Author's Notes: Life is full of freaky coincidences. This is one of them. I got the idea for this fic shortly after 'Yesterday's Hero', but never found the time to write it until just recently. Unfortunately, BHHQ got the 'brother and drugs' storyline in first and aired 'Life of the Party, Pt 1 & 2.' Damn. So any distinct similarities are just, well... freaky.
Feedback would be wickedly awesome, just send it to damoisellayahoo.com.au, regardless of how short it may be. :)
Summary: When Susie's brother arrives in Mt Thomas, accusations emerge that could rip them all apart, and send them on a wild chase that may not have an end.
===
Lost Under The Surface
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm beat," Jo proclaimed, tossing her jacket over her shoulder. "Coming to the pub?""Yeah, I'll see you there," Evan told her, just finishing his sorting of files he had been working on all afternoon.
"Righto – Suse?"
Susie looked up, startled from her reverie. "Hmm?"
"Drinks?" Jo repeated patiently from the door as Ben joined her. Tom had left uncharacteristically early, due to some family commitment at home with Grace and the boys.
"Oh, er -" Susie looked down at the report in front of her. The paperwork wasn't too enticing, but she felt she really should do it before Tom got stuck into her the next morning... "I think I'll just finish this stuff."
"Oh, c'mon Susie, live a little," her fellow female officer teased.
"Thanks, Jo, but I really need to get this done." Susie yawned involuntarily, only just realising how tired she really was.
Jo shrugged. "Suit yourself. Peej, you coming?" she yelled out, craning her neck to look into the detective's office.
"Yeah, yeah," they could hear him reply as he emerged, "Hold your horses."
"Horses would be easier to control than you," she retorted, opening the fly wire screendoor and letting Ben through.
"I should say the same," he quipped, lifting a hand in farewell at Evan and Susie as he joined Jo and Ben. "See you guys later."
"Yeah, seeya," Susie smiled back, before sighing as she turned towards her work. The only sources of light in the station came from her desk lamp, and Evan's. A cricket chirped outside, the night time sounds making her even more lethargic. Her shoulder was cramped from bending down over her desk and writing, her wrist ached. Her eyes were glazed, her mind not focussing on anything in particular, and certainly not on her work. But just a few more paragraphs...
She rested her forehead on her palm, closing her eyes, if only for a moment. She listened to the sounds around her; Evan rustling paper, rhythmically tapping his pen on the desk top. Not being bothered to tell him to stop it, Susie blocked it out, listening to the sounds outside. Other than the crickets, there was the occasional car speeding past, the wind whistling through the leaves outside. It was all so simple, so normal.
Must get back to work, she reminded herself, willing for her to open her eyes and resume work as normal. It was difficult.
The clang of the front door startled her, and she curiously turned around to see who it was. Who would come into the station at this hour? Evan stood up and went to the front counter, blocking her view of their visitor. "Can I help you?" he asked, slightly wearily. Susie shrugged to herself and turned back around to her work. She'd let Jonesy deal with this, she decided.
"Yeah, I was looking for someone," a voice spoke up. A voice too familiar...
She whipped around, suddenly feeling a lot more alert as she stood up. "Daniel?"
"Susie!"
Evan stepped sideways to look at his colleague, and Susie saw the young man standing behind the counter. He grinned from ear to ear, and she couldn't help but do the same as she pushed past Evan to go through the door to the front.
"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
"Thought I'd come for a surprise visit," he answered mischievously, hugging her back, and rather pleased with her reaction.
"Well, you did that pretty well," she chided as she let go, though still not being able to wipe the smile from her face. Cuffing the man lightly on the head, she turned to a confused and curious-looking Evan. "Jonesy, this is my little brother, Daniel."
Evan nodded, finally understanding. "Ah, g'day."
"Susie's told me about you," Daniel remarked with a grin, reaching over the counter to shake hands. His sister had the decency to turn away, rather embarrassed that he had chosen to disclose this information.
"Did she, now," Evan smirked, sneaking a look at his colleague. She ignored him. "All compliments, I hope."
"Yeah, nothing but."
"Anyway, so what brings you to Mount Thomas?" Susie asked quickly, after clearing her throat.
Daniel shrugged matter-of-factly. "I had a sudden urge to see my big sis and the place she lives in, which I haven't had the honour of visiting yet -"
"Yeah, right," she cut in, having heard enough. "Real reason?"
"Truth be told, I've got some business to do in Wangaratta. Thought I'd take a slight detour."
"And so how long are you going to stay?"
"How long to you want me to stay?"
She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, have you booked yourself in anywhere?"
"Not as yet, any places to recommend?" Daniel asked, leaning against the counter.
She let herself through to the office area once more, pushing her work into a rough pile on her desk and switching off her lamp. "I'll take you to the Imperial, you should be able to get a room there."
"Sounds good."
"I'll be a minute, okay?" she said, going into the locker room to collect her things.
"So," Daniel began, breaking the silence now that his sister had gone. Evan, meanwhile, had gone back to his work, not wanting to intrude in the sibling reunion. However, hearing Daniel, he looked up.
"Ah, do you want a cuppa or something?"
"Nah, I'll be right, thanks mate," the young man answered with a wave of his hand. "So, how has old Suse fitted into things around here?"
"She's doing fine," Evan replied, twirling his pen around his fingers. "So, how many years between you?"
"Four and a half," Daniel said. "It's not too bad. You got any siblings?"
"Er, no," Evan answered darkly, in a way that warned the young man not to ask any further. Dylan's death still haunted him in a way that seemed to never decease. His unanswered questions hung around the office like a bad smell, and Evan wondered if they would ever leave.
Daniel seemed not to notice. "So, tell me, is she a good cop?"
"You wanna ask her yourself, mate?" Evan said after a brief chuckle.
"Nah, I'm asking you."
The constable grinned wryly. "Yeah, she's a good cop."
Daniel nodded. "Good. I always thought she would be, but you never know..."
"What are you saying about me now?" Susie piped up, coming back out to join them, having exchanged her uniform for casual clothes.
"Nothing, nothing," Daniel said airily.
She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Any ideas of conspiracy yet?"
"Conspiracy? Me?"
She laughed. "Come on, I'll take you to the Imperial. Jonesy?" she threw back at the mildly amused constable.
"Yeah, I'll be coming in a minute."
"Sure." She and her brother left the station, slamming her door behind them. The night was slightly chilly, and she shivered. "Take my car, you can come and pick up yours in the morning," she suggested, extracting her keys.
"What, you're passing up the opportunity to ride in this baby?" Daniel asked, leaning on a black SAAB parked near by.
"That's your car?" she exclaimed disbelievingly.
"Yep," he said proudly.
"How the hell did you manage to get that?"
"Third-hand, though still looking like gold. Plus a bit of a loan from a mate."
"Oh." She looked at the car, still stunned. "Still, how am I supposed to get back if we take your car?"
"You could always borrow it..."
"And risk losing everything if I even slightly scratched it?" she retorted. "Come on, my car's not that shameful."
"So," he began slyly as he followed her to her car. "What's the deal with that Jonesy guy?"
Susie looked at him over the top of the car roof. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, you know... Tall, good looking..."
"Oh, cut it out," she muttered, climbing into the car.
Daniel smirked, knowing exactly which buttons to press. "What haven't you been telling me, Suse?"
"There's nothing to tell, Daniel," she said severely, turning the key into the ignition.
"Are you seeing him?"
"What? No!"
"Really?"
"You better believe it, little bro," she rebuked. "What's happened to what's-her-name, Melissa?"
"We had our differences," he replied with a seemingly nonchalant shrug.
"Mm-hmm." She pursed her lips, but said nothing more.
"You saw the win over Essendon?" Daniel asked suddenly, although Susie was sure he was rather eager to change the subject.
"Yeah, great game, wasn't it?" she replied as they reached the hotel. It had been an awesome win. From being nearly thirty points down in the third quarter, and saving the game by a few penalty kicks from the fifty metre mark. She'd mocked Evan for days... she shook her head, as though to free it from her thoughts. "Right, let's see if we can get a room sorted out for you."
"Suse, you made it!" PJ called, spotting her as she entered, from the table the group were seated around. She grinned back, holding one finger up telling him she'll be over in a minute.
"Chrissie, I need a favour," she said, walking up to the bar.
"Anything for you, Suse, within reason," Chris grinned.
"I need a room."
"Why, the police residence not good enough for you now?"
"No, it's my brother Daniel," Susie explained, dragging him forwards, much to his discomfort. "He's just turned up as a surprise, do you have anything spare at the short notice?"
"Yeah, should have," Chris replied, "I'll just get you the key."
"Yeah, ta," she nodded, as Chris disappeared.
"Do you spend that much time drinking after hours to be on first name basis with the bartender, eh?" Daniel remarked.
"Hmm? Oh, I suppose... But it's just Chris, everyone knows her." Susie looked across at where PJ, Jo and Ben were sitting; Jo shooting very curious looks in her direction. She smiled at them, and then turned back as Chris returned. "Here you go, Room 8, just upstairs."
"Ta, Chrissie," Susie grinned, before leading herself and her brother over to the table near the back.
"Didn't think you were coming," Ben remarked.
"Change of events. Everyone, meet my little brother, Daniel," she introduced, before Jo had the chance to express her curiosity. "That's PJ, Ben and Jo."
"G'day," Daniel grinned.
