Presumed Missing

by Fiona Tarr

  ‘Don’t tell me. Another of your high-flyers with more money than he knows what to do with, but won’t share it with the mother of his children?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Your moral code confuses me Liz. You rescue girls, you track down lost ones, but you don’t mind rich pigs ripping off their wives.’ Max was keeping his tone under control. She understood the question. She’d asked herself the same thing often enough.

  ‘When it comes to grown-up relationships, I don’t think anyone knows enough to make that kind of call Max. They can figure it out on their own. If you see any sign of domestic violence, then you let me know because that will tip the balance.’

  ‘You got it. We still on for dinner with Jackie?’

  ‘For sure. Six at my place, bring something nice for your daughter.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Perfume, flowers, you’ll think of something.’

  Max gave Liz a sceptical look and she realised he probably wouldn’t think of something. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll grab something, just don’t be late.’

  8

  ‘Detective Cunningham.’

  ‘You still haven’t put my number into that old flip phone of yours?’

  ‘Hey Liz. I will, I will. I’ve just been under the hammer. Becca’s murder trial. Pushing to get Tom’s mental health defence thrown out on its ear and following up leads on you know who.’

  They both knew better than to use Magistrate Bruce Cunningham’s name over the phone. Jack’s dad had fingers in too many pies not to know he was still under investigation and he could get a warrant to tap just about anyone’s line, for any reason, even his detective son. Perks of his position, no doubt.

  ‘Can we meet? I’ve got a few leads I need official help with.’

  ‘The missing girl?’

  ‘Yep. We have her computer, but no mobile. I’m wondering if you can get the telecommunications company to track the last call location and maybe even a GPS if the battery is still on?’

  ‘I can do that over the phone.’ Jack offered, his tone overly casual. Liz smiled at his fishing expedition.

  ‘I was hoping I could brief you on where we are at. I just find it really helpful to talk this stuff through with you. You know, like we did with Becca’s case. It helped so much, didn’t it?’

  There was a moment of silence and Liz could hear the noise of the Major Crimes office humming in the background.

  ‘I’ll need to use the work computer, so why don’t you call into headquarters? Coffee is on me this time.’

  It wasn’t the meeting Liz was hoping for, but she’d take it. ‘I’ll be there in half an hour. I need to change first.’

  ‘See you then.’

  Liz hung up, put her phone on charge in the pop-up charging station at her long white island bench and surveyed the morning mess before heading to the bathroom. A quick loo stop, make-up touch up, spray of deodorant and a change into yoga pants and a tank, with a lightweight zip cardigan over the top. She slung her backpack over one shoulder and sat down on her white leather lounge to tie her shoes.

  Ten minutes later, she was walking down King William Street, ear buds in, Roxette playing Listen to your Heart. Memories of the bicentenary celebrations, the opening of the Olympic Dam uranium mine and the new parliament house flooding her mind, but most of all, it reminded her of her first few days on the streets.

  Running away had been her only chance to escape... not just the graffiti-filled streets or the female oppressive culture she’d grown up in, but her mum’s boyfriend. She knew her mum would never believe her. They hadn’t spoken in thirty years.

  She passed the Haigh’s Chocolate store and stopped to look at all the Easter treats in the window. The chocolate Bilbies lined the window with their coloured ribbons—Australia’s answer to the Easter bunny had started out as a quirky way to raise funds to save the Bilby, an endangered marsupial, and protect the environment from feral rabbit damage, but the Bilby now had a cult following of its own.

  The late eighties had freed her and enslaved her all in a matter of weeks. She’d escaped Les’s wandering hands, just to realise her only chance of survival on the street was to let strangers do just what Les had been doing for the past year.

  She had been close to ending all the pain, the fear, but a freak meeting with a local madam and then Max, offered new opportunities that ultimately made her more money than she knew what to do with.

  Her boss had taught her how to twist a man around her little finger and Liz had been a quick study. A few years later, she was establishing a high-profile client list full of ‘A’ class high flyers who all protected her like she was a china-doll, until she married Max.

