Sharp Turn

by Marianne Delacourt

  ‘Why would she do that?’

  ‘Leonard is supplying her. He’s getting his stuff from a nightclub owner in Northbridge.’

  ‘Shit,’ said Wal for a third time. ‘Murderin’ bastard.

  And I thought . . .’

  I stopped there because my teeth had begun to chatter.

  They didn’t stop until I’d got home, had a shower and let Cass force-feed me a litre of water, a sweet Milo and a bacon sandwich.

  She was pale and quiet and didn’t ask any questions.

  When I’d finished eating, I let her give me some ice for my lip. After that, she stopped hovering over me and cooked breakfast for the others.

  Bok and Wal ate together on the couch as I filled them all in on what had happened from the moment I was pushed into the boot of the car. I didn’t try to hide anything.

  Bok looked a bit sick, and Cass turned pale.

  ‘Get some sleep now,’ said Bok, kissing me on the head. ‘We should all get some sleep. I’ll come back this afternoon and we’ll talk more.’

  Wal lay down on the couch once he’d locked the sliding door, and Cass got up to wash the plates.

  I climbed into my own bed and hugged my pillow. I didn’t dare look in the mirror. My skin was still shredded from the cactus garden and the hedge, and now my lip was fat and my chin bruised.

  I wanted to cry again.

  Tozzi hadn’t stopped as Wal and I pulled up outside Lilac Street; he just gave me a wave and kept on going. I badly wanted to thank him but it would have to wait. There was something I had to do that was much more urgent.

  I got my phone and sat on my bed.

  ‘Madame Vine . . . Lena?’

  ‘Yes, Tara.’ She sounded remarkably awake for 6 am. ‘Have you made some progress?’

  ‘Yes, progress has been . . . made.’ I told her about Roc’s connection with Kate and Viaspa. ‘Call the police. Get Roc out of your place. He’s dangerous. I’ll be in touch again soon.’

  ‘What about Louise?’ asked Lena.

  ‘I think she knew about Kate ringing the doorbell and didn’t want to say anything. What I sensed in her was . . . guilt.’

  Lena was quiet for a moment. ‘And you think they meant to kill me, not Audrey?’

  ‘Yes. Your lobbying against drugs in prostitution is a threat to Viaspa.’

  ‘I knew I would tread on toes but this . . . Oh, Audy,’ her voice trembled. ‘I owe you a great deal, Tara. I’ll call Detective Whitehead immediately about Leonard.’

  ‘Don’t be surprised if they can’t make anything stick to Viaspa. He’s slippery. I know from experience.’

  ‘The worst ones always are.’

  ‘Be careful, Lena.’

  ‘You too, Tara.’

  I hung up and shivered myself to a kind of sleep.

  Only a few hours had passed when I woke up gasping for breath as someone tried to choke me in my dreams. I sat upright and waited for my brain to orient itself.

  Home. In my bed. Safe. Daytime.

  Cass was asleep on her fold-out bed and Wal was out cold on the couch.

  I massaged some blood into my facial muscles and blinked a few times. Then I picked up my laptop from my bedside table and booted it up. Maybe a bit of Facebooking might help my fear hangover.

  Instead I found myself looking over the list of Bolo’s and Robert Riley’s companies again. Tex-E. I remembered Riley had mentioned them. I quickly Googled it and found out it was a small company supplying motorbike chains and electrical parts such as speedometers, switches and headlights. The thing I hadn’t expected to see was that Bolo was a part owner.

  A lightning bolt of suspicion struck me. I got up and shook Cass awake.

  ‘What?’ She sprang out of bed and almost knocked me over.

  ‘Cass, it’s me. Shhh. Listen. What time does the race start today?’

  She crinkled her forehead. ‘Umm . . . 10 am, I think. Why? You’re not –’

  ‘What about the superbikes?’

  ‘Around one. That’s what T-Dog said.’

  I checked the clock on my computer. It was 11.15 am. An hour’s drive should get me there before the main race.

  I raised my voice. ‘Wal, wake up! Wal!’

  He opened his eyes without moving a muscle. ‘What?’

  ‘I know why Bolo wouldn’t go to the police about his death threats. We’ve got to get out to Wanneroo. Now!’

  ‘You’re the boss. Let’s go.’

