by L. J. Fox
“Do you have any leads or any suspects?” she asked.
“You know I can’t discuss that with you. It is an ongoing case.” He said quietly.
She nodded her head slowly.
“But you have DNA this time, so that will help.” She looked at his face to judge his reaction.
He paused. “Yes. We do have DNA but we can only match it to a person if that person is already in the database.”
She nodded her head again. She knew that.
“Detective Sergeant Baring, I want to tell you a few things. Things that may help you with the case.”
She looked at him trying to read his face. He had a slightly puzzled look on his face.
“Ok” he said cautiously. He wondered where on earth this conversation was going.
“You are aware that I heard Rachael scream and that was how I knew the first attack was taking place … and that I could hear sounds as I was running?”
She was talking quietly, knowing what she was going to say could be taken as a joke. He was staring at her, not moving.
“I also could smell his aftershave … Polo Blue … and that he had not ejaculated?”
He nodded, again wondering where on earth this conversation could possibly be going.
“Well … I was born with a really strong sense of smell and hearing. Just one of those freak things. I don’t tell many people, but I can detect things that you really wouldn’t want to know about.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled, trying to make light of the whole thing, like someone telling you they were born tongue-tied or with webbed toes.
The detective blinked a few times as his mind chewed through the information that she had just presented to him.
“Really? I have not heard of anyone with that before.”
“No. As I said, I don’t tell many people because it could make things awkward, and I don’t want people to think of me as different in any way.” She smiled at him self-consciously.
He looked at the beautiful looking girl in front of him and thought to himself that she was already very different.
She looked around the room and leaning forward slightly, she said to him in a quiet voice.
“I would like to give you some examples, so you understand.”
He nodded warily.
"There is a partly-eaten apple in the bin under your desk, probably a Pink Lady.”
He blinked and didn’t realise he was holding his breath. He glanced down toward his knees to see if the bin was visible to her at all. It was not.
She didn’t wait for a confirmation. She knew it was there. She continued.
“You are a smoker, perhaps about ten a day. You chew on Eclipse mints … peppermint flavoured to mask the smoke smell.”
His mouth fell open just slightly as she continued, gesturing to a young woman sitting on the other side of the room.
“That woman there. She is pregnant, but not very far along.”
The detective looked across at the constable. She had announced her pregnancy only the previous week. He felt speechless, his mind trying to find a logic that he could comprehend. He still could not quite accept what this girl was claiming but at the same time, he liked to keep an open mind. This girl did not look like a fruit loop. She looked like a genuine, honest, clever girl. She had obviously come here to tell him this for a reason. He would go along with it and see where it went.
“Ok. Layne. I think I understand. That is quite an incredible ability to have. It would certainly help me at times.” He chuckled to himself.
“I want to help you.” Layne said firmly. “That is why I am telling you this. I want to help you to catch this arsehole before he attacks someone else.”
“How can you do that?” He asked, not sure how her abilities would help.
“Well … when I heard about the latest assault, I went to the location where it happened. You know … near the library car park to see if I could detect anything. Anything that could help. I could smell certain things.” She lowered her eyes.
The detective leaned forward in his seat, interesting in hearing what she could smell.
“Go on.” He urged.
“I know it is the same attacker. He has the same smell, you know … the Polo Blue … and other things. I can smell that he ejaculated this time.” She was still looking down, a bit embarrassed.
“You can smell that?” he asked.
“Yes. I can also smell blood … from two different people. One I think is from the girl that was attacked. I don’t know what happened, but it could have been that he hit her or cut her, or perhaps she was a virgin and bled.”
She looked up at the detective and he nodded, not saying which it was.
“I can also smell blood that I think is from him. She must have hurt him in some way that made him bleed. Did she have skin under her fingernails?”
She looked again at the detective, but he just pursed his lips.
“If she did, then she drew blood and he will have a scratch on his face or neck, or somewhere. Maybe you could check out the students and see if anyone has a scratch or cut. If you find someone like that, you could test their DNA.”
She looked hopefully at the detective. She could see he was deep in thought. She hoped he was taking her seriously and didn’t think she was a fraud or a weirdo. She stood up and his eyes focused back on her.
“Please do not tell anyone about my … abilities as you called them. I really would like my privacy protected. I have only come to you because I want this person caught. I ask you to keep this confidential.”
She looked him in the eye, waiting for a confirmation.
“Yes. Of course.” He answered and jumped to his feet. “I will follow this up. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.” He put his hand out and she shook his hand.
She looked up at the middle-aged detective.
“Just one more thing, Detective Sergeant Baring … go to a doctor and have your blood pressure checked.”
Chapter 34
Andy walked the short distance from the Katunga railway station to the General Store. He glanced at his watch and saw he had about ten minutes to spare. He would wait around the corner of the General Store for Ross to arrive where he was out of sight. Better to be careful. Layne had told Andy how her grandfather visited the Katunga General Store every morning at ten o’clock to buy the paper. He had been doing this for many years, once the milking and feeding was over. She had joked that you could set a clock by how punctual he was.
