by Brian Smith
Mike sipped the wine and said, ‘Yes, I like this one as well. But you were saying …’
‘Do you know a man by the name of Ivan Sarac?’
‘I’ve heard of him,’ Mike said noncommittally. ‘He works at Rubicon, doesn’t he?’
Carla eyed him carefully. ‘He came into Rubicon after … I’ve never met him.’ She lifted her glass and took a mouthful of wine. ‘All I know about him is what my staff at Café Filipo say about him. He goes there with Angelo and sometimes he uses the private room for his own meetings. They say he’s an arrogant man who treats them like dirt and has his own people to guard him. They don’t know what he’s frightened of. Angelo should never have let him into Rubicon. I don’t know …’
‘Carla, what has this to do with Shane?’
‘It so hard to find … Let me bring the lunch. It won’t take me long to prepare. ‘Just a minute.’
Carla rose hastily and went inside, leaving Mike to piece together the apparently unrelated strands of their conversation. She was away even longer than the first time, giving him ample time to decide what he needed to do. Eventually she returned with two white plates, each holding a mixture of sandwiches made from crusty wholemeal bread and what looked like some of the antipasto he had enjoyed on Tuesday. She placed the plate with the largest share of the sandwiches in front of him, while the modest one she retained for herself.
‘Here we are. Sorry to take so long,’ she said with an apologetic smile.
‘Carla, I think I can make this easier for you. Let me tell you what I know and how I see things.’
She gave him a sharp glance before settling to listen.
‘The sales of luxury units at Riverside have continued to be poor, leading to a cash flow problem that is probably worrying the new investors just as it worried your father. Construction on the latest tower has been slowed and its design altered to go for the middle rather than the top end of the market. This does make CityView a direct competitor with Riverside. Ivan Sarac doesn’t mind breaching the law and the union has been involved in attempting to protect their members from Sarac putting off workers without their proper entitlements and cutting corners on a number of work practices. Sarac has several men who do his dirty work for him. When he came to Rubicon he recruited Shane as his man on the Riverside site. Another of them, Bruno Kordic, was involved in trying to sabotage the CityView project. We caught him at it the other night but he escaped. I can now understand why Shane was so awkward when Angelo saw him with me. Is this what you wanted to tell me or is there more?’
Carla nodded slowly as Mike made each of his points. She leant forward.
‘It was Sarac who rang Angelo to tell him Shane was dead. I was not in the room but could tell Angelo was furious about something. After he finished the call I went to Angelo and we talked. He told me more about Riverside than he has for months. Angelo feels responsible for Shane’s death.’
‘He had him killed because of his link with me?’
‘No. No. Angelo wishes he had never allowed Sarac into Rubicon but says it’s too late to get rid of him and his men now. Angelo loathes them all. He couldn’t resist stirring up trouble by telling them he’d seen the two of you together at Café Filipo and was surprised at how seriously they took it. Sarac and Bruno, the other one you mentioned, were very suspicious of Shane. They’re an untrustworthy bunch and don’t even trust each other. Something happened to make their suspicions boil over and that’s why Shane was killed. Sarac didn’t admit anything but he did say he knew Shane was a traitor and they were well rid of him. Angelo feels guilty he started them down this path.’
‘Will Angelo go to the police?’
‘Oh, Mike, you don’t know what you ask. These men are ruthless. I only told you because I’m fearful for you.’ She reached out to take his hand. ‘Sarac is a vicious man who will stop at nothing to get his way. I’d be distraught if you came to harm because of these men. I’m so powerless.’ She lifted her hand to her eye and he thought she was about to cry, but instead she placed a gentle finger on his damaged eyebrow and said, ‘You told me you’d been in an accident Was it one of Sarac’s men who attacked you?’
‘It was my own fault. I had an earlier run-in with Bruno when he came off worse than me and I became cocky. I won’t make that mistake again. Besides, they’ve come up with a different way to put me out of action.’
‘What?’
‘Do you know Alan Reardon, the deputy secretary of the BCU?’
