The Amber Trail (27 page)

Raj retracted his hands, folded
them across his chest, and stared at Dig like he was a stranger.
Which, it seemed, he was.

Maxine turned to Dig. “Vitiligo
is hereditary. As, it seems, is stupidity—between you and your
father.”

Dig’s pulse raced. “You did know
him then.”

“
Of course I knew
him,” she said, curtly. “In a business capacity. He came into the
bar many years ago,
demanding
we let him import our hops. He
was a simple man. But thick-headed.”

“
So why did you
agree?”

Maxine picked up her beer and
turned to walk slowly toward the balcony. “Everything has a price,”
she said. “And he was prepared to pay for it. If he took care of
the extraction for us, and passed on the product in Australia—then
he could use our hops.”

Dig frowned. “But...that just
doesn’t seem like him.”

Maxine strode back to Dig and
leaned over him. “Get it into your head you idiot! Your father was
no saint. He was greedy. And he gambled his life away for his
business.”

Dig clenched his teeth and
moisture welled in the corner of his eyes. He shook his head
minutely.

“
And you’ve done the
same. Gambled the lives of your family away for money.” She
smirked. “And lost.”

Dig looked up, eyes wide. “Look,”
he said. “This whole thing was just me okay? My family have nothing
to do with it—so you can leave them out of it.”

Maxine took another mouthful from
the bottle. “Sorry boy,” she said. “We can’t take that
chance.”

The rumble of an engine
approached outside, followed by the squeaking brakes of the hi-rail
truck as it pulled to a stop. A door opened and then slammed shut.
The bald-headed thug walked in, supporting a wrapped tarpaulin
across the front of his chest. He raised his eyebrows at Maxine,
and then placed the tarpaulin carefully on the floor in the centre
of the room.

Shiv entered from the balcony and
stared down at the lumpy length of material with his eyebrows
knitted together.

“
You found
something?” Maxine said.

The thug nodded. He reached down
and pulled the top of the tarpaulin away, revealing Jules’ pocked
and swollen face. Her cheeks were blue and her lips cracked. Her
lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling.

Shiv’s face contorted and he
brought his hand up to his mouth. He coughed and retched, then
tipped forward and vomited a glut of liquid onto the floor. A slick
of saliva hung from his chin as he pulled in a few ragged
breaths.

Maxine shuddered and turned to
Shiv. “The thief got exactly what she deserved. Don’t you
agree?”

Shiv straightened and wiped at
his mouth. He turned away from her and walked a few steps toward
the deck, arms folded, looking out the window.

Maxine watched his back with a
scowl. “Are you listening to me?”

Shiv stood unmoved.

Maxine strode into his field of
vision. “You know whose fault this is?”

Shiv’s lips thinned.

“
His,” Maxine said,
and pointed to Dig, still tied to the chair. “He came over here,
meddled in our business, and turned her against us. He is to
blame.”

Shiv met Maxine’s gaze, then
turned and narrowed his eyes at Dig.

Maxine leaned into his ear. “It’s
time to punish him.”  

Shiv nodded slowly.

“
Get the knife. And
remove his windpipe.”

Shiv swallowed, then shuffled
across to the kitchen where he plucked a large steel kitchen knife
from the bench top, then returned to stand beside Dig.

Dig’s muscles tensed and his
breath caught in his throat. He pulled at the ties on his arms and
legs. “No,” he stammered. “Please! Let me go home and you’ll never
see me again...I’ll shut down the brewery. We can pay whatever you
need. Please.” Sweat tracked down the back of his neck.

Maxine dropped to sit on the
couch, one arm bent up at the elbow, holding a new cigarette. “I’m
going to enjoy this.” Dig dropped his gaze to the floor.

Shiv weighed the knife up in his
grip, and stepped toward Dig with a familiar resolve in his eyes.
Again, Dig yanked at the ties binding his arms, but they held
firm—there was no chance to break free. His lips trembled and his
heart pounded in his ears. Was this really the place where he was
going to die? How much would it hurt? Would his family even know it
had happened?

