Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (19 page)

‘
Okay.
’
I love a man who takes charge.

Jake explained the plans were mainly satellite maps of land and water. It was a large area of about eighteen square kilometres. It was over a hilly
,
tree-covered terrain. The remaining plans were construction ones. He wanted to take them to his office and ask some of the other investigators with expertise in this area if they could shed any light on the exact nature of the building.

‘
Fine
,
here
,
take the memory stick.
’

‘
Great
,
I
’
ll call you as soon as I know anything. You know we make a great team
,
Grace Rose. With your research and journalistic skills and my investigative know-how we
’
re bound to crack this case
,’
he winked at her.

‘
You think so
,
Jacob Williams?
’

He reached out to caress her cheek with his hand when Shadow decided to interrupt the romancing and jumped onto the couch
,
almost crashing the lap top to the ground.

‘
Oh
,
well done
,
Bub
,’
Grace said.

‘
A black cat. That can
’
t be good.
’

‘
Oh don
’
t be superstitious
,
he
’
s handsome and helpful.
’

‘
How
’
s that?
’

‘
You do like cats
,
don
’
t you?
’
she asked.

‘
As a matter of fact
,
I do. I grew up with them. He
’
s a handsome boy
,
isn
’
t he?
’

Grace picked him up and cuddled him. Then she put him on the floor. He immediately jumped up on the coffee table and started flicking something around and jumping on it.

‘
Oh
,
man. How could I forget? Thanks
,
Bub.
’
Grace took the little package from Shadow she hadn
’
t had a chance to look at yet. She opened it.
‘
It
’
s the second memory stick from The Voice.
’

Jake stuck it into the computer.

‘
I told you Shadow was helpful. He
’
s a crime solver
,’
Grace said.

‘
Good on ya
,
Shadow
,’
Jake put on his best Aussie accent which brought a giggle out of Grace.
He such a good sport
,
another tick for Jake.
She picked up the small envelope it came in.

Grace opened it
.
‘
And another note.
’

‘
What do you mean another note?
’

‘
Here
’
s the note that came with the first package.
’

‘
Don
’
t take this lightly
,
offences against the innocent
,
you won
’
t regret this.
’
Hmmm
,
what
’
s the second one say?
’
he asked.

She held out the letter between them and they read it together.

Grac
e
,

Lives have been lost for depraved men to have power and money. The evidence is right here. If you listen carefull
y
,
yo
u
’
ll be able to recognise the voice of a prominentpolitician on this recording. I
t
’
s fuzzy but after a few replaysit will become clearer. I could tell yo
u
,
howeve
r
,
you need to uncover for yourself who the evil perpetrator is of these heinous crimes. I have more evidence I am collecting against these criminals. I will get this to you as soon as I can. All will become clear. I
t
’
s crucial you understand what this is about. When the time come
s
,
this story will assist the jurors in their decision and the judge can throw the book at these ego maniacs who think power and money can suppress those who do
n
’
t have a voice to cry out about their injustices.

‘
No salutation again
,’
Grace said.

‘
I
’
m going to take these. I may be able to obtain fingerprints from the paper and find out who owns them.
’

Grace nodded and Jake opened the file on the computer.

‘
You think it
’
s audio or visual?
’

‘
Let
’
s find out.
’
He double clicked on the icon and a window opened. He clicked again on the file. It opened to a blank media player.
‘
Audio only.
’

They listened to two men
’
s voices in a heated conversation. It sounded like a telephone call.

‘
I want it to look like an acciden
t
,
’
an articulateman said
.
‘
Got it
?
’
‘
Ye
s
,
bos
s
,
’
was the gruff reply.
‘
Anyone who gets in our way will suffer the same fate. This is worth too much money for us to lose it now
.
’

Jake looked at Grace
,
‘
It
’
s a bad recording and they didn
’
t mention any names. And they
’
ve killed somebody. Obviously it has to be someone in this information or why would The Voice give it all to you?
’

Jake played it again.
‘
Sound like anyone you know?
’

‘
No
,
it
’
s sofuzz
y.
Play it one more time.
’

They listened intently to the recording.

‘
I
’
m sure he
’
s referring to Sleen but this voice could belong to anyone. I don
’
t know it well enough to know if it
’
s him
,’
Grace said.

