MURDER BRIEF (7 page)

"Yeah."

"Died in chambers, I hear?"

"Yes."

"I’ve spoken to a few old-timers
who appeared before him. Said he was very able."

"Yes, and very frosty, I’m
told."

Brian smiled. "They mentioned
that. You want to become a judge yourself?"

Now he was getting annoying.
"First up, I want to make a living - then I’ll see."

"Yeah. It’s hard isn’t it, when
you start out? It’s all a question of who you know."

Was he suggesting that, if she
shagged him, she’d get ahead? Crude bastard.

"Seems so."

"And I suppose all your Dad’s
old pals are long gone?"

If he had any. "Yes,
unfortunately."

"Too bad."

"What about you? Did you have
any contacts when you started?"

"Yeah. My dad was a silk. When I
came to the bar, he took me under his wing."

That figured. Sometimes the Bar
was like a guild into which parents introduced their children. It
certainly explained his great sense of entitlement.

He skirted around a taxi and
said: "What do you think of this car?"

Why stroke his ego? "Nice
colour.’

He smiled uncertainly. "That
all?"

"What else matters? Does it have
good petrol mileage?"

He frowned. "Mileage? You don’t
buy a car like this for mileage."

She was enjoying herself. "Then
what do you buy it for?"

He looked puzzled and
half-smiled. "Oh, I see what you’re saying. It’s pretty
self-indulgent, I know. But I can’t help myself. I’ve never been
good at deferring gratification."

She was tired of his weak
attempts at boyish charm and shifted to professional matters. "What
do you hope to learn at the murder scene? I mean, we’ve both seen
the police forensic reports and photos."

He shrugged. "I don’t know. I
just want to poke around and get a feel for the place. And I want
to keep our client happy. Clients expect their lawyers to visit the
locus in quo
. Otherwise, we look slack."

He’d already mentioned that Rex
Markham and Bernie Roberts would meet them at the terrace.

He weaved past a couple of cars,
turned into a narrow
cul-de-sac
and parked against the curb.
Fifteen metres away, Rex and Bernie stood outside a large terrace
with a third man Robyn didn’t know. That man was in his late
thirties, with blond hair and fine features.

Ten metres beyond them, leaning
against a car, was a fat guy in an ill-fitting brown suit.
Obviously, the Homicide detective assigned to supervise their
visit. Maybe he took his suit off a corpse.

The two barristers approached
the group of three.

Brian said: "Sorry we’re a bit
late - bad traffic."

Rex, looking strained, nodded
towards the tall blond man. "This is Tim Nolan, a good friend of
mine. Tim’s here to provide moral support."

Nolan shook hands with the two
barristers.

Brian said: "You a writer
too?"

Nolan laughed. "Not really. I’m
a sports reporter. I cover cricket for the
Herald
."

"That’s writing, isn’t it?"

Another laugh. "A very low
form."

Rex said: "He’s selling himself
short: he’s a good writer; has even ghosted a few cricket
auto-biogs."

Bernie said: "Tim’s agreed to
provide character evidence at the trial."

Accused in criminal trials can
call witnesses to prove their good character and the unlikelihood
of them committing the crime.

Nolan said: "It’s the least I
can do. There’s no way Rex killed Alice. I’m sure of that."

"Good." Brian looked back at
Rex. "You sure you want to go inside? You might find it
upsetting?"

Rex shrugged. "I’ll be fine. In
fact, this might help me slay a few demons."

"OK."

Bernie turned towards the fat
guy lounging against a car. "Detective Brooks, we’re ready to go
inside."

Jowls bouncing, the detective
lumbered towards the front door holding a set of keys. "Alright.
I’ll let you in. But I have to accompany you, OK?"

Bernie nodded. "Sure. Just don’t
listen to our conversations."

"Don’t worry. I’ll stay
back."

Robyn stared up at a wide,
three-storey terrace. Rex had obviously made plenty of money from
scribbling novels and selling film rights.

Detective Brooks unlocked the
front door, stepped aside to let them enter, and then followed
several paces behind.

In the hallway, Bernie said:
"Alright. Alice was murdered in the kitchen. We’d better go there
first." He glanced at his client. "Rex, perhaps you’ll lead the
way."

