Forgotten (50 page)

Often the most convoluted possesses the
simplest of solutions, remember that Saul.

A twisted
laugh from Macey. “Another shock, Saul Reardon
, not as good as you thought you were?”

How Reardon
despised that laugh. “Basteros’ men claimed they had nothing to do
with those murders.”

“
That’s
because they didn’t. I had someone else, someone
special
take care of them.”

“
And the
elaborate set-up for each? It wasn’t just to scare Claudia off. It
was to make her think she was losing it again… to get her back to
Cruikshank.”

“
What can I
say? My
someone
has a true talent for the bizarre and the
dramatic.”

Was that
admiration Reardon detected in Macey’s warped expression? “They
would’ve trusted you when you called them to meet at the spot where
they died, these, your life-long, fraternity friends.”

If Macey
felt any remorse, even sympathy, he didn’t show it. He lifted his
shoulders high, stretched his back straight and in a deep,
sepulchral voice said,
“Back then the
clan was strong, loyal and did what they did in order to survive
Vietnam’s aftermath. Now, fear had changed them, made them weak,
irrational. I did the only humane thing I could…

…
.
I put them down
.”

Was it
Reardon or had the immediate
air
temperature just nosedived? Reardon shuddered. “They were loyal to
you.”

Macey
laughed. “You
’re right, they
were
.
But fear seized that loyalty, emulsified it. I couldn’t
trust them any longer. And that’s not a good thing. To me, like
you, loyalty is integral.”

But Reardon would never murder for it.

He
studied Macey’s self-righteous grin, his
cheerless, dead eyes, decided what he really wanted was a few hours
one on one with the bastard.

But their time would come.

Just not tonight.

He had made a promise also
.

“
So who is
this
special
person of yours?”

“
Again, not
something I know. It was the way he and I both wanted it. That way
there’d never be a connection between us.”

Reardon had
to accept the plausibility of such an arrangement, even though he
didn’t want to. “How did you find him, Google contract
killers?”

“
No
, through
Hercolani.”

“
My, he’s
one resourceful guy.” Reardon really needed to find this Hercolani.
“Why Simon Struthers?”

“
Your
typically nosey, investigative journalist?” Macey snorted. “Every
year, on New Year’s Day, we hold an exclusive charity ball at
Araneya. That particular year, my dear mother decided we needed
more publicity for the event. I think the woman was bloody bored.
But you can never say no to her. Enter Struthers and his
crew.

On their
second day there, Struthers came to see me. Told me about
his
fiancé, about some bloody dreams she
was having. Turns out her dreams as well as some photos he had,
matched certain sections of Araneya. Asked me if he could bring her
to Araneya. I happily obliged. He was so bloody excited, the poor
fool, that he rushed home early. Of course, once I discovered who
his fiancé was… well….” Macey’s laugh was more a tired, weak
cackle. “And you don’t believe in coincidences.”

Reardon
didn’t, still didn’t. “Same
special
someone
took care of
him?”

“Of course.”

“The overly extravagant setup?”

“
As I said,
my
someone
has a talent for the bizarre.”

“
How did
your
special someone
access Claudia’s home and car?”

Macey
shrugged. “He simply said that access wouldn’t be an
issue.”

So many more
questions to ask. But Reardon knew he needed processing time; time
to talk with Claudia; see if she recalled any of Macey’s versions
of what happened at Araneya.

“
You know,
it all started with that fucking Polinski woman,” Macey hissed. “If
she hadn’t been so intent on seeing Claudia, none of this would’ve
happened.”

Be buggered,
the man actually believed his own bullshit. “So it wasn’t you who
had Alice Polinski killed?”

Macey arched
both eyebrows. “Of course not. As if I would intentionally trigger
this whole bloody drama.”

“
Know who
did?”

“If I knew, I would personally kill them
myself.”

Not able to stand another minute breathing
the same air, Reardon beckoned to a still invisible Scotty. “Take
this bastard to Hendrix, before I do something I regret.”

Macey’s
gaping eyes darted from Reardon and to the newly arrived Scotty.
“You said you would keep me out of this.”

“
My exact
words were that
I
could.
I never said
I would
.”

“
That’s just
bloody semantics, you lying piece of….”

“
Something
I’m sure you are well-rehearsed in.”

Scotty
pressed the rifle’s nozzle against Macey’s back. “A gentlemen’s
agreement,” Macey whispered.

“
Pardon the
cliché, Senator,
but I am no
gentleman
. I guess this game had a winner
after all.”

“
You know
you
’ll be sorry for this.”

“
Oh, I
already am. Sorry that I didn’t carry out what I
really
wanted to do to you.” And in slow, measured movements,
Reardon flicked his switchblade closed.

“
Didn
’t or just plain couldn’t.
With the police close by.”

The impiety
Reardon felt mirrored the look on Macey’s face. “If you believe
that a bunch of police can stop me, then you
really don’t know as much about me as you profess. You’re
only in one piece because I want you to be. See, my gut keeps
telling me there’s more, particularly with what happened at
Araneya. I hope for your sake I’m wrong, because if I’m not, I will
find out, and then I’ll come back and you’ll personally suffer my
many talents with a switchblade.”

Blood
drained from Macey’s face. “They won’t be able to prove a thing.
I’ll use your fucking road rage story, blame it on you and the
driver.”

“
Oops.”
Reardon cringed. “Now that
was
a fib; your driver’s still
alive.” Reardon flicked his head towards Scotty. “Get him out of
here.”

