by Garry Disher
Leah ignored her. She sprang around her door, quickly kicking hard before the man could raise his gun. He fired uselessly into the ground, the bullet whining out over the dying wheat. He stumbled, fell onto his back and was raising the gun when she stamped on his wrist, forcing him to let go of the weapon. She scooped it up: a .22 target pistol, a killers gun, a close-work gun.
Leah, said Tess, he was helping us.
Leah shook her head. He was hired to kill you.
Leah had put it together in the past couple of minutes. The school had hired private investigators to find Tess and bring her back because police involvement might mean media attention and embarrassment for both the school and Tess’s high-profile parents. But the swimming coach, Vale, had taken advantage of this. Needing to silence Tess, he’d monitored the movements of the private detective who was tracking Tess and passed the information on to a hired killer, who had shot the detective, taken on his identity and now intended to complete his assignment.
Tess was watching Leah, open-mouthed with shock. Who would hire a detective to
Hes not a detective. The dead man I saw back at the farm was the detective.
Tess took it in. Oh.
Open the boot of the car.
What?
I want to stuff this character in the boot where he cant get at us or escape.
Then what?
Take him to the police? Something like that.
Okay.
Leah’s eyes didn’t stray from the man on the ground, who was watching assessingly. She heard Tess remove the keys from the ignition, walk around to the back of the car, open the boot lid.
And scream. Leah flinched. She didn’t dare shift her gaze. What?
Theres someone already in the boot, Tess said, her voice high, breaking with strain. He looks dead.
Theo Reed, Leah thought. She said nothing, merely watched the killer. Then she said, Search the car. You might find handcuffs.
The man on the ground gave her a slight twist of his lips, a fleeting look of disgust. She ignored him.
Two minutes later, Tess called in triumph, Found them.
Leah motioned the killer to his feet and trained the pistol on him while Tess cuffed his hands behind his back. Now I want you to climb into the boot with the real Theo Reed, she said.
The man swallowed. Hes dead.
Then he cant hurt you, Leah said.
The mans eyes were wide, panicky. Its not right, he said. Not… he searched for the right word … not healthy.
Leah shook her head. I’m not interested in your welfare, she said, and fired a shot past his ear.
He flinched and shuffled, bent over, to the boot of the car, and rolled in and began to heave about as if he were sharing a too small bed with someone.
Now, Leah said. Melbourne.
But first she took out her mobile phone, dialled, and asked for Jill Blair. She hadn’t called anyone in a long time.
The voice was remote, surprised at nothing in a chaotic world. Yeah?
This was going to be tricky. Sergeant Jill Blair had been at the guesthouse when Leah had been assaulted. Although shed played no part in the incident, and professed dislike for the male officers involved, she hadn’t actively supported Leah. Leah Flood.
There was silence. Then, I hope you’re keeping your head down, Leah. You’re not exactly on anyones Christmas card list.
I know that, Jill, Leah said. Look, do you want a crack at Carl Stannage?
Warily, Yes.
Don’t ask me how I know this, but a black Range Rover is heading for the city right now, probably along the Western Highway. Leah read out the registration number. The plates are false. Its being driven by a couple of Stannages goons. You’ll find drugs, cash and shotguns.
More silence. The Western Highway. Is that where you are right now?
No comment. You’ll also find damage to the passenger front bumper bar, maybe traces of red paint. If so, it will match the paint on a red Monaro that crashed and burned outside the town of Prospect a few days ago.
Leah, what are you getting invol—
But Leah had broken the connection.
chapter 18
You cant take me back to school, Tess said.
I wont.
I hate it there.
I know.
Vale wants to kill me so I cant report him.
This was getting repetitive. I know that, Tess.
So where will you take me?
Leah had thought long and hard about that. Her old house was out of the question, her parents lived on the Gold Coast, and she didn’t want to bring trouble down on the few friends and acquaintances she had left.
A motel.
Tess shrank sulkily into her seat. Now and then a muffled thumping came from the boot, muffled shouts, the frame of the car shaking minutely as the killer thrashed about in fury. I hate motels.
Where do you suggest, then? Leah demanded. Do you have friends you can stay with?
Their parents would turn me in.
Then it has to be a motel. Ill stay with you until everythings sorted.
What if that takes weeks, months? And what if other people come after me? You’re going to stay close to me every minute of every day?
Leah sighed, conceding Tess’s reservations. Ahead of her the fast dirt road climbed past a rusty iron barn and stockyards to the brow of a low range of hills. Beyond that would lie a broad plain and Horsham and the Western Highway to Melbourne.
You could take me home, Tess said. Hawthorn. Its empty, no tenants or anything.
Leah brooded. For as far as anyone knew, Tess was still on the road somewhere out west, the detective from Abbott’s following her. But things were falling apart for Vale, and he would soon think to look for Tess closer to home.
Too dangerous. What about your half-brother?
Ian? I don’t know. He lives in Southbank and hell probably have some chick with him. Usually his girlfriends don’t like me.
Then it has to be a motel.
I need stuff, Tess wailed. Clean clothes and stuff.
