FOURTEEN

Sarah entered the study, waving a large screwdriver. 'The van's hot. No paperwork or ID.' She threw an envelope onto the desk. 'This was taped under the passenger seat. Just under a thousand dollars in it. I put the van in the garage, out of sight.'

Jay had been staring at his new tattoo, trying to make sense of what it all meant. The tattoo. The torture. He turned his attention back to Sarah. 'That's good. Any shovels in the back?'

'You're thinking about it, aren't you?'

'What?'

'The shit you've just been through.'

'Yeah. Probably just starting to sink in. I've really got to find my dad. God knows what else the Primroses are capable of.'

'We'll find him. I know we will. You'll be happy to know that there were no shovels in the back of the van.'

'A positive, I suppose.' Truth was, Jay felt like he was losing his edge. That's what upset him most about being put through the wringer by the Primroses. His senses were always sharp and he'd let his guard down. He kicked himself for it. At least he had been on the ball when the two military police impersonators turned up.

'Where's Mr Hunter?' she asked.

'Bill.'

'Pardon?'

'Bill. He wants to be called Bill.'

'OK. Where's Bill?'

'He's putting Taylor in the bath.'

'Do you think that's wise, letting him guard them? He's an old man, Jay.'

'He'll be fine. I checked the zip-ties. There's no way they're breaking out of them. Besides, he's a sly old fox. He can handle himself. They won't give him grief,' Jay said. He knew he could trust Bill. His dad trusted him.

'Do you think Primrose hired them?' she asked.

'I've been trying to figure that out. It'd fit nicely but I don't think so.'

'Why not?'

'Primrose got down and dirty when he tortured me. He loved it. Got off on it. He's a sadist who needs to do the dirty work. Also a control freak. There is no way he would hire someone else to get to me. He didn't the first time, so why would he now?'

'Maybe he knew you'd be more prepared this time and needed the heavies,' she said.

'He also knows my capabilities. He would've made sure that those two were more prepared. We've assumed that he's got something to do with my dad's disappearance, so why would he need to bring me to him? He could just as easily pick up the phone and threaten me some more.'

Sarah considered the comments. 'If not Primrose, then who?'

'Hopefully those two can tell me,' he said.

Bill walked back in as Jay finished wrapping the bandage around his wrist. 'Been meaning to ask what happened to your wrist.'

'Training accident.'

'Yep. Standard response. Won't ask again.'

'It's not like that; just some things are best left unsaid.'

Bill shrugged and placed two identical G-Shock watches on the desk. The same limited edition style as Jay's, issued to Australian soldiers who had served with the Special Forces. Jay picked up both watches and turned them over. Both were engraved with the same two letters: NB. He chuckled.

Sarah crunched her face. 'What?'

Jay handed Sarah and Bill a watch each and removed his own. 'You see that engraving on the back?'

Both nodded in unison.

'Non-badged. That's what NB stands for, same as mine.' He held up his watch so they could see the back of it.

'What's that mean?' Bill asked. He leant in to check Jay's watch.

'Means that these two supported SASR troops at some stage. They got a watch just like me. If they were actual troopers, that engraving would just have a B on it for badged. What that probably means is that these two were cooks, or mechanics or storemen supporting the boys from the west. Considering that they're in the kidnapping game now, they probably think they're as good as the troopers. Egos. Flip them back over and have a look. There's a function in these that lets you store names and numbers just like a mobile phone. Troopers know not to put anything in there. We interrogated a few once in an exercise and just about blew the cover of the whole regiment. But the support staff still use the function because they think they'll never be caught.'

Sarah busied herself by pressing the buttons on the watch she held.

Bill looked at the face of the watch in his hand. He shrugged his shoulders and handed it back to Jay. 'Don't want to screw it up. You look through it,' he said.

'Yep, this one is full of names and numbers,' Sarah said.

Jay flicked through the other watch. 'Same here. Can you use this to find out who these two are?' he asked Sarah.

She nodded and kept pressing buttons.

Jay put his own watch back on. Still an odd feeling having it on the opposite wrist. 'Can you remember whose watch belongs to whom?' he asked Bill.

'The one in the bath – his time was about a minute slower than the other,' Bill said.

'You see, that just confirms the theory that these two are amateurs. Didn't even synchronise watches,' Jay said. 'Bill, can you do me a favour and keep an eye on the one in the lounge-room. I'm going to chat with Taylor.'

'No problems,' Bill said and left the study.

Jay followed, leaving Sarah to work with the information from the watches. He went to the kitchen and grabbed Sarah's cigarettes and lighter. On the way to the bathroom, he stopped off for his jacket. Pulling his jacket tight against him, he opened the bathroom door.

Taylor trembled from the chill of the ice, fan and breeze from the window. Bill had done a good job. Taylor was naked from the waist up and his boots were lying on the floor with his heavy green socks. Jay noticed that the shirt had been cut off and was glad that Bill hadn't cut the zip ties to remove it. The pillowcase had been cut around the nose and had been saturated as well. Bill was turning out to be resourceful. The scissors were on the bathroom sink next to the roll of gaffer tape.

Jay lit a cigarette. Sitting on the side of the bath, he exhaled the smoke into Taylor's face. The shivering was accompanied by a spluttering. Taylor shook his head to avoid the fumes. He kicked water from the bath and lunged back, cracking his head on the tub. Jay watched as Taylor slid under the ice water.

He stood and inhaled a couple more puffs of smoke. Taylor thrashed around under the ice. Jay extinguished his cigarette, took up the scissors and sat back down on the side of the tub. He reached in and grabbed the pillowcase that floated around Taylor's head. There was no resistance. Jay worked quickly. Taylor sucked in hard as the gaffer tape came off, and then choked on the excess water. Taylor controlled his breaths to a cadence just above normal. Blue lips tried to say something but couldn't. His jaw trembled with the cold.

Jay turned off the fan. A look of appreciation came his way. He grabbed a towel and placed it on the floor. A glimmer of hope appeared in Taylor's eyes. Perfect, Jay thought.

A shower cubicle was attached to the side of the bath. Jay turned on the hot water. Despite the open window, the bathroom started to steam.

'Ready for a chat?' Jay asked.

Taylor found the strength to nod. Jay lifted him out of the ice bath and wrapped the towel around him. The steam thickened in the room. Jay turned off the shower and threw another towel over him.

Taylor shuffled toward the toilet and sat. He continued shaking and hung his head to avoid eye contact. Jay grasped the scissors and moved toward Taylor. He cut off the zip-ties. A risk he was willing to take. Besides, he outsized him. Taylor stretched his arms and towelled off. He wrapped both towels around himself and sat back on the toilet seat.

Jay began. 'Stating the obvious, the hurting hasn't yet begun. I'm a patient man when it comes to dealing out punishment, yet I have little patience for lack of cooperation. I've got just under a thousand dollars for more ice.'

Taylor looked defeated.

Jay continued. 'Let's start with who hired you?'

'I ... don't know who she is,' Taylor said. The reply was mumbled but confident.

'She?' Jay asked.

He already knew the answer.