Authors: Ray Smithies
Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #Drug Traffic, #made by MadMaxAU
The coffin sat on a chrome
trolley in front of the altar draped in the colours of his favourite football
team. The service was a celebration of life rather than the traditional sombre
affair. I thought this was a fitting tribute and one that I’m sure Jake would
have preferred. It was the largest funeral I had ever attended.
Phillip held himself together
exceptionally well and there was no shortage of people coming forward offering
their condolences to the poor soul. I noticed Martha Kellett comforting Emily
at one stage. Emily was not handling the situation very well and Ruth Evans’
mouth was working overtime with some reporter from
The Advertiser.
I
caught a glimpse of Helen talking to James Slattery and also noticed four
police officers standing at a respectable distance, observing the proceedings.
The presence of two men in
particular, who were standing alone, struck me as somewhat unusual. To the best
of my knowledge, both Stephen Buchanan and Ben Johnson had had little contact
with Jake, so why would the publican and banker attend his funeral? I could
only conclude that both men contributed financially to his sporting connections
and felt the need to pay their last respects. Thank goodness they had patched
up their differences since the car incident.
All six pallbearers appeared to
be around Jake’s age, most likely friends from his earlier school days or
sporting club. The immediate mourning party was a noticeably small gathering.
They probably only ever got together at weddings or funerals. Following the
burial, Emily approached me to take her home.
~ * ~
Early
that afternoon, in room 127 at Pedley District Hospital, Forbes and Marsh were
set to commence their second round of questions with Brigit O’Neill. This time
they were hopeful of extracting some relevant information in light of what
James Slattery had told them.
‘Brigit, it’s good to see you’re
improving,’ Forbes said. ‘Today we need to discuss some further matters that
have been brought to our attention. It would appear from our source that you’re
involved in the local drug trade. Please enlighten us as to what your role is.’
Brigit’s reaction was not so much
surprise as defiance. ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Come now, Brigit, don’t play the
ignorant and innocent role with me.’
‘Who fed you this cock-and-bull
story?’
‘That’s classified -’
‘That’s bullshit!’ Brigit cut in.
Realising Brigit’s denial would
only encourage the conversation to forever proceed in circles, Forbes decided
on a different approach.
‘Are you aware of the local drug
trade?’ he said.
‘Of course, who doesn’t in this
town?’
‘We’re of the opinion that Jake
Reynolds’ death was the work of the drug underworld. So again I’ll ask, do you
have any knowledge or leads that may prove useful?’
‘You’re barking up the wrong tree
if you expect me to know their operations!’
‘On the contrary, you
underestimate yourself, for we’re dealing with ruthless people who will stop at
nothing,’ said Forbes, starting to show some frustration.
‘Exactly my point!’
‘Again, what is your role in all
this?’ Forbes persisted.
‘You’re not listening, detective.
It’s not me you should be talking to. Go downtown and snoop around a bit...’
‘Any suggestions as to who we
should approach?’
Marsh stood in the background and
observed the pair in a war of words. He couldn’t help but think this game of
trading sarcasm was destined for failure.
‘Why don’t you try some places
where the dealers hang out?’ suggested Brigit, whose tip was merely put forward
to speed up conversation and put an end to this interrogation.
‘The dealers?’
‘Yeah, I hear there’s deals
happening in Pitt Street. They select young targets with the soft dope like
marijuana.’
‘And who are “they”?’
‘The organisation, of course!
They’ve got a middleman, I hear.’
‘Does this middleman have a name?’
‘No idea. I’m not an idiot,
detective. Even if I did know I wouldn’t tell you.’
‘Brigit, please don’t play naive
with me. Do you understand we’re dealing with a murder investigation here? We
need to accumulate as much information as possible to assist in the arrest of
the guilty party. It’s my understanding that you had feelings for Jake
Reynolds, so surely you would tell us this person’s name, for Jake’s sake at
least.’
‘Yes, I miss Jake terribly, but
you can’t get this information out of me ‘cause I don’t know!’ declared a
defiant Brigit O’Neill.
‘I get the impression we’re being
fed a pack of lies. Tell me, do you sell your so-called soft drugs to
schoolchildren?’ Forbes’ blood pressure was beginning to soar.
‘No! How many times have I got to
tell you, it’s not my scene. Look, I need my rest. Can we finish this
third-degree?’
‘Brigit, I’m disappointed in your
lack of cooperation today. Let me assure you that this line of questioning will
continue until we do make some progress. Has the hospital indicated when you’re
likely to be discharged?’
‘The doctor said tomorrow because
I’ve made good progress.’
‘That’s good news.’
‘Detective Forbes, did you by any
chance attend Jake’s funeral this morning?’
‘Yes, as did three of my men. It
was a fitting tribute to a remarkable and gifted young man.’
‘That’s good to hear. I did want
to go, but the hospital wouldn’t let me because it might’ve had a bad effect
and slowed my recovery.’