  Another year later, she and Max divorced and Foxy Agency was born. Now her world had almost gone full circle. She was working with Max again. They had a grown daughter they were both getting to know and she was learning to use her skills in a new, possibly even more productive way.

  Liz reached the Police headquarters and took the elevator to the third floor. The doors opened and as she stepped out, the polished industrial vinyl floor squeaked under her sneaker soles.

  ‘Hey Liz.’ Jenny, a first-year detective waved.

  ‘Hi Jenny.’

  ‘How’s the grumpy old man going?’ Liz smiled. She’d only come to know Jenny during the preliminary court hearings for Becca’s case. She was a stirrer if ever there was one. She obviously got a great kick out of pushing Max’s buttons.

  ‘Oh, nothing much has changed.’

  ‘Here to see Jack?’ She winked and Liz chuckled.

  ‘For business, yep.’

  ‘Business hey. Right!’ Jenny pursed her lips and nodded, her face saying she wasn’t buying a word.

  ‘Ms Jeffreys.’ Liz looked up to see Jack standing in the hallway in front of the Major Crimes office entrance. He must have heard her talking.

  Jenny laughed. ‘See you soon Liz.’

  ‘Drinks maybe?’ Liz offered.

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ The young detective, with her dark brown hair tied back in a low pony tail looked fantastic in her light grey suit. Liz wondered if Jack might have been right about putting an undercover in amongst her girls. If anyone could pull it off, Jenny could. Her personality didn’t scream cop and she was a natural flirt.

  The thought slipped away as Jack touched her back. ‘We can run your data through a computer in ops.’

  Liz nodded and let Jack guide her down the hall, past the elevator to one of the rooms at the end. He opened the door for Liz and held it while she moved through. The room was small, with a wall full of screens. A keyboard sat on the desk, but there was no sign of a computer.

  ‘I thought you were old school? This looks a bit high tech for you detective.’

  He chuckled. ‘I can always get a technician if I need one, but I usually do okay. What have you got?’

  ‘Here is her mobile number. I’ve found out about a social media bully from her friends at school and I have Scott tracking her down, but nothing has come up on her computer yet. Hopefully when the moon rises tonight, Scott the nocturnal IT guru will find something.’

  ‘He tracked Becca’s cloud account, so I’m guessing he’ll be able to find you some sort of trail to follow.’

  ‘That was from an email I got though. We are going in cold on the computer. I hope he can get into it. She’s not been seen by anyone for over a week now. The kid from the refuge said she spent a week with them, then left. Then there is the way she left, saying there was no point running away from the inevitable, that and one of the girls at her school said she had an older boyfriend. Maybe the inevitable she spoke about had something to do with an adult, not another teenager?’

  ‘We’ve run the teachers at the school through the database. No history of anything. Is there anyone else outside school, another adult in her life we should be looking at?’

  Jack sat down in front of the keyboard, a blue screen flashed on as he began typing Gemma’
s number into the flashing white boxes.

  ‘No, not yet. I’ll keep digging though.’ Jack hit enter and a list popped up. He started running the numbers through another database.

  ‘I see what you meant when you said to keep my data safe.’ Liz watched as the names, addresses and driver’s licence photos appeared on yet another screen.

  ‘If your firewall is good, you should be fine, but your phone records are fair game unless you use a VPN.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t like technology?’

  ‘I said I didn’t trust it, there is a big difference.’ Jack kept his eyes on the screen. ‘The last number she called is a prepaid mobile. No owner information, but the location the call was made from is another story.’

  A fourth screen flashed to life, a satellite map popped up and a large dot pulsed over an area of about five kilometres over the Brighton to Somerton Park area.

  ‘Is this where she called from?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘So nowhere near the refuge. That’s only a few blocks from her home.’

  ‘It is near a school.’ Jack zoomed in.

  ‘Couldn’t be?’ Liz moved in closely. ‘Can you zoom in more?’ The image grew bigger. ‘It’s her school.’

  Jack started clicking keys.

  ‘You type alright for a copper.’ Liz touched his shoulder.

  He ignored the jibe, but she knew he felt her hand on his shoulder. ‘I can’t get a GPS fix, but your IT guy might be able to find something on her computer to help. A lot of kids have a find my phone app running.’

