The woman was seated but Lexie could tell she was short. Her upper body was all plump and wrinkled cleavage. Her face was stern, bland. She was the type of woman you could stare at for an hour yet be unable to describe a minute later. Instinctively Lexie knew her personality would be as unpleasant as her appearance.
Pulling her police badge from her purse and smiling pleasantly, Lexie made the introductions.
‘Good afternoon, I’m Detective Rogers and this is Detective Sergeant Sommers. We would like to speak to Doctor Rod Bream if he’s available, please.’
There was no reply. The woman glanced back to her computer screen and Lexie thought for a moment that perhaps she hadn’t heard her. Lexie glanced at Brad, who looked equally confused. She was about to repeat the request when the woman finally answered.
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
Lexie watched her reach for the phone next to her, cradle it to her ear and punch in some numbers. She turned to Brad and spoke quietly.
‘If he’s working, should we be taking him away from his patients?’
Brad shrugged.
‘I’m sure there are other doctors here who can fill in for him for a short time. We are investigating a murder. It is kind of important,’ he added.
‘Doctor Bream is not working today,’ the woman told them, then promptly returned her attention to the computer screen.
Unpleasant . . . and rude!
‘Can you tell us when he will be working again, his next shift?’ Lexie pushed.
There was a long, loud sigh. Clearly they were taking up too much of her valuable time. Lexie threw Brad a disbelieving glance. He returned the look with equal dismay.
Without looking at either one of them, the woman replied, ‘The roster clerk told me Doctor Bream has worked seven days straight and now has a few days off. He didn’t mention when he would be back at work. I’m not his personal secretary.’
Lexie glanced at Brad once again. This time he gave her the look that said, let me handle this.
‘How can we find out when he is back at work?’ Brad asked, moving forward and leaning his elbows upon the counter so he was looking down at her.
The woman stared up at Brad as if she was surprised he could speak. She let out another bored sigh.
‘I suppose you can go to the administration office yourselves, see if they can help you. I’m too busy,’ she added.
Lexie did a sweep over her shoulder at the non-existent line behind them.
‘Yes, I can see that. Thanks so much for your help,’ she muttered and started to walk away.
She had only taken a few steps when she realised Brad was not following her. Turning, she saw that he had stayed put, annoying the woman further by asking for directions to the administration office. She huffed loudly and pointed in the direction of the lifts.
‘Second floor, turn right.’
Brad still didn’t move. The woman looked away but when Brad continued to hover she added, ‘I cannot help you any further. I am very busy.’
Her tone was superior and downright arrogant.
Oh boy . . . this was going to be interesting.
Lexie retraced her steps, moving back closer to the information counter to watch and observe. She had a strong feeling she was about to be entertained.
Brad remained in the same position.
‘Have you got any of those customer service feedback forms that I can fill in?’
His voice was almost too calm, too pleasant. Lexie saw him look at the name plate on the counter.
‘Gladys? Are you Gladys?’
‘Sorry?’ the woman grumbled and frowned. ‘Yes, I’m Gladys.’
Brad continued, ‘I’ll go straight to management, but before I do, just let me get one thing straight. This is the information desk, isn’t it?’
Brad took an exaggerated step backwards and read the sign spread along the front of the counter in large silver letters.
‘Yes, that’s what it says, so that would mean your job is to help people, give them the information they require. That’s what you are paid to do, right?’
Gone was Gladys’s air of quiet contempt. In its place was a look of pure embarrassment. Lexie watched as Gladys’s pale skin turned a deep shade of pink.
‘Well, then, I suggest you get off your high horse and do what you are paid to do, graciously. I won’t make a complaint about your attitude this time, but I suggest you give your demeanour an overhaul.’
Gladys’s mouth was now hanging wide open. Her eyes darted nervously from Brad to the small crowd of passers-by who had stopped to gawk.
‘You are not doing me, or anyone else, a favour by answering our questions. That . . . is . . . your . . . job. Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do. You’ll live longer.’
With that, Brad turned his back and walked towards Lexie with a broad grin on his face. Behind him, the woman’s colleague, a young girl who had been standing back silently observing the show, fist-pumped the air as though she had been waiting a very long time for Gladys to be put in her place.
Lexie burst out laughing now, not even attempting to hide her amusement.
‘That was great. I think you made that young girl’s day. Imagine having to work with Gladys every day? I guess you’re not that bad after all.’
Brad shrugged his large shoulders in a nonchalant manner.
‘What can I say? I do my best work when people are rude and obnoxious.’
Lexie noticed Brad’s eyes wandering in the direction of the cafeteria, his focus zooming in on the cake counter. Clearly the delicious aroma of coffee and pastries was calling him. Reaching into her handbag, she fished out her purse and handed Brad a twenty-dollar note.
‘Why don’t you go and get something to eat; my shout. Just get me a white coffee while I make a call.’
Brad didn’t need to be told twice.
Lexie moved to a lounge in front of the wall of windows that faced outside. First she rang Dani.
‘I hate to keep bothering you, but Rod’s not answering his phone. Can you give me his address?’
Lexie could have looked it up when she got back to the station but this was quicker.
