Hot Lawyers: The Lee Christine Collection

by Lee Christine

  Right then, Dickson rounded the corner, looking more like a trendy shop assistant than a detective. He wore skinny jeans, Converses, a vest and a small fedora which covered the bump on his head. Within seconds, he was inside the car and locking the door.

  ‘Any problems, Mrs. Radford?’

  Josie glared at him. From the multiple identities he carried in his briefcase, they were now Mr. & Mrs. Radford, much to his amusement.

  ‘The car park’s half a block this way.’ He started the engine and pulled his seatbelt across his chest. ‘The room’s ready.’

  Five minutes later, he parked the car, leaving a substantial gap between their vehicle and the wall. The idea was for Nate to squeeze the Harley in when he arrived. The less visible the bike was to passersby, the better.

  While Dickson retrieved their bags from the boot, Josie exited the car and straightened the skirt of the well-cut grey suit Dario Byrne had bought for her. The corporate attire was more Allegra’s style, but they were trying to make her look older. And it went well with the blunt cut auburn wig.

  She stumbled on her way to the elevator, swearing under her breath so Dickson wouldn’t hear.

  ‘Take your time.’ He pressed the button and looked back at her. ‘And stop glaring at me.’

  ‘Only a man would choose such user unfriendly footwear. Give me my standard Docs any day.’

  When the elevator doors hissed open they stepped inside. Dickson swiped the card, and they ascended in silence to the fourteenth floor. In the hallway, they nodded to a lady in a white uniform pushing a cleaning trolley, footsteps muffled by the plush carpet. And then they were stepping inside the room and Dickson was fixing the “Do Not Disturb” sign to the door, sliding the safety chain onto its catch.

  Josie heaved a sigh of relief and looked around the sumptuous room, complete with two queen sized beds and a view over Hyde Park. Aboriginal artwork was a vivid splash of colour on the cream walls, tiny dots of lime green and sunburst orange, a theme reflected in the lavish bedspreads and scatter cushions.

  While Dickson used the bathroom, she kicked off the user hostile shoes and padded across to the window in her stockinged feet. Strange how everything in the world seemed normal, and yet she was removed, hidden away in a modern day Rapunzel’s tower, complete with false wig.

  Josie checked her watch. One thirty. Hopefully Nate wouldn’t be too much longer. With luck, his check in would go as smoothly as theirs.

  A wave of compassion only served to strengthen her resolve. Apart from Dickson, Nate was alone in this, unwilling to involve more police for fear of tipping off corrupt members of the force. So it was up to the three of them to get the job done. And they needed to push ahead, needed to capitalise on his new position within the Altar Boys to achieve a breakthrough.

  ‘You hungry?’

  Josie turned, Dickson’s words breaking into her reverie. She nodded. ‘Starving.’

  ‘We’ll order room service before setting up the computer. I don’t like the thought of a staff member coming in here, but I’m not going out for takeaway, not after last night.’

  Feeling a little sorry for Dickson, Josie touched the side of the wig, wishing she could pull out the clips and bobby pins which secured it to the cap underneath. ‘I guess I’ll have to stay in this.’

  Dickson’s eyes swept over her as he handed her the room service menu. ‘For now.’

  Josie perched on the end of the bed and studied the menu, grateful for something to do. It was unnerving being in a room with Dickson when the two central pieces of furniture were two queen sized beds, and for the umpteenth time that day, she wondered if he’d actually heard anything last night.

  Deciding on a toasted prawn wrap for herself and a plate of sandwiches for Nate, she gave him her order and decided to make tea.

  Dickson was speaking on the landline, and she was filling the jug with water, when a loud rap came at the door.

  Nate stepped into the room, dropped his bag and read the situation immediately.

  Dickson was on edge, eyes scanning the hallway as he locked the door behind them. Then he stood off to one side, hands shoved in his pockets as if he didn’t know what was expected of him next.

  And then there was Josie, holding a kettle, an expression of such pure relief on her face he had to stop himself striding across the room and dragging her into his arms. He made do with a quick embrace and a kiss on her forehead.