"Have a seat, mate," Ben offered, shifting his own chair over slightly.
"So what brings you here?" PJ asked.
"Just passing, thought I'd take the time to visit my sister," Daniel answered for the second time in the hour, as he pulled over a chair and sat down.
"You a Melbourne man, too?" Ben asked.
"Oh, yeah, I am," he grinned.
"What do you do for a crust?" PJ asked.
"Plumbing. Finished my training just under a year ago."
"I better warn you about PJ here," Susie said with a nudge, "He's a senior detective."
"Oh so intimidating," Jo added with a laugh.
"Hey, I thought Jonesy was coming," Ben cut in.
Susie looked around behind her. "Yeah, I dunno – he said he was coming. He's probably on his way now."
Jo leaned forwards to Susie as the men continued conversation. "You should have warned me he was that good looking!"
Susie laughed. "I'll remember that for next time."
"It must run in the family." Evan came over to join the group. Jo smirked knowingly.
"Jonesy, hey!" PJ said jovially. "Chris, another beer's needed!"
"You'll have to come over here to get it yourself, Jonesy," Chris called back.
Susie smiled to herself; seated with her friends and colleagues, and seeing her brother again, with the drinks and conversation flowing – suddenly she found herself not to be tired at all.
===
Susie yawned widely as she looked out the car window, leaning her elbow on the window sill.
"Tired, are ya?" Evan asked as he drove, not really expecting much of an answer.
"You could say that." Sitting up straighter, she groaned, "Daniel called up at seven this morning, desperate to get his car back." She had been furious, too. She honestly couldn't see why Daniel had thought it was so urgent to retrieve his car – it was parked outside the police station, for goodness sake! Nevertheless, she'd obliged and stumbled out of bed to pick Daniel up from the Imperial, and then taken him back to the station where he had patted his car like a pet. She had scoffed at him for being so ludicrous. He had glared at her for not taking him seriously.
"With a car like that I couldn't blame him," Evan replied. "So did he get it?"
"Oh yeah, I had to drive him like a bloody taxi driver," she muttered. "And I was tired to begin with."
"You okay?"
"Fine," she replied without feeling. "So, where are we going exactly?"
"Just behind the florist," Evan answered. "Report of a suspicious character."
"For what it's worth, they're probably gone now," she added dryly.
"Yeah, agreed."
He pulled up in front of the line of shops, and they climbed out, looking around.
"Nothing going on here," Susie mused.
"Still, it's worth checking out," he said, as they went through an alley around to the back. "Nothing," he sighed.
"Let's go, Jonesy, there's nothing more here."
He nodded in agreement and followed her back out through the alley.
"Hey, stop!" A man's harsh voice cut the air.
The two constables dashed out to the street once more. A man stood there, waving his arms in the air and throwing dagger looks in the opposite direction.
"Is there a matter here, sir?" Susie asked with her usual amount of tactfulness.
"Yeah, chase that kid! He's stolen some of my CD's!"
Evan took off after the teenage boy, who was slouching along casually down the road. Upon hearing heavy footsteps after him, however, he took off, weaving around unaware shoppers and going through a near by park.
"Stop, police!" Evan yelled, finally gaining on him. For a kid, he wasn't very fast. Catching his arm, Evan pulled him back, wheeling him around to face him. "What're you running for?"
"You tell me," the boy spat, refusing to make eye contact.
"Show me what you've got under your jumper."
"Don't have to."
"Don't make me search you."
"You can't do that."
"Oh yeah?" Susie said, catching up to them. "Watch us."
The boy relented, handing over several CD's of varying types.
"What have we got here," she murmured, taking them and shuffling through the pile. "Metallica, Eminem, Linkin Park... great stuff."
"Didn't know that was your type of music, Suse," Evan replied.
"What would you know?" she said cryptically.
Disregarding this, Evan turned to the teenager. "Why did you take 'em?"
The boy shrugged, not saying a word.
"Do you want to take this down to the station?"
No reply.
"Looks like that's what we're going to do," Susie decided, speaking Evan's thoughts. "Come on."
===
"So why did you steal the CD's?" Susie asked with a sigh, absently twirling her pen around her fingers.
"Dunno."
"Are you going to tell us anything?"
"Nup."
The two cops exchanged a wary glance. They both knew their attempts were futile. The boy refused to speak. Sending Evan a meaningful look, Susie got up and walked out, shutting the door behind her.
"Boss, it's hopeless," she said, stopping in the doorway of Tom's office.
"What's hopeless, Raynor?" Tom asked, looking at her over the top of his glasses.
"The kid's not budging."
"Fine, charge him and let him be on his way."
"Charge him, Boss?"
Tom became stern. "If we let these kids go, they're going to continue with what they're doing."
"I just don't think a kid should have to wear mark from something minor for the rest of his life," Susie objected.
"Raynor, what do you think will happen if you let him go?"
She was slow coming forth with the answer she knew she had to give. Reluctantly, she said, "He'll do it again."
"Very good," Tom praised. "Now go."
"Yes, Boss," she said, pursing her lips and leaving.
===
"It's not fair, that kid's going to grow up with a record now," Susie muttered, watching as the boy was picked up from the station by his upset mother.
"Yeah, but Suse, the law is the law," Evan replied, taking the sign-out book and putting it away.
"Isn't it always," she rebuked dismally, still looking absently where the teenager had left.
"What's that meant to mean?"
"Well, it's not always going to be fair, is it? There's always going to be some sort of injustice, right?"
He crinkled his brow before coming forth with an answer. "Well... yeah, I guess... but we can't eliminate every injustice around."
Hearing the constable's remark as he entered the main office, PJ spoke up. "Ah, well, I'm glad you've travelled further in your conclusions than you had when you first started!"
"Yeah, thanks PJ," Evan said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Back in the days where he thought he could fix everything..." Jo grinned, leaving her sentence open for personal interpretation. They all laughed, Evan included.
"Who says he's changed?" Ben put in.
"He hasn't!" she shot in.
Susie looked at Evan in interest. "What, you were worse than you are now?"
Jo cleared her throat loudly. Susie winked at PJ and decided to stay quiet on the matter.
===
"I mean, you've got to have a few brain cells to know that it was a weak excuse," PJ explained exasperatedly from the kitchen.
"Unless it was the detective who had a few too little brain cells," Evan put in, smirking. Catching sight of Ben enter the station, he saved himself from a disgruntled PJ's wrath by quickly declaring, "Lunch!"
"Hey, Jonesy, you stole my sandwich," Jo protested, trying to grab it from him.
"No, it's mine."
"Give it back."
"Jo, that one's yours!" he defended.
"Jones, Parrish, is there something wrong?" Tom asked with a slight clip on the edge of his voice.
"Nothing, Boss," Jo muttered, sitting down with her lunch.
"Good." Tom nodded satisfactorily, taking his own lunch from the box. "Oh, and by the way," he threw back as he retreated back to his office, "That boy – Nick Winston, wasn't it? – the one you charged this morning over the CD's..."
"What about him, Boss?" Susie spoke up, interestedly.
"He was found unconscious in that block of parkland off MacDonald Road."
"That's around the corner from his house," Susie cogitated. "What happened?"
"Foreign substances entering the body. He's in hospital at the moment; Stewart, can you deal with this?" Tom asked, not forgetting the sandwich in his hand.
"Yep, sure Boss." Ben sat up straighter. "Right, Jonesy and Susie, can you two head to the hospital, and try and talk to the kid."
"Uh, Ben -" Jo began when he cut her off.
"Jo, haven't you got those patrol reports to sort out?"
She gave her sergeant the darkest look she could muster, and returned to her lunch as the constables grabbed their hats and left.
===
Susie peered into the hospital room's slim window, built into the door.
"Anything?" Evan asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Yeah, he's awake," she murmured, pushing the door open.
Nick Winston turned his head quickly to face the door, but upon seeing the two police officers, he adopted a look of thunder and turned away once more.
"Nick, we just want to ask you a few questions," Susie began, before she was interrupted.
"Doesn't look as if I have much choice, does it?" he muttered.
"Look, mate, do you want to be in more trouble than you already are?" Evan asked rhetorically. The teenager grew quiet.
"We just want to know what happened." Susie said firmly.
"Fell and knocked myself out."
"That's crap and you know it," Evan put in.
"It's what happened!"
"So you fell, did you?" Evan said, getting out his notebook. "Walking along the footpath, eh? Just tripped on a rock and fell straight down..."
The boy was silent, and stared at the blanket as though fascinated by it.
"Mind if we look in your bag?" Susie said suddenly, spotting his backpack in the corner.
"Hey, wait – she can't do that!" Nick protested as she rifled through it.
"Mate, we're the ones who say what you can or can't do," Evan said grimly. "Anything, Suse?"
She pulled out a small, plastic zip-lock bag and held it up.
"Don't tell me," Evan said, turning to the teenager, "You mum gave you a bag of Panadol to carry?"
===
"How much longer are we expected to hang around?" Evan asked incredulously, leaning his head back against the wall and glaring at the white ceiling.
"I don't know," Susie replied, glancing at her watch. As if on cue, the radio attached to her belt crackled to life. "Mt Thomas 308 receiving."
"Yeah, Susie, are you still at the hospital questioning that Winston kid?" Ben asked.
"We're in the middle of it. The doctor kicked us out and told us to wait."
