“Where?” He needed to get to the bottom of why the man had been fired.
“He’s speaking with Matt and Matt’s parents.”
Brandon scanned the crowd and saw the group talking with a ropey man in his thirties who wore a white, short-sleeved buttoned shirt and black pants. The man was tanned from the sun and he kept glancing around as if he wanted to get out of there. Could he have been the man on the motorbike? It was too hard to tell. Many of the men here matched the description. “Let’s go.”
He found Sam and gestured for him to follow them. They would get answers.
Taylor’s eyes widened when he spotted the three of them advancing on him, but he couldn’t extricate himself from the group quickly enough. Brandon nodded to Matt’s parents. “Good to see you.”
Matt’s mother smiled. “We’re sorry it’s in these circumstances.”
“Amy and Ed have made a big spread over in the garden,” Darcy said. “Why don’t you grab a bite?”
They nodded and left. Matt stayed behind.
“Darcy, I’m so sorry,” Taylor said in a hurry. “Amy told me yesterday. I’ve been fishing over the past week and only just got back to town.” The instant grovelling spoke of fear and guilt.
“Whereabouts?”
Taylor hesitated. “Around the gulf near Onslow. Trying to get away from all the tourists in town.”
A good excuse. Many of the locals avoided the popular camping spots at the height of the tourist season.
“I wanted to chat to you about something,” Darcy said. “We found documents that Dad bought cattle a couple of months ago. They were supposed to be delivered this month. Did he mention it to you?”
Taylor looked away. “Not that I can recall. Why would he be buying cattle? We’re a sheep station.”
“Might have been diversifying,” Brandon said.
“Nah. Not Bill. He was a traditionalist through and through.”
“He ever mention a company trying to buy the station?” Darcy asked.
A slight hesitation. “No. Everyone knew Bill would never sell.”
Sam shifted closer, folded his arms in his patented intimidation stance. “They ever approach you?”
“No.” Taylor looked him up and down. “Who are you?”
“Sam’s a friend of Brandon’s,” Darcy said.
Brandon studied the man. Something didn’t quite sit right with him. “You ever notice strangers around the place?”
He shrugged. “Only the campground guests. What’s this about?”
Dot joined them. “Hey, Taylor. Can I have a word with you?” She raised her eyebrows at Brandon and Darcy and they both stepped back from Taylor.
“Yeah.” Taylor walked away with her, glancing over his shoulder as he did.
“He’s not telling you something,” Sam said.
Brandon nodded.
“I don’t like it.” Darcy rubbed the back of his neck. “Taylor had been working with us for over a year.”
“What’s his background?” Sam asked.
“He came from another station a bit further east,” Matt said.
