Marvin pushed past him. ‘I’m leaving.’
‘Don’t you fucking walk out, not unless you want to see your boy on the net fucking pros along with the Ice Cream Man. Think of the number of hits that’ll get!’
Marvin stopped. Behind him, Harrigan could see Chloe. She had just appeared in the corridor outside.
‘I’m the fire warden for this floor,’ she said, white-faced. ‘Everyone has to leave.’
‘We’re having a talk,’ Harrigan said. ‘The building’s not going to burn down. Leave it!’
She walked away immediately. Marvin’s assistant, Sharon, sat down heavily in her chair. Her mouth was open in shock.
‘There’s a general evacuation on, Harrigan,’ Marvin said in a shaking voice.
‘Get back in your fucking office!’
Without a word, Marvin walked inside.
‘Keep everyone out,’ Harrigan said to Sharon. ‘He’ll thank you for it one day.’
Marvin was standing behind his desk, staring out at the view. ‘What do you want, Harrigan? Don’t we have a deal? Have you forgotten my tape?’
‘No, we don’t have a deal. It went up in flames with Edwards’ car. You can tell me what I want to know. Who’s running you? How did they contact you?’
‘No one’s running me!’ Marvin shouted. ‘What are you talking about? I told you. If I go down, you come with me.’
‘Then we go together. With what I’ve got to say about you, I can wreck your life. You’ll lose your pension. You start talking to me! I know you’re being run. It’s du Plessis, the man in the photo Trevor just showed me. The same man who tried to kill me and snatched my son. I know he’s shoved those pictures under your nose and said “Dance”. Now tell me where to find him!’
Harrigan saw Marvin break apart before his eyes. His mouth went slack; his expression was like a beaten dog’s. Harrigan looked away. Desperation like that was ugly. Marvin slumped down into his chair.
‘I don’t know where to find him. He contacts me. For Christ’s sake, Harrigan, I don’t know where your boy is. I can understand how-’
Harrigan sat opposite. ‘Talk. When did it start?’
‘Just before you upgraded Cassatt’s disappearance to murder. I got a CD in the mail and a note to ring a mobile telephone number. Otherwise what was on the CD would end up on the net. I looked at it and I felt sick.’
‘Give me that number.’
Marvin wrote it down on a piece of paper and passed it across the desk. It was the same number Harrigan had been given the previous night.
‘I couldn’t believe Sean was mixing with people like Freeman and Cassatt. You might-’
‘Careful what you say, mate!’
‘I called. He wanted to meet me. It was this du Plessis. I saw his picture in the dossier while Edwards was sitting in the commissioner’s office that first day. I felt the floor had opened underneath me.’
‘You knew who he was back then. Why didn’t you tell us? You must have known he was the man who almost killed Grace.’
‘How could I know that?’
‘It had to be. His voice, the accent-’
‘No!’ Marvin shouted back. ‘She didn’t see him. There was no way of knowing. You can’t hang that one on me.’
The door opened. Sharon stood there, shaking visibly. ‘I can hear the both of you out here,’ she said, and shut the door again.
‘Where’d you meet him?’ Harrigan asked, controlling himself.
‘Always somewhere different. He liked car parks. We always met in a different one, very early in the morning.’
‘What did he want?’
‘The first time, he wanted me to keep an eye on the investigation into Cassatt’s death. He said to tell him if any witnesses came forward.’
‘Did he mention any names?’
Marvin shook his head.
‘You’re lying. He said that if a woman called Ambrosine gave a statement, you were to tell him. Am I right?’
Suddenly, something like the old Marvin returned. ‘Something you should realise, Harrigan. I’m the one who tipped you off about her safe house in the first place.’
‘You’re the one who fucking leaked the information!’
‘I didn’t know why Sean-’
‘Yes, you did. Your son was involved in a conspiracy to murder!’
‘No, I didn’t know.’ Marvin leaned across the table. ‘I was asked a question, I answered it. Why shouldn’t I trust my son? How could I know?’
‘What happened with du Plessis after that?’ Harrigan asked abruptly.
‘He said it would be a good idea if Sean and Marie didn’t stay in Sydney. I had to send him to the other side of the continent. You wouldn’t understand, Harrigan. I’ve had to keep on with my job with all this weighing on me. It hasn’t been easy.’
‘I’m sure it’s been really tough. What happened after Pittwater? He told you to get control of the job as soon as you could.’
‘He wouldn’t believe I couldn’t do that. He rang before the bodies were discovered. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I said we’d had no notifications. Then he told me that, if a call did come through, I was to take control. I couldn’t. I was in a meeting with the regional commanders when it happened. I didn’t know about it for another two hours. Your people cut me out of the loop. They always do.’
‘He knew beforehand? Didn’t it ever occur to you he was probably responsible?’
‘No, he wasn’t. He wasn’t responsible,’ Marvin snapped back. ‘He said, if this happens, you take control. He said there should be two copies of a contract in the house. I was to get hold of them no matter what. It took me a couple of days but I did it.’
‘What did du Plessis say when there was only one copy?’
‘He went spare. I thought he was going to attack me. He’s a vicious little man.’
‘You told du Plessis that if he wanted the tape, he should come after me.’
‘That tape. There must be something on it you don’t want anyone else to hear, Harrigan. I’d love to know what it is.’ Marvin leaned forward across the desk. ‘There’s no need for us to talk like this. I’m in a position to assist your career. I have the commissioner’s ear. The top job could be yours one day. Will be, if I have anything to do with it. You can take the chair after me-I’ll retire long before you will. The two of us, we can deal with du Plessis. We’ll bamboozle him. He won’t know what’s going on.’
Marvin had regained his equilibrium; he had the look of a man about to engage in a deal he believed would be to his advantage.
‘For Christ’s sake, Marvin,’ Harrigan said. ‘There could be any number of dead people at the front door right now and you want to make a deal.’
‘I didn’t know that was going to happen.’
‘Didn’t you? Isn’t that why you wanted me to take Trev along with me? You told du Plessis Edwards was going to be here today. You told him when he was arriving and at what entrance. You did, didn’t you?’
‘I couldn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t tell me anything like that.’
‘You could guess.’
‘No. No, I couldn’t. I’ve told you everything you wanted to know! Stop stalling me. It’s quid pro quo time. Where do we go from here?’
‘You write your letter of resignation,’ Harrigan said.
Marvin shook his head ‘No. I’m not going to resign.’
‘Yes, you are, you and your son together, but you’re going first. You’re going to be out of this job in an hour. You’ve been playing with fire, Marvin. You know what I’m advising you to do? Go to the commissioner. Tell him everything you’ve just told me. Get him to put you in a safe house. Because once your cover is blown, or even when he doesn’t need you any more, du Plessis is going to kill you.’
‘What about my reputation? I could be charged. I’m not going to gaol.’
Marvin got to his feet. He picked up his briefcase and walked to the door.
‘Where are you going?’
‘You can’t stop me, Harrigan. I’m leaving the building with everyone else. It’s going-home time anyway. Good afternoon.’
He walked quickly past Sharon who was still sitting at her desk. Harrigan went after him. She picked up her bag and followed them both. The corridor was deserted. Marvin was heading for the fire escape.