"How long are you meant to wait for?"
"Not much longer, I hope. Why? Do you need us back there?"
"No, the boss just likes to be kept informed."
"Or so he says," Evan muttered.
Susie smiled despite herself. "We shouldn't be much longer."
"Well, keep us up to date."
"Will do."
"How long has it been?" Evan asked as she put the radio away.
"I don't know; about fifteen minutes?"
"Fifteen minutes too long, I reckon."
"You know, I could really do with a coffee or something," Susie suddenly said.
"Yeah? There's a vending machine down the corridor. I hear the hot chocolate's pretty good," he replied, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.
She looked back at him. "Since you're so bored, why don't you get it?"
"Since you're so desperate, why don't you get it?"
"I'm not desperate for one!" she admonished.
"Then why did you bring it up?"
"For the sake of conversation."
"Right. Remind me to say the same thing when there's an awkward silence."
"Save your sarcasm for Winston, Jonesy."
"There won't be any awkward silences with him, if I get it my way."
"Oh, as if you wouldn't buy yourself a drink if you got me one," she scoffed, then continued before he could answer. "Technically, I'm the senior here, and -" she broke off upon seeing his disbelieving look. "What?"
"Since when did you pull rank?" he asked, almost forgetting the coffee dilemma.
"There's always the first time," she said swiftly. He stared back at her, and she burst out laughing.
"What?" he asked, injured.
Susie was saved from answering, when a nurse reappeared. "You can see Nick Winston now."
They nodded and stood up, heading back into the room to question the boy.
"So, Nick, where were we?" Evan asked. "Where you were about to explain what the white pills were, why they were in your bag, and where they had come from?"
"They aren't mine," Nick said immediately.
"So whose are they?" Susie questioned.
"Dunno."
She leaned over his bed, forcing the teenager to look at her. "You do realise, Nick, that we'll run them through the Drug Squad, and see exactly what they are?"
"So?" he muttered.
"And if we find there's any illegal substances in them, you're going to be in big trouble."
"It'll be worse than being caught for the CD's," Evan added.
"Oh, definitely," Susie agreed, glancing at her colleague. "It'll be on your record for the rest of your life." There was a pause, where she and Nick seemed to be trying to outstare each other. "So, you going to tell us what they are?" she said quietly.
The boy hesitated. "I stole the CD's for money."
"Yeah, we know that," Evan said, "Money for what?"
Silence ensued, and he sighed in impatience. "Look, mate, do you really want to make things worse for yourself?"
The boy glared. "I heard about some good deals."
"Deals?" Susie repeated. "As in, drug deals?"
"Yeah. This bloke – real cheap, good stuff."
"And where did you hear this?"
"The Imperial."
"You were in the Imperial?" Susie raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I was playing pool with a few mates. Overheard it."
"And do you know who was saying it?"
"Nup."
"When was this?" Evan asked.
"Two night ago."
The two cops exchanged a glance. "So you stole CD's to pay for drugs?" Evan stated.
"Doesn't sound too efficient too me," Susie added, following his thoughts. "What's that worth? Say, fifty dollars, max."
"I told you, the gear was cheap," Nick spat.
"And do you want to tell us who you're getting the drugs from?"
The boy closed his mouth and looked away. Evan narrowed his eyes; he knew that this kid would be a hard one to get through to, but even he would realise that he was going to be in it deep unless he said something?
"Constable," a doctor came to the door and beckoned to Evan, who was standing closest. "Can I have a word with you?"
"Sure." Flicking Susie a look, he left the room, closing the door behind him firmly. Once out in the corridor, he grew curious. "Is there a problem?"
"Not a problem, as such," the doctor replied. "But we did a blood test of Nick Winston, and it became obvious he had a reaction to the ecstasy in his system."
"Ecstasy?" Evan repeated, although not really surprised. "Large amounts of MDMA?"
"Here, see for yourself." The doctor handed over the piece of paper in his hand. "For what we assume he took, there was very little methylenedioxymethamphetamine in his blood."
"Right..." Evan skimmed the file with his eyes. "He's not in any more danger?"
"We'll have to keep him in here for at least another forty-eight hours, but I'm sure he will be fine," the doctor reassured, before leaving him alone.
Evan quietly went back into the room, as Susie looked at him questioningly.
"Nick, you said those drugs you got were cheap, and good quality, right?"
"Yeah," the teenager looked up at him. "What's it to you?"
"You've been fooled, mate." With a breath, he relayed what the doctor had told him. "So they were dodgy, clean and simple."
Susie turned to the boy once again. "Nick, if you don't tell us who you bought these from, others could end up in hospital, like you."
"Not my problem," he muttered, and turned away once more.
"Look, if you don't tell us, we have no one to arrest," Evan exclaimed, his patience wearing thin. "You're going to get the rap for this."
"I'm underage, you can't send me to jail."
"Oh, but there's always juvi. You're, what, nearly seventeen? You could always get transferred to prison on your eighteenth birthday, if you want."
"Help yourself, Nick," Susie said quietly but firmly. "It's not fair on you if you get punished and no one else does."
Nick rolled his tongue around his mouth, as if tasting a food he didn't like. "Ray Atkinson."
"Ray Atkinson? This is the person you got the ecstasy from?"
"Yeah. That all?"
Susie raised an eyebrow at Evan, who shook his head. He knew as well as she did that the kid wasn't going to tell them anything more. "Thanks for telling us, contact the station if you want to tell us anymore."
They left the boy alone, and headed back to the station.
===
"How'd it go?" Ben asked upon their return.
"Yeah, the kid ended up reacting to the ecstasy he'd taken," Susie explained, hanging the keys back up on the wall.
"If you can call it that," Evan cut in, handing Ben the file. "Have a read."
Ben took it, and frowning, quickly flipped through it. "More like a cocktail of all sorts of substances rather than quality ecstasy. Is that why he stole the CD's, for money?"
"Yeah, pretty stupid if you ask me."
Meanwhile, Susie was bent over the computer. "Ray Atkinson. He was suspected for trafficking in 1999, but nothing could be proved."
"How long has he been in Mount Thomas?" Ben asked.
"Only a few months," she replied grimly. "I think it's time we payed Mr Atkinson a visit."
===
Evan rapped his knuckles on the wooden door of the small, wooden house, belonging to Ray Atkinson. The house remained still and silent.
"I'll check around the back," Susie muttered unnecessarily, before heading off through the bushes. A few minutes later she returned, shaking her head. "Nothing."
"Do we have a work address?" Evan asked, but before she could answer, a tall, well-built man approached them from behind.
"What do you want?" he asked, not so politely.
"Mr Atkinson?" Susie asked.
"Yeah, what've I done?"
"Can you please accompany us down to the station," she replied, leaving no room for negotiation.
He gave a grunted, incomprehensible answer, and reluctantly followed them to the patrol car, which was waiting by the curb.
===
"So what do you know about these accusations?" Evan asked, looking at Atkinson.
The man shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Don't know what you're talking about."
"You deny selling people ecstasy?"
"Yeah," he said, as though the two officers were completely stupid. "I hate drugs. Wouldn't go near 'em. Who said this, anyway?"
"That's confidential information, Mr Atkinson," Susie interjected.
He merely shrugged again.
"Mr Atkinson, do you give us permission to search your property?" Evan requested.
"For what?" Neither cop bothered to answer. "Nup, no way."
"If you've got nothing to hide, then you should just cooperate," Susie reasoned.
"You want to search my house, you get a warrant," he said breezily, before standing up. "And unless you're going to arrest me, I'm leaving."
They all stood up, and as Susie opened the door for him to leave, Evan raised an eyebrow at her. "That went well," he muttered under his breath.
===
"Anything?" PJ called, throwing down the cushion in his hands and looking around the room.
Ben and Evan walked into Atkinson's living room, shaking their heads. "Nothing."
"There's gotta be something..." Jo sighed frustratedly, feeling as though the afternoon had been wasted on searching a house that had nothing to be found within it.
"He had plenty of time to hide whatever evidence that was lying around here before we got that warrant," Susie spoke up from her corner of the room. "It's not surprising that we didn't find anything."
They trooped back out to the front garden. "Checked out here?" PJ asked.
"Down to the very last dandelion," Jo confirmed.
Susie sighed and looked out on the street. It was hopeless. It was Ray Atkinson's word against Nick Winston's, and despite Atkinson having a prior, there just wasn't any evidence to suggest he was even remotely connected to the accusations. She absently watched a man walk past, looking at the house curiously. "Hey, Suse," she heard Evan call her, "You coming?"
She turned back quickly. "Yeah, sure," she replied with a brief smile.
===
"I'll get the drinks," Ben volunteered half-heartedly that night at the Imperial.
"What was that for?" Evan asked, watching the Sergeant go up to the bar in bewilderment.
"Just a slight agreement between him and PJ," Jo explained with a grin. The others had enough sense not to ask. Susie, meanwhile, was continuously glancing around behind her at the staircase leading up to the rooms.
"What's up, Suse?" PJ asked curiously, his detective instinct never falling off-duty.
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied with a casual wave of the hand, "it's just that Daniel said he'd be coming tonight."
"He's probably just running a bit late," he said. "I wouldn't worry."
"I'm not worrying, PJ," she said with a smile.
"Ah, you beauty!" Evan exclaimed as Ben came back with the drinks.
