The Ford Falcon pulled up outside the blue stone building in Gold Street that Marco Dennis called home. Steve and Sarah got out and thumped on the old wooden door.
Inside Marco rolls of the couch and pulls on his torn black jeans and staggers towards the door.
‘Marco Dennis?’ Steve asks.
‘Yeah man, who are you?’
‘I’m Detective Steve Rickets, this is Detective Sarah Branson. Mind if we come in’ Steve said flashing his badge at Marco.
‘What’s this about man, I ain’t done nothing?’
‘Sure Marco, we just need to ask you a few questions.’ Steve said as he pushed his way into the hallway. Marco took a step back into the hallway to make room. Glancing around the hallway and into the first room Steve was taken aback by how much crap there was piled high. The front room was full of guitars, amplifiers and various other musical equipment.
‘Play a bit of music then?’ Steve asked stating the obvious.
‘Right man, The Falcons, we play some heavy rocking shit’ Marco explains. ‘What’s this all about anyway?’
‘Just got to ask you a few questions Marco’ Sarah replies.
‘Okay, right fuck, well whatever man, I didn’t do nothing anyway!’ Marco protests his innocence and walks down the hallway towards the kitchen. The kitchen is piled high with dirty dishes and old pizza boxes. The rubbish hadn’t been put out in weeks. A stench wafted up through the air offending the nostrils.
‘Marco we want to ask you some questions about James Firth’ Steve said waiting to take in Marco’s response.
‘What? What about him?’
‘He was found dead a few hundred meters from here, were you aware of that?’
‘Fuck no man, I didn’t know he was dead. I didn’t have anything to do with that at all!’ Marco said taking a seat.
‘What was your relationship with him?’ Sarah asked.
‘Relationship? I didn’t have a relationship with him as such’ Marco had his head in his hands and was shaking it from side to side.
‘You knew him then?’ Steve asked.
‘Yeah, look I knew him so what? I didn’t have anything to do with his murder okay’
‘So how did you know him?’
‘Oh man!’ Marco said. He stood up and found a cup that was half clean and ran himself some water. For a moment he stood staring out the window sipping on the water. His mind was running over time not sure what exactly to tell them.
‘The dude used to come around here some times. Started out as a fan of the band you know. At first it was fun. But it started to get too weird you know?’ Marco explained.
‘Weird in what way?’ Steve replied.
‘Oh damn I don’t know man, he was just getting too intense. He was trying to come around all the fucking time.’ Marco said returning to the seat. ‘I told him, I said man we can’t do this anymore.’
‘Do what any more?’ Sarah asked.
‘Look, if I tell you, I mean, will it go any further? I don’t want her finding out’ Marco said sounding confused. Sarah looked at Steve with a, what the hell was going on look.
‘Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell us everything Marco?’ Steve suggested. ‘Right now we have a murdered guy and we are looking to pin it on someone. If you had nothing to do with it then your best to come clean and tell us the truth.’. There was an empathy behind the words Steve spoke.
‘Okay look, I knew the guy. Used to call him Jimmy. I met him when he used to come see the band around some gigs in Fitzroy.’ Marco explained.
‘How long ago was that?’
‘About a year ago. He started coming to gigs and giving us Cocaine and shit. I never used before I met him.’ Marco said staring at the floor. ‘Before long he was coming around here partying and so on. He was always the life of the party you know. Always brought the party with him in little doggy bags’
‘Go on ...’
‘One night he got me high and we kind of, well you know, we kind of ended up in bed together if you get my drift?’
‘You had sex with him?’ Steve asked.
‘Right yeah, I’m not gay or nothing you know, I was just high as and experimenting I guess’
‘Right and did this happen more than once?’
‘Well that was the thing, shit started getting weird.’ Marco said still looking at the floor like he was ashamed. ‘He started coming around with little goody bags giving the shit to me in exchange for sex.’
‘And you went along with it?’ Sarah asked him in disbelief.
‘Well at first right. He had me hooked on the drugs big time and I had no money to buy them myself. So what choice did I have?’
‘So how long did this arrangement go on for?’ Steve asked.
‘Man I don’t know. Maybe six months. But then I tried to break it off with him. He started getting heavy with me, threatening me and stuff. He was a big dude. Strong’
‘So why did you try and break it off with him? It sounded like a good arrangement?’ Steve probed.
