by PD Martin
He leans forward and looks at me. ‘I’m sorry…sorry about your brother.’
I force a smile. ‘Thanks.’
‘It must be so hard…living with it all these years and not knowing.’
‘Yes it is.’ I force evenness into my voice. ‘And I guess maybe you feel the same, Mr Wake.’
He sighs. ‘Sometimes. Like I said, most of the time I feel totally normal. But every now and again I do wonder.’
I nod. ‘Naturally.’
He continues, ‘What went so wrong that I had to erase the first ten to thirteen years of my life away?’
After a few beats of silence Lily says. ‘Would you consider hypnosis again, Mr Wake?’
He shrugs. ‘I don’t see the point. It didn’t work before, why would it work now?’
Lily gives me a meaningful glance and I pick up the hint. I’m the best placed to appeal to Wake’s emotions.
‘It could help find whoever did this to my brother. Bring my family some sense of closure.’
‘If this man really did abduct me too. And that’s a big if.’
‘Yes,’ I concede.
He sits quietly for a bit. ‘But surely I’d know. Like you said,’ he looks at me, ‘I’d have dreams or maybe even nightmares.’ He turns his gaze to Lily. ‘Or it’d come out in my relationships.’
‘The mind’s amazing, Mr Wake.’ Lily leans forward. ‘It’s capable of the most extraordinary things, so while there’s a little boy’s life at stake, it’s important we try everything.’
‘Yes, of course. Curtis Baker…you’re right. If you want to try hypnotising me again, I’ll do it.’ He drains the rest of the beer. ‘When?’
‘The sooner the better,’ Lily says. ‘Tonight if you’re free. Like I said, there’s a little boy’s life in the balance.’
‘Sure. Can you give me a couple of hours? Just time to get changed, have some dinner and unwind a bit?’
‘That’s fine. I’ve got someone in mind who specialises in this sort of memory recovery during hypnosis. I’ll call you in half an hour to confirm the appointment time and give you a location. It’ll probably be at his practice in Carlton.’
‘Okay.’
Lily stands up and everybody else but me follows suit. I want to spend more time with Wake—he could hold the key to John’s murder and Curtis Baker’s whereabouts. I know that if the perp follows his usual pattern Curtis’s life’s not in immediate danger, but he’s still in the hands of a sadistic paedophile.
‘Thanks for your time, Mr Wake.’ Shaw gives a little nod.
Lily fishes a card out of her wallet. ‘Here’s my card, but I’ll call you in half an hour. Is the land line here the best number for you?’
‘Yup, that’ll be fine.’ He gives us the number, though I’m sure Lily’s already got it.
Darren reaches his hand down to me, but I give him a pleading look. He shrugs and I guess he’s right—there’s no reason to stay here. Wake doesn’t remember anything, and he’s offered to help in the only way he can—hypnosis. I force myself to stand.
‘Do you have any photos of yourself soon after you were found?’ I ask, in a last-ditch effort to stall, although there’s also a much more functional reason for my request. Does Wake fit our victim pattern visually? It’s probably pointless asking him if he was involved in sports, because he can’t remember anything from his first life, but we can compare a photo to the other boys.
‘Yes, I do. Hold on a second.’
A few minutes later he returns. The photo shows a young boy with dark blonde hair. He’s smiling, but it looks a little forced. Or maybe I’m reading too much into the photo, knowing what probably happened to Wake. Suddenly I feel a little giddy. I give in to the sensation, despite the fact that I’m surrounded by people. I’m desperate to get anything on this case.
Anthony Wake cowers in the corner of a room, a large man stands over him with a belt in his hand.
The vision ends quickly, but the room was set up just like the ones from my other visions—two buckets, a bed and not much else. I could only see the back of the man—he stood between me and the young Wake.
‘Are you okay?’ Wake asks.
‘Yes, sorry. It’s just…you look a little like my brother.’
‘Really?’
I nod, and hand him back the photo.
‘I’m sorry again…for your loss.’ He gives me a sympathetic smile.
Once Wake has closed the door and we’re on the nature strip Lily says, ‘You were quiet, Shaw.’
