The Long Game

by Simon Rowell

  ‘No, not that I know of.’

  ‘All right, you know Marko better than anyone in our reach. Tell me everything you know about him.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘He isn’t all that social. We didn’t go out much. We met at an IT conference. He likes opera, art galleries, that sort of thing. He fancies himself as some sort of intellectual. We’d eat out every now and then, but mainly it was just takeaway at home. What else? He has a thing about libraries. He loves them. After he arrived in Australia, he said, he used to spend a lot of time in libraries. Reading to teach himself English. Even when we were together, he’d often go to the State Library here in the city, mostly on his lunch break. There’s a section on Serbian history and he liked browsing there. I remember he called it his sanctuary. He also said one day that it was where he did his best work.’

  Zoe looked up. ‘Did you ever go there with him?’

  ‘Yes, once. He wanted to show me, so I met him there.’

  ‘Let’s go,’ said Zoe, standing.

  Even with full lights and sirens, it took them fifteen minutes to get across the city during the morning peak hour. Zoe pulled up at the La Trobe Street entrance to the library, opening the back for Harry as Anjali got out of the car. Together, they ran to the automatic door, which stayed shut.

  ‘What the heck?’

  ‘We’re too early,’ said Anjali, looking at the opening hours by the door.

  Zoe smacked her hand flat against the door several times, drawing the attention of a female attendant inside. She shook her head and pointed at her wrist.

  Zoe pulled out her badge and slammed it against the glass. ‘We need to get in. Now,’ she yelled.

  The librarian walked over, kneeling to unlock and open the door. As she did, she smiled at Harry, wagging his tail on the other side of the glass.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Zoe. ‘I’m Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer and I need to look at one of your…’

  The woman cut her off lethargically, ‘Knock yourself out. Just let someone know when you need to leave.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Zoe and turned to Anjali. ‘You lead the way,’ she said.

  Anjali broke into a jog. As they ran through the building, Zoe pointed her badge at every confused-looking staff member they passed. Harry trotted alongside Zoe.

  Two minutes later, Anjali slowed. ‘Yes, this is the spot.’ In front of them were two metal bookshelves devoted to Serbian history.

  ‘Okay,’ said Zoe. ‘Start searching. It’s got to be here somewhere.’ She scanned the walls. ‘No CCTV in this section.’

  Anjali was pulling books out one by one.

  ‘Do it like this,’ said Zoe, putting her hands around eight books at a time, squeezing them together and stacking them on the floor. She used her phone to light up the area at the back of the shelves, looking for a hiding spot. Anjali did the same thing.

  Zoe’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. Tom: I’m sorry. Can we talk?

  They made their way down the shelves. Zoe pulled out the books on her side and shone her phone in. Nothing. Anjali knelt down to pull out the books on her side, knocking her knee against the base. ‘Shit,’ she muttered. She pulled out more books. ‘There’s nothing there.’

  They were both on their knees, surrounded by books, when Zoe looked at the steel base of the shelf and started to push and pull at it. Anjali saw what she was doing and did the same on her side. The base fell away in Anjali’s hands. Then the one on Zoe’s side did the same.

  Zoe dropped down and looked under the base. She could see a black nylon strip leading back into the darkness deep under the shelf.

  Punching a code into her phone, Zoe opened the video function, hitting record. She gave it to Anjali. ‘Video everything.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Anjali, pointing the camera down at the opening at the base of the shelf. Zoe pulled a pair of latex gloves from a pouch attached to her belt and slipped them on.

  ‘This is Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer from the Homicide Squad, along with Tactical Intelligence Officer Anjali Arya. It is 8.10 am on Monday, the seventeenth of February. We are in the State Library of Victoria and have located evidence we believe is connected to a series of murders here in Victoria.’

  Zoe then reached down, pulling the nylon strip until a flat black bag appeared. Zoe tore the velcro strip open and grabbed the laptop out of the bag, along with a power cord.

