‘Hello, I’m Barbara Taylor, and I’m talking about my son, Robert. Robert was both a good boy and a bad boy during both his childhood and his life. When Robert was a child, both he and I had bad traumatic times as the victims of my former husband, Bob. During my marriage with him and after my second son Steve was born, Bob abused me many times, and then he also abused Robert many times, so Robert had a traumatic childhood. He became such a poor boy, and I also became a poor woman because we were the victims of my former brutal husband. When Bob and I divorced, I looked after my two sons and we tried to go forward from the bad times. Now we were free from the trauma. When Robert started doing crime in his childhood, then in his youth and still when he became an adult, I tried to help him but he refused my help. He was so selfish. He did the wrong things; especially in thieving. He did car theft, robbery of shops, assaults with weapons, armed robbery, stalking and assault, all in his ten years of crime. I tried to stop him from doing crime, and when I was going to help him, he’d say “Piss off!” and told me to go away. I was disappointed in him continuing his crimes because I loved him so much.’
She takes a pause, and says to the rest of the people, ‘But now, I miss him when he’s gone. Even before he went, he continued his crimes until his tragic escape. His tragic rampage and tragic siege without the hostages has caused his life to be over, because he bumped himself off. But since he’s gone, I am sad and my family is sad. Robert was a poor man and an anti-hero.’ Then she hears from Steve who starts clapping his hands quietly and so she leaves from the pulpit and then the altar. She walks back to the seats and sits down next to the rest of her family. At the exit doorway of the Holy Star Church, Angelique is in tears as she takes a handkerchief out of her pocket to wipe the tears from her eyes. She says to Tyler, ‘God, it’s so sad for Robert’s mother to talk about how Robert became a tragic person.’
A minute later after the silence during Robert’s funeral, the celebrant returns to the altar, and walks to the pulpit again. He says to Robert’s family and friends, ‘It’s a sad day for Robert’s family and friends, and they’re going to miss him forever. However, I would like to invite everyone to come to the wake at the Hotel Espire. I also invite the coffin bearers to come up and lift the coffin and carry it out of the church to the hearse. We will leave you now with a soundtrack of Robert’s favourite song called “Creep” by Radiohead. This is the end of Robert’s funeral, in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit, amen.’
The celebrant leaves the pulpit and then the song ‘Creep,’ starts playing from the speaker. The group of coffin bearers stand up from their seats, walk to the coffin and lift it up. They carry it and walk slowly as they leave the Holy Star Church.
At the exit doorway, Tyler says to Angelique, ‘I think we’re going to leave from the Holy Star Church because the funeral is over. Let’s go to the cemetery in St Kilda.’
So he and Angelique leave from the church as the coffin bearers are carrying out the coffin. The guests and the other people are also leaving from the church because Robert’s funeral service is finished.
Later at the St Kilda Cemetery, Tyler and Angelique are walking towards the plot because they’re going to watch Robert Taylor’s body being buried. Tyler says to Angelique, ‘Okay, Angelique, we’re going to watch Robert Taylor be buried and after his burial, we’re going to talk to his mother and brother before they go to the Hotel Espire for the wake.’
‘Did they know Robert was disguised as the mysterious person who wore the mysterious coat during his hiding existence in St Kilda?’ asks Angelique.
‘I don’t know, Angelique,’ says Tyler. ‘I think being disguised as a mysterious person and wearing the mysterious coat was Robert’s secret, and he didn’t tell his family about his hiding in St Kilda.’
‘Yeah, maybe Robert tried to protect his private business from his family.’
‘All right, we will go to one of the burial sites and stand next to it because we’re going to wait for Robert’s mother and brother to come and see us. We’re kind of like spies.’
Tyler and Angelique walk to a burial site – which was made about one hundred years ago – and stand next to it, but five metres from them lies the burial site of Robert Taylor. Robert’s family and friends are standing around the grave as well as the celebrant who is also standing around the grave holding a piece of paper in his right hand and a Bible in his left hand. He starts reading the piece of paper.
