Cliff Hardy: Deep Water Part 16

I thanked him and rang off. Frank's son, Peter, was my anti-G.o.dson-all of us, Frank, his wife Hilde and me being staunch atheists. I'd taught Peter to surf until he was better at it than me. It was a close bond and Lily had been a part of it. I thought about her as I hung up. A freelance journalist, her pursuit of a story about police corruption had resulted in her murder. She'd have enjoyed a target like Phil Fitzwilliam.

I was at the door to the King Street building at a couple of minutes to eight and Hank, carrying a cardboard tray with three coffees on board, turned up on the dot with Megan.

'You look like you've been peppered with birdshot,' Hank said.

The cuts, now scabbing, made my face feel tight and sore. Smiling hurt, so I didn't smile. Hank looked tired, Megan looked worried; we weren't a happy bunch. I held the coffees while Hank unlocked the door, relocked it and kicked a wedge firmly into place.

'Unless things have changed we've got about an hour undisturbed before the others get here,' I said. 'I've got a bit to tell you.'

I told them. About my longstanding enmity with Phil Fitzwilliam, about his approach and his threat to Hank's licence.

'You should have told me before,' Hank said.

'Yeah, but I thought it was bluff and ...'

'You thought you could handle it yourself,' Megan said. 'Typical.'

'Something like that. Anyway, I spotted him again giving Margaret and me the eye and there he was again last night.'

Hank worked on his coffee, still antagonistic towards me. 'Doing what?'

'Being unpleasant, but I watched TV footage of the Double Bay stuff last night and I saw him taking a look at Megan. That worried me. Phil was notorious for getting to people through their family members. Applying pressure by proxy, sort of.'

'He can't pressure me,' Megan said. 'I haven't done anything since a bit of shoplifting when I was twelve. Oh, and one warning for dope possession.'

'You don't have to have done anything. Phil'd have access to cocaine, heroin, eccies-whatever you like, if he wanted to go that way.'

Megan still looked sceptical. 'Why would he?'

I finished my coffee. I'd already had some, strong and black, at home and now I was feeling a bit wired after no breakfast and G.o.d knows what chemicals in the pills I had to take. I could feel ideas jumping around in my head in no particular order and with no solid foundation. It must have showed.

'Are you all right, Cliff?' Megan said. 'Maybe we should leave this until-'

'Maybe we shouldn't,' Hank said.

I pulled myself together with an effort. 'Hank's right. I'm guessing now, trying to make connections, but Frank Parker tells me Fitzwilliam is in the gun with internal affairs. "Compromised", he said, and likely to need a lot of money for legal help to keep out of jail. I reckon he's in the pocket of whoever doesn't want an investigation of Henry McKinley's death.'

'Yeah,' Hank said, 'that plays, but who is it-Tarelton or Lachlan?'

I turned to Megan. 'What have you come up with on Lachlan?'

She shrugged. 'Very secretive. Ostensibly some kind of resources exploration outfit, but basically money movers. Registered in the Bahamas. A blog says they launder money, but it's a pretty hysterical blog. More sober sources say they're cashed-up, smallish, keen to grow.'

'Follow the money,' Hank said.

'I'm way out on a limb here now,' I said, 'but if I had to bet I'd like Lachlan for stopping the investigation and Tarelton for disrupting our meeting. My guess is that Tarelton still has hopes of getting through to the water, while Lachlan's worried about anyone finding out what happened to Dr Henry.'

'What about Lachlan's loan to Tarelton?' Hank said.

'It'd be small beer compared to what they'd face if they were convicted for arranging the murder of a prize-winning Australian scientist working for the common good.'

We sat around talking the thing over until a hammering on the street door broke up the meeting and Hank let the first of the other tenants in. I could hear him explaining things to the woman who ran a picture framing business and heard her laugh obligingly. Hank has a way about him.

'You said you had a casual working for you,' I said when Hank returned. 'The guy who nearly knocked me down the stairs. Apologised nicely but didn't introduce himself.'

'Ross Crimond. No, you're right. He hasn't been in touch for a time. There were signs he was in after hours the other night-he's got a key and the security code-but I'd have expected a report from him by now.'

'What's he working on?'

'Routine stuff-accident claims, process serving.'

'You say he was in at night. Does he have computer skills?'

'Of course-why I hired him.'

'Are you sure of him, Hank?'

Megan had let another tenant in and coming back she caught the tail end of our conversation.

'I'm not,' she said.

Hank looked uncomfortable. First, he'd learned that I'd held out on him, then that his lover could be targeted by a bad cop, now that she distrusted his professional judgement.

'Meg,' Hank said, 'he's OK.'

'He's a creep. A G.o.d-botherer. He wears polo s.h.i.+rts b.u.t.toned up to the neck and tucked into his pants.'

'You Ossies,' Hank snapped, 'any mention of G.o.d and you-'

'Hold it,' I said. 'Megan, can you find out whether this ... what's his name again?'

'Ross Crimond,' Hank said.

'... whether he accessed your stuff on Tarelton, Lachlan and Global.'

'I think so.'

Worry replaced Hank's troubled look. 'He shouldn't do anything like that.'

Megan tapped away, swore, tapped some and then swung around. 'He's been into the files. He knows everything we know.'

'Maybe just curious,' Hank said.

Megan shook her head. 'He made copies.'

's.h.i.+t,' Hank said. 'I should have-'

'It's not so bad,' Megan said. 'He doesn't know anything about all this stuff Cliff keeps in his b.l.o.o.d.y head.'

Hank grinned, glad of her implied support, before he grabbed his mobile, dialled, waited.

'Turned off,' he said.

