“I walked up from the camp, and thought I would take the beach route back. The tide is out and I could do with the exercise.”
“By all means,” she smiled. “Be my guest. It’s a beautiful day.” She watched as the tall good-looking man headed across the ridge, past the cabins, towards Rocky Beach. He seemed to have something on his mind.
Audrey now had a dilemma. Should she call the police station and report she had possession of the Detective’s backpack or she could do nothing. After all, if she hadn’t opened the bag she wouldn’t have known it was his anyway. Best let sleeping dogs lie.
C H A P T E R 4 9
Eric called the Whangarei police station after realizing Higgins bed hadn’t been slept in. The office had finally agreed to open his motel room, but there was no sign of Higgins. The room was empty and his car was gone. Why would he return back to Whangarei and not let me know? Eric was perturbed. The police said Higgins had taken a couple of days off. “Fishing trip up north,” they told him.
There was only one course of action, to retrace his tracks, which he knew led up to Audrey’s place. Coming face to face with Audrey was not what he would have chosen to do today. He had already figured out his usual charm was not having the desired effect. In fact, it seemed just the opposite. She seemed annoyed by his obvious interest in her.
Having confirmed Higgins was no longer at Tiromoana, he made his way down Rocky Beach road and onto the rocky shore. It was a beautiful spot and the day was one of the best. Blue skies, clear water and lapping waves were an enticement to strip down and take a quick plunge.
The water was remarkably warm for the usually cool Pacific Ocean. Eric was a strong swimmer and before long he was swimming out into the bay with long, strong strokes. He lay on his back and looked back at the shore. There was an assortment of small boats and kayaks, mostly fishermen, enjoying the afternoon sun. He could see Audrey’s neighbor’s house a few hundred meters along the shoreline perched on the edge of a ridge. There was a sandy beach not far from the house and Eric swam in its direction planning on sunning himself on the sand for a while before heading back to the camp.
At first it looked like debris floating in the water until Eric swam closer to the beach and saw it was clothing. His heart missed a beat. Higgins. He just knew it was Higgins. He recognized the jacket immediately. Turning the body over, he confirmed his suspicions. He pulled his friend’s body onto the shore, sat on the isolated beach and wished he had his cell phone with him. Leaving Higgins above the high tide mark, he made his way up to the house he had seen on the ridge.
C H A P T E R 5 0
Hihi was inundated with police cars and local fire trucks. The coastguard had been directed to the isolated beach and Higgins’s body had been retrieved. Reporters were scrambling to get the news. Locals with cell phones were posting pictures on social media. Drowned. But how could someone just drown in the calm waters of Doubtless Bay? It wasn’t until early evening it was reported to be Detective Constable Higgins’ body that was found. His car was also located down a track leading to the beach below Audrey Wetherby’s property. His fishing tackle box had been retrieved from a nearby beach and a guest at a local cabin resort was interviewed after having found his backpack down by the beach earlier in the day. Had he slipped while fishing off the large rock and hit his head on the rocks below? The police said there would be an enquiry into his death but that, at that time, they did not suspect foul play but rather surmised it was a terrible accident.
Becka watched from her rented beach house on the far side of Hihi Bay, surprised they had recovered his damn body so soon. She was sure it would have washed out to sea. Maybe it had, but the currents had bought it back to shore. Whatever the reason, it was a problem she preferred not to have.
A little background check on the guy who apparently found the body revealed he was a private detective. Becka had seen him talking with the police and had made a few enquiries as to any possible relationship he may have had with Higgins. Her instincts were correct. They were old college friends. She decided to keep an eye on this Eric Chapman. Had
Higgins hired him to check on her and her sisters?
She followed the man back to the Hihi Motor Camp where he had booked in for another night. She wondered why he wanted to stay in Hihi. For what purpose? Did he suspect Audrey might be involved?
Becka possessed a collection of passports with various aliases. She had traveled to New Zealand and rented the beach house under an alias. Her new bright copper red hair, styled in loose curls, replaced her usual straight brown, pageboy haircut. She had used disguises most of her life. This one she liked. It made her feel sexy and desirable. No one must know she had not left for London. She looked at the yellow sundress and floppy hat she had borrowed from Audrey’s cabin the night before. Audrey always had such good taste. It was a little big, but a belt and padded bra should work just fine. Tomorrow she would put them to good use.
C H A P T E R 5 1
Detective Constable Bromley couldn’t believe it. Another body in Hihi Bay. Shit! What the fuck was going on? This time a colleague. He had talked to him only a few days ago. Higgins had been chasing up an old double-murder case and Bromley was shocked to find out that it was Audrey Wetherby’s parents who had been murdered. She was just a teenager at the time and yet Higgins was sure the children were responsible for their murder. Of course he had no proof and had been told by the Super to leave it alone and move on to more urgent cases. Bromley wondered if Higgins had been up at Audrey’s doing a covert investigation under the guise of a fishing trip. The death of Audrey’s brother seems to have stirred him up. What had he found out?
