Inheritance (36 page)

‘How do you do, Inspector? What can I do for you?’ Stella asked.

‘We’ve had a report that you may have a stolen painting on the premises, one painted by…’ he looked at a sheet in his hand, ‘Arthur Tubitjara.’

Stella felt as if time stood still. ‘Why, no, I don’t have any of his works here.’

‘One was seen here in the last two days. Would you have disposed of it in that time?’

Good God, Mark! Summoning all her strength, she answered calmly. ‘No. I can’t remember when I had the last one. Certainly some months ago.’

‘Do you mind if I have a look around?’

‘Of course not.’ She forced a smile. ‘Can I get you some coffee while you’re looking?’

‘No, thank you.’ He walked around the gallery, looking at the paintings hanging on the walls, referring often to a sheaf of papers in his hand. Stella thought they looked like photos.

‘Do you have a storeroom?’ he asked when he had finished his examination.

‘Of course, this way.’ Stella’s heart beat wildly as she led him to the back of the shop. He took his time checking the paintings in there thoroughly, even asking her to open a parcel waiting for the courier.

‘And what’s in here?’ He indicated her office.

‘My office. Do you want to look in there?’

He nodded. ‘Please.’

Again he examined everything methodically, opening cupboard doors and checking the contents. He walked back into the storeroom and through the door leading to the small passage, which led to the toilets and back door, and to the back store.

Stella began to sweat. He opened the back door and went into the tiny yard and looked around. He came back in and looked in the toilets. When he turned the handle to the store room door, he found the door locked.

‘What’s in here?’ he asked.

‘Just a small room we never use.’

‘Can I have the key, please?’

Fear struck her as she remembered she had tossed it carelessly into the drawer. ‘I really don’t know where it is. I told you, we never use it.’

‘I do need to see inside it, madam.’

‘Well, I’m sorry, you can’t. I don’t know where the key is. It hasn’t been used for ages.’

‘I’m sorry, but I must insist.’

‘I think I’ve been very patient. I’ve let you look everywhere you wanted.’ Her voice rose. ‘You have no right to harass me like this. I run a reputable business. I don’t have any stolen paintings. You haven’t found anything that shouldn’t be here. There isn’t anything. I’ve told you, there’s nothing in that room. It’s empty. You’ll just have to be satisfied with that.’

‘I need to look inside that room,’ he replied stolidly. ‘I do have a search warrant. Now, shall we look for that key? Perhaps we can start in your office.’ Turning, he led the way back.

Stella stood back and watched helplessly as he checked the drawers to her desk, one by one.

‘Now, I wonder if this could be it.’ He held up the key from her bottom drawer. ‘Let’s try it, shall we?’

She remained in her office, powerless to stop the disaster. She didn’t look around as she heard his footsteps pass her office and go to the front door. But she turned as she heard him return. There were two uniformed officers with him. She watched them carry the paintings past her door a few minutes later.

The inspector came back to her then. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me to the station to answer some questions.’ Stella walked out with him without a word.

***

Stella was charged with possession of stolen goods and released on bail after she admitted that the paintings had been brought to her by her cousin, Ben Drake, but denied she had known they were stolen.

Inspector Bates instigated a police check at Ben’s home and, when this failed to find him, went to his workplace. Gary told him Ben had taken a week off to do some fishing, and he’d not heard from him since.

‘Do you know where he was going to fish?’ Inspector Bates asked Gary.

‘No, I don’t. But he bought a small boat, just a tinny, before he went, so I assume it’d be in one of the rivers nearby. Do you think he’s had an accident?’

‘It’s too early to say, all we know is he’s missing. He hasn’t been back to where he’s living for several days.’

‘He comes from Brisbane, I think. Maybe he decided to go back down there. He’s a bit of a restless guy, you know.’

‘Do you happen to have the details of any contacts in Brisbane, any family or anything?’

‘No, ’fraid not. He never talked about his family. Bit of a loner, really. Though he liked the girls, all right. Took Rosie from Yallandoo Station out a couple of times when we were working there.’

‘Really? Perhaps she might have some idea where he is.’

‘I don’t think he was seeing her lately, but you never know.’

‘I’ll check it out. Thanks for your help. Let me know if he turns up for work, will you?’

