Who the fuck are you?' Twizell said.
All in good time. Do it.'
We did it. He waved one of his companions, who, unlike the others, was wearing gloves, forward. He put his pistol on the ground, knelt and undid the Velcro fasteners and lifted out a block from each of the backpacks. Then he shoved them back in.
Good,' the one who was doing the talking said. The third man, a big guy, handed his gun to the one who'd opened the backpacks, lifted both bags by their straps and walked away. I tracked him as he moved past the Bobcat and the SUV. The Mitsubishi sagged to one side on slashed tyres.
Templeton let his hands drop but he didn't stand up. The spokesman barked an order which Templeton ignored. Don't you get it, Jack? They're the ones who lifted the money in the first place.'
Shit,' Twizell said.
That's not very eloquent,' the leader said, but that's right. That's who we are. You caused us a lot of trouble.'
How did you know Twizell had moved the money?' I said.
The leader laughed and his gun didn't move a fraction. Johnnie here got on the gunja when he was inside and told someone what he should have kept to himself. Just once, but we heard about it.'
Fuck,' Twizell said. How did you track us here?'
We've kept tabs on you from the minute you got out.'
The helicopter,' I said.
Right, and bugs in certain cars,'
Templeton started to rise. Who cares?' He looked challengingly at me, inviting me to make a move, risk casualties, upset the controlled scene. The other man moved quickly; he kicked the back of Templeton's right knee, collapsing him.
Bad idea,' the leader said, but marks for guts.'
He lowered his pistol and shot Hector in the back of the neck, Chinese execution style.
Twizell yelped. Hector twitched twice and lay still. Twizell threw up. I shut my eyes for a split second then turned to look at the shooter. He'd lost interest and shook his head at Templeton and me.
Just him. Old score settled,' he said. You lot keep cool and you'll be all right. Now, my friend with the money's got a rifle with a scope in his hands by now and he can hit your left or right ball at this distance. Stay cool and we're out of here and no one gets hurt.'
I looked down at Hector.
He was nothing,' the leader said.
The two of them put their pistols away and spread out as they backed off to give the guy with the rifle a clear field of fire. Templeton got to his feet. There was a sharp report and a bullet clipped the trees just above where we stood. A motor started. Birds flew up at the noise and then there was silence.
Have to admire that,' Templeton said.
Twizell looked ready to hit him. Admire it? They've got the fucking money.'
Templeton examined Hector's body. It's your fault, getting stoned and blabbing.'
I don't remember it.'
Very stoned.' Templeton walked to the SUV.
What's he doing?'Twizell said. That thing's out of action.'
Templeton rummaged in the glove box of the car and came up with a pair of handcuffs. He strode back, jerked Hector's splayed arms behind his back and cuffed him.
What're you doing?' Twizell yelped.
Templeton looked at me. I was just doing my job, drawing Hector out of hiding. I was all set to hand him and the money over when these three appeared. Right, Hardy?'
I shrugged. Difficult to say.'
You lying bastard,' Twizell said. You were in it for the money. I've got it-you did a deal with those cunts. This was all staged.'
Why would I do that, Jack?'
Twizell was practically hopping from foot to foot in his agitation. You probably knew that they'd heard a whisper and that they'd come after the money one way or another. This way you get a cut and don't have to worry about them.'
What d'you think, Hardy?'
I shrugged. It's a theory.'
That's all it is.'
Templeton smiled but I couldn't tell whether it was the smile of someone who'd got away with something or whether he was just amused. He was a hard man to read at the best of times and this wasn't one of those. He took his mobile from his pocket. Prove it,' he said.
27
Templeton seemed to have his mojo back as an undercover operator, if he'd ever lost it. He worked his mobile, using the codes, delivering punchy messages. Twizell and I sat on the edge of the trailer and watched him.
I wouldn't mind a slug of Hector's vodka,' Twizell said. Reckon he'd let me?'
