Promise of Hunters Ridge

by Sarah Barrie

  ‘Carter had told him not to touch me. He wanted me for the next hunt. Besides, Rob wasn’t in very good condition.’

  ‘That must have been really frightening. If I were you, I’d want to get them back for what they did. This information Boland gave you was an opportunity for payback, wasn’t it? It’s completely understandable.’

  ‘He didn’t give me anything.’

  ‘Mia … I know you got your hands on that information and got those men killed. I’m guessing Davis Walker found something out, confronted you with it?’

  ‘Detective,’ Cameron warned, ‘we’re not here to listen to guesswork.’

  ‘This is your chance to tell us the truth,’ Stuart continued. ‘If Rob Littleton or anyone else is holding anything over you, threatening you, we can help. Either way, I understand. What they did to you, what they put you through, will be taken into consideration.’

  Mia shook her head in disbelief. ‘Kindness just radiates from you, doesn’t it?’

  ‘What if I run through some scenarios,’ Stuart said, ‘see if I bring anything to mind?’

  The smug face as he spoke was just about all she could stand. ‘Actually, you do bring something to mind. A quote I saw on Facebook recently. “When you’re dead you don’t know you’re dead. It’s only difficult for the people around you.”’

  ‘So?’

  ‘It’s the same when you’re an idiot.’

  He got to his feet. ‘Okay, I’ve had enough. Tell it to your fellow inmates.’

  ‘I’ll talk to you outside, Perkins,’ Russ ordered, then said to Mia, ‘Thanks for your cooperation, Mia. I’ll send Indy in shortly.’

  Ben went back to Mia’s, spoke with forensics, tried to recreate the scene, the timeline. He needed to be thorough, but he wanted to be fast. He trusted Indy to keep an eye on the situation with Mia, but he’d prefer to do it himself. Mia’s fingerprints were on the weapon, the weapon was used to shoot the victims. It was the same model of gun used to shoot Chapel. Like Indy, he was betting it was the same weapon. Mia was the only one at the scene. How long was it after the shots were fired before they arrived—only a few minutes?

  Indy was right, he was going to need a big mother rabbit. But where was he going to find it?

  He called Indy. ‘Where did Mia say the gun came from?’

  ‘It was on the bench.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He hung up and sought out one of his forensic officers. ‘Carly, if someone shot those men then took the gun downstairs and dropped it on the bench for Mia to find, is it possible there could be gunshot residue left on the bench? I need to try to gather some evidence to verify Mia’s version of events.’

  ‘If I’ve learnt one thing in this job it’s that anything is possible. We’ll test.’

  Unsatisfied but hopeful, he left them to it.

  As he walked back into the station he was caught by Russ. ‘The inspector wants to see you. Be smart, Ben.’

  ‘Right. Has Mia been interviewed?’

  ‘Yeah, you should probably take the time to watch the recording.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Once she gets out of this, you’ll find it entertaining.’

  He could only imagine. But he wasn’t in the mood to be entertained. Ben knocked on the inspector’s door and was told to enter. ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’

  The inspector looked up from his paperwork. ‘Have you charged her?’

  ‘I don’t have all the facts yet.’

  ‘She’s still with her lawyer,’ Russ added.

  The inspector got up and walked to the window, walked back. ‘You’re the best detective I’ve got, but I’m not sure your judgement isn’t impaired on this one.’

  ‘Why’s that? Because I think all this is too simple? Too well set up?’

  ‘I’ve got the commissioner breathing down my neck. Stuart has been in his ear complaining that your relationship with Ms Morgan is jeopardising the entire case. He wants you out of it.’

  ‘And you know better!’ Ben stepped closer to the desk, glared. ‘Stop kissing the commissioner’s butt and let me do my job!’

  The inspector glowered at Ben across the desk. ‘Pull your head in! You’re not going to have a career left if you don’t handle this correctly.’

  ‘If handling this correctly means arresting Mia for something she didn’t do, I’ll quit.’

  ‘You’re not serious.’

  ‘I’ve never charged an innocent person in my life and I’m not about to start now because some little twat with connections is running to his uncle for validation. I’m in charge of this case—no one else!’

