The Dark Series

by Catherine Lee

  "Of course, that'll be fine. We need to do this one at a time though, if that's okay. We'll talk to Ethan first. Oscar, you mind waiting here? It shouldn't take long."

  The boy shrugged and pulled a mobile phone from his pocket. Cooper took that as a yes, and led Ethan and Jackie into a nearby interview room.

  They all settled into seats, and Cooper asked if they minded him recording the interview. "Means I don't have to write notes," he explained.

  "It's fine," said Jackie. "What is it you wanted to talk to Ethan about?" she added, once Cooper had started the recording.

  "We're trying to put together a picture of who the victims were. All three of them, the people they were in life, both at school and outside of school. We've talked to a lot of their peers and teachers, and of course, Jackie, we've spoken to you about Lachlan. But I just thought there might be something more Ethan could tell us. You said they were close." Cooper looked at Ethan, whose eyes had been cast down at the table the whole time Cooper had been talking. "Is that right, Ethan? You and Lachlan were close?"

  The boy shrugged. "I guess so."

  "Can you tell me about him? In your own words?"

  Ethan looked at his mother, who nodded, encouraging him to speak.

  "He was… he was a good brother. I mean, he stuck up for me, when I needed him to. Not that I needed him much, I can take care of myself. But… he was there for me. We were mates."

  "Did you hang out together at school?"

  "Nah. He was two years older, man. You don't really hang together at school. He had his own mates."

  "And you have Oscar, right?"

  "Sort of."

  "What do you mean, sort of?" asked Jackie. Cooper shot her a look, he'd prefer it if he was the one asking the questions. "Sorry," she said.

  "Oscar's being a dick lately, Mum. I don't know…" He couldn't finish the sentence, and Cooper didn't want to push him.

  "Let's get back to Lachlan for a moment. Was he ever 'a dick'?"

  "Charlie!" Jackie exclaimed.

  "Sorry, Jackie, I just need to ask some difficult questions. We're following a line of enquiry, and I really need to know what kind of kid Lachlan was, particularly at school. I think Ethan's the best person to tell me."

  Jackie pursed her lips, but said nothing further.

  Cooper turned his attention back to Ethan. "Sorry to ask, mate, but I need you to be honest with me. Was Lachlan ever mean to any other kids? Did he play practical jokes? Do anything that might upset others?"

  "Was he a bully, you mean?"

  "Yeah, I guess that's what I'm asking. Was Lachlan a bully?"

  "No," Ethan replied, but Cooper didn't miss the hesitation in his voice.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Totally. Lachlan wasn't like that. I know what you're getting at. Jamie and Michelle were both bullies. You reckon someone killed them because of it. But not Lachy. He was a pain in the arse, but he was a good guy."

  Ethan stared first at the wall behind Cooper's head, then at the ceiling. He looked everywhere but at Cooper or his mother. He was nervous. Was it because he was in a police interview room? Or was it something else? Cooper decided to change the subject.

  "Tell me about Lachlan's relationship with your father."

  Ethan shrugged, then finally turned his gaze back on Cooper. "It was okay, I guess. They were never real close, but they wouldn't be, would they?"

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Well he's not Lachy's dad, is he?"

  This was news to Cooper. He looked at Jackie, who nodded. "Marcus came into my life when Lachlan was still a baby. He adopted him, and treated him like a son, but Ethan's right, he wasn't Lachlan's biological father. We never tried to hide that fact from Lachlan, or from any of the children, for that matter. The truth is important in our house, so if we want our kids to tell the truth, we have to lead by example."

  "But you didn't feel it was important enough to tell me?" Cooper asked.

  "It didn't come up, until now. Honestly, Charlie, I thought you knew. I'm sure I've mentioned it to Liz. But anyway, to all intents and purposes, Lachlan was Marcus's. Marcus didn't treat Lachlan any different from Ethan and Emma."

  "Not until you separated," Ethan added.

  "Not even then," Jackie replied.

