Fatal Mistake

by Karen M. Davis

  ‘Not at all. I’ll get the money sorted tomorrow. How do you do it?’ She acted impressed. ‘You run a club, host parties, do fast and efficient business.’

  They had now finished their meals – although Lexie couldn’t quite do hers justice – and Hans cleared the table and handed them each a dessert menu. There was no way she could fit in another thing. By silent, mutual understanding, they waited until Hans left before continuing their conversation.

  ‘I must admit, I don’t do it all. I’m like Santa and have helpers. No one can do what I do alone,’ he stated self-importantly. ‘Johnny came through for me this time.’

  On the outside, Lexie’s expression remained a mask of fascination, as though she was hanging on his every word. Inside she was doing a happy dance. ‘I like to test my staff, push them to see how committed, how loyal and how eager to please they are.’ Rocco sipped on the last of the wine. He had drunk much more than Lexie and seemed unaffected. ‘I told him I wanted a fast turnaround. I must admit, I do play on the poor man’s compulsion to outdo his brother.’

  ‘So there’s a bit of sibling rivalry, is there?’ Lexie sipped her wine.

  ‘Intense rivalry – I think there always has been. Although it got worse when their parents died and left everything to Lucky. Johnny and their sister got nothing.’

  ‘Why did Lucky get all of the inheritance? It’s not fair his siblings got nothing . . .’

  Rocco shrugged. ‘Some Europeans believe the first-born son gets everything. My parents are not like that, thankfully – I am the youngest. Not that I need the money,’ he couldn’t help but add.

  Lexie chose her words carefully. ‘So you’ve known Lucky and Johnny for a long time too?’

  ‘Lucky was friends with Tiffany’s father. That’s how I met him originally.’

  You can’t sack Lucky, he’s best friends with the real boss . . . Erika’s words echoed through Lexie’s mind. Did that mean Tiffany’s father was the big boss of the club? Had she even been referring to the club or something else entirely?

  Rocco didn’t elaborate and she didn’t ask anything further. She was beginning to read Rocco; he liked to lead the conversation and would tell her only what he wanted her to know.

  Lexie brought them back to the deal. ‘So, tomorrow night . . .’

  ‘Come to the club at 9pm . . . alone. We’ll do business in my office.’ He held her gaze. ‘Then maybe we can have a drink afterwards.’

  She had to give him top points for persistence.

  • • •

  They caught a taxi back to the club and Rocco insisted on walking Lexie to her car. She got her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door, opening it slightly and hoping for a quick getaway. She saw the empty shopping trolley on the footpath across the road and hoped Elvis was sleeping in a warm bed with a full stomach tonight.

  She turned to stand in the arc of the door.

  ‘Thank you for dinner, it was lovely.’

  Rocco was close, too close. Taking her hand, he brought it up to his lips as he’d done the first day they’d met. As he edged even closer, Lexie cautioned him with her eyes, then shook her head. Heeding her silent warning, he smiled forlornly and pulled back.

  ‘I’m sorry. I could not help myself.’

  Lexie gave him a half-smile. Rocco was incredibly conceited and resolute when it came to getting what he wanted. This was why the strategy of dangling temptation just out of his reach was working. Their rapport was building. He had shared personal information with her tonight and remained at a respectable distance – although testing the boundaries relentlessly. She was certainly under no illusions as to what was uppermost on his mind.

  ‘I’ll look forward to doing business with you tomorrow night.’ Lexie got into the car.

  Rocco held the door open, leant one arm upon it. ‘I almost forgot to mention. I’m having a party at my house on Friday night. You must come.’

  ‘Another party?’ Her hand was on the door handle ready to pull it shut. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at Rocco through her veil of black hair. ‘Is there an occasion?’

  Rocco shrugged, gazing at her with undisguised desire. ‘There does not need to be an occasion to have a party, but let’s say it is my official birthday celebration. I love parties, can’t have enough.’

  Lexie laughed. He seemed to think life was one big party. ‘Wouldn’t miss it.’

  Before he could stall any longer, she closed the door and pulled away from the kerb. For twenty minutes, Lexie drove around the city conducting anti-surveillance: checking her mirrors constantly, driving down dead-end streets. Only when she was certain nobody was following her, did she head towards the Undercover Branch headquarters.

