A BLIND EYE

by John Henderson

  ‘Clearly the lady was more astute than you gave her credit for,’ said Chief Paxton, now enjoying Fisher’s humiliation. ‘You know you do have something of a reputation for women around Day Street.’

  ‘Oh, well seeing there aren’t many women around Day Street, I’d say I didn’t have much of a reputation at all.’

  I’ll ignore that, thought Chief Paxton. ‘I’ll put that a little more succinctly, Fisher. The junior ranks within the Day Street station refer to you as The Sleaze because of your reputation of trying to get every second woman you meet into bed. Anyway, I’m anxious to hear this tape of yours, it must be absolutely pornographic.’

  ‘You’ll be disappointed, sir. Okay, so I invited a girl back to my flat. So what? That’s not a crime,’ replied Fisher petulantly.

  ‘No, not a criminal crime, but maybe a moral one depending on your moral standards,’ returned Paxton.

  ‘Look, sir, I admit I screw around on my wife. But so do the majority of married men.’

  ‘Well, you might, Fisher, but there are a lot of married people, including myself, who don’t. Does Agnes sleep around then?’

  ‘Good grief no. Well, how the hell would I know? Maybe she does, but who in their right mind would take the time and effort? Good God, she’s almost in her fifties and past that stage in life,’ said Fisher, appalled at the thought.

  ‘And you’re not?’

  ‘Come on, sir, it’s different for a man.’

  Chief Paxton sighed and shook his head. ‘Fisher, your wife knows what a pillock you look like when you go hunting and I’ve no doubt she has a good idea as to what you’re hunting. Do you ever consider how she might feel?’

  ‘No sir, and I really don’t care. I jeopardize my career so she can go swanning off on the social scene. No sir, I really don’t give a damn how she feels.’

  ‘Well, that’s your business. But taking kick-backs from the Taipan Club is my business. And what do you think Mr. Lee is going to think when you stop frequenting his club to pick up your money? And you will not be picking up any more money from Mr. Lee. Do I make myself clear?’

  ‘Yes, sir, and I haven’t a clue, sir. I never stopped to think about what Mr. Lee might do,’ replied Fisher, a thoughtful look on his face.

  ‘Well, I have, and guess what? The first thing he’ll expect is for the police to close him down. And if the police, for one reason or another, don’t close him down, our Mr. Lee might justifiably ask what the hell has he been paying you for. And we both know it’s not in our interest to raid the Taipan Club. So when nothing happens, Mr. Lee will be one pissed off criminal for having paid you for nothing in return. But if you don’t happen to turn up for work one day, at least we’ll know where to start our investigation,’ said Chief Paxton, his demeanour reverting to his earlier flippancy. In fact, he was enjoying seeing Fisher squirm.

  ‘Well honestly, Sir. I really don’t think the situation is as bad as all that,’ replied Fisher.

  ‘I’m glad you see it that way, but you probably haven’t considered the situation from our point of view. I suppose the judge may be lenient in view of the fact that you came to me. After all, extortion is an offence which, in this State, carries a maximum of ten years, and you have made a confession,’ said Chief Superintendent Paxton, showing little sympathy for Fisher’s plight.

  ‘So, a couple of years in Long Bay, if I should last that long, or run the chance of being taken out by one of Mr. Lee’s gunmen. Gee whiz, they say you never reach crisis point while you have options. With those options my future looks assured,’ said Fisher despondently.

  Detective Chief Superintendent Paxton sat back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘Well, Ollie, looks like you’ve gone and got yourself into one hell of a mess this time. The blackmailer wanted you to confess your little arrangement with Mr. Lee to me, or he’d tip off your wife and the press of your extra marital shenanigans and unauthorized income from the Taipan Club. Just a thought, but I take it you’re not declaring this income to the Tax Department?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘So, tax evasion. And the flat at Potts Point. It’s rented in your name?

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘False pretenses. How long did I say your stay in Long Bay would be, a couple of years? Better make that a few. But let’s get back to the blackmailer. It appears the blackmailer gets stuff all out of all this, so why go to all the trouble. Maybe he just wants to see you squirm. Have you upset anybody lately?’ Chief Paxton asked with complete indifference.

  ‘No, no-one I can think of. Chief Inspector Rose would get up people’s nose at times as he was closer to the coalface but…’ Fisher shrugged.