  ‘Any problems?’ He spoke to both of them, though he kept his arm around Josie, staking a claim, sending a message to Dickson, though he doubted the man needed him to draw a picture.

  ‘Everything went smoothly,’ Dickson said. ‘Lunch is coming, that’s why Josie hasn’t changed. What about you?’

  ‘The bike was fine, so I came straight here. Thanks for leaving that space.’ Nate slid the room key from his wallet and handed it to Dickson. ‘904.’

  Dickson dug in his pocket and they swapped keys, and Nate didn’t miss the silent thank you in Josie’s green eyes, or the way her shoulders relaxed when she realised she wouldn’t be sharing a room with his offsider.

  Nate slid the key into his wallet. Surely his princess didn’t think he’d make her sleep in the same room as Dickson the night before her birthday — or on any night for that matter. Sure, the operation was critical, but his number one priority was taking care of his woman.

  The revelation hit Nate with the force of a head on collision, and he turned away as he stowed his wallet with unsteady hands. It seemed longer than three days since he and Kennett had broken into the tat parlour. Could it happen so quickly? He had no idea.

  Shit! He was thinking like a teenager. It had to be the proximity and the danger. Or maybe a convenience — as it had been in the States.

  Convenience?

  Nate turned and looked at Josie, his heart a burning sun in his chest. Green eyes glowed under the blunt cut red wig, and in the fitted grey suit, he could have been looking at her in ten years time.

  It didn’t matter what she wore, this girl was special.

  And she looked nothing like a convenience.

  Show’s over, Hunter. You’re a dead set goner.

  Pushing everything from his mind, Nate picked up Dickson’s bag and held it out to him, forcing himself to focus on what needed to be done. He was a senior detective. People’s lives hinged on the decisions he made. He couldn’t allow his feelings for Josie to mar his thought processes.

  ‘Take that to the other room, and get back here ASAP. Josie, you and I will go into the bathroom while Dickson signs for the lunch. The less people see of us the better. This afternoon, we’ll set up the computers and configure our communications for the morning.’

  He watched Dickson move towards the door. ‘In less than twenty-four hours we should have a photograph of the person collecting the money, maybe even an identity. Whether we arrest them immediately, will depend on how I read the situation.’

  He turned to Josie. ‘Sometimes the “softly softly” approach works best. Massive publicity will only tip off the person we’re ultimately after.’

  At five o’clock, Josie leaned back in the chair and stretched her arms above her head. Her back ached from being hunched over Dickson’s computer, and it seemed a long time since lunch. She glanced at the wig hanging on the bathroom doorknob and rubbed her tender scalp. At least that was off, and she was in her comfortable track suit again.

  It had taken a couple of hours to get kitted out for tomorrow. Dickson’s expandable briefcase had revealed an amazing assortment of covert bodywear innovation, everything from wireless earpieces and tiny transmitters, to cameras hidden inside MP3 players and state of the art smart phones.

  Eventually they got everything sorted, and the last couple of hours had been spent following the trail of companies, searching for that one common denominator that might lead somewhere.

  For the second time in half an hour, something sparked in Josie’s mind. She mentally grasped at it, but it remained beyond reach, hidden
somewhere in the murky depths of her memory.

  ‘Need a break?’ Nate looked up from his notebook.

  She shook her head. ‘It’s that name, Providence Pty. Limited. I’ve seen it, typed it, heard it somewhere.’

  ‘I’ve got that too.’ Nate squinted at the screen. ‘In the — fifth tier — of the scrap metal yard.’

  The two men gathered around Josie’s chair.

  ‘See, it’s there, and there again.’ She pointed to the mind map she’d drawn on her notepad. ‘In the centre I’ve written “laundered money” with each major branch representing businesses we know the Altar Boys have a stake in. The offshoots of the branches represent the beginning of a pyramid of companies which are clearly providing a screen for someone.’

  ‘You said it right there,’ mused Nate. ‘Provide. Providence.’

  ‘I think I know it from the office.’ Josie’s voice sank to a low whisper in her throat. ‘I could have typed it in a document, or opened a file in that name.’