  CHAPTER 35

  Josh was in the middle of a very nice dream.

  He was kissing Lexie. They were in bed, bodies pressed intimately against each other, their breathing laboured. His hands were everywhere at once, unable to get enough of her soft skin, her long lean limbs entangled with his.

  Suddenly a voice hollered, ‘Get away from her. She’s mine.’

  Startled, Lexie and Josh jumped apart like guilty teenagers. Josh saw Batman standing at the end of their bed. Batman’s eyes narrowed and a spiteful grin distorted his boyish features.

  ‘She’s mine now, Harrison,’ he said.

  Shocked, Josh could only watch as Batman held out his hand to Lexie. She went to him. He pulled her into his arms.

  Nausea clawed up Josh’s throat. A stabbing pain pierced his soul as he watched Lexie’s hands run through the other man’s dark hair. They began to kiss as though they had done it a thousand times before . . .

  A loud bang tore Josh from the twisted nightmare. He was grateful for the reprieve. But even awake, the image of Lexie in Batman’s arms was sickening. His heart pounded against his ribs. bed sheets stuck to his clammy body like cellophane, claustrophobic, suffocating. Josh kicked his way free and lay uncovered, staring out the bedroom window at the moon’s shimmering glow.

  As his pulse began to slow, he let out a shaky breath. Something had woken him: a noise; a crash? Perhaps it had been outside. Rolling over, he checked his phone charging by the side of the bed. Lexie had not returned his calls or left a text message. What was going on? Her deception was so out of character. It raised real concerns about the state of their relationship.

  A woman’s laugh rang out against the quiet of the night. Then there was a bang – another one. The noise that woke him had come from the lounge room. Josh frowned, checked the time: 11.32pm.

  He got out of bed, not stopping to consider he was wearing only silk boxer shorts. As he padded down the hallway, Josh could just make out two figures sprawled on the carpet beside the couch. He heard cursing – and giggling. Flicking on the light, he saw his flatmate, Greg, struggling to pull himself off the floor. The other figure remained flat on her back, an arm moving over her face to shield her eyes from the light.

  ‘Sorry, mate,’ Greg said. He was now balancing unsteadily on his knees. ‘Didn’t mean to wake you.’

  ‘Josh . . .’ the woman slurred from the floor. ‘I mean Detective Sergeant Josh . . . I tripped over.’ She giggled and attempted to sit up.

  They stank of alcohol and cigarettes, were incredibly trashed.

  Josh glanced down at Brooke Fisher, who was staring back up at him with a sluggish smile on her face. Her short black hair was messed, her eye makeup smudged. The tiny jean shorts she wore were undone at the fly. Her pink singlet top had ridden up to show off her tanned midriff and one small breast was in danger of falling out of her red bra.

  ‘You two have had a good night.’ Josh shook his head, and then quickly reminded himself not to be judgemental. He was once an expert in self-medicating by alcohol. In fact, after his sister Jenna died, he had spent at least a month in a semi-constant state of inebriation to dull his senses, and ease his culpability and potent sense of loss.

  Greg looked embarrassed. ‘I couldn’t stop her drinking. She was
on a mission.’ He used the edge of the couch to help haul himself up. ‘I was trying to look after her, but . . .’ He shrugged. ‘And it’s not what you think.’

  ‘Mate, you’re both grown-ups and can do what you like, but if it’s not what I think . . . why is Brooke here?’ Josh did not want the girl in his flat after Karly’s revelations. ‘Why didn’t you call her a cab to take her back to her accommodation?’

  Greg threw out his hands in a helpless gesture. ‘I tried. I tried everything. She wouldn’t leave and I didn’t want to just leave her there. Too many blokes sniffing around like bad smells. She wanted to come back here – started crying, and said she didn’t want to be alone.’

  ‘Yoo hoo, I’m still here you know. I can hear what you’re saying.’ Brooke was waving her arms and legs back and forth as though making snow angels on the carpet. ‘The room is starting to move a bit. The ceiling – oh.’ She closed both eyes, then swiftly opened them again. ‘I don’t feel so good.’

  Josh groaned, wishing he were somewhere else. ‘Help me get her up before she’s sick all over the floor. If she is, I’m not the one cleaning it up.’

