The Mysterious Coat

by Nicholas Walsh

  ‘Do you think it’s selfish or shocking or every parent’s worst nightmare?’ says Tyler.

  ‘Shocking, very shocking,’ says Mack.

  ‘Oh, I see,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Now tomorrow, the police are having a state coroner’s inquiry about the saga of the mysterious coat,’ says Mack. ‘You two will become witnesses.’

  ‘Really?’ says Tyler.

  ‘Yes,’ says Mack.

  ‘Well, I’m looking forward to it. Can I talk publicly about my experience with Robert Taylor?’ says Tyler.

  ‘No,’ says Mack.

  ‘Well, Angelique and I are going now to see Dr Airhardt talk about the final thoughts of Robert Taylor so I’ll see you in court,’ says Tyler. ‘Goodbye, Inspector.’

  ‘Goodbye, Tyler. Goodbye, Angelique,’ says Mack, so Tyler and Angelique exit.

  At Dr Airhardt’s office, he is reading one of his books about psychology when he hears a knock at the door. Dr Airhardt stops reading his book, and says, ‘Come in.’ The door opens and Angelique enters first followed by Tyler. Dr Airhardt says to Tyler and Angelique, ‘Hello, Tyler and Angelique, do you have news about Robert Taylor?’

  ‘Yes, Angelique and I went to Robert’s funeral today,’ says Tyler.

  ‘How was it?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘It’s all right doctor, but guess what we saw during the burial service of Robert Taylor?’ says Tyler.

  ‘What?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘We saw Robert’s mother and brother at the cemetery,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Did you talk to them about Robert who disguised himself as the mysterious person who wears the mysterious coat during hiding somewhere in St Kilda?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘Yes we talked to them about Robert with that coat,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Who saw Robert with this coat?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘It was his brother, Steve,’ says Tyler.

  ‘So what’s the story?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘Way back before Christmas last year at Steve’s house in Malvern, Steve saw Robert with the mysterious coat once when Robert came to visit his house but Robert didn’t tell him about what he was doing and Robert talked to him about normal things and different things,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Why?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘Because Robert was protecting his private business from his family being a mysterious person who wears the mysterious coat and that’s selfish!’ says Tyler.

  ‘Yes, Tyler, I agree,’ says Dr Airhardt. ‘Many criminals or other types of bad people are selfish when they protect their private business from their families and friends – like John West from Power Without Glory. He was doing suspicious things, including working for an illegal betting shop when gambling was illegal in Victoria and Australia a long time ago, and he protected his private business from his wife, his children, his family, his friends and other people. So how’s Robert’s mother and brother going?’

  ‘They’re both fine and now they miss Robert,’ says Tyler.

  ‘What do you think of them?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘Oh, they’re all right, Doctor’, says Tyler. ‘They’re just okay.’

  ‘I think Robert’s mother Barbara is nice and she tried to help Robert stay on the straight and narrow but she was fighting a losing battle,’ says Angelique.

  ‘Yes but I think Robert was a selfish man during his crime spree and also using the disguise as the mysterious person who wears the mysterious coat during his hiding somewhere in St Kilda because he wanted his family to leave his private business alone,’ says Dr Airhardt. ‘It’s a shame.’

  ‘And also, there’s a state coroner’s inquiry about the saga of the mysterious coat which is going to be here and Inspector Mack Young is going to put both me and Angelique as witnesses,’ says Tyler.

  ‘When?’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Doctor, you’ve got to attend this inquiry,’ says Angelique.

  ‘I can’t go because I’ve got to do my work as a psychiatrist so anyhow, good luck for being witnesses at the state coroner’s inquiry,’ says Dr Airhardt.

  ‘That’s okay, Doctor, and thank you. I’ll see you next time,’ says Tyler. He and Angelique walk to the door and when Tyler opens the door, Angelique exits first and then Tyler also exits and shut the door.

  Later at the police station, Inspector Mack Young is sitting on his chair next to his desk as he’s talking to Detective Sergeant Nick Baxter who is sitting on the other chair.

  Mack says to Nick, ‘Now, Nick.’

  ‘Yes, Inspector?’ says Nick.

