Who was this girl in the bloody green dress monopolising Rocco? A memory emerged from the dark recesses of Berni’s mind. It floated beyond her grasp so that she was unable to catch a hold of it, or identify its origin. Berni felt the compulsive need to know who it was she was dealing with. Before they caught her gawking, she pushed her way through swaying bodies and found TJ, who had stopped Tiffany’s advance towards Rocco to talk shop.
‘Excuse me,’ she interrupted Tiffany rather bluntly mid-sentence, ‘who is that girl in the green dress with the black hair talking to Rocco?’
Tiffany glanced around, then dramatically rolled her eyes. ‘That’s Lara Wild, his new business associate and sexual obsession.’
Berni’s chest constricted. Sexual obsession? The girl with the dreamy green eyes TJ had mentioned?
‘What type of business associate? Does she work at the club?’ Is that where Berni had seen her before?
‘No, no,’ TJ said. He leant forward, lowered his voice. ‘She’s a drug dealer.’ He cackled. ‘I have never seen a drug dealer that looks like her before. She just came out of nowhere with her uncle. She’s the real deal, though – Rocco says.’
‘Rocco’s not thinking with his big head,’ Tiffany stated decisively. ‘And I don’t like it when new people we hardly know start hanging around.’
‘You’re just jealous,’ TJ said playfully.
Berni turned back to this Lara, who was still holding Rocco captive. What was it about her that seemed so familiar?
‘Do you know her?’ Tiffany asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Berni replied thoughtfully. The scar . . . the laugh . . . She was doing drug deals with Rocco.
TJ laughed, then whispered in her ear so Tiffany couldn’t hear, ‘She’s not a cop, is she, Bern?’ He nudged her arm. When she didn’t react, he added, ‘I’m only joking.’
The scar? She knew someone with a scar like that. Berni pictured Lara Wild with blonde hair. Recognition slammed into her with the brutality of a bullet. Oh my god . . . oh my god.
She was working undercover. It was the only explanation. She was not a bent cop.
Her breath caught in her throat and tears threatened. This could not be happening to her. Berni suddenly wanted nothing more than to be home, cocooned in the security of familiar territory. Feeling terribly vulnerable, she almost yelped when a man stumbled past, spilling beer over her arm. Berni jumped behind TJ, using his body as a shield. He spun around, staring at her. Tiffany too was giving her an odd glare.
‘What’s wrong?’ TJ asked.
A thousand thoughts invaded her brain. She was on sick report. If she was caught consorting, associating with known criminals, it didn’t bear thinking about. She had to get out of here. If Lexie was working undercover, this could be a sting. Everyone here was toast.
Tiffany now looked rather concerned. ‘Do you know her?’
Berni stared at Tiffany. TJ was the only one in this circle who knew Berni’s profession. Her brain was foggy, but she had the presence of mind to know to watch what she said.
‘The guy, no. But the girl, yes. Her hair is usually blonde. She’s dyed it darker. I’ve seen her around.’
Tiffany looked at TJ, confused. ‘Lara is from Queensland. How have you seen her around? I only met her myself recently.’
‘She’s a cop,’ Berni spat. ‘Her name is Lexie Rogers.’
Tiffany grabbed Berni’s arm and dug her nails into her skin. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped open. ‘That’s Lexie Rogers?’ Tiffany’s voice was deeper than normal, her stare glacial. ‘Are you sure?’
Berni nodded, trying to extract her arm, thinking delicate Tiffany looked suddenly scary, ferocious.
Tiffany stared incredulously in the direction of Green Dress: Lara Wild – Lexie Rogers. Berni saw her eyes burn with hatred and something else, something close to madness – insanity. Tiffany began to shake, as if infused with barely contained psychotic rage. Her face twisted, contorted. Berni felt a profound chill seep into her bones as goose bumps raced along her skin.
When Tiffany spoke, her voice was a hiss full of scorn and malice.
‘You mean the bitch has been right under my nose this whole time?’
CHAPTER 52
Lexie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Then an uneasy sensation, like pins pricking her insides, began in her shoulders and progressed down her back. Turning, she saw Tiffany joining them and smiled despite her unease.
