The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (10 page)

They looked at the list of possible suspects who could have committed a crime such as this.   The list was long; local Maori gangs in the area, known druggies and half a dozen mentally challenged homeless guys who wandered the area.  Also, recently reported burglaries had Driver concerned there was a new team in town causing havoc.   

Driver’s first job was to check everyone on the list over the next couple of days and create a suspect list so they could start eliminating them one by one.   He knew where he was going to start first. 

C H A P T E R   3 8

Maria dropped the boys off at school.  They had decided to try out the local school but she had a feeling they would soon transfer to Kerikeri. She didn’t like the look of the local kids. They looked pretty rough.  She wasn’t particularly impressed with the teachers either.  She would give it a few days, and if the boys didn’t like it there, she would transfer them to one of the two Kerikeri schools.  There was also a good private school in Kerikeri but Maria knew on a policeman’s wage it would be out of the question.    The Kerikeri school bus left right across the road from their home so it wouldn’t be a problem.

Without the boys Maria was free until three o’clock.  She had a full day all to around herself.  First she must go up Old Hospital road and follow a gravel road a couple of miles to a yellow house with a red roof.    She followed the directions and found herself parked up a driveway surrounded by old derelict cars and bikes.   The place looked like a dump.  She walked up the path and knocked at the door. 

She had disguised herself in a brown knitted hat pulled down over her ears.  Her dark long hair was hidden from sight, a pair of old overalls covered her designer jeans and Red Band gumboots replaced her sandals. If ever anyone found out she was a policeman’s wife, her husband would be kicked off the force and she would be sent to jail.  The cops were getting tougher and tougher on drug dealers and drug users.  She was walking a fine line.   

The Maori man standing in the doorway was huge.  Bald head, heavily tattooed and with more gaps than teeth.  His massive arms protruded from a cut off denim vest. His blue and black scarf flagged he was a Black Power gang member. He looked scary as shit.   As he turned to lead her inside she saw his gang patch - a closed black fist.  She had dealt with this gang before.  They had a strong hold on the drug business in the far north.  If he ever knew she was a cop’s wife she would be dead.  Thank goodness she had come recommended and with cash and was in and out in minutes. 

              On the way back into town she stopped down a side road leading to nowhere.  Leaving the car, she sat on a log in the sun and rolled a joint.  As she inhaled the sweet vapor she felt relaxed for the first time in days. Feeling great, she stripped off her disguise, slipped on her new high-healed sandals and shook out her long black shiny hair.  She might even get a massage.  She had seen a sign on the side of the road.  It was just what she needed.  It was going to be a great day.

C H A P T E R   3 9

As soon as the cops left the area Audrey started with her new plan of moving the pigpen up into the mountain away from any flood areas.    She stopped to pick up the trailer from the dump area.   It was not easy getting the trailer out of the soggy ground and it took numerous attempts. Once on the car she stopped to pick up more sheets of corrugated iron and a few posts and drove up the gravel road to the top of the hill and through the farm gates to the edge of the pine forest.   

It took her most of the day to resurrect the pigpen  but by early evening she was happy with the results.   The pen could not be seen from the Chalets or from the road.  It was completely hidden by fresh gorse bushes and pine trees.  It was also close enough to the car track so she didn’t have to drag anything too far to dump it.  

Once back at the Chalets she changed into clean jeans and jacket and did a chemical test of all three spas.  This was also an excuse to talk to the guests and check if everything was OK.   Everyone seemed happy but they were curious about the commotion by the police that morning.  Audrey explained a man’s car was found in the harbor a couple of days ago and they were still looking for him.    They presumed it was an accident.  “Poor man” Audrey said.  “They say he was a heavy drinker”. 

Audrey was on her way back to Suite B when she heard a dog’s bark. She turned to find old Smithy and his dog coming up the driveway.   She met him at the top of the driveway and quickly hustled him away from the sight of the guests and onto her private patio.  Smithy wasn’t the type of clientele she welcomed to the Chalets.  In fact he had scared away potential guests in the past.  She offered him a seat at her outside table and patted his dog.  Audrey liked animals.  She had always preferred them to people.  They were more honest.  

“I saw you with the police this morning” said Audrey.  “What was going on?”                

“Bruiser here, found a human leg bone in the ditch just by the culver pipe,” grunted Smithy. “Strangest thing. Can’t figure out how it got there.  Bruiser found it last night during the downpour but I wouldn’t let him stay and dig it out. He went back this morning, dug it out and brought it home. I took it straight to the police station. Gave me the creeps. They have confirmed that it is a human bone,” he confided with vigor.  

