The Stalk Club (7 page)

“Yes boss?”

“Don’t fuck this up.”

As Superintendent Crighton left the crime scene, Nelson
pondered the pep talk he had been given.  He wasn’t sure if it was the after
effects of the beer he’d consumed earlier in the night, or if he was just plain
stupid, but the circumstances as to how and why he had been given the case
seemed unusual to say the least.  It was one of the few times he had ever seen Crighton
attend a crime scene, at least one where there were no television cameras for
him to spout mindless platitudes about how the good stats were up and the bad
stats were down and that the Homicide squad was making the streets of Sydney
safe.  He was confused as to why Crighton had handed he and Robards the case
and not waited for the LAC Detectives to run with it, at least initially, or even
why one of the on-call Homicide Squad detectives hadn’t been given the case. 
Nelson knew he had established a high clearance rate for the cases he had worked
on but there were other, more senior, more experienced members of the Homicide
squad who boasted similar or even better clearance rates.

He also cynically wondered if every family that had a
loved one murdered received a personal visit from a Superintendent, or if it
was just the important or politically connected ones.  Putting aside these
thoughts for the time being he cleared his mind and tried to focus on the job
at hand.  Regardless of the circumstances, it was his case now and he had to
run with it whether he liked it or not.  

He looked around the crime scene, making mental notes of
who was in attendance and what they were doing.  The two Newtown LAC Detectives
who had initially been called into the case were leaning against their car with
arms crossed, speaking to a couple of uniformed general duties Constables. 
Robards was still drilling the security guard and two
scene of the crime officers
,
or SOCOs, had commenced their analysis and collection of evidence from the
crime scene.

Nelson decided to start with the LAC Detectives and made
his way over to them.  He recalled that their names were Smythe and Bourne as
he had attended a training course with them a year ago.  Nelson was reasonable
at remembering names, but nearly flawless at remembering faces.  However, he wasn’t
sure if they would remember him because he knew from past experience that he
had one of those faces that didn’t seem to stick in people’s memories.  He
sometimes wondered if his natural calling would be as an agent working for
ASIO.  After introductions, which confirmed that neither of the LAC Detectives
could recall Nelson from their minds, Sergeant Smythe began to brief Nelson on
the case.

“The security guard discovered the body at around ten p.m. and called it in.”  Nelson removed his notebook and began to write rapidly in it. 
“Upon discovery that this looked like a homicide, the uniforms called the Duty
Officer from the Newtown Local Area Command who in turn called us.”

“What time did you get the call?”

“Around midnight,” said Smythe, looking to Bourne for
confirmation and receiving a tilt of his head.  “We checked the body for
identification and when we realised who we had here and that there were
possible organised crime connections, we put in a call to the Duty Officer of
the Gangs Squad.”

The Gangs Squad was similar in nature and function to the
Homicide Squad but focused primarily on addressing organised crime that was not
Middle Eastern related - which was handled by another squad.  Nelson realised
that it was a sensible move to have called the Gangs Squad, yet it only
increased his confusion as to how he had ultimately ended up with the case.

“What happened then?”

“They phoned us back within the hour saying they were
passing on the case and that we were welcome to it.  Half an hour later
Superintendent Crighton rolled into town with sirens blazing and said the
Homicide squad was going to run with the case from here.”

If Nelson was confused before he spoke to the LAC Detectives
he was completely non-plussed now.  In the four hours since the body had
been discovered, the case had seemingly passed through several sets of hands
and eventually ended up with him.

He decided to forge ahead regardless of the
circumstances.  It was all he could do for the time being and he knew he would
have to work fast to make the most of the fresh crime scene while it lasted.  He
thanked the LAC Detectives for their help and they beat a hasty retreat, eager
to return to the warmth of their station or homes, whichever the case, glad to
handball a murder investigation Nelson’s way and not add it to their already
burgeoning case load.

Nelson watched them depart and again surveyed the crime
scene.  In some small way he was thankful it was the middle of the night.  Because
of the hour, there were, as yet, no rubber-necking bystanders and no media
camped outside the perimeter that had been hastily erected.  Apart from the
police presence, the area was still deserted.  Nelson knew that despite it
being Saturday morning this was likely to change as soon as the daylight hours
arrived.  He estimated that they had three hours of relative peace to finish
the initial assessment of the crime scene.

He walked over to the two general duties Constables who
had been the first to arrive at the crime scene.  They stopped their chatting as
they saw him approach.  As Nelson worked at Police Headquarters in Parramatta they didn’t know him and appeared slightly wary as he approached. 

“Morning fellas, nothing like nightshift hey?”  The
uniforms nodded and smiled in agreement at the ice breaker.  “Right, let’s get
to work,” he said, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to ward off numbness. 
“Firstly, I want the perimeter moved back another fifty metres so that the
SOCOs have plenty of room to work in.  And secondly, I want you to call two more
uniforms down here asap to help us with the search for evidence in the
surrounding streets and parkland.  We’ve got three hours until this place
becomes a zoo so let’s get moving.  Look for anything out of place like
clothing, bloodstains, rubbish and of course, weapons.  If there are any people
about, I want to know if they saw anything.  I know it’s cold out tonight but don’t
rush anything and don’t miss anything.  This is the most important part of the
investigation, ok?”  The two uniforms nodded.  “If you’re in doubt about
something, get one of the SOCOs to give you a hand and I know I probably don’t
have to tell you, but keep your hands off their crime scene until they give the
all clear.”

“What happens with the body?” asked the shorter of the
two Constables, nodding towards the car.  Nelson looked at him, noted his
youthful, freckled face and wondered if he had ever been involved in a homicide
investigation before.

