Raptor

By Drew Lindsay

The Daintree Rainforest wilderness in Far North Queensland can be a dangerous place at the best of times. Crocodiles are ferocious hunters and if the crocs don’t get you, something else might. Ben Hood is sent to the Daintree to find a missing girl. He quickly learns that crocodiles are the least of his problems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drew Lindsay
• Release date: Jan 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463433041

Drew Lindsay

Drew Lindsay is a dynamic Australian Novelist and Writer. He has travelled extensively throughout Australia and the world. His background includes working as a Policeman and detective, then managing his own private investigation business as well as working in Fraud Investigation Management positions within the insurance industry.Drew is a PADI Divemaster and holds a private pilot's license. He has a great love of entertaining others with his vivid imagination. His novels allow the reader to escape into worlds of romance, excitement, humour and fast paced adventure. Drew lives in northern New South Wales with his wife.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

If you have ever been fortunate enough to explore an Australian tropical rainforest…you will have been left breathless for a number of reasons. Other than the bird songs from way up in the dark overhead canopy, you will note the silence at the damp ground level. That doesn’t mean there aren’t creatures lurking everywhere within a rainforest. There are millions of them…most you will never see and often never hear as you approach because they simply blend in. Chameleons of every shape size and colour. They blend into the rainforest because blending keeps them safe from predators and also allows them to hunt their own prey.

The sun can’t penetrate through the thick overhead canopy of a rainforest. Shards of light occasionally get through but only for a few seconds. In the Australian Daintree rainforest in Far North Queensland you may think you can hear a cat calling. It’s just a cat bird. Why they make a sound like a cat is pretty much beyond comprehension. Big green frogs bring on a deep throated orchestra of ear piercing sound as soon as rain begins to fall…especially during the mating season. Snakes slither through the broken trees and undergrowth. Mice and rats run for shelter. Kangaroos and wallabies watch from higher ground. Cassowary birds lurk in dark corners of the rainforest…continually on the lookout for wild dogs. These birds have talons that can do severe damage to a predator but wild dogs can be fearless and very persistent. Foraging pigs are of little concern…unless you happen to corner one of them. Then of course there are lots of crocodiles. They pose a more interesting and very deadly challenge in and around the rivers that run through any rainforest in Far North Queensland. Once a croc gets hold of you…it’s likely that you are going to be his or her dinner. These guys just don’t let go. Their jaw bite is stronger than any other creature on the planet. They drag you underwater…drown you and then push your body under a mud ledge... their larder, where you will be stored for a feed…by and by.

Emilie Agdal ignored the leaches which sucked blood from her legs. She also ignored the mosquitoes which swarmed around her…each fighting for a landing spot on her tender white skin in order to suck her blood. Tears ran from her bright blue eyes. Her long blond hair was mattered with sweat and mud. She crouched down underneath a huge moss covered log…a rainforest tree which had been struck by lightning many years ago and crashed down onto the rainforest floor only to be slowly reclaimed by a hungry environment. She shivered although it was hot and humid. She listened for footsteps. If they found her, there was no way she could defend herself. Running and hiding was her only way to stay alive. She was a long way from her comfortable home in Denmark. She had no idea where her mother was. Probably hiding like she had been forced to do. These men were after her mother as a priority but if they could catch her…the daughter, they would have a degree of bargaining power. Emilie couldn’t allow that to happen. She wanted to slap the mosquitoes away from her skin and pull off the fattened leaches but she was afraid to make any movement or sound. If they found her it was likely they would kill her…eventually. The leaches and mosquitoes wouldn’t kill her…not in the short term anyway. Then again, the crocodiles might. Crocs were always on the lookout for food in the Daintree rainforest. Oddly enough, Emilie wasn’t all that concerned about the crocodiles either. Two very dangerous Syrian men were looking for her and her mother. Their intentions were not honourable. These men took heads off anyone who opposed them, especially males, and they were well practiced in the art of decapitation. To them, cutting off the head of an enemy opposed to ISIS brought them one step closer to heaven. Emilie’s mother, Sabine Agdal had caused them and their Australian connected associates, considerable pain both politically and practically. She had done this during an intense and well publicised verbal attack on the Danish government relating to a stealthy Syrian ISIS invasion of Denmark, assisted by a delusional and misguided government who felt it necessary to throw open their doors to Syrian refugees with little or no screening of who they were actually allowing into their country.

