There was a pause as Gary’s face fell. ‘That’s so sad,’ he said quietly.
Israel’s face reflected Gary’s expression. ‘Yes, very sad, my friend. Very sad indeed. It gets worse though. She had enough heroin in her blood for an overdose.’
Gary just shook his head. ‘Bloody hell,’ he said. And then again with emphasis. ‘Bloody hell. So they reckon it was an OD then?’
‘I’m afraid it’s not quite as simple as that. The forensic pathologist discovered our unlucky young lady had brown snake venom in her body as well. This leaves us in a difficult situation. The preliminary verdict was death by snakebite, but I can’t see that it will stand up to too much scrutiny.’
Gary recovered himself enough to start stirring the food again. ‘So she had dope in her as well as venom? Did she have old track marks on her? Was she a user?’
‘Yes, the same question occurred to me. The pathologist found that Roxanne did have some previous injection sites but she obviously wasn’t a long-term user or there would have been other signs such as damaged or collapsed veins.’
Gary nodded knowingly as Israel pressed on. ‘It looks to me like a murder has been committed. The presence of the venom is very significant in that regard. If I’m correct, then this has been a calculated crime, designed to evade the obvious conclusion that there has been foul play.’
Gary grimaced, and his brow furrowed. ‘You know what, mate? I’m starting to come around to your way of thinking. This whole thing stinks. There’s no way that girl died by accident. She was pregnant, and that’s pretty suss in itself, but when you throw in the heroin and a whack of snake venom, it just bloody stinks. You’re right. I think someone knocked her off. But why? And who?’
Israel peered into the pan Gary was stirring. ‘That looks delicious, but I hope the chicken is free range.’
Gary puffed his cheeks. ‘You know I wouldn’t serve up a bird that had suffered, Israel! I know how you feel about all that. This one is certified free range and organic. It was kept indoors at night where its owners read it bedtime stories and comforted it if it had nightmares. Satisfied? Anyway, you love birds so much, how come you’re happy to eat them?’
Israel gave him a quick sideways glance. ‘Life can be complicated.’ His tone was sharper than he intended and he consciously moderated his voice before continuing. ‘Every day I thank my lucky stars I have enough to eat, and I appreciate the sacrifice of any living creature that becomes my food.’ Israel watched his friend’s face fall. He moved closer and gently touched him on the shoulder. ‘I’m sorry Gary, I was simply asking about the bird in case you may have overlooked the matter. I can see now that I was wrong.
‘I’m also glad that you can see now why I’ve been calling the death of this girl a murder from the time we discovered her body. There are too many little questions. Too many little frayed edges that when you pull them …’ He made a gesture with his palms coming away from each other. ‘The story of the snakebite falls apart. So we come to those questions you ask, the “why” and the “who”. These are difficult questions, but if we know the “why”, then we will almost certainly know where to look for “who”.’
‘So who would fake a snakebite in order to kill a pregnant young woman? Quite a number of the people we have met on the island so far have been acting suspiciously. Our good friend and neighbour Dorothy, for instance, omitted to tell us she was awake and squawking at the very time this murder was taking place. Then, the following night, a person or persons unknown released a large snake into her house in order to frighten her.’
Gary tasted his risotto and looked suitably appreciative of his own talents. ‘I asked her about those noises while you were locked away in your room. She flat out denied she was awake at all. Come to think of it, it wasn’t long after that when she took off back to her place. Sorry. I didn’t mean to step on your toes there, mate. Hope I haven’t muddied the waters.’
‘On the contrary, I think you’ve done me a service by letting her know I overheard her that morning. It may precipitate some action on her behalf that will lead us towards an explanation. The other thing it has achieved, of course, was getting her to move on so that we can now debrief in peace.’
Gary had moved across the cramped galley kitchen and was now putting together a rocket, pear and parmesan salad to accompany the risotto. ‘Why would someone try to scare Dot? Do you think she might know something she hasn’t told us yet?’
‘It’s quite possible she’s holding something back. Perhaps she observed something that seemed unimportant at the time, but in the light of other facts has now taken on some relevance. She may even be holding that over someone’s head.’
Israel set the table indoors and checked that the windows facing Dot’s house were closed. It was tempting to take advantage of the cool breeze that had sprung up, but he wanted their conversation kept private. They plated up in the kitchen and sat down facing each other to consume the fruit of Gary’s labours.
