| |
I tackled the man from behind and we both came down hard on the wet grass. The tight-fitting spandex didn’t provide any purchase, and he managed to get a leg free and kick me in the neck. I let go and got to my feet as he raised himself to his hands and knees, exposing his ribs. I kicked him hard and he flipped onto his back, his mouth a silent ‘O.’ I quickly straddled his chest and punched him hard in the mouth to get through the layer of wool.
From somewhere behind the blood rushing in my ears, a strange caterwauling rang out, and when I went to punch him again, something wrenched my arm away.
The woman screamed in my face. ‘That’s my husband!’
It took a few seconds for her words to register, and I stared dumbly at her lined face, then down at my victim as blood flowed from a cut in his lip. Five feet away, a square piece of white silk sat delicately atop the blades of grass.
‘Get off him!’ she continued. ‘Leave him alone! Ed! Are you okay, Ed?’
I quickly climbed off and stepped back with my hands raised. ‘I’m so sorry. This has been a huge misunderstanding.’
She leaned into my face. ‘I’d fucking say so! Who the hell are you?’’
‘My name’s Matt Kowalski. I’m a private detective.’
The woman snatched up the piece of silk, bunched it into a ball, and blotted the cut on her husband’s lip. ‘Ed? Sweetheart? Are you okay?’
He took the piece of silk from her, held it against his face and nodded. He laid his head back and looked up at the sky, his chest rising and falling.
The woman stood and faced me squarely. ‘I hope you’ve got a good lawyer, because I’m charging you with assault.’
Despite my better nature, I couldn’t help but notice how the blue one-piece swimsuit clung to her athletic figure. I clocked her at fifty, yet she had the flawless tanned skin and smooth hands of a woman twenty years younger.
I rubbed my temples and met her eyes. ‘Your sister gave me your address.’
She crossed her arms ‘Oh, she did, did she?’
‘Are you Zara Venables?’
‘I want your name and licence number. Right now.’
I handed her my phone case and she disappeared into the house with it.
Ed rolled to his side and made to get up. I put my hand out but he swatted it away with a curt ‘fuck off.’
When he got to his feet, he wobbled for a moment, then slowly peeled the balaclava from his head. It stuck to his lip and he winced.
I shrugged in an attempt to placate him and half expected to be slugged in retaliation.
‘I heard voices,’ I said in my best apologetic voice. ‘I thought you were going to rape her. Or worse. No hard feelings?’
‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’
We shook hands as Zara returned from the house and handed my licence back. ‘Tell me word for word what my sister told you.’
‘Evelyn’s worried about Tamsin. She’s gone missing.’
Zara said, ‘And that gives you reason to assault my husband, does it?’
‘Actually, your ex-husband hired me.’
She swept damp strands of hair from her forehead and sighed. ‘I haven’t talked to Jeff in eight years.’ She fixed Ed with a stare. ‘Sweetheart, can you call the police? I don’t want to deal with this today.’
I said, ‘Tamsin might be dead.’
‘Is that what Jeff thinks?’
‘It’s what I think. Tamsin’s deleted her social media accounts and her roommate’s been found murdered. Tamsin may be implicated, and Evelyn’s worried. I know my timing couldn’t be worse, but would you mind if we sit down, maybe share a drink and talk?’
Zara visibly shook, and her mouth went tight.
Ed touched her gently on the shoulder. ‘Hon, how about I whip you up a margarita? I’ll make myself a scotch while I’m there.’
She touched his hand and the rigidness left her body. ‘Can you get my happy pills?’
He straightened his shirt, and Zara and I both watched as he slowly hobbled to the house.
I turned to Zara. ‘I think Tamsin might be in danger. Have you seen her recently, or spoken to her?’
Zara stared at me and her chest rose slowly. She strode to a banana chair and snatched up a luxurious white towel. She flipped her head and her hair violently shifted to one side, a move she’d made a thousand times after a shower. She dried her hair with long strokes and fixed me with cool grey eyes. ‘She showed up after my balance class a few Mondays ago.’
‘Can you remember the exact date?’
‘I have no idea. The Monday before last?’
I made a mental note—9th of March.
‘She was acting nice, which was an immediate red flag.’
