Chapter Fourteen
Lee relaxed a little after Nhiari and Dot returned to the kitchen. He didn’t know what to make of Nhiari contacting her friend without telling him, but he could hardly complain. He was asking her to trust him with little evidence to go on.
Dot studied him. He waited, saying nothing, but hoped Nhiari had put in a good word for him.
“The treasure is going to be moved to Perth on Saturday,” Dot said. “Maybe we can set a trap.”
“No,” Brandon said. “We can’t lose it.”
“Technically it’s not yours to lose,” Oliver told him. “But I agree. Its historical value is too high to be used as bait.”
“Not to mention the monetary value,” Georgie said.
“You have the advantage that Lucas doesn’t know exactly where the treasure is,” Lee said before they lost track of the point. “Neither do I.”
Amy raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
He nodded, pleased she was speaking with him. “I know you have it. I saw you dig it up. I don’t know what you did with it.”
“How do you know we didn’t take it straight to the authorities?” Ed asked.
“Because I didn’t hear about it, and neither did Lucas.”
“Are your networks that good?” Tess asked.
“Yes.” It wasn’t bragging. It was the truth. “Martin would have mentioned it, and even if you hadn’t told him, our networks would have heard whispers. No one could keep it quiet for this long.” He glanced around the table, noting the way Jordan squirmed in his seat. “Unless their lives depended on it.” This close-knit group had surprised even him. If it hadn’t been for Jordan taking a coin to school, word wouldn’t have spread beyond these walls.
“Can we trust him?” Matt demanded, looking at Nhiari.
“You tell me. You want to tell everyone the truth about what happened when Clark died?”
Matt’s anger deflated, and he exchanged a glance with Georgie.
“We all know Georgie didn’t shoot Clark,” Brandon said. He raised one eyebrow at his sister. “You can’t lie for shit.”
She smiled, not at all embarrassed. “Clark ordered Lee to shoot us to prove his loyalty to Stonefish. Instead he shot Clark, told me I needed to take the blame short term while he gathered enough evidence to stop Stonefish, and then disappeared into the bush.” Georgie squeezed Lee’s hand. “He saved both of us.”
“That was risky,” Faith said. “Clark was Lucas’s son. How did you know he wouldn’t want you dead?”
“I didn’t. But the choice between Clark and Georgie wasn’t difficult. She deserves to live.”
Matt slid his arms around Georgie as if needing to touch her to reassure himself she was all right. “Damn straight she does.”
“Thank you,” Ed said as he got up to refill the water jug then filled Lee’s glass.
The atmosphere in the room eased a little. Sherlock and Sam sipped their drinks and Amy got another plate of biscuits from the cupboard.
He’d earned a modicum of respect.
“Is Georgie going to be in trouble for lying?” Brandon asked.
Dot answered. “We can argue against any punishment, particularly if we catch Lucas.”
Which brought them right back to the treasure. “He’ll want to steal the treasure before it gets to Perth,” Lee said. “If possible, he’ll take it straight out of the country.”
“Private plane?” Sherlock asked.
“I haven’t seen his up here, but his boat is in the area.”
“There are a lot of places along the coast they could moor and bring the treasure on board,” Sam pointed out.
Nhiari cleared her throat. “There are far too many people here for this discussion.” Her expression was apologetic as she glanced at all the faces. “The less you know about what is planned, the safer you will be.”
A good idea, but, “Before you go…” Lee picked up the bag, which had been lying by his feet.
The military men all stiffened, sharpening their gaze on him and he raised the other hand while he slowly lifted the bag to the table. “Nhiari, do you want to check the contents before you pass it to Darcy?”
She took the bag from him, but the men didn’t relax. Lee waited, watched her eyes widen as she looked inside and then rummaged around in the bag. She glanced at him and then said, “There’s nothing dangerous inside.” She passed the bag to Darcy.
Darcy assessed Lee.
“I can’t take back what I did to the station, but it might help.”
Darcy opened the bag. “Holy shit.” He withdrew the first wad of bank notes.
Faith gasped as she peered inside. “There’s got to be tens of thousands of dollars here.”
“Half a million,” Lee told her.
Darcy looked up. “Blood money.”
Lee shook his head. “That was part of my inheritance from my father. It came from his legitimate investments, not anything he earned from Stonefish.”
“Why?” Amy asked.
He hated the distrust on her face. “Because I never wanted to hurt your family the way I did. It was the only way to get Lucas to trust me.” He hesitated, not sure how much he should say. “I enjoyed our discussions, Amy. I never wanted to lie to you. I realise money can’t make up for the hardship and suffering I’ve caused, but it can hopefully lighten your financial burdens so you don’t lose the Ridge.”
