She appeared out of nowhere. A stunningly beautiful woman in obvious distress. “Do you have a Ben Williams staying here?” she asked. “I am his wife. He is on a fishing trip and I have been trying to contact him. It is urgent that I speak to him.”’
“Yes, he is staying in the Morepork Cabin on the ridge. I saw him just a few moments ago. Just follow the Rocky Ridge Road sign. It’s the first cabin.”
“Thanks,” she called back over her shoulder as she left the small office and headed out in search of her husband.
Perfect! Maybe he will be distracted. Audrey followed her at a safe distance. Her garden shed was the perfect lookout. The small window provided an unencumbered view of the cabin. She watched as the woman knocked frantically on the door. He looked pissed off when he saw her standing there and she could hear them yelling at each other. He obviously didn’t want to invite her inside. Doesn’t want her to see his stash of drugs. He left her standing on the small wood deck, returned inside and reappeared a few seconds later. Audrey watched as they climbed into his truck and sped off down the driveway. She reacted just as fast, running over the ridge to his cabin. When she entered she stumbled over the bags of cocaine stashed in the entranceway. She knew she only had a limited time to act. Checking all the cabins to confirm the coast was clear, she set to work. She backed up her car and removed the bags from all four cabins and drove to the other end of the property parking beside the old concrete water tank. Having already placed the ladder in the bushes nearby she set it up against the tank. Bag by bag she carried them up the ladder and dropped them through the door on the top of the tank and watched them sink into the watery depths below. As the last bag disappeared she lowered a blue tarpaulin over the bags, closed the lid, returned the ladder to its hiding place in the bush and drove back to the office. She had done it. Her heart was beating fast. Adrenalin. She felt alive again. They had chosen the wrong place to make their fortune. Screw them!
C H A P T E R 7
Ben couldn’t be more pissed off. Joan had followed him. He had never seen her so mad. She had said the police had called at the house and were looking for him. Something to do with Steve and his other fishing mates. She had told the police they were away on a trip up north but nothing else. She wanted to know why he wasn’t answering his phone? What did the police want with him? She knew something was up? She handed Ben their business cards and he recognized their names. They were from the Organized Crime Unit. Fuck! Someone must have squealed.
It took two hours and lunch on the Mangonui waterfront to calm her down and convince her that there was nothing to worry about. They were simply on a fishing trip and she should go back to Auckland. It wasn’t easy. But it worked. She left believing they just wanted his knowledge as an ex corrections officer on the matter. Nothing else.
He watched her car take off down the long driveway and made his way inside the cabin. He stopped. Frozen. Where the fuck are the bags. He spun around in horror. It was his responsibility to guard the merchandise. He dialed Steve’s number. “The stash is gone!” he yelled into the phone. “Gone!” “No. I had to go out. Joan was here. She said the police were looking for me. They are looking for you guys too. I couldn’t let her into the fucking cabin, could I? So I took her to Mangonui. No, she is gone now. But so is the stash. Gone! I am walking to the other cabins now. Yes, I have your keys. Shit! They have taken it all. We had better clear off. I’ll pack up the truck. You had better get back here now. No. I don’t know. Could have been the cops. But they would be storming the place if it was them. Would the boss have arranged the pick up earlier? Well call! Fuck! We are stuffed.”
Ben panicked and made his way over to the office. The owner was on her computer and looked up as he entered. “Has anyone been looking for me?” he asked abruptly.
“Why, yes. A women who said she was your wife was looking for you a few hours ago and I sent her to your cabin. Did she find you?” she asked.
“Yes. She did. Was anyone else looking for me” he asked.
“No. No one else,“ she said thoughtfully. “Were you expecting someone?”
“No. I just wondered.” He said . “By the way, I will be checking out earlier than expected. Something has come up.“
“I am sorry but the reservation has a non cancellation clause during the peak season. Will the others be checking out too? She enquired.
