“No.” Lucas was enjoying this game.
“Then it had to be Rodney.” It was a stab in the dark, but unless Lucas had an entire team hidden up here, Rodney was the only other option.
“Well done. I was wondering whether you would pick him.”
“He shot Martin because he was no longer reliable.” It was another guess, but it made sense.
“This whole attempt in Retribution Bay has been a failure. It was time to wrap up loose ends and go back to what we do best.” He paused for a second. “Do the Stokes really trust you after everything?”
“Yeah. They trust Nhiari, and she trusts me. Wasn’t hard to convince her she’s shown me the error of my ways and that I want to help her.” He forced out a derisive laugh.
Another chortle. “Well done. I knew you had it in you.”
Lee wanted to be sick. Did any of his family have empathy or consideration?
He shook his head. Focus on the end game. “All right. How do you want to play this? The Stokes haven’t shown me where the treasure is being kept, and I suspect they are guarding it. Our best chance is hijacking the truck, taking it to Perth.”
“They’re not flying it down?”
“Cannon is too hard to move,” Lee said. “But there are multiple points along the road where we could stop the truck and offload the treasure. Then we get it to your plane or boat.”
“You’ve thought it through,” Lucas said, a hint of suspicion in his words.
“It’s what you sent me here for. If I hadn’t, then I haven’t been doing my job. Is your plane nearby?”
“It’s within an hour’s journey,” Lucas said.
“And you got to the safe house all right?”
Silence. Lee waited, not explaining to Lucas.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Andrew called me, freaked out the night before he died. I reassured him everything was going to plan. He mentioned you were in town.”
“Yet you said nothing before now.”
“Wasn’t my place to question you. You’ll tell me what I need to know.”
More silence, but Lee could practically hear Lucas’s mind ticking over. If Lee had known he was in town, he could have told the police and had him arrested days ago if he wasn’t loyal. Would the fact he hadn’t been enough to earn Lucas’s trust?
“Let me think about options for Saturday. I’ll call you back.” Lucas hung up.
Lee stood in the shade of the shed and scanned the area. He’d spent time here, sneaking into the storerooms to go through boxes of memorabilia, hoping to find a clue to the treasure. Amy had nearly caught him a couple of times and Tess caught him inside the house on the day of Brandon’s wedding, but he’d come up with an excuse that had worked.
His phone beeped with a message from Nhiari.We’ll get there.It included a gif of a puppy trying to climb onto a couch and eventually succeeding.
He smiled.
Lee wandered back to the house, tapping on the door frame before letting himself in. Everyone was still sitting at the table.
“What did he say?” Nhiari asked.
“He’s considering options. He confirmed he’s staying at the safe house and Rodney is involved.”
Nhiari swore. “That’s going to make things more difficult.”
Lee shook his head. “I’ve told Lucas I’ve convinced you I’m swapping sides, so anything I do will make sense to Rodney.”
