Deception creek, p.1
Deception Creek, page 1
Fleur McDonald has lived and worked on farms for much of her life. After growing up in the small town of Orroroo in South Australia, she went jillarooing, eventually co-owning an 8000-acre property in regional Western Australia.
Fleur likes to write about strong women overcoming adversity, drawing inspiration from her own experiences in rural Australia. She has two children, an energetic kelpie and a Jack Russell terrier.
Website: www.fleurmcdonald.com
Facebook: FleurMcDonaldAuthor
Instagram: fleurmcdonald
OTHER BOOKS
Red Dust
Blue Skies
Purple Roads
Silver Clouds
Crimson Dawn
Emerald Springs
Indigo Storm
Sapphire Falls
The Missing Pieces of Us
Suddenly One Summer
Where the River Runs
Starting From Now
The Shearer’s Wife
Deception Creek
DETECTIVE DAVE BURROWS SERIES
Fool’s Gold
Without a Doubt
Red Dirt Country
Something to Hide
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First published in 2021
Copyright © Fleur McDonald 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Email: info@allenandunwin.com
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
ISBN 978 1 76087 882 5
eISBN 978 1 76106 313 8
Set by Bookhouse, Sydney
Cover design: Nada Backovic
Cover images: Matthew Dyson (background); Alexandra Bergam / Stocksy (woman)
What was, still is.
To those who are precious.
Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Detective Dave Burrows appeared in my first novel, Red Dust. I had no idea he was going to become such a much-loved character and it was in response to readers’ enthusiasm for Dave that I chose to write more about him. Since then, Dave has appeared as a secondary character in thirteen contemporary novels, including Deception Creek, and four novels (set in the early 2000s), where he stars in the lead role.
Fool’s Gold, Without a Doubt, Red Dirt Country and Something to Hide are my novels that feature Detective Dave Burrows as he begins his career.
In these novels, set in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dave is married to his first wife, Melinda, a paediatric nurse, and they’re having troubles balancing their careers and family life. No spoilers here because if you’ve read my contemporary rural novels, you’ll know that Dave and Melinda separate and Dave is currently very happily married to his second wife, Kim.
Dave is one of my favourite characters and I hope he will become one of yours, too.
PROLOGUE
2011
‘I’ve told you, Alice, I haven’t touched anything! What can I do to make you believe me?’ Kyle’s voice was pleading as he looked over at his wife, but she wouldn’t return his gaze.
Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest as she stared out the car window at the Mount Gambier country. The paddocks of tall grass rippling in the wind were passing at a hundred and ten kilometres an hour.
‘Alice?’
This time she turned to him, her blue eyes flat and cold, no trace of their usual sparkle.
Kyle drew a breath as he remembered the words from his mother: Never get between a Sharpe and their money, son. There’s some truth in their last name.
‘You’ve been skimming money from the bank accounts,’ Alice snapped. ‘Dad told me all about it.’
At a glance, Kyle could see heat flooding her cheeks. She was fuming, and he knew he had two options: he could deny all knowledge, calmly and quietly, or he could get angry.
‘Look in my briefcase. The statements are there, along with all the reconciliations. There’s nothing amiss. Oliver’s got this wrong.’ His words were firm and quiet, but anger pulsed through him as he said his father-in-law’s name.
Oliver Sharpe was an interfering, obnoxious man who thought he knew better than everyone about everything, and Kyle didn’t like or trust him one bit. He had only ever seen the old man’s aggression aimed at others, but now here it was, coming at him. He shouldn’t have been surprised.
‘I don’t believe you. Dad doesn’t make mistakes like this.’ She shifted in her seat to look straight at him. ‘A hundred grand? In six months? The whole time we’ve been married!’
‘And as a senior accounts officer I’d like to think I don’t make mistakes either. If you believe him,’ Kyle snapped, pushing his foot down on the accelerator, ‘why are you here with me, going to the accountant? There must be some doubt in your mind.’ He rearranged his face and softened his voice, with difficulty. ‘I’d hope there’s doubt in your mind. After all, I am your husband—I’d like to think you trust me.’ The hurt was real.
‘Do you think I want this to be true?’ Her voice held an accusation, while her long fingernails tapped on the edge of the window. ‘No, I want to go to the accountant, I want to hear that this is all a big misunderstanding. I want to go home. I want things to be the way they were when we brought you into the business.’ She paused. ‘The trouble is, I don’t think that’s going to happen.’
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Kyle could see all his hard work, the long hours on the tractor, the countless times he’d bitten his tongue to get on Oliver’s good side, being snatched away by the opinion of a person he didn’t even know. The accountant was paid by Oliver, instructed by Oliver—if he wanted Kyle out of the business, that’s exactly what would happen.
