Ange fiddled with the phone and brought up the text message. It was from the school. As Ange read it she sank into the chair—all her worst fears confirmed. The message read,
‘Jennifer has not reported to school. Please provide advice…’
‘Jack, she didn’t get to school,’ Ange said, breathless. ‘Oh my God, what do we do now? I’ll call the Police.’
‘No. No, don’t do that. They said no cops or…’ Jack couldn’t finish the sentence.
‘Or what, tell me,’ she screamed.
‘They said they’ll hurt her unless I back off on this story,’ he said, sanitising the truth a little.
‘So what are you going to do—what happened to all your fluffy holiday stories? Why couldn’t you keep doing those useless pieces,’ she said, lashing out.
‘Ange, listen. They said I had to leave where I am today and not tell anyone why, and if I did that they wouldn’t hurt her. I’ll be on the next plane out and I’ll come down there to be with you. That’s all we’ve got for now. I have to hope they do what they said they would.’
‘I hate you, Jack. If we lose our little girl because of some crusade you’re on to save the bloody world, I will never forgive you, you arsehole,’ cursed Ange.
‘I understand. I’ll see you tonight. Try to stay calm,’ he said, knowing these were wasted words. ‘And, please don’t call the Police, not yet.’
Jack reached for the phone and called the regional airline. He booked an 11.30 flight to Sydney connecting through to Melbourne. He threw his clothes and toiletries into his carry bag, called a taxi to collect him and then it hit him. What am I going to tell Mike, Pip and Sharon? He found a piece of paper and a pen on top of Pip’s refrigerator and sat to write a note.
Dear Pip, Sharon and Mike,
I’ve decided that my interest in writing this story is placing all of us in too much danger. I should have listened to you all when you said these guys know how to play rough. I’m sorry, but I’ve allowed my dream of becoming a hard core, kick-arse journo again cloud my vision and it’s just not fair on all of you. I’m very sorry. I just can’t do this any more. There are some things in life that are more important,
Jack.
He propped the note up against the pepper grinder in the middle of the dining room table just as the taxi tooted outside. With great difficulty he manoeuvred his bag through the door, leaving it unlocked—like everyone does out here, he reflected.
As the taxi drove away, Jack looked back at Pip’s dogs standing to attention like a guard of honour. Not much honour here, he reflected, especially when they read the note! But there was no choice. Part of him did wonder what might have happened between him and Pip, but that was all gone now.
Chapter 38
Sergeant McMahon’s mobile rang as he was driving back from a court hearing. He pulled to the side of the road as he saw the display showed it was ‘Robbo’ calling. ‘G’day Robbo, how goes it, mate?’
‘Not too good, Pat, Pete’s gone off on this sick leave and now no-one can find him. I’ve been calling his mobile but he’s not answering. Reckon you could see if his stepdaughter there, young Lisa, knows where he might be?’
‘I can try, but I’ll have to be careful. She might wonder why I’m asking. I suppose I could say we need to know if he’s playing 18 with us on Saturday morning,’ Pat suggested.
‘Yeah, do that and let me know. Vinnie’s been looking for him. They want to make sure he’s ok and well out of harms way, if you get my meaning,’ said Robertson.
After he arrived back at the station, the sergeant walked out to the front counter, where Lisa was busy writing up reports. ‘Lisa, how’s the paperwork going. Tired of it yet?’ he asked, easing into the main topic he wanted to pursue.
‘Sarge, gotta say they didn’t tell us at the Academy how much time we’d spend doing this sort of thing. I suppose it comes with the turf, eh?’ she replied.
‘Yeah, sure does. Listen, I heard your stepdad has gone off on sick leave, hope he’s going to be ok?’ he said.
‘I don’t know. I’ve only spoken to him once, and we didn’t really discuss that too much. It was a bit of a surprise really,’ said Lisa, her suspicions aroused.
‘You don’t happen to know where he might be, do you?’ continued the sergeant. ‘A mate of his, Robbo, has been trying to call him but he’s not answering. We’re concerned for him, and we don’t know if he’s well enough to play golf on Saturday morning.’
