by Grace York
"But you don't think so," said Addison.
"No. Like I said, their body language told a different story. I could be wrong, of course. It could still be the grief making them appear closed up. But I don't think so. I think the pair of them are hiding something. I'd prefer to interview them without Malcolm there, but I suspect that'll be difficult. He's closed ranks around them both."
Addison kicked at the remains of the fire with her toe. "What about Erin? Was she there, too?"
"No. Apparently Malcolm offered for her to stay with them, but she declined and took a room at the pub instead."
"That's not surprising," said Addison. "If she'd been planning on breaking up with Trent before he was killed, I can't imagine she'd want to stick around with his family now."
"Agreed," said Isaac. "She's pretty keen to go back to the UK as soon as possible, which is understandable. I've asked her to stay put for now, though."
"Can't you make her surrender her passport?" asked Adam. "She's still a suspect, isn't she?"
"She is, but there's no evidence against her. We can't make her stay in the country."
Addison saw two lights moving around up on the cliff. "I think they're there," she said, pointing.
"Well you can definitely see the torchlights from here," said Adam. "I can see their outlines, too. Can't make out their faces though."
"I'll call and ask them to stand still and turn the lights off," said Addison. She made the call, and a smaller light came on as Lenny answered his phone.
Addison made the request, and the two larger torch lights went out. They could still see the light of the phone, and Addison could just make out Lenny and Brooke's figures in the dark.
"Okay, thanks, Lenny," said Addison. "Hang up now but leave all the lights off for a minute before you switch your torches back on. We need to see if we can see you when you don't have any light at all."
"Got it," said Lenny, and then they went completely dark. Addison could just make out their figures, but only because she knew they were there. She looked in the opposite direction for a moment, and then turned back, and struggled to find them at all.
"Did Trent have his mobile phone with him that night?" Adam asked.
"Yes," said Isaac. "We found it smashed up on the rocks not far from his body. He must have had it either in his hand or in a pocket when he went over the cliff."
"Did he make any calls?" asked Addison.
Isaac shook his head. "According to his phone records no calls or texts were made to or from his phone all day. We checked his phone history for the whole month, there was nothing suspicious in any of it."
"Just because he didn't make any calls doesn't mean he wasn't using his phone up there." Adam pointed to the top of the cliff, where Lenny and Brooke had turned their torches on and started making their way back down the track. "He could have been on Facebook, or checking the news, anything. Especially if he couldn't sleep."
"We've sent the remains of the phone to the tech lab in Brisbane. They weren't making any promises, but one of the guys there said he might be able to clone it and check for activity. But you're right, he could well have been using his phone up there. In which case the screen would have been lit."
"And someone down here could have seen him," Addison finished.
"Correct."
"They wouldn't have known it was him, though," said Adam. "My eyes are pretty good, and even I couldn't tell that was Lenny and Brooke up there. All you could see was the light and the outline of two people."
"Yes," said Isaac. "I think we've seen enough. Let's get out of here."
They turned and headed back up the beach towards the carpark. Addison tried to make sense of it all. Trent had gone to the lighthouse sometime after midnight, and someone had either followed him or seen him from the beach and gone up to confront him. There'd been a struggle, and Trent had gone over the edge.
If someone had seen him from the beach, they wouldn't have been able to tell it was him. It could just as well have been Chad, Brody, or Erin. Or any of the other people from the campsite, for that matter.
It raised a new question in Addison's mind.
What if Trent hadn't been the killer's target?
15
"What do you mean, not the target?" asked Adam. They'd reached the carpark and were climbing into Isaac's car for the short drive back to the beach house.
Addison buckled her seat belt. "I mean if it was someone who saw him from the beach, we've just proven they couldn't have known who he was. So what if they thought it was someone else? Chad, or Brody? Or someone from one of the other camps?"
"But what motive would any of the surfers have for going up there and confronting anyone else?" asked Isaac. "Trent was the one who got under everyone's skin. According to all the surfers we interviewed Chad and Brody had been accepted. That's why they got invited to the party on the beach in the first place."
Addison didn't have an answer. "Good point," she conceded. "So where does that leave us?"
"Not much closer to finding out the truth, I'm afraid," said Isaac. He negotiated the bends in the beach road and turned into Addison's driveway. "We've established that if he was using his mobile phone Trent could have been seen from the beach, but not identified."
"It's a bit of a trek to go confront someone in the middle of the night," said Adam. "The path from the beach up to the lighthouse is steep and uneven. You'd need a light to negotiate it, and it's a good two hundred metres and a lot of steps. Seems odd for an argument about surfing etiquette."
"I agree," said Isaac. He shifted the car into park, but left the engine running. "Let's call it a night for now. I'll be in touch once I get an update from the coroner's office tomorrow."
Addison and Adam said goodbye and climbed out of the car. Isaac pulled out of the driveway just as Brooke and Lenny pulled their van in.
"Did you see us in the dark?" Brooke asked as they all trooped into the beach house.
"No," said Addison. She explained what had happened once all the lights were out. "You'd have to have very good eyesight and be looking in the exact right spot to see anyone up there without any light at all."