  Holding her arms up like a little child, Brooke cooed, ‘Pick me up, Josh.’

  Josh took one hand and Greg took the other, and together they managed to drag her into a standing position. Swaying on unsteady legs, Brooke fell towards him and Josh had little choice but to catch her. For a moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his bare chest.

  ‘You smell nice,’ she purred.

  ‘Are you going to be okay?’ Josh asked, handing her over to Greg, who took her willingly. ‘Set her up on the lounge. Put a towel down next to her.’ Brooke was watching him with droopy red eyes. ‘I’ll get you some water.’

  When Josh came back from the kitchen with the glass of water, Brooke was lying on the lounge arranging a blanket presumably Greg – who it seemed had disappeared into the bathroom – had given her. Her hair fanned over the pillow under her head and he noticed a tear slip from the corner of her eye.

  ‘I’m sorry, Josh – sergeant. This isn’t the best way to make an impression, is it?’

  Josh didn’t reply, just handed her the glass. Brooke struggled to a sitting position and took tentative sips. ‘Just get some sleep,’ he told her.

  Brooke’s big doe eyes gazed up at him. She suddenly seemed noticeably more sober. ‘Can we talk?’

  Josh remained standing, on guard. ‘Talk about what?’

  Brooke’s eyes hungrily ran over his body. It made Josh uncomfortable. She reached one hand out towards him and he thought back to Karly’s words: ‘Brooke is manipulative, dangerous, likes to get what she wants . . . she has targeted you, Josh, and she doesn’t like rejection.’

  ‘We’re both adults, Josh,’ Brooke said. ‘I like you and I think – or I hope – you like me.’

  Josh wanted to laugh at her front, her arrogance.

  ‘I have a girlfriend, Brooke.’ Keeping Karly’s warning in mind, he tried to let her down gently. He didn’t need a shit fight if he could avoid it. ‘You’re a nice-looking girl.’ That wasn’t a lie. Though he was far from attracted to her. ‘And even if I was not in a relationship, it would be unprofessional of me to get involved with you, with anyone I worked with.’

  ‘Isn’t your girlfriend a cop and didn’t you meet her at work?’

  Josh couldn’t hide his surprise. She had been doing background checks on him. He didn’t like it – that kind of behaviour had a stalker ring to it.

  ‘Besides, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.’ Brooke reached out and took his hand, trying to pull him down onto the lounge next to her. He gently disentangled his hand from her grip, trying hard to veil his distaste. He had no time for girls who thought being attractive entitled them to anything, or anyone, they wanted. There were plenty of guys around who’d jump at the chance to sleep with her; if Brooke showed Greg some interest, Josh doubted he’d hesitate. At one time, even Josh may have considered her invitation, especially if he’d had too many drinks. But not anymore.

  ‘It’s late, Brooke. You’re drunk and I’m tired, so let’s forget this conversation ever happened.’ With a bit of luck, she would forget anyway. ‘Now, get some sleep.’

  She looked at him with wounded eyes. ‘Josh, I just—’

  He walked away. ‘Goodnight, Brooke,’ he called over his shoulder.

  Passing Greg coming out of the bathroom, Josh gave him a hard stare. ‘What were you thinking, mate?’ He might deny it, but Josh knew what Greg had been thinking. He paused at his bedroom door and added, ‘She’s your problem, just so we’re clear.’

  CHAPTER 36

  Lexie was still pumped full of adrenaline by the time she arrived at the Undercover Branch.

  ‘Tell me all,’ Rachel said excitedly.

  Taking a seat at the meal room table opposite Rachel and Batman – who still looked annoyed about being benched from going out to play tonight – Lexie started by telling them about the catfight between Erika and Tiffany. Then about the discovery of the unknown DVDs and all she had learnt at dinner with Rocco. She finished up with the news that the drug deal was going down tomorrow night.

  ‘Woo hoo!’ Rachel yelped. “Well done, Lexie. You’ve had quite a night. This is better than TV.’

  Batman remained silent.

  ‘I’ll get in touch with homicide tomorrow,’ Rachel continued. ‘Tiffany’s allegation of an affair between Johnny and Erika gives them both a motive for murder – if they’re looking to set up Lucky. If they haven’t already, homicide can check Johnny’s record – he may be on the DNA profiling database.’

