The Long Game

by Simon Rowell

Charlie gave a small involuntary moan.

  ‘We’ll have a quick look. No point calling in the cavalry if it’s empty. Be careful shutting the door, though. The sound will travel out here.’

  Charlie got out, and quietly closed his door. Zoe opened the back and Harry jumped down beside her. They started walking towards the bend on the track. She pulled her pistol, and held it low. Charlie noticed and pulled his gun too. The air was silent, except for the cicadas.

  Slowly the cabin materialised through the trees. Painted dark brown, it stood in a clearing about the size of four tennis courts. At the front were two small windows on either side of a door. The side of the cabin that they could see had no windows, and the roof was corrugated iron. The solar panels were out of sight on the far side of the roof.

  Zoe winced as she dropped into a crouch. Charlie moved down next to her. She leaned in close, whispering into his ear. ‘The breeze is behind us, so we need to be really quiet.’

  Charlie nodded.

  ‘I’m going around the back,’ said Zoe. ‘You stay here and cover me. Wait for my signal. If there’s no car there, we’ll look through the front and back windows, okay?’

  ‘Got it.’

  Zoe limped around the edge of the clearing, her gun trained on the house. Harry kept pace just behind her. There were no vehicles parked at the back.

  Zoe peered back at Charlie. She pointed two fingers towards her eyes and then in the direction of the cabin. Charlie nodded and walked into the clearing, gun at the ready.

  Zoe could see no movement through the old sheer curtains that covered the two back windows. She looked in. The room was empty. She walked across to the other window. It was a kitchen. Also empty.

  She opened the screen door and knocked. ‘Victoria Police, anyone home?’

  There was no movement inside. She knocked again. Zoe turned the doorknob slowly and pushed. It opened. She took one step inside before stepping out again. She indicated for Harry to drop down and stay.

  ‘Charlie,’ she called out. ‘You’d better get around here.’

  11.15 AM, FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

  She had recognised the smell as soon as she opened the door. Charlie came running around the back and was now standing, wide-eyed, one hand across his nose and mouth, gun in the other hand.

  ‘Victoria Police. We’re coming in,’ called Zoe, as she re-entered through the open back door. She pointed her gun as she walked through the dull light. Charlie was behind her, his pistol also drawn. Behind them, Harry gave a whine from where he’d been told to lie. The cabin was small, with a combined living and kitchen area. A large freezer stood next to the kitchen, its cord pulled from the socket. There was a bedroom at the front. They checked it, but it was empty. They walked over to the bathroom.

  He was lying in the bath, fully clothed, a tourniquet tied around his arm, a needle beside him. Although the skin had turned grey and his body was bloated, she recognised him immediately. His neck was still angled down towards his shoulder. She didn’t need to check him for vital signs. A swarm of flies hovered above the body.

  Charlie walked in behind her before turning away. ‘Oh, fuck.’

  Zoe looked at Charlie. All the colour had drained from his face and she knew he was about to be ill.

  ‘Come on, follow me, quick,’ she said. Charlie chased her out the back door. He walked over to a nearby tree and bent over, throwing up violently. He then started sucking in deep breaths of air.

  ‘Sorry, that smell,’ Charlie said, still hunched over. ‘I haven’t got used to it yet.’

  ‘You won’t, either. We’d best get on the phone and tell the DI, Forensics and the pathologist. I’ll call Rob. Can you call Forensics?’ She pulled out her phone and looked down at the screen. She had no coverage.

  ‘I haven’t got a signal. You?’

  ‘I’ve got nothing either.’

  ‘Can you get Forensics and the pathologist on the radio? Also, get some local uniforms up here to guard the scene until they all get here.’ Charlie set off towards the car.

  Zoe kept her mouth closed, glancing at the sky, trying to compose herself. Her frustration was boiling over and she wanted to scream. With Ivan dead, everything just became much harder.

  They drove for ten minutes before they got phone coverage again.

  Zoe immediately phoned the DI.

  ‘Hi, Zoe, How’d you go?’ asked Rob.

  ‘Not great. Ivan’s dead. Overdose. Needle was next to him in the bath. Looks like he’s been dead a few days. I’d say he bolted from Portsea and went to the old family cabin. He could have been there for years if Anjali hadn’t found the cabin.’

