Presumed Missing Read online

  ‘Is he conscious?’ Jack wasn’t sure of his emotions. They were rolling around like a boat in a storm and he was swaying between indifference and then guilt about his lack of empathy.

  ‘Not yet. They are running tests. It doesn’t look great Jack. You might want to come down.’

  ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I’m on a Missing Persons case Mum.’

  ‘Those two young girls they showed on the news?’

  ‘Yes and a friend has gone missing while we’re investigating the case.’ Jack could hear his mum wiping her nose with a tissue.

  ‘I understand honey. Get here when you can.’

  ****

  Max entered the reception area. The receptionist looked up. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘Yep.’ He pulled out his PI identification and flashed it at the woman, who responded with an over exaggerated eye roll. She’d seen Max before. The ID was overkill.

  ‘Isn’t one of you enough?’

  Max frowned in confusion, then realised she was referring to Liz. ‘Funny you should mention that. Was Ms Jeffreys here earlier?’

  ‘Yes.’ The word was spat out and Max wondered over the woman’s attitude but let it slide. ‘Did she see the Principal?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Look lady, I don’t exactly like your attitude.’

  ‘Well, you can’t exactly do anything about it can you!’ Linda stood up, put her hands on her hips and moved away from the counter, toward the photocopier at the back of the office area, ignoring Max with a concerted effort.

  ‘Who did she see then?’

  ‘Look, unless you’ve got a warrant, I’ve had just about enough of all the questions. Alright!’

  Max could feel his adrenalin rising. He didn’t hit women, he just didn’t, but this bitch was standing between him and Liz right now and that was never a good thing.

  ‘Look lady, Liz is missing and you are the last person to have seen her, I’ll call the Police now if a warrant is what you need.’ Two students had walked into the area and turned around in one smooth motion, heading straight back out the door. The Principal’s office door opened and Mr Jacobs appeared.

  ‘What seems to be the problem Linda?’

  ‘This barbarian is threatening me.’

  ‘I’m not threatening you with anything but the law lady. You are obstructing a Police investigation.’

  ‘You’re not the Police!’ Linda was shouting now.

  ‘Wait up a moment, let’s take a breath and try to fill me in, one at a time.’ The Principal held up both his hands in surrender. Max stood with his arms across his chest, his legs wide, his chest thrown forward.

  ‘I’m here because Ms Jeffreys was here this morning. I’ve been told by Detective Cunningham that she was here to meet with the Chaplain, then you, then she was heading to his office for a meeting, a meeting she has failed to appear at.’

  ‘What’s the big deal?’ Linda’s tone hadn’t changed, but the volume had come down a decibel or two.

  ‘The big deal is that she is investigating two missing girls, who may be connected to the death of two other girls, and three more missing in another state.’ Max saw no reason to keep the Victorian cases quiet now. It was only a matter of time before it would come out in the press.

  Linda put her hand on her mouth.

  ‘And now she too has gone missing. Get it now sweetheart!’

  Linda stuttered. ‘She was here, she was heading to meet with the Chaplain. She told me to tell you that she’d be here at twelve to have lunch with you.’ She was staring at the Principal now, who had lowered his hands and assumed a comfortable position leaning on the counter, until the receptionist’s words sunk in.

  ‘You didn’t tell me she was coming to meet me at lunch!’

  ‘No. I didn’t. She’s such a, such a bossy b...’ The Principal put his hand up for her to stop.

  ‘Did she come back after meeting the Chaplain?’

  ‘No.’ The woman shook her head.

  ‘Can we go find the Chaplain?’ Max looked at the Principal with an intensity that must have set the man’s nerves on edge.

  ‘Follow me.’ Mr Jacobs left the office, hurrying toward the Chapel. Max almost jogged to keep up with him.

  The doors to the Chapel were closed and locked. ‘Max shook them to see if they would budge. ‘Where is he?’

  ‘It’s end of day. He has no other classes. There really isn’t any reason he should be in the Chapel. Let’s try the student centre. He could be with students there.’

  They both moved to the senior student lounge. Other than a handful of students, it was empty. ‘Has anyone seen the Chaplain?’ the Principal asked as all eyes fell on them.

