The Cabin by the Sea: The Audrey Murders - Book Two Read online

  “Why me?” asked Bruce

  “I have decided to write a book on Suzy Cunningham’s murder. It’s a good story and one that should be told,” he said

  The two sat at the table for a good hour or more. Bruce loved to gossip and Paul loved to listen. They made a good pair. By twelve o’clock they went their separate ways. Bruce climbed over the fence and down the grass pathway. Paul took the ten-minute drive to the Mangonui shops. He would stop off at the local police station while he was there.

  C H A P T E R 6 5

  The cat was out of the bag. Lucy watched as her father left his breakfast untouched and ran out the door. Soon it would be all over the school. She was Suzy’s best friend. They would think she was a pro too. It was awful. She was still wracked with guilt.

  “Mum” she said “I can’t go to school now all the kids will be talking about Suzy. I just can’t go.”

  Mary looked across the table at her daughter. “I will call my sister in Melbourne” she said “it has been quite a while since we took a holiday and the change will do us all good. I am sure the school will understand. After all you were Suzy’s best friend.”

  “Oh thanks, Mum” Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “You are the best Mum in the whole wide world.”

  “Go pack your bags girls. I will let your Dad know and book the flights. Barbara will be so pleased to see us all.”

  The girls left the table with sheer excitement. Not having to go to school was good but going to Australia on holiday was bliss.

  Mary had been concerned about Lucy. Ever since Suzy had gone missing she could tell Lucy was suffering terribly. She could hear her crying at night and she had turned uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn. She knew her husband would feel the same way as her. Better to take Lucy away from all the stress of the funeral and trial. Her sister had a bed and breakfast with lots of spare room and had been asking her and the girls to visit for ages. She missed her sister too.

  She made a few necessary phone calls and booked their flights online. She asked her girlfriend to drive them to the airport. The flights left at three o’clock in the afternoon. They would arrive in Melbourne at five o’clock. It was a four-hour flight but Australia was two hours behind New Zealand. They would be there in time for dinner. And, better still, they would be away from the media frenzy that was taking over their small quiet town.

  C H A P T E R 6 6

  Constable Bromley had only one thing on his mind - to keep his daughter’s involvement in the case from reaching the press. He had already told Lucy to cancel all her social media websites including Facebook. She could reinstate them after the case had run its course and was no longer of interest to the public or the media.

  Mary had called him to say she was taking the girls to Barbara’s B & B in Melbourne. He was pleased they wouldn’t have to deal with the craziness that was taking over the area.

  As soon as he had the case all tidied up he would feel a lot more comfortable. There was a meeting scheduled for ten o’clock with all the teams to review the week’s reports. Forensics was in the process of analyzing the girl’s panties. He was hoping to find Jenkins DNA on them so he could finally close the case.

  Diane Jenkins had been calling him all morning. She was driving him crazy. Finally he had to tell her, the girl’s panties were found among her brother’s possessions. His fingerprints were the only ones on the gun, they had photos that Jenkins had taken of the girl and forensics had determined the cause of death was suicide. But she had still been insistent he would not have committed suicide.

  “The panties must have been planted on him” she had persisted. “He has been set up. He is all the family I’ve got. I will contest the cause of death. It should be homicide.”

  Bromley did feel sympathy for the lady. It was obvious her brother liked young prostitutes. He himself had seen his car near where Suzy was last seen. He was there when they found him dead in his car with the gun by his side. He needed no more proof that Jenkins was not the man Diane thought he was.

  Just when he thought he would grab a bite of lunch he saw a man entering the reception area of the station. He walked out to meet him.

  “Can I help you?” he enquired.

  The man introduced himself as Paul Jamieson. Bromley didn’t recognize him as a local.

  “I am staying in the cabin at Audrey’s place at Hihi,” said the man. “I am a little concerned as I understand the man responsible for the young girl’s murder was also staying in the cabin.” He went on “If you have a moment I would like to ask you a couple of questions in relation to the landlady, Audrey.”

  “By all means” said the constable “but I have only met Audrey once. She is new to the area you know”

  “Did you do a background check on her when you suspected Jenkins?” the man asked looking troubled.

  “No, should I have done? She wasn’t suspected of anything in relation to the crime. Do you know any different? Asked Bromley suddenly interested in what the man had to say.

  “I don’t want to talk badly of the lady” Paul explained “but I did a check on her as I am writing a book on the case and as she is associated with Jenkins I carried out a bit of research on her”

  “You are writing a book on the case?” Bromley asked

  “Yes, it seems an interesting case and as it happened when I arrived in town it is rather opportune don’t you think?

  “What did you find about Audrey?” the constable asked.

  “She came here from Whangaroa and owned The Three Suites there. A year ago a couple of men were murdered there. Both men had stayed in one of her suites.”

  “Holy Shit!” said Bromley

  “The police arrested a guy for both crimes. He is now in the Kaikohe Prison – no doubt he will be serving a life sentence.” Paul continued.

  “So Audrey had nothing to do with the murders?” Bromley confirmed.

