The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (13 page)

Audrey had to think to where she might move the car.  She could ride her bike down and put it in the back of the car so she could bike back.  Of course, she could just leave it there the police would eventually check it out and have it towed if the neighbors complained.  The car was always the bloody problem.  It was easy to get rid of the body. The car was always more difficult.   Then she remembered the cliff off Radar Hill.  People dumped cars and trash over the cliff.  No one would find it there.  It was a few miles away but it was all down hill on the return trip and she could ride her bike.  The road had been tar sealed now which would make the trip much easier.  She wished she had thought of that before.   Oh well. 

Audrey donned her gumboots and headed up the hill towards the pigpen.  It was a steep climb but she was extremely fit.  Years of weed whacking the hills, cleaning the suites and gardening acres of tropical plants had made her fitter than she had been for years.   She couldn’t understand why she wasn’t slender and thin. Instead all the exercise just made her bigger and more muscular and less feminine. 

As she came closer to the pen she noticed the pigs had been rooting around the area.  Pigs make a mess digging up the ground looking for roots to eat.  Farmers hated the mess they made of their fields.   She got close to the pen and the scene was horribly gruesome.  Audrey gasped as she saw pieces of Campbell ripped apart.   She turned away and decided to go back at sundown.  By then the pigs should have cleaned the mess away.  She headed off down the hill and when she reached the path above the Chalets she saw Constable Driver standing outside her suite.   She wondered if he had seen her.  She stood still and waited.  She watched him walk around the courtyard then he got back into his car and headed down the driveway.   Audrey let out a large sigh of relief.  She didn’t feel like talking to anyone today.   In fact she would not answer her door.  She would pull the blinds and go back to bed and get a few more hours sleep.

C H A P T E R   5 3

“Her car is here. Where the hell is she?” muttered Constable Driver as he wandered around the courtyard on the lower level of the Chalets.   He walked over to Suite C. There was no car and the curtains were open.  He looked inside.   No sign of anyone staying there.  He guessed the guest must have checked out. 

He walked out onto the deck and looked down at the road.   He looked where he had parked his car last night.   He saw Smithy out walking his dog.   Smithy looked up and saw Driver.  They gave each other a quick wave.   He watched as they past the ditch site.  His dog wanted to rummage around in the ditch but Smithy called him away and they continued down the road.  Driver walked over to Audrey’s unit again and knocked on the door.   No answer.  He could see inside through the gap in the curtains.  Looked as though she wasn’t home.  He wondered if she was upstairs and climbed the steps to the top level. 

Nice deck, he thought as he walked across the large deck area to the double glass doors of Suite A.  He looked through the door and saw a wood paneled kitchen with thick wood counter tops and tall wooden bar stools.   A beautiful kauri table sat in the center of the dining room.  “Phew” whistled Driver.  “Pretty nice inside.” 

There was no car parked on the upper level and it was obvious the unit was not rented.  He remembered there were no lights on there last night.    He admired the gardens as he walked back to the lower suite and to his car.   He would just have to come back later in the day.  He had some more questions for Audrey.  He was also going to get a search warrant to search the whole property including the valley and the forest and wanted her to know there would be a team of police on the property tomorrow.  

Driver drove down to Whangaroa to where the truck had gone into the harbor.  There had been no skid marks.  It would appear the truck had driven straight into the water.   Who had been driving the truck?  That was the question that kept on going around and around in his mind.  If wild animals ravaged his body as he was walking back to the chalets, then someone else had driven his truck into the harbor, but why?  

As he drove back to the pub from the jetty he noticed a black 4runner parked by the dock area.  Four or five other cars were also parked in the same area.  But Driver noticed the 4runner because it was so immaculate and clean which was unusual for vehicles in the rural far north. Locals never washed their cars. Dusty gravel roads created the dirt and heavy rain washed it away for free.   Driver thought the car must belong to a city guy. Most likely out on a charter for the day. Wouldn’t mind taking a day trip myself one day. May even take the boys out.   He continued on past the pub, past the little dairy and back towards Kaeo.

