Deadly Diplomacy (17 page)

“In exactly the same spot as Ellen Chambers’.”

“The
same
place?”

His eyes flashed. “This man’s confident. Real confident. He shot Anthony Harris in broad daylight outside the police station under our noses. Now, he’s taunting us by putting Danny’s body in the same place as Ellen Chambers’. He thinks we’re all idiots.” His mobile vibrated for the second time since he’d sat down. He glanced at the caller ID but didn’t answer. “I have to go.”

She nodded.

But he didn’t move. “Have you heard from Susan?”

“Not yet. I hope to God she’s all right.” Jess could hardly hear his reply for the racket behind. Turning, she saw the two little girls from the beach yesterday sitting at the table behind with their mother. They were banging their spoons on their cereal bowls for a game.

“Didn’t she say she’d ring first thing?” he repeated.

Jess nodded and he looked away, to hide his annoyance.

For some reason, Jess’s logical mind turned to another loose end that had been bothering her. “Tom, did the Federal Police question Ellen Chambers about taking bribes from the Chinese? Is that how she found out they were on to her?”

He looked up. “What makes you think she knew?”

“Why else would she have been afraid of you all?”

He frowned. “As far as I’m aware, she was under technical surveillance. That means they were monitoring her phone calls and emails, but not following her. So I don’t see how she could have known.”

Jess frowned. “Well if the Federal Police didn’t tell her, could someone else have told her? Someone on the inside?”

He caught her drift. “Anthony Harris, you mean?”

She nodded. “He
was
the Federal Minister responsible for energy resources and mining. So he would have been close to the deal and players in every way.” She paused. “If he’d been having an affair with her, surely he’d have told her the police were onto her? Maybe he even challenged her about what she was doing? Maybe that’s why he was killed too.”

He nodded. “It’s possible.”

She couldn’t help but ask the next question. “So
was
Harris the father of her unborn child?”

Sangster shifted on his chair. “I’m expecting the lab results any time.”

Jess sighed with frustration. “So what does Mrs Harris have to say? Did she know her husband was having an affair?”

He stiffened. “She’s in Singapore, on business. She’s travelling back today.”

Jess suddenly felt a familiar weariness seep through her. “It’s so tragic for the family.”

He nodded and looked at his mobile. “I have to go,” he said again. Still he didn’t move.

“So what has Chen Xiamen said?” Jess asked. “And the rest of the Chinese?”

Sangster’s eyes turned steely. “We have to wait for the Chinese Ambassador and the PM’s China expert to get here from Canberra before we can interview them.”

That’s when Jess understood the depth of his anger and frustration. He was trying to carry out an investigation in the dark, and she knew how that felt. “I didn’t know the Chinese were staying here,” she said.

Sangster looked at her. “They’re not; they’re at the Riverbank in town.”

“Well I’ve just seen Chen leave here.”

He frowned. “Did he say where he was going?”

Jess remembered Chen’s face. “He looked furious about something, so I didn’t speak to him. I just saw him talking to the receptionist. Then he went out and got into a taxi.”

Sangster’s mobile vibrated again, but he just looked at her.

It was her turn to feel uncomfortable now and she took a sip of coffee.

“I’m sorry for being bad tempered yesterday, Jess” he said.

Surprised, she put down her cup. “Oh that’s all right.”

“No, it’s not. I was rude… I’ve no excuse. It’s… well, it’s just this job sometimes.”

Jess nodded and leant back in her chair. She knew an olive branch when she saw one. “And I’m sorry about the diary, Tom.”

The bleep of an incoming text message sounded, and he picked up his mobile.

Hearing a shriek of laughter, Jess turned and saw one of the little girls jump down from her chair. The other followed suit and they chased each other up and down until the little one careered into Jess’s table, spilling coffee, and knocking Sangster’s notepad onto the floor. Jess glanced down as the pages fluttered open. Such amazing sketches.

Sangster banged his phone down on the table and stared at the two children. “Listen, you two. Sit back up at that table and do what your mum tells you.”

The two children scampered back into their chairs and sat with their heads bowed.

“You were saying, Jess?” He leant down and picked up his pad.