  I was beginning to think maybe, instead of a bunch of craziness, I’d stumbled on a pot of gold when I met Wal.

  He never quibbled over important things.

  Chapter 26

  WAL DROVE ME DOWN to the gym in the Calais, where I picked up Mona and followed him back to Lilac Street. Then he and Cass joined me in my car.

  ‘How did Bolo act when you were watching him?’ I asked Wal as we hit the highway north.

  He shrugged. ‘Nervy.’

  ‘Did you check his computer?’

  ‘Yeah. Just a lot of porn. Some of it pretty hardcore, though.’

  I nodded. Even if my hunch was right, there was still a missing piece of the jigsaw to put in place. A name was bugging me. But it wasn’t until we passed through the main gates at Wanneroo that I remembered where I’d seen it. I pulled into the visitors parking area.

  ‘Cass, go find Jase and take him to Riley’s bay. Make him wait until I get there.’

  ‘What should I say?’

  ‘Anything, just get him there. Wal, I want you to hang outside Riley’s too. Don’t let Gig Riley leave until I get there. Do whatever you have to to stop him.’

  I checked the time on my phone: 12.50. Ten minutes ’til race time. The bikes would start rolling down to the start line in five minutes.

  I sprinted past the pits down to Sharee’s booth and began to scan the notices pasted to the wall.

  Where was it? Where was it?

  ‘Tara! Hi!’ Sharee hung out over her counter and waved at me.

  ‘Hi,’ I replied, totally distracted.

  ‘Watcha looking for, girlfriend? Wow, you look terrible.’

  ‘My cat scratched me,’ I said. ‘Sharee, this is really important. What’s Lu Red’s girlfriend’s name?’

  ‘Sally,’ she said.

  ‘I mean her surname.’ I riffled through the notices until I found what I was after. The phone numbers at the bottom of the ad were all torn off, but the name of the seller and details of things for sale were still there. ‘Is it Sally Rowe?’

  ‘Yeah. That’s it. Red and Rowe. Always thought it’d make a funny surname if they put them together.’

  ‘Thanks. But I don’t think that’ll be happening.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Do you know how long ago this ad went up?’ I asked, waving the notice in front of her.

  She shook her head. ‘Not really. Maybe a month ago. I usually clear them every couple of months.’

  ‘So August?’ I asked.

  ‘Thereabouts, I guess.’

  ‘Brilliant!’

  I bolted back towards the pits entrance and flashed my pit pass at the gate guy.

  Clem was fiddling with the Honda’s foot peg while Bolo leaned against a tyre rack watching Lu Red zip up his suit in preparation for the race. Red’s aura was how I expected to find it: disturbed and dark brown with fear.

  Bolo straightened up when he saw me. ‘Tara, what is it? You look terrible.’

  ‘I know who’s been sabotaging your team, Bolo.’

  He took a step towards me. ‘Who? Are we safe to race today?’

  I looked at Lu Red. ‘I guess it depends on what Lu’s planned. Might be he’s dirtied the fuel again.’

  Bolo stared at his rider. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Lu wants to go back home with his girlfriend when she leaves. He doesn’t want to ride anymore.’

  ‘You’re a nut –’ began Red.

  ‘But that’s ridiculous,’ Bolo interjected, frowning.

  ‘Why wouldn’t
he just tell me if he wanted to leave?’

  ‘Because he’d have to pay out his contract with you if he wanted to leave. That right, Lu?’

  Red stepped back from the bike. ‘This is crazy.’

  ‘If you lost your sponsors, you’d be forced to let him go,’ I told Bolo. ‘You’d be the one breaking the contract.’

  ‘How the hell do you know this?’ asked Bolo.

  ‘I compared the time frames. His lap times were great until Sally decided to go back home to Victoria. Ever since then you’ve been having sabotage problems.’

  An expression of relief and understanding dawned on Clem’s face. Red stayed silent, his face drawn.

  Bolo’s eyes darted between me and Red while he put things together. ‘So you’re the one who’s been sending me death threats?’ he said to Lu.

  I wasn’t going to let him get away with that. ‘No, Bolo, that was you. You were making it look like you were a victim in case you’re investigated.’

  All eyes settled on Ignatius.

