He turned towards Kate, who was now filling the door frame.
‘Oops,’ she said. ‘Looks like the cat got out through the window.’
A cat that opened windows and carried a striped beach bag?
Rubbing her stomach in a circular motion, Kate smiled at Josh sweetly.
‘See, I told you I was here all by myself.’
CHAPTER 18
The moment the detectives left, Kate collapsed, her tough persona crumbling. Her fingers shook and silent tears ran streaks down her face as she fastened the lock on the door. Absently she moved around the small house checking everything was locked. When she reached Rowdy’s room she closed the window that still stood wide open and slid the lock into place.
Bloody Sandy. What had she been thinking?
A wave of anger, quickly followed by fear, erupted in the pit of her stomach. She was all alone and she was scared.
The baby kicked and she rested a protective hand on her stomach, rubbing it gently as though soothing her unborn child, reassuring it everything would be okay. But would it? She walked back to the kitchen and reached for the phone on the wall. Cradling it to her ear, she listened to the repetitive hum of the dial tone. She should ring Rex. He was going to be furious when he found out Sandy had jumped out the bedroom window when the cops were here. It made them look guilty, as though they had something or someone to hide. Kate had simply thought to warn Sandy so that she could be prepared for being questioned by the police; she hadn’t expected her to do a runner. Did she think the police would tell her father the truth about her relationship with Rowdy? Was she on the run? Was there a warrant out on her or was she just looking for an excuse to go out and score?
Kate replaced the phone handset. Rex had told her never to speak on the phone and he would be seriously pissed off if she called him for something so stupid as feeling a bit scared. He was ultra-paranoid the cops were always listening in. Though she had to admit, he was smart when it came to police stuff. He knew a lot about how they worked; could almost predict what they were about to do before they did it.
But he hadn’t seen the raid on the clubhouse coming. And even though she suspected Rex thought that idiot Maggot was responsible for planting the drugs, he wouldn’t talk about it with her. He kept telling her it was not for her to worry about, that she needed to concentrate on looking after herself and the baby. That was one of the things she loved about Rex. He always took care of her.
Kate made herself another cup of tea. She wished she could have something stronger – like a shot of whiskey, scotch . . . anything. Sipping on her tea, she watched the steam rise out of the mug. Strange how even after two years together, there were many things about Rex she still didn’t know. He had told her it was better for her that way. And she’d agreed. Besides, what else did she really need to know other than that Rex loved her?
Kate hoped their baby would help heal his wounded heart, help him get over his resentment towards the woman who had robbed him of his first child. God, she hated her.
Like Rex, Kate had lived with heartache. Having her parents desert her, then being thrown into one foster home after the other, she’d done it tough as a kid. And although it was too late to fix her past, nothing and no one was going to ruin her future, their future. She would never be alone again. They would build their own family, get married, have more babies, and live happily ever after.
Downing some headache tablets, she lit a smoke. She didn’t really want it but she didn’t know what else to do. Her brain hurt, her body was exhausted yet she knew there was no way she’d be able to sleep. Her head was filled with images: Bluey on the floor, blood everywhere, people yelling. She felt the sob rise in her throat and the tears burn the back of her eyes. How could she have any tears left to cry? She held her breath, holding the current of emotion at bay for as long as she could.
It was no use. Her breath came out like a choked cry and her head fell to her hands as she gave in.
What would have happened last night if she hadn’t gone to get cigarettes, she wondered. Would Bluey be dead? Would she? She didn’t want to be alone at a time like this. What if whoever killed Bluey decided to turn up here? Her mind spun with random, illogical notions she couldn’t control. Rex should be here with her, she thought, suddenly angry again. This was quickly followed by a twinge of guilt and she cursed herself for being so selfish. Bluey was dead and all she could do was feel sorry for herself. Self-disgust made her want to gag.
She had thought herself to be so much tougher, but since last night, since seeing Bluey lying there . . . God, she hadn’t even had the courage to help him. She was too gutless to even go inside and stay with him. How pathetic. And now she was so full of self-loathing she could hardly stand herself or control her emotions. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t control herself at all. It was embarrassing, undignified. Kate couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried and now she couldn’t stop.
Then it hit her. She wasn’t crying just for Bluey. She was crying for everything: the parents she had never known; her unborn baby; her fears; her insecurities; every injustice that had struck her a blow throughout her sad little life was now coming out in a deluge of resentment and self-pity.
Where are you, Rex? I don’t want to be alone.
CHAPTER 19
Back in the office, Josh sat at his desk, his cheek resting against the palm of one hand while the other held the phone to his ear. His energy was on a fast downhill slide even though he knew his day was far from over. There was still so much to do before he could even think about catching some sleep. He only hoped he had enough adrenaline reserves to keep him running for as long as needed.
‘Sorry to wake you, Chris. It’s Josh Harrison. I just have to ask a few quick questions?’
The voice on the other end of the line was sleepy.
‘Yeah, mate. It’s okay. Um, what can I do to help?’
Earlier, Carolyn King, the victim’s sister, had identified the body of her brother to Senior Constable Chris Stirling at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Chris had then done the necessary paperwork, completed the report to the coroner, booked the body into the city morgue and identified the victim to the medical examiner. His shift had finished over an hour ago and he was just nodding off to sleep when Josh called.
