Cold Grave (37 page)

‘They’re evidence in a homicide investigation,’ FitzHarris announced. Anya handed him the phone so he could see for himself. ‘I’m going to have to download and document these. I’ll need your last name in case I have to interview you again.’

‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t know she was in trouble. God, I was going to send those photos to one of the men who wanted to see what I’d taken.’

Lilly’s death was tragic enough, without knowing that there were people who ridiculed and laughed at her as life drained from her small body. At any stage that night, if someone had called for medical assistance, Lilly would still be alive.

FitzHarris rubbed his chin. ‘The blonde is only a fifteen-year-old girl. That’s under-age according to Hawaiian law. Maybe now we can get the FBI to investigate a crime committed by US citizens against a US citizen.’ He thought for a moment. ‘One of the men in these photos asked you to email him the photos?’

Shelby nodded. ‘He emailed me through the blog address but I don’t know his name. Night Rider 14 is what he goes by.’

‘Well did you?’ FitzHarris pushed.

Shelby looked around as if pleading for support. ‘You don’t understand. I didn’t know she was fifteen, or the other girl was drugged. I took them as a joke.’

‘A joke you had to share with this man, you don’t even know the name of,’ FitzHarris snapped. ‘Do you know what you have done to the dead girl’s family, or the fifteen year old? What the hell is it with this generation? Do you ever think? Once photos are on the net, they are out there. Forever, for anyone to see.’

Shelby sobbed.

‘It’s not so funny now, is it?’ FitzHarris could not hide his contempt.

‘This isn’t helping,’ Martin interjected. ‘The men are the ones who drugged and raped the girls. You need to talk to Night Rider, surely.’

Anya offered, ‘We think we have narrowed it down to either Brian Peterson or Gus Berry from that floor.’

FitzHarris didn’t ask what led them to that conclusion. ‘Figures, the scumbags. I ran a swab from their bottle. Came out strongly positive for GHB.’

Unfortunately, Anya knew the photos could not prove Lilly was an unwilling participant in the drugs or sex. It was still their word and no one would be able to refute that. Even an eyewitness thought Lilly was consenting to what went on.

Shelby looked up with red eyes. ‘Am I going to be charged with anything?’

‘Negligent homicide, if I had my way.’

Anya sighed. ‘This really isn’t helping.’ She placed a hand on the girl’s back. Shelby lacked empathy and had behaved impulsively without giving a second thought to Lilly and Kandy, but had not wished them harm. Somehow, that was unlikely to be a consolation for the Chans.

The best Shelby could do now was minimise the damage she’d caused. ‘What Shelby can do is take whatever she posted about Lilly down.’

The college girl looked up at Anya. ‘I’ll do anything.’

Within a minute, she had accessed her page. She gasped.

Anya was quickly by her side. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘There are over three hundred comments on the last post.’ She scrolled down. ‘That bastard has put the photos on my page. People are tagging them and sharing them on all the other social network sites. He’s even put one of me and him having sex.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Genny wasn’t the only one I hooked up with that night.’

Anya glanced at the screen. ‘At least we know which one Night Rider is. It isn’t Brian Peterson, it’s Gus Berry.’

FitzHarris stood and leant over Shelby’s shoulder. ‘Can you tell if he sent them to anyone else?’

‘Give me a minute.’ She typed and clicked.

‘What do you know,’ Fitz said. ‘Looks like Peterson, and a number of our bowling boys, have been enjoying their handiwork all over again.’

38

Shelby returned to her cabin with a promise from FitzHarris that he would speak to her in the morning. The security chief asked Anya if she would accompany him to act as a witness when he approached Gus Berry, or Bear as his shirt boasted. Martin had no objections and was happy to read while Ben continued to sleep.

Anya had seen FitzHarris interrogate Carlos’s room mate, and was curious about how he would attempt to get Night Rider to admit that he, and/or his friends, had sex with Lilly Chan before she died. After a few calls from Anya’s suite, Fitz knew where to find Berry.

‘He’s in the casino, been spending up big. Could be just in the mood for an inquisition, given he’s just dumped two thousand dollars.’

They headed out. The mood among the passengers was more buoyant as the storm seemed to have passed. Couples drifted in and out of the balcony doors, making the most of the improved weather.

FitzHarris held the elevator door open with one hand so an elderly gentleman could exit. They caught it up to the promenade deck. Anya had thought it crowded the other night, but now it seemed everyone had come out to walk, shop, eat late and gamble.

Neon lights enticed punters into the casino. Like the rest of the ship, the decor consisted of bright blues and pinks. It looked more like a fun parlour, with poker machines lining two walls, and a well-staffed bar with a number of waitresses carrying trays of drinks to customers. Tables offering roulette, blackjack and three-card poker were full. A crowd had gathered around the craps table.

‘Over at the slots.’ FitzHarris weaved his way through groups of people enjoying the atmosphere. Anya followed, but was blocked by a bearded man who asked her to kiss his dice before he threw.

‘I’ve never been lucky,’ she said, more interested in following FitzHarris. ‘Excuse me.’

Gus Berry had his back to them when they arrived at his slot machine. His cologne could not disguise the fact that he was sweating. They watched him put fifty dollars in, then thump the screen when it ran out five spins later.

‘Come on baby, this time,’ he pleaded and deposited another twenty in US dollars.

‘Looks like you’re on a losing streak,’ FitzHarris remarked.

‘Yeah well, she’s gonna pay out any minute,’ he replied. ‘Get lost and find your own machine.’

