The gates were open. She drove in, white gravel complaining discreetly and expensively under the Magnas tyres. There was a three-car garage at one side of the house, a fenced swimming pool at the other.
She parked behind a Saab Cabriolet and they got out. The air was still, warm, drowsy. You didn’t hear blaring radios, angry shrieks or accelerating tyres on these streets.
Do you know the car?
Its Ians, Tess said, as they reached the front door.
I thought you said he doesn’t live here.
He doesn’t.
Then why
Tess shrugged. I guess its his house as much as mine. Anyway, Ive lost my key and can never remember the security code.
Leah was expecting Tess to press the buzzer for the intercom, but the girl tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. Leah barred her way suddenly. Wait. She took out the killers pistol. Let me go first.
Why?
Someone hired that guy to kill you, right? How do you know hes not waiting inside? How do you know he hasnt killed your brother and
Tess shrank back from the door. Okay.
Leah turned the knob fully and pushed the door gently. She looked along a cool, dimly lit hallway. Music sounded faintly. She stepped in, Tess huddling close to her back.
Can you tell where the musics coming from? Leah whispered.
Tess pointed, perplexed, toward the end of the hall. It seems to be coming from down there, Ians old room.
The door was ajar. Leah peered in. The air was stale; every light was on. One wall was lined with books; a built-in wardrobe with sliding doors took up a second wall; a sound system, plasma wide-screen TV and DVD crowded a third wall. The fourth was mostly window, looking out onto the grounds of the house next door. A huge computer hummed on a desk, the flat-screen monitor displaying an online gambling site. The wardrobe was open, revealing stylish suits and shirts along a rail, and several pairs of soft, expensive-looking shoes. Otherwise the room was empty.
He must have moved back home, Tess said.
Where would he be?
Dunno.
Then there were footsteps in the hall. Leah tensed, aimed the gun at the door, and the face of the man who appeared there shifted from amazement to fear in an instant. Whoa, he said, Jesus, and ducked back into the hallway.
Leah was about to follow when he called, Tess? What are you doing here? Who’s that with you?
You can come in, Tess shouted. Shes a friend.
Tess’s half-brother edged warily into the room, wiping his hands on his trousers, trying an uncertain smile. Whats going on? Why the gun?
Tess embraced him tightly, then turned and introduced Leah. He hesitated, then reached out a hand to her with a broad, charming smile. Leah tucked the gun inside her waistband and shook his hand, feeling a momentary twinge of attraction as she took in his graceful good looks. Ian Quant was tall, slender, loose-limbed and beautifully dressed, and she could see why Tess had adored him when she was little.
But as she looked closer, she saw a ravaged edge to the good looks, signs of exhaustion and strain. Maybe he’d been online all day and night, gambling, trading shares.
Now he was looking at Tess with faint irritation. How come you’re not at school?
And Tess said, How come you moved back in here?
You first.
Tess was determined. No, you.
He shrugged. It made more sense, you know? This place is empty, my apartment block in Southbank was one continuous party scene, I needed some private space.
Mum and Rob
They know I’m here. Now its your turn.
Tess turned to Leah for help. You can tell him better than me.
Leah related the whole story. His face went blank, then sceptical, then frankly disbelieving.
Its true, Tess said. Have a look in the boot of our car if you don’t believe us.
He swallowed, ran his hand through his hair. No thanks.
Ive just come to collect some gear.
Why? Where are you going?
I’m taking her to a motel while I follow things up with the school and the detective agency, Leah said.
She can stay with me. Ill look after her.
Yeah, Tess said.
It could be dangerous here.
I don’t mean here, Ian said. My apartment in Southbank.
Leah nodded. You should contact your mother, Tess. Shell want to know you’re okay and where to contact you.
Ian laughed harshly, one arm around Tess. Were talking about a woman who once said, in all honesty, that shed still have her shape if she hadn’t had a child.
Leah grimaced. But the dysfunctions of this family were none of her business. Tess, will you be okay now?
Sure.
Leah looked at her watch. It was early afternoon. I hope to know more by the end of the day. Meanwhile, both of you be careful who you open the door to.
chapter 19
Abbott Investigations occupied the ground floor of a two-storey shopfront in a side street near Glenferrie Road. Leah parked the Magna directly outside it and watched for a while. No one came in or out. She could see a receptionist through a plate-glass window, a middle-aged woman who moved from her workstation to a bank of filing cabinets and back again. There seemed to be a waiting area and an inner office.
Leah waited until the footpath was clear and opened the boot. The killer stared at her malevolently, his eyes slitted with hate. Leah grinned. Still alive, I see.
Ill get you, girlie.
I’m sorry, Leah said, but youve gone and called me girlie, and she slammed the boot lid.
She entered Abbott Investigations and flipped her wallet open and closed at the receptionist. Detective Sergeant Jill Blair, she said. I need to see the boss.
The woman stood, an expression of faint alarm on her pleasant face. My husbands just through there, she said. Ill let him know that
Don’t bother, Leah said, stalking past the woman and down a short hallway to an office door. She opened it and walked in on a plump, tired-looking man wearing a jacket and tie. He was fiddling with an array of black boxes the size of cigarette packets. Transmitters, Leah thought.
Police, she said. Sorry to barge in, but this concerns one of your agents, Theo Reed.
It was important to get them on the hop; take charge of the situation; lead, never follow.
Theo? Is he all right? Ive been trying to
Hes dead.
The mans soft jaw dropped. He seemed genuinely shocked. I beg your pardon?
You hired a hitman to top Tess Quant, Leah said harshly. The school hired you to find Tess, and you assigned Theo Reed to the case. He passed on information to you, and you passed this information on to the hitman.
Abbott swallowed, then seemed to grow thoughtful. He was not as soft as he looked; this wasn’t a job for a soft man, or woman. Are you also saying that this hitman, whoever he is, killed Theo? Why would he do that? Why would I want him to do that? His hand went out. If I might examine your warrant card and make a call?
Leah took a step back but was otherwise still tense and focused. Your firm owns a blue Magna, correct?
Yes.
Its outside.
I don’t see what
Theo Reed is lying dead in the boot. He was shot in the head. I didn’t shoot him and I didn’t put him there. The man who did shoot him is also in the boot, alive, in handcuffs. Come and see for yourself.
This was a test of sorts. Would Abbott bluster, turn dangerous, be curious, not curious enough?
Curious. That was a good sign. Leah motioned him to lead the way out to the car. Something about his bearing spelt ex-cop to her. They were standing on the footpath, Leah fetching the keys, when he said mildly, I know who you are.