stick in people’s memories. He sometimes wondered if his natural calling would be as an agent working for ASIO. After introductions, which confirmed that neither of the LAC Detectives could recall Nelson from their minds, Sergeant Smythe began to brief Nelson on the case.
“The security guard discovered the body at around ten p.m. and called it in.” Nelson removed his notebook and began to write rapidly in it. “Upon discovery that this looked like a homicide, the uniforms called the Duty Officer from the Newtown Local Area Command who in turn called us.”
“What time did you get the call?”
“Around midnight,” said Smythe, looking to Bourne for confirmation and receiving a tilt of his head. “We checked the body for identification and when we realised who we had here and that there were possible organised crime connections, we put in a call to the Duty Officer of the Gangs Squad.”
The Gangs Squad was similar in nature and function to the Homicide Squad but focused primarily on addressing organised crime that was not Middle Eastern related - which was handled by another squad. Nelson realised that it was a sensible move to have called the Gangs Squad, yet it only increased his confusion as to how he had ultimately ended up with the case.
“What happened then?”
“They phoned us back within the hour saying they were passing on the case and that we were welcome to it. Half an hour later Superintendent Crighton rolled into town with sirens blazing and said the Homicide squad was going to run with the case from here.”
If Nelson was confused before he spoke to the LAC Detectives he was completely non-plussed now. In the four hours since the body had been discovered, the case had seemingly passed through several sets of hands and eventually ended up with him.
He decided to forge ahead regardless of the circumstances. It was all he could do for the time being and he knew he would have to work fast to make the most of the fresh crime scene while it lasted. He thanked the LAC Detectives for their help and they beat a hasty retreat, eager to return to the warmth of their station or homes, whichever the case, glad to handball a murder investigation Nelson’s way and not add it to their already burgeoning case load.
Nelson watched them depart and again surveyed the crime scene. In some small way he was thankful it was the middle of the night. Because of the hour, there were, as yet, no rubber-necking bystanders and no media camped outside the perimeter that had been hastily erected. Apart from the police presence, the area was still deserted. Nelson knew that despite it being Saturday morning this was likely to change as soon as the daylight hours arrived. He estimated that they had three hours of relative peace to finish the initial assessment of the crime scene.
He walked over to the two general duties Constables who had been the first to arrive at the crime scene. They stopped their chatting as they saw him approach. As Nelson worked at Police Headquarters in Parramatta they didn’t know him and appeared slightly wary as he approached.
“Morning fellas, nothing like nightshift hey?” The uniforms nodded and smiled in agreement at the ice breaker. “Right, let’s get to work,” he said, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to ward off numbness. “Firstly, I want the perimeter moved back another fifty metres so that the SOCOs have plenty of room to work in. And secondly, I want you to call two more uniforms down here asap to help us with the search for evidence in the surrounding streets and parkland. We’ve got three hours until this place becomes a zoo so let’s get moving. Look for anything out of place like clothing, bloodstains, rubbish and of course, weapons. If there are any people about, I want to know if they saw anything. I know it’s cold out tonight but don’t rush anything and don’t miss anything. This is the most important part of the investigation, ok?” The two uniforms nodded. “If you’re in doubt about something, get one of the SOCOs to give you a hand and I know I probably don’t have to tell you, but keep your hands off their crime scene until they give the all clear.”
“What happens with the body?” asked the shorter of the two Constables, nodding towards the car. Nelson looked at him, noted his youthful, freckled face and wondered if he had ever been involved in a homicide investigation before.
“The body snatchers will be here soon. They’ll take it to the morgue for an autopsy.
“Oh, ok.”
“Also, one more thing. When the media turns up I don’t want anyone talking to them. Superintendent Crighton will cut your nuts off with a blunt, rusty spoon if he finds out that anyone has spoken to them. Understood?”
“Yes Sarge,” came the unified response.
Although Nelson gave the warning, he knew the media would be all over the case long before Crighton made his precious media release. Already the news that Emilio Fogliani had been murdered would be being whispered throughout the force and he also knew that too many police officers had close relationships with journalists for it to be kept a secret for long. Nelson would be surprised if it wasn’t all over the seven a.m. news bulletins.
He left the uniforms to organise their reinforcements and made his way to Emilio Fogliani’s car which was parked in a driveway beside what appeared to be a small warehouse. A forensics team of two had been on the job for about an hour already and were painstakingly collecting and cataloguing evidence from the body, the car and the area immediately surrounding the car.
“Morning Mike. Good to see you again. What’ve you got for me?”
“Morning Nelson,” came the reply. Mike Martinez was a short, round, 25 year veteran of the New South Wales Police Force and despite not having advanced beyond the rank of Senior Constable was well respected as a crime scene examiner because he knew his stuff and was meticulous and thorough in his processing of crime scenes. He wore a full protection suit and goggles which left only his mouth and nose exposed and gave him the appearance of something akin to a spaceman.
“We’ve got a white male approximately sixty years of age who has been shot three times from fairly close range. About two metres I’d say, but don’t quote me, yet. Two of the bullet wounds were to the chest and one to the head.” Nelson made vigorous notes, trying to capture as much of the information as he could. He knew he’d receive a full report later in the day but liked to take his own notes anyway. He saved his questions until the end, allowing Martinez to finish his briefing without interrupting.
“We found three, nine millimetre cartridges on the ground beside the car. From the amount of rigor that’s present in the body I would estimate that we’re looking at a time of death between eight and ten p.m. last night. The body snatchers are on their way to take it to the morgue for a post mort. You’ll get the details then. “
“Is the medical examiner coming down?”
“I gave him a call and explained the situation. He said he was comfortable with leaving it to us and will check it out in the morning.”
“In other words he didn’t want to get his arse out of bed and come down here in the middle of the night?”
Martinez smiled. “Yeah something like that.”
“And what about the car?” said Nelson, continuing to jot down notes on a small pad.
“It’s a brand new X-5 BMW. Nice. We’ve only just started to process it, although one of the bullets that penetrated his chest appears to have passed through the deceased’s body and is probably lodged in the lining of the seat somewhere. The other two slugs appear to still be in the body cavity. A flat-bed is on the way to take the car back to the garage where we’ll continue to work on it.”
“Alright, I don’t need to tell you that I want a rush put on this one. Crighton wants a briefing at nine a.m. so call me on the mobile as soon as you’ve got any new information, and I mean anything.”
“Sure thing Nelson. Nothing like a Superintendent riding your arse to get the wheels turning hey?”
“Yeah, tell me about. I was supposed to be on three days leave, but instead I’m down here in the middle of the night, talking to you, no offence.”
“None taken. I wouldn’t want to be talking to me either.”
“I want to get started on a search of the surrounding area as soon as we get some reinforcements. Can one of you guys stay here until we’ve finished, just in case we find something? I don’t want this being stuffed up.”
“No problem. You can have McAuley for as long as you want.” Hearing his name mentioned Constable McAuley looked up from his work and nodded to Nelson.
Martinez continued, “I’ll head back to the lab when the body goes and make sure things start to happen quickly.”