C H A P T E R   5 4

              Pearl parked behind Audrey’s trailer.  She had trouble walking up the gravel driveway in her heeled sandals having dressed for the occasion.  Purple was her favorite color as personified in her flowing purple skirt, pink and purple sequined blouse and matching purple sandals.   She kept her thick black hair tied up in a twisted braid and chosen her gold loop earrings to set off the outfit. Pearl dressed with flair and flavor.

              As she approached Audrey’s suite she noticed the curtains were pulled. Her car was parked in the driveway so she presumed she was at home.   There were no other cars so she supposed the guests were either out for the day or had checked out.  She knocked quietly on the door in case Audrey was taking a rest.  There was no answer. She was disappointed. She was looking forward to a nice sit down and a chat.  

              She had seen the police car turn up Wainui Road earlier and wondered if Constable Driver had called at the Suites.    She was curious to hear what was going on.  She knocked again a little louder.  She dared to walk around the unit and peek in the upstairs bedroom.  The concrete driveway circled around the back of the house and up to Suite A on the upper level.  As Pearl walked passed the bedroom window she noticed there was a small gap between the natural linen curtains. She could see Audrey lying in bed obviously fast asleep.   I wonder why she is sleeping in the middle of the day? Pearl wished she could sleep like that.  Four or five hours a night was often all she could get.   She realized she was holding the plate of Afghan Biscuits and decided to just leave them on Audrey’s outside patio table. She wrote a note “
Sorry I missed you.  Enjoy.   Pearl.
”
 
It would be an excuse to call her later.

              As Pearl drove down the driveway she saw Smithy and his dog heading up his driveway on their way home.    Pearl waved at them and followed them up to his house.

“Would you like a cuppa?” asked Smithy as he tied his dog up by his kennel.

“I brought you some Afghan biscuits,” said Pearl getting them out of the back of her car. She followed him through the dark rooms of the ancient bungalow.   It was remarkably tidy for a man who appeared to have no personal hygiene habits.   He put on the kettle and she found two cups and put them on the table.    Together the couple sat and sipped.  Pearl didn’t like silences and felt she had to fill gaps in conversations.  She chatted in her happy, sing song voice.  “So what do you think about the goings on?” she asked Smithy who was already on his third biscuit. 

              “Looks like foul play to me” said Smithy.  “Something’s going on and it’s not good.” 

              “I agree,” said Pearl.  “Do you think it was Dolly and Bruce?” she asked.               

“Dunno” said Smithy. “All I know is the man’s bones were four miles from where his car ended up in the drink.   Four miles, even in a flood, can’t be explained.  I don’t know any pig or any dog that would drag bones that far across swampy land.   He must have died somewhere around here.”    

              Pearl sat forward on her chair and stared him in the eyes. “I have been thinking. Maybe he was on a suicide mission and decided to dump his car and then walk into the bush and shoot himself.   The wild pigs could have gotten to him,” she said.  

              “Then why didn’t he simply shoot himself in the car when it was going into the harbor?” said Smithy. “No. Too complicated. He was murdered. That’s what I think.  And the murderer dumped his car.”  

              “I agree,” said Pearl realizing Smithy must have had nothing to do with it.   “ And I think I know who did it.”  

              “Who?” He asked.

              “I’ll let you know when I can prove it, she said as she stood to go.  “I need to do some digging first.”

              Pearl left Smithy’s and headed off to Dolly and Bruce’s caravan with her last plate of afghan biscuits.  She made the best ones - decorated in rich chocolate icing with a walnut on top.  She passed the Armstrong farm on the way.   She saw Harry Armstrong out on his quad bike.  Nice looking fellow, she thought.  She knew he was recently separated from his wife of twenty-four years.   She felt sorry for him.  

              It was a lonely life on a farm without family.   She had to stop while he was moving cattle across the road to a fresh paddock. He waved at her.  She waved back.  “Nice weather” she called out to him.               

