Ben stretched and then stood. He looked through his bedroom window at the sky. The sun, a streak in the sky. It was going to be another clear day. He chuckled and looked back at his bed. Yesterday had been a fine day too, his whole week had been fine and not just by weather standards.

Chastity Stoller's bare nipple peeked out from under the covers. Yep. No matter what the weather had been like, the sun had shone for Benjamin Stone.

He called into the service station to fill the police truck. He nodded at the driver of the vehicle at the next bowser. "How's it going, Rubin? Wet getting you down?"

"Fuckin' wet. Don't talk to me about the fuckin' wet. That bitch of a wife of mine won't stop harpin' at me to fix the fuckin' down pipe. If she keeps at it, you might find you'll have a murder on your hands."

Ben laughed, lifted the nozzle from the tank and put it back on the bowser. "Sounds to me, if you fixed the bloody thing, she'd stop complaining."

"Nah..." Rubin waved his hand in the air. "She'll just find something else to complain about. Anyway. I reckon the wet season is coming to an end."

Ben jerked his head and grinned. He headed into the office. "Hey, Eddy. Just want to sign for the diesel."

"Yeah, sure." Eddy Russell grabbed the log book from under the counter and flipped it open. "Did you have a word to the jerk that keeps tearing up my front lawn?"

"Last night. I told him I'd take his license if he kept doing it." Ben signed the entry and laid the pen on the counter. "Hey. I've got some pictures I'd like you to look at." He got out his notebook and unfolded the printouts. "Have you seen any of these men before?"

Eddy studied the photos. "Nope. I can't say I have. Are they brothers?"

Before Ben could answer a skinny pimple-faced teenager popped his head around the corner.

"Dad! Can you give me fifty bucks?"

"Fifty bucks! What the hell, Kurt? Do you think money comes from a koala's nuts or something?"

The kid stepped in behind the counter. "You owe me from last week's shift."

"Paydays Tuesday."

"I need it. Wanna take Lucy to the fete." The photos distracted Kurt. He picked up two and then the third. "Are they brothers?" He shook one and added, "Has this guy done something wrong?"

Ben raised his eyebrows. "Have you seen him before?"

"Yeah... a couple of times."

"Which one are you talking about?" Eddy grabbed the pictures from Kurt's hand and laid them back on the counter.

"That one." Kurt jabbed his finger at one of the printouts and then looked closer. "Yeah. I'm sure it was that one."

"You're sure he's been here?" Eddy gave his son a sceptical look.

"Yeah, Dad. Didn't I say that?" Kurt shrugged and held out his palms. "Now are you going to give me that fifty or what?"

"When did you see him, Kurt?" Ben opened his notebook.

"Ah... first time woulda been around New Year when the titty girls came to The High Pub. He asked me about it." Kurt grinned. "That's when me and Lucy got it together." He nudged his head at the photo. "I'm pretty sure it was him. He's been in a couple of other times since but; I haven't seen him in a while."

"Do you know his name or where he lives?"

"Nah... just took his money. He only talked to me that one time, askin' about the titty girls."

"You know. I have seen him." Eddy picked up the photo, squinted at it, studied the others and then flapped the image Kurt had pointed out. "But he looks a bit different from this. Longer hair or something."

He handed the picture to Ben and added, "He wanted to pay for Fin Hamilton's fuel one day. She wouldn't let him. I told him he'd never get the money back if he did."

"Thanks." Ben put the printouts in his folder and tapped the counter. "You've been a big help." He got in the truck and though it was early he headed to Snakes Bar with one thing on his mind.

He pushed the back door open and stepped inside. The place was empty. The smell of  beer and cigarette smoke stung his nostrils. "You here, Snake!" he called.

"What?" Snake lifted his head from behind the bar, a lit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "What can I do you for?" He stubbed out the cigarette and grinned. "Never have been able to give these bastards up. Bad habit I know."

Ben pulled the pictures from his notebook and placed them on the servery. "Have you seen any of these men before?"

Snake's brow crinkled as he laughed. "Ah... yeah. That one's Cody." He tapped one of the photos and studied the others. "Hang on. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that one's Cody Compton. I don't know the others." Snake lifted each photo to get a better look. "He looks a bit different than this photo but I'm sure it's him. You know the guy who's living out at Old Mac's. The one Findlay thinks has something to do with Fin's disappearance." Snake stopped talking and stared wide-eyed at Ben. "He's never said he had brothers. Why've you got a photo of them?"

"Thanks, Snake. That's all I need to know." Ben put the pictures away.

"What's he done? You gonna tell me?"

"Not sure yet. They're all missing persons, but now ones not missing, thanks to you." Ben grinned. "Cheers, Snake."

"Fuck. If he's missing, he wants to be missing." Snake screwed up his face. "The bastard will tear my head off once he knows it was me who opened my big mouth. Shit, you won't tell him, will you?"

Ben laughed some more. "How can I tell him when I can't get out to him?" He raised his hand and headed to the police station.

"What can I say, Roy? I'm the best bloody cop you'll ever have work under you."

Roy smirked and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his fingers along the pencil he was holding. "So... you've solved Valerie Marlinton's stolen push bike issue, have you?"

"Better!" Ben slammed a photo on the desk. "I've found one of our missing men."

"What?" Roy tipped forward. "You're kidding me!"

Ben chuckled, poured himself a coffee, and then sat on his chair. "Cody Compton sure does have something to do with Pavardy's case."

"Well, I'll be fucked. Who recognised him?"

"Ed Russell and his son remembered seeing him. He'd offered to pay for Fin Hamilton's petrol. Snake was the one who said he was Cody Compton." Ben took a mouthful of his coffee. "I'm going out to Findlay's then I'm gonna try and get out to Old Mac's. You want to come?"

"I wouldn't let you go out there alone, Ben." Roy stood, pulled his police cap on and buckled his gun belt.

Ben jerked his head in respect, took a mouthful of his drink, and set the cup back on his desk. He unlocked the gun cabinet, pulled out the Ruger and slotted two bullets in the barrel. "Let's go and find us a missing person, Sarg." 

I'm going to leave you with that until next week. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and that I have led you into the unknown successfully.  

Thank you again for coming on this journey with Fin and Cody. ♥♥ 

Any guesses who Cody really is?
Beau, Baum or Coby.☺

Copyright © 2025 by Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Characters and incidents are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.