Then her mobile rang
,
interrupting them. She nodded and said
‘
okay
’
several times and
‘
yes
,
see you soon
’
before she hung up.
‘
It was my boss. He wants me in the office sooner than I expected. I have to attend a rally before I head out to the RAAF. Apparently there
’
s no-one else who can do it.
’

‘
The something Australian Air Force?
’

‘
Royal Australian.
’

He nodded.
‘
Grace
,
is there anyone amongst these photos and documents you think could have been killed? Didn
’
t you say one of the guys had died in a car accident?
’

‘
Yes
,
Minister Crow
,’
she frowned.
‘
Though surely – it was an accident they said. No suspicious circumstances. Why would someone want to kill a politician
,
especially a member of parliament?
’

‘
I don
’
t know
,
however
,
I think some of these pieces are starting to fit together. The morning
’
s getting away from us and I have to head to the office
,
too. Let
’
s keep in touch. Where
’
s your phone?
’
Jake asked.

She gave it to him and he programmed his number into it.

‘
Anything happens and you call me
,
especially if you hear from The Voice. Okay?
’

‘
I will. Oh
,
something else of interest. Mr Sleen
,
a minister in the photo with the deceased Mr Crow
,
was on the late news last night.
’

‘
Yeah?
’

‘
Yeah. Normally I wouldn
’
t have noticed but after seeing his picture in these photos and running into him the other day
,
it caught my attention.
’

‘
You ran into him? You didn
’
t tell me.
’

‘
I ran straight into him as he came into the coffee shop and as I was leaving it. As in
,
our bodies banged together. We chatted and he said he
’
d be happy to let me interview him. Anyway
,
in the news clip he said no-one would stop him from fulfilling his multi-billion dollar plan to put Sydney on the world
’
s map for effective global environmental issues
,
no matter what. He was adamant.
’

‘
He could be our man.
’

21

Grace marche
d
straight to her desk and picked up the phone. She placed a call to Minister Sleen
’
s office. She planned to tell the receptionist she wanted to do a profile on the Minister. He had changed portfolios from Foreign Affairs to Environment and the public would be interested to know what his future goals involved. She would have to come up with a different angle as this story was beyond its use by date. As she waited to be connected
,
Nick threw a piece of paper onto her keyboard in his usual charming manner.

‘
Someone else is covering the rally story
,’
he said.

Grace huffed at Nick
,
tightened her mouth and said nothing. Sad to say she had come to expect such unreliability from her chief editor. Besides
,
she had plenty on her mind now after this morning
’
s meeting with Jake. Sleen
’
s office happened to be located in metropolitan Sydney and she wanted to go over there immediately and demand an interview. She had waited for hours once at the Prime Minister
’
s residence at Kirribilli for one minute of his time. The result had been a quote no-one else had the privilege to be given and a front page story.

‘
I need you to do a favour for me this afternoon
,
Grace
,’
Nick said.

‘
I know
,
you already mentioned it. What is it?
’

The secretary
’
s voice came onto the phone and said Minister Sleen was currently unavailable
,
however
,
she would take a message.

‘
He had agreed to speak with me and I was asked to call and make an appointment
,’
she told the secretary
,
a little terser than she meant.

The lady took a message and said she did not know about the arrangement
,
however
,
she would check and call with an appointment time if Minister Sleen was available.
‘
He
’
s extraordinarily busy after his announcement on the late news last night
,
it could be some time
,’
then hung up.

Nicked jumped in.
‘
Who
’
s
‘
he
’
?
’

‘
I
’
ll let you know if it develops into anything.
’

‘
Fine. So
,
as I
’
m such a good guy and lending you my car
,
the errand.
’

‘
Out with it
,’
she said motioning with her fingers to hurry up and tell her.
‘
And as long as it doesn
’
t interfere with my timing.
’

‘
Grace
,
don
’
t be snarly. I promise
,
unashamedly
,
you do this little thing for me on the way back and I won
’
t ask for another favour for at least six months. Promise.
’
He demonstrated the Boy Scout salute to add credence to his guarantee. It was something Nick displayed only once before
,
in all the time she had worked with him
,
and he had actually kept his word.

‘
I
’
m not sure I could cope with hearing the end of what a great guy you are and how I owe you even more favours for allowing me to drive your precious car. Why don
’
t you give me a couple of taxi vouchers? It
’
d be easier on both of us.
’

‘
Not a chance
,
Grace.
’

She eyed him suspiciously.
‘
What
’
s the errand?
’

‘
Pick up a parcel from this address for me after your flight
,’
he pointed to the paper he had placed on her keyboard not a minute ago.

‘
It
’
s at the domestic airport which is more than an hour
’
s drive from the RAAF and not on the way back into town.
’
Typical.
‘
Can
’
t you order a courier to pick it up? It
’
s a long drive out there and back plus there
’
s the flight after the press conference. This story will take up at least half my day.
’
In other words
,
she was busy and she was not about to do him any favours for cutting her meeting short with Jake
,
ordering her into the office for a story that didn
’
t happen and now this ridiculous errand.

