Lexie woke to music blasting into her eardrum from the clock radio next to her bed. Still tired and groggy, she struggled to sit up and prise her eyes apart. It was an impossible feat so instead she felt for the snooze button, found it, pressed it; instant silence. She fell back asleep at once, only to be woken ten minutes later to the sound of the morning radio hosts’ comic banter.
Lexie’s mind was foggy and she became caught up listening to a replay of a practical joke that one host had played on the other involving cockroaches. Still barely awake, Lexie started to chuckle at the hysterical screams of the female radio host, then once more began to drift back to sleep.
Normally Lexie was up and out of bed at the first sound of the alarm, but her sleep last night had been extremely disturbed. She had been restless and anxious, her senses on red alert, straining to hear a noise, see a movement. She had even got up a number of times to check that the chain was still attached. Of course, nothing had happened. It was just her imagination running wild during those vulnerable night-time hours and now, in the bright light of day, she was left feeling listless and weary.
Her mind jolted into gear. She had to get to work.
Hugging the doona under her chin, Lexie relished its warm security for a moment longer, while she stretched and unfolded her stiff muscles. Then, counting to three, she threw back the covers, and feeling the instant chill in the air, she ran to the heater, switched it on, and then bolted towards the bathroom.
In the shower, the hot spray of water unlocked her frozen joints and washed away her exhaustion. Drying quickly, Lexie wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel and dressed in the clothes she had laid out before hitting the mattress last night.
She had chosen a dark burgundy jacket with matching pants that revealed her soft curves and complemented her skin tone. Underneath she wore a black silky shirt. Her favourite grey scarf, a present from her mother, was wrapped around her neck for warmth and black boots kept her feet from freezing. Satisfied she looked professional, Lexie moved to the bathroom. She brushed her long blonde mane into a ponytail at the back and applied some light makeup. She examined her reflection with critical brown eyes that shone through long dark lashes.
That will have to do.
The heels of Lexie’s boots echoed on the floorboards as she made her way into her tiny kitchen. After making coffee and vegemite toast, she carried her breakfast to the lounge room. Sitting on the sofa, she glanced out through the clear glass of the balcony doors at the world outside.
The sky was grey and a violent wind had trees bending back and forth. Another chilly winter’s day in paradise, Lexie thought, glancing towards Clovelly Beach. Would she ever be able to walk or jog that path again without thinking of Melissa McDermott and the evil that had occurred there? Or would it eventually fade into the back of her memory, buried along with other grisly scenes in the archives of her mind, hopefully never to see the light of day again.
If only there was a delete button she could press to erase unpleasant memories and images from her mind . . . That way, she could also banish the memory of Josh.
Don’t think of Josh.
Glancing at her watch, Lexie raced into the kitchen. Being a cleaning freak, she quickly washed her cup and plate, then rushed to the bathroom, cleaned her teeth and ran out the front door. As it was the weekend, and with the weather so miserable, she made it to the office in record time – eight minutes – and even found an all-day parking spot reasonably close to the station. This was a good sign.
Today we are going to catch our killer, she told herself, adhering to the concept of positive thinking. Some homicide investigations got results in days, some in months, and some never at all. She certainly didn’t want her case to fall into the latter category.
The office was warm in contrast to outside and she removed her coat straight away, hanging it on the back of her desk chair. Brad had arrived ahead of her and was sitting at his desk, a coffee in one hand, and a bagel in the other.
‘Breakfast?’ Lexie asked.
Brad didn’t reply, which meant he had already had breakfast at home. This was his first snack of the day.
‘I should have the keys by this afternoon.’
Lexie stared at him blankly.
‘Jenna’s apartment,’ Brad whispered, even though they were alone in the office as yet.
Lexie nodded, not wanting to know how he’d managed to get his hands on the keys.
‘That’s fine. I’ve got heaps to do in here this morning anyway. What’s happening with the telephone intercept application?’
‘Lurch ended up making the application to the on-call magistrate last night. He was far more lenient than our local beak, so Bream’s and Zack Rogers’s phones should be set to go as we speak.’
Lexie felt lighter. She knew monitoring Zack’s phone line was a waste of time, but she couldn’t say that.
‘That’s good news. Bream still hasn’t called in, I take it?’