  A chorus of no Sirs chimed out. ‘I saw him with Mr Jones, in the parking lot a minute ago. A petite brunette girl with enough eye makeup on to be confused with an Egyptian princess answered.

  ‘Thank you Tiffany.’

  ‘Jones!’ Max was thinking aloud. ‘What do you make of him?’

  ‘Jones is harmless. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s been here since the start of term one but you know that. I told Liz.’

  Max heard him call his boss by her first name and pushed his personal feelings aside. ‘Any other new staff?’

  ‘Is this really the time?’ The Principal seemed more concerned with Liz being missing than Max was now.

  ‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t relevant.’ Max’s tone made the Principal continue.

  ‘Only the Chaplain.’ Max stopped, the Principal kept moving for another few steps before he realised the PI was no longer following.

  Max pulled out his mobile and dialled. ‘Let me guess, he started term one?’ The Principal nodded. ‘From the same school as Jones?’ Another nod. ‘Fuck!’

  ‘Jack, run this name for me.’ Max didn’t bother to put his hand over the receiver. ‘What’s the Chaplains full name?

  ‘Frank, Frank O’Brien.’

  28

  ‘Don’t drink the water.’ Liz gauged the voice was about two metres away.

  ‘Gemma?’

  ‘Yes and the moaning in the other corner is Belinda.’ She wasn’t whispering anymore.

  ‘Don’t we need to whisper still?’

  ‘No. He’s gone home. I heard the him lock the doors.’

  ‘Why do you stay quiet?’ Liz could hear the girl shuffling, trying to find a comfortable position, her shackle jingling, giving away her location.

  ‘If he finds us awake, he beats us, then drugs us with a needle before he, you know.’ Liz knew what the girl was talking about.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘If he thinks you’re drinking the water, he will guess you’re drugged and he’ll not come down during the day. Only when he wants something.’

  ‘Have you been drinking any water?’ Liz was concerned for the girls’ health.

  ‘In the early hours of the morning. Or at least, when I think it is early morning. The drug lasts about eight hours, that’s only a guess, but it seems to be a reliable one. If I drink at least three hours after he and his guests leave, no matter what time that is, then I’ve got until dawn, or at least until he arrives before school starts to sleep it off.’

  ‘He brings guests? We are at the school, aren’t we?’ Liz looked around, but there was no point. The room was too dark to see anything. Gemma didn’t answer. Liz heard her move her legs again and the sound of muffled tears reached her, the girl’s bravado slipping away.

  ‘I’ve got friends who’ll be looking for me. They’ve been looking for you already, but now I’m missing, they have a better chance of finding us all. They know where I was supposed to be today.’

  ‘I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill them all.’ Liz could hear the suddenly flat tone in the girl’s voice. She was in shock, numb one second, raging the next from her treatment. No doubt she’d been awake to endure the assaults, where it appeared, her friend had preferred to stay oblivious. How many, who? Liz pushed the questions aside.

&
nbsp; ‘Tell me how you know Belinda.’ Liz chose to help Gemma focus on something other than trying to kill the Chaplain. If he came back and she attacked him, he’d likely kill her and that was something she didn’t want to happen.

  ‘We met online, then we met up in person.’

  ‘You have a lot in common.’

  ‘Not really. Just we both have no dad or in my case, I might as well not have one.’

  Liz wanted to push and find out how the sleazy bastard had made contact with the girls, but she decided it didn’t matter now. Now she needed to keep Gemma’s spirits up.

  ‘We found your phone. The Police are hot on our trail.’

  ‘I hope so. My mum must be worried sick.’

  ‘She knows in her heart you’re alive Gemma. She hasn’t given up, not for a second. You’ll see her again soon.’

  ‘He’s a monster.’

  ‘Try not to think about it Gemma. Focus on being found. On seeing your mum and spending time with friends.’ Liz wiggled her hands as she spoke, hoping against all hope she could find a way free of her restraints and escape.

  ****

  Jack had just gotten back to the office with the coffee when his phone rang again. He placed the cups on the desk, Jenny reached for hers as Jack pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open.

