‘That wouldn’t be very private would it?’ Stevie queried.
‘No one would be able to see the files if they weren’t open on the screen. He probably wouldn’t use the cafe for everything, maybe just the most sensitive stuff, like the jpegs,’ Tash said.
‘There’s something else,’ Clarissa said. ‘It’s not as obvious as it was in the so-called art shots, but I think several of the hard core pics were taken in a common location.’
‘What, in the same place as the art shots?’
‘No. Have a look at these.’ Clarissa tapped some keys and the screen filled with a photograph of a young girl lying naked and in a degrading position on a bed. Stevie swallowed, and was glad to let her gaze follow the cursor to the rough plaster wall behind the bed. There was something hanging on the wall.
Stevie squinted at the screen. ‘A crucifix? Can you make it any clearer?’ She tried to remember the last time she’d noticed a crucifix on a wall. It was in Mrs Kusak’s house, but this one was more ornate, and did not bear the figure of Christ. There seemed to be some kind of filament hanging from it.
‘What is that, a crack in the wall, a piece of string?’ Stevie tapped the screen.
‘Sorry, that’s as good as it gets.’ Clarissa tapped the keys again, bringing up other images taken in the same room. Some of the shots were taken at different angles and showed several unidentifiable objects on the walls, just visible within the frames.
‘So, where do you go with these?’ Tash asked Clarissa.
‘I should be able to get the dates of the transactions from Miro’s computer, so that’ll help you narrow your search down. You’ll need to look at the cafe’s records, see who was on line when the pictures were sent and start grinding through the names. After that, it’ll be a question of how easily we can subpoena the bank accounts of those we think might be involved. It’s a bummer Bianca’s laptop never turned up.’
‘Oh but it has,’ Tash said with a triumphant grin.
‘Where?’
‘At the bottom of Mundaring reservoir.’
Clarissa scowled at Tash. ‘You love building people up just to cut them down, don’t you?’
‘Okay, that’s enough,’ Stevie said. ‘Clarissa, get us a report typed up in plain English, summarising everything we need to ask and be looking out for at the cafe.’
‘Give me an hour or so to get it organised,’ Clarissa said.
‘Time for us to grab a bite of lunch,’ Stevie said to Tash. If she was ever to get a decent night’s sleep again, she and Tash needed to talk. ‘Also,’ she added to Clarissa, ‘print out all the photos of the art girls on Mason’s and Kusak’s computers and start trying to ID them.’
‘Was Bianca Webster’s picture among them?’ Tash asked.
A phone rang from a few workstations down and was answered.
‘Not so far, but I’m not through all of them yet,’ Clarissa said.
Stevie jumped down from the desk. ‘Then finish that first, even before you get those reports typed.’ She thumped Tash on the shoulder. ‘Ready for lunch?’
‘All right for some,’ Clarissa grumbled.
From further down the line, a young man’s voice called, ‘Hey, Stevie! Dolly wants a word in her office. Now.’
Stevie’s stomach back-flipped. ‘Shit.’
‘Guilty conscience?’ Tash teased.
‘Don’t ask, you really don’t want to know. We’ll have to skip lunch.’
Tash shrugged, ‘I’ve got plenty to do. I’ll gather the troops and start on the Internet cafe.’
Stevie reached for Tash’s elbow before she could leave the room. ‘We really do need to talk, Tash.’
‘Come over this evening if you can bear to drag yourself away from your fella.’
Stevie was used to Tash’s jibes, they usually didn’t worry her, but now she prickled. ‘It’s not that, it’s a question of whether Mont can be there with Izzy or not.’
‘Of course it is, Sweets. Bring over a bottle of red.’ And she was gone.
Inspector Dolly Veitch smiled and indicated the spare office chair to Stevie. ‘Take a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment,’ she said as she finished filing some documents.
Stevie liked her inspector. Fair and popular with the officers under her, Dolly was the prime reason Sex Crimes was considered such a plum appointment. The ghastly reality of the job was more bearable with a respected boss behind you and the moral support of contented colleagues.
Dolly lowered herself into her desk chair as if she had a sore back, which she didn’t as far as Stevie knew. It was just that everything she did she performed with slow and deliberate care; the fine linen pantsuit she took off at the end of the day was doubtless as clean and crease-free as it was when put on that morning. If she hadn’t been a police officer, Stevie could have imagined Dolly as the editor of a stylish woman’s magazine. Tash often joked that ‘when she grew up’ she wanted to be just like Dolly Veitch.
Putting on a pair of metallic-framed designer specs, Dolly picked up the complaint form in front of her. Stevie’s stomach fluttered as she tried to interpret what was going on behind the unflappable visage.
Dolly finished reading and handed the report to Stevie. ‘Read what Mason said and tell me if this is a fair account of what happened.’
Stevie’s mouth dried when she first started to read, but by the time she’d finished, she was smiling. ‘This is ridiculous, she did not kick him when he was on the ground,’ she said. She might have placed her heel upon his head but she didn’t kick him. ‘And the water pistol was so obviously a fake, he would have known that.’
‘But she was out of order with it.’
‘Yes she was ma’am and I’ve had a firm word with her.’
‘It was a stupid thing to do.’
‘She won’t be doing it again. I don’t think she realised quite how stupid it was; to her it was just a joke.’
Dolly leaned back in her chair and took her glasses off. ‘I can’t really see that there’s anything to worry about, Stevie, or any need to mount an internal investigation. I spoke to the boss of the remand centre earlier this morning and was told that Mason has also lodged complaints against the staff there, ridiculous accusations. They’re all getting a proper going over of course, but lucky for us he’s lost any credibility he might have started out with.’
Stevie sank back in the chair; she could hardly believe they were getting off so lightly
‘It looks like Natasha is off the hook for the time being, but I’m concerned about her attitude...’
Stevie held her breath.
‘She needs to be watched, there are times when that girl plays too close to the edge. It’s hard dealing with friends, I understand that, especially when everything is new and you’re still finding your way. If anything like this happens again, you’re to file a report and send it straight through to me, is that understood? What happened to the water pistol after she threatened Mason with it?’
‘I destroyed it, ma’am.’
‘Good, rest easy then.’ Dolly gave her a reassuring smile.
Monty, you lying bastard, you got me all worked up over nothing. But at least he hadn’t told Dolly that Tash had stolen the water pistol from the armoury. Yet.
‘Is that all ma’am?’ Stevie asked as she rose to her feet.
Dolly motioned her to sit back down. ‘No, I haven’t finished.’
Stevie dropped back into her chair.
‘I had a call from Kate the other day, she’s having a hard time coping with the new baby. I tried to warn her what it would be like, but you know as well as I do that all the advice in the world can’t prepare you for what you’re up for when you first come home from hospital.’