Brad shook his head.
‘Sussex Inlet police said there was no movement at the house last night, no lights on, or car in the driveway. They took a look around in the early hours and they are pretty certain he’s not there.’
Brad took a sip of coffee.
‘I also got uniform to knock on the door of his Coogee address at 3.00 am. No sign of life there either.’
Lexie’s eyebrows pinched into a frown.
‘Where could he be? He’s not at work, at his home, or his holiday place.’
She thought of Dani.
‘What if he’s dangerous? Maybe I should warn Dani in case he goes to her? What if he was the person who broke into her flat the other night?’
Brad put his hands out in a calming fashion.
‘Take a breath, Lex. If Bream is our man, he is definitely dangerous. But the brief on him . . . what there is of one, is all very circumstantial. Let’s wait to see what we learn from the intercept. It will tell us if he’s using his phone. We might be able to pick up a cell site, get a location if possible.’
‘Maybe I should just text Dani and—’
‘Don’t tell Dani anything,’ Brad insisted. ‘You might compromise this investigation. Ring her and say hello to set your mind at rest that she is okay, but say nothing else. Bream could be shacked up with some girl, for all we know.’
Brad paused for a minute, then added, ‘Talking about Casanovas, how did your date go last night with Steve James? You clearly came out of it alive, but did you get what you wanted?’
Lexie finished typing out a quick text to Dani, asking her how she was.
‘Let’s just say that he certainly didn’t get what he wanted. And all I discovered is that Steve James is an arrogant creep and a sloppy investigator.’
Brad laughed a little too much.
‘I could have told you that. I’ve heard that the guy is a complete wanker. Thinks his own shit doesn’t stink. I’m glad you saw through him. So he put the hard word on you?’
Lexie pulled a distasteful face.
‘Yes, almost straight away. He was unbelievable.’
She recounted some of the night for Brad’s amusement.
‘Why didn’t you warn me?’
Brad laughed again, clearly finding her experience with Steve James most entertaining.
‘I can’t protect you all the time. Some things you have to find out for yourself. Besides, you wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.’
That was true. Just then her mobile phone buzzed. She had a text message. Snatching it off the desk, she was eager to read that Dani was all right. However, the message wasn’t from Dani. It was from Steve James.
‘Sorry about last night, Lexie. Maybe I was a bit too forward. I hope you can forgive me. I have emailed you a photocopy of your friend’s suicide letter as you asked. When can I see you again?
Steve xxx’
Lexie could not believe he would even ask the question, ‘When can I see you again?’. The twelfth of never, baby, she thought, deleting the message and pushing the button on her computer to wake it up. A moment later she was looking at Steve James’s name at the top of the long list of emails she had yet to read. With a sense of dread tightening her throat, she read Jenna’s last words:
I’M SORRY I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO MUCH TROUBLE. YOU WILL ALL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME.
Jenna had scribbled her signature at the bottom of the page.
Lexie opened the crime scene photographs. James had only sent her six, but one would have been enough. She clicked on the clearest picture and blew it up on the screen. She gasped and held her breath as she took in Jenna’s slim body, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, no shoes, lying on her back across her creamy leather lounge. She could be asleep, Lexie thought, taking in the serene expression on her beautiful face and the way her long, dark hair was fanned around her shoulders as if it had been positioned that way. Her hands rested across her chest and between them lay a single red rose.
Lexie’s breath caught in her throat as she inhaled suddenly.
Brad glanced up from his desk.
‘What?’
‘Come around here and take a look at this.’
Brad got out of his seat, rounded his desk and came to stand behind her, bending over her shoulder to see what she was showing him. For a moment he said nothing and she wondered if he had picked it up.
Lexie prompted.
‘The rose . . .’
‘I know. It’s in the exact same position as with Melissa. Barring the fact that Melissa was found outdoors, their bodies are in exactly the same position as well.’
‘That’s right,’ Lexie agreed. ‘Could the rose be someone’s calling card? The killer’s signature, so to speak?’
Brad gave her a look.
‘You’ve been watching too much TV.’
‘Well, what do you make of it, then?’
‘I think you’ve said it before. It’s someone’s notion of trying to make these deaths look like suicides,’ Brad replied, rubbing his jaw. ‘I’d like to see how Bream’s ex-girlfriend was found.’
