‘That’s a crazy idea,’ I told Price. ‘I can’t question people who don’t want to be questioned or get warrants to search places, or offer immunity to informants who might be involved. That’s how it’s done and it’s police work.’
We were in a pub in Bankstown, not far from Price’s office. We were both drinking Scotch and water and I’d told him about finding Danni and how she’d reacted before we got on to his idea.
‘I know that,’ he said. ‘And I don’t mean for you to make a citizen’s arrest or anything.’
‘Then what?’
He had a drink and fidgeted. Off the smokes again. ‘You must have some ideas you could follow up. You’ve been right in the middle of this thing. Anything you come up with could point the police in the right direction. They haven’t got a clue.’
I drank some whisky and thought about it. It was tempting to keep on earning money from something that had twisted and turned and was far from resolved. ‘Let’s clear a few things up first. I believe Danni when she says she didn’t supply your wife with drugs. She said your wife had been using them for years, since her modelling days. But, with one thing and another, it’d got out of hand.’
‘Jesus. But Jason told me…’
‘I don’t think we can put too much faith in Jason. He wasn’t very bright and my guess is that your wife told him that because she hated Danni so much.’
‘I knew they didn’t get along but… hated? Why?’
Was this the time to tell him? I thought it probably was. He was hardly the grieving widower. When we’d shaken hands on meeting I’d noticed a faint perfume on him and it wasn’t his aftershave. In fact he hadn’t shaved and with the stubble and in jeans and a Sydney 2000 Olympics T-shirt he looked younger than in his business gear, despite the haggard face and sleep-deprived eyes.
‘Your wife was having an affair with Jason, or had had one. She kept a photo of one of their meetings among her things. Danni has a photo of Jason as well. Those two women had reason to hate each other. Danni seems to have some special reason she sort of taunted me with. Any idea what that might be?’
‘No. None. This is all news to me. God, what a fuck-up.’
‘When did the police search your house?’
He scratched at the stubble as if doing it would scrape away an unpleasant memory. ‘They arrived just as I was leaving to go and make my statement. I let them go ahead. I didn’t think there was anything to hide.’
‘There’s always something to hide. They’ll have found those photos and be interested in them and in you and in me. I know they’re interested in me.’
Price drained his drink and got up for more. We’d been there a while and he was on his third while I had a fair bit left of my second. He was buying and I suspected that his were doubles. He came back and plonked the drinks down. Maybe he’d skolled one at the bar because he was suddenly aggressive.
‘How’d you know about what’s in Sammy and Danni’s bedrooms?’
I told him about my visit and Samantha’s injury and Dr Cross. The aggro drained away from him as he listened and he seemed to lose interest in his drink. When I’d finished he ran his hand over his hair and looked desperate.
‘Go and buy some fags,’ I said. ‘It’s not worth the grief.’
‘No! Look, Hardy, I know it’s all a fucking mess but I need to feel I’ve got someone on my side.’
‘What about your lady lawyer?’
‘She’ll do everything she can but…’
‘Did you tell them you were with Junie that morning?’
‘No. I said I was at work.’
‘Great. They’ll blow that open very bloody soon. They’re not as dumb as you think, Marty. They’ve got us both in their sights.’
‘All the more reason to stick together.’
It was a pretty good line to come up with at that point, but it wasn’t what convinced me. As I’d said to Danni, with cuts on my head and glass on the kitchen floor, I was personally involved. I agreed to stay with the case and to follow up on a couple of ideas I had. Price didn’t even ask what they were. He said he’d put a cheque in the mail and then he noticed his almost untouched drink. He picked it up, took a moderate sip and pulled his mobile out of the sports jacket hanging over the back of his chair. He dialled and got an answer and I turned away politely but kept listening while he said a few words I couldn’t quite catch.
He put the phone on the table and took another pull on his drink. ‘Danni,’ he said. ‘She answered. Said she thought you were OK and she’ll stay in touch. Thanks, Cliff.’
First good news of the day.
Price left and I got a hamburger from the snack bar and ate it with a cup of coffee. I decided that I’d pursue the relatively straightforward Ramsay Hewitt matter and let the complex Price case swill around a bit in my brain. I washed my face, rinsed my mouth and combed my hair in the pub toilet and was ready for work. I called Regina Kipps on my mobile and hung up when she answered. Concord it was.
It was almost dark when I arrived at Mrs Kipps’ house but quite a few interior and exterior lights were on. Odd. I bowled up to the front door and stood, bathed in light on the porch, thinking that if someone really wanted to shoot me this’d be the moment. The thought was so strong that I span around and looked at the street, but it was quiet. Still, I was spooked and moved a little to get protection from one of the porch pillars. I rang and heard the footsteps as before and there was Mrs Kipps, wrapped in a red silk Chinese robe looking at me through the metal mesh. She had a glass of clear liquid in her hand in which ice tinkled as she stood, not all that steadily. Gin and tonic maybe, but where was the lemon?
‘Yes?’
‘Mrs Kipps, I called earlier. I want to talk to you about Ramsay Hewitt.’ I showed her my licence folder and tried to look serious.
‘Oh, yes. The sort-of policeman. I suppose you’re really a debt collector or something.’
‘Among other things. May I come in?’
‘I don’t know. I’m on my own.’
The way she said it made it sound like the worst thing in the world. Maybe it is. I tried to seem harmless — a bit difficult looking the way I do. I gestured at the floodlit porch. ‘We could talk out here. It’s about as bright as the Olympic Stadium.’
She giggled, fine for Cathy Freeman, but an unfortunate sound coming from a middle-aged woman. ‘I’m being silly. Of course you can come in, and if you rape and strangle me what would it matter?’