Shiv stopped beside him with the
knife in his hand. The curls of his hair framed his round face. He
turned the blade around so it faced the floor, and lifted it for
the strike.

Dig dropped his head and his
vision caught on Shiv’s legs. For a man from the subcontinent, they
were relatively pale. He wore no shoes, and his feet were dirty.
Dig’s gaze focused on Shiv’s toes.

The second and third digits were
webbed together with skin.

His eyes widened.

Shiv held the knife primed, ready
to plunge it forward into Dig’s throat.

“
You!” Dig exclaimed.
“You’re my brother!”

Shiv faltered.

“
Your toe! It’s
webbed! Like mine.” Dig waggled his foot on the ground below
him.

“
Finish him!” Maxine
called from the couch. Her voice had raised an octave, and she was
sitting upright.

“
And she’s your
mother?
”
Dig blinked rapidly.
“Yes...it all makes sense.”

Shiv’s arm dropped and he looked
across to Maxine.

She shot up from her seat. “This
is bullshit. Finish him off, or I’ll do it for you.”

Shiv frowned.

Dig waggled his foot again. “Look
at my foot! We’re related!”

Shiv’s eyes dropped to study
Dig’s foot, then his own.

Maxine stormed across the room.
She grabbed a handful of Dig’s hair and yanked his head backwards.
“This idiot,” she seethed through clenched teeth. “Is trying to
screw with your mind. Don’t listen to him. Ten minutes ago he was
claiming
Raj
was his brother. Now he’s trying the same shit
on you. He’s playing you, and you’re too stupid to see
it.”

Shiv breathed heavily. “But his
toe...”

“
Who cares about his
toe!” she screamed. “I have a birthmark on my arm—does that mean
I’m related to everyone w
ho has the
same
?” Her eyes were pinpricks.

Shiv dropped his gaze to the
floor.

“
Now, are you going
to finish this bastard off or are you going to make me do it for
you?”

Shiv shook his head minutely. “I
can’t...think,” he said, and the arm holding the knife fell to his
side.

Maxine sighed and held out her
hand. “Give me the knife.”

Shiv dropped down to sit on the
coffee table.  

“
Give...me...the
knife!” Maxine reached out.

Dig’s stomach churned. “Shiv,” he
said. “Now is the time. She’s pushed you around your whole
life.”

Shiv’s head lifted and he met
Dig’s gaze.

“
Take her out,” Dig
said.

Shiv’s forehead
creased
;
his lips quivered and his eyes
welled up with moisture. He stood up, and the knife clattered to
the floor. He paced over to Dig and
leaned in
close
, nose to nose.

“
She...is...my...
mother!
” Shiv screamed. “You ask me to
kill my mother?” He straightened and clenched his fist. He wound
his arm back, and brought it down with all his strength. The blow
slammed into Dig’s chin with a painful crunch.

“
She is all I have!”
Tears ran down Shiv’s face. He lifted his arm and punched again. It
thumped into the bridge of Dig’s nose, and his vision
exploded.

Dig came to with his chin on his
chest. Blood dripped from his nose and splashed down the front of
his shirt. Shiv sat slumped on the couch, staring at his
hands.

Maxine patted Shiv on the back.
“It’s okay. You just relax for a bit.” She turned. “Raj! Get Shiv a
drink.” Raj nodded and walked to the fridge. “One of the new ones,”
she added.

Raj retrieved a fresh bottle of
beer from the door, and twisted off the lid as he handed it to
Shiv. “Freshly brewed.”

“
Aren’t you going to
tell him your news?”

Raj scratched at his neck. “This
time,” he said. “We’ve managed to engineer the hops with coca
leaf.”

Shiv looked at him
blankly.

Raj raised his eyebrows. “It’s
got cocaine in it.”  

