The Yardie Creek track. They hadn’t considered it as it was four-wheel-drive only and the truck wouldn’t have gone that way. “Coral Bay?” Lee asked.
“No. There’s a station to the north.”
Nhiari’s parents. Lee’s skin prickled. Her father would investigate anyone on his property. Lucas would shoot him.
Somehow he had to stop that from happening. Could he stop Lucas now before they reached the property?
Not at this speed. It would be too dangerous. He’d have to wait until they slowed on the dirt track.
And hope for the best.
Chapter Nineteen
Nhiari’sphoneblared,shockingher out of sleep. She answered it without checking who it was, and sat up, already reaching for her vest. “What?”
“Rodney’s been shot,” Dot said. “Lee and Lucas have the treasure but they’ve disappeared. Rodney’s team outside Retribution Bay haven’t seen them heading south, so either they’ve found a safe house or headed to the boat ramp on the west coast.”
“How’s Brandon?” She put her police vest over the uniform she’d slept in and strode into the main room where Sherlock had slept. He was already up and waiting for her to fill him in. She put the phone on speaker.
“Lee tasered and restrained him before Rodney and Lee carried the treasure out to Lucas’s car. Brandon doesn’t know how he got out of the cell. Rodney was getting in the front seat when Lucas shot him. Lee jumped in and they took off.”
Nhiari’s gut clenched. What game was Lee playing? “Let me see if I can track Lee’s phone.” She pressed some buttons and said to Sherlock, “Get Sam in here.”
Sherlock made the call as the app opened and a dot appeared on the screen heading south along the western road.
“They’re almost at the boat ramp,” Nhiari said.
“I’ll tell Organised Crime.” Dot hung up.
Nhiari stared at the phone, her instinct screaming at her. “They aren’t going to the boat ramp.”
“There’s nowhere else they can go,” Sherlock argued. “They wouldn’t be stupid enough to hole up in the ranges. Lucas would want to get out of the country.”
She shook her head. “There’s a track across Yardie Creek which is accessible during low tide. It’s rough and nowhere near as fast as the bitumen, but Lucas doesn’t know we’re tracking Lee’s phone. He’ll think we’ll waste time checking the boat ramp while he gets away.”
She opened another app which tracked flights. Sometimes it also showed smaller aircraft. There was no air traffic north of Carnarvon. She called the Carnarvon police station. “I need to know whether a plane is still at the airport.” She gave the registration.
“I’ll send someone to check,” the constable said.
“It’s urgent. Call me as soon as you know.” She hung up and switched back to the tracking app. The dot had gone past the boat ramp.
“Call Dot,” she ordered Sherlock. She paced the living room while she waited for Carnarvon to call her back.
“Went straight to voice mail.”
Damn. She tapped out a message telling Dot what was happening.
When she was done, she brainstormed out loud. “If the plane is on its way, they’re going to want to time it perfectly. If the plane arrives too early, Rodney’s team at Coral Bay will have time to converge.”
“That’s assuming Rodney left any in place,” Sherlock said.
Good point. Rodney was arrogant enough to have pulled them all back to Retribution Bay assuming he’d catch Lucas in town. “It will take at least an hour to drive from Retribution Bay, but Lucas will be slower taking the dirt track. They might beat him here.” If they don’t waste time chasing him around the peninsula. “Try Dot again.” She checked the time. How long did it take to send a car to the airport?
“Nothing.” Sherlock pressed another button as Sam strode in.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked.
Nhiari held up a hand as Brandon’s voice came over Sherlock’s phone. “What have you got?”
