Challis - 04 - Chain of Evidence (34 page)

There was a white car, said Mrs
Cooper after some thought. I think it was white. I think it was recently.

Could it have been a van?

You know, it was a van. I saw Sasha
jump out.

Did you see or know the driver?

Oh, I wasnt looking at the driver,
Mrs Cooper said.

* * * *

Van
Alphen reappeared for the evening briefing, offering an explanation but no
apology. Ive been running down some leads, he said, his voice and body
giving nothing away.

It was contemptuous, and pissed
Ellen off. Im trying to coordinate an inquiry here, Van, and youre supposed
to remain in the station and trawl through records.

Van Alphen shrugged.

Ellen sighed. It was fruitless. She
changed the subject, told them more about the dog. I just got a call from the
lab: the blood on Sashas collar is human, not animal. It will be some time
before we have the DNA result.

Human? said Kellock sharply. He
threw down his pen. Even if it is, theres no way of determining how it got
there. Meanwhile the procedures of that lab dont exactly inspire confidence.

Back to time-honoured methods, eh,
Kel? Ellen said.

Kellock looked fed up. Always been
good enough for me. He pushed back his chair, gathered his files. Have to go.
Im giving a talk at a retirement home this evening.

Ellen was reminded again that a
police station had a community role, a welfare role. Officers like Kellock went
to schools, hospitals and other institutions, giving talks and assistance. It
was something she hadnt done for many years and she felt chastened.

Thanks, Kel.

Kellock left and the briefing
continued. Everyone was tired, dispirited, and finally Ellen dismissed them.
But as they filed out, van Alphen took Ellen aside. He looked sly and
satisfied. You need a decent witness, Ellen.

Ellen didnt bother to reply. She
was pissed off with him.

Well, he murmured, Ive found you
one.

Who? she demanded. What kind of
witness? Witness to what?

Keep your voice down, he said
hoarsely. A street kid called Billy DaCosta.

Whats his story?

Abused by several men over a period
of three years, from when he was eight until puberty, when he no longer
interested them. It happened at a house here on the Peninsula, but hes not
sure where.

Ellen straightened her back, feeling
her old keenness returning. She looked fully at van Alphen, who was giving her
his most cryptic half smile.

Several men. Like who?

Clode and Duyker, among others.

Jesus Christ, Van. When were you
intending to tell me this?

Im telling you now.

This kid identified them? How?

Photos, van Alphen said. Suddenly
he stiffened, and called, Everything all right, Constable?

John Tankard had been hovering in
the corridor. He came in, looking embarrassed. Sarge.

Havent you got work to do?

Sarge.

Tankard turned back toward the door,
looking stung. Ellen called after him: John, youve been a great help to this
investigation. She paused. Im confident well see some results tomorrow.

Thanks, Sarge.

When the room was clear again, van
Alphen said, Is he our media leak, do you think?

Ellen cocked her head. Youve been
wondering about that, too?

Sure.

It can wait, Ellen said. What we
need to do now is get this kid of yours to make a formal ID. Can you bring him
in first thing in the morning?

No problem.

Meanwhile Id better tell Kellock
about him.

Van Alphen grabbed her upper arm,
his fingers like manacles, but his voice was mild and apologetic: Not yet,
Ellen, okay?

Why ever not?

Look, Kellock and I go back a long
way, but hes the senior officer in this station, and the eyes and ears of the
superintendent. If you tell him Ive found a witness, hell be obliged to pass
the information on, and I cant afford for the super or the shooting board to
learn that Ive been out in the field instead of desk bound.

Ellen wasnt convinced by the
argument, but said, Suit yourself.

* * * *

42

It
was odd having a kid around the place again. Kees van Alphen decided he liked
it. His wife and teenage daughter long gone, living up in Melbourne now, hed
spent too many years living alone in this soulless house. Sure, a teenage boy
is not the same thing as a teenage girl, especially if he sells his body for a
living, but certain factors remained constantthe noisiness, the irreverence,
the untidiness. Van Alphen decided that hed been too obsessed with silence,
solitariness and order. Billy DaCosta was doing him good, especially with
investigators sniffing around the Nick Jarrett shooting. It could be months
before they reported back to the commissioner, and he didnt know if Scobie
Sutton would withstand the pressure.

You cant keep me here forever,
Billy said.

On this Monday evening they were
sitting at the kitchen table, going over Billys statement, van Alphen also
preparing Billy for the types of questions he could expect from Ellen Destry
and others. It was 9 pm, Billy wired, van Alphen weary. Cooking odours hung in
the air: roast chicken and potatoes, salad with a sharp dressing. Billy had
wolfed down the chicken, ignored the salad. He was extraordinarily thin, and
van Alphen suspected that hed slipped out during the day, maybe taken the
train to Frankston and scored dope near the station.

I know I cant keep you here
forever, he replied, but these are dangerous people.

I can handle them, said Billy
sultrily. Got any ice cream?

Van Alphen went to the fridge,
passing close to Billys chair, Billy stinking a little. You cant expect a
street kid to feel immediately at home and want to shower and launder his
clothes regularly. Van Alphen longed to teach him these things, longed to
meddle and guide, but hed lost his wife and daughter that way, so kept his
trap shut. Billys fingernails were grimy, his jeans torn at the knee, his
T-shirt funky. Billy projected a certain look to attract the punters. It was a
skinny urchin look, with a touch of cheekiness and vulnerability. Van Alphen
was taken by it, but not sexuallyalthough Billy thought he was.

Billy shovelled the ice cream down
his throat. When are we going to do this?

First thing tomorrow morning.
Sergeant Destrys getting impatient.

I dont want to appear in court.

You might not have to.

I could just disappear. Youd never
find me.

