It was tough going back to writing after Liz Drew’s visit. The thought of her teamed up with another man like Jack worried Baxter a lot, and preoccupied him for the next few weeks. But his thoughts of Liz were interrupted by the arrival of Detective Sergeant Ian Latham.
Latham’s long hair had been cut short, and he was in clean slacks and a pressed shirt. The disreputable putty-coloured van had been replaced by a white Holden.
‘You almost had me thinking you were a stranger,’ Baxter said, greeting Latham at his front door. ‘Off the undercover work for a while?’
‘Yes, thank goodness. I’ve got a lot of leave owing to me. And it’s good to see you, Greg.’ Latham shook hands with Baxter.
‘What brings you here, Ian?’ Baxter asked, gesturing for him to come inside.
‘Some good news, for the time being at least,’ Latham said, sitting down.
‘Good news is never hard to take.’
Baxter had just made some coffee, so he brought two steaming mugs from the kitchen. He was hoping to hear that Campanelli had finally been arrested and the drug shipment seized.
Instead Latham said, ‘It looks like Campanelli and Company have switched their field of operation. We believe they’re landing drugs in Western Australia for the moment. It’s a bigger hassle for them, because they have to move the stuff over vast distances, either by road or by air.’
‘Then why are they doing it?’
‘It’s all a ploy to distract us from keeping watch here. They’ll come back to Moondilla when they think we’ve relaxed our vigilance.’
‘How do you know all this?’ Baxter asked.
‘We’ve managed to infiltrate their system. In simple terms, we’ve got an undercover cop in Campanelli’s outfit. It’s taken some doing, but he’s there and he’s passed us some very interesting information.’
‘Sounds dangerous, especially after what happened to that policewoman.’
‘Yes, it’s damned risky, and it takes a bloody good cop to do it.’
Baxter nodded. ‘And am I still being babysat by your blokes at the dairy, or do you think I can start heading into town again?’
‘For the time being you can relax. Our “sleeper” will let us know as soon as Franco or any of his outfit come back. Their idea is that if we aren’t prepared for them, they can land a massive cargo of drugs, but we’ve got a shadow team of Police and Customs ready to go into action as soon as we’re given the word that they’ve returned.’
‘Well, I appreciate you coming to tell me. And I take it you’re going to use up some of the leave you’re owed?’
‘That’s my intention,’ Latham said, ‘although I’m never completely off-duty. I’m always keeping abreast of the drug situation.’
Baxter thought of what Lester had revealed about Latham’s brother: a tragedy that obviously drove the detective on. Baxter had a lot of time for Ian Latham—he considered him an outstanding police officer who’d exhibited a willingness to work outside the official system. Latham would always have his co-operation.
‘As much as I like you, Ian, I hope I don’t see you again in a professional capacity,’ Baxter said, smiling, before Latham headed out the door.
The detective shook his hand again. ‘Stay loose, champ. I’ll be in touch.’
•
Months passed while peace reigned over the river. Baxter was slogging away at his novel and was pleased with what he’d written. He went out fishing with Steve Lewis and spent time with the Lewises, and spoke to Liz and his mother on the phone.
And, of course, he saw Julie. There had been no perceptible change in her attitude—she still came out and fished with him, and he cooked her special meals.
One evening, Baxter received an unexpected phone call from Liz. There was something strange in her voice when she said hello. Then, without warning, she told him she’d had a baby boy. She sounded overjoyed.
‘Is it mine?’ Baxter asked, his heart racing.
‘Of course! And I’ve named him after you.’
He wasn’t sure what else to ask. ‘Is he a good baby?’
‘Fantastic. He weighed ten pounds.’
‘That’s pretty big. Any problems?’
‘None beyond the usual, so I was told.’
Baxter was shell-shocked. Out of the blue, he was going to be a father. Of course, this didn’t mean that he would marry Liz. He still felt warmly towards her—although he wished she’d told him about the baby a little earlier!—and he still didn’t love her. But he did think of how pleased his mother would be. He simply wasn’t sure how to tell her.
The next day, Julie dropped by and she seemed troubled. When he told her the news, he could see she already knew. In fact, it turned out, Liz had called her.
‘Is it Greg’s?’ Julie had asked.
‘Of course,’ Liz had said.
‘Does he know?’
‘Not yet. I wanted you to be the first to know.’
‘I would have thought Greg should be the first.’
‘Oh, I’ll tell him,’ Liz had said. ‘I’ve just been a wee bit scared of how he’ll react.’
In Julie’s opinion, Liz had derived no small amount of satisfaction from the situation. And for the first time, to his own satisfaction, Baxter was almost certain he heard jealousy in Julie’s voice.
Because he was still coming to terms with the news, he asked her to keep it under her hat, and she readily agreed.