Evil at Echo Point

by Grace York

  "Sure thing. I thought I'd take Charlie for a walk this morning before I start writing," he said. "Want me to take Bella too, Mrs J?"

  "She'd like that, thank you, young man. You know where her lead is?"

  "I do." Adam took Charlie's lead and the bowl of cereal out the back door.

  "Right," said Addison to Mrs Jones. "Give me a look then."

  Once she was sure Adam was safely out of sight, Mrs Jones lifted her skirt to reveal a nasty bruise on the outside of her left leg, just above her knee.

  "Ouch, I bet that hurt," said Addison.

  "I fell and landed awkwardly on the back step," said Mrs Jones. "It's just a bruise, dear."

  Addison gently touched the bruise, and Mrs Jones flinched with pain. "That's more than just a bruise. I think you might have done some damage there. I'll take you to the doctor."

  "That's not necessary," Mrs Jones protested, but Addison held up a hand again to silence her.

  "I won't take no for an answer. With a bruise like that you could have a small fracture in there somewhere. Better to get it seen to straight away." Addison picked up the phone and called the surgery before Mrs Jones could protest further, and made an appointment for that morning.

  "I'll take you with me when I drop this lot off to Hazel," she said once she'd ended the call. "In the meantime, you relax there. I'll get you that cup of tea."

  Before long Brooke and Lenny came down for breakfast, and they both fussed over Mrs Jones as well. By the time they left for the café, Addison reckoned Mrs Jones was glad to escape.

  "Can you let Olivia know I'll be a little longer than usual please," Addison said to Brooke as they walked out the door.

  "Will do," said Brooke.

  "Take care, Mrs J," added Lenny.

  Addison waved as she helped her neighbour into the Rav 4. Mrs Jones might not like being made a fuss of, but at least she knew she had people nearby who cared about her. It was definitely one of the benefits of living in a small community.

  8

  By the time Addison had taken Mrs Jones to the doctor, dropped the baking off to a grateful Hazel, and waited while Mrs Jones's leg was x-rayed and given the all clear, it was well past lunch time.

  "I told you it was just a bruise, dear," said Mrs Jones as they drove back to the beach house.

  "Significant bruising, the doctor said. You're to stay off it as much as possible for a few days. You heard that, didn't you?"

  "Yes, yes," said Mrs Jones with a wave of her hand. "I'll do my best."

  Addison frowned at her neighbour. "I still think you should come and stay at the beach house so I can be sure you're resting."

  "That won't be necessary. I'll be fine."

  "I don't doubt it, but even so, I'm going to send one of the kids in every now and then to check on you."

  Addison's boarders were all grown adults, but they were younger than her and as Olivia was often home as well, she'd taken to referring to them collectively as 'the kids'.

  "I suppose I can't stop you doing that," said Mrs Jones.

  Addison pulled into her usual parking spot, then took Mrs Jones home and got her settled. She was just coming in the back door to the beach house when Adam appeared in the kitchen.

  "She all good?" he asked.

  "Yes, just badly bruised. We'll keep an eye on her for the next couple of days. How's your writing going?"

  "All done for today," said Adam. "So we can go to the police station any time you're ready."

  For all his faults, Addison admired Adam's discipline with his writing. Ever since he'd been awarded the publishing contract, he'd been diligent in sticking to his deadlines. Even when they had the lure of a case to solve with Isaac and the team.

  "Where's Olivia?" she asked.

  "She's gone to the beach with Max. Said to tell you to look after Mrs Jones, and she'd hang out with you tomorrow."

  Addison smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness.

  Her phone vibrated in her pocket. "That's Isaac," she said, opening up the message so she could read it in full. "They've completed the autopsy. Let me get something to eat quickly, and we'll head over."

  It was just as hot inside the police station as it was outside.

  "What's going on?" Adam asked as they walked in. He fanned his shirt wildly in protest.

  "Air conditioning's broken," said Diaz. The young constable had stripped off as much of the equipment from his uniform as he could, but both he and Kendall were still laden with a lot of extra belts and buckles and gadgets and things from what Addison could see.