Andy had caught a train early this morning from Melbourne. He had swapped trains a few times in the city loop during peak hour when the commuter rush would mean the chances of him being followed were minimal. He had left his mobile phone in his room, knowing that it was possible to trace pings from mobile towers. He had brought plenty of cash with him so he would not have to use credit card or eftpos. He paid cash and bought a day pass Myki card and a regional train travel pass, all without the need for identification.
Right on ten o’clock, he saw a familiar bronze coloured Toyota Landcruiser pull into the car park in front of the General Store. This was an old type of General Store where they sold everything from toothpaste to newspapers and milk. Over the years these old General Stores had died out once the larger supermarkets became popular.
He waited, wanting Ross to buy his newspaper first so there would be routine CCTV footage on the store’s camera. Silently he waited around the corner, discretely peering out every minute. He hoped no other customers would suddenly appear and wonder what he was doing, or the shop owner. After a few minutes he heard the bell as the front door opened and he saw the figure of Ross standing on the small porch reading the headlines in the paper.
“Ross” He called out. He didn’t want to yell but he couldn’t whisper. The word came out in a hoarse whisper.
Ross spun around searching for the source of the voice. He spied Andy peeking around the corner of the building and froze startled. His eyebrows rose in unison.
“Andy?” His eyes scanned from side to side. “Where’s Layne? Is she ok?” He asked alarmed.
“Yes. She’s fine.”
Andy signalled with his hand for Ross to follow him around the corner. The puzzlement was evident on Ross’s face.
Andy spent the next fifteen minutes filling Ross in on the situation, and his plans. He felt guilty for burdening Ross with such distressing news, but he felt it was the right thing to do. If he did not tell Ross and the worst happened, how would he live with himself? He could see the alarm, pain, worry and anger on Ross’s face as he related the latest events. He knew Ross would take it seriously and would want to do everything within his power to assist or shield Layne from these people. He also knew how angry Layne would be if she knew what he was up to.
They both agreed that they would catch a train to Shepparton and visit the Shepparton Adviser. If Ed Makin was no longer working there, perhaps they would know where he was. After contemplating the best way forward, the plan they agreed was for Ross to drive back to the farm and ask Nina to drive him to the train station. They both were adamant that they do not tell Nina what was going on. In case things turned badly, it was better for Nina that she had no knowledge. Ross would tell her he caught up with a buddy at the General Store and had agreed to visit him for a boy’s lunch.
Andy wandered back to the train station to wait for Ross. He hoped they were not making a mistake with their plan but felt they had to do something. They needed to know what this Ed Makin knew. The Shepparton Adviser was the first step and if unsuccessful, S. Makin at Tatura was the next step.
Chapter 35
Layne skipped classes for the day. She had spent the night before at a dinner at Warren’s house with a group of Brays and the women had arranged to go walking the next day on the Warburton trail from Woori Yallock, with a lunch at the Launching Place Hotel before walking back to Woori Yallock. It sounded like a lovely way to spend the day in the beautiful Yarra Valley and Layne thought it was a good chance to see the women away from their cocktail dresses and learn more about them.
She caught a ride out to Woori Yallock with Narelle in the red sports car and was surprised to find about fifteen women at the meeting spot, all dressed in their active wear. Looking around she saw a group of immaculate and beautiful women, all healthy, all glowing and all between twenty years old and fifty years old. Miriam, her grandmother, was not present. Narelle explained that walking was not her thing.
Layne recognised several of the women from various dinners at Warren’s house and Narelle introduced her to others as they walked. The morning was perfect with a blue sky and light breeze. As they walked, they passed people doing the reverse trip including people on bikes, joggers and people walking dogs. All the dogs they passed, pulled against their leads and whimpered, trying to get close to Layne. She patted each dog and laughed off the apologies from the dog owners.
As they moved along the trail, they started heading toward some open paddocks. A few women seemed keen to speak with her. There was still an air of curiosity about her which she found amusing. She took the opportunity to ask questions and came to a few interesting observations about the group:
✓ They all seemed happy with their lives and never questioned that the Brays were superior or that they should be in leadership positions throughout the world. This was just accepted as fact and without question. They all had good careers and opportunities, but they were in a limited opportunity where they would never be leaders. Layne reasoned that they must have been categorised some time ago and then their careers and marriages had been pre-determined.
✓ They all were happy to take on whatever role the group told them to but were not motivated to take on a major leadership role. They were content with the position they were instructed to take on, knowing the Bray executive would know best. As Warren had said, it was for the good of the organisation, not the individual.
✓ They all felt they were to help the cause, but the primary objective was to support their husband and have children. All felt important, and useful to the organisation, and not one of the women suggested that they were feeling frustrated or wanted to go further with their career.