‘What did she talk about?’
‘I really have absolutely no idea. Something about university and going away. She made herself a cup of tea and went upstairs and sat out on the balcony.’
Ed reappeared with a tall cocktail glass in one hand and a bag of frozen peas in the other. He’d lined the rim with salt, and Zara took it gratefully. He opened his hand to show two pills, and Zara took them with the cocktail. He kissed her on the cheek and she smiled with flat eyes. Ed eased into a banana chair and spread the bag over his mouth.
I said, ‘How long was she upstairs for?’
‘I didn’t time it on a stopwatch.’
‘A rough guess. Ten minutes? An hour?’
‘I have absolutely no idea because I didn’t even see her leave.’
‘She just up and left?’
‘Apparently.’
‘What time did you notice she was gone?’
‘I went upstairs to bed, and she’d left her cup on the table on the balcony. I remember because she can’t stand coffee circles on the table. That might be the only thing she inherited from me. Otherwise, she left without saying, ‘Goodbye, arsehole.’ What did Jeff say about all this?’
‘He hasn’t heard from Tamsin in two weeks.’
Zara scoffed. ‘That’s typical Jeff. Just because she hasn’t called Daddy Dearest, the whole world falls apart.’
‘This is serious, Zara. Tamsin’s roommate’s been found murdered.’
Zara looked at me evenly. ‘You said that. And as terrible as that is, I don’t see what that’s got to do with Tamsin?’
‘Well, it’s a strange coincidence if she’s not involved, don’t you think?’
‘How should I know? Tamsin made it very clear that she wants nothing to do with me.’ She waved a hand. ‘She’s probably run off with some boy or went on a road trip with her pretentious uni buddies. Who knows? She’s doing what every twenty-year-old does, and fucking around doing whatever the hell she wants. If you’re any good, you’ll find her in bed with someone somewhere. Or here’s an idea: don’t even bother. Leave it a few weeks and milk Jeff for as much as you can. You may as well get something out of it. I know he’ll pay well. He always has. Do me a favour? When you find her? Don’t let the lost little puppy dog act fool you. She’s a narcissistic gold digger pretending to be something she’s not.’
I said, ‘Do you love your daughter, Ms. Lyons?’
Ed sat up. ‘What the hell sort of question is that?’ He got to his feet and pushed his shoulders back. ‘All right. Sorry, hon, this joker’s got to go. Time to leave, mate, or we press charges.’
‘Come on, Ed. I thought we put all that in the past.’
Zara searched my eyes for a moment with an expression three parts cynicism, one-part harpy. ‘Of course, I love my daughter. Doesn’t every parent love their child? Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?’
‘I don’t know you well enough to be drawing any sort of conclusions, Mrs. Venables.’
‘Okay,’ Ed stepped between us. ‘You’ve had your fun, buddy. Get off our fucking property. Now!’
I left, and Ed eyeballed me the entire way. At the last moment, I winked and turned the corner before I saw his reaction. As I made my way back to my car, my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket. It was a text from Dee, my ex-wife.
Dee: big big favour can u look after alice wednesday night??
Me: Sure. Whats up?
Dee: got a new job! training for 4 weeks in sydney and need to go for one night
Me: Cool. Can you drop her at my place?
Dee: ok thankx!!!
I figured any time spent with Alice, our twelve-year-old daughter, was a bonus.
I heard nothing, and saw nothing, but a blow to the back of my head filled the world with bright lights. I grunted, and half turned.
A thick-necked man with the build of a leg breaker held a blackjack in one hand, and knocked the phone out of my hand with the other.
‘Hey!’
He punched me in the face with a lightning fast jab that forced me back against a retaining rock wall, my teeth shaken and numb. Squinting against the light with my brain hammering against the insides of my skull, I took note of my assailant’s wardrobe. A white sleeveless muscle shirt, jeans, a bandana adorned with the American flag tied around a bald head.
He leaned his face close to mine and his breath stunk of stale cigarette smoke. ‘Don’t look for Tamsin Lyons. Leave it alone, or we’ll fucking come after you.’
He stomped away down the hill, his large muscled arms swinging away from his body, and disappeared around the entrance to the Bronte Baths.
