The Summertime Dead
Page 28
‘Why not celebrate then?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Cole admitted. ‘It’s probably just Terry.’
‘I know. I can’t get him out my head either.’
‘Anyway, we know Tomasulo is done and dusted. We know Gifford Jarvis killed Max Quade and Rosaleen. And Amy Bridges. But I’ll be happier when we find Ken Jarvis’s rifle, and we can make a certainty of everything. I’m sure we will when we finish picking over the whole property.’
‘Is there any chance he had a hand in the killings, too?’
‘It’s possible. We know from the prison papers we found in a bedroom that he’d been staying at the house at some point. But I think I’ve got a good idea about where he is now.’
‘We’re not clairvoyants. I’d like to be though. For one thing, I’d like to know for sure that Fielder’s going to get his just desserts. What were they thinking sending him back here?’
‘Now he’s gone again I doubt he’ll cause us any more grief, and if he wants to give anyone a hard time he can try it on me. We’re building a strong case and Ruby’s a strong girl, a really strong girl.’
‘She is. I’ve been thinking though, Lloyd, is that Mrs Jarvis going to be charged with anything? She’s not going to get off scot-free, is she?’
‘She’d have to know more about her son than she’s letting on, so we’ll find something on her, even if it’s just being an accessory to theft, or being in possession of stolen goods. The way it’s looking, the charge sheet for Gifford will run to the length of an encyclopaedia.’ He got up from his chair and stretched his back, the week’s events catching up with him. He said, ‘The Jarvis lot. It’s a pretty mucky family, isn’t it?’
‘It’s a pretty mucky world,’ Janice answered.
And Cole had no doubt, none whatsoever, that by the time they finished their search of the Jarvis property, that Ken Jarvis’s body would turn up somewhere.