  9 AM, MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

  The Forensics officer was running through the library, a case in her hand. ‘Zoe Mayer, are you here somewhere?’

  Zoe stood up. ‘Over here,’ she called out, and waved.

  ‘Came as fast as I could. I’m Bianca,’ she said, hand outstretched towards Zoe, while also smiling down towards Harry.

  ‘Good to meet you,’ Zoe responded, shaking her hand. ‘This is Anjali.’

  Bianca looked up from Harry, nodding to Anjali.

  ‘Let me show you what we’ve got,’ said Zoe. Books were strewn everywhere. Harry stood up, wagging his tail. ‘We are on a tight clock, so we need this laptop fingerprinted first, and then the area around the base of that shelf.’

  Bianca looked down at the shelf with the steel plate at the front removed. ‘Got it,’ she said, kneeling down and opening her case.

  Zoe’s phone vibrated. It was Rob. ‘Hi boss.’

  ‘Hey. Where are we at?’

  ‘Forensics is here now taking prints. We should have the laptop in our hands in a couple of minutes.’

  ‘I don’t suppose he left the password written on a sticky note,’ Rob said.

  ‘That’s our next problem,’ she said, looking down at the computer being fingerprinted. Bianca had it open. ‘It looks newish and I can see it has a fingerprint reader. What are our chances of getting a warrant to make Marko unlock it for us?’

  ‘We’d need to prove it was his. A good barrister will argue that finding his fingerprints on it doesn’t mean it’s his computer. But how did you know where to look for it?’

  ‘Anjali,’ said Zoe. Anjali shot her a resigned look. This was the sort of thing that could end her career. ‘She discovered some intel that told us Marko was into Serbian history and spent his lunch breaks at the State Library. Seemed as good a bet as any.’

  ‘Tell her well done,’ said Rob. ‘Where’s Charlie?’

  ‘He’s still at Marko’s office. I’ve told him we found the laptop but he’s checking if there’s anything else there.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll meet you at the court.’

  Zoe ended the call and looked up at Anjali, whose eyes were full of tears. ‘Thank you,’ she mouthed.

  ‘Okay, all done with the laptop. The thing’s covered in prints,’ said Bianca, from behind Anjali. ‘You want an evidence bag?’

  ‘That’d be great,’ said Zoe.

  Bianca slipped the laptop and its case into a large paper bag and handed it to Zoe.

  ‘Thanks Bianca. We’ve got to go.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say,’ said Anjali, as they sprinted towards the library’s exit. ‘Why didn’t you tell Rob?’

  Zoe remained silent as they approached the doors the attendant was already unlocking. She waited until they were outside before she answered. ‘Marko put you in a hard position, where you had to choose between your job or having your sex life exposed to your family and friends. You made a big mistake in not telling me earlier, but we couldn’t have caught Marko without you…Let’s just say we’re even, okay?’

  ‘Thank you, Zoe.’

  ‘Just don’t fucking mess up again. I don’t give second chances.’

  ‘I won’t. I promise.’

  ‘Do be prepared, though. It may come out some other way,’ said Zoe. She unlocked the car and opened the back for Harry to jump up. Anjali slid into the passenger side with the evidence bag. When Zoe opened the driver’s side door she looked across at her. ‘What is it?’ asked Zoe.

  ‘I think I may know the password for the laptop.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Marko�
�s got a tattoo in Serbian Cyrillic on his arm. It says “Belgrade”—that’s where he was born—and “1984” below that. “Belgrade1984” was his wi-fi password at his house.’

  ‘Shit. I saw the tattoo this morning in the hospital. Try it. Put some gloves on, though—there’s a box under the seat.’

  Anjali pulled out a pair of latex gloves and put them on. She then took the laptop from the evidence bag and opened it. She turned it on and punched in ‘Belgrade1984’. The computer gave her access. ‘We’re in,’ exclaimed Anjali.

  ‘I think we should buy a lottery ticket.’ Zoe started the car. ‘Buckle up. We’re off to the Supreme Court. See what you can find before we get there.’ She pulled out into La Trobe Street, siren blaring.

