The Interrogator

by J J Cooper

  Sarah rubbed her chin and appeared deep in thought.

  Jay continued. 'They weren't here long. The sleeping bags weren't unrolled and only a couple of drinks had been poured from the whisky; and you know they planned to come back.'

  'So where's their stuff?'

  'It still fits. They came to pick me up, take me back to the hotel room, play some pool and then bring me to the caravan park. I have a feeling there may be a third person who stayed here too.'

  'Because of the empty noodle box and the cup with something sticky at the bottom?'

  'Yeah, I know the noodles could have been from one of the other two. What do you make of the sticky substance?' he asked.

  'I don't know. Just that it smelled like medicine. There wasn't any medicine in the van, though.'

  'That's right. I thought probably drugs of some type. They got kicked out of the army for drugs.'

  Before Sarah could respond, Jay's phone rang. It was Catherine.

  Jay looked through the shadows around the caravan park. His phone continued to ring. He ran a hand across the scratch marks on his cheeks but could only feel stubble.

  Sarah stepped in close and checked his phone. 'Answer it,' she said.

  He did. 'Speak.'

  'It's Catherine. Where are you?'

  'Where are you?'

  'I'm at your father's house.'

  'Stay there.' He hung up and turned to Sarah. 'She's already at Dad's.'

  They climbed into the stolen van. Rocks splintered against the caravan as Jay accelerated. He swerved the vehicle sideways, working hard on the steering and ignoring the pain in his hand. The tyres bit and he gained traction as the van hit the service road. He played the interrogations of Cliffe and Taylor back over in his mind. Perhaps he'd been too quick to assume that Catherine was the woman who had hired Cliffe and Taylor. Perhaps not. He had never been wrong with the results of an interrogation.

  Sarah reminded Jay several times to slow down, it being a stolen vehicle and all. He guessed that she sensed his mood and was thankful for the first five minutes of the drive in silence.

  Finally, she spoke up. 'We need to talk this through before you go barrelling in there.'

  He admitted to himself that she was right and took a moment to respond. He actually enjoyed having her there to bounce off ideas. 'Let's work on the assumption that Cliffe and Taylor fed me a cover story. What did they have to gain? I doubt they meant to be caught and interrogated.'

  'Facts,' she said. 'Both of those clowns were hired by someone. That someone knew that you were at the house today. Let's start there.'

  'Who knew I was in the house today?' Jay questioned himself. 'You, Bill and my boss. Wait a minute.' He fumbled for his phone and dialled a number.

  There was an answer on the second ring. 'You all right, Jay?'

  'Yeah, boss. Sorry for ringing so late, but it's important. Got a question for you.'

  'Shoot.'

  'Did you tell anyone where I would be today?'

  'No. Just mentioned that you're having time off. I don't have to justify giving you time off.'

  'Fair enough, boss. Did Catherine Primrose ask when she rang?'

  'Not the first time. She rang back early this afternoon to tell me that Captain Primrose had been to the doctor's. Said he had some kind of weird bug and wanted to know if anyone else was sick. I mentioned you weren't at work but not because you were sick. Definitely didn't say where you were though. She said she'd call you to make sure you didn't have what Captain Primrose has got. I just assumed she would call you and left it at that. Why, what's wrong?'

  'Nothing's wrong. Just got a couple of missed calls from her. That must be the reason. No problem. Thanks, boss.'

  'Yeah. I'm sure that's the reason. Careful where you tread there. I've got a feeling that woman is dangerous. You know what I mean?'

  Jay knew exactly what he meant. 'I'll keep that in mind, boss.' He hung up.

  He checked his speed and changed lanes to overtake a bus. 'Catherine knew I wasn't at work today,' he said.

  'Did she know where you were?' Sarah asked.

  'Wouldn't have been hard to figure out. I spend a lot of time at Dad's. It'd be logical, considering the threat Primrose made.'

  'Let's go along with the Primroses setting this up and that they're playing sick games. Still doesn't explain the trashing of your room or the intruder when you got to your dad's.'

