C H A P T E R 5 0
Detective Bromley stood back studying the suspect and victim photo layout on the station room wall. He now knew why he had not heard from Jose Serrano, Frankie’s business investor. His body had washed up on his Uncle’s Hihi beach wrapped in a heavy red rope. He looked at the Lopez brothers’ photos. He knew they were responsible for Serrano’s death but proving it was another thing. There was no DNA in his Uncle’s boat and no sign of any drugs. They had arrived in New Zealand direct from Mazatlan, Mexico – a city known for its drug cartels. The only common link to all the suspects and victims was the cocaine. Ben Williams, Steve Mills, Frankie Perkins and the Lopez Brothers were all linked to the hundred kilos of cocaine. Jose Serrano must have been Frankie Perkins link to the Cartel. He was now dead and so was she.
He had been so sure that the missing cocaine was in the Hihi area but had been proven wrong. A search of Frankie Perkins property and surrounding area also came up clean. Had Ben lied about the size of the coke haul in order to do a deal? Was there only ever one kilo of cocaine?
What was troubling Bromley was the knowledge that Staci Goodman was Frankie Perkins’ daughter. A fact he had only learned a couple of days ago. He thought their paths would never cross again. He was wrong. He just hoped that she was not involved in her mother’s drug business. If she was involved, their past association could come back to haunt him.
The biggest question praying on his mind was who had killed Frankie Perkins? The Lopez brothers were at Hihi on the Wednesday she was presumed killed. He picked up the phone and made a call. “Detective Bromley here. Just wondering if you have had the chance to check on Frankie Perkins’s cell phone?” He listened intently “I see. Thank you.”
He sat back on his chair, clasped his hands behind his head and stretched. The information was a game changer. He picked up the phone and called the Super. “You’ll never guess what. Frankie Perkins was in Hihi around the estimated time of her death. She made a number of phone calls from the area. Her phone was tracked to and from Hihi and then ended up on her kitchen table in her North Shore home. It looks as though she was either killed in Hihi or within an hour or two of returning home.” He listened. “Yes, I am on it. Just thought you should know.” He hung up the phone and walked over to the photo wall. Next to the Lopez brothers he pinned another name to the wall. ‘Tiromoana’. If Frankie Perkins was in Hihi did she return to Tiromoana I need to follow the murder trail. He grabbed his coat and headed out into the late afternoon sunshine.”
C H A P T E R 5 1
Audrey leaned over and kissed Joan passionately through the open car window. Joan knew their parting was painful for her. Audrey had opened up during the night confessing her love and begging Joan to stay. “You can put your house on the market and file for divorce from up here,” she had pleaded. “Let me help you, please?” But Joan had been insistent. “I have to do this myself. My lawyer is in Auckland and I need to get my house ready for the sale.” Nothing she could say or do seemed to ease the agony she was causing by leaving Tiromoana. She knew the time they had spent together was life changing for both of them. She smiled at Audrey and gave a parting wave as she left the ocean views and memories of their love affair in the rear vision mirror. It was time to move forward and she was excited. Hearing a beep on her phone she answered hands free. “I am on my way. I should be there in four hours. Wait up for me.” She looked at the time. It was already early evening. She had wanted to leave first thing in the morning but had promised to help Audrey prepare the cabins for an influx of new guests. She had told Audrey to hire someone to help her. It was just too much work for her on her own.
They didn’t mention the bags in the water tank. Audrey was insistent that they lie low until everything calmed down. Joan had agreed. Everything was returning to normal. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
At ten o’clock Joan pulled into the driveway and parked. She walked up the now familiar steps to the front door and knocked. The door opened and she was welcomed in with open arms. “I am so sorry I couldn’t make the funeral,” she said. “I just couldn’t get away.”