‘Man I wanted to get of the drugs for one thing. I know I’m a muso and all but I really don’t like the drugs that much.’ Marco said sounding convincing. ‘And I’m definitely not gay. It started out as a bit of harmless fun but got all too weird and serious fast. The guy was intense.’
‘So you tried to break it off with him?’
‘Yeah, I had to break it off with him. I didn’t want her to find out’
‘Who?’
‘What?’
‘You didn’t want who to find out?’ Steve asked.
‘My girlfriend man. I didn’t want her to find out at all.’
‘Who is your girlfriend?’
‘What you mean you don’t know?’ Marco asked in disbelief looking up at the detectives.
‘No, why don’t you enlighten us?’ Sarah said sounding more than a little sarcastic.
‘Oh fuck no way!’ Marco laughed. ‘My girlfriend is Anna!’
‘Anna? You mean Anna Firth?’ Steve asked sounding surprised. Steve looked at Sarah with disbelief.
‘Yeah man Anna Firth. I started going out with her a few months ago. That’s when I tried to break it off with the old man. He threatened to kill me if I did. He tried to get Anna to stop seeing me’
‘Did Anna know about your relationship with her father?’ Steve asked.
‘Oh fuck no. She would have freaked man’
‘I see. Okay Marco thanks for your time. We might come back to ask you further questions okay?’ Steve asked.
‘Sure thing man’ Marco said sounding relieved.
‘Oh, one other thing Marco. Where were you on Saturday night between about nine pm and midnight?’ Steve asked.
‘Right, alibi. That’s an easy one man. We had a gig down in Geelong at the Workers Inn. We have a rad following down there. Check with the venue if you like but that’s where I was.’ Marco said relaxing for the first time as he realized he was of the hook for the murder.
‘Got it thanks Marco’ Steve said. ‘We will see ourselves out’. With that Steve and Sarah walked back up the dark hallway and out into the fresh air. They walked across the street to Steve’s car.
‘What do you make of that?’ Sarah asked Steve as they leaned against the car.
‘Seems to me like a genuine kid who got caught up in some nasty shit. Probably a good thing for him that Firth is dead.’ Steve said.
‘True, but what if Anna Firth did know her old man was plying her boyfriend with drugs and using him for sex?’ Sarah posed the question. ‘That would give her one big motive for murder.’
‘That on top of the fact she was angry about not being given the money to go on her trip which had obviously upset her’ Steve replied.
‘Right ...’
‘Detectives?’ a voice called out to them in a half whisper interrupting their conversation. Steve turned around and looked up Easey Street. Charlie deBron was standing at his letter box in his boxer shorts calling out to them. Steve and Sarah walked around the corner and up the short distance in Easey street to where he was waiting.
‘Come inside quick I have some info for you’ deBron said and led them back into the hallway of his home.
‘What is it Charlie?’ Steve asked trying to avoid bumping into his naked over sized midriff.
‘I just had a thought, more of a flash back kind of thing.’ deBron explained. ‘About the night of the murder.’
‘Ok, go on?’ Steve prompted him.
‘Well you know I told you Firth came here on the night right?’
‘Yeah right?’
‘Well after he left I watched him. He walked across the street towards the blue stone house, but then he did something unusual. He turned left and headed up Gold Street.’
‘Okay and this was out of the ordinary?’
‘Yeah kind of ... ‘ deBron said. ‘But then I noticed a car following him. I just remembered this morning. It had his number plates on it JF 001. But then I thought about it. His number plates on his car are JF 000. Weird hey?’
‘So you are saying a car followed him up Gold Street with the number plates JF 001?’
‘Yeah I saw the car following him heading left on Gold Street. But then as they passed the old factory there I lost sight of them.’ DeBron said shaking his head.
‘Okay. Did you see anything else, or hear anything?’
‘Nah that was it. At the time I thought I must have been tripping. I mean I thought what I was seeing was his car following him up the street right’ deBron let out a big belly laugh.
‘Thanks Charlie ... we got to go!’ Steve said and headed out the door. He broke into a jog as he crossed the street leaving deBron standing at the front door naked but for his boxers. Sarah ran to keep up with Steve as they approached the car.