‘
Are Flight Lieutenants usually this forward?
’

‘
I don
’
t know. I
’
m not usually this up front but you seem like an interesting young woman who has her head switched on and it would be nice to sit down and chat sometime
,’
he didn
’
t blink.

It never rains
,
does it?
‘
Oh
,
I
’
m flattered. Thing is I
’
m –
’

‘
Seeing someone?
’

‘
I
’
m not sure but I don
’
t want to give you the wrong impression.
’

‘
How
‘
bout I keep in touch anyway?
’

‘
Sure. I
’
m grateful for all you
’
ve done for me today
,
I think it
’
s actually going to help with another story I
’
m working on. Again
,
thank you.
’

‘
Happy to be of service.
’

It was the second time today Grace had heard that expression. How could she go for months without a single sniff of interest in her love life from any man within a hundred miles and then in one week have them popping up all around her like wildflowers? She headed towards Nick
’
s car with a plan. The first person she intended to call as soon as she was on the road was Jake.

23

No soone
r
had Grace turned her phone back on and clicked it into the handset on the car
’
s dash
,
than it rang.

‘
Hello?
’

‘
Grace
,
what have you been up to?
’

‘
Hi Grace
,
how was your flight? Glad you
’
re back on the ground safe and sound. Why are you yelling at me
,
Nick?
’

‘
I know you
’
ve been in the Hercules
,
I
’
m not talking about that.
’

If Nick was referring to her visit to Sleen
’
s office
,
it was ridiculous he would be upset. A regular
,
run-of-the-mill visit to a politician
’
s office was part of Grace
’
s routine. Anyway
,
how would he know?

‘
What are you talking about
,
Nick?
’

‘
I received a call from Minister Sleen.
’

Grace rolled her eyes. Obviously he had been in the office when she visited or his trusty staff had called him immediately and informed him of her visit.
Simply unbelievable.

‘
Something you need to tell me?
’
Nick asked.

‘
Nope
,
nothing yet. Nick
,
I
’
m looking for information and I didn
’
t even get to see the guy. What on earth is he complaining about?
’

‘
Sleen and I go way back. I
’
m telling you
,
be careful. I don
’
t want you treading on any unnecessary toes and causing me grief.
’

You told me already.
‘
I wanted two minutes of his time to get a comment for a story I
’
m working on. I ran into him the other day and he was happy to be interviewed. Now he won
’
t answer his phone or return my calls. I decided I
’
d show up and find out if he would see me in person. You know me
,
Nick
,
I
’
m sweet as pie. And his henchman showed me out for no good reason. It sounds suspicious if you ask me.
’

‘
I repeat. Anything you want to tell me?
’

‘
When I know more
,
I
’
ll let you know. Until then
,
nothing concrete. He
’
s hiding something big
,
I know it.
’

‘
Not likely. You
’
re hanging on by your little fingernail
,
Grace. I
’
m warning you.
’

‘
What
’
s that supposed to mean?
’

‘
I don
’
t like this at all
,’
he sighed and then paused for a long time before he spoke again.
‘
Liste
n
,
p
lay it cool and lay low on it for a while. I
’
ll check some of my sources and see if anyone
’
s heard anything. I know he has a new portfolio
,
mind you
,
he hasn
’
t said too much about it yet. And don
’
t let my silver bullet get a scratch on it. Oh
,
and remember the parcel
,’
he hung up.

What is it with the men in my life and their manners?

She programmed the GPS and let it work out the quickest way for her to get onto the motorway then she could shoot straight to the airport. She knew Nick loved his car more than his job and even more than his bimbos. Grace thought it was a girl
’
s car.
What man buys a BMW Z4 Roadster in an automatic?
Grace loved it. A six-speed gearbox with an engine that accelerated to one-hundred kilometres per hour in seconds. It was a rush and it sure beat her fifteen-year-old Toyota Corolla hatchback with a top speed of about eighty in thirty seconds.

Modern technology is marvellous.
Grace pressed a button on her phone and said
‘
Jake
’
. His line rang and then his answering machine picked up the call. Her smile disappeared. She left a brief message asking him to return her call.

Grace had forgotten about Nick
’
s parcel after seeing the advanced technology on the plane showing the landscape that looked like the photos from one of The Voice
’
s parcels.

‘
Nick sure loves his toys
,’
she said as she accelerated down the open road
,
passing the cruise control she
’
d previously set
,
revelling in the moment.

The phone jolted her back to reality. It was a private number and hopefully Jake calling from the office line. She hit the answer button.