Emilie’s mother had been stirred into action when she discovered the bashed and raped body of a young Danish girl who she knew well, lying at her doorway. The 16 year old girl was barely alive. Young ISIS Muslim men had cornered her on the way home from school. They told her that she was being defiled and beaten because of her open display of Danish beauty. They told her that was not the Muslim way for women to behave. Emilie and her mother were forced to flee to Australia and to a safe environment…so they thought.

It would be night soon. Emilie was hungry and very frightened. She was quite lost in the jungle and didn’t know what to do next…other than to hide.

****

CHAPTER TWO

‘Good morning Ben.’

‘Good morning Hunter,’ Ben replied as he stepped out of his British made Aston Martin roadster.

‘Did you wash your car?’

‘No,’ said Ben as he walked up and put his arms around her. ‘It rained on the way down from Windsor.’

‘It hasn’t rained in Sydney for just about forever,’ said Hunter, snuggling into his chest.

‘You smell good,’ said Ben.

‘I put it on especially for you. It’s supposed to drive men wild.’

Ben pushed her back gently. ‘You’re a crazy person…do you know that?’

‘Yes…I know.’

‘How old are you?’ asked Ben.

‘You tell me.’

‘Nineteen.’

Hunter laughed. ‘I’m seventeen in a week and I’m going to have a ring put through my belly button.’

‘No you’re not.’

‘Rose said she would think about it.’

‘Well I’ve thought about it and you’re not having a ring put through your belly button. Next you’ll want one through your nose.’

‘It’s all the rage!’ Hunter exclaimed. ‘All the girls are doing it.’

‘You are not like all the girls,’ Ben replied. ‘They are just like sheep. One moves to the left and they all move left. One jumps over a pile of shit and they all jump over the pile of shit.’

‘That’s not entirely true you know,’ said Hunter.

‘Why am I here?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Hunter as she flicked back strands of hair from her face. ‘You were invited for breakfast by Rodney and Rose.’

‘You know everything. You know why I’m here.’

‘No I don’t.’

‘I’m not going to do it,’ said Ben. ‘Let me make that perfectly clear.’

‘You sound like one of those lame brained politicians. Their minders tell them to say stuff like that.’

Ben looked into her eyes. ‘Where’s Rae?’

‘She sleeps in. She always sleeps in.’

‘Why don’t you sleep in?’

‘I have a very active metabolism.’

‘You’re full of crap,’ said Ben as he walked to the front door.

‘You’re not supposed to talk to a young lady such as myself in that manner. Rose would not approve.’

‘Rose won’t know.’

‘She will if I tell her,’ said Hunter.

Ben stopped and turned. Hunter moved close to him. She looked up into his face. ‘I’ve become a very emotionally motivated young woman in the last year or so. I’ve also got quite large breasts.’

‘I noticed,’ said Ben. ‘Like I said…you’re also full of crap.’

‘Well if I’m not allowed to experiment on you…who else will I pick on?’

‘I don’t know! I’m not your father or your lover. You figure it out.’

‘You are a man who promised to take care of me,’ said Hunter. ‘I’ve been through a lot of stuff you know…don’t you?’

‘I know,’ said Ben. ‘I’ve always taken care of you, just like Rae when I found her in the bush…hiding from whackos.’

‘When you found Rae, she was just about ready to neck herself. I think you know that.’

‘Yes.’

‘And my mother abandoned me, but you were there to pick up the pieces.’

‘It wasn’t all that much of a big deal,’ said Ben. ‘Anyone in my situation at the time would have helped you.’

‘No they wouldn’t have.’

Ben didn’t reply.

‘You helped me,’ said Hunter.

‘Talk to Rose. She’s good with advice.’

‘I want you to help me figure it out. I trust you Ben. I always have.’

‘I can’t help you with stuff that you have to sort out by yourself,’ said Ben. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about anyway.’

‘Yes you do. You know how women feel,’ said Hunter. ‘You are a chick magnet.’

‘That is crap,’ said Ben firmly.

‘And may I ask what you pair are doing out here on my doorstep?’ asked Rose as she swung the front door open. ‘Is this a secret meeting or can anyone become involved?’

