DEAD SET: Detective Jack Creed Mysteries - The Complete Short Stories Collection: 7 Book Box Set (Detective Jack Creed Murder Mystery Books Series 9)

by C T Mitchell

  CHAPTER 8

  The office phone rang on Jo’s desk at the station. She pressed the phone hard against her ear, sticking her index finger into her opposite ear to drown out the noise of office chatter, phonesringing, etc.

  It was Jackson Chan, faint-sounding and in a panicked tone, advising Jo that David’s sister is missing. She had walked up to Woolworths nearly two hours ago to buy some diapers for the baby and hasn’t returned. It’s an easy 20-minute walk from his parents' home to the supermarket along the main road; there’s no way she could have gotten lost. Jo tried to calm Jackson, letting him know she’d organize a police search and that both she and Detective Creed would be at the restaurant in half an hour.

  “The sister is missing Jack. I told Jackson Chan we’d meet him at the Happy Chopstix restaurant.”

  *****

  Jack barged into the restaurant. It’s early evening and trade is building. It was two for Tuesday, buy one meal, get one free, which brought the locals in from near and far. The 6 p.m. crowd consisted mainly of old age pensioners and young families, with children running riot in the restaurant. It was chaos, the noise amplified off the ceramic tiles highlighted the bedlam, and the orders were flying thick and fast, with one chef down.

  Jack strode straight up to Jackson and insisted they have a chat. Jackson looked flustered, his head moved from side to side pointed out to Jack that they were busy and that he could not talk right now. This only infuriated Jack even more, strongly suggesting to Jackson that he find the time and a quieter place, now. An old patron witnessing this standoff, quickly dropped his eyes back to the menu not wanting to get involved. But inquisitive as to what was going on, gestured to his wife that something serious might be going down.

  Jackson led the way into the cramped kitchen. This is a working kitchen for a restaurant that seats 40. Every conceivable inch of space was being used, with pots, pans and utensils swinging above the staff’s heads. Bags of rice occupied prime position in the corner leaving just enough room for a small stool to reside in a two foot by two foot space next to the cold room, a luxury sometimes used by the chef if he needed to rest his legs after standing 10 hours on his feet. This kitchen was no five-star hotel workplace and would never make it onto MasterChef.

  Jack didn’t have any time for pleasantries. Both he and Jo squeezed past a kitchenhand, a dish pig and a stand-in chef, who was still finding his way around the kitchen. Jack placed his right foot up onto the stool hoping to eliminate contact with the kitchen floor and some foreign juices that seemed to be in precarious places.

  Placing his thumbs under his belt buckle, giving his best impression of John Wayne from some '50s western movie, Jack began to quiz Jackson about David Tan’s sister. Jackson was hesitant to talk, giving short non-descriptive responses.

  “Who was Susan Lee going to see? What are you hiding Mr. Chan?” Jack gruffed, becoming more frustrated with the closed shop approach he was once again witnessing.

  “Susan has no husband, Detective. When she became pregnant it was considered a big shame. China might be part of the new modern western world Mr. Creed, but Chinese families still live by ancient family values passed down over centuries.”

  “Do you have any idea of who the father is?” Jo asked, trying to throw a warm female touch into the conversation, hoping it might loosen Jackson up a little bit.

  “No, David knew him and was trying to locate him. I think he lived in Macau but resides here now. Apparently he’s married and David was trying to extort money from him.”

  “And now David’s dead and Susan and the baby are missing. Perhaps she’s already returned to Macau,” Jack stated, but not convincingly. He thought that she had met with foul play but was trying to keep all avenues open. “Do you know if the father is old or young? Money?”

  Jackson shrugged his shoulders. His mind was partly on Jack’s questioning and for the rest of the time, trying to keep up with the mounting chaos in the restaurant. At times he appeared not to be too interested in what Jack was asking, giving short responses or a noncommittal nod.

  “Did David or Susan ever talk about working for Eddie Doyle?”

  “I don’t think Mr. Doyle was their favorite restaurant owner. He got them over here, then his restaurant went bust and they had to return to Macau. Another shame in Chinese culture. A business going bankrupt,” Jackson recalled, throwing in a few heated words in Mandarin to the chef, who seemed to be falling behind with the orders.

