The Kristina Melina Omnibus: First Kill, Second Cut, Third Victim

  He sat at the table, hands crossed nervously. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Am I sure what? Am I sure she’s missing? I’ve spent fifteen minutes grilling Dr Main, I inspected the cold room myself and found no one matching the description of Evelyn Carter. So, yes, I’m sure, as sure as one can be.’

  I was surprised at how angry I was. Unresolved emotions were still zigzagging within the four corners of my mind.

  Frank stood there for half a minute, simmering in his own thoughts. ‘Shit, and you have no idea who might have done that?’ he finally said.

  ‘Well, after two cops raided Evelyn’s apartment this morning, it’s beginning to look like a conspiracy of one sort or another.’

  Frank tilted his head. ‘A conspiracy of what? We’re talking about the death of one prostitute, and you think it’s a conspiracy. I find that quite extraordinary.’

  I puzzled on his comment and said, ‘What I find extraordinary is that you believe Evelyn Carter’s disappearance is just another incident after this morning’s break-in. It’s obvious someone is trying to hide something, someone who’s got a lot at stake and is willing to take a high degree of risk to eliminate or find whatever he’s after.’

  ‘Okay, so what kind of people are we talking about? Organ collectors? I heard there was a good market in China and some Eastern European countries.’ He chuckled, thinking himself clever and amusing all at once.

  ‘I don’t think this is funny, not even for a minute. My friend’s been killed, and people are trying hard to hide what really happened to her. And all you can do is stand there and laugh at my suggestions. Since you’re so fuckin’ intelligent, what have you got to say? What’s your theory?’

  Seeing I was hurting, Frank mellowed his tone. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be offensive. It’s just that this idea of a conspiracy sounds a bit far-fetched. What kind of people are we talking about? If the two men who broke into Evelyn’s apartment this morning are indeed cops, then you’re implying the police is involved in an obstruction of justice.’ He shook his head right to left as if an insect had crawled inside his ear canal. ‘You’re not even a sworn police member, Kristina. Making this kind of accusation without any solid foundation is going to get you in trouble. Why don’t just let it go?’

  I didn’t answer his question. ‘You heard what Judith Kingman said. She said Evelyn’s clients included politicians, television personalities and the police. Why is it so hard for you to believe that some of these major players have joined forces to keep their names and reputations intact? If you think about it, it would have to be people in power who would be able to throw this investigation off course. You don’t seriously believe that by chance someone walked off the street and broke into Evelyn’s apartment, in spite of it being fenced off with crime-scene tape? What kind of an idiot would do that?

  ‘I don’t know—’

  ‘And you don’t seriously believe, also by chance, someone walked into the mortuary and snatched a body for god-knows-what-reason, and it just happened to be Evelyn’s body, and it happened to be on the same day.

  ‘Life is stranger than fic—’

  ‘And then,’ I went on like a runaway train, ‘a computer hacker pulled files at random from the VIFM database and happened to erase Evelyn’s autopsy report. And some bum walked off the street, aimed straight for the pathology fridge and snatched her biological samples. You’re going to tell me there is no logical connection between all these events? Come on, Frank, give me a break.’ I rolled my eyes to the top of my eyelids.

  Frank didn’t answer straight away. He looked at me as if he was trying to figure out where I was coming from. Forget the fact that we had worked hundreds of investigations together, and that by now he must have known exactly which side I liked my toast buttered on.

  He played with the tip of his orange tie, twisted his mouth like a shoelace, and said, ‘I don’t know, Kristina, maybe you’re right, and if you are, this murder investigation is getting way above our heads. If you think we’re being jerked with by our own people, maybe we should let the CIB take over’. Frank was referring to the Criminal Investigation Branch.

  ‘I’m not one to disagree for additional manpower. But if you’re asking me to drop the investigation, you know damn well that I can’t do that. I’ve invested too much time, effort and sanity into this case.’

  ‘I’m not asking anything. I just think that the way the investigation is going, maybe it would be better if we get other experts on the case. If you’re right, and if this whole situation is in fact a conspiracy, then God knows, we’re going to need the extra help. I’m not willing to follow this case through if people with a lot of string-pulling power are going to try their best to destroy the little evidence we have accumulated so far. I say wash your hands and get on with your life. Your friend is dead either way, and nothing you do is going to bring her back to life. Someone will be able to put things right in due time.’

  In a way, I wasn’t exactly surprised by what I was hearing. Frank had always seemed like the type of person who would choose the easy way out. And that’s why after all those years, despite the fact that I considered him a good friend, I couldn’t find anything admirable in him. In my heart, I respected people who were fighters, people who didn’t take no for an answer, warriors who fought against the odds no matter what the enemies thought or did, especially when the fighting was a battle for truth and justice.

  ‘You’re just scared, aren’t you?’ I said, placing the palm of my right hand on the table top.

  ‘Me?’ He looked around as if I was talking to someone else.

  ‘Yes, you’re scared that whoever is in on this is going to get to you next. You’re scared, so you think the best thing to do is walk away. You don’t have the balls to follow this through like a man.’

  ‘Hey, come on, Kristina, now you’re really starting to piss me off!’

