Chapters (58)
- COVER PAGE
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- DEDICATION
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Fifty-two
- Fifty-three
- Acknowledgements
Finally, Ryder looked at Flowers, his eyes narrowing. ‘What about you, Daisy? Are you going to ditch me again?’
Flowers smirked at having been relegated to last. ‘Not a chance, Sarge, I’ll be there.’
Forty-nine
Flowers’ life in this moment could not have been sweeter. Off duty, and with Sterling in the passenger seat, he felt like a teenager entrusted with his father’s car on his first date. The future was looking pretty damn good right now, and he was happy to let it all unfold in its own good time.
Time. Flowers looked at the dashboard clock, trying to remember what time the Brumby Cafe and Gallery closed.
‘I’m going to call Cate Buchanan,’ he said, glancing at Sterling. ‘I wouldn’t mind stopping in at the shop.’
‘Sure, I don’t mind.’
Cate answered after the third ring. ‘Hello, Brumby Cafe and Gallery.’
‘Hi, Cate. Detective Flowers.’
‘Hello. I hope you’re not traipsing around in the back country again.’
‘Unfortunately, I’m not out there today,’ he said, gazing at the white-topped mountains in the distance, and a shimmering Lake Jindabyne in the foreground. ‘It looks like the perfect day for it though.’ He glanced at Sterling and smiled. ‘I was wondering what time you close?’
‘We have already but we’re all still here. Are you after coffee?’
‘No, I wanted to pick up a few of those John Gilbert prints, the ones you have in the box. I don’t think I’ll be able to get in tomorrow.’
‘Oh, all right. We’ll be here for a while. Just knock on the door and we’ll open up.’
‘That’s lucky,’ he said to Sterling after hanging up. ‘I was thinking of taking one over tonight and giving it to Sarge—get on his good side again.’
She frowned. ‘What did you do?’
‘Nothing really. He’s invited me over for dinner a few times, but I’ve been too busy with the game training. I couldn’t afford to lose hours over dinner. I think he knew I was making excuses.’
‘He’s a detective, of course he knew,’ Sterling said with a laugh. ‘And it’s out of character. Your first priority is always your stomach.’
‘Aw, c’mon, not always.’
Ten minutes later, Cate was letting them in the door, and Flowers was introducing her to Sterling.
‘Come and say hello to Wendy and Lewis,’ Cate said. ‘They’re down the back.’
Wendy and Lewis were sitting at a table in the cafe, an open bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket.
‘Are these premises licensed to sell alcohol?’ Flowers asked in a mock serious voice.
They all laughed.
He introduced Sterling to Wendy and Lewis. ‘Nerida is another member of the Homicide Squad.’