Printing out a copy of Jenna’s suicide note, Lexie placed it in her handbag. She would keep it to compare the signature to the one on Jenna’s licence that she hoped to find in the search of her apartment later on today.
Lexie’s mobile rang, cutting off any further discussion about the rose. Checking the screen, she noted there was no number displayed.
‘Hi, Lexie.’
The voice on the other end of the line was raspy and deep. She knew it in an instant.
Rex Donaldson.
‘Well, hello there.’
‘I tried you last night but you didn’t pick up and I didn’t leave a message,’ he told her. ‘Now, don’t ask any questions and I’ll tell you no lies,’ he said, mysteriously.
Lexie didn’t miss the teasing tone in his voice.
‘Those photographs you received. They are not what they look like.’
So it had been Rex that sent them.
‘O . . . kay.’
‘I was following Sandy. I was worried she was back on the gear. It had nothing to do with the murder you’re working on, but I thought it was something that it wasn’t. Get what I mean?’
Because Rex was usually so coded and careful about what he said, he tended to talk in subtleties and riddles.
‘Not really, but I suppose that doesn’t matter. What you’re telling me is those photographs are not evidence of a drug deal.’
‘That’s right. The guy was selling Sandy a watch for my birthday. It’s probably fallen off the back of a truck or something, but at least it’s not what I first thought it was.’
So Zack had been telling the truth about that.
‘You know I can be a little over-protective. Just didn’t want you to be barking up the wrong tree where that guy in the photographs is concerned.’
‘Thanks for that. Is there any reason you sent those photographs to me?’
‘If someone was selling drugs to my daughter, I wanted you to be the one to look into it.’
Lexie smiled.
‘Thanks for your vote of confidence.’
‘Now, go solve that murder.’
With that Rex hung up, leaving Lexie to wonder how he always knew what she was doing.
Glad to have that little mystery solved, Lexie turned to Brad, who was already scrutinising her.
‘Who was that?’
Brad hated not knowing everything.
‘A community source. The photographs of my ex-husband have been explained. He was handing over a watch that had been bought from his sister’s jewellery shop.’
Lexie didn’t bother to go into all the details.
‘Really?’
Brad’s tone was derisive.
‘Then why didn’t he just say that? I still think he’s suss.’
‘I know you do, Brad.’
Lexie knew Brad wouldn’t admit he was wrong about Zack. She let it drop, especially as she could see Brad was gearing up to tell her something else.
‘While you were on the phone I got a text from the station officer at Sussex Inlet. He’s an old academy mate of mine. They went around to Bream’s holiday place again this morning – still no one there.’
Lexie shook her head in frustration.
‘Where the hell is he? Do you think he’s done a runner?’
Brad took a bite of his bagel, chewed it and swallowed hard.
‘He has no reason to as yet. All we’ve done is call him to come and talk to us. Guilty or not, I can’t imagine that would rattle a cocky bastard like Bream.’
‘What about Gus Riley?’
The last guy who had slept with Melissa was still on Lexie’s mind even with Bream becoming the main contender for the place of number one suspect.
‘How are we going to find out if his alibi holds up?’
‘We probably can’t. The CCTV doesn’t cover that private entrance to the pub. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about him either. If Bream’s cleared, we can go back to him and dig further.’
Lexie agreed.
The office was starting to fill up, as everyone was working the weekend to try to get a heads-up on this case. Lexie went to the meal room to make herself a second coffee for the morning and found Batman and Lurch doing the same thing. They smiled at her when she entered the room.
‘Well done getting the TI application approved for Bream’s and Rogers’s phone lines, guys,’ Lexie congratulated. ‘Not always an easy task.’
Lexie watched Lurch’s cheeks turn pink as he beamed a smile at her.
‘I just chased up the preliminary overnight toxicology report on our victim,’ Batman announced, pausing for effect.
‘And?’ Lexie prompted.
She was suddenly excited.
His boyish face broke into a wide smile.
‘The person I spoke to kept stressing that it was only the preliminary results but they showed traces of alcohol and OxyContin in her system. Is that what you wanted to hear?’
It certainly was. It seemed the gap between Jenna Harrison’s and Melissa McDermott’s deaths was closing . . .