The NSW police Central Operations building was on Elizabeth St. The windows on the East side delivered a rewarding view of the northern end of Hyde Park. Needless to say, the higher up the ranks you were, the better views you were rewarded with. Detective Inspector Taylor and his team got rewarded sometimes; when they stood up and looked over the rows of partitions. The off cream frontrunner on the partitions of level two hosted a variety of photo's, drawings, charts and phone numbers. Most of the people on level two had something to do with their current case they were working on, pinned up in front of them. Most of the window view offices were occupied by anyone with the word 'Commissioner' in their title, as well as Chief Superintendent Dave Holland; Mitch Taylor's boss. Dave had served his time on the ground as Detective. He was down to earth, and would always stick up for his boys. A large framed picture of an exotic island, surrounded by crystal clear blue ocean waters told Mitch that Dave was already settling into retirement mode.
"Coffee?" Mitch asked Brandon and Thomas. Both of them accepted; Brandon now wearing a more comfortable choice of clothing. Thomas pushed his chair back, until it collided with the corner of the filing cabinet near the door way. "Three sugars, thanks Mitch."
"Are you sure you need it?"
Thomas patted his paunch "I like sweet things."
Mitch only had to walk past two more partitions before he reached the tiny kitchen. Totally inadequate considering the amount of people on this level, the laminate was lifting off the aging chipboard cupboards. The medium sized fridge had an inventory of wasted lunch provisions. Needless to say, most of the workers on level two ate out often. The red and white chequered tea towel had seen cleaner days too. The only redeeming feature in Mitch's view was the new espresso machine with its gleaming silver exterior.
Thomas eagerly accepted his coffee as Mitch produced five sugar sachets from his pocket and tossed them on his desk. "So, what have we got?" asked Mitch as he leaned on the partition with his latte in hand.
Brandon spun around on his swivel chair to face Mitch. "Not a lot. No witnesses, no identity, no motive."
"Hopefully something will turn up in the autopsy tomorrow. Angel may turn up some new evidence." Mitch watched as Thomas ripped open his third sachet and emptied it into his mug.
"Brandon, if you can get to work on obtaining any CCTV footage, and keep an eye out for any missing persons reports. Thomas, find out what clubs were open, and call them to see if they remember anything out of the ordinary." Mitch took a decent sip of his Latte. "The only way we are solving this one is through hard work."
Sitting down at his desk, Mitch hung up his jacket over the chair. The partition in front of him hosted a calendar, the newspaper clippings from Mitch's last busts, a phone directory listing of the building, a framed certificate of his appointment, and a picture of Mitch, Kate, and their son Nathan whilst on a holiday in Hawaii. Nineteen years old and in university now, Nathan was already slightly taller than Mitch. Only five years ago in Hawaii seemed like yesterday, and he appeared so much happier then. Nathan was probably typical for a teenager, thought Mitch. He knew his promotion and the last few cases he had taken had meant he wasn't spending as much time with Nathan as he should have. Mitch had tried of course to be more involved with his son, but was usually met with indifference, or excuses of being too busy. Busy with friends at parties, busy on Facebook, busy with schoolwork; busy, busy, busy.
To Mitch, he seemed like such a rebel, but then again, how was that any different to the way Mitch was at that age? He'd tried on many occasions to lay down the law, but eventually resigned himself to the fact that his son was going to make his own decisions no matter what Mitch wanted. Sooner or later he'd have to grow up. Mitch just hoped that he'd find decent friends and not waste his time at university. There was no point in Nathan staying on Campus. Their house on Colbourne Avenue Glebe was a short bike ride away from the university. All those years raising a child and working on his relationship with Kate. Mitch used to feel important in those days; now he felt like an extra wheel, just turning in the motions of life.
Feeling a vibration in his trouser pocket, Mitch pulled out his iPhone and swished the green arrow.
"Mitch Taylor."
"Mitch, it's Angel. If you're not doing anything tomorrow morning, can you call in at my office?"
"What time?"
"Say around ten?"
"Alright then, see you there." Mitch slid his iphone back into his pocket as he listened to Thomas talking to what was probably one of the barmen from a night club.
"Yeah, well could have been a wall-flower, can't confirm, but I can tell you she was a merry in a red dress. Maybe someone tanked her up with some Rohy before taking her out to the toby?"
"Look cop, I'm just paid to serve the drinks," was the reply on the other end of the phone. "There are girls with red dresses in here all the time, and they're all the same."
"Yeah, well, don't try to shade anything from me, or I'll be the busy fellow busting up your boss's chat with a warrant!" Thomas slammed the phone down. "Half these guys take me for a gofor Mitch."
Mitch flipped open his laptop screen. "Let's just hope we get a witness soon."
"We got a probable missing persons report matching the girl's description. I should go down and get a statement." said Brandon with some enthusiasm.
"Parents?" asked Mitch.
"No," responded Brandon in a surprised tone. "Boyfriend."
Mitch made a sweeping motion with his arm, "Well, giddy up then."
Mitch stared at the growing pile of paperwork to his left. People were beginning to walk out of the office. It was 5pm already. "I've got to go Thomas."
"Fancy a pint at the local?"
Mitch patted his stomach, "You know I'm on a health kick Thomas."
Thomas scratched his head, "What are you talking about man; is that some Aussie slang I'm not aware of? Seriously, come out for a few drinks, I've nothing else to do."
Mitch shook his head, "Sorry Thomas, I have to get back to Kate..." Mitch cast his eyes to the floor.
"Aw, go on then, don't worry about me. With any luck, Kath Turner will go out to dinner with me."
Mitch laughed, "That's the funniest thing you've said all day."
