SA 16 - Death Is Forever (Diamond Tiger) - Elizabeth Lowell by Elizabeth Lowell

Author:Elizabeth Lowell
Language: bg
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-05-08T09:43:29+00:00

"No."

"Could he be running without lights?"

Cole smiled coldly. "I hope so. That little Tojo he was driving doesn't weigh much more than a cow."

In the darkness ahead, what at first had seemed an extension of the star-packed southern sky resolved into a cluster of artificial lights. They were the first fixed lights Erin had seen on the landscape since leaving Derby behind.

"Fitzroy Crossing?" she asked.

"Nothing else is out here."

Fitzroy Crossing was the place where the Great Northern Highway's single lane crossed the Fitzroy River. That, and year-round water trapped in the huge billa-bongs gouged out by floodwaters, supported

a town of a few hundred whites, a varying population of Aborigines, and uncounted crocodiles.

Cole drove into a ramshackle service station, shut off the engine, and said as he got out, "Stay in the car.

If you see anything that makes you nervous, hit the horn. The shotgun is under my seat."

"I'm a lousy shot."

His teeth flashed whitely. "Doesn't matter. The barrels are just long enough to be legal and just right for close work against superior odds. The load is double-aught buckshot. Just point, pull the trigger, and watch the odds improve."

Without a word she reached under the seat and put the shotgun across her lap.

He filled the gas tank and the spare fuel cans that had been depleted by high-speed driving, added oil and water, checked various cables, hoses, and reservoirs, and finally went inside to pay.

She kept looking around but saw no one except an Aborigine with grizzled hair on top, thickly calloused

feet on bottom, and a freeform castle of Black Swann beer cans piled to one side.

When Cole emerged from the combination grocery store, cafe, and bar, he was carrying a stack of sandwiches and lukewarm soft drinks from an overmatched refrigerator. He stopped for a moment, exchanged a few words with the Black Swann castle builder, left a sandwich, and came back to the Rover.

Moments later they were on the road again. She had the distinct feeling he was glad to be out in the darkness once more.

"There's a roadside park thirty klicks north," he said. "We can use the picnic tables as cots, if nobody beats us to them. Or we can push on to the station."

"Which is safer?"

He shrugged. "Little white Japanese vehicles are common here. The town is full of them. If our bird dog

got smart and cut across the Tunnel Creek road instead of turning around and going over his backtrail to

catch us, he's probably ahead of us. He'll assume we're going to push for Abe's station, where we have help. It's damned easy to set up an ambush at night out in the bush."

"I've always wanted to sleep on a picnic table."

He laughed softly. "Don't worry, honey. I've got a tarp and sleeping bags in back. We'll hollow out a place in the sand and sleep like babies."

They saw no other traffic until ten minutes later, when headlights flashed into life about a half mile ahead.

The height and number of the lights told Cole that the oncoming vehicle was a roadtrain.

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