by Sarah Barrie
‘Thanks, I might do that.’ That could be fun, she thought, as she waved them off and watched them disappear up the trail. And at least with Rob in Katoomba they didn’t have a sadistic killer out here to worry about. For the moment.
But how long would he stay there? She figured three more women would lose their lives before he made it back to Hunters Ridge. Unless Ben could somehow stop him first.
She got her shots, found another spot on the list, church ruins—but she wasn’t allowed access today. There was another a little further on and she found it, photographing the trading post with sunset spreading out in brilliant colours behind it.
‘Two down,’ she told Jasper, ‘fifteen more to go.’
She took care of six more of those the next afternoon, and four more the next. She even decided it was kind of nice to get out in the afternoons to see some of these places. They were interesting to photograph: textures, tones, shapes, colours. All she had left to visit were locations with restrictions on her visiting them.
At home she completed her afternoon exercise routine then sorted through the pictures, chose her favourites and worked on the images. Getting through these location shots wasn’t taking as long as she’d worried it might, and having taken them, she was kind of glad she was in charge of layout for the book. The photos were good and it would be a shame not to showcase them properly in the final product. She already had some ideas.
Eventually, when the images began to blur in front of her tired eyes, she stretched and yawned. Should she try to sleep? She picked up a book she wasn’t particularly interested in and read a couple of chapters. Jasper came in midway through the third, circled and dropped on his bed. At least one of them felt like sleeping. She checked her gun, then decided she was set to close her eyes.
Sleep finally did come just after one, and with barely four hours under her belt, the possums began carrying on outside on the roof, waking her up. ‘Damn it!’ She knew she wouldn’t get back to sleep, so she dragged herself out of bed, frustrated and tired, and headed for the coffee machine. She’d wake herself up with an early training session, then start on the final lot of contract work that would see her up to date with her city clients.
She let Jasper out but decided to leave the curtains drawn until sunrise. While the coffee was brewing she got changed, then sat and opened her laptop to review some ideas while she drank it. When Jasper whined at the door she let him back in, copping the wet paws from the dewy grass and the cold wet tail that thumped against her leg.
‘I’ll give you a chew toy and you can settle. I’ve got a workout to do.’
She was just getting started when the phone rang. Her stomach dipped. Who would be calling at five thirty in the morning? The idea of another screaming woman came to mind, making her hesitant to answer. She pushed back the nerves.
Ben’s voice greeted her. ‘I thought you’d be asleep.’
Relief, sharp and clear, then another shot of anxiety. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Nothing life or death, at least, you can probably be the judge of that, but you’re going to need to come back to the city.’
‘Now?’
‘That would probably be best, yeah.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘A … Dexter Patuwai—housemate, correct?’
‘Correct.’
‘Right, well, he’s had a bit of a party at your place. Call in to the station first. I’ll get a lift out there with you, fill you in as we go.’
‘That’s not necessary.’
‘Actually, it is. I’ll see you when you get here.’
She hung up. A party, bad enough to call her back to the city … one requiring a visit to the police station. What the hell had Dex done?
She looked at the dog. ‘And what am I going to do with you?’ she asked him. She couldn’t leave him in the car for who knew how long while she did whatever she had to do at the station, and she had to go to the station before going to her house so …
Reluctantly, she called Ally.
‘Sorry to wake you. Dex decided to throw a party.’
‘And what, we’re invited? What time is it?’
‘Morning.’
‘It can’t be.’
‘Sorry, but I think I should leave Jasper with you—just in case. I didn’t want to dump and run in case you wondered why you had an extra.’
‘I would have found out. I would have woken at a reasonable hour and made a phone call.’
‘It’s heading towards six. You’re always up at six.’
Ally groaned. ‘Bad night with Chloe. Okay, I’m up. See you soon.’
Mia dropped Jasper off and pointed her car towards the highway. Dex was a sensible kid. Reasonably sensible. Usually reasonably sensible. How bad could it be?
