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Some time passed before we each caught our breath.
Annette played with my damp chest hair. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’m still putting things together up here.’ I tapped my head. ‘Sometimes I want it to stop, but it’s like a spinning wheel—round and round and round. I think I got the prick who killed George last night, but I don’t know if he killed Rob or has any connection to him. I don’t even know what connection he has to George.’ I indicated my face. ‘There were two men at the warehouse when this happened. I have to find the other prick, too.’
She kissed me, and it hurt my nose but I didn’t care.
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself,’ she said. ‘I know it’s not what you want right now, and it’s not a complete victory, but it’s still a victory. I know your cousins have been killed, and it’s been horrible, but you got this guy. Even though you know two guys are involved, you got one of the bastards. And you risked your life doing it.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did. There’s no way in hell I could’ve done what you did.’
‘I was only talking to George two days ago. I found his body in a garage last night.’ The image wouldn’t leave my mind.
Annette rubbed my shoulder. ‘I have to get going. Will you be around this weekend?’
‘I honestly don’t know. I have to provide a statement to the police sometime today, if they don’t show up beating down my door in the meantime.’ I reached for her hand. ‘I’d like to stay in touch.’
She smiled. ‘Me too.’ She hugged me and climbed out of bed.
I admired her perfect legs and her carriage. When the shower started, I suddenly remembered I was supposed to meet Philip and Michael Le Mat last night. I sent Phil a text apologising, and arranged another time to meet.
Philip: I’m very pissed off at you. You’re not a man of your word.
Me: I’ll meet you tonight and keep the promise.
Philip: Mothmans at 6 PM.
I waited until Annette finish showering and reappeared in a halo of steam before I stepped into the bathroom. I peeled off the dressing over my nose and started the shower. The bruising looked worse. I had to keep the shower lukewarm to stop the intense stinging in my shoulders. I got out, applied a fresh dressing over my face, and stepped back into the main room.
Annette furiously opened and closed the drawers in the walk-in wardrobe. ‘Does this shithole have a hairdryer?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Fuck!’ She sat on the bed and shoved her shoes on. Strands of wet hair fell around her face. ‘I’ll be off then.’
‘I can park things for a while... if you want to do something today?’
She got up and collected her handbag from the side of the bed. ‘I remembered I’ve got a security job.’ She kissed me on the cheek and left.
The waft of her perfume hit me a few seconds later, as I sat on the bed and replayed our conversation in my head. It didn’t take a genius to know a frustrated woman when you saw one. My foodstuffs were low after the bed picnic with Annette, and I found myself reminiscing about our time together. Not a good sign.
I got dressed and, avoiding the overpriced Spar supermarket, drove to Nowra in the hope of finding one of the big duopolies, Woolworths or Coles. About three clicks before entering the CBD, a patrol car appeared in the rear-view mirror. It put the flashers on as I went through a set of traffic lights. I found a straight stretch of road and pulled right off into the half lane.
Two constables got out, stiff and business-like. One stayed at the vehicle while the other approached my window. His name badge said ‘Harris,’ and he was blonde and clean cut. He spoke in a shaky voice. ‘Mr. Matthew Kowalski?’
‘Yes. Am I under arrest?’
‘May I see your licence, please?’ I produced it, and he radioed to his compatriot. ‘I can confirm the identity of the driver.’
His walkie-talkie crackled and his partner replied. ‘Affirmative.’
Jesus, someone needs to remove the rod from these guys’ arseholes, and quick.
‘We need you to accompany us to the Shoalhaven LAC for questioning,’ Harris said.
‘Under whose authority?’
‘Detective Inspector William Asher. He’s requested you to meet with the homicide detectives investigating your cousins’ murder.’ He hesitated. ‘Both cousins.’
I didn’t like the sound of that. I agreed to go, but I didn’t know the way to the station.
Constable Harris told me he and his partner would be glad to escort me. He radioed this detail to his partner and again received an acknowledgment. Constable Harris promptly returned to the squad car, his neatly creased pants swaying in the wind, and pulled out.
I smiled to myself and followed. We turned back south into Nowra, then drove at a respectable fifty kilometres an hour to a large, red-bricked, heritage-looking building. Stone lettering marked the entrance as the Shoalhaven Courthouse, so I assumed the building doubled for the police station.