‘You look glorious, darling, I love your dress,’ Tiffany said, beaming and greeting her like a long-lost friend. She air-kissed Lexie’s cheeks. Moving in close, she said, ‘Is it any wonder Rocco is enamoured with you?’
Just like at the multi-agency meeting, knowledge rushed through Lexie’s mind. She wouldn’t lose it this time – was determined to make all the pieces fit. She thought of Rocco’s words, I grew up in Ashfield. Tiffany moved next door when she was a teenager. It was different then. Tiffany was different then? Amitt Vincent lived at Ashfield. His son Teddy moved in with him when he was a teenager. The argument between Erika and Tiffany, hearing Erika wail, ‘I’m more woman than you’ll ever be!’ And what was it Tiffany had said to Lexie in the club the first night? ‘I just love dressing up. Being hostess is what’s expected of me. It’s the only time I get to glam up, you know. It’s like I’m a different person when I’m here.’ Erika’s sarcastic reply, ‘You are a different person . . . Literally.’ And then there was Lucky’s connection with Amitt Vincent.
Tiffany’s face, so close to her own in that posture of shared intimacy, began to blur as another image superimposed itself over the top – the photo of Teddy Johnson she’d seen at the meeting, the one she’d committed to memory.
A line of dominoes fell into place in her mind. Lexie thought about the strange tingles that ran up her arm when they shook hands that first time, the pin pricks that were still assaulting her insides. Lexie had not known what they meant – but she did now.
Holy hell.
Tiffany was Teddy Johnson.
Lexie took a deep breath, then drank a large mouthful of champagne. Keep it together. You have the advantage. You know who she is, what she is: a disturbed and malicious maniac. You can’t think about that. Keep your emotions neutral.
Batman placed a protective arm around Lexie’s waist and pulled her against him. She appreciated his strong, silent presence beside her. Mentally checking that her mask of unfaltering congeniality was in place, she garnished Tiffany with a killer smile and pretended to have missed her comment about Rocco.
‘Well, thank you, Tiffany. However, I fear I don’t hold a candle to you,’ Lexie said humbly. ‘You look incredibly glamorous, very Marilyn Monroe.’
Tiffany did look quite exquisite. You would never pick she was born a boy.
‘She’s my idol,’ Tiffany gushed, sipping from her glass of champagne. ‘You have made my night, my dear.’ Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
That’s fine, Lexie thought. Tiffany did not need to like her. She saw Lara as competition, but it didn’t matter. Lexie only had to endure her company for a short time. Now, if only her heart palpitations would quit.
Lexie scanned the crowd for Berni. She didn’t see her. Perhaps she wasn’t at the party. Then she glimpsed TJ moving through the crowd and guessed Berni was probably here somewhere. Rocco was talking to Batman and another man who had just arrived. However, his hand kept straying to her back, caressing her exposed skin gently.
‘What do you think of my house?’ Tiffany waved her arms around in a panoramic sweep of her surrounds. ‘Do you like it?’
‘I didn’t realise—’ Shocked, Lexie stopped herself. Tiffany’s house? ‘It’s absolutely beautiful.’ She was not lying about that. ‘You are so lucky to live here. And right on the water.’
‘Oh, it’s all right. I know what you’re thinking. Rocco tells everyone it’s his home and I let him because I owe him a lot, and I like him living here with me – I love him. We go back a long way.’
Lexie knew part of the story, but the missing pieces were beginning to fit and form a fascinating picture. Amitt Vincent was the owner of this house; he had the finances and was behind everything: the club, the drug dealing, and most likely the prostitution. The only thing he couldn’t be held accountable for was Kelsey Leech’s murder, as he was incarcerated at the time. Rocco and his cronies were merely Vincent’s henchmen. Tiffany was the centrepiece they hung off because it ultimately didn’t matter how bad her relationship was with her father, she was his next of kin. Tiffany would inherit his assets and, while he was inside, she had control of them.
‘It’s unbelievable,’ Lexie said finally. ‘Your home, that is.’
A stab of intuition ran up her spine like a sudden chill and she gazed around the room. Her eyes found Berni, skimmed over her and slipped off. Although she had half expected to see her here, it was still unnerving. Berni’s attention seemed consumed by Rocco.