Bromley knew it was time to take a drive up to Audrey’s and have a word with her. He looked at the time – it was almost lunchtime. All morning he had been at the Whangarei station. So many questions unanswered. He would make it back to Hihi by two. He had asked for the cold case files on the Brown case and was surprised to find that they were no longer in Higgins’ office. A team had been sent to his home to look for anything that might indicate that he was suicidal and they discovered all of the Brown case files in his home office. Boxes of reports, photos, slides and newspaper clippings were emptied and sorted into piles on his desk. The home was immaculate. Too immaculate. Colleagues had located his dog. You would never know a dog lived in the home – he must have made the dog wear slippers and a bib.
After loading all the Brown files into the trunk of his car, Bromley made his way north. It was pure curiosity that enticed him to collect the files. Audrey Wetherby’s life seemed to attract murder and he was interested to know more about the childhood tragedy that had undoubtedly shaped her life.
Tomorrow he would take a look through the files. He knew her brother had recently passed away. And his caregiver. Strange, that.
C H A P T E R 5 2
Audrey finally had a moment to herself. It had been a crazy morning. What was worse, she now had reporters staying in her cabins. They had checked in last night after the commotion on finding the detective’s body on the beach. They had even interviewed the bloody guest who had found the backpack and had run to the office after hearing about the body being washed up, yelling. “It must be his! The backpack, it must have been his! That is why it wasn’t collected!” She had given the backpack to him and he had rushed off in his car to hand it over to the police on the Hihi beachfront.
Today the press was scrambling over the rocks taking videos of the location and questioning local fisherman and residents of the small township. Of course, no one knew anything, except for the owners of the Motor Camp who said that Higgins had checked in the night before and had a friend staying there too.
Audrey realized the friend must have been Eric Chapman. Now it all made sense. But how did Higgins end up in the bay? Had Eric taken her to dinner so that Higgins could snoop around her cottage? Had Higgins made it inside her cottage? Shit! She checked the dresser and breathed in relief to find the diary was still in the top drawer.
It was time to check the outdoor video cams on the ridge to Honeymoon Beach. She wished she had placed some down at Rocky Beach. Maybe she should get a proper video surveillance system set up at Tiromoana. But then again, it might be better to leave things as they were.
As she returned from the ridge with the memory cards from the cams, she heard a car pulling up. Damn. She turned towards the car park and saw Detective Bromley stepping out of his police car. She waved. Shit! What does he want? She put the cards in her pocket and went to greet him. “Detective Bromley, what a surprise. What can I do for you?”
C H A P T E R 5 3
Honey and Matt were spending the day together. Honey checked her email while catching up on the latest news online. “Hey, Matt!” she called. “Detective Higgins was found dead in Hihi Bay. Shit! We should call Audrey.”
Matt leaned over Honey and read the article on the screen. “It says they have not determined the cause of death. They don’t say he drowned. He must have not had any water in his lungs. I wonder how he ended up washed up in Audrey’s bay. You should call her.”
Honey had not spoken to Audrey since she left Tiromoana. They had all agreed to distance themselves from the recent deaths in the family. Especially because Detective Higgins was obsessed with proving they had something to do with their parents’ death.
“I think I should drive up and see if there is anything we can do. Audrey must be beside herself. Can you come too?” she asked.
“I can’t get away right now. But you should go. I’ll look after the cats,” Matt offered.
Honey stuffed clothes in a suitcase, grabbed her laptop, kissed Matt and the cats goodbye and headed off north. She wondered if she should call the others but decided she should wait until she’d talked to Audrey. Audrey would know what to do.
Matt watched her car disappear down the road and returned to Honey’s office desk. He knew her password for her desktop computer and he began his search.
C H A P T E R 5 4
He was walking up the ridge. The outdoor cam took three photos in succession and there was no doubt, Detective Higgins had taken the track from Honeymoon Beach. Video cams positioned up the clay bank and along the top ridge caught him walking towards her cottage.
But there were no photos of Higgins returning to Honeymoon Beach. Audrey had a bad feeling that Detective Higgins didn’t make it out of Tiromoana alive. This time she knew she was in serious trouble, and what made it worse was that she wasn’t even responsible for his death. But who was?
Without a doubt she would be the first person they would suspect. Once the police went through her father’s slides they would know she and her sisters had been molested. They would think she had a motive for her parents’ murder. But why would she kill the detective and leave all the evidence in the hands of the police? One thing was for sure: Eric Chapman would not be her number-one supporter. His visit was obviously to search for any sign of the detective. He must have known the detective had been at Tiromoana the night he went missing. Did he suspect she had something to do with his disappearance?
She had been surprised to see Detective Bromley. He said he was just making a routine call to see if she had any information relating to Detective Higgins. She had explained she had not seen him at Tiromoana and a guest had found his backpack down at Honeymoon Beach. She presumed he was fishing off the rocks down there. No. She had no idea what he was doing in Hihi. The last time she had seen him was last week. He had come to talk to Matt Walters about Greta’s fortune-telling scams. Apparently some church members had been complaining.
“Just thought I would let you know that I am taking over your parents’ cold case. I know Higgins was working on it prior to his death. I’ll let you know if I have any questions,” Bromley had informed her.
