Scorpio's Lot (15 page)

‘I see you’ve had an
accident with your arm. Nasty, by the size of the dressing you’ve wrapped it
in. What happened?’

‘It’s nothing really.
I hurt my arm tinkering with the car engine yesterday.’

‘I’ll come straight
to the point. I know you were a friend of Brigit’s. Do you know the whereabouts
of both Helen and Brigit O’Neill?’

‘Why no. Is there
something wrong?’

‘We have our
concerns,’ Forbes responded.

‘What concerns?’

‘Detective Marsh went
around to the O’Neill house this morning and found the front door wide open
with no one home. One of the side window shutters has been badly damaged and he
noticed the rear door had been smashed in. It all points to forced entry
sometime last night.’

‘My god, I hope
they’re all right,’ said James.

‘There’s
the strong possibility that Brigit’s life may be in danger. We’ve established
that Jake Reynolds’ murder was drug related. Whatever his
motive, it’s feasible to think
that he may have told Brigit more than he told the police about what he saw
that night in the park. We can confidently conclude that whatever it was, it’s
sufficient enough to expose their entire local activity. It’s therefore logical
to further assume the drug syndicate would want to silence Brigit.’

James slumped in his chair and
placed the palms of his hands over each cheek. He wasn’t shocked by the fact
that Brigit’s life was in danger, for he had already anticipated this, but her
disappearance concerned him. Better pay Tom Harrison a visit when I’m finished
here, he thought.

‘James, when was the last time
you saw Brigit O’Neill?’ asked Marsh.

‘It would be some months ago now.
As I explained to you in our last interview, Brigit won’t have anything to do
with me now.’

‘We hope you’re not holding back
on anything. What were your movements last night?’

‘I spent two hours at O’Riley’s
Inn and around nine o’clock I went to a friend’s place, stayed there for a
while and was home by one.’

‘Since the drug world plays a key
role in this case, we’ll ask you one more time, James. Have you ever been
associated with this organisation regarding the use of or distribution of their
products?’ asked Forbes.

‘No!’

‘James,’ said Forbes, ‘I can’t
help but think you’re hiding something from us. You despised Jake Reynolds for
his relationship with Brigit. You arrive with this mysterious injury that you
claim was car-related and for the moment we have no choice but to take your
word regarding any drug connections.’

‘The only thing that’s remotely
acceptable is motive,’ James said, ‘since I was peeved at Jake for taking
Brigit away from me. But as for the other, it’s pure speculation.’

‘Very well. For the moment, if
you have any intention of leaving Pedley for either business or pleasure please
inform the station prior to your departure. That will be all for now, thank
you,’ concluded Forbes.

~ * ~

In
the living room of the Harrisons’ residence, Emily was holding her customary
fortnightly afternoon tea party for the ladies. It was her excuse to catch up
with all the local gossip and today’s affair would be no exception,
particularly with what had transpired over the past week and a half. It was the
usual gathering of Emily’s friends - Jill Wallace, Sally Jones, Martha Kellett,
and today, much to Tom’s horror, Ruth Evans and Marge Samson. Ruth had arrived
in her Sunday best, overkill given the occasion. Still, she meant well and
Emily possibly looked upon her intentions as a compliment.

I deliberately boycotted these
events, purposely organising my day’s routine work around outdoor activities.
Unfortunately, there was reason to enter the house today to collect a tool I
had forgotten. I entered discreetly, trying to remember where the hell I had
left the damn thing. My search started in the front office, which led directly
into the living room.

I heard Emily ask, ‘Martha, is
there a chance I could borrow Sam for a morning to clean up the front garden
bed? Tom never seems to have the time to attend gardening, it’s just not his
forte.’

‘Certainly, my dear, you just
name your day and I’ll arrange for him to come over.’

Ruth Evans spoke next. I knew she
wouldn’t be particularly interested in all this pleasant talk and would want to
talk about the Reynolds case.

‘I wonder how much longer the
police will take to arrest the guilty party in the Jake Reynolds case,’ Ruth
fished.

‘Ruth, it’s far too early to
expect arrests. The case is only a week and a half old,’ responded Emily.

‘That’s right. These things tend
to take time. The police are probably still conducting their interviews,’ added
Martha.

‘That’s all very well, but how
can you sleep at night with a murderer in our midst?’ whined Ruth in her
typical trademark style.

I listened from the office with a
smile on my face, anticipating where this conversation would lead. If I was any
judge of character, Ruth would have these women in the palm of her hand for the
next ten minutes or so, forever asking questions to which there was seldom an
answer.

‘Why don’t you try taking a
sleeping tablet,’ volunteered Jill Wallace.

‘I can’t. They don’t agree with
my stomach, and besides, they keep me awake,’ said Ruth.

I burst out laughing and then
tried to cover up with a series of coughs that drew Emily’s attention.

‘Is that you, Tom? Are you all
right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine,’ I said, coming
into the room. ‘Just trying to find a misplaced tool. Afternoon, ladies, don’t
let me interrupt you.’

