Wingnut

'Thanks mate,' Robbie said, tucking the money into his pocket without counting it.

Jason wasn't surprised the man trusted him. There were clients who Jason knew would always pay him the full amount, and others who had repeatedly tried to stiff him. Some people were just jerks.

'How's business going for you?' Robbie asked curiously.

Jason jumped on the opening.

'Not too bad, at the moment,' he replied. 'Winter gets hard. Last year I went two weeks with barely a single full day's work. How do you find it all?'

'So-so,' Robbie replied cautiously.

'It's probably easier for me,' Jason reflected. 'I don't have any direct competition in the immediate area. I also do a lot of cylinder mowing. Not everyone can put a stripe or checkerboard pattern into a residential lawn. Takes a lot of fucking around to get the pattern set. Probably a quarter of my takings come from doing that, but it's also the most profitable work I do, once you take into consideration equipment and running costs.'

'I do some work for a builder that's like that,' Robbie agreed. 'It doesn't seem like I make a huge amount, but it doesn't cost me much to do it, so the profit margin is good.'

Wingnut poured them each a glass of water and handed one to Robbie.

'If you don't mind me asking, mate, why did you set up business in the same town as your old boss?' Jason inquired. 'That can't be helping your causes.'

Robbie took the water and averted his gaze.

'I, uh, probably didn't think that one through too well,' he admitted.

Jason nodded his head in the direction of the hallway light.

'You know what you're doing,' he remarked. 'The light fitting was a good choice, and your prices don't scare me. Why not pick up and move somewhere else?'

'I guess it's because if I'm here, I'm guaranteed at least some work,' Robbie said. 'I do a bit in Toowoomba, and I'll travel as far out as Dalby. I'm hoping things will pick up in the next year. If I move to Brisbane, I'll start with nothing, and no contacts. That's not fair, is it? Expecting someone else to pick up the... expecting housemates to hold off on wanting their share of the rent,' he finished awkwardly.

He'd said too much and he knew it. Given away a secret, hadn't he? Wingnut sipped his water and stared at Robbie, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Jason was willing to bet there was a girlfriend on the scene, one who lived in Brisbane, and whose relationship with Robbie was clandestine for one reason or another. Why else would Robbie assume that 'somewhere else' meant 'Brisbane', rather than Ipswich or Logan, or somewhere further out in the Darling Downs? And why else would he be conscious of not 'bludging' rather than 'pissing off a housemate by not paying his bills'?

'You know anyone in Brisbane?' Jason asked congenially, pretending he hadn't picked up on what Robbie had accidentally told him.

Robbie shook his head.

'No,' he lied.

'Then I guess that's not an option, anyway,' Jason replied smoothly. 'I suppose if things get tough, you can always get work out here as an employee though, right? For one of the power or mining companies?'

'I wish,' Robbie replied with a forced laugh. He gulped down his water. He was in a hurry to leave before he had the chance to reveal any more secrets. 'Tim won't give me a reference. That's why when I quit I had to borrow the money off my folks to start up my own show.'

Robbie put the empty cup on the kitchen table.

'I'll be off,' he said. 'Call me if you need anything else done. No job is too big or small.'

'No worries, mate,' Jason agreed.

Jason waited until he heard Robbie leave, then went to have a second look at he new light fitting and switch. The work was faultless, and there wasn't a skerrick of mess to show that anything had been disturbed. Robert might be financially struggling, but it wasn't because he was a lousy tradesman.

Jason paced around the house, repeating the conversation he'd had with Robbie over and over. He was now quite confident Robbie had a girlfriend based in the state's capital. The man's whole demeanour had changed when he'd realised he'd been too loose of tongue.

Why would a girlfriend be a secret? Was she an ex-partner of daughter of Tim Riordan, Robbie's old employer? Jason picked up his phone, searched and found Tim's Facebook page. According to the social media account, Tim was still married to his first wife, with whom he had two sons. No daughters.

Perhaps Robbie was in bed with one of the sons, or a completely unrelated man. Now that would be a bombshell, wouldn't it? Tim Riordan 'liked' a highly conservative politician, one whose homophobia was well known. What if that was the reason Robbie had left the man's employ, and now enjoyed a secret relationship with an unknown person based in Brisbane, was because he was gay? Times were thankfully changing, but Jason had noticed a suspicious lack of homosexual couples and workmates in the area compared to what he'd seen in Brisbane. It was obviously hard for some of these country kids, particularly the boys, to come out.