  ‘I’ll call Scott tonight. Fingers crossed the battery is still in play, but it’s unlikely. When was that call made?’

  Jack moved his cursor back to the screen displaying the call log. ‘Last Monday. Over a week. I think the battery is probably long dead.’

  ‘Bummer. Any chance you can organise some sort of search now that her phone and Gemma aren’t where they were thought to be?’

  Jack shrugged. ‘It isn’t my case. We’ve got no proof of any major crime but I’ll ring Missing Persons and see if I can put a fire under someone to escalate the case. I’ll pass on your information.’

  ‘How do they take PI intel?’

  ‘I think they’ll be good with this. I’ll also talk to the officers who visited the refuge and see why they didn’t pursue the case when she wasn’t even there? I’m beginning to wonder if this case should have been escalated earlier.’

  Liz squeezed Jack’s shoulder. ‘Thanks for the help Jack, really. I owe you a drink.’

  ‘It’s all good.’

  ‘No really. I’ve got something on tonight and I need to get back home, but seriously, I want to catch up for a drink. Maybe Max can join us?’

  Jack stood up and pushed his chair back. ‘Sounds like a plan.’ He moved to the door and opened it, waving Liz through.

  ‘I meant to ask you. Did you tell your mum what was going on?’

  Jack followed Liz to the elevator, then looked around to make sure no one could overhear. ‘Indirectly. My family is complicated. I’ll explain it to you one day, but my mum unofficially has an idea of what’s been happening under her nose. What she’ll do with it, I’m still not sure.’

  ‘A problem for another day then.’ Liz smiled as the elevator doors opened and Jenny stepped out.

  ‘See you soon Liz.’ Jenny waved and moved on down the hall.

  Jack watched Liz with the new detective and could see the cogs turning. ‘What are you planning?’ he asked, his tone wary.

  ‘I’ll discuss it when we catch up for dinner.’

  ‘I thought it was a drink?’

  The doors to the elevator began to close. ‘It was, now it’s dinner.’ Liz jumped in and Jack grinned at her mischievous look as the doors closed.

  9

  Liz opened the door to Max. ‘Early. Where did you put the real Max Fitzpatrick?’ She exaggeratedly leant out and looked down the hallway.

  ‘You said to be early.’ Max sounded defensive.

  ‘I was just messing with you Max. Come in.’ She took the bottle of wine he had in his hand away from him and walked down along the counter, opening the wine fridge at the end. Placing the warm bottle in to chill, she pulled out a cold one. It was just like Max to buy a warm bottle she thought, but said nothing.

  ‘Aren’t you nervous?’ Max sat down on the leather bar stool and watched as Liz started chopping up carrots to go on the platter she’d prepared with dips and cheese.

  ‘Not really. You’ve met Jackie. She’s pretty chilled.’

  ‘Have you met her adoptive mum?’ Max stood up and walked around the counter to Liz’s double doored fridge. ‘Do you have beer?’

  ‘Yes, I have a six pack just for you in the bottom drawer.’ She waved the knife as she spoke.

  ‘A six pack? I think I need a carton.’

  ‘No, you don’t. You need to keep your filter in check mister.’ Liz waved the knife again.

  ‘We aren’t married now Liz.’ Max twisted the cap off the beer and tossed it in the bin under the sink as he returned to the stool.

  ‘No, but I’m your boss.’ Max moaned, as if to say I knew I should never had taken this job, but Liz only laughed.

  The doorbell buzzed and Liz checked the security camera on her tablet. Two women stood outside. Liz put her knife down and moved to the door, wiping her hands on a towel as she went.

  She opened the door. ‘Jackie! You look fantastic.’ Liz hugged her daughter before she could take a step inside.

  ‘Liz. This is Lyn, my...mum.’ Jackie shrugged as she tried to find the right word.

  ‘Of course, Lyn. We are really pleased you could join us.’ Liz moved aside so both women could enter the apartment. Lyn gaped at the scene before her and Liz suddenly realised it must seem strange considering that Jackie had been given up for adoption, and now Liz was obviously extremely wealthy. Did the woman hold a grudge that she’d never sought her daughter out? Or because she’d never contributed to brining her up once she made money?

