The Dark Series

by Catherine Lee

  “No, it’s more than that. It wasn’t just drugs being imported from Thailand. I think Jill and Gail both found out what they were doing, and threatened to expose them. You need to go see that professor, what’s his name?”

  “Professor Keane?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. His name cropped up a few times. I’m telling you, those guys were getting regular deliveries from Thailand that didn’t have anything to do with the Chiefs’ drug operation.”

  43

  “That’s great news,” said Beth, inviting Meg Baxter into her office and closing the door. “So I can let Louis know he can come home?”

  “We’ve already done that. They’re on their way.”

  Beth was more than relieved to hear that Bryce Allen had, as she suspected, been responsible for the emails. She’d nearly confronted him about it last night, but thought better of it. Once the Thai food had arrived, it was pretty clear she was home alone, so rather than antagonising the guy she invited him to stay for dinner and share stories of Jill. He’d explained that Jill had told him all about her and her family, including that they lived in Rushcutter’s Bay, so it hadn’t been hard for him to find her last night.

  “So did he admit that he didn’t want me telling his wife about the affair? That’s what he said last night.”

  “Last night?”

  Beth told Meg about the visit, and she had to admit that hearing herself, it did sound kind of strange. But she was still glad she’d invited him to stay. Any connection with Jill was welcome these days, and she said as much to Meg.

  “You might think differently when I tell you the real reason he sent the emails.”

  Beth didn’t like the look on Meg’s face. “What do you mean? It wasn’t just about the affair?”

  “No.” Beth listened as Meg described how Bryce Allen had fooled her sister into believing they were distantly related. Her blood boiled as she listened to how he’d deceived people and lied his way into the First Fleet Descendants Society for financial gain. Just last night she’d shared food and wine with the man in her home. She’d even felt grateful to him for being there for her sister. Now, she felt nothing but loathing.

  “Are you okay?” asked Meg when she’d finished her story.

  Beth nodded, but she wasn’t really okay. She felt betrayed all over again. “Did he kill Jill?”

  “No. We’re certain he didn’t. If it’s any consolation, I think he felt genuine affection for her. But with a man like that, his only real goal is looking after himself. I suspect he came over to your house last night to see if you were any threat to him.”

  Beth could hardly believe she’d been so wrong about Bryce Allen. “He gave me the rest of our family tree, and copies of the documents. Is that all a lie?”

  “No. As far as we can tell, the only fabrication is his side of the family. Charles Fisher and Mary Allen did exist, they were brother and sister, and they were descendants of Daniel Fisher. You and Jill are also descendants of that line. The only part that isn’t true is Bryce Allen’s claim that he’s descended from Mary Allen.”

  It was a relief to hear that their family tree was still intact, and Jill’s legacy would stand. But the betrayal of her sister by a man she had cared for was unforgivable. “What happens now?”

  “You need to let us know if you want us to press charges against him for the emails. Think about it, and talk it over with Louis. Let me know next week.”

  Beth nodded. Her initial instinct was yes, she wanted him to pay for the deceit if nothing else. But as a lawyer, she knew it was best to think over all the possibilities before going ahead with legal action. In this case, perhaps a phone call to the First Fleet Descendants Society would be enough.

  Beth turned her attention back to what had been going on here at the office all morning. The big news was that Stan had been arrested, apparently in connection with some drug operation involving the motorcycle gang Detective Cooper had told her about earlier. She’d been trying to get in to see Robert since she found out, but he was in damage control and wasn’t able to see her. He did say, though, that he would be hiring outside help to get them through the legal ramifications, which was a welcome relief to Beth. She was good at her job, but criminal law wasn’t part of that job here, and it sounded like this thing was going to be too big for her to handle on her own. She’d liaise with the outsiders, of course, to protect the company’s interests, but as far as she was concerned Stan Walters could rot in hell.

  “Does all this get you any closer to finding out who killed Jill and Gail? Meg… I need to know. Did… did Stan kill my sister?”

  Meg looked up from the notes she’d been packing away, ready to leave. “No, he didn’t. We believe all this is connected to the murders, but we don’t have any news for you yet, I’m afraid. Detective Cooper is doing everything he can.”

  “Yes, I believe he is.” She opened her office door and promised Meg she would think about Bryce Allen and give her an answer soon.

  Once the detective was gone Beth was able to look forward to seeing her family. But she couldn’t get something Bryce had mentioned last night out of her mind. He’d said that Jill was going to talk to David and Uncle Robert about family connections a couple of weeks before she died. But neither her cousin nor her uncle had mentioned this to her. In fact, she’d spoken to David specifically about Jill at the funeral, and he’d said she hadn’t talked to him about the ancestry stuff in weeks. Bryce could be lying of course, something he’d proven himself very good at, but why lie about something like that? It would be a couple of hours before Louis and the kids got home. She had enough time to go over to the Foundation and ask David himself.

