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A family of evil Chapter 24
It was too early for tourists and, while the tantalising smell of bread and donuts drifted from the bakery, all the cafes, bookshops and shops peddling Paua shell earrings and ashtrays were closed. Kiwi’s laughed at the gullible tourists paying good money for Paua shell, when you could pick up the mother of pearl shells off the beach chucked carelessly onto the black sand after being barbequed on the beach. Damn sight cheaper than what the shops charged for it.They ran in silence past wooden, two-story houses overlooking the harbour. What used to be considered plain old houses, were now seen as prime real estate with harbour views and they were renovated to the hilt. Some looked okay, but to Franklin , some were overdone. And you didn’t see any Maoris around this suburb, except for the local pub where they regularly clashed with the local islanders. Didn’t matter whether they were Cook Islanders or Samoan, they were all anathema to the Maoris. Didn’t make sense to outsiders as the th
A family of evil Chapter 25
He looked back up at Michael . ‘Has she laid a complaint?’‘Has she got something to complain about? Why don’t you just tell us why you were there?’The flush deepened. He said something under his breath.‘Can’t hear you, mate. You’re going to have to speak up.’ Michael was taking it easy.‘I said that I fancied her.’‘Go on.’‘I saw her at the bookshop, I was going to ask her out but I chickened out. So, I went back to work and looked up her address. I thought that if I went there, we would get a chance to talk and I could ask her out.’Franklin expelled a breath. Dead end.‘Do you know that you’re breaking the law using confidential information for your own purposes?’Adam nodded. ‘I’ve never done anything like that before, but I just couldn’t ask her out in the middle of the shop, and I couldn’t think of any other way to get to speak to her. Will I lose my job?’ He looked from Michael to Franklin and back again.‘That depends. Do you think you might try a stunt like that again?
A family of evil Chapter 26
‘You want to learn to fix bikes?’‘Yea.’‘I’ve got a friend who’s got a bike shop. Want to go see him and ask?’‘Seriously?’ Jacko looked scared.Johnnie shrugged. ‘I can get you in the door, introduce you and then it’s up to you. You’d have to convince the guy you’d be worth hiring. And then you’d have to show up every day and on time.’‘I could do that! Are you for real?’‘Let’s go talk to the man and see what happens.’ Johnnie pulled out his phone and made the call. Minutes later, they had an appointment and thirty minutes later found them entering the bike shop. Johnnie’s mate had taken redundancy and used his money to buy the business which sold new and used bikes, accessories and did repairs as well. The two of them casually strolled up the aisle through the rows of bikes, both in their own way, trying to hide their apprehension.A middle-aged man walked down to meet them, wiping his hands on his black ACDC t-shirt and black jeans. His weather-beaten face broke into a grin as he
A family of evil Chapter 27
‘I didn’t.’ Tommie seemed to be a bit short on air. Or it may have been because Arbruzzio was sucking it all up. He stood, pushed his way out of the booth and deliberately bumped into Michael as he passed.‘Sorry man,’ Michael sounded sincerely contrite. If Arbruzzio was looking for a fight, he wasn’t finding it with Michael . He stood for a moment, spat something in Greek to Tommie and stormed out through the back of the shop. A few minutes later, they heard the four-wheel drive skidding out of the alleyway.‘Hope he didn’t forget to pay for his coffee. Looks like you’re walking home.’ Franklin moved and slid into the booth that Arbruzzio had just vacated. Michael stayed standing.‘Clinton Dawson and Matt Fields.’ Franklin waited. ‘What do you know about these boys?’Tommie opened his mouth to answer, and Michael flipped out his notebook. His pen hovered over the notebook, waiting for what Tommie was going to say.Tommie looked at Michael and back to Franklin again. Franklin
A family of evil Chapter 28
‘That you, Uncle Tommie?’‘No, not this time. What’s the deal you’re offering?’They had him! Their hot suspect was on the other end of the phone. Franklin breathed out to discover he had been holding his breath.‘I have a shipment you should be very interested in. We’ve got a bigger network than anyone else you’re doing business with at the moment. We can supply because we’re global. If you’re not interested, we were going to give the New Zealand franchise to the Aussie team anyway cos your market is so small. So, you either come with us or you compete with someone who will sell better products.’‘I’m willing to look at what you’ve got to offer. And I’d like to know more about the business.’ There was no accent, the voice was as kiwi as they come, and they had no idea who they were talking to.‘Depends how much funding you’ve got.’‘Keep talking.’‘Well, we can sell to you as an end user, or you can buy a franchise. I probably don’t need to tell you that the money isn’t made doing b
A family of evil Chapter 29
She was taking her first sip of her coffee, when Stuart put his head around the door. ‘Ah, Sam, I was just looking for you. Can you give me a minute, please?’‘Sure.’ Sam took her coffee and followed Stuart into his office. She took the seat he indicated in front of his desk, and he sat in the chair beside it.‘Sam, I’m sorry but I’ve got some bad news for you. I know this will be hard for you because this is the first you’ve lost.’Sam had no idea what Stuart was talking about, she hadn’t lost anything that she knew of.‘I’m sorry Sam but we’ve lost Rhonda.’‘What do you mean lost? She’s left Auckland?’‘She’s committed suicide, Sam. She was found in her flat this morning. I’m so terribly sorry.’Sam’s body gave an involuntary jerk, and her coffee flew from the cup, half over Stuart’s desk and the rest over her black jeans. She looked at the damp jeans, it was hot coffee, but she couldn’t feel it. She looked at Stuart and for the first time noticed how tired he looked.‘How?’‘She cu
A family of evil Chapter 30
As the path curved back to the beach, Sam came back into sight again and he could see she had a rock in her right hand, which she was periodically striking on the rock beside her. She noticed him when he jumped down onto the rock shelf she was sitting on. She looked away back out to sea. He saw her face was wet and her eyes swollen from crying and his heart twisted in his chest. His instinct was to scoop her up and hold her until the pain faded, but he had to find out what she wanted, not do what he felt he needed to do.He sat on the rock beside her. ‘Who was it?’She looked at him, a crooked, wobbly smile on her face. ‘Rhonda. She was just starting to talk to me.’ Her voice wavered and he slid closer and put his arm around her. She turned into him and cried against his chest. Franklin held her, stroking her hair, soothing her with meaningless reassurances. But nothing could make any sense of such a senseless act.Slowly, she quietened and pulled back away from him. He slid her hair
A family of evil Chapter 31
Franklin listened to Michael ’s message, deleted it then listened to Mike requesting his attendance at a briefing in an hour’s time. Things were on the move. He walked over to Sam and crouched down beside her. ‘I’ve got to go.’‘I know, and you know what? I’m okay now. You were here when I needed you. You always are.’ She reached up and put her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm.‘I have a lot of thinking to do. I have to figure out what I really want to do. I thought I had become this decisive person, but you know, I haven’t even filed for divorce. There I go again, just drifting along. I need to make decisions.’‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’ve been through a lot.’She shook her head. ‘It’s time I grew up, quite frankly.’He smiled, kissed her on the cheek and stood again. ‘Let me know what it’s like when you get there. Being grown up may not be all it’s cracked up to be.’ And he turned and headed down the beach towards the path along the cliff. As he wa