‘
Hello?
’
her beaming voice said.

‘
Any chance you can meet me this afternoon? I have evidence that contains information you
’
ll want to see. It
’
s what I
’
ve been waiting to give you
,’
The Voice said.

Oh
,
it
’
s him.
Grace didn
’
t bother reminding him about his lack of greeting or etiquette. What would be the point?
‘
I
’
m on my way into town on the M2 heading out to the airport. I can
’
t take time out without it looking suspicious. My boss has me on a tight schedule today and I
’
m already late
,’
she said.

‘
Can you swing by North Sydney on your way? I
’
ll drop it in your window as you drive by. You won
’
t even have to find parking. It
’
ll be quick.
’

‘
I guess I could make a small detour. I need to meet up with you soon. I have a lot of questions and I can
’
t put it all together without your help.
’

‘
It could be dangerous for both of us.
’

‘
I hope what you
’
re about to give me delivers on the promise you just made. I am doing everything I can for you when I don
’
t know what
’
s going on. I can
’
t afford to waste any more time.
’

‘
I promise you
’
re not wasting your time.
’

Grace groaned into the phone to ensure he heard her.
‘
Can you text me the address of where you are and I
’
ll program it into my GPS? I
’
m in no position to write anything down.
’

‘
Sure. I have to go before they trace this call. Make sure you delete the text when you
’
ve read it
,’
The Voice said and hung up.

‘
Or what? This phone will self-destruct in five
,
four
,
three
,
two
,
one. Boom.
’
She said into the phone.

She hung up her phone and the text came through. Grace verbally entered the address straight into the GPS and the system re-programmed itself. Soon she pulled up outside the building The Voice had sent her the address for and she wound down the passenger window with the electronic controls. Miraculously
,
this was the only vacant park on the street.

She wasn
’
t surprised when The Voice
,
cloaked in his usual disguise
,
appeared larger than life at the passenger
’
s window as she pulled into the kerb. She questioned whether he carried his disguise around with him in case he needed it. He looked around as if someone might jump out from behind a tree at any moment and see him up to no good.
He
’
s giving me a parcel
,
who cares?
Or is this bigger than I thought?
After her discussions with Jake this morning and being booted out of the minister
’
s office
,
she wasn
’
t sure which way to think.

‘
They
’
re onto me and I
’
m not sure I
’
ll be able to see you again. Someone showed up at Minister Sleen
’
s office today. Was it you?
’
he asked.

‘
Yes. I wanted to talk to him about his change of portfolios. It
’
s standard procedure when a Minister changes position. It had nothing to do with what you had given me.
’

‘
You shouldn
’
t be snooping around
,
Grace.
’

‘
Why? Besides
,
it
’
s not snooping. I
’
m a journalist and I
’
m doing my job. I
’
m sure there
’
s lots of journos who drop in and try to see the Minister. I think you
’
re paranoid. I
’
m sure they have no idea you
’
re filtering me information.
’

‘
As I said
,
I want to play this carefully. If we don
’
t
,
this information may not be uncovered and they
’
ll get away with their wicked crimes
,’
The Voice said.

This guy is beginning to do my head in.
‘
So
,
I
’
ve figured out quite a bit of the information you
’
ve given me and the voice recording was interesting. I don
’
t know what it all means but I need to talk to you. Did Sleen organise for Crow to be killed? Let
’
s have coffee
,
I need answers. You promised yesterday
,
remember?
’

‘
I can
’
t right now
,
they
’
re listening.
’

‘
See
,
now you
’
re back to wasting my time. Plus you said this would help me land my dream job. What did you mean?
’

‘
This is all about to blow up sooner than I thought. Take this for now
,
check it out and I will call you. Don
’
t trust Sleen.
’

He keeps saying the same thing.

And with his final comment he raced off into a dark building leaving Grace staring after him.

The man is beyond unreasonable.

Grace pressed the passenger window button to go up as she gazed out the front windscreen and wondered what this package could possibly contain. It could be wise to open it somewhere else rather than Nick
’
s car. She needed time out. Where could she go? She wanted to go home
,
cuddle up to her beloved cat with her drink of choice
,
and sleep to escape her thoughts. A headache was pulsing at the base of her neck. It wasn
’
t often Grace felt overwhelmed from work
,
however
,
the feeling started to wash over her like she had put a plastic bag over her head and she was suffocating. Checking the parking rules
,
she loaded the meter
,
snatched the parcel up along with her bag and phone
,
flung the door open
,
nearly taking out a cyclist in the process
,
and spotted a coffee shop on the opposite side of the street.