“Thank you.” Lara picked up a wad of cash. “It will help, won’t it, Dad? We won’t have to move?”
“Yeah, it will help, pumpkin,” Darcy replied.
“If it’s legitimate,” Matt replied.
“It is,” Lee assured him, not that his words had much weight with them. He glanced at Nhiari. “When this is done, I can show you the paper trail.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
“All right, we need to get back to planning,” Dot said, “and you need to find somewhere safe to put the cash.”
Darcy stood. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” He glanced at his daughter and then at Jordan. “Shall we go to the beach?”
Lara looked at Lee, then at Nhiari and finally her dad. “All right.”
“The beach sounds perfect,” Georgie said.
“I’ll make a picnic,” Amy added as most of the people at the table stood and went to get ready.
Soon Lee faced the three army men, Dot, Nhiari and Oliver. They shuffled closer together around the table and Lee used the opportunity to remove the listening device he’d planted under the table months ago.
Oliver shifted in his seat, wincing a little. “I can wait in the lounge,” he said. “The beach is out for me at the moment.”
“Stay,” Dot said. “You know how the museum works and whether what we’re proposing will work.”
“How’s the chest?” Lee asked.
“Sore.” Oliver placed a hand on his sternum. “Were you responsible for my kidnapping?”
“No, that was Lucas. I didn’t know until Andrew called me the night before.” His heart panged. He wanted to ask Oliver about Andrew’s last minutes, but there would be time later.
“Why didn’t you stop it?” Sam asked.
“I wasn’t supposed to know,” Lee replied. “Lucas didn’t tell me he was in town, or what he’d told Andrew.”
“Sounds as if he doesn’t trust you,” Sherlock said.
“His confidence in others is low considering how things have gone over the past year. The business has worked under the radar for generations and it’s all surfacing now because of some decisions he made about the treasure and allowing his son to control this part of the business.”
“I don’t understand why the treasure is such a big deal. The man must have millions.” Brandon tapped his hand on the table.
“The company and all his history is built on the idea the original pearl divers overcame their masters. They took their portion of the treasure Reginald found and built the business. They moved away from their poor pasts and became powerful. The knowledge there was more treasure they were cheated out of was enough to make Lucas furious. He is extremely proud of his history and he sees the treasure as rightfully his.”
“Seems crazy to me,” Sherlock said.
Lee nodded. “Pride is very important to him. He thought it would be easy because he had the captain’s journal, but Bill and Beth wouldn’t sell the property, no matter how much money he offered them. Not being able to buy what he wanted wasn’t a concept he’d ever encountered before. It triggered something in him that made him unreasonable.”
“Did you try to stop him?” Brandon asked.
Lee looked him in the eye. “No. I wanted him destroyed.”
The others had finished getting ready for the beach and he stopped talking as they passed through the kitchen and out to the cars. When the fly screen door slammed behind the last of them, Nhiari spoke.
“We need to figure out how. Where is the treasure now?”
The others exchanged glances. They didn’t trust him yet, which he understood. “I can leave the room while you tell Nhiari.”
“Probably best if we talk about when it’s going to be moved,” Dot said. “The museum will take possession in two days.”
That’s right, they were taking it to Perth. That was plenty of time to come up with a plan. “Armoured guard?” Even if it was a portion of what Lucas expected, it would be worth millions.
“To a certain extent,” Brandon said.
Lee’s brain worked through the different options. So few people knew the truth of what had happened. “You three are accompanying it?”
None of the men said anything, and Dot sighed in exasperation. “We haven’t finalised the details yet. Oliver only confirmed the transport before you arrived.”
“Road, boat or air?” Lee asked.
Dot glanced at Nhiari again before she finally answered. “Road. Steven Hamilton stole a cannon from the new wreck and the museum wants to add it to their collection.”
“So you’ll hide the treasure on the transport.” A smart idea if few people knew they had found the treasure, but Lucas would examine everything out of the ordinary. “Lucas will know. He’s the sponsor for the expedition and is quite within his rights to call the museum for an update. He’ll hear the cannon has been found and is being moved on Saturday.”
“Which we can use to our advantage,” Brandon pointed out.
“What will Lucas do with the information?” Nhiari asked.
A good question. “He’ll want to be subtle and not want a fight. If he can detour the truck from the main road, he’ll get the treasure and leave Australia.”
“There are dozens of airstrips along the coast,” Nhiari pointed out. “Plus multiple places where he could meet his boat.”
