‘It’s okay, it’s me,’ he said as he cut the engine and climbed out. He hung up, locked the car and crunched over the gravel to the front door. An automated security light snapped on above his head, just as the front door swung open and Sarah burst out from behind it and across the driveway.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ she demanded. ‘I was worried sick!’
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, and squeezed her arm. ‘Come on, let’s get inside.’
She shrugged, nodded and followed him. ‘Sorry – I’ve just been so worried.’
Dan closed the door behind him. ‘Well, Harry’s got us onto something,’ he smiled. ‘Let’s open a bottle of wine and I’ll show you what we’ve been up to.’
Sarah held the page up to the light, the lettering silhouetted in front of her. ‘Do you think D.E.C. is a person?’ she asked.
‘Or a month,’ suggested Dan. ‘No idea. But that’s definitely the dialling code for Brisbane and the beginning of a phone number. So we need to find something which connects those letters to Brisbane.’
Sarah leaned across the kitchen table and pulled her laptop towards her. ‘Luckily I had this in my car, not at home,’ she said. She tapped her fingers on the surface of the table as she waited for the computer to complete its start-up routine.
As soon as it was ready, she clicked onto a search engine. ‘Might as well start with the obvious,’ she said, and typed in D.E.C., Brisbane. Then hit the search key.
Nothing happened for a few seconds. It felt like an age. A list of potential combinations then appeared on the screen. Sarah’s eyes scanned down the list, her fingers hovering over the computer mouse.
Dan stirred the pasta and added seasoning to the sauce, reached up and pulled two wine glasses out of a cupboard. He had just set them down on the worktop when he heard an exclamation from Sarah.
‘I don’t believe it.’
He heard the sound of the mouse as Sarah clicked frantically through internet pages and turned to see what she was doing. ‘What have you got?’
She looked up, smiled, then turned the laptop so the screen faced his way. It displayed the home page for Delaney Energy Corporation.
‘Bingo,’ she said.
Dan turned around, put the red wine back on the rack and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of champagne and held it up to Sarah.
‘I think we’ve earned it today,’ he grinned.
Chapter 14
FEBRUARY 2012
Brisbane, Australia
Dan followed Sarah away from the baggage carousel and headed towards the customs queue. Twenty minutes later, they stepped out of the cool airport into what seemed like a hot shower – the humidity was intense.
As they climbed into a taxi, Dan gave the driver their destination, sat back and felt his shirt sticking to him. Once the car started moving, the air blew through the open windows, carrying the scent of the eucalyptus trees along Kingsford Smith Drive.
Dan pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes as the taxi edged through the traffic heading into the city. To his left, the river wound its way past restaurants, ferry terminals and offices as it headed out to the bay, while cruise ships docked at the Hamilton terminal, spitting out their passengers before sending them on to the boutiques of the Queen Street Mall via ferries and taxis.
Sarah sat next to him, turning her head in all directions, trying to take in everything she saw. As they progressed along the river, she realised it twisted and turned, so she soon lost her sense of direction as they headed into the city.
Half an hour later, the taxi pulled up to the hotel. Dan climbed out, picked up their bags and paid the driver. Walking towards the entrance, his clothes quickly began to stick to his skin – the humidity would take some getting used to after the cold British winter.
They stood in the cool reception area, filling out forms. Once checked in, Sarah handed him her room key.
‘If you dump our bags, I’ll go and grab us a coffee,’ she said.
Dan nodded and, taking the keys, took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor. He waited until the elevator ground to a halt. He walked along the hallway until he found Sarah’s room, put her bag inside the door, then continued to the next room. Opening the door, he put the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the handle and dropped his bag on the floor. He bent down to pick up the complimentary copy of the Courier Mail and sat on the bed to read it.
As he swung his legs up, he saw an article on the front page promoting Delaney’s latest project. Although Delaney had offices near Eagle Street Pier, he didn’t appear to spend a lot of time in town and seemed to be treated as a minor celebrity when he did choose to arrive.
Dan threw the newspaper onto the small coffee table and turned at the sound of a knock on the door. He strode across the room and yanked the door open.
Sarah stood in the hallway, two Styrofoam cups of takeaway coffee in her hands. ‘Come on. No rest for the wicked. Here,’ she said, thrusting one of the cups at Dan. ‘Might as well brainstorm to fight off the jetlag.’
She brushed past him. Dan closed the door and followed Sarah into the room, sipping his coffee. He winced. It was still hot.
Sarah stood at the window, happily drinking her coffee, taking in the view. She turned and gestured at a large skyscraper towering over its neighbours. ‘That’s Delaney’s place,’ she said.
Dan wandered over to join her and peered through the glass. ‘How do you know?’
‘I got talking to someone in the coffee shop downstairs. Told them I was killing time before a job interview at Delaney Energy Corporation and they pointed it out to me. Friendly place this.’ She turned and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘I was thinking on the way back here – we need to find out more about Delaney. From a local perspective I mean. Find out if he has any business problems – you know, investment troubles or something. Maybe that will help shed some light on what Peter thought he was up to.’