Evil at Echo Point

by Grace York

  "What about the fifth set?" asked Olivia.

  "Unknown," said Addison. She took a sip of her wine. "But those footprints didn't match the shoes of any of the other campers, so we can probably rule them out. Which leaves the three people closest to the victim, and the surfers."

  Addison described the altercation between Ricky and Trent at the New Year's Eve party. She went on to explain that the footprints didn't match Ricky Maddison's shoes, but that it was possible he 'borrowed' a pair from someone else. It was also possible the other set of footprints were unrelated to the crime.

  "Okay," said Layla. "Putting Ricky aside for a moment, I think the three people closest to the victim are shaping up as the most likely candidates for his killer. Before we discuss their motives, is there anyone else that should be considered? Besides the other surfers, I mean?"

  "The father didn't seem too upset by his son's death," said Olivia.

  "Where did you see him?" asked Addison.

  "He was on the television just before you came home," said Olivia.

  "They interviewed him?" Adam asked. His fingers flew across his keyboard.

  "No, but they filmed him and another guy at Hazel's having an iced coffee. Not exactly the actions of a grieving father."

  Adam brought up the footage on his laptop and turned it around so everyone could see. Olivia was right, thought Addison. Malcolm Burchard didn't act like a man who just found out his son had been murdered.

  "Who's the other guy?" asked Lenny.

  "His driver and bodyguard, Dan Haddad," said Adam. "That must have been taken by the lone camera crew who stayed behind while everyone raced off to The Point. They obviously knew something the rest didn't."

  "Obviously," said Mrs Jones. "But does the man's lack of grief make him a killer?"

  "No," said Addison. "And it couldn't have been him. Isaac said he only got into town yesterday, after Trent was already dead."

  "Right then," said Lenny. "That puts us back to the brother, mate, girlfriend, and the guy he fought with as the four most likely suspects. Unless there's anyone we're not thinking of?"

  Addison leaned forward as she spoke. "From everything we know so far, it's likely Trent died somewhere in the early hours of the morning. If the suspects are to be believed, he headed off to the lighthouse to 'think' sometime after the rest of them went to bed."

  "Which means if it was one of them, they followed him once the other two were asleep," said Adam.

  "Correct," said Addison. "Or, if it wasn't one of them, then someone else either followed him, went looking for him out there, or happened upon him."

  "Does that seem likely?" asked Layla. "The Point is a relatively isolated spot. You don't get many people out there. Usually just campers, surfers checking the waves, and the lighthouse caretaker. But he wouldn't have been around at this time of year."

  Addison shrugged. "It might not be likely that someone else was out there, but we can't rule it out. Especially with the unknown set of footprints."

  "Okay," said Adam as he typed. "Not ruling out an unknown suspect. But can we go back to the four we do know about?"

  "Sure," said Addison. "Where do you want to start?"

  "How about the girlfriend, Erin?" said Lenny. "According to the news, Trent had cheated on her. That's motive, right?"

  "It sure is," said Brooke. "You wouldn't want to try anything like that," she added for her husband's benefit.

  "I wouldn't need to, my sweet," he said, then got up to fetch more beer before the playful punch she swung at him could land.

  "Okay, motive for the girlfriend is infidelity," said Adam, making a note. "Which only stands if she knew about it," he added. "How do we find that out?"

  "Isaac will ask her when he interviews her again, I suspect," said Addison. "She didn't look very big when we saw her on the beach yesterday. Do you really think she'd be capable of throwing that strapping young lad off The Point?"

  "It could have been an accident," said Layla. "The police just confirmed there was a scuffle, right? Maybe they argued about the infidelity and she shoved him, not meaning to push him over but not realising how close he was to the edge?"

  Adam stopped typing. "But then why wouldn't she have gone back and woken the others and gone down to the beach to find him? He might still have been alive."

  "That's what most people would do," said Mrs Jones, sipping her watered-down wine. "This is lovely, by the way. What is it?"