Audrey knew it was just a matter of time before he discovered what her father’s slides revealed. She would need to produce solid evidence that Ben had been responsible for both murders. She set to work. Now that Detective Bromley was on the case, she didn’t have much time.
C H A P T E R 5 5
Honey flopped down on Audrey’s huge settee sinking into its feathery depths. “I can’t believe it! He was found down by your beach? What the heck was he doing here? Did you see him? Did you talk to him?”
Audrey explained she was out with Eric Chapman the night Higgins went missing. She’d returned after nine o’clock and gone straight to bed. The next morning a guest found Higgins’ backpack down by Honeymoon Beach. She didn’t know if she should tell Honey about the video cam.
“So you think this Eric Chapman and Detective Higgins were in on it together? Do you suppose they had a fight and he killed him?” Honey asked hopefully.
“I wish that was the case,” said Audrey. “But somehow I don’t think so.”
“Then who? Who would have killed him? You don’t really think he just fell off a rock, hit his head and toppled into the bay?”
“I have no idea. But Detective Bromley from our local Mangonui Police Station has taken over our parents’ case and once he looks at the slides, he is sure to think we had something to do with it.”
“Maybe it is time to tell them that Ben was responsible for their deaths. After all, he is dead now and the police will leave us alone,” Honey suggested.
Audrey liked this suggestion. “We should ask Simone and Becka first. If they agree then I think that is the best decision we could make.” She handed Honey a glass of champagne. “Let’s make a toast to closing our parents’ murder case for good.”
“Cheers,” they said in unison.
“To Mum and Dad, may they never rest in peace,” Audrey added.
“Ditto,” said Honey.
C H A P T E R 5 6
He was surprised to see Audrey and a rather lovely blonde woman entering the police station.
“What can I do for you, ladies?” Detective Bromley asked as he escorted them into his back office.
“I am Audrey’s sister, Honey Brown,” Honey introduced herself as she took a seat in front of his desk. “We have some information pertaining to our parents’ murder and thought it time that we shared it with you. I understand you have taken over the case.”
“I don’t suppose you have had a chance to review the files yet,” Audrey asked.
“There is a lot of information to go through. I imagine it will take me a few days to review it all,” he replied, removing a notepad and pen from a pile of papers on his desk. “So what information do you wish to share?”
Honey began first. She explained the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her parents, her father in particular. The detective was shocked and appalled. Honey continued on to explain what had happened the day of her parents’ murder. How her brother, Ben, had walked in on her father molesting her and how he had reacted. Honey said Ben told her to leave and go to the park. She didn’t returned until the police arrived. She presumed that Ben had murdered her parents.
“And you, Audrey?” The detective asked. “Were you there that day?”
“Yes,” she replied quietly. “I came home to find that my brother had stabbed my father. There was blood everywhere. He told me to go. I was scared and went for a ride on my bike. I didn’t come back until after I heard the police sirens.”
Honey was visibly shocked. Audrey had never said she was in the house just after Ben had killed their father.
“Did your brother also kill your mother?” The detective couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Our sister, Becka told us that she arrived home and found both our father and mother already dead. Like us, she didn’t return until the police arrived at our house. Our eldest sister, Simone, took us to stay at her flat that night. We didn’t talk to the police until the following day. We never told them Ben had killed our parents. Our parents had abused us all, and Ben was only trying to protect us.” Honey started to sob. “We were just happy they couldn’t hurt us any more.”
“Where is your sister, Becka, now?”
/> “She is in London,” Honey replied. “She came back for Ben’s funeral but returned to London a few days ago.
“I would like her contact information so I can verify her account of the events,” the detective said as he continued to write notes on his scratchpad. “Is this the first time you have told anyone about this?”
“Yes,” said Audrey. “Now our brother is dead, we felt that it was time to tell the truth. We know Detective Higgins was working on our parents’ case before his awful accident. We just wanted to help you close the case for him.”
The detective had the Brown sisters sign their written statements and thanked them for their help. “It must be difficult for you to dredge up these awful memories,” he said gratefully.
“Yes,” said Audrey. “It is. Hopefully this puts and end to it now and we can put it all behind us.”
C H A P T E R 5 7
It was all there. Higgins’ notes were impeccable. Every tiny detail marked with sticky notes. Detective Bromley looked at the circled crime photo of three schoolbags hanging on wooden pegs inside the front entrance and read Higgins’ notes:
Three schoolbags belonging to Honey, Audrey and Becka.
Proves they were in the home before the police arrived.
Were they responsible for the murders?
Bromley opened the box of Kodak carousel slides. The top carousel had post-its with more notes:
Proof the three sisters were all molested by their father and uncle.
Who was taking the photos? Their mother?
Proves motive for murder.
The detective held up the slides to the light, one by one, and knew that what the Brown sisters had told him was the truth. They had been molested. Ben Brown, the brother, was strangely absent. At least he was not present in the slides Higgins had marked. Was it true he was responsible for the murders? Was knowing that his sisters were being abused by his father and mother enough for him to snap and commit the murders as his sisters had described? Bromley sat back in his chair and sighed. He would need to call his Supervisor. The Brown murder was one of the biggest unsolved murders in New Zealand. It would be all over the news.
Murder In The Family Page 9