‘No. Why do you ask?’
‘I’ve just come from a grilling at the Building Commission where I’ve been accused of attempting to bribe Reardon. He’s set me up very neatly.’
Carla, in the process of lifting a sandwich to her lips, stopped her hand. ‘Why should he do such a thing?’
‘I guess Sarac has paid him off.’ It was now clear to Mike that, if he was going to clear himself he would need to expose much of what was going on at Rubicon and Findlay’s. ‘When Angelo was talking with you last night, did he say anything about Vern McKenzie?’
‘No. Who is he?’
‘Vern’s currently my boss. I wondered whether he might be targeted as well.’ Mike sat back and squared his shoulders. ‘Thank you. I can understand it wasn’t easy for you to tell me what you have.’
‘Oh, Mike. I wish I could be more help to you. Please eat up. You’ve hardly touched those sandwiches.’
‘Neither have you. We’ve both been a bit preoccupied. Let’s talk about something else.’
Carla rose to her feet and raised her arms above her head to stretch her body in a feline gesture Mike found intensely alluring.
‘The breeze is getting up now. Let’s go into the living room for coffee and some special cakes I hope will tempt you more than my sandwiches have done.’ She led him inside and, with a wave of her hand, indicated he should sit on the spongey cushions of the settee while she went to the kitchen to brew the coffee. Mike had not been able to hear the trumpeter on the balcony, but now the warm sounds of his dreamy tune flowed over him and he felt happier than he had been for days. The talk with Carla had not solved any of his problems, but her concern for him was something to savour.
Carla returned with their coffee and a plate containing pieces of katafi and baklava, which she placed on a low table in front of them, and sat close beside him on the settee, her skirt riding up so that he found it difficult not to keep glancing at the length of smooth thigh snuggled beside him.
‘Now,’ she said, ‘tell me what your father said when you told him about our conversation.’
Mike took a sip of coffee before replying. ‘Our chat didn’t go too well. He wants nothing to do with your father. I don’t believe it’s so much dislike for him as it is Dad’s shame he held back the evidence of his guilt and used it to protect himself. It’s shame rather than hatred.’
‘But that’s my father,’ Carla said a little impatiently. ‘Why won’t he deal with me?’
Mike chuckled. ‘I have to tell you Dad has admired you from afar. When he saw those shots of you in New Idea, he said you looked like that old screen star Sophia Loren. For him there can be no greater beauty.’
Carla smiled and took a deep breath, emphasising some of the reasons Demetri had been struck by her similarity to the film star. ‘I hadn’t realised how many of you Georgiou family take such an interest in New Idea. So, if I invited him for a private lunch at Café Filipo, would he not be pleased to accept? We can talk there.’
‘Do you get your way with all men by inviting them for a private lunch at Café Filipo?’
‘You sound a little miffed. If that is my method, it doesn’t seem to have worked with you.’
‘I don’t know. Dad accused me of having been seduced by you.’
‘Have you?’
Carla turned towards him, her blouse twisting to reveal the curve of her breasts and the lace at the edge of her ivory bra. When Mike put his hand on her shoulder and turned his head so their faces were close to touching, Carla lo
oked earnestly into his eyes before suddenly pulling away.
‘No, of course you haven’t. It is you who has seduced me.’ She smiled sadly at him. ‘You are such an attractive man, Michael – so strong and yet so gentle. There must have been many women who have told you this.’ Carla stood up and looked down on him. ‘I began to believe something special was growing between us. I began to believe I could look to you, not just to offer me comfort, but to support me with your father. But why should you? Your loyalty is to your father not to me, the daughter of the man he is ashamed to have known and the wife of the man whose company has put you in such danger.’ She shook her head and pursed her lips as though annoyed with herself. ‘I shouldn’t have declared myself to you like this. Forgive me.’ She paused before adding, ‘But that’s the effect you have on me.’