They went into the kitchen and Addison put the kettle on. She fancied a hot chocolate. Olivia emerged from the bottom of the kitchen staircase, and Addison explained everything once again.
"So what conclusions have you drawn from your little excursion?" said Olivia, sounding more and more like her father.
"I don't think we can draw any conclusions really," said Addison. "It's possible someone saw Trent from the beach, but they would have to have been very motivated to climb up there and fight with him. Remember we're talking about a bunch of drunk surfers. I find it hard to believe they weren't all fast asleep by the time Trent was murdered."
"Agreed," said Adam. He started pulling mugs out of the cupboard for hot chocolates. "My money's back on the girlfriend."
"Yeah, me too," said Brooke. "She knew he was cheating. Maybe she didn't intend to kill him. Maybe it was an accident. It'd be pretty easy to go too close to that cliff in the dark."
"There really should be fences up there," said Lenny. "It's not safe the way it is."
"Max says no-one usually goes out there at night," said Olivia. "It's a good spot to check out the waves during the day, because you can see both beaches from up by the lighthouse. But it's pretty isolated. There's no reason to go out there at night."
"Unless you're an insomniac," said Adam.
"Or you want to kill one," said Lenny.
Addison yawned. It was getting late, and she had to be up early as usual to bake for Hazel. The kettle boiled and she made hot chocolates for everyone. "I'm going to take this up to my room and call it a night, people."
"Good idea," said Adam. "I want to make some notes. Goodnight." He took his mug and bounded off up the stairs.
"Good night, Mum," said Olivia.
"We'll lock up and turn out the lights," said Brooke. "Sleep well."
Addison to
ok her hot chocolate to her room and settled in the easy chair she'd purchased recently for the corner by the window. She loved having boarders living at the beach house, but occasionally she needed some time to herself. The room was big enough, and the window overlooked the back garden. It was a lovely spot to sit and reflect.
This case was baffling. They were missing something.
Addison thought over the usual motives for murder – money, love, revenge. Trent came from one of the wealthiest families in the country. Maybe it had something to do with money. But how? He was only twenty-five. Did he have a will? Did anyone stand to inherit whatever wealth he may have accumulated so far? Addison didn't think that was it.
The way she saw it, the only person who stood to gain financially from Trent's death was his brother. Chad was now an only child and would presumably inherit all of the family business instead of half.
Burchard Mining wasn't the biggest of the mining companies in Australia, but it was getting up there. Addison knew of rifts between other mining families, where disputes over inheritances and who owned what had played out in courts and across the news. Just because someone was family didn't mean you didn't fall out. On the contrary, where a lot of money was involved, it seemed almost common.
If the rumours were true about Trent's partying ways and unwillingness to settle down, it was understandable Chad would have been frustrated. Could he have followed Trent out to the lighthouse that night, intending to confront him, and things got out of hand?
Then there was Erin, the cheated girlfriend. Brooke had made a good point – it could have been an accident. But then why not raise the alarm?
Whoever it was had fought with Trent before he went over the edge. Whether it was an accident, or he was pushed, only the person there with him would know. Perhaps they thought they wouldn't be believed.
Or perhaps it had been intentional after all.
Whatever the case, Addison wasn't going to solve it tonight. She picked up the book she'd been reading from the side table, took a sip of her hot chocolate, and settled down to get lost in a fictional world.
16
Addison was up early the next morning baking for Hazel. It was the middle of summer, prime tourist season in Getaway Bay, and Hazel's café had been bustling with customers this week. Today would be no different. Addison had decided on a carrot and walnut cake and a rocky road slice, as well as some of Isaac's favourite pecan cinnamon scrolls.
She made herself a cup of tea and a slice of toast, and then set to work quickly. The scrolls were delicious and very popular, but it was a fiddly and time-consuming job to get them right. Luckily the carrot cake was easy, and she had made the rocky road yesterday to give it time to set. All it needed was slicing into squares.
As she worked, Addison thought about Mrs Jones. She worried about her elderly neighbour, all alone over there with her sore leg. She resolved to send Olivia over this morning with a scroll for Mrs Jones. She liked them almost as much as Isaac did. In fact, these days whenever she made pecan cinnamon scrolls Addison always made two batches.
Most of the household were up and about before Addison left for Hazel's at around nine o'clock. It was Friday, so there were plans made for the beach house's usual Friday evening get-together. Addison made a mental note to stop in at Ed's bakery today and pick up some nice bread for the barbecue.
"Good morning," said Addison as she entered Hazel's café, arms laden. She'd needed two baskets to carry all the baked treats today.
"Oh, scrolls!" said Hazel. "They'll go down well." She looked at her assistant, Holly, who practically squealed with delight at the sight of Addison's baskets. Pecan cinnamon scrolls were her favourite, too. In fact they'd been responsible for Holly and Addison bonding in the first place, when Holly had arrived in Getaway Bay last year with the Hanley's travelling carnival.
