The slammed door of the patrol car cut her off, but she kept going, mouthing angry words through the rear window, pointing at Ferreira, her face red with rage.
Damien went with less resistance, head down, trudging between the two officers and let himself be put in the back of the other vehicle.
Nobody spoke up for them, Ferreira noted with interest. Most of the group didn’t even look in their direction as they were led away. It was a subtle but encouraging sign, she thought. If their own comrades were uncertain about them, then maybe she was on the right track.
‘Sergeant Ferreira, could I speak to you, please?’ Ruby Garrick stood at the edge of the group, toying with a long beaded necklace.
‘Of course.’
They crossed the road and got into Ferreira’s car, watched all the time by the few protestors now left on the verge.
‘Are you sure you’re happy to do this in front of them?’ Ferreira asked.
‘We all know what the Paggetts are,’ Ruby said, her disapproval clear. ‘Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose your allies.’
A lorry went past them, moving too fast for the uneven rural road, its slipstream shaking the car. Ruby shuddered but Ferreira thought she would have done it anyway, her unease rising from something completely different.
‘Do you really think they killed Josh?’
‘We’ve uncovered some inconsistencies in their stories,’ Ferreira told her. ‘Innocent people don’t usually lie to the police.’
‘Unless they’re scared of you,’ Ruby said.
‘Did they seem afraid?’
Ruby looked away into a recently cut field where a flock of crows were picking about in the stubble.
In her rear-view mirror Ferreira saw a figure emerge from the guard hut at Long Fleet’s main gate, checking the credentials of the driver of a silver Lexus before letting it in. The guard came out once again, stood looking out across the road at the protestors.
Would this arrest be reported to the governor, she wondered. She couldn’t believe they were as hands-off with the protest as they appeared to be. Suspected some degree of monitoring would be in place. For security if nothing else.
‘I wasn’t sure if I should say anything,’ Ruby began, smoothing her hand across the thigh of her cargo pants. ‘But if they are involved, then I think I owe it to Josh to do everything I can to help you.’
‘What do you want to tell me, Ms Garrick?’
‘There has been a lot of talk among our group over the last couple of days about what happened to Josh.’
‘It’s only natural for people to speculate,’ Ferreira said gently. ‘A murder is a big thing to process.’
‘It is.’ She blinked slowly, shook her head.
The grief was still thick around her, an almost tangible thing, and Ferreira resisted the urge to press her.
‘I thought we were better than this,’ Ruby said. ‘We are supposed to be decent people. But the way some … elements in our group have talked about Josh’s death has been very disappointing.’ She bit her lip. ‘God, that’s an understatement. I’m trying to be nice and they don’t deserve my consideration. They’ve been vile, Sergeant Ferreira. I’m beginning to wonder about the kind of people I’m associating with.’ She twisted in the seat, facing Ferreira full on. ‘We talk so much about decency and morality and the right way to do things, and I always believed that we were good people.’
‘All groups attract a less than perfect element.’
‘They’re revelling in Josh’s death,’ she said in a strangled voice. ‘Not just the Paggetts. We’re a group of around two hundred people and half of them think Josh’s death is a good thing for our cause. They don’t feel any sympathy for him or his family. They’ve called him collateral damage.’
The smell of harvest dust from the nearby field and Ruby’s citrus perfume were making Ferreira’s nose prickle. She turned on the air conditioning.
‘I need to see these conversations,’ she said, as softly as she could, not wanting to spook Ruby.
‘I’ve taken screenshots for you.’
She wasn’t expecting that. Was primed for a negotiation, had her most compelling arguments lined up and ready to go.
But, as helpful as it was, she realised it wasn’t enough.
‘Screenshots are really useful,’ she said. ‘But I need to see everything.’
Ruby Garrick shook her head. ‘Absolutely not, that would be a gross breach of the trust that the group has placed in me.’ She took her mobile out. ‘I have the screenshots here, I’m prepared to give you them. Why isn’t that enough?’
‘Because I need to see how those conversations develop,’ Ferreira told her.
‘I can keep you updated,’ Ruby said.
Ferreira took a breath, seeing the agitation in Ruby’s eyes, the sense of some great moral battle taking place behind them.
‘Time is of the essence here, okay. Now we’ve taken the Paggetts in, we’re going to see a reaction to that, and I need to be able to view it developing in real time.’ Ferreira held her gaze, needing Ruby Garrick to understand how vital this was. ‘Now, I can get a warrant for your devices, but that will take me awhile. And during that delay somebody might write something or – more likely – delete something that could prove vital in catching Josh’s killer.’
‘But I thought the Paggetts killed Josh,’ Ruby said. ‘Aren’t you sure?’
‘I think you know what the Paggetts are.’ Ferreira curled one hand around the steering wheel. ‘They’ve been saying some worrying things, haven’t they?’
‘They’re all bluster.’ She waved her hand dismissively but her face told a different story.
‘All big talk?’
‘Exactly.’
‘About kidnapping a member of the Long Fleet staff?’
Ruby gasped, pressed her fingertips to her mouth. ‘If I knew about that I would have told you when you came to my home.’
Her eyes were full of tears.
‘You’re the only person who cared enough about Josh to help me,’ Ferreira said. ‘And I’m sorry I have to ask you to compromise your principles. I truly am. But sometimes we have to make these sacrifices for the people we care about.’
‘Poor boy,’