‘I think you can safely assume he won’t be playing golf for a while, but leave it with me and I’ll see if I can get in touch with him. I’m worried about him too,’ said Lisa trying to end what had become an uncomfortable conversation.
‘Sure, keep me posted; and if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know,’ said Pat.
Lisa was left with even more fears for the safety of her step-father. I need to find him, she thought.
Chapter 39
Sharon and Mike disembarked from their plane into a bustling Sydney airport. ‘Luke said he’d be waiting for us and we could go somewhere away from it all to download what we know,’ said Sharon.
‘They’re not going to be very impressed with us not having the evidence with us,’ observed Mike.
‘Oh well, we’ll just have to win them over by relating what’s happened in the last few days. They can’t imagine we’d make that sort of shit up,’ responded Sharon.
As they walked out the exit doors, through the billowing clouds of cigarette smoke, Sharon said in her usual subtle way, ‘Jesus, I wish these smoker bastards would all hurry up and die.’ A few within earshot glared in her direction and she returned the favour.
Waiting in the drop-off/pick-up area was Luke standing beside a dark blue unmarked police car. They walked over and Mike was embarrassed as Sharon said in her loudest voice, ‘Shit, Luke, you still look good enough to eat, mate.’ Among the constant toots and background noise of cars shuffling through the busy area they exchanged pecks on the cheek and Sharon introduced Mike.
‘I’ve got us a meeting room down at the Coogee Palms Hotel a few minutes from here. Mark will meet us there,’ said Luke.
Mike couldn’t contain himself any more. ‘Luke, my source with the hard evidence didn’t show up with the goods this morning. I’m not sure what happened—I’m a bit worried actually.’
‘Hmmm, that is a worry given the other goings-on you guys have had to deal with of late. Is there someone you can call to go check on him or her?’ Luke asked.
‘I’ll do that as we head for the hotel,’ said Mike. They piled into the car and as they were driving off Mike called Pip’s home number. ‘There’s no answer,’ he said, ‘that’s odd. Jack was laid up there and not going anywhere, I thought. I’ll try Jack’s mobile.’ He called that number. ‘No answer there either,’ he said, puzzled. ‘I’ll give Pip’s mobile a try.’ Again, there was no answer. ‘I suppose Pip’s flying so has it turned off. Now what? I could call Charlie, but it’s a hell of a long way for him to go to check on Mary,’ Mike let slip her name for the first time. Sharon noted this but said nothing.
‘Let’s wait, Jack might be on the crapper,’ Sharon said in her usual subtle way.
They arrived at the hotel, parked the car and walked into the foyer where Mark Samuels was waiting. Sharon thought—spot the lawyer, folks; although she had to admit there was a fit looking bod under his well-fitted dark grey suit. They were introduced and he led them to a small meeting room with a view out towards the runways of Sydney airport jutting out into Botany Bay. Aircraft were coming and going every few minutes.
Luke took on the role of chairman for the meeting. ‘Now the idea here today is for us to map out all we can about what you know and especially what’s happened in the last week. This is to help Mark and I develop a strategy for what to do next. Mike, the fact that you don’t have the hard evidence yet we’ll put to one side for now.’ He saw Mark’s head turn sharply toward him. ‘You simply tell us in your words all that’s been
going on and we’ll stop you when we need more detail. Ok?’ said Luke.
As the minutes ticked by, white board after white board was filled with information. As they ran out of space on the board a new screen was scrolled into place and a printout emerged for them to review later. Occasionally Mark or Luke stopped Mike and asked him to spell out in more detail what he was saying. Sharon sat, unusually quiet, taking it all in and with the occasional exclamation of, ‘holy shit’, or ‘those bastards’.
Finally Mike got to the current situation and they took a toilet break and stretched their legs to the constant rhythm of aircraft accelerating for take off or reverse thrusting as they landed on the nearby tarmac. Mike tried Pip’s home number and Jack’s mobile again. Still no-one answered. Pip’s mobile was also a no-go. He was very worried now. He tried Mary’s number as well. No answer there either. Turning to the others, he asked, ‘What should we do? No-one’s answering and that’s very unusual.’
