Lexie woke to the sound of her phone alarm buzzing. For a moment she was confused, disorientated. Then, glancing around at the familiar décor of her lounge room, she felt instant relief as the events of last night came flooding back to her.
Dani had snored her out of bed!
At some time in the early hours of the morning, Lexie had woken to what sounded like a chainsaw rattling next to her ear. Due to everything Dani had been through the day before, Lexie hadn’t had the heart to kick her out as she’d threatened. Instead, she had relocated to the sofa bed in an attempt to grab some much-needed rest before having to start another day.
Even though the mattress was thin and sagged in the middle, Lexie had been so exhausted it hadn’t mattered. Falling instantly into a deep, undisturbed slumber, it was only now, as she swung her feet onto the floor, that she felt the twinge at the base of her back.
Oh well. Better a sore back than no sleep at all.
A hot shower helped to iron out the creases in her muscles and a quick egg on toast filled the empty hole in her stomach. Leaving Dani sleeping in her bed, Lexie drove to the office in record time. Finding a park a few streets away, she felt like a walking icicle by the time she reached the police station. The welcome blast of hot air that greeted her as she entered the building instantly began to thaw her frozen bones. Nodding to some of her uniformed colleagues busily taking reports at the front counter, she followed the aroma of coffee up the stairs.
As Lexie walked into the detectives’ office, Brad sprang out of his chair like a jack-in-the-box. It was the fastest she’d seen him move in – well, ever.
‘Lex, you’re here. I’ve been waiting for you. Come here quick, sit down.’
Confused, Lexie glanced at the clock on the wall. It was not as if she was late. It was still before 8.00 am.
‘Come on, come on. I’ve got to fill you in on a few things before the briefing,’ Brad cried, hurrying her as she stripped off her heavy coat.
His abundance of forceful energy at this time of the morning was annoying.
‘Can I get a coffee first?’
Brad shook his head.
‘No time.’
The concerned expression furrowing his brows seemed to dominate his large face.
It was not like Brad to be so serious. Without knowing why, Lexie’s stomach flipped as she pulled out her chair. Something told her she was not going to like what he had to say.
‘What’s up?’
Brad hesitated, waited for her to sit down, and took a deep breath.
‘Overnight, a witness has come forward.’
Anticipation got her heart racing as she waited for Brad to continue.
‘Really? Have we got a solid suspect?’
‘Um . . .’
Brad seemed to be having trouble finding his words. He started again.
‘Apparently someone saw a male running from the crime scene. The person of interest was seen to drop something, reach down, pick it up and keep running. Not realising there was a body close by, the witness picked up a card the man dropped. It’s a Medicare card. The name on the card is Zack Rogers. The description the witness gave fits your ex-husband.’
Lexie stared at Brad dumbfounded.
‘What?’
Shaking her head in an attempt to get some clarity, she tried to process his words.
‘Who is this witness?’
Brad hesitated again. His eyes darted around the room, bounced off every wall and finally settled on a spot on his desk.
‘Little Gitt.’
Lexie threw her head back in disbelief. Was it any wonder Brad couldn’t look her in the face?
‘Oh come on. You have got to be joking . . . Little Gitt?’
Keegan Gitt, or ‘Little Gitt’, as they called him, was a local drug addict and petty criminal who spent most of his time either passed out on a park bench or wandering the streets completely wasted. He was constantly being locked up for committing a bag snatch, or any type of opportunistic criminal act that might get him enough cash to score his next hit. His credibility as a witness had to be non-existent.
Brad shrugged his large shoulders.
‘I know what you’re thinking, but he did have the card and gave a description that matches the owner of that card. There was also that anonymous call from a lady who saw a guy hanging around the area. The description is the same. It fits Zack Rogers to a T.’
‘Zack is not a killer,’ Lexie said, with total conviction. ‘This is unbelievable. Since when does a drug addict hand anything in, anyway?’
‘Sorry, Lex, I know this is not what you want to hear. We will have to speak to Rogers again after the autopsy. But right now we have a briefing to get to. Casey is going to run this one, as she’s already been updated on what happened overnight.’
Brad watched Lexie for a moment.
‘You’ve got just enough time to get a coffee, Lex. I’ll meet you in the briefing room.’
Lexie nodded, feeling the first tinge of concern for Zack. Did an anonymous call and this questionable information from a local druggie make him a suspect? Zack was not a violent person – as far as she knew. Then again, she would never have thought he would cheat on her, either. For a split second Lexie wondered how well she really knew her ex-husband.
*
Ten minutes later Lexie walked into the briefing room, next door to the detectives’ office, holding a steaming cup of instant coffee in one hand and a notebook in the other. One thing she had discovered quickly during her first murder case – that of bikie ‘Bluey’ Robert King – is that so much time during an investigation is taken up by briefings. Granted, they were necessary, but they could be so bloody boring . . .
