The Long Game

by Simon Rowell

  Zoe looked under her armpit to see a man and a woman walking quickly in dull grey bomb disposal suits. Their helmets had large visors.

  The man carried a small toolbox and the woman held a piece of thick foam, the size of a briefcase.

  They came up close to Zoe.

  ‘Hi Zoe. I’m Sophia. This is Richard. We’re here to help.’ Her voice was calm.

  ‘Hi Sophia. What’s the plan?’

  Sophia got down onto her knees, hunching over so that she was at eye level with Zoe. ‘I’m going to slide this foam underneath the drone and then you can put it down. Very, very gently, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’ Zoe could feel her hands trembling. She held firm. ‘Don’t suppose you want to tell me what this is?’

  ‘Let’s just concentrate on putting it on the foam.’ Sophia slid the foam underneath the drone, so it touched Zoe’s forearm.

  ‘Okay, Zoe, lower it. Nice and slow.’

  Zoe’s arms felt locked in place at the elbow. She took a breath and pushed through the pain, settling the drone onto the foam. She pulled her shaking hands clear, and rolled away onto her back, gasping.

  ‘Okay, bring in the chamber,’ Sophia said into her radio.

  The two bomb techs were peering at the cylinders under the drone. A couple of their colleagues approached, pulling a small trailer. On it was a domed chamber, like a portable cement mixer.

  ‘So, what is it?’ asked Zoe.

  ‘We think it’s sarin,’ said Sophia.

  ‘Fuck,’ said Zoe, remembering grainy news footage of a sarin gas attack many years ago on the Tokyo subway.

  ‘They wanted to fly it above the MCG and drop it into the crowd, but the guy piloting it by remote control was taken out by the sniper. That’s why it fell early. Once those two cylinders smashed, the liquids would’ve combined, reacted and created a sarin gas cloud. The cloud could have killed thousands. Plus, with the stampede to get away, who knows how many more.’

  Zoe felt numb. She went to push herself up but felt light-headed and slumped back down. Richard and Sophia placed the drone, still on the foam mat, into the dome chamber, before closing its door. ‘We’re all clear,’ said Sophia into a microphone. ‘We need an ambulance up here though, asap.’

  Zoe felt her body start to shake. She was trying to moderate her breathing when a police helicopter swooped in above her, hovering, its blades thumping the air. The downdraft pushed her onto her back and she lay there staring up at the chopper for a second before she passed out.

  Zoe blinked, the air was still again. She felt something pushing at her side and she jerked herself up and spun away, bringing the gun back around. Harry stood there, staring at her, whimpering softly. She had no idea how long she’d been out for.

  Hugging him with her left arm, she kept her gun up, sweeping it in arcs around her.

  It was too dangerous to take Harry with her. ‘Lie down,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘Now stay. Stay.’ Zoe held her hand flat. ‘Good boy, I’ll be back,’ she said, before kissing him on the head.

  She got up and went forward, stopping just before she lost sight of Harry to check he was lying in the same place. The smoke haze muted her view, giving it an eerie quality. Again she thrust her hand out flat in his direction. He reluctantly laid his head down on his paws, keeping his gaze on her.

  She walked out of Harry’s sight, turning from side to side. Marko could be anywhere and she had no cover. He had all the advantages.

  Then she saw it through the trees. The Camry was parked downhill from her on the track. The car looked empty. She crouched down. It seemed like the perfect ambush. He wanted her to walk up to the car to check it and then he would attack. Zoe shook her head. This guy thinks I’m an idiot.

  Zoe saw a large boulder, probably three times her height, ten metres ahead. Part of the face of it had fallen away, creating an overhang. She moved to it, low to the ground. With the rock behind her she had some protection. Marko could only attack her from the front.

  She knew that he was hiding in the forest, within attacking distance of the car. If he had a knife, he’d be within five metres. She remembered Ray Carlson, and the knife with its etched silver handle. If Marko had a gun, he’d probably be within thirty metres.

