Grave catch, p.6
Grave Catch, page 6
Tammy was right. The forensic tech was called in and flew directly from Cairns. She was probably still on the trawler now.
‘Point taken. What did you find out?’
‘Narcotics are from the same batch.’
‘Can you determine how long the PVC pipe has been on the beach on the Taylor property?’
‘The pipe is weathered, but it’s likely because the traffickers used it more than once. The exposed packages are starting to destabilise, flake, lose the adhesive on the tape. I need to run specific tests to be sure, but I’d estimate approximately a month.’
‘A month.’ Dawn thought about the storm in January over three months ago. She wondered how else the drugs would have ended up in the dunes. At least it closed the window on their search. ‘I’ll get the team tracking boats. Anything on the autopsy yet?’
‘Nope. But I’ll text you or call as soon as I have something.’
‘Thanks Tammy.’ Dawn ended the call and let her mind wander as she studied her reflection in the one-way mirror. Her mousy light-brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but curly wisps hung around her ears, reminding her of Abby.
She smiled as the door opened, and Ryan’s head appeared. Instead of turning, she met his gaze in the one-way mirror.
‘Glenn Forbes is ready in the next room.’
Dawn puffed out a quick breath as she got to her feet and joined her partner. The aroma of coffee hit her as she entered the hallway. Her stomach growled. Ryan grinned sheepishly.
‘What?’
‘No time for food yet, but thought you might need this.’
A takeaway cup appeared from behind his back. She snatched it from his hand, brought it to her lips and tried unsuccessfully not to moan as the flat white, double shot flowed smoothly over her taste buds and into her stomach.
‘Where’s yours?’
‘Sculled already.’ He pointed to the interview room door down the hall. ‘What did Gleeson say?’
‘No autopsy yet, but the drugs are a match and...’ She turned away from the interview room, headed down the hall and knocked on Sergeant Martin’s door. ‘Got a second Ross?’
‘What do you need?’
‘Just got off the phone to forensics. Both lots of drugs match in chemical composition.’ Ross nodded like he already knew the information. ‘The lot found out at Taylor’s place has been exposed to the sun and elements for around a month. Is there any fast way to track marine movement?’
Ross pursed his lips, then tapped his pen on them.
‘Only commercial vessels are required to check in with port authorities. Small leisure craft, even commercial fishing vessels aren’t required to check in.’
‘Commercial vessels are required to keep a log though.’ Ross nodded. ‘Do we have the FV Sandringham’s log?’
‘I’ll get Chung to find it. What are we searching for?’
‘Movements over the past month. Anything to line up with when the PVC pipe might have come ashore.’
‘They were bound to be out on the water at the time. We could possibly track the tides and work out where the pipe was tossed overboard.’ Ross scratched the back of his head. ‘But we’d need to narrow down when the pipe came ashore to be able to work out where and when it was dumped.’
‘It might go nowhere, but Tammy is working on narrowing the date and we could probably use help working out where our victim entered the water. We have eliminated the Sandringham from our crime scene. At this stage she could have been dumped in the channel or drifted there from elsewhere.’
‘The Coast Guard Commander was on board when you brought the Sandringham back to port. I’ll see if he can help.’
‘Great. Now let’s see what crewman number three has to say.’ Dawn drained her coffee, handed the empty cup to Ross, who frowned in confusion before huffing and closing his door.
Dawn turned toward the interview room down the hall when a thought popped into her head.
‘Did Steve Lowman appear surprised when I told him the drugs were found in the engine room?’
Ryan shook his head.
‘Angry, yes. But not surprised.’
Dawn nodded her head toward the interview room.
‘Shall we?’
He waved his hand for her to lead the way. Dawn smiled at how far they’d come since their first meeting.
She waited for him outside the interview room.
‘Everyone seems to think Glenn Forbes is our guy.’
Ryan pursed his lips and nodded.
‘Let’s squeeze him and see what pops.’
Dawn knew what her partner meant as she flung the door open intentionally hard. It thudded against the doorstop, and she caught it on the rebound.
