Scorpio's Lot (43 page)

‘Well, let me give you something
to ponder over. Last night in the presence of Emily, Martha Kellett and Jack
Flower, we were terrorised in our living room by the very same people who were
responsible for the
Molly Bloom
tragedy,’ I snapped back at the pompous
fool. At the detective’s request I gave a detailed account of the evening.

‘Was anyone injured?’ asked
Forbes.

‘Yes, both Martha and Jack.’

‘And you weren’t?’

‘No.’

‘I rest my case.’

‘You’ve gone too far with your
insinuations. I have a good mind to file for defamation of character and report
this behaviour to your superiors.’

‘Do what you wish, but it won’t
hold up in a murder case.’

‘If you have no further need of
me, I would like to leave.’

‘Yes you may, as there is
insufficient evidence to lay charges. But remember, I have my eye on you.’

‘Don’t threaten me, Forbes. I’ve
committed no crime.’ I was seething at the man’s arrogance and general handling
of the interview. I stormed out of the office, ignoring Whittaker’s feeble
attempt to soften the impact with an extended arm. A passing handshake seemed
totally inappropriate.

~ * ~

Having
completed their lengthy interviews with the
Molly Bloom
passengers,
Forbes and his men were both physically and mentally exhausted from the
constant routine. Today signaled the arrival of the city backup team and these
additional resources would help spread the increasing workload. In anticipation
of a sizable audience to be briefed, Forbes jotted down some pointers on his
trusty whiteboard. His plan was to draw attention to those characters he held
with a degree of suspicion. Shortly afterwards, a parade of law enforcement
agents led by Detective Senior Sergeant Graeme Bailey entered through the
office door and quickly filled the awaiting chairs that had been strategically
placed for the meeting.

‘Graeme, I’m pleased to see that
you and your men have arrived safely. These further resources are most welcome,’
said Forbes, who inwardly still held some contempt toward head office for not
providing backup earlier.

‘Got here as quickly as we could.
Alan, may I present my three men, who are now at your disposal to do with as
you see fit. Peter Gallagher, David Parnell and John Doyle, please meet the one
and only Alan Forbes.’ After the introductions Bailey then briefly touched on
some of Forbes’ past achievements.

‘For goodness sake, Graeme, you
make me out to be a celebrity,’ Forbes replied. In spite of his protestations,
Forbes seemed to be enjoying the attention.

‘First let me just say that the
media congregated here can be a pain in the arse,’ Forbes said. ‘Most of the
nation’s major tabloids and television journalists have taken up residence here
in anticipation of early arrests. They will hound you like the paparazzi, so
watch your every step. After a while you learn to live with their presence.’

Not being particularly interested
in the habits of the resident media, Bailey was more intent on focusing on the
task at hand. He responded in a slightly dictatorial tone.

‘Before we commence, Alan,’ he
said, ‘would you fetch your men who have served on this case? Better we’re all
here in case some point needs clarification.’

Upon the inclusion of Whittaker,
Marsh, Burke, Carpenter, Jennings and Martino, Forbes called the meeting to
order. With an audience of ten crammed into his office, he commenced his
briefing. He went to painstaking lengths to describe not only the series of
murders but also the crisis on the
Molly Bloom
and the eventual
kidnapping of Brigit O’Neill. His unrelenting detail was almost bordering
obscenity, as he purposely chose to describe each bloodied and gory component
to the extreme.

I’m sure the man was a homicidal
maniac in his previous life, thought Burke.

‘Gentlemen, I now draw your
attention to the whiteboard behind me. The names you see are individuals that
either attract a degree of suspicion or from whom further information needs to
be extracted.’ Forbes seemed to be implying that the short list of suspects had
already been finalised.

‘But, boss, that list is your own
interpretation and not one that’s necessarily shared by others.’ Darren Burke
was clearly upset upon reading some of the names.

Bailey intervened, sensing a
potential conflict. ‘Alan, let’s first hear your reasons for selecting these
people.’

‘In no particular order, these
are my observations. I believe James Slattery and Kurt Muller to be of no
consequence. They’re both simply a couple of fools caught in the act of passing
pornography and marijuana. Although they have a track record in lying to the
police, one piece of information has proven to be consistent and that is their
source of supply, namely a drug dealer called Charlie.’

‘Do you intend pursuing these two
men?’ Bailey asked.

‘Probably unnecessary at this
stage for reasons which I’ll explain shortly,’ responded Forbes. ‘We now turn
our attention to Travis Ferguson, more commonly referred to as Ferret in the
traps. Again the pattern of consistency emerges, whereby a tip-off from Danny
Murdock was brought to the attention of Detective Marsh regarding a meeting
between Ferret and Charlie at the Broadbent premises.’

‘And what was that all about?’
asked Bailey.

‘A bit of carelessness on behalf
of Ferret, who was unaware that Danny was still in the warehouse when Charlie
arrived. Murdock happened to overhear that syndicate activities will be
downscaled due to all the pub licity surrounding the
Molly Bloom
incident. There was also mention of their supreme leader arriving in Pedley for
the forthcoming carnival. He intends bringing an incriminating document for
forwarding to the authorities to discredit some rival organisation.’