‘The boss . . . I mean Detective Inspector Blair, gave me the message that when you were at the hospital this morning you spoke to Rex Donaldson. He told you he’d be staying with O’Grady for a while, is that right?’
‘Yeah. I only talked to him for a minute. I was waiting for the victim’s sister to turn up to identify the body.’
‘Where was he when you spoke to him?’
‘It was just outside the emergency entrance. I saw Donaldson – not like you can miss him – and thought I’d get some details from him. I knew you guys would want to talk to him.’
‘That was good thinking. How was he?’
There was a rustling sound and then a thump and a curse.
‘Sorry mate; just dropped the phone. Um . . . what was the question? Oh yeah, he seemed shocked, dazed. Didn’t give me any lip, if that’s what you mean. First time I’ve seen the man so shaken. I suggested that since their house was still a crime scene and probably would be for some time, they’d better find somewhere else to stay for a while. Donaldson just stared at me blankly, as though he hadn’t even considered that. He talked to the others and then told me he’d be staying at the little guy’s house – O’Grady’s.’
‘Who else was with Donaldson at this time?’
‘There was his girlfriend, Kate, who couldn’t stop crying, that O’Grady bloke and some other girl,’ Stirling told him.
‘Did you recognise the other girl with them?’
Stirling grunted. ‘Mate, can’t say I’ve ever seen her before and I’ve been working this area for ten years. I’m pretty familiar with the Devil’s Guardians but no, I didn’t recognise the girl.’
‘What did she look like?’
‘Like a junkie. Skinny as a rake, brown, scraggy hair, average height.’
‘How old did she look?’
‘Mid-twenties, I suppose. To tell you the truth I didn’t take much notice of her.’
‘That’s fine. Just one more question. You didn’t happen to notice if she was carrying a bag of any sort?
‘No, sorry, mate.’
‘No worries. Thanks. Get back to sleep.’ Josh hung up before he could call him ‘mate’ again.
Lexie sat across from him chewing on the end of a protein bar. She was going through the most recently dialled numbers on Bluey’s phone and making a list of his contacts. ‘I’ll put in a request for a call charge record and a reverse on his phone so we can see all the incoming and outgoing calls.’
‘That’s a good idea. But also get in touch with state crime. All the squads there have cell bright machines.’
Lexie gave him a puzzled look.
‘Cell bright machines are relatively new and cost a fortune. Local area commands like ours don’t usually have the finance to purchase them, but we can borrow one to do a download. It gives you all the information that’s stored in the phone.’
Lexie nodded and scribbled in her notebook.
‘How did you know that was Bluey’s phone?’ Josh asked.
Lexie looked up. She seemed surprised by the question.
‘Lucky guess merged with a bit of logic.’
‘Please explain.’
Lexie smiled. He felt the impact.
‘Donaldson and O’Grady would have had their phones with them. It was either her phone or Bluey’s. And since Kate had a phone sticking out the pocket of her pants, I figured it was Bluey’s.’
Josh gave her a long look. ‘Mmm. I like your work.’
‘How did you go?’ She changed the subject and avoided his eyes.
Josh wondered if she, too, sensed the curious tension that sometimes floated between them. He struggled to refocus.
‘You heard the conversation. There was definitely another girl with them. I’d say she’s our window jumper and the owner of that striped beach bag.’ He ran a hand through his hair trying to think. ‘Can you make a note on eaglei. Send a memo to Marty Wells; ask him to run checks on bikie girlfriends and associates. We want to find out who she is and what she has to hide.’
Lexie nodded as she scribbled down notes. She knew the computerised case management system was a much more efficient and professional way of documenting each step of an investigation. Much easier than the old way of doing things; which was all manual, scribbled notes and entries in log books and the like. But it was still time-consuming so she preferred to do her updates at the end of the day – all at once
‘So you think our window jumper might be a friend of Kate’s?’
Josh shrugged. ‘Could be. But what I want to know is why she jumped out a window to avoid us.’
Lexie bit on the end of her pen and then, seeming to realise what she was doing, threw it across her desk in disgust.
‘We should check the CCTV at the hospital. See if we can get some footage of the girl. That way we may be able to identify her.’
Lexie paused and looked thoughtful. ‘The girl could be wanted for something totally unrelated and just freaked when she heard the cops.’
‘Good thinking, 99. You might be on to something.’
‘I noticed you didn’t ask Kate Bushell if she knew anyone called Grub.’
Josh nodded his head. ‘I did that on purpose. Have you had much to do with bikies during your career?’
He noticed her flinch.
‘A little.’
‘Then you’d be aware they don’t much like police. Their bikie code of silence is almost impossible to break. I have every intention of asking everyone we speak to if they know of “the Grub”, or a “Grub” but I don’t expect to get an honest answer. Be lucky to get an answer at all, for that matter.’
‘How do we find out anything then?’ Lexie asked, throwing the leftover half of her protein bar into her top drawer.
