Page 20 of Clear Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER EIGHT

SENIOR SERGEANT ROBINSON walked into the room and it was all Daisy could do not to throw herself under the table and hide. The highly recognizable blue shirt and dark-blue dress pants with all the insignias had her heart was running around in her chest like a frightened jackrabbit. She hunched her shoulders and pulled her hair across her face, keeping one eye on the cop marching up to Daniella.

That’d been over half an hour ago, but the cop had stayed by the bar, talking earnestly to Daniella and Steve. Almost as if he were waiting for something; almost as if he were keeping an eye on them. Daisy had sweated profusely as she watched the police officer from a distance. When were they going to start this questioning? She needed to get it over and done with, before she lost her nerve.

Oh, fuck, there was another one. She had to grab the seat with both hands to physically stop herself from standing up and sprinting across the room and out the door.

A soft groan left her lips as she watched the second cop go over and greet Daniella, offering her his hand. Two cops were worse than one. They were twice as likely to recognize her. This one was younger, probably the constable Steve had mentioned earlier. The head-honcho’s sidekick.

How the hell could she have gotten herself into this situation? This was the worst kind of bad luck imaginable. The police were the absolute last people she wanted to talk to. Her mind raced, looking for a way out of her predicament. But her brain was screaming at her to get up and run, which was no help. Because if she ran now, it’d be like she was pointing a blinding spotlight at herself.

She needed to calm down. If she stuck to her cover story, then maybe, just maybe, she might get out of this unrecognized. She ran over the details of her fake ID in her head one more time.

Dale had been hovering behind his stepfather since the first cop arrived. Now, he was leaning in and talking to his sister. He still looked pale and shocked. It was a terrible thing to happen to this poor family. If she wasn’t so caught up in her own problems, she’d feel sorry for him. And she should feel sorry for the poor girl who was dead. Unfortunately, all she could feel right now was fear and frustration at her predicament.

Dale’s gaze landed on her and he said something to his sister, laying his hand on her shoulder briefly, before turning and walking toward her.

“Senior Sergeant Robinson wants to go out and look at the scene; at the body. But he’s going to leave Senior Constable King here, to take statements from everyone,” Steve announced to the gathered group as Dale sat heavily beside her. There were grumbles of dissent from around the room. They weren’t happy at having been made to wait so long already. “So, because this will take a while, Robinson has agreed to let all the guests return to their rooms, rather than keeping everyone cooped up here all afternoon. We’ll come and get you when you’re needed.”

There were sighs of relief from some guests. Daisy mentally gathered herself together, it was no use showing Dale how mixed up she was feeling. She glanced up at Robinson for a second. He wore a sober frown, and she wondered if he ever looked anything but grave. He must be in his fifties, with pale-blue eyes, and a large dent in his chin, made more obvious by his clean-shaven appearance. Tall and imposing, Senior Sergeant Robinson clearly took his job seriously. At least the younger one, King, let loose a smile now and then.

Daisy put on a brave face before shifting her gaze to Dale. “That might make some people a little happier, letting them back to their rooms. But not everyone,” she whispered cynically, tilting her chin toward IT Man and his wife. As she pushed away her own fears and her mind cleared, something began to nag at Daisy. “Why are they questioning everyone? Isn’t this a simple accident?”

Dale suddenly wouldn’t look her in the eye. Was there something else going on here? She knew little about police procedure—and maybe the Queensland cops operated completely differently to the West Australian ones—but surely, they didn’t round up everyone in the vicinity and take statements for a tragic accident. Unless it wasn’t an accident. There was something hinky happening here, she could feel it in her bones. At least she could honestly say she’d never met the girl before. Hopefully, the cops wouldn’t even look at her twice once they knew she’d never set foot on the station before last night. That single thought helped to calm her racing pulse a little more. Yes, if she could convince the police she was an innocent bystander, that her presence here was mere coincidence and she’d been caught up in something she had nothing to do with, they’d let her return to Koongarra and be none-the-wiser as to who she really was.

“Is there any chance of me getting home this afternoon?” She knew it was a long shot; that she was making a severe imposition on Dale for asking, but she needed to get out of here. Even as she spoke, she thought about other ways to get home to her brother. Would someone from the community be able to come and collect her? But how would she get hold of them? “Could someone else take me, if you can’t?” she asked.

Dale’s next comment put paid to any idea of getting out of here. “Sorry, Steve drove down to Corella Creek this morning, he was hoping to get across so he could check those cattle I moved yesterday. He says it’s still too high; too dangerous to cross.”

She was stuck here for at least another night.

Sheesh.It was going to be a long afternoon. She stared out the window at the billabong, wishing she could be there, fishing, with not a care in the world.

Sally made her way over to their table. “The cop asked me to hand these out,” she said, placing a photocopied page with an image on it on the table in front of them. “It’s a picture of Karri,” she said by way of explanation. “The cops want to make sure everyone knows who she is…was.”

“Thanks, but I already know what Karri looks like,” Dale said, woodenly.

“Yes, but she doesn’t.” Sally waved a finger in the air in front of Daisy’s face. Daisy finally looked down at the paper in front of her.

Oh. Shit.

She managed to stifle her gasp of surprise and cover it with a cough.

She knew that girl. The face staring back at her from the page was familiar. Daisy had seen her at the community a few times, but had never caught her name. But more than that, she was the one who’d shown them to the outstation on the day they’d first arrived. Said she was heading back to work, and it was on her way, and so they followed her trail of dust over the bumpy, dirt roads as she led the way in her beat-up Holden Ute. The girl hadn’t even stopped to see if they got into the place okay, had merely waved through the window and driven off. Daisy had never twigged that the girl meant she worked at Stormcloud Station. River had noticed her, too. She’d caught his gaze following her around the community, before she even offered to show them the way. Then he’d watched the trail of dust long after her ute had disappeared.

It was one more lie she was going to have to tell the police.

* * *

Daisy pushed the food around on her plate. Her appetite had deserted her, and she watched Dale do the same thing. She glanced up at the rest of the station staff sitting at the table. Most of them seemed to pick at their meals, as well. Skylar had been too upset to come up with one of her gourmet meals tonight. It was steak and chips and salad for everyone.

All the guests were eating in their huts tonight, leaving the dining area free for the staff to sit and chat. To mull over the day and finally talk together as a group without being interrupted. And mourn for their dead colleague. Wazza seemed particularly upset. He sat without speaking, staring out the large windows into the dark.

IT Man and his wife were flying out first thing tomorrow morning. Daisy had overheard him saying he couldn’t wait to get as far away from this cursed place as possible. The sooner the better. Which was a shame for Stormcloud Station. This whole death was going to affect them. Affect their reputation, perhaps for a long time to come.

“Why did Senior Constable King ask all those odd questions?” Daisy’s head jerked up as Sally Tsun broke the silence that’d settled over the group, speaking from her seat next to Skylar.

“What do you mean by odd?” Dale queried.

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