So they had to make sure he knew where to meet the truck.
“Are we going to bring Rodney in on this?” Dot asked.
Nhiari scowled. “Where is he?”
“In town,” Dot said. “Going through all the evidence, probably building a case about why I should no longer have a job.”
“Does he need to be involved?” Oliver asked.
“Yes,” Dot replied. “If I keep this from him, and we can’t prove he’s working for Stonefish, it’s likely to be the nail in my coffin.”
“Should we call him out here?” Sam asked.
Nhiari cringed and then relaxed when Dot said, “Let’s build a reasonable plan first and then tell him.”
“First, I need to talk to Lucas,” Lee said.
“Will he tell you his plans?” Nhiari asked.
“He’ll have to. There isn’t anyone left up here to help him.” He waited for that to sink in. He was the last man standing.
“The van will arrive in Retribution Bay tomorrow evening,” Dot said. “We’ll load the cannon and the treasure first thing Saturday morning and the van will drive until it reaches Perth.”
“Two drivers?” Lee asked.
Dot nodded.
“Have you got a map?” Sherlock asked Brandon.
“Yeah, in Dad’s office.” He left the room and returned with a large map of Western Australia, which he spread across the table. “This is the route they’ll take.” He traced the Brand Highway.
Lee assessed the map. “We need to mark all the airstrips and roads to the coast.”
“There are many unmarked tracks and airstrips on the stations,” Nhiari said. “If Lucas has bribed a station owner, he could access tracks we don’t know about.”
“He wouldn’t even need to bribe them,” Brandon pointed out. “He could use them with no one being any wiser.”
“What’s the plane registration?” Dot asked.
Lee rattled off the details. “It needs a long runway. Anything under eight hundred metres would be too short.”
“That will rule out a lot of the station airstrips then,” Nhiari said. “Most are for small, single-engine planes.”
Nhiari and Dot got to work marking options on the map, including petrol stations where the van would stop to refuel. Before they got to Geraldton there were over two dozen. Way too many options for them to cover them all.
“I need to call Lucas,” Lee said. “He’ll need my help to steal it, so I’ll be able to tell you where he’ll be waiting.”
Nhiari nodded. “Lee needs to see the treasure as well in case Lucas asks questions about it. He may need some kind of proof to show Lucas.”
Brandon scowled. “Take him into the lounge and I’ll retrieve some.”
Fair enough. Nhiari led Lee out of the kitchen. In the hallway he paused at the wall of photos of the Stokes children at various ages from birth to their first day of school, to graduation and the latest one was of Brandon and Amy’s wedding.
“I always envied this wall,” he said to Nhiari as he followed her into the lounge room. It was a cosy room, with big, soft couches and an average sized television. Nothing like the designer rooms his mother had put together, but far more welcoming.
“Why?”
“Because it represents love,” he replied. “The photos aren’t professional but show a lifetime of family and support.”
“You didn’t have family photos in your house?”
“Only if they were professionally taken and matched the decor. Mother isn’t sentimental. It was more for appearances.”
Nhiari brushed his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He shook away her apology. “I was fine. I had a very privileged upbringing.”
“You can have all the wealth in the world and still be unhappy.”
“Dad made it up to me when he could.”
“When did you see the photos?” Nhiari asked suddenly.
He glanced at her. “What?”
“You said you always envied the wall, but the Stokes don’t invite guests down this way.”
He winced. “They never locked the house,” he said. “I’ve been in a few times looking for clues to the treasure when Amy went to town and the others were working.”
“Did you take anything?”
“Only photos of potential things.” He didn’t mention what he’d left behind.
She nodded as if satisfied. “Giving them the money was very generous.”
“It was the least I could do.” One photo he’d taken at Amy and Brandon’s wedding had been enlarged and framed, taking a prominent position on one wall. It contained the Stokes children, their partners, and Lara. Though Matt and Georgie hadn’t been together then, they stood next to each other and Tess had been a part of the photo too. Lee smiled. He’d done something they appreciated. He could hold on to that.
“Have you had that money with you the whole time?” Nhiari asked.
“Clark smuggled it in for me. He thought it was for bribes. I knew as soon as I met Amy and Beth that I was going to be hurting good people. Prior to that, all I thought of was revenge for my father. I didn’t consider what I might have to do to get it.”
She slid her hand around his waist. “The money will help. As will stopping Lucas, but it might take time for them to forgive your actions.”
Lee knew that. He’d be surprised if they ever forgave him. He glanced at Nhiari. These were her friends. Even if he somehow avoided gaol time, they wouldn’t want him in their lives. He hadn’t considered that before.
