Assassin (34 page)

They made a striking trio, backlit against the Mediterranean sunset: the tall, handsome man with his full head of salt-and-pepper hair, the statuesque blonde woman and the small, smiling, spectacled boy.

The man stood on the edge of the shore, cupped his hands to his face and shouted something in Spanish, and she, ahead of him, turned to smile in his direction. She had the even features of a model, with full lips and an even fuller mane of dirty blonde hair she was growing out, currently shoulder length and worn loose with a natural wave. What he’d said had pleased her and her eyes crinkled up, and she flashed a broad, dazzling grin as she bent at the waist in her white swimsuit and sarong to whisper something conspiratorially to the child at her heels. And then in seconds she was off, dashing up the beach on long, tanned legs, the sarong flapping behind her like a white flag and the young boy screeching with high-pitched laughter as he chased her, holding his black-rimmed glasses to his face and giggling madly.

The man who had been Andy Flynn ran after the woman and the boy making fresh footprints on the unmarked, pale
sand. And then he stopped and shook his head, the salty sea foaming around his bare ankles as he caught his breath. It was time for dinner and they were close to home now. Her father and stepmother would be waiting inside. He watched as his girlfriend scooped her son up further down the beach they called their own. She held him to her chest, his small legs flailing and kicking, and his laughter drifted back on the wind. Four years he’d been here.
Four years.
Day by day the past was fading like the paint on their beachside house, seasoned by laughter and sun and salt air. He’d lost himself and gained a future. They all had. Beneath the crimson rays of the setting European sun, they fit in, their scars invisible. Just a man, a woman and a beautiful boy.

Nameless and wanting for nothing.

Makedde’s full story has been a long time in the making. I’ve had some valuable support over the past thirteen years to see me through the ups and downs of Makedde’s changing fortunes — and my own. I would especially like to thank my agent Selwa Anthony for her guidance and both Selwa and Brian for making me part of their family. Thank you also to the team at HarperCollins for taking the chance on me when I was a young, unpublished author.

I have experienced some fascinating research for this novel. I’d like to thank Mark Patterson, General Manager, Department of Forensic Medicine, Glebe, and all the staff there who do such an important job in helping to answer questions of cause of death. I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful research assistance of NSW Homicide Commander, Detective Superintendent Michael Willing, DCI John Lehmann and the homicide and unsolved squads, Peter Moroney of Nemesis, Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Garrahy, Digital Scientist Allan Watt, Digital Forensic Examiner Kevin Clayton, Senior Constable Mick Samson, Senior Constable Michael Dunn, Chris Allen and Charles Stingel. I’d also like to thank St Vincent’s Hospital and my friend, fellow author Dr Kathryn Fox, for the fictional thoracotomy. I should also like to mention
that Geoff Rosamond, who is named in this book, is not actually an assassin of any kind, but was good enough to bid on being named one in this novel, with his generous donation going to UNICEF Australia to help some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Hans Reichhold of Townsville, who is mentioned in this novel as a fine constable, bid generously to help rebuild a much needed maternity hospital in Minova, in Democratic Republic of Congo. Your generosity has made such a difference. Thank you.

I am blessed to enjoy the company of some inspiring and diverse friends, including Miss J, Alison, Emma, Helen, Caroline, Catharine, Mindi, Tracey and little Charlie, Jacinta, Sarah, Marianne, Linda, Liz, Desi, Amelia, Dominic, Martin, Penelope and Karim, Tessa and Shane, Jody and Simon, Lauren and Josh, Kelly and Mick, Lisa and Julian, Jack and Venetia, and Adam and Susie. Thanks to all my patient friends and the gang at Sisters in Crime, the Stella Prize, Chadwicks, Foxtel, 13th Street, RIDBC, BFHI and UNICEF for your support and camaraderie.

To my brave childhood friend Alana, be well.

To my cherished father, to Lou and Jackie, Dorothy, Nik, Annelies, Maureen, and my extraordinary husband, Berndt, and our girl Sapphira, I love you all. Thank you for your unfailing love and life support. And the patience. Goodness me, the patience.

Mum, I never forget you.

Although you’ve expressed interest in writing since you were a kid, you didn’t publish your first novel,
Fetish
, until you were in your twenties. What prompted you to write your debut novel?

I wrote
Fetish
when I was twenty-three, without a publishing deal or agent, and at that time the idea of being published was very abstract. I wrote
Fetish
for myself between jobs, as being a published author was something I dreamed of but did not expect to achieve. In many ways, I still write for myself. I think that’s one of the keys to writing with authenticity.

Although I have always been obsessed with books and I am naturally compelled to write, once I became an adult the idea of presenting my writing to anyone was terrifying. When I look back I can see that it was sheer lack of confidence that saw me wait until I was twenty-three to show my writing to anyone, apart from my school classmates when I was ten.

What were your stories like when you were ten?

I was a gruesome tomboy as a child, obsessed with horror, magic, ghosts and dragons.