  "It's a Marlborough Sav Blanc," said Adam. "They're always good."

  "Thank you, young man. This may replace my regular Friday-evening shandy."

  Addison smiled at her neighbour. At least while she was here with them she wasn't up and about on that bad leg. Despite Mrs Jones's claims it was okay, Addison was desperate to sneak a look at the bruise to see if it had got any worse. But she daren't. Mrs Jones was intensely private and didn't like being made a fuss over.

  Olivia's voice brought Addison back to the case.

  "The same accident theory could be true for any of those three. There could have been a scuffle between brothers, or a scuffle between mates. They'd been drinking, don't forget. Guys tend to do stupid things when they're drunk."

  "And I'd ask the same question," said Adam. "If it was an accident, why hide it? Why not wake the others and go see if he was okay?"

  It was an excellent question.

  Addison remembered Isaac saying there were injuries on Trent's body that were caused right before his death and weren't from the fall. That would indicate a fight at the top of The Point before he went over the cliff, but she couldn't very well tell the others that. She looked over at Adam and could tell he was thinking the same thing.

  "Assuming for now it wasn't an accident," she eventually said, "let's go back to the question of motive. Erin's is the infidelity, if she knew about it."

  "She knew about it," said Layla.

  "How can you be so sure?" asked Adam.

  "She's a woman. We know. Besides, if the media knew about it…"

  "I agree," said Brooke.

  "Okay, so that's motive for Erin," said Addison, getting them back on track. "What about the brother, Chad. What's his motive?"

  "Money," said Adam and Lenny together.

  "His inheritance just doubled, for a start," Adam continued. "And then there's the question of running the company one day. From my research it's clear Chad is the ambitious one of the twins. He has the potential to take over from Malcolm sooner rather than later. Malcolm just hit seventy."

  "What's that got to do with murdering his brother?" asked Mrs Jones.

  "Trent didn't want anything to do with the work side of Burchard Mining, he just wanted to sit back and spend all the profits. If Chad took over while Trent was still around, Trent would expect his brother to keep him in the manner to which he'd become accustomed, so to speak."

  Addison saw where he was going. "So Trent could have easily become a drain on the family resources, rather than a partner in the business," she said.

  "Exactly," said Adam. "He already was a drain on the family resources, for that matter. Malcolm had threatened to cut him off a number of times. Maybe Chad decided it was easier to get rid of him for good."

  "It's a bit harsh," said Layla. "His own twin brother."

  "Stranger things have been done for money in families," said Lenny.

  Layla shook her head. "No, my money's still on the girlfriend."

  "Mine too," said Brooke.

  "What about the bodyguard?" asked Addison. "What did you find out about him?"

  Adam consulted his computer. "Brody Hitchcock. Same age as the twins, went to the same boarding school. It's no secret he's their bodyguard, but he's also their friend."

  "What's his motive?" asked Olivia.

  "Jealousy, maybe?" Addison suggested. "He might be sick of being the hired help for guys he sees as his equals."

  "That's a good point," said Layla. "I've done work for friends in the past. Sometimes it works out fine, but other people
forget the friendship and treat you, as you say, like the hired help. It can be unpleasant."

  "Making your life unpleasant is one thing but murdering for it is a bit of a stretch," said Lenny. "Why wouldn't he just leave?"

  "Good point," said Adam.

  "Plus, he was on a pretty good wicket," said Layla. "From what I could see those twins spent most of their time travelling the world and surfing in exotic locations. Keeping them out of trouble can't have been a tough gig. Unpleasant as it can be working for friends, Lenny is right. I can't see Brody murdering Trent."

  "Where does that leave us?" asked Mrs Jones. She finished the last of her wine and looked pointedly at the empty glass, and then at Adam. He was too wrapped up in his notes to take the hint, but fortunately Lenny noticed.

  "Back to the girlfriend or the brother," Lenny said as he got up to fetch the wine bottle. "Anyone else?" he asked, pouring a healthy measure for Mrs Jones.

