Scorpio's Lot (33 page)

Returning to his car Carpenter
was happy with the way things had panned out. He had managed to conduct an
inspection of the premises and arrange a purchase without blowing the
constabulary’s budget. Now I wonder what they’ll do with all these goods, he
thought. Perhaps raffle them off to some worthwhile charity. Although the
mysterious noise would continue to haunt the puzzled sergeant, he was
nonetheless reasonably satisfied that Broadbent ran a legitimate business.

~ * ~

At
precisely 2.45 pm Paul Marsh knocked on the door at 15 Hillview Road and was greeted
by one very surprised James Slattery.

‘Why, Detective Marsh, to what do
I owe the pleasure?’

‘May I come in?’ Marsh saw that
James’ arm was still wrapped in a dressing. ‘How’s the arm? Any improvement?’

‘Yeah, another two days and I can
throw this sling away.’

‘James, I’ll come straight to the
point. This morning you were seen by Senior Sergeant Whittaker talking to Kurt
Muller. Can you tell me what was in the parcel you handed him?’

‘Bloody hell, all this
cross-examination lately is pissing me off. I’m getting the raw end of the deal
from you lot. The cops have something against me for some reason. First it was
motive, then drugs, then the arm injury, then leaving Pedley and now this. Is
there no end to it?’

Marsh was determined to get to
the bottom of their untimely rendezvous. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’

‘Yes, I was talking to Kurt and
yes, I did hand him a parcel.’

‘Good, now we’re getting
somewhere. How do you come to know Kurt?’

‘We struck up a conversation at
the pub some days back and discovered we have a few things in common, that’s
all’

‘Which pub?’

‘The Esplanade.’

‘And what things do you have in
common?’

‘Cars, fishing, and drinking of
course.’

‘What was in the parcel you
handed Kurt?’

‘Just a motor part.’

‘Can you elaborate?’

‘It was a twin carburettor out of
an old Ford I had lying around the garage. This is starting to become an
interrogation!’

‘I’m sure Kurt Muller will be
able to verify all this, won’t he?’

‘Of course. You only have to go
over to the caravan park and ask, detective.’

~ * ~

Under
instructions from Forbes, Carpenter was carrying out the interview with Kurt
Muller at precisely the same time as Marsh was talking to James Slattery. With
this arrangement their forewarning to each other would be near impossible.
Muller was feeding the sergeant with a completely different story to the one
James was telling Marsh.

~ * ~

he chaos confronting Forbes and his two subordinates at Pedley
Wharf was very concerning. An anxious crowd had gathered at quayside, with a
few people having already stepped aboard the
Molly Bloom
to investigate
the source of the commotion. The sound of wailing and crying could be heard
coming from the direction of starboard. Forbes instructed his sergeant to drive
aboard, park the car and then seal off all access to the boat from everyone
other than the paramedics, who were supposedly on their way.

Five minutes earlier
a phone call had come through to the station stating there was an unknown
crisis on board, and the authorities and a medical crew should be in
attendance. Carpenter was given orders to supervise the entry point, while
Forbes and Marsh proceeded to climb the companion ladder en route to this
unknown emergency. Two ambulances drove over the entry plank positioned at
stern and the crying intensified as people heard of the medical team’s arrival.

Turning the corner of
the engine room, Forbes and Marsh were confronted with the full impact of human
suffering. They were in disbelief at the sight of these troubled souls. A
half-circle of passengers who had remained intact were too afraid to move, let
alone acknowledge the presence of the law. The crying and groans continued as
they looked upon the blood trails and two bodies lying on starboard deck. A
dead dog was being held by its distressed owner, while children clung to their
parents sobbing in an uncontrollable state. Four men who had stepped aboard
from the pier earlier had located their respective people and were trying to
console them and make sense of it all.

‘What in God’s name
...’ Forbes began and then paused, clearly affected by what he saw.

He was
first to spot Burke and Martino, sprawled unconscious on separate deck chairs.
The pair rushed to their colleagues, fearing the
worst, and then heaved a sigh of relief on feeling
two pulses. At the sound of an approaching medical team it was Forbes’
intention to have his men cared for first.

Forbes and Marsh commenced their
inspection of starboard deck, stepping around the many obstacles and belongings
that had obviously been rearranged by this disturbance. The first body in their
path had certainly left indications of a struggle, given the amount of blood
embedded upon the timber decking. Knife wounds to the thigh and back were
clearly visible, as was the blow to the bloodstained head. Viewing the second
body with a bullet hole between the eyes, Forbes surmised that at least this
man’s death was instantaneous.