‘
They lose important items
,
never the ones you don
’
t need
,
and this one is high priority. Thanks Gracie
,’
he pulled his keys out of his pocket
,
gave them to her and trod back to his office.

Now Grace didn
’
t have to cover the rally story
,
she had some time to fill in. She gathered her essentials and planned to stop off at Minister Sleen
’
s office on the way to the RAAF. She picked up Nick
’
s car keys along with her handbag and checked it contained all her vitals for the afternoon. Notepad
,
check. Pen
,
check. Phone
,
check. Camera
,
in phone
,
check. There would be no photographer this trip though there would be a media kit with photos she could use to go with her story. Pink lipstick
,
important when on duty with pilots
,
check. Sunglasses
,
check. Purse
,
check. Piece of paper with details for Nick
’
s parcel
,
she grumbled
,
check.

Then she scanned the office for Kate who had not come to see her at her desk
,
as was the ritual
,
since she had arrived. She was nowhere to be found. Grace picked up her jacket and headed for the lift.

She found Nick
’
s car and planted herself behind the shiny wheel and turned on the hands free mobile kit. She dialled the Minister
’
s office again.
‘
Unavailable
’
was the curt reply.
No problem
,
I
’
ll see you shortly and then see if you can get rid of me.

Grace programmed the address into the GPS. A robotic female voice began to give step-by-step instructions. She knew the route but she wanted to be sure of the location of his office once she reached western Sydney. On arrival
,
she scanned the business list located at the Information Desk on the foyer level and made her way to the tenth floor.

‘
Minister Sleen
,
please?
’
she said to the receptionist when she arrived. She had decided to be business like though civil.

‘
Do you have an appointment?
’
asked the mature lady with a French roll and a face which displayed a complete lack of movement.

‘
I do not. However
,
I work for
The Sydney Star
and I
’
m sure if you check
,
I have no doubt in my mind the minister would like to expand on his comments he made on the late news last night and tell this city
’
s leading daily newspaper exactly what plans he has for the future of our city in relation to the environment. Plus
,
he knows me.
’
Oh man
,
I couldn
’
t have said that better even if I had written it down and practiced it.

‘
He has nothing further to add to those comments at this stage
,’
Tight Face said.

‘
Perhaps he would like to comment on his involvement with a Dubai Corporation.
’
 

The woman kept her eyes on Grace as she picked up the phone and buzzed someone in another office.
‘
Please take a seat
,’
Tight Face said without the slightest muscle twitch.

Perhaps she
’
s smiling but she can
’
t show it.

She surveyed her surroundings and marvelled at the amount of frosted glass walls in the reception area. She guessed the glass hid an array of smaller offices. After waiting a few minutes
,
Grace checked her phone for the time and wondered how long it would be before she would dig up what she had come to find. Or would she uncover it at all?

A woman in a conservative
,
chocolate-brown suit with a high-buttoned shirt appeared in front of Grace.
‘
Minister Sleen is unable to see you at this time and is unavailable for the next several weeks. However
,
he is holding a press conference at the end of the month and would like to invite you to attend and ask any questions you have then
,’
she said in a stern voice. She appeared as if she would rather pluck the hairs from her nose than worry about this bothersome journalist.

‘
Oh
,
I see
,’
Grace said as she stood up.
‘
Could I have your name
,
please?
’

‘
That
’
s none of your business
,’
the conservatively dressed woman said.

‘
You know
,
Ms None-Of-Your-Business
,’
then Grace smiled at her
,
‘
it looks bad when a story appears in Sydney
’
s leading newspaper about a Minister
’
s portfolio plans
,
or his involvement with international consortiums
,
with a
‘
no comment
’
from the Minister. It
’
ll only take a minute. To be honest
,
my boss is on my back to get a quote and he won
’
t let up on me till it
’
s done. I
’
m stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. You couldn
’
t help me out
,
could you?
’
Grace smiled and meant it.

The unsympathetic woman grimaced at Grace. Then she scanned Grace from head to toe and back again
,
turned on her heel and left the waiting area. No sooner had she closed the door leading to the outer offices than a stocky man in a black suit opened the door and walked into the reception area. This was not Minister Sleen. This was the man who tried to push her over the edge of the barrier and into the harbour on Monday morning.

Show no fear.
Grace pretended she didn
’
t know the man. He also feigned no recognition of Grace. Tight face actually broke into a smile similar to that of The Joker.

‘
Ma
’
am
,
without an appointment you are goin
’
to have to leave these offices. The sign on the front door says no loiterin
’
and you are loiterin
’
if you refuse to go
,’
Black Suit said in a gruff voice with such bad pronunciation it took a moment before it registered what he had said.