He shrugs. ‘The guy doesn’t remember anything. Figured that put the ball in your court not mine.’
Shaw’s right. Wake’s lack of memory meant the discussion was more about psychology than police procedures.
Shaw unlocks his car and looks at me. ‘Guess I’ll be seeing you around, Sophie.’
I smile. ‘Probably. And thanks for letting me sit in.’
Shaw gives me a nod before turning to Lily. ‘Keep me in the loop with the hypnosis session. I’m going to go grab some food, but I’d like to sit in, if possible.’
She nods. ‘Okay.’
Within less than fifteen seconds Shaw and Danahay are across the road and in their car, while Darren, Lily and I are still standing out the front of Wake’s house.
Lily turns to me. ‘You know I can’t get you anywhere near the session, don’t you?’
‘Yeah, I know.’
A hypnosis session is best conducted with only a few people in the room. Plus, I have no official status on this case and Lily has to think about Wake’s privacy. It’ll be a closed-door affair, videoed for later evidence, but still very private.
I bite my lip. ‘You’ll tell me if he remembers anything important?’
‘I’ll give you as many details as I can.’
I nod. ‘Thanks again, Lily. You don’t know how much this means to me. How much you’re helping me.’
She smiles. ‘No, but I can have a good guess.’ She turns to Darren. ‘Nice meeting you.’
‘You too, Lily.’ They shake hands and Lily gets into her car, leaving us to cross the road.
‘So, what did you see?’ Darren asks.
‘How did you know?’
‘Your eyes kinda went blank for a second. I’ve seen you do it before.’
‘Oh.’
We get in the car as Lily drives past.
‘Wake was about to get a beating.’ I start the car. ‘He was in a small room and it was set up like the others.’ I rake my top teeth across my bottom lip. ‘He was in his underwear.’
Darren winces. ‘So they are linked.’
‘If my visions are anything to go by, they must be. Which means our guy moved from Australia to New Zealand and then…I don’t know because we’ve still got the gap between Anthony Wake in 1982 and the first missing person that matches back here in 2008.’ I shake my head. ‘I don’t know if we’re any closer, even with Wake.’
‘We’ll have to wait and see how the hypnosis goes. Hopefully the shrink Lily has in mind can find something in Wake’s mind.’
I nod. ‘I hope so.’ Glancing up at the house, I notice him at the window. ‘He’s there.’
Darren follows my gaze. ‘The poor guy probably doesn’t want to remember. I wouldn’t.’
I ease out of the street. ‘Me neither.’
There’s a knock at the door, and then the key turns. The boy enters, with a plate of food in hand.
Curtis Baker sits up. ‘Why are you doing this?’
The boy keeps his eyes on the ground as he moves a little closer before sliding the plate of food across the room—and just within reach of the chained Curtis Baker.
‘Why are you doing this? We could help each other. We could escape.’
Silence.
‘Please! Oh God, please help me.’ Tears stream down his face.
The boy turns and heads back towards the door, seemingly unaffected.
‘Don’t you want to see your parents again?’ Baker yells out in a last-ditch effort
to escape.
The boy hesitates for a second. ‘No,’ he says quietly before leaving the room.
‘Help me!’ Baker screams as loud as he can, running towards the door, only to be yanked back by the chains. He crumples to the ground, sobbing.
Chapter 12
I’m back on Main Street and turning left at the Fitzsimons Lane roundabout when it occurs to me.
‘Darren, did you notice how dirty Wake’s car was?’
Darren’s silent for a bit. ‘It was kinda dusty.’
‘Just like the Victorian countryside…Shepparton, Seymour, Euroa.’
‘Eltham seems to have a bit of dust too. Besides, you said you saw him as a victim.’
‘Yeah, when he was younger. That doesn’t mean he’s not involved as the perp now.’
Darren rubs his jaw. ‘I don’t know, Soph. That still leaves us with a killer who fell off the face of the earth in 1982.’
‘What if the perp died and Wake escaped? Maybe Wake even killed him.’
Darren blows out some air. ‘There are lots of what ifs in this…could a young boy be powerful enough to overpower a grown man?’
