Meteorite Strike by A. G. Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

window. He lifted the bonnet and looked over the engine, nodding slowly.
    â€œIt’ll do,” he said, pulling out the dipstick to check the oil. “Hopefully the engine wasn’t knocked out completely by the pulse. Changing the battery water should do the trick.”
    Barker appeared in the doorway of the house and watched them at the vehicle, his arms folded.
    â€œSee anything you like?” he called, the harsh tone returning to his voice.
    Sarah and Robert looked at one another. Daniel picked up his shoulder bag from the ground and started towards the building.
    â€œBoth of you stay here and don’t move,” he ordered.
    Sarah began to follow him, but he looked round, his face deadly serious.
    â€œFor once, just do as I say,” Daniel said before he turned and joined Barker in the doorway. They exchanged words and disappeared inside.
    â€œWhat’s going to happen?” Robert asked, looking after them.
    â€œWhy don’t you check inside the truck?” Sarah said, trying the handle of the door and finding it unlocked. “See if there’s anything we can use.”
    Robert was only too eager to start searching through the cab of the truck and was quickly engrossed. Sarah took the opportunity to run quickly to the house. She moved around the side to the kitchen window.
    Peeping around the frame she saw Daniel and Barker in conversation at the table. Daniel said something and the other man stood, knocking over one of the chairs. She felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach, convinced that she was about to see something bad, remembering the gun.
    What did happen was quite a surprise.
    Daniel put his shoulder bag on the table and pulled out the silver glasses case she’d seen him fussing over just before the plane crashed. Unclipping a hidden panel on the bottom, he removed a small velvet bag and opened it. A glittering object dropped into his hand and he held it up for Barker to see.
    A diamond.
    Judging by the size of the bag, it wasn’t the only one Daniel was carrying.
    Keeping low, Sarah moved to the door, pressing her ear against the frame to hear anything she could.
    â€œâ€¦enough to buy five more utes,” Daniel was saying. “And your family will need medical help when all this is over. This can buy a lot of help.”
    â€œWhat about those kids?” Barker asked after a moment’s thought. “Are they really yours?”
    â€œThey haven’t been for a long time,” Daniel replied, weighing the velvet bag in his hand. “But they are now. Look, I’ve got a delivery to make and I need that vehicle.”
    â€œWhat am I going to do with a diamond?”
    â€œHere’s the name and number of an associate in Melbourne,” Daniel said, passing a scrap of paper across the table. “Call him when the phone gets fixed. He’ll buy the item, no questions asked. Just don’t take less than $50,000 for it.”
    There was silence, followed by the unmistakeable sound of a set of keys being thrown down on the table.
    â€œTake it and go,” Barker said.
    Sarah hurried back round the house to the truck, trying to reach Robert first. He jumped out of the ute with a question in his eyes as she approached. Sarah raised a finger to her lips to silence him – she had to think. She knew one thing for sure: an engineer didn’t carry around diamonds hidden in his flight bag. That was the kind of thing smugglers did. Was this why Daniel had left all those years ago? Had Mum thrown him out because he was a criminal, and if so, why hadn’t she warned them?
    From behind, Sarah heard the sound of the door opening again and Daniel’s footsteps approaching. He carried Barker’s shotgun in one hand and the set of keys in the other.
    â€œOur carriage awaits,” he said, jingling the keys at them. “Let’s split this joint.”
    â€œCool,” said Robert. “I knew you’d do it! Can I carry