Addison stayed and had a coffee with Hazel, as she usually did on a Friday morning. It was the day Hazel paid her for the week's worth of baking, but besides that Addison enjoyed the catch up with her friend.
"There you go," said Hazel, handing Addison an envelope of cash. "Are you sure you're charging me enough? I spoke to Sonia over in Riverwood last week. Her baker is more expensive and nowhere near as good as you."
Addison didn't do it for the money. "I'm covering my costs and putting a little extra aside every week," she said. "That's all I need. You know I love baking for you. I have no need to charge anymore."
"In that case, if you ever want to expand, go see Sonia. She'd love to hire you."
Addison shook her head and smiled. "No thanks. This is enough for me. Are you and Martin and the kids coming tonight?"
"Martin and I will be there," said Hazel. "I doubt the kids will come, though. I always ask, but they prefer to hang out with their friends. I don't know why. We get home and there's usually half a dozen of them sitting around all looking at their phones instead of each other. I don't understand teenagers these days."
"It does seem very antisocial," Addison agreed. "But they'll find their way." She stood to leave. "What about you, Holly? Will we see you and Hugh tonight?"
"You sure will," said Holly. "Hugh's been looking forward to it all week."
"Excellent." They spent another couple of minutes deciding who would bring what, then Addison left them to their day.
The Friday night barbecue was always a group effort. Which was just as well, because Addison didn't think she could cater for such a gathering by herself every week. Luckily she didn't have to; everyone usually brought something to share. Which reminded Addison she had to call in at the bakery on her way home.
First, though, she had a pecan cinnamon scroll in her bag with a certain detective's name on it.
Crossing the road to the police station, Addison noticed the reporters and television news vans were still present. They were hard to miss in such a small town. She wondered how Isaac was coping with it all.
She didn't have to wonder long.
"Has he been this grumpy all morning?" Addison asked Kendall Short once she'd been admitted to the back room of the police station. Isaac was on the phone in his office, and from the yelling he wasn't very happy.
Kendall said nothing, she just nodded. By the looks of it, she and Ryan Diaz were doing their best to stay out of his way.
Addison pulled a small container out of her bag and placed it on the spare desk. As well as the scroll for Isaac, it contained some of the off-cuts of the rocky road slice which she knew Kendall and Ryan loved.
"Wow, thanks," said Ryan, digging straight in.
"Hey, leave me some," said Kendall, playfully pushing him out of the way. "Thanks, Addison."
"You're welcome. Any updates?"
Before she could answer Isaac slammed down his phone and came out to join them. His mood softened slightly at the sight of Addison and the treat she'd brought him.
"Thank you," he said, picking up the container and digging in. Kendall and Ryan had already polished off the rocky road.
"So what's the update?" Kendall asked him.
"Nothing," said Isaac with a mouthful. "Sorry," he added, and finished chewing before continuing. "There was no forensic evidence on the body that could help us identify the culprit."
"Not even anything under the fingernails?" asked Ryan.
"No. No bruises on his hands, either. It looks like Trent never got a hand to his assailant."
"That's frustrating," said Kendall.
"You're telling me. I have to give another press conference in an hour, and I've got nothing to say. Not to mention better things to do."
"Can I help?" Addison asked.
"Can you get Malcolm Burchard to give me access to Chad and Brody?"
"Ah, I don't think so," said Addison. "Is he stopping you from talking to them?"
"He is." Isaac finished the scroll in record time. "That was awesome, as always. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Can he do that?"
Isaac sighed and perched himself on the edge of the
spare desk. "Malcolm Burchard seems to think he can do whatever he likes. I'm sure those boys are hiding something, but he won't let me interview them without him and his bunch of lawyers present."
"He's rented out all of Ed's building," said Kendall. "Ed turfed out some tourists early so he could accommodate the family's legal team."
"I bet he did," said Addison. Ed Mathieson fancied himself as the town's leader. As well as owning the bakery, he'd just had a three-storey apartment complex built at the south end of Getaway Bay's main beach, not far from Echo Point. Ed lived in one of the apartments and rented the rest out as holiday accommodation.
He was also the town's council representative, a member of numerous organising committees, and very used to getting his own way. Oh, and he was a big fan of powerful people.
"What are you going to say at the press conference?" Kendall asked Isaac.
Isaac shrugged. "The usual. We're following a number of leads, would appreciate any assistance the public can give, etcetera."
"Are you?" Addison asked. "Following a number of leads?"
"Of course. They're not very good ones, though. I need to speak to those boys again without Malcolm Burchard and his lawyers hovering about."
Addison wanted to help, but she had no idea how. The case seemed at a standstill.
"Are you coming to the beach house later?" she asked Isaac.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "I'd love to, but we're not making any progress here. I've got a lot of work to do."
"You can't work all the time," said Addison. "You need to unwind. Sometimes if you stop thinking about a problem for a while, the solution comes to you."
Isaac stood and headed for his office. "I don't think that's going to work here," he said. "Thanks for the morning tea," he added before closing the door.
"He's stressed," said Kendall. "Don't take it personally."
"I know," said Addison. "Are you and Jason joining us tonight?"