At least at the Clovelly surf club there had been an impressive view to look at. Unfortunately, that location had only been temporary, a timely convenience due to its proximity to the crime scene. Now that all examinations of the area were completed, it was clearly more practical and cost-effective to have meetings back at the station.
‘How is sexy Lexie today?’ Batman asked, slipping into the seat next to her.
‘Lexie would rather you didn’t call her that.’
Why was she talking about herself in the third person? she wondered.
‘It’s rather embarrassing, you know.’
Batman laughed and sniffed the air close to her neck.
‘Looks beautiful and smells great as well.’
He was staring so intensely into her eyes, Lexie had to look away.
‘Your eyes just melt me,’ he whispered close to her ear.
Lexie whacked him in the leg.
‘Will you stop!’
Batman went to say something else but was cut off by Casey Blair clearing her voice – her way of getting everyone’s attention.
‘This will be pretty quick, people, so please pay attention.’
Waiting until her audience was silent, Casey delivered a dot point rundown on what they had so far, as well as the new developments from the previous night. When she read out Zack’s name as a person of interest, Lexie began to feel sick. Rogers was not an uncommon surname, so no one had queried any connection as yet. However, it was time to come clean before her prior relationship became an issue.
I’ll tell her after the briefing.
Once Casey Blair had finished speaking, Batman stood up and gave the results from the canvass around the Royal Hotel and the crime scene. There had been no sightings of Melissa McDermott by residents and only one glimpse of her movements caught on CCTV.
‘At 3.16 am the front door of the Royal Hotel opens and the victim can be seen to stumble and fall out onto the pavement. She stays on the ground for a short time and then, after a few attempts, gets to her feet. She is very unsteady and appears to be very intoxicated. The victim staggers off in a south-eastern direction along Perouse Road and disappears off camera shot. No doubt she was heading for her flat in Soudan Street, which is probably only around 200 metres away, although she never makes it.’
‘No one saw or heard anything?’ Grumpy asked.
‘Nope; people who live near the pub are used to noise and drunks. However, one resident said there was fresh vomit in the gutter outside her house, but that’s nothing unusual. She hosed it down the drain as she does every other day.’
Lexie cringed.
‘We have done checks on red light cameras which gave us nothing and no fare was picked up at that location by any of the taxi companies we have contacted so far. Inquiries are continuing, of course.’
Batman returned to the seat beside Lexie, rubbing her shoulder with his as he sat down. Considering it childish to pull away, Lexie didn’t move. Neither did Batman.
‘Thanks, Batman.’
Casey checked her notes and continued with the briefing.
‘Crime Scene didn’t come up with anything we didn’t already know. Grace did a good job of tracking the victim’s bank accounts. The victim’s account was accessed the evening before her death but there has been no further activity since. She withdrew two hundred dollars from the Commonwealth Bank cash card at Randwick at 7.00 pm. Grumpy and Cakes are going to view the bank’s CCTV footage when they come back on this afternoon.’
‘Gus Riley, the second man to have sex with the victim at the pub, was interviewed last night by Lexie and Brad. He admits to having consensual sex with the victim and then passing out. He did not know how she left the premises or when. Further inquiries are continuing.’
Lexie felt Batman’s knee brush against her leg and wondered if that was an accident or not. She gave him a sideways glance and caught the slight smirk on his face; guess not!
‘There are five men left on the list given to us from her flatmate and friend, Vicky Bruce. David Begge and Brendan Nichols have been spoken to by Cakes and Grumpy last night, or should I say, early this morning. Both have alibis for their whereabouts on the night Melissa McDermott died. Patch and Ossie will be chasing up the remaining three today. The nurses could only supply some of the men’s first names, so good work tracking them down with the call charge records from the victim’s mobile. Well done.’
All eyes moved to Patch and Ossie, who smiled at the compliment.
‘Speaking of call charge records, there were no calls made by, or to, the victim after 8.00 pm Wednesday night, so she did not use her phone to call a friend or taxi to pick her up. Brad and Lexie have the autopsy this morning, which will hopefully give us some more information.’
Can’t wait for that . . .
‘Want me to come and hold your hand?’ Batman whispered in Lexie’s ear.
Casey caught him.
‘Something you want to share with us, Batman?’
Batman shook his head.
Casey continued to look at him.
‘Batman, you and Lurch go to the hospital and keep working on that list of associates. Take Grace and Fester with you.’
Casey paused for a minute and met Lexie’s eyes.
‘After the autopsy, Brad and Lexie will be speaking to this Zack Rogers. We’ll reassess our next course of action after that. Now, does everyone know what they have to do?’
The detectives nodded.
‘Well, let’s get to work. We will meet back here at 5.00 pm for another update.’