by Chris Taylor
The stark interview room on the fifth floor was exactly how Chloe had left it the day before. The same bland, blank walls surrounded her. The same gray-laminate desk and two hard plastic chairs took up most of the space in the small room. Not a single window broke up the sparse expanse of off-white walls. There was not a hint of the gorgeous spring morning she’d had a brief chance to encounter on her way inside.
Chloe placed her briefcase on the desk and pulled out the Munro file. After Agent Munro had left, she’d taken the time to make notes on the interview and in particular, record her overall judgement of his demeanor and level of sincerity. A copy of his ERISP, or electronic record of interview of a suspected person, was also in the file.
She had to admit, if she hadn’t been presented with irrefutable evidence that he’d accessed the files, the light of honesty and integrity that had shone in his way-too distracting eyes would have swayed her. But, by his own admission, no one knew his login details, which meant that his guilt was almost assured. All that was left to do was to interview the man who’d first drawn the matter to the attention of his superior.
Promptly at nine o’clock, a knock sounded on the door. Chloe arranged her notepad and pen and then called for the person to enter.
A man she guessed to be somewhere around Agent Munro’s age entered the room. A smile of greeting belied the wariness in his dark blue eyes. Surprise and a little nervousness barreled through Chloe’s stomach. What was it with the agents in the CPU? Charlie Stanford was just as good-looking as his friend.
Tall and without an inch of flab in evidence under the expensive business shirt and tailored suit pants, she was sure the mop of fair, sun-bleached hair and baby blues would have the girls running from all directions.
Pushing the thought aside, she stuck out her hand. “Agent Stanford, I’m Senior Investigator Sabattini. Thank you for coming.”
Her hand was engulfed in a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Senior Investigator Sabattini and please, call me Charlie.”
Chloe nodded. “All right, Charlie. Take a seat and let’s get started.”
After checking there was a fresh tape in the video recorder and going through the preliminaries, Chloe commenced the interview.
“How long have you known Agent Munro?”
Charlie leaned back in his chair, his body now relaxed. “A bit over a year. He transferred into the CPU just over twelve months ago. I was already working there.”
“And how would you describe your relationship?”
“We’re mates. Good mates. We spend a lot of our free time together. I thought I knew him pretty well.”
“Did you know that before he joined the AFP, he was a detective with the New South Wales Police?”
“Yes, I was aware of that.”
“I’m curious about his reasons for transferring. A State detective working in general crime is a long way from a Federal Agent chasing online pedophiles. Do you know why he transferred?”
Charlie shrugged. “No, I don’t. It’s not something we’ve ever talked about. In fact, I don’t think I’ve asked any of the blokes I work with what brought them to the CPU.”
“What brought you to the CPU?”
“The kids,” Charlie stated simply. “I do it for the kids.”
Chloe made a notation in her file and then looked up again. “Do you know anything about Agent Munro’s family?”
“Only that he has a big one. Three or four brothers and a couple of sisters. I think a couple of his younger brothers work for the AFP.”
“Have you met any of his family?”
“No.”
Chloe penned a reminder to research them a little deeper. It would help her to get a sense of his family and his origins. With two of them being AFP employees, her search would be made a little easier.
“All right, Charlie. Let’s talk about the incidents. I understand you reported them to Detective Superintendent Gary Julian?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’ve read your statement, but I want you to tell me what happened.”
Charlie’s lips tightened and the wariness returned to his face. He drew in a deep breath and eased it out. With obvious reluctance, he answered.
“It wasn’t one thing in particular that got me wondering. It was a series of things. About a month ago, I came into work early. I had some paperwork I needed to finish and I thought if I came in before my shift started, I’d have the time to complete it. I was surprised to find Declan already there.”
“What time was this?”
“About five in the morning. My shift was due to start at six. I figured an hour would be all that I’d need.”
Chloe noted down the time. “Did you say anything to Agent Munro about why he was there so early?”
“Yeah, I joked that he mustn’t have scored with the hot blonde he’d been chatting up in a bar we’d been to the night before. Dec was getting it on with some chick in a tight red dress and I decided to leave him to it. I left a little after ten.”
Chloe refused to acknowledge the twinge of jealousy that tightened her belly. She forged on.
“What was Agent Munro’s response?”
“Something about him losing interest after the third drink. I don’t know. I didn’t pay that much attention. I was there to catch up on paperwork.”
“What was Agent Munro doing?”
“See, that’s where things got a bit weird. When I got closer to his desk, he closed the screen he had opened on the computer, kind of like he didn’t want me to see it.”
Chloe scribbled in her notepad. “Did you say anything to him?”
“No. I thought I might have been overreacting. I shrugged it off and got on with my day.”
“What else happened? There must have been something else for you to go to Superintendent Julian? After all, this man is your friend.”
Charlie’s face turned grave. “Yes. There was something else. I wish to God I hadn’t seen it, but I couldn’t pretend any longer that I hadn’t. I’d suspected something wasn’t right for over a month. I’d tossed and turned and inspected the facts from all angles and there’s only one explanation I came up with. Hence, my approach to the boss.”
