Townsend refused to say a word until his solicitor was by his side. The cops treated Frank with respect in deference to his former rank. Townsend got the treatment appropriate to a medium-ranked celebrity. It was only Frank’s presence that stopped them treating me like shit. If they’d known I had an unlicensed pistol in the pocket of my denim jacket they might’ve done it anyway.
They said my car would be impounded. I handed over the keys. They bundled us into two of their vehicles- Frank in one, Townsend and me in the other-and took us to their HQ in Hurstville. Of course they found the. 45 and confiscated my mobile. I took off the bulletproof vest and surrendered it. The others did the same. They put us in separate rooms.
I prepared myself for a long and difficult night. The interview room was typically bleak-fluorescent light, no windows, plastic chairs, nondescript table, stand and plugs for recording equipment, and that was it. I draped my jacket over the back of one chair to give it a bit of padding, pulled another one over as a leg rest and stretched back and out as best I could. Nothing to read, nothing to eat or drink, nothing to do but think. Not the Lubianka or Guantanamo Bay, but bad enough to be going on with.
As I sat there with my bones aching, my stomach growling and the need for a piss building, one thing was clear. Someone within the Northern Crimes Unit, or in the employ of someone within it, had learned of Gregory’s defection and taken steps to frustrate it. Very effective steps bearing the hallmark of two of the three earlier killings- the neat, one low-calibre bullet execution. That was the person I needed to find. We’d never know now whether Gregory had the name and the evidence to back it up.
Another thing. Whoever had got to Gregory had waited until he’d identified his visitors. I could hear Gregory’s voice on the phone: Hardy? Got Townsend and Parker with you?
Not a comfortable feeling. He was out there, killing policemen, the most serious crime of all in the eyes of many.
Midnight came and went and then it got weird. The door opened and a uniformed female constable beckoned me out and asked, not told, me to follow her. I went along a passage and up some stairs. She opened a door and ushered me in. Different setting altogether-carpet, windows, easy chairs, civilised lighting. Frank and Townsend, both nursing coffee cups, sat a little apart and two men in suits sat nearby-one middle-aged, fattish, fair; the other younger, dark. Suits but no ties, stubble-called out in the early hours.
Lawyers? I thought. No. Cops, senior cops.
Frank stood and did the introductions. ‘Cliff, this is Senior Superintendent Matthews and Superintendent Mattioli.’
Matthews gestured towards a coffee machine and cups sitting on top of a bar fridge. ‘Have some coffee, Mr Hardy.’
‘Tell you the truth, I’d rather have a piss.’
Matthews said, ‘Constable.’
The uniformed woman was standing with her back to the door. She opened it and I went through. Before the door closed I heard Matthews say quietly, ‘I hope he isn’t going to be difficult.’ Must have known a bit about me.
I pissed, washed my hands and face, felt better. Back in the room, I poured myself a cup of coffee, drained it in one go, poured another, sat down. Matthews dismissed the underling and cleared his throat.
‘My colleague and I are from the Internal Affairs Division, Mr Hardy. When Mr Parker had spoken to the Hurstville detectives we were contacted, and that’s why you and Mr Townsend are at this meeting.’
I sipped the less than hot coffee. Didn’t speak.
Mattioli picked up the ball. ‘We’ve had an interest in the Northern Crimes Unit for some time. We have intelligence on a number of officers, especially Gregory.’
No rank, surname only — getting ready to have him carry the can?
I glanced at Frank, whose nod told me to hear the man out.
The two of them, playing good cop and better cop, went on for a while about the intelligence they’d gathered on the unit and their plan to conduct investigations of, and mount surveillance on, some of its members. That plan was still part of their agenda, although the night’s events had thrown a spanner in the works.
‘We want your cooperation,’ Matthews said, including Frank and Townsend by inclining his head towards them, ‘in keeping a lid on what happened tonight as much as possible.’
I could hardly stop myself from laughing-it tends to happen when I hear bureaucrats talking about ‘intelligence’ — but I kept a straight face.
‘I’m listening,’ I said.
Mattioli said, ‘We know you have a personal interest in-’
‘So does Pamela Williams,’ I said, ‘and someone else I won’t name. And-who knows? — maybe someone cared for Rex Robinson. Not likely, from what I’m told, but possible. Are you going to go along with this shit, Frank? Lee?’
Townsend looked at the floor as if the pattern in the carpet was of intense interest. Frank stared at me. We’d known each other for a long time and been at the barricades together. He could read me and I could read him. He opened his hands, hot gospel preacher-style.
‘They’ve got us on all sorts of counts, Cliff-conspiracy for one. The prohibited equipment-the vests, plus your pistol-give them the terrorism angle if they want to use it. My pension could be at risk and Townsend’s whole career. It’s a lay-down misere.’
Frank knew how much I hated card games and how hopeless I was at them. But his message was clear- don’t stir, not now.
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I might play along if I hear a bit more.’
Matthews said the other senior members of the Northern Crimes Unit would be called in for questioning and that their activities and finances would be subject to intense investigation.
‘They’ll be spooked,’ I said. ‘They’ll run for cover.’
Matthews smiled. ‘I understand you were a boxer, Mr Hardy. What did Joe Louis say about… whoever it was?’
‘It’s pronounced Lewis, not Louey,’ I said, ‘and it was Billy Coon. Joe said, “He can run, but he can’t hide”.’
Matthews wasn’t the least put out by my one-upmanship. ‘Exactly,’ he went on. ‘We’ll have two objects. One, to discover the connection between police officers and the deaths of the people Mr Hardy has referred to, and that of Inspector Gregory, of course. Two, to bring to an end the criminality that seems to have prevailed under the protection, possibly with the connivance of…’
‘Of?’ I said.
Mattioli said, ‘That remains to be determined.’
Townsend spoke for the first time since I’d come into the room. No knowing what had gone down beforehand. ‘I noticed that the police at the caravan park kept the media at a distance. D’you think you can sit on this?’
‘We’ll try,’ Matthews said, ‘with your cooperation.’
The soft soap approach. I wondered where Townsend’s lawyer was. I also wondered whether Townsend had been given a chance, or had wanted, to talk to Frank about Farrow’s plan and the Morello photographs. Probably not. My guess was that he’d opt to keep exploiting the evidence we had-and the people involved.
‘Cliff?’ Frank said.
I looked directly at Matthews, taking in the double chin, the stomach bulge over the belt slung below his gut. A self-indulgent man, but not a stupid one. A dangerous combination.
‘What’s our role in your ongoing investigation?’ I said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but probably not succeeding. Matthews was tired; Mattioli was angry; Frank was resigned; Townsend showed no reaction.
‘Consultative,’ Matthews said.
I said, ‘What does that mean?’
Matthews scratched at a patch of stubble near his bottom lip that was irritating him, but not as much as I was. ‘Hardy,’ he said, ‘it means whatever the fuck I want it to mean.’