  'Catherine could've trashed my room while it was just me and Primrose. The guy I chased over the fence was broader and taller than Primrose. So we've got a minimum of three people plus Cliffe and Taylor.'

  'Could it have been Cliffe or Taylor jumping the fence?'

  'No. That guy's limping around today. One of the dogs took a small chunk of meat with the pants she grabbed.'

  Sarah nodded. 'That makes five if we include Cliffe and Taylor,' she said.

  'Three. Those two will be long gone.'

  'How can you be sure?'

  I know, he thought. 'Their plan didn't involve getting caught and interrogated. Both of them were shitting bricks and happy to get the hell out of there. They weren't lying.'

  'If that's the case, how come Catherine wasn't at the caravan park?'

  Jay thought about the question as he turned off the highway. 'The third person could have been conducting surveillance on the house and warned Catherine or Primrose. And I still get the feeling there was a third person in that caravan. We'll know soon enough.'

  'OK. Drop me off down the road,' she said. 'It may be a trap. I'll give you fifteen minutes. If everything is sweet in there turn on the balcony light within that time. If after that time the light is still off, I'm coming in.'

  'Good idea.' Jay stopped the van down the street from his father's house and Sarah got out. 'See you in fifteen,' he said.

  Thinking about his confrontation with Catherine Primrose, he pulled into his father's driveway behind Catherine's black BMW. She was sitting on the car's trunk, squinting against the van's headlights. Her crossed legs revealed knee-high leather boots, their outline evident beneath her blue jeans. A long, dark overcoat hid her slender frame. Except for the darker hair, Catherine could have been Sarah's twin. Evil twin, he thought.

  She slid off the trunk as Jay parked the van.

  The pistol was still in the front of his jeans. He placed a hand on it as he climbed out of the vehicle. From behind the van's door, he called across to Catherine. 'What do you want?'

  The German shepherds heard him and barked a welcome. Jay's hand gripped the pistol tighter at the sound. Catherine jumped at the barking, swung her head to where the noise was coming from and placed her hand across her chest. A couple of good signs for Jay: she had been unaware of the dogs' presence before now, and she must have been alone. The dogs only barked at men or when something was awry.

  She turned toward Jay. 'You've got me all wrong,' she said. 'Give me a chance to explain.'

  'Give me a reason.'

  Catherine brought up her handbag, opened it and looked inside.

  Jay removed the pistol, using the door to shield his actions.

  She withdrew a DVD case and held it up for Jay to see. 'This.'

  He placed the pistol back into the front of his jeans. After another look around, he closed the van door and moved to her. Tears flowed onto her cheeks as he snatched the DVD. The tears were of no concern to him.

  He threw the DVD onto the ground, spun her around and pushed her against the back of the BMW. She didn't make a sound during the frisk search. Jay didn't know if she was shocked or had expected it. He completed the search and rifled through her handbag, dumping the contents onto the BMW. No weapons. He picked up the DVD and walked toward the house, wanting to check its authenticity. He felt better about himself for being a little rough with the search. Before he reached the front stairs, his phone rang. He stopped and quickly looked around before answering. 'Yes, boss.'

  'Jay, I know where your father is.'

  NINETEEN

  Jay g
ripped his phone tighter. 'Where?' he asked his superior officer.

  'He's safe, with me at the Centre. Your call had me worried, and after finding that mess in the interrogation room, I thought I'd do some after-hours checks. I found Captain Primrose with your dad in one of the interrogation rooms. Primrose knocked him out before I could get to him. Don't worry, though, your dad will be fine.'

  Jay turned to check if Catherine was listening. She was busy putting her things back into her handbag. Even so, he stepped a little further away and lowered his voice. 'Has he come to?'

  'He's still unconscious but breathing OK. Primrose is tied up. That's why I'm calling. You need to get down here right now and explain what is happening.'

  'Don't call it in just yet. I'll be there in an hour. Tell Primrose he's going to pay. I want him sweating by the time I get there.'

