SEVENTEEN

Jay brought the phone back to the lounge-room, wondering what the hell Catherine had wanted.

'Having a hard time reading it?' Sarah asked, indicating the phone.

Jay broke out of his trance. 'What ... oh, no. That was Catherine,' he said.

'What the hell would she want? And more importantly, how do you know it was her?'

'I know what you're thinking but we all have unit members' next of kin details in case –'

'Whatever. What would she want?'

Jay thought the comment strange, fobbing him off as she had. Rude and a hint of jealousy. 'Only one way to find out,' he said. He rang Catherine's number, knowing he had to play it cautious.

Catherine answered on the first ring. 'Hello, Jay?'

'Yeah. What do you want?'

'You've got to understand, Jay. I didn't want to do any of that to you. Warren made me do all of it. I feel so bad. Please don't hate me ...'

'You nailed my hand to a fucking table and tattooed my fucking wrist. Are you insane?'

Talking fast, she gushed, 'I'm so sorry. It was all Warren's idea. I didn't do the nailing, only the tattoo. What Warren did made me sick to the stomach. You've got to believe me. I didn't want any of this to happen.'

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Bullshit, Catherine. Where's my father?'

'What, he's missing? The first time I heard of your father was when you were . . . you know . . .'

'When your psychopathic husband pissed on me? I remember you laughing.'

'I didn't laugh when Warren did that. It was disgusting. Trust me, please, Jay. I didn't want any of this to happen. I want to explain everything to you. Where are you now?'

Jay played along. 'None of your business.'

'I mean it. I need to speak with you. You're the only one who can help me.'

'You need psychiatric help, Catherine. Goodbye.'

'Wait. Wait, Jay. Please don't hang up. I have the tape.'

Jay paused for effect. 'You have the tape?'

'DVD. I have the only copy, and you can have it but I need to meet up with you. Where can I meet you?'

Jay decided to test her by seeing if she knew where he was currently located. 'OK, Catherine. In my room at –'

'No. No. I'm not meeting on the coast or at the base. How about somewhere in Brisbane?'

Convenient. 'Fine. How about a nice public place in the city?'

'It needs to be private. Your father has his place in Brisbane, doesn't he? That would be good for me.'

The answer surprised Jay. 'I thought you didn't know who my father was?'

She paused too long. 'I heard Warren say that your father lived in Brisbane. That's all. You have to believe me.'

Jay figured telling Catherine to meet him at his father's house was what she had planned. This would ensure he was there to be kidnapped. She probably didn't know he had already foiled the attempt when Cliffe and Taylor got lazy. He and Sarah could now intercept her at the caravan park. 'What time?'

'What's the address?' she replied.

He told her the address.

'I'll be there in an hour and a half,' she said and hung up. Jay was taken aback. He checked his watch. The kidnapping was originally planned to occur in less than three hours, yet he was certain Catherine was making sure he would be at his father's house in an hour and a half. Again, there were too many information gaps that needed to be filled. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at Sarah.

'I got most of the conversation from your side of things,' she said. 'And I can guess what she was saying.' She clasped her hands to her chest, wide-eyed, and said in a high, drama-queen voice, 'I'm sorry for hurting you, Jay. What we had together was magnificent and I want to leave Warren for you. He's the evil one, you know. He made me go along with it. Please, please, I need to see you again. You are the greatest lover I've ever had.' Sarah held her hand across her mouth as if to stop herself from continuing.

Jay opened his mouth wide in disbelief and shook his head. He started to smile. It turned into a chuckle, and then into uncontrollable laughter. Sarah joined in and they both fell back into their lounge chairs. Jay held his sides while tears flowed down Sarah's cheeks. It felt good to release the pressure of the day.

Their laughter ebbed into comfortable silence. Jay gave Sarah a wry smile. She blushed.

