Noah's Law (20 page)

Before logging off my computer later that day I sent Jacinta an email.

We're visiting the sister this Sat. Meet us in front of Hungry Jacks at Central Station at 9.30 am, if you're interested.

While I have the freedom to bend the rules, I will. Because somebody should care about the only person who doesn't have a voice in this.

 

‘. . . And so I looked up the White Pages but Claudia's got a private number. Nothing. And I'm thinking, man, this is going to be tough. Where to next? So I call the Electoral Commission 'cause I saw this episode of
Home and Away
once and this guy was trying to find his ex and he was a private investigator and he . . .'

My eyes scanned the crowd as we waited in front of Hungry Jacks in the large concourse at Central Station. I'd already demolished a Whopper and was chewing on my fries, half listening to Amit. It was nine twenty-six.

I wondered if Jacinta would turn up. She hadn't replied to my email.

‘. . . but of course you can't just call the Electoral Commission and get a name and address. There are all these privacy laws, which isn't a bad thing I guess. One time my mum's tax return was sent to the wrong address and would you believe that the people there opened it? We knew because . . .'

And there she was. She walked towards us and I couldn't help but grin.

‘Wipe that smirk off your face,' she said as she sat down across from us and grabbed a handful of my fries. ‘And what's with the shirt and tie?'

My grin widened. ‘I'll explain later.'

‘Fine. But stop gloating.' She ate a chip, her eyes smiling at me.

‘I'm not, I'm not,' I said, still grinning.

‘So what's your plan?' Jacinta asked.

‘I'm an investigator hired by Jenkins' insurance company,' I said.

‘Are all three of us investigators?' Amit said.

I suddenly realised how stupid an idea it was for the three of us to go to Claudia's together.

‘You're right,' I said. ‘We can't all go. I'll go alone.'

Amit said, ‘But if she sees you at the hearing Claudia will figure out that you were impersonating an investigator.'

‘I'll keep out of her way at the hearing.'

‘Noah, don't be ridiculous,' Jacinta said. ‘I should be the one to go. I'm the oldest.'

‘No,
I
should go,' Amit said. ‘She might see you at the hearing too.'

We kept arguing. I managed to convince them in the end. ‘I know the file inside out. I just want to dig up as much info as I can.'

‘So why did you bring us along then?' Jacinta said in an exasperated tone.

I looked at the table sheepishly. ‘Er . . . support?'

I made it up to them by promising to shout them lunch.

‘Our train leaves in ten minutes,' I said, glancing up at the board on our left. ‘Let's talk it through on the train ride.'

We stood up, collecting our rubbish and dumping it in the nearby bin.

‘So what made you decide to come?' I asked Jacinta as we walked through the turnstiles and down the escalators.

She shrugged. ‘I guess . . . well I kept thinking of Maureen in that car park. Being killed like that.' She turned to look me in the eye. ‘You're right. She doesn't deserve to be used by Bernie like this. Justice has to mean something.'

‘I just hope we can get it for her.'

‘Well, let's find out.'

Maureen lived a couple of streets away from the main strip of shops and restaurants on King Street. Amit and Jacinta settled down in a café to wait for me. I headed off to Maureen's house, relying on a printout of directions from the internet.

It took less than five minutes to find her street. She lived in a small bottle-green terrace. I took a deep breath and walked up the slate pathway that led to a small verandah. The terrace was badly in need of a visit from the team of one of those home renovation shows. The paintwork was cracked; the old black and white marble tiles in the verandah were faded.

I'd brought along a clipboard and I hoped that this, along with my shirt and tie, would convince Claudia that I belonged to an insurance company instead of a high school.

I rang the doorbell. A man opened the screen door.

‘Hi. Is Claudia Hognio home, please?'

‘No.'

I'd stayed up late thinking about questions to ask her. But I hadn't even thought that she might not be home. I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid.

‘Whatever it is you're selling, we're not interested, thanks.' He started to close the door.

What the heck. I'd give it a go anyway.

‘I'm not a salesman,' I said quickly. ‘My name's Todd Winston. I'm an investigator for Horizon Insurance. I wanted to speak to Ms Hognio about her brother-in-law.'

I tried to seem confident but was pretty nervous about stuffing this up.

He opened the door wider. ‘Speak to her about what?'

‘We're investigating Bernie White. Are you Claudia's partner?'

‘Yeah, I am. What are you investigating?'

‘Do you know about Mr White's case against Mrs White's employer?'

‘Yeah, 'course I do.'

‘Well maybe you could help instead? I just have a few questions. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes.'

He shrugged. ‘Sure.'

I followed him down a dimly lit hallway into a room with a high ceiling and a fireplace in the corner. The mantelpiece was crowded with framed photos. I noticed one of Maureen, arms linked with another woman, probably Claudia, both smiling at the camera.

‘Take a seat,' the man said, motioning to an armchair near the fireplace. ‘Todd, was it?'