Jason searched the pages of Tim Riordan's two sons. Both were reportedly in relationships with women and both were based in the Darling Downs. The women might well have been a front, a 'beard' to use an old school term, but whoever Robbie's lover was, they weren't local to this area, so Jason immediately discounted the possibility the electrician was screwing one of his old employer's sons.

Jason sighed with frustration. On step closer, one step further back. Every new fact he uncovered could lead to a multitude of new possibilities and, of course, there was the issue that he still couldn't identify Shelley.

He thought he might waste a bit of time on his own Facebook page, and read some of the rank, designed-to-appeal-to-men memes that some of his mates posted. It only took him a minute or two to see he was still logged in as Menglei Zhang. He took the brief opportunity to check on Kim, political analyst and hobby farmer, and saw that she was in Canberra, the capital city of the nation's capital, the aptly named Australian Capital Territory. Parliament was in session and blah, blah, blah... God, it was boring. Jason logged out of Menglei's account, and into his own, where he was greeted with the news that he'd been tagged in a meme about men who enjoyed being pegged by their wives.

Much better. He just needed a couple of hours to relax, unwind, and stop stressing about solving the mystery. For all he knew, Jock might turn up alive and well the following day.

~~~~~~~~~~

For the third time in ten days, Jason was at Kyle O'Sullivan's new farm remedying the weed situation. Jason found something intensely satisfying about starting with heavily infested land and ended up with a pockmarked, heavily sprayed, but otherwise much 'cleaner' landscape. It was preparing for a new beginning. Righting a wrong.

Kyle's farmhand was less enthused. On the first day he'd been irritable, on the second he'd whinged incessantly, and by the third he was doing as little as humanly possible. Jason was mentally debating digging a deep hole and burying the man in it, so he could only imagine how Kyle, who was footing the bill for this exercise, felt about the farmhand claiming he needed to go to the bathroom and disappearing for the better part of an hour while still on the clock.

By early afternoon Jason could sense an argument brewing between farmer and farmhand, so decided he'd try and take the farmhand and Kyle's minds off the land clearing by talking about something innocuous. Namely, Robbie.

He started the conversation by mentioning that he'd had the electrician around last night to install a hallway light.

'You should've done the right thing and called Tim,' the farmhand said.

'Oh well, I thought I'd give the young bloke a go,' Wingnut replied congenially. 'He did a good job.'

The farmhand snorted. 'He's trying to run Tim out of town.'

'You reckon? From what I heard, it's the other way around,' Jason said. 'Kinda curious, though, why Robbie decided to go out on his own. Was there an argument between the two?'

'Everyone's asked Tim that, but he says Robbie was just being an ungrateful little shit about wages, and thought he could stick one up Tim by going into competition,' the farmhand replied.

'Others would argue that Tim is a substandard tradesman whose business grew on the back of Robbie's work,' Kyle interjected drily. He turned to Jason. 'Robbie started his apprenticeship under another bloke, one who was based a bit further out west. Unfortunately, his old employer passed away – natural causes, he was in his late sixties and his number just came up one night – when Robbie had six months left of his apprenticeship. Tim Riordan was the only person willing to take Robbie on.'

'Then Robbie went and bit the hand that fed him,' the farmhand grumbled.

'Or maybe Robbie got tired of working for someone whose work wasn't up to par,' Kyle suggested. 'Irrespective, it's all just gossip, isn't it? It's not any of our business.'

'No, I suppose not,' Jason agreed. 'I was just curious, because the way I see it, Robbie and I are both suspects in Jock Anderson's disappearance. I was trying to get a gauge on what the kid was like.'

'Is that why you had him do work at your place?' Kyle asked.

Kyle stood maybe five foot eight and was slim enough to make Jason look well fed. All the same, there was an intelligence that flickered in his eyes, and Jason knew that not much got past him. He quickly decided against trying to lie to the man, and just went with a version of the truth.

'I won't deny that wasn't part of it,' he said. 'My wife's in China. I don't want her coming home to a husband who's incarcerated and charged with murder. I thought I'd scope things out. Dunno, though, Robbie just doesn't seem the murdering type. The only thing he seems to be hiding is a girlfriend or boyfriend in Brisbane.'

'If I were in your shoes, I'd just sit back and let the police do their work,' Kyle replied shortly, clearly unimpressed with Jason's efforts. 'It's highly unlikely they'll charge you unless you're actually guilty, and even then, they'll need to prove your guilt.'

If the expression on Kyle's face could speak, it would say 'shut up and stop gossiping' so Jason, who liked being employed, got the hint and didn't say another word. Maybe he'd try talking to the farmhand another time, and see if he could glean any more information.

They lapsed into silence and just worked their arses off for another ten minutes, until the farmhand started whinging and Kyle, clearly still annoyed, snapped at him that perhaps he should go home and recover, so he was fit to face the day tomorrow. The farmhand, oblivious to the fact – or perhaps just not caring – that he'd pissed Kyle off, headed off to his car without any further ado.