‘Then we come to Mr Mitchell Brentwood, the manager of the Dangar Island Bowling Club. He was friendly enough, but I got the sense he was straining to eavesdrop on us after we mentioned our interest in the case.’
‘And he knew about her face piercing,’ added Gary.
‘Yes, indeed. Then Dorothy claims to have seen the two of them conversing in circumstances that she describes as almost covert. When you add in the fact that he also has a criminal record, he seems quite a likely candidate for a killer.’
Gary raised his eyebrows, finishing a mouthful of food. ‘Oh, and I forgot to mention that Dot just told me he keeps snakes as a hobby. She said it only just occurred to her.’
‘Well, that will be an interesting point to pursue. I wonder if he keeps any venomous snakes? I’m sure he must have known Roxanne but is unwilling to admit it. I wonder what it was about Roxanne that inspires people to deny all knowledge of her. Everyone except Dorothy, that is …’
‘Megan was happy enough to say she knew her.’
Israel grinned. ‘Ah, very good. So your broad shoulders and worldly charm did not fail you, and she took you into her confidence. What else did you learn, apart from the fact that she knew Roxanne? Oh, and that she discriminates against people on the basis of their skin colour?’
Gary smirked back. ‘You’re quick sometimes, aren’t you? What gave you that idea, anyway?’
‘Sometimes I just know from a look.’
‘I couldn’t believe it. She asked me if you were Lebanese! I had to have a chuckle at that. So, anyway, she admitted she knew Roxanne. The girl came round to her house every now and then, just like Dot said. She told me Roxanne was a pretty wild kid, and looking at all those tatts and piercings it’s hard to disagree. She reckoned they had a bit of a mother–daughter thing going on. Megan doesn’t seem like the domestic type, so if it was a mother–daughter type of relationship, it must have been a strange one. I asked her if she saw Roxanne on Saturday night and she said that she had, but that Roxanne snubbed her and had gone off “with someone strange”. I got the impression she was hurt by that.’
‘She didn’t happen to say whom she thought this strange someone was, did she?’
‘No, she was cagey about that. I got the impression she suspected it was a particular person but she wasn’t willing to say.’
‘I see.’
‘Then I remembered we’d seen Roxanne’s dad coming out of Megan’s front door the night after, and it made me wonder about what was going on with the three of them.’
‘Yes, a strange triangle. Wild daughter, straightlaced father and lonely middle-aged woman. What was her house like?’
‘It’s like a House and Garden feature. Pricey furniture and appliances, high ceilings, big windows. That swimming pool and spa area is incredible, but you know what? The whole thing feels uncared for. She’d left dirty plates lying around. The dust was thick on the windowsills. It wasn’t schmick and clean, like you’d expect from the outside. When she took me into the living room I could smell stale smoke, like she lit up inside. I couldn’t stand the stench. After a while I had to ask her if we could go outside.’
‘And was I correct in predicting that she was hungry for your company?’ asked Israel with a merry sparkle.
Gary blushed. ‘Dot commented on my visit to Megan’s as well. Not a lot goes on around here without her noticing.’ He took his time chewing the next mouthful.
‘Yes. It interests me that Dot keeps feeding us information casting suspicion on either Mitchell or Megan or anyone on the island except herself really. Having said that, some of the islanders are doing well enough without her help. James, for instance, professes to despise these young otherworlders, as he calls them, but then we find out he was laughing and joking with two of them on Sam’s water taxi.’
‘And he lied about Sam offering him a lift.’ Gary was always on the lookout for a fib.
‘Well, he had been drinking and, as I say, he has a public position about disliking these youngsters that he wants to maintain. It’s likely he was simply embarrassed by the whole incident.’
Gary blinked hard. ‘A lie’s a lie, Iz.’
‘Ah, yes. Of course, my friend. But then, what do you think of Sam himself?’
‘Yeah, he came over all shifty-eyed when you mentioned the police paying him a visit. There’s something dodgy going on there. When I had a chat with him out on the point the other day, his eyes were glazed and red, like he’d been having a go at the whacky tabaccy.’
