4 PM, TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY

With her siren blaring, Zoe sped around the base of the peninsula towards Portsea, manoeuvring around cars that pulled over to let them pass. When she glanced in the rear-view mirror Harry was lying flat across the back of the car, as she’d taught him.

As they took the back road behind the main part of town, Zoe pushed the buttons on the armrest, lowering all the windows. Charlie turned off the siren as they pulled up outside Ray Carlson’s house. Two police cars stood empty, doors open, lights still flashing. Neighbours were standing at their doors, watching.

‘Harry, stay,’ Zoe said firmly as she jumped out of the car. She and Charlie were running towards the front door when they heard commotion from the backyard.

‘Get off me, you pricks.’

They ran around the side of the house to the back, where they saw three officers standing over a young man on his stomach on the grass, being handcuffed by a fourth officer. The man on the ground was wearing a white t-shirt, faded denim jeans that were slung low on his hips with his underwear pulled high, and new sneakers. His build was slim, but the veins in his arms indicated that he worked out.

‘What have we got?’ asked Zoe.

‘We had a call from a neighbour about a guy acting suspiciously and entering the backyard with a shovel. We found him hiding in the shrubs,’ he said.

‘Right,’ said Zoe, looking at five shallow holes in the garden bed. ‘Searched him for weapons?’

‘Yeah, he’s clean,’ the officer said.

‘Let’s get him up.’ Zoe crossed her arms.

Two of the officers took an arm each and lifted the man to his feet. He wore a scowl across his face and his eyes had narrowed by the time he was on his feet. He was of medium height, with close-cropped dark hair and brown eyes. As he tilted his head to look at her, Zoe could see the word ‘Rebel’ tattooed in a florid script on the left side of his neck. Classy.

‘What’s your name?’ asked Zoe.

‘Piss off.’

One of the officers restraining him shoved him forward before quickly jerking him back. ‘Watch your mouth,’ he said.

‘That’s not the best way to start,’ Zoe said to the handcuffed man, before turning to the officer.

‘His name’s John Grant,’ the officer reported. ‘He’s nineteen. He’s got form. Moved from shoplifting, loitering, cannabis possession, up to robbery, as well as break and enter. Lives in Pearcedale.’

Zoe gave the officer a questioning glance.

‘Top of the peninsula. About sixty clicks north of here.’

She nodded, and turned back to the boy. ‘You’re a long way from home. What are you up to, John?’

‘Gardening,’ he mumbled.

Zoe looked at the holes he’d dug, all about a foot deep. A shovel lay nearby. ‘Yeah, I doubt that. You know there was a murder here on Sunday, don’t you?’

John said nothing.

Zoe waved a hand in front of his face. ‘You hear okay?’ ‘Yeah.’

‘Did you know Ray Carlson, the guy who was killed here?’

‘Nah.’

‘You know about the killing though, right?’

‘Yeah, my mum told me. She saw it on the news.’

‘Where were you last Sunday morning?’

‘Can’t remember.’

‘Try harder,’ Zoe snapped. She was losing patience.

The two officers holding John’s arms shared a grin, impressed by Zoe’s firmness.

She waited, staring at John.

He stared at the fence. ‘Frankston,’ he said finally. ‘I was in Frankston with some mates. At the Bayside Shopping Centre.’

‘Time?’

‘We got there around nine-thirty and left after we’d had lunch. Probably after one.’

‘Someone be able to vouch for you?’

‘No one you’d believe, but there’s a ton of security cameras there. Check the tapes.’

‘Crims seem to know where the cameras are, eh?’

‘I’m no crim anymore. I did my time.’

‘John, aiding and abetting a murder is serious business. What are your plans for the next ten years?’

‘I don’t know nothing about that murder.’

‘Yet here you are. Digging up the victim’s back garden. Looking for evidence that was left behind, I’d say. What do you reckon, Charlie?’

‘Looks pretty incriminating to me.’

‘It’s hot out here,’ said Zoe, turning back to John, ‘so let’s speed things along a bit. What are you doing here? Don’t say gardening again. Judges hate smart-arses.’

‘I want a lawyer.’

‘Bingo. We have a winner,’ exclaimed Charlie, under his breath.

‘Sounds like a guilty man to me,’ said Zoe. She turned to the officer standing beside John. ‘Can you read him his rights and take him down to Rosebud station to call himself a lawyer?’

‘Will do.’