  "Then how come once Dad left, Lachlan never went to see him? Me and Emma always go and spend time with Dad, but Lachy stayed home with you. How come? If it wasn't because he wasn't Dad's son?"

  Cooper found himself as interested in the answer to this one as Ethan appeared to be.

  "He was fifteen when we separated, Ethan. He was old enough to make his own choice as far as that was concerned. He chose to stay home with me, and your father didn't have a problem with it. Lachlan was worried I'd be lonely without you all, so he stayed mostly to keep me company."

  Cooper waited, but it seemed neither Jackie nor Ethan had anything more to say on the matter. So he went back to his initial line of questioning.

  "Ethan, I just want to go back over things one more time. You say Lachlan wasn't the type of kid to play pranks on other kids, is that right?"

  "He wasn't a bully. Lachy was one of the good guys. He stepped in when other kids were being bullied. He stopped it, he didn't cause it."

  He's a lot more convincing this time. Maybe too convincing? Is he trying to convince me, or himself? Cooper didn't think he was going to get much more out of Ethan. The fact that Marcus Rose wasn't Lachlan's biological father was interesting. But the real answers lay in what Ethan wasn't telling him. This kid was hiding something, but there was no way it was going to come out in front of his mother.

  "Let's leave it at that for now," he said, stopping the recording. "Ethan, can you wait outside while I talk to your mother for a minute?"

  "Sure."

  Cooper led him out to the waiting room, then went back in to talk to Jackie alone.

  "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Marcus not being Lachlan's father, Charlie. Honestly, I didn't think it was important."

  "Don't worry about it. I know now. I don't think that's the most important thing to come out of this interview."

  "Oh? Ethan didn't really say much else."

  "No, he didn't. And that's what interests me. I think he knows something, Jackie. Maybe it's nothing important, or maybe it's got nothing to do with why Lachlan was killed. But he knows something, and he's afraid to tell me in front of you."

  Jackie folded her arms tightly across her chest. "Really? I don't see where you're getting that from."

  "Copper's instinct. Leave it with me. Let's bring Oscar in, see what he has to say."

  32

  "Maybe, I dunno." Oscar White sat with his arms folded across his chest, trying hard to look defiant in the face of a detective asking him questions, but, as Cooper could tell, failing miserably in the presence of his best friend's mother. Oscar wanted to impress Jackie, that much was obvious.

  "You don't know whether Lachlan was a bully or not?" asked Cooper.

  "That's right. I didn't really know him that well, did I? I hung out with Ethan, not Lachlan. And I only moved here six months ago, man."

  The arms unfolded and then folded again. Cooper suppressed a smile.

  "Okay. What can you tell me about his relationship with Ethan, then?"

  The boy looked nervously at Jackie, but she gave him an encouraging nod. "It's okay, Oscar. Tell Charlie what he needs to know, please."

  Oscar shrugged. "They were pretty close, I guess. I never had a brother, I don't know what they're supposed to be like. They fought about stuff all the time, but it was never a big deal. Lachlan used to talk to us about football sometimes. He played rugby league for the school. Ethan and I are into soccer, though, so we didn't much care about his footy."

  "Did Lachlan ever mention a coach from the Rangers looking at him?"

  "Yeah, he knew that guy was hanging around. He was pretty confident he'd get picked up by them. He probably would've, too. Lucky bastard." He checked himself then, tu
rning to Jackie. "Sorry Mrs Rose. I didn't mean…"

  "It's okay, Oscar," Jackie said for the second time. "I know Lachlan was quite blessed when it came to his sporting ability. I assume that's what you were referring to?"

  "I was. He was pretty good at everything." Oscar unfolded his arms and started picking at a scab on his hand.

  Cooper decided to try a different approach. "When I was at school, some of the kids who were natural athletes were also some of the worst bullies. Are you sure Lachlan didn't fall into this category? Didn't enjoy a laugh at the expense of some of the smaller, weaker kids, for example?"

  "Like I said, I don't know. I never saw him do anything like that, and I never heard about it from other kids, either. Not that many of them talk to me."

  "But just because you never experienced it, doesn't mean it didn't happen?"