              Audrey had stopped breathing.  Her worst nightmare had come true. They had found a bone.  Damn.  Damn, Damn!  Was all she could think.

“That’s awful. Oh my God, Maybe it’s an ancient bone from a Maori burial site which has surfaced in the flood?”                 

“No way” said Smithy.  “It was a fresh bone, still had some blood and skin on it. The cops think it might belong to the missing guy from the harbor.”  

Shit! Thought Audrey as she put on her best smile  “Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?” she asked.

“Tea would be good,” said Smithy. 

Audrey walked inside her suite to think.  What the hell?  She put on the kettle and took a bowl of water out for Smithy’s dog.  “Won’t be a minute” she called back as she returned inside.  At the kitchen bench she realized her legs were shaking. She put two cups, the teapot, milk and sugar on a tray and returned outside.  “What do the police think?” asked Audrey casually.

“They think it must be that guy, Blackmore’s, leg. Forensics will do a DNA test to make sure it is his, but that’s what they think. Personally, I think someone murdered that son of a bitch for drug money.  This town is not what it used to be.  Now the druggies have taken over the town. “P” is everywhere.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it isn’t those dirty low downs living in the old caravan up there by Tauranga Bay.  They don’t look right to me and they are always begging a ride and money.  The cops said there have been a lot of burglaries lately. I wouldn’t put it pass them to rob that guy Blackmore and throw him in the harbor along with his car.  I saw them at the pub on Sunday night and they were pretty far gone.”                

              Audrey listened with renewed interest realizing that no one even slightly suspected her.   Of course the police would think it was either the druggies or the gangs if there was a murder in town.   She relaxed for the first time since Smithy and his dog had appeared on her driveway.  She was safe.

Smithy rambled on for some time about how the town used to be a well -respected farming town.  “Generations of good men have farmed this land for two centuries. We used to know our neighbors now they are murdering each other,” he grumbled.  “Must go.” He said suddenly as he called his dog that had disappeared to the garden and was sniffing around with enthusiasm.  “Here Bruiser” he called again. 

Audrey was alone again and lost in thought. Tomorrow was Wednesday and the guests were all checking out in the morning.   Cleaning both suites and getting them ready for new guests would take all day.   But she would take a ride up to the caravan by Tauranga Bay. She had seen them a couple of times walking down the road towards Whangaroa.  It was a good five-mile walk. 

Whangaroa was also their closest shop for supplies.  Just a little ice cream and souvenir shop but it carried a few groceries and veges.  She had never seen the couple with a car so presumed they had to go everywhere on foot.   They could even have stopped Blackmore on his way out of town in the morning and asked for a ride. In fact, they could have killed him right there by the side of the road and driven the car into the harbor to put off the cops.  Audrey smiled.   She must call Pearl and pass on this new information. If she was lucky the cops would arrest the couple and her weekend plan could still go ahead.  Maybe the cops needed a little help and she knew just what sort of help she could give.

C H A P T E R   4 0

John Campbell awoke feeling like a new man.  Tomorrow he was off on a trip he had been dreaming about for years.   Jimmy would be taking over and he would be free.  The feeling was exhilarating.  Tonight he would call his “Thursday girl”, Kelly, to celebrate.  She was young, blonde and sexy and had the biggest knockers he had ever seen.   John might even take her out for a meal, but on second thought, why waste the money? He didn’t have to. She got paid enough and, after all, he only wanted a good screw and Kelly was a great screw.  She would do anything he wanted and tonight he wanted it all.

He pulled down his duffle bag from the top of the wardrobe and started packing. He wouldn’t have time tonight and he wanted to leave first light in the morning.  He threw in clean underwear, t-shirts, jeans, sweats, his favorite fishing hat, some golf pants and a couple of golf shirts.  His golf shoes were in his golf bag and were in the garage along with his fishing gear.   He put everything together in the garage all ready to load into his 4runner in the morning. 

He was looking forward to the fishing trip on Saturday. He had never been game fishing before and had researched his options online.   He had chosen a full day trip.    Friday afternoon he would check into his suite and go for a drive around the area.  Saturday was his fishing trip.  Sunday he might get in a game of golf. He called the office to say he was on his way.   He knew the staff was having a special farewell lunch for him and didn’t want to disappoint them by being late.  He took one last look in the mirror.  John Campbell was a vain man.  His colleagues found him arrogant and hedonistic.  Women, on the other hand, found him debonair and handsomely intriguing. That is until they got to know him.  Before long his self absorption and lack of empathy for others destroyed any long term relationships resulting in his preferred lifestyle of hookers and one night stands.    Campbell ran his fingers through his thick light gray hair and smiled into the mirror to check his teeth.  “Perfection” he said aloud as he donned his sports jacket and headed out the door.