‘Okay…so the perp dies of natural causes or has a car accident. Whatever. Wake’s left alone and, after a few days, manages to escape.’ I chew down on my lip, both nervous and excited by the potential new lead.
‘So how did Wake, a victim in the eighties, dump Ted Strawasky’s body at the same location as your brother from the seventies?’
I’m silent. Darren’s right, but I’ve still got a nagging doubt. ‘I don’t know, Darren. But my gut says something’s up with Wake.’
Darren stares out the window. ‘Okay. Guess I’m the one always telling you to follow your instincts.’
‘Uh huh.’ I move into the right-hand lane, looking for the nearest point to U-turn on the dual carriageway of Fitzsimons Lane. ‘I’m going back.’ Soon enough I see an opening and swing the car around.
‘You gonna call Lily?’ Darren asks.
‘Guess I better.’ I hit redial on my mobile and update Lily.
‘I guess it’s possible. Although how would a New Zealand victim know where your brother was dumped? Unless the killer kept a diary or something.’
‘Possible, but probably a stretch.’ Suddenly it occurs to me. ‘Maybe he’s not a New Zealand victim.’ I move into the roundabout and back onto Main Road, heading for Eltham. ‘What if he’s Australian and moved to New Zealand with the perp?’
‘As a victim or his son?’ Lily’s entertaining the possibility.
‘Either. He could have been there, as a kid, when the perp dumped John. Could have witnessed everything and now he’s replicating it.’
‘I’ll get Shaw and Danahay to double-back. Sit tight at Wake’s house, preferably out of sight. Okay?’
‘Got it.’
‘I mean it, Soph. You have no official capacity on this case, and no reason to question Wake on your own.’
‘Okay, okay. I’ll wait for Shaw and Danahay.’
‘Good. I’ll be there soon too. Bye.’ She hangs up.
‘Lily knows you well.’ Darren’s got an amused smile on his face but it soon disappears. ‘Don’t forget, Soph, this is all circumstantial. We could be about to put a man who’s already been through hell, through the ringer again. You sure you want to go there?’
‘We have to go there, Darren. Another boy is missing and we need to at least pursue this investigative thread.’
Darren nods. ‘You’re right. Maybe it is time to push Wake a little.’
We arrive back at Wake’s house only fifteen minutes after we’d left, but the driveway’s empty. Has he fled the scene or gone to get takeaway for dinner? I call Lily straight away, and I’m still on the phone to her when Shaw and Danahay arrive.
‘Shaw’s here.’
‘Okay. I’m less than two minutes away.’
I hang up and get out of the car, meeting Shaw in the middle of the quiet street. ‘He’s gone. Who knows where?’
Shaw nods. ‘Let’s wait for Lily. She can call him under the guise of setting up that hypnosis session.’
While it is logical for Lily to make that call, I also think Shaw has enough respect for what Lily does and her role in an investigation to wait for her before making contact with the perp. If Wake is our killer for the recent spate of murders, parts of our profile will still hold, and it will help Lily during any interactions with Wake. And if not...we can see what we get out of him with another round of questioning and then hypnosis.
Good to her word, it’s just under two minutes when Lily’s car turns into the street. She jumps out of the car. ‘No sign of him?’
We all shake our heads.
She blows out breath. ‘Damn. I’ll call him on his mobile, see what he’s got to say for himself.’ She punches the number into her phone. ‘Hi, it’s Lily Murphy here from Victoria Police...How’s 8pm tonight in Carlton for the hypnosis?’ Lily’s cool, casual.
‘Okay. I’ll text you the address. Also, Mr Wake, I just tried your home phone with no luck,’ she lies. ‘Uh huh. Okay, we’ll see you at eight.’ She hangs up and shakes her head. ‘Said he didn’t make it to the phone in time before the machine picked up the call. He’s lying and he’s running.’
‘Which means he’s guilty or at least has some involvement with Curtis Baker.’ Shaw takes a breath. ‘Let’s get a tech onto it. Most phones these days are GPS-enabled, let’s see if we can’t track Wake from his phone. And if not the phone, maybe his car.’