The pit in his stomach grew deeper. He’d let himself hope he’d get leniency for helping the police, but that wasn’t the real hurdle now.
He couldn’t let Nhiari be ostracised from her friends for his actions.
There really was no future for them.
It was about half an hour before Sam fetched them. Nhiari had heard doors open and close throughout the house and a car leaving and return. She suspected they were trying to make it difficult for Lee to know where the treasure was being kept.
They returned to the kitchen, where a backpack sat in the middle of the table. Brandon gestured to it. “Take a look.”
Lee opened the bag, and she peered in. Gold and jewels. Nhiari gasped. “It’s beautiful.” She pulled out a ruby bracelet.
“You haven’t seen it yet?” Lee asked.
She glanced at him. “I’ve been with you all this time, remember?” And the Stokes had only just found the treasure when Jordan and Cody had been kidnapped.
Lee tipped the contents of the bag out on the table, and coins and jewels poured out.
It was impressive, but not that much for the amount of fuss it had caused. “What proportion of the treasure is this?” Nhiari asked.
Brandon stared at Lee for a long moment before he said, “About a tenth.”
Lee nodded. “Can I take some photos? Lucas will want proof.”
“Put it back in the bag,” Nhiari said. “And we should all make sure we’re back so we aren’t caught in a reflection. We don’t know what kind of tech Lucas has available to him.”
They did as she suggested, and then Lee took a couple of photos. “I’ll send them tonight. He has to believe I’m lying to you.”
“Just as long as you aren’t,” Brandon growled.
“I’m not.”
Nhiari felt a twinge of uncertainty. She didn’t doubt Lee wanted revenge for his father’s death, but there was still a niggle that maybe Lee was lying to both Lucas and her. If that was the case, he might take the treasure for himself to start a new life and avoid gaol time all together.
“Have you got more questions for me?” Lee asked.
“Not at the moment,” Dot said.
“Why don’t you call Lucas now?” Nhiari suggested. “You can pretend you’re going for a walk or something.” The sooner they got information, the better, and she wanted to talk to Amani about something.
“I’ll need to go by myself in case he has eyes on the Ridge, which means you can’t listen to the conversation.”
“We need him to be convinced,” Sherlock said. “Otherwise this won’t work.”
“Don’t go far,” Brandon said.
Lee glanced at Nhiari and she nodded her confirmation. The kitchen fly screen banged shut behind him as he left.
“Nhiari, do you really believe him?” Brandon asked.
She waited until Lee had crossed over to the shed before she spoke. “I want to believe it.” She got out her phone. “But I’d be foolish not to take precautions. I’ll be back.”
She returned to the lounge, where she called Amani. Dot followed her in.
“I haven’t gone through the information yet,” Amani answered.
“I’ve got another favour,” Nhiari said. “If I send you a video which is embedded with a tracking device, can you extract it and put it in something I can send to someone so their phone is tracked?”
“Maybe. Send it to me so I can look.”
Nhiari pressed a few buttons and sent Amani the video Lee had sent her to get access to her phone. “Sent.”
“What’s your priority?”
“I need it on the phone by Saturday morning.”
“Geez, Nhiari. What are you doing to me?”
“I owe you big time,” Nhiari assured her.
“Give me a second. I’ll see if it’s anything obvious.”
Dot raised her eyebrows.
“Lee tracked both of our phones,” she said. “It’s how he knew where we were. If I can get something similar on his phone by Saturday, we can follow him if he can’t be trusted.” Her gut clenched.
“If that’s all you need, I’ve got something that will work,” Amani said. “All you need to do is make sure the person opens the message and it will install on their phone. You’ll have real-time tracking.”
“What are the legalities?” Dot asked.
“You need court approval,” Amani said. “Have you brought Rodney into this yet?”
“No.” Nor did Nhiari want to, but she also acknowledged they would have to at some stage. “If he’s working with Stonefish and knows we’ve put it on Lee’s phone, then it won’t work. Lee could just leave his phone off for the entire time.”
“Let me know what you’re going to do. I’ve got to go.” Amani hung up.
Nhiari looked at Dot. “What’s your gut telling you?”
“That he’s a professional and only he knows who he’s telling the truth to.”
Her phone dinged and she looked down at the screen.
Use it wisely.
She didn’t recognise the number, but she smiled at the photo which accompanied it. Amani had come through for her. She considered what to write and then sent Lee a quick message before she could second-guess herself.
Then she downloaded the tracking app and hid it in a folder on her phone.
She hoped she didn’t have to use it.