Page 63 of Whispers of Sweetwater

She nodded, kneeling down beside him. ‘There was a board here,’ she murmured, placing her palm flat against the floorboards near the right leg of the desk. ‘One that never stained quite right. I thought it was just water damage. But …’ She ran her hand over the plank again, brow furrowing. Her fingers tapped along the edges until …

Thock.

A dull, hollow sound.

Hayden leant closer, adrenaline kicking in. ‘What is it?’

Molly didn’t answer. She pulled the small brass key from her pocket and fitted it into a nearly invisible seam in the wood. With a soft click, the board popped up at one end. Inside was a narrow, cloth-wrapped bundle. Hayden helped her lift it out carefully, unwrapping the faded linen until the contents were exposed. There was a black flash drive, several worn Polaroids of Jack, Trev, Joe and two others he didn’t immediately recognise, and a hand-drawn map of Sweetwater. Circles marked the café, the mechanic shop and a point near the edge of the cane fields.

And there was one more thing.

A slip of paper, yellowed with age, Jack’s handwriting scrawled across it:

If you’re seeing this, it means they’re still watching. But now you know where to look.

Hayden picked up the Polaroids, squinting at the faded edges. One clearly showed Jack with Trev and Joe, all smiling, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, a half-crushed beer carton at their feet. The second photo caught his breath. It was Craig Dunlop, no uniform in sight yet, much younger, but unmistakably him, standing beside Len Dawson, the two men caught mid-conversation near what looked like the back shed of the mechanic’s shop. Ray could just be made out in the background, tinkering beneath a bonnet. As for Craig and Len, their body language was tense. Hostile rather than friendly. The third Polaroid was different. It showed a ute, rusted, sun-faded, parked under a tree Hayden couldn’t quite place. But in the background, barely visible behind the open driver’s-side door, was a figure standing near the tree line. Watching. The shape was vague, distorted by distance and light, but something about the posture seemed almost feminine. There was a suggestion of long hair, a tilt of the hip that didn’t look masculine.

Hayden squinted. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, Molly, but I reckon this could be a woman,’ he murmured.

Molly pressed her glasses into her nose. ‘I don’t know. Could be. Jack caught it for a reason, and whatever it is, whoever it is, he wanted us to see it.’

Hayden stared, the hairs on the back of his neck lifting. ‘We need to go through this flash drive,’ he murmured, handing the photos to Molly. Then he raised his voice a little. ‘Bri?’

No answer.

‘Brianna?’ he called again, stepping out towards the hallway.

A loud thud echoed from above, followed by the creak of the attic door swinging open.

‘Up here!’ she shouted, appearing at the top of the fold-down ladder. ‘Coming.’ She descended, then brushed cobwebs from her hair and shirt, her cheeks pink from the heat. ‘What’d I miss?’ she asked, spotting the cloth bundle now spread across the desk.

Sherlock padded in behind her, giving a satisfied snuffle as he made a beeline for Hayden and nudged his hand with his nose. Hayden absently scratched behind the dog’s ear, earning a low, approving woof.

‘We found it,’ Molly said, voice fragile and full of disbelief. ‘It was under the floorboard.’

Brianna leant closer as Hayden held up the flash drive, her eyes wide with disbelief. Her voice lifted, breathless with a mix of awe and adrenaline. ‘Oh my god.’ She turned towards Molly, her expression lit with a kind of stunned excitement. ‘This could change everything.’

‘I’m guessing it will, yes,’ Molly replied.

‘Well then, let’s see what’s on it.’ Brianna was already moving to grab her laptop from the kitchen bench.

The three of them gathered around as she plugged it in, the screen lighting the room with a cold blue glow. Then the file directory blinked to life. Just one folder. It was labelled Insurance. Brianna clicked it open and inside were dozens of files, some video, some audio, while others were documents.

Hayden leant in as she scrolled. ‘These are dated,’ he said, pointing. ‘Looks like some go back five, six … damn, seven years.’

Molly’s breath hitched. ‘That one,’ she said, tapping the touchpad. ‘Play that one.’

It was a video. Grainy. From a hidden camera or phone. They watched in stunned silence as the mechanic’s shop appeared onscreen. There was Jack pacing in front of a ute, while Len and Craig stood nearby. Their voices were muffled at first, then clearer.

Len. ‘You owe us again, Jack. We don’t forgive twice.’

Jack. ‘I’ve paid you, twice over. I’m out, whether you like it or not.’

Craig. ‘Jack, I’d think really carefully about that, because out isn’t an option. Not for you.’

Jack’s voice was ragged as he responded. ‘You’re both neck deep in this, so are the others. And all because of her. You think no one’s watching? You think this all stays buried?’

The screen fizzled and cut off.