Martin swivelled his chair around.“You haven’t heard from her?”
“No,” Dot lied, meeting his gaze.“But I have to put the town’s recovery before one person.She would want it that way.”
“What about the radio call you received yesterday?”
“Just someone messing around with the police frequency.”She wasn’t ready to let them know Nhiari was safe.Not until she knew who all the players were.She checked her watch.“I need to go.Any other questions?”
“Where are you going?”Pierre asked.
“Out to dinner,” Dot said.“I’ll see you in the morning.”She walked out.
Dot stopped at home only long enough to get changed before she drove out to the Ridge.Penelope and Sam were driving with Gretchen, Sherlock, and Jordan.No room for her.
She could organise a lift with Georgie, but Dot liked having her own wheels and could use the drive to think.If she went with Georgie, her friend would talk non-stop.
As always when she drove into the sheep station, her heart gave a pang at the angry-looking ram on the sign.She’d spent time out here when she dated Brandon during high school and had spent afternoons with his brothers, Charlie and Ed, drawing landscapes if Brandon was needed on the station.Charlie had been an excellent artist and the only time he had stayed still for more than a minute was when he was drawing or painting.Those memories were some of her fondest from her childhood.Brandon’s mother, Beth, had been welcoming and nurturing, and seemed to understand Dot’s need for the comforts of home.
Charlie’s death had come as a shock to them all.
She blinked back the tears.Then Beth and Bill had died far too soon.
She swallowed hard, stopping to get her emotions under control and to let Lara’s pet sheep, Flotsam and Jetsam, wander across the road to the next patch of grass.All the horses were in the horse yard and there were a couple of caravans in the campground, people already coming back to the area after the storm.
Maybe when this was all over, she could get back to Faith’s horse-riding lessons and spend time at the Ridge riding with her friends.
Across at the large shed, a tarp still covered the section of the roof where panels had blown off.
The utes were parked outside, indicating the farmers were back for the day and she heard banging and voices in the shed.Rather than heading over, she walked up the steps of the verandah.Through the kitchen door, she spotted Lara doing homework and Ed sitting next to her, helping.Dot jolted.She’d forgotten Ed and Tess had come up from Perth to help clean up after the storm.She tapped on the door frame and let herself in.
Both Ed and Lara looked up at the same time and smiled.“Hey, Dot.”
Dot smiled back.“Hey.How long are you up for?”
Ed shrugged.“As long as it takes.”
“For what?”
“To clean up this mess.Plus, Tess wants to chat with the maritime archaeologist who is cataloguing the wreck.”
Her smile faded at the mention of Oliver.“Why?”
“She’s a history buff, and she’s done a lot of research on theRetributionand the new wreck.”
Her eyes narrowed.“What does she know about the new wreck?”They didn’t even have its name.
Ed glanced away.“Not much.Just, ah, looking into missing ships of that era.”
“Edward Stokes, what aren’t you telling me?”
Lara grinned.“She’s using her police voice, Ed.You’re in trouble.”
Brandon walked into the room.“That’s the point of this evening, Dot.”His presence no longer made her heart skip a beat like it had when she was younger.It had taken her time to recover from her heartbreak when he’d left without saying goodbye, but then she’d realised he’d treated his family just as poorly.Oliver had helped heal her heart before he’d broken it far worse than Brandon ever had.
“To tell you everything,” Brandon continued.
As they should have months ago.
Brandon’s wife, Amy, came in behind him and with her were Darcy’s fiancée, Faith, and Ed’s girlfriend, Tess.Dot smiled at her friends.“How are things out here?”
