‘It was Spencer, he—’
‘What the hell?’ Spencer yelled, stepping forward.
‘Five.’
‘Okay!’
‘Four.’
Hugh looked up, panting, silent. He was about to crack. Issy could sense it.
‘Please? Please don’t—’
‘Three!’
‘Okay, we did it! We offered bribes to get the Hartwell Gaol development approved.’
Tony Skelton stood up. ‘How dare he—’ He looked towards the audio guy. ‘This needs to go off now!’
‘And?’ Meg yelled. ‘What about this factory? The houses on Barton Drive?’
Hugh’s hands were on his head. ‘We got Derek Palmer to change the state government advice for the land usage to—’
‘Shut up, Hugh!’ Spencer yelled.
Derek Palmer stood up now, red-faced, gesturing desperately at the audio engineer. Another siren passed by outside.
On the screen, Spencer took another step towards Meg and Hugh.
Meg put a hand up to stop him. ‘Now might be a good time to tell you, Hugh’s been sleeping with your daughter, Daisy.’
‘You bitch!’ Hugh cried. ‘You said if I admitted to the bribes you wouldn’t—’
‘I lied,’ Meg said.
Spencer glared at her, grappling with this new information about his eighteen-year-old daughter and his lifelong friend. Hugh got to his feet and walked towards him, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender.
‘Mate,’ Hugh said, pleading, ‘I can explain—’
Meg ran towards the building as Spencer’s fist connected with Hugh’s jaw. Hugh flew backwards at the force of the blow. The crowd inhaled as one. Time seemed to slow down, his body suspended in midair, then his head hit the concrete with a harrowing crack.
Chapter 63
Meg shuddered at the crack of Hugh’s skull connecting with the unforgiving concrete, but she didn’t stop. She needed to find Georgie while Spencer and Hugh were distracted. Her heart hammered as she raced towards the open door.
Once she got inside, she looked around, trying to catch her breath. It appeared to be a staff room.
‘Georgie?’ she called.
Nothing.
‘Georgie!’ Louder this time.
There was a soft whimpering. Meg tried to slow her breathing, unable to hear properly over her panting and the pounding of her heart. She walked towards the kitchen, listening carefully.
‘Georgie? It’s Meg. It’s okay, I’m here.’
She opened the doors of a tall pantry cupboard. Nothing.
