The Plot – Chapter 18
Truth or Dare
Vince and Jorja had planned to spend a peaceful, busy Saturday morning at the Plot removing spent summer veggies and preparing seed beds for sowing onions and winter root crops. They arrived to find that the cops were back, accompanied by a small group of onlookers, despite the earliness of the hour.
The area under the canopy of the Big Tree was again cordoned off by blue-and-white chequered police tape, just a week after the last lot had been removed.
This time they’d brought a natty gazebo with enclosed sides, like the ones that people took camping, but all blue with a Victoria Police logo.
Uniformed officers were scraping up the years of accumulated leaf mulch and putting it into bin bags, sealing them and carrying them away. Two figures in forensic suits were examining the bare earth thus revealed: sweeping with little brushes and trowels; shining pen lights; taking photos with a fancy-looking camera.
‘Thorough … must be looking for something specific,’ whispered Jorja.
‘Hope they’re not going to keep all that beautiful mulch,’ worried Vince. ‘Maybe I should ask them?’
‘Shhh.’
‘Can I help you?’ The speaker was a male police constable about Jorja’s age.
‘Oh, err, no,’ she said. ‘We’re just going to look after our veggies. That’s okay?’
‘No worries. Don’t hang around just here though, please, ’cause space is a bit tight. If there’s too many rubberneckers, I’ll have to close the gardens again. Public safety, see?’
‘Yes, of course …’
‘Only we were wondering about the mulch …’ Vince butted in, ignoring Jorja’s nudging elbow. ‘Will you bring it back?’
‘Sorry, mate?’
‘The mulch?’ he repeated, indicating with his hand. ‘The leaf litter?’
‘Oh, right … Yeah, sure. If it’s not required for, ah, evidence, we’ll bring it back … I guess.’
As Vince turned to go, the policeman caught Jorja’s eye and winked.
‘Take good care of your grandad,’ he murmured. ‘Must be upsetting for him, all this.’ With a sweep of the hand he indicated the activity under the Big Tree.
Ray Hughes, or as he signed himself ‘Raymond of the Family Hughes, Free Man on the Land’, hadn’t brought a solicitor with him. Of course he hadn’t.
By turns sullen and cocky on entering the interview room, half an hour later he was slowly being ground down.
No match for Gabi, thought Mel, as she watched through the two-way mirror.
At that point the young DC sat back, shook her head, sighed with just a hint of a suppressed sob. Her bottom lip quivered. The PC at her side sat statue-like, unmoved. Under strict instructions to keep his trap shut at all costs.
Here we go, thought Mel.
‘You’re so far ahead of us, Ray! I could really use your help on this. It’s my first big case.’
‘I don’t rely on agents of the state to tell me what’s going on, see?’ said the interviewee smugly. ‘Or the mainstream media, which amounts to the same thing.’
‘That’s fair enough, Ray. I expect you have a lot of video evidence, then? I bet some of it would be really enlightening for us. Might even help us to identify the suspect.’
Ray shifted uneasily.
‘I reuse the cards. Don’t keep any old stuff. This is just about protecting my veggies from pests and thieves. It was by chance, that bloke trespassing on my patch, see?’
‘Ah, right. I see. Not deliberately snooping on your neighbours at the gardens?’
‘No, of course not! Just exercising my right to protect my property.’
‘Of course, of course,’ Gabi nodded, then paused, as if considering the implications for the first time. ‘This is a very serious crime we’re investigating, though. A brutal assault, in which a man lost his life …’
‘Right. And you only know about it because I pointed you in the right direction.’
‘Of course, and we appreciate that, Ray, we really do,’ said Gabi, giving him a sweet smile. Her eyes shone with admiration.
‘That’s … good.’
Don’t overdo it, girl, thought Mel. He’ll realise you’re taking the piss.
‘However, if it were to emerge that you’re now concealing additional evidence …’
‘But – that was my only video from the evening. The camera’s motion-triggered.’
‘We really need to see all your footage for the trailcam, Ray, not just from the evening of the incident. Even if you’ve reused the memory cards, our IT people will be able to restore the deleted data.’
‘Nah, but …’
‘A criminal act might have been committed, Ray, in the concealment, I mean. Inadvertently, of course.’
‘Now wait a minute!’
‘As a store security operative, you’d appreciate that.’
‘I don’t see what my job’s got to do with it.’
‘It’s a responsible position, Ray,’ she breathed, ‘a position with authority.’
‘Well, yeah, but …’
‘You mustn’t get involved in anything which could call your integrity into question.’
‘No, but …’
‘Because you see, we’d have to obtain a warrant to search your home, your car, your place of employment …’ Gabi seemed distraught at the prospect of so much damage to the interviewee’s reputation.
It was Ray’s turn to sigh. Mel almost felt sorry for him.
‘Raymond Hughes has opened his wallet and handed to me two sixty-four-gigabyte memory cards,’ said Gabi for the recording, in a clear, calm voice with no hint of triumph.
Then, more softly: ‘You’ve done the right thing, Ray. Well done, and thank you.’
Next week in The Plot:
Chapter 19: Home to Roost
For certain people, things fall into place. Less so for others …
Disclaimer: The people, organisations and events described in this story are entirely the product of the author’s imagination; they bear no intentional resemblance to real-life people, organisations and events. Some locations are based on real places, however the City of Corymbia and its localities are inventions of the author.