  ‘I know he was interviewed about the overdoses at Club on Elm and Club Hellfire. Though he was not considered a suspect.’

  ‘We’ll leave that up to homicide to deal with. Talking about DNA, I got a call just after you left. They tested preliminary samples from what you collected from Lucky and Rocco against those found on the deceased, Kelsey Leech. There was no match for either of them.’

  ‘Oh. I thought Lucky’s DNA might have shown up.’

  Rachel pursed her lips. ‘Doesn’t mean Lucky is without a doubt innocent. It just means there were no traces of his DNA found.’

  Lexie hardly had time to digest that information, because Rachel decided they needed to play the discs from Rocco’s office. She stood, heading towards the surveillance room. ‘I can’t wait to see what’s on them.’

  Rachel slipped the first disc into the DVD player and switched on the television. Almost instantly, Rocco’s smile filled the screen. Slowly the camera panned out to reveal his bare torso and in the background, a blonde, long-limbed, naked girl stood next to him. Then the sex began.

  ‘Oh dear. I didn’t expect this,’ Rachel half laughed, glancing awkwardly at Lexie and Batman. ‘I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.’

  ‘Me either,’ Lexie mumbled, her hand pressed to her mouth, suppressing an uncomfortable giggle.

  To save them the embarrassment of watching the whole thing, Lexie grabbed the remote control and fast-forwarded through the recording, to see if there was anything else on the DVD besides sex. There wasn’t.

  ‘I’ll try the next one.’

  While Lexie replaced one disc with another, she told Rachel and Batman about Rocco’s party on Friday night.

  Rachel sat on a nearby desk. ‘He certainly likes his parties, doesn’t he? That’ll be a good intelligence-gathering exercise. You’ll be in a good position to make note of his wider range of associates. Oh, here we go again.’

  The content of the second DVD differed from the first only in that Rocco’s sexual partner was a brunette.

  ‘This Rocco is pretty keen on himself,’ Rachel said.

  Batman scoffed. ‘He’s a wanker. I’m going to really enjoy watching him go down.’

  Lowering her voice, Rachel leant close to Lexie’s ear. ‘I must say, he’s pretty good-looking . . .’

  They sniggered and Batman
ignored them. Lexie wondered if she would ever be able to look at Rocco again. Ejecting the DVD, she tried the last one. It was labelled simply ‘L’ in black permanent marker.

  ‘Eew,’ Rachel squealed, as what came onto the screen made her cringe. ‘Is that—’

  ‘Lucky,’ Lexie and Batman groaned together.

  Batman and Lexie stared in mortified curiosity as hairy-backed, overweight Lucky, pounded himself into some poor girl squashed flat underneath him. Her legs were splayed open, her arms hung listlessly by her sides.

  ‘You got these DVDs from Rocco’s office, right?’ Batman asked, his eyes suddenly bright with interest. ‘Why would he have a sex tape of Lucky, his so-called friend, in his collection?’

  ‘Good question,’ Lexie said.

  ‘You said there’s tension between Lucky and Rocco, right?’ Batman was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘What if this is Rocco’s backup? Something he’s saving for a rainy day? Blackmail: threaten to show it to his wife, or make it public, embarrass him?’

  Lexie thought hard. Was there something they were missing? The barman, TJ, what did he want with these tapes? Was he too gathering blackmail material? Making copies of them to be used later if necessary? Or was he snooping for Lucky? Could he be using them for his own entertainment, pleasure? Maybe he was gay, had a thing for Rocco . . . There were too many possibilities.

  Then it hit her. Lexie froze the recording and zoomed in on the girl underneath Lucky. She stared at the limp arm, saw the distinctive birthmark.

  ‘That’s Kelsey Leech,’ she exclaimed. ‘The deceased Homicide is investigating.’

  Batman and Rachel moved in closer, peered at the television to see the birthmark.

  ‘This might not prove Lucky killed Kelsey Leech, but it links him to her. I’m guessing Lucky would have destroyed this DVD if he knew it existed.’ Looking at Batman, Lexie added, ‘I think you’re right: this is insurance, Rocco’s one-up on Lucky.’

  She wondered if Erika and Johnny knew about this recording. Were they in on the gig together? It was hard to know. The cloak of lies and deceit wrapped around these people was filthy and endless.