Jason and Kyle resumed work, digging up the root system of a patch of blackberries that they'd hacked back earlier in the day.

Perhaps ten minutes after the farmhand had left, Kyle asked Jason if he was genuinely worried about being charged with murder.

'A bit,' Jason confessed. He told Kyle about finding Jock missing, picking up the gun, and the police's reaction. He also admitted his past criminal convictions, and his fear that if he was falsely arrested, the legal costs involved in clearing his name would financially destroy his family.

'That's rough,' Kyle agreed. 'I'm sure you don't have anything to worry about, though.'

'Yeah, mate, I get that, but at the same time, I can't sit back and do nothing. With the wife and kid gone, I've got too much time to think.'

'But if you go around asking questions, you may end up causing trouble for innocent people,' Kyle said. 'There's already enough bad feeling between Tim and Robbie as it is.'

'That's not my intention.'

'No, but how would you appreciate someone dredging up your past?' Kyle asked. 'Imagine if Robbie was going around saying 'hey, I've heard Wingnut has an assault and theft charge to his name, so what do you reckon?'?'

Jason chewed his lower lip.

'Sorry mate,' he replied eventually. 'I can see why what I was doing was a bit out of line. Didn't really see it that way.'

Kyle shrugged.

'I don't blame you for sniffing around,' he said. 'Maybe just be careful not to cause anyone any grief while doing it, though, okay?'

'Yeah, sure.'

Kyle swung the pick at the blackberry roots, freeing them from the soil. He reached down and with a gloved hand, pulled it free.

'What I say next is between you and me,' Kyle said. 'Got it?'

Jason nodded. 'Got it.'

'It's a woman Robbie's seeing, not a man. She's Tim Riordan's brother's step-daughter. Audrey. She lives in Brisbane, she's a software engineer, and her name's mud around here. Robbie's business will be decimated if anyone finds out he's seeing her. Tim will see to it that Robbie is run out of town.'

'I see.'

'I don't like gossip,' Kyle stated. 'Hate it. But I understand why you're doing what you're doing, and nothing I'm about to tell you is a secret. That doesn't mean it needs to be gossip, though, got it?'

'Got it.'

'Audrey's name is shit is because she accused her stepfather of sexually assaulting her. The case went to court and he was found not guilty.'

'She made a false allegation.'

'No.' Kyle was firm. 'He was found not guilty. They're not the same thing.'

'You believe the stepfather was guilty?'

Kyle hesitated.

'Let me put it this way,' he said. 'Audrey had nothing to gain from accusing him of sexual assault, nothing at all, and the accusations she made... nothing is secret here. It should be; she was a minor at the time.' Kyle was restless, upset. 'I don't think she was lying. My gut feeling is that she was telling the truth, she just didn't realise how much hard evidence was needed to secure a conviction.'

Jason didn't want to ask any further questions. He knew his boss was agitated by the subject matter, and discussing the purported sexual assault of a minor wasn't a nice thing at the best of times, and yet he had to press Kyle for details, because he sensed this was going to be his only opportunity.

'What happened after the case went to Court and the stepfather was found not guilty? Did Audrey move in with her biological father?'

'No. She stayed with her mother and stepfather.'

'The man who apparently assaulted her?' Jason asked incredulously. 'You've got to be kidding me. And she wonders why people didn't believe her.'

Kyle didn't respond.

'C'mon mate,' Jason said. 'You can't seriously believe someone would stay living with someone who was abusing them, can you?'

'Where else would she go?'

'Her father? A relative? Foster care? Anywhere?'

Again, Kyle didn't respond, but this time, Jason didn't prod him to speak. Jason was literally flabbergasted the man would believe Audrey's tale. As for Robbie, if he was silly enough to believe it, the more fool him. Jason just hoped the electrician wouldn't be next in the firing line when Audrey decided to make a false complaint.

Jason sensed Kyle was unhappy with him for doubting the veracity of Audrey's story, but Jason didn't give two shits. He was being paid to work, not agree with fairy tales. And, at any rate, by the end of the day, Kyle seemed calmer and said he'd see him again tomorrow, at the farm, to do some weed spraying.

'I'm not in tomorrow,' Jason reminded him. 'I'm doing some of my own work tomorrow.'

'Shit, I forgot about that. Thursday?'

Jason nodded.

'With bells on, mate,' he said.

'And hopefully something else,' Kyle joked.

Jason took it a sign that Kyle didn't want their disagreement over the veracity of Audrey's claim to cause any tension. He appreciated it; he felt the same way.

Jason chuckled under his breath. 'Only if you're lucky mate, otherwise it's bells, boots and nothing else.'

Wingnut headed to his car and drove to his evening appointment, a small mowing job in the nearby town of Clifton. The owners had left cash in an envelope in their letterbox, so he pocketed the money, did the job, then went home.

What followed was a fruitless evening of trying to fit together newfound pieces of a puzzle that was ever-evolving and frankly, made no sense at all. Theoretically Jason understood that not every snippet of information was a clue, but evaluating which pieces were useful, and which weren't, was no easy matter.

In the end, he went to bed and thumped around the mattress restlessly, wondering if he should just give up on the whole silly idea.