  Trying to slow her breathing down once more, Zoe started scanning the area, back and forth. On the third sweep she saw it. One of the ferns on the far side of the track moved almost imperceptibly up and down, when all the others were swaying sideways in the breeze. Gotcha. Zoe brought her gun up. She left the safety of the rock and moved her way down towards the track, using her peripheral vision to tell her where to put her feet. Her focus remained on the group of ferns on the far side. She reached a large old log lying beside the track, covered in moss. Zoe crouched down behind it, and stretched her injured leg out.

  ‘Marko, it’s time to give yourself up. I know what happened with Ivan, about the bullying, about his overdose, about your brilliant plan. You played the long game almost perfectly. I know what you did for your brother…’

  There was silence.

  ‘I’m not coming.’ Marko’s voice was deep, defiant.

  Zoe shifted, her leg throbbing. ‘Come on, Marko. You need to come with me and get your brother’s story out there. Those kids bullied the life out of him and his story needs to be told. Your story, too. Or else they’ll just pigeonhole you as a lunatic serial killer and that’ll be your place in history. You don’t want that, do you?’

  Silence. The smoke was now thickening. Zoe could feel it in her throat.

  ‘I’ve got back-up on the way, Marko.’

  Marko’s sudden burst of laughter reverberated back off the mountains. ‘Sure you have. Did you call for back-up with your radio that doesn’t work? I killed the system. All it took was for me to delete some code as I saw you driving up the street. I’ve got access to the system, you know. They won’t have it fixed for at least an hour. Or did you call for back-up on your phone with no coverage? It’s not by chance that you’ve ended up on a dead-end track. There’s no one coming to help you, Zoe.’

  Now it was Zoe who was silent.

  ‘Didn’t you think that getting that message today from Serge was a bit odd? I know he was there that day you were fishing around for info on me—I was following you—so I used his name when I called your phone this afternoon. You fell nicely for that. I saw the news. That CCTV footage of you diving for that drone in the Grand Final attack. You’re famous, Zoe. And brave. You’re not like most cops. They’d have special operations group police searching for me with machine guns and snipers. Not you though. I knew that you wouldn’t think twice if you saw an opportunity to catch me, that you’d take the bait if I put out a lure for you, that I could trap you here. You don’t think twice. Your courage makes you reckless.’

  Zoe cursed at the thought of having been manipulated so easily, but was determined not to show fear. ‘What’s the endgame, Marko? My leg’s still aching from where you tried to run me over the other day and I’m not crouching down here forever.’

  Marko started to laugh. ‘I was actually gunning for that journo who’s been chasing down the story. Westbrook. Seemed like serendipity when I realised she was heading to meet you. You know, two birds, one stone. A bit like what I did to the bullies, eh? Two-for-one specials all around.’

  ‘We never bullied your brother,’ Zoe called out. ‘How do you justify trying to kill Sarah or me?’

  ‘Collateral damage. Happens in every war. Big or small,’ Marko said, his voice momentarily softer.

  Zoe could feel her heart beating. ‘So, what’s your plan for today? Are you going for suicide by cop or is it more a kill a cop-type scenario?’ She was trying her best to sound in control.

  ‘I may be going to hell, but those guys are staying in jail, Zoe,’ Marko yelled, his tone bitter again. There was a blast as Marko fired his gun, the bullet cannoning into the log Zoe was crouched behind. She felt the vibration of it through the wood against her shoulder. Two more shots followed
, each thudding into the log near her head.

  Zoe knew she had to think fast, to find better cover.

  It was then that Zoe heard a soft thumping. She glanced across as Harry flashed by through the scrub, a couple of metres away, teeth bared. Zoe pushed herself up, but Harry was already past her, halfway across the track, cutting a path through the smoke.

  Zoe saw Marko stand up and aim his gun at Harry.

  In one movement, Zoe levelled her weapon and fired.

  Marko was hit in the shoulder, shunting his body sideways, before he fell heavily to the ground. Zoe hobbled quickly over to where Marko lay face down on the ground. Harry was snarling in his face.

  Marko reached out, towards where his gun lay. Zoe moved across, her weapon on Marko, kicking his away. Harry was still snarling in Marko’s face when Zoe put her right foot into the middle of his back and pushed him face-first into the ground. She moaned in pain as she dropped her knee hard into his back and pulled his arm around to handcuff him.

