The Reward ch-21

by Peter Corris

  It was cool and shady in the garden with a strong scent of jasmine. I pushed the buzzer on the grille and got a recorded message: This is Satisfaction, an escort service and relaxation centre. If you wish to enter please press the buzzer twice. Then the message was repeated in what sounded like Japanese.

  I pressed and the grille slid open. The front door opened as I approached and a slender blonde woman wearing a black lace wrap over a red silk teddy and red very high heels looked me up and down.

  Good morning, sir, she said. Can I help you?

  Yes, Id like to spend some time with one of your ladies.

  Of course. Please come in. Im Amanda. As you see, Im a blonde, but if youd prefer a brunette or a redhead Im sure Chantelle or…

  I kept moving past her and along the hall towards a huge mirror that noticeably slimmed me down. Amanda came after me, still chanting her spiel, swaying on the heels, maybe already sensing that something was wrong. She reached out, took my arm and tried to draw me towards her and her headily perfumed body that gave off only a slight tang of cigarette smoke and musk oil.

  If youd like to wait in there, sir, on the left, we can talk a little more. Im afraid you cant just walk about. Our guests want privacy as Im sure you do…

  Not breaking her hold and taking her other arm in a soft grip, I let her steer me into a small room which contained a bar, a couch and a TV set with a video playing. Two women, one black and one white, were to-and-froing on a bed, sharing a deeply-inserted double dildo and outdoing each other with their low moans.

  Do you like that? Amanda said.

  Not quite my scene. I want to see Peg Hawkins.

  Im afraid

  Theres nothing to be afraid of, I said. Just tell her Im a friend of Colin Sligo. You might mention that I knew Johnno pretty well and I also know Andrea Craig. Have you got all that?

  She broke free and all the softness and lubriciousness went out of her. A copper, are you?

  Worse, Amanda, something much worse. And tell Peg not to try and duck out because Ive got some people outside you ladies really wouldnt want to meet. You really wouldnt.

  Weve got protection here.

  Look, if Pegs in this room inside five minutes you wont need protection or anything like it. We talk, I go. If shes not, I guarantee youll be looking for another position and the wordll be out on you and it wont be easy to get something else this good. Now, be sensible.

  What namell I say?

  I looked at her and shook my head.

  OK, Ill fetch her. Stay here, will you? Theres a fat Jap getting a blow job next door. If he sees you hell freak.

  Three minutes, I said.

  Peg was down in less than that. She wore a white linen sleeveless dress with a pleated front and skirt. She showed just enough cleavage to indicate how impressive the rest of her would be. She was still thin, about medium height in medium heels and her lightly tanned skin, blonde streaked hair and make-up were all designed to make her look cool, successful and no older than she had to. It worked. Peg Hawkins must have been well over forty and must have had some hard years, but they werent showing yet. She came into the room and more or less ignored me while she turned off the television and told Amanda to keep an eye on things.

  Now, she said. Having succeeded in frightening young Amanda you can try me. Ill return the compliment. Ill give you five minutes and if you havent accounted for yourself by then youll be wishing you had.

  I dont want to frighten you, Peg. I took out my PEA licence and showed it to her. I want to talk about Ramona Beckett, Johnno your late hubby, Colin Sligo, Amanda Neville or Craig people like that.

  Shed been standing up, rather stagily, beside the TV and her face had worn a look of indifference. But the names hit her hard. She moved sideways and sat on the couch. Her mouth twitched and a few cracks appeared in the flawless makeup around her eyes.

  Jesus, she said. After all this time.

  It has been a while, I said.

  Yeah. Make me a drink, will you? Vodka and tonic.

  I went to the bar, mixed Smirnoff and lo-cal tonic water, added some ice cubes and handed it to her. I settled for the tonic and ice myself. She took a slug and settled back against the couch. Her hands, clutched around the glass, looked a little older than the rest of her.

  Are you still getting a pay-off, Peg?

  She nodded.

  And Johnnos super?

  Another nod.