Carla walked into the kitchen, further distancing herself from him. Mike’s thoughts were in turmoil: the undeniable glow of contentment from her words, the throbbing pulse of arousal, the jagged disappointment of her withdrawal. To his surprise Mike found he must have taken a piece of katafi from the plate and bitten into it – the overly sweet cocoon had a slightly flabby texture, not nearly as good as those Lissa baked, triggering a prickle of guilt, which he pushed away. He stood up and came to Carla.
‘I haven’t given up on trying to persuade Dad. I do want to help you however I can, more now than ever.’
Carla turned to face him. ‘You are a kind man.’ She made no move to come to him. ‘Perhaps you should go before I embarrass you any further.’
‘No. Don’t be silly.’
‘Still, I think it best you go,’ she said in a wan voice and turned to lead him to the door. ‘I hope I haven’t frightened you away and we can meet again. I so value your company.’
She gave Mike an enigmatic smile before adding, ‘You can assure your father I haven’t succeeded in seducing you.’
When Mike reached home Mary had gone and Lissa was busy in the kitchen. ‘How did it go?’ she asked. For a second Mike thought she was asking about his lunch with Carla but then recovered and said, ‘I’ve been set up by the union guy, Alan Reardon. The commission investigators are convinced I tried to bribe him and will be sending the file to the police after they complete their report.’
‘But Vern said you’d be OK.’
‘I’m learning not to trust anything said to me by anyone. Reardon has played me for a sucker and the longer this goes on the more I think Vern’s working for Rubicon and against Findlay’s. I’m pretty sure he helped set me up.’
‘Vern? That’s terrible. You haven’t said anything about Vern turning traitor. How long have you suspected him?’
‘Just a few days. I didn’t want to believe it.’
‘You should have said.’ Lissa’s wide eyes made her words sound like an accusation ‘You’re keeping a lot to yourself and not telling me what’s going on. It’s as if you’re drifting away and I don’t know where you are.’ Mike knew she meant Carla. When he did not respond she shook her head and said, ‘They certainly grilled you for a long time.’
‘Carla called me on my way home. I went to see her.’
‘Another lunch at Café Filipo?’ Lissa said with mock astonishment. ‘Just as well you had your suit on to front the commission.’
‘We had a sandwich in her apartment. She wanted to tell me she thinks Shane might have been killed because the thugs he hung out with suspected he was spying on them for me.’
‘Really?’
‘She didn’t put it so directly, but that’s what she meant. She was worried something might happen to me, too.’
‘What gave her that idea?’
‘It’s a complicated story.’
‘Here we go again. You’d better tell me all about it.’
After Mike had taken Lissa through the details of Angelo Rossi’s baiting of Shane and the phone call he had received from Sarac, Lissa said, ‘You should tell this to the police.’
‘Yeah, I know. But if I just appear out of the blue with this story, the first thing they’ll want to know is where I got it from. I can’t say it was Carla who told me.’
‘Why not?’
‘First, I’d be breaking her trust, when the only reason she told me was her concern for my safety.’ When Lissa began to object, Mike continued over the top of her. ‘And if I don’t worry about that, it won’t work anyway. Rossi will deny everything and Carla will have to back him. That’s what you’d do, isn’t it?’
Mike had not intended to signal doubt over Lissa’s loyalty but he could see that was how she interpreted him. She stared hard at him before saying, ‘Did she tell you anything else I should know?’
‘She’s still keen that I should persuade Dad to sell to her.’
‘Did she offer you any inducements?’ Lissa asked.
‘What do you think?’ Mike answered testily.
‘I think it’s time to pick up the kids from school. We mustn’t forget them.’
Lissa complained about him holding things back but she continued to send him coded messages. Would they ever get back to speaking directly again?
14
Next morning Mike was in no mood for chatter, so the drive to school with the children was a silent one until they turned into the tree-lined street which led to the red-brick school buildings.
‘Are you sad about Shane dying?’ Leila asked.
‘No, he didn’t like Shane,’ Christos answered before him. ‘It’s just he doesn’t like doing the mother thing now he doesn’t have a job and Mum is busy with her plans to cook meals for other people.’