✓ They all felt a superiority to normal humans, and almost felt revulsed by them. Layne compared it to the earlier twentieth century in the deep south of America where the black American population were treated as second class citizens.
✓ They had no empathy for refugees, starving people, homeless people, disabled people or the elderly. They came from a race of superior people where if you did not make the grade, then you were unimportant. Weakness was not tolerated.
✓ They did have concerns about global warming and were environmentally aware. Layne thought that seemed logical as there was no point producing a superior race if there was not a world left to dominate.
✓ She could sense a hidden fear or caution about the Bray people in authority. It was not said or indicated in any way, but she could sense it. Perhaps knowing that Warren had disposed of his own daughter made them realise that they were all expendable. If they did not tow the line, then they could be eliminated as well.
A bellowing sound brought her back to reality. What was that sound?
Then she laughed as she realised it was the cows. Further ahead of them, the cows were at the fence, bellowing. They continued with only a few seconds before each reiteration.
MOO! MOO! MOO!
The sound was continuous.
The other women looked at each other in surprise, wondering what the noise was and why it was happening. As they drew nearer to the noise, Layne placed her hands over her mouth and giggled n a childlike fashion. She felt like a little girl again. She ran across to the first line of cows on the left side. They all overcrowded each other trying to get close to her. She patted the soft noses and giggled at the big tongues licking her hands. These were brown coloured young cows, destined for the market. Layne played with them for a few minutes and the bellowing eased.
When Layne joined the other women, they all stared at her in awe. She felt awkward, wondering if she had done something wrong or over-stepped some boundary.
Carmel spoke first. “Are those cows here for you?” she asked.
Her voice sounding an octave higher than it usually did.
Layne giggled to herself. “Yes. I have a way with animals.”
The other women all looked at each other with meaningful glances. They walked on.
Chapter 36
Andy and Ross entered the small building in Fryers Street, Shepparton. It looked exactly how Andy imagined a small local newspaper office would look like. The office was open plan with three desks, one of them occupied by a middle-aged woman typing furiously on her keyboard. She looked up and rose to greet them.
“Good morning” said Andy. “I don’t know if you can help me or not, but we are looking for Ed Makin who wrote for this paper in 2002.” He saw the puzzled look on the woman’s face.
“2002? He certainly doesn’t work here now. It’s just me and Bob now.”
She jerked her thumb toward the back corner of the room. Andy looked over and could see the corner of the room had been partitioned into a small office.
“Bob has been here a long time. Let me check.”
She headed off to the corner office and a few minutes later an older man in a short-sleeve shirt and tie headed toward them. He stretched his hand out and shook hands with both men.
“I’m Bob Semper, owner of this small publication. How can I help you?”
I’m Andy McAllister and this is Ross Harrison. We are looking for someone called Ed Makin. I believe he wrote for the Adviser in 2002.”
Andy scanned Bob’s face looking for any recognition of the name. Bob was keeping his face very still and blank. Andy could see he was waiting to see what they wanted Ed Makin for, so he continued.
“He wrote a teaser about an article he was going to publish, and I couldn’t find where the article was later published. I wanted to ask hi
m about it.”
Bob looked from Andy’s face to Ross’ face sizing them up.
“Ed is deceased” he said.
Andy’s face fell. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
He felt defeated. Now they would never know what Ed Makin was working on.
Ross spoke up. “Did you know about an article he was writing about some group called The Brays?”
Bob’s eyes widened, and Ross and Andy glanced at each other. It was clear that Bob knew what that meant. He looked uncomfortable for a few minutes and then spoke.
“Terrible accident it was. Poor Ed. Terrible.” Bob shook his head remembering. “His car ran off the road late at night and he hit a tree. Killed him instantly. Poor guy.”
“When did he have the accident?” asked Ross.
Bob looked at the two men. “It was May 2002. I remember it clearly as my daughter had just married the day before. It put a dampener on the happy weekend I can tell you.”
Ross looked across at Andy and they both felt that his untimely death was an incredible coincidence.
Bob continued.
“He left a wife and two little daughters. His wife, Sandra, lives just out of town. She may be able to help you.”
An hour later they knocked on the blue wooden door of the neat little weatherboard house. Bob had phoned Sandra and she had agreed to speak with the two men. An attractive woman in her forties answered the door. She welcomed them in and made them coffee.
Over a strong cup of coffee and a number of shortbread biscuits, Sandra explained that she had remarried ten years ago and her two daughters were now grown up and living in Melbourne. She spoke of the terrible time of her life when Ed had died. She had been devastated and left with two daughters, a four year old and a six year old. It was a Sunday night and the family were preparing for a roast dinner when Ed received a text message and left the house immediately. An hour later, the police knocked on her door to tell her Ed had been involved in a car accident and had died on impact.
Andy gently asked. “Do you know what he might have been working on at the time?”