‘Let me show you around,’ Tiffany offered, taking Lexie’s arm.
The moment of panic that followed that touch was almost Lexie’s undoing. She glanced at Batman, but he was involved in conversation with an older man to his left and couldn’t hear what Tiffany was saying, although he was watching from the corner of his eye.
‘Oh, don’t worry, you have guests. I’ll have a look around with Dylan later on.’
‘I insist,’ Tiffany said. ‘Besides, I’d like to get to know you better. Anyone who’s a friend of Rocco’s is a friend of mine.’
As Tiffany began shuffling Lexie away, Batman’s arm shot out and grabbed her hand.
‘Where are you going, sweetheart? Don’t leave me alone – I hardly know anyone here.’
Thank you, Batman, good save . . .
Tiffany brushed his hand away from Lexie playfully. ‘Oh darling, I’m sure you will be fine for just a little while. Enjoy the scenery. We won’t be long. I’ll show Lara around the house.’
‘No, please,’ Batman protested, a little too sternly, earning a strange look from Rocco and Tiffany. He recovered swiftly: ‘I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to get a guided tour through a house like this. I may never see one so impressive again.’
‘You are too kind. Of course, come along.’
Lexie felt instant relief that she would not be left alone with Tiffany; Teddy, the person who wanted Lexie Rogers dead. You are safe as Lara Wild, she reminded herself. If only she could tell Batman of her revelation, but that was not an option when Tiffany was between them.
As Batman and Lexie walked with Tiffany up the sweeping staircase, they kept their eyes peeled for Lucky and Johnny. At 10pm, pending confirmation all targets were in attendance, Brad, Dani and numerous other troops would raid this place. Arrests would be made, anyone not of interest to police cleared out and a search warrant conducted. At the same time, Professional Standards would search Bernadette Kirk’s premises while Josh’s team searched Shadow’s.
Lexie glanced at her watch. It was 9.21. Thirty-nine minutes left . . . She just had to get through the next thirty-nine minutes and then all would be well.
• • •
Berni did not like Lexie Rogers. She was too perfect, squeaky clean . . . nice. Nevertheless, she would not wish her harm. And although she was aware she had burnt Lexie, big time, probably put her in mortal danger if Tiffany’s reaction was anything to go by, what good was remorse? It had happened and she couldn’t take it back now. Tiffany had disappeared into the crowd, probably to raise the alarm: an undercover cop had infiltrated their world and was at their party. How much would it suck to be Lexie Rogers right now?
Oh well, not my problem. Undercover work is a dangerous business.
Besides, it was every person for themself right now. She had to get out of here. This ship was surely going down and there was no way Berni was sinking with it.
Berni dived into damage control.
She thought about TJ’s car parked down the road. She already felt too pissed to drive, but he could. He would have to. Her mind quickened, running off on different tangents, so she took a breath, attempting to seize one thought and hold onto it. What to do – what to do?
Grabbing TJ’s hand, Berni ushered him out a side door that, by sheer luck, led to the back garden. They ducked underneath the deck – which was on stilts, about five feet off the ground – and came out the other side. She was sure no one noticed them leave, or saw them run up the driveway and out onto the street. Her eyes scanned the dimness for cop cars, anything that hinted a raid was imminent. She pulled TJ behind a hedge further down the road and crouched so they were unseen.
‘I’m sorry, but we have to go.’ Berni spoke in a whisper while she made plans in her head. ‘Let’s get to your car, get out of here and then talk about where we go from here.’
TJ stared at her as if she had sprouted another head. ‘I can’t leave,’ he snapped. ‘Rocco would expect me to stay.’
Berni stared back at him. Was he that dumb? ‘Are you crazy? Don’t you get it?’
TJ turned, glanced back at the house. He was torn, confused.
‘What do you think is going to happen now? It’s going to turn to shit. At worst, cops will raid the place tonight. At best, they are working on Rocco and his crew. You have to distance yourself from them. You’re best to come with me.’
‘I have to at least warn Rocco,’ TJ pleaded.