His eyes darted across the car park towards the driveway. “We’ll let you know. I’m expecting them back any minute now.”
She watched him leave. She couldn’t resist it and chuckled. No one ever suspected the nice woman with the welcoming smile. Her friendly demeanor and professional appearance fooled them all, all of the time.
Ben returned to his cabin and started packing. Whoever took the stash had not taken any of his personal belongings. Even his expensive laptop was left sitting on the small dining table along with his camera.
He heard them coming up the drive at full speed. The boat was still dripping with seawater and the guys looked ready to kill. He was nervous. He knew they had a history of violence. He was at fault. He was dead meat and he knew it.
He stepped out of the cabin and confronted them. “Who knew?” he asked. “Who squealed? Have you called the boss?
“I’m not calling until we know what’s going on.” Steve snarled. We are all dead men. What the fuck, Ben. You were supposed to stay here and keep watch. Did you check with the office? Does the bloody landlady know anything? Did she see anyone?”
Ben looked up at the six foot three muscled guy covered in prison tattoos. “I have already asked her. She didn’t see anyone, only my wife. I told her that I was checking out and that you may be too. I didn’t know if you wanted to stay around – what with the cops and all.”
The six men walked inside the Kiwi Cabin and closed the door. They were in deep shit and they knew it. Obviously the cops didn’t know where they were. At least not yet. Best to sit tight and regroup.
C H A P T E R 8
Detective Constable Bromley answered the phone. It was Superintendent Peter Barton, District Commander of the Northland district. He knew it must be important for Barton to be calling him personally. “Just received word from the Auckland district that a group of ex cons are planning a drug haul up here in the far north. I am emailing you their photos. We are putting out an all points bulletin now. They are armed and dangerous. Auckland is sending up a team. We do not have any vehicle information yet.”
Bromley sat back on his chair and sighed. The area would be swarming with law enforcement. He waited until the photos came through then made printed copies. There were six head shots. Everyone of them looked like trouble. Ex cons except for one guy, Ben Williams. He was an ex corrections officer from Auckland’s Paremoremo Prison. Took an early retirement. They couldn’t prove it, but he was known as being on the take. As there was no vehicle to track, it would be nearly impossible to find them. He immediately arranged with the Kaitaia, Kaeo and Kerikeri divisions to set up road blocks. Hopefully they would find them if they planned on returning to Auckland. If they go into the bush they could disappear for weeks. All the northland divisions had received the same information. They would work as a team to capture the guys and put them back in prison where they belonged.
What sort of drug haul? Bromley wondered. “Over the past few years they had pretty much taken control of the weed growers and suppliers. “P” was still a problem but he doubted that “P’ was the drug in question. He had heard rumours of cocaine being imported into the area. But how and where? The local boats were well known. Just a few tourist yachts and charter vessels came and went. All were well scrutinized. He wondered where the guys were staying. He made a few phone calls to the hotels and motels in the area. The guys should be easy to spot. They looked like ex cons.
Nothing. He had called all the most recognized accommodation places he knew from Kaitaia to Kerikeri. It took over two hours and he came up empty handed. They could be camping at a holiday campgrounds or simply
camped out in the bush somewhere. They may not even be traveling in a group. It was hopeless. It would be a long night. They had called in all the reserves and the road blocks were scheduled for six p.m. He called his wife and said he would not be home for dinner.
C H A P T E R 9
Joan hadn’t mentioned to the cops they were on a fishing trip. She didn’t know why. Maybe she just wanted to get to him first. At the beginning life with Ben was exciting. His lack of good looks was compensated by his charm. Oh, Ben could be so charming. Her husband, Paul, had introduced them. Ben was a single guy and appreciated her invitations to their weekly BBQs and social events. She didn’t even know when it was she had fallen in love with him. It happened so naturally. Paul was devastated when she asked him for a divorce. Ben and he had become best friends. It was the ultimate betrayal.