  The super doesnt have to stop and the Taxation Department doesnt need to know about the other money. You dont have to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, money-laundering and all the other stuff. Not if you dont want to be.

  You could be bluffing.

  I drank, rattled the ice cubes. A colleague of mine is out at Robina talking to Colin right now. We know that Amanda Craig is on her way up here. Maybe she rang you from Kempsey after she got booked for speeding.

  Stupid bitch!

  An ex-cop named Barry White is dead and another named Leo Grogans in intensive care. I turned to show her my stitched ear. I got a bit of a hammering myself. Its all breaking open, Peg, and people are going to suffer. You could be one of them.

  I dont know anything about dead coppers.

  Maybe I believe you. Whether I do or dont wont matter if you tell me what I really want to know.

  She sucked in a deep breath and the large breasts rose and fell eye-catchingly. She must have used the movement many times for her own ends but she wasnt doing anything like that now. She was just taking in oxygen, just buying time. And what the fucks that?

  Who paid Johnno and Sligo and Andrea to suppress the kidnapping note after Ramona Beckett went missing?

  17

  Peg Hawkins bit her lip and got lipstick on her beautifully capped teeth. Her fingernails were long and painted a muted shade of red. She tapped them against the glass, then picked at them and some flakes of paint fell off. Any minute now shed put her hand up to her hair and disturb the carefully sprayed arrangement. I didnt want to see it. She was a handsome, well-presented women, and I didnt get any pleasure from seeing her come apart.

  Come on, Peg, I said. A name and a few details and itll be done.

  Its not that easy.

  Maybe not, but you havent got much option. Fact is, Ive got bigger fish to fry. This looks like a nice establishment. Youre doing well, providing an essential service. All fine by me and my colleague. Why put it at risk?

  She chewed at her lip and the colour spread on her teeth, threatening to make her look clownish. I got out a tissue and handed it to her. Youre messing yourself up.

  She stood and looked at herself in the mirror above the TV set. Jesus, she said. Youre turning me into a hag. She made repairs and straightened herself up. She threw out her chest and this time she was working at it. Look, whatever your name is, as you say, this is a classy place. Ive got some very talented women here. Is there some other way we can work it out?

  I shook my head. I cant quite see what your problem is, Peg. But, no. No chance of anything like that.

  Didnt think so. A tough bastard, like Johnno. Whats your name again?

  Cliff Hardy.

  She sighed and held out her glass to me. She was still working. The long, slender, tanned arm came out like an invitation. Normally, I dont drink till six, Cliff.

  Me too. Normally. I made her another drink and topped up mine.

  The problem is Colin, she said.

  It felt like the right moment. I got the mobile from my jacket pocket and punched in the numbers. I switched it to Broadcast so Peg could hear the exchange.

  This is Bob.

  Cliff, Bob. Has Max talked to Sligo?

  Happening now. He had a good first nine but I dont think hes going to putt so well on the back nine. See, Im picking up the language.

  Have we got the name?

  Yeah, Bob said. Its who you thought. Colin says Johnno got all the cream. He says Pegs a great root but not very bright. Hes still talking.

  That fucking bastard!
Peg threw her glass at the TV set. It bounced off and broke. He got just as much from Beckett as Johnno, maybe more.

  Thanks, Bob. I cut the connection. Thatd be Sean Beckett?

  Yeah, of course.

  How would Sligo get more out of him?

  He claimed to know who the kidnappers were, even though he didnt have a fucking clue.

  The door opened and Amanda, looking agitated, took a tentative step into the room.

  Its all right, Mandy, Peg said. I just lost my block for a minute. Nothing to worry about.

  Amanda barely looked at the broken glass on the floor. Its not that, Peggy. Theres a woman here insisting on seeing you. I really dont know how to cope with this sort of…

  The door swung wide and another woman came into the room. Unlike the other two, there was nothing sexually alluring about her. She wore jeans, boots and a sweater. No make-up. Her hair was short and straight, her eyes were big and her mouth was small.