‘Listening devices, telephone intercepts. Asking about the Grub will hopefully stir things up, get them talking between themselves. However, saying that, they’re not stupid. Bikies know how we work. I don’t know Donaldson that well, but since I’ve been stationed here I’ve had a few dealings with him and I can tell you he’s had years of experience dealing with police. Same goes for Max Croft and the Assassins. They’ve been around for a long time. They are well aware of our methodology. They’re surveillance-savvy. They more than likely know more about us than we know about them; they know what the local police look like, know our names, possibly even our addresses and have records of our number plates.’
Lexie’s face dropped.
‘They know we’ll be watching them so they’ll be on guard. I want to talk to Rex Donaldson first. He appears to be the closest to the victim. I want to watch his face when I ask him if he knows who this Grub is. That’s why I didn’t say anything to Kate Bushell. I didn’t want to give Donaldson the heads up. I want to observe his body language myself.’
Sue Field was suddenly standing at the end of Josh’s desk brushing wisps of damp red hair from the side of her face. She ran a finger under one eye, wiping away a line of smudged mascara and a film of perspiration.
‘It is sooo hot out there. Just came back in to get some more canvass logs and cool down for a second. Wish I was sitting in the air conditioning with you guys.’
There was a trace of hopefulness in Sue’s voice.
Sue annoyed the hell out of Josh. It wasn’t just the fact that she’d made a number of advances towards him in the past and continued to throw sexual innuendos his way whenever she got the chance. There was just something about her that rubbed him the wrong way. He did his best not to let it show, but it was a constant battle.
‘We’ve only just got back in ourselves.’
Sue turned towards Lexie sitting opposite him and smiled.
‘How’s the new partner going? I heard about poor old Brad. Such a shame but I’m sure Josh will look after you.’
Sue’s voice was full of suggestion. She gave him a longing look, before turning to walk away. Josh stopped her.
‘Sue, before you go back to doing the canvass, can you swing by the hospital and check the surveillance footage of the casualty department?’ He explained exactly what he required. ‘Can you do that ASAP?’
‘For you, Josh, anything.’ She winked and sashayed away.
Feeling Lexie’s penetrating gaze he arched an eyebrow, puzzled. ‘What?’
‘I think she likes you.’
Josh rolled his eyes. ‘She’s like that with everyone when she gets in the mood. Trust me, Sue is not my type.’
Lexie’s eyebrows shot up and an amused grin turned the corners of her lips. ‘And what is your type?’
You!
Josh was thrown by the question but even more by the realisation that sprang into his head. Startled by the unexpected turn the conversation had taken and rattled by his own thoughts, he pulled himself up straight in the chair searching his mind for an answer.
‘I don’t have a type. Do you?’ He put it back on her.
‘Yes,’ Lexie was quick to shoot back.
Josh laughed. ‘Let me guess. You like them tall, athletic, good-looking.’
‘You just described yourself.’
‘So you think I’m good-looking, hey?’ Josh teased.
What was he doing? Flirting with his partner during a murder investigation was going against all his self-imposed rules. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Casey Blair walking their way. He turned towards her, putting an instant end to their banter.
‘Hi Boss, I was just about to come and see you.’
‘Well, I beat you to it,’ she said, propping at the junction of their desks, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent of tension that hung between them. ‘How did you go?’
Josh pushed himself back in his chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her an
update.
‘Kate Bushell’s alibi checks out. We paid her a visit at O’Grady’s place. She wasn’t overly helpful.’
Casey raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. ‘Did you expect her to be?’
Josh shrugged. ‘I live in hope. Anyway, what’s weird is that she told us she was alone, but she wasn’t. While we were in the kitchen talking to her someone jumped out a bedroom window.’
Casey stared into space for a moment before focusing on Josh and asking, ‘Don’t suppose you know who?’
‘No, but we’re trying to find out.’
‘Good.’
Casey’s eyes strayed to the wall clock behind his head.
‘I know you have to get to the autopsy but before you go I’ll bring you up to speed. Burgh and Sleeman checked out Dorothy Magentagitt’s house at St Peters. Maggot, at age forty-eight, still lives at home with Mum – as you do.’ Casey rolled her eyes. ‘She was apparently pleasant and co-operative; invited them in to prove he was not there. She told them her son’s girlfriend had died recently. He is distraught and has gone away to stay with some friends. She doesn’t know who he’s staying with, of course, because he’s old enough to do what he likes.’
‘So she’s lying through her teeth,’ Josh grunted. ‘He’s done a runner.’
‘Probably,’ Casey replied. ‘We don’t have the resources to have a car constantly sitting off the place but we’ll do drive-bys at regular intervals. His motorbike’s parked out the front of the house and although she denied owning a car, a registration check tells us otherwise. She’s the owner of a grey Mitsubishi Lantra. He could be driving that car. The registration number has been circulated along with a warning not to approach. We don’t know if he’s in possession of weapons or what his state of mind might be,’ she explained. ‘Burgh and Sleeman are now on their way to speak to Max Croft.’
‘What about the canvass?’
‘They’re still out there. Nothing of importance has come up as yet. It seems no one heard anything unusual, so I’m thinking maybe a silencer was used. Most people notice a gunshot going off in the suburbs.’
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