Chapter 25
Sapphire
Two weeks later
Kayden swore under his breath and bashed something in the engine with the wrench. Even from where I sat on an overturned crate in the machinery shed, I saw the irritation flash across his face before he bent back over the engine again.
I should probably stop watching him work, though it had become something of a habit over the past two weeks. I’d follow him out here to the machinery shed, perching somewhere out of the way, and just ... observe. The first time I’d done it, he’d glanced at me, raising an eyebrow.
“You know you don’t have to babysit me, right?” he’d said.
“I’m not babysitting. I’m appreciating.”
He’d given me one of his rare full smiles that reached his eyes, and my stomach had flipped.
The truth was, I loved watching him work.
Loved the way he relaxed when he was elbow-deep in machinery, the way his brow furrowed in concentration, and the look of satisfaction on his face when he figured out a problem.
He loved flying, too. We’d taken many flights together over the past two weeks as he’d shown me around Koolaroo, visiting all the outstations and a few of his favorite spots, where we’d made love out in the open or under the stars.
Kayden had purpose here. Direction. An identity that fit him like a second skin.
And I ... didn’t.
It had been two weeks since I’d handed over my badge. Fourteen days of waking up without a job, without a career, without the thing I’d worked toward since I was seventeen years old.
Ten days ago, Aria had returned to Koolaroo with Levi.
This time, she’d brought a few more members of her team.
They’d arrived in a heavy-lift chopper that Levi flew in like he’d been doing it his whole life.
A man she’d called Blade, who was all military-focused like Mitch, had come with Aria, along with an extremely fit, blonde-haired woman named Maya.
Maya had given me a hug like we were long-separated sisters, and she’d said, “I know what it’s like to have the floor ripped out from under you. So, if you need to chat, you give me a call.”
It was impossible not to like her, and I assured her that I would call, possibly sooner than she thought.
Before I’d told Aria where we’d found the money on Koolaroo, I’d asked her for a favor.
I explained about Bob returning to Koolaroo to search for the money, and how we were all worried about our safety if he did.
She’d understood that theory. So I’d asked her if we could make the discovery of that money public.
Maybe she could even plant the Branson family in a good light, which they bloody well needed after all the media coverage of Frank Branson since he’d been captured.
Aria had paused, mulling it over. I’d come to expect that from her.
Aria didn’t do anything without serious consideration.
“Okay. But if I hand this to the police press, I can’t control what they say.
And can’t guarantee that the Branson siblings come out of it in a good light.
” She’d tapped her phone against her thigh.
“There’s a better way. I know a true-crime podcaster.
Angel Mae Tomkins. Her show’s called Avenging Angel. ”
“Shit. Really? A podcaster?” I groaned. “Angel who?”
“Angel Tomkins. Don’t let the name fool you.
She’s the real deal.” Aria had said it with a respect that surprised me.
“She chased me for two years after that Chui bastard left a trail of victims. Wouldn’t take no.
And I know for a fact that she doesn’t burn a family just to get a headline.
” Aria’s mouth curved in a slight grin. “I lost count of how many times I told her no. Before I gave her a shot.”
That made me sit up. Aria Morgan did not hand out respect lightly. And this woman had earned it just by refusing to go away.
“Her tagline is ‘Every victim needs an Angel,’” Aria had added. “Corny as hell. She means it, though.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“Angel’s sister was killed over a decade ago and the case was never solved. But the damn journalists made her life misery. She hates journalists as much as I do.”
“Oh, poor thing. What happened to her sister?”
“I’ll let her tell you,” Aria sighed. “Anyway, Angel has a huge following. So be prepared. If she breaks this story about the money being found and handed in, and that Senior Sergeant Bob Ackerman is a corrupt cop on the run, it’ll be everywhere.
But she’ll tell it straight. That’s more than the papers will give you. ”
Angel sounded like a woman I’d want to know. I nodded at Aria. “She’ll be perfect.”
“Okay, then. I’ll try to minimize the circus.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. This thing’s already a circus.”
“True. Now listen,” she’d said. “Bob Ackerman is still in the wind. So even though we have control of his money, stay vigilant. Men like Bob don’t just disappear forever. When he surfaces, he’ll be desperate and dangerous.”