Mitch parked his black commodore in front of their Victorian terrace. Recently rendered and renovated, it flowed over 4 levels, and was surprisingly spacious considering what most the other houses in the street had to offer. It had a large garden, 4 bedrooms, attic, basement study, and even a cellar. The cellar had a large wine rack, and used to have an impressive home bar, with just enough room for a poker table that Mitch and his co-workers spent Friday nights playing on. Ever since Mitch started his health kick; at least that's how he used to explain it to people; the bar and poker table had been pushed to the wall, and the empty floor space was filled with gym equipment, along with two tall quality speakers that had been modified to accept his iPhone, enabling him to play his favourite tunes while working out. The bar fridge was still in use, but now stored Powerade and water bottles.
The heavy gunmetal grey security door was a necessary addition. Being a Detective could sometimes make you a special target for criminals seeking revenge. Maybe a relative of some drug dealer you'd put away, or a thief out on parole who's not really concerned about reforming their life, wanted a bit of payback. Maybe some killer you put away for 15 years owed someone else in the underworld a lot of money and they now held you responsible. Either way; better to be safe than shot.
Mitch stepped through the door and onto the wooden floor boards. The ceilings were high and recently painted in crisp white. The dampened sound of loud rock music came from above. Nathan had decided to claim the attic bedroom as his, which suited Mitch and Kate just fine. He had his own privacy and balcony. The subtle graduating stairs lead straight to the front door in case he wanted to escape. There used to be a time when Nathan told them he was going out. Now they only knew by the click of the door. Other than the musical vibrations, the only other noise that could be heard was the television. Coming through the hallway, Mitch entered into the lounge room and noticed Kate sitting with her legs tucked up on the cream white leather lounge. Kate's head was bent over, rested on her left arm. Her right arm was lying over the edge of the lounge and onto the side table; her hand gripped an empty crystal glass. Next to the glass, some of the sleeping pills that had been prescribed to her by her doctor were scattered from the toppled white plastic container. The channel 7 news was up to the sports; Mark Webber had just missed the podium in the recent Formula 1 race.
"Hi Kate, are you okay? I brought some dinner home." Mitch held up the white plastic bag with three containers of food that he had purchased from his favourite Chinese takeaway. Mongolian Lamb, chicken cashews with vegetables and special fried rice.
Kate's blonde hair barely moved as she lifted her head slightly with a moaned response, "not hungry." Letting go of the glass, her legs slid outwards, spreading further over the lounge as she rested her head on the soft cushion near the armrest. Mitch thought of arguing with her about her needing to eat more. He always thought she was too thin even before these recent events. Leaving the food on the white and black speckled granite bench top, Mitch took his gear upstairs, showered and changed before heading back down.
Feeling fresher, Mitch started to make his way back to the kitchen. Stopping at the graduating stairs, Mitch looked up, considering if he should interrupt Nathan, but decided not to. It had been a long day. Walking past the third bedroom, Mitch slowly opened the door and viewed the light pink walls. The cot was still neatly made with the lace quilt that Kate's mother had handed down to her. A mobile hung from the ceiling. The light cast moon and star shadows onto the wall. Mitch slowly closed the door until he heard a solitary 'click'.
Mitch balanced his plate of recently heated Chinese food in his left hand while he used his right to lift up Kate's legs just enough so he could slide onto the couch. Kate groaned sleepily as Mitch lowered her legs onto his lap. An advertisement trying to convince viewers about the responsible impact of mining in the State played in front of Mitch, but his mind was on Kate. Mitch remembered times from early on in their marriage, times of closeness and happiness. Now sometimes it seemed like the time they spent together in between work and daily life, was pulling them apart. Recent events made Mitch feel as if everything was slipping from his grip.
The music stopped playing from Nathan's room, and his footsteps could be heard coming to the lounge room. Mitch didn't want to disturb Kate again, but turned his head around instead. "You going out?"
Nathan didn't come around in front of his father's view, staying just behind his peripheral vision, breathing a huff in frustration. "Yeah, I'm going out." Nathan slapped his arms against his side in frustration. "Wha? What am I, like 12 years old or something?"
Mitch tried to twist further around, "No, wait, I'm...just looking out for your wellbeing."
"What, afraid I'm running with the wrong crowd? I don't need you to put my friends on a lie detector test to make sure they're on the approved list Mitch."
"Do you need a lift anywhere?"
The clang of the security door signalled that it was already too late for Mitch to try and gain his son's friendship back. He couldn't blame Nathan of course. Some of Mitch's previous cases had really taken his time away from his family. It was easy to justify that a hardened criminal was no longer hurting the innocent, but it still couldn't bring back the time lost from being there at a critical time in his son's development.
Mitch's iPhone made a shrill noise as it displayed Brandon's caller ID.
"What's up?"
"Boyfriend had a picture of her. It's our girl. I told him he'd have to come in tomorrow to give statement. Want me to inform the family?"
"No, I'll do it." Mitch thought of the many times he had had to deliver the news to family members. They all asked the same questions. Why did this happen? Do you know who did it? Why? Mitch knew he could never satisfy their need for meaningful answers; often there was none. All he could do was tell them the facts. Sometimes he would even keep that much from them. The disturbing details of what was inflicted on their loved ones, was often too much to fathom. They'd find out soon enough if there was a court case. The expressions on their faces after the court cases were finished, always struck Mitch as something profound. From that moment on, nothing was the same; everything they were, was now changed forever.
"See you in the morning then."
Mitch placed his phone down, and put his dinner plate aside. With his arm around Kate's legs, he leaned into a comfortable position and closed his eyes.