Jess smiled at the girls, then at him. “I said I was sorry about the diary, Tom.”

Sangster studied the Consul. She looked her usual cool self this morning. Only the dark circles under her eyes suggested she was feeling the heat too. His vibrating phone distracted him and he checked the caller ID. This time he picked it up. “Have you got those autopsy results, Anderson?”

He couldn’t hear the reply over the racket from the two kids, who were now wailing. He got up and walked out into the lobby to take the call. “Right, go on,” he said.

“We’ve rushed through the Ellen Chambers’ autopsy first, Tom. The cause of death
was
drowning.”

“Right.”

“And that cracker of a bruise on her left cheek, well, he broke her cheekbone with that punch and probably knocked her to the ground; she’s got three cracked ribs on her right side. The index and middle finger of her right hand are broken too. She fought hard.”

“A-ha.”

“And she’s got a hairline skull fracture and bruises consistent with her head being banged repeatedly on the ground. Oh, and you remember that marking in the centre of the bruise on her cheek. I think it may have been made by a ring, with a small stone in the middle. From the angle of impact, I’d say he was right-handed.”

“Was she pregnant?” Sangster asked, quickly.

“Yes. You were right about that – 16 weeks.”

“Is Anthony Harris the father?”

“We’ve just finished him and sent his DNA to the lab.” Anderson sighed. “As soon as I know, you’ll know.”

“It’s real important.”

“We’ve been working right through the night.” Anderson’s tone was almost accusatory when he asked: “Is Evans still at the jetty with corpse number three?”

“Yep. Same MO as Harris. A bullet to the back of the head. Clean and clinical. Then a stab wound through the heart.”

“This psycho likes to get his rocks off on the job, doesn’t he? Bit of a joker too, positioning the body in the same place as our first victim. He’s taunting you, Tom.”

Sangster stiffened. “He’s confident, I’ll give you that. That’s why I need those autopsy results.”

“We’re going as fast as we can.”

“Good, because I don’t think he’s finished yet.”

“Well you’d better catch him quick, mate. Our overtime budget can’t stand any more of this.” And Anderson hung up.

*

Jess watched Sangster go into the lobby to take his call. She hoped he wouldn’t be long; she wanted to get off to Brisbane. She took another sip of coffee. Putting the cup down on the saucer, her eyes were drawn to his notepad that lay next to it. She glanced over at the door. No sign of him. Leaning over, she turned the notepad round and flicked through the pages.

What she saw made her gasp; page after page of drawings, with such fine detail bringing scenes to life. He’s the real deal, she thought. Fascinated, she stopped at one of Ellen Chambers lying dead on the flat sand. Her eyes were so lifelike, and yet so dead.

“So, what do you see?”

She looked up at Sangster, as if seeing him for the first time. It was hard to believe there was such an artistic soul behind that gruff exterior. “Sorry, I was curious. These are r
eally
good.”

He picked up the notepad.

“There’s something about the way you’ve drawn her eyes,” Jess went on.

He looked at her.

“She’s clearly dead, yet you’ve captured a sort of light in them.” She paused. “Oh I think I see what you mean. You think she
recognised
her killer? Is that what that light signifies?”

He looked stunned that she understood. “Do you deal with many bodies in your job, Jess?”

“Some.” She looked away. “You know, immediately after death, I think it’s possible to see pain or fear or shock on people’s faces and in their eyes.” She felt a little embarrassed. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just the shock of realising they’re on the point of death. But it’s there sometimes.”

He studied her until she felt uncomfortable again. “I must go. I’m checking out now, and moving to the Riverbank, where the Western Energy delegation are staying. I’ll be able to work out of the British Consulate-General.”

He nodded. “That seems sensible.” He went to leave. “Let’s touch base later.”

“I’ve got appointments all morning. But I could come to the police station around 2pm, if that suits, Tom?”

“That’s fine.” He hesitated. “You know, you’re the only link with Susan and that diary now, Jess. She’s in danger while she still has it. So…”

“So I’ll ring you as soon as I hear from her, Tom.”

He nodded and walked away.