Dani sighed on the other end of the line.
‘I can, but he more than likely won’t be there. Whenever he has time off he heads down to his parents’ holiday place at Sussex Inlet. He likes to go fishing. It’s what he does to unwind.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame. Do you know where this place in Sussex Inlet is exactly?’
‘No, I don’t. What’s the urgency to speak to him?’
‘I don’t want to drag things out. We’re getting pressured for a result, so I’m trying to build the brief as quickly as possible,’ Lexie lied.
There was no need to alarm Dani with her suspicions at this stage.
‘Have you heard from him, by any chance?’
‘No, I haven’t. And I won’t.’
Dani sounded angry. Lexie was unsure if it was aimed at her or her cheating ex-boyfriend.
‘You said the place at Sussex Inlet belongs to his parents. Where do they live?’
‘Mosman. I never went there. They are not an overly close family so I don’t know the address, but their names are Tina and Jack. If you look them up you’ll probably find them. And Rob’s home address is 2/3 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee.’
‘Thanks, Dani. Got to go. I’ll speak to you later.’
Lexie hung up and instantly rang the office. Batman picked up.
‘Bondi Junction detectives.’
‘It’s me, Batman. Are you busy? Can you do me a favour?’
‘Anything for you, Lex. I’m yours for the taking, you know that.’
Lexie groaned.
‘Can you ask Marty Wells to start a profile on Doctor Rod Bream? I want him to find out anything he can on the doctor and also request call charge records and reverse call charge records on his phone so we can check his incoming and outgoing calls. Do the same for Jenna Harrison’s phone.’
Lexie ga
ve him the numbers. Jenna was still a contact in her phone from when she was seeing Josh. They had become friendly and Lexie had called her a number of times to see how she was doing.
‘Jenna Harrison? Isn’t that Josh’s sister who . . . ?’
‘Yes, it is. Then, when you’ve done that, can you pop around to Rod Bream’s place?’
Lexie gave him the address.
‘I don’t expect him to be home but if he is, ask him to come to the station with you. We need to speak to him.’
‘No worries. Is he dangerous?’
‘I don’t think so but you should never become complacent, Batman,’ Lexie teased. ‘Never take any chances. Take Lurch, he’ll protect you.’
‘That bean pole? I don’t think so. I’m the one with the muscles . . .’
‘Got to go. Let me know how you get on.’
Lexie hung up and then rang Maroubra detectives.
‘Could I speak with Detective Steve James, please?’
A voice on the other end of the line said, ‘I’ll just get him. Can you hold for a second?’
The line went quiet and Lexie tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she thought about what to say. Josh had mentioned that Steve James was the detective who had reported on Jenna’s death. Steve had been a detective at Kings Cross when she had started there fresh from the academy almost nine years ago. One look at the ruggedly handsome big city detective and Lexie had almost folded at the knees.
Her immediate crush had dissolved the instant she discovered he was married. So why, then, since the infatuation was long gone, did she feel like a nervous schoolgirl at the thought of speaking to him?
The deep voice on the other end of the line snapped her from her reverie.
‘Detective James, can I help you?’
She took a deep breath.
‘I hope so. It’s Lexie Rogers here, Steve.’
‘Wow, how are you, Lexie? Long time no see. Hear you’re a detective now at the Junction.’
‘I am. How did you know that?’
‘You know how word spreads in this job.’
‘Oh yes, I do.’
There was a heartbeat’s pause while she chose her words.
‘Look, the reason I’m ringing, Steve, is . . . I’m ringing about Jenna Harrison. Um . . . you investigated her death. She was the sister of a colleague of mine.’
Can you be any more pathetic? Get a grip. Sound professional.
‘Uhhh . . . I’m thinking. Oh yeah, her brother was a cop. She killed herself.’
Lexie cringed at his words even though she knew he was only stating the facts.
‘That’s right. I was wondering if I could talk to you about it . . . your findings, that is.’
There was a pause on the other end of the line, so Lexie kept talking.
‘I’m investigating the murder of the girl found on Clovelly Beach on Thursday morning. There may be some similarities between these two deaths. Are you available this afternoon?’
If Steve James noticed her ridiculous nervousness, he was polite enough not to let on.
‘I don’t understand. As I just said, Jenna Harrison’s death was a suicide.’
Lexie thought carefully about what to say. Steve was a long-serving detective with years of experience on her. No cop liked to be interrogated about their investigations or work practices.
‘Yes, I know, but I’d still like to talk to you about it. I knew her, you see.’
That seemed to satisfy him.
‘Okay. I have a few people coming in to see me this afternoon for statements, but I can do dinner.’
Lexie’s stomach flipped. She hadn’t been expecting that response.
‘And in case you were wondering, I’m not married anymore, so it’s not like we would be doing anything wrong. I can answer any questions you have and it will be nice catching up with an old friend.’
Lexie wouldn’t have called them old friends. She wasn’t even sure if they had ever had a proper conversation. Back when they had been at the same station, there had been little contact between them other than the occasional passing and muttered greeting in the corridors. And even then, Lexie had been so intimidated, so pathetically awestruck, she had hardly been capable of looking him in the face.