“The body snatchers will be here soon.  They’ll take it
to the morgue for an autopsy.

“Oh, ok.”

“Also, one more thing.  When the media turns up I don’t
want anyone talking to them.  Superintendent Crighton will cut your nuts off with
a blunt, rusty spoon if he finds out that anyone has spoken to them.
Understood?”

“Yes Sarge,” came the unified response.

Although Nelson gave the warning, he knew the media would
be all over the case long before Crighton made his precious media release.  Already
the news that Emilio Fogliani had been murdered would be being whispered
throughout the force and he also knew that too many police officers had close
relationships with journalists for it to be kept a secret for long.  Nelson
would be surprised if it wasn’t all over the seven a.m. news bulletins.

He left the uniforms to organise their reinforcements and
made his way to Emilio Fogliani’s car which was parked in a driveway beside what
appeared to be a small warehouse.  A forensics team of two had been on the job
for about an hour already and were painstakingly collecting and cataloguing
evidence from the body, the car and the area immediately surrounding the car.  

“Morning Mike.  Good to see you again.  What’ve you got
for me?”

“Morning Nelson,” came the reply.  Mike Martinez was a short,
round, 25 year veteran of the New South Wales Police Force and despite not
having advanced beyond the rank of Senior Constable was well respected as a
crime scene examiner because he knew his stuff and was meticulous and thorough
in his processing of crime scenes.  He wore a full protection suit and goggles
which left only his mouth and nose exposed and gave him the appearance of
something akin to a spaceman.

“We’ve got a white male approximately sixty years of age who
has been shot three times from fairly close range.  About two metres I’d say,
but don’t quote me, yet.  Two of the bullet wounds were to the chest and one to
the head.”  Nelson made vigorous notes, trying to capture as much of the
information as he could.  He knew he’d receive a full report later in the day
but liked to take his own notes anyway.  He saved his questions until the end,
allowing Martinez to finish his briefing without interrupting.

“
We found three, nine
millimetre cartridges on the ground beside the car.  From the amount of rigor
that’s present in the body I would estimate that we’re looking at a time of
death between eight and ten p.m. last night.  The body snatchers are on their
way to take it to the morgue for a post mort.  You’ll get the details then. “

“Is the medical examiner coming down?”

“I gave him a call and explained the situation.  He said
he was comfortable with leaving it to us and will check it out in the morning.”

“In other words he didn’t want to get his arse out of bed
and come down here in the middle of the night?”

Martinez
smiled.  “Yeah something
like that.”

“And what about the car?” said Nelson, continuing to jot down
notes on a small pad.

“It’s a brand new X-5 BMW.  Nice.  We’ve only just
started to process it, although one of the bullets that penetrated his chest
appears to have passed through the deceased’s body and is probably lodged in
the lining of the seat somewhere.  The other two slugs appear to still be in
the body cavity.  A flat-bed is on the way to take the car back to the garage
where we’ll continue to work on it.”

“Alright, I don’t need to tell you that I want a rush put
on this one.  Crighton wants a briefing at nine a.m. so call me on the mobile
as soon as you’ve got any new information, and I mean anything.”

“Sure thing Nelson.  Nothing like a Superintendent riding
your arse to get the wheels turning hey?” 

“Yeah, tell me about.  I was supposed to be on three days
leave, but instead I’m down here in the middle of the night, talking to you, no
offence.”

“None taken.  I wouldn’t want to be talking to me either.” 

“I want to get started on a search of the surrounding
area as soon as we get some reinforcements.  Can one of you guys stay here
until we’ve finished, just in case we find something?   I don’t want this being
stuffed up.”

“No problem.  You can have McAuley for as long as you
want.”  Hearing his name mentioned Constable McAuley looked up from his work
and nodded to Nelson. 

Martinez
continued, “I’ll head back to
the lab when the body goes and make sure things start to happen quickly.”

“Thanks Mike.  Appreciate it.”

Nelson left the SOCOs to finish their work and turned to Robards
who had finished speaking with the security guard and had been listening quietly
to Nelson speak with Mike Martinez.  Nelson looked at the security guard, who
was now disconsolately leaning up against his car with his arms crossed.

“Hey Pete.  Glad you could make it.  Hope my call didn’t
interrupt anything.”

Robards smiled briefly.  “Na.”

Nelson made a mental note to quiz Robards later about his
nocturnal adventures.

“What did you get from the security kid?”

“He said he discovered the body on his rounds at about ten
p.m. and then phoned it in.  He claims not to have seen anything or heard
anything else.”

“How long in between rounds?”

“Two hours.”

“That’s not very often.”

“No.  He said there aren’t many break-ins around here
because most of the places have decent security systems.  Plenty of easier
targets he reckons.”

“Fair enough.  So Fogliani was murdered between eight and
ten.  That fits with what Mike thought.  What’s his name?”

“Ben Pounder.  He’s twenty-one, goes to Sydney University
and does this a few nights a week to make ends meet.”

Upon hearing his name, the security guard sauntered over
to Nelson and Robards.  Nelson noted he had a bit of size on him and would be a
reasonable proposition with the baton that was clipped to his belt. 

“Can I go now?  My shift ended an hour ago so I’m not
getting paid for this.” 

“You got his details Pete?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure you can go Ben,” said Nelson.  “We’ll be in touch
if we need anything else.” 

Nelson watched as the security guard drove away in a Suzuki
Sierra that was emblazoned with cheap looking security stickers and a couple of
flashing lights attached to its roof rack.