“You would have loved it.” Staci said. “Mother went out in a rainbow of glory.” She took her hand and led her outside to a table on the lakefront. A bottle of Taittinger Brut and two Waterford crystal glasses glistened in the candlelight. “I bought your favorite champagne to celebrate,” she said as she popped the cork. Pouring two glasses she handed one to Joan. “To love, happiness and lots of wonderful money!!!” She toasted.
Joan smiled. She had missed Staci. Her youthful enthusiasm was contagious. “So tell me about the funeral? I want to hear every little detail.”
The women talked into the night. They had a lot of catching up to do. Staci begged Joan to take over as CEO of her mother’s business. “I really need your help, Joan. You know the business so well. I have trouble just running my one location. It would really help me out.” She pleaded.
Joan agreed. Of course she would help out Staci. She did, however, omit to tell her that her business would now be part of the largest cocaine distribution center in the country. She also omitted to confide her participation in her mother’s recent passing. “Are we sleeping here tonight?” she asked.
“If that’s OK with you?” Staci replied.
“Of course it is.” Joan followed Staci into her mother’s master bedroom. This room definitely needs a feminine touch. She watched Staci undress and climb naked between the black cotton sheets. She loved Staci’s youthful body. It was sheer perfection.
“I missed you,” Staci whispered in her ear.
“Me too,” she replied.
C H A P T E R 5 2
Audrey sensed danger. A little dark voice in her head kept repeating the words “Don’t trust her.” Audrey never trusted anyone. She had allowed her obsessive feelings for Joan to get in the way of common sense. Now Joan was gone and she was left vulnerable and exposed. Had she been manipulated? Why did she not seem devastated when Ben was arrested for cocaine trafficking? Did she know about the drugs before hand? Is that why she came here?
Audrey knew one thing for sure. She must move the drugs to a different location. Some place where no one would even think to look. She would move them tonight when all the guests were asleep.
She checked her phone for the hundredth time. No message from Joan. She had expected to hear from her when she had arrived home. Just a quick text to say she was OK. Her lack of communication was playing on Audrey’s mind. At first she was just disappointed but by midnight, when she had not returned any of her text messages and was not answering her phone, Audrey began to think she might have been played. And that made her mad.
The night was bright with stars. A new moon shone down on Tiromoana. She climbed the ladder up the tank wall and removed the concrete lid peering down into the depths below. The bags were still hanging in groups suspended by ropes. One by one she pulled each bag out of the tank and lowered it onto the plastic tarpaulin below. She replaced the lid, removed the ladder and quietly transferred the contents into her car. She looked at her phone it was 2 a.m. She checked her messages, nothing.
Moving her car to its usual parking spot by the cottage, she covered the bags with a plastic sheet, locked the car and returned to the cottage.
A patrol car circled the Hihi Township and turned towards the holiday camp parking across the road looking out at the bay. A few minutes later it headed up the Hihi peninsula road. Detective Bromley was on the prowl. Earlier he had talked to the owners of the camp who had confirmed that a woman fitting Frankie Perkins’ description had stayed at the camp four nights ago. They said that she had gone by the time they opened the next morning. She had paid by cash, in advance so there was no concern about her departure. They had not seen any visitors to her unit or seen anything unusual. I wonder why she didn’t stay at Tiromoana like last time? Why did she choose to stay at the camp? Why did she only stay for one night? Who or what was she looking for? Did she find the missing coke?
Was that what got her killed?
As he passed Tiromoana he had a feeling he should do a quick check of the property. He looked at the time it was too late to disturb the guests. Instead he drove up his Uncle’s driveway next-door and parked where the two properties formed a junction. He grabbed his torch and walked towards Tiromoana.
He saw a dark figure in the night. It looked like Audrey. She was locking her car in the parking lot by her cottage. He watched as she walked towards her cottage and disappeared inside. He checked the time. It was just after two o’clock. I wonder what is keeping her up so late? He walked over to her car and shone the torchlight onto a blue tarpaulin covering a large load of some sort. Don’t tell me Audrey has the coke stashed in her car? He laughed at the absurdity of it. Never the less, he should stop by first thing in the morning. He would need a warrant to search her car anyway. He considered knocking at her door but noticed that she hadn’t even turned the lights on when she entered. Strange. Does she know I am here?” He left the property as quietly as he came.