"Next round's on you, Jonesy," Ben shot back at him, as the constable took his beer with flourish. Evan's grin dimmed somewhat.
"So, what does Daniel reckon about Mount Thomas?" Jo asked Susie, gesturing around her.
She gave a bright smile. "Oh, I think he likes it. He would've told me if he thought otherwise," she added, as though it was typical of him.
"Yeah, who could hate a nice little town like Mount Thomas?" Ben put in. Before anyone could answer, however, sounds of conflict were gradually rising in the parlour next door. Without another word, Evan, Ben and PJ all stood and swept over to the other side of the pub. Exchanging a glance, Susie and Jo went over to join them.
They poked their heads in through the doorway; there was enough noise to be coming from eight people. Funnily enough, it only came from two, who were too busy wrestling each other than to care.
Susie stared for a moment, before suddenly waking up to the fact that one of the two men was Daniel.
Evan and PJ had already each grabbed one of the two men and held them back, before Susie stepped forwards determinedly. "Daniel, what the hell is going on?"
"Nothing, Suse," he muttered, breathing heavily and glaring at the man opposite. She gasped in surprise: it was Ray Atkinson.
Turning back to face her brother, she fixed a direct look on her face. "No, Daniel – something is up, and I want to know what!"
"Just a disagreement," Atkinson snarled. "Isn't that right, Raynor?"
"Disagreement," Daniel agreed menacingly.
"Stop it," she muttered firmly to Daniel, giving him a reproachful frown. "I mean it, Dan – just stop."
"Susie, I need to talk to you," he said so softly it was almost inaudible.
"What about?" she asked, her brow furrowing.
He hesitated, and then shook his head. "Nothing, it doesn't matter."
"Mr Atkinson, I didn't think we'd be reacquainted so soon," Evan said with a mock pleasant tone, turning to the other man.
Atkinson didn't bother replying, instead choosing to adopt a sulky expression.
"Suse." She jumped and swivelled around. PJ was standing just behind her, and he gave her a pointed look that clearly said 'keep cool'. She nodded grimly, before giving her brother a hard look.
"Daniel, I'll see you tomorrow," she said flatly, before leaving the parlour. Her colleagues followed suit a minute later, after Ben had warned Atkinson not to make trouble.
"Everything all right in there?" Chris asked worriedly from behind the bar.
PJ gave her a nod, and she accepted his answer.
"Righto – more drinks?" she offered.
"Yeah, ta," Jo nodded, resuming her seat at their table.
"Look, I might head off," Susie said quietly, looking decidedly unsettled. "See you guys tomorrow."
"Bye." Ben smiled, as did PJ and Jo.
"Hey, Suse – wait," Evan caught her arm before she had walked more than a few metres. "You don't think -"
"What don't I think, Jonesy?" she said coolly.
He hesitated. "I mean, you don't know what happened back there?"
"No, no more than you, and frankly, I want to keep it that way," she replied, before stepping past him. "See ya later."
===
Susie turned over in her bed for the fourth time that night, frowning involuntarily from frustration. Feeling incurably restless, she sighed, willing herself to sleep. Her attempts were futile.
Two more tossings later, she gave up momentarily and decided to pace her living room instead. The cause of her sudden insomnia was as much of a mystery to her as the next person. But something twinged at the corner of her mind; perhaps that was the reason.
The scene at the pub earlier that night had unsettled her nerves; although her exterior was supposedly calm, her insides were shaky and cautious. However, maybe she was more obvious than she intended. Evan had seen through her, as had PJ. She wasn't sure why she felt like that, though. Seeing Daniel, looking livid and ready to punch the lights out of Atkinson scared her slightly. Her little brother, although not always the perfect angel, had never shown any particular signs of a violent streak within him. On the contrary, he broke up the arguments between her and her older brother, rather than create them.
But what was bugging her so much? Maybe it was just her discovering a side of Daniel that she had never known about. She knew he wasn't a violent person, and never would be, but something had obviously riled him up, and she wasn't likely to forget that for a long time.
Or maybe she was just too blind to see. To see that people really did change.
With another sigh, and her head aching slightly from thoughts and physical exhaustion, she retreated back to bed and eventually fell asleep.
===
"Morning, Suse," Ben greeted, upon seeing her enter the station the next morning.
"Morning; sorry I'm late, I -"
"Atkinson's dead," he cut in flatly, wasting no time.
"- completely overslept, and I -" She stopped, only just registering what he had said. "What?"
"One single blow to the head," Evan said from his desk, swivelling around to face them.
Her brow instantly crinkled. "But – we only saw him last night," she whispered to herself, almost inaudibly. Raising her tone, she looked at them directly. "What happened?"
"Found in the back alley behind the Imperial by the garbo at around seven thirty this morning, who went out there to empty the bins," Evan said grimly. "Bled himself to death, it looks like. Either that or the actual blow, but not any other signs of injury."
After a moment to let this sink in, she asked, "Do we have any suspects?"
There was a very pregnant pause. "What?" she questioned, rounding them with a look.
"Look, Suse, we did see Daniel fight with him last night," Ben began hesitantly, knowing that as their sergeant, he should start.
She shook her head slowly, a smile almost glimmering upon her face. "Oh, no – you can't possibly think -"
"What choice do we have?" Evan spoke up.
"Plenty of choices!" she exclaimed.
"Susie, none of us wanted to -" Jo broke in, before being cut off.
"I know Daniel was arguing with him last night, but that could have been about anything!" Susie interrupted. "It's Daniel we're talking about here. He wouldn't hurt someone, never..."
"Maybe it wasn't intentional," Jo mumbled.
"He wouldn't hurt anyone like that! Come on, we should be looking at more suspects here -"
"We're just following procedure," PJ said quietly, but firmly, coming out into the station from his office, as Tom emerged from his own, watching.
She sighed, biting her lip for a moment, before stalking off to the locker room. For a second, no one made to move, until Evan stood up and cautiously went in.
"Suse?"
She didn't answer, standing in the middle of the small room, with her back to him.
"We're not pointing the finger at any one at this stage, okay? We're just looking at possibilities, and how to eliminate them."
"Yeah, but you're all obviously thinking it's him!" she shot back with uncharacteristic harshness in her voice. Evan wasn't fazed.
"I'm thinking there's another alternative."
"Well, no one in there -" she jerked her head at the door, "seemed to think so."
"No one wants it to be Daniel."
"It's not, Jonesy!"
"I know!" he cut in, louder than before, but still calm. She still didn't look at him, but turned and sat down on the bench, staring at the row of lockers facing her.
"Why are you so sure it's not Daniel?"
"Because I don't think there's a Raynor that could ever hurt someone like that," he replied. She cracked a very faint smile, but he took it as a good sign. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Her smile grew, and she finally faced him. "Sorry," she said wearily.
"Nah, it's over now." He raised an eyebrow, and she nodded, before they both went back outside to the main office.
"Look, I think we better talk to Nick Winston, the kid who bought the drugs off Atkinson," Evan addressed them all, attempting to take the focus off Susie for a moment.
"Good idea," Ben nodded in approval. "You two alright doing that?"
"Fine," Susie spoke up, nodding firmly. The others seemed to let out a breath in relief at her words. "Let's go."
===
"We just need to know the last time you saw Mr Atkinson," Evan said with an air of patience, looking directly at Nick Winston, who was lying on the couch, back at home from the hospital.
"I told you already," he exclaimed irritably, "I bought the drugs from him on Tuesday night at the Imperial. I gave him the money, he gave me the gear, and I left." He looked from one cop to the other. "Why? What's he done now?"
Susie took a breath. "Ray Atkinson was found dead this morning in the alleyway behind the Imperial."
Nick's eyes widened. "What?"
"You heard us," Evan said shortly. "We just need to know where you were between twelve and seven this morning."
"You suspect me?" Nick asked incredulously.
"Just answer the question, Nick," Susie said with a sigh.
"I was in bed from eleven until eight this morning."
"Can anyone confirm that?"
"Yep, just go ask Mum," the teenager said confidently, with a smug smile.
"Do you know who else bought from Atkinson?" she asked.
"No idea."
"Did you have any animosity towards Atkinson?" Evan queried.
"Nope."
"So he conned you into buying dodgy drugs, which landed you in hospital, and you don't hate him?"
"Look," Nick said with a tone that meant he was finished, "I didn't like the guy, alright? But I didn't kill him." He stretched his legs out on the couch and picked up the television remote. "So, is there anything else you want?"
===
"How did it go?" Ben asked as soon as the pair stepped into the station.
Evan raised a meaningful eyebrow at him, indicating that it was probably better for the topic to be touched lightly rather than a grilling interrogation. Ben nodded in understanding.
However, Susie seemed to be relatively fine, despite their lack of process on the case. "Not so good," she said with a grimace. "Nick Winston denies hating Atkinson, doesn't know anyone else who was also buying from him, and according to his dear mother, was in bed all night."
"That's not helpful," Jo said matter-of-factly.
"Tell me about it," her friend muttered in reply.
"Well, who else could it be?" PJ asked flatly. "Nick seems to be out, and there's -"
"No one else you can possibly think of?" Susie suddenly snapped, turning around to face him. He opened his mouth to answer, but she didn't let him. "What about the other people who have been buying from Atkinson? Winston's family? A rival dealer?" she demanded, counting on her fingers. "Or..." she struggled for another option, and the detective decided he could interrupt.