Everything was going wrong. His whole life was coming to a grinding halt over a stupid misunderstanding.
‘Kyle, slow down!’
‘What?’
Alice’s voice broke through the waves of anger that were overtaking Kyle’s mind.
‘You’re going too fast. Look!’ His wife nodded frantically towards the speedo.
He looked down. One hundred and twenty.
Lifting his foot slightly, the ute slowed. Kyle dragged in a deep breath. ‘Look, Alice …’
‘No, Kyle, I don’t want to talk about it.’ She held up her hand in a stop sign. ‘I want to get to Foster & Foster and see what Hannah has to tell me.’
‘Oh yeah? And what about what I want? I’m your husband, don’t I get a say in any of this?’ The red-hot angry words shot out of him before he could stop them.
‘I don’t think you’re in a position to have a say.’
His knuckles were white. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, he saw a vehicle coming up behind them, the indicator on as if they were going to overtake. His eyes flicked back to the landscape in front; large, fat-trunked trees lined the road leading to the corner not far ahead.
The morning was foggy and dew was glistening in the pale light as the sun tried to force its rays through the heavy, lead-grey cloud.
The white Nissan X-Trail pulled out.
‘Really?’
There was no way the driver behind should be passing on this stretch of road. Kyle’s instinct was to lift his foot from the accelerator, but he didn’t. Instead, he pushed it down harder and felt the ute jump away as the turbo kicked in.
‘What are you doing now?’ Alice’s tone was a mix of exasperation and angst.
‘This bloke needs a lesson on how to drive.’
‘Kyle! Don’t.’
Clearly the driver realised there was a problem, because he pulled back in behind Kyle.
‘Shouldn’t try to pass when you can’t see what’s coming up, idiot,’ he muttered, once again glancin
On the wide, sweeping bend was a large tree and around the corner, Kyle knew, the road opened up into a long stretch of bitumen, where the guy behind would be able to pass. He pushed his foot down a bit harder.
‘Stop it. Slow down. Please, Kyle.’ This time there was fear in his wife’s voice. ‘Don’t be stupid.’
He ignored her, his eyes flicking between the road ahead and the ute behind them. The Nissan was still in the left lane. Good. He took a couple of breaths.
‘This is crazy,’ Alice said softly. ‘Come on, slow down.’
‘How about you grab all the information from the back seat and look at it, Alice. You’ll see for yourself then.’ Lifting his foot, the vehicle slowed.
Alice cast a worried look towards him. ‘Okay.’ She twisted around in the seat and reached behind her.
‘Every cent is accounted for.’ He watched her in the mirror as she did as he asked.
Not able to reach, Alice undid her seatbelt, grabbed the paperwork and sat back down in one quick, fluid motion.
‘You’ll see now,’ Kyle said, the word coming from him more loudly than intended.
‘It’s not going to matter what I think,’ she said tightly, as she studied the reconciliations. ‘If Dad has found something amiss …’
‘But I haven’t stolen anything!’ He banged the steering wheel hard with his fist, and the ute jumped away as he pushed his foot down once more. ‘I haven’t!’ His face was warm from the anger that was radiating through him, and his fist throbbed a little from hitting the wheel.
She looked up from the printed pages.
‘Kyle!’
‘What?’ The word snapped out of him.
‘The corner! It’s …’ His wife reached out to yank his arm but didn’t connect, because with one quick movement, Kyle had pulled the steering wheel to the left, throwing the ute to the side. A wheel hit a pothole and the vehicle bounced, throwing them together, and Alice’s arm bounced off Kyle’s as he held the wheel.
A loud, high-pitched shriek emerged from Alice, just as the left-hand side nose of the ute hit the gum tree.
Glass shattered.
Metal tore.
When Kyle’s head hit the steering wheel, he couldn’t hear Alice’s screams anymore.
CHAPTER 1
2021
Dave climbed out of the police-issue vehicle and looked at the house.
A loose sheet of tin lifted in the breeze, and the verandah sagged at one end. Deep cracks ran through the cement path leading to the front steps, and black ants ran busily in and out of the crevices.
Derelict and uninhabited, Dave thought. Lonely.
Ducking under the overgrown bougainvillea bush and taking the few steps to the door, Dave raised his hand to knock on the splintered wood.
The noise echoed around the large stone house. Then, nothing.
‘You in there, Joel? It’s Dave Burrows, Barker Police.’ Moving over to the dirty windows, he cupped his hands to peer inside, but all he could see in the darkness was a lone couch with a throw sheet over it and screwed-up newspapers scattered across the floor.
He walked along the verandah, his boots grinding in the dirt, looking in each window.
Nothing.
