Inside, Lexie gestured for Zack to take a seat on the lounge while she moved to the sliding glass doors that led to her tiny balcony. The blinds twitched as she parted them with her fingers. Her sharp brown eyes did a quick sweep of the street below, searching for any vehicles that looked out of place. But it was too dark outside. She was wasting her time.
Closing the blinds again, Lexie made a mental note to check the surveillance log tomorrow to see when they had quit the follow on Zack. Surveillance was supposed to drop him at 9.00 pm. Since it was now closer to 10.00 pm, she hoped they had stuck to their original plans, because if they’d tailed him to her flat, she would certainly have some explaining to do tomorrow.
‘If you are looking for the guys who have been following me for the last few hours, they’re gone,’ Zack told her in a flat voice.
Lexie stared at him open-mouthed. Since when had he been aware of surveillance?
Keeping her bag close at hand, Lexie took a seat opposite Zack.
‘I’m really tired, Zack, so . . .’
Her voice trailed off. After her disastrous dinner with Steve James, all Lexie wanted to do was hit the sheets and sleep for days. Or at least until her alarm woke her in the morning.
She was not even supposed to be talking to Zack, but she couldn’t tell him that. Her heart started hammering at the repercussions.
‘I’ll get straight to the point, Lex. I know you probably can’t say much, but I need you to know that I haven’t done anything wrong. Well, except for delivering the package, which technically is not my issue, but I admit it has made me look bad.’
‘If you are referring to the pictures of you doing what looks to be a drug deal, yes, it did look bad. And then refusing to explain your actions didn’t help either. The right to silence is one thing, but it can also be seen as an attempt to conceal the truth.’
Lexie shook her head at him.
‘What were you doing?’
Zack sighed and looked around the room, anxiously. Any sign of the arrogant attitude he had displayed to Brad earlier had gone.
‘I didn’t want to get my sister into trouble, but this is serious so I have to take that chance.’
He hesitated before continuing.
‘As you know, Kelly works in a jewellery shop. They import some pieces from overseas and anything that is damaged, that can’t be sold at full price, gets sent somewhere else for discount sales. Kelly kind of intercepts some of that jewellery. I don’t know exactly how it works and I don’t want to know, but clearly her boss is none the wiser. She only sells to friends and friends of friends. Instead of paying $800 for a brand-name watch or piece of jewellery, she sells it for cash for one-third of the price. The other day she asked me to make the delivery for her because she was stuck at work. This girl wanted it ASAP because it was her father’s birthday. I don’t make a habit of it.’
‘It sounds to me like she is stealing from her boss.’
Zack shrugged.
‘It’s none of my business. What Kelly does has nothing to do with me . . . Well, until this happened, it had nothing to do with me. But I certainly wasn’t selling drugs, as it appeared.’
Lexie felt a small rush of relief that appearances were not what they seemed. But she also felt disappointed in Kelly. She wouldn’t have thought she could be so underhanded.
‘Okay, Zack, I believe you, but you had better tell Kelly to stop her illegal enterprise right away. Since you’ve told me, I am now obligated to do something about it, get my drift?’
Lexie didn’t want to see Kelly get a criminal record for a greedy extra buck here and there.
‘Tell Kelly what you like. Scare her if you must, just get her to stop. What she is doing is stealing. She’s committing an offence: larceny. She could do time for it, okay?’
Zack nodded, looking very worried.
‘I’ll get her to stop straight away. Do you see now why I couldn’t say anything? I was protecting her.’
‘Misguided protection is no excuse.’
‘Do you believe I lost my wallet?’ Zack cried, staring at her. ‘Has anyone even checked on that? I cancelled my credit cards and I got a new driver’s licence. Look, I’ll show you.’
Zack reached into his back pocket and pulled out a shiny new leather wallet and flicked it open.
Lexie took it from his outstretched hand and took a quick look. He was telling the truth. It had just been issued. She handed it back to him.