  "We're working on it," said Isaac. He at least wasn't encumbered by the uniform paraphernalia, but he still wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt and tie. Addison noticed little beads of sweat on his forehead but if he was uncomfortable, he wasn't showing it.

  "What's the latest, boss?" Adam asked, hefting himself up onto the spare desk. Isaac frowned until Adam got off the desk and sat in the chair instead.

  "The autopsy has confirmed Trent Burchard died from head injuries suffered during the fall. However, there were also injuries incurred right before he died that were not consistent with the fall."

  "The beating he took from Ricky Maddison?" asked Addison.

  "No. Those injuries were hours old. These ones occurred within minutes of death."

  "They can make that distinction?" asked Adam.

  "Yes," said Isaac. Adam took out his notebook and made a note, while the rest of the room stared at him.

  "What?" said Adam when he noticed the attention. "I'm writing a crime novel. This is good information."

  Isaac shook his head and turned to the whiteboard. It still only had four names written on it.

  "So unless the injuries were self-inflicted, we know Trent wasn't alone on top of the cliff," he said, and pointed to the names. "Any of these four could have been there with him, without being seen."

  "To be fair, so could plenty of other people," said Diaz.

  "Like who?" asked Adam.

  "Any of the other surfers who slept by the bonfire, for a start," said Kendall. "They all claim to have gone to sleep between one and two am. No-one woke before sunrise, and no-one saw anyone else leave the area. Or so they all say."

  "Do you have reason to believe they could be lying?" asked Addison.

  "They're all mates who've known each other their whole lives," said Diaz. "I reckon more than one of them would lie to cover for a mate. So I don't think we can rule any of them out."

  "Least of all Ricky Maddison, who we know had a physical altercation with the victim within hours of his death," said Isaac.

  Addison hadn't given Ricky much thought as a potential killer, but when it was put like that, she had to admit he was a viable suspect.

  "Is there anyone else besides the surfers and Trent's own group?" she asked.

  "There were a few other campers at the free campsite that night," said Isaac, "but they all alibi each other. They were all from out of town and hadn't been at the surfers' party. They had their own new year's celebration at the campground and went to bed shortly after midnight."

  "We've taken their details," added Kendall, "but they've got no known association with the Burchard family. They didn't even know it was them, much like the rest of town."

  There was a commotion outside, and Addison and Isaac both went to the window of the station.

  "Looks like all that's about to change," said Addison.

  Isaac just shook his head. He went through to the front of the station just as the first of the journalists were coming through the front door.

  "I'm not making any statement today, folks. Go and cool off in the pub. I'll give a short press conference tomorrow morning at ten."

  He bustled them right back out again and locked the station door before they could protest.

  "A press conference at ten," said Kendall. "What are you going to tell them then?"

  "I have no idea," said Isaac. He took a paper cup and filled it at the water cooler. "But that's the o
rder I got from the Chief, so I'll figure out something to tell them." He drank the contents of the cup in one mouthful.

  Addison didn't envy him his job. Not only was he seemingly perpetually short-staffed, he had to answer to a boss who clearly cared more about public relations than he did about solving cases. Addison's late husband, Rob, complained about similar bureaucracy.

  "Well let's get to work then and see if we can give you something to tell them," she said.

  They all stood or sat and stared at the names on the whiteboard for a while.

  "What did Malcolm Burchard have to say?" Addison asked.

  "The usual. He was very stoic, of course. He's a country man, they don't show their feelings. When I explained my suspicions that Trent died at the hands of another, he demanded we drop everything and find out who did this to his boy."

  "Who was the guy he came in with?" asked Addison.

  "Dan Haddad, his driver and bodyguard," said Adam before Isaac could respond. "He's never far from Mal's side, according to the paparazzi. Been with him almost twenty years, ever since his wife died."

  "Could they be suspects?" Addison asked.

  Isaac shook his head. "They only arrived in town yesterday. Malcolm wanted to surprise the boys on New Year's Day. He was in touch with Brody Hitchcock, who had arranged to take the twins to meet their father today."