‘Best get that logged as evidence as well,’ she said, pointing to the shovel. ‘We’ll question him at the station. It’s lucky he’s nineteen; he’ll get to go to big boy prison this time around. They’ll love him there,’ she added, loud enough for John to hear.

Two hours later, Zoe, Charlie and Harry walked into the interview room at Rosebud Police Station. Charlie was carrying a large clear plastic evidence bag full of bundles of cash.

John Grant blanched as he watched the bag bang down on the table in front of him. A middle-aged man in a neat grey suit looked wide-eyed at the bag and then at John, before standing up. ‘Allan Fredericks,’ he said. ‘I represent Mr Grant.’

‘Zoe Mayer,’ she said, shaking his hand. Zoe noticed that he was wearing the same strong aftershave cologne that her dad had once worn.

‘Nice dog,’ Allan said, looking down at Harry.

‘Thanks,’ said Zoe. ‘This is Charlie Shaw.’ Charlie reached across the table and shook the lawyer’s hand.

Zoe turned on the recording equipment and read John his rights. She looked him squarely in the eyes. ‘This bag is one of seven we have found so far. It’ll be counted soon enough, but I’m guessing that there’s at least half a million dollars all up. That’s serious dough to be buried in the backyard. So, where are we, John? Anything you want to tell us before we get started?’

John looked down at the table.

‘My client would like to assist,’ Allan said, ‘but he’s looking for immunity.’

Zoe felt a buzz go through her. ‘Immunity for what, exactly?’

‘Immunity in regard to trespassing on Mr Carlson’s property today.’

Zoe frowned. ‘That all?’

‘Yes, just the trespassing, and also any attempted theft charges, if that’s where you are going next.’

Her buzz subsided. She understood why he wanted immunity on such a minor infraction. ‘Are you still on parole, John?’

‘Yes, he is,’ said Allan, without looking at his client.

‘For what?’

‘Break and enter, and robbery,’ said John. ‘Did a year in youth detention.’

Zoe made up her mind. ‘All right, immunity on charges from today’s events, but only if John fully cooperates. Okay?’

John glanced sideways at his lawyer, who nodded.

‘For the tape, please.’

‘Yes, I…will…co…op…er…ate,’ said John, emboldened.

Zoe had a strong desire to grab John by the hair and drive him face-first into the table. ‘Great. So what were you doing in Ray Carlson’s backyard today?’

‘Looking for that.’ He pointed at the bag of cash.

‘For the record, John Grant is indicating the bag of money that was recovered from Ray Carlson’s backyard. Where’d the money come from?’

‘Dunno.’

‘How’d you know it was there?’

‘I just heard it might be there, that’s all.’

‘From whom?’

John was silent.

‘I said fully cooperates, remember?’

‘I was told by a girl called Yvette.’

Zoe and Charlie shared a glance.

‘Does Yvette have a last name?’ asked Zoe.

‘Yeah. It’s Yvette Laurent.’

‘Where does Yvette live?’ asked Charlie.

‘She’s staying in Sorrento at some posh chick’s mansion. Yvette’s from France. She’s a surfer from Biarritz.’

‘Is this mansion in Kildrummie Court?’

‘Yeah, that’s the one. How’d you know that?’

‘How do you know her?’

‘Met her down at the surf beach a week ago. She’s got, like, a surfer’s body and she’s real pretty, ya know? Anyway, last night she told me there were bags of cash buried somewhere in this dude’s backyard. She said that if I went and dug it up she’d be, um, grateful. You know what I mean?’

John looked at Charlie for support. Charlie stared back.

‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘she said that we could take a chunk of the money and go to Ibiza together and party. I was supposed to dig it up today and take it to the house tonight.’

‘The woman she’s staying with—did she know about this plan?’

‘Yeah. She was in the kitchen at her house when Yvette was telling me about it outside by the pool. The sliding doors were open—she would’ve heard. I think it’s her money. She’s a weird one, that lady. She was all strange about me chatting to Yvette. She asked me where I was from. When I said Pearcedale, she started to snigger. I know what that laugh meant. Stuck-up bitch.’

‘When did all this happen?’

‘Last night. Sun was still up, so it was probably about eight-thirty.’

‘Then what?’

‘Then I left. Yvette gave me the address and told me to come back tonight with the cash.’

‘Anything else?’

‘She kissed me out the front of the house. I was getting into it with her when she pulled back and told me we could continue things when we had the money.’

Zoe leaned forward. ‘You know you were being played, don’t you, John?’

