It was mid afternoon when Berry saw a large car pulling a horse float drive slowly towards the stables.
‘Looks like Dad’s back with Constantine,’ Nate said.
‘Constantine?’
‘Yep. He’s a roan stallion with great bloodlines and the latest addition to our stud stable.’
His father slowed down to a stop alongside Nate and Berry.
‘Hey Dad, how’d it go?’
‘Good,’ Sam replied, his arm resting on the open window. ‘I was surprised the traffic around the city was pretty light—well, light for Melbourne. Anyway, it was a good run and I was down the peninsula before I knew it. Everything all right here?’
‘Yeah. I’m about to take Berry to see Andrea,’ Nate said.
Sam glanced at Berry. ‘Any word from the police?’
Berry shook her head. ‘Not really but the garage has been in touch and my car will be ready in a couple of days, so I guess that’s good news.’
‘Well, that’s something. I thought it could have been out of action longer,’ he said with a smile before turning his attention back to Nate. ‘Are the girls around?’
‘They went for a ride around the trail. I don’t reckon they’ll be back for at least another hour. Did you need a hand settling Constantine in?’
‘No, I’ll be right. If I need help I’ll get Justin. You should take Berry to Andrea’s,’ Sam said as he glanced over towards the stables and saw Justin. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Come on,’ Nate said as Sam drove off. ‘I’ll take you to Andrea’s.’
‘Oh, my gosh, Berry, you should have called me,’ Andrea said as she gave her a tight hug. ‘I can’t believe this happened.’
‘It’s okay—it was late and I didn’t want to disturb you,’ she answered, finding it a little difficult to breathe.
‘Silly girl, you can ring me whenever, especially when it’s an emergency,’ Andrea said as she finally relinquished her death hold. ‘Come on in and I’ll put the kettle on.’
Berry smiled as she and Nate followed Andrea down the hall and settled onto a couple of the high stools at the kitchen bench as Andrea bustled around the kitchen.
‘So, they don’t know who was responsible?’ she asked as she filled the kettle.
‘Not yet,’ Berry replied.
Andrea stilled for a moment before turning around. ‘Wait. The person that ran you off the road—are they responsible for the vandalism as well?’
Berry glanced at Nate. ‘We’re not sure but it kind of feels that way.’
She sighed. ‘I can’t believe that something like this could happen in Harlington. It’s always so peaceful and everyone gets on fine.’
Nate leaned his elbows on the bench. ‘I guess mostly that’s true, but do we really know our neighbours?’
Andrea grabbed three mugs and set about making coffee. ‘You’re right, of course. I suppose that after living in the city for most of my life, I tend to think that Harlington is idyllic. Well, I’ve always been a bit prone to looking at life through rose-tinted glasses,’ she said with a smile.
‘That’s not a bad thing,’ he reassured her. ‘Besides, Harlington is a great place to live. But every place has its secrets. I mean—’ Nate’s phone rang and he didn’t get to finish his sentence.
Berry saw a frown form on his brow.
‘Sorry, I have to take this,’ he said as he stood up and walked away. ‘Lia … slow down. What! Where the hell are you?’
Berry swivelled around on the stool and stared at Nate, her eyes rounding in surprise.
‘Is Em still with you? Okay, okay, calm down and get the hell out of there. No, I’ll call them now, don’t hang around. No, Lia, listen to me—just go!’
The hairs on Berry’s arm began to quiver.
‘What’s happened?’ she asked as she stood up and faced him.
‘There’s a fire. Just hang on, I’m calling emergency,’ Nate said as he punched in 000 and headed back into the hallway.
Berry’s eyes widened as she heard him tell the operator Stone Gully. She glanced at Andrea and saw a shocked look on her face.
‘Oh my God, the girls were riding.’
‘What?’ Andrea asked. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘The trail the girls were on bumps up against the Stone Gully fenceline. They must be close to my place—which means they’re close to the fire,’ Berry said as she started after Nate.
‘Berry, be careful.’
‘I will. I’ll call you as soon as I find out what’s going on,’ she called back over her shoulder.
She almost bumped into Nate as he was shoving his phone in his pocket.
‘Are the girls okay?’ she asked as she caught hold of his arm.
‘Yes, I told them to ride back home as fast as they could. We’d better get going. The fire brigade will be coming as soon as possible, but maybe we can do something in the meantime. If it’s too dangerous we’ll go back to my place and take it from there,’ Nate said as they started walking towards the door.
‘Nate, is it the house?’
He looked down at her. ‘Oh, sorry, I should have said. No, it’s not. The fire’s in the top paddock. From what Lia said it sounds like it’s near where we fixed the fence.’
Relief overtook her at the knowledge that the house—her house—was still standing.
We’re lucky.