C H A P T E R   4 1

Constable Driver worried that he had been neglecting his family.  They had spent every minute unpacking and the boys had begged their Dad to take them fishing.  Driver had explained the flood had muddied the waters everywhere and in a day or two he could take them down to the harbor and they could fish off the wharf.  In the meantime they were to help their Mum with the unpacking and, if they were really good, they could play their new Xbox he had bought them as a surprise.   They seemed to like this compromise and Driver didn’t feel so guilty having to leave them for the day to question the locals on his ‘persons of interest’ list.

Driver began by visiting the Maori settlement on Wainui Road.  He chatted to a few of the local Maori and asked if they had seen any troublemakers in the area.  Driver already had a list of the young Maori who were causing problems and asked about them in particular.                

He was told they were all at a local hungi on Sunday night.  They had cooked up a few of the local farmer’s weaners and although there had been a lot of binge drinking, no one had left the area that night. 

“Too drunk to go anywhere,” they said. “Most of them are still sleeping it off.” 

Driver knew binge drinking was becoming more and more prevalent in the area.  Maoris would often go on a drinking binge that would last for a few days. It was common knowledge.  Driver didn’t think they were responsible for the incident.  News travels fast in a small town and Smithy had obviously spread the word and the Maoris knew a leg bone had been found just a mile or two from their Marae.  Bones were sacred in the Maori culture and burial grounds were sacred land.  Any bones found that could be Maori bones immediately placed a tapu on the land.   Driver didn’t think this was a Maori bone.  He was pretty sure it was Blackmore’s leg they found in the ditch.

Driver went to the next names on his list, Dotty and Bruce Willis.  They lived in the caravan past the Marae towards Tauranga Bay.   The caravan had been dumped just off the road a couple of years ago.  It was really uninhabitable but the couple had simply moved in and had taken possession.  They had even put a makeshift wire fence around it as if to mark off the area as theirs. 

The local farmer had simply let them live there and the caravan was mostly on council land being within twenty feet of the curb line.

Driver knocked on the door of the caravan and was shocked when Dotty opened the door.  She had a scarf tied around her dreadlocks and her clothes were loose, baggy and filthy.   She had bare feet and stood defiantly holding the door half open.

“Yeah?” she said

“Constable Driver” said Driver showing his badge. “I just have a few questions if I may.” 

“May what?” sniffed Dolly. 

“May I come in?” asked Driver.

“Do you have a warrant or something?” asked Dolly.  “My man is sleeping and he will shit nails if I wake him.”

“Can you step outside and talk to me?”  Asked Driver determined not to give up.               

“Shit!” said Dolly “What about?” I’ve done nothing.”  She sniffed again.

Dolly agreed to talk and walked over to an old tree stump lying on the ground by the side of the road.  She sat down and reached in her pocket for her tobacco. Driver wondered how she could afford to smoke.  The cost of a pack of twenty cigarettes in New Zealand was over twenty dollars. Most of the locals smoked ‘roll you owns’ but a packed of tobacco cost sixty dollars and would only last a chain smoker a few days. Dolly took out a paper, licked the side, put a pinch of tobacco in the center and rolled it like a pro.  She put the cigarette in her mouth, lit it and took a long drag.

“Is it about the leg bone found down by the Three Suites?” she asked.   “Everyone’s talking about it.”  

Driver was amazed that news had travelled so quickly.  “What do you know about it?” asked Driver.

“Just what I have heard” said Dolly.  “You guys think it is from that guy who ditched his truck in the harbor.  The body must have floated to the shore somewhere and the animals must have gotten to it,” she surmised. They say it had animal teeth marks on it.” 

Driver figured that Smithy had spread the word about the animal bites.  Driver asked Dolly where she and Bruce had spent Sunday evening.   Dolly said they had walked into Whangaroa harbor and spent the afternoon and the night at the pub until about midnight then got a ride back with a couple of the local Maori boys as far as the Marae then they walked the rest of the way home. She gave Driver the name of the local boys and Driver took his leave. Dolly’s story would be easy to verify as Dolly and Bruce were well-known in the area. If they had been seen at the pub from Sunday afternoon until midnight - that just left the early hours of Monday morning with no alibi. 

