‘I’m 99.9 per cent certain they don’t know where she is – but I think I might, and I must go and see.’
‘And you won’t tell me?’
I shook my head. ‘I made a promise.’
‘Well, go then, although I’m not entirely happy about it.’ He thought for a moment and then grasped my hand. ‘You must promise to call me every hour on the hour while you are away.’
I must have looked incredulous.
‘I mean it, Antonia, they’re dangerous people.’
‘OK, I’ll ring every hour. I’m going to go first thing tomorrow.’
I went upstairs to book my flight and as I put the phone down I thought I heard the tiniest little tinkle from the phone downstairs.
Next morning there was a knock on the bedroom door just after my alarm went off.
‘Come in,’ I called out.
Percy came in with two cups of tea, which he put on the bedside table.
‘I just wanted to make sure you were awake,’ he said. ‘And I thought you might want to see these.’
He threw the papers onto the bed and went out again. There was a monster headline on the front of the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Environment Minister In $20 Million Developer Fraud’ over a picture of a scowling Roger Thorogood. Down the page, there was a smaller picture of Frankie looking like thunder.
The Telegraph was similar. ‘THOROBAD!’ it said in huge type. ‘Environment Minister Sells Sydney Harbour For $20 Million.’
The accompanying news stories went on to describe how a police investigation had uncovered an illegal financial agreement between the Minister and ‘property developer Frankie Sullivan’, in which Thorogood promised to get Sullivan’s planning applications approved in return for payments adding up to $20 million.
‘A police investigation?’ I said to James, outraged. ‘It was you who did all the work – and look at the price you paid for it.’ I tapped on one of his plaster casts.
‘That doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘All that matters is that Sullivan and Thorogood are nailed and those hideous developments won’t happen. I don’t want any medals – I just want the King George left alone.’
I read further, but there was no mention of Pieter van der Gaarden anywhere in the extensive coverage and none of David Maier.
‘Why don’t they mention Mr P?’ I asked James. ‘He was in on it, wasn’t he?’
‘Yes, but even the cops are scared of him,’ said James. ‘This is how he works – he’s Teflon man. Nothing ever sticks to him. Even up at the King George that night I never got him on film – I got the other three clear as day, but he was too smart ever to come in range of the car. That sideshow you were putting on was enough to make those other idiots abandon all caution. And me, for that matter.’
He winked at me. I think I blushed.
‘So why isn’t that creep David Maier in this story either?’ I said.
‘He’s small fry. Frankie was the one they really wanted and Thorogood went down with him because he’s a greedy bastard. Remember that guy O’Hara I went to see – the cop? He’s been after Frankie for years. I really made his day when I took those pictures in and a lot more damning evidence that you don’t need to know about.’
He went back to studying the Telegraph and after he’d turned a few pages, he laughed suddenly and handed it to me.
‘Here’s your friend David Maier,’ he said. It was a small story at the back of the news section.
‘Powder Puff Playboy in Bikie Battle’ said the headline.
‘Go on,’ said James. ‘Read it out to me. I want to enjoy it.’
He leaned back on the pillows with his arms behind his head.
‘Socialite cosmetics mogul David Maier …’ I read, ‘bit off more than he could chew when he argued with bouncers at a King’s Cross lap dancing bar on Tuesday night. Maier, who has recently filed for bankruptcy’ – gosh, I didn’t know that – ‘refused to go quietly and punched one bouncer in the face. Unfortunately for the Double Bay playboy, who has recently split from his wife Nikki’ – oh my God, I didn’t know that either – ‘the bouncer’s bikie friends saw the incident and came to his aid. Mr Maier is in a stable condition in St Vincent’s Hospital with a broken jaw, severe bruising and two smashed knee caps.’
I looked at James with wide eyes.
‘Talk about karma,’ I said. ‘He really deserved that. What a creep. Remind me, when I get back from my trip, to tell you what David Maier did to me once.’
‘I already know,’ he said, quietly.
‘What?’
‘He tried to rape you.’