‘Sure. I hope he’s okay. I like Ben.’

***

Later that day, the inspector received a report that, after further searching, Ben’s car had been found parked among the trees on the riverbank opposite Yallandoo. Almost as if he was trying to hide it. An empty dinghy was found some way down the river, wedged between some tree roots. The registration was traced. It confirmed this was the dinghy Ben had bought.

He called in police divers to search the river. It was no simple matter to search a crocodile-infested river. Marksmen were stationed in boats above where the divers were searching, on constant alert. They searched down river from where the boat had been found first and slowly worked their way back upstream. Close to the spot where the car had been parked, one of the divers made a gruesome discovery. Wedged beneath the roots of a tree, part of a human torso was found. Not enough for positive identification but the inspector had little doubt it was Ben.

Deciding it was time to interview Stella again, he went to the Gallery. She greeted him coolly and took him in to her office.

‘I’m wondering if you can identify this watch,’ he asked her. ‘It was found on the river bed near where the human remains were found. It hasn’t been in the water more than a few days.’

Stella looked at it without much interest. ‘No, I don’t recognise it.’

He replaced the watch and extracted another object. ‘How about this mobile phone then? This was nearby, too.’

She looked at it keenly, but replied in the same cold, disinterested manner. ‘I really can’t say. I don’t even know if Ben had a mobile phone.’

‘That’s strange. We know for sure this is Ben’s phone. We’ve traced it to him. And your phone records show that you put through seventeen calls to his number in the last five days before we discovered the stolen goods. Now, that’s odd, isn’t it? If you didn’t know he had a mobile phone. I wonder what you wanted to talk to him about so urgently. Was it something to do with the paintings?’

Stella glared at him without replying.

‘Of course, you weren’t able to reach him. He may have been in the river all that time.’ Still no comment. ‘You know, now that Ben is gone, we only have your word for it that he stole those paintings and brought them to you. There’s no one to corroborate your word. Perhaps you stole them yourself, all on your own. There’s no one to share the blame with you now.’ He watched her digest this news.

‘The funny thing is,’ he continued, ‘we found that in those five days you had a lot of calls from a mobile phone that doesn’t seem to have rung you often before. From…let me see,’ he
paused to check his notebook, ‘from a phone registered to someone who lives on Yallandoo Station. You know who it is, don’t you?’

When she made no reply, he continued. ‘And they all occurred after you made a call to this person’s landline. I wonder why that was.’ He looked at her enquiringly. When she made no comment, he continued again. ‘I wonder what was happening in those few days to cause so much communication.’ He paused again. ‘You know, if there was information you could pass on to us, it could make things easier for you. Perhaps you’d like to think about it and let me know if you think of anything you’d like to tell me. Think about it.’ He rose from his seat. ‘You know where to find me. Don’t bother to get up, I’ll see myself out.’

***

Next he called again on Gary and showed him the watch. ‘Do you recognise this watch?’ he asked, passing it over for Gary to examine.

Gary turned it over in his hands. ‘Looks like Ben’s. His had an expanding band like this,’ he pointed, ‘with gold links in the middle, the same, and these different dials, stopwatch and so on. He showed it to me one day, quite proud of it, he was. It was a twenty-first birthday present. If it’s not his, it’s exactly the same. Where did you find it?’

The inspector watched Gary carefully as he replied. ‘In the river. Close by a human torso that was all that was left of a crocodile’s meal. We suspect it was Ben, but there wasn’t enough left for identification.’

Gary dropped the watch. He looked sick. ‘Jesus!’ he exclaimed, ‘Jesus, the poor bugger. What a way to go.’

Abruptly he raced over to a nearby tree and bent over, retching. When he had been violently ill, he stood up and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.

‘It’s okay, mate. Bit of a shock, eh?’ There could be no doubt the news was a surprise to Gary.

‘Yeah. We were good mates.’ Gary sounded shaky. ‘If you don’t need me anymore, I think I’ll go home.’

‘That’s okay. Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. I might need to talk to you again later. If I do, I know where to contact you.’

Later that day, Inspector Bates paid a visit to Yallandoo Station. He parked in front of the homestead, then walked around to the back. On the back verandah, he found Cassie and Mark sitting, drinking coffee.

