‘I’m telling you this because if this case blows up, I don’t want you blind or burned because of me.’
‘Are you saying you trust me?’
He hesitated.Had to.‘I want to trust you.But if you’re still here to tear this squad down—and if you’re just playing me—then say it now.Don’t smile in my kitchen and stab the squad in the back later.’
She answered with nothing but silence and that steady stare.
‘So, ask me anything,’ he said.‘Question me over what you’ve set out in that spare room, and I’ll tell you whatever you want, as I’m trying to trust you.I’ll give you the file on your cousin, no strings attached.But here’s the thing…’ He shuffled his boots, crossing his arms tight over his chest.‘Last night, Red announced to Bob that they’re stopping for a month because of you.’
She didn’t even raise her eyebrows at that.
‘They know you’re here to stop me and my team.And they’re waiting for you to shut us down.’He huffed with annoyance.‘Were they wrong?’
Taryn didn’t blink or fidget, she just stood.‘The whole town knew I was coming, and they weren’t wrong about my assignment.I came here to evaluate this team and give my honest report.And if the numbers didn’t stack up?Your squad was on the chopping block, as it was only on a trial.’
Finn’s jaw clenched.
She stepped closer.‘But I came here seeking justice for my cousin, and for the part of me that still believes this job means something… But what I found wasn’t a mess.Even if the rules don’t always apply the way they should, the job was getting done.’
‘And you?’she added, with her eyes narrowing a little.‘You’re not broken.Or some rogue cop.You’re…’ She breathed in heavily.
While he held his own, waiting for her judgement.
‘You weren’t the threat they warned me about, Finn.Instead, I found proof that someone like you could make this team matter, while also showing how it’d make a big difference to this region.I’ll admit they didn’t send me to help you, but to confirm their excuses for shutting you down.’
He dropped his head, with his shoulders suddenly weary.‘You weren’t part of it?’
‘No.My boss, Russ, told me to be fair, and he’s a good guy.As to who put in the initial request for someone to come out here?I don’t know.But I’ll admit I was biased, thinking you’d let Everlight get away with murdering my cousin because of your incompetency.’
Finn scowled hard at that.
‘I know now that you didn’t,’ she said, her hands raised as if to calm him down.
Surprisingly, it did.
‘But after what you’ve told me, I believe I’m just a pawn in their game.Do you agree?’
He nodded.Just once.‘Last night, Red said he’s shutting down for a month, hoping you’ll send us packing.He’s not cleaning up, he’s just covering until your report is completed.That means we’re close.’Closer than they’d ever been.
But they had to do this right and not go in guns blazing.
Even though they had enough to make arrests, Finn wanted everyone.He wanted to shut them down properly and not let them pop up somewhere else like they’d done, moving from Dixby Downs to the quarry, demonstrating how fluid their operation was.Who knows how many backup places they had in the outback—the place where secrets went to die.
He headed for the spare bedroom to face the wall of red string filled with file notes, places, dates, and names that she’d spent all night pulling into order.‘Now that you’ve gutted my Gaps File, do you think we can connect anything back to SW Rural Contracting, or the quarry, for leverage?’He pulled out the folder from the hallway cupboard, the one she’d been waiting for, and dropped it on her laptop.It was hers now.
Taryn moved beside him and stared down at the file.Surprisingly, she didn’t touch it.‘You know I’m going to ask this, so I’ll just say it—Why?’
‘We need to find out who’s bankrolling their operation.Someone has to have the funds for land, like the quarry, the utes, trailers, fuel and fencing.I’ve always thought that money came from Everlight’s grants.’
‘Really?How?’
‘Izzy’s research of Everlight showed me the pattern they had for buying those particular blocks of land—’
‘Across the nation.’She shrugged.‘Go on.’
‘They were all in prime livestock corridors,’ he said.‘Our first case, the Rough Stock case, was on Everlight’s property.It wasn’t set up for a solar farm, but it had all the signs of being a way station for livestock.’
‘Are you saying that Everlight was going to set up other way stations, like they did at Dixby Downs?’
