Night Realm (28 page)

“It seemed like a long time.” He nodded towards the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

Ryan paused with his ear against the door. When he heard no footsteps in the corridor outside, he opened it and cautiously peered left and right. All clear. He stepped out, followed by Jack, who closed the door behind him. Ryan let Jack lead the way back to the elevators, where they rode an empty one up to the ground floor. The pair exited the building the way they’d come in and quickly made for the car park.

“Hopefully we’ve got what you need,” Jack said and started the car. He got out his pack of cigarettes. “Smoke?”

Ryan waved him away. “No thanks.”

Ryan was on a plane late that afternoon heading back to the Gold Coast. Over lunch he and Jack had quickly perused the files Jack’s device had downloaded from Becker’s computer. There was definitely some useful information on there. Jack made copies onto a USB stick for Ryan and, at Ryan’s request, deleted everything from his device.

The plane landed at Gold Coast Airport around four thirty and by the time he’d hailed a taxi and ridden all the way back to Surfers Paradise through peak hour traffic, it was nearly six and twilight was setting in.

He entered the foyer and pressed the
call
button for the elevator, which he rode to the twentieth floor. When he entered his apartment the first thing he saw was Chelsea standing out on the balcony. He dumped his bag on the floor and went out to her.

“Since when did you start smoking?” he demanded and took the cigarette from her.

She scowled at him and said defiantly, “Since when did you become my parent?”

He stabbed the cigarette out in an ashtray. “Smoking’s bad for you, Chelsea.”

“Just following the example of my big brother. You smoke. Or did you forget?”

“I’m trying to quit. Since when do you copy what I do anyway? You usually try to do the exact opposite.”

“And I am still.” She grinned without humour. “You’re trying to quit so I’m taking it up.”

Ryan shook his head. He could never win a verbal battle with his sister.

“You go to school today?” He asked the question but already knew the answer.

“Nope. I’m never going back. I’m loving my life just as it is. I even have a boyfriend now.”

“Really? Who is he?”

“You don’t know him. He’s new in town. He’s nineteen and really cool.”

“Well, being cool is the most important thing,” Ryan said sarcastically.

“Something you wouldn’t know about,” Chelsea said and lit another cigarette. She inhaled deeply and deliberately blew a dense cloud of smoke in Ryan’s face. He waved it away.

“When do I get to meet this boyfriend?”

Chelsea shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. We’ll see.”

“Why are you such a smart-arse to me?”

“Just seems to come naturally when you’re around.”

Ryan shook his head. Chelsea always managed to frustrate him.

“What are you doing tonight?” he wanted to know.

“I’m meeting up with Travis.”

“Is that the boyfriend?”

“Well done, Mr Detective. You figured it out all by yourself.”

“Where are you going?”

“Dunno. Probably for a drive in his car. We haven’t made plans.”

He was direct. “Are you sleeping with him?”

Chelsea’s features darkened. “That’s none of your business, Ryan!” she snapped. “Do I ask you who you’re sleeping with?”

“No, but I’m an adult.”

“Well, so am I.”

“Not quite. You’re only seventeen.”

“Old enough to do what I want. And I’m not jail bait anymore.”

“So you
are
sleeping with him.”

“I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t tell you if I was or I wasn’t. You should know that by now. I don’t communicate with you, Ryan, except to argue with you.”

“So it seems, Chelsea. Though why we can’t be civil to one another, I don’t know.”

“You do know. I’ve told you why I’m bitter towards you.” She blew more smoke in his direction.

When the haze cleared, Ryan looked over the myriad of highrise buildings, where numerous lights now burned in the windows. Beyond, the ocean was a deep shade of navy blue, matching the colour of the darkening sky. Stars were already visible to break up the monotony.

“Are you ever going to forgive me?” he said eventually, still looking out towards the sea.

She shrugged and continued to smoke.

“I didn’t kill them, Chelsea. You know that. I know you blame me because they were rushing down to see me, but I didn’t kill them. It was an accident.”

“We’ve been through all this before, Ryan.”

Ryan stared hard at his sister a moment. “I know.”

And then he walked away and went into his bedroom. He took the USB stick from his pocket and started his computer. When it was up and running he plugged in the memory stick and copied all the hacked files to his hard drive. He then busied himself reading through some of them. Even though it was all written in English, it may as well have been another language as far as Ryan was concerned. He couldn’t comprehend any of it. If he wanted to decipher it, then he would need to employ the expertise of someone in the know.

He sat there staring at the computer screen and tugging at his ear. He was curious as to what this was all about. Sure, he could just give Selena the files and, if it was what she was looking for, collect his money. But he was a detective by nature and that meant he wanted to know answers and to understand.

Ryan quickly typed up an email, briefly explaining what he wanted to know and sent it off to a friend of his who worked in pathology. He didn’t attach any files at this stage and even offered to pay her to look over them and explain them to him in layman’s terms.

After removing the USB stick from his computer, he sat there and contemplated calling Selena Thorne. Before doing that he decided to take a shower and freshen up a bit. That was followed by a shave and a splash of cologne, after which he dressed in charcoal jeans and a white button-up shirt.

It was approaching seven o’clock when he picked up his mobile phone and called Selena’s number. He arranged to meet her at
Bliss
in an hour, then hung up. She’d sounded quite excited that he had some information for her, and he found himself feeling excited on two counts: He was about to see her, and he was about to get paid.

