Outback Blaze (21 page)

That was one thing about having no contact with his family – he hadn't had to worry about them being concerned about what had happened to him.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, he focused on Ruby. She'd said she was an only child, which meant her parents were her closest kin. Maybe someone had framed them to hurt her. His mind ticked over with possibilities and he decided to take a look over the arson investigators' report. He scanned through notes and transcripts, his finger halting over a particular line in Ruby's interview.

Bingo. The blood surged through his veins as it did whenever he got a lead in a case. He started with the internet. Although not a hundred per cent reliable, it often gave him a little background information. Information about Jonas Vanderbrek – he hailed from a wealthy and well-known horse family who bred quality racehorses. Scrolling down the Vanderbrek Stud website, even he recognised the names of some international champions. They boasted connections to a number of winning Melbourne Cup horses, but there was nothing at all incriminating about the man.

Only when he entered Jonas's name into the Incident Management System did some interesting information come to front. Drew's fingers clenched over the keyboard.
The bastard
. How the hell did he manage to keep that out of the newspapers? And more to the point, why hadn't the arson investigators followed this lead?

The moment Mike returned with some crap burgers from the garage, Drew demanded the keys to the patrol car.

‘Where are you going?' Mike asked.

‘Just to make some enquiries.' Drew was purposefully vague.

‘Do you need me to come?'

He shook his head. ‘Not this time. Back soon.'

‘See ya then.' Mike leaned back in his swivel chair, kicked his legs up on his desk – O'Leary was barricaded in his office, no doubt playing more computer games – and peeled off the wrapper on his burger. It amazed Drew that O'Leary and Mike had even noticed a building had burned down among them. He reckoned someone could set up a drug lab in the front garden of the station and those two would be none the wiser.

‘Wow, you've come on in leaps and bounds since you started.' Ruby tried to inject enthusiasm into her voice as her youngest horse-riding student, Macy O'Neil, climbed down from Riley. The glow coming off the little girl's face could rival the midsummer sun. Ruby was immensely proud of Macy's progress and recognised much of her young self in the girl, but right now, she found it hard to focus.

‘Thanks. I brought him an apple for a treat. Can I give it to him now?' Standing on tippy-toes, Macy rubbed Riley up and down his neck and he made a noise like a loud contented cat.

‘Sure.' Ruby smiled and watched as the young girl ran over to the fence where she'd left her small bag. ‘You've got her wrapped around your hoofs, haven't you, darling,' she said to Riley as she took her turn giving the beautiful beast affection. He bent his head and nuzzled her neck. She half-closed her eyes as she relished in the warmth of his gentle touch and the scent of horse that had always enveloped her in a safe and happy feeling. Today, she needed that more than anything, but even as Riley nudged at her shoulder, insisting she kept stroking him, a safe and happy place seemed out of reach.

‘Here you go, Mr Riley.' Macy always called him that and Ruby thought it sweet she'd given him her own special name. She bounced up and down as he took the apple from her tiny hand, careful not to hurt her, and then munched it loudly.

Roxie made a loud neigh of complaint from the other side of the fence. Stifling a laugh, Ruby called to her, ‘I'll get you something special soon.'

As if to show her disgust at being left out of the little party, Roxie tossed her head the other way and trotted down the fence line away from them.

‘Mum says I can get my own horse soon,' Macy said. ‘And I want one that looks exactly like Mr Riley. I'm going to call him Mr Riley Junior and they're going to be BFFs.'

‘That sounds great.'

Ruby listened to Macy natter away about her horse ownership plans, inconspicuously glancing at her watch every now and then, wondering where the girl's mum was. It was unlike Mrs O'Neil's daughter-in-law Tilley to be late to collect her. Normally Ruby wouldn't mind but today she wanted to go inside and check on her parents. They hadn't said much about their interviews with Drew and Mike but she could tell the experience had shaken them.

After making another ‘wow' noise in what she hoped was the right place, Ruby looked over her shoulder to the driveway. A car had pulled up all right, but it was not one she wanted to see. Her whole body stilled as Drew climbed out of the patrol car.

