Death on Dangar Island

Tuesday Morning

The inclinator clanked in the stillness of the morning. There was something exotic about watching the little open platform climb its series of saw-toothed links through the trees to meet them. David answered Gary’s questions enthusiastically until it arrived, then energetically waved them onto the lift. Israel watched Jon’s frowning face disappear from view as they started their descent towards the Statuss.

They arrived at the bottom of the cliff and stepped out onto the pier. Israel smiled at David. ‘Your work in the beauty industry is obviously very lucrative. Do you enjoy it?’

‘What’s not to like when you get to play with toys like this?’ He winked at them and hopped across the small gap onto a wooden platform forming part of the transom. Without pause, he busied himself unhooking the protective canvas strung taut over the back of the boat. Once he’d finished, he reached over and welcomed them aboard.

The rear cockpit was open to the elements. It sported a modular lounge of faux leather and an adjustable wooden dining table. David lifted the hatch on a gleaming white cabinet adjacent to the modular lounge, revealing a wet bar and a barbecue grill. ‘You can catch them off the side and throw them straight on the barbecue!’

‘Sounds great,’ Gary shot back, running his hand possessively over the gleaming chrome edges. ‘Let’s fly down to the Bay of the Americas and give the theory a test.’

The elegant alfresco area held Gary’s full attention until David unlocked the rear sliding door and showed him inside the very heart of the beast. The interior of the Statuss was as impressively appointed as the exterior was beautiful. For someone of Gary’s age and upbringing, entering the bespoke interior of a Princess V52 was like Alice entering Wonderland. He wandered about the upper cabin in a daze.

Israel wandered down the interior stairs, humming to himself as he stepped through the open-plan, multi-level interior: it allowed the galley and dining area below to enjoy natural light from the oversized portholes and the huge sunroof above. He investigated further. His head swivelled this way and that, absorbing the opulence. ‘Would you mind if I explored a little more?’ he called out to David, who was busy preparing the boat for travel.

‘Oh go ahead, knock yourself out. Although I don’t mean that literally’ he laughed. ‘I’ll call out when we’re about to take off.’

Israel forged ahead to the main cabin near the bow of the boat, leaving Gary and David up at the helm. He strolled around the room, shamelessly opening drawers and peeking inside cupboards. After a good poke around, he headed back through the kitchen area towards the stairs.

When he got back to the helm above, he found Gary watching David as he went through his start-up routine. By the time the powerful motors roared into life and David was ready to give the order to cast off, Gary was very obviously jealous.

‘Right, where are we going?’ he blurted out.

David gave him a sly glance. ‘Well, I was just going to give you a lift over to Brooklyn.’

Gary’s face dropped. ‘It’s only a few hundred metres. We could be there in a minute or two.’

David smiled. ‘When do you boys need to get there?’

‘Oh, we don’t need to be in Brooklyn for a while, do we, Iz? – let’s go for a hoon!’

David laughed out loud at the joy in Gary’s voice. ‘Right, anywhere you want to go in particular? We could head upriver and open the taps in the calmer water?’

‘Sounds like a plan. Want me to cast off for you?’

A moment later, they had slipped their mooring and were moving towards deeper water, the engines booming and juddering. Israel peered out of a lower porthole at the small bay they were just leaving. The only visible structures were the jetty and the metal cage of the inclinator. The rest was just forest. Even Jon Morris’s house wasn’t visible from this angle.

David opened the throttle and the bow leaped upwards as the engines bellowed and they accelerated away. They headed out underneath the metal curves of the Brooklyn railway bridge and towards the outline of another huge concrete bridge in the distance that carried the six lanes of the M1 freeway. David pushed a button and the roof above the helm position where he and Gary were sitting started to retract, allowing the sun and some fresh air to come spilling in. The two chatted for a few minutes as David showed Gary the controls.

‘Take over for me would you big fella?’

Gary raised his eyebrows in anticipation as David insisted on giving him the helm.

After taking orders for the espresso machine in the galley, David ushered Israel downstairs to show off the expensively furnished kitchen. As they entered the galley, David picked up a wine-red scarf emblazoned with a white eagle that lay across one of the bench seats in the small dining area near the stairs and stowed it neatly in a cupboard near the sink.

‘Oh,’ he sighed in his effete voice. He turned to face Israel and his knees sagged as he leaned his back against the kitchen counter. ‘You clean up and clean up but you never manage to get things perfectly straight … Isn’t that right, Professor?’

‘I know exactly what you mean, David, but I’m afraid my apartment has never been quite as spotless as your boat. What a magnificent thing it is.’

David shrugged and started preparations for their coffee. The dull rumble of the engines below decks allowed them to talk without Gary overhearing.

‘Look, Professor, I’m sure you noticed some friction between Jon and me.’ David scowled. ‘We have a difficult relationship sometimes.’

Israel wondered whether David guessed he had been eavesdropping in the corridor yesterday. ‘Excuse me for saying this, David, but you and your brother seemed to be at odds over some issue yesterday. I hope my appearance didn’t aggravate the situation?’

‘Oh, not at all, Professor.’ David turned and put down a short black on the counter in front of him. ‘It’s just a little game we play sometimes. He doesn’t like the fact that I own what he calls “poodle parlours” or that I own a big pink boat, or that I wear nice clothes, et cetera et cetera.’ He waved his hand. ‘To get back at him, I sometimes put on what I call my OTT camp act, especially when I think it might embarrass him. Like when he introduces me to a new person, for instance.’

‘Oh, I see …’ said Israel, sipping at his coffee, although he wasn’t quite sure that he did. Was the man saying that he was not gay? If so, why care what a virtual stranger thought about him? ‘So is Jon married, then? His home seemed to lack a womanly touch.’

David shot him a wry smile. ‘How perceptive you are, Professor. His official divorce came through about six months ago, but they’ve lived apart for years. The whole thing was terribly messy. Dana and the kids barely speak to him now. Sometimes I worry he’s going a little mad up in that house on the hill all by himself.’

‘So no one visits him at all? It sounds like he has become a hermit.’

‘There’s been talk of a woman in his life recently. A young woman, I’m told. I only know that from listening to the local gossip, though. He’s never mentioned anything to me, and our relationship operates on a strictly “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis.’ The odd man changed conversational tack. He stroked his chin and a dimple of concern appeared on his cheek. ‘Look, Professor. I was talking to Gary while we were getting underway. He told me the police don’t think this girl’s death was an accident anymore.’

Israel placed his hands down on the bespoke kitchen counter and leaned in a little closer. ‘Are you worried about your brother, David? Do you think he might have known the girl?’ When no reply was forthcoming, Israel continued. ‘I think it’s very sad that Jon has become separated from his family. What about you, David? Do you have a family?’

The bald man snickered in his high, fluting voice. ‘No. I like to play the field. Footloose and fancy-free, that’s me. But you never know, if the right person came along …’ He held Israel’s eyes for a moment too long.

The angle of the floor they were standing on dropped as the boat decelerated. There was an anxious call for help from upstairs.