At least that’s what Berry thought as she and Nate watched the firies put out the blaze. All the way to Stone Gully, Berry couldn’t help but let her mind jump to the worst-case scenario—total destruction. But that hadn’t been the case at all.
Lia had rung Nate as soon as she and Em had made it home. According to her, they had been riding the horse trail and noticed the smoke in the air, which they presumed was just someone burning off until they reached the boundary fence and heard the crackle of fire as it began to eat up the eucalypts in the bush on the other side of the fence. The air was full of acrid smoke but the fire was obviously burning further into the block. After Nate called emergency services, it wasn’t long before the first fire engine turned up, followed closely by a second.
Berry watched and could only marvel at the firefighters’ dedication and professionalism. The afternoon waned and soon the light began to fade as the smoke rose high in the sky and obscured it.
The atmosphere changed as twilight approached. Before, Berry had been aware of the feeling of urgency as firefighters fought the flames and tried to contain the blaze, but now there was calm. Nate was standing by one of the fire engines and chatting to a couple of the firefighters. After a while, he shook each of their hands before turning away and striding over to Berry.
‘Any news?’ she asked as he approached.
‘Yeah, some. The fire’s almost out—they’re just wetting down the area and stomping out any spot fires. But they reckon it’s done and dusted.’
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ Berry said. ‘Anything else?’
‘Hmm, there is,’ he said as he put his arm around her. ‘The fire took out a couple of acres and the old sheep pen. Thank God it’s barely spring. We’re lucky, because there was more than a decent amount of rain last winter and things haven’t warmed up yet.’
‘We just have to be thankful that it wasn’t too bad. No one was hurt, and I figure if there were any animals about there’s a chance that they got away. And as for the sheep shed, it was dilapidated anyway,’ Berry said as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
‘That’s true, but you should know—’ he hesitated ‘—they think it was deliberately lit.’
‘What! You’re joking!’
He shook his head. ‘I wish I was.’
‘So, was it connected with what happened yesterday or just some idiot firebug? Either way you look at it, it’s bad,’ Berry said.
‘I swear, people who light fires on purpose need to be chucked in jail and the bloody key thrown away,’ Nate said.
A chill slid down Berry’s spine. Did someone want her out of Harlington that badly? And if they did—why? Why would Stone Gully Farm be so important to someone that they’d be willing to do anything to get it? This was the question that kept spinning in her head all the way back to Nate’s place. There had to be a reason and she was determined to find out.
Nate parked outside his place, got out and walked around to the passenger’s side. He held out his hand as Berry stepped out.
‘It’s been a hellish couple of days,’ he said as his fingers interlaced with hers. ‘How are you holding up?’
Berry tried to smile as they walked side by side towards the steps. ‘To be honest, I’m a bit shaken up. I still can’t work out why this is happening,’ she said. ‘It all seems so … oh, I don’t know, over the top. These events have to be connected but it still doesn’t make any sense.’
‘Yeah, I know. Why would someone go to all this trouble to run you off?’
‘Stone Gully must be important, but why?’ Berry said as she waited for Nate to unlock the door.
‘Okay, let’s try and think about this logically—why would it be important?’ Nate answered as he led her inside. ‘Is it worth a lot of money?’
‘Doubtful. I love it, but let’s be real, it’s a farmlet in a tiny town—hardly prime real estate,’ Berry answered. ‘Unless Harlington is about to be the next big thing for tree changers and there’re plans to enlarge the whole place with new supermarkets, housing and schools, I can’t see the attraction.’
Nate smiled. ‘I doubt it. Secrets around here have a way of getting out, although I have to admit having a supermarket would be nice. There could be some local planning shenanigans, but Stone Gully Farm is located out of town, so I can’t see how that would even work.’
‘Hmm, I know, right? It’s not as if we’re a sprawling metropolis. So, what’s another reason?’
They stared at each other as they tried to come up with an answer.
‘Enlarging your property,’ Nate said with a shrug. ‘However, that would point the finger at me as Tarantale is your only neighbour.’
Berry tilted her head to one side, put her hands on her hips and asked with a grin. ‘Nate, did you burn down my sheep shed?’
He chuckled as he pulled her into a hug. ‘No, I didn’t.’
Berry placed her head against his chest and let out a sigh. His navy jumper was soft and she could detect the faint smell of smoke mixed with his familiar aftershave. She was content in his arms and she closed her eyes for an instant. As she did pictures of her father’s research tumbled through her mind and she opened her eyes wide.
‘Then the only other explanation is that someone is hunting Harlington’s gold and they think it’s at my place.’
Nate let go of her and took a step back so he could see her face. ‘What? That’s just a stupid old legend. That’s crazy—there’s no such thing as lost gold.’
She looked at him for a moment before she spoke. ‘Isn’t there?’