Scorpio's Lot (7 page)

‘Steady on, were only conducting
our preliminaries,’ responded Marsh, clearly annoyed at Muller’s aggression. ‘We’re
not insinuating anything, just simply interviewing people who live in the
vicinity of the crime scene at this stage,’

‘Like I said, it’s probably some
local connection, so why don’t you start interrogating some of those people and
make your arrest!’ Kurt stated unrealistically.

‘I wish it were that easy.’

‘If that’s enough for today then
I’ll be on my way.’

‘Yes, that will do for now,’
concluded Forbes as the uncooperative Kurt Muller left.

The detective watched him
disappear around the corner. ‘Unpleasant chap,’ he said.

By contrast, Ruth Evans was in
her element, giving the impression the other tenants’ testimonies were
irrelevant and only her observation gave the true and accurate diagnosis. It
was almost comical, the way she manipulated the conversation, rarely allowing
the detectives the opportunity to raise a point. She thoroughly dictated the
whole affair. I could see from the expression on Forbes’ face that he had
finally met his match.

‘Thank you for your time, Mrs
Evans,’ Forbes said, ‘and yes, you will be on record for having watched
television on Friday night and alerting some of your fellow tenants about the
tragedy.’

Ruth was actually beaming as she
watched the men leave the caravan park.

~ * ~

‘She’s
impossible!’ Forbes said to Marsh in the car. ‘It’s as if her mouth is
connected to a nine-volt battery, it just doesn’t stop. Imagine being married
to that woman!’

‘I dread the thought. You’d need
earmuffs to survive,’ said Marsh, amused that someone had got the better of his
superior.

~ * ~

It
was late Monday morning when they knocked on the front door of Helen O’Neill’s
house. A woman in her late forties, of slender build and wearing an abundance
of white-gold jewellery greeted them with a courteous smile and gestured for
them to enter. Ushered through to the living room, Forbes then explained the
case in some length, receiving Helen’s undivided attention.

‘So that’s where we stand at the
moment. It’s unfortunate you have to be dragged into this nasty business,
particularly with your daughter lying in hospital,’ said Forbes
sympathetically.

‘Detective Forbes, I appreciate
your concern but you need to know some facts, and besides, you’ll hear about it
sooner or later so I might as well be the one to tell you. Firstly, I am Brigit’s
stepmother. Her natural mother, Susan, died of a drug overdose and was a heavy
drinker. She was what you might term an alcoholic beauty. Unfortunately Brigit
was only twelve when this happened. Sometime later I married her natural
father, David, who died of cancer in the third year of our marriage. He ran a
successful export business and Brigit was raised by a live-in domestic. She was
a very spoilt child during those years. Her father travelled overseas often and
had spent very little time with her so, probably suffering from a guilt
complex, he compensated with material gifts. In time Brigit had become what you
might term a privileged good girl. She got into the wrong crowd, primarily
through parental neglect and lack of proper family life. This was one of the
main reasons why David O’Neill pleaded with me to marry him. Although he was
becoming desperately ill, he wanted to secure a good mother for his little
girl. I did love him, but I also knew I would be left a young widow. What has
been difficult is that I thought Brigit needed me, which she does, but she’s
resented me from the beginning. I had hoped time would sort out our
differences, but nothing has changed, for she still accuses me of marrying her
father for money,’ said Helen sadly.

‘I see. Does Brigit still live
with you?’ queried Marsh.

‘Yes and no. Technically she does
but there are times when I don’t see her for three or four days on end. That’s
when I worry because she never tells me where she stays. You see, Brigit has
always been a rebellious child and refuses to conform to the more conventional
aspects of life.’

‘And where does Tom Harrison fit
into the scheme of things ... your brother, I assume?

‘No, Tom was Susan’s brother,
which makes Brigit his blood relative.’

‘Thank you for your time, Mrs O’Neill,’
Forbes said. ‘We’ll pay Brigit a visit soon with the hope she can assist with
our investigation. Feel free to contact us if there is any further matter you
need to discuss.’

~ * ~

The
interview with Phillip Reynolds the next day was particularly difficult. He now
lived alone, had no immediate family and appeared to have few friends or
acquaintances for support. With a marriage in disarray and the loss of his son
at such a young age, his world had turned upside down. He was destined to become
a lonely individual.

‘Mr Reynolds, we’ll keep this
brief,’ Forbes said. ‘At this point in time it may seem little comfort to you,
but every effort is being made to identify the person or persons responsible.
Can you think of anything that may assist us with our investigation? Perhaps
you have concerns about an acquaintance your son had that you may wish to talk
about, or Jake’s lifestyle and habits, his interests and that sort of thing.’

‘Well, he showed an interest in
Brigit O’Neill and I believe the attraction was mutual, much to the annoyance
of James Slattery, who was Brigit’s ex-boyfriend. Jake would tell me there was
a lot of jealously in that man, and he’d threatened Jake once or twice.
Detective, my son was an exceptional athlete who may have been selected to
represent his country at the next Olympic Games, but unfortunately all is now
lost. He was a long-distance runner who trained many kilometres each day…’

Reynolds paused for a brief
moment, clearly upset at what might have been. He gathered himself without
Forbes cutting in and continued.