He wouldn't. He has to control the crime scene.' He'll have to control more than that. He's lying.' Look, I found out a bit about him. He's seen as a bit of a loose cannon by the police but apparently he's done some pretty good work. They'll go along with him on this. They're no worse off in terms of the money and they won't be grieving over Hector.'
No one will. So what're you saying?'
Just that I'm not going to say any more than I have to. If Templeton's version's accepted by the cops I'm not going to contradict it. I'm finished with all this.'
He scratched his beard and checked that he wasn't bleeding from the neck wound. He was quiet for a while, as if reviewing everything that had happened.
Hey, what about the old papers and the professor and that?'
They were in the car with him and Kristie. Gone. Wakefield said it was the stuff he was after but that's all he said. We'll never know.'
Great. I hate to see this bastard get away with everything.'
He hasn't. If he was really after the money then he's lost out. And I think he had genuine feelings for Kristie, so he's lost out there, too.'
Yeah, poor thing; she had no luck. I've still got some problems. I've broken parole by not reporting and-' he waved his hand at the cave opening, doing all this.'
Templeton has to say you were under duress. You'll be all right as long as you stay on the right side of him.'
He nodded. Hate to do it, but.'
Sirens wailed, coming closer. I stood up. He's a risk-taker. He'll get out of this probably, but he'll come to grief sooner or later.'
You believe that?'
I don't believe anything much, but I've seen it happen before.'
Within minutes, the clearing was full of vehicles-police cars marked and unmarked and an ambulance, and people- uniforms, detectives, SOC types. Templeton talked, pointed, demonstrated. Twizell and I were like minor actors in a movie-waiting to play our bit parts.
28
It seemed to work out pretty much as Templeton had orchestrated it. I cooperated to the extent of helping him to recover his gun. Undercover police were given very wide terms of reference and Templeton hadn't done anything too far outside the boundaries. Whether they believed he'd handcuffed Hector before he'd been executed I didn't know, but they had two leading crime figures dead and one up on serious charges and were satisfied.
When Roderick Fitzjames Templeton climbed into a police car and left the clearing outside the cave, that was the last I saw of him. I knew that, if the police bought his story, they'd protect him. They'd try not to use him as a witness against Joseph and, if they had to, they'd disguise him and give him a code name. W3 or some such. And then he'd disappear into the netherworld of undercover work. Or perhaps Jack Twizell's theory was correct, and Templeton would just bide his time until he retired in comfort.
Twizell's parole was withdrawn. He faced charges of associating with criminals and was under investigation for his involvement in the death of Roy Flanagan. DNA analysis had confirmed the identity of the British backpacker. However, the state of his remains prevented any clear conclusion as to how he'd been killed and the investigation lapsed. So did the criminal association charge.
It turned out that he'd had a nest egg tucked away that had financed him into a lease on his SUV and a short-term rental at the serviced apartments. He got the car back, paid the long-term parking fine I'd landed him with, and was soon driving around Newcastle looking for opportunities.
Marisha came to Sydney to talk to her publisher and agent. We met up and spent a day and a night together. Inevitably, we talked a lot about what had happened.
Your friend Jack Twizell tried to tap me for money in return for information about what he called the showdown.'
That sounds right,' I said. What did you say?'
I told him to get lost. He's a spiv, but you can't help liking him a bit. I told him I'd got all the info I needed on that from you, which wasn't quite true.'
How d'you mean?'
You didn't use the bloody tape recorder.'
I laughed. The truth is I forgot about it, but it was no time with all those guns around for putting hands in pockets and fumbling for switches.'
She went back to Newcastle and I took care of business. I got an email from Marisha telling me she'd applied for a job in Sydney and was hopeful. I wasn't sure how things would go if she got it, but there were worse ways to spend time than with Marisha Henderson, author of The Tanners: Crime and family in Newcastle.
I opened a file on the case and called it simply Dunbar'. After a visit to Megan and Ben I walked through St Stephen's cemetery again and looked at the monument, thinking that the wreck had claimed a few more victims.