  Oscar just shrugged, and Jackie gave Cooper a look that reminded him this was her murdered son he was talking about.

  "Okay, let's move on. What about the other boy, Jamie Brennan. Did you have anything to do with him?"

  "He didn't go to our school, did he?"

  "No, he went to Haberfield High. You and Ethan are at Preston High, is that right?"

  "That's right." The scab Oscar was picking at came off in his hand, and he screwed up the pieces and dropped it on the ground before looking up at Cooper. "Didn't really know him."

  "What do you mean, you didn't really know him. Either you did know him, or you didn't."

  "I only figured out who he was after he died. Used to see him around a bit, hangin' with his mates. I steered clear most of the time."

  Cooper twirled his pen in his hand, trying to look casual. "You ever have any run-ins with him?"

  Oscar shrugged. "Just once."

  "What happened?"

  "Nuthin', not really. Just muckin' around."

  Cooper could tell by the boy's body language it had been a lot more than nothing, but Oscar obviously didn't want to talk about it. Jackie picked up on this as well.

  "Is it really relevant, Charlie?"

  "It could be, I'm afraid. Look, I'll be honest with you. We're trying to determine whether the kids who were murdered were bullies. It doesn't look like there's any evidence in Lachlan's case, but the other two are turning out to be, well, let's just say they weren't the nicest of kids out there. Would you agree, Oscar?"

  "That about sums Jamie Brennan up, yeah."

  "And you think they were killed because they were bullies?" asked Jackie.

  "It's one angle we're looking at, yes. But of course, Lachlan—"

  "No, my Lachlan was not a bully. He could be a lazy, forgetful teenager at times, and he used to enjoy getting his father all riled up over nothing, but he wasn't a bully. No way."

  "Right, that's the impression I'm getting." Cooper needed to shut this down. He changed the subject. "What about Michelle Medler? Did you know her, Oscar?"

  "Everyone knew her. She was that Morris kid's cousin."

  "Ever have anything to do with her?"

  "Not in person."

  "Online?" Cooper asked.

  Another shrug. "Maybe."

  This teenage crap was really starting to get on Cooper's nerves. "What do you mean, maybe?"

  "There was some stuff on Twitter. I'm pretty sure it was her."

  "What sort of stuff?"

  "I deleted it."

  "That doesn't answer my question."

  "Just the usual stuff. That I should go back to where I came from, that sort of crap. It didn't bother me."

  "So you deleted it."

  "Yeah."

  "You didn't retaliate?"

  "No. Why would I? It just encourages them."

  "Did you have any trouble at your last school?" Cooper asked.

  "What's that got to do with anything?"

  "I'm just trying to get a full picture. No need to get defensive."

  "I think Oscar's right, Charlie," said Jackie. "You wanted to ask him about Lachlan, didn't you? You've asked that. And the other two. His past at his old school really has nothing to do with their deaths."

  Cooper ignored Jackie. "I'm interested in the incident with the knife," he said, watching Oscar's eyes narrow at the mention of the reason he left his old school.

  "Knife?" said Jackie, turning to Oscar. "What's he talking about?"

  Oscar looked down at his shoes. "Nothing, Mrs Rose."

  "That's not what your year advisor at your Melbourne school told me," said Cooper. "He said you pulled a knife on a kid who was hassling you. He said the other kid was quite shaken. What were you doing with a knife at school, Oscar?"

  "It was just for protection. I wasn't gonna use it."

  "Apparently it seemed to the other students like you were."

  "Yeah, well, that bastard had it coming. I told him to leave me alone. I warned him." Oscar shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his chair, his large frame almost toppling it over.

  Cooper found himself wondering how a kid of his size came to be the target of high school bullies. He decided against pushing Oscar any further. For now.

  "All right, let's leave it at that. Oscar, can you wait out the front with Ethan while I finish up with Jackie?"

  Oscar shrugged. "Whatever."

  "I'm really worried about that kid," said Jackie once they were alone.

  "He's certainly got some issues," agreed Cooper.