That was seven years ago. Before Ben changed. Joan didn’t like his association with Steve. She didn’t understand how he could become friends with such an asshole. They were so different in so many ways. Ben had always been on the side of the law and she had admired the pride he took in his work as a corrections officer. Steve, on the hand, was a liar and a cheat. In and out of prison on burglary, drug and assault charges. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that there was more to their friendship and recently she had suspected that they were up to something.
A few weeks ago she overheard them talking about a drug deal. An overseas cartel was going to be making regular drug drops in the far north and were looking for a team to arrange the pick up and handle the distribution. Ben and Steve were going to run the operation. When Ben said he was going north on a fishing trip this week. She had found out where they were staying. She was curious. Now she knew something was up.
She was surprised when the police came to her door asking about her husband’s whereabouts. She wondered who grassed on them. Did they know about the drugs? She had been pretty vague about where they had gone. She wanted to get to her husband first. Listen to what he had to say. But when they met over lunch she knew it was over. He looked at her with that cold stare and lied over and over again. He seemed pre-occupied and she could tell he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.
As she pulled into the Mangonui Police station she saw the policeman locking the door to the station. “Wait” she called as she approached. “I have information on Ben Williams. He is my husband.”
Bromley turned and faced a beautiful dark haired woman. Bloody Hell! He invited her inside the station and listened to what she had to say.
C H A P T E R 1 0
It was chaos. Police cars appeared out of nowhere. Detective Bromley burst into her office “Do you have the name and cabin numbers of the guests? We are looking for Ben Williams and Steve Mills and four other guys who would have registered at the same time.
“Yes, they are staying here,” she replied. “The guys were all in the Kiwi cabin last time I saw them. Their boat and cars are still in the parking lot.”
“Do you have any other guests staying here?”
“There is an American couple staying in the Bush cabin. I heard them go out a while ago’”
“Stay here!” he yelled over his shoulder as he headed out to join the squad surrounding the cabins.
She wondered how long it would take for them to find the one kilo bag of cocaine she had left behind in the Kiwi Cabin. She couldn’t drop the bag into the water tank as it would have contaminated the drinking water. It would be the bag that would have them arrested and charged with a class one felony. Audrey had done her research.
They were outnumbered, outsmarted and out of options. The guys knew they had no choice but to surrender. It had been a long time since the cops had found a kilo of cocaine. One thousand grams would sell on the street for $300,000 or more. The cops would have no idea that the stash was a hundred times that. The penalty for importing and selling five hundred grams of cocaine was twelve years to life. The guys would not be coming back for a long time.
Steve knew the only good news about their missing stash was the lack of enough evidence to put them away for good. They couldn’t prove they were importing cocaine – not with only a one-kilo bag. Possession and even distribution, maybe. If they were lucky they would be out in eight to ten years.
Was the open bag left deliberately? Whoever stole the stash must have planted the bag for the cops to find. He had tried to flush it down the toilet as the cops stormed the cabin but was too late. The cops had searched the cabins and confiscated their vehicles but there were no more drugs to be found.
Audrey watched them go. The whole commotion only lasted an hour. How the hell did the cops know they were here? Who knew? If they knew they were staying here, do they also know about the drop off location. If so, they would soon turn up and she had better be ready.
C H A P T E R 1 1
Joan followed Detective Bromley to the cabins. She parked away from the commotion on the other side of the property and furtively watched as her husband and the others were taken away in the police cars. She felt no remorse only a sense of relief. She was free. In fact there was no reason to return to Auckland. She liked the sea views and the remoteness of the far north and when the turmoil had subsided she made her way over to the office.
“I was wondering if I could stay in my husband’s cabin?” she asked entering the small office. “I don’t expect he will be back for some time and I understand his reservation was for the week?”