He looked down, pink creeping across his face.

Zoe looked across at Charlie. Yvette was playing you, too.

Charlie walked into the brightly lit interview room, where Zoe sat making notes across the table from Donna. The air was stale in the stark white room. Zoe had left Donna waiting for half an hour with the air conditioning off. Harry was lying beside Zoe, his head in the shadow of the table, now fast asleep.

‘About time,’ mumbled Donna, arms crossed in contempt.

Zoe looked up. ‘Let the record show that Detective Senior Constable Charles Shaw has entered the room. What’s the final number, Charlie?’

‘Seven hundred and fifty-eight thousand dollars.’

‘How’s Yvette going?’ asked Zoe.

‘Great,’ answered Charlie, looking towards Donna with a sly smile. ‘She’s really good.’

Donna glared at him.

‘Are we waiting for Donna’s lawyer?’ asked Charlie, ignoring her.

‘No,’ said Zoe. ‘Donna has informed me that she does not need a lawyer.’

Charlie made a show of being impressed. ‘Fair enough.’

Zoe turned to Donna. ‘So, how are you going to play this one? Saying nothing won’t work forever, so have you got another angle?’

‘I don’t have any angles.’

‘Why was the money buried in Ray’s backyard, Donna?’

‘No idea. I don’t know about any money.’

‘Come on, Donna,’ said Charlie, ‘you do. Your girlfriend, Yvette, she’s told us everything. About getting her to find someone to dig up the cash, and how you were going to split the money.’

Donna said nothing, shaking her head.

‘She’s very…compelling, that Yvette,’ added Charlie. ‘A jury is going to love her.’

Donna stared at him again, exhaling through her nose.

‘I don’t think Donna likes you, Charlie,’ Zoe said.

‘Don’t see why not,’ said Charlie. ‘I have been nothing but hospitable to her. And to Yvette, of course.’

‘Yeah, right,’ spat Donna. ‘I saw the way you were looking at her at my house. Couldn’t keep your eyes off her tits, you dirty perv.’

Zoe clicked her fingers. ‘Earth to Donna—hello. Charlie interviewing your girlfriend is neither here nor there. We are talking about the bags of cash we recovered from your dead husband’s backyard.’

‘Ex-husband,’ retorted Donna.

‘Wrong point again,’ said Zoe. ‘How’d you know about the money?’

Donna was staring at the wall behind them. Zoe knew that she was considering what she would say next.

‘Look, I just knew there’d be money there,’ she said. ‘Ray’s been doing it for years. Used to bury money at the house in Sorrento as well, before we split up.’

‘So, what was the plan? Get Yvette to use this boy, John, to dig up the cash and then kill him as well?’

‘As well? As well as what?’

‘Not what, who. Kill him like you had Ray killed.’

‘No way. I had nothing to do with Ray getting killed. Nothing. This was about getting the cash before you guys found it and pocketed the lot for yourselves. We were going to give the kid a few grand and send him on his way.’

‘So, where’d the money come from? There’s plenty of it. What were you and Ray into? Was he skimming contracts? Getting kickbacks from suppliers? Or something else?’

‘Don’t know. Ray never said where the money came from and I never asked. He used to do extra work on the weekends and some nights. That’s all I know.’

‘And now that you were getting divorced, your share of the money was going to dry up. That’s why you killed him, isn’t it?’

‘I had nothing to do with that. Listen, I knew that Ray was into something, but I swear I don’t know what. Yeah, we weren’t getting along, but he was still looking after me financially. I guess he wanted to keep me sweet, so I wouldn’t start shooting my mouth off. Him getting killed is a very bad thing for me. I need that money. The insurance company won’t pay out his policy until your investigation is finished.’

Zoe sat back. She and Charlie looked at her across the table.

‘What?’ asked Donna. She gave them a thin smile. ‘I’m his sole beneficiary. The money he buried is mine. It’s quite simple. Don’t you understand?’

Zoe also smiled. ‘Donna, the money was almost certainly the proceeds of crime. Once that’s proved, it will be forfeited to the government.’

‘That’s my cash. You’re just finding a way to pinch it. That’s why I was trying to grab it myself. And what about Yvette?’ asked Donna.

‘She’s going before a magistrate charged with conspiracy with relation to the theft. She’s admitted everything. She’ll be bailed, but she won’t be able to have any contact with you. Don’t worry. She probably won’t do time. Suspended sentence, I’d say, but then she’ll be deported.’