The moans and cries from some of
the women would not subside. Men and women alike appeared to be in a trance, as
if cast by a spell from some evil influence. This ordeal had deeply affected
the passengers and Forbes knew it would take some time before they could make
any sense of this tragedy.

He turned to Marsh. ‘Take a head
count and we’ll ask the people on the wharf who were expecting someone to
disembark. This way we’ll at least start some identification process if they
don’t carry ID. We’ll also need to relocate these passengers to portside away
from the two bodies, but first phone forensic and have them send the same crew
down here immediately.’

Marsh was not far into his count
when he spotted Tom Harrison staring aimlessly around the deck. Upon his
completion of counting thirty-five people, which included the four men from the
pier counselling family or friends, the detective turned to his superior.

‘I noticed Tom Harrison amongst
the passenger count, but there’s no sign of Brigit O’Neill,’ he informed
Forbes, seeing the paramedics finally arrive to attend their duties.

‘I’ll see to Harrison shortly, but
first we need to establish who else is on board, including the crew. I’ll wait
here while you check the bridge and engine room for crewmembers and take a look
around the whole boat in case someone has wandered. Remember, no one is allowed
on or off the boat without my permission. During your absence I’ll have a word
with the paramedics and Tom Harrison.’

Upon Marsh’s departure Forbes
immediately went across to the paramedics, who were attending the sergeant and
young constable. ‘Will they be all right?’ he asked.

‘They’re both still
semi-conscious and we need to get them to hospital. We’ll have them sent on the
first ambulance. They should be okay, but I suggest you check with outpatients
later,’ replied the paramedic.

The detective continued to
discuss some matters at length with the paramedics. With no one individual in a
life-threatening situation, it was agreed all passengers would be treated
independently on deck. A further two ambulances were already on their way from
neighbouring townships and would arrive within twenty minutes to help share the
workload. Having temporarily finished his briefing with the medics, he then
decided to approach Tom Harrison.

‘Tom ... Tom Harrison, can you
hear me? It’s Detective Sergeant Forbes.’ The only response he got from Tom was
a vacant stare.

Forbes knew Harrison was in a
state of shock, as were some of his fellow travellers. Forbes could only wait
until his condition improved. Looking further afield, he noticed that a few
individuals appeared to have their faculties together. He sat beside a
middle-aged man in the hope that he could shed some light on this unfortunate
tragedy.

‘What is your name, sir?’

‘Roger Pearce.’

‘I am Detective Sergeant Alan
Forbes. Do you feel up to answering some questions?’

‘I guess so. It’s been a
harrowing experience for us all.’

‘Mr Pearce, can you tell me what
happened here?’

Clearly distraught at having
witnessed cold-blooded murder, Pearce took a moment to compose himself before
relating the tragic events. As the man’s story unfolded the detective was
astonished at the sheer aggression by the perpetrators. He couldn’t understand
why so many innocent people were targeted. His line of questioning now focused
on the fate of Brigit O’Neill.

‘What was this girl’s name?’
Forbes asked.

‘Um ... Brigit. Yes, that’s it,
Brigit.’

‘Can you describe her?’

‘Around eighteen or so, five-four
in height with long blonde hair. She wore a sling on her left arm. Pretty young
thing she was, and to think these bastards have her in their custody. The poor
girl must be going through sheer hell,’ replied Pearce sadly.

‘Have you by any chance seen any
of the crew members?’

‘Oh ... I’d forgotten about them
with all that’s been happening, but to answer your question, no I haven’t.’

‘Thank you for your time, Mr
Pearce. I’ll be back to see you if need be. Everybody will be moved to portside
shortly to enable those waiting at the wharf to be reunited with family or
friends. We don’t want further people viewing the bodies on the starboard deck,
and besides, forensics will need to examine them first before they’re removed.’

‘Detective, I need my hand
attended to,’ the passenger informed him.

‘The paramedics will see to all
your needs in due course. They’re treating each person in turn, and when backup
arrives with more resources the waiting time will be reduced,’ concluded
Forbes.

~ * ~

Paul
Marsh had slipped back the latch to gain entry into the engine room. Upon
opening the door he could see two crewmen unharmed, sitting together on the
floor beside the might of a large and imposing machine. In a somewhat
aggressive mood, the two men approached the plainclothes officer demanding some
answers. He quickly explained who he was and told them of the drama that had
transpired during their detention. He then left the pair with instructions to
report to Forbes on starboard.

Anxious to establish the
whereabouts of the remaining crewmen, Marsh climbed the companion ladder en
route to the wheelhouse. Entering the bridge he saw three crewmembers nursing
their wounds and looking somewhat anxious at his arrival.