The Baby Jane Murders (6 page)

During the whole conversation Kroupa didn't rise
a
n eyebrow.
After the customary 'Thank you' and 'Good bye', Kroupa hurried
Hendrych outside to look for a taxi. "To the Hydro Majestic!
Quickly!" When they got to the Hydro, he told the taxi driver and
Hendrych, "Wait for me. Both of you!" He left an amazed Hendrych
sitting there and ran inside the hotel. In the Hydro he aimed
straight for the concierge. "Don't ask any questions, Miss," He was
looking for his badge. "Give me the current guest register and
hurry up." The young woman only asked which guest Kroupa was
interested in. "All of them," Kroupa lied. She printed off a few
sheets for him. "This is the information on their driving licenses.
We only take down one occupant’s details." Kroupa reached the taxi
before he could glance at the papers. "Rainbow Street, Coogee, in
Sydney."

“
Are you kidding?” Hendrych was stunned… you want to take a
taxi to Sydney!?!”

“Yes,
get going!" Kroupa was visibly nervous.

“
Yes, get going, but to Katoomba airport. The Cessna is still
chartered. It’ll be a lot quicker.”

------------------------

“
A lot quicker!!!” Kroupa scoffed as they drove into Coogee.
The sound of the crashing waves could be heard from the
beach.

“
What do you mean?”

“
We saved about 30 minutes.”

“
Yes, which is a quarter of the time it takes to drive here.
25% isn’t bad.”

Kroupa
ignored him and looked out the window for Rainbow Street. When they
found the number, it wasn't close to the beach at all, but it was a
prestigious address with a stately home. Nobody was in. They saw a
light two houses down. "Shall we try it?" Kroupa asked Hendrych in
need of encouragement.

"I don't know what
this is all about. Pass," an unhappy and puzzled
Hendrych replied.

"Let's have a
go. It's only after 10 pm."

"Closer to
eleven, if my watch is correct."

Kroupa rang the bell two houses away. It took some time
before an older lady opene
d. She was clearly going to bed and was dressed in
a dressing gown which she’d hastily thrown on, the tie almost
undone. "What the heck do you want at this unholy hour?" She
greeted them.

"
I
need some information." Kroupa presented his badge. "DCI Kroupa. We
are conducting an investigation."

"What are you
investigating at this hour? Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

"It is a
question of life and death."

"
Well in that case, come in. May I first see the medal
again, you can never be too careful, after everything that’s
happened here. I’m suspicious of everybody now. You know, crooks
are everywhere." She led them into her tidy dining room. "Excuse
the mess. It is already past eleven."

"I don't see any mess, do you, Rowan?" Hendrych finally
opened his mouth. They sat on the comfortable lounge, the lady of
the house opposite them in
an armchair.

"First the formalities.
Could I get your particulars?

“Of
course. My name is Mrs Peacock. I’m a widow. My husband, Mr
Peacock, passed away four years ago from a massive stroke. He
didn't suffer at all. He sat in this very chair, asked me for a cup
of coffee, and when I brought it to him he was gone. He was a good
man and a good husband, and he died peacefully."

"I’
m
sorry to hear about his passing. It is our turn to introduce
ourselves. Rowan Kroupa and this is Johan Hendrych."

"And what
do you do for living?"

"We
investigate crimes."

"In that case, you are at the wrong address. It was two
houses
up.
Poor Emma. I wish they’d finally catch the killer so we could all
sleep without worrying if he’ll come back again."

"
You
don't say.” Kroupa asked. "What happened?"

"If you’
re from the police, you should know. Show me your badge
again!"

Kroupa c
omplied and Mrs Peacock, after close examination of the
badge and returning it to Kroupa, said, "You seem alright. Anyway,
Mr Baldwin was a strange man. They say that an AVO was served on
him. They had this girl, I believe adopted, and he mistreated her.
As soon as she was old enough she moved out and nobody saw her
again. She was, they say, a very bright girl for her age. Emma,
that is Mrs Baldwin, took it badly. She adored
Angelina
, that was the girl’s name, but was too old to adopt
another child. I know all this from the grapevine. We were not
close, albeit neighbours and I don't talk to too many people. One
day, it must have been some years ago, maybe a couple, somebody
came to visit them. Emma opened the door, and Ted, her husband, Mr
Baldwin, who had the AVO, came up behind her. This visitor
apparently pulled out a gun, Emma jumped in frond of her husband,
there was shot and Emma was dead. That's the story. The intruder
didn't steal anything. If you ask me, I think
Angelina
found a boyfriend, told him about the abuse she'd suffered,
and he came to avenge her. But I’m no detective. Nobody would
listen to me. They haven't found the killer in all this time. And
now we’re all afraid for our lives. Isn't it dreadful?"

"It is, indeed. Well, we mustn't disturb you any longer.
Sorry for
coming so late, but you’ve helped us a great
deal."

"Did you come to chat about the
murder of Emma Baldwin?"

"Inter alia,
yes."

As
Mrs Peacock watched them go, she shook her head and
wondered, "Who is Inter Alia?"

---------------

Kroupa and Hendrych got
in the waiting taxi and asked the
bewildered driver to take them to the Hydro in Medlow Bath. The
airport would be closed now and they had no other way of getting
there quickly. The cabbie couldn’t believe his luck and simply
smiled.

"Would you be
kind enough and finally put me in the picture?" Hendrych
pleaded.

"Patience, dear Watson, patience.
All in good time."

"What if you
get killed in the meantime?"

"I don't plan
to. Patience." Kroupa was grinning. Hendrych tried
unsuccessfully to break the silence, but for the most of the trip
they sat without uttering a word. Kroupa was impatient. "Hurry up,
man, hurry up. Please." Then he asked the driver, "What are the
opening hours at Coles?"