Leah thought it through, then slowly nodded. But we don’t linger, okay? We go to your house, grab a few things, then find a motel, agreed?
Agreed. Tess jerked her head. What about him?
Let me deal with him.
Tess directed Leah to a leafy street in Hawthorn, where even the humblest dwelling fetched close to a million dollars, and pointed to a large Edwardian house set on a broad, grassy corner block. At one time the house had been screened from the street by a tall box-hedge, but the hedge had clearly been torched recently. In fact, Leah realised, as she looked up and down the street, several similar hedges had been burnt to the ground. It was one of the hazards of living in the better suburbs of the city.
The gates were open. She drove in, white gravel complaining discreetly and expensively under the Magnas tyres. There was a three-car garage at one side of the house, a fenced swimming pool at the other.
She parked behind a Saab Cabriolet and they got out. The air was still, warm, drowsy. You didn’t hear blaring radios, angry shrieks or accelerating tyres on these streets.
Do you know the car?
Its Ians, Tess said, as they reached the front door.
I thought you said he doesn’t live here.
He doesn’t.
Then why
Tess shrugged. I guess its his house as much as mine. Anyway, Ive lost my key and can never remember the security code.
Leah was expecting Tess to press the buzzer for the intercom, but the girl tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. Leah barred her way suddenly. Wait. She took out the killers pistol. Let me go first.
Why?
Someone hired that guy to kill you, right? How do you know hes not waiting inside? How do you know he hasnt killed your brother and
Tess shrank back from the door. Okay.
Leah turned the knob fully and pushed the door gently. She looked along a cool, dimly lit hallway. Music sounded faintly. She stepped in, Tess hu
ddling close to her back.
Can you tell where the musics coming from? Leah whispered.
Tess pointed, perplexed, toward the end of the hall. It seems to be coming from down there, Ians old room.
The door was ajar. Leah peered in. The air was stale; every light was on. One wall was lined with books; a built-in wardrobe with sliding doors took up a second wall; a sound system, plasma wide-screen TV and DVD crowded a third wall. The fourth was mostly window, looking out onto the grounds of the house next door. A huge computer hummed on a desk, the flat-screen monitor displaying an online gambling site. The wardrobe was open, revealing stylish suits and shirts along a rail, and several pairs of soft, expensive-looking shoes. Otherwise the room was empty.
He must have moved back home, Tess said.
Where would he be?
Dunno.
Then there were footsteps in the hall. Leah tensed, aimed the gun at the door, and the face of the man who appeared there shifted from amazement to fear in an instant. Whoa, he said, Jesus, and ducked back into the hallway.
Leah was about to follow when he called, Tess? What are you doing here? Who’s that with you?
You can come in, Tess shouted. Shes a friend.
Tess’s half-brother edged warily into the room, wiping his hands on his trousers, trying an uncertain smile. Whats going on? Why the gun?
Tess embraced him tightly, then turned and introduced Leah. He hesitated, then reached out a hand to her with a broad, charming smile. Leah tucked the gun inside her waistband and shook his hand, feeling a momentary twinge of attraction as she took in his graceful good looks. Ian Quant was tall, slender, loose-limbed and beautifully dressed, and she could see why Tess had adored him when she was little.
But as she looked closer, she saw a ravaged edge to the good looks, signs of exhaustion and strain. Maybe he’d been online all day and night, gambling, trading shares.
Now he was looking at Tess with faint irritation. How come you’re not at school?
And Tess said, How come you moved back in here?
You first.
Tess was determined. No, you.
He shrugged. It made more sense, you know? This place is empty, my apartment block in Southbank was one continuous party scene, I needed some private space.
Mum and Rob
They know I’m here. Now its your turn.
Tess turned to Leah for help. You can tell him better than me.
Leah related the whole story. His face went blank, then sceptical, then frankly disbelieving.
Its true, Tess said. Have a look in the boot of our car if you don’t believe us.
He swallowed, ran his hand through his hair. No thanks.
Ive just come to collect some gear.
Why? Where are you going?
I’m taking her to a motel while I follow things up with the school and the detective agency, Leah said.
She can stay with me. Ill look after her.
Yeah, Tess said.
It could be dangerous here.
I don’t mean here, Ian said. My apartment in Southbank.
Leah nodded. You should contact your mother, Tess. Shell want to know you’re okay and where to contact you.
Ian laughed harshly, one arm around Tess. Were talking about a woman who once said, in all honesty, that shed still have her shape if she hadn’t had a child.
Leah grimaced. But the dysfunctions of this family were none of her business. Tess, will you be okay now?
Sure.
Leah looked at her watch. It was early afternoon. I hope to know more by the end of the day. Meanwhile, both of you be careful who you open the door to.
chapter 19
Abbott Investigations occupied the ground floor of a two-storey shopfront in a side street near Glenferrie Road. Leah parked the Magna directly outside it and watched for a while. No one came in or out. She could see a receptionist through a plate-glass window, a middle-aged woman who moved from her workstation to a bank of filing cabinets and back again. There seemed to be a waiting area and an inner office.
Leah waited until the footpath was clear and opened the boot. The killer stared at her malevolently, his eyes slitted with hate. Leah grinned. Still alive, I see.