"Susie, no one is pointing the finger at anyone," he said firmly, looking at her straight in the eye as if hypnotising her. "Winston's family had no idea he was buying. As for other buyers of Atkinson, we don't even know they exist. Rival dealers – same, we don't know they exist."
"Then what makes you so sure it's Daniel?"
"Think about it for a minute, Susie," Jo put in. "He arrives in town for no apparent reason, he's staying at the Imperial, he has a flashy car for a plumber who just finished his training..."
"Daniel is not involved in drugs," Susie insisted, deep down knowing she was being unreasonable, but a pounding in her heart telling her there was no way her brother was involved in any of this, and that he would never touch drugs. This was Daniel they were talking about here, her little brother... her stomach dropped as she realised she had no right to be angry at her colleagues. They were seeing the facts, as she should be doing. Act like a cop for once, she silently told herself furiously, her emotions getting the better of her. She had to have control over herself for this one, or else no one would take her seriously. "He just can't be," she whispered to herself, trying to convince herself.
"Ah, Suse, we are going to have to talk to him," Ben pointed out.
His words somehow penetrated her thoughts, and she looked up. "Yeah... yeah, I know," she said quietly.
===
"You go up, I'll stay here," Evan said softly as they walked into the Imperial. Susie nodded gratefully and headed towards the staircase.
"Ah, Jonesy, can I help you with something?" Chris appeared behind the counter, grinning.
He shook his head. "No, not really. Actually," he added quickly, "Do you know anything about the body found this morning?"
The publican's grin was replaced with slight shudder. "No," she replied honestly.
"Did Ray Atkinson come here often?"
"Nope," Chris replied, shaking her head. "I've only seen him in here about three or four times before, which isn't much, considering."
"He's only been in town a few months," Evan put in, and leaned on the counter as he glanced behind him at the staircase.
"Did you come here by yourself?" Chris asked, flicking a look in the direction he was looking at.
"No, Susie went upstairs to talk to her brother," he explained, not wanting to go into details.
"Oh, Daniel. He's a nice bloke, that one," Chris said approvingly.
"Ah, yeah," he muttered distractedly, not hearing altogether. Chris noticed.
"Hey, Jonesy, what's up?"
"Just investigation... conflict," he replied. With a quick smile at her, Evan added, "I'll talk to you later." He left the bar and went to wait by the staircase.
===
Susie raised her hand to knock, hesitating for a moment, before rapping her knuckles on the wooden door. "Daniel? It's me."
A moment later the door opened, revealing a bleary-eyed Daniel, rubbing his head. "Oh, hey Suse," he said, giving a smile.
Her brow crinkled. "Were you sleeping?"
"Had a rotten night last night," he replied, "thought I'd catch up. Anyway," he said, louder, "Did you need me for something?"
"Yeah," she said hesitatingly, "We need you to ask a few questions concerning our current investigation."
"Current – what? Suse, what's going on?" Daniel asked, bewildered.
"I can't talk to you about it now, but we do need you to accompany us."
"Who's 'we'?"
"Constable Jones and I."
"Right." He sighed deeply, and looked down at himself to check he was decently dressed.
"You look fine," she said dryly before he could ask, and he laughed briefly, shutting the door behind him, not aware of what would be thrown against him.
===
"G'day, Daniel," PJ greeted upon the return of the trio. "Thanks for coming down, we just need to ask you a few questions -"
"- concerning your current investigation," Daniel finished off for him, earning a slight laugh from the officers. "All police sound the same," he added as explanation. "Okay, let's get this over and done with."
PJ led him into the interview room, beckoning Jo to accompany him inside. Susie made to follow, when Ben stopped her.
"Susie, that's not a good idea," he said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. "You're too involved in this."
She reluctantly nodded and retreated to the locker room. She had known all along. Sitting on the cold bench, she rested her forehead on her fingertips, closing her eyes.
Evan quietly entered the locker room, watching her shoulder rise and fall in a deep sigh. He sat himself down next to her, not saying a word. He'd let her speak first.
She didn't bother saying anything for a few minutes. She didn't need to, she knew that he understood. Finally, she spoke. "How did you do it, Jonesy?"
"How did I do what?" he questioned.
"Dylan."
He took a moment to answer. "I don't know how I did it."
"But when your dad -"
"My situation was very different, Suse," he replied. "My relationship with Dylan had strings attached. Your relationship with Daniel doesn't."
"Jonesy, he's being accused of doing something he didn't do," she almost whispered, finally looking up at him. Her eyes betrayed her emotions, despite her wanting to keep them to herself. She was confused, angry, terrified what could happen to her brother... and he completely understood. Perhaps that was why she allowed herself to speak with him now; he had been through the same thing himself, and knew what it meant. Plus, she reasoned to herself, it was Jonesy - he always seemed to understand, regardless of what she had to say. It was times like this that she could fully appreciate him for everything he had done for her.
"And because he didn't do it, we just have to find who did," he said firmly.
She gave him a weary look. "You know that doesn't always work out the way you want it to."
"True," he admitted. "But it doesn't mean we can't try. PJ, Ben, Jo and the Boss are all behind us as well, you know."
Susie merely nodded. Moments passed, before she furrowed her brow. Noticing this, Evan frowned. "What is it?"
"It's – oh, never mind," she shook her head. "It doesn't matter." But her face didn't diminish.
"No, really Suse, what's on your mind?"
"I just think I'm missing something," she said frustratingly, holding a hand out as though she could catch it. "I don't know. There's just something..."
By no means was Evan taking this lightly – he knew what good instincts she had – yet he also thought she shouldn't mull over the subject any more than what she was doing. There was only so much one could have on the mind. "Leave it for the moment," he advised. "It'll come to you."
"Might be too late," she muttered, slightly bitterly.
He moved his hand across a few centimetres to cover her slightly smaller one with his, caressing the side with his thumb. After a few moments, he murmured, "It'll be okay."
"Mmm," she sighed, lips pressed together. She shot him a look, a look that clearly said she didn't really believe him, despite desperately wanting to.
"Come 'ere," he muttered, pulling her into him. She didn't resist; on the contrary, she closed her eyes and letting the security she felt from her colleague and friend tide her through.
Their breathing fell into time with one another's, and Evan simply sat there, listening. After a while, he thought they should head back outside. Maybe PJ and Jo had finished with Daniel. When he quietly suggested this to Susie, she readily agreed.
She gave him a small smile before leaving the locker room, and he watched her go, the worry clearly etched into his face.
===
Drinks that night was a subdued affair. The whole station, apart from Tom, who had politely excused himself, had agreed to go. Yet the usual conversation that whirled around the table was very much gone. Jo half-heartedly brought up the investigation, until PJ shushed her.
Daniel had admitted to fighting with Atkinson the night he died, but had claimed that was because of a slight disagreement, and Atkinson had become overly aggressive. Not because he was providing Atkinson with drugs, he had stated.
They had no reason to hold him, nor did they want to, so they let him go. Susie didn't know whether to be relieved, or to worry more.
"Another, Suse?" PJ offered, who had volunteered to buy the next round.
"No thanks," she said, shaking her head. She stood up, muttering, "I'll be back in a minute."
She had to find out what Daniel had been trying to tell her the other day. Her gut instinct told her that it was something important, something to do with the investigation. And then there was that niggling of something at the back of her mind...
Knowing she was going against proper police procedure, but at that moment not really caring, she climbed the stairs to Daniel's room, and knocked on his door. "Daniel?"
Silence. No movement whatsoever.
"Hey, Daniel, can you open up?" she asked. "I need to talk to you."
Still no answer.
"Look, I know you're pissed at me, but I think we need to clarify a few things. Please, Dan," she said pleadingly. After a minute, she sighed and retreated back downstairs.
"Chrissie," she called the publican over, "Have you seen Daniel?"
Chris turned around, mildly surprised. "No, I haven't," she replied. "Not lately, anyhow. I saw him a few hours ago when he came in, but I don't think I've seen him since. Why?" she asked, "Has something happened?"
"I just wanted a word," Susie answered, waving a hand in dismissal. "Thanks anyway, Chris."
With a quick, acknowledging glance at her colleagues at their table, she quietly left the pub for the police residence.
===
"Alright, thank you." Ben put the phone receiver down and looked at his officers the next morning. "Just got a call from the National Park, we have some campers camping in a now-illegal camping ground."
"Why did they call us?" Jo proclaimed. "Isn't it their job to manage these sorts of things?"
"Out of their hands, apparently," Ben replied, although he didn't look too happy about it.
"As if we don't have enough to do," the senior constable muttered under her breath.
"Susie, would you and Jonesy like to go?" Ben suggested meaningfully, thinking that it would be better for her to get out, and think about something else other than their case involving Daniel.
She shrugged half-heartedly, and obligingly stood up and grabbed her hat without another word, as did Evan, before they left.
===
"You okay, Suse?" Evan asked, somewhat tentatively as they traipsed along the narrow path through the park.
"Fine. Never felt better," she said bitterly, stepping over a pile of rocks.
"Something will break," he reassured her. "PJ's working on it."
"It's taking long enough."
"Look, Susie," he sighed, "You have to admit it's not looking good for Daniel. He just arrived with a new car, and Nick Winston swore he heard a discussion on the buying and selling of drugs in the Imperial, where he just so happens to be staying. He had a fight with a drug dealer, and the dealer ends up dead the next morning. We have to suspect him."
