Deadly Diplomacy (12 page)

“But they could have arranged it,” Sangster said.

The DC stared at him. “I mean it, Tom. Don’t step out of line.”

“Well I don’t like it.”

The DC paused. “You’re going to like this even less. Canberra say
they’re
responsible for investigating the murder of Anthony Harris, because he was a Federal Minister.”

“So what do they suggest?” Sangster sounded exasperated. “That we split the two investigations up?”

“Look, don’t make this any harder than it is, Tom. There are more Federal Agents on their way. I’ve opened the major incident room, where we can all work together and pool information. Meanwhile, you carry on with the Ellen Chambers’ murder.” He stared at him. “If you want to.”

“Course I do.”

The DC nodded, as if to dismiss him.

But Sangster didn’t leave. “I want to put a small team together to look for Susan Chambers, quietly. She’s scared of us, and we need to find her before she gets herself into trouble.”

The DC shook his head. “We can’t afford to make any mistakes. Put out a bulletin to pick her up.”

“I’m worried she’s got that diary,” Sangster persisted. “Susan’s an investigative journalist, or at least she’s training to be. I think she’s going to use that diary to start digging into Ellen’s life. And that could put her in a lot of danger.” He took a deep breath. “Just give me 24 hours. If we haven’t found her by then, we’ll do it your way.”

“I’m not sure.”

“The British Consul will help us find her. Susan seems to trust her. I’m sure she’s the one person Susan
will
contact.”

The DC looked thoughtful. “The British Deputy High Commissioner Nigel Paxman phoned me earlier. Seems a good bloke… on the ball anyway. He told me his Consul was here.” He paused. “All right, Tom. You’ve got 24 hours.”

Sangster nodded. “One more thing, Sir. I want to keep that post-mortem stabbing under wraps for the time being. It’s weird, and I don’t want to get the media stoked up.”

The DC understood. “It’ll only spread hysteria.”

Sangster went to go.

“By the way, Tom, the Chairman of Western Energy called in to see me earlier. I believe you spoke to him on the phone?”

“Yes. I’d planned to stop at the Convention Centre to see him before I got your call about Anthony Harris.”

“Not only is he devastated about Ellen Chambers’ murder, he’s close to the PM, Tom, so tread carefully. Don’t go upsetting him, or anyone else at Western Energy.”

Sangster rose and headed for the door.

“There’s a lot at stake here, Tom,” the DC shouted at his departing back.

Surely the media had the story by now? Jess scanned the headlines on her laptop again, but there was still no mention of the Anthony Harris shooting. Puzzled, she sat back in her terrace chair and looked across the lawn. The shadow cast by the hotel roof had lengthened in the late afternoon sun, and the air had started to cool. She looked at her watch: 4.15pm. In another 45 minutes, the journalists were due to arrive for her briefing on Ellen Chambers’ murder. That’s if any of them turned up. The Anthony Harris shooting would be a much bigger headline now,
if
the press knew about it.

She checked her mobile. She wasn’t surprised Inspector Sangster hadn’t phoned back with news of the shooting; but she’d expected Simon to ring. They had to know about it in Canberra by now. She dialled Simon’s number, expecting to get his voicemail.

“Jess?” he answered. “I’m in the car with the Foreign Secretary and High Commissioner. We’re in between calls, on our way to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”

Jess understood he was telling her he couldn’t chat. She launched straight in. “Have you heard Anthony Harris has been shot dead in Brisbane?”

His stunned silence answered her question.

“I was with Inspector Sangster at The Palms when he got the call,” she said. “I don’t know any of the details because he raced off back to Brisbane. I’ve heard nothing from him since.” She paused. “The media
should
have the story by now, but there’s still nothing about it on the internet.”

“
Good God!
”

Down the line, she could hear the disbelief in his voice as he told the High Commissioner and Foreign Secretary. But he sounded sceptical when he came back on. “Are you sure, Jess? Only we’ve heard nothing about it.”

“I’m
sure
I know what Inspector Sangster told me. Mind you, that was a couple of hours ago.”

“We’ve just finished our meetings at Parliament, and no one mentioned it. The whole place would be buzzing if it were true.”

“That’s weird. Inspector Sangster got the call while he was with me. I heard it all.”