‘Joel Hammond? I’m here to check in on you. Make sure you understand your parole conditions. Dave Burrows from Barker Police,’ he called again.
‘Oh yeah? Why’s that?’
At the corner of the house, a small, wiry man with shaggy hair stood with a shovel in his hand.
Dave smiled. ‘Joel Hammond?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Good to meet you. I’m Dave Burrows—’
‘From Barker Police. Yeah, I heard. What can I do you for?’
‘I got a note from my colleagues in Adelaide, saying you were being released and heading back up this way. Thought I’d drop in and say g’day. Let you know if you need anything, I’m around.’
Joel didn’t answer, he just stared at Dave, raised the shovel and drove the tip into the dirt, in the same spot repeatedly.
‘You got back out here all right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And no trouble?’
‘Look, I don’t know what you know, or what you’ve been told, but I’m not here to cause trouble. Or take it from anyone else. I’ve just come back home.’ Joel glanced around and leaned the shovel against the house. He took a couple of steps towards Dave before he spoke again. ‘Not that there’s anyone here to make it a home anymore. But I’ve done my time. I just want to get on with things without any interference from anyone.’ He paused and looked steadily at Dave. ‘I’ve already lost nine years of my life for a crime I didn’t commit, so how about you get on your white horse and fuck off to where you came from. I don’t need anybody’s help.’
Dave had to give it to the man, he sounded sincere, while also angry. ‘Look, I understand your mistrust of the police. And, sure thing, I’ll head off now, but I’m here to keep the peace in Barker, and if you get hassled, I want to know. Like you said, you’ve done your time. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s only fair you know, there’ve been a few rumblings around the place.
‘The Douglas family knew you were coming back, and Steve was stirring up a bit of trouble at the pub last Friday night. I just wanted you to know. Look, I’ll leave you my details. Any problems, just get in contact.’ Dave nodded and dug in his wallet for his card, before holding it out to the man. ‘And just a reminder—don’t forget to report in once a week at the station. That way I won’t have to come looking for you.’
Joel Hammond didn’t move, so Dave placed the card on the nearest windowsill and turned away.
‘How’d you go?’ Jack asked from behind the mountain of paperwork on his desk at the police station.
‘Pretty stand-offish,’ Dave said as he took his jacket off and hung it behind the door. ‘I can understand why, though—the bloke’s just spent nine years in jail. Being a copper, I’d be the last person he’d want to see. Might’ve thought I was coming to give him a hard time.’
‘He should’ve been pleased at the heads up, especially if Steve Douglas wants to make trouble.’
‘I bet he hoped he’d just slip back under the radar. The fact the town knows already and it’s hardly been twenty-four hours isn’t a good sign.’
‘Don’t know why you’d be surprised that word Joel is back has spread so quickly. This is Barker we’re talking about here.’ Jack took a new form from the pile in front of him, glanced at it, and signed near the bottom. ‘Did you find out anything more about him?’
Shaking his head, Dave sat down and wiggled the mouse next to his computer to wake the screen. ‘He didn’t offer anything except that he was innocent.’
‘Of fraud? A crim saying they’re innocent? Gosh, there’s a surprise!’ Jack’s tone was as dry as the paint on the walls.
‘Who’s innocent of fraud?’ Kim stood in the doorway holding a plastic cake carrier. ‘Joel Hammond?’
Both men broke into a grin and Jack got up quickly to take the container from her.
‘Smoko on wheels. Cheers, Kim,’ Jack said as he lifted the lid. ‘Look, Dave. Chocolate mud cake.’
‘One of my faves.’ Dave stepped over and put his arm around his wife, dropping a kiss on her head. ‘Thanks, honey.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Kim said as she sat in Dave’s chair. ‘Were you talking about Joel?’
‘Hmm,’ Dave nodded. ‘I went and saw him today. Community policing and all that.’
‘Such a shame. He was a nice boy at school.’
Dave glanced at Joel Hammond’s file, open on his desk. ‘How did you know him at school?’ he asked. ‘You wouldn’t have been there together.’
Kim shook her head. ‘No, not in the same year, but I was a prefect in Year 12 and he was in primary school then. I can’t remember what year, but he was a little-y. Big brown eyes and freckles. A bit of a clown. Always teasing and playing jokes. Then as he grew up, he used to come into the roadhouse all the time. Just a genuine, nice guy. Quietly spoken and polite.’
‘Who defrauded his employer,’ Jack said around the cake in his mouth. ‘This is really good, Kim.’
Kim raised a shoulder. ‘Hmm, well, that was what the jury decided, wasn’t it?’
‘You think there was some doubt? What makes you say that?’ Dave frowned a little as he looked at her.
