4.
His final destination couldn’t have been described as anything more than a run-down shack that sat beside a larger run-down shack. A rickety picket fence surrounded the dwellings on three sides, the left side remaining open, sharing its space with a field devoid of livestock. There were, however, several piles of rubbish dotted around the yard and paddock, one old rusted-out car, a small tractor with rotting tyres and what may have been a chicken pen sometime in the previous century. The buildings weren’t in any better shape, the larger having two of its four windows boarded shut, cracked glass visible in one uncovered corner. Neither building had seen a taste of paint in like four hundred years and the roof of the smaller building had scraps of tin nailed to it in little spits and spats. It would seem that Clancy Higgins lived in squalor. Steph parked the FX a couple of hundred yards from the house, saw a dirt track that led up past the paddock and decided to investigate where it ended. To our relief, the track ended in a bunch of trees that flanked the northside of the paddock, sitting atop a slight hill. From here, we had our second perfect vantage point of the day, both buildings visible, including clear uninterrupted views of the front and rear of the buildings.
Steph tapped my shoulder and pointed to something sitting on the far side of the paddock, almost hidden from view by a tree and large clumps of grass. It was a sheet of roofing tin, roughly 7 to 8 feet by about 4 to 6 feet. I looked at her, thinking the same thing she was. I made it my intention to investigate it once darkness fell. I checked my watch, saw it was a little before 11 and groaned. It was going to be a long day.
Steph grabbed a coke and popped the top, handed it to me then grabbed the other. I took a long gulp, burped into my hand, then set the bottle on the floor. Steph took an even longer swallow, belched like a frontline soldier and giggled when I looked at her wide-eyed.
“OK, puts mine to shame. Just warn me if you plan to cock your leg, yeah?” I said, making her giggle harder. I grabbed the box of nuts and threw some into my mouth. Steph followed suit then grabbed the binoculars, scanning the buildings for signs of life. She didn’t see any and put them back in their case.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked her after a while. The only sounds out here were a couple of magpies sitting in the trees above us, and an occasional cow, bellowing in a paddock down the road.
“Sure.”
“The car. It’s a pretty sweet ride for someone so young.”
“It belonged to my uncle before he died. He never married and had no children so it came to me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. The guy was an arse.” That was what I really liked about this girl, she said it how it was, no glitter, no bullshit, just plain and simple.
5.
The afternoon slipped by with nothing noteworthy. After a lunch of salami and mustard sandwiches and a generous helping of sponge cake, Steph drifted into a nap while I stayed on duty. Around 3, we swapped, sleep taking me much easier than I anticipated. I don’t recall dreaming, but do recall almost jumping out of my skin when Steph began shaking me. It was pitch black outside and it took me a moment to realise where we were.
“Jim,” she said, close to my ear. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to focus on what she was pointing at. I could make out a blurry mix of lights, but due to sleep stuck in my eyes, I couldn’t focus on the individual lights that were shining out there. I rubbed my eyes a second time and when I took another look, made out three separate sets of lights. One set was the large house, one was the smaller house. For a moment I couldn’t work out what the third set was. I looked at her, questioningly.
“It’s a car,” she whispered back.
“Do we know who?” I asked.
“I think we do. It’s a German make,” she said.
“Levinson?” I asked, sitting bolt upright. My head hit the roof, making a loud thump inside the car. Steph opened her door and quietly climbed out. Even though the house was several hundred yards away, noise had a funny way of travelling, especially at night. A sound could easily travel for miles, as was evident by the barking dog we could hear, somewhere out of sight. I climbed out of the car and walked toward a tree, leaning behind it and peering around its trunk. There was no moon, so the darkness worked in our favour, the cloud cover even shielding us from the starlight. From this distance, all we could make out were the distant lights, shadows occasionally walking in front of them. We had no idea how many people, or who the people were for that matter. We suddenly heard some muffled yelling coming from the house, a crash sounding like a door slam, then two distinct car doors being slammed shut. I looked back at Steph who was standing just behind me. The car started up and began to reverse.
“What do we do?” I asked, panicking.
“Have to split up. You stay here, I’ll follow Levinson,” she said, turning to run back to the car.
“Steph,” I whispered after her, “be careful.” I watched as she started the car, then slowly began driving back down the
