‘Lexie, can you get on the phone, find anyone who’s not currently tied up, and get them to hightail it over to the Town and Country Hotel to verify Maggot’s alibi? I’ll give the boss an update.’
Lexie nodded and rushed towards her desk as Josh headed for Casey Blair’s office. He’d already decided not to mention that during their talk with Maggot he’d asked to speak to Burgh. When in custody crooks habitually request the presence of a cop they know because they anticipate it might help them. Corruption comes in many forms. Sometimes it is necessary to consort with criminals to obtain information, gather intelligence and sometimes it is immoral, unethical and purely for self-gain. He had no doubt which category Burgh fell into.
Josh sat across from the boss and gave her the rundown on their progress with Maggot.
‘As usual, the little worm was aggressive and uncooperative. Lexie’s getting someone to verify an alibi Maggot’s given us; reckons he was at the Town and Country Hotel in St Peters at the time of the shooting.’
‘Then why was he hiding out?’ Casey asked, perplexed.
‘Who knows?’ Josh shrugged. ‘The man’s no mental giant. There is definitely more to it, but he’s not saying much. One thing we did manage to get out of him is that he got an anonymous call to say his girlfriend had been murdered by the Devil’s Guardians.’
Josh paused as he looked out through the open blinds and onto the office floor. Batman was perched on the end of his desk casually chatting to Lexie.
Casey followed his gaze.
‘Is he annoying her? If he is I can talk to him.’
Josh shook his head, pretending Batman’s infatuation with Lexie didn’t bother him.
‘No, he’s just being Batman. Besides, Lexie’s a big girl. I’m sure she can ward off any unwanted attention on her own.’
He turned back to his boss who, he noted, was watching him carefully.
‘Anyway, what were we saying? That’s right, Maggot. I don’t know how much credence we can put on anything that comes out of his mouth but, when he revealed he got this call, I had a thought. Because of his limited intelligence, big mouth and tendency to cause trouble, what if someone – possibly from his gang – is using him as a scapegoat, setting him up to look like the bad guy? We have to admit he’d be an easy mark.’
Casey looked unconvinced.
‘It would still bring the Assassins name into disrepute. Bikies don’t like their club or any of their members being publicly disgraced.’
He shrugged. ‘It was just a thought. I’ll get someone to go over his call charge records. I’ll try to narrow down when he received this supposed call, then go from there. That’s if he’ll tell me, of course. The charming bloke is not very forthcoming.’
‘Harry Burgh has dealt with him in the past and said he’s always co-operative. Maybe we should get him to speak to Maggot.’
Casey glanced around her desk as though searching for something.
‘He’s out at the moment but I can call him back in.’
Josh couldn’t stop himself replying.
‘Burgh also said he and Sleeman had searched the house with the permission of Dorothy Magentagitt and found no trace of Maggot.’
Josh paused to make his point. ‘Maggot says he was there the whole time.’
Casey raised her eyebrows and gave him a look.
‘Well, as you just said, we don’t know if Maggot is telling the truth about that, or about anything, really.’
She leant back in her chair.
‘Burgh and Sleeman have spoken to Max Croft again. He hasn’t seen his daughter since Saturday when she cleaned the clubhouse for him.’
She lifted one eyebrow.
‘You wouldn’t know whether to believe that either.’
Letting out a long and heavy sigh, she added, ‘It’s so frustrating, someone has to know something. Even Bluey’s ex-wife knows nothing, supposedly.’
It had been blatantly obvious from the onset of this investigation that the bikies had closed ranks. All of them. They considered themselves the ‘one percenters’ – the one per cent of the population above and beyond the law. No matter what they were saying – or weren’t saying – someone knew something. The problem was their hatred for police would guarantee they’d never tell.
‘I’ll let you get back to your inquiries regarding Maggot. Keep me posted.’
With that Josh assumed he was dismissed but just before he got to the door Casey stopped him.
‘Oh Josh, when we knock off today I’ve suggested we all have dinner at the Royal at Randwick. It’s been a hectic few days and we can’t work all night. I think we all need to de-stress a little. What do you say?’
‘I suppose I’ll have to see what pans out with Maggot, but you don’t have to ask me twice. If I can, I’m there.’
‘Can you let Lexie know?’
She smiled, then drew her attention back to the paperwork on her desk. This time he was clearly dismissed.
Sticking his head into the interview room, he checked on Maggot. He was sitting quietly with his head resting back against the wall. His mouth gaped open and his eyes were closed. A soft snoring sound exuded from his mouth. Josh felt a small amount of relief.
As he walked towards his desk, Batman made a hasty departure.
‘Did you get hold of anyone?’ Josh asked Lexie.
She was in the middle of taking a swig from a water bottle and nodded her head. ‘Grumpy is going to call me as soon as he has some news.’
‘Great,’ he replied, rubbing at his eyes.
They felt dehydrated. His stomach rumbled. He was hungry but didn’t have time to go out and get something to eat. He stared across at Lexie, who appeared to be doing her best to avoid looking back at him.
Sadly, it seemed their shared moment of passion last night had created an invisible fissure between them that now felt as wide as the Grand Canyon. Worse still, he was at a complete loss to know how to even begin to bridge it. Maybe he should fulfil his promise to himself and apologise for kissing her, reassure her it would never happen again.
No, the office was hardly conducive for that conversation. It was too risky; too many people around who might overhear. Things were awkward enough between them right now. He didn’t want to make it even worse. Besides, he’d probably say the wrong thing; or the words wouldn’t come out right and it would be a disaster. No, he’d leave it for now. He’d wait for the right time.