  ‘What rubbish are you going on with now?’ he blustered.

  ‘You thought it was Robert Riley who was sabotaging you, so you attempted to get him back. You covered yourself by bringing me in, and agreeing to Wal acting as a bodyguard. Who’d ever suspect you’d do something to Riley?’

  ‘Ridiculous.’

  I ignored him and directed a question to Clem. ‘You worked with Riley’s mechanic, Dave, in Europe. Why did he leave?’

  Clem stared at the ground, not wanting to answer.

  ‘Was he sacked for taking bribes?’

  He looked up, shocked. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘I heard you’d had a fight with him, so I asked around. He came back to Australia and tried to badmouth your reputation, didn’t he?’

  He nodded mutely.

  ‘I checked with your previous employer. They said you were the best mechanic they’d had from down here. When they wouldn’t discuss Dave, though, I figured he was the one who’d been sacked. That right?’

  Another nod.

  ‘Then I wondered if he’d been using one of the oldest tricks around on you: spread a rumour about someone else before the same rumour catches up with you.’ Bok and I had done the same thing at school to deflect from our own misdemeanours. ‘Bolo knew the truth – that’s why he hired you, because you’re good. It’s also how he knew to bribe Dave.’

  Bolo’s aura had turned the colour of smoke.

  ‘Clem, quick,’ I said. ‘I need you to come with me.

  I have to stop Gig Riley from racing.’

  I ran the short distance to the Riley bay. Jase and Cass were standing outside. Jase looked annoyed and a bit stressed.

  ‘What’s going on, Tara?’ he said. ‘I’m real busy.’

  ‘I want you to be a witness to a conversation I’m about to have. Are you prepared to do that?’

  He frowned. ‘What’s this about?’

  ‘I’m an investigator.’

  ‘A private investigator?’

  ‘Yes. Kind of.’

  His eyes lit up and the annoyance vanished from his face. ‘Okay.’

  ‘Follow me,’ I said.

  Wal drifted closer as I barrelled inside the garage.

  Riley Senior was having a last-minute word with Gig, who was sitting on his bike preparing to put his helmet on.

  ‘Stop!’ I shouted.

  Riley opened his mouth to give me a blistering serve but I lunged at Gig and latched onto his arm. ‘There’s something wrong with your chain. You can’t race – it’ll break.’

  ‘Get that crazy bitch out of here,’ Riley bellowed at Jase, who’d appeared behind me with Clem.

  ‘Tara? What the –’ Jase began.

  ‘There’s a faulty chain on the bike. Gig,’ I pleaded, ‘just take a look at it. I’m a private investigator.’

  Gig looked around for Dave but the wrench had disappeared.

  ‘Please. Just let Clem check it,’ I said.

  ‘That bent bastard isn’t coming anywhere near my bike,’ spat Riley Senior. ‘Now clear out, all of you.’

  ‘Clem isn’t the one who’s bent,’ I said. ‘It’s your guy, Dave.’

  Gig stared at me. ‘Dad, just let him check. It’s my arse out there.’

  Riley gave me a disgusted look but nodded. He loved his kid more than he loved winning. I’d banked on that.

  Clem grabbed a spanner from the workbench and squatted down to test the Z-rings. On the fourth light tap the chain broke.

  ‘Jees-us,’ he said. ‘That could have been nasty.’

  Riley trembled with restrained fury. ‘Gig, get down to the officials and withdraw the bike.’

  ‘I can change it,’ said Clem quickly. ‘If you want. Only take few minutes.’

  Gig looked at his dad and gave a quick nod.

  Riley let out a breath. ‘Thanks.’

  While Clem and Gig searched the cartons for a new chain, Riley turned back to me. ‘Looks like I owe you an apology, young lady. After this race, you and I had better have a talk.’

  Chapter 27

  GIG RILEY WON AND broke the race record. Lu Red was a DNR.

  After we watched the race, I told Riley Senior how I’d been working on a case that had led me to suspect his mechanic was taking bribes. I didn’t go into the details. Bolo was my client, however bent. It’d be up to Riley to dig around and find out the truth.

  One thing I knew for sure: I wouldn’t be getting paid my expenses.

  I did slip Crack’s card to Riley as I left. ‘You’ll be needing a new wrench. This guy’s good. Been around bikes all his life. Used to sleep with his Ducati.’