  ‘Well, that’s not exactly news to me. Somehow, I seemed to be pissing off a lot of people lately. It’s all part of my job, it’s how I get things done. And believe me, I’m not phased by it yet. Ninety-five percent of people are full of shit, and no matter what you’re going to say, I’m not jumping into the bandwagon like you. I belong with the other five percent. I got enough dignity to stand up for what I believe.’

  Frank stood from his chair, redness covering his face. He looked as if he was going to jump over the table and beat me to a pulp.

  I swallowed, realising I did go a bit far with my personal judgemental attack. But I felt cornered like a kitten in a dog pound, and it came out in one go without me thinking things over.

  ‘You’re really something, you know?’ he said. ‘You want the damn investigation, you’ve got it. You think I’m a wimp because I’m walking away? Well, maybe you’re right. But that won’t matter next week when someone’s going to find a floater in the Yarra, and it’ll happen to be you. I’ll be alive and breathing, and I’ll still give a damn about the people around me. Evelyn’s dead, and I’m not going to risk my neck for her. Firstly, I didn’t know her like you did, so I know when to stop. And secondly she was a whore, so as far as I’m concerned, my life is worth more than a bonk-bag.’

  Frank was furious, and he probably hadn’t meant every work he said, but it hurt nonetheless. His attitude towards women came unveiled during difficult arguments. I knew not all men were the same, but somehow I’d seemed to have been cursed spending a great part of my life with a disproportionate ratio of imbeciles.

  I looked at him, unable to utter a single syllable. What could I have replied to this verbal cascade of chauvinistic monologue? I hated to repeat myself over and over since Frank knew exactly what my viewpoint was on most issues, especially women, prostitutes and arseholes like him. God, sometimes I wondered why I liked men in the first place. But I guessed it was their emotionless differences which made them interesting, no matter how repulsive I found their beliefs at times.

  He threw me one final glare and left the cafeteria without looking bac
k.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  When I got back home, I was nearly in tears. The headache, which had begun at the cafeteria, had now taken the entire under-surface of my cranium. It felt as if someone had removed my brain, kicked it to a bruise, and threw it back in there. I knew I wasn’t dealing well with all the contradictions in my life. I couldn’t believe Frank had pulled me into this investigation just to walk out on me. Now I was left to my own resources and contacts to find Evelyn Carter’s killer. All in all, this wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar scenario. In the past, I had found myself fighting alone and always managed to pull through. People referred to me as enterprising and independent; others said I was arrogant, especially when arguing with authoritative figures. It was written in my stars—I was a Virgo, and lived by the characteristics which had been assigned to me since birth. It wasn’t something I was proud of, nor ashamed of. By the time you reach forty, you more or less come to accept your true self, for better or worse. It’s other people who become increasingly intolerable to live with.

  I considered going back on Prozac for a little while, just to give me the moral boost I needed to keep me level-headed. It would help me to remain faithful to my own instinct, another birth right, a balanced blend of logic and sensitivity referred to by experts as ‘woman intuition’.

  There was one message on the answering machine, indicated by a single, repetitive, flashing red light. When I pushed the play button, David’s voice came on:

  ‘Didn’t forget about tonight, did you? Give me a call at the bookshop.’ He paused for a few seconds. ‘Oh, and, Kristina, I’m sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have just disappeared. It won’t happen again, promise.’

  Standing still, I listened to his voice echo in my ears.

  I liked the reassuring tone of his voice, the way he came across as sincere.

  And, yes, I did want to spend the evening with him, forget about all my troubles and let myself be pampered. At least, I was offered the opportunity.

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I returned his call immediately. He asked me about the rest of my day, and I told him the truth. He said he would be over soon and would give me a nice neck massage to get rid of my headache. I said I was looking forward to seeing him.

  Not two minutes after I hung up, I heard the front door of the house being open. I was in the kitchen tossing two Aspro Clear in a half glass of water in the hope of getting rid of my headache by the time David got here.

  Michael walked passed me without saying a word. He headed straight for the fridge and grabbed a Coke from the door compartment.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, trying hard to sound cheerful.

  ‘Hi,’ he replied without looking at me and pulled the ring from his Coke. I was about to say something else, but he headed straight for his room.

  Although I tried to ignore it, I had this urge to follow him and ask him why he was treating me like this. But I knew better. Perhaps our relationships would improve if left untouched at this stage. With time, he might realise I wasn’t such a bad mother, a half-truth I was trying hard to believe. If there was anything I could have done to help him out of his pain, I would have done it. Instead I felt helpless and had to wait for fate to take care of us.

  I emptied my glass of Aspro Clear, and ten minutes later I was sitting on the living room couch, my headache gradually vaporising into nothingness.

  As I pulled N is for Noose, the latest Sue Grafton novel out of my bag, I prayed to God that Michael would find his happiness in this world. I’d liked to be naive and believe that everything in life would eventually turn out for the best, but this was not a Hollywood movie. A clear-cut resolution might never manifest itself, no matter how good my intentions were.