  ‘Tomorrow, there’s the state coroner’s inquiry about the saga of the mysterious coat and Robert Taylor so the usual security should be in place,’ says Mack.

  ‘Yes, Inspector, it will be alright,’ says Nick. ‘Australia is the lucky country and it’s also the luckiest country in the world. Now, are there any witnesses for this inquiry?’

  ‘There will be three witnesses to take part in this inquiry,’ says Mack. ‘Tyler Brown, Angelique and the owner of the coat shop. All of them saw the mysterious coat during this saga about the coat.’

  ‘Are you going to interview all the witnesses?’ says Nick.

  ‘No, just a lawyer,’ says Mack.

  ‘Why?’ says Nick.

  ‘Because I’m a policeman and I’m an inspector,’ says Mack.

  ‘Who will take the mysterious coat to the inquiry?’ says Nick.

  ‘Professor Jerry Bowie from the forensic squad and Carson, a fashion cop, will take the coat for the inquiry and they will show it to the public,’ says Mack. ‘Robert was shy and even more shy with the media. I’m not sure if he looked average or ugly.’

  ‘Exactly,’ says Nick, but the door opens and it is a police desk sergeant.

  He says to Nick, ‘Excuse me, Sergeant, there’s been a robbery here in St Kilda.’

  Nick spins around and says to the police desk sergeant, ‘Where?’

  ‘At Memory Bank in Fritzeg Street,’ says the police desk sergeant.

  ‘When?’ says Nick.

  ‘Just happened fifteen minutes ago,’ says the police desk sergeant, so Nick spins back to Mack. ‘I’m sorry, Inspector, I gotta go now to investigate a robbery. I’ll be back later tonight.’ He stands up from his chair and walks to the door, but Inspector Mack Young says to Detective Sergeant Nick Baxter, ‘So long.’

  When Nick exits from Mack’s office, the police desk sergeant says to Mack, ‘Do you want to join Nick to visit the Memory Bank and investigate the robbery in Fritzeg Street St Kilda, Inspector?’

  ‘No thank you, I’m just fine,’ says Mack.

  ‘Okay, Inspector,’ says the police desk sergeant so he shuts the door.

  That night at Angelique’s house in Cartwright Street, the door opens and Angelique and Tyler enter, but Angelique shuts the door, turns on the lights and says to Tyler, ‘Well, Tyler, this is my house.’ Tyler walks to the lounge room and she says to him, ‘This is my lounge room. This is my coffee table, beautiful sofa, crystal cabinet, sideboard, two-set couch and …’ Angelique turns around and points to a large photo of Angelique and her family and says, ‘A large photo.’

  Tyler turns around and says to Angelique, ‘What’s this photo all about?’

  ‘It’s about me and my family,’ says Angelique.

  ‘Who took that photo?’ says Tyler.

  ‘A professional photographer,’ says Angelique. ‘We paid him to take a family portrait.’

  Tyler turns back and sees a photo album on the coffee table and says to Angelique, ‘Hey, Angelique, what’s this photo album about?’

  Angelique turns and says to Tyler, ‘Oh, it’s about my photo shoots when I was doing shoots for Vogue magazine and catalogues of lingerie shopping and adult shopping.’

  ‘Who took the photos?’ says Tyler.

  ‘A professional fashion photographer. That’s the same photographer who took the photos of models doing posing,’ says Angelique. ‘Do yo
u want to have a look at this photo album?’

  ‘No thank you,’ says Tyler. ‘Have you posed for men’s magazines during your modelling work before?’

  ‘I didn’t do posing for men’s magazines before, but I’ve told you that before Tyler,’ says Angelique. ‘I just want to be a normal girl working for the fashion industry.’

  ‘Sorry,’ says Tyler.

  ‘That’s okay,’ says Angelique. ‘Let’s go to my kitchen.’

  She and Tyler leave the lounge room and walk to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Angelique and Tyler arrive and she says to him, ‘This is my kitchen.’

  ‘What happens in your kitchen?’ says Tyler.

  ‘Nothing, just a normal kitchen,’ says Angelique.

  ‘I see but the problem is …’ says Tyler. ‘Where is the dining room in your house?’

