Challis - 05 - Blood Moon (37 page)

Nothing happened. A message came up
to say that the computer was not connected to a network printer. Frustrated,
she removed her memory stick, slotted it into the second computer and called up
her document. Again she pressed print. The command went through.

Her gaze wandered to the bottom of
the screen. Apparently the guy from Community Liaison still had a window open.
Tucked away among the icons were a short banner and an abbreviated Web address.
In an idle mood, she clicked on it.

And saw herself spread naked and
pale on top of her bed.

Or rather, she didnt know who it
was until her eyes strayed from the groin and breasts to the face. The Web
address was
www.inandoutofuniform.com
.
Sure enough, there she was
in
uniform, too, a
copy of that academy graduation shot she kept in the pewter frame on her
dressing table.

Then her mobile phone rang and it
was Inspector Challis, saying she was needed to help review the evidence
against the planner, Groot.

* * * *

52

By
now it was mid-afternoon, the station quieter, the CIU briefing room very
quiet. Smith and Jones had gone home to mow their lawns or whatever it was the
two men did on their weekends. Ellen Destry and Scobie Sutton were itemising
and logging into evidence the contents of Ludmilla Wisharts little woven bag
before it was all sent to the lab. Challis was drumming his fingers, waiting
for Pam Murphy to arrive.

She drifted in finally, looking
stiff and tight to Challiss eyes, as if holding powerful emotions in check. He
raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head and took her seat.

He started the briefing. As you
know, weve arrested the head planner, Groot. The thing is, both he and the
husband had motive, both were in the vicinity, both acted strangely. So lets
compare them. Ellen?

She stirred. The husband had a
history of following his wife around. On Wednesday afternoon he was acting true
to formmad and obsessive though it might seem to us. And he knew how weird it
would seem to an outsider, so he covered it up. It was a normal day, so to
speak. When we pinpoint what
wasnt
normal about that day, we find
Groot.

Challis nodded. He turned to Pam
Murphy, who was chewing the inside of her cheek, staring fixedly at the surface
of the table, barely in the room. Was she thinking hed made a terrible mistake
in arresting Groot? Pam? You dont think Groot did it?

She blinked. What? I mean, sorry, I
was trying to see it from his point of view.

It was a quick recoveryand a lie.
Her mind had been miles away. He couldnt waste time on her. Crossing to the
whiteboard, he scrawled Groots name at the top. What do we know about this
guy?

He was at the scene, Ellen said. He
lied about it, but later admitted it.

Theres also physical evidence
showing he was there, Sutton said. CCTV footage of him following her the day
she was murdered.

Im thinking what he might argue in
court, Challis said, grabbing the back of a chair in his habitual way. He was
railroaded by us. He was confused. He got his times and dates wrong. Yes, he
was at the site of the murderbut at another time and for work-related reasons.
He didnt confront Ludmilla Wishart about anything. The police bullied him and
he was confused.

He was taking bribes, Sutton said.
Ludmilla Wishart found out and was going to expose him. He had motive.

Do we have proof that he was taking
bribes? The Ebelings will deny paying him. He can claim it was a beat-up, that
Ludmilla was mistaken, or acting maliciously. As for the money, he won it on
the horses.

So we make sure he cant argue
these things in court, Ellen said. We dig deeper into his past: financial records,
friends, family and acquaintances, his work history, phone records, witnesses
who can place him with the Ebelings or with other people who might have
benefited from council tip-offs over the past few years.

A huge job, muttered Sutton.

They sat in thoughtful gloom for a
while. Is this guy clever? Challis asked. He makes a partial admission, a
plausible admission, one that reflects badly on him, thinking well see it as
the truth, that he couldnt be guilty of the greater crime?

Much like the husband, Ellen
pointed out.

Or theyre both telling the truth,
Sutton said.

But what do we think?

Groot did it, Ellen said. We know
hes a bit of a bully, and finally he went that one step further.

I agree, Sutton said.

Pam Murphy was miles away again.

Then there was a snap like a muted
pistol shot and Murphy was looking in dismay at the two halves of her pencil.
She swallowed, went red, said Sorry, and slammed out of the room. Challis
cocked an eyebrow at Ellen, who shrugged.

We need hard evidence that Groot
was taking bribes and that Ludmilla knew about it, Challis continued. Otherwise
Groots barrister will attack the victim in court: Ludmilla Wishart was given
to making crazy claims about her workmates, she was the one taking bribes to
finance her lazy husbands lifestyle, she had a secret lover, and so on. Or hell
claim she was muggedand how do we know that
didnt
happen?

He walked around the long table to
peer down at the murdered womans MP3 player and woven bag. But would a mugger
toss this away?

Unlikely, Sutton said, unfolding
his long legs in a rearrangement of bony angles.

Im trying to see it through Groots
eyes, Challis said. He kills her, then, to make it look like a mugging gone
wrong, he pockets her cash and her phone and dumps the rest of her stuff down
on the beach. But why not take her MP3 player as well? Wouldnt that reinforce
the notion that she was mugged?

Ellen shrugged. He was in a hurry.
He took the obvious things. He didnt bother to open that little bag, probably
thought it had her sunglasses in it.

Feasible, said Challis doubtfully.

He pulled latex gloves from his
pocket, said Glove up, Ells, and held the MP3 player before his nose. How do
you work one of these?

You obviously dont have a teenage
daughter, Ellen said, with a snap of her glove.

They sat side by side; Challis felt
a jolt of desire when their shoulders touched. She was subtly scented: not only
her shampoo and soap but also an underlay of skin and hair. But she was all
business, murmuring, Lets see, headphones plugged into her ears. He felt a
twinge of disappointment; then, marvellously, she leaned against him, and he
thought:
To hell with what Sutton thinks.