She’d deal with Ben the way she always dealt with Ben. She was over whatever weird feelings she’d experienced the other day. She was well and truly back to normal, had herself under control. She just had to reestablish some distance. She’d make an effort. It would be fine.
CHAPTER
10
Ben sat in the passenger seat of Mia’s car as they headed for her house. Mia hadn’t said much since turning up at the station. She seemed preoccupied, probably a direct result of the summons out here. She had to be worried about the state of her house, but she was even more standoffish than usual—if that were possible. ‘The report of the disturbance came through just after midnight,’ he said. ‘Russ was on his way home from a late one at the station—heard it come over the radio. He recognised your address so he went out there to see what was going on. The party was completely out of control, but they reeled it in without any arrests. They found a small amount of cannabis in the house, though, so I’ll do a walk through with you to search for any other illegal substances and you can tell me if anything is broken or stolen.’
‘Why are you involved?’ she finally asked. ‘I thought your sole job was the taskforce.’
‘I was lucky enough to become involved when Russ rang me just after five this morning, thinking, for some reason, the news would be better coming from me.’ That earnt him a speculative glance that had him grinning. ‘As we’ve decided to be friends now and I have nothing to do other than track down the worst serial killer the country’s ever seen, I thought I may as well follow through.’
She gave him a reluctant smile and a nod. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome. So who is this kid?’
‘Dex? The son of a friend. He must have literally just walked back in from his holidays. Bear’s going to go apoplectic.’
‘The guy who owns the bar. You mentioned him the night Adam turned up and caused a fuss.’
She turned down the alley and remotely opened the garage door. They pulled into her garage, and a dishevelled young man appeared in the doorway before they could even get out.
‘Mia! Hi … you’re here … you’re not supposed to be here … yet. Oh, hi there, how’s it going?’ he said to Ben.
Ben sent a quizzical look and a ‘Hey’ Dex’s way.
‘Um, yeah … good. Well. Mia … How about you just go have a coffee or something? Take an hour, take three … Maybe four.’
She stared at him, her face giving nothing away. ‘Is there something you want to tell me, Dex?’
‘Want to? Oh, hell no. Really … really not.’ He clutched a handful of his ample black curls in his hand. If she hadn’t already known the drama that awaited her, that gesture would have given it away.
‘How pissed are my neighbours, Dex?’
‘They kind of called the cops.’
‘I know.’
‘You do? And yet, I’m still alive. But not for long, probably. Because—’
With one last look at Dex, she stepped past him. And stopped dead. Ben peered over her shoulder. The few times he’d been to Mia’s house it had been tidy, with maybe pockets of organised mess here and there. But this? This was unfathomable.
There was very little clear floor space, and only just enoug
h empty bench space to show off how filthy it was: pizza containers, beer bottles, plastic cups, cigarette butts. Something dark and sticky had been spilt on the floor—and on her white rug. Everywhere he looked was a new and fascinating discovery. The smell was nothing short of repulsive.
With the tips of two fingers Mia carefully picked up a beer bottle and let it dangle, while, nose crinkled in disgust, she studied what once had been her sofa. When she turned slowly to face her boarder, her lips were pressed into a thin line, her brow raised in disbelief.
‘Didn’t we talk about having parties in this house?’
‘Look, it’s not my fault. I had a couple of guys over—just a couple,’ he clarified when her brow shot even higher. ‘But they brought a couple and it got around we were having a thing and some other people turned up … okay don’t do that,’ he finished hurriedly as, having heard enough, Mia turned away and began sorting through the mess. ‘Seriously—I’ll deal with it.’
She spun on him again, opened her mouth, then controlled herself, nodded and, taking some deep breaths, returned to what she was doing.
‘Mia—’
‘Don’t.’
‘But—’
‘Just don’t.’
Garbage bags in hand, her eyes moved to the staircase. ‘May as well know all of it.’
‘Ah, don’t … just don’t go near the bathroom.’