‘Glenn.’ She glanced at the empty seat at his side as she deliberately swaggered to the chair opposite him. ‘No lawyer?’
Glenn lifted his chin.
‘I rang my brother. He said you have nothing on me.’
‘Your brother a lawyer then?’
‘No comment.’
‘He tell you to say that?’ Dawn slapped the folder from Steve’s interview on the table.
Glenn flinched. ‘No comment.’
Dawn’s instincts told her Glenn Forbes wouldn’t respond well to her. She slid out the chair near the recording equipment and nodded for Ryan to take the lead.
Her partner’s expression didn’t change as he dragged the chair out, spun it 180 degrees on one leg and straddled it. His arms crossed over the flimsy plastic backrest, which groaned as he rested his chin on forearms.
It was a move she’d never seen before, which wasn’t a surprise considering she and Ryan didn’t work together often. Until six months ago, he rarely came to Cooktown. He was often posted in rural and remote locations dealing with criminal activity as far away from the public eye as possible.
‘Glenn, I don’t think I formally introduced myself. I’m Detective Clint Ryan.’ He held out his hand politely.
Glenn glared suspiciously, then tentatively reached out and shook.
‘You’ve met my partner, Detective Grave.’ He didn’t wait for confirmation. ‘I’m wondering if you can settle a bet we have going?’
Glenn’s brow furrowed.
Ryan didn’t miss a beat.
‘My partner here believes you were stupid enough to steal drugs from a well-known trafficking organisation, remove their logo and packaging and repack the drugs hoping to on-sell them later.’
Glenn opened his mouth like a fish out of water. Ryan lifted his finger like an orchestra conductor and when Glenn remained silent, he smiled and carried on.
‘Whereas I think you were working for the traffickers all along. Do they know you skimmed their shipment? I’m guessing the one missing pipe wasn’t the entire load.’ Ryan dragged his chair closer.
Glenn leant back to distance himself. The chair groaned under his weight.
‘Either way, if word gets out you’ve been arrested for trafficking, you’re a dead man. Right?’ He glanced at Dawn who nodded.
‘I don’t know anything about any drugs.’ Glenn’s earlier bravado evaporated.
‘I’m not sure they’ll see it that way.’ Glenn shrunk down in his chair. Ryan jumped to his feet, legs astride his chair and thumped his hand on the table.
‘Do you want to stay alive Glenn?’
Dawn rolled her lips to keep her expression straight as Glenn shook his head and began to quiver.
Ryan deliberately misinterpreted the panic. ‘You don’t want to stay alive?’
‘No. That’s not what I meant. I meant I don’t know anything.’
Ryan stepped over the seat, rotated the chair around and shoved it under the table. The legs groaned over the worn lino floor. Dawn rose and reached for the recording equipment, ready to play along.
‘Looks like we’re done here. We’ll put the drug haul in the local paper’s police column and see what happens.’ Her hand hovered over the record button.
‘Wait. Hang on.’
Glenn reached for her hand. Ryan growled under his breath until Glenn pulled his hand back and slouched into his seat.
‘Okay. I found the drugs, when I was fishing out at the bay.’
‘That’s Quarantine Bay?’ Ryan continued to lead the interview.
Glenn nodded.
‘For the recording.’ He pointed.
‘Yes. Quarantine Bay. I set my rod up, grabbed a deck chair, shoved it in the dunes so it wouldn’t tumble over while I was fishing. The leg hit something.’
He licked his lips. For a moment Dawn thought he might stop. She opened her mouth, but a side-eye from Ryan stopped her.
Glenn swallowed.
‘If I tell you what I know, can you keep the drugs out of the paper?’
‘You’ll just be assisting the police with the woman’s death.’ Ryan assured him as he casually returned to his seat. ‘When did you go fishing out there?’
‘Last week of March.’
‘Was the PVC pipe open when you found it?’
He shook his head, breathed deeply, then puffed out his cheeks.