‘Thanks,' I said, sitting down. ‘Yeah, Todd Winston.'

‘I'm Harry. So how can I help you?'

‘As I mentioned, we're investigating Mr White's case against Jenkins Storage World.'

Harry rolled his eyes. ‘Just another example of Bernie trying to bleed his wife dry – even when she's dead. Claudia's been called to give evidence.'

I chose my words carefully. ‘Part of the claim is based on Bernie proving that he depended on his wife for money.'

‘Well he'll have no trouble showing that. He had a workplace accident years ago. He always joked that he never wanted to work again and was happy to let Maureen go off to work while he spent his day playing golf or going to the pub. It's an insult to all those people who are genuinely injured.'

This was great. Harry was giving me exactly the kind of insider information I'd been hoping for.

‘He also needs to show that he's worse off now,' I explained, ‘since she died. If he's seeing somebody else, for example, then we can cut down his payout. We suspect he's got a girlfriend.'

Harry laughed bitterly. ‘He's been having an affair for almost two years. Since a year before Maureen died.'

I was shocked. ‘Did Maureen know?'

‘Of course she knew. She caught them. Maureen threatened to leave Bernie if he didn't end it. What a jerk. He sure had it good with her. She paid for everything while he was rorting the workers' comp insurer, and then he goes and cheats on her.'

‘What do you mean he was rorting workers' comp?'

‘He was getting his workers' comp payments. But we reckon he was getting more than he was owed because he claimed he paid the mortgage and all the bills when really he didn't pay a thing. Plus he was saying the pain in his back from the workplace accident was getting worse. He had some dodgy doctor who believed him.'

‘But why did Maureen put up with it?'

He shrugged. ‘It annoyed Claudia. She tried to get Maureen to see reason. But until Maureen found out about the affair, she refused to believe anything except that Bernie was genuinely affected by the accident and that he loved her.'

‘And then she found out about the affair?'

‘Yes.' Harry leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. ‘At first she was in denial. Eventually she came to her senses and gave him an ultimatum. Bernie promised her he'd stop seeing Annie, but it was all bull. He kept seeing her.

‘Maureen knew. In the last months, before she died, she used to spend a lot of time with Claudia. She was miserable. She wasn't a very strong woman. I don't think she was able to imagine her life without Bernie, as fake as her life with him was. She eventually got up the courage to threaten to leave him and expose him to the workers' comp insurer.'

I nodded solemnly, trying hard to control my emotions. I didn't think an explosion of four-letter words followed by an ‘I KNEW HE WAS A PIG!' would help my image as an insurance investigator.

‘So what does all this information have to do with the case?' Harry asked.

I cleared my throat. It was a good question. I wasn't actually sure. Did the fact that Bernie had been a cheating, lying, scumbag husband mean that Jenkins Storage World wouldn't be held responsible for Maureen's death? I honestly had no idea. And I was pretty sure Harry would see through me soon. I needed to exit fast.

I tried to bluff my way out. ‘Like I said, if he has a girlfriend we can show that he's got somebody else to support him. So we can pay him less.'

‘Doesn't that depend on whether Annie works and how much she earns?'

I stood up, pretending to arrange the papers in my clipboard as a show that I was ready to leave. ‘Of course. We're in the middle of looking into her, er, finances.'

Harry stood up too. ‘Last I recall she was working as a receptionist at a medical centre.'

I pretended to write a note. ‘Thanks. That's a great lead. You've been an enormous help.'

The doorbell rang. My breathing quickened. If that was Claudia, there'd be a lot more questions and I knew I couldn't pull off this act much longer.

‘Excuse me for a moment,' Harry said.

He left me in the sitting room, my nerves on edge.

I heard Harry open the door.

‘Where the HELL is Claudia? I wanna speak to her NOW!'

It was Bernie!

‘She's not home!' Harry yelled back. ‘Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me! Get off my property.'

My heart was thumping so loudly in my chest I was sure Bernie would hear it and come after me.

‘Listen here, Claudia better keep her big mouth shut when she gets on the stand. My marriage has NOTHING to do with this case and if she so much as mentions anything about Annie or my problems with Maureen I'll make sure you both regret it.'

‘That sounds like a threat, Bernie. Maybe I should call the cops.'

‘Mate, you've been watching too much TV. The cops have more important things to worry about. Just pass the message on.'

A few seconds later I heard the door slam and Harry's steps coming up the hall. I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘He's a bloody mongrel,' Harry said as he walked in, his face bright red, his nostrils flaring.

‘Can you check that he's left?' I asked. ‘I don't want to bump into him on my way out.'

‘Sure.' Harry went back to the front of the house. When he returned he said: ‘He's just driving off now. Should be fine to leave.'

He walked me out. ‘That mongrel needs to be brought down,' he growled as we shook hands.

‘We'll try our best.'