Chelsea went into the takeaway and got another couple of drinks. By the time she returned, John had replied to Emma’s text message.
She shook her head. “He says he doesn’t have it.”
“Does Travis have John’s number?”
Emma shrugged. “How’s that help you?’
“He might call John and John can pass on my number to him. They must get in touch somehow if they hang out together.”
“Good point.” Emma sent John another message and he responded less than a minute later. “He says ‘yes’.”
“So Travis has his number?”
“I presume that’s what he means by ‘yes’, Chelsea.”
“And he’s going to pass on mine if Travis calls him?”
“Yes, girlfriend. God, you’ve got it bad for this guy, haven’t you.” It was a statement and not a question. “What happened to your infatuation with Dean?”
“You said not to go there, so I’m not. Dean’s a mate. Travis is...”
“Is what?” Emma grinned cheekily.
“Hot. Mysterious. Sexy. Charming...Different.”
“And let’s not forget he’s also Superman,” Emma pointed out.
“That too,” Chelsea said and drank some Coke.
She gazed out over the wind-swept ocean. It looked grey and gloomy in the overcast conditions. Still, there were plenty of people scattered about the beach even though the weather sucked. She wasn’t that big on the beach herself. Sure, she liked it on occasion, but she didn’t go much for all the sand and salt. She wasn’t a water person, either.
“I wonder why he disappeared like that?” she added after a long pause.
“Maybe he’s got something to hide?” Emma raised her eyebrows. “He might have a criminal record or something. Who knows? Or he might have thought he’d get arrested because he was involved in the fight.”
Chelsea glanced around them, then looked down over the mall, the boardwalk and the beach once more. Had she been hoping to spot him somewhere just now? She saw no one milling about that closely resembled Travis. Perhaps she would take a walk up town tonight, see if he was about. Thoughts of being a stalker entered her mind then. She wasn’t sure what to do. Wait to hear from John, maybe?
“Did you meet anyone new at the party that you like?” she asked Emma, deciding to give her friend some consideration and not just think about herself and Travis.
Emma shook her head. “No. There was no one there that I didn’t already know anyway. I’m not in any hurry.”
“Neither am I,” Chelsea said a little brusquely.
Emma raised her eyebrows again. “I never said you were.”
“Sorry. I don’t know why I just snapped at you. I think I’m just tired.”
“From the party?”
“That, and work, and Ryan bugging me about school.” She paused, her eyes becoming watery as she reminisced. “I still miss my parents, Emma.”
Emma placed a reassuring hand on Chelsea’s arm. “Of course you do. I wish I could have met them.”
“You would’ve liked them. They were like your parents. Really cool.”
Emma smiled. “So you think my parents are cool?”
“They are.”
“Yeah, I guess they probably are pretty cool when I really think about it.”
“They put on a great party for you. And it wasn’t their fault that it got crashed by those idiots. Does anyone know how that group found out about it?”
“No. We’ll probably never know.”
Twenty
Ryan had just stepped out of the shower that night when he got a call from Selena Thorne, arranging to meet with him at a cafe in Broadbeach at eight-thirty.
He felt relieved after receiving the call. He so needed the work, for both the money and something constructive to do.
In his bathroom he sprayed on some Armani cologne, had a shave, trimmed a few errant nose hairs and gargled some mouth wash. Back in the bedroom he surveyed his wardrobe, opting to wear a black suit with a stylish black T-shirt, rather than a more formal shirt and tie. After all, it was just coffee. No point over doing it. Deep down he knew he wanted to impress, though. Maybe that’s why he’d chosen to wear all black. It was obviously Selena’s colour of choice for fashion. It suited her and, while he contemplated his reflection in the mirror, decided all black suited him quite well, too. The last thing he put on were his black boots and watch.
He hadn’t had dinner yet and figured Selena wasn’t planning on having a meal with him, so he went into the kitchen and snacked on some pieces of cheese, a couple of bits of fruit and a small glass of milk. It wasn’t much, but it filled the gap.
Before he left he rapped on Chelsea’s closed bedroom door and heard her music drop a few decibels.
“I’m going out for a bit,” he said through the door.
“Okay,” she replied and the music went back up.
Down in the basement car park Ryan located his Ford and climbed in behind the wheel. He drove up a winding driveway and out through the security gate that opened automatically from within. He headed south on the Gold Coast Highway and arrived at Broadbeach less than ten minutes later.
Sunday night was fairly busy without being crowded. Broadbeach was a popular destination for restaurant goers and cafe junkies. Ryan had to drive around for a bit before he found a parking spot that wasn’t blocks away from the cafe. He eventually found someone vacating one in a side street and he pulled in after them. When he was out of the car he checked his appearance in a nearby shop window, nodded with satisfaction, then strolled casually along the main street. He checked his watch and discovered he was twenty minutes early. With time to kill he decided to go for a walk through the mall.
There were plenty of people in the mall, and some tasty looking women among them. He thought it would be nice to spend some time with a woman he liked. And he was just about to, he reminded himself. Ryan didn’t know if Selena was that way inclined towards him. After all, it had been all about business so far. He definitely sensed a hint of chemistry there, though. Or maybe it was just one-sided? Time would tell. One thing he definitely didn’t want to do was blow a good business deal because of a desire to have some female attention. That would just be plain stupid.
