Charlie waited until Roxie had finished. “How much of this does Phil know?”
“He knows all about it. I’ve spoken with him several times.”
* * *
Royle was in the office soon after nine, first checking in with Paula, who confirmed Charlie was expected back from LA after lunch. The secretary was keen to hear how things had gone in Australia and for the second time offered her condolences for the loss of Dan Morgan.
“No doubt Whitland will cover the point in a minute,” he suggested, “but has he been to see Sharon Morgan again? She must be wondering what’s going on.”
Paula was quick to reassure him. “Doug’s been to see her and she’s fine. You shouldn’t go beating yourself up over this; you had no reason to think the body might not have been Dan’s. If anyone messed up it was the lab.”
He briefly outlined how he came to identify Dan as the mystery bird dealer, unsure exactly how much information might have filtered back to Paula. More importantly, though, he explained how Charlie had ended up shooting Dan.
“I’d not heard some of that,” she admitted. “Presumably it was easier to cope with this time, you two thinking he was already dead?”
“Perhaps, but there’s going to be fireworks when she gets back.”
“What have you done to upset the poor girl this time?”
Briefly Royle outlined Roxie’s part in the investigation, including how he had chosen not to confide in either Charlie or Mindy.
“Mindy will be okay with it, but Charlie’s going to be spitting fire.”
Paula looked at him. “Seeing as you’ve touched on it, what about you two? Rumour has it things are serious.”
“There’s no denying we’re seeing a lot of each other, which hasn’t been difficult in the circumstances. Anyway, who was it forgot to mention Charlie’s father’s a federal judge?”
Paula knew he had a point. “I can’t speak for Doug, but I was under Charlie’s instructions not to tell.”
“And you didn’t seem too surprised when I mentioned Roxie.”
Paula laughed. “Charlie and Mindy were on the phone last night calling you all sorts of names, though they think they’ve tracked down the missing eggs.”
Then the secretary glanced at her watch before pointing to Whitland’s door. “Charlie won’t be the only one displeased if you don’t get yourself in there.”
As he turned to leave, she called to him, “Don’t forget who sees all the invoices, including how many rooms get booked each night.”
Royle could see no visible sign of Whitland’s encounter with either the rattlesnake or the previously undisclosed heart problem, though he noted various boxes of pills in the ‘Out’ tray. The department head listened intently as Royle outlined events in Australia, particularly Charlie’s shooting of Dan and their recovery of the American and Australian dollars.
Whitland seemed pleased. “There’ll be the odd problem still but the question now, Phillip, is what we do about Gus Winnings?”
“Depends how ready they are over in California,” Royle suggested. “I’m hoping Charlie found time to play the tape from Alynski’s answering machine. What’s on there might affect what Gus is charged with.”
Royle enquired after Sharon Morgan, and Whitland’s body language suggested he was uncomfortable.
“Problem?”
“For Sharon, perhaps. It looked like someone had been knocking her around.”
“Then we may be doing her a favour by locking up Greg, though I’m still unclear what we have on him.”
Whitland was about to continue when something more important occurred to him. “Never mind all that, how’s my goddaughter?”
“She’s fine, Doug, really.”
Whitland rephrased his question. “I still don’t understand how you knew where to find her?”
Now it was Royle’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Bit of a problem there. The women are ganging up on me, though in my defence we tracked Sam down and rescued her.”
“What problem?”
Briefly, Royle explained how come his daughter was wearing a watch with a tracking device fitted.
Both of Whitland’s chins wobbled as he laughed. “I can see they might think your methods unusual, though they’re missing the point. It worked, didn’t it?”
“Exactly. Where would we be if I’d not done it? But there’s something else Charlie’s going to be mad as hell about.”
Whitland’s face suggested a slight smile. “I thought you two were getting along quite well?”
Quickly, Royle outlined how he had gone into Big Experience’s website after they found the body in the tiger enclosure. And how he had persuaded Roxie to apply for the vacant job of receptionist at their California site.
“Like the tracking device on your daughter,” Whitland suggested. “Bit of a long shot but well worth the effort if it worked.”
“Thing is, I never told Charlie. She will know by now that when we went to the desert site with Akroyd, the receptionist, i.e. Roxie, was already working for us.”
Whitland was giving this the appropriate amount of thought. “Won’t she understand if you explain it like that?” he asked, and then was quiet for a moment. “Who will Charlie speak to first once she gets back?”
“Paula, of course, they’re bound to want to discuss all this.”
“All you need do, then, is convince Paula you were acting in good faith and she’s bound to pour cold water on Charlie’s hot coals.” He saw Royle hesitate. “There’s more than you’re saying, still?”
Royle felt a huge weight lifting from his shoulders. “Actually, Doug, there is a bit more. The DEA has a long interest in the people we’re dealing with, commencing way before you first called me on the plane. It’s been all I can do getting them to hold off.”
“That might explain a few things,” was all Whitland said.