‘What about the descriptions of you being seen around the crime scene?’ Lexie asked.
Zack shrugged.
‘I don’t get that, because I wasn’t there, I can assure you. Am I seriously a suspect? Who took those photographs of me?’
Lexie sighed.
‘I can’t tell you anything, Zack. You know that.’
‘Why did that guy, who you were working with yesterday, interview me today? Why didn’t you . . . ’
Zack didn’t finish the sentence. Lexie watched his expression change from confusion to comprehension.
‘It’s because I’m your ex-husband, isn’t it?’
Lexie felt she had no choice but to tell him.
‘The boss thinks it’s a conflict of interest for me to be dealing with you. And she’s right. It’s hard to be objective when you know someone, when you’ve been involved.’
‘And still care for them?’ Zack asked, hopefully.
She ignored the question.
‘You were not the person of interest in those photographs, Zack. That’s all I can say.’
Zack groaned and shook his head.
‘Look, Zack, I’m being honest with you. I’m forbidden to have any contact with you until this case is over. If anyone knew you were here I would be thrown off the case, or worse.’
Lexie spoke slowly. Her words were clear and succinct to emphasise the importance of what she was saying.
‘If anyone asks if you have spoken to me, please tell them I refused to talk to you. I’m risking my career by even allowing you into my apartment.’
Maybe that was a stretch but he didn’t know that.
‘Don’t put me in a bad position. If you need to be spoken to, other detectives on the strike force will contact you. If you have any information that might help the investigation, you need to speak to any other detective besides me, okay?’
‘Trust me, I wouldn’t want to put your precious career in jeopardy,’ Zack spat out bitterly.
Lexie glared at him. Zack had always been jealous of her love for her job, but that was not what had ruined their marriage.
‘Don’t try to put a guilt trip on me. I didn’t sleep with my career, Zack, or one of your mates.’
Their eyes locked and held. She noted his clenched jaw. The blow had hit as she had intended it to. A wave of resentment rocketed around her body.
‘I have nothing to do with her now, Lexie. Even if I see her, bump into her, we don’t speak. She just drills me with an evil stare.’
Lexie couldn’t help the look of disgust on her face at the thought of Sasha.
Zack edged forward on the lounge.
‘Not that I care. I only care about you, Lexie. I don’t ever want to get you in trouble. I’m just scared, that’s all. I made a stupid mistake that I regret like nothing else. How long are you going to make me pay for that mistake?’
He seriously didn’t get it. She was not making him pay. There was no clemency for cheating as far as she was concerned. Lexie stared at the rug in front of her. She had nothing to say.
‘Why would I kill Melissa?’
‘Why does anyone kill anyone, Zack?’
‘Oh, I don’t know . . . there are some sick arseholes out there.’
The sarcasm had returned to his voice.
‘Since becoming an ambo I know that more than ever. I’ve told the other cops all I know. Maybe someone holds a grudge because Melissa gave him herpes? Maybe she slept with the wrong guy? I don’t know. But I do know I had nothing to do with it.’
Lexie knew
she should refrain from asking, but she couldn’t help herself.
‘In your interview you mentioned Doctor Rod Bream had slept with Melissa and that he was very angry she’d failed to mention the herpes.’
‘He wasn’t angry. He was furious.’
‘How do you know this? How do you know him?’
Zack gave her a strange look.
‘He’s a bit hard to miss. The guy looks like bloody Bradley Cooper, that Hollywood movie star. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?’
Lexie pulled an uninterested face.
‘Not really,’ she lied.
Zack gave her a doubtful smile.
‘He works in emergency a lot of the time. We are forever delivering patients to him. I ran into him at the pub a while back and Melissa was all over him like a rash. I warned him to wear a condom if he was going there, because she had herpes.’
‘Charming,’ Lexie said, failing to hide her disgust. ‘Interesting conversations you guys have.’
