Baxter pushed Latham to one side and side-stepped as Campanelli came towards him.
There was a report and then a second one. Campanelli stood still for a second or two and then crashed to the floor.
Latham, a police officer while he had breath in his body, dropped Skeeter’s pistol, which he’d pulled from the shoulder holster. ‘Only had one eye to see through,’ he croaked. ‘Did I get him, Greg?’
‘You got him, Ian,’ Baxter said, as the first of the police officers came through the door, followed by Steve Lewis. Baxter was relieved not to see Senior Sergeant Cross among them. Latham had collapsed across Skeeter’s body.
‘Christ, it looks like a war zone,’ Lewis said.
‘Let’s hope it’s the end of the war on drugs in Moondilla,’ Baxter said. ‘Where’s the ambulance? Julie, what’s the score with Latham?’
‘It looks as if he’s got a broken nose and I think he’s concussed, but he’ll need X-rays to check for internal damage. It’s a miracle he had enough left in him to shoot Campanelli. Pure willpower. The ambos will look after him and I’ll see him in hospital.’ Then she took Baxter by his uninjured arm, her touch firm but gentle. ‘I’ll need to look at your cut before I go. You might need stitching up by the blood you’re losing.’
‘I got off lightly considering the odds.’ He smiled at her, reaching up to take her hand. ‘You distracted Campanelli long enough for me to deal with that creep.’
She returned his smile, her eyes bright and warm, and squeezed his hand.
‘First you should make sure Latham’s sorted out,’ Baxter told her. ‘I reckon I’ll be here for a while if you come looking for me later.’
‘Three men dead—yes, you’ll be here for a while,’ an officer said. ‘Why didn’t you let us know what was happening? It’s not your job to tackle crooks.’
‘You’d better ask Dr Rankin that question. Or better yet, Latham himself.’
‘I’ve done all I can for him,’ Julie said, getting up from looking at the prostrate detective. ‘Steve, will you dash out to my car and bring me my bag? It’s in the boot.’ She handed Lewis the car keys, then turned to Baxter. ‘Off with your shirt, Greg.’
Yat’s knife had almost sliced off a strip of skin on the point of Baxter’s shoulder, and the wound was still bleeding profusely. ‘I must be slowing up,’ he said.
‘If it was anyone else, they’d be dead. Nobody could be faster than you, Greg.’ Julie eyed the wound. ‘If I can stitch up that loose skin, you’ll hardly have a scar.’ Two ambos had placed Latham on a stretcher and were carrying him out of the saloon. They nodded to Julie before leaving. ‘I’ll get to the hospital as soon as I’ve finished with Greg here,’ she told them.
Steve returned with her medical bag and she took out what she needed.
‘This is the second time you’ve done a stitch job on me,’ Baxter said, remembering their first meeting in Moondilla.
‘I hope it’s the last,’ she said as she gave him a local anaesthetic.
Out of the corner of his eye, Baxter noticed Inspector Daniels enter the cabin. Daniels was the boss cop for the entire district—Baxter recognised him from the news but had never been introduced to him. He was a large man with a hooked nose.
‘How did all this start, Dr Rankin?’ the inspector asked.
Julie kept a thick compress on Baxter’s shoulder while she waited for the local to take effect. She gave Daniels a short account of the assault on Campanelli and his hoods.
‘Why didn’t you ring us?’ he demanded. ‘This was strictly a police matter, not one for you or anyone else to get mixed up in.’
Julie wasn’t about to be intimidated. She explained herself in a calm, clear voice.
‘You aren’t supposed to know that Cross is bent. Did Latham tell you?’ Daniels asked sharply.
‘Never mind who told me,’ she replied, equally sharply. Then her tone gentled, ‘Keep still, Greg. I’m about to begin stitching.’
The inspector gestured at the room. ‘There’s three men dead here. That’s going to take a lot of explaining!’
