“Thanks.”
And Brandon would do everything he could to enable her to stay.
When Dot arrived sometime later she was with her constable, Colin. Together they went through room by room, photographing and fingerprinting, starting with Lara’s room at Darcy’s request. When they were done there, Darcy and Amy cleaned the room, setting it back to rights. As the police finished the other rooms, Brandon closed the doors to hide the mess from Lara. Finally they started on the study as Lara and the others returned from their ride.
Just in time.
Amy had started heating leftovers for dinner when Dot pulled Darcy and Brandon aside. “We’ve got a couple of prints, but they might be from your parents,” she said. “There’s not a lot of other evidence. Whoever did this was probably a professional. Can you think what they might have been looking for?”
Brandon shrugged. “There’s nothing of real value in the house.”
Darcy nodded. “There was some cash in the safe, but I moved it and they didn’t find where I hid it.”
Ed joined them. “We might be able to find them,” he said. “I’ve got GPS tracking software on my laptop, but it only works when the laptop is turned on.” He showed them the screen on Amy’s laptop which had a map with a flashing dot.
“Where’s that?” Brandon demanded.
“The Bay Caravan Park,” Dot told him. “How accurate is the GPS?”
“To within fifty metres.”
So it would narrow it down to a dozen sites.
“Can I take the laptop?” Dot asked.
“We’ll go with you,” Darcy said.
She shook her head. “You won’t, and if I catch you at the park, I’ll arrest you for trespass. This is police business and we don’t know how dangerous these people are.”
“Sam and I can go,” Brandon said. “We’re both trained.”
“No.”
Ed spoke. “This is Amy’s laptop, but I can log you into my account on your phone.”
Dot handed it over.
“Dot, do you and Colin want to stay for dinner?” Amy asked.
The sergeant shook her head. “Thanks, but no, I’ve got to get back to town.” Ed handed back the phone and she tucked it in her pocket. “We’ll be in touch.”
After she and Colin walked out, both Darcy and Brandon turned on Ed. “Why didn’t you mention the tracking to us?” Brandon asked.
“It only just switched on.” He stared at them both with defiance. “Plus, Dot’s right. They’re dangerous.”
“Sam and I are trained for dangerous situations,” Brandon reiterated.
“You don’t have any equipment or backup,” Ed said. “It’s safer for everyone if we leave it to the police.”
Through the defiance Brandon saw a glimmer of fear on his brother’s face and his annoyance faded. “All right.” He and Sam could sneak out later tonight and go into town if Dot hadn’t got back to them. His laptop was still in his room and maybe he could get Ed to log into his software on it.
He sat at the table and pretended he had nothing better to do than eat.
Chapter 12
After Lara had gone to bed, they began the long task of cleaning the mess. Amy was responsible for the campground reception area. She stared at the piles of paper and office equipment on the floor and rubbed her arms. The thought of a stranger going through her stuff, even if it was only work related, was all too creepy. She almost crossed over to the windows to close the curtains and prevent anyone outside looking in but she refused to be cowed. The curtains were never closed in this house.
Instead she crouched down and replaced all the stationery and equipment into the drawers and then straightened out the guest reservation book which had been bent out of shape. She flicked through it to make sure no pages were missing and when she was satisfied, she headed into the lounge. Brandon and Sam had already finished replacing the books and DVDs on the shelves and were standing close together talking in low tones. Sam looked irritated. They eased away as she walked in and Brandon smiled. “Are you done?”