‘That may be true but, myself, I think Sam is probably quite harmless. Jon Morris and his brother, on the other hand …’
‘Oh yeah, you started telling me you met this Jon character, the landlord guy?’
Israel was sampling the pear and rocket salad. ‘This is rather a nice combination of flavours. I don’t think you’ve made it for me before. Yes, I ran into Mr Morris on the trail near his house. It turns out he’s one of the firefighters you were chatting with yesterday. We got talking, and he invited me in for a drink. He told me he went down to see what was going on at this party on Saturday night and said he found the event quite surreal. He noticed there was a snake handler among the entertainment. That got my attention, but he was sure the snake involved was a python rather than one of the venomous species. Quite a coincidence, don’t you think, when it was also a python that interrupted our sleep last night? I also met Jon’s brother David at the house. He owns a chain of beauty salons in Sydney. He’s a friendly character, but quite facile. He’s obsessed with appearances and comes across as extremely camp. I believe he thinks you and I are a gay couple.’
‘Yep. Megan asked me the same thing. I hope you set him straight on that.’
Israel ignored that comment. ‘David travels around in a rather fetching pink speedboat the size of the Queen Mary that he’s appropriately named the Statuss.’ He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Don’t forget, despite all this subterfuge and intrigue on the island, it may yet be that the most likely suspects are on the mainland. For instance, it strikes me that the first and most obvious possibility would be Roxanne’s boyfriend, if she had one. Ah yes, that reminds me …’ The ever-present phone was produced and Israel tapped away at it for a minute or two. ‘I’m arranging for us to take a little trip on David’s boat. You’ll love it.’
Gary’s brow leaped and he gave a wry grin. ‘A giant pink speedboat you say? Sounds like fun. Hope it’s got a decent engine. Anyway, given the info on Roxanne Duncan, I thought you’d be on the case, not going off on someone’s boat for a pleasure cruise!’
‘Sometimes it’s better to relax and let things fall as they may.’
‘Relax? You don’t know the meaning of the word! The only time you sit still for more than two minutes is when you’re watching those blessed birds of yours.’
‘Observing,’ corrected Israel.
‘Yep, right. Sorry, observing your birds. Whatever. Okay, sure: tomorrow’s boat trip will obviously be more than just a social engagement. You’re up to something all right. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what it is.’
Israel’s phone sounded. This time it was the haunting cry of a lappet-faced vulture. He winked at Gary as he picked up the call. ‘Good evening, Detective Inspector. To what do I owe this unexpected delight?’
He listened attentively to what the policeman had to say for himself before responding. ‘Is that so …? Well, no, I wouldn’t dream of –’ There was a long pause as DI McKinnon held forth again. Israel moved the phone away from his ear, tilted his head and opened and closed his hand in Gary’s direction while the DI continued his monologue.
‘Yes of course, Inspector McKinnon, I am aware that I cannot in any way represent myself as a law enforcement officer but I am also most obliged that you have seen fit to include me in your investigation in some small way.’ This was followed by some less-than-earnest attention. At length, Israel managed to get another sentence or two in.
‘As a matter of fact, there is something I would like to know from you, if you have the information and are willing to part with it. Do you know whether Roxanne had a boyfriend or a romantic link of some sort?’ There was another pause. ‘Excellent, thank you. You wouldn’t happen to have an address or some contact details for this Joshua Burke, would you? … Would you mind messaging those details to me please? … Oh, and just before you hang up, can I ask you if you are planning to interview Sam, the water taxi operator? … I see, thank you, Detective Inspector, and do not fear – if I discover anything relevant to your investigation, I will be sure to pass it on immediately.’
Gary was drumming up some tea-poached pears for dessert in the kitchen. ‘Not a happy camper?’ he queried as Israel hung up.
Israel’s broad smile was enough to answer that question. ‘It seems one of DI McKinnon’s colleagues may have spoken with him recently about my role in the Jenkins murders.’
‘I guess that would be the Mauler.’
‘Yes, I imagine it would. At any rate, I am now at least unofficially permitted to investigate this matter. The DI went to some lengths to explain I was not particularly welcome in his investigation and that he would be making sure that I did not overstep the mark in terms of how I represent myself to the general public. He was also less than gracious in agreeing to provide the information I requested.’
‘Well, he’s probably just cranky because he’s not getting a ride in a big pink boat tomorrow.’