  ‘You say you don’t have all the facts? Ben, she paid Chapel for information. The men on that list associated with Hunters Ridge were then killed—by Chapel. She got a text to tell her it was done. Then while she’s back in town, Chapel turns up dead. Now we’ve caught her at the scene of a homicide, with a gun. Her gun was identified as the murder weapon in Chapel’s and Walker’s murders.’

  ‘She never got that information and she never paid Chapel near enough for the hits. All the rest is circumstantial. And you’re forgetting Jones.’

  ‘I’m not forgetting Jones, but there was no Jones at the crime scene earlier. Just Mia.’

  ‘I’ll pull this together. I just need some time.’

  The inspector sighed sympathetically. ‘Maybe the Mia you got to know before all this started wouldn’t have been capable of this. But the men who had her did unspeakable things to women—who knows what she went through, what she hasn’t told you? Hell, I’m not sure I blame her. And once in, it’s likely she couldn’t find her way out. Things like this snowball. Get her a psych eval. But, Ben, if you can’t do this, you’ll have to step back from the case.’

  ‘Sorry to interrupt.’ Stuart looked anything but sorry. ‘We’ve got the search warrant. We’re heading out now.’

  ‘I’ll lead,’ Russ said.

  ‘You should be with your wife,’ Ben said.

  ‘And let this one handle the search?’ When Stuart snarled, Russ levelled one back. ‘I’ll take the team. I’ll make sure they respect her things.’

  ‘Appreciate it.’

  ‘Have the charges written up,’ the inspector ordered Ben. ‘When the lawyer’s done, you do what you have to do.’

  Ben went back to his office, looked at a whiteboard full of notes and evidence he’d collected. He’d been working on a theory and it was valid, but there were holes. Too many holes. And all that mattered now was figuring out who Liam Jones was. All the theories in the world weren’t going to help at this point. He needed evidence.

  With a curse, he wiped the board clean. Started again.

  He was several attempts in when Russ knocked on his door. Ben didn’t like the look on his face.

  ‘How’d you go?’

  ‘Sorry, Ben. It’s not good. You’re going to need to come into the inspector’s office and take a look at something.’

  ‘You found something?’ Indy asked, joining them.

  ‘Yeah. I’ll show you,’ Russ said.

  The inspector and Stuart were already waiting. Ben ignored them and sat, staring at the screen.

  ‘Oh, shit.’ Indy looked over his shoulder, rolling back on her heels as she read through the list of names of the hunters, their addresses, their points in the system. ‘The motherload.’

  Ben opened another file and another. Scrolled through the pages of information.

  ‘This is fantastic,’ Stuart said enthusiastically. ‘We need to organise to get out there and bring these guys in before they bolt.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic,’ Russ said. ‘I’m sorry, Ben.’

  ‘Did it occur to anyone this might have been what Davis was doing at Mia’s? Just because it’s there doesn’t mean she had it the whole time.’

  ‘That would make sense,’ Indy said.

  ‘And what?’ Stuart said. ‘She shot him for it? Maybe she only had a couple of names before, wanted the rest of them.’

  ‘I do
ubt it,’ Russ said. ‘I’d say it’s more likely he came up with evidence she’d had it all along. She wasn’t left with any choice but to shut him up.’

  Ben’s mouth opened in surprise. ‘Russ, you know she didn’t do this.’

  Russ rubbed his forehead. ‘I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.’

  ‘Open and shut to me,’ Stuart said. ‘Case closed. Lock her up and let’s go and get these guys. Do we have the go-ahead to charge her?’

  ‘Back off, Perkins,’ Ben warned. ‘You think I’m going to let you go in there hyped up like an excited bloody puppy?’

  ‘Bowden’s in charge,’ the inspector said.

  Ben wondered if that was the case. Frank had no right to interfere, to pressure him like this. But he couldn’t risk all-out war. Because he did have a relationship with Mia, and that was as much against the rules as the inspector’s strong recommendations for how he deal with this.

  ‘He has a personal interest in this case!’ Stuart pressed.

