The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (19 page)

Harry was looking forward to some pig hunting.    He went into his bedroom and changed into some old jeans and a thick cotton shirt.   The sleep had given him more energy and he felt revived. Pig hunting really got your adrenalin pumping.   The dogs would find the pigs and grab them waiting for Harry to get close enough for a shot. 

              The night air felt good.  Harry drove up the pa and through the top gate into Audrey’s property.  His lights lit up the forest.  He turned them off and slowed down as he reached the new garden plot.   He climbed off the bike and let the dogs go.  It wasn’t long before he could hear squealing and barking.  He ran expertly through the forest and caught up with the dogs.  They had caught a big one and had it held by the ears.  Harry took aim and shot it right between the eyes. It fell to the ground instantly.    He cut its throat, pulled it downhill towards his bike and, with all his might, he lifted it onto the front grill.   The dogs took off again and he followed them. They had another one. His aim was perfect.  He dragged the second pig down the hill to the dirt track. He would need to come back for this one.   The dogs were excited.  They liked pig hunting as much as he did.    Harry and the dogs headed back to the farm.   He would return later for the other pig.  He still needed to feed all the dogs and put these two in their kennels.

C H A P T E R   7 2

              Audrey parked her car in a side road in the shadows and walked through the back of the petrol station to the police station.  She had dressed in her masculine disguise hiding her hat in a woolen hat and had pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt.  She wore gumboots which were non-gender and worn by most of the locals.  If anyone saw her they definitely wouldn’t recognize her.                She let herself in the through the back laundry door. No one ever locked his or her back doors in Kaeo. Everybody mistakenly thought it a safe area.   It used to be but times were changing in the small town.   She turned on her headlight and walked from room to room.  They had unpacked almost everything.  She had to find somewhere that was obviously his wife’s but he had regular access to it.  She didn’t have too long they would be back from dinner soon. 

              Then she saw the perfect place.  His police jacket was hanging on the hook by the back door. He had quickly hung it over his wife’s winter jacket.  She carefully placed the small plastic bag with the illegal contents and the electric bill in between both jackets.  When he removed his jacket the bag would fall to the ground.   Leaving unanswered questions and an address to call on.

              Audrey made it back to the chalets in time to hear the first shot.   Her anger hadn’t subsided but rather escalated during the last couple of hours.  She poured herself another wine.    She sat outside on the patio in the darkness listening to Harry and the dogs.  She heard a second shot.  He had got both pigs.   A short time later she heard him drive back across the top of the hill towards his farm.   She walked up the hill to where the dead boar lay on the track.  He was huge.  There was blood dripping out of his mouth.  “You are an ugly one,” said Audrey as she looked down at the gruesome site.  She turned and walked back down to her suite to wait for the sound of Harry’s bike returning.

              She felt a certain sense of satisfaction knowing Constable Driver and his family would be returning from their happy family dinner.   She knew he would not be reaching for his jacket this evening.  Tomorrow morning would be just fine.  She needed to divert his focus away from her and to where it should belong. 

              He was back.  She had changed into her sexiest jeans tucked now into her gumboots. She made her way back up the hill and met him by the dead boar. 

              “I heard the shots,” said Audrey.  “Wonderful. Thanks so much.  It was really quite scary having them so close to the chalets.  Let me offer you a drink to say thank you” she said sweetly.

              “I’m sorry I couldn’t get the time to come to dinner,” he said.

              “Oh don’t even think about it.  You poor man, you must be so busy running the farm all by yourself” she said  “I do have a wonderful apple sponge hot and in the oven.  Come on down.  That pig is not going anywhere.” And before he could say no she had turned and headed back down the hill.     She was pleased she hadn’t thrown away the apple sponge.  It was perfect bait for any man.  All men loved their Mother’s cooking and home cooked apple sponge was any son’s favorite.

              They sat outside on the patio. It was a warm evening.  She lit a candle and placed it in the center of the table.  There was no breeze and the flame flickered softly providing a romantic ambiance to their surroundings. 

She opened a bottle of her favorite Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc and passed a glass to Harry.              

“Thanks” he said noncommittally. 

She brought out two bowls of the pudding “Would you like some cream on yours?” she asked softly. 

              “Yes, please” he said. 

She handed him the cream jug and they sat in silence enjoying the warm pudding.

              Audrey looked at the man sitting in front of her.  Maybe she had been too quick to jump to conclusions.  Before she poured his second glass of wine she would give him a second chance.   He finished his desert and lit up a smoke.    

              “Nice night” he said trying desperately to make conversation.  

              Audrey asked him “So are you seeing anyone?” 

              “What do you mean?” he said 

              “Do you have a girlfriend?” she explained.  

              “Oh no. I don’t have much time for that” he looked a little put off by such a direct question. 

              “Yes it is hard dating again after you go through a divorce,” she said.   “It took me quite a while before I could even think about being with another man.” 

              Harry looked awkward and changed the subject “Did the cops find anything during their search today” he enquired. 

              “I have no idea. They were gone when I got back.

Though obviously not, or Constable Driver would have telephoned me.”

              “What were the two guys like ” Harry asked.

              “Just nice, ordinary guys” said Audrey.  “Nothing special. You know, fishing and golfing types.” She tried to bring the conversation back to them. “So what do you do for fun?” she asked. 

              “Oh you know, pig hunting mostly. My farm keeps me pretty busy.” He said.                

Audrey tried again “I hear they have dancing down at the waterfront some Saturday nights. Do you like to dance?” 

              “Nah.  Never danced much” he replied.   He stood up ready to go “Well thanks for the apple sponge. It was great. I’ve gotta go. Still have to take the pig back and I have to get up early in the morning.  Thanks Audrey.” 