  ‘Oh, it’s adjacent to the kitchen, a separate lovely area,’ says Angelique, so she and Tyler adjourn to the dining room but Angelique says to Tyler, ‘See?’

  ‘Oh, that’s different,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Let’s go to my bathroom,’ says Angelique. She and Tyler leave the kitchen and walk to the bathroom. In the bathroom, the door opens and Angelique and Tyler enter but she says to him, ‘This is my bathroom.’

  ‘What goes on in your bathroom?’ says Tyler.

  ‘It’s has a beautiful spa, candles and a double shower,’ says Angelique. ‘But I have one more room to show you, Tyler.’

  ‘What is it, Angelique?’ says Tyler.

  ‘My bedroom. It’s got two coats in my wardrobe. Do you wanna see it?’ says Angelique.

  ‘Um, okay,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Let’s go,’ says Angelique, so she and Tyler exit the bathroom and Angelique shuts the door. In one of the bedrooms, the door opens and Angelique and Tyler enter but she says to him, ‘This is my bedroom.’ She and Tyler walk to her wardrobe and when she opens the door of her wardrobe, it has a lot of her dresses, clothes and outfits, including two coats. She takes the first coat off a coat-hanger out of her wardrobe, shows it to Tyler and says to him, ‘You see, Tyler, it’s a long coat but it’s only a spare long coat.’

  ‘Yes I see,’ says Tyler.

  ‘But the other long coat is still in your flat,’ says Angelique.

  ‘Yeah,’ says Tyler, but Angelique puts the first coat on a coat-hanger back in her wardrobe, takes the second coat off a coat-hanger out of her wardrobe, shows it to Tyler and says to him, ‘This is a warmer coat than I use during the coldest weather in autumn, winter and spring.’

  ‘What months do you wear it?’ says Tyler.

  ‘In June, July, August and September,’ says Angelique.

  ‘Mmm, I see,’ says Tyler, so Angelique puts the second coat on a coat-hanger back in her wardrobe, shuts the door of her wardrobe and says to Tyler, ‘You see, Tyler, the two coats were normal and it’s alright because I’m wearing the same two coats during my daily routines, including my work at the Duke of York Hotel.’

  Tyler is speechless so he walks to Angelique’s bed and sits down, but Angelique says to him, ‘What’s the matter, Tyler? Are you okay?’

  ‘Nope,’ says Tyler.

  ‘You don’t like coats?’ says Angelique.

  ‘I don’t know,’ says Tyler, but Angelique walks to the door, spins around and says to Tyler, ‘Do you want to have dinner with me at my house?’

  ‘Oh yes, sure,’ says Tyler, so he stands up from Angelique’s bed and walks to her but they exit the bedroom and she and Tyler go back to the kitchen to make dinner and eat in the dining room.

  CHAPTER 47

  T

  he next morning at the Coroner’s Court, the state coronial inquiry of the saga of the mysterious coat begins. Seated are lots of people. They include all who have been involved with Robert Taylor’s life. On a special seat, there is a lawyer and on the bench there’s a judge who is middle-aged and wearing a suit just like a court judge.

  He says to the people in a deep voice, ‘Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the state coronial inquiry of the saga of the mysterious coat.’ He takes his glasses from the bench and puts them on his face and he also takes a piece of paper which has the writings of the saga about the mysterious coat written by a lawyer. He starts reading and says to the people again, ‘The saga of the mysterious coat began with a criminal by the name of Robert Ernest Taylor who was released from jail after serving a one year sentence in prison for stalking and assault. Robert visited the coat shop owned by Mr Darcy Jones at Fritzeg Street and bought a coat which turned out to be a long, light brown coat. After he bought it, and before he left from the coat shop, he told Mr Jones that he was going to go home wearing this coat, going to disguise himself as a mysterious person and going to do crime again. He also told Mr Jones that he would be hiding somewhere in St Kilda. This then led to kidnapping, assault, possession of weapons and explosives and attempted kidnapping and attempted holding a person hostage at his secret hideout all the while being disguised as a mysterious person with the mysterious coat before his last arrest.’ The judge stops reading the piece of paper, puts it back on the bench, takes off his glasses and puts them back on the bench, looks up and speaks to the people again, ‘Now this man is the mysterious person and this coat is a mysterious outfit. I would like to call two men from the police to show you the mysterious coat.’