Rex led everyone down a long
hallway to a massive kitchen with a stainless-steel topped island
big enough for ping-pong, overlooking a tiny back-yard.

According to the report of the
police forensic pathologist, Alice Markham, wearing pyjamas, was
stabbed several times in the chest while standing in the kitchen.
She fell to the floor and quickly died from "exsanguinations of
blood".

There were no traces left of the
murder. After the police finished their forensic examination,
professional crime-scene cleaners sponged away all blood-stains and
even the chalk outline of the body on the floor. However, they
hadn’t expunged the spooky vibe.

Brian glanced at Rex. "You
OK?"

Rex looked tense. "Yeah,
fine."

Everybody stared at the back
door, with its splintered jamb.

Brian would claim, at the trial,
that the jamb showed an intruder broke in and murdered Alice.
However, the police would allege Rex deliberately smashed the jamb
to deflect blame.

Detective Brooks stood well back
while everyone bent over and studied it. Robyn said quietly to
Bernie: "Any idea what implement was used?"

Bernie said: "The police think
it was a metal bar."

"Not recovered?"

"No."

Brian straightened up. "Alright,
nothing more to see here. According to the police, some stuff was
missing from the main bedroom. We’d better go up there."

Nolan glanced at Rex. "You sure
you want to see the bedroom?"

Rex took a deep breath. "Yeah.
I’ll be OK."

Brian said: "Alright then, you
lead the way."

Long-faced, the novelist trudged
back through the terrace and up a long flight of stairs to a wide
landing with several closed doors. He took a deep breath and
pointed. "That one."

Robyn pushed open the door and
stepped into a large sunny bedroom with a balcony overlooking the
back yard.

Whoever killed Alice came up to
the bedroom and took a couple of boxes of jewelry from the dresser,
which explained why a few drawers were still open.

Rex stepped into the bedroom,
next to Robyn, looked around and sobbed. "Christ."

Robyn stared at his trembling
features and sensed he was innocent.

The rest of the group stepped
into the bedroom and stared at Rex.

Robyn touched his forearm. "You
alright?"

He gulped and smiled tensely.
"Yeah, I’m OK. But I think I’ll wait outside."

He spun around and disappeared.
Nolan followed.

Brian looked at Robyn. "Will he
be OK?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Detective Brooks stepped through
the door and asked them not to touch anything.

Brian said: "It’s been
cleaned."

The detective shrugged. "I’ve
got my orders."

Brian looked slyly at the
detective. "OK. But how much did they take?"

The detective looked puzzled.
"What are you talking about?"

"The first cops at the crime
scene: how much did they take?"

Detective Brooks frowned. "Ha,
ha. Very funny."

Brian turned to the others.
"Well, that seems to cover it. Let’s get out of here."

They left the terrace and found
Rex and his friend standing on the pavement. Rex still looked
pale.

Robyn said: "How’re you
feeling?"

Rex half-smiled. "Better. Don’t
worry, I’ll be fine."

Brian said: "Need a lift
anywhere?"

"No, I came with Tim. He’ll drop
me off."

Brian shrugged. "OK."

Brian and Robyn said goodbye and
strolled over to his Audi coupe. As they got in, Brian said: "Well,
that was staggeringly uninformative."

"Yeah, except for our client’s
reaction when he stepped into the main bedroom."

"What do you mean?"

"He looked so upset. You know, I
think he really did love her."

Brian rolled his eyes and
slipped on his Raybans. "Of course he loved her. That’s why he
killed her. No point killing someone you
don’t
love."

"So, you really think he’s
guilty?"

"Of course he’s guilty. Isn’t it
obvious? He was in the middle of a bitter divorce. She was claiming
a big slice of his money. So he snuck up to Sydney and bumped off
the bitch. But he fucked up when he used his credit card to buy
some petrol. What a bonehead."

"But he’s a smart man. Why would
he do something that stupid?"

"Because, in my experience, the
only thing humans will never be short of is stupidity. In fact, the
smartest people often do the dumbest things. Why? I’m not sure.
Maybe it’s because they’ve got their heads in the clouds or because
they're so arrogant they don't take normal precautions."