‘How on earth do you know that?’ I was incredulous.
‘Percy told me. He thought I’d want to know and he was damn right.’
I looked down at the newspaper again. Bikies. I looked at James with one raised eyebrow. I didn’t even need to ask the question.
‘Spider?’ I said, quietly.
He shook his head.
‘Not Spider,’ he said. ‘But friends of Spider.’
I put my face in my hands. This was all getting too much. Smashed kneecaps and vigilante beatings.
‘Don’t worry, it wasn’t arranged to avenge you, Grasshopper,’ he said, pulling me close. ‘It was just a happy accident. Maier had pissed off a lot of people and he was going to get it anyway. He owes money to all kinds of people in this town you don’t want to owe money to. You don’t try to rip off your cocaine dealer, for example, if you want your face to stay the same shape, but he seemed to think he was above the rules in any situation. In business he never paid his suppliers and for fun he’s been known to rape prostitutes. He used to book girls, treat them really badly and then not even pay them. What’s a working girl going to do in that situation? Cry rape? Go to the police? He is a truly abhorrent human being. I’m just glad you managed to get away before he did his worst to you. You were lucky.’
‘I’ll drink to that,’ I said, raising my teacup.
I was more nervous than I’d expected as I waited at the airport lounge for my flight later that morning. James had given me a crash course in private investigator skills before I left. It was a shame Tom wasn’t there to join in, he would have loved it. But I was laughing so much I didn’t really take it in.
First he made me take his spare phone battery for my mobile, as well as my own, plus a phone card and lots of change, in case I went out of range. Then he taught me some techniques for making yourself as inconspicuous as possible, which was a kind of reverse of Percy’s charisma technique, interestingly.
‘You can kind of think yourself invisible, if you try,’ he’d said.
‘Yes, I know,’ I’d told him. ‘I used to do that in Latin at school, so the teacher wouldn’t ask me to decline a subjunctive verb.’
It had all been hilarious in the sitting room at home, with me doing Humphrey Bogart impersonations and James throwing cushions at me, but now I was out in a public space I felt really vulnerable and self-conscious. I kept looking round to see if anyone was following me, but I decided that James had just made me paranoid and made a deal with myself that apart from the hourly phone call home I would just try to relax about it all. Why would anyone be following me? Nobody knew where I was going.
I felt nervous in a different way as I pulled up outside Dee’s house in my hire car. Was I breaking her trust by going to see if she was there? Was I interfering in something I really couldn’t understand? I sat in the car, boiling in the bright sunshine, biting my lip and wondering what to do. At least I hadn’t told anyone else about it, I thought, and if she was there, at least I could convince her it would be a lot better if she rang the police and told them she was all right.
I rang James – my hourly call was due – and told him as well as I could with the bad reception up there, that I had arrived. Then I decided the only thing to do was just to get on with it, so I walked round the side of the house, picking my way carefully through the thick summer undergrowth, to where I figured she was most likely to be
– and there she was, reading a book in a hammock on her back veranda.
‘Dee,’ I said quietly and she leaped to her feet as though someone had thrown cold water over her.
‘Don’t worry, it’s only me – Ant,’ I said. ‘I’m alone, no one knows I’m here.’
She was darting looks all around.
‘Are you sure you weren’t followed?’ she said.
‘Pretty sure,’ I said. ‘As I say, no one knew I was coming.’
She looked so different. She was wearing no make-up and her hair was quite wavy without its usual blow-dry. She had it roughly pulled back in a ponytail, with loose strands falling onto her face. She was wearing white shorts, an old shirt splattered with paint and no shoes. She looked so much more beautiful than she did all done up, but there was strain around her eyes. There certainly weren’t any stitches to be seen.
‘I had to make sure you were OK,’ I said. ‘Nice facelift.’
She looked sheepish and not sure if I was joking.
‘It’s OK, Dee,’ I said. ‘I know all about it.’
I handed her the Herald.
‘So they finally got him,’ she said.
I nodded.