Zack chewed on his bottom lip. This was something he did when he felt uncomfortable.
‘I thought I was doing him a favour but, as it turned out, he had already had sex with Melissa and she hadn’t mentioned the herpes to him. You should have seen the look on his face. Steam almost came out of his ears. He stormed off to have it out with her. I didn’t see him or her again that night, so I don’t know what happened. We never spoke about it again and he was really cool towards me after that.’
‘When was this?’ Lexie asked, wondering if the gorgeous doctor could have been angry enough to kill.
‘Oh, it was weeks ago.’
Zack waved his hand in the air dismissively, then his expression turned sheepish.
‘I didn’t tell your workmates exactly what he said because it would make him look really bad. He was so angry he said he’d like to strangle the dirty bitch.’
Lexie stared at Zack with the blank expression reserved for criminals and suspects, but her mind was spinning. She had nothing to fear from Zack. It was Rod Bream who was the number one suspect in her book.
Yawning, she stood up. Zack got the hint without her having to say a word.
‘I’ll go and I won’t bother you again for now, but when this is all over, can we talk, go out for dinner? I miss you, Lex. I know I stuffed up, but I’ve learnt my lesson. I would never hurt you again. I’ve never stopped loving you. You must know that.’
It was never going to happen.
Oh God, she didn’t want to have to deal with this now. Zack made his way to the door. Lexie followed him. Just before she could reach for the doorknob he turned suddenly and pulled her into his arms.
Too shocked to resist, the next thing Lexie knew was that Zack was kissing her.
She felt his lips on hers, his hands in her hair, his hard chest pressed against hers. And strangely, like a distant observer separated from her own body, Lexie found herself responding to the familiarity of his touch; her mouth seemed to move of its own accord against his.
The kiss was not electric like Josh’s kisses. Rather it was comforting and safe. She hadn’t been kissed in four weeks – since Josh left – and it felt good to be held, to feel close to another human being. Yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it was not right. Zack was past tense and certainly no substitute for Josh Harrison. Zack had found Lexie at a vulnerable, exhausted moment. She should not be allowing this to happen.
He cheated on you . . . He let you down.
With those thoughts, her back stiffened and she pushed him away. Disentangling herself from Zack’s grip, Lexie opened the door.
‘I can’t do this, Zack. You need to stay away from me. It’s not fair.’
He looked sad but hopeful all at once.
‘I’ll stay away until this is over.’
His meaning hung heavy in the air.
‘Until then, take care . . . I love you, Lexie. I really do.’
Oh shit. Could things get any more complicated?
With that Lexie shut the door. She locked it, attached the chain, then leant her back heavily against it. Her head was pounding and she felt slightly sick. She thought of the dead rat and Dani’s words resonated in her head.
‘If they can get to me, then they can get to you.’
There was possibly someone out there who had a key to her front door. At least with the chain fastened they would have to make some noise to get in, she tried to convince herself. Although she knew full well that with the right tools the flimsy metal could be snapped in an instant. She really had to look into getting the locks changed.
Feeling a familiar sensation of helplessness, Lexie headed for the kitchen. One glass of wine and then she would go to bed . . .
CHAPTER 26
SATURDAY
Lexie woke to music blasting into her eardrum from the clock radio next to her bed. Still tired and groggy, she struggled to sit up and prise her eyes apart. It was an impossible feat so instead she felt for the snooze button, found it, pressed it; instant silence. She fell back asleep at once, only to be woken ten minutes later to the sound of the morning radio hosts’ comic banter.
Lexie’s mind was foggy and she became caught up listening to a replay of a practical joke that one host had played on the other involving cockroaches. Still barely awake, Lexie started to chuckle at the hysterical screams of the female radio host, then once more began to drift back to sleep.