  A guard wearing a security guard uniform opens the door and there is Professor Jerry Bowie from the police forensic squad and the fashion cop, Carson, who is holding a box which contains the mysterious coat. They enter the court room and a guard shuts the door behind them. Jerry and Carson stop walking and turn around to see the people and the rest of the room.

  Jerry says to them, ‘Good morning, everybody.’

  ‘Morning,’ says all of the people.

  ‘I’ll show you all the mysterious coat,’ says Professor Bowie, so he opens the box which Carson is still holding, takes the coat out of the same box, holds it, shows it to the people and says to them, ‘The same coat’s colour is light brown and the label is Prada. When we’re investigating the same coat with a help of my colleagues of the forensic squad, it got a bit of stain and saliva on it. This coat was worn by Robert Taylor who’s been visiting the Duke of York Hotel many times during his hiding somewhere in St Kilda.’ Jerry puts the coat back in the box, shuts it and says to the people again, ‘Of course, this coat is mysterious, and Robert is also a mysterious stranger.’

  He and Carson walk to the door, and a guard opens the door again, and Professor Bowie and Carson exit so the guard goes to shut the door again.

  The judge says, ‘Thank you, gentlemen. Now I would like to call the first witness and his name is Mr Tyler Brown.’

  A lawyer in his early forties who is wearing a suit stands up from the chair near the table which has documents and other stuff on it and says, ‘Calling Mr Tyler Brown.’

  Tyler, who is wearing a Peter Jackson suit, stands up from one of the seats and walks to the witness box, walks up the steps and onto the stand. A bailiff with the Bible in his hand walks to Tyler and says to him, ‘All right, Mr Brown, I want you to repeat these lines after me.’ Tyler puts his hand on the top of the Bible and raises his other hand. The bailiff says to him, ‘I swear by almighty God.’

  ‘I swear by almighty God,’ says Tyler.

  ‘To tell the truth,’ says the bailiff.

  ‘To tell the truth,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help me God,’ says the bailiff.

  ‘Tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help me God,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Thank you, you may sit down,’ says the bailiff. Tyler removes his hand from the top of the Bible and sits down on a chair as the bailiff leaves. A lawyer takes the pieces of paper about the saga of the mysterious coat from a table and says to Tyler, ‘Mr Brown, where do you work?’

  ‘I work at the Duke of York Hotel in St Kilda,’ says Tyler.

  ‘So you work as a staff member of
the Duke of York Hotel, do you?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ says Tyler. ‘I have been working at the Duke of York Hotel for seven years.’

  ‘So tell me about the mysterious coat that you have seen before,’ says the lawyer.

  ‘It started at the beginning when I was swimming in the pool at my apartment and I saw a mysterious person who was wearing a coat creeping around my apartment block and then that night, I saw the same mysterious person who was still wearing the same coat again when I was having dinner at the cafe,’ says Tyler.

  ‘So what was this mysterious person who was still wearing the mysterious coat doing during creeping around your apartment block?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘He was looking at everything,’ says Tyler.

  ‘What was he looking for?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘I don’t know,’ says Tyler. ‘I think he was looking around.’

  ‘All right. What about the Duke of York Hotel? What do you do at this hotel?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘I arrived at the Duke of York Hotel, and when I was working, I saw the same coat hanging on a hook, and later before I finished work, I saw that’s the coat was gone, and then later that night, I was swimming again at my apartment and I heard something rustle in the bushes. I saw a tiny bit of this coat sticking out of the bushes and then after I left the pool, the coat was gone,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Do you think the mysterious person with the mysterious coat was stalking you?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘No,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Threatening you?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘No,’ says Tyler.

  ‘What is it?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘It makes me crazy,’ says Tyler.

  ‘Oh, sorry, Mr Brown. What about the next day?’ says the lawyer.

  ‘The next day when I was going to the Duke of York Hotel for work, I saw the coat again when I looked out of the balcony window for just a fleeting second, and the day after when I was going to the police station, I saw that coat again outside my apartment block,’ says Tyler.