“What did she do?”
“He wouldn’t say. You could ask him yourself. He was looking to have a bit of lunch, so I pointed him toward the coffeeshop. He may still be there.”
“Thanks,” Brody said, starting off down the street.
Hell, this was all he needed. He was lucky he hadn’t brought Payton to town with him. He’d been concerned about her flying to Brisbane with Teague, but she seemed almost anxious to get off the station and spend time shopping with Gemma. The testosterone-heavy atmosphere on the station did require time away occasionally.
If she was running from something—or someone—then who could say when she’d just up and disappear again? Maybe she planned to use the trip to Brisbane to make her escape. He shook his head. She’d promised to say goodbye before she left. He’d have to take her at her word.
The bell above the door of the coffeeshop jingled as he stepped inside. “Hey there, Shelly!” Brody slid onto one of the stools at the counter and picked up a menu.
Shelly Farris wiped her hands on a towel and strolled over to him. “Brody Quinn. What brings you into town on a weekday?”
Brody set the menu down and watched as she poured him a cup. “I’m picking up a few parts for Callum. I thought I’d check up on you. See if you made any of my favorite meat pies today.”
“We have steak mince, steak and mushroom, and a few of our breakfast pies left.”
“I’ll have a steak mince,” Brody said. “Make them takeaway.” He closed the menu and glanced over his shoulder. There was only one other customer in the place. “Tourist?” he asked, nodding in the man’s direction.
Shelly shook her head. “No. Private investigator. Looking for that girl who stiffed me on the bill last week. The bill you paid. I don’t think you did society any favors there.”
“Why? What did he tell you?”
“Nothing. Only that he’s offering a reward for information. I couldn’t give him more than what I just told you. Do you know where she is?”
Brody shook his head. “No, how would I? I was just doing a good deed.”
Shelly disappeared into the kitchen to get his order while Brody sipped his coffee. If he wanted to know more about Payton Harwell, all he had to do was ask. But by asking, he might create undue suspicion. Still, idle curiosity wasn’t out of the ordinary.
He slipped off the stool and wandered over to the booth where the middle-aged man sat, a half-eaten Lamington on his plate. “Don’t like the dessert?” Brody asked.
The man glanced up from the study of his mobile phone. “What?” He looked at his plate and smiled. “No. It was great. Can I get my check?”
“I don’t work here,” Brody said.
“Oh, sorry.”
When the man made a move to leave, Brody sat down on the opposite side of the booth. “I hear you’re looking for someone.”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” He reached into a leather folder and pulled out a photo, then set it down in front of Brody. “Do you know her?”
Brody nodded. “I do. We were incarcerated together.”
His eyebrow shot up. “I knew she spent some time in the local jail, but I didn’t know you were with her when she was arrested.”
“I wasn’t,” Brody said. “We just happened to be confined at the same time. I paid her fine and settled her accounts. Why are you looking for her?”
“It’s a private matter,” he said. “Do you know where she is?”
“Did she break the law?”
“As I said, it’s a private matter. But there is a reward for information leading to her location, if you know something.”
“I bailed her out and then dropped her on the road out of town. I think she said she was going to make her way down to Sydney,” Brody lied. “I told her she could probably catch a ride on one of the road trains that pass through.”
“Road trains?”
“It’s a semitruck that pulls a string of trailers. They pass through Bilbarra occasionally, hauling feed and building supplies.” He leaned back and stretched his arms out to rest on the edge of the bench. “She could be anywhere by now.”
“Yes, well, thank you,” the man said. “That’s the most I’ve found to go on. She didn’t say anything about where she might be staying or whether she met up with any friends?”
Brody pretended to ponder the question for a moment, then shook his head. “Nope. She just wanted to get out of town.”
The investigator threw a wad of cash onto the table, then held out his hand. “Your lunch is on me,” he said. “Thanks for the information.”
“No worries,” Brody said. “I hope you find her.” He watched as the man walked out the front door then went back to his spot at the counter. When Shelly returned with his meat pies, he pointed to the empty booth. “He’s buying me lunch.”
“Well, there’s a clever boy. What did you tell him?”
Brody scooped up the pies wrapped in paper, and took a big bite out of one of them. “Not much,” he said as he chewed. “But I got a free lunch out of it.” He headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Shelly asked, disappointment tingeing her tone. “I just rang my husband to stop by. Arnie’s got himself mixed up in some silly football scheme with the boys over at the Spotted Dog and he needs advice on his footy picks. He’s been losing twenty dollars a week to those fools.”
“I’m out of the game,” Brody said, pointing to his knee. “I’m trying my best to forget footy.”
“You were one of the best, Brody Quinn,” Shelly called.
As Brody strode down the street, he inhaled the two meat pies. He was tempted to stop by the Spotted Dog for a beer to wash them down, then realized he’d been banished from the place until further notice. Instead, he decided to stop at the local library. A quick Internet search might turn up a few clues on Payton and her past…and maybe even outline her crimes.
The public library was attached to the small school in Bilbarra. Though nearly all of the children who lived on cattle and sheep stations took their classes by computer, those who lived within a short drive of Bilbarra attended a regular school. Some of the advanced classes were still taught online, but there were two teachers that guided the thirty or forty students through their studies, and the town librarian to see to their literary needs.
When he walked into the library, a trio of young boys gathered at a large table. One of the boys recognized him immediately and quickly informed his friends. The librarian, Mrs. Willey, looked up at the commotion, then smiled. “See there,” she said. “Everyone uses the library, even football legends.”
Brody grinned. “She’s right, you know. The library is one of my favorite spots in all the world. Read more books!” He stopped at the counter. “There,” he muttered. “I’ve done my duty as a role model, ma’am. Now, I was wondering if I could use a computer with Internet access.”
“Certainly,” Mrs. Willey said. “Use any one of those three along the wall. But I’ll have you know, accessing adult material is prohibited and will result in the suspension of your privileges.”
He caught her teasing smile and chuckled. “There’ll be none of that,” he said. “I’m here to look up some recipes.”
He sat down and keyed in his favorite search engine then typed Payton’s first and last name. Brody paused before he hit Enter, wondering what he’d find. Maybe it would be something he didn’t