An hour later, they had formulated their plan to pay Catherine Primrose a surprise visit. Sarah gave Jay the 9 mm pistol and they both checked their weapons for serviceability. They used the stolen military police van for the trip; Jay insisted on driving despite his damaged hand, while Sarah navigated with Cliffe's directions. Jay felt the nerves of anticipation during the twenty-minute drive toward the Sunshine Coast. He assumed that Sarah felt the same due to the silence for the duration of the trip. He played out the scenarios in his head, like 'actions on' drills. What he would do if ambushed; if Sarah was taken down; if someone else was there instead of Catherine. He always played out scenarios in his head before any task, especially his interrogation sessions. The army had a saying: prior preparation prevents piss-poor performance. Jay liked to be prepared.

The caravan park was situated at the end of an access road off the Bruce Highway, not far from Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. A full moon shone across the Glasshouse Mountains in the background. Tall pines loomed on either side of the road, pitching dark shadows on the entrance to the facility. Dim lights projected over the pebble-stone drive. Jay flicked the van's lights to low. He and Sarah leaned forward and attempted to read the caravan numbers as they edged along.

'Two . . . four. It's on my side,' Sarah said.

Jay kept the van moving until they came to number twelve.

'There,' she said. 'Fourteen.'

Jay swung past and reversed into the drive. He stopped the vehicle just outside the small steps at the side of the caravan. They knew Catherine would be expecting Cliffe and Taylor to pull up close to remove Jay from the rear of the vehicle. There was no point in sneaking in. The surprise would be when Catherine opened the door. Jay and Sarah exited the vehicle at the same time. Jay checked his weapon and assumed Sarah had done the same.

The fresh aroma of the pine trees filled his nostrils. Moonlight snuck through the pines and illuminated the thin door at the side of the van. An owl called out a warning.

Jay nodded at Sarah. She took a few paces back and to the side of the door, her Glock held down at her side. Jay shook his head, letting her know that she didn't need the weapon. She returned a look that told Jay to get on with it. He tapped lightly on the aluminium door.

The knock was loud enough to send the owl into flight. Jay ducked instinctively as the bird flew high above the van and off into the distance. Sarah shook her head and there was a hint of a smile. Jay knocked again, this time louder. There was no response and no movement from within the caravan. He looked at Sarah and shrugged. She raised her left hand and moved it like a puppet. A signal for him to call out.

In a voice just above a whisper, he called out. 'Catherine.'

Again. 'Catherine, it's us, open up.'

No response. Sarah snuck around the caravan.

Jay called louder. 'Catherine, we have him. Open up.'

Sarah returned from her reconnaissance. 'Doesn't look like she's here,' she said.

'Good deduction, agent.'

'You got the right address didn't you, Mr Interrogator?'

'Yes, I got the right fucking address.'

'Now who's the gutter mouth?'

Jay ignored the comment and tested the windows of the caravan. He got lucky when the largest window at one end of the van came open after a couple of tugs. Reaching in, he pulled back the curtains and stood on the tow ball to get his torso inside. He crawled in, careful not to put too much weight on his damaged hand, and stepped off a sofa. Finding a light switch, he flicked it on.

He took his time checking the caravan. A tattered green army blanket lay beside a stained pillow. There was an empty noodle box with a plastic fork next to a plastic cup. Jay picked up the cup to inspect it. It stank of medicine and the bottom was stained with a dark substance. He scanned past the doorway into the remainder of the van. Two empty bottles of Coke on the small sink caught his attention and he moved forward to inspect them. He opened the first bottle and the smell of whisky filled his nostrils. There were two army sleeping bags perched on a cane chair beside the bar-fridge. He left the sleeping bags as they were and checked the fridge. Four bottles of Coke remained from a six-pack. Jay thought it unusual that there were none of the basics such as milk and butter, not even something for a snack. He closed the fridge and looked in the two cupboards above the sink. There he found three-quarters of a bottle of whisky, a large packet of chips and a dozen packets of noodles.

A knock at the door startled him. He'd been so absorbed in analysing the contents of the van that he'd forgotten to open the door for Sarah. He let her in and showed her what he'd found in the main part of the caravan. They concluded that at least two people had recently been there, possibly three, due to the empty noodle box and cup on the floor near the couch. And although there were no personal belongings, someone would likely be coming back. Nobody leaves army sleeping bags and three-quarters of a bottle of whisky behind.

'Perhaps you shouldn't have let Cliffe and Taylor leave so soon,' Sarah remarked.