Using the muzzle of his rifle, Scotty
prodded Macey forward. “Come on, Senator, your loyal but
misinformed public awaits.”

As they stepped onto the bitumen, two police
cars and unmarked sedan greeted them, lights bright against the
blackened shade of one very deranged man. Senator Carlos Macey
dropped his face to shield his eyes.

A tall lanky man, with the lines of one who
had seen too much in his day, fronted up to Reardon.

“As promised,” Reardon said. “Not a mark on
him.”

The tall man
hailed to a cluster of police officers. “And all perfectly
recorded.”

Macey swung
sharply. “You said you
weren’t wearing a
wire, Reardon; you swore it on Claudia’s life.”

Reardon
fingered Macey’s collar and extracted a small stick-like fixture.
“I wasn’t wearing one.
You
were.”

Macey
clenched his jaw so tightly, his ruddy, puffed-out cheeks quivered.
“You have no idea of
my power,
Reardon.”

“
And you, my
dear Senator, have no idea of mine.”

As the
police escorted Macey to their vehicle, a thought suddenly struck
Reardon. He called out to the Senator. “Why have Basteros execute
the hit on Claudia, not your
special someone
?”

Macey dropped his head and winked. “Who?”
And with that, he disappeared inside the police vehicle.

“
Can
’t believe this, Saul.”
Detective Inspector Noah Hendrix stood as taut as his
manner.

Hendrix was one of the few law enforcement
people Reardon trusted.

“
It
’s quite a story,” Hendrix
said.

Yep, it
certainly was that. “Not one we want in the media,” Reardon
replied.

“You think Macey will go along with
that?”

“
Definitely.
This man has his own agenda, and he certainly doesn’t want his
public anywhere near it.”

“How long you need?”

“
Two, three
days max, all going well.”

“
Okay, I’ll
charge him, let him lawyer up. But with the proof we have.” Hendrix
lifted the wire. “He’s done like a turkey dinner.”

“Be cautious. The man is cunning, and I
believe as powerful as he claims.”

Reardon heard his name, spotted Claudia
walking towards them. His heart skipped several beats.

“
She’s a
dish and a half,” Hendrix quipped. “I can see why you’re helping
her.”

“
Cut it out.
I help anyone who needs me.”

“
Mmmm, I
reckon she could need you in many ways.”

“
Get your
mind out of the gutter, Hendrix. But yeah, she’s pretty
special.”

“
Bugger me
Saul; are you going soft on a woman? Well, if I live and
breathe.”

Reardon sighed. “May not be in her best
interests to be involved with someone like me.”

“
By the look
in her eyes, I
’d say it’s too late. And
as for someone like you? You’re a good man, Saul. We all know it.
You just need to believe it.” He chucked Reardon a set of keys.
“Anyway, tank’s full. Get going.”

Reardon
thanked him. Hendrix smiled,
then walked
away.

“
Well, Mr.
Everyone’s Hero of the Moment, can you please tell me what the
fricking shit just happened?” Claudia’s white, stiff face
said
this had been
traumatic
. Her straight back, determined
hands on her hips and the whole
don’t screw with me
voice said
the complete opposite. “Was that whole theatrical vehicle crashing
thing necessary? Methinks you actually get some warped pleasure
from all this James Bond stuff.”

She was
right but he decided not to answer; it was safer. He stroked her
face with his fingers, felt heat gush through them like a surge of
electricity.

She bit her
lip
. Even that he found sensual. Bugger
if this woman wasn’t going to be the death of him. Instincts
suggested a cozy, quiet place on the water. There he could make
love to her until it washed away all the horrible thoughts in both
their heads.

Stronger
instincts ordered him to tell her what he knew. “We have to
talk.”

A rainbow of
emotions crossed her beautiful but tired face. He took her hand,
guided her towards a pair of ghost gums. He leaned against one and
drew her into his arms.

And, however
much it hurt him, however much it hurt her, he told her every
single detail.

Decembe
r 29,
2010

1:12 pm

I HAD
INVITED
my mother to meet me at The
Local
Watering Hole.

I wasn’t
sure as to why I chose the venue.

Perhaps,
because it was here,
when I was
celebrating the end of the school year with Mel…
that my mother sat in the corner
watching me.

I stepped
onto the wooden deck, searched the buzzing, lunchtime crowds until
I found her. She was dressed in what I and my brothers often
referred to as her battle clothes, a crisp, off-white linen two
piece. It perfectly tailored her small, hourglass figure; made her
appear feminine and simultaneously in control.

A bottle of
champagne stood chilling in a silver-coated
bucket; two glasses set in place, my mother’s half-full. I
scanned her face, semi-shaded by the rippling, white sails above
her, noticed a few out of place lines on her ordinarily smooth
forehead. She picked up her glass, brought the rim to her lips. The
entire movement was flawlessly graceful.

I felt nothing.

Not anger, shock, sadness.

Nothing.

Not even fear.

As I passed
a table of surfy-looking guys, one of them whistled. My eyes
bored straight through him. He immediately
raised both hands. “Whoa, just my luck, another hot looking Ice
Queen.”

I walked on.

“Hello, Mama.”

“Claudia.”

Words went
astray for a short time. I sat and poured champagne I didn’t yet
need.

“
Are you all
right, my darling? You look, I don’t know… off.”

I
didn
’t answer.

“
If this is
about what I said to you at the hospital, I didn’t mean it. I was
just upset about your father.”