  He hung up and turned to Catherine. 'Put the van in the garage. We're taking your car for a drive.'

  She finished bundling her belongings into her handbag, stood up and straightened her jacket. 'A please would be nice.'

  'Would it? And I suppose I owe you a big fucking thank you for the graffiti on my wrist?'

  Catherine lowered her head and held out a hand. 'Where are the keys?'

  'Screwdriver's in the ignition.'

  He tried calling Sarah's mobile. It rang out. He tried again. No answer. Shit, he thought. He had only just dropped her off and she should have been answering. She was supposed to cover his back. He didn't have time to wait and decided to try again later. Sarah was big enough to protect herself – he hoped. He had to get to Canungra, where he intended to beat the life out of Primrose.

  Catherine reversed the military police van to the end of the driveway. She was walking back to the BMW when Jay stopped her.

  'Keys,' he said, holding his good hand forward.

  'So you can drive off in my car and leave me here?'

  'Give me the keys and bring the van in.' He pointed to the garage.

  'If you take off I'll report it to the police.'

  'Sure you will. Good law-abiding citizen like yourself.'

  She threw the keys at him. He caught them and reversed the BMW down the drive. Catherine parked the van in the garage and joined him. She tugged at the seatbelt; Jay placed his hand over the buckle to stop her.

  'Leave yours off,' he said.

  'What?'

  'Leave the seatbelt off. I figure you're less likely to try anything funny.'

  'Are you kidding me?'

  'No. One wrong move, I hit the brakes and watch you fly through the windscreen.'

  'That's absurd. Why would I do anything?'

  'You've got a short memory. Now leave it off or get out.'

  Catherine sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. The look on her face reminded Jay of a spoilt child. He hit the accelerator and her hands flew to the edge of her seat. Jay smiled at the small victory.

  They drove south through deserted suburban streets. The quickest way to the Gold Coast from the north side of Brisbane was via the Gateway Motorway. The crystal clear night made for a spectacular view of the city lights as they climbed the Gateway Bridge. Jay didn't bother stopping for the toll and drove straight on through the E-Toll lane. Catherine would get the fine.

  Catherine tapped her legs and gripped her seat throughout the journey. Jay was pleased; he wanted her nervous and off guard.

  Jay figured she wouldn't do anything stupid while he was driving and used the time to go over recent events in his mind before speaking with Catherine. Something nagged at him. He had the DVD, his dad was safe and Primrose was with his boss. It would be easy for Jay to let the authorities sort it out from here. They could probably link Lazarau and Primrose easily enough. He hadn't yet figured out where Catherine Primrose fitted into the equation. Cliffe and Taylor hadn't lied. Or so he hoped. He decided to keep the information about Cliffe and Taylor to himself, for now. It would serve a purpose at a later stage, to be used wisely as a confrontation point. Getting his father back was the priority.

  Jay broke the silence as the motorway joined up to the highway leading to the Gold Coast. 'Let's skip the bullshit story you intend to feed me and get to the facts. I'm not in the mood for your rubbish. Speak.'

  'I don't intend to feed you a bullshit story. I need your help. He's out of control.'

  'Don't get ahead of yourself. Start from the beginning.'

  'Met, fell in love, got married, blah, blah, blah.'

  'Sounds exciting. Get to the bit where you two started torturing people and I don't mean the torture of having to live with each other.' He caught an evil look coming his way.

  'Warren started torturing people. I had to go along with it.'

  'Yeah, of course you did.' He wished he could watch her responses to assess their truthfulness through body language analysis. A price he paid for not letting her drive, although that had been a calculated decision. The lack of trust removed that option.

  'I'm telling the truth. It started when you were in Afghanistan. When it was decided that you were to be redeployed to Iraq before the ground war.'

  'How did you know about that? It's classified.'

  'Warren told me. Anyway, as you know Warren has never been on deployment and he wasn't happy that you went ahead of him to Afghanistan. When the preparations commenced for Iraq he was overlooked again because they wanted you. That's when he completely changed. That night he came home and completely wrecked the house. He tied me up and raped me all night. I thought he was going to kill me. When he finally let me go he said if I left him or told anyone about what happened, he would kill me.'