  Hullo, Andrea, I said. I ushered Amanda out quickly and shut the door.

  Who the fucks this? Andrea Craig said.

  I held up the mobile phone. You left a very unhappy woman behind you. Want me to give Eve a ring and tell her youre OK?

  Andrea looked at Peg as if she wanted to do her serious harm. What have you been doing, you dumb bitch? Whats going wrong?

  Peg shrugged, went to the bar and made herself another drink. Colins spilled the beans.

  Colin? I dont believe it.

  Peg had a drink, then poured in more vodka. Ask him. He seems to know everything about everybody.

  Thats right, you slut. Get pissed and slide out of it. I suppose youre fucking this hard case?

  I bet hed rather fuck me than you. You look like shit. At least when you were rooting Johnno you looked like a woman.

  All you know about being a woman is how to open your legs.

  Thats enough! I said. I know you got a phone call and came running to see Peg. I want to know why and who tipped you off.

  Andrea pulled a packet of cigarettes and a lighter from her jeans pocket. Get fucked!

  Peg took two steps towards her and knocked the cigarettes and lighter to the floor. The packet fell open and the cigarettes spilled out onto the wet carpet. Andrea yelped.

  Nobody smokes in here, Peg said. Not you, not Colin, not the fucking Bishop of Brisbane. Youd better talk to this bloke. Hes got Colin by the balls somehow and the whole things turning to shit. Ill tell you this, Hardy. This bitch put the screws on Johnno. She claimed to have something that proved hed done some big favour for Sean Beckett.

  You bet I have, Andrea said.

  I said, What?

  Andrea looked weary. The adrenalin that had carried her from Sydney to the Gold Coast was fading and she looked ready to drop her bundle. Why should I tell you? she muttered. You wouldnt know shit about it.

  I know there was a ransom note that got suppressed.

  She stared at me, fumbled for her cigarettes, remembered and twitched visibly. Yeah, well Ive got that fucking note. I need a smoke.

  You can smoke all you like in a couple of minutes. Two more questions. Why did you call Peggy and visit here so much? Its clear you cant stand each other.

  Ill answer that, Peg said. It was Johnnos doing. He stashed away a hell of a lot of money in an account up here. A lawyer makes periodical withdrawals and deposits it in another account. We can only draw on it jointly with both signatures,

  I dont get it, I said. Why?

  Because he was a sadistic bastard. This was his way of punishing both of us. Her for blackmailing him, me because I wouldnt give him the show he wanted.

  Shut up, Andrea spat.

  Fuck you! He might as well know it all. When he ran out of poke on account of booze and diabetes, Johnno liked to watch two women perform. It wouldve given him the thrill of a lifetime to see his wife and his mistress sucking each other. This dyke slut was more than willing but I wasnt.

  Itd be a dry twat now, Andrea said. Probably got a few stitches in it to draw it closed.

  This is unedifying, I said. Whats the lawyers name?

  I thought you knew everything, Peg said. Looks like you dont.

  Cavendish, I said. Wallace Cavendish.

  Jesus, Andrea said. How the fuck did all this get out in the open? I thought it was sealed up tight. Johnno couldnt have been as fucking smart as he thought he was.

  I had a sense that the women, despite their loathing for each other, might suddenly team up and put me out of the game. I was trying to think fast enough to ask the right questions while I still had them, but there were a lot of pieces to put together. Andrea moved to the bar, pulled out an ice-cube tray, twisted it and let three cubes drop in a glass. The rest fell on the floor. She poured a couple of fingers of Teachers into the glass and took a drink. She bent down and picked up a couple of cigarettes and examined them for useability.

  Just then the mobile rang. I answered and forgot that I still had it on Broadcast.

  Cliff, Bob announced for all to hear. I hope it worked because we cant hang around here much longer. Sligo never showed up. He called in sick. What

  Peg Hawkins swore and came at me with her fingernails hooked like talons. But shed taken in too much vodka, too early in the day, too quickly. She slashed but missed, lost balance and fell heavily. Andrea laughed and kicked her in the ribs with a heavy boot.