  Wal and I caught Bolo in the car park. He tried to get in the Beamer and drive away but Wal slammed the door shut.

  ‘I don’t like being lied to by my own clients, Bolo,’ I said calmly. ‘But if you pay me the rest of my money, I’ll let it slide this time.’

  ‘Why you piece of –’

  Wal wagged a warning finger. His eyes gleamed at the possibility of violence. ‘Don’t get nasty with my boss, mate.’

  ‘I know you’re a part owner in Tex-E and that you arranged to have a faulty chain delivered to Riley’s. Then you paid Dave to turn a blind eye when he fitted it. I haven’t told Riley or the police, but I could do both.’

  Bolo took an unsteady breath and glanced between us. Then he reached into his pocket and peeled a small wad of notes from his wallet. ‘We won’t mention any of this again, will we?’

  I took the money. ‘I won’t say a word. Whether Riley looks into it further is out of my control though.’

  He gave me a look that told me he knew what he’d do to take care of that.

  Maybe I should warn Riley, but he was a tough man who knew how to take care of himself, and the truth was I didn’t really want to know.

  Wal stepped reluctantly away from the car, and Bolo was gone before I could stuff the cash in my pocket.

  Cass, Wal and I left the track soon after. On our way home, I drove through McDonald’s for soft-serve, much to Cass’s delight.

  When we got back to the flat, I went to bed after telling Cass to lock the doors and draw the curtains. She did as I asked, taking the key with her to another ‘appointment’ with Joanna.

  Persistent knocking woke me up five hours later.

  I forced myself vertical and staggered over to the sliding door.

  ‘Sharp?’ It was Fiona Bligh.

  I unlocked the door and stepped out. She was alone.

  ‘What in hell’s name happened to your face?’ she asked.

  ‘Brains got a fright and scratched me. Then I fell over and hit my chin. Where’s Bill?’

  ‘In the car,’ she explained. ‘And I hope you’re telling me the truth. About your face.’

  ‘This a social visit?’ I asked.

  ‘You don’t happen to know anything about a tip-off to the station to go to a townhouse in Scarborough?’

  I did my best attempt at listen, stretch, yawn and rea
ct with surprise. ‘No. But it sounds interesting. Do tell.’

  She gave me a sceptical stare. ‘Well, whoever it was did us a good turn. The guy we caught is wanted for aggravated robbery and rape. And without wanting to pre-empt anything, I think he may be able to help us in one or two murder investigations. Either way, he’ll be going down for a while.’

  Thank God. ‘Glad to hear you’ve had a win,’ I said. ‘Anything else I can do for you, Fiona?’

  She gave me another raking appraisal but didn’t pursue it. She’d delivered her message to me. They had Josh and he was going down.

  When she left, such a huge shudder of my relief passed through my body that I had to sit down. It was just as well I did, because my phone rang and it was Nick Tozzi.

  ‘Can I come and see you?’ he asked.

  ‘Now?’

  ‘Are you alone?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’m outside. There’s a police car in your driveway.’

  I sighed. ‘They’re just leaving. Wait a minute and then come in.’

  I didn’t know that I was ready to talk to him, but putting it off wouldn’t make it any better.

  When I opened the door, he looked so worn out that I slipped my hands around his waist and hugged him for a long time.

  When I was able to let go, I asked him if he wanted tea.

  He shook his head. ‘No. I just wanted to check that you’re alright. Do you want to talk about what happened?’

  We sat on the couch and I recounted the kidnap, and how I’d knocked Josh out with the chair. ‘The police have him now,’ I said. ‘He’s wanted for robbery and rape as well.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want to tell the police the whole story?’

  ‘I’m sure.’

  We sat in silence for a bit.

  ‘Thank you for having me watched. You saved my life,’ I said eventually.

  ‘I was worried. You took some serious risks to help me, Tara. I won’t forget that.’

  ‘To help both of us,’ I corrected.

  ‘When my investigator called and said you’d been taken, I . . .’

  I waited. Would he be able to say it? Would I be able to hear it? Neither of us was very good with the deeper emotions.

  Turned out he couldn’t. But he pulled me back into his arms and stroked my hair. ‘You’re giving me grey hairs, you know.’