  ‘And you don’t?’ Ben exploded. ‘All this case is to you is a chance to prove to your uncle how clever you are. You’re dealing with an innocent woman’s life to get brownie points. Let’s run through this, shall we? If Mia intended murdering Davis, why would she do it in her living room?’

  ‘Opportunity.’

  ‘You’re guessing. And you can’t prove that the thumb drive was ever in Mia’s possession.’

  ‘Ben, it was in her desk drawer,’ Russ said.

  ‘Were her prints on it?’

  ‘We’ll find that out shortly.’

  ‘I’m betting they’re not.’

  ‘So it’s more likely one of us planted it there? Are you going to alienate everyone to protect this woman?’ Stuart asked.

  ‘Okay, fine, let’s say she got her hands on that information in the beginning and organised those hits with Chapel. Why? Because she wanted all the hunters from that night dead. Then she took out Chapel to cover her arse. Does she have any known contacts at Silverwater remand who could have carried out those inhouse murders?’

  ‘None known, no,’ Stuart grumbled.

  ‘The other two Masters were murdered before any of this even started.’

  Russ shook his head. ‘We know why they were murdered—that was a separate issue.’

  ‘Was it? Isn’t it a lot more logical that one person is behind all this? That someone is shutting them all up—in and out of prison—for a reason?’ Ben asked.

  ‘Keep talking, Ben,’ Indy said.

  ‘No one witnessed her shoot Davis or Dex.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘There was no gunpowder residue on her hands.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Her gun was stolen weeks before to set her up. You don’t shoot someone then give them CPR. Then there’s the case of the bullets used not being the brand she’s reliably bought through the gun club for years. Why would she bother to track down different bullets when there were two packets locked in a separate container in another part of her house? She wouldn’t do that to cover her tracks then go around murdering people with a registered weapon. As for those Chapel hits, she didn’t pay him enough to do what he did. We can prove she only got a grand out of the ATM. You’re not getting three contracts on that.’

  ‘That could have just been a final payment.’

  Ben wasn’t sure why he was bothering. They were convinced Mia had done it, and didn’t seem to even be considering what he was saying. Except Indy, who was looking equally frustrated.

  ‘You realise all you have is maybes,’ Ben told them. ‘Judges don’t like maybes. They like facts. Proven facts that will stand up in court and convince a jury of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. You can’t charge her on what you have. Blakely will crucify you.’

  ‘I’d like to see him try,’ Stuart sneered.

  ‘Blakely will do his job,’ the inspector said, ‘and we’ll do ours.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Stuart got up.

  ‘Not you, Perkins. Detective Bowden will take care of it. Won’t you, detective?’

  ‘She didn’t do this and it’s my call, not yours,’ Ben snapped at the inspector.

  ‘You think she didn’t do it?’ the inspector continued. ‘Prove it while I sleep better knowing she’s locked up.’

  Ben walked out of the inspector’s office and into his. He put his hands on his desk to stop him using them on someone while he attempted to pull himself together.

  ‘Hey, you okay?’ Indy walked in and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, stupid question.’

  ‘I can’t do it. Indy, I just … can’t.’

  She walked around his desk and looked him in the eye. ‘Then that’s it. It’s hopeless. Mia’s going to prison.’

  ‘How do I walk in there and read those charges to her?’

  ‘All you’re doing is giving us time to keep investigating. If you’re pulled, Russ will be put in charge. Russ is too worried about his wife to think straight. Stuart wants her to be guilty. You know this. Neither of them will dig any deeper. They don’t have to. As far as everyone on the other side of that door is concerned, they’ve got their girl. If you walk away, that’ll be it for her. You’re sentencing her to decades in prison.’

  ‘Cameron Blakely will sort it.’

  ‘Ben. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to set this up. I’m guessing it’s this Liam Jones, and Liam Jones is a cop who knows how to frame her rock solid. You’re the only one even close to finding him, to figuring this out. I want to help you fix this—I’ll put my career on the line too—but you need to buy us time.’

  ‘She won’t get bail. I’ll be putting her behind bars.’

  ‘No matter what you choose to do from here, that’s going to happen. How long do you want her to stay there?’