‘Today, we farewell Robert Taylor and tomorrow, he will disappear from Earth and vanish into the air because he’s a lucky man but a lonely man, as Emerson, Lake and Palmer once says “Ooooooh, what a lucky man he was!”’
He stops reading from the piece of paper and puts it on the bottom of the Bible in his left hand. He then kicks a switch, and the coffin starts to go down into the hole until it stops. The celebrant then opens the Bible.
‘Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.’ He stops reading the Bible and shuts it while Robert’s family and friends are throwing flowers into Robert’s burial site. The flowers land on the top of the coffin with Robert’s body inside. When the other guests and the celebrant leave from Robert’s burial site, Barbara turns around and sees Tyler and Angelique standing next to the burial site and so she calls to Steve.
Steve hears Barbara’s voice and turns around to his wife. ‘Excuse me.’ And then walks to Barbara. ‘Yes, Mum?’
‘There are two people watching us and I think they’re spying on us.’
‘Who are they?’
‘I don’t know. Should we ask them?’
‘Yes, Mum,’ says Steve as he and Barbara walk to Tyler and Angelique who are standing next to the burial site. Barbara says to Tyler and Angelique. ‘Excuse me, young man, what’s your name?’
‘My name is Tyler Brown and this is my fiancée, Angelique.’
‘Hello,’ says Angelique.
‘You’re Robert’s mother?’ asks Tyler.
‘Yes, I am Robert’s mother.’
‘And I’m his brother, Steve.’
‘So, Mr Brown, why are you and Angelique watching my son Robert’s funeral?’
‘Because Angelique and I were interested. We know Robert, because we investigated him with the help of my mate Peter, Dr Airhardt and the police.’
‘Oh, are you and Angelique private investigators?’
‘No, we’re not. But I have a question for you. Did you know Robert was disguised as the mysterious person who wears the mysterious coat during his hiding in St Kilda?’
‘Oh, I’ve never heard of that before until I saw it on the TV news when Robert was in police custody again before he escaped.’
‘And what’s about you, Steve?’
‘I saw Robert wearing that coat once when he came to my house at Malvern for a visit, but he didn’t tell me how he was going and what he was doing. He talked to me about normal things and different things too.’
‘When was that?’
‘Before Christmas Day, last year.’
‘Do you know what that coat that Robert wore did to me?’
‘No,’ says Barbara.
‘I don’t know,’ says Steve.
‘It’s makes me crazy.’
‘Oh no, how does that happen to you?’
‘I was going nuts when I was swimming in the pool at the apartment when Robert was disguised as the mysterious person wearing the mysterious coat. He was creeping around my apartment block, and that night, I saw him wearing the same coat again when I was having dinner at a cafe. After this, I saw that coat hanging on a hook, and later it was gone when I was working at the Duke of York Hotel. After work when I was swimming again, I heard something rustling in the bushes and I saw a tiny bit of the coat sticking out of the bushes and after I left from the pool, the coat was not there.’
‘All right, what’s next?’
‘The next day when I was going to work, I saw the same coat when I looked out from the balcony window for a just a fleeting second, and the day aft
er when I was in my apartment block, I saw the coat outside when I was on the way to the police station. The day after that, I saw the coat out of the corner of my eye when I was having a chat with my friend, Peter.’
Barbara is shocked. ‘Oh my goodness! I can’t believe Robert was trying to stalk you!’
‘Yes but also, he attempted to take me hostage and tried to kill me when I was investigating his secret hideout. It was traumatic for me. Have you heard, seen or read the news about me being taken by Robert at his secret hideout?’
‘Yes, I read the news about this in the newspaper and I was a bit shocked about Robert’s arrest by the police again,’ says Barbara.
‘I was threatened by Robert when I was doing my work at the Duke of York Hotel last year,’ says Angelique.
‘What do you work as?’
‘A dancer.’
‘Do you mean a striptease dancer?’ asks Steve.
‘Steve, stop using sleazy talk,’ says Barbara.
‘Sorry, Mum.’
‘So how did this happen to you?’ asks Barbara.