She knew all this, although she wished she didn't. And despite being aware he was just trying to help, she couldn't help feeling some hostility towards him. "Are you always going to be the copper first?" she demanded, not really wanting to know the answer he was going to give.
He looked over at her. "No. No, Suse, I'm not."
She bit her lip. "I didn't think so."
"What's that meant to mean?"
"You're acting like the copper you are first and foremost."
"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or as an insult."
She sighed and shook her head, opting for looking at the eucalyptus above rather than him. "He's my brother, Jonesy."
"I know that. All I'm doing is -"
"- stating the facts, I know," she finished. "I just wish it wasn't you."
"Someone's got to."
She opened her mouth to answer when she stopped. "What was that?"
Evan's brow furrowed. "What was what?"
"Shh." They stopped and listened. Dry leaves crackled, moist leaves rustled as their branches hit each other in the breeze.
"I don't hear anything, Suse."
"I heard something," she insisted, quietly walking forwards towards a slight valley. After climbing down deeper into the dip, she stopped abruptly.
"What is it?" he asked anxiously from behind, seeing her stop.
"Oh God," she murmured, before taking off down the rest of the hill.
"Susie!" he hollered, racing after her.
He stopped as abruptly as she had, finally catching sight. A body lay still amongst the leaf litter, a blood dripping from a head wound onto the ground. It was Daniel.
"Shit..." he breathed, before running to where Susie was bent down over her brother. "Is he -?"
"He's got a pulse," she muttered. "He's just unconscious."
Evan took out his radio, switching it on. There was clear static, a sound too foreign and not suited to the natural environment.
"Too deep in the valley, I need a higher ground," he said grimly. "Stay here and look after him, I'll go to the top and call the ambos."
"Go back to the car, grab the first aid kit."
"Suse, it's over a kilometre away."
"Please," she said, trying to wipe the blood from Daniel's face.
"Alright," he agreed, albeit reluctantly.
He left, his footsteps pounding away as he put more distance between them. Susie prayed that he would find his way back, and that he managed to quickly. She was no medical expert, but she knew that if they didn't get help soon, Daniel might not make it.
"God, Daniel," she whispered, tears stinging the inner corners of her eyes as she looked at his motionless body.
Cold metal was pressed against her neck, and she froze.
===
Evan stumbled on an unseen pot hole, slamming into the ground. His wrist throbbed where it had taken most of the fall, and he knew his right knee would probably be purple by morning. Nevertheless, he hoisted himself up and took off again, wishing he had the agility of a rabbit to get through the bush.
Tree after tree turned into green and brown blurs as he staggered on, his utility belt digging uncomfortably into his hip. Not stopping to re-adjust it, he ploughed on.
Finally reaching the car after what seemed like hours of travelling, he called in the incident, then grabbing the first aid kit from the boot. He glanced at the seats; they seemed extremely tempting. Just to lie down for a minute, catch his breath...
He couldn't. And without another thought, he took off once more, back the way he had just come.
===
He eventually reached the point where he had left Susie and Daniel. Or so he thought. It was empty.
"Suse?" he called, looking around as if she was crouching behind a tree, waiting to jump out. No such luck.
"Hey Suse, where are ya? Susie?" He walked over to where Daniel had been lying. Bending down, he saw traces of blood still staining the leaves. It was fresh. It was Daniel's. He wasn't wrong.
But where the hell had they gone?
"Susie!" he yelled, looking around helpless, not knowing where to start looking. Up the hill again, down the valley, across to the other side... the possibilities were endless. "Susie, can you hear me? Where are you?"
The calm silence of the bush greeted him back.
"Shit," he muttered, running his hand through his hair. She knew better than to move her brother, not when he was injured like he was. She wouldn't have gone without telling anyone, either. Other than the drops of blood, there was no sign that they had ever been here. But the blood told him it wasn't his imagination, he hadn't gotten lost. He had come back, but Susie had gone.
After another panic-filled moment, he turned around and began to climb back up the hill once more.
===
"What the hell would you want with me?" Susie asked in a strained voice, only too aware of the gun barrel pressed to her neck. She glanced at the face belonging to the person who was holding the gun. She had seen him before. He was outside Atkinson's house when they were searching it. But what connection did he have with Atkinson?
"Shut up," the man growled, pushing her forwards in front of him. His hand held at her wrist tightly, preventing her from much movement. Movement that would be helpful, anyhow.
Her foot stumbled over a jagged rock poking out from the ground. She tripped forwards, using her only free hand to break her fall. Unfortunately, the ground was rough, and her hand landed on another rock. She swore in pain as the man pulled her back up. Her palm bled from a sharp edge of the rock.
"Look, we can't just leave Daniel back there," she cried, referring to the place the man had left Daniel minutes earlier, behind some thick shrubbery.
"I can't? I will. Now walk!"
"I have to go back," she insisted, tears emerging from her eyes. "He could die."
"Pity," the man sneered, pushing her forwards once more. She fell against a tree; her cheek feeling the smooth, cool bark. She lifted her injured hand slightly, wiping her palm on the trunk. Looking down, she felt some grim satisfaction; her blood stained the pale bark red in sinister, unnatural streaks.
"Jesus, don't you know how to walk?" he snapped, handling her roughly like a rag doll.
"Well, if you didn't keep pushing and shoving me maybe I would be able to!" she retorted, instantly regretting it.
The man's eyes darkened, as he pulled away the gun from her neck. She felt a sense of momentarily relief, until he rose his arm, crashing the metal weapon over her temple.
Her head exploded with sudden pain, until it went completely black.
===
"Boss, I can't find Susie," Evan said breathlessly into the radio, once he got back to the car.
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Tom barked back. Evan could hardly blame him.
"I left to radio Daniel in, and grab the first aid kit. When I got back to the spot where I'd left them, they'd gone."
"Did you try looking for her?"
"Yeah, but Boss, the bush is huge."
Tom sighed and rubbed his head. "I know, Constable. There's no sign of them?"
"Nothing. It was like they were never there."
"Right. Jones, come back to the station. I'll contact the emergency services."
"No, Boss, I'd rather I stay -"
"Jones, you are coming back now, do I make myself clear?"
Evan bit his tongue, silently seething. He should have known his boss would do this.
"Constable Jones..."
"Yes Boss," he lamented dully. "I understand."
===
Her head pounded fiercely, as though a metronome had somehow overtaken her mind. Struggling to open her eyes, Susie sat up, squinting from the sudden bright light.
Expecting some sort of voice, or at least another whack on the head, she looked around for the man, Daniel, anyone.
No one was in sight.
That didn't mean they weren't still there, she reasoned with herself. The man could be hiding behind a tree or anything, really.
Carefully, she got to her feet, stopping for a minute to get her balance. With legs alarmingly shaky, she peered around trees, half expecting the man to jump out with his gun. But it didn't happen. It looked as if she was alone.
With the sun deep down at her side, she predicted it was late afternoon. Sudden panic rose within her; daylight was fading, soon it would be totally dark. She didn't even know where she was. No tree resembled any of the ones she had seen before – at least, she thought so. Trees always seemed to look the same. She was completely disorientated.
The sun was setting to her right, that meant she needed to go in the direction behind her back to head north. But how far did she need to go? She could be in the heart of the bush, she had no idea.
And where was Daniel? Had Jonesy found him? Did the man take him back? Was he still alive? Hundreds of questions whirled inside her head like they were competing in the Grand Prix.
After walking a few kilometres, her legs collapsed under her. Every limb felt heavy and weak, her brain feeling like it had been left in lying the sun. Daylight had decreased dramatically; it was almost dark. Knowing that falling asleep in the middle of the bush could be deadly, she struggled to stay awake.
Exhaustion took over. She fell asleep.
===
"Well, if she was on foot, she couldn't have gotten far," Jo said logically. "Especially if she had Daniel with her."
"I just don't understand how she could have disappeared," PJ muttered as he leaned in his office doorway, shaking his head.
Evan looked out the window. It was dark outside. Emergency services had been searching for hours. PolAir had flown over the part of the bush that they had started in, but the trees were too thick. There had been no sign of anyone.
It was like Susie and Daniel had evaporated. He was with PJ; he just didn't understand. But worry overtook his confusion – Susie was out there somewhere, and they didn't know where.
"I don't think she went by her own merit," he spoke up. The others turned to him. His eyes were dark, a bottomless pit with anxiety. "Susie wouldn't have ever gone before I had gotten back."
"Maybe she had no choice," Ben put in.
"But what could have possibly happened for her to have moved both herself and Daniel away from where Jonesy would have returned?" PJ asked.
"But what if she didn't do it?" Evan continued. "What if she was forced?"
"By whom?" Jo asked. "You said there was no one else around."
"But it was the bush," he said frustratingly. "Someone could have been hiding behind any of the trees. Susie was focussing on her brother and I was busy going back to the car."
"It's possible, I suppose," PJ said slowly. "But who could possibly..."
"Think about it, PJ," Evan said with a hint of sarcasm. "Who's being charged over drugs?"
"Daniel is," Jo said unnecessarily. "But what does that have to do with Susie?"
"Maybe she was just there in the wrong place at the wrong time," PJ explained, thinking it through. "She gets in the way, you know."
"But in the way of what?" Jo demanded.
He shrugged. "I dunno."