One of my earliest stories, a Stephen King-style novelette called
Black and White Doom
, featured a dismantled hand. I
meant dismembered, but hey, I was ten. My classmates used to wait until after school to get the handwritten chapter featuring their own grisly demise. Kids can be pretty morbid. Old school friends have told me that those stories of mine are remembered fondly. My dad collected them when I was little and stored them in the attic for years. He sent them to me when
Fetish
was published. I have taken to reading sections at literary conferences, from time to time, usually introducing them as ‘some of my early work’.

What does your writing process look like?

I have never been particularly good at methodical planning. I tend to think about a novel for a long time before I write the first words, so that I have a solid idea of what I’d like to see on the page, but the story naturally evolves through the process of physical writing. I believe the book is boss. It will tell you where it wants to go. The characters and their stories take over.

How does a typical workday unfold?

I abhor routine and as a result I don’t have any typical working day, except perhaps when I am on hard deadline. On those days I wake, turn my phone off, get a coffee, get on my laptop and work solidly until I hit my word count or until the day ends, with only short breaks to eat and stretch. It is physically unhealthy to sit and stare at a computer for twelve to fourteen hours a day, so I don’t like to work like that more often than needed.

You are known for taking risks and you’ve been set on fire and choked unconscious for research for your Mak Vanderwall crime series. Where did your fearlessness come from?

Fear is an emotion that undermines our potential as human beings, and to my mind it drives a lot of what is negative in the world — fear of the unknown, fear of failure, etc. I’ve found that one of the best ways to combat fear is to face it head on, and to get the facts.

My mother passed away after a brave battle with cancer when I was a teenager. She taught me a lot about courage and the fragility of life. Life is too short to live the same day twice. I don’t have a lot of time for fear.

What kind of research did you do for the Mak series?

People sometimes mistake me for Mak, and my real father for the formidable Detective Inspector Les Vanderwall, but the reality is that my father sold fridges and stoves at a department store and I did not meet a cop until I started researching this series. In the past fifteen years I have immersed myself in criminal cases, investigation, criminal psychology, psychopathy and the study of homicide and violent crime. I have toured the FBI Academy in Quantico, shot guns with the LAPD, taken polygraph tests, researched with world expert on psychopaths, Dr Robert Hare, seen autopsies, spent time in morgues, in squad cars and with private investigators and homicide squads. I’ve also been choked unconscious by Ultimate Fighter ‘Big’ John McCarthy and set on fire by stunt company West EFX. I am extremely grateful to all of the professionals who assisted me over the years.

When Mak took on PI work with Marian Wendell in the series, I earned my Certificate III in private investigation at the Australian Security Academy (a Certificate III is the licensing requirement for PIs) so I could understand the work. When she was choked unconscious by an assassin in
Siren
, I felt I
also needed to experience that. The sensation was intense and surprising, and there is no doubt in my mind that I would have written that scene incorrectly if I had not experienced it myself.

You are known for your advocacy on women’s issues. Is that why you wanted to write your central character as such a strong woman?

I wanted to create a character I could relate to as a reader and as a person, but also a woman who could survive incredible challenges. Mak is flawed, but also strong, intelligent and psychologically resilient. She is constantly underestimated and she learns how to deal with that, sometimes even using it to her advantage. I do tend to focus my writing on strong women, but with this series I particularly wanted to explore the character arc of someone who is a bit naïve in the first novel and becomes tough and street smart as the series progresses, ending up with an incredible skill set and a determination for justice earned the hard way. In the final novel all of these aspects of her personality and experience come into play. She is pushed to her limit, and then some.

Assassin
sees Makedde Vanderwall as a vigilante on the run. Tell us why you chose that for her.

Mak is the daughter of a cop and she believes in the criminal justice system, but I wanted to show the limitations of that system — how it can be corrupted by power and money, and how good cops and solid police work can be held back by bureaucracy and the systems we have in place to protect our valuable civil liberties. In my research over the past fifteen years it has become clear that many detectives experience a level of
frustration in certain criminal cases and they find themselves haunted by the injustices of unsolved homicides and violent crimes. We have a good criminal justice system, but like any system, it has flaws.

In
Assassin
I wanted to take those ideas to their furthest conclusions. What happens when justice is too slow? What happens when lives are at stake and the system itself holds the police back from protecting the public? I created a dangerous and volatile copycat killer who was inspired by ‘the Stiletto Murder’, and whom Andy Flynn is fighting to bring to justice. And I created a powerful family, the Cavanaghs, whose vast influence makes it hard to successfully bring them to justice. Once Mak was on their hit list it was inevitable that she would find herself on the run, having to break the rules to survive.

Makedde has an incredible evolution through the series. Do you think a lot of readers will be shocked by her darker qualities in
Assassin
?

Makedde starts out in the series as a victim and survivor, and ultimately emerges a vigilante. She is pushed to her limits and we see that evolution step by step.

It was important to make Mak Vanderwall as unashamedly hard and dangerous as any other hero of fiction. Through circumstances beyond her control, she is pushed to protect herself and others. In the end she is a killer, a criminal, a vigilante and a hero. She does what she must do.

And I love her for it.