Deadly Deceit Read online

  The air was frigid and the lightweight long-sleeved top she was wearing wasn’t keeping her warm at all. She needed to keep running to prevent cooling down or cramping. Keeping her eyes open, she carefully stayed in plain sight, not stopping until she saw Nick.

  He was sitting on a concrete bench along the path, and gave her a subtle nod as she jogged past. Liz recalled how his grey beard had once been ginger and his now smoky grey eyes had been a bright, crystal blue. She took the left-hand pathway up toward the Adelaide Festival Theatre just as drizzle began to fall.

  She stopped under the cover outside the smaller playhouse often called the Space Theatre and began a series of stretches. There were few people around at this time of day. Most were at work and it was too early for the matinee sessions at the theatre. A big sign in the darkened window showed an art exhibition was due to begin this coming weekend, while a cabaret style show was currently featuring.

  Liz jumped at the sound of a deep male voice even-though she had been expecting company.

  ‘Looking good as always Lillian.’ Nick used her escort name. She painstakingly kept her real name and life to herself and she’d managed to separate her two lives for over twenty years.

  ‘Thanks Nick. You’re looking better now. Last time I saw you I thought you weren’t long for this world.’

  ‘I wasn’t, but thanks to you, I’m clean.’

  Liz studied the man in front of her closely. Slimmer than he used to be, but not as emaciated as he was when Liz pulled him off the streets back in two thousand and one. A former badge member of the Renegades outlaw motorcycle gang, he’d taken to drink and drugs too much after his daughter was killed in a gang shooting gone wrong.

  ‘Don’t thank me Nick. You made it back on your own. No one but you can make that type of recovery.’

  Nick smiled. ‘I wouldn’t normally stick my head back into club business, but I owe you one.’ Liz waited. She was taking a risk even letting Nick know she knew Jack, but it was one she had to take. She hoped Nick really had cut ties with his bikie roots. It was a hard road out for most.

  ‘I appreciate it. Jack helped me find Becca’s killer. It’s important to me to help him out. I owe him a favour.’

  Nick’s eyebrows rose. ‘That’s all it is?’

  Liz grinned. ‘You sound like Connie. Once a whore, always a whore Nick. Max, a corrupt cop yes, but a clean-cut private school boy like Jack...’ She left the rest unsaid. She didn’t want anyone, not even Connie knowing how much she really thought about Jack. Heck, she hadn’t even decided herself how much he meant to her.

  The drizzle intensified over the parklands and Liz moved closer to the building to avoid the wind that whipped around the large, concrete and glass structure. Nick moved around the outside of the windows, peering inside as he spoke.

  ‘Word is his dad, you know about his dad, right?’ Nick looked sideways and Liz nodded. ‘Old Judge Cunningham was trying to, how do you say it, extricate himself from some dealings. Harlequins’ dealings.’

  ‘Go On.’ Liz continued to stretch and run on the spot as Nick wandered around the windows, stopping to pretend to read a program. Other than the remnants of a tattoo on his neck, he looked respectable in his long coat and clean blue jeans.

  ‘Well some of his partners weren’t very happy to let him go.’

  ‘A hit?’

  ‘Not sanctioned by badge members, that’s for sure.’

  ‘A novice or an associate?’

  ‘Maybe. The Harlequins would have worked it out with the old man without trying to kill him. Judges aren’t easy to keep on the payroll. They get too skittish, too often.’

  ‘Thanks Nick. We’re even. I won’t ask you to stick your neck out again.’ Liz did one final stretch as the drizzle eased. It hardly ever really rained in Adelaide, it was just drizzly and windy all winter.

  ‘Not by a long shot Lillian. You need anything, you let me know.’ Nick walked away through the undercover area heading toward the centre carpark and North Terrace. Liz jogged in the opposite direction, back down toward the Torrens River to finish her run. Her mind was racing as she pondered what Bruce was really into.

  The fountain that sat in the river sprayed mist into the sky, increasing the moisture in the air. Liz pulled her cap down over her eyes, trying to keep her frizzy hair under control, while attempting to ensure no one recognised her. The walkway went up through Elder Park and under the City Bridge, but Liz opted for a more public route. She smiled as she thought how Max and Jack would be happy to know she was keeping an eye on her surroundings, but years on the street had taught her how to be careful.