‘We must be on our way now, so
until next time we hope you continue to make progress and assist us with a bit
more cooperation.’
~ * ~
I
had arranged a rendezvous with James Slattery, Brigit’s ex-boyfriend, for two o’clock
that afternoon. Although he was somewhat reluctant to cooperate, I had
eventually persuaded him to meet me at the Espresso Coffee Lounge to discuss
the Reynolds case. James had some good connections in town and while I was acting
on hunch, it had occurred to me that if anyone were going to throw some light
on this case it would be him.
Entering the coffee lounge, I
spotted James already seated at a table in a far corner. Good choice, I
thought. Out of ears’ reach of those annoying inquisitive types.
‘Hello, Tom,’ he said. ‘I thought
you’d never get here.’
‘Saw you at the funeral but didn’t
get a chance to talk. Emily wanted to leave immediately after the burial, so
that put an end to any socialising.’
‘Not a problem.’
‘James, I’ll come straight to the
point. I’ve decided to do my own bit of investigation as to why Jake met with
foul play. I’ve heard he witnessed a drug-related gangland murder in the park
last Thursday night.’
‘Yes, you could say his fate had
already been decided,’ Slattery responded.
‘In some ways I looked upon Jake
as a son and I feel the least I can do is to find out the truth. Besides,
Brigit’s been caught up in all of this.’
‘But that’s what the police are
for. They have the responsibility to find these bastards, not you,’ declared
James.
‘I’m aware of that, but another
set of eyes and ears may uncover something the police can’t. James, we’ve known
each other for nearly two years now, enough time for you to know that I’m a man
of my word and I won’t repeat any information I’m told in confidence. What I
would like to hear is your side of the story regarding Brigit and Jake.’
James pondered for a while.
Perhaps he wasn’t sure where to commence or maybe he would object to me being
so forward and get up to leave. I waited. Was I to become friend or foe? A
trusted ally, I hoped.
‘Okay, it’s like this. What I’m
about to tell you is in strict confidence and I mean
nobody
else is to
know of this. It didn’t come from me, do you get my drift?’
‘Agreed.’
‘Brigit broke off our
relationship because she claimed I was too possessive. The truth of the matter
is Brigit was naive and easily led by some undesirable people. She interpreted
my protection of her as obsession.’
‘Can you elaborate?’
‘Well, this is where it gets
tricky,’ said James, lowering his voice. ‘There’s some local drug syndicate
that persuaded her to sell dope to a lot of young people, and today,
unfortunately, it now includes schoolchildren. This organisation that lured her
into their network is a ruthless lot and I was always afraid for her safety.
Brigit told me her role was never more than marijuana, but they also deal in
ecstasy, cocaine and heroin, which apparently is where the big dollars are
made. We always argued, because I told her to walk away from it all. She was
getting in too deep and of course she wouldn’t budge.’
‘Could Brigit identify the person
who passed the drugs?’
‘No, not really. The transfer was
always done at night and never at the same place. This person usually wore a
long coat with a turned-up collar and a hat pulled down covering most of his
face. Few words were ever spoken and the deal was over in less than a minute. I
saw the transaction happen one night from a distance and it was impossible to
describe the person.’
‘Does this person have a name?’
‘Charlie was his name, according
to Brigit. It was always the same person. Keep in mind this all happened when I
was dating her some five months ago, but I’m sure the situation’s still the
same today.’
‘What about Jake, was he involved
in all this?’
‘No way! It wasn’t his scene
because he was too obsessed with his running.’
‘Do you think Jake knew of Brigit’s
involvement?’
‘Got my doubts. Had she told
Jake, then I believe their relationship would’ve been over. Jake lived the
so-called clean life and I think he would’ve distanced himself from that sort
of business.’
‘What do you make of the murder?’
I questioned.
‘I’ve thought about it a lot and
can only come to the conclusion that Jake was the intended target.’
‘What makes you so sure? Two
people were involved that day.’
‘I knew Jake always ran the same
course from around seven each morning, so for Brigit to be there was
coincidental. Make no mistake, the trap was laid for Jake. Unfortunately for
Brigit, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jake
stumbled across something he wasn’t meant to hear and has paid the price for
his interference. His witnessing of the murder may have overshadowed the real
reason behind their revenge. If this is true, then my guess would be something
highly incriminating to the drug operation.’
‘That makes sense.’
‘These people will stop at
nothing to protect their interests. Brigit may only be dealing at the low end
of the operation, but it’s the harder drugs where the real money’s made. They
feel exposed when a link in the chain’s broken, so if their cover’s threatened
they quickly deal with it. Unfortunately, in this case Jake was the
infiltrator.’
‘I’ve just had a terrible
thought,’ I said. ‘If what you say’s correct, Jake may have informed Brigit
about what he heard. I mean, her life could very well be in danger. I better
contact Forbes when I’m finished here and tell him about this.’