‘Sadly we can’t get the local coppers to go check for us,’ Sharon said sarcastically.
‘I suggest we give them another hour and then you call your son—it’s Charlie isn’t it?—and get him to check on them,’ said Luke.
‘Ok,’ said Mike, increasingly concerned. They resumed the detailing of more recent events. Mark was busy note-taking about these on the white board.
- Source from Water Dept contacted Mike
- Mike attended community meeting and accused Wellsmore
- Mike and Charlie’s mailboxes destroyed
- Jack arrived
- Mike, Charlie and Jack witness illegal diversion—get shot at
- Jack visited local Member—told him he was going to see Wellsmore
- Pip and Jack get photos of illegal diversion
- Jack tried to see Wellsmore—gone on sick leave—cancer?
- Jack had car accident—laptop and camera with photos go missing
- Local sergeant unwilling to investigate accident or the theft
- Pip and Mike go back to site of illegal diversion—all cleaned up
- Sharon tracked down landowner through Dept of Lands and ASIC
- Jack has second copy of photos—these sent to Luke
- Luke checks plates—ute registered to Marcus Girodella
- Arson attack at Mike’s place
- Mike’s dog shot
- Jimmy the pig shooter reckons only Billy Casperson or Wayne Butcher good enough to take that shot. What about Jimmy?
‘Ok, so what do we need to find out?’ said Luke standing back.
Mark joined in, ‘Well we still need to know who it was that approved Wellsmore’s sudden sick leave, for one? Two, how much does the local member of parliament know? Seems a coincidence that just after Jack paid him a visit, Wellsmore disappeared into thin air. Three, where is Wellsmore now? Four, is the local sergeant caught up in this or just plain stupid? Five, how did Mr Girodella’s ute come to be at the scene of this alleged illegal diversion? Six, where were Casperson, Butcher and Jimmy—we can’t discount the pig shooter at this stage—on the night your dog was shot, Mike. And finally; if Sharon’s right, and Primus Investments is a Trojan horse company for our friends from the top end of town, how do we prove they’re behind all this?’
‘Beautifully said, Mark,’ Luke complimented him and then continued. ‘There is one other line to follow of course and that is, if we accept Wellsmore is dirty, we need to impound his computer and other files ASAP, unless of course his partners-in-crime have beaten us to it.’
‘Very good point. But without some hard evidence I can’t get a warrant issued to impound his office, files, PC et cetera,’ said Mark.
‘Does this mean you guys are now officially on the case?’ Sharon asked enthusiastically.
‘Not quite,’ said Mark. ‘I’ll need to run this by our Assistant Commissioner first. If we had that evidence, Mike, it would help.’
Mike stood. ‘Ok, I hear you. I’ll try them all again, one last time and then I’ll call Charlie if I have to.’
He walked out of the room in time to see a Singapore Airlines jumbo slowly lumber off the tarmac. His momentary trance was broken by Pip’s voice on the phone. ‘Thank God you’re there, Pip, I’ve been calling for hours.’
There was a lengthy silence. Mike said, ‘Pip, are you there?’ She replied with broken words, her hurt clearly evident to Mike. ‘He’s, he’s gone, Mike. Jack’s done a runner. He, he left a note saying he couldn’t handle how his story was putting us all at risk. He’s gone,’ she repeated.
Mike was dumbstruck. ‘Take it easy. I said to him that if this got to be too much for him, he should just bail out,’ Mike told a little white lie to help soften the pain he knew Pip was feeling. Pip replied, ‘What do we do now?’
‘We keep going, young lady, that’s what we do. I’m here with Sharon’s detective mate and this fella from ICAC and he’s just told us he’s going to talk to his boss about taking this on as an official investigation. But we need the evidence and my source didn’t show with it this morning and now I’m worried about her.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ said Pip, regaining some of her composure.
‘I need you to go check on her. To do that I’ll have to tell you who she is but you need to understand how dangerous it will be for her if you tell anyone else,’ stressed Mike.
‘I understand, who is she?’ said Pip.
‘It’s Mary O’Regan. She and her husband live about 30 kilometres out on the highway north. Their place is called Lyndon,’ said Mike.
