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Tarant called again as Lexi drove north. She answered and filled him in on her eventful afternoon. He swore over the visit from Harvey Rojas. “I drove to Taumaranui,” he said. “The signal is awful out there. I called a few times as soon as I got your message. I’m back at the office now.”
Lexi remained silent as she overtook a slow-moving truck on the expressway. “I figured he warned you about his visit and suggested you ignore my calls,” she said after the pause.
Tarant blew out an agonised breath. “It kills me how you’d believe that of me,” he replied. “I guess there’s no point denying it.”
Lexi nodded in agreement but didn’t voice it. “Why did you drive all that way south?” she asked. “We have no cases there.”
“I picked it up this morning. Compensation fraud. I’d have sent you, but you were at the prison. The client paid out a six-figure sum for an industrial spine injury. Bought the woman an automated wheelchair and funded physiotherapy. She fell from a logging truck in a rail yard and couldn’t walk. Her cleaner blew the whistle. Apparently, she arrived early and found the woman standing in the kitchen making a sandwich. She reported it to the company, who contacted the Accident Compensation Company.”
“And you don’t mess with them,” Lexi mused.
“Nope. I spent the day in a neighbour’s tree house being pestered by their four-year-old. We shared a very nice teddy bear picnic while I snapped photos of the injured woman sunbathing.”
“That sounds more like perving than surveillance.”
Tarant snorted. “Well, she walks fine. She fetched herself two glasses of cola, used the bathroom once and weeded a very nice flower bed. I have the skin of a lobster and survived on mud pies and fake cups of tea.”
“Boo hoo. Claim damages and expenses.”
“You’re all heart. What do you think Rojas will do next?” Concern laced his tone. “You should have told me about your evidence. I’ll speak to Lynn. He can’t behave like this. She’ll see how serious it’s become.”
Lexi sighed. “I doubt it. She’s too busy making dirty phone calls to me. Perhaps she’s behind all of it.”
“Dirty phone calls?” Tarant’s voice held incredulity. “That’s not her style.”
“Oh, it’s her.” Lexi gritted her teeth. Sarcasm dripped from her words. “I realise it’s difficult to believe me over your family members, but I heard Delray playing in the background. Lynn faked a rather unpleasant orgasm in her hearing. Lovely wife you have there. Congratulations.”
Tarant muttered an expletive. “Will you tell the cops?” he asked in a small voice.
Lexi snorted. “What? And watch the case assigned to Harvey Rojas? Why would I give him a legitimate reason to knock on my door?” She exhaled her frustration. “I’ll deal with it myself,” she snarled.
She killed the call as she pulled onto the dirt road leading to the camp. Her SUV bumped over craters in the road, sending up a plume of dust behind her. The route extended into the mountainous bush long enough to make her teeth rattle in protest. In a makeshift car park, Lexi pulled on the handbrake. She remembered Grant Herbert’s offer to track down her stalker and sent him a quick text containing the motorbike’s registration number.
Fresh air assailed Lexi as she left her vehicle. A young woman hailed her from a nearby hut. “It’s a horrible drive, isn’t it?” she asked with a laugh. “It’s the only reason we’ve never left.” Sparkling blue eyes twinkled from a suntanned face. Lexi recognised Lala’s voice from their phone conversation.
“Lexi.” She held out her hand in greeting. Lala shook it. Ingrained dirt lined her fingers, and she wore jodhpurs and riding boots. Mousey hair tumbled from a ponytail, which swung behind her. “You’ve never left?” Lexi cocked her head in confusion. She realised her error as the words left her lips. “Sorry. My head is rattling. You don’t mean that.”
Lala grinned. “I hardly ever leave. Mum gave birth to me in the cottage over there.” She pointed an index finger towards a building with a flat roof. Only the towels swinging from a washing line denoted it from the other wooden huts. They clustered like gossipy women in a kitchen. Lala tucked a stray curl behind her left ear. “Mum homeschooled me while she ran the camp.” Long strides carried her across the car park. Lexi jogged to keep up. “And she employed me as soon as I reached sixteen. Besides, my horse is here, and I have everything I need.” She scrunched her shoulders up to her ears like a child anticipating a birthday gift. “So, there’s no reason to leave.” Her brows waggled in a comic ripple effect. “And I get car sick. Even the thought of that road makes me nauseous.” Her shrill laugh contradicted her statement.
Lexi’s steps slowed as Lala led her towards a cabin with floor to ceiling windows. She recognised the building’s façade from the photograph. Her mind laid the image over reality. Only the absent children made it appear different. But Lala didn’t take her there. She made a sharp left turn and stepped onto a wide porch. “Shoes off,” she piped as Lexi followed her up the steps. She chittered and chattered as Lexi sat on a nearby rail to unlace her boots. Lala didn’t remove her own tan riding boots.
Lexi’s laces trailed across the scarred wood as she cursed her footwear for the second time that day. “When were you born?” she asked. “You must have lived out here for more than twenty years.” Lexi congratulated herself on the tact incorporated in her impertinent question but noticed too late that Lala didn’t answer. She pushed off her last boot and glanced up, her lips still parted.
“I’m Casey Brown. Can I help you?” An austere woman stood in the doorway to the cabin, her hands on her hips. Age had spread her body into a bottle shape. Dark grey hair ran to a white fringe and sharp features poked from beneath it. Lexi stared up at her, merging Casey’s pointy face with the softness of Keith’s blonde wife. The startling juxtaposition confounded her. She couldn’t imagine this woman sharing passion with the slick investment banker.
Lexi rose and straightened her shoulders. “Yes,” she replied. “I believe you can.”
