She hesitated. It made no sense to put on her wet police uniform, especially not with how refreshed she felt. With a sigh, she took the dry clothes and dressed, using the towel to shield her as she removed her wet underwear. Folding everything and wrapping her wet clothes in the towel, she placed them in the backpack Lee held out to her.
They didn’t speak on the short ride back to the cave and once inside, Lee handed Nhiari her phone. “You’ll get better reception up the top.”
She hesitated. He was giving her the freedom of speaking to Dot without him listening. “Do you want to come too? She might have questions I can’t answer.”
He gave that small smile of his and gestured for her to lead the way.
What did she need to tell Dot? Some of the information she couldn’t share yet, but the biggest thing was to make sure she understood Nhiari was fine. The last thing they needed was for Matt to turn up looking for her as well.
The number rang briefly before Dot answered. “Nhiari.” Dot’s concern came out in a whoosh of her name.
Nhiari switched on the speaker so Lee could hear. “I’m fine. I’m working on something with Lee, but no one can know.”
“It’s a dark night.”
Nhiari smiled at the code. “But the stars are shining.”
Dot’s exhalation was loud in Nhiari’s ear. “You went willingly with him?”
Nhiari laughed and exchanged a smile with Lee. “I wouldn’t say that, but it’s fine.” They had little time, in case someone from Stonefish was tracing her call. “I think someone on our team is working with Stonefish.”
“Yeah. I spoke with the Stokes last night and they filled in some blanks. I’m collating the information now.”
That could be useful. “Can you send it to me? I can’t keep my phone on for long in case it gets tracked, but we should share information.” Or at least as much as she could share.
“Yeah. Is there somewhere I can drop a hard copy?”
“Hang on.” She placed her hand over the speaker. “Can we head closer to town tomorrow?”
“I’ve arranged a supply drop near the lighthouse.”
Perfect. “How about at the lighthouse?”
“I’ll watch the sunrise tomorrow.”
Which meant it would be there nice and early. “All right. We’re close, Dot. It won’t take long.”
“Take care—oh, and call your parents. Matt says they’re frantic.”
Nhiari smiled. “Will do.” Dot didn’t need to know her father had already found them. She hung up.
“Shouldn’t you have asked her where she would leave it?” Lee asked.
“No need. We used to leave each other notes when we were kids. It was our special message place.”
“You and Dot are close.”
It wasn’t so much a question as a statement which asked for her to provide more information. Nhiari’s warning system buzzed. Did it matter if he knew the details of their relationship? He knew enough to know she would protect Dot with her life, so anything else she shared was a sign she was opening up. If this was manipulation, perhaps she could play too.
“She’s been my best friend since pre-primary. We’d hang out at school together and as much as we could after school, but it was difficult with me living so far out of town.” Neither of their parents liked them spending too much time chatting on the phone, and they didn’t have mobile reception at Nhiari’s house. That’s why they used to leave each other letters at the lighthouse. “When I got older, I’d take the motorbike and meet her at the lighthouse. There was a track which ran all the way along the ranges. Or sometimes her brother would pick me up and take us both to the beach to swim.”
“You mentioned Dot stuck up for you,” Lee said.
There were a couple of kids who would make fun of her because of her indigenous heritage. Her clothes were always well-worn, and it was when her parents were involved with getting recognition that the land they lived on was Bayungu land.
Some people felt threatened by it, as if the Bayungu were going to steal their houses, not recognising the irony of that was exactly what the British had done to all the native people of Australia. Those people’s children parroted their parents’ ugly words to Nhiari. Matt had been younger and by the time he was old enough to understand, things had settled.
But Nhiari remembered the slurs and vitriol that had spewed from the older children. It was why she’d refused to learn about her culture, not wanting to be any more different than she already was.