‘Yes, I know them; nice people,’ she replied.
‘You need to be very careful going there. Take a gun and your dogs and leave the car running. We’re heading back to the airport soon so we’ll be back there early evening. Call one of our mobiles and leave a message to tell us what you find out.’
‘You’re scaring me, Mike,’ said Pip.
‘That’s good—I meant to,’ finished Mike as he turned to go back inside.
His face must have shown his concern as Sharon immediately blurted out as he walked back in. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Jack’s gone. Left a note at Pip’s saying he was sorry for stirring all this up and maybe it’s time to pull back, or something like that,’ said Mike.
‘You stupid dickhead, Jack!’ Sharon exploded. ‘He gave me this bloody great lecture about me going soft as a journo and then does this. I told him not to start something he wasn’t prepared to finish.’
Luke asked, ‘What do you two think? Still want to go after these guys? Without you two we have nothing really. The case is dead.’
Mike and Sharon looked at one another and then nodded in unison. ‘We’ve come too far,’ said Mike with purpose. ‘I want this resolved one way or the other now. I can’t last much longer if things stay as they are.’
There was a short silence as they all took this on board.
‘Ok then, what’s happening regarding your source?’ asked Mark.
Mike replied, ‘Pip’s going out to her place now to check on things. If we head home on the five o’clock flight, by the time we get there we should have a message from her. I told her to be very careful and to go armed,’ he added for emphasis.
‘Great, if we can get that evidence and it checks out, I’ll file for this to be registered as one of our official investigations,’ said Mark. ‘In the interim let’s agree on which of our key questions you might be able to start exploring without putting yourselves in any further danger.’
Chapter 40
The intercom beeped on the desk of the Minister for Water Resources and Gary Townsend asked, ‘Yes, Janet, what is it?’
‘Mr Drummond on the phone, sir, he says it’s very im-portant,’ Janet replied tentatively, knowing how much the minister disliked being disturbed when he was dealing with his ‘in tray’.
‘Oh alright, put him through,’ he groaned.
‘Yes, Des, what’s so important it can’t wait for our weekly review session tomorrow?’ asked the minister
testily.
‘Gary, what the hell is going on? I hear that people are being threatened; the journo nearly died from a suspicious car accident; all sorts of shit has been directed at this farmer, Thompson; and now I can’t contact Wellsmore. Who’s doing all this? Is it Todd and his henchmen?’ the departmental head blurted out.
‘Just relax. There’s nothing to worry about. Things were starting to move in a direction which wasn’t good for any of us, and so Todd has taken some measures to cool things down. No-one’s been hurt, much.’
‘Shit, I didn’t know I was signing up to this sort of standover stuff. I draw the line at people being hurt.’
The minister took a deep, slow breath to help control his anger. ‘Now Des, listen to me carefully as I will only say this once. Get back in your box and shut the hell up. You were happy to take the high-profile job and swan around the coun-tryside being mister important. Well now it’s pay back time, mate. We all have lots to lose here so let Todd and co. ‘manage’ the situation and you just play along. Am I clear?’
‘Yes, I hear you. I’m not happy about it though.’
The minister slammed the phone down. ‘Idiot,’ he said.
Chapter 41
Apart from the occasional jolt or knock on his painful shoulder bringing him back to reality, Jack’s flights to Sydney and then on to Melbourne were a blur. The passengers either side of him sensed his mental state and no-one tried the usual airplane small talk.
Arriving in Melbourne, he immediately called Ange. ‘I’m here, just got off the plane. Any news?’
‘No, nothing,’ she sobbed, ‘I’m at my wits end. What do we do?’
‘I don’t know. I have no way of contacting them. We’ll just have to wait,’ Jack said, knowing this offered little comfort for Ange. ‘I’m just jumping into a taxi. I’ll be there in about 40 minutes.’
As Jack’s taxi pulled away from Melbourne airport, a tall dark-haired woman standing outside the terminal with the other smokers reached for her mobile phone. ‘Hey Vinnie: Georgia. Your journo mate just got here and has gone off in a taxi, I presume to see his ex-missus. What do you want me to do now?’
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