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A headache woke me up. My entire face throbbed, and my forehead felt as if it had shrunk an inch in diameter. I sat up, but immediately lay back down as sharp stabbing pains drilled into my forehead and white dots danced before my eyes. When the pain finally subsided, I managed to get up and dig out two painkillers from my bag. I washed them down with some water from the bathroom tap, and cringed at the water’s metallic, earthy quality. In the dawn light, I stared at my bruised face in the mirror. My eyes were engorged, and the bandage plastered across my face screamed, ‘I’m into domestic violence.’
My last meeting with Amanda at her workplace had been perfunctory, at best. She knew more than she’d let on. So I took two bottles of water from the fridge, made my way down to the ute, and slowly and carefully drove a kilometre southwest to the address on Henry Street that George had given me.
Her home sat amongst a small housing commission area, where all the dwellings were unkempt, single-storey, fibro affairs from the 1950s, with plastic trikes, soccer balls, and various other detritus littering the front lawns. I found Amanda’s house, noting a Ford ute in the driveway. I went around the block and parked at a spot five houses away. It offered a good vantage point, so I got comfortable and waited.
I sipped the water over two hours, until finally the Ford backed out of the driveway.
I followed.
The ute turned onto the Princes Highway and headed north. I made sure to stay at least three cars behind. Tailing a car is hard. It takes a robust driver to study a car while anticipating traffic lights and avoiding sporadic drivers.
We drove through Nowra, and the ute pulled off the highway into a sweeping side street. I followed it into a car park for the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, where it parked at the far end, and made sure to park three rows back.
I watched as Amanda emerged from the car. She wore a pink sloppy joe, faded skin-tight jeans, and thongs—hardly appropriate for the sophisticated offices of Nicholson & Law. She crossed to a shaded area, and Michael Le Mat appeared from another car dressed in a black Adidas tracksuit. They hugged and then kissed passionately.
I witnessed a none-too-subtle exchange of items and snapped some photos as quick as my phone would let me. I assumed this must be an early morning kick-starter before she clocked on.
They kissed again, then Michael ambled out of the car park as Amanda shuffled back to her car.
I got out and hustled towards her, aiming to head her off, and called out her name.
Upon spotting me, she quickened her pace.
I ran to intercept her, held up my phone, and showed her one of the photos I’d just taken. ‘You’re going to answer some questions, or I’ll report you for supplying methamphetamine to the Shoalhaven LAC.’
She crossed her arms and looked me up and down. Yesterday, she appeared relatively okay, young and, if not vibrant, somewhat healthy. Today, her face showed lines around the mouth and eyes, and her skin appeared pale, almost transparent. Clearly, the drugs were taking their toll.
To break the stalemate, I decided to take a punt. ‘I’m sure the police would be very interested in that meth lab on Henry Street.’
She baulked. ‘How the fuck do you know where I live?’
So much for airs and graces. Meet the real Amanda in all her glory.
‘I can’t share my sources, just as I won’t share what you tell me today. Look, I’m not here to bust you or bring the cops down on you. Not today.’
She scoffed and kept her eyes on mine.
‘I want to talk to you about Rob. Okay? Just five minutes.’
‘What are you, a fucking idiot? I told you I don’t know a fucking thing.’
‘Was it a deal gone wrong? Was it retribution? Did he rip someone off?’
She took out a packet of cigarettes and pulled one out, then dug into her other pocket and withdrew a lighter. In one swift motion, she’d lit it, taken two rapid puffs, and shunted the lighter back into her pocket.
I would have been impressed by the manoeuvre if I didn’t detest cigarettes.
‘You want to know who was hassling him?’ she said. ‘You want to fucking know who the real cunts around here are? It’s not the fucking Vietnamese or the fucking Lebanese or the fucking Chinese. It’s the fucking cops.’
The last bastion of blame for the criminally minded... always blame the cops.
She took two more quick puffs and hissed the smoke out through her teeth. She appeared to be particularly jittery, maybe experiencing some sort of withdrawal.
She stabbed the cigarette in my direction. ‘D’you know what those arseholes did? They hounded Rob every day, twenty-four seven. When Rob went to work, they were there. When he came home, they were there. Rob couldn’t take a shit without one of them arseholes sticking his fucking head up out the bowl.’
She took three rapid puffs and exhaled furiously. ‘There are a lot of things you don’t know about them.’
‘Like?’
‘It’s just stuff that goes through your head when you go to bed, you know? Rob’s Dad’s business was going to be left to the next beneficiary, and if Rob’s out of the picture....’
‘You’re insinuating George killed Rob?’
‘It’s just a thought I had one night, after they found Rob. He owed George money, so that might have been a way to get rid of the problem. You know, make sure Rob didn’t get the old man’s business.’
‘Is that what Michael told you?’
‘What d’you mean?’
I looked at her—thin and addicted, hopeless and without a clue—and held up my phone. ‘Your friend... what’s his story?’
‘He’s got nothing to do with this.’
‘I think he does, and the police have him down as the main person of interest in Rob’s murder.’
She froze at that.
‘And he was mates with Rob,’ I continued. ‘And you two have been seen together in, shall we say, romantic situations. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s going on, Amanda.’
I paused to give her time to consider her options. ‘I think the police would be very interested to talk to him. They seem to have some evidence against him.’
‘Why are you so fucking interested, anyway?’
‘I’m Rob’s cousin.’
‘He never mentioned you.’
‘We weren’t close.’
‘No shit.’
The verbal volleying got to me, and I snapped. ‘Do you want to see Michael locked up? Because that’s the way it’s going to go as soon as the police spot him.’
Her face dropped, and something changed in her. ‘Please don’t hurt him. I love him.’
Jesus, what a piece of work.
Maybe she was the insecure type. Maybe she needed a strong alpha male to steer her along, to tell her how hot she looked when she was high.
I nodded as if in sympathy. ‘Was Michael jealous of Rob? Did he kill Rob for you?’
She looked away, and the wind teased the strands of hair around her ear. She shifted her weight from side to side, and when she looked back at me, her eyes worked left to right. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and started chewing the nail.
Finally, she said, ‘I wasn’t going behind Rob’s back, okay? I’ve known Michael for years. He used to come over. I could talk to Michael. He was like a second brother to Rob. When Rob and I called it a day, it was another six months before I hooked up with Michael. Rob didn’t like it, and it might’ve caused some bad blood between them, but Michael didn’t kill Rob. If anything, it’d be the other way around.’
‘Do you think there’s a very good possibility that Rob did attack Michael, initially? Is it possible that the tables turned on Michael?’
She gnawed furiously on her thumbnail. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Did Michael say anything to you?’
‘No.’
‘Amanda, what it comes down to is this. I have motives for both you and Michael. Either you wanted Rob out of the way and you had Michael take care of it, or Michael wanted Rob out of the way because of his feelings towards you. Either way, you’re the meat in the sandwich.’
I let the words hang, and saw the effect.
Amanda twitched, gnawed her thumbnail, and sucked her cigarette.
‘I want to talk to Michael today,’ I said.
‘You can’t. He’s on his way to Sydney. So, can I go now?’
I perceived a sad determinism in her eyes, so I stepped aside and let her climb in her car. When she started the engine, I bent down and pressed my phone screen against her window. ‘You tell anyone about our talk, Amanda, and I share these.’
She fumbled with the gearstick until she found first, then pulled away without looking back.
