Sue reached for a tissue and blew her nose. ‘I’m sorry I lied to you. But I didn’t want you writing about my sexuality in your stories.’
‘I would never have done that. I only wanted to rule out any motive you may have had. Now that the real killer has been caught, I’ve got no reason to be paranoid about you not telling the truth. If it wasn’t for the murders, I would never have invaded your privacy with such a question. It was never about your sexual orientation.’
‘I know. I understand. If I was lying about my relationship with Pixie, I guess I can’t blame you for thinking I may be hiding something more sinister.’
‘Exactly. But you know what, I don’t think people would judge you the way you think they would. The world’s moved on. And besides, despite trying to hide your private life, it’s bound to get out one day. Wouldn’t you feel better if you didn’t hide it?’
‘Maybe. Some of the world has moved on but a lot hasn’t. Just look at the same-sex marriage debate and how hard it is to get equality. Maybe after I’ve established a media career, I won’t actively hide it, but I’m not ready at the moment. Plus what riles me is it’s really no one’s business. Heterosexuals don’t have to “come out” as heterosexual. It really annoys me that I should have to reveal my sexuality to anyone. Full stop.’
‘I get it. You’re absolutely right,’ said Rebecca as she wrapped an arm around Sue’s shoulder. ‘Come on, let’s go back to the Lodge. You can help us in the search for Hendy’s diary. I’d like to find it before the police do.’
‘Hendy’s diary?’
‘Yes, Hendy has a leather-bound diary. He’s admitted that he has written in it, detailing how he committed the murders.’
‘I know where his diary is.’
‘What? Where? How do you know?’
‘I have it.’
‘What? What do you mean you have it?’ asked Rebecca incredulously.
‘Well, when I didn’t go to the penguin tour last night, I decided to get a book from the Lodge’s library. I was looking through the books and saw Hendy’s diary. I immediately knew it was his because I’ve seen him write in it so frequently. It had the same tatty leather cover and besides, it has his initials embossed on it. I thought he must have dropped it and someone had put it on the shelf thinking it was a library book. I put it in my handbag and intended to give it to him, but then all hell broke loose, and I forgot about it.’
‘That crafty bugger. He hid the diary in the library thinking that would be the last place someone would look for a book. Did you read it?’
‘No, of course not. I knew it was his diary, and I don’t snoop. If I’d remembered this morning after I found out about him, I may have been tempted to look at it before handing it to the police. But everything’s been surreal, and I forgot all about the diary.’
‘Where is it now?’
‘It’s still in my handbag, where I put it last night.’
‘Right, let’s go get it,’ said Rebecca as she marched off back to the Lodge, Sue in tow.
Rebecca grabbed Lisa and Penny as she swept through the great room and almost frogmarched Sue to her bedroom. There, in her handbag, was the leather-bound diary.
They all sat down on the lounge, looking at it in anticipation.
‘I’ll try to find the relevant bits,’ said Rebecca, flipping through a few pages until she came to an entry headed Shenzhen. She read out:
wednesday 15th january—shenzhen
lost a huge amount of money at the casino last night. initially lost $10,000. drank too much. played next to this Chinese guy called bo yong who kept lending me money. at last count I was into him by $100,000. should never have taken the money. will try to win it back tonight.
thursday 16th january—shenzhen
shit. i’m in big trouble. down another $200,000. now owe this Yong $300,000. he and his goons came to see me last night in my hotel room. says he’s in some golden dragon triad. says that I owe him, but I can pay it back in another way.
Rebecca flipped through some more pages until she came to Adelaide.
monday 13th february—adelaide
jesus. yong has turned up in adelaide. wants me to kill pixie. says if i dont i will be killed. wont tell me why he wants her dead.
tuesday 14th february
Met that idiot sol at the strip club last night. he was pissed and told me he is doing a deal with yong to move the manufacturing of pixie browning clothing to china. he said pixie was refusing to play ball so the deal was in jeopardy. That’s why yong wants Pixie dead but i don’t think Sol knows. but sol mustnt be as stupid as he looks if he has managed to be a co-director of Pixies clothing company, with the entire ownership transferring to him on pixies death.
what if I play a little game myself? what if I was to frame sol for the murder. that would stuff up Yongs little game. as for getting hold of sols fingerprints, that shouldnt be hard. The bikies that run the strip joint tell me its easy to steal fingerprints. They take the glass that the patron has been drinking from and using a computer program they can make dummy fingerprints that can be worn like finger puppets. Brilliant use of technology. a few bucks to the right people and Ill have Sols fingerprint puppets. His fingerprints and not mine will be all over the body. might add a few little triad touches to the murder too. perhaps ill pin it on a rival triad. and I can use that train that runs through the course to add a dramatic touch and stuff up the tournament at the same time. Therell be chaos. a touch of genius
‘What sort of weirdo is he? He’s warped.’ said Penny.
