Outback Blaze (18 page)

‘Would you like to sit down?'

‘I said I'm fine.' But she stood there, her arms pressed against her sides, the look of a frightened animal on her face.

She was clearly not fine, but Drew said nothing and shut the door behind them. The house seemed to shrink ten sizes and Ruby took a step back as if she felt it too. They were alone. His fingers itched to reach up and smooth the creases on her forehead.

‘What can I do for you?' he asked, visualising the cold shower he'd have when she was gone, but the thought barely made a dent in his desire.

She breathed in deeply, fiddled with her car keys, then said, ‘I have something to tell you.'

He nodded.

Another long silence passed before she spoke again. ‘I think I have an alibi for Jaxon and Brad.'

‘What?' Her words temporarily distracted his libido. ‘But you were at the hall the night of the fire.'

‘
I'm
not their alibi,' she said, as if he were an imbecile. ‘I happened to pass the school bus from Geraldton earlier today. Harriet, Simone's daughter and a friend of hers – a farmer's daughter – were with Jaxon and Brad in the back,' she paused. ‘Kissing.'

It took all of two seconds for him to realise where she was going with this. ‘And you think Harriet and this friend were with the boys?'

‘Makes sense.'

He frowned. ‘Except why didn't Jaxon and Brad say so? Why would the girls not speak up when they knew the severe consequences of keeping quiet?'

‘Well, you're the cop, but the way I see it, there's two possible reasons. Harriet's friend is Alyssa Sawyer. Her dad has a reputation for being unreasonably strict. Maybe the girls don't want their parents to know what they've been getting up to.'

‘But surely they'd put up with a reprimand from their folks to save their boyfriends from juvenile detention.'

Ruby shrugged. ‘Of course the other possibility is that O'Leary is right about Jaxon and Brad's involvement in the fire and the girls were there as well.'

‘No way.' Drew yanked his hand through his hair, not wanting to admit this possibility and then looked at Ruby. ‘What do you think?'

‘I agree with you,' she said, her shoulders slumping. ‘My guess is the girls are scared of their parents and don't realise how serious the arson charges are, but I can't imagine they would sit by and watch someone burn down a building. Harriet is basically a good kid and I'm guessing Alyssa is too.'

He knew how much it meant that she'd come to him with this news. She still didn't believe her parents capable of the crime but her conscience had gotten the better of her. Like him, she couldn't live with letting two larrikin boys go down for something they didn't do.

‘Young love, hey? Jaxon and Brad must be really taken with them.' Drew smiled, trying to lift the heavy mood but Ruby's mouth remained in a tight line.

‘Well, I guess I'll be going.' She turned towards the door and instinctively he reached out and grabbed her wrist. She swung back, her gaze snapping to where his fingers held her. His whole body tightened with the effect of this simple touch. It had been too long since he'd had a woman – there was no other explanation for such a primal reaction.

He fought his response. Dropping her hand as if she'd burned him, he said, ‘If your parents are innocent, Ruby, they have nothing to worry about.'

‘They
are
innocent.' Shaking her arm as if to rid herself of his mark, she stepped past him and opened his door. If he wasn't mistaken, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as him. ‘Goodnight, Drew.'

He watched as she stormed down his driveway to her mud-splattered four-wheel drive and sighed. He should feel jubilant at the news she'd delivered, but all he could think about was the fact that if the girls did provide an alibi, Ruby's parents were next in line. He found he didn't like the idea of arresting the Joneses any more than Jaxon and Brad taking the rap for something they didn't do. Leaning against the doorjamb, he cradled his head in his hands and swore.

He barely knew Ruby, her parents even less so, but being in such a small community made this job harder than it had ever been back home. It reminded him far too much of the sacrifices he'd had to make when he'd arrested his cousin. Sometimes you had to wonder what the pay-off was for always being the good guy.

Knowing no good could ever come of playing the what-if game, Drew went inside and grabbed his keys. He should probably call O'Leary and tell him what he was up to, but then again, he'd never been one for following all the rules. His gut told him that Harriet and Alyssa were more likely to open up if he didn't barge in heavy handed. Heeding Ruby's words about Alyssa's dad, Drew decided to visit Simone and Harriet before looking up Alyssa's whereabouts.

