Page 48 of Down the Track
Picking up her glass of wine, she took it out to the church pew at the front of the pub. The early evening would still be hot—breathlessly so—but she wanted fresh air.
CHAPTER
19
Hux parked his HiLux in the carport of his house and listened to the engine tick. He cracked the door open for Possum, who jumped down to trot about the front yard, snuffling out traces of whatever insects or birds or rodents might have scurried across it in the twelve hours since he’d last been here. Hux would have liked nothing better than some time alone in his own home, but judging from the channel dug across the yard and the broken pipe still very much visible within it, the plumber had not yet come by to fix his water problems.
Another night at the pub it was, then.
Possum finished his audit and came to sit by Hux’s open door, staring upwards with the intent look he acquired when he was expecting to be fed.
‘What about pizza?’ Hux said. ‘We have to walk past the pizza place on our way to the pub, Poss.’
Double cheese and pepperoni probably wasn’t the greatest food for a dog, but it had been one of those days. One of those shit days. He’d spent most of the afternoon on the phone reaching out to anyone and everyone he knew to try and figure out a plan, and when he hadn’t been on the phone, he’d been trying to cheer up Charlie, who hadn’t, thank god, been arrested, but who had watched in silence while the police confiscated the keys to the R22, sealed it with crime tape and called in a forensics expert, who’d covered herself in a thin white suit and crawled all over the helicopter with swabs and tweezers and evidence bags.
His phone pinged and he looked at the incoming email from his lawyer.
He’s driven by money, Hux’s lawyer had written,
… which is a positive attribute in a criminal lawyer. It means he’s motivated to win. I’ve had to let him know who you are (I leant into the ‘wealthy and famous’ part) to lure him into taking the case but he understands that’s not for public disclosure. Here’s his details, and if Charlie is questioned again about the person he reported missing, or any evidence the sniffer dog or the forensics team located, or, indeed, anything that makes him (or you) uneasy, then my advice is that he refuse to speak to the police and directs them to contact Philip instead. The police may be irritated by this, but it lets them know that they can’t keep coming at him without due process, which includes probable cause. There is no legal requirement for Charlie to remain ‘in town’, or ground himself from flying, unless he’s charged and remanded on bail with a no-fly provision. Let me know how it goes.
No legal requirement, but Charlie was not in the right state of mind to be flying, he’d made that very clear.
The fact Charlie now had a lawyer was good, though, so he switched apps to the group chat he shared with his siblings to fill them in.
Hux: Criminal lawyer has come on board. Name Philip Kumar. Haven’t told Charlie yet.
#1Regina is typing …
#3Sal: I am so freaking scared, Hux
#4Laura: I’m packing a few things and if there’s no flight out I’ll jump in the car and drive. Might have to bring the twins with me.
#5Fiona: Wait can someone clue me in? Geez you don’t pay your phone bill one lousy month and you miss everything.
What Laura thought she could do that the rest of them couldn’t, Hux had no clue, but he knew better than to say so on a group chat where the Numbers would be swift to remind him that his status as the only sibling with a penis, not rating a mention on the Numbers list on account of his Y chromosome and with only Fiona below him in age ranking, meant his opinions were next to useless. The amount of times he’d been shut down with the phrase ‘It’s a girl thing, Gavin’ …
#1Regina: We need to give the oldies an update before they hear this latest development on the bush telegraph
Yeah. A prospect he was dreading.
Hux: If you’re flying, @#4Laura, send me a text when you know your arrival details and I can collect you
#4Laura is typing …
#1Regina: What did forensics find?
Hux: They weren’t sharing their news with us. Any samples have to go to the forensics lab in Coopers Plains so that’ll take some time.
#4Laura: Thnx will do. You think the dog might have got it wrong? Also—@#5Fiona—call me. How are you broke again?
Hux: Dunno. We transport all sorts of stuff in the choppers. Raw meat, fertiliser, people who’ve been tramping around in sheep dung and cow dung and abattoir muck. All stuff an average dog would find super interesting, but a police dog? They’re rigorously trained.
#1Regina: Is that your famous crime writer opinion?
The thin nudge of sarcasm usually didn’t get to him. Today, it did.
Hux: @#1Regina you know I don’t just make stuff up for shits and giggles, right? I research it. For hours. I’ve read more criminal court case transcripts than you’ve dipped cattle.