  "What was he going to surprise them about?" asked Adam.

  "Apparently, he was aware of Trent's apprehension about going to work for Burchard Mining. He was going to take them back with him to start work straight away, rather than wait until their birthday next month. He'd had enough of Trent's insolence. His words."

  "That's a tough way to talk about your late son," said Addison.

  "He said it with a glisten in his eye, if that helps," said Isaac.

  Addison shrugged. "Not really. But if they weren't in town at the time, they're not suspects. What about Erin? Did you get to interview her?"

  Isaac's eyebrows lifted at Erin's name. "We did. As we suspected, she claims to have gone to bed straight after midnight. She says she didn't hear Trent come to bed at all, and like the others, she slept through until Joey woke them after Ricky found Trent's body."

  "Do you believe her?" asked Addison.

  "It's not about what I believe, it's about what I can prove," said Isaac with a sigh. "And at the moment I can't prove anything."

  "Ah, boss?" said Kendall. She was watching something on her computer. "You'd better take a look at this."

  Isaac, Adam, and Addison all crowded around Kendall's monitor, while Diaz leaned over to see from his own desk. Kendall turned the sound up. A reporter was talking about Trent Burchard's death, and it looked like he was streaming live from outside the police station.

  "…We've had no confirmation from the authorities yet, but a source close to the family says the body found on the beach at Echo Point yesterday is that of mining heir Trent Burchard, son of Burchard Mining's Malcolm Burchard. Our source tells us the Burchard twins were camping in this holiday town with Trent's girlfriend Erin. We're also informed that the relationship between Trent and Erin had been rocky of late, with speculation of infidelity on his part.

  "The Burchard twins have been prominent…"

  "Turn it off," said Isaac. "Or turn it down, at least. You'd better listen, see if this source has told them anything else they haven't told us."

  "Like that Trent Burchard had been cheating on Erin?" asked Diaz.

  "Yes," said Isaac, throwing his whiteboard marker down on the desk where it bounced and rolled onto the floor. "Exactly like that."

  9

  "I'm guessing Erin Sinclair didn't mention her boyfriend had been stepping out on her," Adam said to Kendall and Diaz. Isaac had stormed off to his office and closed the door.

  "No, she didn't," said Diaz. Kendall had wisely plugged her headphones into her computer and was listening to the rest of the news report on her own.

  "So where does that leave us?" asked Addison.

  "We'll need to reinterview Erin in light of this new information," said Kendall, removing her headphones. The show was obviously over for now. Addison peeked out the window in time to see all but one of the news crews rushing to their vans and taking off out of town.

  "Where are they all going?" she asked.

  "Probably up to Echo Point," said Diaz.

  "Are we finished up there?" asked Kendall.

  "Yeah." Diaz clicked a few keys on his computer. "Forensics finished up late yesterday. They got everything they need, including a few footprints by the looks of it." He leaned in closer to his screen. "Email's just come through. Five sets of footprints were found up at The Point," he said. "They match the Burchard twins, their mate Brody Hitchcock, and Erin Sinclair."

  "That's only four," said Adam. "Who's the fifth?"

  "Unknown," Diaz read from the screen. "That's interesting. The first four make sense. Chad and Brody told us the four of them went out to the lighthouse most mornings to check out the surf, so it stands to reason their footprints would be out there. But the fifth one is a mystery."

  "One of the other campers?" asked Addison.

  Diaz shook his head. "Not according to this report. They checked the prints against all the shoes the other campers had with them. No match."

  "What about the surfers?"

  "The footprint didn't match the shoes Ricky Maddison was wearing, but they didn't get a chance to check the other surfers. Most of them had dispersed before the prints were even found."

  "So it could still be one of them," said Adam. "Or Ricky wearing someone else's shoes."

  "Why would he wear someone else's shoes?" asked Addison.

  "So we didn't find his footprints up there," said Adam. "Or maybe he was so drunk he put on the wrong shoes by mistake."