As Drew knocked on Simone's door he felt kind of nervous about talking to Harriet. What if she and Alyssa insisted on maintaining the lie that they were camped out in Alyssa's bedroom the night of the fire? Unless he came up with a sure-fire alibi O'Leary would tell him to forget it.

‘Hi Drew.' The door opened to reveal a smiling Grace in purple and orange-striped flannelette pajamas.

Simone appeared behind her, looking frazzled. ‘It's Constable Noble to you, Miss,' she said, tapping Grace on the shoulder.

‘He said I could call him Drew,' Grace retorted, her hands propped on her hips as she glared at her mother.

‘It's fine,' Drew said. ‘Can I talk to you and Harriet a moment, Simone?'

Simone blinked. ‘Oh shit, what the hell's she done now?'

When he didn't say anything Simone sighed and beckoned him inside. ‘You'd better come in then.' She led him into the kitchen where a pot of something that smelt suspiciously like beef stew bubbled on the stovetop. He hadn't eaten anything since his pie at Frankie's and his stomach groaned its disgust.

‘You want some?' Simone asked, gesturing at the pot.

He knew he should politely decline but not being able to recall the last time he'd had a home-cooked meal, he couldn't. ‘If you've got enough to spare.'

‘I always do,' she said, taking a bowl from the cupboard. ‘My husband had a mammoth appetite and, for some reason, I've never been able to stop cooking for him.'

Hard to know what to say to that, but Simone dished out the stew as if she didn't expect an answer. She hadn't taken kindly to him reprimanding her about not knowing where Harriet was the night of the fire, but she showed no hostility now. Like everyone in Bunyip Bay she was warm and friendly.

‘Take a seat.' She put the bowl of stew and a spoon on the table. ‘I'll go get Harriet.'

He'd decided not to warn Simone what he wanted to ask Harriet because she might interrogate her daughter first and Drew wanted to gauge the girl's reaction when she first heard the accusation. Grace sat at the table opposite him as he tucked into the meal.

‘I hate stew,' she told him. ‘That's all Mum ever cooks in winter. I'd make dinner myself but she says I make too much mess.'

Before he could reply, Simone returned, holding Harriet by the shoulders as she practically pushed her into the homely kitchen.

‘Why do you want to speak to me?' Harriet asked accusingly.

Drew rested his spoon in the bowl and smiled at her. He purposefully didn't say anything straightaway, examining her face for the telltale twitches of guilt. She didn't disappoint.

‘Grace, go and clean your bedroom, please,' Simone said, her eyes trained on Harriet.

‘I cleaned it yesterday,' Grace objected.

‘Now, Grace.' Even Drew cringed at Simone's do-as-I-say-now-or-forever-regret-it mum tone.

Muttering under her breath, Grace left the room dragging her feet as she went. Simone pulled back a chair and glared at Harriet, signalling for her to sit on it.

‘Thanks for giving me your time,' Drew began, offering a smile to try and put Harriet at ease before he pounced. ‘I've come to ask you a few questions about the night of the fire.'

Simone frowned, looking between Drew and her daughter.

As he'd predicted Harriet's whole body tensed. She blinked a few times in quick succession but quickly covered her reaction with faux-bravado. Crossing her arms, she snapped, ‘I know nothing about the fire!'

‘I think you do,' he said, narrowing his eyes.

Simone leaned towards her daughter, placing a hand over hers. ‘Harriet. What do you know?'

Harriet remained tight-lipped.

‘Someone saw you on the bus this afternoon.' Drew paused waiting for this information to sink in.

He saw the exact moment she registered – she darted a glance at her mother and fear shadowed her face – but like a typical teenager, she didn't back down. ‘So?'

He almost chuckled. If she wanted him to spell it out in front of her mother, so be it. Echoing her actions, he folded his own arms and leant back in the chair. ‘You were seen kissing Jaxon Bird.'

Simone gasped. Like the rest of the town she was in no doubt of the opinion that Jaxon wasn't the type of boy she wanted her daughter cavorting with. ‘What's going on, Harriet?'