Thats what van Alphen was afraid
of. Lets at least get you on record, he said. Video and audiotape, and a
signed statement. That, together with other evidence we have, will help nail
these bastards.

Theyre not the ones Im scared of.

I know, said van Alphen gloomily.

His mobile phone rang. He only did
police business on it, he never ignored it. He answered, Billy pouting
prettily, playing with him.

Van Alphen.

You gotta help me, Mr V.

Lester, one of his informants. Thats
not how it works, Lester.
You
help
me,
and you get paid to do it.

Its me brother. Hes bipolar.

I know that.

Well, hes threatenin to kill me
sister with a knife.

Call triple zero.

Cant we do this off the books?
Keep the authorities out of it? Ill see he takes his meds, I guarantee it.

No one would accept a Lester
guarantee, but van Alphen was feeling in the mood to be helpful. He asked for
the address, somewhere on the Seaview Park estate. I cant promise anything.

Thanks, Mr V, youre a champion.

Meet me there, growled van Alphen.

Count on it.

You didnt count on Lester, either.
Completing the call, van Alphen pointed to the papers spread out upon the table
and told Billy to go through his statement and the photographs again. I have
to go out for a while.

Billy fluttered his eyes, hung his
mouth open, spread his knees wide in the kitchen chair, and stretched to show
his slender bare stomach. Ill wait up for you.

Cut it out, Billy, said van
Alphen, who had no interest in touching him. Dont answer the door. Dont
answer the phone.

Youre no fun, Billy said.

* * * *

At
about the same time, Ellen Destry was startled to see headlights swoop across
the sitting room windows and then she heard tyres crushing Challiss gravelled
driveway. She checked her watch, faintly perplexed. Maybe Challis had enemies
she didnt know about. Ditto vengeful ex-girlfriends. She opened the front door
a crack and saw her daughter lumping bags from the back seat of her car.
Larrayne saw her, and at once crumpled up her face and said, Oh, Mum.

Sweetheart, said Ellen, rushing
out.

Oh, Mum, Larrayne said again.

Tell me.

Can I stay for a while? Maybe till
after the exams?

Ellen felt a surge of happiness. Sure
you can.

She helped Larrayne into the house
and along a corridor to the spare bedroom, which was musty, sterile. Larrayne
stood, diminished looking, in the centre of the room, her backpack over one
shoulder, her laptop case beside her on the floor. This is so weird.

Ellen was careful not to push or
probe. If youd rather go to your fathers, I wont be hurt, she said,
knowing she would be.

It just feels weird, thats all,
Larrayne said, suddenly decisive with the backpack, bouncing it down on the
surface of the bed. A little dust rose, Ellen noted guiltily. She mentally
retorted to Challis:
So, am I supposed to run major investigations
and
sweep
and dust?

Dads place is too small, Larrayne
said. Its right on the highway, so theres all this noise. Id never be able
to concentrate. Im packing death over these exams, Mum.

Ellen got extraordinary pleasure
from hearing her daughter say Mum. It was as though shed not heard it for
months and was parched. Ill show you where the bathroom is.

I dont have to shower with a
bucket at my feet, do I?

Challis relied on tank water for his
house and garden, not mains water. In a dry season hed recycle shower, laundry
and washing-up water onto his garden. But this was spring, a season of
occasional downpours, and so his tanks were full. Why hadnt Larrayne figured
that out? She was a city girl through and through. No, Ellen said amusedly. But
no tampons down the looits a septic system.

Larrayne rolled her eyes. Whatever.

Mother and daughter glanced at each
other uneasily. Want me to help you unpack?

Im fine.

Wheres the rest of your stuff?

In the car. It can wait.

Hungry?

I ate with Dad.

Ah.

Ellen wondered if Dad was going to
lurk in the corners of every conversation. She wondered if Challis would lurk,
also, leading to snide recriminations from Larrayne.

Tea? Coffee? Proper coffee.

Challis had installed coffee
machines at work and at home. He had a special terror of being obliged to drink
instant coffee in the homes of witnesses or friends.

Coffee. I need to stay awake.

Youre going to study tonight?

Yes.

Youd better use the dining room
table.

When Ellen was in the kitchen, the
phone rang. Its only me, Challis said.

Ellen kept it short and murmured,
explaining about the dog and the upcoming interrogation of Duyker. Larrayne
has just arrived.

To stay?

Do you mind?

Of course not. Is she okay?

Not exactly, Ellen said. Im
waiting for her to tell me.

Speak to you soon, Challis said,
and he was gone.

Ellen carried the coffee with a
couple of chocolate biscuits through to the sitting room. Larrayne was pacing
the room. At one point she scanned the shelves of CDs and shook her head. Theres
exactly nothing here I want to listen to. Then suddenly she was sniffing, and
looked young and small. Mum, Travis broke up with me.

Oh, sweetie, Im sorry.

Its the
worst
time. Just
before exams.

Ellen hugged her. Larrayne, so
unyielding for months, hugged her back fiercely.

* * * *

Meanwhile
van Alphen was heading down to Waterloo and Westernport Bay, ten minutes away.
It was out of order for Lester to ask for his help in what was a private, not
police, matter, but he had to admit that his informants didnt often ask him to
intervene in their affairs. It was all about balance. As a copper, van Alphen
couldnt operate without a stable of informants, registered and unregistered
alike. Sure, they often fed him poor tips about small-time crimes and
criminals, but now and then they came up with gold. Lester was unregistered:
probably, thought van Alphen now, because the little prick enjoyed informing
for several of Waterloos finest. Lester was always playing some kind of game.
He liked to be seen in public with van Alphen (Heres my tame cop), and take
van Alphen to auction houses and pawnshops that dealt in stolen goods (This
cops on the take), his intention clear:
Mr V, if you ever try to break
this partnership, I can make you look dirty.