How embarrassing, Lexie thought, remembering how young and impressionable she had once been. She was older now. Way more confident and not so easily impressed. She could handle dinner with him. Besides, she did want information only he could provide and she did have to eat, so why not?’
‘That sounds nice. Can we make it around 8.00 pm? I’ve got a lot to do before then.’
‘Of course. Why don’t we meet at Thai Riffic at Coogee? You like Thai food, I hope?’
‘I love it. But before you go, can you tell me the name of the doctor who was treating Jenna Harrison when she was in the Prince of Wales?’
‘Um, hang on a second. I’ll just go through my notebook. How long ago was it that she died?’
‘Around six weeks ago.’
Lexie gave him the date.
‘Oh, that’s right. I just got the full toxicology results the other day.’
Lexie felt her heart rate increase with anticipation.
‘What were the findings?’
She heard pages flicking as he spoke.
‘What we already knew, really. The preliminary test showed the drug OxyContin in her system. The full results just confirmed this and told us she had three times the amount in her body than would have been needed to kill her. So she really wanted to do a good job this time.’
‘Did you find any drug paraphernalia near her body?’
‘There were empty packets of the drug on the ground nearby.’
‘No sign of a syringe?’
He hesitated.
‘No. She took the drugs orally. A few of those would be enough to kill you. The whole packet . . . well, that’s a done deal.’
Steve James, hot shot detective, didn’t know about the injection site the pathologist had found. Had he even read the report? she wondered.
‘Here it is. It was a female doctor. Liz Norjin.’
There was a pause, then a sigh.
‘Can I ask you why you want all this information?’
What should she say?
‘It’s more personal than work-related, to be honest. I more than just knew her. She was a friend and I just want some closure.’
‘Oh, I see.’
He didn’t ask any further questions.
‘I’m sorry if I sounded insensitive. I didn’t know you knew her so well.’
His voice was gentle, sympathetic.
‘It sounds like she had a lot of problems. I was told she had tried to kill herself before. I feel for the family.’
‘Yes, it’s very sad.’
It seemed all too easy to write off Jenna’s death as a suicide due to her history.
‘Thanks for all that. I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Looking forward to it,’ he replied, before hanging up.
Lexie felt a little flutter in her stomach at the thought of tonight, though the butterflies were quickly replaced by a tightening in her chest. Don’t think of Josh, she reprimanded herself for the millionth time. Maybe what she needed was a fling, a romantic interlude with another man to take her mind off him?
No, she was not into casual liaisons. Besides, becoming romantically involved with another good-looking cop was too stupid for words. What she needed was to concentrate on this case.
Lexie saw Brad walking towards her, balancing two coffees and some kind of cake in his hands. She stood up as he handed her one styrofoam cup.
‘It’s really hot and don’t say a thing about the cake.’
Lexie ran her fingers across her lips imitating a zipper.
‘I wouldn’t dare. It’s your body.’
‘I just saw your friend,’ Brad said, pointing to Sasha, who was standing in the line at the cafeteria.
Just as they both looked at her, Sasha tu
rned and glanced their way.
Lexie took a sip of the coffee and swallowed hard, trying to wash away the sudden bitter taste in her mouth.
‘I think we should split up to save time,’ Lexie said, turning her back on Sasha. ‘Can you find the records or roster section and find out if Doctor Rod Bream was working on the night of Melissa McDermott’s death? That gives us somewhere to start as far as he is concerned. I’m going to go back to our friend over there at the information desk and see if she can be more forthcoming with helping me locate Doctor Liz Norjin – Jenna’s doctor.’
Brad rolled his eyes.
‘Tangent is all I’ll say.’
Lexie ignored him.
CHAPTER 20
Lexie was in luck. Doctor Liz Norjin was not only on duty, she was also more than happy to talk to her about Jenna Harrison. Trying to ignore that hospital smell, Lexie followed Doctor Norjin to the staff-room of the Kiloh Centre inpatients unit.
‘Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?’ the doctor offered.
Lexie shook her head.
‘No thanks, I just had a coffee.’
She helped herself to a cup of water from a dispenser in the corner of the room, while Doctor Norjin made herself a mug of tea.
‘She was a lovely girl, so attractive, so sweet,’ the doctor said, pouring hot water from the urn on the wall into her cup.
‘It was such a tragedy what happened. I was extremely shocked and saddened by her death.’
Doctor Norjin spoke in a gentle voice that held the slightest hint of an accent Lexie couldn’t place. Judging by her platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes, she was of Nordic descent. Her features were attractive. She was probably in her early thirties, which seemed young to be a psychiatrist, or maybe she just carried her age well. Lexie sensed she had a calm and caring nature.
‘When you treat a patient and see such improvement only to have it result in them taking their own life . . .’
The doctor sighed and looked at the floor for a moment.
‘It affects us also. Well, it certainly affected me.’
Lexie was touched by the extent of this young doctor’s compassion.
‘Of course,’ Lexie replied, before explaining her association to Jenna. ‘I worked with her brother. I knew her personally.’
Leaning back against the white sterile wall, the doctor gave a shy smile.
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