Chloe turned to a fresh page of her notepad, trying hard to ignore the anguish on Charlie’s face. “Tell me what happened during that time.”
A heavy sigh rumbled out of the man across from her. He leaned back further in his chair and folded his hands behind his head.
“After that first incident, there were a couple of other times during the same week that I caught Dec by surprise and both times he reacted the same way: Closing down the page he’d been viewing and acting kind of weird.”
“And you still didn’t say anything to him?”
“No.”
“To anyone?”
“No.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“A week ago, I stayed back after my shift finished. I was meeting a friend for a drink in town and I decided to shower and change at work rather than return home.
“I’d said good-bye to Dec earlier, when our shift had ended. I think he must have assumed I’d left. When I came out of the locker room, the squad room was quiet except for the handful of agents that had just clocked on for the night shift. They were gathered in the tea room making coffee and basically shooting the breeze.
“I’d left my wallet and keys on my desk. I sit right behind Dec. We’re like…three or four feet away from each other. I’m not sure why he didn’t notice me, but he didn’t. I reached my desk and looked over in his direction and that’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“Kiddie porn all over Dec’s computer screen. I recognized them as being images from one of my earlier investigations—an investigation that had finished months ago.”
“Had Agent Munro been involved in that investigation?”
Charlie shook his head. “No. I’d been partnered with a few other agents.”
“
Was there any reason for him to be viewing those images?”
“None at all. As I said, that particular investigation had finished four or five months earlier. We arrested eight men who are now on remand awaiting trial.”
“Did you say anything to him?”
“No! Christ, it made me sick! He was my mate! I couldn’t believe it! All I wanted to do was get out of there and pretend it had never happened!”
“Had Agent Munro ever shown inappropriate interest in children before?”
Charlie ran his hands through his hair and shook his head again. His cheeks were flushed and his breath came faster. “No! Christ, no!”
Chloe gave him a few minutes to compose himself. “What did you do?” she asked.
“That’s the thing. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know what to do, what to think. All the times I’d seen him closing pages on his computer whenever I approached, the furtiveness, the secrecy, the late nights, the early starts—all of a sudden, it all made a horrible kind of sense.
“Somewhere, deep down, I’d known what it all meant. But even then, I didn’t want to believe it. Declan! A good mate! A guy I thought I knew quite well.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Charlie eased it out, the tension in his body releasing. He looked up at her, his eyes full of distress.
“I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep and worst of all, I had to keep working with him, pretending everything was normal, pretending I didn’t know. In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told my boss.”
Chloe frowned and continued to scrawl notes. What Charlie had told her sounded legitimate and the access records from Agent Munro’s computer backed it up. But both men weren’t telling the truth.
Chloe bit down on a sigh and closed her notebook. “Charlie, thank you for coming in. I appreciate it. I know how difficult this must be, given how much Agent Munro means to you and I want to assure you we will be giving this matter our utmost attention. We take every complaint of wrong-doing seriously, but I’m sure you can appreciate how very serious these allegations are.”
Charlie nodded, his expression calmer. “So, what happens now?”
“Like I told Agent Munro, I’m going to interview Detective Superintendent Julian and thereafter I will review the evidence and make my recommendations.”
“How long will it take?”
“I have yet to speak with your boss, but I hope to make a decision within the week.”
Surprise lit up Charlie’s face. “Wow, that soon?”
“Yes. I believe in moving quickly with something like this. It needs to be resolved one way or the other as swiftly as possible.”
“Yes, I understand. When will—?” Color exploded across his lean cheeks. “That is, when will Dec know about…?”
“About your involvement?” Chloe asked gently.
“Yes. My…involvement.”
Her heart constricted with sympathy. He was in an extremely difficult position.
“If I decide no further action is warranted, he won’t ever find out, unless you tell him. In the more likely event that charges are laid, your statement, along with any others I deem relevant, will form part of the Brief of Evidence. It will be served upon Agent Munro and his lawyer within four weeks of my final determination.”
Charlie’s lips compressed and he nodded grimly. “Thank you, Senior Investigator Sabattini. I appreciate your time.” He offered a grateful smile and Chloe couldn’t help but return it.
“Thank you for having the courage to report your suspicions. It couldn’t have been easy.”
Charlie nodded and ducked his head and then stood and headed toward the door.
“Oh, one more thing,” Chloe said.
He turned around and raised an eyebrow, his mouth tugging upward in a grin. Chloe tried to remain unmoved.
“Has Agent Munro ever told you his username or password?”
Charlie frowned and shook his head. “Never.”
Chloe watched the door close behind him. She sighed and glanced at her watch. She still had an hour before her scheduled appointment with Gary Julian. Long enough to snatch some fresh air and a bellyful of strong caffeine. Grabbing her briefcase off the floor, she stowed her papers inside and left.
