‘No way to know. I might know the voice if I heard it again, but I didn’t see anyone.’
Loggins drained his glass. ‘I wonder if he’ll come after you again?’
‘Why should he? I don’t know anything.’
Loggins smiled. That’s as maybe. But it might be possible to convey the impression that you know a lot.’
‘Jesus,’ I said. I’m not sure…’
‘Like earning a living, do you, Hardy?’
This was it-the price to be paid. ‘I’ve hardly started earning one in this game.’
‘You could be OK at it, with the right help and contacts. Or you could be back sniffing around burned-out factories and cars within the month.’
‘Shit.’
‘Don’t get me wrong. I’m joking, more or less. Look, I think we should have a little conference- you, me and Gallagher. Nut a few things out. What d’you say?’
‘I’d say this must be a big case.’
Loggins eased his chair back. ‘It is. Let’s go and get your gun and your vehicle.’
Technically, when I got home in my own car with my gun in its holster, all courtesy of Bob Loggins, I was late for my phone call to Melbourne. The twenty-four hours had been up for a while. I made the. call anyway and got the same male voice.
‘Hold on,’ it said.
I held. I had a glass of wine by the phone and a very full, very hot bath waiting for me and my bruises. My nose and jaw throbbed. I realised that I hadn’t been this battered since the army and before that when I’d boxed as an amateur and before that… I was recalling schoolground fights with Mickey Fussell and Brian Hobbs when that man-pleasing voice came over the line: ‘Mr Hardy? Mr Hardy, this is Virginia Shaw. Why are you calling?’
Good question. I took a gulp of wine. Hold the anger down, Cliff. Gently does it. Easier said than done. The words came out in a rush. ‘A lot’s been happening. I’ve seen Andrew Perkins. I’ve been shot at. A woman who works for Perkins is dead.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Neither do I. Look, who’s this guy who answers the phone? And would you mind telling me where you are?’
‘I… I don’t think that’s a very good idea.’
‘I’ve had to talk to the police, Miss Shaw. Several times. It hasn’t been much fun. I’ve been trying to keep you out of it as much as I can, but…’
‘Yes. Oh, yes, please! Keep me out of it, Mr Hardy. I’ll pay you well.’
‘Payment’s not the main issue. Have you ever heard of a woman named Juliet Farquhar?’
Five hundred miles apart and communicating over a wire, I could tell by the quality of the silence that she knew the name. ‘She’s dead, Miss Shaw,’ I said roughly. ‘She was shot, possibly by the same man who shot your boyfriend.’
‘God. Oh, God.’
She sounded very frightened. Also, she hadn’t asked about getting her fee out of Perkins. Offering to pay me more and not concerned so much about the money I was supposed to be bringing in. For someone in her business, that amounted to real fear. I let her stew in it for a moment. What the hell? She was underground in Melbourne with efficient-sounding protection. I was the one hanging my arse out in the warm Sydney wind.
‘Miss Shaw,’ I said. ‘The police have got me in a bit of a bind. They want to use me as some kind of a bait to get at Meadowbank’s killer. I haven’t got the details yet, but how does that sound to you?’
‘That sounds very dangerous.’
‘I think so, too. Now I’m still trying to do a job for you, but you can understand that I feel very vulnerable. Do you follow me?’
A whisper. ‘Yes.’
‘I have the feeling that you’re not a part of all this shit.’
‘I’m not! I’m not! I swear to you.’
‘I want to believe you, but you won’t tell me where you are, who you’re with or anything else.’
‘I’m too afraid.’
‘So you didn’t tell me anything like the whole story when we first met?’
‘No. I’m sorry, but, no, I didn’t. Everything I told you was true, absolutely true. But there’s more. Much more, and I can’t…’
‘OK. I think the police have got some idea of this. God knows what it is, I haven’t got a clue. But I don’t want to be their decoy, Miss Shaw… Miss Shaw?’
There was some kind of commotion at the other end-voices raised, disputation. She sounded more resolved when she spoke again. ‘I understand. I hope the police are on the right track.’
‘So do I. Give me something. A name, a place, a hint, so I don’t go into this thing totally blind. Something I can work with in both our interests.’
I drank the rest of my wine, wanted a cigarette but daren’t let go of the receiver to roll one. The pause seemed interminable. I’d gritted my teeth and my jaw gave me pain. I probed with my tongue for a loose tooth.
‘Dick Maxwell,’ she said. ‘He’s in your business.’
She hung up, but the buzzing on the dead line wasn’t a completely unhopeful sound.
The phone rang as soon as I replaced it and I picked it up with some annoyance-at this rate my bath was going to be stone cold. My injuries were stiffening up. An STD call.
‘Cliff, it’s me. How are you?’
Cyn. I’d scarcely thought of her in the last twenty-four hours. ‘I’m OK, love. Been busy. How about you?’
‘It’s very exciting.’
What is? I thought. ‘That’s good. Are you in Cairns? I didn’t find out where you were staying.’
‘I didn’t know for sure. I’m in a townhouse with one of the project people up here. I’ll give you the number.’
She did and I wrote it down. She chatted on about the job, making it sound more like one for a hydraulic engineer than an architect. I made some stock responses, not really interested.
‘Cliff, are you in trouble? You sound strange.’
‘Well, private detecting’s a bit different from company work,’ I said. ‘More demanding.’
‘Look, the weather’s great up here. Why don’t you come up when you finish what you’re doing? I assume you’re getting paid.’
Always the sting in the tail with Cyn. ‘Would you like that, love?’
‘It’d be great. You’d like it here.’
I had my doubts about that. I’d pretty much stayed away from the tropics after Malaya-too many bad memories of bullets and jungle and teeming rain-but this offer sounded good. I said so and we talked amiably for a few minutes before she remembered that her host would be paying for the call.
‘Reverse the charges next time,’ I said.
‘Goodnight, Cliff. Take care.’
You bet I will, starting on Monday. Loggins had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday morning when he expected to have comparative ballistics reports on the Meadowbank and Farquhar murders and other information. I’d agreed to the meeting, not having much option. Loggins was confident that Gallagher would attend. I wondered whether any pressure would be put on him in the meantime. I hoped I hadn’t dumped Gallagher in it-I already had one sworn enemy in the Darlinghurst detective division, raising it to two would probably mean shutting up shop.
Peter Corris
CH17 — Matrimonial Causes
I ran some more water into the bath and let myself slowly down into the comforting warmth. Cyn and I had got in the bath together on the first night after we’d moved into the house. We were both exhausted after throwing