“Hope it holds out” he called back. “The paddocks are still too wet from the flood”. 

              As she sat waiting for the last animal to cross the road she thought about how much she missed the farming life.  Her parents were both farmers and she grew up loving the farming life.    She should have stayed on the farm. “Too late now” she sighed as she drove on up the road to her next possible perpetrator of the crime.

C H A P T E R   5 5

              Dolly and Bruce were both sitting outside their caravan in a couple of old deck chairs surrounded by thick matted grass and gorse.  They were not into gardening. Didn’t own a lawnmower or tools.  They were enjoying a smoke and sipping a beer in the warm sun.  The ground was still a bit soggy from the rain and the caravan had leaked during the storm. They had the windows and door open trying to dry it out.  All the bedding, including the old mattress, was spread over the makeshift fence to dry.   Not a pretty sight but they lived pretty much in isolation and there were no neighbors to take offence.   Tourists driving past on their way over Radar Hill to Matauri Bay would sometimes stop and ask directions if they were out and about.  But mostly no one bothered them or cared about them. 

              Bruce was still upset that someone would steal his letterbox.  He had taken it from the dump a year ago.  He liked it.  It was a little yellow house with a door and he had nailed it to a fence post.  He had even painted a makeshift number on the front.  They never got any mail but it was a present for Dolly who felt if they had a letterbox they had a home.   Now it was gone.  

              They looked up and saw the tall dark haired lady from the corner cottage down by Whangaroa Harbor pulling off the road. “Shit” he said.  Looks like she is coming here” Bruce didn’t encourage visitors.  “Gidday” he called out to Pearl as she lifted her long skirt over the muddy walkway.

              Pearl called back “Just popped by to check if you guys are OK and brought you some biscuits.”   

              Bruce noticed she was carrying a plate covered in plastic wrap.

              “How nice” said Dolly who had been dosing happily in the sun and now felt disturbed by the intrusion.  “It must be time for a cuppa tea,” she said as she stood to go inside the Caravan.  

              Pearl was left standing there holding the plate so decided to follow her inside. The caravan was a nightmare. It smelled damp with rotting wood and puddled floors. Water was still dripping down the walls.   Dolly was not a good- looking woman.  Years of hard drugs and alcohol had taken their toll on her.  She was gaunt and grey.  As Dolly boiled the kettle and found three reasonably clean cups from the sink and a sticky sugar bowl from a nearby shelf she asked Pearl, “Whatcha here for? No one comes visiting around here unless they want sumphin.” 

              “I was just down talking to Smithy about the bones they found in the ditch opposite his place. He mentioned the cops have been searching properties around the area and have been up here looking around.” Pearl was feeling a little intimidated by Dolly’s abrupt attitude.  

              “Yeah, they came around and took a look but there was nothing to find here” she said. “I bet it was that crazy bitch, Audrey.  There is something not right with her. I saw her poking around here the other night.”

              “Pearl looked at her as though she was completely nuts. “Audrey?” she said.  “Why do you think it was her?”  

              “She has become all protective about who goes on her property.  My Brucey likes to go pig hunting up on the pa behind her chalets.   A couple of months ago, Audrey shooed him off and said it was private property and he had no right being there.   She looked like the devil was in her.  Screaming and all. Brucey said she is a crazy woman.  I wouldn’t wanna be a guest at her place.”  

              Pearl couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  Audrey? Crazy?  No way.  Dolly and Bruce were the crazy ones.  They walked outside to join Bruce in the sun. Dolly grabbed an old wood crate for Pearl to sit on.

“Brucey, tell Pearl about when you went pig hunting up at the fancy Chalets.” 

              “Yeah.  The woman is off her rocker.   We have been pig hunting up in those hills for years.  She came out of nowhere waving her arms and telling us to get off her property or she would call the police.  She said she didn’t want the local riff raff running around her business with guns.   We thought were doing her a favor getting rid of the pig, but, she wouldn’t hear of it.”