‘No. It was sealed. I opened one end, pulled out a few bricks of stuff, cut one open, did a little taste test like they do in the movies. No idea what it was though,’ he chuckled. ‘I was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to be shoved into the pipe.’
A thought tickled at the back of Dawn’s brain as she assessed Glenn’s story. Why not just tell them the truth from the beginning? The story was elaborate enough to be true, but something wasn’t adding up in her head.
Ryan’s next question distracted her.
‘So why did you repack it and stash it on the boat and not hand it over to the authorities?’
Glenn shrugged his shoulders as embarrassment crossed his face.
‘Stupid I guess.’
Understatement of the week! Dawn kept the thought to herself as Ryan continued taking lead.
‘If you stashed the drugs on the boat and didn’t try and sell them, why was our victim, Jasmine Reed asking your crewmates about your involvement?’
Glenn gaped at Ryan, then Dawn and the recording with confusion.
‘I don’t know how she would have known.’
Ryan gave Dawn a side-eye, no doubt asking the same questions as Dawn was now. If Glenn collected the drugs on his own, how did Jasmine find out and why was she asking Barry Melrose to help her?
‘Did you ask around town about offloading the gear?’
‘No way. I was still trying to figure out what to do with it.’
Dawn glanced at Ryan with a question in her eyes. He nodded for her to go on.
‘Do you know how many bricks you stashed in the engine room?’
Glenn’s brow creased as though he were replaying his movements in his head.
‘Five. Can I go now?’
‘No,’ they said in unison.
‘But you said if I helped, you’d keep the drugs out the paper.’
‘And we will. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be charged.’
Chapter 14
Dawn left Glenn Forbes with Reynolds and joined Ryan to update Sergeant Martin. As she drew closer, she noticed his frantic writing wasn’t about Glenn’s interview.
‘What have you got Ross?’
‘Just got off the phone with Gleeson. Doctor Mayfield has nearly completed the postmortem. Preliminary report. It appears the victim was struck below the waist, likely with a moving vehicle or heavy-duty piece of industrial equipment. He’s still trying to work out the source of the chest bruising and cause of death is unclear.’
Dawn perched herself on the corner of Jamison’s unattended desk.
‘The broken leg alone would have meant she was in agony.’ She shuddered with the thought. ‘How long until they have cause and time of death?’
‘Time of death is between midnight Sunday and 5am today.’ Ross scribbled details on the timeline running across the top of the board.
Dawn studied the timeline as she recalled what they knew.
‘The Sandringham left port at 4am, found the body a few hours later. Did she die on land or on board another boat? We know the trawler was clean.’
Ross placed the photo of the drug haul on the board and tapped it. ‘Except for the drugs.’
Dawn studied the photo of the bright orange PFDs cut open with packets of drugs on display but focused on her phone as it pinged with a text. A quick glance revealed Connie was ready for them. Dawn shoved the phone back into her pocket and returned her attention to the sergeant.
‘Has the warrant for Glenn Forbes’ phone come through yet? He said he never tried to move the merchandise, but he deliberately threw his phone overboard. Seems like an extreme move to hide a selfie with our murder victim.’
Sergeant Martin pointed to Chung as he entered the office, arms loaded with bakery food and a tray of coffee precariously balancing on top.
‘Chase those warrants I requested earlier? As soon as you get them, put Glenn Forbes’ at the top of the list and make sure you source any cloud storage.’
‘You got it Boss.’ Chung’s Australian accent didn’t match his Asian appearance, but Dawn knew his family weren’t new to Cooktown. Chinese settlers came to the area for the goldrush. They stayed for the enterprise opportunities, and most did very well for themselves.
Dawn pushed off the desk and waved for Ryan to follow.
‘Connie is ready for us.’
‘You know you should be speaking with her via police media liaison.’ Sergeant Martin’s marker pen hovered over the board.
‘We got the ID quickly because of Connie. She knew the victim and was helping her with some sort of investigation before she died. Going through the media liaison will just slow things down. Hopefully she can shed some light on what Reed was investigating.’