Shaw makes the call and reads out Wake’s mobile phone number and license plate.
I rock back and forth, ready to move. ‘He’s probably running to Curtis Baker. He must realise he can’t keep him for months now, so he’s going to end it.’
‘Shit.’ Lily stares at Wake’s house. ‘It’s gotta be the country somewhere.’
I nod. ‘If he’s the son of our first perp or a victim he kept alive and groomed in some way, Wake’s probably re-living that early trauma and playing out the abductions, assaults and murders. All at the same location, if possible.’
‘Or nearby. But it sends us back to Shepparton and Bendigo. And now we’ve got Euroa and Seymour in the geographical mix too.’
Danahay puts her hands on her hips. ‘Euroa and Seymour are closer to Eltham than Shepparton and Bendigo, so maybe it’s just about logistics.’
I bite my lip. ‘He’s got to select the victims first and then stalk them…and so it would be handier if they’re closer to Eltham, so it’s less of a commute during the lead-up to the abduction. But where he takes them once he’s snatched them…’
Lily cuts in ‘That’s all about the old pattern. Bendigo and Shepparton.’
‘Did you end up moving on the geographical profile?’
‘I’ve got someone working on it. We know his comfort zone is somewhere within Seymour in the south, Euroa in the east, Shepparton in the north and Bendigo to the west. That’s taking into account the new locations, too. You’re talking about two hundred and sixty square kilometres of land.’
‘That’s a big ask,’ I concede. It certainly helps us, but it’s still like looking for a needle in a haystack.
‘Yup. And if we base it just on Bendigo and Shepp, it doesn’t really give us enough points for a geographical profile, other than assuming his place is somewhere between them.’ Lily leans into her hip. ‘Hopefully we can track him via the GPS on his phone or car.’
Lily’s right...with such a large area and not much else to go on, all we can do is try the GPS route and put an alert out on his car. Maybe someone will see it.
Something occurs to me, a memory of roads I haven’t had to drive since I lived here. ‘Hey, Lily, if he’s going to Shepp he has to go up the Hume, right?’
She shrugs. ‘Not many other options unless he’s taking the scenic route.’
‘He doesn’t have time for that. He needs to get north, fast. Or if he’s heading for Bendigo, it’d be the Calder Freeway. He wants to get to Curtis Bake
r before we do. He needs to spend at least some time with him.’ Wake must know it’s only a matter of time, given the police have found him. One way or another we’d get suspicious of Wake and the idea of hypnosis probably set off alarm bells—he must know or fear his inner demon would show itself when he went under. So now he has to finish his pattern with the latest victim, Curtis Baker. Logic’s gone…now his only focus will be on spending time with Baker. We’ve effectively reduced Baker’s life expectancy—significantly. We have to get to Curtis before Wake does.
‘He’s only about ten, maybe fifteen minutes ahead of us. Let’s move, get some air support on the Hume...’
But I don’t have to finish the sentence. Lily’s already nodding and making her way to her car, as are Shaw and Danahay.
‘You guys can come with me,’ Lily says. ‘We’ll take the Hume and Shaw and Danahay can take the Calder.’ I get the feeling Lily wants to keep me close...keep an eye on me. But she’s forgetting one important point—Wake didn’t kill John. Any feelings I might have of vengeance are on behalf of the recent victims, not John, which makes it much less personal.
The car’s barely started when Lily’s phone rings. She answers it on speaker. ‘Hi, Shaw.’
‘I’ll move on road blocks. In case we can’t find him.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘Curtis Baker. If we intercept Wake on the way, he may not tell us where Baker is...where the others were killed.’
‘Anderson’s right, Shaw. Air support and cars have to be low-key. Unmarked cars and only one chopper on each highway. And make sure the pilot doesn’t fly low or buzz Wake’s car. As far as he’s concerned, we won’t be missing him until after 8pm, when he doesn’t show for his appointment.’
Shaw continues quickly. ‘Okay. If we don’t get a GPS lock, I’ll get someone looking at footage from the street cameras. Maybe we can trace his movements based on the most likely routes from here to the Hume and the Calder.’