I said, 'Leave a message as if things are normal.'

Hank cleared his throat, 'Hey, Ross, waiting on that report. Check in soon, please.'

'What's on your mind, Cliff?' he said.

'Which company seems most likely to spend money getting at your employee and enlisting Phil Fitzwilliam?'

'Lachlan.' Hank and Megan said the word simultaneously.

'But,' Megan said, 'a couple of things trouble me. Why was Terry Dart killed and why didn't the Lachlan heavies search the Myall cottage?'

'I'm guessing,' I said, 'but they probably didn't intend to kill Dart. Probably just wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h him as they did McKinley and find out what he knew. It just went wrong. And whoever took McKinley probably had the brief to do that and nothing more. All up, you'd have to say they aren't very good at this sort of thing.'

'That's encouraging,' Hank said.

'The only way we're going to be able to flush them out is to let them think that we have the answer to the big questions-where the aquifer tapping sites are and the details of the technique. Also, just as important from their point of view, we know who killed McKinley.'

Hank nodded. 'Information we don't actually have.'

'I get it,' Megan said. 'Just suppose Crimond believes we do have that information, after he next digs into my files.'

'Trying not to be smug,' I said. 'But I have to say I see this as an opportunity.

20.

The three of us put our heads together and concocted a story made up of fict.i.tious interviews, the receipt of fict.i.tious doc.u.ments and aircraft flight plans. The upshot was that we were reporting to our client that we were in possession of information regarding police corruption and McKinley's discoveries. Megan entered all this into her files on the McKinley case.

Hank left Crimond another telephone message, delivered in a rushed manner, saying that the office would be closed for the afternoon and evening because he and Megan were going to take a joyride flight and then go to an important meeting. He said he hoped to see Crimond's report and expense sheet when he got in next morning.

We reviewed the material, revised it, criticised it.

'How bright is this guy?' I asked.

'Bright enough,' Hank said. 'I mean, efficient.'

Megan looked up from the keyboard. 'How bright is someone who believes the world was created six thousand years ago?'

'He's a creationist?' I said.

'Yup.'

'When does he think the world's going to end?'

'Dunno,' Megan said, 'but I'm sure he's got a view.'

'I still can't see why he'd cross the line,' Hank said, 'unless this bad cop of yours has him by the b.a.l.l.s.'

'Could be that,' I said. 'Or money. Creationists aren't against money. Think of Oral Roberts.'

'The Hillsong Church,' Megan said.

Hank laughed. 'OK, you Darwinians. So we stake the place out and see if he takes the bait, right?'

We took turns watching from a cafe across the street at an angle to the office. Two-hour s.h.i.+fts, about as long as the waiters would tolerate someone sitting over two cups of coffee. Crimond arrived late in the afternoon on Hank's watch. Megan and I were nearby in her flat when Hank's call came. Meagan answered and handed me the phone.

'He's in,' Hank said. 'Been there a few minutes already. Wouldn't take that long to drop his stuff off.'

'Where's he parked?'

'He doesn't drive,' Megan said. 'He's an environmentalist. A green Christian.'

's.h.i.+t. If he's doing what we think he's doing, it'll seem urgent to him. How does he feel about taxis?'

'OK,' Hank said, 'judging from his expense sheets.'

Things in inner-west Sydney aren't the way they are in the movies. There are no taxis sitting, ready to follow other taxis. No spots for a car to idle, waiting to tail another car or a cab. It's a traffic jungle. We did the best we could while contributing to the pollution and the greenhouse effect: Megan and I got in our cars with our mobile phones and cruised around the area, trying to cover the multiple directions our quarry might take if he caught a taxi.

Twenty minutes later Hank called my mobile. 'He's on the move in a cab, heading towards the city. I'm f.u.c.ked. Had to sprint to my car but now I'm heading the other way on King. He's stuck at the lights, but I'm just inching along, no way to get round.'

I was out of it, too, going down Enmore Road. I phoned Megan with the information. 'Where're you?'

'Yee-hah, I'm in King Street at the Missenden Road lights and I see a taxi coming towards me in a little bunch of other vehicles. Has to be him.'

Fine, I thought, plan working, but why did it have to be her? A protective part of me wanted to ditch it, and part of me didn't. I turned left, trying to snake my way back in the right direction. I dived through a small gap, probably causing road rage before I answered her.

'Follow him. We'll fall in behind and catch you as soon as we can. Be careful, love. Be very careful.'

Megan and Hank had hands free communication in their cars; I didn't, so I broke the law by staying in touch with them on the mobile. Megan kept the taxi in sight and kept up a running commentary as Hank and I tried to catch up-difficult in the thick, late afternoon traffic. Megan was enjoying herself. That worried me.

I was reminded of the John Cleese commercial for golf b.a.l.l.s where he said in mock Scots: 'It's a Scottish game-it was no meant to be fun.' This business wasn't meant to be fun, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. The thing is, it isn't always fun, and Megan had yet to find that out. She'd kicked a would-be arsonist downstairs and now she was following a taxi like Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. High points; the low points would come. I didn't want them to. I didn't want her in the business. I didn't want the responsibility.

I wrestled with these thoughts as I tracked Megan over the Harbour Bridge. Hank pa.s.sed me, let me know he was doing it, and I had conflicting thoughts about him, too: Hiring a creationist? Critical of us sceptics?

Hank called me. 'Got her in sight, looks to be headed towards Manly.'

He hung up and Megan called. 'Manly,' she said, 'and guess whose headquarters are in Manly? Lachlan Enterprises. The cab's heading that way-see you there, and don't even say it, Cliff-I won't let him spot me.'