Chatswood detective’s office was in full swing. The wheels didn’t stop turning because one of their own had committed suicide. From his west-facing office on the third floor, Nick Rimis had a view onto Archer Street. He got up from his desk and walked over to the window. The street was crammed with peak-hour traffic.
Rimis hadn’t slept much last night and already his face was showing the signs of a new beard. On his desk the Sydney Morning Herald lay open at page five. He’d just finished reading Katrina Andrel’s article on Calloway’s suicide. Thank God they’d managed to get a hold of his sister. What a shock it would be to find out about a loved one’s death in the paper. He walked back to his desk and looked at the article again.
The death of Senior Constable Robert Calloway at Callan Park last night is not being treated as suspicious, according to police sources. The New South Wales Health Minister, Suzette Schofield, described Constable Calloway’s death as a tragedy. ‘In light of the increase in suicides in the emergency services, we’ll be increasing funding for mental health,’ she said. ‘We are committed to helping those people who serve this state.’
In response to the minister’s comments New South Wales Police Commissioner, Trevor Whyte, told the Herald the New South Wales Police Force was deeply saddened by the loss of one of its own. He encouraged his officers to seek counselling if they were personally affected by the tragedy. A representative from the ‘Friends of Callan Park’, Rozelle resident Mrs Dorothy Bates, urged the state government to approve the community Master Plan and return Callan Park in part, to a mental institution. Constable Calloway is survived by his sister, Fin Calloway, but she was not available for comment.
Rimis was tempted to throw the paper in the rubbish bin but instead he flipped to the back pages and found the cryptic crosswords. A distraction when he was stressed. He drummed his pen on the desk and spent a few moments thinking about a clue.
‘Am I interrupting anything?’
Rimis knew the voice. DCI Scott Carver. Rimis closed the newspaper and folded in two. He pushed his chair back from his desk and got to his feet. ‘No, not at all, come in. I was just reading the article in this morning’s paper about Constable Calloway. Have you read it?’
‘Yeah, I’ve read it. I knew Robbie. I haven’t seen him in about three or four years. Even though he was in uniform he was the sort of guy you could talk to. Jokes, gossip and the occasional beer down at the pub.’ Carver shook his head. ‘I find the idea of suicide hard to believe. Robbie never struck me as the type to succumb to depression.’
‘Strange you should say that. You’re the second person to voice that concern.’ Rimis pointed to one of the visitor chairs. ‘Have a seat.’
‘Who was the first?’ Carver asked as he pulled at the creases of his trousers and sat down.
‘Detective Brennan.’
‘Jill? I wouldn’t mind hearing her thoughts,’ Carver said. ‘Is she in?’
‘I’ll check.’ Rimis picked up his phone and dialled her extension.
A few minutes later, Jill knocked on Rimis’s open door and saw Scott Carver sitting across from Rimis.
‘Come in, Brennan.’ Rimis stretched back in his chair. ‘DCI Carver would like to talk to you about Robbie Calloway. He wants to hear first-hand your impressions from last night.’
Carver stood up and took Jill’s hand. His grip was firm, strong and warm. Their gazes held and an intense feeling flared up inside her. She tugged her hand back but he tightened his grip for a moment before he released her.
Scott Carver was slimmer than she remembered. With broad shoulders, a strong jaw and those eyes of his; eyes that made you want to look away in case he worked out what you were thinking. And she’d forgotten how tall he was. At around one hundred and ninety centimetres, his height put her at a distinct disadvantage. Scott Carver’s career, like hers, had been fast-tracked. Area Commander Carver was headed for the top job one day and looking at him now she understood why; he had a strong and powerful presence.
‘Detective Brennan.’ He smiled as if they were sharing an inside joke. Jill felt small and compact next to him and was embarrassed by the warmth she felt in her cheeks.
‘Have a seat, Brennan.’ Rimis looked at her, then looked at Scott Carver. ‘Am I missing something here?’
‘We have mutual friends,’ was all Jill said. If it hadn’t been for the Taggart case she’d been working on when she first met Scott Carver at a birthday party for Bea’s son, she would have given into Bea’s nagging and gone out with him.
Jill sat down. She wasn’t sure why she’d been called to Rimis’s office. If it was about what happened last night at Callan Park, surely Rimis could have told Scott Carver the details.
‘I hear you don’t think Robbie Calloway’s death was suicide? Why?’
Jill looked at Rimis, then back to Carver. She adjusted her ponytail. ‘I’ve known Robbie Calloway for many years. We were at the Academy together and in all that time I never knew him to be depressed about anything. He was always upbeat and confident. I’m sure he would have told me if there was anything bothering him.’
‘Have you read the newspaper this morning?’ Carver asked.
‘Not yet, but I caught the segment on Robbie on The Morning Show before I came into work.’
‘I heard you’d been in a personal relationship with him. It must have been a terrible shock for you,’ Carver said.
‘Yes it was.’ Seems news, or more like gossip, travelled fast. And now it was Scott Carver, of all people, talking about her relationship with Robbie. She was silent, staring at the cup of coffee on Rimis’s desk and wishing she could get her own caffeine fix…or maybe something stronger.
Carver shifted in his chair. ‘I know it’s been less than twenty-four hours, but are you following any leads to suggest his death was anything other than suicide?’
Jill was relieved to focus on the case.
Rimis said, ‘I think —’
Jill cut him off. ‘There’s a CCTV camera in the western car park not far from where Robbie’s body was found. It could be useful in telling us what happened last night. I’ve been onto the security company this morning and they told me the camera was only installed a few days ago after some of the university staff had their cars vandalised. I’m going to see them later this morning and take a look at the tapes.’