  In truth, Liz hadn’t given the child another thought until she’d come looking for her, now the guilt of that revelation had begun to fester.

  ‘You can pop your bags on the side table there if you like.’ Liz pointed to the white stone table that drew the eye to an eight-foot long mirror that framed the back wall of the living area perfectly. An elegant glass vase of lilies stood on the far corner of the table, offset by a fruit bowl full of odd items—totally out of place, but somehow homely.

  Max stood and smoothed his polo shirt, the same one he’d worn all day Liz noted. God she hoped he’d put on some deodorant.

  ‘Hi. I’m Max.’ He offered his hand to Lyn who looked at it with a frown but shook it anyway. ‘Can I get either of you a glass of wine? A water?’ Max wiped his hands on his jeans. Liz had never seen him so nervous. He was beginning to make her feel worried, which was ridiculous. She didn’t have to impress Lyn.

  ‘I was just making some dips. It’s a bit cool for the deck, so please, take a seat at the table if you like. I’ll bring them over and we can have a chat.’ Liz smiled. She knew she didn’t sound nervous but Lyn’s frown hadn’t abated.

  ‘Thanks Liz. Sounds awesome.’ Jackie smiled. ‘I’ll grab a champers if you have one Max.’

  ‘Sure. Lyn?’ He raised an eyebrow and waited. Liz had never seen him play host before. He hadn’t even sworn yet, something she’d warned him at least a dozen times not to do in front of Lyn.

  ‘I don’t drink.’ She scowled at Jackie, who shrugged and took the glass from Max.

  ‘Do you work Lyn?’ Liz asked as she brought the platter to the table. ‘I’ll have one of those thanks Max.’ He rolled his eyes but said nothing. She grinned as he sighed.

  ‘No. I’m a full-time mum.’ She smiled at Jackie and it was Liz’s turn to frown.

  ‘You have other children then?’ Liz took her glass of champagne from Max and sat down as he joined her, another beer already open.

  ‘No. I b
ake. I used to help out at Jackie’s school, but I don’t need to do that now she’s finished school.’

  ‘Did you go to uni Jackie?’ Liz asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m almost finished a law degree. What about you?’

  ‘Not when I was your age, but later in life I did a sociology degree. It was really interesting.’

  ‘That would be handy in your business.’ Jackie offered and Liz nodded.

  ‘What business is it you do?’ Lyn suddenly grew interested. Her tone said she really wanted to know where all the money came from.

  ‘We run a private investigation company. Fox Investigations.’

  ‘But that is only a new venture, isn’t it?’ Lyn probed and Liz got the sudden feeling she was being scrutinized.

  ‘Yes. I was a detective until recently.’ Max offered, taking a swig of his beer and reaching for a handful of cheese. He put a piece in his mouth and continued speaking. ‘I joined Liz as she opened the agency.’

  ‘What did you do before the investigation agency Liz?’ Liz’s eyes narrowed. Oh yeah, she was fishing for sure.

  ‘I managed my investments. A bit of day-trading, that type of thing?’

  ‘What’s with the twenty questions mum?’ Jackie looked at her mother accusingly.

  ‘Just trying to get to know your birth mother dear.’

  There was that tone again and Liz was beginning to feel her hackles rising. It seemed Lyn was digging for something. Instead of biting, she decided a redirection was in order.

  ‘What about Mr Sommers?’ Liz had done some digging of her own and she was pretty certain Jackie’s father was one of her clients, well one of the agency’s clients anyway. Surely, he hadn’t told his wife he recognised Liz? That would be relationship suicide, unless he said one of his friends recognised her. She suddenly wished she’d told Jackie more before this dinner.

  ‘What does your dad do for a living Jackie?’ Liz decided to focus on her daughter, Lyn’s features were growing more and more intense.

  ‘Dad has a law firm, mainly dealing with corporate and intellectual property laws. I’m working part-time there. This is great. I’m so glad we are moving past the small talk.’