  “Did they ever visit Eddie Doyle?”

  “I think David did, a few times at least,” Jackson answered.

  “Do you think David was familiar with Eddie’s property dealings here in Cabarita Beach, enough to perhaps put a spanner in the works between Mr. Doyle and Robert Foong?” Jack enquired.

  “Not sure Detective. I couldn’t have a guess,” Jackson responded once again, with a sheepish look as if to say he knew more than he was letting on.

  “You and your Chinese walls. While you’re trying to keep everybody out, you are helping the murderer get away. When are you going to start helping us to catch David’s killer?” Jack’s frustration getting the better of him. “Come on Jo, let’s get back to the station. Mr. Jackson here has a busy restaurant to run.”

  *****

  Before calling it a night, Jack grabbed the promotional video of the casino launch and placed it into the video player, inviting Jo to join him with a scotch.

  With feet up on the desk, a scotch in one hand, Jack pushed play on the remote as Jo pulled up a chair, preferring to sip a warm coffee instead. The promotional video was professional featuring Robert Foong explaining the benefits of his casino expertise, and how his entertainment empire would be good for the Cabarita Beach community.

  “Look Jack,” said Jo hitting the pause button and pointing at the screen. “Isn’t that Susan Lee and David Tan in the background?”

  “Darn right it is. Along with our friends Eddie Doyle, Robert Foong, and Andrew Barrington-Smyth who’s doing the narrating. This is becoming a real family affair of east meets west,” Jack stated, thinking about his next move. “I think I’ll pay my good friend Simon Wagner a visit in the morning. I’ll see if he can shed more light on this relationship trio.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The young male receptionist, Karl, knocked on Simon’s office door as he lead Jack into a room that felt like a school, falsely cheerful and disinfected, announcing Jack’s arrival as Simon lifted his head from some paperwork.

  “Simon I wanted to ask you about your involvement in the raising of funds for the proposed casino. I assume you might have some connection to the scheme?” Jack asked inquisitively.

  “As you probably know Jack, I look after a few well-heeled clients in the area. When the opportunity arose offering such great returns, I naturally spoke to a few people. Besides I was doing Andrew Barrington-Smyth a bit of a favor as well. I attended the launch in Macau and Andrew was keen to get some local backing into the venture.”

  “Did you ever meet David Tan in Macau?” Jack asked.

  “Sure. I ate at his family restaurant a few times,” Simon recalled.

  “How was the connection between the Brits and Asians on his little venture?" Jack enquired.

  “Well each party thought they had control of the project, so there was some tension,” Simon recited sheepishly, with his head lowered and eyes not wanting to look at Jack. But eventually he succumbed, glanced at Jack and was met with a come on you know what I mean look from Jack.

  “Oh, you don’t mean connection in a business sense,” Simon stated knowing full well that Jack was referring to a more physical connection and one which Simon favored. “Well there were a lot of people there Jack. Andrew, the Chinese, Robert Foong, lots of people. Yes I guess a bit of that went on. Not by me of course. My days of cavorting are over. It’s not like the old days now, Jack. Have you met my partner Graham?” Jack nodded negatively while trying to keep a neutral face about a lifestyle he didn’t overly agree with.

&n
bsp; “What about Eddie Doyle? Have you had any dealings, I mean in business with Mr. Doyle, Simon?”

  “A little, but with the nickname Fast Ed, I try to avoid dealings with Mr. Doyle. But I do know he has a lot hinging on the casino being approved.”

  “How so?” Jack enquired.

  “Well he doesn’t own the Cabarita Sails Caravan Park. He only has an option to buy it. He needs to get the approval through fast before that option expires. If it doesn’t happen soon and the casino goes ahead, he’ll lose millions.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Jack slipped into the station via the rear entrance, hoping to avoid the prying eyes of Chief Superintendent O’Halloran who would no doubt want an update on the case. He threw his suit jacket over the spare chair and turned to head to the kitchen to make himself a coffee, when his phone rang. “I swear this place is bugged. Crikey, a man can’t even get a coffee. Creed!” Jack let out in a stern forceful voice to the recipient on the other end of the line. “Yes sir I’ll be right up” Jack replied to the chief super.