“I know.” I’d looked at the sprawling expanse of Koolaroo, but I was certain Bob wasn’t hiding in the bushes. He hated dirt, flies, and sweat. He was in a hotel somewhere. Planning. Waiting. “We’re careful.”
“Good.”
When Aria and her Wolf Security team arrived at Koolaroo, Kayden had flown Mitch, Cassidy, and me out to the plane wreck full of money.
Levi followed in the other chopper with Aria, Blade, and Maya.
As the packets of cash had been loaded into the chopper, Mitch told them we believed Frank had put the money in that plane.
It was a lie, and I hated that we were lying, but at least this lie would make sense.
We told them that none of us would have even thought of that plane if we weren’t trying to retrace Xavier’s story about his mother’s bullshit and how the pilot died in the plane crash.
Then we had to explain how Frank had moved that poor pilot’s body from that plane to the cave and left him there for thirty-seven years.
Aria wanted us to take her to that skeleton, but Mitch explained how difficult it was to get to the body. He welcomed her to return anytime with rappelling equipment. And I’d offered the alternative of us photographing the scene and recovering the bones ourselves.
That was why, three days later, Kayden had flown me back to my tiny house on the outskirts of Winton, where I’d planned to hand in that evidence and spend a few nights to get my head straight.
But I hadn’t been able to stay. I’d hated being there as much as I hated not knowing where Bob Ackerman was.
Then, I had the unpleasant experience of going into Winton Police Station. I’d handed over the photographic evidence and the skull and bones that Mitch, Kayden, and I had recovered from the cave, using ropes and winches attached to the front of their truck.
Just walking through the station where I’d worked every day for four years had made me feel like a fraud. I didn’t know the three police officers working at the station now, and each of them had looked at me like I was as corrupt as hell.
It made me sick to my stomach to know that they were pulling out every single file Bob had worked on, including all of mine.
I hadn’t been able to get out of that place, or that town, fast enough.
The other constable I’d worked with, Nate Stephens, had also been stood down. I’d tried to contact him a few times, but so far, I hadn’t been able to reach him.
I couldn’t decide if that was because he’d taken a vacation or something much more sinister. I hated how I’d become that cynical.
Bob Ackerman was still out there somewhere.
Aria assured me that every cop in Australia was aware of him, but he’d vanished like smoke.
Internal Affairs had launched a full investigation into everyone who’d ever worked under him, me included.
My phone rang daily with questions, interviews, and other crap.
They were tearing apart my entire career, examining every case I’d ever worked, looking for contamination, looking for proof I’d known what Bob was doing.
I hadn’t known. God, I hadn’t known. But that didn’t make the shame any easier to carry or the worry any less intense.
Kayden straightened, wiping his hands on a rag. His eyes found mine across the shed and softened. “You okay?”
“Yep. I’m fine.”
“Liar.” But he said it gently, without judgment.
I managed a smile. “Just thinking.”
“Dangerous pastime.” He crossed to the tool bench, selected a different wrench, then returned to the engine.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I wanted to ignore it. It was probably another IA investigator with more questions, but I couldn’t. I pulled it out and checked the screen.
Unknown number. Brisbane area code.
Sighing, I answered. “Hello.”
“Constable Delaney? This is Parker Callahan.”
“Parker, hi. And it’s just Sapphire Delaney now. Do you have some information for me?”
“Right. Well, Sapphire, I have some good news. Whitney and I have identified the skeleton you found in the cave through dental records.”
“Oh, that was fast.”
“We got lucky. He’d had some serious dental work done after a pub fight ended in him losing his front teeth.”
“Okay. That was lucky. Good, and who was he?”
“Joseph ‘Joey’ Robbins. You were right about him being a pilot. He was never married, but he did have a daughter. She was only four when he died. His father passed away nine years ago, but his mother is still alive. I thought you might like to be the one who gives her and his daughter the news that his body was found.”
“Oh.” I clutched my chest. “But I’ve been stood down.”
“Well, that’s the other reason for my call. I’d like to discuss a job opportunity with you.”
My heart stuttered. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Are you in a position to talk? This might take a few minutes.”
I glanced at Kayden. He’d paused his work, watching me with curious concern. I gave him a small nod and stood, moving toward the open door where the late afternoon sun slanted across the red dirt.
“I can talk.”
“I’ve been following your situation with Internal Affairs. I also pulled a couple of your case files.”
I groaned. Great.