‘I was working as a table-top dancer on stage with a pole in the secret room of the Duke of York Hotel. During performing on stage, I saw Robert – who was shouting at me – wanting me to have a drink with him, but I ignored him and kept dancing. After I was finished dancing, I left from the secret room and finished working and then left the Duke of York Hotel. I was scared of Robert when I was dancing.’
‘Why were you scared of Robert?’ asks Barbara.
‘Because he tried to rape me.’
Barbara is shocked again and says, ‘My goodness, Robert had assault charges twice during his life.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. What did you do after you finished your work?’
‘When I left from the Duke of York Hotel, I was walking home and then, Robert followed me. He was threatening me by using a pocketknife in his hand and he was going to stalk me and take me hostage, but when I turned around and saw him, I walked up to him and kicked his genitals and testicles very hard, and I saw him collapse and lie down on the footpath. I left him and walked to my house. After I arrived home, I called the police on the phone and the next day when the police arrived at the street, Robert has disappeared because he disguised himself as the mysterious person and wore the mysterious coat. I was not happy.’
‘That’s terrible,’ says Barbara.
‘Yes, I was a survivor, and I hope Tyler is going to look after me. I want him to protect me when I’m working as a dancer performing on stage. I also want him to protect me from unwelcome strangers at the secret room of the Duke of York Hotel,’ purred Angelique.
‘Are you sure?’ asks Steve.
‘That’s my plan; it’s only a fantasy,’ says Angelique.
‘Oh, all right.’
‘Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mrs Taylor and Steve,’ says Tyler. ‘We will meet you again as soon as possible because Angelique and I are going to get married in June and we’re going to be the happiest couple in Australia, and maybe the world. Goodbye.’
‘Goodbye, Tyler and Angelique,’ says Barbara.
‘Hoo roo,’ says Steve as he and Barbara leave and walk to join his wife and two young children and the other guests at the Hotel Espire for the wake.
Angelique says to Tyler, ‘I think Barbara is nice; better than your mother, Tyler.’
‘What?’
‘Never mind.’
‘Oh, sugar.’
‘Don’t worry Tyler,’ says Angelique. ‘It’s nice to meet someone that you or I haven’t met before.’
‘All right, let’s go to the market to get a pack of strawberries and then,’ suggests Tyler.
‘Okay, good idea,’ says Angelique as she and Tyler leave from the St Kilda Cemetery and they go back to continuing their romance and spicing up their love life.
At the coffee shop after visiting the fruit market, Tyler and Angelique are having coffee. A pack of strawberries from the fruit market and rests on the table. Tyler stops drinking his cup of coffee and puts it down.
‘Hey, Angelique.’
Angelique also stops drinking her cup of coffee. ‘Yes, Tyler?’
‘Is there anything we can do tonight?’
‘Maybe we can visit my house tonight.’
‘Why.’
‘Because I’m asking you to visit it.’
‘Okay, where do you live?’
‘I live in Cartwright Street, St Kilda.’
‘What type of house do you live in?’
‘Just a townhouse.’
‘What’s inside?’
‘It has two bedrooms, a lounge room, a kitchen and a bathroom.’
‘After you started working as a dancer at the Duke of York Hotel, how many years had you lived in this house?’
‘I’ve been living in this house for five years after I started working as a dancer of the Duke of York Hotel. I started dancing at the Prince’s secret room at the age of twenty-two. I also started living in that house after I got paid for work.’
‘Do you have a roommate in your house?’
‘No, not now but I used to.’
‘Was your roommate a man or a woman?’
‘Just a woman.’
‘What was her name?’
‘Her name was Michelle.’
‘Where was she from?’
‘From Queensland.’
‘What work did she do?’
‘She worked as a manager of a beauty salon.’
‘How long did she live with you?’
‘She’d lived in my house for three years before she moved out to Prahran, married and had one or two children.’
‘Do you miss Michelle after she moved out from your house?’
‘Yes, I still miss Michelle very much,’ says Angelique. ‘Hopefully I’ll see her again one day as soon as possible.’
