Heart thumping, she debated what to do. The man was not who he seemed.
He’d killed a man.
But he had also shown kindness to her family, and she wanted answers. Gripping the radio tighter and taking a deep breath, she called, “Come out, Lee.”
Chapter 10
Georgie waited, expecting Lee to turn around and make himself known.
For a long moment, there was no response, and nerves raced over her skin. Faking a bravado she didn’t feel, she lifted her radio. “You’ve got two options; you come out and talk to me, or I call it in and the police arrest you.”
Her fingers hovered over the button to radio base.
Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, he called, “Does that mean you won’t call the police if I come out?” He stepped forward into the light. It had been a few weeks since she’d last seen him. He’d disappeared one night from the campgrounds at the Ridge just before they’d discovered he was working for Stonefish. He had bags under his eyes, and his face was lined with fatigue. He’d always been neatly dressed, but now his clothes were dirty and wrinkled. He’d been living rough for weeks if he’d been out here all this time.
“I haven’t decided,” she replied.
He sighed. “What are you doing here, Georgie?”
“I work for Parks and Wildlife now. I noticed the track leading this way and we’ve had animal smugglers in the area, so I thought I’d check it out.”
“Pretend you didn’t see it. You don’t want to get messed up with this.”
“Like you are?”
He said nothing, just studied her.
“You want me to ignore the fact animals are being harmed because people want to make a quick buck?”
“It’s more than that and you know it,” he said.
So Stonefish was involved. Perhaps Lee didn’t care about the lives of animals. He’d shot a man without hesitation. “You killed Tan.”
Lee nodded. “Before he could shoot Tess. He would have and been pleased about it.”
“You weren’t pleased about killing him?”
He pressed his lips together.
Gone was the happy, slightly daggy personality of the landscape photographer he’d pretended to be. This man was lean and hard, with dark eyes that gave nothing away.
She swallowed and took a half step back. “Thank you.”
A tiny twitch around his eyes showed his surprise.
“Thank you for saving the woman Ed loves.”
“No one would have died if Ed hadn’t had delusions of being a hero.” His tone was resigned.
“Well, I feel safer knowing Tan isn’t out there any longer.”
“Tan is the least of your worries,” Lee said.
Georgie frowned. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head. “I’m doing my best to move interest away from your family, but you’re not helping things by continuing to poke your nose into Stonefish business.”
“We haven’t done anything.”