She climbed the stairs, Dex on her heels, and Ben followed.
As Mia studied the next level of destruction, Dex tossed a sweater off a chair and sank into it, his head in his hands. He lifted it when Ben approached. ‘Oh, man. She’s pissed.’
‘Considering the extent of the destruction, I think she’s taking it quite well.’ Ben looked around, trying not to breathe in whatever was wafting from the bathroom.
‘Man, that whole brow up and the pursed thing she does with her lips? Add that to the way she keeps saying my name … That’s pissed. Majorly. Like, I should probably get a passport or start sleeping with my eyes open.’
‘She’s not yelling.’
‘Yeah, that’s true, I’ve never copped a Mia tirade. I’m probably about to.’
‘I’ve survived a few.’
Dex stared in apparent awe. ‘No shit. What are you … a cop or something?’
‘Detective.’
‘Wow, that’s the stuff of last rites around here. How the hell did you get in the door? That’s insane.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘You know about her ex, right?’
‘She told you about that?’
‘Nah, just … heard bits from Dad.’
‘Dex!’ Mia said, from across the room.
‘Yeah?’
‘Shut up.’
‘Sure. Absolutely. Sorry.’
Mia finished filling a garbage bag with rubbish and disappeared downstairs, returned with a roll of paper towel and a large bottle of antiseptic. Removing the lid, she tipped the bottle up. Ben decided he should probably offer to help and picked his way over, only to see the flow-control nozzle writing on the table all the colourful words she no doubt wanted to use on Dex.
‘I think you’re supposed to use water with that,’ he offered.
‘Not today,’ she muttered. And, sleeves pushed up, she began to scrub.
Dex cautiously approached. ‘Do you want me to—’
‘No.’
‘What about if I—’
‘No.’
Dex eyed her warily. ‘Mia …’ he said nicely, attempting to give her a hug.
She shrugged him off and continued cleaning. ‘What happened to my white rug, Dex?’
‘It was just a little accident.’
‘That’d be a twelve-hundred-dollar accident, Dex.’
He cringed, his face a study in contrition. ‘I’ll make it up to you. Anything. I’ll be your slave. Please, Mia, forgive me.’ He dropped to his knees, his hands folded as though in prayer.
‘Get off the floor. I think you’re kneeling in something.’
Dex lifted one knee, checked it and grimaced. ‘Don’t hate me …’ he pleaded with puppy-dog eyes.
She sighed loudly, tossed the paper towel onto the table and looked around. ‘I don’t hate you. I’m … seriously unimpressed.’ With a muttered oath, she kicked a KFC packet out of the way. ‘The detective is here to see if anything’s broken or stolen.’ She looked around again, shook her head. ‘Until I’m several layers in, I’m not even going to be able to tell.’
‘I’m sorry.’ He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, before landing a dramatic kiss on her cheek.
‘Get off … idiot.’ A reluctant smile touched the corners of her mouth, her tone heating to a touch above frosty.
‘I love you, Mia.’
‘Whatever, just—go deal with the bathroom.’
With another noisy peck on her cheek, he hurried off. Mia watched him, then, with another deep sigh and a shake of her head, she went back to her cleaning.
Ben hadn’t realised he was smiling until she frowned at him.
‘Are we entertaining you?’
‘A bit, yeah.’ He grinned again at her glare. ‘You want to pass me a garbage bag?’
Her look was blank. ‘Why?’
‘So I can help.’
‘You don’t have to—’
‘I know.’ He snatched the roll and pulled one off. ‘Up or down?’
‘I can only guess.’ She slammed the disinfectant down on the bench and called out to Dex, ‘What state is the third floor in?’
‘Ah … comparatively?’
She muttered again, then said, ‘Tell me no one was in my bedroom.’
‘No one was in your bedroom.’
‘I don’t believe him.’ She hit the stairs, stepping over an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and a couple of screwed-up McDonald’s takeaway bags. ‘I don’t have enough supplies for this. I need—’
‘A hazmat suit?’