‘I knew it was coming,’ she said. ‘That’s why I came up here.’
‘I thought that was probably it. Half the NSW police force is looking for you. They think you’ve been kidnapped and I think you might have been, if you hadn’t had this place to escape to.’
‘We’d better go inside anyway,’ she said. ‘And I should tell you – I’m not alone.’
We stepped into the house and there was Suzy Thorogood, sitting at the kitchen table, with a laptop in front of her. She sprang up when she saw me, ran round the table and gave me a huge hug. I was speechless.
‘Oh Antonia,’ she said. ‘It’s so good to see you.’
She pulled away and I saw there were tears in her eyes. I glanced at Dee, who was smiling wryly.
‘I’ve felt so bad about you, Ant,’ said Suzy. ‘I’m so relieved I can tell you everything now.’
We sat down at the table and Dee handed Suzy the newspaper. I wondered how she’d react. After all, that was her husband there in full-colour shame and disgrace on the front page. She stared down at it for a moment and then up at Dee. The look that passed between them was like something ancient. A mixture of simultaneous pain and relief. A look that could only pass between two women who were in some terrible way connected by their men.
‘So they’ve got them,’ said Suzy quietly. Then she jumped up and punched the air. ‘Good!’ she shouted and then she hugged Dee, the two of them doing a triumphant little dance.
Suzy turned round to me, grinning wildly.
‘Don’t you see, Ant?’ she said. ‘Whatever happens now, we’re free from the bullshit, free from the lies. Free! The lies were killing me – why do you think I stopped seeing you? I couldn’t keep it up, I was so ashamed and now I don’t have to live with that any more. And wherever I end up – even if I go to jail myself as an accessory – it will be better than living that lie.’
I looked at Dee, who nodded in agreement, smiling sadly.
Dee made us some tea and we sat down together at the table. Suzy pushed her laptop out of the way, laughing again.
‘I’ve already started my memoirs,’ she said. ‘You know me – Action Jackson. What the hell, I might as well make some money out of the hell I’ve been through. I’m going to sell my story to the Women’s Weekly and bugger the lot of them.’
‘So you both figured out this was about to happen?’ I asked them.
‘Dee did,’ said Suzy. ‘So much for the savvy financial PR. I was so confused and freaked out by what Roger was up to I didn’t even see it coming. She tipped me off and we ran up here together. I didn’t even know she had this place.’
She leaned over and chucked Dee on the cheek. I looked at Dee, so quiet and so deep.
‘I didn’t even know you knew each other that well,’ I said.
They both laughed.
‘We’ve been good friends for years,’ said Suzy. ‘But apart from the odd air kiss on the cocktail party circuit, we’re discreet about it. We didn’t want our respective blokes to use our friendship to chummy up together, because we know what they are both like, but it turned out they didn’t need our help, did they, Dee?’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘They were perfectly capable of fucking things up on their own. I rang Suzy the minute I realized Pieter van der Gaarden was on the warpath. He was furious because he thought Frankie was trying to take him down with him and Roger – and that puts us in danger. Do you know who Pieter van der Gaarden is?’ she added.
I nodded.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘And one day, I’ll tell you how I know – it’s quite a long story. But how did you know what was going on?’
‘I keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut,’ said Dee. ‘I always have. I’ve done it for so many years that Frankie forgets I’m there. Anyway, one night just over a week ago I heard him and Pieter having a huge row and I knew it was time to split. I know everything about all of them and that’s why I had to come up here. It’s Pieter I’m hiding from as much as Frankie.’
‘Me too,’ said Suzy. ‘And I also didn’t want Roger to expect me to be the loyal wife, because I’m not the Hillary Clinton type. I knew what he was getting into and I begged him not to. We already had enough wealth and glory, but he just couldn’t resist that extra $20 million, could he? And do you know why?’
I shook my head. That kind of money meant nothing to me, she might as well have been talking about chocolate buttons.
