Page 93 of Stockman's Stormcloud

‘Hank knows you’re in the area, and word is out that you ended up in the hospital after your last fight,’ said Finn. ‘The odds for you to win have dropped so low that Hank, like many other fighters, are keen to take their shot at the title.’

Which would draw a much bigger crowd—just the way the organisers liked to play their dangerous game with the punters. Dex had seen it done plenty of times, where he’d negotiate a bigger cut of their illegal prize pool.

Maybe it was time to get back in the ring.

‘You can’t fight, bro,’ blurted out Ash.

‘Oi.’Big mouth.Dex frowned at Ash, not daring to look at the two cops seated at the table. But they had no proof. And the organisers were very strict that anyone caught taping the fights was taught a public lesson to deter everyone else.

‘I know all about those illegal fights,’ said Marcus sternly. ‘I know they’re no longer held in my district.’

The organisers were very careful, sticking close to that fine outer edge of Marcus’s patrol area, using private land.

Marcus crossed his big beefy arms, where his tight police uniform only made his arms look bigger. ‘The only reason I haven’t shut down this upcoming fight is because of Finn’s operation. After this fight, I intend to close them down for good.’

‘Why haven’t you done anything sooner, if you know about these fights, and who those rustlers are?’ Cap was blunt. Which was rare for the peacemaker to speak that way, the last time he’d done that was to fight Mia’s ex.

‘Because I’ve been after these mongrels for almost a year and lost them when they escaped down south, well out of my jurisdiction.’ Finn sneered, stabbing at the images on the table. ‘But when Bree described their MO, she swore it had to be someone with a working knowledge of this station. Did any of you know about the old stock route?’

‘Not until the theft,’ replied Ryder, talking to Bree. ‘It’d be handy if Charlie would just sit down and tell us the names of these places.’

‘You’ll be there all year,’ said Dex, learning his lesson from the time he’d spent at the cottage, with Charlie sharing a new story on the station’s history every day.

‘I agree.’ Finn nodded, then patted his wife’s shoulder. ‘But thankfully Bree recognised one of the thieves.’

‘How?’ Ryder asked.

‘This prick worked here.’ Bree's scowl was ferocious as she flicked at Joe’s photo. ‘Joe was one of the contract musterers Darcie’s son hired to strip the cattle from this property. I gave him that scar on his cheek.’

‘What for?’ Dex knew Bree would only hit back for a good reason.

‘He was being cruel to the cattle and accidentally kissed the end of my stockwhip.’ Bree shrugged. ‘The head stockman who was managing that mob fired Joe after that.’

‘That’s how they knew about the place,’ said Ash.

‘Yes,’ replied Finn. ‘Joe was a ringer, and best mates with Hank where they’d travel working the musters, following the fight circuit. Apparently when they heard that Elsie Creek Station had been sold to new owners, they decided to try their luck on what was left.’

‘Do you know them, Dex?’ Cap asked.

‘We’ve crossed paths.’

‘Do you know this woman?’ Ash asked.

Dex paused.

But Ryder gave the nod for Dex to answer.

Dex may have the odd beef with his big brother, but he trusted Ryder to block him should he incriminate himself, considering his brother had a team of lawyers on speed dial.

‘Marla is a truck driver who hauls her road train up and down the highway. She was dating Hank when she was carting cattle for a few stations. I remember her brother wasn’t happy about it.’ It’s what Dex used to upset Hank in their fighting bout to distract him with his emotions. ‘How long have they been stealing cattle? It’s frowned upon by most of the fighters who are stockmen.’

‘A year, maybe less. It took a while to work out their pattern, but now we have a chance of catching them.’ Finn rested his heavily inked forearms on the table.

‘How?’ Ryder demanded. ‘It’s been six days. Our cattle will be long gone by now.’

‘We don’t think they are, because the legacy brand is impossible to hide,’ explained Finn. ‘You can’t tamper with the Elsie Creek Station brand, and it’s one of the most recognisable cattle brands around. Hank and his crew didn’t know that when they stole your cattle. They were only thinking the new owners wouldn’t know the back track or that the caretakers were gone. So, this is what we’ve been planning…’ He nodded to the senior sergeant, seated beside him.

Marcus leaned forward. ‘We want Dex to sign up for that fight.’

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