‘Ha.’ She walked into her room and her face darkened. ‘Dex!’
He bounded up, burst in. ‘Yeah?’
‘Do I ever not make my bed? Look in the bin by the side table, Dex.’
He did, cringing again at the evidence of too much fun being had. ‘I’ll just get rid of this.’
‘Yes, you will. Then you’ll bundle up those sheets and pillows and throw them out. Then you’re going to replace them. My bedspread will be taken to the drycleaners because it cost a lot of money and I like it. However, if they find any suspicious stains or smells on it you can take it straight to the funeral home and get them to line your coffin with it. Understand?’
‘Yes, got it.’
As Dex began stripping the bed, Ben watched Mia’s gaze roam around the room. It stopped on her open wardrobe and her face paled. She moved quickly, reached up and began searching, pulling things down.
‘My gun’s gone.’
‘Whoa, I— whoa,’ Dex stammered.
‘Was it stored in a safe?’ Ben asked.
‘In a MicroVault.’
Ben swore. Those things are small enough to smuggle out in a handbag. Someone probably saw it, decided something valuable could be in there and couldn’t open it so took the whole thing. ‘Mia, I’m sorry.’ Dex looked ill. ‘So sorry.’
‘Let’s just keep cleaning. Maybe they left it behind somewhere.’ Ben doubted it but helped Mia pull every last thing from the wardrobe, just in case. It wasn’t there.
‘Are you sure it was there last night? When was the last time you saw it?’
‘I don’t use that gun anymore, but I’m pretty sure it was there the whole time. I don’t know how long it’s been since I had it out … six, seven weeks?’
‘Tell me you didn’t keep the bullets with the gun?’
‘Of course not!’
He followed her downstairs, to the back of the kitchen cupboard, where she pulled down a metal box and unlocked it. Two full packets of bullets and a few spares were inside.
‘Are they all there?’
‘I thin
k so.’
‘Well that’s something. What do you mean you don’t use “that gun” anymore?’
‘I was sick of the old one. Everyone at the club was upgrading.’
‘What did you get?’
‘Does it matter?’ She sighed at the look on his face. ‘A .357 Magnum.’
‘So you need two now?’
‘No, I’m going to get rid of the old one, it just hasn’t been a priority. Besides, I still need practice with the new one.’
‘I’m not surprised; you’re swapping your .38 for a .357 Magnum. Those revolvers are a handful for most shooters.’
‘They’re good for competition.’
‘Mia, you haven’t competed for years. You do just enough club days to retain your licence, that’s it.’
‘Damn it, Ben, I’m not breaking any laws!’ She leant on the bench and closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath.
The place was trashed, her gun was missing. She was going to be upset. But at least it was ‘Ben’ today, not ‘detective’. ‘I know,’ he said calmly. ‘So let’s focus on the .38. I’m going to have to get a list of guests from Dex.’
‘I don’t know them all,’ Dex said, coming into the room. ‘Like I said, I only invited a couple of people.’
‘Then you’re going to have to find out who those people invited. This is a big deal, Dex,’ Ben said. ‘Get a pen and paper and a phone. Write down every name you know then start ringing them to see who they know.’
‘Okay.’ He disappeared again.
‘Mia, who else knew where that gun was?’
‘Cam and Ally. Otherwise only Dex, because I wanted him to know there was one in the house—and not to touch it. I don’t generally tell anyone I even have it let alone where it is.’
‘Who else has had access to your bedroom since you saw it last?’
‘No one. Except obviously during Dex’s party.’
‘Can you please try to think back? The last time you picked it up was six or seven weeks ago. In case the party list doesn’t come to anything I should know the names of … anyone you’ve had here.’
‘As in my multitude of hot dates?’ she asked dryly.
‘And in case you weren’t feeling fussy, any ugly ones too. Please.’
She surprised him by laughing, then hesitated.