~~~~~~~~~

Jason knew he wasn't a smart person, and he was okay with that. He also knew he wasn't attractive and he was okay with that, too. Pretty much the only thing he felt he was good at was machinery operation, so when he fucked that up, he took it badly.

He was in a dark and dirty mood with himself on Wednesday morning as he tried to bang two mower blades back into a serviceable form after accidentally mowing over an uncovered water meter. The client wasn't at home so he was liberal with his use of curse words, and was entirely lost in his own little world when he realised two men were standing over him.

Cops. The very same detectives that had originally questioned him about Jock Anderson's disappearance at Kyle O'Sullivan's farm. From the expressions on their faces they were just as unhappy with life as Jason currently was.

Wingnut put down the hammer, wiped his hands, and asked them what they wanted.

'Hot day,' the younger one remarked.

Jason glared at him. It was a hot day and he was already pissed off and behind schedule. He didn't have time for niceties.

'We just wanted to ask you a few further questions about Jock Anderson,' the older detective said, picking up on Jason's reaction to his partner. 'In particular, why you decided to pick up his rifle.'

'I've already told you why,' Jason replied. 'I was scared.'

'It's a bit of a stretch to be scared, isn't it?' the younger detective prodded. 'Why would you be scared of an empty house?'

'I saw bullet holes in the ceiling.'

'I find that a highly unusual thing to notice,' the younger cop remarked. 'I wouldn't have noticed them.'

'I did,' Jason replied shortly.

The tension could have been cut with the proverbial knife it was so thick. The cops were out for blood. Jason was frustrated and angry. All three were doing their utmost not to say or do anything they might regret.

'We were wondering if you could go over your movements that weekend,' the older detective interjected.

'I've already given you that information,' Jason said. 'I was asked by cop who came around when I rang to report Jock was missing.'

'We'd just like to narrow down where you were and when,' the cop soothed.

'You're asking me what I did nearly two weeks ago?' Jason asked. 'You've got to be kidding.'

'It won't help your causes to be uncooperative,' the young detective pointed out.

Jason stared from one cop to the other. Both were now giving him cold, hard stares. In their minds, he was still a suspect. That meant they were going to keep questioning him until they felt they'd tripped him up, then they'd arrest him, try him, and probably send him to jail.

'Am I under arrest?' Jason asked.

The cops shook their heads.

'Not as yet,' the younger one added helpfully.

'Okay, well,' Jason said, crouching down next to his mower. 'In that case, I'm not answering any more of your questions. I didn't do it, and you're wasting your time investigating me.'

The old detective said something about them continuing to waste their time investigating Jason if he wasn't willing to help prove his innocence, but Jason refused to take the bait. They could fuck right off and actually do their damn jobs as far as he was concerned. He wasn't guilty, and he had no reason to let them line him up.