After walking for ten minutes he turned around and headed back towards the cafe, passing a couple standing in the middle of the mall smoking cigarettes. He breathed deeply of their excess smoke as he walked slowly by. He still craved the damned things, but the urges were not as strong now and were thankfully becoming less frequent. Just maybe he could do it this time.
The night was warm, but not humid, so he hadn’t worked up a sweat beneath his jacket by the time he arrived at the cafe. A glance around the place told him Selena hadn’t yet arrived, so he took a seat at a vacant outside table. A waitress appeared almost immediately and Ryan quickly told her he was waiting for someone first before he ordered.
Selena showed up five minutes late. She was wearing a black evening dress similar to the one she’d worn the first time he’d met her in Bliss. Thinking about it now, this was the first time he’d seen her outside the club. That’s what he’d wanted. She smiled when she saw him. Ryan stood up as she approached the table and she extended a gloved hand to him. Ryan was still curious about those gloves. He shook her hand and they took their seats. Again the same waitress swooped on them.
“I’ll have a flat white coffee,” Ryan said, then looked at Selena.
“Just an iced water for me,” she told the waitress.
“Anything to eat?” They both shook their heads and she hurried off.
“You not having a coffee?” Ryan inquired.
“I don’t drink coffee,” Selena answered. “Haven’t done so for ages.”
“But you used to?”
She nodded. “A very long time ago.”
Ryan smiled. “You say that as if you’re really ancient, but you couldn’t be any more than about twenty five at the most, I reckon.”
; “Twenty seven, actually. You’re twenty five.”
“How’d you know?” Ryan was surprised.
“Lucky guess,” she said easily and adjusted her position in the seat. “How was your weekend?”
“Uneventful,” he replied, and for him it had been. Chelsea’s weekend, however, had been rather different.
“Well,” she smiled, “that’s better than it being stressful. The club was so busy on Friday and Saturday nights.”
“That’s really good. You not working tonight?”
“Oh, I will go in after we’re done here, but tonight won’t be anywhere near as busy. I needed a break from there and thought it might be nice and more casual to meet up here in Broadbeach.”
“How did you go with the Gordon Wells situation?” Ryan wanted to know.
“He’s gone and I already have a replacement. When I heard back from the liquor companies and they furnished me with copies of the invoices you pointed out, I had Gordon come in on Friday night, showed him the proof of the error of his ways and sent him packing.”
“You didn’t bring in the police? After all, he was stealing from you, and who knows how much he’d actually pilfered before we caught him.”
Selena vigorously shook her head. Ryan couldn’t help but admire the clear, unblemished skin of her long neck as she did so. He found himself fantasizing about what it would be like to run his lips and tongue over it.
“I’d rather deal with things my own way, Ryan. If I can resolve a matter without involving the authorities, then I would prefer to do so.”
“Same here,” he agreed entirely. “That’s one of the reasons I’m a private detective and not an official one.”
“And the very reason I hired you for the job in the first place.”
The waitress materialized beside them and placed a tall glass of iced water with lemon slice in front of Selena. Ryan’s coffee was laid before him and even came with some miniscule, crunchy chocolate biscuit which he devoured in one bite. Ryan added a sugar sachet to his coffee and stirred it with a spoon, totally destroying the lovely leaf pattern the barista had created from the milk froth and crema. He took a sip. Perfect flavour and temperature.
He watched as Selena slowly ran her gloved fingers up and down the tall glass of water. Ryan felt his hormones stirring in the presence of this woman. True, she was beautiful, but it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t just an obvious chemistry for him either. There was something else to her, something intangible that he had never sensed before. The detective in him wanted to know what it was.
“So, down to business,” Selena said, her hand still lightly touching the glass as she looked into Ryan’s eyes.
Ryan was finding it hard to concentrate. As unprofessional as he knew it would be, he was really fighting the urge right now to leap across the table and plant a wet kiss on her succulent lips. Her eyes were mesmerizing, and every time he locked onto her gaze he felt like he was slowly being drawn into them like whirlpools. It wasn’t like a hypnotic thing, just captivating in some way and very hard to look away from.
He cleared his throat. “Yes. Business. That’s what we’re here for.”
“Yes,” she said and smiled warmly.
This is all a bit weird, Ryan thought. Both of them seemed a little preoccupied with whatever the vibe was that was happening between them. He knew she could feel it too. Or maybe he was just hoping? No, he was pretty sure when it came to things like that.
Selena opened her small black handbag and withdrew a slip of paper from it. She placed it on the table and slid it across for Ryan to take a look at.
Written on it was a name.
“Marlon Becker,” Ryan read it out. He looked at Selena questioningly.
“You’ve never heard of him?” she asked.
“Should I have?”
“Probably not. Anyway, Doctor Becker is a scientist who specializes in a number of fields.”
Ryan sipped his coffee. “Such as?” He noticed Selena still hadn’t touched her water.
“Biochemistry, pathology and hematology,” she answered.