Ruth immediately pounced, not
allowing the others opportunity.

‘As I was saying, we could have
an axe murderer or something equally as bad running around town in search of
another victim.’

‘Don’t be silly, Ruth. It’s
hardly an axe murderer,’ said Emily.

‘We don’t know for sure. I feel
very vulnerable in my van at night. At least you ladies have the comfort of
knowing your homes are far more secure.’

‘You can always return to the
city,’ suggested Martha.

‘No, you can’t allow them to
dictate your life, and besides, I still have three days left,’ insisted Ruth.

It was becoming entertaining,
listening to Ruth and her insecurities.

Sally Jones spoke with a hint of
sarcasm. ‘I think you’re overreacting. I read in the local paper that the
police believe the case is drug related. You probably don’t even know what
these drugs look like, Ruth, so why would anyone want to murder you?’

‘Excuse me, but have you noticed
that I’m a woman who is living alone and feeling very vulnerable under the
circumstances,’ declared Ruth.

‘You’re not exactly a spring
chicken any more. I’m sure our homicidal maniac would be looking for fairer
game, don’t you think?’ said Jill.

Ruth glared at Jill and I knew
Emily could sense her afternoon tea party was about to explode. I had retrieved
my tool from one of the office drawers and decided it was time to depart. That
woman is unbelievable, I thought. Entertaining today, but nonetheless still incredible.

I had left the office and was
walking toward the games room when a car approached from behind, blasting its
horn. James Slattery was behind the wheel. He pulled over to my side of the
road and brought his car to a stop.

‘Tom, thank goodness you’re here,
we need to talk somewhere in private.’

‘Certainly, we’ll go to the
laundry.’

I was immediately drawn to his
arm wrapped in some makeshift dressing. I also recalled from last night’s
experience that I had hurt one of the assailant’s forearms with the steering
wheel lock, but initially I couldn’t remember which arm it was. James appeared
very agitated as we commenced our walk. I had never seen him in such an
emotional state before and I could only anticipate he was about to tell me of
some developing news.

‘James, before you start I need
to know how you incurred that injury.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s extremely important and I
need you to be completely honest with me.’

‘I was dismantling the car engine
from my old Land Rover yesterday afternoon when part of the motor dropped,
scraping my arm as it fell. Why would you want to know this?’

‘Before I explain, can you prove
it to me?’

‘Bloody hell, Tom. The motor’s in
a hundred pieces. What more proof do you need?’ James was clearly annoyed with
this cross-examining tactic of mine.

‘Sorry, James, but it was
necessary. Last night I inflicted a nasty arm injury on one of the thugs trying
to abduct Helen and Brigit.’

‘What in hell are you implying?’
James exploded. ‘If you think I was -’

‘Steady on, I know it wasn’t you,’
I interrupted. ‘I’m just making a passing observation, that’s all.’

I recounted the events of the
night before, from the attempted break-in through to hiding the women in one of
the van sites. The look on James’ face was complete shock. He stared in
amazement, not uttering one word as the story unfolded.

‘That’s one hell of a relief.
When the cops asked me if I knew of their whereabouts and told me about the
damage to their house, I suspected the syndicate had called and taken Helen and
Brigit.’

‘You could say we were a bit
fortunate last night. Had I delayed my visit by half an hour or so I would hate
to think what might have been,’ I said.

James continued to focus on the
police interview. ‘The cops didn’t hold back with their questions this morning.
They seemed reluctant to accept that the car engine was responsible for my
injury. Claimed I had motive to harm Jake and on top of all this, I now have to
inform them if I intend leaving Pedley for any reason. It’s crazy, Tom. There
are thugs running around loose and the cops are giving me the third degree!’

‘Yes, it’s unfortunate but you’ve
got to learn to ride this one out. In the eyes of the law there’s motive and
that can’t be ignored. My advice is to be patient and accept the ways of the police
because given time their resources will be concentrating elsewhere.’

‘So what do you plan to do with
Helen and Brigit now?’ asked James.

‘I’ll keep them here for a while
until I’ve worked out what to do next.’

‘Tom, this is police work. You
shouldn’t be doing this after what happened last night.’

‘I’m in two minds. My public duty
tells me to take Brigit to the police, but she insists on staying hidden. As I
mentioned to Emily, the police would only take them back to the house and keep
a casual eye on things, which in my opinion still puts them in a very
vulnerable position. Besides, Forbes has already told me he lacks the resources
to provide round-the-clock protection. I’ll most likely inform the police
tomorrow and insist they be taken to a safer place.’

‘Where have you put them?’

‘They’re in one of the sites as
we speak. They’re quite safe for the moment so the less people that know the
better,’ I replied, having no intention of telling James the site number.

‘When you see Brigit tell her I
do care and that I’m genuinely concerned for her safety. She only has to
contact me on my mobile if she needs anything.’

With that gesture, James returned
to his car and drove off.