Driver suspected Blackmore had come to his fate anytime between ten o’clock on Sunday night, when he supposedly left the restaurant, until six thirty on Monday morning when his truck was found in the harbor.  Dolly and Bruce only had an alibi until midnight on Sunday night.  That left six hours unaccounted for.  He would call in and get a warrant to search the Caravan.

Driver still had his work cut out for him. All afternoon he went over the list and questioning suspects.   By the time he returned to the station he had a list of six potential persons of interest.  Two of which were Dolly and Bruce.  He would pick up the warrant tomorrow and head over there and do a thorough search of the Caravan and the surrounding area.  He would need to call in some extra help.  He closed the file, left it on his desk and headed over to the house to spend an evening with his family.  They were having a roast lamb dinner tonight. His favorite.  He needed a good home cooked meal. 

C H A P T E R   4 2

“Did you hear?” screamed Pearl. “It is Dolly and Bruce.  They did it!”    Pearl was on the phone for the umpteenth time that day. Conversations with Audrey and Smithy had convinced her. “I can’t believe it!” said Pearl.    “They were at the pub all afternoon and all evening.  Scotty saw them getting into a car with a couple of local Maori boys from Matangarei about midnight.  They must have met him on the road somewhere. Audrey said he was walking home that night and had left his car down by the waterfront.  They must have murdered him and then dumped the car in the harbor.” Pearl had called everyone she knew. She loved being in ‘the know.’

The locals were buzzing with the news.  Many were meeting at the local pub to catch up on the gossip.  They had heard that Constable Driver had been down to Dolly and Bruce’s caravan.

Pearl had passed on the news they were the main suspects in the crime.   Finding a man’s leg in a ditch was pretty gruesome.  Many locals were farmers or fisherman and killing of animals was part of their everyday life. Most farmers still did home kills and were well qualified with butchering skills.

“Seeing a chewed man’s bone fresh from a body would send the shivers down anyone’s spine,” said one of the local farmers.

              “What the hell was it doing in Audrey’s ditch is the question?” 

“Have the cops questioned Audrey?” another asked.

The locals agreed Audrey was a different breed from them.  She had lived in America and had worldly ways about her.  They had watched as she had renovated that old Chalet into the fancy place it was today.  She was a hard worker.  They would see her working in the gardens, weed-whacking the long overgrown grass from the paddocks and dragging stuff around in her trailer.

“She runs the place all by herself - a lot of work for a single woman,” called Marge from behind the bar.

They knew Constable Driver had talked to Audrey a couple of times.  No one even thought Audrey had anything to do with the bone found in her ditch. After all, the floods could have put the bone there.  The water ran down the road at a furious pace during the storm and could have come from anywhere further up the road.  The marae and Dolly and Bruce’s caravan were both up the road from Audrey’s place.   They surmised that the bone must have lodged itself in the ditch as it was being swept down in the floodwaters.

C H A P T E R   4 3

Finally both suites were cleaned and ready for the next guests.  Suite A was vacant until the following weekend.  Tomorrow she had the guy booked in Suite C.  She had printed out his welcome note and placed it on the table next to the fresh lilies. 

“Welcome John Campbell”

I hope your stay at the Chalets is a pleasant one.

If there is anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please let me know.

There is a complimentary bottle of wine in the fridge for your enjoyment.

Your Host

Audrey

Audrey had estimated his time of arrival from Auckland about midday.  She liked to have the music playing and the lights on for each guest’s arrival.  It was the little touches that count.   She had changed the water in both spas and they would heat overnight.   Audrey decided she would have an early night tonight. 

She took a walk around the gardens.  The floodwaters had done very little damage - much to her surprise.  In fact the plants looked as though they appreciated the extra watering.  Colors looked brighter and leaves looked greener.  Nothing like a good downpour to clear away the cobwebs, thought Audrey.   The concrete walkways and courtyards still needed water blasting to remove the muddy streaks from the water deluge.  She would do that early in the morning. It was a good two-hour job and she liked the power of the water blaster and the results it left when done.   It was a mindless job and it would keep her mind off her next project.   She was pleased she had managed to direct the local interest away from the Chalets and up the road to the couple living in the old neglected caravan.  She knew they were druggies and Bruce had been diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis.   Hopefully she and her guest would not be disturbed.   Privacy and seclusion were two of the main attributes of her Chalets and she didn’t want her guest to be disappointed.

She sat outside at her table on the patio and took a sip from her glass of chilled wine.  It was all quiet in the neighborhood.  She could hear birds in the distance and watched a hawk swirling above green paddocks dotted with cattle.  She loved it here. She didn’t know what she would do when she had to leave this place.  But Audrey dealt with all disasters with complete denial.   Maybe she wouldn’t have to leave.  Maybe she could come up with a plan that would enable her to keep the Chalets. 