Carver leaned back in his chair. ‘Good idea, the tapes might shed some light on Calloway’s movements and death.’
‘What about the door knocks?’ Carver asked Rimis.
Rimis shook his head. ‘They weren’t much help. Everyone was either out or at home watching the footy.’
‘I called all the local real estate agents in the area,’ Jill said. ‘And when I finally got onto the managing agent for the property in Glover Street, they told me Robbie only moved in a couple of weeks ago. But here’s the interesting thing,’ Jill shifted to the edge of her chair, ‘he only wanted to sign a lease for three months. Apparently he was pretty pissed off when the agent insisted on a six-month lease.’
‘What can you tell me about the sister?’ Carver asked.
‘I’m going to see her this morning after I’ve finished at the security company.’
‘You’re wasting your time on this, Brennan. There’s no doubt in my mind it was suicide,’ Rimis said.
‘Maybe Detective Brennan should follow her instincts on this one, Nick. After all, she did know him better than any of us.’
For a few moments nobody spoke. It was Carver who broke the silence. He looked at his watch. ‘I’ve got a meeting in North Sydney in half an hour, I should be going.’ He got to his feet and looked at Jill. ‘Let me know what you find on the CCTV. With no witnesses, it might hold the key to what happened last night.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Jill stood up.
Scott paused, looked at Jill. ‘Robbie was a bloody good cop. He’ll be missed.’
Rimis got to his feet to see Scott Carver out and Jill went back to her desk.
Five minutes later Rimis stormed down the corridor towards the detectives’ room. ‘Brennan!’ Rimis roared her name so loud, the whole station shook. ‘In my office, now!’
Jill hurried down the corridor, barely managing to keep it together. What was wrong with the man?
‘Come in and close the door.’ Rimis slumped down in his chair. ‘For Christ’s sake, Detective, what did you think you were playing at?’
The use of the word detective had the same effect on her as when she called Rimis, sir. Nick Rimis was seriously pissed off with her for some reason.
‘Sit down!’
Jill adjusted herself in the chair, straightening up for whatever was coming.
‘I’m only going to have this discussion with you once,’ he began. ‘You’re part of a team. You’re an intelligent woman and I know I don’t have to give you the definition of team. You just can’t go off half-cocked every time you come up with an idea based on some crazy hunch you might have.’ Rimis was pacing a short track on the carpet behind his chair.
Jill had only seen Rimis like this once before, when Rawlings had stood in a pool of blood at a crime scene. She knew it was best not to say anything and to wait for him to calm down.
Rimis walked over to the window. He had his hands clasped behind his back and she could hear him swearing under his breath. A few moments later, he turned around. His face had almost returned to its normal colour.
‘The Commissioner is on the warpath. The media is hounding me.’ Rimis ran his fingers through his hair. His voice dropped. ‘For Christ’s sake, Brennan why do you always want to make every case your personal crusade? I know you’re upset over Calloway’s death but you should have run it past me before you started your own investigation instead of springing it on me in front of Carver.’
‘Sorry, boss. I was out of line.’ So that’s what this was about — she made him look bad in front of Scott.
After a few beats of silence Rimis said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want a couple of days off?’
‘I’m fine.’ She looked down at her hands in her lap. She thought Nick Rimis could do with a few days of leave himself.
Rimis frowned. ‘Listen —’
Jill looked up. ‘What do you want me to do? Take a day or two off, file my nails, get my hair done?’
Rimis rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, Brennan, don’t be a pain in the arse.’
‘I can’t just sit around and do nothing. If I take time off and allow myself to grieve for Robbie, I’ll lose my edge. The adrenaline is the only thing that’s keeping me going.’ Jill rubbed her eyes. ‘Robbie’s dead and I know I can’t do anything about that, but I need to know why he died. I owe it to him and I owe it to Fin.’ Jill was about to say she owed it to herself but stopped short. She was wasting her breath. Everyone was convinced it was suicide.
Rimis walked back to his desk and sat down. ‘I would never have taken you with me to Callan Park last night if I’d known the deceased was someone you knew. I thought I was doing you a favour getting you away from your desk.’ Rimis lifted his coffee mug, swirled it around and examined it. ‘I’ll be watching you, you know.’ He looked up at her. ‘If I think for one second this case affects the way you perform your duties, I’ll —’
‘Understood, sir.’ Jill got to her feet to leave.
‘No need to call me, sir.’ Rimis’s forehead creased into a frown.
Jill tucked a strand of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear and headed towards the door.
‘Jill?’
She stopped, turned around.
‘Forget Robbie for now. I want you to go to North Shore Hospital and check on the boy who was attacked at the Train and Bus Interchange a couple of nights ago.’
‘Adam Lee?’ Jill had heard his name in yesterday morning’s meeting. He’d been stabbed.
‘Carver thinks his attack and Cheung’s murder last night have something to do with these Asian gangs operating across Sydney. See if you can get the boy to give us a name or description of his attacker. And take Choi with you. Lee will be scared, but I want you to remind him what he’s up against if he doesn’t talk to us.’ Rimis picked up a file and shook his head. ‘What was it about last night? Did I miss something? Was it a full moon?’ He flicked through the file on David Cheung. ‘I’ll have a word with Rawlings about the Cheung murder, I know it’s his case but I want you two to work together on it.’
Jill nodded even though she wanted to focus on Robbie.
‘Listen Jill, if you change your mind about taking leave you can —’
‘Don’t worry, boss. You’ll be the first to know.’
‘Jill we’ve been friends…that is, colleagues for some time now. Why don’t you go away somewhere; get your head in order. Come back when you’re ready. We can always arrange extra leave if you need it.’
‘Is that an order?’
‘No,’ Rimis said, ‘it’s a lifeline.’