“There are smugglers around.”
She glanced at him. “How do you know?”
He muttered a curse. “I saw the traps when I went to investigate the tracks the other day. I reported them to the police.”
Georgie was still cross at him for going alone, so she could understand why he was so upset now. “I was careful.” No way was she telling him about Lee now. They both knew Lee had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.
“How far in do those caves go?” Georgie asked, hoping to sound casual.
“The caves in the ranges?”
“Yeah.”
“A fair way. Some people in town have explored them, but there’s no official record. It gets hot in there.”
“Can you get from one side of the ranges to the other?”
Matt shrugged. “Probably. I don’t really know.”
She was hoping he might have a Dreamtime story or ancestry knowledge about it. “I guess they’d make a good place to shelter in a cyclone.”
“Yeah, I imagine that’s what my ancestors did.”
So there was a possibility Lee had figured a way through the caves. He had to park his car somewhere and he had his tent with him, so aside from food and water, he could easily live out here for weeks and no one would see him. “Did you ever teach Lee any of the bush tucker stuff?”
It was the wrong question to ask. Matt shot her a glance as she quickly got out of the car. The slam of the car door echoed.
“Why are you asking, Georgie?”
She shrugged. “Just curious. No one has seen him for a month.”
“He’s probably gone back to Singapore.”
“He’s not from Singapore.”
He waved her comments away. “To Stonefish or wherever that is.”
“Do you think he’d be welcome there after shooting Tan?”
“Ed said Tan had made a mistake.”
Georgie was sure Lee had unfinished business here, otherwise why would he stick around? There were better places to disappear. Matt joined her over by the final sign. “Why all the interest in Lee?”
She shrugged as she took photographs. “All the talk about smugglers made me think it might be part of Stonefish’s operation, and that made me think about Lee.”
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of you out here on your own with them around.”
“I get that, but it’s a bit like looking for the treasure. Chances of running across it in all this land are slim.”
“Yeah, but we’ve seen the tracks and the traps nearby.”
She squeezed his hand and then kissed him, thrilled she was able to. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. “Make sure you are,” he said when they broke apart. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She smiled and tugged him back towards the car. “Come on. That’s everything finished for the day.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Wanna come to my place for dinner?”
He grinned. “I’d love to.”