Relieved by his boss’s apparent controlled reaction, Royle seized the moment. “I took the liberty of asking the DEA’s man in charge to come along here today. We’ve known each other for years; anyone else and I might not have been able to control the situation.”
* * *
Contrary to her partner’s expectations Charlie was feeling good following her stopover in California. She had been upset at discovering Royle’s secret arrangement with Roxie, but then, having proved a location for the missing Big Experience eggs, it had been Mindy’s suggestion they went for a meal. Both women had been secretly pleased to hear Roxie announce she needed to be elsewhere, and it was Mindy who opened the conversation.
“This thing of yours with Royle, is it better or worse?”
Charlie pretended not to understand.
“You’re obviously in love with him,” Mindy continued. “And equally obviously you’re seriously annoyed with him.”
“I guess that sums it up. I just wish he’d stop doing things without telling me.”
“Like what?”
Charlie briefly outlined Royle’s failure to mention his suspicions regarding Dan’s continued existence, plus of course there was Roxie.
“What is it, though, that upsets you?”
Charlie was quiet for a moment. “Actually, that’s a good question.”
“Could you have had some input into his decision-making?”
“If I’m honest probably not, or none that might have significantly altered his decisions.”
“But you sometimes feel he’s cutting you out of the partnership?”
“I guess so. By not including me he’s threatening our relationship, or am I overreacting?”
“I suspect you may be. His not mentioning Roxie seems sensible. It was early days still, and wasn’t he convinced someone in the Department couldn’t be trusted? He was right, of course.”
“What about Dan? By the time Phil worked out who we were deali
ng with in Australia we were already sharing a bed. I’d like to think he could trust me by then.”
Mindy was ahead of her. “Let’s not damage our brains working out how, but we know he can anticipate situations. By the time he knew it was Dan in Australia he had still not seen you use a weapon in anger. I’m assuming he realised that when he went in there you might have to shoot your former colleague to save his life. So, it was probably best you didn’t have to choose between him and Dan before squeezing the trigger. In his place I’d do the same.”
Charlie thought she could see the fault in that. “But he didn’t ask me to cover him with the rifle; that was my idea. He knew nothing about it until I fired the first shot.”
Mindy grinned at her.
“You’re not suggesting he knew what I would do?” Charlie exclaimed. “Take the rifle and shoot this supposed Sylvester Reed if I had to?”
“Why would we accept he can anticipate all these other things, but not work out something as obvious as that. My guess is he checked to see if the rifle was missing from the Toyota, and why would you take it if not to cover his back?”
Mindy stopped a passing waitress for the wine list before continuing. “How does it feel being on the psychiatrist’s couch yourself for a change?”
“I’m still not convinced, though I hadn’t thought of some of that. Let’s see how it goes.”
Mindy was smiling again. “Just out of interest, what makes you so eager to put up with all this pain he obviously causes you?”
“You really want to know?”
“No, Charlie. I want to see if you know!”
“I’ve never actually had that conversation, though I’ve been close to it with Paula.”
“So?”
“Well, there’s all the usual stuff. Good-looking, well-read, well-travelled, not short of money, houses in Florida, London and Sydney. But he’s also good fun to be with.”
“Put like that I wonder why we’re bothering with this conversation.”
“But there’s more,” Charlie continued, “that you only see if you work alongside him. He’s passionate about what he does, plus he’s as comfortable in a meeting across from the White House as in a shack in the forest.”
“Talking of the White House,” Mindy interrupted, “word is he may get the new international job.”
“I’m not sure that’s common knowledge.”
“Oh, it’s common knowledge, sweetie. But will he take it?”
“He’s not mentioned it.”
“Did he ever discuss Dan with you?”
“You mean when they were in the Marines together?”
“I mean what kind of person Dan was.”
Something about the way Mindy asked the question suggested she already knew of Dan’s darker side. “You know there was more to Dan than Phil lets on?”
Mindy leaned forward, wine glass in hand. “Your partner and I were involved in a nasty job – a man was killed while we were chasing someone else. Phil took it badly and he came back to my place for the night. We ended up drinking the best part of a bottle of whisky before we got onto the subject of Dan. There was always something about the man I couldn’t take to. But throwing some kid out of a helicopter?!”
* * *
Royle checked his phone messages, including one from Steve McGill regarding Jimmy Quigly’s missing cell phone.
“Mac, it’s Phillip. Sorry, been away.”
“I heard, bit busy, hey?”
“You found the missing phone?”
He heard Mac laughing at the other end. “It was in the apartment all along, under the bed with a flat battery, along with the dust and the porn magazines. There are a few calls to or from Sharon’s man Greg Saunders.”
“I still think we need to have Greg in, along with all the others,” Royle suggested, realising Mac knew nothing yet about their finding Dan in Australia.
“Bloody hell,” he exclaimed, having listened to a brief account of the Australian trip.
