Good, she wouldn’t hear his conversation. First, he called Amy to tell her about the road closure and to apologise that he wouldn’t arrive until sometime tomorrow.
“Don’t worry about it, Ed,” she said. “Drive safely and keep us posted, all right?”
“Sure. Hey, do you know when Sam’s flying in?”
“He arrived yesterday.” Someone spoke to her in the background and Amy laughed. “He said to tell you he learnt not to trust the baggage handlers last time he was here.”
Ed rolled his eyes. They’d both been caught up in the go-slow actions, but Sam was right. Ed should have monitored things. “Thanks.” He hesitated. “Listen, I’m carpooling with someone. Her name’s Tess and she’s studying a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology at UWA. She’s from Singapore.”
“OK. Why are you telling me this?”
“She’s been a bit nervy. It’s probably because I’m a stranger, but you know, in case she turns out to be a serial killer, you’ll have somewhere to start looking.” He laughed.
“Ed, that’s not funny. Can you send me a photo?”
He should have thought of that. “I’ll try, but don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll see you when I get there.”
Tess wasn’t at the checkout when he arrived, so he paid for their snacks. By the time he was done, she was at a checkout a few down from him. Ed took a quick photo and sent it to Amy, joining Tess in time to see her stuffing a T-shirt and underwear into her backpack.
His unease returned. “Forget something?”
She flinched and stared at him a second.
“That will be forty-seven dollars fifty,” the cashier said.
Tess paid, her hand trembling as she placed the cash into her purse. “The trip was a last-minute thing. My friends called me this morning to say another friend had cancelled and I could have her flight. So I threw a few items in my backpack and rushed to the airport. I figured I could buy anything I forgot in Retribution Bay.” Her smile was a little forced.
Yeah, there was definitely something more going on with Tess, but at least his family knew about her now.
“All right. Let’s go.”
Not long after, they were back on the road, heading east. It would be over three hundred kilometres before he could turn north again, and the idea made him tense. What if something else went wrong? What if they got caught behind one of those wide loads which carried large machinery to the mine sites up this way? That could add hours. If he didn’t make it in time, Amy and Brandon would have to get married without the rings.
He sighed and tried to shut out the pessimism. At least the sun was overhead now, and he wasn’t driving directly into its rays.
He’d give thanks for small mercies.
Chapter 4
Tess had never seen so much emptiness. Perhaps that wasn’t the right word. There were shrubs and small trees, the occasional wire fence, but nothing else. Open country with very few signs of human occupation.
Sure, she’d seen photos and documentaries on the Australian outback, but they didn’t convey the scope of it. The land was endless and seemingly unchanging until suddenly she realised the trees were gone, and a different type of shrub bordered the roads. Every kilometre felt like they were getting nowhere, and if it weren’t for the signs marking the distance to the next town every ten kilometres, she would have been overwhelmed.
At least there was little chance of Tan finding her here.
She’d switched her phone back on in Geraldton, ready to call the police, but she’d been inundated by missed call after missed call from Tan and just the sight of his name had her shaking and turning off her phone again.
She’d looked for a payphone, but hadn’t seen one, and wasn’t sure how to explain why she wanted to use it, and not her phone to Ed.
He was suspicious enough as it was. She hated lying to him, especially after he’d been so kind to her.
If she was braver, she would have left him in Geraldton and hired her own car, but to go where she didn’t know. At least with Ed she had a plan—get to Retribution Bay.
Her earlier concerns about her safety with him were gone, but she was worried he might call her on her lies and leave her somewhere. And she wouldn’t blame him in the least.
What a mess.
The more she thought about Tan, the more confused she became. He hadn’t hesitated to shoot the woman, which told her he was dangerous, that he’d done it before. But her parents had insisted he was an important and upstanding citizen.