Her cold green eyes watched the detective’s furtive movements by her car. She felt for the keys in her pocket. His torchlight pierced through the darkness and lit up the bright blue tarpaulin covering the biggest cocaine haul in New Zealand’s history. She held her breath, not daring to move. Does he know? Did he see me move the bags from the water tank? She watched as he turned and walked back down the driveway. I didn’t hear his car. He must have parked on the street. He knows. I have to get rid of it. She listened for his car in the still of the night. A few minutes later she heard him start his car and head off down the hill towards the Hihi Township. She undressed and retreated under the covers. Tomorrow I must move the drugs, but where?
C H A P T E R 5 3
The Lopez brothers had time to think in their jail cells. Who could have called the cops on them? They had heard that Frankie Perkins was killed the same day they were at Tiromoana. Her body was found on her property almost two hundred miles away from Hihi. Finding Jose’s body in Hihi bay confirmed someone was on a killing spree. Who else knew about the pick up? Who took the drugs from the Tiromoana cabins? They had seen on TV the cops doing a search of the area with dogs. Nothing was found. Who had talked? Rumor at the prison was that Ben’s wife had snitched on him and the guys. What was her motive for getting rid of them? Who was she working with? Felipe and Andres had been busy making connections with the Cobras. They would get the word out to check on Ben’s wife. If she was tied up in it, they would know. They also had Frankie’s cop connection, whom they were told, would track down the drugs and retire on the proceeds. They had all angles covered. Before long they would know who was responsible for the fuck up.
Detective Wiley got the phone call they wanted to meet with him. He knew this was his way out. He would sail around the world and kiss the police force goodbye. He looked at the list of names the Cobras handed him. He would personally check them all out. One of the names on the list had the coke. He knew the Cobras didn’t fuck around. He looked at the list again.
Joan Williams
Staci Goodman
Audrey Wetherby
Rick Painter
Michael Slater
Three women and two lawyers. He immediately began to do background searches. Which one of you has the drugs? That is the million- dollar question.
His first search was Rick Painter. He was both Frankie Perkins lawyer and Ben William’s lawyer. Which means he may also be Joan Williams and Staci Goodman’s lawyer. He was 54 years old, unmarried and gay. He was a strict no-drugs guy, even worked with troubled teens. He was heavily involved in the legalization of same sex marriage in 2013. Somehow Wiley couldn’t believe that he was tied up in trafficking cocaine. He put him to the bottom of the list.
Michael Slater was another story. He had a shady past. Three years ago he was suspected of embezzling funds from his law firm. They could not find any proof and he resigned voluntarily and formed his own company, M.W. Slater and Associates. His client list was mostly ex cons and crooks. He was Steve Mills’ lawyer. Divorced with three teenage daughters and rumor had it that he was a regular patron of Frankie’s brothels, a sleazy shit of a guy.
Wiley knew he had his work cut out for him. First he would call on Staci. He had talked to her mother before her death. He knew Frankie well. He was a regular at her clubs and they had become good friends. Frankie had seemed surprised Ben and Steve were both tied up in the drug business. Did Staci know more about it? Wiley knew that Staci was ashamed of her mother and hadn’t had much to do with her over the years. Did she want her mother dead? He had been abrupt with Staci when she had called him a few days ago. She would be a good place to start.
C H A P T E R 5 4
It was Monday morning. Joan’s first day of work in her position as CEO of New Zealand’s largest chain of brothels, “Paradise.” She was excited and nervous at the same time. How is the staff going to react to me? She didn’t have to worry. The employees and sex workers loved her. Her reputation in the industry was still relevant. By the afternoon she had reviewed all the financials and had spent time with each manager by phone. There were a total of ten establishments and each salon had their own in-house staff and independent contractors -some of the best top- end sex workers in the industry. Their online website also generated good earnings from advertisers and a full inventory of sex-related products. Frankie had done an excellent job.
