I’d given up my ‘no paper’ policy and was scribbling some notes. ‘I’ll find him.’
‘There’s one thing I can tell you. It came up again briefly, and Robert said he’d seen Clement recently, but things were still the same.’
‘How recently?’
She hadn’t finished but she pushed the plate away, all appetite gone. ‘Just before he died,’ she said.
Clement had been locatable not so very long ago. I was encouraged, but the feeling didn’t last long. I called Timpani Stafford and told her I was anxious to contact Jason Clement.
‘So are we,’ she said. ‘We’re holding some fees for residuals for him.’
‘Money he’s owed?’
‘That’s right. He’s not at his last address and his mobile’s been disconnected. His email bounces back. What’s your interest?’
‘Something the same. When was your last contact with him?’
‘A couple of years ago.’
‘How hard did you try?’
‘I beg your pardon.’
‘I’m sorry, it just seems strange that you wouldn’t persist.’
‘It was a small amount of money.’
‘And Jason had got a big payout, right?’
‘That’s not something I’m prepared to discuss. If you find Jason, tell him we’re anxious to hear from him.’
She hung up. Dead end. I was in my office with the copies of the documents I’d made in Sophie’s office in front of me. I went over them again looking for leads but nothing emerged. The names of several lawyers who’d been involved in the negotiations and settlement were on record but the confidentiality provision would gag them forever.
I looked over the notes I’d written and saw Jane Devereaux’s mention of Bobby’s anger on the golf course. I’d heard enough about golf to know that anger is a problem for players at all levels. Maybe Bobby had mentioned his fight with Clement to his anger management guru. It was worth a try. I drove to the Anzac Park golf club and followed the sign to the pro shop. It was a quiet time and the guy in the shop looked bored as he rearranged packets of tees and boxes of balls on the counter. A golf tournament was playing on a TV set mounted on a wall where the pro could see it but he didn’t seem very interested. I’d read that interest in golf had fallen away dramatically since the downfall of Tiger Woods.
‘Afternoon,’ I said.
‘Gidday.’
I showed him my licence and told him I was working for Bobby Forrest’s father, investigating Bobby’s murder. That got his attention.
‘Terrible thing,’ he said.
‘You knew Bobby?’
‘Sure, he was a member here. Nice bloke, good player.’
‘I believe he had some problems with anger while playing.’
‘Yeah. You play?’
‘No.’
‘It gets to some blokes. Doesn’t seem to happen to the women, but. Happens when blokes can’t play as well as they think they should. We all feel like that really, but some people just can’t cope with it.’
I nodded. ‘I believe he was seeing a therapist to help with that.’
He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t call him a therapist. Calls himself an anger management consultant. I put Bobby on to him.’
‘I’d like to talk to him. Can you give me his name?’
‘Do better than that.’ He rummaged under the counter and came up with a box of business cards. He flicked through and selected one. ‘Here you go.’
The card read: Barrie Monkhurst, Anger Management Consultant. Control your anger, improve your life . It carried an address in Kogarah and a mobile phone number. I reached for my notebook and pen. Monkhurst, I thought. Chloe’s name. Not a common one. A coincidence or were connections starting?
‘You can keep the card, mate. I’ve got a few of them. Planning to see Barrie?’
‘Yes, what can you tell me about him?’
‘Well, he used to be a tour player but he wasn’t quite good enough. Had a few pro jobs around the place but they never seemed to work out.’
‘Why not?’
He laughed. ‘Anger, why else? Barrie tells me he did a course in anger management that helped him and so now he helps others. Charges ’em pretty steep, but I reckoned Bobby could afford it.’
‘Did it help Bobby?’
He shrugged. ‘His handicap didn’t come down.’
That’s the trouble with golfers-they only have one way of measuring things. ‘I meant did it help him with his temper?’
‘Dunno. Didn’t hear any complaints about him and our members are right down on that sort of stuff. One thrown club can bring on a suspension.’
My lawyer Viv Garner was a keen golfer who played to a low handicap in club competition until heart trouble reduced him to playing socially and using a cart, all of which he resented. I knew he kept up a keen interest in the sport. I rang him and asked if he’d ever heard of Barrie Monkhurst.
‘Heard of him? I acted for him.’
‘What was the charge?’
‘Insurance fraud leading to assault. He was a pro at a golf club. He’d cooked the books to claim insurance money. When the assessor picked the dodge up Monkhurst bashed him. Put him in hospital.’
‘What happened?’
‘I got him a good barrister and he went to work. No one likes insurance companies and he got some juice out of that. He argued Monkhurst had anger management issues and was receiving counselling for it. A sympathetic magistrate let him off with a fairly hefty restitution order and a suspended sentence. He lost the job, of course, and they took that into consideration. But I’d be surprised if he ever made the restitution in full.’
‘Why?’
‘Monkhurst hired a member of my profession who’s notorious for delaying settlements and restitution payments. He strings things out until all the other parties lose interest or settle for token amounts. He’s a genius at it.’
‘I’m shocked.’
‘No you’re not.’
‘Did Monkhurst pay you?’
‘After a time. I’m a persistent bugger and I had a good collector.’
‘When was this?’
‘Ten years ago. About then. Monkhurst’s a dodgy character. I hope you’re not relying on him for anything.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Good, because I can tell you that whatever he’s doing now it won’t be on the up and up.’
20
From the sound of things, it was smart to play it cagey with Monkhurst. I rang him.
‘This is Barrie.’
‘Mr Monkhurst, I’ve been referred to you by the pro at Anzac Park.’
‘Steve, okay. Are you a golfer?’
‘No. I was referred to Steve by someone else.’
‘I get it. You have a problem with anger, ah, what’s your name?’
‘Cliff.’
‘Problem with anger, Cliff?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Is it to do with a sport or more generally?’
‘Bit of both really.’
‘Explain.’
‘I do my block at squash sometimes and I experience road rage.’
‘That’s serious. That can get you into real trouble.’
‘It already has.’
‘I’m sure I can help you. I charge a hundred and twenty dollars for the initial consultation and there’s a sliding scale of fees after that depending on how we attack the problem. You’ll notice I say attack. That’s an aggressive word. Does it surprise you that I use an aggressive word like that?’
‘Um, well, yeah, a bit.’
‘Don’t let it worry you. Anger has to be beaten.’
‘Right. The fees don’t bother me.’
‘What I like to hear. You know there’s no Medicare rebate or anything like that?’
‘I’m not worried. If I don’t do something about this, my life’s going down the toilet.’
‘Can’t let that happen, Cliff. When can you come and see me?’
‘What’s wrong with now?’
He laughed. ‘That eager? All right, say in ninety minutes. I suppose Steve gave you my card so you know where I am.’
‘Yeah, Kogarah. Ninety minutes is fine. Cash?’