  Brooke, Addison, and Layla all held their glasses out for him. Olivia had finished her juice but shook her head at the wine offer.

  "We really need to know whether Erin knew about Trent cheating on her," said Adam.

  "We'll have to wait until Isaac interviews her again," said Addison. "I think that's all we can do tonight. I'm going to cook dinner. Layla, Mrs Jones, you'll stay, won't you? I'm making salmon and broad bean fettuccine."

  Neither woman protested, so Addison headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner for seven.

  11

  The next morning as she prepared the ingredients for the day's baking for the café, Addison thought back over all they'd discussed yesterday. She wasn't convinced Erin or Chad were the culprits.

  Erin was only twenty-two years old, and very slight. Addison failed to see how Erin could have managed to cause Trent any injuries, let alone push the man off a cliff. And she was so young. Why risk spending the rest of her life in prison for a man who obviously didn't care about her? Why not just leave him?

  Chad was a more likely suspect, but only just. Addison could see what Adam was getting at with the mining business. If Trent really wasn't interested in contributing, and Chad saw his brother as being a sponge rather than a partner, it might be feasible he'd want him out of the way. But they were also still very young, at just twenty-five. Trent would have had to grow up eventually, and from what Addison had read in the news Chad seemed smart enough to realise that.

  No, Addison couldn't see either of them as the killer.

  Brody Hitchcock? It was hard to fathom a motive for him, either. Trent and Chad were his meal ticket, Trent more so than Chad. With him gone, and Chad presumably going off to work at the mine, Brody was more than likely out of a job. He had nothing to gain from Trent's death, that Addison could see. Besides, they were supposed to be friends.

  The fact there was alcohol involved in the evening complicated things, though. Lines became blurred and people became hot-headed when they'd been drinking. For that reason, as much as she couldn't see it being any of the three people closest to Trent, she couldn't rule any of them out.

  Addison had decided on a batch of chocolate brownies and a banana and yoghurt cake for Hazel today. She was just mixing the batter for the cake when Olivia appeared in the kitchen.

  "Good morning, sweetheart," she said as Olivia yawned.

  "Morning, Mum. Coffee?"

  "Yes please. Would you like to spend some time together today? Or are you catching up with Max?"

  "Max said he's got something on this morning, and he's working at the pub this afternoon from two. So we can hang out today, if you like."

  "That would be lovely," said Addison. Time with her daughter was rare these days, what with Olivia off at university and making new friends. Not to mention the time spent with Isaac learning all about his forensic experiences.

  "Great. I'll have a shower after this and then I'm all yours." Olivia placed two coffees on the bench and took a seat opposite her mother. "Whatcha making?"

  They chatted while Addison baked, and soon enough the conversation came around to the murder. Addison explained her misgivings about the current suspects.

  "So you're leaning towards Ricky or one of the other surfers then?" asked Olivia.

  "Well no, not especially. I'm intrigued by the presence of the extra set of footprints. Those, with reason to believe there was a fight of some sort between the victim and his assailant, lead me to believe there was someone else involved."

  "Like who?"

  "That, my darling daughter, I do not know." Addison finished her coffee and put both their mugs in the dishwasher. "Go on, get yourself showered and dressed young lady. I've had my eye on a new handbag in my favourite shop in Riverwood, and I feel like treating myself. I might treat you, too."

  "Ooh, new stuff. Cool!" Olivia jumped off her stool and raced up the stairs.

  Addison pottered about in the kitchen, and chatted to Adam, Lenny, and Brooke as each of them came down to get their breakfast. By the time Olivia was dressed and ready to go, the baking was done and packed up ready for Hazel's.

  "We'll drop this off on our way to Riverwood," said Addison, picking up the basket of goodies and her car keys. You want to drive?"

  "Sure," said Olivia. "I miss driving while I'm at uni. It gets boring catching the bus all the time." She took the keys from her mother, as well as the heavy basket, and they headed out to the car.