“Right,” Simon said, purposefully. “We’re just arriving at the Department of Foreign Affairs. We’ll find out and let you know.”

“Thanks.”

“
Please
be careful, Jess.”

Jess pocketed her mobile.
Am I sure?
But now she was beginning to doubt the shooting had happened. Had there been some kind of mix-up?
Some
mix-up she thought, as she rolled her head from side to side to relieve tension. She looked at her watch again. She needed to clear her head before talking to those journalists.

In the distance, she could see the afternoon sun shimmering on the silvery sea. It looked so inviting. She pushed her laptop into her briefcase and picked up her bag. The scent of star jasmine wafted in the breeze as she walked down the garden path. Approaching the beach, she saw a man standing on the jetty, staring out to sea.

The man must have felt her presence because he turned. And when he saw her, he seemed to half-freeze, with a spontaneous look of surprise, or was it shock, on his face?

Jess recognised him immediately. It wasn’t just because he resembled his photo in the newspaper, or because he was particularly striking. No, he just held himself upright and radiated a kind of charisma. He was the Chairman of Western Energy, all right. “Mr Langhurst?” She stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Jessica Turner, British Consul.”

Something like relief flitted across his face. “Of course.” He shook her hand. “Your Deputy High Commissioner said you were here.”

Langhurst had a surprisingly strong handshake. “I’m so sorry about Ellen,” she said. “It’s just terrible.”

“Yes,” he whispered. “She’s quite… irreplaceable.”

The deep sadness in his voice moved Jess and she felt tears prick her eyes. They stood in silence for a while, side by side, looking out to sea, until Langhurst gave a long sigh. “Thank you for coming, Miss Turner.”

“Call me Jessica, or Jess if you like.”

He nodded. “And I’m John.”

Conscious that he was deeply upset, she said: “Would you mind if I ask you about Ellen?”

He gave a sad half-smile. “Of course not. But I don’t know what I can tell you, except that she was a delightful colleague and a brilliant financial expert.”

“Do you know her sister, Susan?” Jess was hoping he might know where Susan was.

He shook his head. “I knew Ellen had a sister working in Brisbane, but I’ve never met her.”

“She was here earlier. She told me Ellen had hoped to move to Australia soon to work for your Company.”

He flinched. “Susan Chambers told you
that
?”

“Sorry, am I talking out of turn?”

He frowned. “It’s true I wanted Ellen to take over as CEO.” He glanced at Jess. “Did Susan mention that too?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d be grateful if you’d keep it to yourself. Only our CEO Richard Price is still in the job, and I don’t want the press making any more trouble.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I expect you’ve seen the speculation in the media about Richard moving on?” Of course she hadn’t, but he didn’t wait for her reply. “All those reports about his run-in with the police over drink-driving. These things always find their way into the papers.”

How embarrassing for him and Western Energy, Jess thought.

“Poor Richard’s been suffering since his divorce last year,” Langhurst explained. “Alcohol ruins so many lives.”

Jess understood perfectly. “I expect Ellen told Susan about the move because she was excited at the prospect of moving closer to her sister.”

He nodded. “I don’t deny I wanted Ellen for the job. She would have been perfect. But while everyone was speculating about Richard being on the move, no one knew Ellen was the front-runner to replace him. Perhaps I need to explain that to Susan? I’ve been trying to contact her to express my condolences. She works at the
Echo
, but they won’t give out her private number. Do you have it?”

Jess shook her head. “She left without giving me her contact details.”

“I was hoping to see Inspector Sangster here.”

“I’m afraid you’ve just missed him.”

He sighed. “In that case, I’d better get back to the Conference. To be honest, I wanted to cancel the whole thing. But guests have travelled from all over the world to attend. I can’t let them down.”

As they walked up to the hotel in companionable silence, Jess wondered if he’d heard about the Anthony Harris shooting. But as he never mentioned it, she didn’t either.

Reaching the back terrace, he stopped. “It was good to meet you, Jessica.”

“Good to meet you too, John.”

Under his intense gaze, she had the feeling she was being assessed. She must have come out favourably because he pulled out a business card and gave it to her. “If there’s anything I can do, give me a ring on my mobile. Any time.”