  6 AM, MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

  Marko Raddich was handcuffed to his bed in the secure ward used for prisoners at St Vincent’s Hospital. It looked like any other hospital ward, except for the bulletproof glass and bars on the frosted windows that should have overlooked the city. His eyes were open, but it was hard to say what he was looking at. Zoe sat in the corner of the room watching him. Harry was snoring quietly on the floor beside her. A uniformed officer stood guard outside the room.

  Zoe’s phone buzzed. A text from Anjali: Not his main computer. No relevant data. Zoe sighed. She had given Anjali the laptop she had discovered in Marko’s car, hoping that it would contain information linking Marko to all the cases. She looked up to see Marko staring at her.

  ‘You ready to talk?’ asked Zoe.

  ‘You should have killed me while you had the chance.’

  Zoe said nothing, giving Marko an exhausted half-grin. She shot a glance at the clock on the wall.

  ‘You got somewhere to be? That’s right. Trevor Hill’s trial starts this morning. You going?’

  Zoe ignored the bait. ‘No, I’d rather chat to you. What’s that mean?’ she asked, pointing at the script tattooed on his arm, with the year 1984 beneath it.

  Marko maintained Zoe’s gaze. ‘It’s the Serbian spelling for Belgrade, where I was born.’

  ‘Your plan was amazing, Marko. Deploying the malware to find out their secrets. Killing one bully and setting the other one up. Using your neighbours for your alibi. Having Ivan on ice, just in case you needed someone to take the blame,’ said Zoe.

  When he heard Ivan’s name, Marko’s gaze darkened.

  ‘But I’m guessing you didn’t expect us to find the cabin so quickly. Probably thought you had much more time to let him rot away out there. So we wouldn’t know he’d been frozen solid for years. What was it? Three or four years? That would make it at least six months before you killed Ben Jennings.’

  Marko said nothing.

  ‘You almost got away with it,’ said Zoe. She waited. ‘You know, you can still control the narrative if you want. All you need to do is tell me your story.’

  Marko let his head sink into the pillow. He looked at Zoe. He opened his mouth as if to speak. Zoe leaned forward. Marko smiled. ‘What I’d like, detective,’ he said, ‘is a lawyer.’

  When they arrived at Homicide, Harry made a beeline for his dog bed. He lay down with a contented moan. Charlie was in front of his computer, typing fast.

  ‘Hey,’ said Zoe.

  ‘Hi, has Marko talked yet?’

  ‘No, and he’s lawyered up. We won’t be getting much out of him now.’

  ‘Shit,’ sighed Charlie. ‘Rob got the warrant sorted and we went through Marko’s house first thing this morning. Nothing. Checked inside the roof, in the cellar, and everywhere in between. We’re waiting for someone to unlock the door at the Department of Justice so we can get into his office.’

  ‘I don’t like our chances finding anything there. He’s too careful,’ said Zoe.

  ‘Probably, but I don’t think he expected us to come this close to catching him. Let’s hope he’s made an error.’

  ‘I like your optimism. What are you up to?’ asked Zoe.

  ‘Trying to find somewhere else he could be keeping his computer. His neighbours said he didn’t socialise much. No girlfriend either. I started thinking that he could have a storage locker somewhere where he has it stashed away. I’m compiling a list of storage places around his house, as well as between there and the city.’

  ‘That’s good thinking,’ said Zoe.

  ‘The complicating factor is that the storage could be under any name.’

  Zoe sat down. ‘The guy’s a planner. Look for a storage locker that’s been rented for at least three years. He’s been at this for at least that long.’

  She looked at her watch. Seven-thirty. Two-and-a-half hours until the trial was due to start. Something caught her eye and Zoe looked up.

  Anjali was standing just inside the office. She took half a step before stepping back. Harry jumped up out of his bed and ran over to her. He circled around Anjali and sat in front of her. She looked down, a sad smile on her face, before patting him.

  Zoe went to her. ‘Anj, are you okay?’ She could see tears welling.

  ‘Come with me,’ Zoe said, taking her quickly by the arm. Two tears fell down Anjali’s face as they walked. With Harry alongside, they went into the conference room and Zoe closed the door. Anjali slumped down into a chair.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Zoe.