My young compatriots escorted me down lino-tiled corridors into a windowless room with walls painted a dull grey.
I took a seat at a table positioned in the corner of the room, and they told me someone would be along in a moment. I almost expected them to click their heels and salute before leaving the room.
Within a handful of minutes, two men strode in. One, a dour man in his fifties with patchy dark hair, held a folder full of documents. The other appeared to be his younger replacement, a fresh-faced redhead with bad acne scars and pale blue eyes.
The dour one sat opposite me. ‘Good afternoon, Mr. Kowalski. I’m Detective Inspector William Asher, and this is Detective Mitchell Marcussen. We work together in the homicide division for the Shoalhaven LAC. Can we ask you a few questions about George Demich?’
I nodded. ‘Shoot.’
‘Witnesses at the Sussex Inlet RSL place you with George Demich on Monday night.’
‘That’s a statement, Detective Inspector.’
‘I’ll re-phrase that. Why did you meet with Mr. Demich?’
‘I met George for some drinks. He was my cousin. It was the first time we’d seen each other in many years, and we wanted to catch up on lost time.’
‘Did you talk about the murder of his brother?’
‘It came up.’
They proceeded to ask me the usual questions, but the air turned serious when Marcussen rolled his shirtsleeves up. ‘We believe the person or persons involved in the murder of Robert Demich may have targeted George,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to determine if there’s any connection that both individuals appear to be victims of foul play. Have you spoken to any individuals who may have brought suspicion upon themselves?’
I shook my head. ‘I’ve made some general enquiries within the village, but I can’t say I’ve made any leeway in that regard—nothing more than you already know.’
‘And what would that be?’
‘That Michael Le Mat’s the main person of interest.’
‘Have you spoken to Mister Le Mat or seen him within the vicinity?’
I couldn’t jeopardise things with Philip Le Mat. If what he was saying was true, that he could prove Michael had nothing to do with Rob’s murder, then I at least owed him the time to uncover the truth. If the detectives swooped in now and arrested Michael, he’d be charged with murder regardless of the truth. The fact that McCaskill’s Subaru was seen returning to the crime scene could have been just the opportunity for the killer, either McCaskill or someone else, to plant Michael’s phone at the scene and frame him for the murder.
‘I don’t know where Michael is,’ I said. It seemed to be the best thing to say without compromising myself.
‘That doesn’t answer the question.’
‘I’m not saying anything further without my solicitor present.’
Detective Inspector Asher didn’t hide his annoyance. ‘I’ll issue a warrant if I have to, Mr. Kowalski.’
‘Then issue a warrant, but until that time, I can’t be held on suspicion, so I’d like to leave now.’
Detective Inspector Asher pinched his nose between his forefinger and his thumb. ‘I’m not holding you on anything, Mr. Kowalski. I assumed—wrongly, it appears—that you’d assist us in any way possible, seeing as though we’re on the same team. We are on the same team, aren’t we?’
I didn’t know how to answer that.
‘I understand your personal connection to the victims,’ he continued. ‘And I understand you’ve been hired by the victims’ father to look into the matter. Those bruises look fresh.’
I maintained eye contact but didn’t open my mouth.
‘If you’re withholding information, this can come back to you in a very serious way.’
No shit, Sherlock.
‘I’m due to take some medication for a serious ailment,’ I said. ‘So, if you don’t mind, Detective Inspector?’
I hated lying but I was on a very sharp edge. I had nothing against cops, and on any other day, I would have told them everything I knew, but there was too much at risk if I handed them Michael Le Mat now.
The Detective Inspector indicated the door. ‘You can go, Mr. Kowalski.’
They dismissed me without charges. Marcussen instructed me to complete a statement, and I took a seat in another small room. He handed me a writing pad, and I deliberated over what to include, because whatever I wrote could seriously jeopardise my licence.
I decided to swap the order of things. I wrote that once I was on the property, I’d concluded, or convinced myself, that my entering McCaskill’s property was justified, as I felt my cousin’s life was at risk. I was ‘emotionally overwrought’. I’d let the experts determine the validity of the statement.