  Anjali clicked through the folders as Zoe negotiated the traffic. As Zoe turned left into William Street, Anjali called out, ‘Bingo. It’s all here. Marko’s got everything organised. There’s a folder marked “Ray and Dwayne” and it has a heap of emails between Ray Carlson and Katie Harley. And there’s a map with their houses marked—even the bin at the beach is marked.’ Anjali clicked a few more times. ‘There are other folders here: “Aaron and Ben”, “Trevor and Eric”. Same kind of information in both.’

  ‘Fantastic,’ said Zoe, turning left into Lonsdale Street. ‘We’ve got him.’ She parked the Escape and glanced across at Anjali, who was staring at the screen. Anjali had a folder open with dozens of files in it.

  ‘Are they the videos of you?’

  ‘I think so. The folder is called “Anjali”. There’s so many of them.’

  Zoe looked across at her. ‘Listen carefully…I need to ring Rob back and let him know we got into the computer. I’ll do that while I’m getting Harry out of the back, okay? I don’t think those videos are relevant to our cases. Do you understand me? I think they’ll, um, be distracting. I’m going to the back of the car now.’

  As Zoe opened the door, she saw Anjali shut her eyes in relief.

  9.45 AM, MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

  Charlie waved as Zoe, Harry and Anjali approached.

  ‘We got it open,’ said Zoe.

  ‘What, no password? I thought this guy was a cybersecurity genius,’ said Charlie.

  ‘Anjali guessed it. I told her about the tattoo on Marko’s arm and she had a hunch. Everything we need to charge him is in there.’

  Thirty metres away, down a corridor, Zoe saw Sally Johnstone leaving the bathroom and walking away in her black silk court robes.

  ‘Let’s go,’ said Zoe. Harry walked alongside her, with Charlie and Anjali following. Zoe circled around Sally, and stopped directly in front of her. Zoe could see that Sally had a distant look in her eyes and knew she had been going over her opening statement in her mind.

  After a moment, Sally reacted. ‘You? What do you want?’

  In her peripheral vision, Zoe saw Iain Gillies and Garry Burns, who were sitting in the waiting area, turn towards her. ‘The charges against Trevor Hill are going to be dropped,’ said Zoe in a hushed tone.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ shot back Sally. ‘It’s not even your case. Why are you telling me this now? The trial’s starting in ten minutes.’

  Iain and Garry walked over. ‘What’s this latest drama, Mayer?’ Iain asked.

  Zoe ignored him. ‘We have evidence that Trevor Hill was set up for the murder of Eric Drum as revenge for a bullying attack by both Trevor and Eric from their school days. We’ve got a suspect in custody, Marko Raddich, and he will be charged with three counts of murder today. The murder charge against Dwayne Harley will need to be withdrawn for the same reason, and Aaron Smyth’s conviction for killing Ben Jennings will be overturned. One person committed all three killings. We know who it was, how and why he did it.’

  ‘But we’ve got so much evidence against Trevor Hill,’ sniped Iain. ‘How do you know your evidence is even real?’

  Zoe stared down her nose at him. ‘Because your evidence was fabricated and fed to you by Marko Raddich, and the proof is all here,’ said Zoe, pointing to the evidence bag being carried by Anjali.

  Sally was about to say something when her phone rang. ‘Yes,’ she snapped, answering it. She said nothing while she listened. ‘Yes, okay, will do.’ She ended the call.

  Her face ashen, Sally turned to Iain and Garry. ‘That was the Director of Public Prosecutions. We’re going to request an adjournment to consider new evidence.’ Without looking again at Zoe, Sally turned and walked towards the courtroom.

  ‘What just happened?’ asked Garry.

  ‘Your case collapsed,’ said Zoe.

  Iain turned and followed Sally. In turn, Garry followed him.

  Down the corridor, Zoe could see Sarah Westbrook in a wheelchair. She was staring at Zoe, intrigued by the commotion.