  Anjali sucked in two deep breaths to try to get herself under control. ‘I thought he’d confess, that’s why I didn’t say anything. I thought he’d—’ She put her face in her hands and sobbed.

  7.35 AM, MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

  ‘Anjali, what are you saying?’ said Zoe.

  ‘Marko Raddich…he was an old boyfriend of mine. A bad one.’

  Zoe shook her head. She was fuming, but was trying to stay composed. ‘Why didn’t say you anything?’

  ‘When we found Ivan’s name in the Education Department files I was stunned. I knew he was Marko’s brother. Marko had mentioned him once or twice.’

  ‘But why didn’t you say something?’

  ‘I was caught off guard. I’m sorry. Marko had implied that his brother had gone off the rails, and that he didn’t see him anymore. If I’d known…’

  ‘Fuck, Anjali. You know Marko tried to kill me, don’t you?’ growled Zoe. ‘Yesterday, up at Warburton and the other day when he tried to run me and Sarah Westbrook down.’

  Anjali’s tears began to flow again. ‘Yes, I…I know that now, but until Saturday I thought that it was Ivan we were chasing,’ she stammered. ‘I know what Marko’s like. It took me six months to get away from him. He was stalking me everywhere. I was terrified. I told him I would get the police involved and then he sent me a video, a video he had recorded of us…an explicit video. He was threatening to post it online and send it to my family. Then he sent me another. Said he had hours of tape. I didn’t know it but he had high-definition video cameras set up all around his place, recording everything. Bedroom, bathroom, everywhere.’

  ‘And did he ever follow through and send them to your family?’

  ‘No. I think he just wanted to hold them over me. The guy’s evil.’

  ‘Didn’t you think when you saw the driver’s licences that it was Marko?’

  ‘There was some similarity, but no, those guys looked different. Marko was leaner, clean cut, six foot one, with blue eyes. He had a different bearing to him. He was confident and just looked different.’

  ‘When was this relationship?’

  ‘We split up in the middle of last year. In June. We’d been dating less than a couple of months. It took until the end of December to get him out of my life. It was before I transferred to Homicide. He’d appear once every couple of weeks, knocking on my windows at three in the morning, or following me around on the weekend. That sort of thing. He was always eit
her threatening me or trying to get me back.’

  ‘Why are you telling me now? We’ve got him in custody.’

  ‘I was digging around yesterday trying to work out who deleted the case files from our server and I found out it was at 2.45 am on Saturday, the ninth of February. It was before the rest of Homicide found out so it wasn’t any of them.’

  ‘Who was it then?’

  ‘The person deleting the files was logged in remotely under my name. It was Marko.’

  ‘Fuck. How’d he get your log-in details?’

  ‘Before I came over to Homicide, when I worked with the Fraud Squad, I’d sometimes do extra work from home on the weekends. I’m guessing that one day I logged in from his place while he had his video cameras on. He must have been spying on my password.’ Anjali wiped away a tear. ‘I was so stupid.’

  Zoe leaned back in her chair. ‘The bit about being taped is on him. But that you didn’t tell me straight away when we found out Ivan’s name, that’s another story.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want Marko back anywhere near me. I thought that when we got Ivan, everything would work out. He would be in custody and Marko would never find out I was involved and he’d stay out of my life. I didn’t know about Marko being directly involved until late Saturday, after you got the call from the pathologist saying that Ivan had been dead for years.’

  Zoe shut her eyes. Anjali was right—they didn’t know it was Marko until then. Harry sat by Anjali, resting his head on her thigh, looking up at her. She patted him gently.

  The conference room door swung open and Charlie walked in. ‘The Department of Justice office doors have been unlocked for us. We should get our skates on and get over there.’

  ‘You head over. I’ll be there in a bit,’ said Zoe.

  From behind Anjali, Charlie gave Zoe a puzzled look. She met his eyes with a solemn glance, tilting her head towards the door. Confused, Charlie nodded and left the room.

  ‘We’ll need to come back to this later,’ Zoe said to Anjali. ‘We’ve got two hours to find Marko’s computer. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle. Charlie is searching for a storage facility. Do you know if he used one?’