She shook her head. Poor Rocco. Berni felt heartsick for him. She didn’t care about any of the others, but she did care about Rocco. Yet what could she do to help him? It was out of her control. Berni didn’t know what the cops had on him, so he might beat the charges with a good lawyer. That shit happened all the time.
‘You can’t warn him, TJ. I’m sorry. If you do, you’ll implicate yourself.’
Slowly, a look of comprehension passed over TJ’s face. ‘Shit . . .’ He turned away from her, running trembling hands through his hair. ‘I can’t be disloyal.’
‘Then go down with him, because that’s what will happen.’ Berni’s voice was harsher than she meant it to be. ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but if Lexie Rogers is using another name and doing drug deals with Rocco, a bust is going to go down sooner or later. She’s a straight cop. The only reason she would be hanging with that crowd and buying drugs is to bring them down, to bust their operation wide open.’
TJ stared at her. His face was a picture of worry, misery.
‘Come on. Let’s go back to my place and make plans. It will be all right. Just stick with me.’
He fished the car keys from his pocket and took Berni’s hand.
Like most crooks, the need for self-preservation won over loyalty every time.
CHAPTER 53
Josh sat behind the wheel of the Toyota Prado hidden by a row of pine trees. The position gave him a good visual of the driveway opposite, which led to the safe house, while the natural camouflage and cover of darkness provided anonymity.
Strike Force Viscount teams floated around in the vicinity ready to move in and conduct the search warrant. Josh was awaiting his orders from Detective Inspector Tina Scott, Viscount’s not so fearless leader, who had remained in the office as the commander of the operation. The only staff member missing tonight was Brooke Fisher. After the stunt she’d tried on Josh, she had been sent back to her station in disgrace and was now the subject of an internal investigation.
Josh wondered how Lexie was going in Sydney. Sitting here doing nothing but waiting and watching was killing him. He’d observed Shadow arrive almost an hour ago and watched the lights in the house come on for a while and then go off. Now the television screen flickering in the front room was the only indication of life inside. Josh hoped this meant Shadow was relaxing, getting ready for bed and oblivious to what was to come. That way, all evidence would be in situ. This was the perfect scenario at least – a peaceful, successful search and arrest. Of course, it didn’t always work out that way.
Suddenly the house lit up. Behind the drawn blinds, Josh coul
d see frenzied movement as Shadow’s silhouette rushed from room to room. This was not good. Something was going on. Instantly on alert, Josh felt his heartbeat quicken, that customary rush of adrenaline tinged with trepidation.
The outside light came on. Binoculars covering his eyes, Josh watched Shadow dash from the house to the white Audi parked in the driveway. The rear lights flashed orange and the boot popped open. Shadow rounded the car and threw what looked to be two backpacks into the boot, then rushed back inside the house. He looked panicked and ready to run. Josh broke out in a cold sweat despite the warmth of the night. Turning the ignition on, he rang Rachel.
‘Shadow looks ready to run,’ he told her as soon as she picked up. ‘Has anything come over the phone lines? Anyone tipped him off?’
The lights went off and the house was plunged into darkness. Shadow shot out the front door, which slammed behind him. He dived into the driver’s seat. Seconds later the headlights were beaming at Josh as the car sped along the narrow driveway towards him.
Josh got ready to give chase.
‘Nothing has come over the phone lines,’ Rachel assured him.
‘He’s doing the bolt.’ Josh didn’t mean to yell but that’s how it came out. His heart was racing now. Things were not going according to plan.
‘Oh shit,’ Rachel groaned.
Josh had the ignition running and clicked the gears into drive. Shadow turned left onto the road in front of him, the car’s tyres skidding on the gravel driveway in his haste to get away.
‘Got to go,’ Josh said. ‘I’m in pursuit. I think he has the drugs in the boot. I have to get him before he has the chance to stash them, or throw them out a window.’
Josh hung up without waiting for a reply and flicked on the headlights. He refrained from activating lights and sirens immediately. He wanted to gauge Shadow’s direction. Josh’s guess was he’d head towards the Pacific Highway, trying to make a run for Queensland. Throwing his phone onto the passenger seat, Josh reached for the police radio, discreetly hidden in the glove box, and grabbed the handset.
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