Jill didn’t drive straight back to the station after her meeting with Scott Carver; instead, she took the Ryde exit off the motorway to Lane Cove. If Scott Carver and Nick Rimis thought she’d walk away before she fully investigated Robbie’s death, they were both mistaken. There was one thing at least in Scott Carver’s favour. He hadn’t immediately written Robbie’s death off as suicide like everyone else. But just because he’d eventually accepted the suicide explanation didn’t mean Jill had to, and after this morning’s meeting she was more determined than ever to discover the truth behind Robbie’s death.
After driving around in circles for almost ten minutes, Jill finally found a parking space in the Woolworths basement car park in Lane Cove. She locked the car and took the escalators up to Longueville Road.
Her pace was hurried and she was aware of the clicking of her stiletto heels on the footpath. Hopefully she was racing towards answers. Moments later, she turned down a narrow arcade until she found herself outside Billy Veland’s shoe repair shop.
She opened the door and walked inside. The shop was warm and stuffy. It smelt of leather and shoe polish. She pressed the bell on the counter and the man who came out from behind the black curtain was just as Jenny Choi had described. Jill flashed her ID at him. Billy Veland studied it for a moment then picked up a brown leather shoe and a polishing rag.
‘What can I do for you?’ he asked, not bothering to look up. ‘I’m here about Robbie Calloway. Did you know him?’
Veland dipped the rag in the polish. ‘He’s the copper who jumped from the tower in Callan Park a couple of days ago, isn’t he? I read about him in the newspapers.’
‘Yes. But I mean did you know him personally?’
‘I know a lot of people, Detective.’
‘Don’t be smart with me.’ Jill put her hand on her hip. ‘I’m not interested in the fact that you lend money to desperate people. I’m not even going to ask about the high interest rates you charge or the legality of what you do. All I want to know is,’ she leaned across the counter to Veland, ‘did Robbie Calloway owe you money? And if he did, how much?’
‘Nothing.’
Jill scowled. ‘What do you mean, nothing?’
Veland put the shoe down on the counter and looked up at Jill. ‘Just as I said, Robbie didn’t owe me a cent. He repaid his debt.’
Jill wrinkled her brow, surprised by the news. ‘Okay, so how much had he owed you?’
‘A ten with three zeros after it.’
Jill didn’t react, but it was a lot of money on a cop’s salary. ‘You say he paid it back? When? How?’
‘Cash, the day he killed himself, actually. Came in here with a big smirk on his face, carrying a backpack filled with one hundred dollar notes.’
‘Where did he get the money?’
The boot maker shrugged. ‘How the hell would I know? It’s none of my business. But he did say he wouldn’t need my services anymore. Said he was coming into some money.’
Just then, the door opened and a customer walked in carrying a pair of tan boots. Veland looked at the customer, smiled. ‘Won’t be a moment.’ He looked back at Jill, raised his eyebrows. ‘Now, is there anything else I can help you with?’
‘Not right now, but I may be back with more questions.’
Veland gave her a slimy smile before turning his full attention to his customer.
Jill left the shop and adjusted her scarf. She’d hoped Robbie’s death had something to do with Veland, that he’d give her answers. But now she had more questions. She wondered where all this was leading. How did Robbie come up with the money to repay Veland? She was beginning to question how well she knew Robbie.
Jill unlocked her car and slid into the driver’s seat. After she inserted the key in the ignition, she turned up the heat and considered the idea that Robbie was expecting to come into some money. She wondered what that meant and then she remembered — his grandmother had died a couple months back. Perhaps the estate was about to be settled and the money had come through.
Jill released the hand brake and reversed out from the parking space. The wind was blowing a gale and thunderous clouds were moving in from the south. Jill drove out of the car park and made a fast turn into Longueville Road. She checked her side mirrors before she moved to the next lane. She sailed through the traffic lights and had just taken the exit ramp onto Pacific Highway when she slammed her foot on the brake. A truck had stalled two cars ahead of her. She’d been thinking about the inheritance money Robbie and Fin could expect from their grandmother’s estate and hadn’t been concentrating on the road ahead. She was too close to the car in front and she’d nearly rear-ended it. Brakes squealed and the car behind her sounded its horn, only just managing to stop.
‘Shit.’ Jill blew out a breath, knew she had to get her head in order…she’d nearly caused a pile-up.
‘The boss’s been looking for you,’ Luke Rawlings said when Jill passed him on the stairs on her way to the detectives’ room. ‘And he’s not in a good mood, something to do with that kid who was stabbed at the Interchange.’
Jill walked along the corridor and stood on the threshold of Rimis’s office. She knocked on the open door. ‘You wanted to see me?’
‘Come in. Sit down. And close the door behind you.’ Before Rimis could ask how she had got on with Scott Carver, she told him she’d gone to see Billy Veland.
‘Veland? What the hell do you think you were doing talking to him?’
‘I wanted to find out if Robbie owed him money.’
Rimis rubbed his neck. ‘Alright then, what did you find out?’
‘Veland told me Robbie repaid a ten thousand dollar loan the morning he died.’
‘Sounds like Robbie was getting things in order before he…’ Rimis’s voice trailed off.
Jill hadn’t thought of that. Rimis was right. People did settle their affairs before suicide.
‘Look Jill, you have to know when to quit. There were no witnesses, no evidence, nobody was with Robbie the night he died as far as we know, which means the only person who can tell us what really happened in that tower is Robbie. The coroner’s office rang and his autopsy has been delayed. Even so, I don’t expect there will be anything in it to suggest his death was caused by another person.’ He leaned over his desk. ‘I know it’s hard, but you have to accept his death and move on.’
Maybe she was wrong.
Rimis continued. ‘I want all your attention focused on the Red Cave Gang. There’s a strong possibility Adam Lee or the Cheung family are linked to the gang. I want you to check with Rawlings on that hit and run…see if there’s a possibility they’re related. Not only will it make us look good for our quarterly figures but if the attack has anything to do with Vincent Wan, it’s a chance to get him off the streets.’