* * *
An hour later, feeling marginally refreshed from her large takeaway double-shot espresso latte´ and the bite of fresh spring air she’d squeezed into her lungs whilst waiting for her order, Chloe arranged her papers on the desk in front of her and prepared to interview Agent Munro’s boss. When a brisk knock sounded on the door, she buttoned up her black pin-striped suit jacket and bade him enter.
Detective Superintendent Gary Julian was a mountain of a man. Chloe had thought Agent Munro tall, and he was. But he was no match for the man who towered in her doorway, ducking his head as he entered the close confines of the interview room.
Chloe stood and offered her hand. It was swallowed in a brief handshake and then set loose. Her gaze swept over the liberal sprinkling of silver in the man’s closely cropped hair and she noted the fatigue in his world-weary eyes.
According to his personnel file, Gary Julian was a man of some reckoning. With more than thirty-six years as a Federal Agent under his belt, the last ten of which had been spent as head of the Child Protection Unit, Chloe could only imagine what he’d been subjected to and marveled at his resilience.
“Detective Superintendent, thank you for coming in. Please, take a seat.”
The chair disappeared beneath his bulk and Chloe had a fleeting image of it collapsing underneath him. But, it seemed to adjust to the weight and she looked down and opened the file in front of her.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the reason I’ve asked you to meet with me today?”
His lips remained tight. His only response was a sharp nod.
She cleared her throat, a little nervous at the thought of reminding such a seasoned law enforcement officer of basic procedures.
“I’m sorry, Detective Superintendent. Shortly, I’m going to be switching on the video recorder and this interview will be taped. It’s important that you provide me with a verbal response to every question.”
He seemed to take her request in the spirit she’d intended and nodded again. “Of course, I understand.”
Chloe held his gaze. “Thank you. I’m sure you understand how difficult this is for everyone. I’ve already spoken to Agent Stanford and he’s incredibly distressed at what’s happened. I’ve assured him this matter will be resolved as quickly as possible. Agent Munro is also understandably upset.”
“He didn’t do it.”
“I thank you for your opinion, Detective Superintendent Julian and I accept that you know Agent Munro far better than I do, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate I have a job to do and the sooner we get on with it, the sooner this can be dealt with.”
“Fine. But just so you know: He didn’t do it.”
Chloe plunged ahead. “I understand Agent Munro has been under your command for a little over a year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he transferred in August last year. He came to us from the New South Wales Police Service.”
“Do you know why he transferred? I imagine the Child Protection Unit isn’t for everyone.”
Gary hesitated and then replied, “His niece was kidnapped by a pedophile. From what I remember, she was rescued before she was raped, but I’m sure you can imagine how traumatic the whole thing was for her and her family. Declan submitted an application to the AFP a month or two afterwards. Once he’d finished his training, he applied for and was accepted into the CPU.”
“Isn’t that a little unusual? Going straight into a high tech operations group?”
“Yes, most agents don’t commence their careers in a high tech operations group and especially not a group like the CPU, but Declan had a decade or more experience as a senior detective in the State system. He had the ability and, more importantly, the passion to see bottom-feeding scum like pedophiles hunted down and locked away. Besid
es, he also has a brother in the CPU. Brandon Munro’s been with us about a year and a half. He’s based in Sydney. Before that, he was undercover in Jakarta, rooting out terrorist cells. He has an enviable service record and we’re more than happy to have him on our team.”
Chloe added some notes under the heading “Family” and tried not to let her feelings show. To say that she was impressed was an understatement, but just because the man had a stellar family didn’t mean that had rubbed off on him.
“Tell me about Declan Munro.”
The superintendent drew in a deep breath. Chloe would have sworn the width of his chest almost doubled. He crossed his arms and eased the air out between his lips.
“Declan Munro is one of the best agents I’ve ever had the honor of commanding.”
Chloe held Julian’s gaze. It didn’t falter. Sincerity was reflected in even the darkest corners of his eyes. She scribbled a note on the paper, feeling more and more confused.
“What do you think about the accusations made by Agent Stanford?”
Julian shook his head in disbelief. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to think. Agent Stanford’s been in the unit for years. He’s a good investigator. Not necessarily as insightful or enthusiastic as Declan, but Stanford’s been in the game longer, and had more time to wear out. We all wear out eventually.”
“And what of the evidence? The computer access logs which clearly show unauthorized access from the computer Declan Munro has already agreed is the one he uses.”
“There are other agents who use that computer,” Gary protested.
“I know. That’s why I asked you to bring your timesheets and clock cards for the last six weeks. Did you do that for me?”
“Yes. They’re in here.” The superintendent reached inside his briefcase and pulled out a folder. Flipping it open, he handed the records to Chloe.
“Thank you. I’ll examine these later. I have the times and dates off the computer logs. If they match up with the times we know Agent Munro was on duty, it will be just one more burden he’ll have to overcome.”
She cleared her throat. “I understand agents are sometimes in the squad room outside their normal work hours. Is that correct?”