Page 1 of The Clearing Rain

CHAPTER ONE

EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT.Exactly how Lacey had envisaged it.The sun was setting in a brilliant show of pink and purple over the green-swathed mountains, and the evening air was warm and silken against the bare skin of her arms.The gentle buzz of an insect and the plop of a fish rising on the river below the only sounds to break the silence.

An ideal evening for what she had in mind.She’d been planning this day for over six weeks, since before Christmas, even before Nico had started recovering from his bullet wound.And now that Nico was almost healed, Lacey could start to focus on the bright future they might have together.

Nico was back on full duty now, pretending there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.But she knew different.He was still in pain sometimes; she occasionally caught him wincing when he lifted something heavy or moved too quickly.

Three days alone, just the two of them taking it slow, filling their days with sunshine and lots of simple food and gentle exercise was exactly what the doctor ordered.This was a dog-friendly area, so Smudge had accompanied them, and he now lay asleep at their feet, content and worn out from their day spent trekking.

It’d been her police partner, Linc, who’d planted the seed of this idea.She’d taken that thought and let it grow in her head until she’d come up with the perfect plan.A weekend away was an excuse to take the completely remodeled Dotti 2.0.Kombi van out for a run and christen her with an overnight stay.As well as the added bonus of getting away from their demanding jobs and chill for three days with no thoughts of murder or mayhem.She and Nico had finally arranged their schedules so they could both have a rare weekend off together.She gave a secret smile; Nico had no idea she had an ulterior motive for their holiday, but very soon, all would be revealed.

They’d driven Dotti down on Friday night and set her up in this secluded camp by the Pieman River in a tiny place called Corinna.It was no more than a scattering of huts offering rustic accommodation to tourists and an information center that was also a tavern, restaurant, and shop all rolled into one.The only way to cross the river was on a barge that carried one car at a time.Completely perfect for their romantic getaway.

Corinna was nestled in the heartland of the Tarkine, an indeterminate area of northwest Tasmania that was world-renowned for its ancient beech and myrtle rainforest.A person could get lost in this wilderness and never be seen again.But they’d die happy, Lacey decided.Lacey had never been much into photography, but even she had been in raptures as she snapped image after image of the lush Gondwana rainforest crowding in around them as they’d hiked the trails yesterday.It was so quiet here.Quiet and still.The place had a mysterious quality to it that she couldn’t quite pin down.Perhaps it was the age of the ancient trees that’d seen so much over their hundreds of years standing guard over the river.Or perhaps it was the mysterious mists that drifted over the dark-olive treetops in wisps.There had been talk of protecting the Tarkine by turning it into a national park, but greedy mining companies were hampering the efforts of the conservationists.Such a shame.Lacey crossed her fingers and hoped the environmentalists would win this time.

This morning, when Lacey had peeped out of the van, the world had been shrouded in more mist, rising like gray, ghostly tendrils off the glassy water of the river.But the fog had soon cleared to a sparkling day, the sun bounding off the hillsides, making it sultry and so hot beneath the trees that Lacey had dived into the river more than once to cool off.

And now they were celebrating another day’s hiking in the rainforest with wine and some local cheeses before dinner.Perfect.Raising her glass of pinot noir toward Nico who sat in the camp chair next to her, she said, “To the most beautiful place in the world.”They clinked their glasses together as she met his indigo gaze and they toasted to this gorgeous little campsite tucked in next to the deep, slow-moving river.

“To the most beautiful woman in the world,” Nico countered, and she smiled at him, his words hitting her in the solar plexus, then flowing all the way down to her toes.

God, how she loved this man.And he loved her.They were meant to be together.Forever.It was now or never.The timing was right.The ring nestled in its box snuggly in her shorts pocket.Her heart was beating so crazy fast she was scared Nico might hear it and ask her what was wrong.Should she get down on one knee in front of him?Or perhaps just hand it over all casual and easy as if it were the most natural thing in the world?Then watch his face, waiting with bated breath for his answer as the significance of the ring dawned on him.There was no doubt in her mind that Nico would refuse her.They were already as committed to each other as two people could be.Getting married was the next step along the trail of their love story.And rather than wait for him to do the asking, Lacey had decided to be the progressive, proactive, modern woman and ask him instead.Nico had been scarred by his ex-wife, Marietta.He’d married her for love, but it seemed she’d only married him to get her permanent residency.Lacey knew it might take him a while to feel himself worthy of that sort of commitment again.But she would show him that hewasworthy.That together they were stronger; together they made the best team in the world.