  Nate frowned, eyes narrowed as he continued to peer at the drawing.

  Dickson swore.

  Josie felt ill.

  ‘Okay.’ Nate rubbed a hand across his jaw and blew out a breath. ‘Let’s take it one step at a time. Who are the shareholders of Providence?’

  Josie consulted her mind map again. ‘Eagle Eye Enterprises Pty. Limited and Alessandro David.’

  ‘Eagle Eye.’ Nate mused. ‘Eye of providence.’

  Josie looked at Dickson. He raised his eyebrows in a “your guess is as good as mine” expression.

  ‘What’s the eye of providence?’ It was Dickson who asked.

  ‘A symbol.’ Nate leaned both palms on the desk. ‘Search it up, Josie.’

  Thankful for her rapid typing skills, Josie keyed in the words.

  ‘There.’ Nate pointed to an image of an eye surrounded by a triangle. ‘It’s supposed to represent the all seeing eye of God. The triangle represents the Holy Trinity. Watching over humankind. Divine providence. That kind of thing.’

  ‘The overseer.’ Dickson muttered. ‘Creepy.’

  Nate’s eyes glittered with excitement. ‘The Godfather.’

  A chill spread out from the base of Josie’s spine, and she shivered. ‘It’s like something out of a Dan Brown novel. How do you know all this?’

  Nate rubbed a warm hand across her shoulders. ‘The Great Seal of the United States contains a pyramid with the all seeing eye of God in the detached part of the apex. The most famous display of it is on their one dollar bill, right there along with the American bald eagle.’

  Josie swivelled in her chair and looked at Nate. ‘And this is all about money.’

  ‘It’s all about money,’ Nate agreed. ‘Laundering dirty money until it passes through so many different entities, it’s clean when it comes out the other end.’

  ‘Should we be looking for an American connection?’ asked Dickson.

  Nate was silent for a few moments. ‘Anything’s possible. Providence could be the final company before the money’s transferred offshore for all we know.’

  ‘The Cayman Islands — Bermuda…’ It was Dickson’s turn to muse.

  ‘Look.’ Nate straightened up, hands resting lightly on his hips. ‘We can study this all day, and we should, but I still maintain our best chance is old-fashioned detective surveillance. We get a visual on the guy picking up the money tomorrow, and the rest will fall into place.’

  Troubled thoughts crowded into Josie’s mind. Where had she come across that damn name? That weird looking symbol?

  ‘Hey.’ Nate touched the side of her hair. ‘Don’t worry too much about the Grace and Poole connection. It could be something simple, like the firm acted for the plaintiff, with Providence on the other side.’

  ‘That doesn’t make sense. Allegra’s a criminal defence expert.’

  ‘Maybe it wasn’t in her section,’ put in Dickson. ‘Do you work for anyone else?’

  ‘Occasionally for Simon Poole. Allegra reports directly to him.’

  Nate and Dickson exchanged worried glances, and Josie thought of Lizard Mulvaney, desperate enough to track her down on Skype in his effort to contact Allegra.

  Nate checked his watch. ‘Let’s search Eagle Eye Pty. Limited and Alessandro David, not that I’m expecting information on him will be easy to find. Then we’ll have dinner and get an early night.’

  He stared broodingly at her reddened jaw where Barry Simpson had hit her, mouth pulled into a firm line. ‘We hardly slept last night, and we have a monster day tomorrow. It’s crucial we be at the top of our game.’

  Hours later, Nate’s warm body was pressed up against her, one strong arm wrapped around her middle. ‘Happy Birthday.’

  Limbs heavy with a delicious lethargy, Josie forced her eyes open and squinted at the digital clock. ‘It’s only ten o’clock. You’re two hours early.’

  She’d barely been asleep twenty minutes, spent from their lovemaking and the bottle of Grange they’d shared in bed. Despite their grim situation, it was the best birthday she’d ever had.

  ‘You need to sleep.’ Contrary to his words, Nate dragged the sheet lower and kissed the tip of her shoulder.

  Josie smiled and turned to face him. In the flickering light from the television, his hair appeared darker than ever, warm, whiskey coloured eyes widening as she pressed her breasts against his warm chest.