Tyler takes the pack of strawberries from the table, opens it, and then puts it back on a table. Angelique purrs and says with her sultry sexy voice, ‘Mmmm, strawberries.’ Tyler takes a piece of strawberry, holds it in his hand and says to Angelique, ‘I love you.’
He then feeds Angelique the strawberry by putting it on Angelique’s lips. She opens her mouth and eats the strawberry and Tyler puts the stalk back on the table. Tyler and Angelique then go back to drinking their cups of coffee because they’re continuing their romance.
CHAPTER 46
L
ater at the police station, Inspector Mack Young is reading a newspaper while he sits on a chair next to his desk but there is a knock on the door.
Mack says, ‘Come in.’
The door opens and Angelique enters first followed by Tyler so Mack stops reading the newspaper and says to Tyler and Angelique, ‘Oh hello, Tyler, hello Angelique, have a seat.’ Tyler and Angelique walk to the two chairs and sit down and Mack says to Tyler and Angelique, ‘So, any final thoughts about Robert Taylor?’
‘We went to his funeral,’ says Tyler.
‘Did you and Angelique attend his funeral?’ says Mack.
‘No, we just watched,’ says Tyler.
‘What did you and Angelique see at his funeral?’ says Mack.
‘We watched a welcome speech by the celebrant first and then, we watched Robert’s brother, Steve, read a quote from Dr Seuss but after he finished reading, he was a bit upset about the loss of Robert and finally, we watched his mother, Barbara, talk about Robert’s life. Then there was a small final speech by the celebrant,’ says Tyler.
‘During Robert’s funeral I turned to tears and I cried for Robert’s mother who talked about how Robert had become a tragic and lonely man. It’s so sad,’ says Angelique.
‘Well, every criminal becomes tragic when taking their own life after their crimes or being busted by us, the police,’ says Mack.
‘How many?’ says Angelique.
‘There are millions of them,’ says Mack.
‘Crikey, that’s terrible,’ says Tyler.
‘So, Tyler, what ab
out the burial service of Robert Taylor?’ says Mack.
‘Well, Angelique and I went to the cemetery and we watched Robert be buried in his grave,’ says Tyler. ‘And when the burial service was over, we interviewed Steve and Barbara and we talked to them about how Robert disguised himself as the mysterious person who wears the mysterious coat during his hiding in St Kilda.’
‘When you and Angelique interviewed Steve and Barbara at the cemetery, who’d seen Robert with the mysterious coat?’ says Mack.
‘It was Steve,’ says Tyler.
‘Where?’ says Mack.
‘At his house in Malvern,’ says Tyler.
‘When?’ says Mack.
‘Before Christmas last year,’ says Tyler.
‘Why?’ says Mack.
‘Because Steve told me that he saw Robert with the mysterious coat when Robert came to visit Steve’s house. Robert didn’t tell Steve about what he was doing and talked to Steve about normal things and different things but Angelique and I think Robert was protecting his private business from his family,’ says Tyler.
‘God that’s selfish!’ says Mack. ‘I think this is disgraceful for Robert!’
‘Yes, because some people who want to protect their private business from their families don’t tell their families their secrets,’ says Tyler. ‘Look at teenagers who are underage; they’re protecting their private business and secrets from their families. Some of them are smoking, some of them are drinking alcohol, some of them are taking drugs and some of them are having sex and checking out pornography in magazines, on videos and DVDs or on the internet only to run away when their parents bust them.’
‘And even some of them go to nightspots including nightclubs using their fake ID cards before they turn eighteen. I don’t want young boys who use their fake ID cards to visit the Duke of York Hotel and the secret room of the Duke of York Hotel either,’ says Angelique.
‘Look, we’ve arrested some teenagers for doing the wrong things including taking drugs before they turn eighteen and we’re searching for some teenagers who were missing when they’ve run away from their parents and families before turning eighteen,’ says Mack. ‘They’ve broken the law and they’ve fought against the law.’
The Mysterious Coat Page 27