Normally Lexie was up and out of bed at the first sound of the alarm, but her sleep last night had been extremely disturbed. She had been restless and anxious, her senses on red alert, straining to hear a noise, see a movement. She had even got up a number of times to check that the chain was still attached. Of course, nothing had happened. It was just her imagination running wild during those vulnerable night-time hours and now, in the bright light of day, she was left feeling listless and weary.
Her mind jolted into gear. She had to get to work.
Hugging the doona under her chin, Lexie relished its warm security for a moment longer, while she stretched and unfolded her stiff muscles. Then, counting to three, she threw back the covers, and feeling the instant chill in the air, she ran to the heater, switched it on, and then bolted towards the bathroom.
In the shower, the hot spray of water unlocked her frozen joints and washed away her exhaustion. Drying quickly, Lexie wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel and dressed in the clothes she had laid out before hitting the mattress last night.
She had chosen a dark burgundy jacket with matching pants that revealed her soft curves and complemented her skin tone. Underneath she wore a black silky shirt. Her favourite grey scarf, a present from her mother, was wrapped around her neck for warmth and black boots kept her feet from freezing. Satisfied she looked professional, Lexie moved to the bathroom. She brushed her long blonde mane into a ponytail at the back and applied some light makeup. She examined her reflection with critical brown eyes that shone through long dark lashes.
That will have to do.
The heels of Lexie’s boots echoed on the floorboards as she made her way into her tiny kitchen. After making coffee and vegemite toast, she carried her breakfast to the lounge room. Sitting on the sofa, she glanced out through the clear glass of the balcony doors at the world outside.
The sky was grey and a violent wind had trees bending back and forth. Another chilly winter’s day in paradise, Lexie thought, glancing towards Clovelly Beach. Would she ever be able to walk or jog that path again without thinking of Melissa McDermott and the evil that had occurred there? Or would it eventually fade into the back of her memory, buried along with other grisly scenes in the archives of her mind, hopefully never to see the light of day again.
If only there was a delete button she could press to erase unpleasant memories and images from her mind . . . That way, she could also banish the memory of Josh.
Don’t think of Josh.
Glancing at her watch, Lexie raced into the kitchen. Being a cleaning freak, she quickly washed her cup and pl
ate, then rushed to the bathroom, cleaned her teeth and ran out the front door. As it was the weekend, and with the weather so miserable, she made it to the office in record time – eight minutes – and even found an all-day parking spot reasonably close to the station. This was a good sign.
Today we are going to catch our killer, she told herself, adhering to the concept of positive thinking. Some homicide investigations got results in days, some in months, and some never at all. She certainly didn’t want her case to fall into the latter category.
The office was warm in contrast to outside and she removed her coat straight away, hanging it on the back of her desk chair. Brad had arrived ahead of her and was sitting at his desk, a coffee in one hand, and a bagel in the other.
‘Breakfast?’ Lexie asked.
Brad didn’t reply, which meant he had already had breakfast at home. This was his first snack of the day.
‘I should have the keys by this afternoon.’
Lexie stared at him blankly.
‘Jenna’s apartment,’ Brad whispered, even though they were alone in the office as yet.
Lexie nodded, not wanting to know how he’d managed to get his hands on the keys.
‘That’s fine. I’ve got heaps to do in here this morning anyway. What’s happening with the telephone intercept application?’
‘Lurch ended up making the application to the on-call magistrate last night. He was far more lenient than our local beak, so Bream’s and Zack Rogers’s phones should be set to go as we speak.’
Lexie felt lighter. She knew monitoring Zack’s phone line was a waste of time, but she couldn’t say that.
‘That’s good news. Bream still hasn’t called in, I take it?’
Brad shook his head.
‘Sussex Inlet police said there was no movement at the house last night, no lights on, or car in the driveway. They took a look around in the early hours and they are pretty certain he’s not there.’
Brad took a sip of coffee.
‘I also got uniform to knock on the door of his Coogee address at 3.00 am. No sign of life there either.’
Lexie’s eyebrows pinched into a frown.
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