  Russ walked in with Stuart. ‘She’s sticking to her story,’ he told Ben.

  ‘Well, with the two Cameron Blakelys flanking her there’s not much chance of her having an opportunity to stuff up,’ Stuart complained.

  ‘Cam’s here?’

  ‘Yeah. And Ally’s out front.’

  Stuart handed him a piece of paper. ‘I thought you might want this.’

  Ben snatched the charge sheet from Stuart’s hand. ‘Just get out of the way.’

  He knocked, then let himself into the interview room. He knew Stuart had come in behind him but ignored him, ignored Cam and his father. Mia looked up, her face white, eyes shadowed and glassy. But the fight was still there, the hope. And as she looked at Ben, the belief.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt. Mia Morgan, I’m charging you with the murder of Davis Walker and the attempted murder of Dexter Patuwai…’ As he read the charges through he saw shock, then hurt, then disbelief. And finally, defeat. She didn’t argue, didn’t fight, she just shut down. And that terrified him. ‘Do you understand the charges?’

  Her head was already down, but it moved once.

  He turned and stormed out. When he reached the inspector’s office, Frank’s head came up and Ben threw the paperwork at him. ‘Consider her charged,’ he spat and kept walking. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He had to get out.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Russ called.

  ‘Ben, hold up!’ Cam came charging after him.

  He hit reception and there was Ally. Great, everyone was going to fucking follow him.

  ‘Do you believe it?’ Ally demanded, putting herself in front of him, her tear-washed face glowering. ‘Do you honestly believe this, Ben?’

  ‘What do you think?’

  ‘Your sister’s been charged with murder,’ Stuart informed Ally. ‘You might want to back off.’

  ‘She’s been charged? Ben, what?’

  He was going to drop Stuart, his hands were clenched, his body primed. But he hadn’t just put Mia through that to stuff it up now. ‘I can’t discuss this with you yet, Ally.’

  ‘I want to see her.’

  ‘And you can. But her lawyer’s with her, so not yet.’

  ‘Her lawyer? It’s Ca
meron, my father-in-law. God, Ben, we’re supposed to be friends, what’s with the official bullshit?’

  ‘I’m sorry. I just—you need to let me go and do my job.’

  ‘Ally, I’ll fill you in. Come and sit,’ Cam said.

  Ben looked at his friend in gratitude but all he got in return was quiet, stony anger.

  ‘It was different when you came after me,’ Ally told Ben coldly. ‘You didn’t know us then. Now you do. This is unforgivable.’

  He nodded silently, because he knew it was. Then he left the station.

  CHAPTER

  24

  He pushed back the upset. Indy was right. Nothing mattered except proving Mia innocent. He needed to think. Step by step. Logically. Right from the beginning.

  Who was Liam Jones?

  Phones used by Rodney Chapel and Rob Littleton had been purchased under the same fake identity. An identity that had covered up the deaths of the missing Hunters Ridge girls, had known what to say, how to convincingly slide through the official rigmarole. Not a rookie cop. Someone with experience. And who made several phone calls from the vicinity of his station. A cop who had worked at the Sydney office and still did, because they’d made a deal with Brent Boland.

  He found himself in the carpark of Pipers Hotel. Chapel had stood there with Mia. Where had the photographer stood? He grabbed the photos and got out, walking around to judge the position. Not too far from the pair, he decided, even if the shots had been zoomed in. He paused in a space in a corner of the carpark. Here, he decided. Someone had sat here in a car and taken the photos. What was the chance of Chapel standing in just that position to show the exchange of cash at the best angle? Half a metre either way, you wouldn’t have seen it. If Chapel had been turned the other way, you wouldn’t have seen it. And Mia said Chapel had dragged her to the spot.

  Chapel must have known what was going on. He had to have been under instruction from the photographer.

  Ben leant against the fence. Had Liam Jones organised another person to take the photos to hand over to Davis Walker? Had this other person also organised Chapel? Ben doubted it. Jones was too good to have many loose ends in the form of extra people floating around. If Jones had organised Boland, Chapel and Davis, maybe Jones had taken the photos himself.