Read Online Down Among the Dead Men (Entangled Ignite) by Claire Baxter - Free Book Online

then she felt silly.
    “Um, thank you.” She cleared her throat. “But don’t we need to find out whether he was ratting? How are we going to do that if we can’t ask questions? We can’t go all over the opal fields looking at other people’s claims.”
    “No, and I doubt that it would do us any good if we could. We’ll have to come at it from another angle. Wally went off with some guy—what was his name?”
    “Chet.”
    “Maybe someone knows him or saw him around the place, either before or after Wally disappeared. A stranger stands out at this time of year when the fields are depopulated. If we’d been looking for him in winter, we’d have had a harder task.” He glanced across at her. “It will be best for me to ask about him. It would sound odd coming from you. It’s hardly the kind of thing you’d need to know for the book you’re supposed to be writing.”
    “You’re right. But if I can’t ask questions, what can I do?” She didn’t want to leave all the work to him, and she’d been kind of hoping that they’d do whatever had to be done, together.
    “You can watch the people who come to the station. Any man who’s not local is of interest to us. See if Max thinks there’s anything familiar about him. If you can find out where he’s heading, or any other detail, it could help.”
    She nodded, thinking of Steve, the tourist. Perhaps she should have accepted that invitation for a drink. Then again, he seemed an unlikely partner for Wally.
    …
    Later, she stood in front of the small shaving mirror in the bathroom, trying to put her cleaned lenses back in. Impossible. Her eyes were so tender she couldn’t open them fully. She sighed and put on her glasses instead. She hadn’t worn them in public since the day she’d got the lenses, and that was years ago. She would have preferred not to wear them now, but she had no choice and it was bloody lucky she’d brought them with her.
    Her ultra-short, chic hairstyle had begun to grow out. She would have had it cut the week before if she’d been in the city. Already, bits of hair stuck out here and there, foreshadowing the inevitable frizz. Her hair grew fast, and if she was going to be here for a few weeks it would end up a terrible mess if she couldn’t get it taken care of.
    With her glasses on she could see that as a result of the storm, red dust had seeped through the window frames and settled everywhere in the house. So much for the thorough cleaning she’d given the place earlier.
    A car churned up the gravel of the forecourt and with a last grimace at her reflection, she headed outside. Steve had parked his car at the edge of the block and was talking to Max, who gestured toward her.
    “Hello,” she said as she joined them. “Did you find a room at the pub?”
    “Sure did,” he said. “All the comforts of home—if you’re used to living in a box and using a coin-operated shower.”
    “Sounds perfect,” she said with a chuckle. “What can we do for you? Do you have a car problem?”
    He glanced back at the dark blue Mazda. “No, it’s going well. In fact, it’s loved the run out of town nearly as much as me.” He smiled. “What about a drink at the pub tonight?”
    That’s what he was here for? She glanced at Max. “No, I can’t. Sorry.”
    Max shrugged. “Don’t stay in on my account,” she said. “I’m babysitting tonight, anyway.”
    “In that case, I guess I could.” If Max was going to be out, she might as well have a drink with him. It would give her a chance to discover whether he was involved with Wally, which still seemed unlikely, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility. She nodded. “Thanks, I’ll meet you there at seven.”
    …
    Housework had occupied much of her afternoon, so she was ready for a night out by the time she parked the Valiant outside the pub. Steve met her at the door and once inside, he bought the drinks while she claimed a table.
    He did a double-take as he sat down and passed