‘One thing you should be aware of
is that Jake’s training route in the morning never varied. It was always the
same ten-k circular run which included the site where he fell to his death. It
was only his late-afternoon training that varied in distance and location.’

‘Do you know where this James
Slattery lives?’

‘I’ve never been to the house but
I recall Jake telling me Hillview Road, which is somewhere on the outskirts of
Pedley, but I have no idea of the number.’

‘For the record, may I have your
whereabouts on Friday night and early Saturday?’

‘I was home all night and went
into town Saturday morning, returning at ten.’

‘Thank you. Is there anything
else you can think of?’ Forbes asked.

‘Not at the moment but I can
always give you a call. How’s Brigit holding up?’

‘She’s regained consciousness and
we plan to visit her today.’

Forbes concluded the interview
and realised they had gone beyond the visiting hour. The stress of reliving the
events was again becoming too much for Phillip Reynolds to bear. He broke down
in a flood of tears. It was time for the detectives to visit the hospital.

~ * ~

They
were greeted by Doctor Young in the hospital foyer. He gave them instructions
not to get Brigit too excited and to keep questions to a minimum.

The curtains were still drawn in
room 127 and a strong medical odour lingered. Brigit was sitting up in bed, and
despite her left arm in plaster and looking a bit worse for wear, she appeared
receptive to an interview.

Thinking about what Helen O’Neill
had told him about Brigit’s mother, Forbes could see a degree of Susan O’Neill’s
beauty harnessed within her daughter’s bruised and broken exterior. Brigit must
have inherited her mother’s supposedly good looks, he thought. Obviously told
of their intended visit, she frowned when they came into view.

After the introductions, Forbes
said, ‘Brigit, please forgive our intrusion but we’re hoping you feel up to
answering a few questions today. We sympathise with your recent ordeal and the
consequences, but we need to talk to you about certain matters. Firstly, can
you recall exactly what happened that morning by the cliff?’

With a somewhat impassive tone,
Brigit said, ‘I was standing on the ground that eventually gave way, but my
light weight obviously wasn’t enough to have any effect. It was when Jake
arrived and stood beside me that everything beneath us collapsed. I can’t
remember another thing after that until I woke up in hospital.’

‘Tell me what led you to be with
Jake on Saturday morning.’

Forbes could immediately see he
had hit a raw nerve, for Brigit’s eyes began to fill and her saddened face now
dissolved into an uncontrollable sob. The detectives gave her a moment to
compose herself.

‘I knew Jake ran the same way every
morning and he always started at seven, which I think had something to do with
his stopwatch. I decided to surprise him by waiting at the cliff so we could
finish the run together.’

Brigit paused, and then in a
slightly bitter tone declared, ‘I loved Jake and that’s now been taken away
from me, as were my mother and father. At this moment my life is at its lowest
point and all I have left is my stepmother.’

A short interlude followed Brigit’s
sudden outburst. Forbes then resumed his questioning. ‘What can you tell me
about James Slattery?’

Brigit’s reaction was one of
surprise. Her eyes widened at the mention of his name, followed by a frown that
suggested some uncomfortable association. Forbes sensed the negative reaction,
suspecting that Brigit had not anticipated this line of questioning. She
hesitated at first, as if searching for the correct words.

‘James and I used to be an item,
you might say, but he became very obsessive and it reached a point where he saw
all other men as a threat. It was a ridiculous situation that was starting to
get out of hand, so I called the whole thing off, telling him he was immature
and to stop messing around with my friends. He gave poor Jake a hard time and I
prefer not to have anything to do with him these days.’

‘What can you tell me about your
stepmother?’

‘At times I despise that woman
for her resentments. Always picking fault and trying to turn me into something
I’m not. Helen’s been trying for years to send me to boarding school in the
city but I’ve always refused to go. She’s forever creating this false image to
impress others, which is something I detest. She married my father around
eighteen months after the death of my mother and their marriage lasted for
three years before my father died of cancer. I’m sure he only married her so I
could have a legal guardian to protect my interests. There’s no denying Helen
married for money. You only have to look around today to see what that legacy
has brought her.’

‘But surely your stepmother must
have her good points,’ enquired Forbes.

‘I won’t deny she does want the
best for me, but it’s the way she goes about it and the stupid pretences to
impress people that I can’t handle!’

The detectives could see Brigit’s
emotional stress resurfacing. Forbes decided they had discussed enough during
their first interview.

‘This is all becoming too
traumatic for you, so let’s stop here and we’ll continue at a later date.’

‘Yeah ... I’m finding it
difficult to cope, because all I do is lie here and think about different things.
If I was up and about then it might be easier.’

‘Very well,’ Forbes said. ‘Let’s
resume our discussion in a day or two. We’ll be on our way now.’

~ * ~

Hillview
Road was situated on an elevated site around one kilometre inland overlooking
the distant bay. The property sat beside a heavily timbered area currently
being cleared to make way for a new housing development on the edge of town.
This particular address appeared to Forbes to be one of the original
residences, given the maturity of the garden surrounding the house. A young man
of shrewd appearance and lean build was waiting on the verandah when he and
Marsh walked up the steps.