The Cabin by the Sea: The Audrey Murders - Book Two Page 7

  “I am guessing they didn’t find anything?” she asked Gavin.

  “Nope. Not a thing. They checked my rifle to see if it had been fired and took my fingerprints.”

  “No previous record?” she asked

  “No, clean as a whistle” he smiled as he stretched his long legs and leaned back on the lounger.

  “Why did you pick up the girl?” she asked

  “She was a street worker. I was just looking for a bit of fun” he replied easily.

  Gavin didn’t notice the change in Audrey’s eyes. Her emotions were well hidden by her huge sunglasses she always wore.

  He is no different from any other man, she thought. And in time he would have to pay for what he had done. But in the meantime he was a pleasant distraction from her newly found poverty and self -incriminations.

  Audrey had a roast of pork in the oven. She liked to eat early. She asked Gavin if he wanted to join her for dinner. He gratefully accepted having not had a good meal for the last couple of days.

  They sat outside drinking until the sun fell from the sky and the early evening air cooled.

  Audrey turned on iTunes and played a selection of her favorite blues. They opened their third bottle and danced in joint inebriated abandonment. It felt good to have some fun. A strange couple they made. The tall lean man and the short, big breasted blonde. They were uncomfortable strangers in life but cooperating allies in crime.

  By the time they had finished Audrey’s roast dinner, complete with gravy and homemade applesauce, both were feeling the strain of the sleepless night. They said goodnight and retreated to their respective beds for the first good night sleep in days.

  C H A P T E R 3 6

  It was another early start at the Mangonui Police Station. The team was already assembled and Constable Bromley had just finished preparing the interrogation room for Staci’s arrival. At seven thirty the first team left for the local high school to interview Suzy’s school friends hoping to locate the boyfriend of interest.

  The Kaitaia team with dog handlers was searching the area around the Taipa Shopping Center for any clues. Detective Burt and Constable Bromley were returning leads from the overwhelming media response.

  They had sorted the leads into three categories: car, man, and Suzy. Having located the car and the man they now concentrated on any leads with a reference to Suzy. One lead in particular caught Detective Burt’s interest. The message read:

  Client of Suzy

  Wants to stay anonymous

  Has information of interest

  Phone….

  “What the hell? A client? What sort of client? Bromley picked up the phone and made the call.

  “Yep” a man’s deep voice answered

  “Constable Bromley here. You have some information regarding the missing girl Suzy Cunningham?

  “Don’t want to give my name. But I can tell you that Suzy was no angel. I picked her up from the Taipa shopping center twice in the past month. She is a street bunny if you know what I mean. Shame she is missing. I wanted to let you know in case you didn’t know she was a sex worker.”

  “Are you sure you are talking about the same girl” Bromley asked in shock.

  “Absolutely. I saw her photo on the news. That’s Suzy all right. She works under the name of “Red.” Charges $100 bucks an hour. Worth every dollar.”

  “Did you know she was only sixteen years old?” asked Bromley.

  “Didn’t know until I heard it on the news” said the man. “She sure doesn’t look it. Thought she was at least eighteen. She wears leather boots, mini skirt and a face full of makeup. That’s all I’ve got to say. Hope you find her mate”.

  Constable Bromley sat dazed in his chair. Suzy was Lucy’s best friend. She must have known Suzy was working the streets. His heart sunk as he thought of his innocent little daughter and hoped she wasn’t involved in any way.

  This changed things. There was no boyfriend. A john had obviously picked her up. Bromley wished the Taipa Shopping center had a security camera. It didn’t. Beta Electrical and the other shops had security systems in store. But there was nothing covering the car park area. He tried to recall the night. The traffic had been almost non-existent. He had seen a couple of cars that night but the silver Toyota was the only car he remembered on the road during the time in question.

  Maybe Jenkins had picked up the girl and returned her an hour later. But he couldn’t prove anything. This case was getting more and more complicated. How was he going to tell Suzy’s parents? They were already suffering. Hearing their sweet daughter was a working girl would only put them into total despair.

  Bromley radioed the teams with the update. Focus was now concentrated on Suzy’s after school activities. He decided to wait to talk to Suzy’s parents until he could confirm the new information.

  As the morning progressed Bromley and Burt continued to return calls. Another john who wouldn’t give his name confirmed Suzy was indeed “Red” a regular sex worker. At ten-thirty Staci entered the police station accompanied by a detective from the Whangarei station. Bromley showed Stacy into the interrogation room and closed the door behind them.

  C H A P T E R 3 7

  Bruce Bromley was enjoying his morning cup of tea seated at the wooden bench on the outside deck and gazing out at the bright sun glistening on the cool blue sea. The winterless far north, as it was commonly referred to, was living up to its reputation. It was a perfect day to take the boat out and do some fishing. He considered asking Audrey to accompany him but with all what had been going on over there, he knew today was not the day to get involved. Instead he decided to call a couple of mates who lived further up the peninsula. They were avid fishermen and always up for a trip out to sea.

  By late morning his mates had arrived with their fishing gear in tow and they made their way down to his private beach. Bruce’s hundred acres included three private beaches, wide-open grassland and at least eighty acres of native bush. His expansive modern home sat perched on the edge of a ridge overlooking the ocean.

  Bruce kept his boat in one of the large sheds on the property. They towed the boat with the tractor down to the water’s edge. Bruce loved this beach. It was the only sandy beach on the rocky peninsula. Today they had planned to take the boat out to sea past the Kerikeri peninsula in the hope of catching some yellowfish tuna.

  They had already loaded three-dozen beers into the boat and all the fishing gear. Bruce launched the boat into the water and returned the tractor to the beach. With all onboard they headed out towards the open sea.

  Bruce’s friends loved to gossip. Today was no exception. They had their own opinions as to where the red headed girl was.

  “Most probably shacking up with her boyfriend,” one said.

  “She’s a pretty girl,” said the other.

  Bruce couldn’t resist himself. “Ya know they did a search of my neighbors property yesterday” he said. “I called them to let them know a silver Toyota Celica was parked there like the one they were looking for. They were there most of the day. I guess they didn’t find anything or we would have heard something. My nephew is leading the case. He’s a smart guy.”

  Five minutes out into the bay they saw something bobbing in the water.

  “Hey” one of the guys called out “looks like something in the water.”

  Bruce headed off in the direction of the object. As they got closer they saw it was a blue backpack. “It has a pink stripe like they showed on the news,” he shouted over the engine. “Grab a pole and we will fish it in.” With the bag on board the guys looked inside to see if they could identify the owner. It was full of clothes; jeans, jacket, reebok shoes.

  Shit! It is the girl’s bag alright,” Bruce said. “We had better head back to shore and get it to the police. Bloody hell. There goes our fishing”.

  The guys agreed and they turned the boat around and headed for shore. Bruce called his nephew from his cell phone but was told he was out of the station. He left a message saying
they had found the bag and was bringing it into the station. He tried his nephew’s cell phone but there was no answer. He left the same message.

  “Looks bad,” he said to the guys. “If her bag is floating in the ocean, she could be there too!”

  There was a somber mood as they docked and towed the boat to the shed. The guys offered to wash the boat so Bruce could head off into Mangonui with the bag.

  C H A P T E R 3 8

  Staci was finally released from the station. They even offered to drive her back to Whangarei as the local detective was heading back anyway. It had been really awful and she was feeling quite sick over the whole thing.

  They say confession is good for the soul. She didn’t think her soul felt any better than her stomach. Having to say that she had dropped Suzy off at the shopping center so she could work was bad enough but Constable Bromley wanted to know about his daughter and if she was involved in the prostitution business too. That was the hardest part. She had considered lying and saying she only dropped Suzy there and had taken Lucy home straight away but Constable Bromley’s stuck up attitude really pissed Staci off. He was acting holier than thou and judging her for being a working girl as though she was worthless, just a tramp.

  Staci got really mad and told him, right to his face, “Who are you to judge me? Your daughter does tricks too, you know. She was also working that night. That’s right! You ask her! You ask her what time she got home. It was after one in the morning when I dropped her off.”

  She saw the policeman’s face turn ashen. Shocked. He slumped forward as if all the wind had just been punched out of him. Staci knew things would never be the same for him. It served him right, she thought as she was driven home. He made me do it. After all, it is the truth. I didn’t make Suzy or Lucy work that night. They asked me for the ride there. No more. I have a good job at the Brothel in Whangarei with good money.

  She considered herself lucky. The police didn’t know she got a cut from Suzy’s jobs. She had told Constable Bromley she had just dropped them off and picked them up at their request. Nothing illegal in that. She was glad she was out of the street business. Before long she will have saved enough to start her own brothel she only needed another twenty thousand dollars. It was a shame no one other than her and Detective Bromley were in the in the room during the interrogation. It might have been good to have some witnesses.

  C H A P T E R 3 9

  Constable Bromley wasn’t answering his cell phone. He saw it was his Uncle calling but he just couldn’t face talking to anyone right now. He had left the station after interviewing Staci. The news his daughter was doing tricks on the street was just too much to bear. He couldn’t tell his wife. He didn’t even have the guts to confront his daughter. He just didn’t want to know. These things happened to other people. His reputation in the police force would be ruined. His daughter was only sixteen. What was she thinking? Legalized prostitution in New Zealand was bad enough but young teenagers were idolizing the working girls.

  Too many American television programs portraying porn queens as role models, he thought. Even today’s teen pop stars are twerking and singing almost naked.

  Young girls thought they could become rich by having sex. “Why work for minimum wage when you can earn hundred bucks an hour” he would hear teens say as they were picked up off the streets. Johns didn’t help. They often preferred the younger girls and as long as there was a market, young girls would oblige.

  He had read naked selfies were a growing phenomenon amongst teens and hoped his daughter was not participating in this trend. Now that seemed immaterial compared to selling her body for money.