  She jogged up the hill past the heritage gazebo that hosted many events on the parklands. Stopping at the top of the pathway on King William Road, she caught her breath. Checking her watch, she decided it was time to head home for a shower before lunch with Jack and Max. She stopped at the crossing next to Parliament House and waited for the lights to change.

  The cold wind howled down North Terrace, sending icy barbs through her already wet clothing. It was a less than ideal way to talk to Nick, but she had to be sure no one would see or overhear them. Nick had fought back from a rough patch in his life and Liz had no intention of getting him in any trouble with his old gang or their arch rivals, The Harlequins.

  The warm air flooded from the apartment building as Liz entered the foyer and jogged over to the elevator. She waited, stomping her feet on the spot until the doors opened. Visions of warm coffee and gluten free donuts filled her mind as she made it to her apartment.

  She had one more thing to do before meeting Jack, other than a warm shower. She needed to ask Scott, her IT guru, if he could do a little background check on Rickard and Johnnie. There was something bothering her about who could have framed Jack and brought the Bikie Task Force down on him. Sure, there was a really good chance it was The Harlequins, but they had to have someone tip them off that Jack was closing in.

  ********

  ‘Jenny. Dead homeless guy in the South Parklands. Looks like it might not be natural causes. Meet Doc Holbrook on scene.’ The Chief stood in the doorway, waiting for Jenny to collect her coat. She’d only just arrived, the office was quiet. Rickard and Johnnie were out, only two other detectives were sitting at their desks, finishing up from the night shift.

  Jenny wondered why the Chief had caught the case and not one of the two detectives still on duty. She decided now was not the time to question her senior. He didn’t look in the mood as his eyes scanned the desks lined up in pairs facing one another in the office area.

  ‘Seen Beavis and Butthead yet today?’ Jenny tried not to laugh.

  ‘No sir. Just arrived myself. Looks like they’re running late.’ Jenny collected her bag and holstered her weapon before squeezing past the Chief toward the elevators. She pressed the button and then watched as the Detective Chief Inspector of CIB stomped down the hallway towards the Operations Room.

  He was a rare sight in the Major Crimes Division. Sure, they’d all been dragged into his office from time to time. Everyone knew the man, but why would he be delegating a homeless man’s death case to her?

  The elevator dinged and the two previously mentioned detectives pushed past her as the Chief entered the corridor from Ops. Jenny hopped in and pressed the carpark level as the chief called out, ‘Where the hell have you two been?’

  A few moments later, Jenny reached the carpark and saw the police officer in charge of vehicles.

  ‘Hi Sam. Can I grab a car? Jack’s not in so I can’t use his.’ The officer looked at Jenny a moment then nodded. She wondered if everyone already knew about Jack’s arrest, but guessed they likely did. Gossip travelled faster around the police headquarters than a school canteen.

  ‘Sure Detective. Just fill out this form.’ Jenny took the clipboard from the officer and ticked boxes, filled in her name, badge number and signed.

  ‘I’ll have it back by five.’

  ‘Okay.’ Sam handed her the keys and took the clipb
oard. ‘Is Jack okay?’

  Jenny shrugged. ‘I haven’t seen him yet. Max was picking him up this morning and taking him home.’

  ‘You tell him we know it’s a load of cock and bull. Okay?’

  Jenny smiled. ‘He’ll be happy to hear that. Thanks Sam.’ She tossed the keys in her hand a few times as she walked to the vehicle, pressing the unlock button to be sure which car she’d been issued.

  A few minutes later she was driving down South Terrace. She spotted the Coroner’s vehicle and two ambulances on the grass by the Adelaide Pavilion tram stop. Pulling her car into the driveway that led to the Pavilion, she couldn’t help but wonder what a strange spot it had been for a homeless person. They hung out around Light Square and in the South Parklands, usually near the oval. The Pavilion was a fancy function centre and security moved the homeless on exceptionally quickly. They weren’t exactly good for business.

  ‘Jen.’ Penny opened the back of her forensic unit van as Jenny got out of her vehicle. ‘Heard about Jack. What a load of crap.’