  ‘Fuck.’

  ‘Yeah. Now we have nothing physically linking Ivan to any of the murders. It’s all just circumstantial. We couldn’t find his computer anywhere in the cabin.’

  ‘Where are you now? Still in Three Bridges?’

  ‘No, we’re on our way back, coming up towards Yarra Junction. The local police are guarding the scene until the pathologist and Forensics arrive. I want to get to Ivan’s brother and let him know face to face. He’ll need to ID him.’

  It was almost two when they arrived back in the city. They drove straight to the Department of Justice offices in Exhibition Street.

  ‘Harry’s back,’ the receptionist said, grinning over the top of the counter. Her smile faded when she saw Zoe’s and Charlie’s expressions. ‘Are you looking for Marko?’

  Zoe nodded.

  The receptionist picked up the phone. ‘Marko, the detectives—’ she said before looking at the phone. ‘I think he’s coming straight out.’

  Marko appeared through a door. ‘Did you find him?’

  Zoe could hear the hope in his voice. ‘Can we chat privately?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, yes. Please.’ He rushed back to the door, opening it for them. ‘Same office as last time.’

  They walked into Marko’s office. He shut the door. ‘Have you found him? Ivan. Have you spoken to him?’

  ‘Take a seat, Mr Raddich,’ said Charlie.

  Marko eyed them suspiciously and sat. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘I’m sorry to say we have some bad news for you.’ Zoe paused. ‘We have found what we believe to be Ivan’s body in a cabin. It looks like it has been there several days.’

  Marko put his face in his hands. He started to rock, forwards and backwards. ‘No, no, no,’ he whispered.

  ‘We’re sorry for your loss,’ said Charlie.

  Marko sucked in three quick breaths. ‘You said he was in a cabin. Where?’

  Zoe gave him an incredulous look. ‘At your family’s cabin, outside Three Bridges.’

  ‘Bloody hell, the cabin. How’d you find that? I haven’t thought about that place in years. Dad bought it after we moved to Noble Park.’

  ‘When were you last there, Marko?’

  ‘At the cabin? It would be over twenty years ago. At least. Ivan and I used to go with Dad sometimes. We’d leave after he shut the shop up at lunchtime on a Saturday and spend the weekend up there in the forest. I went once after Dad died, but it was weird without him there.’ Marko looked down at the floor, shaking his head, as if lost in his thoughts. ‘Who owns it now?’

  ‘What? You do,’ said Zoe. ‘You and Ivan.’

  ‘No, Mum sold it. I remember her telling me. Was at the same time she decided to sell the fruit shop. Ivan was all cut up about it. It was one of the reasons we grew apart. It became kind of a wedge between us. Everything was changing too fast for him, with Dad dying and the shop getting sold.’

  ‘There’s no record of the property changing hands,’ said Charlie.

  ‘Fuck…and, what, Ivan was living there?’

  ‘We’re not sure. We will find out, but we believe that he’s been paying the rates notices every year, even though they are still in your dad’s name. There is a fairly new solar system and battery. The place is completely off the grid. Tank water, the lot.’

  ‘I feel like…I don’t know what,’
said Marko. ‘This is all very confusing.’

  ‘We will need you to come in soon to identify Ivan’s body,’ said Zoe. ‘It may be later this afternoon or tonight.’

  Marko sucked in a deep breath before responding. ‘Of course. When I heard you were here, I thought that you’d found him and we’d be able to catch up and…I don’t know, reconnect. I’ve been thinking a lot about him since you were here. It would’ve been good to get close to him again. I can’t believe he’s dead.’ Marko leaned forward and started sobbing into his hands.

  ‘Is there anyone we can call for you? Your wife or a friend?’ said Charlie.

  ‘No, I’m not married. I’ll be okay. So, what happens now? I’ll have to arrange a funeral…Shit, how do you do that?’

  ‘Just take things one step at a time,’ said Zoe. ‘We’ll call you about the identification. Once that is done, call a funeral director and they’ll be able to help you make arrangements. Okay?’ She looked down at Harry, who wagged his tail slightly, looking up at her.