  * * *

  There was just as much of a buzz in the air at the Foundation as there was in the offices of Fisher & Co. Although he didn’t work here, everyone had heard about Stan’s arrest. Most of the talk was centred around the possible effects this would have on the Foundation’s funding, with staff naturally concerned about their own positions and research grants. Beth found David in his office, busily working away at his laptop.

  “Can I talk to you?”

  “It’s not a good time,” David replied, before looking up. “Oh, it’s you. Come in, Beth. Sorry, but I have to keep at this. I can talk and type at the same time.”

  Beth got straight to the point. “At Jill’s funeral you told me she hadn’t spoken to you about the ancestry thing for weeks.”

  “That’s right.”

  “But I spoke to a close friend of hers, who said she was interested in researching relatives who might still be alive. She was going to talk to you about it. Did she? Maybe you forgot.”

  “I don’t forget much, Beth. Who is this close friend?”

  “A guy she was seeing.”

  He glanced up at her before continuing to type. “I thought she was single. I don’t remember anyone close like that.”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it once this police thing all blows over, it’s not important right now.”

  “Then why are you asking me? I’m really swamped here, Beth. Are you still digging around in that ancestry stuff? You’re getting as bad as Jill was.” As soon as he said it he was obviously mortified. He stopped typing and came around to her side of the desk. “I’m so sorry, Beth. That was insensitive. Look, Jill was obsessed with that project, it was starting to take over her life. I don’t want you to fall into the same trap, that’s all.”

  “That won’t happen. I’ve finished the tree, as far back as the First Fleet. Jill was right, we are descended from a convict from way back then.”

  David returned to his side of the desk. “Great. So that’s it then, we can move on?”

  “Yes, but this friend of Jill’s said she was moving on to the next stage, which for her was finding if we had any more living relatives we don’t know about. Are you sure she didn’t ask you about it?”

  “I’m sure. Look, Beth, I really don’t have time for all this. The police have been here all mo
rning looking for goodness knows what. My staff are all over the place, and if things carry on like this we’ll never meet the deadline for our current research project. I can’t allow that to happen.” He continued typing, but Beth ignored his frustration and pressed on.

  “I’m sorry, I can see how busy you are. But this was important to Jill, and now that she’s gone it’s important to me. I just want to know what she was working on before she died. Before she was murdered.”

  David finally stopped smashing keys and looked up at her. “Like I told you, she hadn’t spoken to me about it in weeks. Now, is that all? Or do you want to stick around and help me sort some of this mess out? At this rate I’ll be lucky to get home at all tonight.”

  * * *

  Beth sat in her car outside the Tim Fisher Research Foundation and admired the sign, which always made her think of the younger of her two cousins. She had such fond memories of both Tim and Jill playing together when they were young. Despite the restrictions his illness put on him, Tim had certainly got into his fair share of scrapes, and most of the time Jill had been right there with him, egging him on. Not for the first time she lamented the fact that she’d never see either of them again.

  She put her car in gear and was about to pull out into the traffic when she saw David’s distinctive BMW coupe exit the underground parking area. That was strange. He’d said he was swamped, even asked for her help. Where would he be going in such a hurry?

  44

  Cooper was as keen as Quinn to get out to the Foundation and start poking around, but he thought it smarter to first find out whether the forensic analysts had uncovered anything. He asked Zach for an update, because he knew his star technician would be on top of it, but also because he usually didn’t understand a word the other analysts said.

  “There’re some strange payments to companies that don’t exist,” said Zach, leaning back in his chair to make eye contact. “It’s going to take us a while to track them down and figure out who the real recipients are. If we can do it at all.”

  “I have faith,” said Cooper. “Can you give us anything else in the meantime?”

  “Just that the payments are going to Thailand. I emailed you a list of the fake company names, so you can let us know if you come across any of them while you’re out there. Good luck.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” Cooper took the car keys out of his pocket, swinging them around on his finger before handing them to Quinn.

  “So you think the Foundation is involved in the drug ring, boss?” asked Quinn once they were in the car.

  “It’s a big coincidence if they’re not. But what interests me is what Stan Walters said about drugs not being the only thing coming in from Thailand. Jill Fisher was about to start work at the Foundation when she was killed. Anton Coffey did work there, and Gail was involved with him. We need to push hard here to get some answers, Joe.”

  Quinn’s answer to that was to put his foot down, and a few minutes later he’d parked in the section reserved for emergency vehicles outside Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. This time they found the Foundation’s offices with no problem, and asked at reception to see David Fisher.

  “I’m sorry, he’s just left for the day,” said the receptionist.

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  “No, but then he never does. I assume he was heading over to his office at Fisher & Co. He divides his time between the two.”

  “Right.” Damn, thought Cooper. Now they’d have to head back across town. “What about Professor Keane? Is he here?”

  “Yes. He’s always here. Do you want to see him?”

  “Yes please.”

  The detectives stepped back as the receptionist picked up the phone. As with last time they were here, Professor Keane was out almost immediately. Unlike last time, however, he was not pleased to see them.