  He listened to Max and then an alarm went off in his head. He pushed his cup aside, spilling coffee onto the paperwork below before punching keys and swinging the mouse from side to side, urgently trying to get his screen to wake up.

  ‘Ask him if his full name is Francis, not Frank.’ Jack waited for the answer. ‘Shit, shit, shit, I’ve seen that name. He opened the Victorian Police files, flicked to the one he had already seen and hadn’t gotten around to investigating. The one with no photo.

  Francis O’Brien. ‘I’ve got a file on him from the Victorian Police.’

  ‘Yep, he and Jones started here the same time, from the same school.’

  ‘Ask the Principal who signed off on the reference?’ Jack heard voices in the background. ‘Tell me who recommended this bastard!’

  ‘We are checking the parking lot first. Jones and O’Brien were last seen there only a few minutes ago, but they have probably both left for the day.’ Jack waited while Max and the Principal jogged, the sound of feet hitting the pavement echoed into the phone.

  ‘Jones’s car is gone.’ More muffled voices. ‘The Principal says so has O’Brien’s.’

  ‘What about the reference?’

  ‘We’ll need to head to the office and find out who referred these two shit-heads to the school.’

  ‘Okay, at least now we should be able to get a search warrant.’ Jack started punching keys on his computer keyboard again. He needed to find a judge to sign a warrant and for the first time in a long time, he wished his dad could sign one for him.

  ‘I’ll get back to you in a minute, once we’ve looked up the files.’

  ‘I’ll sort out this warrant. Get me O’Brien’s home address too.’

  ‘Will do.’ Max hung up and Jack flipped his phone closed. He picked up the office phone and made the call.

  ‘Get us two uniform units to meet us at Jones’s address.’

  ‘Don’t you want to wait for the warrant?’ Jenny had watched the frantic exchange, her coffee forgotten.

  ‘Either way, I’m going to scare the crap out of Jones with a show of uniforms. Maybe he’ll give up his partner’s location, even if we can’t execute a warrant.’

  ****

  Max met Jack at the Christies Beach house. ‘Did you get a warrant?’

  ‘Yep.’ Jack unfolded the paper and waved it in Max’s face. ‘Did you get O’Brien’s address?’

  ‘Called past on the way. False.’

  ‘No surprise there.’ Jack waved the uniformed officers into position while Jenny joined him on the front lawn. Jones’s car was parked in the driveway.

  ‘You think Liz is in there?’

  ‘I bloody hope so mate, otherwise, I’m out of ideas.’

  Jack jumped onto the porch and banged on the front door. ‘Police! We have a warrant. Open up, or we are coming in.’

  Silence ensued. Jack ushered the officer with the battering ram forward. The hollow core door splintered on the second impact. Armed officers entered. ‘Police! Hands in the air!’ Jack waited, his weapon drawn, his heart racing.

  ‘Clear! Clear here!’ various voices called, then silence followed for a moment.

  ‘Detective!’ Jack and his entourage entered, following the sound of the last officer’s voice.

  ‘What is it?’ Jack entered the kitchen. ‘Ambulance!’

  ‘On it sir.’ The radio was crackling in the background.

  ‘Affirmative. Male, mid-thirties, unconscious, serious head injury.’ Another officer was bent over Jones, checking his pulse and breathing while the officer on the radio waited. He nodded both were okay ‘Breathing with a pulse, but he doesn’t look good.’

  ‘We are going to check the shed out back. Could do with some back up, if you can spare a few men.’ Jack moved through the kitchen, into the laundry and out the back door, Max and Jenny hot on his heels.

  ‘You heard the man.’ Max pointed at Jack’s back as he passed the officer, who punched his arm good-naturedly. ‘Where is the respect?’ Max rolled his eyes.

  ‘On it mate. Thompson, Miles, with me.’ Two officers joined the third and followed the former detective down the back steps, weapons drawn, safetys off.

  Jenny pulled her gun, stood back from the side door and waited. Jack held his weapon close to his chest as Max kicked the door open and stepped back. He wasn’t carrying, he wasn’t going in first.