Ill get you, girlie.
I’m sorry, Leah said, but youve gone and called me girlie, and she slammed the boot lid.
She entered Abbott Investigations and flipped her wallet open and closed at the receptionist. Detective Sergeant Jill Blair, she said. I need to see the boss.
The woman stood, an expression of faint alarm on her pleasant face. My husbands just through there, she said. Ill let him know that
Don’t bother, Leah said, stalking past the woman and down a short hallway to an office door. She opened it and walked in on a plump, tired-looking man wearing a jacket and tie. He was fiddling with an array of black boxes the size of cigarette packets. Transmitters, Leah thought.
Police, she said. Sorry to barge in, but this concerns one of your agents, Theo Reed.
It was important to get them on the hop; take charge of the situation; lead, never follow.
Theo? Is he all right? Ive been trying to
Hes dead.
The mans soft jaw dropped. He seemed genuinely shocked. I beg your pardon?
You hired a hitman to top Tess Quant, Leah said harshly. The school hired you to find Tess, and you assigned Theo Reed to the case. He passed on information to you, and you passed this information on to the hitman.
Abbott swallowed, then seemed to grow thoughtful. He was not as soft as he looked; this wasn’t a job for a soft man, or woman. Are you also saying that this hitman, whoever he is, killed Theo? Why would he do that? Why would I want him to do that? His hand went out. If I might examine your warrant card and make a call?
Leah took a step back but was otherwise still tense and focused. Your firm owns a blue Magna, correct?
Yes.
Its outside.
I don’t see what
Theo Reed is lying dead in the boot. He was shot in the head. I didn’t shoot him and I didn’t put him there. The man who did shoot him is also in the boot, alive, in handcuffs. Come and see for yourself.
This was a test of sorts. Would Abbott bluster, turn dangerous, be curious, not curious enough?
Curious. That was a good sign. Leah motioned him to lead the way out to the car. Something about his bearing spelt ex-cop to her. They were standing on the footpath, Leah fetching the keys, when he said mildly, I know who you are.
She ignored him, slipping the key into the boot lock.
Youre Leah Flood.
She stood facing him, the key in the lock, about to turn it. So?
My daughters on the police force. She thinks they did a shitty thing to you. So do I. For what its worth.
She gave him an abrupt nod. She didn’t want to talk about it. Plus, why should she believe him? He might be trying to undermine her. She watched him, waiting to see what he’d do or say.
You have plenty of support, you know. My daughter hears things. I hear things. The police are anxious to shake off the old culture, the one you came up against.
Leah felt that she was losing control of the situation. She clenched her fists. You hired a hitman, on behalf of someone else.
No. Youve got it all wrong.
Okay. Lets look at it another way. You passed information on to another person, and this person hired the hitman.
Abbott threw up his hands. Maybe, but it was done innocently on my part. Theo reported to me, I reported to Dr Heyward at the school.
Leah was inclined to believe him. She needed to eliminate him as a suspect, thats all. She opened the boot.
Abbott moaned softly in distress. Thats Theo. Oh God, his poor wife.
Leah pointed, saying, He was shot by that man. The murder weapon is in the glovebox, a silenced .22 pistol. My prints are on it, sure, but with any luck youll find the killers prints on the shells and magazine inside the gun, and you may find gunshot residue on his hand an
d sleeve.
Abbott nodded. I can do something about that.
Hes dangerous.
Abbott nodded again, then glanced shrewdly at Leah. Theo was licensed to carry a .38 revolver.
Leah began to back away. She patted her jacket pocket, indicating that she now possessed the .38, then darted across the road and along it to Glenferrie Road, where she walked rapidly for two blocks, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder. She was not followed but Abbott was bound to phone someone. She hailed a passing cab.
She took it for several blocks and caught another cab. Then another. She hadn’t come this far by trusting a man like Abbott, or anyone else.
chapter 20
It was a twenty-minute cab ride to Penleigh Hall Church of England Girls Grammar School. What a mouthful, and it all denoted snooty indifference, if the woman at the front desk was any indication of the spirit of the establishment. She tipped back her head and stared down her nose at Leah.
I’m afraid that Dr Heyward does not see anyone without an appointment.
Already she had lost interest in Leah and was closing down her computer, flicking intercom switches and checking her handbag for car keys.
Which is her office?
The woman stopped what she was doing and stared at Leah, appalled. Are you applying for a teaching position with us? I’m afraid youll have to follow standard procedures and
I’m not after a job, certainly not in this place.
The woman peered at Leah. An expensive, eye-watering perfume, stale as the day was long, wafted from her. Are you related to one of our pupils? A staff member? Unless its an emergency, we have certain rules
It was time to cut through the suffocating formalities. Its about Tess Quant.
The woman froze. Oh.
I need to see the principal at once.
Do you have information for us? I’m afraid theres no reward.
Leah put her hands on the wooden rail that encircled the reception desk, seat and switchboard, and leaned in, snarling, Because this stinking school stuffed up, someone tried to murder Tess. I saved her. I know where she is. So unless you want me to go to the media, I suggest you get off your fat arse and take me to the principal. Now.