Staci’s own brothel, ‘Le Girls,’ was her pride and joy. She liked the intimacy of her own business and was a hands on operator. Taking on the Paradise with its ten locations was too overwhelming and she had asked Joan to just “take over” as best she could. Joan knew this was an opportunity of a lifetime. She picked up the phone to call Audrey then changed her mind. Why jeopardize this? She replaced the phone on the desk and walked out into the lobby to greet her next group of customers. Sex was a twenty- four, seven occupation. She knew how to satisfy her customers and how to keep her girls motivated. “Gentleman, welcome to Paradise,” she said. “Follow me.”
C H A P T E R 5 5
It was not a good start to Monday morning. The super had called a noon meeting in his Auckland office, which meant that he had to leave at eight to make the four-hour drive south. When Detective Bromley arrived, the room was buzzing with activity. The news that Frankie Perkins was in Hihi the same day as the Lopez Brothers, stirred up talk of the Lopez brothers being responsible for both murders. The question was how did Perkins body end up in the lake at her North Shore home? Was someone working with the Lopez brothers? The undercover cop on the inside at Kaikoe prison had seen the brothers talking to the Cobras. There was a good chance that members of the King Cobras moved the body from Hihi to the Perkins home. Why not just dump it in the ocean like Serrano? Was Perkins followed from Hihi to her home and then killed?
The conversations went round and round until a decision was made to talk to a couple of inmates from the King Cobras gang. Detective Wiley said he would arrange the meetings. They would take place at the Kaikoe Prison. Maybe a reduction in their sentences would encourage them to talk.
In the meantime, Detective Bromley was to follow the leads regarding Frankie Perkins’ Hihi visit prior to her death. He would arrange to do a drug dog search of the Hihi beach and campgrounds. The drugs had to be somewhere unless they had already been shipped off out of the country. Which was a strong possibility they all agreed. A check on all boats coming and going out of the Doubtless Bay area was being investigated. Someone must have dropped the drugs off in the first place.
A press meeting was scheduled for four o’clock. They would use the public to report on anyone stashing bags or cargo in storage units, abandoned sheds or barns and anyone acting suspicious around waterways or shorelines. By six o’clock the whole country would know about the missing drugs. All they needed was a good lead.
Detective Bromley made his way back to Mangonui. He would schedule the drug search for first thing in the morning.
Detective Wiley
took a detour home. He pulled up at the entranceway of Staci’s downtown brothel. A large sign, “Le Girls,” topped the pink and peach exterior. The lobby was sophisticated and dimly lit. A glass bar area with tall bar stools was obviously popular with the clientele. Partially clad girls talked to animated businessmen. He enquired if Staci was around. They pointed to an office in the back. He saw her through the large glass window sitting at her desk. She was a stunningly beautiful young woman, so different from her mother. She waved him in. “I am so sorry to disturb you, but I wondered if I could have a word with you?” He said.
“No problem,” she said. “What can I help you with?”
“We haven’t officially met. I was a friend of your mother’s. Detective William Wiley. We have spoken before.”
“Oh yes, Detective. I called to see if I could get access to my mother’s computers.” She said, reminded of his rude response.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be much help at the time.” He apologized. “But I was wondering if I could be of any help to you now. How are you coping? Are you planning on running your mother’s business as well?”
“I had considered selling her business. But, a good friend of mine has agreed to take over the business and run it for me, for which I am very grateful.”
“Oh, may I ask who that is?” he enquired
“It is no secret. We are making an official announcement on social media today.” She said. “It is Joan Williams. You may remember her as “Black Diamond.” She was a legend a few years ago. I am very lucky to have her. She started today.”
The Murder Trail: The Audrey Murders - Book Three Page 9