              He didn’t want her.  She could tell.  He couldn’t wait to get away.  It was now or never. “Please stay for another glass of wine,” she said. “ I could really do with the company. All this has been so stressful on me. Just one more glass” she pleated. 

              “Sorry Audrey,  “I really have to get going”. 

              Audrey remained seated at the table and watched as he took large strides up the grassy bank to his quad bike.  She heard him lift the last remaining pig onto the bike and drive away into the darkness.  

              “He is not going anywhere,” she muttered “there is plenty of time. ” Her day has started with such high expectations and now she was left to clear away the remnants of the night’s disappointments. 

C H A P T E R   7 3

              Monday morning and the boys were still not dressed for school.  Maria had decided to drop the boys off and then head off down to Kerikeri. She wanted to enroll them into one of the schools there.  She had heard the Kerikeri School had a good reputation and she needed to organize their transfer.  She had made porridge for breakfast with brown sugar and cream.  The boys loved that.  Her husband liked it too.  She was coping a lot better now she had her supply of weed.  She had to be so careful not to smoke it around Dennis.   She would go out behind the house to an empty paddock and take a few puffs whenever she got a chance.    

              Her husband sat at the table and joined them all for breakfast.  They liked to eat breakfast together.  Often it was the only meal they shared all day.   Driver looked at his watch.  Seven thirty all ready. He must call Carl, the local digger driver, and get him up to Audrey’s garden site and start digging.  He kissed his wife goodbye and headed towards the front door.  He swooped up his jacket and something fell to the floor.  He bent down to pick it up.  It took him a moment to figure out what it was.  He opened the little plastic bag and, sure enough, it was weed.  He looked on the floor and saw that a piece of paper had fallen down with it.  He looked at it closely.   It was a bill of some kind addressed to Hemi Heke, 396 Old Hospital Road, Kaeo. 

              “Hey Maria,” he called to his wife “Come here”

              Maria walked around the corner and saw her husband holding a small bag and a small torn piece of paper in his hand.  She knew what it was immediately. But it was not hers. She had kept hers hidden in a sock in her bottom drawer. 

              “What is it?” she asked.

              “It’s weed,” said Driver.  It fell out of your coat. 

              “No way” she said. “It is not mine. See it has an address on it.” And then she gasped.  It was the name of her supplier. Shit!  He would kill her if her husband arrived on his doorstep.  It wouldn’t take long for him to work out it was her who brought this on him.  

              “What do you know about this?” he asked looking at her straight in the eyes.   She didn’t waver. 

“Someone must have put it there” she explained. “I have no idea.”  

              Driver put the weed and the paper in his pocket and headed out the door. He didn’t even stop to check messages at the station.   He got straight into his car and headed out to old Hospital Road.  

              When he arrived at the address on the note he noticed the Dolly and Bruce’s yellow letterbox was on the gate.  At least it was a letterbox like Dolly had described to him, a yellow little house with a painted red roof.    He saw a motorbike parked in the driveway and a truck.  He had radioed in the name and address on the way and he was told Hemi Heke was a Black Power Gang member and had been suspected of dealing drugs in the past.

He decided to get back up and radioed to the Kerikeri station.  Driver was pissed off.  If this guy supplied his wife with weed he was going down. There was nothing like a drug bust to get your adrenalin pumping.  He parked further up the road where he could keep a watch.  It was still early He doubted if anyone would be up and about this early.  He waited for the others to arrive. It was a good half hour drive.

              He needed a good arrest on his record.  Auckland was already questioning their decision to send him to Kaeo.   He had two men missing.  One obviously dead the other missing and no arrests or even suspects brought in for questioning.   He needed this bust.

              As Driver sat and waiting in his car his thoughts went back to Maria’s expression when she saw the address on the paper.  She knew something.  He just knew it.  She must be taking dope again?  She used to take it when they first met.  In fact, they both used to smoke it now and then.  Once Driver joined the police force, all that was over. He has suspected she was still doing it.  He really didn’t want to know, so he never asked. He hoped this incident would scare the living daylights out of her.  He could lose his job if his wife is keeping dope in their house.  It had to stop. 

He saw them arrive. They parked behind him and together they stormed the house.

C H A P T E R   7 4

              Audrey had spent a restless night and awoke late morning.  Last night she just couldn’t get to sleep and when she finally did she kept dreaming about Harry.    Why was he in such a hurry to leave last night?  Why wouldn’t he stay awhile? Audrey had wanted to share a hot tub with him. Get close to him.  Well, Fuck him! She thought.    It was Monday and she didn’t feel like going anywhere or talking to anyone.   She would keep the curtains drawn and watch movies all day.   Maybe later she would go for a drive and see if the little gift she left the constable was appreciated.  

              Still in her dressing gown, Audrey climbed the hill to the new garden plot. The plants were doing well.  She dragged over the garden hose and gave everything a good watering.  There were drag marks over the track where Harry had dragged the pigs last night.  She could see drops of blood still left on the ground.   Audrey may not have graduated high school but she certainly wasn’t stupid.   She had obviously outsmarted the police and their dogs.

              At noon she made herself a nice cup of tea and sat down to watch a little telly. There was a news flash.  A police helicopter was circling over a house in Kaeo not far from the Community Hospital. The reporter announced,  “A black power gang member had been arrested and is being charged with drug possession and murder.  The police had found articles belonging to both missing men on his premises along with a large supply of marijuana and methamphetamine.   He was being held without bail.  We will keep on top of the story and report updates as they are received.”