They watched the glow of the little
screen, the menus flickering from category to sub-category, category to
sub-category, as Ellen worked her way through the contents. Suddenly she froze
and removed the headphones: She used it to record notes to herself.

What kind of notes?

Listen, she said, plugging him in.

* * * *

53

Testing,
testing, one two three, the quick brown fox did a pee by the apple tree,
etcetera, etcetera...

Then a faint click, Ellen guessing
that Ludmilla Wishart had replayed the test run. The MP3 player was new, a
birthday gift, so shed have been playing with it, trying out the various
functions.

The time is now. ..2.45 and Im at
lot number five, Harcourt Drive, in Tyabb, where the owners have laid the
foundations for an unauthorised bed-and-breakfast establishment.

That had been listed on her desk
diary. They heard Wishart announce her intentions and then there was a faint,
atmospheric hiss, an interruption, before the voice returned, announcing the
results of the meeting. Amicable results, apparently.

A pleasant voice, Ellen thought.
Calm, unhurried, educated and a little self-conscious but pleased with her new
toy.

The time is now 3.20 and my next
destination is Bluff Road in Penzance Beach. I will need to buy petrol along
the way.

Pause, and then her voice came back
wryly:
Not that this little gizmo needs to know that.

Ellen pictured Ludmilla Wisharts
journey from the Tyabb address to the site of the demolished house in Penzance
Beach, with a stop for petrol along the way, Groot tailing her in his old
Mercedes, Adrian tailing her in his uncles station wagon. Why hadnt the two
men spotted each other? And it all would have consumed forty minutes in real
time, if Ludmilla had wanted to leave her gizmo recording while she narrated
the conditions and events of her journey:

Taking this bend at eighty kilometres
an hour.. .passing a school bus... just hit a bump... have finished putting 47
litres of unleaded petrol into the tank of my car...

But of course Ludmilla Wishart said
none of these things but quickly stopped mucking around with her new toy and
recorded only those observations that she would need later when writing up her
notes.

There was a pause, a soft electronic
interruption, and she returned:

Bluff Road, Penzance Beach. It is
now 4.25 in the afternoon. Met with Carl Vernon as arranged. Discussed the
demolition of the house known as Somerland. Local residents very upset, as noted
this morning. I advised that Id applied to the planning minister for an
interim heritage amendment that would protect Somerland, but, unfortunately,
Hugh and Mia Ebeling had exercised their right to demolish before it could be
considered or granted. What I didnt tell Mr Vernon was that my boss had almost
certainly tipped off the Ebelings, and that I shall report him to the
authorities.

And Groot had known that, Ellen
thought. He followed her, intending to talk her out of it, and killed her when
that failed.

In the meantime I advised Mr Vernon
that the residents association should take steps to block the Ebelings
intended development of the site or at least press for a drastic modification
of the excesses of the planned building, which at present is a structure on
three levels. My advice was that the association should attend any and all
Development Assessments Committee meetings and present transparencies that show
what impact the proposed structure would have on their views not only across
the water but also in other directions.
Pause.
Leaving Penzance at 4.35 to drive to
Shoreham.

Another pause, and when Wisharts
voice started again it was electric with suppressed emotions:

I
need to get this down immediately, in case anything
happens. Im outside the property known as Westering, at 450 Frankston-Flinders
Road, which is accessed from Frankston-Flinders Road via a very long driveway
down to a headland overlooking the beach. The owner, Jamie Furneaux, who is
presently overseas, was charged and fined for removing 52 pine and other trees,
and ordered to plant indigenous trees to compensate. I can confirm that Mr
Furneaux has abided by the conditions of the ruling made against him. But Mr
Groot, the chief planner, arrived soon after I did. He actually followed me! I
am annoyed. I am also, I must admit, a little afraid. Ive seen Groot angry and
emotional before, but not like this. He kept going on and on about how I would
ruin his career, he had a wife and children to support, he could go to jail,
and anyway, what did he do wrong, all he did was keep the Ebelings apprised of
the progress of their applications to demolish an old house and erect a new
one. I said, how much did they pay you? He got angry and said they hadnt paid
him anything, but I didnt believe him. Then he got a bit physical with me,
grabbing my arms and shoving me against the car. God, hes repulsive. He scares
me, too. He went away in tears but that doesnt mean he wont try to hurt me in
some way. Physically? Professionally? I wish I knew what was going through his
head. Anyway, this record is in case something bad happens to me.

There was a sense of time passing,
even though only a second had elapsed on the recording, and Ludmillas voice
returned, sounding altered in unnameable ways but suggesting puzzlement and
faint annoyance:

Ade? What are you doing here?

Ellen heard a mans voice, a low
undertone, none of the words distinguishable, and Ludmilla Wisharts response:

You were parked behind that shed the
whole time? Whose car is that?

More deep growling, then Ludmilla
again, admonition and tension in her voice:

Ade, you mustnt follow me like this
I was so embarrassed when you showed
up yesterday, I dont know what Mr Vernon thought... Of course hes not. ..Im
not seeing anyone on the sly... Who? That was my boss, Mr Groot.. .No, Ade, Im
telling you.. .He didnt hug me, he was a bit cross about a work matter and
grabbed my arms for emphasis, thats all.. .No, Ade. ..I do not. ..I do love
you... Theres no one else.. .No... Of course I dont want to leave you.. .But
shes my friend, I cant stop seeing her...Ive never slept with anyone but
you. ..I think hes disgusting...

Adrian Wisharts voice came clearly
now, asking her about the MP3 player. Ludmilla made no mention that she was
taping: