Chapter 28 Jemma #2
She took the phone and pinched her fingers on the screen, making the image larger, then scrolling back to the start of the video.
As they all craned in to watch, she saw it more clearly: the fur was a puppy, no larger than the one Paul Schenscher had promised her.
A chain glinted as it tried to claw its way up the rear of the cab, but the dog didn’t seem to be able to turn toward the intruders.
‘That chain looks like it’s only a few centimetres long! Did the dog have food or water on the back of the ute?’
Alongside her, she felt Charlee shrug. Jemma glanced up to catch Ethan watching the video with a furrowed brow.
He gave her an apologetic look. ‘Sorry, I was too busy shitting myself about being there to even notice that poor bugger.’
‘Either of you?’ Jemma turned to Charlee and Tara. ‘Whoa, are you okay?’
Tara had gone pale, her gaze fixed on the screen. The fact that she was potentially in a lot of trouble must have finally hit home.
‘That ute …’ Tara whispered. ‘It looks familiar.’
‘Well, not unusual out here, are they?’ Jemma said.
Tara shook her head, but crimped her lips together.
‘Tara. Anything to do with those ducklings?’ Hamish pressed.
‘I don’t know.’ It looked like she was about to start crying.
Jemma shot a quizzical look at Hamish and mouthed, ‘What?’
‘The night Tara was …’ Hamish broke off, seeming to search for a word.
‘Stoned,’ Ethan said flatly. ‘Call it what it is.’
‘Oh my God, I’ve told you all, I didn’t take anything,’ Tara blazed, dashing away the tear that escaped. ‘Though I probably bloody should because it’s not like there’s anything else going on in this town.’
‘Chill, babe,’ Charlee said. ‘You know Ethan and Ham are just worried about you.’
Hamish nodded agreement. ‘That night, Tara was mumbling something about ducklings, and Evie Schenscher told you, Jemma, that there was some story about a ute deliberately ploughing through a family of ducks. Plus Ethan heard that Tara had been at the skatepark talking to some guys in a ute.’
‘I keep telling you, I don’t hang out at the skatepark,’ Tara insisted, though her voice was quavery.
‘Regardless, right now we need to focus on this. Look at the pigs, Jemma.’
Jemma caught Charlee’s eye and realised she was deliberately defusing the situation, so she bent toward the phone again.
‘Okay, let’s have a look at what you’ve got.
’ The words were throwaway, meant to buy her time to ponder Tara’s reaction.
However, she ended up replaying the video several times, appalled at the conditions the pigs were being kept in.
‘I’d love to get a clearer look at this,’ she said, squinting at the screen.
‘So we do have a case?’ Charlee asked excitedly.
‘I’m not saying that. Animal cruelty is a bit of a messy topic, because the treatment of livestock is governed by a specific set of regulations, not the general act.’
‘But plenty of activists have managed to get positive results,’ Charlee argued.
‘They have. But that’s generally because they’ve had a camera planted in the facility to record the human interactions and treatment of the animals.
A video of these disgustingly crowded pens, while gut wrenching, isn’t going to get you the result you want.
’ She scrolled back to the footage of the dog.
‘Honestly, if it had been clear on here that this poor pup doesn’t have shelter and water, you’d be more likely to get some traction.
However, I’d say the existence of this footage is probably enough to make any potential action from the facility go away.
That only works if you don’t make the video public, though,’ she cautioned.
‘It’s the ace up our sleeve if I need to deal with the company. ’
‘So you reckon Ethan doesn’t need to worry?’ Hamish said.
She checked her watch and stood. ‘Providing there was no damage on the property, I don’t think so.
Nothing for you to stay up at night over, anyway,’ she added to Ethan.
‘If anything comes up, we’ll deal with it then.
But right now, I’ve got to make tracks. I’m supposed to be at my clients’ to finalise their paperwork,’ she said to Hamish.
She’d never become accustomed to dropping client names into the conversation.
‘I’ll be back a bit later on, though.’ Hopefully Hamish’s houseguest would have disappeared by then.
‘I’ll stoke the fire,’ Hamish said with a grin.
‘That’s Evie and Paul’s you’re headed to?’ Ethan asked, destroying any chance of client confidentiality. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to be nosey, but I’ve got a portable mobility scooter in the back of my car for Paul. I don’t suppose you could take it out there for me?’
‘A scooter?’
‘Yeah. Evie said Paul’s having a bit of trouble getting around when they come into town.
He reckons he doesn’t want to look like an old fossil with a mobility aid, so I had the guys at the shop custom-finish one for him.
It looks pretty cool, all tricked up, and I reckon it’ll tickle his fancy enough that he might use it.
Thing is, if I take it out there, I know they’ll try to pay for it.
But if you drop it off …’ He shrugged and gave a diffident grin.
‘Sure. Put it in the car,’ Jemma said. She frowned as she dug in her bag for her keys. Was it possible she had misjudged the tattooed university lecturer?