"From 6 am till midnight, Sir. You
should get there just before
closing."

At the Hydro,
Kroupa asked the receptionist, "Have you seen Mr Baldwin?"

"He went out a
while ago”.

“
Do you know where?”

“Shopping, I think. He was carrying a shopping bag." The
young receptionist replied.

Kroupa hurried to his room. He found Sara snoring in his
bed. "Hurry up, darling, there might be a job for you." Sara jumped
up as if she understood
him. "You don't have to dress, sweetie, it's still
quite warm. Come on. That's a girl."

They found Hendrych at the reception, still wondering what
was h
appening.

Kroupa
commanded "C’mon! Make it snappy. And don't ask
questions."

The taxi was still waiting, as Kroupa
had requested. "Katoomba,
Coles." he impatiently yelled, as they got into the cab.

"But the dog?"
The driver wondered.

"Never mind the dog. She pays the fare." The driver didn't
argue. He was thinking that he should have asked for a deposit. But
it was too late. He had to hope
his passengers were good for it. He drove
as fast as he could, with only a few minutes to go before the
supermarket closed.

"Wait
here. We won't be long," Kroupa ordered loudly.

"Take your time. I'll wait." The
resigned driver assured
them.

Kroupa led the way, closely follow
ed by Hendrych. Sara soon took the
lead. She ran to the supermarket, ignoring the complaints of the
staff and cheers from the enthusiastic customers. "Baldwin!" Kroupa
shouted and saw a did best. She jumped at
Angelina
, knocking her over. Three shots sounded. The first from
Baldwin's gun, the other two from Kroupa's. The first bullet
pierced through a tin of tomato juice, that dripped onto the
shaken
Angelina
. "It's not my blood, is it?"
Angelina
was trying to get up, with Sara proudly standing
by her. The second shot found its target in Baldwin's knee, the
third one.....? The crowd was gathering, people were screaming,
mothers were yelling at their children, some were trying to run
away. "Are you okay?" Hendrych asked
Angelina
. "I think so," a shaken
Angelina
answered. Sara was looking at Baldwin and snarled. "It's
alright Sara, good job. This pretty young lady will surely thank
you some Pedigree, won't you,
Angelina
? - Johan, give me a hand with this man." Kroupa was busy
putting handcuffs on Baldwin and was struggling to get him into an
upright position. Baldwin collapsed; the third shot had found a
vital organ. Just before he took his last breath, he whispered,
"She killed Emma." Kroupa waited for the ambulance, told the
policeman his story, his testimony was confirmed by an onlooker who
duly provided his identification, and Sara led the way back to the
nervous taxi driver. "Where to now? Sydney? Brisbane?" he asked,
cheekily. Hendrych replied, "The Hydro, please."

"
Now, where is the missing tape?" Kroupa asked half to
himself in the cab.

"Why do you
speak in riddles?" Hendrych asked, knowing the answer.

"Shouldn't I?" was Kroupa's customary
reply. "I need a search-warrant
for George Cotton. Driver, not the Hydro, it's the police station
in Katoomba we need. And then wait for us, thank you." The driver
was getting happier, and richer, by minute.

At the police
station Kroupa asked for the search warrant.

"It is not so easy, Chief Inspector. I must contact
the Commissioner.
And it’s late now. I think it will have to wait till tomorrow. Why
don't you come tomorrow morning, say at eleven? Have a good rest at
the hotel and take it easy. You’re in the Mountains after all." The
constable suggested.

Kroupa had had about as much of the mountain air and its
calming effects on those around him. "W
e are investigating a MURDER! Will
you get me that warrant or not?"

"Okay, okay. You don't have to shout. I can hear
you."

"I
not questioning your hearing, it’s your reasoning I have
doubts about."

"You don't have to get personal over nothing,
Sir." the constable
felt insulted.

"
You
have two corpses in your morgue and you call it
nothing?"

The constable
fell silent. He went to the phone and made long
excuses, blamed Kroupa for his call, and finally hung up. "The
superintendent’s approved. So what do you want?"

It took all of
Kroupa’s efforts not to explode.

----------------

Mr
s
Cotton was working as a nanny. She often did this to boost their
income. Mark was working in the shop and George Cotton was at his
computer.

Kroupa came
directly to the point, "Where is your
strongbox?"

"Why?" George
Cotton wanted to know.

"I want to see
your DVD collection. The missing tapes from Coles." Kroupa said
with confidence in his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cotton
played
dumb.

"Let me refresh you
r memory. Last month… the Coles underground car
park. Does it ring any bells?".

"Pass" was
the quick and worried reply.

"Hand me the keys
."

"What
keys?"

"Playing
stupid won’t get you anywhere. Give me the key and show me
the strongbox. Pronto." Sara growled and bared her teeth. She
understood when her master was angry

"
On
whose authority?" came the sly retort.

"
This!" Kroupa slapped down the search warrant.

"Happy?
Now get up of your backside and do as I say."

"Don't rush me, man. We
’ve a lot of time, don't we?"

"We'll see.
The keys? And where is it?"

George Cotton knew when he was on the back foot. He got
up
slowly,
pretended that he couldn't remember where he’d put the key. Kroupa
gave him another menacing look and before long the key was in his
hand. Cotton led the way to his 'study'. Sara followed him
carefully. On the writing desk was a computer and instead of
drawers, which one usually found in awriting desks, there was a
strongbox. Kroupa opened it. He gathered its contents into a
plastic bag and without saying anything he left with Sara, close
behind him.