  Zoe turned to Charlie and Anjali. ‘Wait here for a sec.’ She and Harry walked across the waiting area towards Sarah.

  ‘Hi. What’s happening?’ Sarah asked.

  Zoe smiled at her. ‘It’ll be better when you hear it from the prosecutor in the courtroom. I just wanted to say that you’ve got good instincts, that’s all. Let’s catch up for a wine or two when you’ve recovered.’

  11.30 AM, MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

  ‘I was wondering when you’d be back,’ Marko said from his hospital bed, eyes narrowed at Zoe. ‘This is my lawyer, Stefan Thomas.’

  The lawyer nodded. From the quality of his suit, Zoe quickly guessed that Stefan would be charging close to a thousand an hour. Harry sat down on the floor, staring up at Marko.

  ‘This is the cop who shot me,’ Marko said. ‘We are going to sue her arse.’

  Zoe felt slightly giddy with tiredness. She pushed her lips tightly together for a second. It was all she could do not to burst into laughter.

  ‘What are you so fucking happy about? You chased me into the mountains in your car. You didn’t identify yourself as a police officer. I was scared for my life and then you shot me without reason. Get prepared to lose everything.’

  Charlie walked into the ward wearing blue latex gloves and carrying the large evidence bag.

  Marko stared at the thick paper bag, confused.

  Zoe looked at Charlie. ‘What have you got there, Charlie?’

  ‘Let’s see,’ said Charlie theatrically. He opened the bag and lifted out the laptop.

  Marko’s eyes bulged. ‘That’s not mine. I’ve never seen it before,’ he stammered, looking at his lawyer, who had his hand up, gesturing for Marko not to say anything else.

  ‘Your fingerprints are all over it,’ said Zoe. ‘You must have unlocked it thousands of times.’

  ‘It’s not mine, so I don’t have a clue about how to unlock it. Sorry.’

  ‘Marko,’ Zoe said, ‘the password is tattooed on your arm. We’ve already opened it up. We’ve got it all.’

  Marko stared at her. ‘I should’ve run you over properly last week,’ he snarled.

  Stefan’s face showed alarm.

  ‘Probably,’ said Zoe. ‘Charlie, you can do the honours?’

  ‘Marko Raddich, you are being charged with three counts of murder, the attempted murder of Sarah Westbrook, as well as two counts of attempting to kill a police officer. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do or say…’

  Zoe felt free. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good. Harry came over and leaned against her thigh and looked up at her. She pulled out her phone and looked at Tom’s text again. I’ll call you tomorrow, she typed. Taking Harry to the beach.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank Michael Heyward and all of the talented team at Text Publishing for their passion and support in bringing The Long Game to readers. It is an absolute pleasure to work with them all.

  Much gratitude also to Rebecca Ettridge, Sophia Grewal and Gwyn Beaumont, who read various drafts along the way and gave valuable feedback.

  In addition, the team at the Victoria Police Film and Television Office were very helpful in providing guidance to some
of the technical aspects of policing.

  Finally, special thanks to my wife, Karen, who read countless drafts of this book and provided thoughtful and patient advice throughout the process. Without her, The Long Game would not exist.

  Simon Rowell has worked on outback oil rigs, managed nightclubs, been a tour guide and run marketing campaigns. His first book, The Echo of Others, was longlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Crime in 2018. He lives with his wife, Karen, in rural Victoria on a farm full of rescued animals. simonrowell.net

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  Copyright © Simon Rowell, 2021

  The moral right of Simon Rowell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

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  First published by The Text Publishing Company, 2021

  Cover design by Jessica Horrocks

  Cover images by Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel and Sarah Dawdy/FOAP/Getty

  Page design by Rachel Aitken

  Typeset by J&M Typesetting

  Epigraph © Colum McCann, 2009. Reproduced from Let the Great World Spin with permission of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

  ISBN: 9781922330710 (paperback)

  ISBN: 9781922459176 (ebook)

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.