  ‘As I said earlier, I don’t think for one minute the blackmailer is in the Force.’ Chief Paxton looked at his watch and got up from his chair. ‘Unfortunately I have an appointment with the Assistant Commissioner and much as I would like to continue our little discussion, I’m afraid it will have to wait. For the moment you will consider yourself under an administrative warning and you will confine your police duties to administrative mattes only. And I would strongly suggest you go nowhere near the Taipan Club. I will need to bring this matter to the attention of both the Assistant and Deputy Commissioners. Do I make myself clear?’

  Detective Superintendent Fisher closed the door to Detective Chief Superintendent Paxton’s office with conscious gentility on his way out.

  CHAPTER 24

  Simon and Noel sat by the window in the George and Bathurst Streets coffee shop. Both men were unusually quiet, both reflecting on recent events.

  ‘I hear Fisher has been to see Paxton,’ said Noel, absently tearing a napkin to shreds, one little piece at a time.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Simon. ‘Paxton called me up and gave me the gist of the conversation. Apparently Fisher did confess to both the womanising and the pay-off from the Taipan Club. I don’t think he was too pleased with our methodology although he did say that in view of the circumstances, he would overlook the small matter of blackmail.’

  ‘Well, bully for Paxton. How else did he think we could get Fisher to confess his sins? So what now?’ asked Noel as he pushed the scraps of paper into a tidy pile.

  ‘I think we’ve achieved what Paxton wanted, so I guess it’s back to business as usual. We still don’t know how successful Hanson has been so maybe we’re still headed for Long Bay. Now, that would be something. You and me incarcerated in one cell with Fisher in the next,’ remarked Simon, taking on a reflective mood.

  ‘Come on, Simon, Hanson’s good but you don’t honestly think he’ll crack the case. The silence around Day Street regarding the robbery is deafening, no-one has a clue,’ said Noel, looking around the coffee shop in expectation. ‘I thought Ron was meeting us?’

  Simon looked at his watch. ‘Yes he is, but he’s only a couple of minutes late. We’ll give him another ten. Another coffee?’

  ‘Yeah, why not. I’ll pee all day, but what the heck.’

  Simon nodded to the buxom young waitress who sauntered over with a broad smile on her face. ‘I know, don’t tell me. One flat black and one cappuccino, right? Becoming one of the regulars now, aren’t you?’

  ‘Better add another black coffee to that,’ Noel said as Ron entered the coffee shop and made his way over to the table and sat down.

  ‘Morning Simon, Noel. What’s new?’ Ron asked, happy to get the weight off his feet.

  Simon shrugged. ‘Probably nothing you don’t already know. I suppose you know Fisher has fallen on his sword and gone to Paxton?’

  ‘Yes. I did hear that. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. But that might be totally irrelevant now,’ Ron replied dismissively.

  ‘What do you mean, irrelevant?’

  ‘Rumour has it Mr. Lee has put out a contract on our Mr. Fisher.’

  Simon exhaled and relaxed. ‘Christ, for a moment then I thought you said Lee has put out a contract on Fisher.’

  ‘No, I didn’t say that, Simon. I said rumour has it that Lee has put out
a contract.’

  ‘You mean a contract on Detective Superintendent Fisher? You’ve got to be kidding?’

  ‘Sorry Simon, but I kid you not. The word is Lee was ripped off by Fisher, and we all know that’s exactly what he did. The unfortunate thing, for Fisher I mean, is that he didn’t think he was ripping Lee off. You see, it seems Fisher held the belief he was providing Lee with a watertight guarantee that the Club was immune to police closure, albeit at a price. Lee now knows something has happened as Fisher hasn’t been near the Club for a couple of weeks and the Club’s still operating. The truth is Fisher did rip him off and you shouldn’t do that sort of thing without some consideration as to the ramifications.’

  ‘Oh, hell,’ exclaimed Noel. ‘And all we wanted was to bring him down a peg or two, not six feet down.’

  ‘Is there any room for negotiation with Mr. Lee?’ asked Simon. At that moment the waitress arrived with the three coffees and the conversation came to an abrupt halt. ‘Black there, black there, and…

  ‘Don’t tell me. I know where the third one goes.’ The waitress placed the cappuccino in front of Simon. ‘See, you’re my regulars now.’ The young girl turned and walked away, her hips swaying.