‘We can wait,’ FitzHarris said. ‘We’ve got all night.’

Berry turned his head as bells and electronic music sounded, and coins cascaded from a slot machine on the other side of the room. Cheers went up, but not from Berry.

The scowl on his face had no hint of nervousness or fear. ‘Why don’t you arrest someone for jaywalking? Oh, that’s right. You
can’t
. Bull told us how you and your little girl Friday barged into his cabin. I’ve got nothing to say to you.’

‘That’s true, but I don’t have to keep my mouth shut, Mr Night Rider 14.’

He laughed. ‘You don’t scare me. You’re a freakin’ joke. I’m outta here.’ He guzzled the last of his beer and slid off the stool, stumbling on an ankle before correcting himself.

FitzHarris remained calm. ‘Fine. I don’t have the authority to charge you with murder, negligent homicide or even sex with a minor. You’re right. Maybe you will get away with what you did to Lilly Chan and her friend that first night.’

‘What we did to them? Man, they came on to us. And no one heard them complaining.’

He was talking loudly and casino patrons began to stare. Just like in the restaurant.

FitzHarris moved his face close to Berry’s. ‘You are going to pay for drugging and raping those girls. One way or another.’

Berry took a swing with his right hand and Fitz blocked it, then twisted the arm around Berry’s back. ‘You lot may think you’re king of the world around here, but when you get back home, everyone’s gonna know exactly what you are. A sex offender.’

Berry’s face contorted in pain. ‘Man, you’re hurting me. You’re a friggin’ psycho.’

‘Drank too much, nothing to see folks,’ FitzHarris announced loudly. Gamblers went back to their business. Poker machines continued to play tunes.

‘Do you know what paedophiles are, jackass?’ He whispered into the man’s ear as he pushed him toward the exit. ‘The scum of the earth. They pedal porn to other sick bastards who get off screwing innocent children.’

‘Can you get this maniac away from me?’ Berry pleaded to Anya.

‘He’s making perfect sense.’

‘Bitch! You’re in this with him. My lawyer’s gonna sue you both for everything you got.’

‘That’s a great idea. There’ll be media, worldwide attention.’ Fitz deferred to Anya. ‘Which one do you think’s my better side for when I get interviewed?’

‘Definitely your left.’ Anya stood, arms crossed. Fitz’s theatre was growing entertaining. ‘In fact, I can see you on all the major networks. You could even get offered a reality show.’

‘Somebody?’ Berry’s arm was still pretzelled behind his back.

‘We know it was you who put the nude photos of Lilly Chan on the web. And the blonde girl too.’

‘Posting photos
isn’t a crime
.’ Berry enunciated as if talking to idiots.

Fitz released his arm and Berry rubbed it. The wrist was red, but unlikely to bruise.

‘Yeah, it kind of is a crime. The blonde was fifteen. That’s
fifteen
. In case you didn’t know, that is
under-age
. My assistant is about to call the FBI to report you as a kiddie fiddler and child rapist. You’re going to make new friends. The FBI will want to get to know you. First thing they’ll do is say hi to your wife and kids while they go through your house with a warrant. Then there’s your work . . .’

‘You’re full of shit.’

Fitz sucked air through his teeth. ‘Poor boy’s having trouble understanding,’ he said to Anya. ‘Let me make it really simple. Your name is gonna be on that sex-offenders’ register
forever
. No more coaching your kid’s football team or living near a school. And no court is going to give you custody of the kids when your wife leaves. Your neighbours will have to be notified. Look on the bright side. When you come out of the “big house” – that’s
prison
– you’re gonna be
fam-ous
.’

‘You gotta believe me I had no idea that bitch was under-age. This is a mistake. What do I have to do to straighten things out? My father-in-law is loaded. Is that what this is about?’

‘Did you just offer me a bribe, or were you accusing me of trying to extort money from your family?’

Anya cocked her head. ‘I think the first one. Sounded more like a bribe to me.’

Berry’s hair was becoming damp at the hairline, and his face glistened in the glow from the neon casino sign. ‘I didn’t. I mean—’

‘You are an even bigger dumbarse than I thought. This is about the law. Right and wrong. Justice. I want to know what happened to Lilly Chan. If you don’t start talking, that call goes through to the FBI in five minutes.’

A pianist played in the club lounge. Berry rubbed one hand through his hair, then the other.

‘Look, I never slept with her. Some of the other guys did. I pulled a stomach muscle in training and went to Brian’s room to get some rest. But Genny and the others had no intention of getting any sleep that night. I get it on with some other chick. When I eventually made it back to our cabin there was this naked chinger sleeping on the floor, puke and piss all over the carpet. Then she makes this gross noise and goes all quiet. Genny said she didn’t have a pulse. That’s when everyone panicked. This dead naked chick in your cabin. We were shit-scared the drugs would be found, we’d be kicked off, and all our wives and girlfriends would find out.’

No one seemed remotely concerned about Lilly or her family. No one commenced CPR, even if she had lost a pulse. Anya was stunned that not once did they consider anyone but themselves.

‘I said we should call for help, but Genny said it was too late. He reckoned no good could come of telling anyone about it. He said she was right into the fantasy and brought it on herself. She was already dead, but our lives could all be fucked up. That’s when they decided to get rid of the body.’

‘How did they plan to move a body through the ship and up onto deck?’

‘It wasn’t light yet. Everyone else was asleep. The place was deserted. Genny and Bull got her dressed, put a hoodie on her and held her upright, like she was drunk.’