‘So what did you make of Barney Magentagitt?’ Josh asked her.
Lexie glanced away from her computer, though her eyes still didn’t directly meet his. ‘Definitely one of a kind ’
‘He’s an aggressive little bastard isn’t he? I seriously don’t think he’s the full quid.’
Lexie looked thoughtful for a moment.
‘He’s definitely not playing with a full deck. I don’t think Maggot could be responsible for a murder, do you? That was not a heat of the moment crime. I think it was premeditated.’
‘I agree,’ Josh said. ‘The more I think about it, the more I wonder if someone has been setting him up to appear the obvious choice as the shooter.’
Lexie sat back in her chair and finally looked him in the eye.
‘Maggot has a big mouth. He’s had a vendetta against the Devil’s Guardians because of the pub brawl, and has gloated about getting even with them. A phone call telling him the Devils are responsible for his girlfriend’s death adds fuel to the fire and makes Maggot hate them even more. He mouths off again to anyone who’ll listen that they killed his girlfriend – which gives him a motive – revenge. Then he gets told to lie low because he’s the logical suspect – and the knucklehead does what he’s told, which increases the assumption he’s guilty.’
‘If his alibi checks out I’d say you could be right. If it doesn’t, well, he might just be making up crap to save his arse.’
Lexie’s gaze drifted back to the computer and then darted back to him.
‘Did you find it weird that he wanted to talk to Burgh? Didn’t Sleeman and Burgh search his house earlier on and say there was no sign of him?’
Josh was saved from answering by the ringing of Lexie’s mobile. He hoped it was Grumpy with some news on Maggot.
He watched Lexie check the caller identification and smile.
‘Hi, Dani.’
Josh turned away, directing his attention to the stack of papers on his desk, though his ears were homed in to the one-sided conversation.
‘I can’t, Dani. I’m working on a murder investigation. Yes, the bikie.’ Lexie turned away and lowered her voice. ‘No, I’m fine really. I can’t say too much, you know how it is, but I won’t be able to meet you tonight for drinks. I don’t know how long I’ll be tied up here and . . .’
The person on the other end was obviously trying to convince her he’d wait. Josh would wait too if he thought . . . Stop thinking so much!
‘I’ll make it up to you, I promise,’ Lexie was saying. ‘I’m going to have an early night. Thanks for understanding. Talk soon.’
Josh waited until she’d hung up before speaking.
‘Casey informs me that most of the office is going out for a drink and dinner tonight. Now that you’ve cancelled your boyfriend you might like to join us?’
He’d tried to keep his voice casual but it didn’t come off.
‘Or are you serious about having an early night?’
Maybe he should have an early night, give his liver a rest. Like that was going to happen!
Watching Lexie’s face, it appeared she was amused by something. Was she considering the invitation, weighing up her options, or trying to conjure up an excuse?
‘But who’s going to work?’
‘We can’t work 24/7, Lexie. It’s the boss’s idea. Ossie and Grumpy are on call. Any calls to the office will be transferred to the switchboard and Crime Stoppers. The telephone intercepts are being monitored, so once we’ve sorted Maggot out there’s nothing else we can do right now.’
‘Oh, okay,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘I suppose we do need to eat. I’m starving.’
He couldn’t help himself, he had to add, ‘Danny will never know you went out.’
Lexie gave him a sharp look as she replied, ‘Dani will know because Dani is my best friend and I tell her everything.’
‘Oh.’ Relieved, he raised his eyebrows and let out a soft laugh. Now he remembered. The girl Lexie introduced him to at the pub was ‘Dani’. That was obviously her. Seeming to relax for a second, she laughed back and held his gaze.
The tension eased a bit, and Josh’s stomach did a flip.
His mobile rang. ‘Hello.’
Grumpy’s voice crackled from the other end of the line. ‘Harrison, Lexie’s line was busy. I’ve just spoken to the barmaid at the Town and Country Hotel. She remembers Maggot being there on Saturday between about 5 pm and 10 pm. We had a quick look at the surveillance CCTV footage. He walked in at 4.50 pm and left at 10.15 pm. He can clearly be seen sitting at the front bar, and during that time only moves for toilet breaks and to have the occasional chat with another local. So I suppose he’s off the hook. What an idiot.’
‘Good work. Make sure you get that tape.’
Josh’s mind was spinning. Maggot had actually been telling the truth.
‘Got the tapes in my hot little hand. Why wouldn’t he have just provided a statement earlier instead of letting himself become a suspect? It just doesn’t make sense. And didn’t Burgh and Sleeman search his house?’
Josh evaded the questions. ‘Sometimes nothing makes sense. Got to go. Great work. Thanks.’
He hung up.
Lexie was looking at him expectantly.
‘Maggot was at the pub when King was shot. Staff and CCTV verify it.’
‘It doesn’t make sense,’ was all she said. It seemed to be the comment of the moment. And it was true. It didn’t make any sense at all. ‘Now what?’
‘We charge Maggot with assaulting police and resisting arrest. And then we let him go.’
He shrugged at the baffled expression on Lexie’s face.
‘Look at it this way. We’ve eliminated one suspect, so now we can concentrate elsewhere. And we won’t be tied up here all night so we can go and have a drink.’
‘So where was Maggot when Burgh and Sleeman searched his house?’
Not sure of what to say, Josh shrugged again and threw his hands out, palms up, in front of him. ‘Don’t know.’
However, one thing he did know, people were starting to ask questions. So maybe it was time to get the answer straight from the horse’s mouth. Then again, maybe it would be smarter to say nothing. Just sit back and watch events unfold.
And hope that by giving someone enough rope it might eventually slip into a noose.