Her pulse was an erratic pounding in her neck, her stomach awash with butterflies all of a sudden.How was it she could take aim and shoot at a fleeing criminal without so much as raising a sweat, but this…?This was doing her head in.Taking a few seconds to compose herself, to bring her breathing back to normal, she raised her wine to her lips and drew in a deep whiff of the dark-cherry liquid.Soft, fruity and familiar.But instead of her salivary glands watering, her stomach flipped over at the smell.Funny, she loved a good Tasmanian pinot.Why would the smell suddenly turn her stomach?Ignoring the warning bells, she took a sip, letting the wine sit at the back of her palate so she could savor the taste… And immediately spat it out onto the loamy earth.This time, her stomach did more than roil.It heaved.

Oh, God.She was going to be sick!

Putting the glass down with a clatter, she lurched out of her chair and half staggered, half ran to the nearest tree, promptly vomiting the remains of her lunch onto the bright-green moss below.Giving a low moan, she hardly noticed Nico’s appearance at her side, his conciliatory hand on her shoulder not enough to stop her retching again and again until she had nothing left to throw up.Daggers stabbed into her abdomen and the terrible smell made her gag all over again.The rough bark of the tree beneath her palm was the only thing keeping her from toppling forward into her own mess.

“What’s the matter, Lace?Was it something you ate?Maybe that chicken sandwich you had for lunch was dodgy,” he said, rubbing small circles on her back, while trying to hold a concerned Smudge at bay.Lacey knew he was only trying to comfort her, but she didn’t want him touching her suddenly.She wanted to be left alone like a wounded animal to crawl away under a log and wallow in her misery alone.She felt awful.Her whole body pulsed hot, then cold at the same time as sweat ran freely down her face, and she retched some more.Tears poured from her eyes.Oh, God, this was surely how dying felt.

When she didn’t answer, Nico said, “I’ll get you some water.”

“Yes,” she croaked.Water would be good.She was as parched as the desert.While Nico rushed off, taking the dog with him, Lacey gingerly straightened, one hand held tight against her stomach.The terrible retching seemed to have stopped now, the agonizing spasms abating, and she wiped at her mouth with the corner of her T-shirt.

Focussing on a shaft of fading sunlight piercing the jungle growth, she tried to figure out what was wrong.This was the third time she’d thrown up in the past four days.The first time she’d put it down to sour milk in her tea when she’d resorted to using the milk from the break room at the station on Friday morning.The second time, yesterday morning, she’d just made it to the small amenities block to take a shower when the nausea had overwhelmed her, but she’d put that down to needing a good hearty breakfast to fill the empty void in her stomach—and she had indeed felt better after Nico had fed her toast and tea.But today… What was today about?

The mere smell of wine had never made her sick before.A small kernel of worry gnawed at the inside of her chest.What if…?No, she couldn’t be.It was impossible, and she pushed the idea from her head.

Nico rushed back with the water and a washcloth and Lacey cleaned her face, then took a few tentative sips.

“Thank you,” she finally puffed.“I’m okay.I’m feeling better now.”And it was the truth.Now that her lunch lay on the damp, jungle earth, her stomach was calm, no sign of the terrible hot flushes that’d tormented her body.

“Good.Because you scared me.”Nico led her back to their little campsite, lowering her gently into her chair, his brow still creased with worry.Smudge was equally worried, resting his nose on her knee and lifting his brown, sympathetic gaze to hers.

Lacey looked at her glass of wine, then quickly looked away again.Nope, she wasn’t going to try that again tonight.But the dry crackers seemed to be calling to her.

Oh, God.Dry crackers.You only craved dry crackers when you were… Again, she dragged her mind away from that thought.

“Why don’t you sit here and enjoy the view, and I’ll cook dinner tonight,” Nico said.Irritation at his offer claimed her, unbidden, and she was about to snap at him that she was perfectly capable of walking to the van and turning on the cooker, when she stopped herself.Why was she suddenly so angry?Over nothing.Nico was being nice.She had no reason to jump down his throat.He hadn’t meant it to sound like she was weak, unable to do even the simplest of things, like cook a meal.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time she’d become irritated at Nico for no good reason.

Oh, shit.She put her head in her hands.Mood swings were another sign, weren’t they?

He was instantly by her side, crouching down, his forehead resting against hers.“Hey, babe, do you want to go lie down?”He’d misunderstood her dismay, possibly thinking she was going to be sick again.

Gathering her wits, she managed to raise a smile as she lifted her head.“No.I really am fine.”She struggled to find something to explain her mood to him.“I’m just bummed that I ruined our night, that’s all.”

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