What was he doing here? Posed to charge towards him and demand his intentions before he went anywhere near the house, she frowned when he started towards Roxie instead. She'd never seen a horse skip before but that's exactly what the damn traitorous mare did as she made her way to greet him. The little hussy didn't stop there. She leaned right over the fence and nudged his shoulder demanding affection. And he gave it to her. Although Ruby couldn't hear him, it looked as if Drew chuckled as he lifted his hand to run it down Roxie's nose. He leant closer and said something, she imagined sweet-nothings that would only encourage Roxie's ridiculous flirting.

‘What's he doing here?' Macy's question startled Ruby. She'd almost forgotten her student was still here.

Swallowing, because she'd been thinking about Drew touching her face in the way he'd touched Roxie, she said, ‘I don't know. Maybe he just likes horses as much as you do.'

‘Not possible,' Macy replied, then, ‘oh look, there's my mum.'

Sure enough, Tilley's top of the range Landcruiser had pulled up behind the police car. Waving at Drew, Tilley rushed over to the fence near Ruby and Macy.

‘So sorry, I'm late. Got caught chatting in the supermarket.'

‘It's fine.' Ruby waved a hand as she encouraged Macy away from Riley.

Once the two of them had climbed over the fence, Tilley leaned close and whispered, ‘Are you okay, Ruby?'

Ruby rolled her lips together. ‘Sure, why wouldn't I be?' Even as she said it, she saw it for the ridiculous question it was, but the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Tilley O'Neil about her woes. She barely knew the woman and didn't want Drew to overhear either.

‘It's all round town.' Tilley shot a glance at Drew. ‘How the police arrested your parents. Personally I'm not one to listen to gossip…'

‘They didn't arrest my parents.'

‘Really?' Tilley's mouth formed a perfect ‘O' and she looked disheartened by this news. Ruby imagined the whole of Bunyip Bay was speculating about whether her parents were guilty or not but she didn't want to get into a debate over it with Tilley. A small town wouldn't be a small town if there wasn't some scandal or other to discuss and it appeared people weren't fussy about what. For the first time, Ruby felt less than proud of the community.

‘Macy did great today,' she said, ignoring Tilley's prying gaze. ‘A few more lessons and I'll be obsolete.'

‘What's obsolete mean?' Macy asked, tugging at her mum's blazer.

‘Never mind,' Tilley said, clearly disappointed that Ruby had moved the conversation on. ‘We'd better be going or your brothers will start eating the house. Say thank you to Ruby.'

‘Thank you, Ruby.' Macy's smile filled her face and then she looked past to where Riley was munching grass in the paddock. ‘Goodbye Mr Riley.'

Ruby waited until the Landcruiser was clear out of sight, before taking a deep breath and walking over to where Drew was still sweet-talking her horse. Neither of them looked up as she approached. Roxie was clearly distracted but she got the feeling Drew took his time on purpose.

‘Hmm hmm,' she cleared her throat, shivering as Drew's fingers caressed Roxie's mane. ‘Sorry to break up the love-fest but what the hell are you doing here?'

Drew's hand dropped to his side and he turned to look at her. The expression on his face said her tone and words surprised him. She smiled – she might appear quiet and shy but when it came to sticking up for her family, she could get her claws out if she needed to.

‘Well?' she asked when he still didn't say anything.

Roxie leaned over the fence and nudged him but this time he didn't turn around. Ruby swallowed the smug smile she wanted to give the horse.

‘How are your parents?' he asked with a nod towards the house.

‘How do you think they are?'

‘I was only doing my job this morning, Ruby.'

She folded her arms and tossed him a look that told him exactly what she thought of his job.

‘If your parents are innocent, Ruby, and you should know I think that's the case, then they are quite safe from the law.'

His next words totally threw her off balance. ‘Did you say
you
think my parents are
innocent
?'

He nodded, a lock of his gorgeous dark hair falling over his right eye. Lifting a hand, he pushed it back off his face. ‘And I tend to trust my gut instinct.'

Joy reared in her heart. ‘And your gut feeling will stand up in a court of law?'