She opened the security door, backed up cautiously on her high heels, and invited me in with a movement that caused the ice in her glass to tinkle again. She walked away with a sway of the hips that was more alcohol-induced than seductive. She shot me a look over her shoulder and tried to toss her long bleached hair aside at the same time and almost lost balance. She steadied herself against the wall.
‘I’m drunk,’ she said.
‘I’ve been that way myself, Mrs Kipps. It isn’t terminal.’
‘Misery is. Call me Regina.’
We got moving again and went through to a sitting room that looked like something out of a pornographic movie — the carpet was snow white, the couch and chairs were covered in fake tiger skin and the cushions were black satin. A bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin sat on the low table along with an ice bucket holding a tall bottle of Schweppes tonic water. She slumped down on the couch and pointed at the empty glass on the table. ‘Help yourself, but I’ve run out of lemon.’
What can you do? I made myself a drink and sat in one of the tiger chairs. I raised the glass to her. ‘Cheers.’
‘Huh,’ she said.
I tapped my glass. ‘You were expecting someone?’
She swigged and had almost nothing left. ‘No.’
‘Ramsay’s got a sister
‘Poor thing.’
‘Yes, well. She’s concerned about him.’
‘Should be,’ she slurred, ‘he’s headed for gaol or worse.’
‘Worse? What’s worse than gaol, Regina?’
Her eyes narrowed the way they can with drunks who know their faculties are impaired but want to get something straight. I know the feeling — it’s like looking back at a building wave and wondering whether you can catch it. But being drunk makes it harder to come at something directly.
‘Who told you about me?’ she asked.
‘A woman I met at Prue Bonham’s place.’
‘Prue Bonham! Her! I could tell you some things about her. She hates me ‘cos I took Ramsay away from working for her. She’s a criminal, that woman. A bloody criminal.’ She waved her glass, noticed it was almost empty and leaned forward to top it up. ‘You’re not drinking.’
I took a solid swig to appease her and to keep her on this promising track. Her robe fell open showing white, slack breasts. I tried to look appreciative and she giggled again.
‘What d’you mean, Regina? About Prue Bonham?’
‘You know,’ she said, ‘I was very disappointed when it was you at the door this morning. That was you, wasn’t it?’
I nodded.
‘Yes. I was expecting something… someone else. But you’re not so bad in a rough sort of way. I’ll bet you didn’t get anywhere with Prue though. She says she’s given sex up but I’ll bet she’s a lesbian. They make me sick. Sick!’
She underlined her heterosexuality with a slug of gin. I kept her company. I don’t know anything about gin except that it comes in bottles and you put tonic water with it, but this stuff had a taste that beat what they serve at the Toxteth to a frazzle. Regina Kipps was in a very confused state — two-thirds drunk, lonely, randy, filled with resentment. The resentment seemed to gain the upper hand because she pulled the robe closed and her thin lips clenched into a tight line before she took another drink.
‘She’s a blackmailer. Ramsay told me. He was afraid of her and those people: They prey on women who… have needs. Women who… you know, want… Women with money. Married ones with rich husbands. They threaten to tell the husbands unless the women pay them money.’ She hiccupped. ‘Wouldn’t work with me. Haven’t got a husband. He died and left me… Haven’t got any children. Haven’t got anyone.’
She was close to tears and from experience I knew that a crying jag would jolt her out of this confessional, recriminatory mood. I got up and sat next to her on the couch. I clinked my glass against hers.
‘Drink up, girl. You’ve got them beat. They can’t touch you. What did Ramsay say?’
She gave me a brave smile. ‘You’re nice and you’re right. They can’t get to me with their blackmail and their drugs.’
‘Drugs, too?’
‘Oh, yes. They’re very bad, those people. They get the women hooked on drugs and then they can do anything they like with them.’
‘What people, Regina?’
She slumped against me but not amorously. The gin was getting to her motor centres and she was starting to drift to another time and another place. She hummed a tune and then murmured the words, ‘Lloyd George knew my father, Father knew Lloyd George. Know that one?’
‘Yes.’ I hummed along.
‘Not Lloyd George, Lord George. They’re the people. Not nice. Not nice boys even. Not like Randall’s boys. Nice boys.’
‘Are you saying Ramsay’s with the Lord George Agency?’
That I knew about her recreational activities didn’t seem to surprise her by this time. She was past making judgements. Anything can connect with anything else when you’re in that state. Pressed hard against me, she shook her head violently and I got a whiff of gin and perfume and sweat.
‘No! No! He wouldn’t. She tried to entice him into joining them but he heard things. He saw things in her house and he got out. He came to me. He’s a lovely boy.’
It was about the last way I’d describe Ramsay Hewitt, but Regina Kipps was in a maudlin world of her own. She pushed away from me, reached her glass and knocked the contents back as if she knew the effect it’d have and wanted it.
I eased away on the couch. ‘Regina, I have to go.’
‘S’all right. Everybody’s gotta go. Know that one? Everybody’s gotta go. Rolling Stones. Great music, Stones. Hubby didn’t think so but hubby’s dead. Mick’s still alive. Good old Mick.’
She was slipping fast. I took the glass from her hand and put it on the table. ‘Where’s Ramsay now? Who’s he with?’
‘University,’ she said. ‘That university bitch. He’ll steal from ‘er. He’ll break ‘er heart. Bad boy.’
She slid sideways and her eyes fluttered, then closed. I put a cushion under her head and lifted her feet onto the couch. She wore silver ankle-strap sandals with very high heels. I undid them and put them aside. She looked comfortable enough but sad as a child’s coffin in her red silk robe on the tiger skin couch.
I did a quick recce of the house to make sure there was no gas leaking, no hot plates burning, no coffee maker simmering. I finished my drink and touched her on the top of her blonded head on my way out. She didn’t move.