Scorpio's Lot (3 page)

‘Settle down, Tom. I’m not
accusing you of negligence. It’s simply routine procedure.’

Following an instruction for me
to remain beyond the tape, Burke then entered the restrictive area and
commenced to comb the immediate vicinity. He strolled to the edge and peered
down, then squatted to study the spot where the ground had given way. Frowning,
he stood up again and started stepping out the perimeter of loose soil. He then
bent down, gathered some rocks, walked to the edge and proceeded to roll them
down the slope. How strange, I thought. He continued to stand motionless by the
edge as if studying the path the rocks would roll down. By this time the
inquisitive crowd had departed, with Martino and Jennings returning to their
superior’s side. The three men were muttering to each other at some length,
deliberately out of ears’ reach.

My thoughts again focused on Jake
and Brigit. How were they holding up? Would they both survive this ordeal, and
would life resume without any major setbacks? I tried to convince myself that
they would both pull through, being young and strong. I would contact the
hospital following these formalities.

The three officers’ discussion
now incorporated some distinctive sign language. Arms were pointing in all
directions - at times upon the collapsed ground or in the direction of the
rocks beneath the cliff’s edge. What were these three on about?

Burke called for my attention. ‘Tom,
you can return if you wish. There are no further questions for the moment.’

I decided to stay put, or at
least wait for a while in case there were further developments. After all, this
was my property and it was important to learn how such a catastrophe could have
happened.

~ * ~

Martino
produced a lengthy rope, wrapping the pleated cord around his waist to secure a
firm knot.

‘With your assistance,’ Burke
said to Jennings, ‘we’ll lower Martino to the bottom first. I’m the lighter
weight so I’ll go next with your help.’ ‘What do you hope to find?’ asked
Jennings.

‘We need to determine how the
ground could suddenly give way.’ Martino was cautiously lowered down a
twenty-metre drop, being careful not to disturb any ground directly affected by
the collapse. The sergeant followed with his seventy-kilogram weight, which
felt more like one hundred when the rope became rigid.

With both men safely at the
bottom, the sergeant called back, ‘Hey, Pete, allow around half an hour.’

Keeping vigilance from above,
Jennings looked down upon his two colleagues going about their business,
chattering here and there, pausing to examine some obstacle, then more mumbling
police lingo. The collapse had clearly transferred a vast amount of ground to
the bottom of the cliff. Sifting through the soil and debris, they came across
an assortment of clothing, some discarded beer cans, a timepiece that may have
belonged to Jake Reynolds and a number of disused syringes. Despite Pedley’s
tourist appeal and its supposedly clean public image, there was also a dark
side to this township that reputedly carried the infamous slogan of ’drugs and
thugs for mugs’ by those in the know.

Burke looked around. If I didn’t
know better this mess could pass for a garbage tip, he thought. He focused back
to the matter in hand. He happened to be momentarily distracted by two magpies
fighting over some discarded food under a low-lying branch. Upon further
examination he noticed a number of rocks were accumulated in an unnatural
arrangement, giving the impression they had been carefully camouflaged beneath
the foliage.

He moved in closer and could see
the rocks had been gathered together in a shape similar to a pyramid. There was
no sign of soil or growth between the rocks, which immediately suggested they
had been stacked here recently. He looked around. Why only this place, he
thought. The fall of rocks would never settle in this way. His line of thought
was interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone.

‘Sergeant Burke speaking.’

‘Doctor Richards from the
hospital, sergeant. I need to inform you that Jake Reynolds has unfortunately
died upon arrival. He will be taken to the morgue in around an hour’s time for
your routine inspection.’

‘Oh no ... that’s tragic... and
at such a young age. I’ll be over around midday to address the matter. Any news
on Brigit O’Neill?’

‘She remains unconscious but in a
stable condition. We have assigned a full-time nurse to her room,’ responded
the doctor.

The sergeant hung up, thinking
that the doctor was a bit blunt. This was not the news he had anticipated. Poor
young Jake. Then he realised that Jake’s father Phillip must be informed before
he learned of the tragedy through a second source. This would be tough, for
Phillip was very much the devoted and protective father since the breakdown of
his marriage. If there was one job Burke detested, it was the unpleasant duty
of informing the next of kin. But first things first, this preliminary
inspection would need to be completed. He summoned Martino to advise him of
Jake and Brigit’s situation, in addition to his discovery of rocks hidden under
a branch some short distance away.

‘Chris, I need you to climb up
one side of the collapsed embankment while I tackle the other. If you look up
and study the rock formation on either side, you can just make out it’s been
tampered with. Notice how they protrude further than they should? We’ll climb
up and take a closer inspection.’

The incline was around sixty
degrees and no place for the faint-hearted. Slowly but surely the two men
struggled up the steep embankment, stopping momentarily here and there to dig a
makeshift hole with their boots to secure a foothold. Around two metres from
the top they paused to study the rock formation. There was sufficient evidence
to suggest that someone else had been here quite recently. Prominent skid marks
left by a person or persons unknown were clearly visible, including the clumsy
attempt to cover up their telltale trail. The shoe size indicated adult and
probably male, for it would take a person of reasonable strength to accomplish
this feat, let alone the rearrangement of rocks that were quite large and
heavy.