  “Haven’t we been interrupted enough already?” he asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

  “You’d think so, but not quite.” Cooper was not going to be drawn into a debate on the recent comings and goings of his colleagues. “We’d like to ask you a few questions, Professor.”

  “You’d better come in then.”

  As they went through into the laboratory area, Quinn’s phone rang. He answered it, smiled at Cooper, and excused himself to return to the reception area. Cooper continued to follow Professor Keane through the labs and into his office.

  “Can we make this quick?” the professor asked as they both took seats. “I really am quite behind after all the interruptions.”

  Cooper shrugged, making himself look in no way like a man in a hurry. “It’ll take as long as it takes. Tell me about this research.”

  “We are involved in stem cell research, Detective. I explained that the last time you came.”

  “I know, but I feel like I need a refresher. I heard you were close to making a breakthrough in your quest to build a human organ. Is that correct?”

  “Well, I don’t know where you heard that. I published a paper recently, is that what you’re talking about?”

  “That, and talk around the traps. It’s my job to know things, Professor.”

  Keane adjusted himself in his well-worn chair. “Just what exactly do you want, Detective?”

  “I’d like to take a look at this research you’re doing. See for myself if it’s all above board.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He paused briefly as Quinn entered the room. “Our work here is highly confidential, as I told you before.”

  “This might help,” said Quinn, holding up a piece of paper. Cooper finally realised what the smile his partner had given him earlier meant. He was holding a warrant, which this time included any and all research material pertaining to the Foundation. “Your receptionist is very helpful, Professor. She helped me have this faxed over straight away.”

  Cooper suppressed his own smile now and held out his hand for the warrant. He quickly scanned it to make sure it gave him access to everything he needed, then passed it to Professor Keane.

  “So, we’ll get started in here, shall we?”

  * * *

  A couple of hours later they’d boxed up most of the documents that looked interesting. After securing and then faxing them the warrant based on more evidence found by the technical analysts, Zach had come over to give them a hand. The lab only had two computers left after the initial raid, the professor’s laptop and a stand-alone in the main laboratory. David had obviously taken his own laptop with him. They’d been trying to contact him, but he wasn’t answering his mobile and he hadn’t shown up at Fisher & Co as the receptionist had suspected.

  “I think I’ve got something here,” said Zach, who was busy copying files from Professor Keane’s laptop. “Looks like an interim research report. It’s the last document worked on, accessed just a couple of hours ago.”

  “Great. Can you print it out for me?”

  “It’s over a hundred pages, Coop.”

  “So? He’s got a laser printer.”

  “Fair enough. Sending it now.”

  Cooper stood by the printer as it came to life and started spewing out pages. From what he could make out it was a draft copy of an academic report, including pages and pages of raw data. He recognised a few words from the professor’s vocabulary, but the rest of it was way over his head. He needed someone who could interpret this for him, and he just happened to know someone like that who worked in this very hospital.

  “I won’t be long,” he said as he gathered the papers together.

  “That’s a confidential document,” Professor Keane protested. “You can’t just take it like that.”

  Once again, Cooper held up the warrant. “This says I can.”

  * * *

  “Does it make any sense to you?” he asked, returning to their table in the cafeteria with a coffee for himself and a hot chocolate for Liz.

  “Yes, it does. Should you be showing me this? It’s ground-breaking, Coop. If they’ve really done all
this, they’re going to win the race.”

  “To build useable human organs?”

  “Yes. Look, I’m no expert, but if they publish this I doubt they’ll be far off human trials. It looks like they have a few kinks to iron out first. Hang on a second while I read this section.”

  Liz barely touched her drink for the next ten minutes. Cooper finished his as he watched her read, remembering the day they’d met in high school all those years ago. He’d been fascinated by her then, and he realised right now that he loved her even more today. She was the mother of his children, an integral part of the family he held so dear. Sometimes you forget, when you get caught up working a case, you forget why you do it. Sitting in front of him now is the reason. Ever since Nick died, Cooper had wanted to keep the world safe, starting with his wife.

  “Well?” he asked, as Liz finally finished reading. She had that look in her eye, the one she gets when she thinks she’s found something. “Is there anything you can tell me that can help with the case?”

  “You mean are they doing anything illegal?”

  “Yes.”

  “There’s nothing in here that states outright that they’re breaking any laws, or fabricating evidence, or anything of that nature.”

  “Well there wouldn’t be, would there. They wouldn’t just come out and say it. But there’s something, isn’t there? What are you reading between the lines?”

  Liz tidied the pile of paperwork in front of her and pushed it across the table towards him.

  “There are thousands of hours of work here, from hundreds of trials. I’m just wondering where they’re getting all their embryonic stem cells.”

  45

  Maybe it was crazy, following her cousin like this, but Beth couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong with David. He’d brushed her off just now, and that wasn’t like him. True, this drug thing had them all on edge, but David was always the calm one in the family. He was the one the rest turned to in a crisis.