Novels 02 Red Dust Read Online Free PDF Page A

the contract?'
    'I sincerely doubt it, but you never know.'
    'Have you heard the rumours about stock stealing?'
    Ned looked over at Ben with an annoyed expression on his face. 'Yes I have, Ben,' he replied in a clipped tone. 'But no one has reported anything to the cops and I can tell you that no one from Billbinya would be involved. No one around this area has reported missing stock – it's all been over the west side of town – so just leave it, will you?'
    Ben stared silently out the window at the passing country, but his vision was full of Gemma's pretty face.

Chapter 5

    After driving around the whole of Billbinya and consulting Ned's counts, Gemma was sure that all the stock on the property had been counted. Heading home, she called Bulla on the two-way and organised to meet him and Garry at the homestead for a beer after work. She wanted to pick their brains.
    She was in the office when they pulled up in one of the station's old utes. 'How goes it, guys?' she asked, walking out to greet them.
    'Goes well,' Bulla replied. 'We got that mob of a thousand ewes and shifted them closer to the yards for Millsy and his crew to lamb mark next Monday.'
    'Great. Want a beer?'
    'Thanks,' they said in unison.
    She led them to the kitchen and got them a beer each from the fridge, pouring a rum and Coke for herself. They sat down at the table and Gemma looked at the two men seriously.
    'So what do you reckon the deal is with these stock numbers? They've got me buggered,' she said.
    Garry and Bulla had worked for Adam's family for many years before he'd taken over the farm from his parents. When Adam and Gemma had married, she'd earned their respect and loyalty by working as hard as they did and taking pride in her work. Neither had had any hesitation in staying on with Gemma as boss after Adam had died; they knew she'd be as good a boss as Adam had been, if not better.
    'Well, Gem,' said Bulla, 'I'm blowed if I know what's going on. Sinny used to know what was going on with every mob, sheep or cattle, but I reckon for the last eight or nine months before the accident he spent so much time going off in that plane of his, that maybe he lost track of what was going on.'
    'Did either of you know about a contract for three hundred steers to go to the feedlotters at the end of October?'
    Bulla and Garry looked at each other, puzzled, and each took another swig of beer without realising they were mirror ing each other's actions. Gemma laughed to herself. They were so similar, but she guessed they had lived and worked together for so long that it was bound to happen.
    'I dunno nothing about any contract for the feedlotters,' said Garry. 'Don't remember him ever signing a forward supply contract. Do you, Bull?'
    'Nah, don't reckon I do.'
    'Really?' said Gemma, surprised. 'Ned said today that he'd done it for the last three years.'
    'No way,' said Bulla strongly. 'Not while we've been here, and definitely not in the last three years. We'd remember 'cos we would've had to get them in, and Sinny would've taken us out to look at them in the feedlot. Ya know how he liked to follow the stock all the way through to the abattoirs. Ned must have it wrong.'
    Gemma looked thoughtful. 'Yeah, that's a good point. He always took you guys or me with him to look at the stock. Don't know why I didn't think of that.' She took a sip of her rum and Coke. 'Do you think he was doing something with Dad?'
    'Nah, mate,' Bulla replied without hesitation. 'Don't reckon that would be a goer. No offence to ya old man, but it's not like Sinny and Jake were good mates.'
    Gemma nodded. Adam hadn't always seen eye to eye with her dad, but that was okay; she didn't see eye to eye with his folks at times either. Mostly they got along well, although Gemma sometimes felt that his parents hadn't really under stood Adam and the pressures that they placed on him.
    Gemma finally smiled and said, 'Well, I reckon we're organised for a while. The stock and little bit of crop that we