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Michael was sitting in the pub courtyard with Lisa and the children when Dawn returned, alone. Ryan left as soon as they finished talking to Brad, giving her some excuse about following up on some leads, but she knew he was avoiding Michael.
Maybe there was something to Lisa’s observations.
No!
She forced the thought away. The last thing she needed right now was a fling, or... Michael’s soft brown eyes twinkled as he smiled.
Definitely not a romantic interlude.
She was going home to Adelaide as soon as she solved this murder case and found Ronnie. This was all getting way too personal. And now it might all link to Tracey and Fraser, she was even more determined to stay focussed on work.
Michael stood as she approached.
‘Hey.’
‘Sorry to do this to you.’
‘Abby is no problem.’
‘He’s taking her home for me. This hanging around at the pub is not good for her.’
Lisa pointed to her daughter, sitting on the front bar once more, chatting the ear off anyone willing to listen.
She remembered being in that very same spot many years before. Her dad used to take her down to the pub after swim training.
He’d have a beer. She’d have a pink lemonade and a packet of chicken-flavoured chips. She must have been four, maybe five.
Lisa was too young for training, but Fraser would be there, too. Not on the counter like her. Not chatting to Ben and Mari like she loved to do. Fraser would be out with the local boys, across the road, playing footy or cricket.
‘Hello!’ Lisa waved a hand in front of her face. ‘I expected you to go ballistic when I said we’re going home.’
Dawn shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.
‘And you were right. That’s nuts.’
Memories of her encounter the night of the storm made Dawn shiver. Fairweather had turned up unannounced and she’d not even heard him. Someone could come through the scrub from any direction.
‘You’re armed. I know nothing of any interest.’
‘I think you do. Ronnie asked if you’d said anything. Then she was cut off.’
‘Really?’
‘Really. You must know something.’
‘I have no idea what. But if I do, and someone comes looking for me, you’ll be able to kick their arse and then all of this will be over.’
‘Your confidence in me, while very welcome, is terribly misplaced. I’m not setting you up as bait and I can’t be awake, gun in hand, twenty-four seven.’
‘I can help.’
Michael’s eyes twinkled with excitement. ‘I have a rifle, and a licence.’
‘Oh my God. You two watch way too much television.’ Dawn rolled her eyes. ‘Wait here until we get back, Michael. Take Abby across the road to the park or something, but don’t go back to the house without me.’
‘I’m not hopeless you know.’ He stepped over the bench seat and strode to the bar to collect Abby.
‘You shouldn’t emasculate him. He might be a softy on the outside, but Michael endured a horrid childhood.’
Dawn wondered how her sister knew about Michael’s childhood but shook the thought away. Now wasn’t the time to deal with Michael.
‘Let’s go. We need to pick up the minutes before the staff leave for the day and I need to question the receptionist.’
Dawn started walking without waiting for Lisa. Her sister caught up and asked the last question Dawn wanted to answer right now. But knew she’d have to.
‘Why are you questioning the receptionist?’
‘Because apparently, she’s been carrying on an affair with Fairweather for a while. Long enough for his wife to find out and leave him.’
Her sister’s silence was exactly what she’d expected. The father of her gorgeous daughter didn’t only cheat on his wife with her. He was a repeat offender. A serial cheat. And with under-age girls. And she was going to prove it.
‘I need to send the sergeant an update. And I want to chase up some phone records. Can you drive?’
‘Drive?’ Lisa gawked, her tone calm, but her eyes raging. ‘You can’t drop a bombshell like that and keep on working.’
‘Can we argue in the car? We’ll miss the staff if we don’t move.’
Lisa’s mouth was still open. She closed it in a way that reminded Dawn of their childhood. Lisa rarely blew up about anything. Always the peacekeeper. Always keeping things bottled up and close to her chest. A true Cancerian, if you believed in that sort of thing—and Lisa did.
Dawn handed over the keys to the hire van. Lisa snatched them, spun and strode to the car. Dawn pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Ryan and Sergeant Martin to see if they could organise a warrant for Ronnie’s phone records.
As she put her belt on, a reply pinged on her phone. Glancing at it, she didn’t need to see the caller ID to know it was from Ryan.
‘Der!’
Of course he’d be following up on Ronnie’s disappearance. She’d read too much into his comment about following leads. He was genuinely following up on the case.
She glanced at Lisa, eyes fixed on the road in front of her, body rigid.
‘I’m sorry about Fairweather.’
‘You warned me back when we were kids. I always found him so handsome, so charming.’
Dawn’s heart rate kicked up a notch.
‘Lisa.’ She waited for her sister to glance her way. ‘Did Fairweather seduce you when you were in school?’
Her sister’s body shuddered.
‘Pull over. Let me drive.’
Tears rolled down Lisa’s cheek as the van backfired and rattled to the edge of the road. ‘I should have told you.’
She wanted to scream at Lisa, but she didn’t. She had no right to judge her sister for not telling anyone. She’d kept her own secret all these years. If she’d told her sister everything, maybe she wouldn’t have been another one of his victims.
There they were trying to link Fairweather to other abuse cases and her sister was one of them. The difference between Dawn and Lisa seemed to be that Lisa was still infatuated with the man.