Before It Breaks (50 page)

‘And when you found the damaged vehicle?'

‘The same. Plus there was Bourke's welfare to consider. For all I knew he was in trouble in the vehicle. It was raining so hard you couldn't see inside until you were on top of it.'

‘You sensed an ambush, I think you mentioned to your colleagues?'

This time it was Eastaway. Pushing fifty he had a bulbous nose with huge pores.

‘Yes. He used the same technique with Lee the biker and it helped me avoid his first arrow but then I had to decide whether to wait or go after him.'

‘And that's when he shot you?'

‘Yes.'

‘In retrospect would you have done things differently?' Chapman this time.

Clement dwelt on the answer. ‘I don't know that I could have. I couldn't wait for DS Earle. Bourke had the advantage and he took it.'

They wrote notes. Eastaway was the one who spoke next. ‘You got the drop on him though, later, is that correct?'

He explained how that had happened. He relived the moment, he had Bourke cold.

‘You could have fired.'

He wasn't sure whether Chapman was offering a statement or question.

‘I tried to but I just … fainted I guess.'

‘Before that though. You could have fired.'

He nodded. ‘Yes but I was trying to get him to tell me where Osterlund was.'

And in the end they had both died hadn't they? In the end,
despite all his efforts, he had saved nobody and nothing. But then his eyes fell on the large card signed by every one of those he'd worked with. Graeme Earle who had proved himself a rock-solid deputy, Lisa Keeble thorough, clever, Scott Risely had walked the line between keeping the powers happy without selling him out, Jared Taylor was a humble student and quiet teacher, Mal Gross provided the humour and glue, Manners had come through, and even Shepherd for all his cheap footy cant had the makings of a good detective. He looked from Eastaway to Chapman.

‘Sorry, lost it for a minute. I'm ready again.'

They drifted in slowly darkening air, the sunset as pink as a matador's cape. Bill Seratono handed him another freezing beer. Clement could now lean forward and take it without the movement causing a stabbing pain. His right half must have mended, he supposed, or the three earlier beers had anaesthetised it. Far in the distance, shoreward, the Derby jetty loomed like the black skeleton of an animal that had died drinking in the ocean.

‘And your father? He's okay?' Bill punctuated his question with the gentle
pfut
of his can being opened.

‘No lasting effects, touchwood, but he has to be careful, medications, all that. Phoebe and I are visiting them in a few weeks while her mum's in Europe with her boyfriend.'

Clement wondered idly if fiancée was the more correct term.

‘So are we going to lose you a second time?' Bill trawled his line easily and reset it.

Di Rivi's dog popped into his brain. He wondered if she'd named it yet.

‘Not just yet.'

The Assistant Commissioner himself had called, peeing in his pocket. ‘Outstanding police work' and ‘copybook restraint' being two of the phrases bandied about. HQ loved the idea of a wounded hero. They wanted him back on public display in Perth, a stone's throw from the TV stations.

‘In your own time,' the AC had added, code for the sooner the better. But how could you trade this, or the fishburger at the Cleo, or a dentist who worked on your teeth in his footy shorts for free?

‘Is Mitch ever going to talk to me again?' he asked, enjoying the breeze on his face.

‘Who knows? I told him it was his own bloody fault. He should have been upfront.'

Clement spared a thought for all the innocent, disconnected
people crime touched along the way: Karskine, Astuthi Osterlund, young Tyson. Crime, especially murder was a muddy boot traipsing through your living room. Bill spoke again.

‘Guess what I heard just before we came out, been meaning to tell you.'

Clement was at loss as to which of the many billion gigabytes of possibilities in the universe he should select, so he waited.

‘Wildlife boys trapped a great big croc in Jasper's Creek. Mate, you are dead lucky.'

Yes, thought Clement. I am.

I would very much like to thank Professor Ian Dadour of the Forensic Science Department, University of Western Australia, for his feedback on the forensic components of the book, Elli Roeder for checking the German perspective, and Bruce and Alison Brown for Kimberley consideration. A huge thank you is in order to my editor Georgia Richter for her detailed and insightful assistance from start to finish. I would like to thank all those at Fremantle Press who have helped in some way into getting this book up and about, with especial gratitude to Clive Newman. Clive was there for my first novel all those years ago and it was pleasing he could be involved in the early stages of this one before retiring. A very big thanks also to my network of family and friends in Perth—Jude, Muffy, Chris, Simone, Dette, Mable, Rob Mak, Johnny and Shevaun—who always keep the home fires burning.

DAVE WARNER
is the author of nine novels, including
City of Light
which won the West Australian Premier's Award for Fiction. He is also the author of six non-fiction titles, and has written for feature film, stage, television, radio and newspapers. Dave Warner originally gained national recognition as a musician-songwriter. His nine albums include the gold album
Mug's Game.
In 1992 he was the inaugural Rock'n'Roll of Renown inductee into West Australian Music's Hall of Fame.

www.davewarner.com.au

First published 2015 by

FREMANTLE PRESS

25 Quarry Street, Fremantle 6160

(PO Box 158, North Fremantle 6159)

Western Australia

www.fremantlepress.com.au

Also available as a print book

Copyright © Dave Warner, 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Consultant editor Georgia Richter

Cover design Ally Crimp

Cover photograph ‘Cape Leveque Road', Red Dirt Photography

Printed by Everbest Printing Company, China

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Warner, Dave, 1953-, author

Before it breaks

ISBN 9781925161205 (epub)

Detective and mystery stories

Broome (WA) — Fiction.

A823.3

Fremantle Press is supported by the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts.

Publication of this title was assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.