  "What's going on at the station?" Olivia asked as she parked outside Hazel's. The café was across the road from the police station, and there was quite a large crowd milling around outside.

  "Oh, I forgot. Isaac promised to give a press conference at ten this morning." Addison checked the time on her phone. It was almost ten o'clock. "Do you mind if we…"

  "Sure," said Olivia. "We've got time for a press conference. You head over, I'll drop these in for Hazel and come join you."

  Addison crossed the road and stood at the back of the media pack. It wasn't long before Isaac came out of the station to address the throng of reporters.

  "Thank you all for coming," he began. Addison noticed dark circles under his eyes, and wondered if he'd had any sleep at all last night. "I'll keep this brief. I can confirm the body found at the base of the cliff at Echo Point on Tuesday morning was that of Trent Burchard. At this stage we're treating his death as suspicious. My team and I are following a number of lines of enquiry, and as such we're keen to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity of Echo Point on New Year's Eve, and in the early hours of New Year's Day. If you were there or have any information that could assist us in our inquiries, please come forward either by presenting yourself to the station here or calling Crime Stoppers."

  Isaac went on to give the number for Crime Stoppers and ask the public and the media to respect the Burchard family's privacy, before declining questions and retreating into the station. It was all over by the time Olivia finished in the café and joined Addison.

  "What did he say?" Olivia asked.

  "Nothing we don't already know," said Addison. "Can you give me a minute while I just check in with him?"

  "Sure. I'll wait in the car and get the air con going."

  Inside the police station Kendall was standing guard behind the counter.

  "Anything I can do?" Addison asked.

  "Not really," said Kendall. She peered over Addison's shoulder to make sure they were alone. "We did manage to interview Erin Sinclair again yesterday, though."

  "Oh? Did she know Trent was cheating on her?"

  Kendall nodded. "She couldn't really deny it, not with that lot out there going to town over it. She says she was planning to leave him but was having trouble picking the right moment."

  "You can't really blame her for that," said Addison. "It must be hard to have the whole country in on your romantic pursuits, mustn't it? Especially at such a young age. The poor girl wouldn't have known what hit her, I expect."

  "Agreed," said Kendall. "Twelve months ago she was still living in a little country town in England, and no-one knew
who she was. Now she's nation-wide news, not just here in Australia, but back home in the UK, too."

  "Do you think she's the one who pushed Trent over the edge of the cliff?" Addison asked.

  "I really don't know," said Kendall. "It's too early to tell. I believe her about wanting to leave him and having to find the right time. She's adamant she went to bed not long after midnight and didn't wake until the next morning. She said she'd had a fair bit to drink, and the campsite definitely reflected that. There were a lot of empty bottles, including two champagne bottles. Erin said the boys each had a glass of champagne to toast the new year, but other than that she was the only one drinking the bubbly stuff. Which means she polished off more than one bottle by herself."

  "That would definitely have me sleeping soundly," said Addison.

  "Me too. But equally, it could be enough to set some people off arguing with a cheating spouse. There's only Erin's word that she didn't wake up at some point, find Trent wasn't in the tent with her, and go off searching for him. They all knew he was an insomniac, and he liked to go out to the lighthouse when he couldn't sleep."

  "So it's still possible she woke and, full of Dutch courage, went out to the lighthouse to confront him about the infidelity."

  "Yep," said Kendall.

  Addison sighed. Unless they got some new evidence from the appeal Isaac had just made to the public, all they had to go on in this case were the suspects' statements. Someone was at the lighthouse at The Point with Trent that night. But with it being over two hundred metres from the campsite and surrounded by bush, it could have been anyone. No-one would have heard a thing.

  "How's Isaac doing?" Addison asked. She noticed the door to his office was closed, and the internal blind pulled down.

  "Tired," said Kendall. "I don't think he slept at all. I told him to go lie on the couch in his office for ten minutes while I keep that lot at bay." She lifted her chin towards the door and the media pack still milling around outside. She was about to say something else, but the door behind Addison opened and one of the reporters entered the station.