‘Just work,’ she said, the way she always did.
She turned away, got up from the table and was gone again into wherever she was in her head. He watched her clear the dishes away and tidy the kitchen. She smiled at him and went into the lounge. Soon after, music filled the room. She appeared in the doorway.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘Do you want to dance? Come on. Let’s dance.’
‘Now?’
‘Yeah. Why not?’
‘Okay,’ he said.
In the living room, he slipped his arms around her and they danced to the slow music. She seemed to need it, to relax against him. She was slender and her body was warm in his arms.
‘What’s the music?’ he asked.
‘Art Tatum with Benny Carter.’
She often played these musicians.
‘It’s good,’ he said.
‘It’s wonderful.’
He held her a little closer.
‘What do people say about us?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know and I don’t care,’ he replied. ‘People will say anything. It’s meaningless.’
She smiled and seemed to come back to him. There was just the moment, the clean and beautiful music. In his mind, he had a fence around this space, one no one else could break through. Outside of it, everything dissolved as being neither here nor there, almost not in existence. This was the centre of things, here. Nothing else mattered.
When they went to bed that night, they made love. Later, she slept under the weight of his arm. They had always slept close together. With his other lovers, they had each tended to drift to opposite sides of the bed. Tonight, when they were both in a waiting space where the future was impossible to judge, their presence felt like a refuge for each other and they slept more deeply and peaceably than they could have expected.
15
The next morning in the meeting room, there was a third seat at the table, so far empty.
‘Borghini’s late,’ Clive said.
‘The traffic’s bad,’ Grace replied.
‘He’d better be here when Griffin calls.’
Her mobile lay on the table. She stared at it. I’m drowning in other people’s blood and I don’t know where any of this is taking me. Everywhere is a dead end.
‘I want some information,’ she said.
Clive didn’t speak but motioned for her to go on.
‘There have been three deaths besides Jirawan’s. Everyone we want to talk to gets removed. We might as well be at war-’
‘We are at war.’
‘I want to know what this operation is really about.’
He leaned too close towards her, the way he always did. ‘Are you thinking of bailing out?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘This is the crucial phase. I need to know if I can rely on you.’
‘Then answer my question,’ she said.
‘It’s very well timed because we’re getting to the point where you need to know. Does the Ghost network mean anything to you?’
‘No.’
‘It’s a name we’ve given to a significant financial brokerage for various criminal and terrorist organisations in the Asia-Pacific region. We don’t know if this entity is run by one person or several or the identities of those people involved. They launder and shift very large amounts of funds on a regular basis. Recent investigations have identified Sydney as both a source of funds and a staging post for the network. What information we have suggests the main broker is an Australian. Three months back, we received information from the Thai police that they had established a connection between an import-export business in Bangkok run by a Peter Sanders and that network. At the time Sanders was trying to get out of the business and he approached the police with an offer of information in exchange for protection for him and his family. Shortly after this, he was found murdered and his wife, Jirawan, was missing. Our investigation indicates that his offer was leaked to his murderers. Obviously they had their informants in the police.’
‘Why send Jirawan here?’ Grace asked. ‘Why not just kill her?’
‘I think Jon Kidd gave us the answer to that yesterday. Sanders almost certainly owed the network money. They don’t like leaving a debt unpaid. Not one that’s owed to them.’
‘Was she an innocent bystander?’
‘She could well have been. There’s no indication she was involved in the business. The Sanders import-export business was also associated with Angela and Robert McLeod, entrepreneurs who have done a lot of business in Asia and China over the years. They have many very significant contacts in that part of the world. Sara McLeod is their daughter, which made it very interesting when her name came up yesterday.’
‘Are they suspects? Is this network some kind of cartel they’re running?’
‘Our finance people began checking them out once we were advised of their connection to Sanders. It’s early days yet and their business interests are extensive, but our initial analysis is that the main McLeod business is legitimate. As we get more information, we may change our minds. But it may well be the source of the contacts the Ghost network has used in the past to establish itself.’
‘The Ghost network is a parasite on their business?’
‘Yes. Which makes Sara McLeod’s connection even more interesting. She’s the link.’
‘What role is Griffin playing in this? He keeps talking about his client,’ Grace said. ‘Does this client actually exist?’
‘That’s something you have to find out. At the moment, he’s shaping up as the central figure in this. We’ve already searched his unit in Bondi Junction. It’s nothing more than a shell. He goes there to sleep and change his clothes probably. He’s a very hard man to pin down. He seems to have almost no past and very limited means of support, despite the fact that he obviously has money. You just have to look at his car. All of which makes him a good candidate for our target. What we want now, what’s central to the success of this operation, is access to the network’s business records. Obviously, they’re computer-based. We need to know where they are. Those records are at the centre of this and they’re probably the last things we’ll find. But somehow we have to get our hands on them. So far, Griffin is our best chance to do that.’
‘What about Narelle Wong? Is her family connected?’
‘There’s no indication of that. But she’s a dual citizen. Her ID could be very useful to some other member of the network who wanted to move freely around the Asia-Pacific region, including coming here. She’s the perfect victim for that scenario. From what Kidd had to say, it’s not the first time the network have supplied their clients with new identities.’
‘Who’s her boyfriend? Griffin?’
‘Possibly. That’s something else you have to find out.’
‘You haven’t told Borghini any of this,’ Grace said.
‘I will brief him later today, as much as he needs to know. If we can dismantle this network, it will be a significant blow to a number of very dangerous organisations that depend on it for funds.’ He leaned forward again. ‘I am telling you this on the understanding that you will tell no one whatsoever outside of the operation about it. That means no one.’
‘I understand that.’
Briefly they were silent. Then there was a knock on the door and Borghini walked in.
‘Morning. Sorry I’m late. I’ve been working. Check this.’
He tossed on the table a photofit of a big man, roughly dressed, with a hard face and dark hair, followed by a mug shot.
‘One Mick Brasi. Standover man for the Ponticellis. You know who they are?’
‘Yes, we do,’ Clive replied, irritated.
‘We got his description from the barmaid at the Royal Hotel. He was seen in the bar just before ten.’
‘I saw him arrive,’ Grace said. ‘He walked in as I walked out. I didn’t know him.’
‘Just as well. You might have got yourself shot,’ Borghini replied unsentimentally.
‘Have you picked him up?’ Clive asked.
‘We’re looking for him.’