“Dot, I’m a very busy man.I have other cases to work on.”
She didn’t want to say anything over the radio.They already knew Stonefish listened in.“You’ll get back to Perth and have to turn around and return.Trust me.”She smiled, knowing he would hate having to trust her.
She took more photos but touched nothing.Rodney would be pissed off enough when he arrived.If she touchedhiscrime scene, it would be worth an hour of berating and she didn’t have the patience.Though she hadn’t been impressed by his chain of custody so far.It was almost as if he wanted the evidence to be contaminated.
The thought made her pause.Rodney had always been the type to cut corners, to throw others under the bus if it meant he got ahead.Stonefish could have got to him.One of her friends in the organised crime division had said he’d insisted on being the one to come to Retribution Bay.
“This is ridiculous.I don’t have time.You need to return immediately.”
Was that a hint of panic in his voice?Dot’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she scanned the cave again.Wait.There was a tiny reddish glow at the front of the cave, almost like the light from some equipment.
She switched on her torch and nearly missed the camera lens.She would have, if not for the light, because the lens was so well hidden.Security camera.Maybe one of those which turned on only when motion triggered it.Watching her.She pretended as if she hadn’t seen it, while her mind raced.
Colin had radioed her just after she’d entered the area.
Her muscles tightened.Definitely someone watching her, someone who wanted her out of there.
But she’d found it now.It was too late to hide.
“Dot, I am your superior and you will follow my orders.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes, knowing it would irritate him if he was indeed watching.“You’re not my superior and I don’t answer to you.”
The only reason to want her to leave so desperately would be so they could clear it out while she was gone.She could play that game, but she didn’t have any backup.
Her mind raced as she thought it through.
She would spot any boat heading this way if she went back to town, unless they came from the east, the side of the gulf which was uninhabited.
But that would mean someone was already out there.
She kept moving, trying for a casual perusal of the cave, but searching for more cameras.She didn’t find any.
“Dot, don’t be childish.”
Irritation made her scowl.The other option was they would wait until she got to town and then hold her there for long enough to clear out the island.That made more sense, because Rodney could talk for hours about his own importance.But it would also mean she would lose all the evidence.There had to be fingerprints and DNA here, another chance to find out who was behind this.
If they were transmitting live, it meant there also had to be some kind of satellite signal.Could it be traced?
She made a big show of her irritation and sighed, taking a few more photos of the cave.“I’ll be there in an hour.”
Dot pushed the bushes out of the way and grabbed her gun as someone rushed towards her.She had it up and levelled before she recognised Oliver.He stopped short, eyes wide, hands raised.
“Fuck, Dot.It’s me.”
Slowly she lowered the gun as her heart clenched, the emotions rushing back, battering against the emotional wall she’d erected.She swallowed hard.“Sorry.I forgot you were here.”Desperately wished he wasn’t here making her feel things she didn’t want to feel.
“You were gone so long I was worried something had happened.”
“I’m fine.”She couldn’t think about Oliver’s declaration that he still cared for her.He could be working for Stonefish.It might be some kind of ruse.
The thought centred her, helped keep her emotions in check.She retrieved the satellite phone from her backpack and called her friend in tech crimes.
“You found something,” Oliver said.
Dot nodded, monitoring his reaction while she waited for her friend to pick up.
Oliver glanced towards the bushes and then back at her, waiting patiently.