  The conversation was short and sweet. Not a lot of leads so far on the case but it seemed that Eddie Doyle stood to lose millions if an approval for the casino was not forthcoming soon. Jack aired the idea that perhaps Eddie was afraid of David Tan airing his dirty laundry to his investors of his past business failings.

  Jack left the chief super with that thought and rushed off to an investor-gathering at the Kingscliff Bowls Club where Andrew Barrington-Smyth was trying to whip up some excitement in the local investor fraternity, and to get them to invest in the project. Jack was convinced there was a connection between the east and west in the murder of David Tan, but for the moment it was not clear. But what was clear was that he needed to look under every rock and that meant attending investment seminars even if it meant him being late.

  *****

  Jack arrived to hear Andrew’s summary of why China was important for this region’s growth and how investing in this project would be good for the community. Simon thanked Andrew and the attendees and invited them to grab a prospectus over coffee and cake.

  Jack apologized to Andrew for not being there sooner but deliberately dropped the chief super into the folly as to why he was late. Placing his laptop into his bag and being careful to ensure he also packed his remote clicker; Andrew accepted Jack’s excuse with an unenthusiastic smile coming from a somewhat tired face. Perhaps these seminars were taking their toll Jack thought, acknowledging that delivering the same speech around 100 times over would get anybody down.

  “Your wife not here Mr. Barrington-Smyth? How long have you two been married now?” Jack said trying to make light conversation but directing his questions in a manner that would cough up desperate answers that he needed, hopefully in a less intrusive way.

  “No Detective, she’s tied up with the child care business today. We’ve been married for quite a while. I’ll admit I used to bat on Simon’s team. You may have guessed that we are still good friends from the function the other night. He thinks I did it to prove something to the world but Amanda and I are a good team.”

  “But she didn’t attend the launch in Macau either?” Jack commented.

  “No we had just bought the child care business around that time and she needed to bed things down here and I needed to get the casino deal moving ahead so I could finance Amanda’s new business. It was very important to both of us,” Andrew stated.

  “Did you know David Tan and his sister Susan Lee?”

  “Yes Detective, I went to David’s restaurant a few times. There was a rumor that he was connected with Eddie Doyle and might have been feeding him information he heard in his restaurant when we dined there. It wasn’t long after we came back that we discovered Mr. Doyle had an option to buy the Cabarita Sails Caravan Park; the favored site of Robert Foong’s casino proposal. Perhaps coincidental but knowing Fast Eddie, I don’t think so,” Andrew explained.

  Jack decided to revisit Eddie Doyle, this time at his home.

  CHAPTER 11

  Jack arrived at the palatial Cypress Avenue home of Eddie Doyle, with its commanding street presence and even more spectacular ocean view. While Jack was impressed with the property he couldn't help wondering if this was one of Eddie’s rentals to fool the punters, as he referred to his salubrious office accommodation. A female voice, through the security intercom, advised Jack to come through the front of the property to the pool area at the rear, where Mrs. Doyle would meet him.

  Mrs. Doyle, dressed in a designer one-piece swimsuit, with a cigarette in one hand and a scotch in the other, clearly stated that she was not engaging in an office job anytime soon, greeted Jack as he arrived. Sasha Doyle gave Jack the once-over and staggered over to the bar inviting him to join her for a drink.

  “Unfortunately Detective, Eddie is not here. He stayed in Kingscliff last night. Can’t say when he’ll be back; that depends on how his Japanese lesson went last night,” Sasha remarked in a patronizing tone as she sipped on her scotch, freshly topped-up with ice. Jack recognized the sarcasm in her voice but chose to ignore it by offering, “A lovely place you have here, Mrs. Doyle.”

  “Oh it’s not ours. Eddie owns nothing, Detective. It’s all in this company or that fund,” as she staggered across the terracotta tiles surrounding the pool. “As long as he keeps me in this, waving the bottle of scotch toward Jack, “then I’m happy.”

  “When your husband had the Golden Dragon Restaurant, did you ever meet a David Tan or Susan Lee?” asked Jack.