Shiv gave a nod, then lifted the
bottle to his lips and took a
mouthful
.
He swallowed and licked his lips. “Good,” he said, and placed the
beer on the coffee table.  

Maxine retrieved the knife from
the floor. “You ready now?”

Shiv nodded.  

Dig clenched his teeth and looked
past them, out the glass doors to the river. The green water flowed
smoothly past the deck. Behind it, a breeze wafted through the tops
of the trees. He thought of his family, and suddenly missed them
immensely.  

Above the river, he noticed the
small shape of a bird fluttering in the wind, ducking and diving.
It turned sharply and headed toward the house, then cruised across
the deck and landed by the doorway. Its wings were blue and green,
and its chest was purple. The Rainbow Bee Eater sat in the doorway
and cocked its head toward Dig.

Dig gave a weak smile.

I think this is it my
friend
, he thought.
I’m out of ideas.

The bird hopped into the room,
its talons clicking on the concrete, and gave a loud
chirp.

Maxine stopped and
turned.

The bird hopped further, bouncing
along the floor, until it came to a stop at Dig’s feet. It chirped
again loudly, twice.

Maxine turned to the dog. “Digit!
Get that thing out of here!” The dog ran across the room,
barking.

The bird opened its wings and
flapped up to land on Dig’s thigh. It pushed its beak forward to
snag the cable tie around Dig’s wrist, and severed it.

The dog leapt up and snapped at
the bird, knocking it from its perch. A handful of blue feathers
fell to the ground before it took to the air, flapping and
squawking, then flew a circle around the room at head height.
Maxine ducked and shrieked. The men crouched and held their hands
to their heads, waving it away as it approached. The bird completed
a lap of the room, then disappeared out the door to the open air.
The dog scampered out after it.

Shiv stared at the doorway and
frowned. “What the...”

Maxine straightened her sari.
“Did that bird just...”

Shiv nodded.

“
Well fix
it!”

Shiv stepped forward to reach for
Dig’s arm.

Dig steeled himself, then dropped
his freed hand to his shorts pocket. The water bottle vibrated in
his grip as he fumbled the cap loose with his thumb. His stomach
churned as he thrust it forward.

A cloud of hornets swirled into
the air, angry and buzzing. Shiv ducked and called out.

Dig tucked his head to his chest
and squinted away from the insects. When they were free, he dropped
the bottle and began tugging at the tie on his opposite hand, but
it was no use—he remained fixed to the chair as the hornets buzzed
around his head. A stinging needle of pain pierced the skin behind
his ear, and he slapped the insect away with a grimace.

Shiv fell to his rear. “They’re
on me!” he shouted, swiping at his face.

Raj scampered into the kitchen
and returned holding an aerosol can. He crouched and sprayed a
cloud of mist into the air, waving the can left and right,
targeting the hornets. The vapour dissipated down and the reek of
insecticide filled Dig’s nostrils.

Hornets dropped to the ground in
whining bundles. Shiv pushed backwards across the floor and sat
against the couch, breathing hard.

Dig’s shoulders tensed as the
sting on his neck throbbed with discomfort. His thoughts turned to
the
E
pipens stashed in the opposite side
of his shorts, and he strained his arm across his body with his
back arched, trying to get his free hand into the pocket—but they
were just out of his grasp.

“
Tie him back up,”
Maxine said.

The thick-jawed thug stepped
forward and grabbed Dig’s arm. Dig gritted his teeth and pushed
against him, grasping for the Epipens. His fingertips brushed
against the plastic of the needle before his arm was wrenched away
and forced back to the arm of the seat. Moments later a cable tie
was fixed back around his wrist.

Dig pulled at the ties again but
it was too late. His eyebrows drew together.

Maxine turned to Shiv. “You
okay?”

Shiv pulled his shirt open and
studied his collarbone. “I’m stung.”

Maxine examined the insects
twitching on the floor. “You’ll be okay. It’s just a bee
sting.”