‘Truth is weirder than fiction. You couldn’t make this stuff up,’ said Rebecca before reading the next couple of pages to herself.
‘Hey, read it out loud,’ said Lisa.
‘I’m just trying to get to the relevant bits. There’s a lot of logistical detail here about how he’s going to get a sword and a silk body bag,’ said Rebecca as she skimmed another couple of pages.
thursday 16th february
hey bonus today. disqualified pixie and saved $50,000. Ill pocket that without anyone noticing. i know how to cook the books. besides, ill win back that $300,000 I owe yong at the casino tonight and pixie won’t even know how close she came to being axed. literally. ha.
shit. lost the whole $50,000. bad luck pixie. youve come to the end of the line in more ways than one. Good thing I made all the preparations. My murder kit is ready to go and its in the boot of the car. I’ve got my fingerprint puppets. Im off to pay pixie a visit. i only have a few hours before dawn. Im actually excited. Ive often wondered what it would be like to murder someone. and this one is going to be a cracker. Ive never liked the woman. bonus finding fake lotus flowers in china town today. ill have to leave one as a calling card.
friday 17th february
well the deeds done and it was exhilarating, better than bungyee-jumping.
all hell has broken loose. but you can never read the chinese. i thought yong would be ropable at the chinese touches but hes actually chuffed that ive implicated his enemy, the white lotus society. I wonder how long before the cops charge sol. That will take the smile off yongs face.
sunday 19th february
shit, they still havent charged sol. what are those cops doing? maybe something went wrong with the fingerprints. that bikie gang that run the strip joint better not have dudded me with the wrong fingerprints. i need to link Sol to another murder to really put sol in the shit. i got off on killing pixie. im good at murder. mum always said I would turn out bad. She was right.
and i know just the victim and how to do it—that poor excuse for a human being bruce wells. ill send him a ticket to tomorrows T20 match at adelaide oval. make out hes won some stupid prize. ill have him seated just where i want him. must remember my calling card, that will link the murders
Rebecca skipped through a few more pages. ‘This is really hard to follow. His grammar is all over the place, and he has an aversion to apostrophes and capitals. I hope he didn’t have to do much writing in his jo
b.’
‘Oh, come on, Rebecca. He’s a murderer and, by the sounds of it, a psychopath who’s now got a real taste for murder. He’s not going to write in the Queen’s English in a diary when he’s talking crazy stuff,’ said Lisa.
Rebecca read on.
thursday 23rd february
so theyve finally arrested sol for pixies murder. police pathology is as incompetent as the rest of the police force. I dont know how they solve any murders. sol will be slammed with bruces murder too once pathology find his fingerprints all over Bruce and the weapon. Funny thing is I didnt need to kill bruce after all. bad luck. ive done the world a favour. wait until the cops find out what i put on the dark net. that will be another nail in sols coffin.
now that sol has been charged based on fingerprint evidence yong is furious. he knows ive framed sol but once again hes been unpredictable. he actually says he respects my ability to be ruthless. he now thinks we can do business and wants me to help him out on some golf deal on kangaroo island. i better kill him before Im no longer useful and he kills me. ill try to make this one look like its an accident.
‘I think I’ve read enough. This is making me feel sick,’ said Rebecca. She didn’t want to read out loud the last sentence she saw.
‘Me too,’ said Penny.
‘You need to hand this in to the cops straight away,’ said Sue.
‘Yep, you’re right. Let’s go to the Kingscote Police Station. Gary said he would be working from there today,’ said Rebecca.
A short while later, Penny pulled into the Kingscote station. Rebecca hopped out of the car and ran up the stairs just as Gary was coming out from an office. She thrust the diary at him.
‘There you go. It’s all there. Every disgusting, sordid detail. The hows and whys.’
‘You’ve read it?’
‘Not all of it, but enough. I feel sick. I just can’t believe the depths to which Hendy sank. And as for the motive for killing Bruce, it just doesn’t make sense.’
‘It rarely does with psychopaths who get a taste for killing. They often don’t need a motive. Why don’t you and the girls go back to the shack? I’ve got work to do and will be tied up for the rest of the day, but then perhaps we can have dinner together?’
‘You might not feel like eating after you read that. I don’t.’
‘I’ll call you later. See how you’re feeling. Now go back to the shack and rest.’
Rebecca knew it would be a while before she could rest. She was dreading writing this story, but she knew she must. She also knew she had to call Reg.
Rebecca got back into the car. ‘Let’s get going to the shack. I need a cleansing swim.’
On the way, Rebecca rang Reg and told him the gory details.
‘Stop frothing, Reg,’ scolded Rebecca.
‘What? Aren’t I allowed to get excited? I think this even eclipses the Popeye Murder. I hope you got a photo of the diary. And I want your copy within the hour.’
‘Yes and yes.’