Back in her room, Jess’s head was teeming with questions. She went over to the window and looked towards the jetty. The police were still down there, with the beach cordoned off again. But she couldn’t see Tom anywhere. Was he right, had Danny witnessed Ellen’s murder? Is that why he was killed in exactly the same place?

Conscious she was running late, she looked at her watch and went over to her cabin bag that lay open on the rack next to the wardrobe. Pushing her wash bag inside, she turned to the bedside cabinet for the photo of Jack and Amy.

She froze.

Her frantic eyes darted around the room until she spotted the photo lying on the bed. What was it doing there? She stood still. The bed was still unmade, so the cleaners hadn’t been in. As she looked around, the hairs rose on the back of her neck. The bottom drawer of the dressing-table was open.

Someone had been in her room.

She ran over to her cabin bag and searched it. Nothing missing. Grabbing her briefcase, she looked inside. Her laptop, memory stick and camera were all still there. Again, nothing missing.

But someone had been in her room. She was sure of it.

She picked up the phone. Should she call hotel security? But how long would it take for them to come up and investigate? Would they insist on calling the police? Would she have to wait for them too? She checked her watch again. Not only was she really late; she couldn’t wait to get away from this place.

She put the receiver back. With nothing taken, she decided to get off to Brisbane and tell Tom later when she saw him. Packing up the rest of her things at lightning speed, she was careful to slip the photo of Jack and Amy into her briefcase where it would be safe.

Pulling her cabin bag to the door, she stopped and looked around to check she hadn’t left anything. She shivered. The atmosphere in the room had changed. With the morning sun on the other side of the building, it looked dark and uninviting. Tainted even. And nothing like the bright, elegant room she’d walked into yesterday. Stepping into the corridor, she slammed the door behind her, thankful she didn’t have to spend another night at The Palms.

“Ready for today’s consular problem?” Sharon asked, in her usual upbeat way.

Jess braced herself, unsure of how much more she could cope with.

“A yacht went down around midnight off the coast of New South Wales, not far from Sydney. There were three people on board; one of them a British girl, travelling around Australia on a gap year.”

“Any survivors?”

“An Australian lad managed to cling to wreckage until a passing vessel rescued him. There was a terrible storm at the time, really rough seas. There’s little chance of the other two being found alive.”

Jess slumped back in the chair. Another young Briton lost while on the adventure of a lifetime. Another family plunged into unimaginable grief. She knew parents found it hard to let their kids go travelling on gap years. And with good reason. Most came back safe and sound, but there was always one that didn’t. “We’ll need to find out who the girl was and notify her family, Sharon.”

“Our Sydney Consul-General’s got it covered. I just wanted to let you know, in case you heard it on the news.”

“Okay, thanks. Let’s talk again later.”

Jess hung up and looked out of the window of the Brisbane Consulate-General. From her bird’s eye view on the fifteenth floor of the city centre office block, she gazed right over Brisbane River. The water looked benign, like a swathe of crystals bobbing and sparkling in the sunlight, as boats tacked their way along in the breeze. But that was deceptive; the rivers and seas around Australia could be treacherous.

She placed her laptop on the absent Consul-General’s desk and looked around. She liked his office. The outer wall was floor to ceiling glass, which meant the room was flooded with light. A small conference table and chairs filled the space at the far end; and a beige sofa with two armchairs stood in the middle of the room. Only the Sydney Consul-General had a better office, she thought, overlooking the spectacular Sydney harbour and Opera House.

She coughed and rubbed her throat. What with the early morning phone calls, coffee with Inspector Sangster, half an hour spent briefing the Brisbane staff, and more calls to Canberra, she felt all talked out.

And it was only 10.30.

But Susan Chambers still hadn’t rung. Her anxiety grew as she looked out of the window, across to the skyscrapers this time. She was out there in the city somewhere.

Come on Susan. Ring!

Opening her briefcase, she reached inside for her diary to plan the rest of her day. But it wasn’t there. She checked the desk. Not there either. Where was it? She could remember checking dates in it while she was on the phone to London earlier. After that, she put it in her briefcase before going down to breakfast.

Her stomach flipped…