  ‘Ah, the innocence of youth, while we sit around talking about someone getting bumped off. Ca la vie,’ said Ron.

  ‘Not someone, you mean Detective Superintendent Fisher,’ said Simon. ‘You didn’t answer my question, Ron. Will Lee negotiate?’

  ‘Why should he? It’s not as though we have something he wants, apart from not closing him down. Lee was under the belief the money he paid Fisher was for an insurance policy against being raided by the police. I know it’s only been a fortnight which means Fisher hasn’t been in to pick up his pay on the last two occasions. Suddenly Mr. Lee believes Fisher has taken him for a ride as Fisher’s not collecting his money and the police haven’t been around to belt the door down, yet.’

  ‘Cripes. A contract is a bit heavy handed though. You would have thought Lee would have discussed things with Fisher to see just what’s going on before he put out the contract,’ said Noel.

  Ron shook his head. ‘No, you see, Lee doesn’t like Fisher, never has. Lee regarded Rose as a harmless non event but then Fisher turned up with his proposition, you give me money or I’ll close you down. Plain and simple extortion. However, Lee eventually decided the money he was paying Fisher made no difference as to whether the Club would be shut down or not. Lee obviously came to the conclusion that he wasn’t receiving the quid pro quo.’

  Simon frowned. ‘Yes, but surely Fisher must have known he was setting himself up to be blackmailed. Mr. Lee is no fool so he must have had sufficient evidence on Fisher to blackmail him, if the need ever arose.’

  ‘I’m sure he has, or did,’ replied Ron. ‘Irrespective of any material Lee has on Fisher, it’s now useless since Fisher has been to see Paxton. I’ve no doubt Lee knows of Fisher’s little visit to see Paxton and he probably thinks the future of the Club is now in the lap of the Gods. The last thing Mr. Lee wants is to draw attention to himself. The Club is very successful due mainly to the fact that Lee has always played a straight game, the best clientele, no hoods or rough stuff. While he continues to play it that way the police are happy with the devil they know, and won’t close him down,’ said Ron simply.

  ‘But Mr. Lee has never known that little fact,’ said Noel. ‘So now he believes his beloved Club is insecure, through Fisher’s action, and he’s gunning for Fisher.’

  Ron shook his head in disagreement. ‘No, I think it’s all rumour. Lee isn’t the type of man to have someone shot, or whatever. When you meet him, and no doubt you will eventually, you’ll find he’s a perfect gentleman, definitely not the typical gangster, by any means. To be honest, for Mr. Lee to have put out a contract would be contrary to everything we know about the man.’ Ron looked at his watch and said, ‘Look, I’d love to stop and chat, but I have an appointment. If I hear anything on the grape vine, I’ll let you know.’ Ron gulped the last of his coffee, and hurriedly left leaving Simon and Noel somewhat perplexed.

  CHAPTER 25

  ‘Hi boss,’ Noel said breezily as he entered the office. He was glad to be back dressed in civvies and doing what he regarded as real police work; crime detecting.

  ‘Morning, Noel,’ said Simon, sitting back in his chair, his feet up on the table. We haven’t got much on today. It seems that with Rose’s death and the sword hanging over Fisher, there’s a lack of direction here at Day Street.’

  ‘Any scuttlebutt on their replacements, assuming of course Fisher gets the bullet? Sorry boss, that was in poor taste, but you know what I mean.’ Noel said as he hung his coat on the back of the door.

  ‘Not a whisper. I feel sorry for Paxton, losing his chief inspector and then this kafuffle with his superintendent within such a short time. I hear he’s spoken to the Assistant Commissioner, and Fisher’s problem may have even gone higher.’

  Noel sat back in his chair and loosened his tie. ‘And what about Hanson,’ he asked as he unscrew the top off a bottle of water. Although the office was air conditioned, sometimes, the November weather had finally bought the consistently higher temperatures which were making severe inroads into the effectiveness of the ancient conditioning system.

  ‘I don’t think he’s having any greater success than Rosey did, poor bugger,’ said Simon flatly. ‘I know Paxton was keen to get the case wrapped up quickly but that seems a forlorn hope now. Somehow I think even Paxton’s losing interest.’