‘I’m after male advice,’ said Hunter. ‘I’m picking his brains.’

Rose took hold of Ben’s arm. ‘Now you come inside and take no notice of her. She’s been acting strangely in the last few months.’

‘I have not!’ Hunter exclaimed.

‘She might need to see someone,’ said Ben.

‘What do you mean by that?’ Hunter asked…her voice rather loud.

‘Come inside Ben,’ said Rose. ‘Breakfast is almost ready. Rodney has something exciting to share with you.’

‘I’m feeling sick,’ Ben replied.

Rose led him into the hallway. Hunter followed, closing the door behind her. ‘It’s not something that you can’t handle,’ said Rose.

‘I think Ben might need to see someone,’ said Hunter. ‘He’s not perhaps up to it anymore.’

‘Ignore her darling,’ said Rose. ‘She’s not been herself lately.’

‘I may have to spank her,’ said Ben with a laugh.

‘Oh yes please!’ said Hunter.

‘Don’t encourage her!’ said Rose. ‘I’ll deal with her later.’

‘Valium?’ asked Ben.

‘Dishwashing,’ said Rose sternly.

‘It’s not my turn,’ said Hunter. ‘It’s Rae’s turn.’

‘She’s not well,’ said Rose.

‘Like hell,’ Hunter replied. ‘There’s nothing wrong with Rae.’

‘Do your best not to upset Ben darling,’ said Rose. ‘He and Rodney have some important things to discuss.’

‘I’m not going,’ said Ben.

Rose looked up at him. ‘Where are you not going darling?’

‘Anywhere!’

‘He’ll go,’ said Hunter. ‘Once he knows what’s going on…he’ll go.’

Ben stopped walking. He looked down at Hunter. ‘How come you know stuff about Rodney’s assignments that are strictly private?’

‘He knew that he would have a problem with you accepting this job so he asked me to have a quick look at the facts and see if I could persuade you to go.’

‘The only bit of advice you’ve handed down to date is that the client is well stacked. Correct me if I’m wrong?’ said Ben.

‘She’s Danish,’ said Hunter. ‘She’s just your type and she’s a woman in distress. She’s also not the client but the client knows her very well.’

‘I see,’ said Ben. ‘The well stacked Danish woman is in distress but she’s not the client. Someone else is the client.’

‘Yes,’ said Hunter.

‘Is it a he or a she?’

‘A she,’ said Hunter.

‘Is our client well stacked?’

‘I have no idea,’ said Hunter. ‘She didn’t include a photo of herself…only the Danish woman. I have a feeling that they are both well stacked because they are both Danish but the client is older.’

Ben turned to Rose. ‘Are you listening to this?’

‘Yes dear, now off you go to the sunroom while Hunter and I attend to breakfast.’

‘You may wish to send that coward husband of yours out to speak with me rather than allow a teenage girl to do his dirty work,’ said Ben as he walked towards the sunroom.

‘I’m grilling some sausages for breakfast,’ Rose called out after him. ‘How many would you like?’

‘Six,’ said Ben. ‘Three fried eggs and three pieces of toast and lots of tomato sauce and perhaps some oyster sauce…and pepper.’

‘See...’ said Rose as she pushed Hunter with her hand. ‘There’s nothing wrong with him.’

‘He’s only going to eat like that because he’s nervous,’ Hunter whispered.

‘He’s not nervous darling,’ said Rose.

‘Yes he is. He knows that he’ll have to take the job and that has made him nervous.’

‘We’ll see. Come and help me in the kitchen.’

‘It’s a very large rainforest Mrs. Agdal. Extremely large. Over one thousand two hundred kilometres in area and the largest rainforest in Australia.’

‘So where is my daughter?’

‘We’ll find her. We have a helicopter up and foot patrols out from the north as well as the south,’ said Senior Constable Robert Madden from the Cooktown Police Station. ‘We are searching everywhere but you have to remember Mrs. Agdal…this is a huge jungle. It’s almost like looking for a needle in a haystack.’

‘Ms.’

‘Pardon me?’

‘I’m not married.’

‘I’m terribly sorry.’

‘Why are you sorry Constable Madden?’