Evan went over to the hooks on the wall and grabbed the keys.
"Jonesy, where are you going?" Ben cut in.
"Out." Came the short answer.
"No, Jones – don't," PJ warned.
"And what are you going to do about it, PJ?" Evan snapped angrily.
"Mate," PJ said calmly, standing in front of the constable, "You're not doing anyone any favours."
"Neither are you," Evan argued.
"Yes, I am. I'm letting the emergency services do their job."
"Emergency services?" he scoffed incredulously. "And do you really reckon they're looking out there?"
"Of course they are," PJ reasoned, unwavering. "They're doing their best out there. Look, it's dark, you're not going to get anywhere. We don't need two members missing."
He glared at the younger constable, and Evan finally surrendered.
"Good," PJ said quietly.
===
Something tickled her ear. The buzzing told her it was a fly. How did a fly get into her bedroom, she wondered. She hadn't left a window open, had she?
Susie was suddenly aware that she was not in her bed. Jerking awake, she sat up from the ground she had collapsed on. Heart beating fiercely, she realised how lucky she had been, that it hadn't been freezing overnight, with nothing but her jacket as protection from the cold. Still feeling somewhat weak and groggy, she climbed to her feet, dusting the dirt from her clothes and twigs from her hair. Looking at the sky, she figured she still had to head north.
She glanced at her watch, which had acquired a long scratch along the glass face. It was just past seven in the morning.
There were no human sounds around her. Instead, the air was filled with the morning squawks of birds, the morning breeze blowing through the trees.
With a deep breath, she started off up the hill again.
===
"Morning," PJ spoke up carefully as he saw Evan enter the station. "Coffee?"
"Yeah, ta," Evan replied dully.
"Nothing yet, mate." Ben answered his un-asked question.
"Yeah, didn't think so."
"Emergency services went back out this morning," Jo put in. "PolAir are going to do another search as well."
"Uh huh."
"Sergeant," Tom beckoned with a finger to Ben. Ben stood up and followed his superior into his office.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Is Jones alright to be in today?"
Ben was mildly surprised. "I think so."
"Good." Tom sat down at his desk. "Then send him out with Parrish on patrol. Or get him to sort out the traffic reports in waiting. Oh, just anything, Stewart," he waved an impatient hand, "Anything to prevent him from acting the cowboy which we all know he's so good at."
"Yes, Boss, I'll get onto it." Ben nodded and dismissed himself. "Jonesy, take Jo out on patrol with you," he instructed when he stepped back into the main office.
"Aww, Ben -" Jo protested until PJ silenced her with a sharp look. "Yeah, righto," she muttered, grabbing her hat and leaving, somewhat disgruntled.
After they left, Ben turned to PJ. "Think they'll find her?" The detective knew what he was referring to.
"I hope so, Ben," PJ said honestly. "I hope so."
===
Susie looked down, concentrating on putting on foot in front of another, occasionally looking up to check where she was, and if she was heading in the right direction.
Her stomach growled, and her tongue felt thick and dry. Her head felt fatigued, and all she wanted to do was to find civilisation. She couldn't remember ever feeling so separate from the rest of the world. Did they have people out looking for her? Of course they did, she thought roughly. She couldn't possibly be missing overnight for no one to worry. She'll be found soon.
Or so she hoped, anyway.
What if she wasn't even going in the right direction? Her chest tightened for a moment, thinking that maybe she was going wrong all along. But no, she knew she had to go north. She'd probably hit a road or something. She knew north was the way back home.
Please, she thought, feeling trapped by the surrounding, seemingly never-ending bush. Just get me out of this.
===
"Have you seen anything?" Ben asked, leaning against the counter as he spoke into the radio.
"Negative, VKC," the unfamiliar voice spoke. "There's no sign of anyone. We've covered the surrounding land fairly extensively, so either they're hiding out somewhere, or they've gone somewhere different altogether."
Ben was grateful the man didn't mention the other option.
"We'll keep you up to date, Sergeant," the man continued. "However, I -" he cut off, and Ben strained to hear what was going on. Voices were rambling in the background, and he was bursting with curiosity.
"Wait, Sergeant, we've just had word," the man exclaimed, "A body's been found near the southern creek, east of Trebal Hedge."
PJ looked up, heart pounding.
Ben took a shaky breath, not sure whether to be glad they had found something, or thwarted because of the word 'body'. "Er – male or female?" he asked carefully.
"Male," came the reply. "Blond hair, about 190 centimetres tall, wearing jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, aged about twenty five."
"Daniel," PJ said immediately. Ben nodded.
"Is he alive?"
"It's unsure at this stage. He's out of reach, down in a ditch full of shrubbery. It might take about ten minutes to retrieve him safely."
Ben grimaced. "And is there anyone else?"
"Negative. We'll let you know when we get further."
"Copy that. Mt Thomas 258 out."
Ben put the radio down and turned to the detective. "I suppose that's a good thing."
"Better than nothing at all," PJ agreed. Silence ensued.
"Maybe Susie's near by," Ben murmured.
"Maybe."
All they could do it wait.
===
The sun burned on the back of her neck, and Susie numbly wished she had sunscreen on her. Her legs were exhausted, and she wondered how much longer she could take this. Looking up, her heart beat grew faster; the trees were getting thinner, it seemed. Did that mean...?
With a burst of new found energy, she ploughed on, determined to see what was on the other side.
She didn't think of what she could do if she was wrong.
===
"Hey, Jonesy, where are we going?" Jo protested in the car.
"On patrol."
"In the middle of the bush?"
"You never know."
Jo sighed. "They're already doing all they can."
Evan ignored her, and drove on. They were on a narrow road, either side of them blanketed in trees and bush land. It would be impossible to see anything more than twenty metres deep into the wilderness.
"Jonesy, we're going to get it big time if we continue," Jo warned.
"Since when have you worried about that?"
"No, Jonesy – turn back! I'm serious, you're not helping us here."
"Make me."
"I don't want to pull rank -"
"Then don't!"
"Well, I might have to!" she retorted. "Jonesy, we're not going any further!"
"Just a few more minutes," he muttered. Just a bit further.
===
Five hundred metres on, and Susie could see a clearing, where the trees finally broke through. Heart beating, she pounded further, determined to make it through.
Reaching the top, she almost smiled. A black, narrow road weaved itself through the bush land. A road meant civilisation.
With a new found flame of hope, she started off again, not stopping to look back.
===
"Jonesy, you said only a few minutes," Jo whined. "Can we please turn back – the Boss is going to hit the roof when he finds out where we've gone."
"Shut up for a minute, Jo," Evan said, his eyes darting around them. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. Someone was there.
"Over there!" he exclaimed, pressing his foot on the pedal.
"What -?" Jo yelped, startled, before she saw what he had seen. "Oh! Is it -?"
===
Susie paused. She was positive she heard... no, it couldn't have been... was it?
With baited breath, she stepped back deeper into the trees. An instinctive move, she assumed. Protecting herself.
A few seconds later she confirmed it. It was definitely a vehicle coming closer.
From her position, she could only see a little way up the road, before it turned around a bend. Sudden anxiety bit into her – what if it was the man returning for her?
Stop being so dramatic, she said to herself, but the thought didn't go away.
It was coming closer.
And then she saw it. It was white, with blue text on the side. Blue and red lights on the top, and upon realising, her insides seemed to explode.
The car honked several times, as if she hadn't seen it yet, and sped up to greet her.
"Susie!" she heard before she saw. Evan leapt out of the car, rushing towards her. Jo grabbed the radio to call it in.
She waited for him to reach her, her legs not responding quickly enough to move. "Oh God, Suse, we've been so worried," Evan said quietly, gathering her in his arms. She hugged him back tightly, relishing the feeling of human contact once again.
"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her back at arm's length to survey her.
"I'm fine -" she began to say.
"No, you're not," he interrupted, lifting a hand to her head, to where her wound was raw. She winced slightly, before he moved his hand away quickly. "Sorry."
"S'okay."
"What the hell happened, Suse?"
"I – I don't know," she admitted. "You left, and a minute later some man was holding a gun to my neck. He dragged me and Daniel away -" her eyes grew sharp, alert. "Daniel," she muttered. "Have you found him?"
He grimaced, not knowing what to say. She followed his thoughts, and looked away. "I'm so sorry, Suse, they've been searching, and..."
"Yeah," she nodded, her stomach dropping heavily as the worst of it sunk in.
"Hey, guys!" Jo jumped out of the car. "They just heard – they found Daniel."
Susie's eyes instantly brightened. "Is he okay?"
"They're taking him to hospital. He's alive, but there's not much else they can tell us. He's been out of it for a while. Anyway," Jo stopped and turned to her colleague, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Susie smiled. "Anyway, let's go back. I'm food deprived, and exhausted."
Evan gave her arm a squeeze, before leading her back to the car.
===
"And then after I was knocked out, he abandoned me," Susie explained, subconsciously feeling the wound on her head as she sat in the station. "After that, I just took off until I reached the road. Then Jo and Jonesy turned up." Evan came up behind her and handed her a cup of tea. She smiled up at him, accepting it. "That's all that happened."
"But who was he?" Jo asked curiously.
"I don't know, but I saw him before," she replied, nursing her cup as she told her story. "He was outside Atkinson's place when we searched it."
"I just find it strange how he abandoned you in the middle of it all," PJ said thoughtfully.