Before leaving to head up town
, Ryan checked his emails to see whether he’d had any reply from his friend yet. There was nothing but a couple of bits of junk mail.

In the kitchen he grabbed a snack. While he was eating Chelsea came out of her room dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved red top. She walked out the front door without saying a word. Obviously off to meet the boyfriend. Ryan headed downstairs soon after and took his time walking into town. The night air was humid and he didn’t want to work up a sweat. As he strode along the mall he adjusted his hair and clothing, something he did again as he climbed the stairs to
Bliss Night Club
.

It was only early and a Wednesday night, so the place was all but empty. He approached the barman and was told Selena was in her office. Ryan went round behind the bar
, through the storage area and knocked on the office door.

“Come in,” Selena’s silken voice answered.

Ryan entered and closed the door behind him. Once more Selena was dressed in black, only tonight she had her hair tied back in a ponytail with a crimson ribbon. The splash of colour looked good on her. She stood up from her desk and greeted him with a bright smile. He shook her gloved hand and took a seat opposite her. From a pocket in his jeans he removed the memory stick and laid it on the desk. Selena picked it up and examined it a moment. Then, without a word, she plugged it into her computer and downloaded the files from it. Ryan sat there patiently while she perused the files, which took quite a while. Eventually she nodded.

“Did you make copies of these?” she interrogated.

“No,” he lied and hoped she didn’t see through him.

“Did anyone else make copies?”

“No.” That part was true. “Is it what you were looking for?”

“I think so,” she said, her brow furrowed. “But I’m no expert on this sort of thing. I’ll need to have someone else look
it over first before I can confirm that.”

“And payment?”

“Once I’ve confirmed it’s what I need, then payment will be made in full.” She looked hard at him across the desk, her dark eyes very intense. Ryan found he couldn’t look away. “If I need more information, then I’ll need you to go and get it for me. Either way, once I have what I want, you’ll get paid.”

“When will you know?”

“I should know by tomorrow night.”

Ryan nodded. He could wait until then.

The urge to ask her out on a date flashed through his mind, but he refrained from voicing the invitation. Jack’s words echoed in his brain, suggesting he wait until
after
he’d been paid. It was the best idea. He could wait a bit longer for a date, too, he decided. He looked for bulges on her fingers beneath the gloves, any telltale signs of a ring on her wedding finger. There didn’t appear to be rings on any of her fingers. Didn’t mean she was single, though. She may have a boyfriend. Should he ask her? Not yet. Too obvious.

“I’ll be in touch when I’ve had this information looked over,” Selena said in a tone that suggested it was time for Ryan to leave.

He said goodbye and left the office and the club. He walked over to the beach and stood there staring out over the dark ocean for a few minutes. That vibe that he and Selena had shared on their first few meetings seemed to have disappeared now. Suddenly she was all business and it showed in her demeanor. Maybe asking her out was a bad idea.

But then again, what did he have to lose?

After sitting at a cafe with a coffee for a while and people watching, Ryan went back home and immediately checked his emails. The reply he was waiting for was there.

Ryan had had a brief fling with pathologist Angela Cartwright several years ago after seeking her assistance on a case he was working on at the time. It was a very casual affair and didn’t last very long. However, they’d parted company on amiable terms and had remained friends.

He shot off another email to her, this time attaching Becker’s files, and hit
send
. Angela replied again ten minutes later and said she would be in touch probably sometime tomorrow to let him know what it was all about. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see what her interpretations were.

With nothing much else to do right now, Ryan went into the living room and switched the TV on.

*  *  *

Marks was at home sitting on his leather couch. All the lights were off bar the soft glow emanating from the bulb in the range hood above the stove. In his hand he held a glass of scotch. Ice cubes rattled as he brought the glass to his lips and took a long swallow. His mind was by now a little fuzzy from the alcohol and that’s exactly how he wanted to feel. Sure, he knew getting drunk wouldn’t take away his problems, but at least it would ease the pain temporarily.

Linda had called him a few hours ago. Her mind was made up, she’d said. There was no longer any future together and she wanted a divorce. She was even kind enough to let him stay in the house for now while she stayed in Brisbane.

“Thanks a fucking lot,” he grumbled and drank more scotch. “Bucket loads of fun sitting here all by myself in a house full of memories.”

He drained his glass and went into the kitchen to pour another.

*  *  *

Chelsea and Travis were parked in a car park at Main Beach. They sat there looking out over the ocean. There was a light breeze that carried the scent of salt on it. Chelsea breathed deeply and thought again about how wonderful she felt. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a while, just letting herself get lost in the moment.

Travis’ phone rang and he answered it. There was a brief exchange of conversation and then he hung up.

“We’ve got to go,” he said to Chelsea.

“Go where?” she groaned and didn’t move. “I like it here.”

“I have to drop into Bliss and pick up something from my sister,” he explained. “It’s important.”

“What is it that’s so important?”

“I’ll explain later.” Travis started the car and followed the beach road back into Surfers. Fortuitously he found a convenient parking space not far from the night club. He cut the motor and got out. “Just wait here for me,” he told her. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. “But hurry back.”

“I will.”

Chelsea lit up a cigarette and smoked it while she waited. Two guys slowly walked past along the footpath in front of her. When they saw her sitting in the BMW all alone, they paused.