Before Harriet could say anything else in her defence, Drew came down hard. ‘Was it the boys or your idea to take their pranks to the next level and burn down someone's livelihood?'

‘What?' Harriet recoiled, her arms unfolding as she turned to her mum. ‘I had nothing to do with that fire, I swear it. And neither did Jaxon or Brad. None of us were anywhere near that building that night. They were with us.'

Victory
. Drew couldn't help but smile. He opened his mouth but Simone got in first.

‘Did you spend the whole night with those boys? What the hell did you get up to? Are you sleeping with Jaxon?' The questions came like bullets and Drew found himself feeling sorry for Harriet.

The answers were none of his business and not wanting to get involved in a parent–teen domestic, he cleared his throat. ‘Why didn't you speak up, Harriet? Jaxon and Brad have been accused of a very serious crime. They could go to prison.'

‘I don't want that,' she said, her tough-girl demeanor crumbling as she sniffed back tears. She glanced at her mum, then back to him. ‘It's because of Alyssa's dad. I wanted to say something but Alyssa totally freaked. She reckons her dad will hit the roof if he knows she's seeing Brad, never mind sneaking out at night with him.'

‘And then there's the issue of the stolen car.' He raised his eyebrows.

‘The stolen
what
? Oh Lord!' Simone ran a hand through her hair and glared at her daughter. ‘You've got some serious explaining to do, Miss.'

Harriet looked at Drew. ‘See, even she's being a fruitcake about it. It wasn't like we crashed it or anything.'

Simone looked as though she was hyperventilating.

‘That's not the point,' Drew said firmly. ‘I'll need you to come down to the station first thing in the morning and tell me exactly what happened that night.'

‘Am I going to go to prison?' Harriet's question was barely a whisper.

He cocked his head to one side. ‘As it's your first offence I think you'll be okay. Brad's sister has already said she doesn't want charges laid for the robbery so you'll probably get off with a few hours of community service. But don't let me ever hear you doing anything like this again?'

She opened her mouth but no words came out as she vigorously shook her head.

‘I think I'm a little lost,' Simone said, letting out a whoosh of breath.

Drew explained everything he knew. ‘Brad's sister confirmed that the car had a lot less petrol than it had in it when she went away, but without the girls to corroborate the boys' story it wasn't enough to take them out of the picture,' he concluded.

Simone nodded. ‘So if Harriet and Alyssa admit they were with Jaxon and Brad the night of the fire, the boys' charges will be dropped. No one is going to accuse Harriet and Alyssa, are they?'

‘That's unlikely,' Drew said. ‘There was nothing at the scene of the fire to suggest they were there.'

‘But then…' Simone's whole face screwed up in confusion. ‘Who did it? Do we have an arsonist living among us?'

Drew wasn't about to go into his theory with Simone. ‘The case will be reopened. We'll have to look deeper for motivation. Thank you for your cooperation, Harriet,' he continued before Simone could ask any more questions. ‘Can either of you give me directions to Alyssa's place?'

Simone rattled off an address on the outskirts of town.

‘Do you have to involve her?' Harriet's face pleaded with him to reconsider. ‘Her dad might kill her.'

‘Don't be ridiculous,' Simone glared at her daughter. ‘You all need to be punished and held accountable. Imagine lying to the law. Your father will be turning in his grave.'

‘Oh puh-
leese
. Don't involve Dad. We didn't
lie
,' Harriet argued.

‘Failing to speak up about something as important as this is just as bad, isn't it, Constable Noble?'

He nodded, desperate to escape before Simone and Harriet needed him as a mediator on their battlefield. ‘Thanks for dinner,' he said, already on his way down the hallway.

‘I'd see you out but I'll be busy murdering my daughter,' Simone called after him.

‘I'll pretend I didn't hear that,' he called, all but running for his bike. Simone's front door slammed shut behind him and as he stepped out into the chilly, dark night he couldn't help wondering how Ruby was feeling right now. The anguish on her face when she'd told him what she knew haunted him. She most likely wouldn't see the connection but he had more than an inkling of how she felt.

As he followed the directions Simone had given him to Alyssa's house, he tried to put Ruby and the thought of what it would do to her if her parents were arrested out of his mind.