“The house there and that back shed…I know who it belongsto,” I continue, thinking of that squat house with the kelpie tied up on the porch. “Terry Hargrave. It’s his place.”
Silence. “So you use the family boats as a front for the real businesses? TheDeep Sea,theReel Easy,and theTitan,” I prod, losing patience now. “Illegal shark fishing. Abalone poaching. Terry, you, Luke…Trav.”
“Dad.”
I lift my head.
Heath rubs his beard. “Dad and Terry started it, back in the day. Luke’s dad, too. Hell…” He pauses, frowning. “Lot of the boys around here were involved. Still are.”
“That’s why you hate the tourists. Don’t want them sniffing around.” I pause, stomach churning, thinking of Chris, then Rachel. “Don’t want them taking your abalone…” I lean forward. “Tell me about Rachel Sutherland.”
“She was a poacher.”
“So are you.”
He sniffs, “It’s different with us.”
“Is it?”
“It runs in our blood, Minnow.”
“…Maybe it’s time it runs out.”
His eyes flick to mine. “I know you,” he says simply. “And I know you don’t mean that.”
“Tell me about Rachel,” I repeat. “She grew up here, did you know that?”
He nods. “I don’t remember her back then. But she knew the right spots around here.” He hesitates. “It wasn’t the first time we’d seen her.”
“But it was certainly the last.” I stare at the table. “Had you spoken to her before?”
He nods reluctantly. “Yeah. Luke and I had some words with her. Same with Trav and Terry.”
She pissed off a few people in town.
“You were pissed off she was poaching abalone.” I can’t help but smile. “From you.”
“Hey.” Heath leans in, gently tapping my knee. “Abalone poaching is dangerous. We all know it. We all take risks.” He sighs. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens.”
“What do you know about Hannah Striker?”
He hesitates.
“Heath?”
“She was a courier.”
The words ricochet off the table.She was a courier. She was a courier.
I’m transported back to the abalone facility. I’m staring at the Cryovac bags and wondering,How the hell do they export all this?
I see Hannah’s mum, sitting in her rocking chair, explaining,She traveled a lot. Up and down the coast.
“How did she do it?”
“We sell it domestically. Interstate. Never overseas.”
“How?”