  ‘Sure is.’

  ‘Max’s looking into it I’m guessing?’ Penny pulled out two heavy bags and Jenny shut the van doors for her as they both moved into the crime scene.

  ‘Can’t say too much Pen. You know how it can be with this type of investigation.’ Penny nodded and pursed her lips to exaggerate that she’d say no more.

  ‘What have we got?’ Jenny asked as she ducked under a tree branch bordering the tram line from the parklands.

  Penny carried the two heavy bags over the rough terrain easily. She was the same height as Jenny, but with broader shoulders and was used to lugging the equipment around, through awkward locations.

  ‘No idea. Just got here myself. The Doc called me in.’

  ‘Okay, so not a standard homeless death then?’

  ‘Guessing not.’ The two women stopped as they reached the tram line. Pieces of body were strewn all over the tracks, the tram was stationary, empty of all passengers.

  ‘Holy shit.’ Jenny looked up and down the tracks, speechless as Penny put her bags down and opened one, getting straight down to business.

  ‘Quite the mess hey.’ Doctor Fred Holbrook looked like he’d just been dragged out of bed. His grey hair was thick and wiry, like he’d put his finger in a light socket. The dark rings under his eyes made him appear older than he was, but he always had them, whether he was fresh out of bed or dog tired.

  ‘Sure is. Where do you want me to start?’ Penny surveyed the scene. ‘I think I might need a few more bags? One body bag isn’t going to cut it.’

  The doc laughed. ‘Not by a long shot. Start with the hands and head. We need to identify this guy if we can. Fingerprints, then teeth. Let’s go ladies, we have quite a few hours ahead of us.’

  Jenny saw a group of passengers waiting outside a bus on Peacock Road. She called a uniformed officer over. ‘Can you get the names and addresses of all these witnesses? Make sure you check drivers’ licences okay?’ The officer nodded. ‘Then get them on the bus and out of here.’

  ‘Will do Detective.’

  Jenny turned and joined Penny as she made her way toward the victim’s head, which had rolled clear of the tracks and lodged in the drainage ditch on the far side. ‘Do you think he was alive when the tram hit him?’ Penny shrugged at Jenny’s question.

  ‘Preliminary exam says no.’ The Doc moved forward to explain his findings. ‘The torso is over there with one arm and one leg still attached.’ He pointed toward the front of the tram. ‘Rigor mortis has either not set in or passed, but the lividity says he’s been dead at least six hours. Besides, there’s little or no blood on the scene. It likely congealed before the tram hit him.’ The Doc swept his hand in a circle and Jenny followed his arm.

  He was right, body parts were everywhere but there was very little blood. ‘He died elsewhere maybe?’ she speculated.

  ‘Not necessarily. I haven’t determined cause of death yet. He might have died of a heart attack last night, collapsed on the tracks and then got hit by the tram this morning.’

  Jenny pulled her mobile out and opened her internet browser. A few seconds and a few pages later she looked up at Penny and Doctor Holbrook. ‘Not likely. The first tram comes through here just after five a.m. on a Tuesday. He’s been laid on the tracks before this latest tram. I’ll see you at autopsy later today for an update.’ Jenny rushed off to find the driver, hoping he was still on scene.

  She spotted him giving a statement to a uniformed officer. He was a greyish white colour and looked uncomfortable sitting on the bench at the tram stop. Jenny approached, the officer looked up as she showed her badge and acknowledged her with a nod.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt. I’m Detective Williams. You must be in a state but I have a few questions.’ The driver was in his early sixties, a little overweight, his moustache all grey and his head bald. The man nodded and the officer waited patiently. ‘What time did your tram leave Glenelg?’

  The man looked at the officer who indicated he should answer the detective’s question. ‘Six Forty.’

  ‘So you’re what, the fourth, fifth run through here for the morning?’

  ‘More like tenth or eleventh. We run every thirty minutes from just before five in the morning.’

  ‘Thanks for your time.’ Jenny nodded and turned to walk away.

  ‘Did I kill that man?’ The driver might easily have vomited.

  ‘We can’t say for sure, but the pathologist believes he was already dead when your tram hit him.’

  ‘Oh thank god.’