“Sounds like a very smart and extremely busy guy,” Ryan quipped.
“And a brilliant scientist, so I’ve heard.”
Ryan raised his hands. “So, what does the good doctor have to do with anything?”
“I want you to investigate him.”
“Investigate him,” Ryan repeated. “That’s a very broad term, Selena. You need to be a little more specific.”
“Of course,” she apologized. “I don’t want you to delve into his personal affairs or anything like that.” She leaned her elbows on the table and looked him hard in the eyes. “I want you to look into what he’s currently working on, and his recent research and developments; particularly any areas pertaining to blood.”
Ryan scowled. “Blood?” He took a deep breath. “What’s this all about? Why do you want this information?”
“That’s not your concern,” she returned rather sharply. “If you take on this assignment, I assure you I will compensate you very well.”
“Okay,” he said, a little taken aback by her tone. “But it sounds like I could be performing a few illegal tasks to get you the information you want.”
Selena shrugged and managed a wry smile. “Isn’t that pretty much what PI work entails?”
He considered her words and nodded. “Sometimes, yes. So where do I find this Doctor Becker?”
Selena took a folded sheet of paper from her bag and handed it to him. “There are some details on there.”
“And how do you propose I go about obtaining the info you want?”
“You’re the detective, Mr Fox. That’s for you to figure out.”
Mr Fox? Getting formal all of a sudden. Ryan was a little bemused about her change in attitude the last few minutes. She’d become defensive for some reason. He didn’t think he had offended her in any way, so he deduced it had to have more to do with the information she was seeking, rather than the questions he’d asked.
Ryan finished his coffee and perused the sheet of information she’d given him. He then pocketed it and said, “So, what’s the deal financially?”
This brought a genuine smile to Selena’s face. Again she went to her handbag.
“I have three cheques here. One will be given to you upfront for expenses. The other two you will receive once I’m satisfied I have what I want from your enquiries.”
She slid a cheque over to him and Ryan examined it.
“Thirty thousand dollars!” he said, surprised by the amount.
“If you find that’s not enough to cover expenses, let me know and I’ll make certain you get more expediently. This is very important to me and, while I don’t want you to be frivolous, I do want you to do whatever it takes to accomplish the task to my satisfaction.”
Ryan nodded. “And why two other cheques?”
“One is your fee for completing the job, and the other is to assure your confidentiality and loyalty to me.”
Selena spread both cheques out on the table in front of herself so Ryan could see the amounts.
When he saw the figures written on them, he whistled in astonishment.
Twenty One
Detective Marks had just left the morgue, where he’d sat in on the early morning autopsy of Toby Matthews. Dr Shultz had examined the body and the charred remains of Mr Matthews’ head. His official cause of death was decapitation. Once again very little blood was found in the body, but Shultz said it was virtually impossible to determine whether the blood loss had occurred before or after the head was severed. The single lesion on the remains of the ragged neck had also been closely scrutinized. Once more the doctor’s findings were inconclusive. However, he was getting some tests done on organ and urine samples.
Marks drove back to his Southport office, trying to determine in his own mind whether there was a connection between the death of Amanda Simms and that of Toby Matthews. Apart from that one suspect lesion on the neck, there weren’t reall
y any similarities. The Simms girl had been picked up in a night club, taken back to her home, had sex with the perpetrator, either consensually or otherwise, had been murdered in her bedroom and her body dumped. Matthews, on the other hand, was obviously a male, had been out camping, and had most likely suffered death through decapitation.
There was one thing Dr Shultz had confirmed, though. He was certain that Mr Matthews’ head had not been severed with any sort of instrument, sharp or not. The poor man’s skull had been violently ripped from his body. Literally. Who would have the strength to achieve that? Maybe it wasn’t a man? Possibly an animal? No, there were no animals around the area that could perform such a monumental task.
But neither could a human being, he reminded himself.
As he waited for a traffic light to turn green, Marks cranked up the car’s air conditioning. It was a hot, humid day with a forecast for thunderstorms either late this afternoon or this evening. He loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. That felt better. Maybe he’d move further south, to a cooler climate.
Last night, for the first time in over a month, he’d made love to his wife. It was a strange experience, not like what he’d expected after such a long stretch of abstinence. It hadn’t felt like making love at all. Even the purely physical side of it was largely unsatisfying. It had felt awkward, but not like when two people first get together and are trying to lose their inhibitions. It was the opposite of that. He wasn’t sure how his wife felt about it, but to Marks it had almost seemed like he was doing something wrong by having sex with his wife. It was a bizarre feeling.
He’d realized then the state of their marriage was way worse than he’d thought it was. Now he was certain a divorce was imminent. They were too far gone. Thankfully they’d never had children to further complicate things.
Marks ran a hand over his bald head and planted his foot when the lights changed. The Ford lurched forward and he sped all the way back to headquarters.
In the lunch room he made a strong coffee, which would do nothing to help calm his nerves. And he was edgy. He loved his wife, but he was no longer in love with her and he knew she felt the same way he did. It was a shame, but it happens in the world every day. People just have to settle their affairs and move on with their lives. As difficult as that might sometimes be.
Night Realm Page 13