“If you think that’s bad imagine how Whitland feels, having to explain Dan’s second death to the various other authorities involved. And another thing, does Dan get a full Departmental burial? Or do we tell everyone what a shit he was?”
Royle next spent time online, checking aerial views of the two Big Experience sites and the area around the Winnings’ home, following which he called Mindy Goldsmith and discussed plans for dealing with the California searches.
“I had an idea all along it might be Gus you were after,” Mindy admitted. “Anyhow, I guess you did it again.”
He hesitated. “Introducing Roxie into the investigation, or the important information she obtained?”
“Both. You never told Charlie or me, and yes, your blasted foresight saved the day again. Dammit, you can be annoying. I hope you appreciate how much work Charlie and I put in last night, checking all those phone numbers and addresses.”
He tried sounding suitably humbled, freely admitting that Roxie had come up with far more information than might be expected from such a last-minute arrangement.
Nineteen
Royle introduced Todd Shepherd to Whitland, Charlie and Paula, aware he and Charlie had already met, firstly during their walk along Cairns Esplanade, and then on the return drive after watching the parrots being loaded aboard the plane. Around Royle’s age and of a similar temperament, it was obvious why the two of them got along so well. The introductions over, Shepherd explained the DEA’s involvement in what others in the room had until now considered the Department’s exclusive investigation. He commenced by explaining that for the past six months they had been following up suggestions of substantial imports of drugs entering the US through southern Florida.
“Allegedly connected with the import of live animals,” he emphasised. “We’re also told a senior manager in either a State or Federal Wildlife office is involved, and I don’t need to tell you the problem we’ve had with that one.”
Whitland was nodding understandingly. “If that’s true then you wouldn’t know where to make your initial approach to those departments?”
“That’s our problem, or it was,” Shepherd corrected.
“Todd and I met up months back at a conference in Europe,” Royle interrupted. “He knew I’d worked for the Department, so he told me what the DEA believed was going on. In the strictest confidence.”
“No one could have been more surprised when Phil called me recently saying he’d been co-opted back into the Department,” Shepherd continued. “Obviously, we started leaning on him to get his cooperation.”
“To do what?” Whitland wanted to know.
Shepherd looked a touch uneasy. “We wanted him to continue with Federal Wildlife’s investigation into Dan’s disappearance, though at the same time seeing if drugs were involved.”
“You should explain how our arrangement included the DEA not interfering with Federal Wildlife’s enquiries, or not until the drugs connection was proved,” Royle prompted.
“Okay, so is there a drugs connection with our case?” Charlie interrupted.
Shepherd started to answer but Royle stopped him. “Not until Cairns, when I went to mark the birds and eggs in what turned out to be Dan’s hiding place. All four crates used the same design, but only the bottom of the sheep crate was adapted to hold eggs, which set me wondering what could be concealed in the false bottoms of the other three crates.”
“And that was when things began to make sense,” added Shepherd.
Charlie, though, had another question, this time for Shepherd, briefly and to the point. “Why did you need to be up in Cairns if you already had Phil looking after your interests?”
“That was going to be my question,” added Whitland.
“Phil’s interests began and ended with the birds. When he texted me about a spare compartment in the crates I immediately flew out. My jo
b was to see if any drugs were delivered to the station, though we realised they could be added in Asia or Europe.”
They could see Charlie was unimpressed.
“Then whilst we were watching what went on at the sheep station, so were you?”
“More or less. Though I was just watching the station, while you guys were all over the place.”
Royle guessed what might be troubling his partner. “If you’re wondering was Todd still watching when I went back to confront Dan, then he was not. Once the crates left there was no need for Todd to be there.”
“Good, because I’d hate to think my shooting Dan might have been unnecessary.”
* * *
Whitland realised the meeting was getting a bit out of hand so he decided to restore order. He also had a couple of questions of his own that needed answering.
“Sounds like the birds and the drugs might all end up in the same place eventually, so can I assume we’ll be coordinating this?”
Shepherd was clearly in agreement. “It’s your show. The DEA will fit in with whatever you arrange.”
Next, Whitland turned to Charlie. “You and Phillip searched Dan’s hiding place. Any suggestion he might have been involved with drugs?”
Charlie’s response was instant. “No, none.”
“Phillip?”
“Like Charlie says, none whatsoever.”
Whitland’s relief was obvious. “I’m glad about that, then.”
“It’s all coming together nicely,” Royle suggested. “The three bird crates went from Guinea via Java to Holland’s Schiphol Airport, from where they crossed the border to Big Experience’s Belgian set-up.”
“When did they leave there?” Whitland asked.
“Big Experience has three bird containers checked in to leave Schiphol around now, arriving Miami tomorrow morning. And Charlie tracked down their quarantine centre, by the way.” Royle pointed to Shepherd.
“I got our European people to check the crates after they were booked in.”
“And they tested positive for drugs,” Whitland guessed.
The Consequences of Finding Daniel Morgan Page 21