‘Good morning, Miss Taylor, Mr Pierce,’ he greeted them. ‘I guess you’re happy to have your paintings back home again?’ he asked Cassie.

‘I can’t tell you how happy, Inspector,’ Cassie replied with a smile. ‘Now, what can I do for you?’

‘Would you mind if I just have a bit of a look around?’ he asked.

Cassie seemed surprised but answered promptly. ‘Certainly not. Is there something I can help you with?’

‘No, no. I’d just like to have a bit of a mosey round, if it’s all right with you.’

‘Of course, just let me know if there’s anything you want.’

He strolled towards the buildings which he knew from previous visits were the staff quarters. Two children sat in the shade nearby with a young kangaroo. Obviously a pet, for the girl was stroking it and talking to it. The boy was a young aborigine lad, bright and cheerful-looking. The girl had a fair complexion and golden hair. He stopped momentarily to watch them.

‘Hello,’ Larry said, eyeing him with interest.

‘Hello,’ he replied, ‘nice looking young kangaroo you’ve got there.’

‘His name’s Hoppy,’ Gemma informed him. ‘We’re his friends. What are you doing here? Have you come to see someone?’

‘Yes, I’m going to see some of the people who live in the staff quarters. Do you know if any of them are home?’

‘Well, my Dad’s out in the paddocks with Chris but my Mum’s home,’ Larry told him.

‘Your Dad’d be Tony, wouldn’t he? And your mother’s Patty.’

‘That’s right. You know everyone here, do you?’

‘I think so. What about Rosie, where would she be?’

‘She’s with Daniel, out inspecting the fences.’

‘I see, you seem to know where everyone is.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Larry answered proudly, ‘I always take notice. My dad says to always keep your eyes and ears open, that’s the way to learn things.’

The inspector smiled. ‘And he’s quite right, too. And what about Tom, do you know where he is?’

Not to be outdone, Gemma rushed to answer this. ‘I think he’s gone to look at his special plants. But Lorna’s in the kitchen in the big house.’

The inspector stood very still. ‘Oh, and where’re his special plants?’ he asked in a casual voice.

‘Gemma, we’re not supposed to know, silly!’ Larry scolded her.

‘Oooh,’ Gemma’s hand flew to her mouth, ‘I forgot.’

‘Why aren’t you supposed to know? Is it a secret?’

‘I don’t know if it’s really a secret,’ Larry said seriously, ‘but my mum says it’s not polite to try and find out other people’s business.’

‘And does your mum know about Tom’s special plants?’

‘I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone else knows. I don’t think we’re supposed to know, either.’

‘Then how do you know?’

‘Well, you see, we were in the rainforest one day and we were being secret agents and we saw Tom. We decided to follow him…’

The inspector interrupted. ‘He was in the rainforest, too?’

‘Yes, and we had to follow him without him seeing us.’

‘And?’ he prompted.

‘And we followed him for ages,’ Gemma took up the story, ‘and he went to a secret garden and they must be really special plants because they don’t grow anywhere else in the forest and he went around and looked at a lot of them before he picked some and put them in his bag.’

‘And he didn’t see you?’

Larry was scornful. ‘Of course not. We were secret agents. You can’t let the suspect know he’s being followed.’

‘Of course not. Do you think you could find the place again?’

‘We haven’t been back again.’ Larry sounded doubtful. ‘It was a long way into the forest. Right up near the top, over the other side.’

‘Well, it doesn’t matter, it’s not important, is it?’ The inspector spoke cheerfully. ‘And seeing it’s kind of a secret, I won’t tell anyone. And you needn’t tell anyone you told me. How’s that?’

‘Gee, thanks. We wouldn’t want Tom to be cross with us.’

Inspector Bates sauntered casually away and as soon as he was out of earshot, he took out his mobile phone and made an urgent call to his superintendent.

It was less than an hour later when three cars pulled up by the edge of the rainforest and several uniformed men spread out amongst the dense trees and moved forward methodically.

***

Later that afternoon, the inspector presented himself at the manager’s house and spoke to Tom. He showed his identification. ‘Mr Thomas Hanson?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’

‘I’d like you to accompany me to the police station, please. We want to talk to you about a marijuana plantation that we’ve found growing in the rainforest on this property. We think you can answer some questions for us.’