‘No, it won't.' He paused a moment. ‘But I don't see that it'll get that far. Aside from motivation, there isn't any firm evidence to link your parents to the fire. However, to make absolutely certain they are safe, we need to find the real culprit.'

‘We?'

He smiled. ‘Well, me and the esteemed West Australian Constabulary but I would like to ask you a few questions.'

‘Am I the key suspect now?' She swallowed even though she had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

‘No.' He shook his head. ‘Is there some place we can talk comfortably?'

She followed his gaze to the house but immediately discarded it as an option. Whatever he wanted to ask her, she didn't want her parents under any more stress. ‘What about sitting in your car?'

He nodded and as they made their way over to the vehicle, Roxie made a racket, trying to attract his attention again. ‘She's quite the horse,' he told Ruby as he opened the passenger door for her.

After closing her door, Drew trekked round to the driver's side. When he slid in beside her, she realised her mistake. Her nose twitched at the overwhelmingly sexy scent of his aftershave. Ruby couldn't put her finger on the smell but that didn't stop her body's reaction. They were in a tiny, confined space and she was all too aware of his large hands and muscular legs only centimetres away. Even when he put the key in the ignition and pressed a button to roll down the windows and she gasped in the cool air, she still couldn't get the image of the other time they were in a car out of her head.

Not good when she needed to keep it all together. ‘Right, what do you need to ask me?' she said, taking control of the conversation and hopefully her hormones along with it.

He cleared his throat. ‘You mentioned an ex-fiancé to the arson investigators?

Ruby had been tense since the moment Drew arrived but at his question, he saw the anxiety ramp up a notch. Her already pale skin lost all semblance of colour and her shoulders shot upwards and froze. The ‘yes' she uttered was barely audible.

‘Why did you do that?' he asked.

She rubbed her lips together as if contemplating her answer. He could see the pulse ticking in her neck. ‘They asked why I returned to Bunyip Bay and I told them it was down to a relationship break-up. After that they asked if I thought my ex might have anything to do with the fire.'

When she hesitated, he prompted. ‘And you said…'

He'd read the file and already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from her, watch her expression for any nuances.

‘I said I didn't think it was likely.' She scratched the spot just below her ear. ‘I still don't.'

‘He physically assaulted you, badly enough to put you in hospital and you don't think he's capable of angry revenge?'

She gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at him. ‘You know about that?'

‘I only know about his convictions, not any of the circumstances surrounding it.' When she didn't say anything, he added, ‘Do you want to tell me?'

‘Not really,' she glanced out the window, jammed her hands into her armpits and hugged herself. ‘I've been trying to move on, forget about it.'

‘Fair enough.' It was probably a good thing because just knowing that her ex had assaulted her so badly made his blood boil. If she described the exact horrors he'd put her through, Drew would want to find the man and exact his own form of revenge. Not a good idea when he was trying to stay under the radar.

Looking at Ruby, he couldn't understand how she could do anything that would enrage a man enough to lift a finger to her. Then again, he could never envisage a scenario where such actions were justifiable no matter who the woman. Men who could abuse the women they was supposed to love and protect were often not much more than pathetic cowards, choosing easy targets to make themselves feel powerful, but occasionally they were also psychos. And more often than not, their type didn't like to let go.

The latter two could be a dangerous cocktail.

‘I don't need to know details but what makes you so certain Jonas wouldn't do something like this?'

Her eyebrows squeezed together so they almost met over her nose. She took a deep breath but her voice shook with each word. ‘The Vanderbreks are very important in the racing industry. For over a hundred years they've been breeding racehorses. They're not far off horse royalty in Australia and when Jonas knocked me out and I ended up in hospital they were terrified at the possible scandal. His parents begged me to drop the charges but I wouldn't.'

‘Good girl.'

‘However,' she took another long breath, ‘I did enter a deal with them to stop the story escaping to the media. The Vanderbreks paid big bucks to the major media outlets not to print the details of my hospitalisation or Jonas's arrest. They offered me two horses to tell all journalists who approached me that we'd simply grown apart, that our separation was a mutual decision. No one cared about that angle and the story died. They basically swept the whole horrid thing under the carpet.'