  "It's more than that. There's something not quite right about him. And his parents are less than useless, spending all their time at work. I know I'm not about to win any awards for mother of the year, but their son's just been questioned by police, for God's sake. Where are they?"

  "It's a concern, I know. I can give you some leaflets if you like, to pass on to them. If you ever get to see them. Maybe you could give them directly to Oscar, if you think it'd do any good. There are support groups for kids from troubled families."

  "He doesn't need a support group, Charlie. He has two parents. He just needs them to be there for him."

  The way she was talking had Cooper worried. "Don't go taking on another family's problems right now, Jackie. You've got enough to deal with on your own. Take my advice, steer clear of that kid. He's bad news."

  The look on her face told him she wasn't going to listen. Cooper shook his head. "You're too nice for your own good."

  "I could at least talk to him, see if I can find out what's troubling him. Maybe he can't talk to his parents because they're so absent, or maybe there's another reason. But perhaps he'll talk to me. Perhaps he just needs an adult who's not related to him. Perhaps he just needs some advice?"

  Cooper stood. "Okay. Talk to the kid. But take care of yourself, too, Jackie."

  33

  They had an hour before she had to pick Emma up from school, and Jackie thought there was no time like the present to talk to both boys about the interviews they'd just been through.

  "Ethan, where are you going?" she called as he strode off down the hall.

  "I've got homework." The bedroom door slammed behind him, and Jackie and Oscar were left looking at each other.

  "Does he?" she asked. "Have homework, I mean."

  "Sure," Oscar said with a shrug. "We're in year ten. There's always homework."

  "Of course." Jackie felt awkward. She'd thought she'd gotten to know Oscar a little over the last couple of weeks. He was always polite to her, seemed to enjoy her company even more than Ethan's sometimes, and he was good with Emma. Maybe he just wanted to feel like part of a family. She almost laughed out loud at the thought of this poor boy seeking the attention of a family, and he ends up in her dysfunctional household. Still, whose household was 'normal' these days?

  "Would you like a soft drink, Oscar?" She asked, opening the fridge. She briefly eyed the bottle of white wine in the door, but it was far too early. This discussion was going to have to take place assisted by caffeine alone.

  "Yes please," said Oscar. She pulled a can from the back of the fridge and handed it to
him, then set about making a coffee for herself. No point asking if Ethan wanted anything, he'd come out of his cave if he was thirsty.

  As the kettle took its sweet time to boil, Jackie pulled some biscuits out of a packet and placed them on a plate on the table. Oscar sat in the seat he'd occupied the other night for dinner, the one that'd made Ethan so upset. Lachlan's seat. Jackie stiffened, but said nothing. Lachlan was gone, and keeping his seat at the table as some sort of shrine to him wasn't healthy for anyone.

  The kettle finally gurgled its way to a full boil, and she impatiently flicked the switch before it shut itself off. She poured herself a cup of instant coffee, added two teaspoons of sugar to make it palatable, and sat opposite Oscar.

  "Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, taking the direct approach.

  "Wh-what do you mean?"

  "I mean exactly that. You're out here with me instead of in there with your friend." She pointed to Ethan's closed door.

  "Yeah, well, he's not the best of company lately. No offence."

  Jackie smiled. "I know what you mean. But still, Oscar, you're a fifteen-year-old boy. Fifteen-year-old boys don't usually choose to hang out with their friends' mums."

  Oscar shrugged. "I guess."

  "So what is it? Are you having trouble with your own parents?" It suddenly occurred to Jackie that maybe the problem wasn't the fact his parents were absent. Maybe there was something going wrong while they were present. She quickly scanned him for bruises, but saw nothing that would indicate abuse.

  "No, Mrs Rose. It's nothing like that."

  She studied him for a moment. He seemed genuine. "Okay. But it is something, then?"

  He nodded, and reached for his drink. He took a small sip then rested the can back on the coaster, both hands wrapped around it. His hands must be cold.

  "Something you feel you can't talk to your mum or dad about?"

  Another nod.

  "Oscar, whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I'll listen, and I'll try to help."