"I know. Why not kill me? He didn't want me for anything, I just got in the way between him and Daniel. But I could identify him and everything," Susie added as an afterthought. "Rather stupid, come to think of it."
"And I thought the crims were getting smarter," Ben put in.
She drained her tea and looked up at the group. "I'm going to go and visit Daniel."
"No," PJ, Evan and Jo all said immediately. She raised an eyebrow.
"You've just got back," Jo said.
"Go home," PJ added.
"And rest," Evan finished.
Despite her frustration, she couldn't help laughing.
"Raynor?" Tom poked his head around his doorway to see her still sitting in her chair. "Are you still here? I thought I told you to go home half an hour ago!"
"Just heading off there, Boss," she said swiftly.
===
Susie collapsed in her bed, closing her eyes at the thought of the paperwork she'd have to deal with tomorrow. Tom had had the grace to relieve her of any police duties until the next day, he had promised.
Strangely enough, she didn't feel nearly as bad as she thought she would. She was back home, safe, and Daniel was in hospital, being treated. And behind her, were her friends and colleagues, always there to support her.
But there was a man out there, somewhere, who had tried to hurt both her and her brother. She didn't think he would try it again soon, and she felt relatively safe. That, and the fact that he didn't know where she lived. Plus, she didn't have the energy to be concerned.
Smiling at this thought, she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
===
The fluorescent lights glared at her as she strode down the corridor the next morning, occasionally glancing at the room numbers to check she was going in the right direction. Susie stopped outside one of the hospital rooms, hesitating to step inside. As much as she wanted to see her brother, the power of the unknown stopped her from proceeding inside.
Finally, knowing that if she didn't go in now, she never would, she walked into the room.
Daniel lay in his bed, attached to a machine, but otherwise looking relatively undamaged. His eyes were closed, and she quietly sat in the chair at his bedside. However, his eyes flickered open, and she smiled down at her younger brother. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," he said weakly, blinking. "How are ya?"
"Fine," she said reassuringly. "How are you?"
"Could be better," he confessed, but then gave a half-grin at her sudden concern. "Nah, don't worry about me."
Her face relaxed as she smiled once more. "Good."
"What the hell happened?" he asked.
"Short version," she said warningly, and he nodded. "Jonesy and I were out in the National Park, and came across you, unconscious. He went back up to the car to get the first-aid kit, and a guy crept up and held a gun to my neck. Anyway, he dragged us away, dumping you somewhere and then eventually dumping me somewhere. I didn't know where you were, or where I was, but I finally found a road, and Jonesy and Jo happened to be out there at the same time. Then emergency services had a fair idea of where to search for you, and took you here. Now," she said sternly, "What happened with you?"
"What?" he asked confusedly.
"Medication affecting your memory?" she retorted. "How did you get mixed up in this?"
He sighed, and seemed to be reluctant to tell her. All the same, Daniel felt that he owed it to her, because if it wasn't for him, none of this would have every happened to any of them.
"Alright," he finally began, "In Melbourne, I accidentally stumbled across some information that my next-door neighbour, Andrew Baker, was involved in drugs."
"Involved in what way?"
"Making dodgy ecstasy for dealers, who sold it to unsuspecting people," Daniel answered, sitting up slightly in order to be more comfortable.
"Why didn't you report it?" Susie demanded.
"I was going to!" he defended. "But I didn't know enough. The police wouldn't take me seriously anyway. But then I got called out to go to Wangaratta, and stopped in Mount Thomas to see you. Next thing, I see Baker talking to some guy. I figured he was still at large with his gear. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't." Susie frowned, but he ignored her and ploughed on. "I didn't want Baker to see me in town. He knows who I am. So I went up to the other guy – Atkinson, isn't it? – and tried to get him to tell me. As you'd have noticed, he's not a very nice person."
"The fight at the Imperial?" Susie asked, finally understanding.
He nodded. "Yep, that was then. Then Atkinson turned up dead, and you guys suspect me." He shook his head at her. "Don't worry, Suse, I don't blame you."
"I tried talking to you the other night at the Imperial," Susie explained. "You didn't answer."
"Yeah, well, I went up to my room after Detective Hasham had interviewed me. Baker was waiting for me, he had known all along that I knew."
"And that's why he killed Atkinson, to keep him quiet."
"I'm guessing so. So Baker bashed me over the head, so I'm told, and dragged me out to the bush."
She looked down at him tenderly. "But you're okay now."
"I'm fine, Suse, really I am."
"Okay," she sighed. "But you do realise that officially you're still a suspect, and PJ's going to come by in an hour or so to get your statement."
"Sure," he replied easily. "Hey," he said quietly, "Don't worry, okay?" He laughed at her concern.
She gave a weary smile, not being able to help herself. She had always looked out for her younger sibling, that was the way they worked. He was the troublemaker, and she made him stay in line.
"Anyway, don't you have a job to go to?"
She laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I do."
"Go – I don't want you getting into any more trouble over me."
"Yes sir," she said mockingly, standing up. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she looked at him firmly. "Don't go getting into any more trouble."
"Seeya, Suse," he replied, looking pointedly at the door.
She took the hint.
===
"Going for drinks?" PJ asked as everyone packed up for the night. Daniel had been cleared of all charges, and the police in St. David's had caught Andrew Baker in the act of dealing. A good result, Tom had summed it up so simply.
"Yep, count me in," Jo replied cheerfully.
"We'll all go," Ben said firmly, glancing at the two constables to check. They both nodded.
"Boss?" PJ called. "You comin'?"
"I think I'll stay out of this one," Tom replied mildly, detecting the certain level of joviality amongst his officers, and preferring a quiet night at home than to get involved with their arguments and laughter.
As the group left, Tom chuckled to himself, shaking his head. They were one of a kind, and he was lucky to have them.
===
"No way, Peej – there's no way you're going to beat me," Jo exclaimed, standing by the pool table, crossing her arms.
"Watch me," he replied, grabbing the cue stick from Ben and bending down to take his shot. Drawing back with agonising slowness, he finally managed to pocket two balls. "Beat that, Joanna."
Knowing she couldn't keep up to that, Jo turned to Susie, who was sitting nearby, watching. "Suse, want a go?"
"Hey, Jo – that's cheating!" PJ argued defensively.
"What's wrong with getting a bit of help from someone who's better than you?" the senior constable challenged, turning back to her female colleague. "Wanna?"
Susie gave a mild smile from her chair. "Nah, you go, Jo."
Sighing, Jo gave up and turned to take her shot. A few seconds later, PJ grinned in triumph. "See?"
"Jo, don't ever challenge him," Ben advised.
Laughing at the others, Susie turned upon noticing Evan sit down.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey yourself," she smiled back. "Where have you been?"
"Here and there," Evan answered casually. "How're you feeling?"
"Felt better," she admitted. She caught sight of his furrowing brow and shook her head, chuckling despite herself. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."
"And Daniel?"
"Out of hospital in the morning."
He nodded. "Good."
"Yeah."
They watched Jo whine to Ben as he refused to take over from her. After a while, Susie absently span the glass in front of her. "Hey, Jonesy?"
"Mmm?"
"How did you do it?" She hesitated. "Dylan, I mean. I never got to hear your answer."
He looked back out at the pool table, without really seeing it. "I just – I dunno. It happens, you know, and you just have to move on. Water off a duck's back."
"That's not what you felt at the time, though," she reminded him reproachfully. He shot her a wry grin.
"Nope."
"So what did you do?"
"I wanted to shake Dylan, I wanted him to understand what I had done for him over the years."
"He probably did," she cut in.
"Then I wanted him to acknowledge it." He sighed and shrugged. "I just wanted to know the truth."
"Dylan loved you, you know," Susie said quietly.
He grimaced, looking away again.
"Your father loves you too."
"He has a funny way of showing it, sometimes," Evan muttered. "Anyway, how much snooping into my family have you done?"
"Not enough," she retorted good-humorously. He cracked a smile.
"Yeah, right." There was another pause. "What about you?"
"What about me?" she asked, surprised.
"What about when Brad..." he trailed off awkwardly. Fortunately for him, she knew what he was talking about.
"Different circumstances, Jonesy." Though seeing he was expecting an answer, she continued, "I don't know how I got through."
"I guess you just gotta remember what's important," he said, more to himself than anything.
"Yeah? And what's that?" she questioned.
Another shrug. "That family are driven into you deeper than you'll ever think."
"Mmm," she nodded in agreement. They sat in silence, Susie watching their three colleagues argue over by the pool table. With a grin, she looked at Evan. "Do you reckon we should help them out?"
He looked wary. "What happened to your constant criticism over how I play? That I was 'destined to lose'?"
"Oh, I'm sure that the both of us could beat the other three any old day," she said airily.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're going to try and humiliate me again."
"Why would I?" she replied innocently. With a grin, she looked at him. "Oh, come on, let's go."
"Right," he agreed, and they headed over to join their colleagues.
"Us two against you three?" Susie offered them, picking up a cue stick.
PJ, Ben and Jo glanced at each other, and then back to the constables, who couldn't seem to wipe the smug grins off their faces.
"You're on."
endeCongrats! You made it to here, hopefully still in one piece. Just to remind you, feedback would be very welcome (that can include constructive criticism)! Over to damoisellayahoo.com.au, it's as simple as that, fine and dandy. Thanks for reading!