‘Would that be the Keeper?’
questioned Parnell.

‘Yes.’

‘Do we know what day the Keeper
arrives?’ asked Doyle.

‘Ferret has since learnt it will
be Saturday.’

‘And how will he arrive?’
enquired Gallagher.

‘I assume by car,’ responded
Forbes, thinking the question was rather odd.

‘And their rendezvous point?’
threw in Parnell.

‘No idea, but we’ll put more
resources into investigating the Keeper and his eventual arrival at the
carnival.’

‘An incriminating document, you
say,’ said Bailey. ‘I would dearly love to know the contents, but all in good
time. My guess is that with the downsizing of their activities a rival
operation has stuck their nose in expecting to pick up the crumbs. And I
thought there was a degree of loyalty within the drug fraternity.’

‘No, it would seem not. Should an
all-out war ignite between rival gangs, it may bring a lot more activity to the
surface, which in turn can only benefit the authorities,’ claimed Forbes.

‘When did you interview Ferret?’

‘We had him call into the station
yesterday,’ Whittaker replied.

‘So what was discussed?’

‘In an earlier statement to
Marsh, Ferret denied any link with the drug operation. But in light of Danny
Murdock’s testimony he reluctantly confessed to what he referred to as a “limited
association”. And his source of supply was - you guessed it - the one and only
Charlie.’

‘Did our source remain anonymous?’
asked Bailey.

‘Most certainly.’ Forbes was
surprised by his colleague’s need for reassurance.

‘What else can you tell us?’

‘Ferret was easy pickings and
confessed fairly quickly. He claimed he had limited knowledge of the syndicate
other than his dealings on the street. Additionally, Charlie only kept him
informed on matters that directly affected him. Charlie had recently applied a
lot of pressure to increase sales, because high turnover was required to make
way for some large forthcoming shipment.’

‘Interesting point, but you
indicated earlier they were downscaling their operations.’

‘Perhaps this is their last big
shipment before they put a freeze on things,’ offered Doyle.

‘Could be. It reinforces the
belief that their storage base must be either in Pedley or within close
proximity of the town,’ Forbes reasoned.

Bailey gave a brief assessment. ‘We’re
talking about a massive supply of drugs here, enough to infiltrate both the
local and interstate trade. An operation on this scale cannot be simply stored
inside a house and be expected to operate undetected. I mean, the logistics
alone, with their numerous couriers, would surely arouse the suspicion of
neighbours. No, this syndicate has chosen a cleverly concealed address that has
remained undetected by the authorities and public for many years.’

‘What type of drugs does Ferret
distribute around town?’ enquired Doyle.

‘He confessed to ecstasy, heroin
and marijuana, stating there was unlimited supply and unconditional quality for
anyone who may be interested.’

‘Bloody hell, unlimited supply of
heroin is cause for concern.’ said Parnell.

‘There’s a further point I find
rather interesting,’ Forbes said. ‘Ferret seemed to give the impression his
arrival at the police station was being observed. He appeared nervous and kept
peering through my office window toward the front street as if he was looking
for someone. In the end I asked him if everything was all right, but he wouldn’t
elaborate.’

‘Do you believe there may be a
connection with Broadbent?’ asked Gallagher.

‘Initially I didn’t, since
Carpenter reported the warehouse appeared to run a legitimate business. But the
more I think about it the more I tend to believe that something is not quite
right. Maybe it’s just a premonition, but some things just don’t add up,’
Forbes replied.

‘Can you elaborate?’

‘Both Ferret and Danny Murdock
work at the warehouse and the elusive Charlie just happens to select these
premises to discuss classified matters. An equally intriguing incident was the
day Carpenter paid a visit and happened to hear a noise coming from behind the
bluestone wall in the cellar.’

‘What was that all about?’ Bailey
asked Carpenter.

‘Well, boss, there was certainly
a noise but I can’t be absolutely sure where it came from. I believe the likely
answer was from behind the wall and not the ceiling, because when I returned
above ground there was no evidence of some heavy object placed on the floor
above the cellar. If this noise did come from behind the wall then there’s more
to Broadbent’s than meets the eye.’

‘I would obtain a search warrant
to have these premises thoroughly checked out,’ suggested Bailey.

‘It had crossed my mind and I
daresay this could be carried out in the next day or two,’ contributed Forbes.

‘I don’t understand why you’re
suspicious of Tom Harrison,’ challenged Darren Burke.

‘We’ll come back to Tom Harrison
shortly. For the moment let’s just concentrate on the remaining people upon the
whiteboard.’

It was Sergeant Burke who
persisted with his superior’s insinuations. ‘I fully understand the need to
pursue most of these people, but why Hamish O’Connor and Helen O’Neill?’

‘It was O’Connor’s recommendation
that the high road to Seddon be taken to board the
Molly Bloom,
which
would serve as an alternative route and safe passage back to Pedley. No one
else had prior knowledge of this intended voyage until a phone call was placed
later to alert the Pedley Police Station of a change in plans.’