‘I don’t like it when you and Mum don’t talk,’ Jacinta said, always concerned she not be overlooked.’
‘Better than when they have fights,’ Christos replied.
‘Hey, hold on,’ Mike interjected. ‘We don’t have fights.’
‘Well, arguments, then,’ Christos conceded. ‘You don’t hit her like Shane hit Mary,’ he added in a voice that told Mike his son was rather proud of knowing this.
‘Look, I’m having to deal with a heap of problems at work at the moment.’
‘But you’re not at work,’ Jacinta objected.
‘That’s because of the problems I’ve got. I’m not on holidays.’
‘No, you’re Mum’s driver,’ Christos said with a cheeky grin.
‘Here we are,’ Mike announced with relief. ‘Everybody out.’
When he reached home, Lissa was waiting. ‘Detective Sergeant Phil Ryan called. He’d like you to go into the homicide squad office for an interview.’
‘Did he say when he wanted me?’
‘He’s picking you up. I told him you were taking the kids to school and he said he’d drop by in half an hour. He rang just after you left, so he should be here soon.’
When Mike answered the door he found not only Detective Sergeant Ryan, but his mate, Detective Senior Constable Clarke, as well. Behind them in the street Mike could see the same blue Ford Falcon.
‘Good morning, ‘Mr Georgiou.’ Ryan’s voice completely lacked any warmth. ‘Do you mind if we come in for a moment?’
Mike led them into the house and introduced them to Lissa before Ryan spoke again.
‘Our investigations so far have raised a number of questions and we think you might have some of the answers.’
Mike couldn’t believe his good fortune. Here was his opportunity to pass on what Carla had told him. ‘Sure. Let’s sit over here.’ He gestured to the chairs in the family room.
‘Better at the office,’ Ryan replied and then had second thoughts. ‘But there are one or two things we’ll do here first.’
‘You’d better sit down,’ Mike said.’
The sergeant remained standing beside the bench dividing the kitchen from the family room.
‘The other day you mentioned you had been mugged last Monday night.’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
‘Could you look out for us the clothes you were wearing?’
‘W
hatever for?’
‘We have various lines of enquiry running in this case. By having a look at your clothes we may be able to eliminate one of them.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘We’ll explain more fully later. Could we see the clothes, please?’
Ryan’s request had become an order.
‘As I recall I was wearing a shirt, jumper, jeans and sneakers, apart from socks and jocks, of course. Do you want all of them?’
‘Thank you.’
The senior constable followed Mike to the bedroom, leaving the sergeant to wander into the kitchen and begin chatting with Lissa.
As Mike took each item of clothing from the cupboard, Clarke asked ‘Sure these are the ones?’ He had conjured several plastic bags from somewhere. ‘They’ve all been washed.’ He sounded disappointed.
‘What did you expect?’ Mike demanded, releasing some of his growing anxiety. ‘I was mugged in a filthy alley.’ He looked down at his feet. ‘You’ll be pleased to know I haven’t washed my sneakers; I’m still wearing them.’ The senior constable looked straight into Mike’s eyes and held the stare for a moment before saying, ‘Better take them off, then.’
When they returned to the family room, Ryan was engaged with Lissa.
‘Yes, I’m sure it was very upsetting,’ he was saying. He broke off, glanced at the bags of clothes held by Clarke, looked up at him and received a confirmatory nod. ‘Right. We’ll be on our way.’
The policemen led Mike to their car where Ryan held open the rear door for him. The pleasure Mike felt when they first arrived had disappeared, replaced by anxious uncertainty. In a few minutes his self-image had gone from being a valuable ally of the police to what he often heard described as ‘a person of interest taken in for questioning’. At least the sergeant did not put his hand as protection over Mike’s head in the way the police were seen to do in news clips of them loading an arrested man into a car. As before, Clarke drove and Ryan sat beside him. ‘Where are we going?’ Mike asked.
‘Our office in St Kilda Road,’ was the terse reply.