  "Maybe," said Addison, although she wasn't convinced. "Come on, Adam. Let's get out of here and leave these folks to their work." She cast a glance towards Isaac's door, which was still closed.

  "He'll calm down," said Kendall. "But you're right, there's nothing more you can do here for now. Thanks for your help."

  "That was just getting interesting," said Adam as Addison hustled him out of the police station. She'd seen the one remaining news crew head over to Hazel's café, so she wanted to take the opportunity to get out of the station unseen. The last thing they needed was to be in the news themselves.

  "It can be interesting from the beach house," Addison told him. They climbed into the Rav 4 and headed for home.

  Addison was pleased to see Layla's car out the front when they pulled up outside the beach house.

  "I came to see if we were reconvening the Murder Club," Layla said when they got inside. Layla and Brooke were working on a jigsaw puzzle Brooke had laid out on one end of the great room dining table, while Lenny sat in the lounge area reading on his Kindle and drinking a beer. Olivia walked through from the kitchen, a glass of juice in her hand. Addison was shocked to realise is was past five o'clock.

  "Well?" said Layla, hands on hips.

  "Well what? Oh, the Murder Club. Do you have to call it that?"

  "We get together and solve murders. What else do you want to call it?"

  Addison sighed. She wasn't going to win this argument. She turned to Adam. "You'd better fetch us a bottle of wine then."

  "Yay!" said Layla, clapping her hands together. She took a seat in the middle of the table, where she could be involved in the debates and deliberations of the Murder Club, and continue working on the jigsaw puzzle with Brooke.

  "Cool," said Olivia, sitting opposite Layla. "Count me in."

  Lenny also joined them at the table, while Adam went off to fetch the wine. He was gone a long time, and Addison was about to go looking for him when he appeared with Mrs Jones on his arm.

  "We can't have a Murder Club meeting without Mrs J," he said with a grin.

  "Quite right," said Lenny.

  Addison greeted Mrs Jones. "How's the leg?"

  "Perfect
ly fine, dear," said Mrs Jones, before seeing the stern look on Addison's face. "I'm staying off it as instructed."

  "Good to hear." Addison took a seat at the head of the table and poured wine for all the girls except Olivia, who was happy sticking with her juice. Adam had fetched beers for himself and Lenny.

  "Should we take minutes?" Layla asked.

  "Maybe not minutes," said Adam. "But I'll get my laptop. I've started making notes on the case, so I'll document whatever we discuss here."

  He dashed off upstairs and retrieved the laptop from his room. When he was back and sat in front of it, fingers at the ready, Layla called the meeting to order.

  "The Beach House Murder Club is now in session," she declared, a twinkle in her eye.

  All eyes turned to Addison.

  I've created a monster, she thought, and not for the first time.

  10

  "Right," said Adam. "We have four suspects so far in the murder of Trent Burchard: his brother, Chad Burchard; his girlfriend, Erin Sinclair; their friend and bodyguard, Brody Hitchcock; and local surfer Ricky Maddison."

  "We also can't discount any of the other surfers," said Addison.

  "Do we have any names for them?" Layla asked.

  Addison and Adam stared at each other. "One was called Joey," Adam offered.

  "Just write 'other surfers' for now," said Addison.

  "What are their motives?" asked Mrs Jones. She'd asked for some ice in her wine and was sipping it slowly. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

  "The surfers?" asked Adam.

  "No, the four you know about," said Mrs Jones.

  "Oh, right. Well, Chad—"

  "Before we start on motives, let's look at opportunity," said Addison. "There's no point trying to find a motive for anyone who couldn't have done it, right?"

  "Right," Lenny and Brooke both said together. They laughed at themselves and shared a quick kiss. Addison envied them their close bond, but she was also delighted to see how happy they were together.

  "The police got a report from the forensics people that said there were five sets of footprints up at The Point," Addison began. "Four sets belonged to the Burchard twins, Brody, and Erin, so no surprises there. The group were aware of the lighthouse at The Point, and went there most mornings to check out the surf below."