  Jack entered, gun extended. ‘Police! Put down your weapons!’ The room was lit by two windows that allowed natural light inside. Five guitars hung on hooks on the far wall, two bass, a twelve string and two lead. Amplifiers were stacked underneath and an electric keyboard sat on an old dining table in the corner, a sheet of music balanced on the foldout shelf, ready for playing.

  Jenny came next, followed by two of the uniformed Police officers. No one said a word. This wasn’t what they’d hope for. Jack began tossing things around the room. He pushed the sofa out of the way. Moved a bookcase. Max entered, surveyed the room and moved to Jack.

  ‘There’s nothing in here mate.’

  ‘Keep looking. A trap door. A false wall. Anything.’ Jack continued moving objects and tapping walls. He was breathing heavily when he stopped to survey the room again. He spun around, and around, trying to gauge the size. Finally, he admitted defeat, his shoulders sagged. Max patted him on the back and nodded for the officers and Jenny to leave.

  ‘We’ll find her mate. I’m just as pissed as you are.’

  ‘She didn’t tell you what she was planning? I knew she’d do that.’

  ‘She told both of us she was interviewing the Chaplain. This is Liz mate. No one tells Liz what to do, but she must have pushed O’Brien too far, hell she pushes my buttons often enough.’

  ‘I should have gone with her.’ Jack couldn’t look at his friend.

  ‘Stop being a wimp and tell me what’s next.’ Sirens announced the arrival of the ambulance.

  As they walked back into the house, the paramedics were taking Jones out the front door on a gurney. ‘Send an officer with him. The moment he wakes up, I want to know about it.’ Jack ordered. The closest constable was given the nod by the sergeant. He followed the gurney out.

  ‘Now we take a look at the referees for this sleaze.’ Max grinned as Jack composed himself. ‘Williams!’

  Jenny appeared. ‘Boss.’

  ‘You need to hear this. Who signed the recommendation on the Chaplain? Looks like Jones is out of favour with his partner for now, so let’s focus on the alpha of the team.’

  Max flicked through the paperwork the Principal had given him. There had been no time to take copies. He’d barely had time to check out O’Brien’s address on file.

  He whistle
d. ‘Interesting.’

  ‘Not in the mood Max.’

  ‘O’Brien’s reference comes from an MP, an Adelaide Federal Member of Parliament at that.’

  ‘How the hell does a South Aussie MP even know a Victorian Chaplain?’ Jenny pulled the file out of Max’s hand.

  ‘Hey!’

  ‘I’m the detective, you’re not.’ Her tone held no malice. ‘This doesn’t look right!’

  ‘What?’ Max frowned, trying to get a good look at what Jenny was thumbing through.

  ‘His ordination paperwork. I’d bet my last dollar this isn’t legit.’

  ‘Is that really a word?’ Max teased.

  ‘Apparently, it is, with the younger generation.’ Jack looked more relaxed now.

  ‘Oh piss off you two. This,’ she waved the certificate in the air, ‘is a fake.’

  ‘So maybe the reference is too?’ Jack suggested.

  ‘Maybe we should pay the Honourable what’s his name a visit.’ Max hoped he would be able to join in on the interview but doubted it.

  ‘They aren’t all Honourable, only those who have served on the executive council’ Jenny gave Max an authoritative look and he huffed.

  ‘Sorry Max. You can’t join in on this interview. Can you go back to the school, get a key for the Chaplain’s office and the church? Maybe you can rummage through and find something he left behind.’ Jack was already walking out of the house.

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Max reached for the file but Jenny held it close to her chest.

  ‘This is evidence. Tell the Principal we are keeping it for now.’

  ‘Tell the Principal I’ll issue a receipt for it as soon as I get a minute.’ Jack slapped Max on the shoulder. ‘Let me know the moment you find anything, anything of use. Got it?’ Max nodded and moved out of Jones’s house toward his car. The ambulance pulled off around the corner as he reached the vehicle and pressed the unlock button.

  29

  ‘The Senator is busy.’ The woman was dressed in a fine wool suit, her hair tied up, her makeup neat, but not too heavy.

  Jack pulled out his badge and showed the secretary. ‘We need to see him now. It is urgent.’ He put the ID back in his jacket pocket. The woman was undeterred.