‘That extra $20 mill,’ said Suzy, ‘cleverly invested for a while, would be just enough to tip us over into the billionaire category. Roger really wants to be a billionaire.’ She took a deep drag on her menthol cigarette and then added, with her brilliant timing, ‘He’s got a small dick.’
We all shrieked with laughter. It was a welcome break from the tension.
When we’d calmed down again, I turned to Dee.
‘Can’t you come back now it’s all out in the open?’ I said. ‘Frankie’s in custody and the police will protect you from Pieter van der Gaarden, surely’.
‘I suppose I can,’ she said. ‘But I’m not going back to live at that house – ever. I hate that place so much.’ She spat the words out.
‘Why did you stay with Frankie so long, if it made you so unhappy?’ I asked her. ‘Surely it wasn’t just the money.’
‘I couldn’t leave,’ she said. ‘He has too much on me.’
She looked at me with those cool green eyes as if she was considering how much to tell me. Then she lit a cigarette – the first I’d ever seen her smoke. She’d given up years before, she’d told me – too ageing for the skin. She saw me looking at it and waved it in the air.
‘Nuts, I know, but I took it up again. It’s been pretty tense up here – and with fag ash Lil there,’ she nodded at Suzy, who blew a smoke ring at her in response, ‘it’s easier to join her than to beat her.’
We sat there, with Dee blowing smoke and staring into the distance. Then I saw her look questioningly at Suzy, who nodded gently. Finally Dee spoke.
‘You’ve been a really good friend to me, Antonia,’ she said. ‘You’ve done far more for me than you can possibly know …’
I opened my mouth to make the usual English protests to a compliment, but she held up her hand to stop me.
‘As you trusted me so implicitly, right from the start, when I have been so cagey with you, I think it’s time I repaid your trust by explaining my behaviour. There’s a reason I don’t let anyone get close to me, Antonia, and it’s the obvious one – I’ve got something to hide. Suzy knows my story, she always has, but now I think I owe it to you, to let you in on it too.’
Between her and James and Percy, I was beginning to feel like some kind of mother confessor, but I did desperately want to know what was behind Dee’s unusual reticence.
‘Well, if you really want to
…’ I said.
She nodded. Suzy squeezed her hand.
‘I met Frankie when I was seventeen,’ she started. ‘I’d just arrived in Sydney from Tasmania. I was a hooker. You know, what they call a “high-class call girl”? Well, there’s nothing high-class about it, let me tell you. Sure, you get paid more than a street walker, you get to wear expensive clothes and you get taken out to nice places, but when it comes down to it, you still end up sucking the dick of some hideous man you hate.’
I sat there gawping. I felt slightly sick.
‘I imagine a girl like you has never met a hooker before, is that right?’ she said.
I nodded. A convicted criminal and a high-class hooker in a matter of days. My horizons were widening.
‘Well, the thing is,’ said Dee, leaning towards me, conspiratorially, ‘you have, but you just didn’t know. There is so much of it going on, Antonia. Not just in Sydney, but everywhere. The most surprising people are involved.’
She blew out a long plume of smoke and ashed the cigarette. I noticed her normally perfect nails were bitten off.
‘How did you get into it?’ I asked.
‘Well, you know my grandmother brought me up, I told you that much. I never knew my father. My mother was eighteen when she had me and shortly after I was born she ran away, left me with my granny. Never contacted either of us again. She was wonderful to me, my gran, she’d lost one daughter, so I became her second one, but when I was sixteen she died. I didn’t have anyone else and I was really naïve. Then I met this kind man, who was great fun and seemed to want to look after me. Next thing I knew I was looking after him – and all his sleazy friends. Once I was into it and used to the money, I didn’t know how to get out. He broke me in, in Hobart, and then he brought me up to Sydney and pretty much sold me on to a madam. That’s when I met Frankie.’
She looked so tired.
‘Do you want to hear more of this?’ she said.
I nodded, dumbly. I didn’t really, but I felt she needed to tell me. Suzy went to the fridge and got some mineral water for us all. Dee took a long drink and then continued.
Mad About the Boy Page 29