‘Senior Constable…’

‘Yes…I’m sorry,’ said Sabine Agdal. ‘Senior Constable.’ She crossed her long legs and sat back in the plastic chair. ‘I understand that the Daintree is a very large rainforest. What the hell do you think you are going to find with a damn helicopter? She’s down in the jungle. All a helicopter is going to see is the top of rainforest trees for God’s sake!’

‘Please calm down Mrs. Agdal.’

‘Yes…I should calm down…shouldn’t I?’

‘You have indicated that your daughter…Emilie is 16 years of age, turning 17 next month and would not just run off like this. There have been no domestic issues…as you say?’

‘Not between us,’ said Sabine. We were both threatened by Syrian idiots in Denmark. That is why I brought Emilie here. I have work here.’

‘Yes,’ said Madden. ‘You are a deep diver so I’m told.’

‘I am a marine biologist. I deep dive to study marine specimens threatened with extinction.’

‘And your daughter is schooled at home?’

‘Yes.’

‘You have a house in the rainforest near Noah Beach?’

‘Yes. My research boat is moored in a nearby bay.’

‘You report a recent clash between you and a local businessman in Cooktown?’

‘Yes,’ said Sabine. ‘Richard Maloney, who you know, tried to entice my daughter into one of his sex dens a few months ago. I reported the incident to police but nothing whatsoever was done.’

‘I understand Mr. Maloney was interviewed about your allegations and he denied them. Your daughter was also interviewed by police and refused to say anything. Case closed.’

‘How convenient,’ said Sabine through gritted teeth.

‘Surely you don’t think Mr. Maloney is involved in the disappearance of your daughter Ms. Agdal?’

‘He wanted her and she turned him down. His surname might be Maloney but he’s an Arab. He’s got an Arabic name buried somewhere. Arabic men don’t like to be turned down.’

‘He’s a respected businessman in this area,’ said Senior Constable Madden.’

‘He runs a sex toy business for God’s sake!’

‘He supports most of the local charities and is a member of the local council. He is also a major contributor involving the construction of a Muslim temple of worship in this area.’

‘We need that like a hole in the head!’

‘We must be tolerant of other religions Ms. Agdal.’

‘Why? They aren’t tolerant of other religions.’

‘That’s not true,’ said Madden, folding his arms across his chest.

‘And you would know I suppose,’ said Sabine…a bitter edge to her voice. ‘He’s operating a sex shop in Port Douglas and another one in Cooktown. He’s an evil man.’

‘There is no law against running a sex toy importing business Ms. Agdal.’

Sabine leaned forward in her chair. She brushed strands of blond hair from her face and looked directly into Senior Constable Madden’s brown eyes. ‘Other than the involvement of Mr. Richard Maloney or whatever his real name is…there is no other logical explanation for the disappearance of my daughter!’

‘I’ve taken what you have said on board,’ said Madden.

‘Maloney is an Arab and he employs Arab men. Have you spoken to his employees?’

‘Not yet,’ said Madden.

Sabine stood. ‘Perhaps I’ll just send an email to the local newspaper in Cairns. They might be interested in what is happening with the disappearance of my daughter and the possible involvement of Richard Maloney.’

‘That would be unwise,’ said Madden firmly.

‘I am also in the process of authorising the hire of a private investigator,’ said Sabine. ‘A good friend of mine is arranging for the services of a man who gets the job done.’

‘May I ask the name of your private investigator?’

‘Ben Hood. He’s from…’

‘I know where he’s from,’ said Madden. ‘He would not be welcome here. His methods of investigation are not acceptable to Australian police generally.’

‘All the more reason I want him here,’ said Sabine. She turned, opened the interview room door and slammed it behind her as she left.

Emilie heard them coming. They were jabbering in a foreign language…a rough guttural talk…loud and course. She had learned long ago that some foreigners, especially Indians, Arabs and Lebanese seemed to be born with the annoying habit of speaking loudly. She concluded that this was because they all wanted to talk at once so they all begin to shout in order to be heard over their companions. Whatever the case, their approach gave Emilie sufficient time to climb a large tree, festooned with huge elephant like leaves. She crouched against the huge solid tree trunk where two branches forked outwards. She knew those approaching were not rescuers. She had heard these men speaking before in their guttural tones. She knew who they were. Rescuers would speak English and