Jill walked into Otto’s Bar.
‘Brennan, over here.’ Detective Sergeant Morrissey didn’t stand, but watched her as she made her way towards him. She sat down at the rocky table and placed her foot on the base to steady it.
‘Name your poison,’ he said.
‘Soda with lemon.’
He gave her a look.
Jill rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, I know. I’m on this detox thing, giving the liver a rest for a while,’ she lied. Jill knew alcohol was out of the question tonight because she needed a clear head to process whatever Morrissey was going to tell her.
Morrissey walked over to the bar and ordered. He returned to the table with a fresh beer and placed her drink in front of her. ‘Here you go, one soda with lemon.’ Morrissey swallowed a gulp of beer. ‘So, how’s the art fraud case going?’
‘Not too good now the prime suspect is missing.’ Jill took a sip of soda and changed the subject; she wasn’t here to talk about Freddie Winfred. ‘Thanks for agreeing to talk to me.’ She couldn’t summon the words, about my father’s murder. After four years, she had finally read the case notes. She had never wanted to know the details before – it had always been too painful, too raw. She now realised she needed to know the facts if she was ever going to move on with her life.
Morrissey was with her father the night he was gunned down. When she was transferred to Chatswood LAC, she was surprised when she found out Morrissey was also stationed there. She had been waiting for the right moment to speak to him privately. She wanted to know first-hand what he could remember about that night.
‘Look, Brennan, I don’t know what you want me to tell you. It’s been a long time.’
Too Long.
‘I pulled the file from Archives. I’ve read the reports, looked at the photos and the forensics. I read your statement, but I don’t understand why Dad forced his way into the house. There’s no one else I can ask. Bill Peruzzi resigned six months ago. Did you know he died a few weeks ago? Liver cancer.’
‘Yeah, I heard about Blinky,’ Morrissey said.
‘Blinky?’
‘Yeah, as in Blinky Bill. Rotten business the big C. Blinky was a good bloke.’ Morrissey took a slug of beer.
‘You said in your statement you thought Chisca was in the house that night.’
‘Did I?’
‘Yeah, you did.’
‘Well, if that’s what my statement says, then I suppose you’re right. Look Brennan, it was four years ago. A lot’s happened since then. The world’s moved on and maybe you should too. Just leave it alone. You’re supposed to be undercover. You shouldn’t even be talking to me. My advice is concentrate on finding Freddie Winfred instead of worrying about what happened to Mickey.’
‘Why are you fobbing me off?’
‘I’m not fobbing you off. Mickey took an unnecessary risk that night. It was supposed to be a simple surveillance operation. I don’t know what got into him. He just went fucking crazy.’ Morrissey looked at his watch.
‘You got somewhere to go?’
‘Yeah, it’s my mum’s birthday. We’ve booked a table at a restaurant in Parramatta.’
‘You’re lucky you’ve got a mum,’ Jill said. ‘Mine died when I was a baby, never knew her. Dad brought me up. He was my family.’
Morrissey raised an eyebrow. ‘Tough call. Car accident wasn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’ Jill looked down at her drink.
Morrissey nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Listen, I liked Mickey, I really did. But I didn’t know him that well. I met him at Redfern after I transferred from the AFP.’ Morrissey leaned into the table, finished his beer. ‘Look, I don’t want you to get caught up in something that could affect your career.’
‘What do you mean?’ She was looking at him now.
Morrissey lowered his voice. ‘Mickey was in over his head in debt. He had all sorts of loans and they weren’t with financial institutions, if you catch my drift.’
‘Dad corrupt?’ She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair and looked at him. ‘I don’t believe you.’
Morrissey pushed his glass across the table. ‘How much money did he leave you?’
‘None of your business,’ she said.
‘My advice is to forget we ever had this conversation.’ Morrissey picked up his car keys and pushed his chair back from the table. ‘A word of advice.’
Jill looked at him.
‘Let it go,’ he said.