Ross rubbed his hand over his chin as though grooming an invisible beard, then nodded.
‘Okay, but be careful what you say. You know what reporters can be like.’
Dawn knew more than most. She still owed Connie a story about her family tragedy. Connie Winters was an astute operator, who traded her cooperation for a story. Connie was vital in controlling the press during the Lava Tube case back in November.
The price, an exclusive on the story behind Dawn’s brother’s and mother’s deaths. Connie agreed to wait until Dawn was ready to unpack it. Now wasn’t the right time. Not when she was certain Fraser’s killer didn’t act alone and her mother’s body remained unrecovered.
Ryan helped Chung unload his burden, then with a grin, lifted two lattes from the cardboard tray.
‘Thanks Chung. Don’t mind if I do.’
‘Do you want a pie too?’ The lack of sarcasm in Chung’s tone led Dawn to believe he ordered for them in any case.
‘Nope. Sounds like we’ll be having a late lunch at the Top Pub on the Queensland Police budget while we interview a witness.’
‘Lucky for some.’ Chung grabbed a white paper bag and dropped into his chair. His fingers tapped the keyboard. As the screen populated, he reached into the bag and pulled out an apple turnover, loaded with fresh whipped cream, and took a huge bite, dusting the icing sugar from his fingers, onto his shirt front, before tapping the keys some more.
Dawn hovered a moment. Chung glanced up.
‘It’s going to take me a while. I’ll let you know what I find.’
‘Make sure you pay attention to texts and photos taken around the last week of March. That’s when Forbes claims he found the PVC tube of drugs. Then download the last few days. Apparently, he took a selfie with the victim.’
‘Bit macabre.’
‘I agree. But maybe he caught something in one of those pictures that changed by the time I arrived. As much as I think Forbes is up to no good, I’m not sure he has the motive, or the brains to be connected to our victim’s death.’
She wasn’t sure he was smart enough to steal and hoard drugs either, but as she glanced at the photo of the narcotics haul, her gut warned her it wasn’t a coincidence. Especially considering they were all Richardson’s drugs.
Ryan passed her a latte.
‘You good to get going?’
Dawn nodded, sipped her coffee, stepped toward the exit, then stopped.
‘Forbes said he stashed the drugs, but I can’t see him doing it without anyone noticing and I’m not buying his fishing story. There was something odd in his tone or the way he told it.’
Ryan swallowed his mouthful of coffee with a nod.
‘It came out of nowhere. But he was worried about us sharing the drug haul with the public. He must have known they were hidden on board.’
‘It was Steve who disappeared to the engine room before I arrived.’ Dawn sipped her coffee as they stepped through the security door into the foyer. ‘They might be in it together, but only one is owning up.’
‘Why?’ Ryan opened the front station door.
‘Exactly.’ Dawn stepped outside into growing moist air. ‘Let’s see if Connie can shed some light on how Richardson’s drugs ended up on the fishing vessel that hauled Jasmine Reed’s body out of the ocean.’
Chapter 15
Dawn entered the paved beer garden and embraced the afternoon shade. Potted plants hung from the timber beams, while large glossy-leaved plants occupied the corner garden.
Constable Burger nursed a glass of cola, dripping with condensation as he waited on a worn wooden bench in the afternoon heat. His eyes never left Connie and her cameraman sitting two tables over, heads together, shuffling paperwork back and forth between them.
Dawn gave him a nod as she caught sight of Mari behind the bar. The petite Asian woman was another resident whose history went back to the founding years of Cooktown.
Her husband, Ben appeared carrying a full keg on one broad shoulder. His white beard was spotted with ginger remnants, but his tattooed arms still bulged with muscles.
The old bikie wasn’t one to be messed with, but Dawn had known him most of her life. He moved to Cooktown years ago, leaving his affiliation with outlawed gangs behind.
Connie shuffled over to make room for Dawn to sit. Tommy stacked the pictures they were previewing and rose.