‘There would probably have been a dead police officer and a very good one before the night was over,’ Julie said. ‘As for it being “strictly a police matter”, I should remind you that Campanelli twice tried to murder Greg by wiring his boat and then sending two of his hoods to kill him with iron bars. I should say it was anything but “strictly a police matter”.’ She took a breath, her fingers still sewing away. ‘Even allowing for our rapid intervention, Ian has been badly knocked about. It’s a miracle he was able to shoot Campanelli. But hopefully that’s the end of the drug business in Moondilla.’ Julie tied up the last stitch. ‘There you are, Greg. You can put your shirt back on.’
Inspector Daniels was staring at her, his mouth slightly open.
‘Any more questions for me?’ she asked with a polite smile. ‘I’m going to the Bega hospital now to check on Ian.’
‘No more questions.’ Daniels hunched into himself, defeated. ‘I suppose you’ll do the post-mortems?’
‘I suppose I will,’ Julie said brightly.
Baxter coughed to hide his grin.
‘See you later, Greg,’ she said. ‘Don’t do anything drastic with that shoulder and take a couple of aspirin when you get home.’
Baxter nodded. ‘Tell Ian I’ll see him when he’s feeling better.’
As Julie left, Daniels transferred his attention to Steve Lewis, who’d been a silent bystander. ‘Where do you fit into this? Another vigilante?’
‘Not really, Inspector.’ Lewis introduced himself and explained his role.
‘Were you aware that Latham was an officer working undercover?’ Daniels asked.
‘Not until tonight,’ Lewis said.
‘Who told you?’ Daniels was writing all of this down.
Lewis shot Baxter a glance, and he nodded a reassurance.
‘Greg and Julie told me,’ Lewis said.
‘Christ,’ said Daniels, shaking his head, ‘no wonder Campanelli tumbled to Latham. The whole bloody world must have known his identity.’
‘Not necessarily, Inspector,’ Baxter put in. ‘A cop might have let it slip to Sergeant Cross and he told Campanelli. And what about your man on the inside?’
Daniels stared at him. ‘So you know about him too?’
‘Yes. Latham felt he should fill me in.’
Daniels put a hand to his forehead. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll need full statements from both of you, about everything that happened tonight and everything you know.’
•
When they were finished, Daniels sighed and put away his notebook. He looked as though he needed a stiff drink.
‘That’s all very well,’ he said, ‘but there’s going to be a lot of questions asked. Such as why a detective sergeant’s rescue was pulled off by civilians, and why three men had to die in the process.’ But then the inspector gave Baxter a half-smile. ‘On the other hand, Ian can thank his lucky stars he had you on side.’
Baxter nodded—it was good to know Daniels appreciated his efforts, even if simply at a personal level. This seemed a good opportunity to ask an important question. ‘What are you going to do about Senior Sergeant Cross?’
But the inspector immediately closed off again. ‘That’s a police matter and doesn’t concern you, Mr Baxter.’
‘You’re surely not going to allow him to remain in the police force? There’ll be an almighty scandal if nothing’s done about him.’
Beside Baxter, Lewis was nodding firmly.
Daniels scowled. ‘We’ll attend to Cross, all right?’
‘I hope you do. Bent police officers stick in my craw.’ Baxter swayed with a wave of exhaustion and blood loss. He glanced at his watch and realised it was near dawn. ‘If you’ve finished with us, we’ll leave this lot to you.’
‘We’ll probably have to interview you formally,’ Daniels said gruffly. ‘We’ve got a mess here to clean up.’
Baxter had reached the end of his rope. ‘Look, Inspector, as far as I’m concerned, you can take the credit for the whole caboose. Leave me and the others right out of it. You can say that, acting on information received, the police rescued Detective Sergeant Latham. In the ensuing struggle, three of the drug gang were killed.’
Daniels raised his eyebrows, considering this. ‘I’d have to talk to the top brass.’
‘Then talk to them. I won’t contradict you.’
Lewis was glancing between them, looking a bit harried. ‘I’d best get home to Jane and the kids,’ he said. ‘She’ll be worried sick.’
Baxter nodded. ‘And I’ve got a big dog who’s probably missing me.’
‘I’ll be in touch,’ Daniels called after them.
‘Not too soon, I hope,’ Baxter muttered as he and Lewis left the cabin.
The three dead men were still lying where they’d fallen. Baxter hoped they were the last drug smugglers he ever had to deal with.