  “Poor Susan. A baby and no husband. A big shame in the Chinese community you know,” Sasha recalled. “And as for Eddie, he’s not the kid-loving type. Our youngest is boarding up on the Downs. Eddie hardly ever sees Timmy,” Mrs. Doyle stated, with a quiver in her voice and a look of sadness across her face.

  Jack’s phone rang as he excused himself and moved across the terrace to take the call from Jo.

  “Jack, we’ve found Susan and the baby. Their bodies have been found under the bridge on Clothiers Creek Road. Susan has been stabbed to death and I’d say the poor baby drowned.”

  “I’ll be there soon. Just finishing up with Mrs. Doyle,” Jack said quietly, scratching his forehead with the index finger of his right hand, trying to mask the look of disgust on his face.

  CHAPTER 12

  Jack arrived at the murder scene in quick time being only a couple of kilometers from Eddie Doyle’s house. Leaping out of his car, Jack asked Jo for an update while taking into consideration her obvious uneasiness about a double murder; especially involving a baby.

  “Any idea how long they have been here?” Jack asked.

  “Forensics estimate sometime between 5 - 10 p.m., yesterday.”

  Jack’s mobile rang. It’s the station. “Yes constable, what can I do for you?”

  “There’s a bit of commotion at Robert Foong’s place. Mr. Doyle is here making all kinds of statements and threats. I think you had better come over here quick.”

  “It never rains but pours. Can you wrap this up Jo? I need to get over to Robert Foong’s place. Eddie Doyle has broken in and is making threats,” Jack explained as he turned and rushed back to his car.

  *****

  Jack arrived at Mr. Foong’s house to find Eddie Doyle in full verbal flight, shouting obscenities while threatening to harm a startled Robert Foong, while two constables formed a human barrier to keep the men apart.

  “Who stands to lose most if David Tan or Susan Lee talk, eh?” Eddie Doyle shouted with vengeance, while seeking a connection with Detective Creed. “Not me Detective. Just another failed business venture; I’ve had a few of those. Robert Foong is your man Detective.

  He’s your killer!”

  “Mr. Foong has a verifiable alibis Mr. Doyle.”

  “Well he got one of his three mates to do the killing. He might not have pulled the trigger but he definitely arranged the contract!” Eddie exclaimed.

  “I’m Malaysian you idiot, not Chinese. And this isn’t Hong Kong either!” R
obert Foong let out, hoping the situation would ease.

  “Take Mr. Doyle down to the station, constable. Put him in the cells overnight, let him cool down and book him for break and entry, and threatening with the intention to kill.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Chief Super O’Halloran was the first down the stairs at the station to congratulate both Jack and Detective Boston-Wright for wrapping up the case; a surprise to both of them. The only time they heard from the chief super was when they were in trouble. This was a pleasant surprise, but not warranted.

  “Yes, we have a man for breaking and entering Robert Foong’s home, but not for the murder of David Tan nor his sister,” Jack replied, with his eyes glancing toward the floor and a blank look on his face. “But thank you anyway, sir.”

  “We are still missing something here Jo. I want to rewatch the launch video again. I’m convinced our killer is in that video.”

  Sitting back with his eyes firmly focused on the screen, Jack painstakingly went through each frame, often pausing the video and running his eyes over the frozen screen, looking at the people, the background scene, anything that might pop up a clue.

  “Macau is like my second home. I feel so very connected here, and with its people. This project that we are proposing at Cabarita Beach, Australia is the joining together of east and west,” Andrew Barrington-Smyth so eloquently stated in his upper-class English accent. He was dressed in a navy Saville Row suit, crisp white French cuffed shirt, complimented by an old-school tie and sounding very much the consummate dealmaker.

  “That’s it Jo.” Jack leans forward in his chair placing his coffee mug on the desk, his eyes not leaving the screen. “It’s been staring us in the face all this time.”

  “That’s what Jack? What’s been staring us in the face?” Jo remarked looking at Jack and glancing back to the screen trying to see what he had now realized.

  “Bloody Simon, Jo. Bloody Simon. We’ve been assuming that Andrew was gay because of his close friendship with Simon.”