‘All these marks are quite fresh
and there’s been no rain in the past twenty-four hours,’ observed Martino, a
little out of breath.

‘Yes,’ replied Burke. ‘Notice how
the soil has been dug away and the rocks have little or no support all the way
to the top. I’m surprised more ground didn’t give way.’

Whoever was responsible had even
gone to the trouble of loosening the foliage growing up the incline. Given all
before them, it was in fact a disaster waiting to happen. There was certainly
foul play at hand. The sergeant cast a keen eye around the site and pondered
for a while, thinking through all they had uncovered. It just seemed ludicrous
that someone would contemplate such an idea, let alone carry it out, unless the
intent was there, in which case this could only be described as a ruthless
premeditated act. He could only conclude that Jake’s accident was connected to
his untimely intrusion into the drug-related murder scene.

The two officers continued their
upward climb, careful not to hold and depend upon the foliage for leverage.
Nearing the top they could see Jennings peering over the edge looking concerned
for their safety.

‘Here, let me help. Grab my arm
and I’ll pull you up,’ he called.

Upon reaching the top, a little
worse for wear, the two uniformed men brushed themselves down and caught their
breath, with Martino reaching for a smoke to settle his nerves following an
exhausting ascent. Wasting no time, Burke retrieved his mobile and dialed forensics,
instructing a team be sent immediately to carry out a routine inspection of the
site. Formality had become a necessary procedure, given the suspicious
circumstances that now surrounded the incident.

‘Pete, sadly there have been
further developments since we last spoke. Young Jake Reynolds has died and
Brigit O’Neill is in a serious but stable condition in hospital. She’s also
unconscious, so any attempt to interview her will have to be postponed for now,’
said Burke.

‘Bloody hell... I didn’t expect
to hear that.’

‘I’ll inform Phillip about his
son as soon as I’m done here.’

‘This accident should never have
happened, with all the warning signs and safety barriers in place. So unlike
Jake, who was a very responsible person,’ Jennings stated.

‘But this was no accident.
Someone deliberately disturbed the foundations beneath the cliff’s edge,’
responded the sergeant. He added, ‘The sheer scale of the disturbance is very
concerning. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to make sure this section of the
cliff would collapse with any wight-bearing load. The location is puzzling,
though, because the public would rarely venture on the cliff side of the safety
fence.’

‘What are you trying to tell me?’

‘I believe Jake Reynolds was
murdered. I’m not sure if he was the intended target, but they are the cold
hard facts,’ replied Burke.

Jennings stared in disbelief.
This wasn’t right, for Jake didn’t have an enemy in world. He was admired by
all, including competitors.

‘Perhaps a case of being in the
wrong place at the wrong time,’ continued Burke.

‘Death from a fall, yes, but
murder, surely not.’

‘I’m afraid that’s the situation.
This will now become a homicide investigation and I daresay my superiors will
send two city detectives down here to take charge of the case. Unless they ask
for our assistance it’s out of our jurisdiction once I’ve filed my report and
the city replacements arrive.’

~ * ~

I
had been watching the police in deep conversation from a short distance. It was
time to interrupt and get an update on things.

‘What’s happening, Darren?’

Shocked to learn of Jake Reynolds’
death and Brigit’s fragile condition, I knew a visit to the hospital was
necessary to establish the extent of her injuries. After all, Brigit was my
niece and with Helen interstate she at least needed a family member by her
side.

‘Tom, you would be wasting your
time going to the hospital,’ Burke said. ‘They won’t allow visitors at this
stage. I suggest you phone for an update.’

‘How in the hell could something
like this happen?’

‘There appear to be suspicious
circumstances, Tom, but I can’t elaborate further. In the meantime I need you
to repair the safety fence once forensics has completed the inspection this
afternoon. It would be too dangerous to leave unattended, particularly with
unsupervised children who may wander from your park.’

‘Certainly,’ I replied, wondering
what suspicious circumstances lay beyond the police line.

Burke then departed, leaving his
two constables to reside over the site until forensics arrived.

~ * ~

Sergeant
Burke had the unenviable task of informing Phillip Reynolds of his son’s death.
Predictably, he took the news badly. Burke stayed for around fifteen minutes,
trying to comfort the man but to no avail. His intentions were honourable but
Burke failed in the art of condolence, for he seldom had to express the
empathetic side of his character.

‘Mr Reynolds, there’s an
unpleasant task to be done either today or tomorrow. You will need to accompany
me to the town mortuary to make a positive identification. If there’s anything
we can do to ease your pain, please don’t hesitate to ask. In the meantime we’ll
do everything in our power to bring the guilty party or parties to justice. We’ll
be in touch with you shortly, so until then ...’

Phillip Reynolds said, ‘Sergeant,
I’ll go to the mortuary today. These matters are best handled earlier rather
than later. What time should I be there?’

‘I’ll meet you at twelve.’

As he departed the Reynolds’
homestead the sergeant looked at his watch, which signaled ten-thirty. There
was enough time to pay Martha Kellett a visit. It was essential not to delay
this matter, since the Kellett woman was reputedly a witness to the incident
and for that matter the very person who alerted the police.