  Whos dumb now, bitch? she said. He fucking fooled you, didnt he? I knew Colind never spill his guts. She landed another kick. Peg rolled away, right into the broken glass. A long shard bit into her upper arm and the blood ran, staining the white dress. Andrea laughed again and headed for the door.

  I missed a beat, still holding the squawking mobile, looking at the hard-shelled, elegant woman reduced to a weeping wreck on the soggy carpet. I cut the connection and moved out into the passage. Amanda tried to block Andreas way but the ex-policewoman had too many moves for her and Amanda ended up on the floor. But Andrea had to press a bell to open the door and that gave me time to catch her. I went through the door with a strong grip on her arm as a counter to her attempt to twist me sideways and get a well applied boot to my shins.

  We were locked together, sweating and panting in the perfumed garden. I pressed her up against the trellis with a forearm under her chin and a knee in her groin. My bruised ribs were shrieking and I knew I couldnt hold her there for long.

  Our faces were close together and the sour, tobacco odour of her breath was strong in my nostrils.

  One answer to one question, Andrea, and you can walk away from all this.

  Whats that, arsehole?

  Who tipped you off in Sydney? Who sent you running up here to Peg and the money?

  Thats two fucking questions and I dont know the fucking answers.

  You got a phone call. Eve told us.

  I felt the strength go out of her but I held on tight in case she was faking. Eve, she said. Poor old Eve.

  Who?

  I dont know. Some woman.

  A woman?

  Thats right. Another surprise for you is it, arsehole? You think only men can fuck people around?

  No, I said. I dont think that.

  Bet your arse. This woman said the Ramona Beckett thing was being investigated and that my name had come up. She said these hard types… ease up, youre fucking choking me.

  I relaxed the pressure, a little.

  … were coming to see me and Id better get out of it and grab everything I could lay my hands on before it all turned to shit. Let go!

  I released her, she spat in my face and ran away. I leaned back against the trellis, wiped my face with the back of my hand and closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them Peg Hawkins was standing by the open grille. She had a white handtowel pressed against her cut arm and the blood was just beginning to seep through it. Her dress was stained and spotted. She was pale but she was fighting for control.

  What now? she said.

  I shook my head and stood straight, looking back at her. Do you
know who killed Ramona Beckett?

  I dont know and I dont care.

  Why did Beckett go on paying after Johnno died? Why wasnt he off the hook then?

  Johnno was a sadistic, twisted creep, but he was smart. He had Beckett on tape.

  Wheres the tape now?

  Wouldnt you like to know!

  Yeah, I would, but I do know something. Peg. I reckon that moneys going to stop coming.

  Why?

  I reached into my jacket pocket and took out the miniature tape recorder Id activated just before Id pressed the Satisfaction buzzer. The red light was showing and the tape was still running.

  Ive got a tape of my own, I said. Does that make me smart, too?

  Whatre you going to do with it?

  Play it to Colin Sligo for one thing.

  She sagged against the grille. Oh, Jesus, she said. Dont do that. Please dont do that. I can get along without the money from Sydney, but Colin can put me out of business here.

  Youd better get that arm looked at. Ill do a deal with you, Peg. I wont play the tape to Sligoor only an edited version. Ill do everything I can to keep you out of it.

  What do I have to do in return?

  One, dont contact Sligo today. Two, tell me where Andrea Craigs likely to have gone.

  Peggy Hawkins was a woman of spirit. Despite her distress and her wound she managed a harsh, genuine laugh. Fuck me, she said. Ill have to trust you.

  Thats right.

  Sure I cant interest you in Amanda or Chantelle? I can scrub up pretty well myself too.

  I dont doubt it, but no.

  Not queer, are you, Cliff?

  What do you think?

  She sighed. The breasts heaved. She was almost back in business. No, I understand men better than anything else. Ive watched you. Youre a hair, eyes, mouth, tit and leg man. Johnno was much the same before he got old and fat. Dont get old and fat, Cliff.