The air took a turn towards a cold chill and Audrey picked up her wine and returned to the warmth of Suite B.   She turned on the telly and watched the evening news and was surprised to see Constable Driver being interviewed again.  They had video of the ditch where the bone was found.   Horrors! It was her place. She hadn’t even noticed the TV cameras down there.  Thank goodness they had not come up to interview her.  She watched the whole segment worried they would mention the Three Suites.  They never did. “Thank God!” said Audrey out loud.    

She was glad she had created a gated entranceway to the lot next door.  No one would know the property belonged to the same owner as the Three Suites.  It looked like a separate property.  Only the locals knew it belonged to her.  

She had plans to build a home on the land but she had run out of money and out of time.   The gated entranceway had automatic gates and a keypad code. Only Audrey knew the code.  Maybe this had deterred the media.   Of course anyone could access the property by climbing over the fence.  She presumed the cops had already done this during their search around the ditch.  She was pretty sure they had.

C H A P T E R   4 4

John Campbell awoke at dawn.  The night before had been just what he needed.  Kelly had provided all the tender loving care he could possibly want and more.  She was worth every penny.   What Campbell liked the most was when the hour was up Kelly left.  Campbell didn’t like more than an hour.  If time dragged on the girls would want to talk.  Campbell had nothing to say to these girls.  He had slept like a baby and was ready for the journey north.  He loaded the car with his golf clubs, fishing gear, duffle bag, and laptop and checked he had his cell phone and charger. Campbell liked a clean car. He had washed his 4runner the afternoon before and vacuumed the interior.

With everything neatly packed in the back, Campbell locked the house, opened the automatic garage door and left the North Shore heading toward the motorway. 

He would stop for a bite to eat in Whangarei on the way.  It was a halfway stop and Campbell liked the idea of a cooked breakfast by the river.   He knew Whangarei had the nearest brothel to where he was staying and thought he might check out his options while he was there.   Just in case he decided to stay up North for a week and he couldn’t go that long without a good lay.

The motorway was pretty quiet.  It wouldn’t get busy until about seven thirty by then he would be way out of the city.  Auckland was an OK city.  North Shore was the best place to live.   Over a third of the four and half million population in New Zealand live in Auckland. As with other world trends, the rural population declines as more and more youth head to the cities for work and for social activities. 

Maori call Auckland: Tamaki Makaurau, “desired by many and fought over for its riches.”   The outskirts of Auckland were magnificent.  Hauraki Gulf , Waiheke Island and the Eastern and Northern Bays were ideal for boating and kayaking.  The heart of the city had everything from designer shops to jet boat trips, bungee jumping off the Auckland Harbor Bridge and base-jumping off the Sky tower.  Casinos and nightlife attracted tourists and city locals alike. 

John Campbell was proud of his city and proud of being a New Zealander.  He knew he lived the good life and he deserved it.  What he didn’t know is that this would be the last time he would see his precious city.  John Campbell’s days were numbered.

C H A P T E R   4 5

Audrey awoke with a start to the sound of knocking on her door.  She grabbed her robe and went to see who was rude enough to wake her so early in the morning.  It was Constable Driver.  “Sorry to disturb you so early” he said apologetically "but we have new evidence that your guest, Blackmore, may have been killed close by. We have identified one of his leg bones in your ditch down by the culvert drain.   Our forensics team will be working in the area today.  We will also need to search the room Blackmore stayed in.”

“I have a guest checking in there today” Audrey protested. “It really is not convenient.”    

“Don’t worry” Driver interrupted. "We will be in and out in no time. Just want to do a quick sweep. Say around eight thirty?”

“Well don’t make a mess,” Audrey conceded. “I have no other suite available to move him to.”  

Driver promised to do his best, apologized once again and left abruptly leaving Audrey standing at the doorway frozen in thought. 

“Shit” she said out loud.  “I had better get the water blaster out and do some serious cleaning.  She hurried to change into her jeans and sweat shirt and pulled the heavy water blaster out of the garage.  She poured in petrol and pulled the cord. It revved into life.  She started first by cleaning off the furniture dolly then blasted off the debris from her trailer and then started on her car.    By the time the police team arrived she was already on the upper level cleaning off the top courtyard.    The team only took about thirty minutes in the Suite and then Driver found her upstairs wiping down the outside patio furniture.  “We’re finished down there,” he said. “Looks as though you had your work cut out for you after the flood”