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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
A family of evil Chapter 32
Everyone was still out at the crime scene by the time Franklin called it a day. But he had stepped back and looked at his handy work. He’d filled the whiteboards around the room with To Do Lists.Wanting to have some progress for Mike Keegan was uppermost in Franklin ’s mind when he woke the next morning after a few hours of sleep. He’d lain awake going over the evidence and trying to work out how it all fitted together. The notebook beside his bed was full of ideas that had popped up during the night. He rolled out of bed and came to a sudden stop as his legs locked tight. Franklin took a cautious step forward and painfully headed for the bathroom, his calves felt like solid planks of wood. A soak in a very hot bath might mean he might just be able to walk. That and with the help of Diclofenac, a strong anti-inflammatory, the old man’s best friend.His phone rang as he was drinking his breakfast, a steaming black cup of coffee. ‘Franklin , I want you back in the office today.’ Mike
A family of evil Chapter 33
Johnnie savoured the smoky whisky taste. That first sip was always the fiery best, the rest tended to just turn into a drink. It had been five years, but that flavour was as familiar as yesterday. He took his glass and made his way to a table in the corner of the bar. Sitting at the bar smacked of desperation or despair. He wanted to look like he was waiting, simply waiting. Most people who drank in this bar were waiting. Waiting for time to pass, for the right person to walk into the bar, waiting for a job to turn up or for a Lotto win. Like every other darkened bar in the world as familiar as a favourite armchair, it was full of dreamers and disillusioned drunks. The right person who walked in the bar could be offering to pay well but the cash wouldn’t be showing up on their tax return any time soon. Johnnie took another small sip, the burn overwhelming him with memories of another bar, another life, and a woman. The next sip sat hot in his stomach igniting a molten core of anger. T
A family of evil Chapter 34
‘I’ll ignore the fact you ignored my invitation. Go on.’‘Okay,’ He could hear the smile in her voice. ‘Apparently, the word is that all the kids who worked for Uncle Tommie are having a competition, they’ve branched out into credit cards. The kids slip into cafes and shops, it’s amazing how many of them can grab a credit card without the person noticing. Seeing as they have the network of kids, they’re going to use them in the downtime between deliveries. Believe it nor not, the cards are being collected by a guy called Buttercup.’‘Yea, I’d believe that. Jack Metricup. He’s a small-time drug dealer who covers South Auckland. That’s a bit of a step up for him.’ So, Jack was working for Shadow Man or at least, owed his business growth to him. Wonder what he’s going to have to give in return.‘Sam, Alex isn’t involved, is he?’‘No, not Alex but he said the kids are really excited about it. Apparently, they’re offering some amazing prizes for the kid who can get the most cards in a week
A family of evil Chapter 35
Geoff gave them a few more details and held up a file. ‘Here’s a summary of what I’ve told you today, if anyone has any further questions, my email is at the end. Good luck with your case, though.’ Mike had a few words with him at the door then closed the door behind him. He walked over to the white board and slipped Mike Deveroux’s pic out from under a magnet and put it on the side along with other people of interest. ‘I can assume that if Mike Deveroux is making that much money from his gambling syndicate, he’s not going to be wasting his time with gun deliveries and teenagers. So, we turn our attention to the other members of the charity, Ron Corbett and Sonia. Nothing new turns up in Sonia’s background, she looks like everything she appears to be, but Ron Corbett has resigned from the charity. There’s nothing suspicious about that except for the timing. So, we go through his background and finances with a fine-toothed comb.’Mike allocated duties all round and then went to wind up
A family of evil Chapter 36
It was Shadow Man and he was putting in an order, a large one. Franklin frowned with concentration and tilted his head to one side, listening carefully. When the tape had finished, he said, ‘Was it just me or did I detect a slight accent that time? ’Mike rewound the taped conversation and hit play again.‘There, hear it? He’s putting a slightly different accent on one word.’Mike rewound and played it again. ‘You could be right, but it’s slight. Listen to the rest of it.’ They played the conversation to the end. Mike had kept him on the line for quite a bit longer, emphasising that it was too big an order to expect without a deposit. Shadow Man agreed reluctantly to put 25% into the bank account Mike gave him. Told him that he would get further instructions when the money hit the account.‘And the franchise? I’m very interested. So interested that I wouldn’t fancy the chances of any competition staying in business long, if you get my meaning.’Mike had hesitated, surprised at the op