  “Doesn’t look like it. But it seems too much of a coincidence doesn’t it? Paul asked

  “Sure does,” said Bromley. “But we have no reason to suspect her with relation to this crime. I would say you are pretty safe over there. I wouldn’t have any sleepless nights over it.”

  “Just thought I would let you know,” said Paul. “I would like to talk to you about the case when you have officially put it to bed. For my book you understand”

  “I will see what I can do” he replied noncommittally.

  After the man left he did a little research on Audrey himself. He looked at The Three Suites website. He made a call to Constable Driver at the Kaeo station who handled the case. Driver told him Audrey was never a suspect. She had been a person of interest during the early stage of the investigation as both men had stayed at The Three Suites. However, there was no doubt they had the right guy.

  Bromley didn’t need any interference with closing the case. He would wait and see if Jenkins DNA was on the panties. If so, he would be left without a doubt.

  C H A P T E R 6 7

  Bruce Bromley couldn’t get it out of his head. Paul had told him about Audrey’s past and now he could think of nothing else. He had already suspected Audrey of having something to do with the guy, Jenkins. It seemed odd to have seen them together with a bottle of wine and then a few hours later Jenkins drives up the peninsula and shoots himself. Something just didn’t add up.

  He had spent the last few nights keeping an eye on things. He was hoping to get something on Audrey and now she had taken off somewhere. Who knows where?

  Paul had told him he was going to talk to the Constable at the police station later today. “He’s my nephew and a nice guy,” he had told Paul. “Jimmy is a good cop”.

  Bruce planned to talk his nephew tonight and ask him what he thought. He knew they had Jenkins pretty tied to the murder.

  Maybe he was overreacting. Audrey had become quite a focus of his everyday life since she moved in next door. In fact, he could even say he was becoming a little obsessed by her. Last night he had watched her climb out of
the bath and answer the phone. Her towel was opened as she reached for the phone. He could see her through a crack in the curtains. What a body with those huge boobs. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind. He could get lost in those boobs.

  C H A P T E R 6 8

  “Bitch” Audrey cursed under her breath. She had watched that obese woman’s interview on the tele this morning and was glad she hadn’t talked to her last night. Obviously she didn’t know her brother very well. He was a rapist and a killer! Audrey would have to make sure she didn’t have the opportunity to go blabbing again.

  She had tracked her address to a house in St Heliers Bay in Auckland. It had been a long drive – over four hours and now she was looking for a drive-through to grab something to eat. She reached over to the passenger seat and pulled a wig out of her bag. By the time she had entered the drive through she was wearing large sunglasses and a black pageboy styled wig.

  “Double Cheeseburger, small fries and hot tea with milk,” she called into the mike.”

  “Please pay at the first window.”

  She had a sudden thought “Make that two of the same” she said.

  It was almost two o’clock and Audrey figured arriving with hot fries might take the tension off the conversation she was about to have.

  Parking her car a few blocks from the house and carrying a large bag she was impressed when she reached the old villa weatherboard style house. It had a wide veranda and literary hundreds of potted plants. Bromeliads of all shapes and sizes lined the path, the steps and created a billboard of color on the deck.

  Audrey removed her disguise and looked through the glass panel in the front door as she knocked. She could see piles and piles of papers and magazines in the hallway. Audrey must be a hoarder, she thought. Or at least she has some serious emotional problems.

  She had seen Diane’s car parked on the street outside the house and knew she must be home. She knocked again – louder this time. Finally she heard a shuffling and suddenly Diane’s rather large head appeared from around the door.

  “Yes? Oh it is you,” she said recognizing Audrey immediately. “What brings you to my doorstep?”

  “You called last night and I didn’t get the chance to talk to you as I fell fast asleep immediately after my bath. I had a meeting in Auckland today so thought I would pop by and offer my condolences and see what it was you wanted to ask me. I haven’t had lunch yet so I brought us some fries and a burger.”

  Audrey knew she was rambling but it help to hide her anger for the interfering woman in front of her.

  The mention of fries was enough for Diane to open the door and direct her into the kitchen -the only place that had seating room. The inside of the house looked like an explosion had just taken place. Diane grabbed a couple of plates from a pile of dishes on the bench and Audrey opened up the fast food boxes and proceeded to place the contents onto the plates.

  “I must have some tomato sauce around here somewhere,” Diane said looking frantically through boxes.

  “Please, don’t find it for me. I am happy without it” Audrey said pleasantly. She could tell Diane took the visit as a friendly one. Maybe she needed some quality girl time and Audrey was happy to oblige.

  The tea was a little cold and Audrey offered to heat both cups in the microwave. Diane nodded with her mouth full of meat and cheese and pointed to the far corner of the room where there was a microwave disguised as an ironing pile of clothes.

  Audrey turned her back and removed her little packet of special mix and added the contents into one of the teas. “Do you like sugar in your tea?” she asked Diane.

  “No just milk” Diane answered with a mouth full of fries “I am on a diet.”