She smiled. “And here’s mine.” She gave him a card, then asked. “Do you mind if I ask one question that’s been bothering me?”

“Of course not.”

“Why was Ellen such a key person on your LNG negotiating team when she was resident in London? Don’t you have anyone in Australia who could do the job?”

He shook his head. “No one like her. Ellen was fluent in Mandarin, you see. She’d worked in China for years before joining Western Energy. She knew the Chinese well. They liked her. Trusted her.” He gave a sad smile. “I was the one who lured her away from her job in China. And I never regretted it. Not for a moment… until now.”

A polite cough interrupted and they turned to see the young receptionist standing by the door.

“Excuse me, Miss Turner, there are some journalists waiting for you in the lobby.”

Jess looked at her watch: 5pm on the dot. She turned back to Langhurst. “Sorry, but I have to go.”

He put a light hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, Jessica,” he said, before walking off in the direction of the car park.

Alone now, Jess wondered if she had time to check the headlines on her laptop to see if the Anthony Harris shooting was public knowledge yet. But she didn’t want to antagonise the journalists by being late. She took a deep breath and went into the hotel.

*

“Well, let me ask you this, then. Does the British Government
think
Ellen Chambers’ murder is connected to the gas deal?”

Jess looked back at that annoying journalist by the door. He was persistent, she’d give him that. How many different ways could he ask the same question? “I’m afraid I can only repeat what I’ve already told you,” she said with a note of finality. “All we know at the moment is that Ellen Chambers was found dead on the beach here at five o’clock this morning.”

“But is the British Government investigating the
possibility
of a connection?”

“The Australian police are responsible for investigating Ellen Chambers’ death. The gas deal is a commercial transaction between Australia and China.” She tried to keep her tone even. “The British Government are not involved in that project.”

He wouldn’t give up so easily. “Did
you
know Ellen Chambers?”

She shook her head. “No. I’d never met her.”

“Did any of your
colleagues
in the British High Commission know her?”

She gave him a cool look, wondering what he was getting at. “She was a senior executive in a prominent company, so some of my colleagues may have met her.”

He brushed his straggly brown hair from his eyes, and continued to stare. “Had she ever been
employed
by the British Government?”

A hush settled around the room as the other journalists sensed he was onto something. So did Jess.
Employed by the British Government?
What did he know that she didn’t? John Langhurst said Ellen had worked in China for several years before joining Western Energy but Jess couldn’t speculate about that now. “All I know is that Ellen Chambers was an employee of Western Energy when she died. I don’t know what she did before that.”

“Where’s her sister, Susan Chambers?” he asked. “Been spirited away by your lot, has she?” He looked around the room for effect. “Only, none of us have seen her.”

Jess’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve seen Susan today.” She wanted to quash any speculation that the other Chambers girl was lying murdered in a ditch somewhere. “As a press
colleague
of yours, I’m sure you’ll want to give her privacy to come to terms with her sister’s death.”

“Murder,” he retorted.

By now, Jess had had enough. She’d answered all their questions and had nothing more to say. The worrying thing was they clearly knew nothing about the Anthony Harris shooting, but at least she hadn’t had to field any questions about that.

A noise over by the terrace doors caught everyone’s attention. A couple stumbled in, and stood staring like rabbits in headlights. With all eyes on them, they mumbled their apologies and backed out.

When Jess turned back, the annoying journalist had disappeared. She cast her eyes around the room, but there was no sign of him. Taking advantage of the interruption, she checked her watch. Half an hour of questions was enough. “Right, if that’s all,” she said before anyone else could say anything. “We’ll finish now.”

Saying a quick farewell, she picked up her bags and walked out. Crossing the lobby, she swung through the glass door onto the terrace. She glanced at the bar. She could do with a drink, but she didn’t want to go inside, in case the journalists followed her. All she craved was some peace and quiet. Feeling the late afternoon air cooling her burning cheeks, she started walking and found herself being drawn to the jetty again. As she stood in the same spot as earlier with John Langhurst, she went over their conversation in her head. He’d certainly thought a lot of Ellen Chambers. So much so, he’d seemed… well, devastated by her death. Yes, that’s the word she’d use. Devastated. Would a boss be that cut up about a colleague, she wondered? Or were they more than colleagues?