  ‘Well, Fisher is still alive and kicking so Mr. Lee mustn’t be too enthusiastic to bump him off. But you’re right. The place seems to be grinding to a halt, which brings me to the question, Simon. Are we the goodies or the baddies? I think I should get this clear in my mind whether we’re policemen or criminals.’

  ‘Good question,’ replied Simon, pursing his lips and concentrating deeply. ‘Let’s be objective about it. We’ve robbed a bank, we’ve blackmailed a police superintendent, we’re accessories to murder, although that could be debated, and we’re accessories to fraud, just to run a few off the top of the head. I’m sure there are a few more that could be dragged up if we were to take a closer scrutiny. As some Roman poet said, “Disce Omnes”.

  ‘Which means?’ asked Noel, although not that interested in what some Roman poet had to say.

  ‘Noel, your education is lacking. It means “From one piece of villainy judge them all”, or something like that.’

  ‘Yeah, okay, that’s wonderful. But you haven’t answered the question. Are we the good guys or the bad guys?’ asked Noel, becoming a little frustrated.

  ‘Right, I’ve listed the points which, on face value, would tend to suggest we’re on the baddies side. Now, you list the points to put us on the goodies side.’

  Noel settled back in his chair and rested his feet on the table. ‘Okay, we robbed a bank, but we gave the money back, or at least we’re in the process of giving it back, which proves we never intended to permanently deprive the bank of its cash. Isn’t that one of the proofs of robbery that has to be proven?’

  Simon shook his head. ‘Don’t go there, Noel. You’d be walking into a legal minefield because at the time of the robbery, it could be claimed you had every intention of taking the cash from the bank, permanently. But do go on.’

  ‘Okay, there was no murder. It was a simple case of death by natural causes that could happen to anyone, even poor old Dorothy. As for the blackmailing of Superintendent Fisher, we were only doing what Chief Paxton wanted. He didn’t provide us with the means to an end and left that up to us. And the fraud. Okay, as soon as we found out about Rosey and the slush fund, we should have reported it to the hierarchy, who clearly knew all about it anyway. I’d say that puts us with the good guys.’

  ‘All right, all right,’ conceded Simon. ‘What side do you want to be on?’

  Noel didn’t hesitate. ‘The goodies, of course. After confronting that bank teller, what’s his name, Bruce, Bruce
Bentley. He was enough to put Dillinger on the straight and narrow.’

  ‘Yes, he certainly did have a way with words. Nice enough bloke, I thought,’ replied Simon. The conversation on whether to be goodies or baddies was interrupted by a knock on the door.

  ‘Password?’ called Inspector Webster.

  ‘Haven’t a clue,’ came the voice of Sergeant Mathieson.

  ‘Close enough. You may enter.’

  ‘Ah, such frivolity in the face of adversity,’ said the Sergeant as he entered the office. My illustrious leader has extended a cordial invitation for you both to attend a meeting to be held in the third floor conference room at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. You will be in attendance?’

  ‘Is that a question or a statement, Sergeant?’ asked Inspector Webster.

  ‘I’d consider it a statement, but then again, I’m just a lowly sergeant. No offence meant, Sergeant Noel.’

  ‘None taken. Can you give us an idea what this is all about?’ asked Sergeant Elliott, in all innocence.

  ‘Come on Sergeant, you’re supposed to be a detective. If you haven’t any idea, maybe you should be out directing traffic. I’m sure your boss knows so ask him later. But let’s just say you aren’t the only recipients of invitations. I even got one, as did Inspector Hanson and Superintendent Fisher. I’ve no doubt there will be others as Chief Paxton wanted the conference room booked.’

  Inspector Webster picked up his diary and flipped through the pages. ‘Ah yes, I think I may be able to attend. Yes, you can tell the Chief Superintendent my diary is devoid of any significant entries for tomorrow at that particular time and that I, along with my trusty sergeant, humbly accept his kind invitation. We look forward in anticipation to the convocation and ensuing proceedings with baited breath,’ said Inspector Webster in a theatrical manner.’

  ‘Oh, how absolutely grand,’ said Sergeant Mathieson, taking his cue and taking up the theatrics. ‘Chief Paxton will be absolutely delighted. Thank you, gentlemen. I shall now take my leave and convey your acceptance to milord with all due haste. Au revoir, mes amis.’ With that, Sergeant Mathieson made a sweeping bow, and left the office.