  I read for a good hour when David turned up. For a few seconds, I had almost forgotten he was coming over because I was so enjoyably engrossed in my novel. I had just begun Chapter Twelve, where Kinsey Millhone, the protagonist in my book, was up to her neck in trouble as usual by sticking her nose into what was clearly none of her business.

  The knock on the door jolted me out of my seat. I tossed the novel on the coffee table and looked across the window facing me.

  As usual, Michael bought carnations with him.

  Excited like an love-struck teenager, I raced to the front door. There was still a hint of headache bugging me, but I chose to ignore it.

  ‘You want me to open a flower shop,’ I joked, as I took the bunch of carnations from him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. I surprised both of us with my affection. I knew I’d been thirsty for good company, but it wasn’t until I was face to face with David that I’d realised how desperate I really was.

  He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. This was the same man who ran away on me that morning and now had just driven over an hour in peak hour to be with me. Love did strange things to people.

  We moved to the lounge room, where I opened a bottle of Chardonnay and poured the contents into two glass from behind the bar.

  ‘Any progress on the investigation?’ David asked casually as he sipped from his glass.

  I had already given him a run down when he rang up earlier, but he was obviously more then just mere curious. In a way, I could understand. If someone had been killed behind my fence, I would have want to know what the hell happened.

  ‘No one knows where the body has disappeared to,’ I said, realising at the same time that I shouldn’t be sharing everything about the investigation with him. But Frank had just turned his back on me, and I needed someone to listen to my problems. David was charming and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. And I also sensed that he truly cared, which was more than Frank or other people I had been working with had done lately.

  ‘What about your partner? Why did he seemed so crossed when he saw me this morning?’

  ‘Guess?’

  ‘Because I’m a witness in this investigation?’

  ‘Exactly.’ I paused for a few seconds. ‘Mind you, Frank went out with someone two years ago, who happened to have been a key witness in a homicide. And that was in spite of him knowing it was wrong to be involved with the wife of a murdered victim.’

  David nodded thoughtfully and sipped more wine from his glass.

  ‘And what has he got to say about the disappearance of Evelyn Carter?’

  ‘Nothing much. After I told him this whole case begins to feel like a conspiracy, he said he wanted out.’

  I replayed the conversation I had with Frank earlier on that afternoon.

  ‘Well,’ David said, ‘for what it’s worth, I believe you.’

  ‘Which part?’

  ‘The one about the cops being involved. When you think about it, it reeks with logic. Two cops ransack her place. Someone takes her body from the morgue. Hell, you’ve got to know what you’re doing to get away with something like that.’

  Enchanted, I stared into his eyes and smiled. ‘You’re just agreeing with me because you want to spend the night here,’ I said.

  ‘Well,’ he said, smiling back, ‘yes, I would like to spend the night with you, but no, this is not the reason why I agree with your theory. I think there is some merit in what you’ve suggested.’

  I moved closer and kissed him passionately.

  He kissed me back in return, his hands on my shoulders, moving down along my arms and then to my waist.

  Gently, I pushed him back. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this here,’ I said. ‘Michael could be coming in the room any seconds. What kind of impression would it make on him?’

  ‘He would learn that his mother is a hell of a sexy woman, and that she got good taste in man.’

  I stared at him for a few seconds, feeling churning in my stomach. ‘Okay, Romeo, follow me.’

  I led him to my bedroom, where we undressed and made love like two young lovers losing their innocence for the first time.

  When we finished, my headache had completely vanished.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Early the n
ext morning, David left for work. I went back to bed after waving him goodbye at the door. My head lying on the side of the bed where he had slept, I breathed in deeply the smell of his masculinity. The musky odour triggered memories of our lovemaking we made the previous night. Slowly I closed my eyes and visualised his naked body arched over mine, while warm filtered sunlight from outside draped itself over my bed. I knew I would find it hard to focus on work that morning. Closeness made me feel secured but incapable of functioning like a whole human being. Once I had a taste of intimacy, I longed for more.

  I lay still, enjoying the quietness of non-urban living. I wanted David to love me more than anyone he had ever loved before. I wanted him to hold me in his arms forever and tell me I was the one and only woman for him. I wanted to feel his breathing down my neck, down my breasts, throughout my entire body.

  As those thoughts crossed my mind, I opened my eyes and felt heat on my face. I blushed to the four walls which surrounded me, not from lustful shame but as a result of tinkly emotions.

  After a shower and light breakfast of cereal, black coffee and vitamins, I sat at the desk of my home office and checked my e-mail. Even thought I had already concluded that it would be difficult for me to get any work done because my mind would be preoccupied with thoughts of David, I was resigned to make an effort and not let the day go by without having made any progress on the investigation.

  While I was logging into my e-mail provider, an exciting thought crossed my mind. Evelyn Carter had a friend in the USA whom she kept in touch with on regular basis. She probably didn’t do it by phone because it was too expensive. Letters took too long to get from one place to another. But I hadn’t thought about e-mail. I don’t know why considering she had a computer at her place. Now, all I had to do was to enter Evelyn’s full name into an address search engine and see if her name came up.

  The idea excited me, not only because I would be able to read Evelyn’s mail if I did manage to login into her email provider, but also because they’d be a very good chance that she’d kept an address book with all her regular email contacts in it.