  ‘We’ll be in touch,’ said Zoe, standing. She nodded at Charlie, who followed her and Harry out of the room.

  In the elevator, Zoe turned to Charlie. ‘We’ve got another problem.’

  2.45 PM, FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

  ‘What problem?’ asked Charlie, as the elevator descended.

  ‘Harry didn’t react.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘When Marko started crying, Harry just sat there. He reacts to emotions. Mine especially, but if someone is upset, his instinct is to comfort them. Marko was bawling and Harry didn’t flinch. So it makes me wonder if Marko was faking it.’

  ‘I understand that, but Harry’s reaction isn’t evidence,’ said Charlie. ‘You know, if he hasn’t been close to his brother for years, maybe he was laying it on thick because he thought that not reacting would look weird to us.’

  ‘Maybe, but it still feels wrong to me. The other thing he said—how he didn’t have the first clue about organising a funeral. He would have helped to arrange his parents’ funerals. Ivan doesn’t sound like the most organised person, so Marko would surely have been involved. Why would he say that he had no clue about what to do?’

  ‘That was a long time ago and he’s in shock. Are you sure we aren’t just grasping here, now that we missed catching Ivan?’ asked Charlie. ‘I mean, we know Marko was up in the mountains when Ray Carlson was killed so he had nothing to do with Ivan’s crime.’

  ‘I dunno. All I know is that it didn’t feel right to me.’

  They reached the ground floor and Zoe pulled out her phone, dialling Anjali as she walked.

  ‘Anjali, can you do me a favour?’

  ‘Sure, shoot.’

  ‘Can you rerun the data analysis of Marko’s trip to Mount Baw Baw? See if he went past Yarra Junction on the way. There’ll be a phone tower in town that he would have pinged if he passed through. It’s probably the closest to the cabin.’

  ‘On it,’ said Anjali.

  Marko was still dressed in his clothes from work. Zoe had called him at 8 pm to say that they could do the formal identification of Ivan’s body the next morning. He had asked to do it at once. He’d wanted to get it over with, he said.

  Zoe and Harry were in front of the morgue in South Melbourne when Marko approached. He was shaking slightly and looked pale.

  ‘Are you going to be okay to do this?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, it’s not something I ever thought…’ His voice trailed off.

  ‘I understand.’

  An attendant met them and led them to the viewing area. Marko and Zoe stood in front of a window, with a curtain on the other side of the glass. The curtain was pulled back and they saw the body lying under a white sheet. Marko jerked. Zoe nodded and the attendant pulled back the sheet, uncovering Ivan’s face.

  Zoe watched Marko. At first he looked confused, then his face contorted. He shut his eyes, and then rested his forehead against the glass.

  ‘Is that your brother, Ivan Raddich?’

  Marko swallowed. ‘Yes.’

  Zoe nodded again to the attendant, who pulled the sheet back over Ivan and then closed the curtain.

  ‘Why…why does he look like that?’ stammered Marko.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The colour. His skin’s all grey.’

  ‘He’d been there a few days before we found him and it has been hot. I’m sorry you had to see him like that.’ She looked down at Harry, who was sitting calmly beside her.

  7.30 AM, SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY

  Marie Harley stood defiantly at the front door in her pyjamas, reluctant to pass over the USB stick. Once Zoe told her that she could be arrested for receiving stolen goods, her mother stepped in and told Zoe she could take it.

  Zoe stopped off at the beach at McCrae to let Harry have a swim, texting Anjali to let her know she’d need to analyse the USB first thing Monday morning. Out in front of her, Zoe watched as Harry swam in the crystal blue water of Port Phillip Bay. Two minutes later, her phone buzzed.

  ‘Morning Anjali,’ she said. ‘Sorry to bother you on a Saturday.’

  ‘No worries. Is this the USB that Ivan Raddich used to deliver the malware?’

  ‘I believe so. I just retrieved it from Dwayne Harley’s daughter. I’m certain we’ll find the same malware that you found on Ray Carlson’s computer. And we need to find Ivan’s computer. Anyway, I don’t want to wreck your weekend. I’ll see you Monday and you can look at it then.’

