HELL'S HALF ACRE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 2), JACKIE ELLIOTT [best ereader for graphic novels .TXT] 📗

Harry was aware of another uncomfortable feeling. He was worried about Andi. He cared for her more than he wanted to admit. He’d felt tension between Vega and Andi and wondered what that meant. But if that man cared for her, why would he send her into the bush while there was a killer running loose? Then again, he thought, it would do no good trying to tell that woman what she should do. Maybe Andi was more suited to Coffin Cove than he thought.

Harry pulled his wandering thoughts back to the task at hand. He glanced down and caught Clara’s eye. He beckoned her to come up to the wheelhouse. He climbed up the steps and PC Matt Beaufort followed her. He was not a sailor, Harry could see. Telltale beads of sweat were forming on his top lip. Harry reached into a small compartment near the wheel and tossed Matt a small container.

“Take two of those,” he said. “I get seasick too sometimes.” He didn’t, but why make the boy feel worse?

He watched Matt gulp down two pills quickly.

“Thanks, Harry.”

“Not too far now,” Harry said to Clara. “That’s Sharps Point over there.” He pointed to the dark shape of a rock formation coming up in front of them.

“Round the other side,” Clara said. “If the tunnel’s still open . . .” She left the sentence unfinished. If Art were to use this old smugglers’ route as an escape, they’d see some kind of boat moored. Otherwise, the trip was a waste of time, and they’d have to hope one of Vega’s teams had better luck.

Just then, Matt Beaufort’s radio crackled into life. Harry couldn’t hear much over the drone of the engine, so just watched as Matt held the radio to his ear.

* * *

Jade tried to open her eyes. She was disorientated. She thought she heard voices, but perhaps they were only echoes or dreams. She thought she heard Summer calling her.

“Mom,” she murmured and tried to move, but stomach pain followed by intense nausea stopped her.

In her confusion, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Time to go,” a voice said.

“Where?” she asked. “Where am I going?”

“To meet your father,” the voice said, and someone pulled Jade to her feet.

* * *

Charlie Rollins was panting. Andi could see he was struggling. They were beating a path through heavy undergrowth. Clara had directed them to an abandoned mineshaft a kilometre west of Hell’s Half Acre. Years ago, a vast concrete tipple had unloaded coal into rail cars for transport to the dock in Coffin Cove. Now, the stone skeleton was crumbled and overgrown, but the shaft and the tunnel still remained.

“Arthur knows these tunnels,” Clara had said. “This one is easy to get to, if you know where to look.”

There were several openings where it would be possible for Art to have got into the underground tunnels with Jade, she’d explained. But the tipple opening would be the easiest.

“The tunnel takes a fork a short way from the tipple. Arthur knows which way to go to get to Sharp’s Point. The other way leads east of Hell’s Half Acre.”

Vega had made the decision. One party led by Charlie Rollins would search around the tipple, and another, led by Vega, would search the tunnel from the east end.

“I hope we’re right about Art using the tunnels,” Vega had said grimly. To be sure Whilley wasn’t just lying low, waiting for them all to be tramping around in the undergrowth, Sergeant Fowler had set up a road block to catch him if he left by vehicle, and a group of determined-looking fishermen were patrolling the government dock.

“It’s the best we can do,” Vega had muttered. Andi had wanted to give him a reassuring hug, but instead she strode over to Charlie Rollins and held out her hand.

Charlie had looked at her for a moment, and then, to her relief, had shaken Andi’s hand.

They’d been hiking for a while.

It was a challenging walk for a fit person. Andi was feeling the strain in her leg. But for Charlie, overweight and desk-bound for years, it looked like torture. Sweat was glistening on his brow, and Andi could see damp patches forming around the collar of his shirt.

Andi offered him water. Charlie grunted and refused. He stopped to take off his Kevlar vest.

“Is that wise?” Andi was nervous. Charlie was the only one authorized to engage with Whilley if necessary. Vega had been adamant about that. It didn’t seem a good idea for the only police officer in this group to be exposed if they ran into the madman on the loose in the woods.

“I know what I’m doin’,” Charlie snapped at her. He was clearly still holding on to the remnants of a grudge. There was nothing she could do, except hope for the best. They didn’t have time for a debate. Andi shut her mouth.

The small group pushed on, crunching through the bushes, as the sun peered through the trees.

When they’d started, it had been dawn. Now, two hours later, Andi was feeling the warmth.

She stopped to peel off a layer of clothing.

Charlie called out “Stop!” and held out his hand. He was a short distance ahead, and the group of searchers gathered around him. Andi tied her sweater around her waist.

“It’s here,” Charlie called out. “I can see the tipple. The shaft must be around here somewhere.”

The group dispersed and Andi jogged over to help. Charlie pointed to his left.

“Try that way.”

Andi kept her eyes to the ground, careful to step only on solid ground. She heard Charlie calling out to the group to be careful. The last thing they needed, she thought, was for someone to fall down the shaft.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching,