Monty smiled. ‘Better than you by the sound of it. How’s the course?’

‘Good. I got an A for that last assignment you helped me with.’

Monty clapped the boy on the back. ‘Let’s make the next one an A plus then. Come see me again when this murder’s been cleared up.’

Justin frowned. ‘Sure, but look, Dad’s told me all about it. If there’s anything I can do to help...’

‘Get that uniform and you’ll be the first I ask.’

‘I know you’re all stretched pretty tight over this. Tell Stevie I’m happy to babysit again.’

Monty suspected the relationship was mutually agreeable, with Justin glad of an excuse to get away from his overbearing father.

‘I think she might take you up on that. I’ll tell her to call if she’s stuck.’

Justin replied with a strained smile, nodded goodbye to Christine and headed towards the lifts.

Monty caught a flicker of movement in the doorjamb. He winked at Christine before calling out to the superintendent, ‘It’s all right, Sir, he’s gone, you can come out now.’ Christine hid a smile behind her hand. The super appeared, pulling at the sleeves of his jacket as if he’d just sorted out a major altercation. His moon face and flabby body could have belonged to a stand-up comic, features that seemed incongruous in an unhappy man in a job that stretched him beyond his capabilities. His brownnosing talents were the only things Monty could find to explain his rise through the ranks.

‘Sorry about all that noise, Christine,’ Baggly said.

‘That’s all right, Sir, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.’

Baggly rolled his eyes to the ceiling. ‘Kids. You’re lucky you never had them, Monty.’

‘I don’t see it like that, Sir.’

‘No, well, it’s the luck of the draw I suppose. I mean, I buy the boy everything for God’s sake and he just wants more. His mother spoiled him rotten, I’m afraid.’

Monty said, ‘Sir, something’s come up in the Poser case. We need to talk.’

‘Of course, I shouldn’t be inflicting my personal problems on you. Come on in and sit down.’

He ushered Monty into his office and gestured him to the leather Chesterfield. While the super fussed around making coffee, Monty took in the framed photos on the wall. John Baggly beaming with the East Perth Under-Fourteen footy team, John Baggly opening the district’s latest blue light disco, John Baggly receiving an award from the Catholic Women’s Auxiliary for his advocacy of the family unit. The only picture on the wall that wasn’t about work was a framed photo of a younger Justin, posed in the backyard with the family dog.

He took the proffered coffee. ‘We’ve got the results back from the hair that was found on Royce’s body. It was in the police personal file, the one we use to exclude our DNA from crime scenes...’

‘Get on with it, man.’ The super ladled sugar into his coffee and didn’t look up. Monty took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. ‘It belongs to the police commissioner.’

The silver sugar bowl fell from Baggly’s hand with a clatter and crystals sprinkled the antique sideboard like a sudden coating of frost. He looked at Monty with the expression of a man who couldn’t believe his ears.

The door flew open and Christine rushed into the room. ‘Is everything all right, Sir?’

‘Everything’s fine. For God’s sake, Christine, go away,’ Baggly said.

She tiptoed out of the office, looking disappointed. The superintendent waited for the door to close before saying, ‘There has to be some kind of a mistake.’

‘I’ve triple checked. It’s no mistake.’

‘But the commissioner’s been on leave for the last two weeks.’ He swiped at the sugar crystals on his shirt and zeroed his small, angry eyes on Monty. ‘On his honeymoon in Fiji for Christ’s sake!’

‘I don’t suspect the commissioner for a moment: I believe the hair was planted, it was the only one we found. I was suspicious about it before I even had it matched. Someone obviously wanted us to find it. It was carefully stuck to the paint with the skin tag left clear and undamaged.’

‘Someone’s playing games with us?’

Monty nodded. Baggly sank his bulk into the squeaking desk chair. ‘It would be easy to obtain one of the commissioner’s hairs; all it needs is access to his hairbrush—he probably keeps one in his car and his office. But that also means it could be an inside job.’

‘Not necessarily, it could be anyone.’ The super chewed his moustache for a moment. ‘If the press get hold of this, it’ll be a disaster.’

‘My people will be discreet, but someone will have to talk to the commissioner. I know he’s honeymooning, but he’ll still have to be approached. We have to make his alibi official.’

‘Yes, yes, of course, leave that to me.’ Baggly took a sip of coffee and regarded Monty with scepticism. ‘This case seems to be lurching from bad to worse. How’s your witch doctor going? Has he finished consulting his crystal ball yet?’

Monty stared right back at him. ‘I don’t think witch doctors use crystal balls, Sir.’

‘Don’t be a smart arse. You know what I mean.’

‘He’s at the scene with DS Hooper now. He hasn’t given us anything yet, but these things take time. The less we pressure him, the more likely he is to give us an accurate profile.’

‘It’s a waste of our resources if you ask me, especially for a single murder. They’re always on about spending cuts and then they foist this on me. The only reason I didn’t kick up a fuss was to get you off my back.’

‘Yes, you made that perfectly clear, Sir, but I still say it’s worth a try.’

‘He could be just sending us off on a wild goose chase.’

‘Well, we’re not chasing anything at the moment, we have nothing to lose.’ Monty paused for a moment, trying to choose the right words for what he had to say next. But there were none, so he cut to the chase. ‘I’d like your authorisation to reopen the KP murder cases.’

Baggly thumped the desk. ‘Did your ex-wife put you up to this?’

Monty didn’t flinch. ‘Michelle has nothing to do with it, though I do agree with her that there are similarities in the cases that should not be overlooked.’

‘Well, thank God you didn’t mention that to the press.’ Baggly’s voice dripped sarcasm like a cut lemon. He never seemed to tire of reminding Monty of his former indiscretion, though it never stopped him delegating press conferences when it suited.

‘You didn’t even work the KP murders, weren’t even in the country. What makes you think they might be linked?’

‘The posing of the bodies for one, but I’m not familiar with all the details.’ He decided not to mention Michelle’s allegations of a police cover-up. ‘I’ve only had a quick check of the archived files. I plan on signing them out and taking them home tonight so I can give them a thorough going over.’

Baggly fixed his gaze to the ceiling, almost speaking to himself. ‘We were lucky. We got egg over our faces on that one, but most of it fell away with the death of the chief suspect.’

‘Yes, that was very convenient, wasn’t it?’

‘I don’t like your tone, Inspector. Mistakes were made, heads rolled and now it’s over. The suspect died in a car accident.’

Monty fought to keep his voice even. ‘You can stop me from reopening the case, but you can’t stop me from accessing the files.’

The super ran a hand across his comb-over and looked back at Monty with a hard glint in his eye. ‘No, I suppose I can’t, but watch your step.’ He raised a pudgy finger, ‘If so much as a squeak gets out to the press you’ll find yourself walking on very thin ice.’ He paused. ‘Just remember what happened to Inspector Sbresni.’

Monty felt his face redden. The vacuous lump of whale blubber was threatening him. He clenched his jaw to stop himself from biting back. The super began to busy himself with papers on his desk. The meeting was over.

6

The killer’s hunting ground will most likely be located within his own comfort zone, either near where he lives or in another area he is familiar with.