  Audrey returned to the table with the hot teas and handed one to Diane. “Nothing like a nice cup of tea to soothe the mind” she said and then added with feigned sincerity “I am so sorry about Gavin. I really liked him. He seemed such a quiet respectful man”

  Diane began to sob. “He was my only family. He stayed with me for months after his divorce. I should never have suggested he find his own place. He would be alive now.”

  “He seemed happy in the cabin. He was looking forward to getting in some fishing. I can’t imagine what happened.” Audrey sympathized.

  “It is all a set up. Someone framed him,” she cried as she finished her tea. “I will not rest until I know who it was.”

  Audrey consoled her and comforted her until she saw Diane droop in her chair. Audrey let out a deep long breath. “Finally” she said. She looked at the time it was three o’clock. She needed to hurry. She still had work to do here and it was imperative she returns to the cottage this evening.

  She looked around. “There must be a few unopened boxes of something I can bring back from my shopping trip.” she chuckled as she picked up a brand new toaster, shower organizer and a set of new bath towels.

  C H A P T E R 6 9

  Constable Bromley had been trying to call Diane Jenkins all morning to advise her they needed the funeral director’s name in order to release her brother’s body. This was his third message this morning. He tried on her mobile phone and her home phone to no avail. She had already viewed his body at the mortuary and had indicated she would contest the forensics report stating the cause of death was suicide. She insisted it was a homicide and she would prove it.

  Diane had been calling him constantly yesterday and yet today, he had not heard a peek out of her. If he didn’t hear from her by tonight he would send a squad car over to talk to her personally. Maybe she was just not answering the phone to avoid the media.

  Finally he heard back from forensics regarding the girl’s panties. They were still checking for semen but they did manage to remove some prints from the fabric confirmed they were a definite match to Gavin Jenkins’ prints. “Yes!” shouted Bromley as he hung up the phone. “It’s over.” He called in the team working in the station to tell them the news. The case could now be closed and put away in the archives.

  His family was on their way to Auckland airport. He was sad to see them go but relieved they would not have to attend Suzy’s funeral today. It would be too much for Lucy and the media would be there asking questions.

  The funeral was at eleven. Bromley was attending and so was Detective Burt. Bromley attended most funerals in the area. He felt it his duty to show respect for the residents in his jurisdiction. Today was going to be tougher than most. Suzy was only sixteen and she had her whole live ahead of her. The gossip surrounding her death of her prostitution activity had turned her death into a circus. Bromley cursed the government’s decision to legalize prostitution in New Zealand. It just gave young girls like Suzy the wrong message. Maybe her death would put a spotlight on teens and prostitution. He hoped so.

  C H A P T E R 7 0

  Paul had been working on his book most of the night. Obtaining background on all the persons involved in the case was time consuming but necessary. He had confirmed Constable Bromley did have a teenage daughter named Lucy. Finally he found a photo of her from an old newspaper article and it matched the photo he found on Suzy’s Facebook page. He wondered what the media would do with this information. He decided to hold onto to it until he had all the facts. After all he had no reason to suspect that Lucy was with Suzy the night she disappeared.

  Today was Suzy’s funeral and he was planning on attending. Not only in respect for young girl and her family but to see who attended. He wondered if Constable Bromley and his daughter, Lucy would be there.

  He had also done more research on his landlady. He was sure she had more to do with Jenkins timely suicide than she let on. He just couldn’t figure out what.

  He wondered if she had snooped around in his cabin when he wasn’t in. His printer light had been on when he had returned yesterday and he was sure it had been turned off when he left. He decided to add a password to his computer so it was secure in the future.

  It was almost midnight when he heard her car crunching up the gravel driv
eway last night. He could tell she was driving slowly as to not create too much noise. He presumed it was for his benefit. But surely she could see his lights were on and he was obviously still awake. He had looked through his curtains as she got out of her car and reached in the back seat and removed a few small boxes.

  He wondered if she would be attending the funeral this morning. He was sure she would. After all it was her tenant that killed the poor girl.

  He decided to call Diane before leaving for the funeral. They had been in touch via email since she returned to Auckland. She said she had called a lawyer and was going to contest the official cause of death. He wondered if she had had any luck. She had not emailed him since yesterday morning. He listened to the phone ring and then her voice mail picked up.

  “This is Diane Jenkins. I am not able to take your call. Please leave a message after the beep”.

  “Diane, its Paul Jamieson here. Just wanted to know how you are and if you managed to contact a lawyer about changing the cause of death from suicide to homicide. Call me back or email me”.

  It was odd that communication had suddenly stopped between them. He knew she was a solitude person. She had told him so. He thought she would need a friend now. Maybe it was just too much for her. He would try again after the funeral.

  He grabbed his keys and made his way to the car. He saw her carrying in firewood on a wheelbarrow. “Morning Audrey” he called out to her.

  Audrey beamed a huge smile. “Good Morning to you Paul. You are all dressed up. Going somewhere special?” she asked

  “Off to Suzy’s funeral” he said surprised that she had to ask.

  “Oh is it today?” she said nonchalantly “I don’t like funerals – or weddings. They both are way too depressing” she added and continued to push the wheelbarrow towards the cottage.