  ‘How can I sleep if you keep waking me up?’

  His arms tightened around her and he rested his chin on the top of her head. ‘I’m serious. I want to stay up until midnight, but these celebrations will keep until later tomorrow. I want you alert in the morning, for your own safety.’

  She traced an index finger along his stubbled jaw. ‘You too, detective.’

  His chest rose and fell in a silent laugh. ‘This isn’t saying much, but I can handle my alcohol better than you, princess. I thought you would have worked up more of a tolerance over the last two years.’

  Grinning at his teasing, she hauled herself up and straddled him, pressing his shoulders into the mattress with her hands. ‘Are you calling me a Cadbury?’

  ‘Yep. I’ll have to watch you.’ He reached up and pushed her hair back from her face. ‘A glass and a half and you’re anybody’s.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say anybody’s.’ Loving the way his eyes were positively drinking her in, she leaned over and spoke against his lips. ‘I think I’m quite fussy about who warms my bed, and I love you watching me.’

  She squealed as he flipped her on her back and rose over her, white teeth flashing in his tanned face. ‘I must say, princess, your recovery rate is impressive.’

  Then suddenly her father’s voice broke into the room. Nate froze, and then they were both scrambling into a sitting position and Nate was grabbing for the remote and turning up the volume.

  ‘Despite the best efforts of police and everyone involved, to date our attempts to find our daughter have failed.’

  ‘Oh Dad,’ Josie whispered, horrified at her father’s hollow cheeks and the dark circles ringing his puffy eyes. ‘Where’s Mum? She should be with you.’

  ‘Despite this, my wife Marilyn and I will not give up in our quest to find Josie, who was to turn twenty-one tomorrow.’

  At this point, her father’s voice broke, and Josie’s heart seemed to break right along with it. Hot tears pricked the backs of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks while her father struggled to bring his emotions under control.

  Beside her, Nate dragged in an uneven breath as her picture appeared on screen.

  ‘The police are following certain lines of investigation, concentrating on vehicles known to be in the area at the time of my daughter’s disappearance. Again, I plead with members of the public. If you are in possession of any information, please call police on the number below. Thank you.’

  Her Dad disappeared from the screen, and the news anchor looked directly into the camera and began wrapping up the story. ‘Details of the reward on offer, for information p
ertaining to the disappearance of Josephine Valenti, can be found on our website.’

  Nate turned off the TV, plunging the room into darkness.

  ‘Everything will be alright,’ he murmured, pulling her into his warm embrace. He reached down and dragged the coverlet over both of them. ‘This time tomorrow, everything will be better, I promise. Please don’t cry, princess.’

  Nate’s kind voice only made her worse. A few days ago, she’d vowed not to cry in front of him, but now she couldn’t care less about her silly pledge as salty tears drenched his neck and chest. Seeing her ordinarily strong father emotionally fragile like that, it just about killed her. She heard his words over and over, ‘our daughter, who was to turn twenty-one tomorrow.’

  She slipped her arm around Nate’s waist and burrowed closer, trying to stem the tears as he murmured in her ear and his fingers combed through her hair.

  For it was like, deep in her father’s heart, he already believed her dead.

  Chapter 22

  7:00 a.m. Thursday

  Without warning, Nate’s voice came through the micro receiver ear bud fitted snugly into Josie’s left ear canal. ‘Leaving compound now. I have combination for Locker 17, Fit Forever. Copy.’

  Heart thudding in time with the hanging clock chiming from the floor above, Josie stared blindly at the jewellery display in Pandora’s window.

  Then Dickson’s voice came through the earpiece, the clarity amazing, considering how quietly he spoke. ‘Locker 17, Fit Forever.’

  There was a pause, a throaty rev from the bike, and then Nate spoke again. ‘Only a member or a regular attendee would have a permanent locker. Repeat. I have the combination for Locker 17. We’re looking for a member, or a regular attendee. Copy.’

  There was a long pause.

  Josie held her breath and stared at her reflection in the jewellery shop window.

  Then Dickson spoke again. ‘Copy that.’