Audrey was surprised. The woman did not look at all troubled by the fact that her husband had just been arrested for drug possession. In fact she looked amazingly calm. Her beautiful dark shoulder length hair glistened in the sun. Her fifties style sun dress and strappy sandals were carefree and stylish. “Of course. Here ‘s the key. It’s the Morepork Cabin. Let me know if you need more towels. By the way my name is Audrey,” she said, wondering why she felt the need to introduce herself.
“Joan, nice to meet you. I don’t suppose you have a spare toothbrush?”
Audrey reached under the counter and handed her a disposable toothbrush. “There is shampoo, conditioner and soap in your bathroom,” she said.
The cabin was in complete disarray. The police had obviously searched in every cupboard and drawer. Joan picked up her husband’s clothes sprawled over the bed and on the floor and put them in his empty bag. The police had taken his computer. With the cabin tidy she turned on the TV and tuned to a music station. The fridge provided a nice bottle of Oyster Bay Sav. Perfect. She walked outside onto the deck taking the bottle with her. The evening was warm. What a wonderfully peaceful spot. Just the occasional bird song and the sound of the waves slapping against the rocks in the distance.
Joan’s life had taken an unexpected turn. She was still young – at least she kept herself fit and healthy and, was told, she didn’t look her age of forty two. Ben was almost twelve years older. The age difference was beginning to take a toll on their relationship. Joan liked to work out and was spending more time with her girlfriends at yoga classes and long walks. In fact, she preferred her girlfriends’ company to the often rude and obnoxious conversations of Ben and his friends. She knew her future would be tough. Money was scarce. She would divorce Ben and find a job. But doing what? Maybe she would have to go back to the work she did before she was married. The pay was good but the hours were a killer.
She watched as Audrey walked towards the other cabins and called to her. “Would you like me to help clear away the guy’s stuff – I can take it back to Auckland with me?”
“That would be great,” Audrey called back.
Joan put down her glass of wine, returned the bottle to the refrigerator and joined Audrey in Steve’s Kiwi Cabin.
“What a mess,” said Audrey. “They have literally pulled the cabin apart. I wonder what they were looking for?”
“Drugs,” said Joan. “
“What sort of drugs?” Audrey asked as she began to pick up clothes and fold them into a pile on the bed.
“I have no idea. It must hav
e been something pretty serious for the police to come looking for them yesterday.”
“The police were looking for them?” asked Audrey surprised.
“Yes. They came to my home. That is why I was desperate to talk to Ben today. I was going to warn him. But he was being such an asshole I decided to let the police know where they were.”
“It was you? You who told the police?” Audrey asked incredulously. “That must have taken some serious courage. Good on you.”
“Thanks. Only trouble is I have no idea what I am going to do now” Joan admitted.
“You need a drink” said Audrey as they packed the remainder of the clothes into the bag. “We can leave the other two cabins until tomorrow. Come join me on the front lawn by the cottage. I have a cold shrimp salad and a couple of bottles of chilled wine. It will help take your mind off everything.
Joan nodded in acceptance “That would be wonderful.” She grabbed Steve’s jacket from the hook behind the door and threw it on the packed bag.
C H A P T E R 1 2
Detective Bromley finally returned home at midnight. The men had been taken to the Whangarei Police Station where they had been charged and booked. They were in Kaikoe jail without bail awaiting their court date. Ben had asked for a lawyer immediately to represent all the guys so they didn’t get the opportunity to interrogate them. The guys had claimed that they were simply on a fishing trip and the coke was for their private use. They insisted that the intel on a big drug ring was false and they certainly didn’t have any knowledge of a drug trafficking ring. Either way they were in custody and the crisis was over.
It was over a year since he had any reason to visit Audrey Wetherby. Her new business looked impressive. He had always felt something just didn’t quite add up with her. She seemed to attract adversity. If it wasn’t someone getting murdered it was some other crime. Was she truly an innocent bystander or was she someone he should keep an eye on?
The Murder Trail: The Audrey Murders - Book Three Page 2