"OK. But what about his reaction
today? He seemed really upset."

Brian snorted. "Yeah, but why?
Because his wife got murdered? Or because he got caught? Who knows?
Or maybe he wasn’t upset at all: maybe he was just acting. Don’t
judge a book by its cover."

"Hah, hah. I think he’s
innocent."

"Well, if you want to carry that
burden around with you, you can. Just don’t get too attached to
him. That’s never a good idea in a murder case. Remember, he’s
single at the moment because his wife was murdered. Further,
there's a good chance he'll soon have a long vacation in an iron
motel."

His insinuation that she was
attracted to Rex Markham was very annoying. Her interest in him was
entirely professional. She sympathized with the pain he was going
through. But his personality didn’t set her pulse racing. And even
if it did, it wouldn’t matter: though he denied murdering his wife,
he’d admitted to assaulting her. That alone put him beyond the
pale.

It sounded like Brian was
jealously trying to ward off a potential rival. Shit. She prayed he
kept his distance, at least until the trial was over. After that,
she would tell him to take a hike.

She said: "Don’t worry. I’m
keeping my distance."

"Good."

Brian drove out of the
cul de
sac
and headed towards the city.

She said: "OK then, let’s assume
he’s guilty. How’re you going to get him off?"

"The traditional way: I’ll point
the finger of blame at someone else."

"You mean, like a burglar?"

"Yeah. Though most burglars are
gutless cockroaches who couldn’t kill anyone. Juries know that. I’d
prefer someone else."

"Rex thinks Alice had a lover.
What about that guy?"

"Yeah. He’ll be perfect
if
he exists and
if
he had a motive to kill her.
They’re pretty big ifs."

Bernie Roberts had employed a
private detective to investigate Alice Markham’s past, but the guy
didn’t identify the lover or anyone with a motive to kill her.

Robyn said: "There’s still a lot
about Alice we don’t know, isn’t there?"

"Yep, definitely a woman of
mystery."

The sun had almost disappeared
and the street lights started to glow. They were cruising down
Oxford Street between restaurants and nightclubs.

He peered at her over his
Raybans. "I’m hungry. We could have a bite to eat, if you
want?"

Finally, he’d made a move. A
small one. But so obvious.

She looked straight ahead. "No.
Got to get back to chambers, I’m afraid: things to do."

"OK," he grunted.

Brian Davis had told Robyn that
her main job, as his junior counsel, was to make him look good. He
spoke in a jocular fashion, but was obviously serious. Certainly,
he looked satisfied when she nodded dutifully and promised to do
her best.

However, she had no intention of
buffing up his reputation. The Markham case was a fantastic
opportunity to build her own, and she wasn’t going to squander it.
So it was vital two things happen: Rex got acquitted and she
grabbed a big share of the credit.

To that end, she spent many
hours reading and re-reading her brief, especially the prosecution
materials, looking for flaws in the Crown case. But she ended up
conceding the case against Rex was very strong. In fact, he
probably should plead guilty and hope for a lenient sentence.

Yet, she was troubled by how
little they knew about the victim, Alice Markham. Who was she? Who
were her friends and enemies? Was she, as Rex suspected, having an
affair? And, if so, did her lover have something to do with her
death?

After some hesitation, Robyn
decided to make a few inquiries of her own. Maybe a woman would
find it easier to extract information from Alice’s friends.

The Bar Association frowned on
barristers investigating crimes. Their job was to appear in court,
not gather evidence and risk becoming witnesses. Snooping around
could get Robyn into trouble.

But this was no ordinary case.
It just might just launch her career. She was prepared to push the
envelope. Anyway, if she found evidence that cleared Rex, her sins
would be forgiven. And if she didn’t, well, hopefully nobody would
notice her snooping.

She considered telling Brian
about her plan, but soon scotched that idea. He’d just spout the
official line and assume she was trying to grab a big slice of
glory for herself, which was true.

The literary agent, Hugh
Grimble, had been close to both Rex and Alice, and was Rex’s main
alibi witness. Robyn wanted to talk to him again: maybe he knew
something important they’d overlooked and she was keen to see
exactly where Alice worked.