Something to Hide by Fleur McDonald

Author:Fleur McDonald [Fleur McDonald]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2021-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Spencer saw the man’s hand go straight behind his back and knew he was reaching for a gun.

‘Whoa, steady there, fella,’ Spencer said, his hands coming up in a calming gesture. He couldn’t reach for his weapon without starting something he didn’t want to start. ‘I don’t want to cause you any trouble.’

‘Who the fuck are you?’ the man asked.

Spencer knew this man wasn’t Bulldust. But could it be his brother? When Spencer had briefed Dave about the stock-stealing mustering business in order to send him undercover, they hadn’t known Scotty existed. He wasn’t on their records, and all they had was a composite drawing from the description and information Dave had given them after he’d come out of hospital.

Was it him?

This man standing before him had a long black beard and an earring. Under the heavy jumper, Spencer could tell he was well built and strong. Agile. His eyes held an iciness to them. Whoever he was, he was evil and cruel. Spencer had been around long enough to be able to make a call on people easily.

‘Name’s Spencer.’ He took another couple of steps forward.

‘Stay where you are.’ The man looked him up and down. ‘You a copper? You smell like a copper.’

‘Know a bit about coppers, do you?’

The man stayed silent, his hand stilled, so Spencer continued. ‘Yeah, I’m from the gold squad. Just doing a little run around to see what’s going on out here in this neck of the woods. Going okay for you, is it?’

Crossing his arms, the man shook his head. ‘Mate, got no time for coppers. Just fuck off.’

‘That’s not very polite. What’s the problem?’

‘Got nothing to say to you.’ The man turned his back towards Spencer. ‘You’d better get on your way.’

‘Is this your lease? Looks like you’ve been out here for a while. Got a good set-up.’ Spencer carefully watched the man’s eyes, noting they were flickering towards the creek. Was there someone else out there?

For the first time, he felt a sliver of fear work its way into his stomach. The gun at his back suddenly felt heavy.

‘What’s it to you?’

‘Listen, fella, I’m just out here working out who’s in my district. I keep a fairly close eye on these sorts of things, you know.’

‘Good for you.’

‘I actually came out to check out the site of a motorbike accident, just down the road. Know anything about that, do you?’

A look of surprise lit up the man’s eyes. ‘Why would I know anything about that?’

Spencer shrugged. ‘Only that you’re not too far from the crash site. Thought you might have heard something.’

‘When did it happen?’

‘About a week ago.’

‘Well, I know fuck-all.’

‘Bloke came off his bike and had a pretty bad head injury. Been trying to understand what happened. He’s okay but can’t remember exactly how he ran off the road.’

‘Can’t help you.’

Spencer noted his jaw was clenched and flinching slightly, and the surprise he’d initially displayed had been replaced by a deadpan expression.

‘Okay. Just thought I’d ask. Be great to have an eyewitness.

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