  Possible, he thought. Not plausible enough though. 'That's a good story, but what's it got to do with torturing me?'

  Jay glanced across. Catherine was crying. She made no move to wipe away her tears; obviously she wanted him to see them. He turned his focus back on the road.

  Catherine sniffed as if to gain his attention and continued. 'You being picked to stay in the Middle East really got to him. He started drinking heavily and gambled all our money away. We were selling all our stuff just to get by. I wanted to get work but Warren wouldn't let me. He got this idea one day that disgusted me then and still does.'

  'I'll bite. What was the idea?'

  'No need to be sarcastic.'

  'Just hurry up.'

  'He forced me to sleep with other men for money. There – you happy now?'

  Jay remained silent, pondering what she'd said. If she was lying, she should have been an actor. 'How did it come about?'

  'Well, after Warren raped me, he became impotent. No matter what, he couldn't perform. We tried everything. He suggested that if I slept with someone and he watched it might help. I refused and he beat me. The following week he said it again. I couldn't cope with another beating so I did it. That first night a local politician picked me up in a bar and I took him home. Warren watched from a peephole in a cupboard.'

  'Does sound like something that sick bastard would do,' Jay said. The story seemed plausible enough so far.

  'It didn't help. Warren remained impotent but he had an idea that we could blackmail the politician because he was married. So I did it again, we recorded it, and the blackmail worked.'

  'How much?'

  'What?' Catherine seemed surprised by the question.

  Jay glanced her way again. The tears had disappeared. 'How much did you blackmail him for?'

  She looked out her window. 'Ten thousand.'

  'Keep going.'

  'It was lucrative for a while with a few other colourful personalities on the Gold Coast, but Warren decided to do the same thing to defence people, except this time he wanted secret documents instead of money. It was very successful until the bloke got caught.'

  Jay faced her to gauge her reaction. 'Lazarau.'

  Catherine looked at him, wide-eyed. 'How did you know?'

  Her reaction appeared genuine. 'Go on.'

  'Yes, umm ... Lazarau. He was lonely and I felt sorry for
him. I think he fell in love with me. Warren videoed us together and used it as leverage because he had a girlfriend at the time. He collected documents for quite a while until he broke up with his girlfriend. He stopped handing over the documents and Warren taught him a lesson.'

  'Let me guess. Tortured him for a while, nailed his hand to a table and tattooed him. Like he belonged to Primrose.'

  'Yes.'

  'Who's Warren selling the documents to?'

  'I don't know.'

  Jay touched the brakes and she fell toward the dashboard. He stepped on the accelerator before she hit, and she fell back into her seat.

  'Are you fucking crazy?' she said. 'You could have killed me.'

  'Who's he selling them to?'

  'I don't fucking know.'

  Jay decided against hitting the brakes again. 'I won't be happy if I find out you're lying.'

  'I'm telling the truth. He doesn't tell me.'

  'Why go after me, then?' Jay asked.

  'Lazarau got sick of being pushed and wanted some money for himself. He got caught. This was an opportunity for Warren to get you because you have access to very sensitive documents. At the same time he saw it as revenge for you going to Iraq instead of him.'

  Typical, Jay thought. Primrose had always had 'little man' syndrome. Just couldn't stand anyone being better at something or chosen before him. 'Why didn't he just steal the documents himself?'

  'He lost some of his security clearances around the time of the gambling. Someone found out and that's why he's stayed in a teaching role at the Centre for so long.'

  'I didn't hear about this.'

  'He's an officer. You're not. That's the way it is. He managed to keep it quiet.'

  Jay thought it possible, even over something as serious as losing a security clearance. It wasn't unusual for officers to receive preferential treatment over enlisted soldiers when it came to discipline. Always been that way, always would be. 'Why the threats to my father?'

  'Warren's off the rails. That's why I need your help. I had no idea about the thing with your father until he said it to you. It came as a shock to me.'