  ‘You better get him to see one of the paramedics before he goes,’ she said to the officer and moved away. The man looked like he could have a heart attack or die of shock at any minute. She couldn’t blame him. It would barely have been sunrise when he came through at just after seven a.m. He wouldn’t have even seen the body on the tracks.

  Jenny walked back toward her car but stopped when a piece of the victim’s upper arm caught her eye. It was covered in tattoos. She pulled a glove out of her back pocket and slipped it on her right hand.

  ‘Penny,’ she moved toward the forensic scientist, the upper arm in her hand, ‘can you take some photos of this and email them to me as soon as you can?’

  ‘Sure.’ Penny slipped the severed hand she’d been holding into an evidence bag and wrote the date and case number on the outside with her permanent marker. Placing it in a plastic crate, she then turned to take the heavily inked arm from Jenny. ‘Something look familiar?’

  Jenny shrugged. ‘It might be nothing, but it could be a link to another case I’m working on.’ She was thinking about Jack’s false arrest and a bikie connection. The tattoo was just nudging at her memory, but loads of people had them. They were the new body piercing replacement. She had friends who had spent more than a year’s worth of mortgage payments on ‘body art’.

  But this tattoo looked rough, maybe jailhouse or military kind of rough. The edges were blurred, the colours basic, the design ominous. A skull with two automatic rifles crossed through the eyes was hardly fashionable body art. She quickly took a single snap on her mobile so she’d have something to ponder while she waited for all the photos from Penny.

  ‘Thanks Penny. I’ve got to run. See you later for an update.’

  4

  ‘Your regular Signorina?’ Nino pulled out a chair as Liz took her regular seat. The North Terrace café was her favourite. A genuine Italian café feel with old Italian décor, not a white subway tile or fake succulent in sight.

  ‘My regular coffee thanks Nino. I might order something different to eat today. I had a really light breakfast and I’m pretty hungry.’

  ‘Good to hear. You could do with some meat on those bones.’ Nino smiled, his Italian accent rolling off his tongue. The Italians like their ladies soft and cuddly. Liz returned his friendly smile.

  ‘I have friends joining me, so I’ll order when they get here.’ Nino nodded and headed to the counter to start on Liz’s coffee. T
he door opened and the wind swept in, fluttering the chequered tablecloths and causing paper napkins to take flight.

  Jack entered, followed by Max. Both held thick long coats up around their necks with one hand, but let them go as Max pushed the front door shut.

  ‘It’s foul out there.’ Max took a seat next to Liz, Jack sat opposite. Liz saw how tired he looked but said nothing.

  ‘Jenny will be here soon. She got caught up with an early case this morning. Ready for coffee?’ Liz waved to Nino who was already bringing her coffee over.

  ‘I could use a smoke and a beer, but coffee will have to do,’ Max sighed.

  ‘It’s lunch time. You can have a beer with your meal if you want Max, on me. But I thought you gave up smoking?’ Liz frowned, a slightly disappointed look in her eyes.

  Max shook his head. ‘No beer, I need to keep my wits on this one. Besides, I’m trying to cut back and yes, I gave up smoking. I only said I could use one, didn’t say I’d have one.’

  Liz’s eyebrows shot up, she looked at Jack to offer his opinion on where the real Max was hiding, but there were no wise cracks today.

  ‘We’ll sort this out Jack,’ she offered confidently. ‘I’ve got some news already and I think Jenny might too.’

  Jack looked up as the door opened once more and Jenny hurried in. Her hair was tied back in a long pony tail but it whipped wildly all the same.

  Nino put the coffee down and waited for the orders.

  ‘Jack, you having your usual?’ Liz asked. He shrugged and she frowned. ‘Regular cappuccino two sugars for Jack, caramel latte for Jenny here.’ Jenny nodded the affirmative. ‘What are you having Max?’

  ‘The largest mug you have, double shot cappuccino, thanks.’ Nino smiled and placed menus on the table in front of everyone as Jenny put her coat over her chair.

  Jack didn’t pick his up, and Liz worried over his attitude. He was usually such a go-get-em kind of guy. But he looked beaten before he’d even started to fight.

  ‘Let’s order then we can get down to business.’ A murmur of agreement ensued from everyone except Jack.