As soon as they arrived at the shack, Rebecca set up her tablet on the verandah table and spent the next hour crafting her story, headlined ‘Diary of a Killer.’ When she clicked on send, she felt a huge surge of relief. It was as if she had purged herself. Rebecca stripped naked and walked into the cool waters of the Southern Ocean.
Champagne and Marron
Gary rang Rebecca just after five o’clock. ‘What about it, Rebecca? Dinner?’
‘I don’t want to go out for dinner. But I do want to see you.’
‘What about a picnic on the beach? Just you and me. I’ll take care of everything.’
‘Perfect.’
Gary pulled up next to the shack just after seven o’clock. Lisa, Sue, and Penny had already begun cooking their own dinner. Another BBQ, but this time they had managed to buy some locally caught King George whiting.
‘I hope you don’t mind us going off by ourselves,’ said Rebecca.
‘Are you kidding?’ said Penny.
‘It’s just what you need, Bec,’ said Lisa.
‘Just enjoy yourself,’ said Sue, sipping on a coldie.
‘Thanks so much. You’re the best.’
Gary pulled an esky and a rug from his boot and came around to where the girls were sitting.
‘Hi, girls,’ said Gary as he went up to Rebecca, pulled her out of her chair, and kissed her hard on the lips.
‘Get a room! Or at least a beach to yourself,’ said Lisa.
‘We’re off to the next cove,’ Gary said with a smile. He grabbed Rebecca’s hand and led her down to the beach and around the headland. When he’d found the perfect spot he spread the rug out on the sand.
‘Sit down,’ said Gary, pulling out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He sat next to Rebecca and poured the champagne, before pulling out a bunch of white flowers fro the eskie and handing them to her.
‘How gorgeous,’ said Rebecca as she placed almost her whole head into the posy to smell their scent. ‘What sort are they?’
‘White lotus. There’s actually a lotus nursery on the island,’ said Gary as he took a sip of his champagne.
‘You bugger!’ said Rebecca as she thumped him gently on the shoulder. ‘You should have told me about Hendy’s calling card.’
Gary burst out laughing. ‘As I’ve always said, information only flows one way during an investigation. We knew this sicko was placing a fake white lotus flower on his victims. We found one in Pixie’s body bag and one in Bruce Wells’s pocket. But I couldn’t tell you. You would have printed it, and we would have had white lotus flowers turning up everywhere. A bit like now. Except these are real,’ Gary laughed again.
‘So what’s the other evidence you have on Hendy?’
‘Rebecca! I think we should give murder talk a rest now. This is our date night,’ said Gary, kissing her.
Rebecca pulled away. ‘Just tell me, and I promise that will be it. I won’t ask you anything more.’
‘Promise?’
‘I promise!’
‘A petty criminal with links to one of Adelaide’s bikie gangs who works at that strip joint confessed to his involvement in framing Sol Semler and working with Philip Hendy. He was afraid of Hendy. Thought Hendy was nuts and said he was afraid for his life. With Hendy’s confession last night, with his diary, and now with the evidence of the guy who worked at the strip joint, we have as tight a case as you can get.’
‘Good. I’ll drink to that,’ said Rebecca as she clinked her glass against his.
‘Although I don’t think Sol Semler will be your biggest fan,’ said Rebecca.
‘Can we not talk about it!’ said Gary, no longer amused.
Rebecca smiled and gave Gary a peck on the cheek. ‘So what’s for dinner?’
‘I’ve bought a kilo of local Kangaroo Island freshwater marron, crusty bread, and olive oil,’ said Gary.
‘Perfect,’ said Rebecca as she leant across and kissed Gary’s cool, champagne-flavoured lips.
As their lips parted, Rebecca suddenly looked serious. ‘Did you read what Hendy said about me in his diary?’
‘Yes, but Hendy is locked away. He can’t harm you now.’
‘But I was next! He was going to kill me and make it look like another accident.’
Gary wrapped his arms around Rebecca. ‘Do you really think Hendy would stand a chance if he tried to take you on? Look what happened to him last night. He’s still complaining about how sore he is.’
‘It’s not funny. I could have been murdered!’
Gary pulled Rebecca down to the sand.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my husband Kym for his support and love.
Thanks also to my talented daughter Hannah who not only encourages me in whatever I do but did a thoughtful first edit of A Royal Murder. Her eye for detail, knowledge and love for grammar and suggestions around plot has improved this book immeasurably. I’d also like to acknowledge the excellent editing work of Margot Lloyd who, like an archaeologist, has dusted off
superfluous words and phrases and made things fit together as they should.
I’m very grateful to Michael Bollen at Wakefield Press for his support of me and the Rebecca Keith series. Wakefield Press is a publishing jewel in South Australia. It publishes beautiful books, and this state and Australia would be poorer without it.
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A Royal Murder Page 19