  A good thirty minutes had gone by and he was still sitting in his car watching the pleasure boats coming and going in the bay. He knew he must make a move. He looked at his phone it was two o’clock. Lucy wouldn’t be home until after four. He decided to head back to the station but first he returned the call to his Uncle.

  C H A P T E R 4 0

  All was breaking loose at the Mangonui Police Station. News had travelled fast across the region. Police from neighboring stations were called in to assist as soon as the news of the girl’s backpack having been found in Hihi bay was released. A search team was scouring the bay looking for any signs of the missing girl.

  Constable Bromley was preoccupied with the thought of his own daughter being involved somehow. He knew once the media got hold of the latest information his whole career was in jeopardy. He must talk to his daughter, but first he should talk to Mary. He knew his daughter was involved somehow and he should take himself off the case.

  He just hoped they didn’t find the girl dead in the bay. Maybe she was still alive somewhere. He would wait until the bay was searched before making a decision. If he were lucky, the case would be solved without anyone knowing about Lucy. But he didn’t like his chances. The girl had been missing for almost seventy-two hours and as time progresses the chances of finding the girl become more and more difficult.

  He decided to head off to Hihi Bay and see how the search was progressing. Interviewing his daughter could wait.

  The bay was buzzing with activity. Locals were congregating around the shoreline. Police cars lined the street from the little one-way bridge to the motor camp. Only residents were allowed through the area. Bromley noticed a couple sitting in a blue Rav4. It was Audrey and Jenkins. As soon as he spotted them he saw them drive off up Peninsula Road.

  “Bloody hell” he muttered under his breath. “Come to the scene of the crime – eh?”

  He was sure Jenkins had something to do with the missing girl and he would find out just what that was.

  C H A P T E R 4 1

  Audrey knew she must act soon. Gavin Jenkins was becoming a liability. The local cop had seen them at the beach. Curiosity had led them down to the beach. By late afternoon the bay was bobbing with police launches. Audrey wondered what were they doing or, worse still, what they had found.

  “It’s the missing girl. They found her backpack floating in the bay. They are searching for the girl” wide-eyed women affronted Audrey in obvious shock.

  Audrey and Gavin were horrified. The bag must have floated to the surface. The girl’s body could either be washed out to sea or washed up on shore. They hoped the first scenario was true. Gavin would be in deep shit if the body was found. He knew they would have his DNA if it weren’t completely diluted by seawater.

  At dusk the local garage finally arrived to fix Gavin’s car tires. Audrey and Gavin watched the police carrying out their search from the front lawn until it became too dark and the launches returned to shore.

  Audrey knew tonight she must make Gavin pay for what he had done. If she waited any longer he might be arrested and she would miss the opportunity. She would wait until dark then make her move. First she would make her favorite concoction of champagne and GHB powder. Just enough to send him to sleep and then she could set the scene.

  Audrey liked to use GHB. She had been successful before with this drug. It took away any personal violence from her projects and always achieved excellent results. Tonight it would be more messy - but necessary.

  She had arranged with Gavin to meet in his cabin for a nightcap at nine o’clock. She felt a rush of excitement. All she needed was a nice hot bath. She would wash her hair, put on makeup and wear her sexiest black top with her new skinny jeans. The only skinny part of Audrey was from the hips down and she liked to emphasis this feature.

  By nine o’clock she was dressed and ready for a night of sheer joy. “I look fantastic” she chuckled as she poured her third glass of champagne. She took the new bottle over to Gavin’s and knocked on the door.

  C H A P T E R 4 2

  Lucy sat at the dinner table dreading what was about to happen. Her Dad wouldn’t look at her in the eye. Her Mother seemed to be in shock. They knew. She just knew that they knew. They sat in silence eating pork curry and rice. It was her favorite and she felt guilty her Mother had made it and now she had ruined everythin
g.

  Finally her Father spoke. “Your Mother and I have been talking” he began. “I found out something today that I needed to discuss with her, and now we need to discuss it with you.”

  Here it comes, she thought. “What is it?” she asked as innocently as she could.

  “Staci came into the station today” he said

  “Why? Lucy asked as she felt her face redden and pulse race.

  “I brought her in to be interviewed. She told me Suzy was a prostitute, a sex worker. She said she had been doing it for some time now. Did you know she was doing that? He asked

  Lucy didn’t answer. She didn’t know what her Father knew and she didn’t want to incriminate herself.

  “Lucy? Did you know? Her Father asked again more urgently. “Did you know she was working the streets for God’s sake?”

  Lucy knew her Father was furious. “Yes, I knew”. She shouted as she pushed back her chair and started to leave the room.

  “Come back here. I haven’t finished!” he shouted.

  Lucy stopped in her tracks and turned towards him. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

  “Well, you have no choice. Either you talk about it here or you will talk about it in the station. And there it won’t just be you and me. It will be on the record. So if you have something to say, you had better say it now,” he demanded.

  Lucy sat back down at the table. “OK” what do you want to know?”

  “How long has Suzy been working the streets?” he asked

  “Since she went to summer camp. She met Staci there and now she works regularly. Her parents don’t know. They think she is out with friends.”

  “That night did you see who picked her up?”