  ‘Are you going into the office today?’ asked Anjali.

  ‘Yes, I’m driving in now.’

  ‘I’ll be there when you arrive.’

  Zoe smiled. ‘Thanks. I should be back in just over an hour.’

  There were about ten detectives working when Zoe and Harry walked into the Homicide office. She suddenly felt a bit underdressed in her jeans and t-shirt.

  Anjali came into the squad room. ‘You got it?’

  ‘Yes, it’s here,’ said Zoe, holding the evidence bag out.

  ‘Fingerprints?’

  ‘I wouldn’t waste your time,’ said Zoe. ‘That USB has been passed around the Harley girl’s high school for months now. The original prints, even if he left any, are well and truly gone.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll start analysing the files using a PC that’s not online or connected to our server. I’d hate to open a door into this place for hackers.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ said Zoe, who knew that she might well have gone searching through the USB on her own networked laptop before considering the ramifications.

  ‘Give me thirty minutes, okay?’

  ‘No worries,’ said Zoe, walking to her desk. She sat as Harry wandered under the desk and lay down. Zoe knew that time was against her. She cupped her face in her hands. Harry lifted his head and laid it on her foot.

  Her phone buzzed. Sarah Westbrook. Hey, weren’t we going to have coffee? Lol.

  Zoe grinned and dialled.

  ‘Hey there,’ said Sarah.

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Sometimes I feel like I’ve been hit by a car. Other times I feel like I am floating. Depends on when they give me drugs.’ Sarah giggled.

  Zoe guessed she was currently floating. ‘What’s the damage?’

  ‘Two broken ribs, fractured right leg—plus plenty of scrapes and cuts. I laughed when they told me I was lucky.’

  ‘I’ll bet. When are you getting out?’

  ‘Tomorrow, I hope. Told them I need to be in court Monday morning. They said, we’ll see. And I said, yes, we will.’ Sarah was almost singing the last part.

  ‘Well, I’ll find you there,’ said Zoe. ‘Hey, what was the information you wanted to tell me?’

  ‘I can’t remember. I’d have written it down…I’ll have a look and let you know if I find it.’

  ‘All right, take care,’ said Zoe, ‘and make sure they give you the good stuff, eh?’

  ‘No doubt, no doubt at all. Bye-de-bye,’ said Sarah.

 
The line went dead. Zoe smiled, glad that Sarah was recovering well.

  A moment later she heard the door swing open and bang hard against the doorstop. Iain and Garry walked in, an air of triumph about them. They grinned in unison when they saw her.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Iain. ‘Good news. Trevor Hill confessed in full last night to his cellmate. Said he’d stabbed Eric Drum and was happy he was dead. We took his cellmate’s statement this morning. Sally Johnstone is thrilled. Positively buzzing. Looks like we’ll be able to repair our relationship with the DPP after all.’

  ‘What’d you offer the cellmate?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘Come on, Zoe, don’t be like that,’ said Iain, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘The confession is good news for everyone. You included. It means that three killers won’t be set loose based on your crazy conspiracy theory. You might even save your career. Maybe.’

  ‘If you two are running around offering inducements to prison snitches and you push through a wrongful conviction, how are you going to live with yourselves?’

  Zoe knew she’d hit a nerve. There was a look of cold determination Iain’s eyes.

  ‘If you want to accuse us of something,’ he said, ‘feel free to call Professional Standards. It’ll give them a nice insight into a detective who has lost the plot.’

  Zoe narrowed her eyes, setting her jaw tight. ‘Gillies, you’re a fucking coward,’ she said.

  Iain wheeled back, instantly flaring up. ‘What did you say to me?’

  Zoe noticed Garry step to one side, out of the line of fire.

  ‘You heard me,’ said Zoe. ‘It’s not my fault you chose to run away that day.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Don’t give me that crap. You shoulder-charged me, running away.’

  Iain opened his mouth to respond. Zoe could see the veins on his neck pumping. She knew he had no comeback.

  ‘But I don’t actually blame you for running,’ she continued. ‘That’s a survival mechanism. What I blame you for is hating me for not running. That’s why you’re a coward. You’re trying to destroy me because you’re ashamed.’