A woman beckoned to her. It was her turn to cross and she looked away from Joe, taking the stepping stones across, making her way into the cave, towards the back where there were less people.
Johnny was right. She looked back and searched for him but couldn’t see him.
What was Sandy playing at? She waited for Joe, and he smiled at her when he finally approached. Behind him she saw Johnny hovering at the cave mouth, keeping an eye on her and blending in with the tourists and her heart rate calmed.
‘No sign of Sandy?’ she asked him when he was standing beside her.
‘I don’t think she’ll come; I think this was her way of bringing us together,’ he said.
The statement took Kelly by surprise.
‘Really?’ she asked him.
‘I see you brought a bouncer,’ he said.
They looked at Johnny, and Kelly smiled. His face was cross, and she could see he was ready to pounce, but she signalled tohim to hold off. She saw nobody else out of place and certainly none of the close protection she’d expected to accompany Sandy.
No sign of Kevin Streeting.
‘I met with Jamie here a few times. I guessed that’s why Sandy chose it.’
‘Do you trust her?’
‘No, I don’t trust anyone,’ he said.
Their voices echoed slightly in the cavern.
‘I’ve been up here enough times to know this is where Jamie and Angelina hid shit they didn’t want finding.’
‘What makes you say that?’ Kelly stared at the lone rock, wondering what was under it. It was a ridiculous thought because nobody could lift the thing in the first place, never mind hide something under it, and replace the stone. She must be mistaken. Kelly looked around. ‘It’s all very clandestine. Are you expecting me to believe that they met here like spies and dropped documents for one another?’
‘That’s exactly what they did.’
Kelly became wary.
‘Why didn’t Jamie tell you where he was taking Angelina?’ she asked him.
He was taken off-guard. ‘To protect her.’
‘But I thought you two were close. The baby was yours, right?’
It was a low blow. Cruel, cheap. Effective.
His face crumpled.
‘You didn’t know?’
Joe looked around and recovered. It was the action of an alpha male. No emotion. She was disappointed because she’d imagined a love story. She thought about what Johnny said.
‘It must have made you mad when Jamie wouldn’t tell you where she was. Did you speak to him the night he died? About Angelina? About where she might be? You were at the hotelas Greg Minda. We have you on video footage in your hoodie. You’re not that clever, DiggerMan.’
He stared at her, having regained his cool.
‘He wouldn’t tell you where their hiding place is either,’ she said.
She watched his face tick and his eyes darted to the mouth of the cave.
‘I know it’s in here,’ he said.
