Chapter Seventeen #3
Judith hesitated. Vanessa hadn’t seen her yet. She could go around to the other entrance and avoid Vanessa completely. Something gave her pause. Maybe it was the Yuzu Mules.
‘Mrs Walker? Are you okay?’
Vanessa turned to see Judith. A flush warmed her cheeks.
‘Detective Lee. Hello. I wasn’t here to see you.’
‘That’s okay. Can I help you at all?’
‘I came to see Detective Jansen. But they won’t let me wait inside with Milo.’
‘Did you have an appointment? I think Detective Jansen left for the day.’
‘No . . . I should have made one. I suppose I wasn’t thinking.’
Judith came closer. She leaned down to pat the dog, who wagged his tail ecstatically.
‘He’s sweet,’ she said.
There was a moment of silence, of awkwardness.
Vanessa surely couldn’t blame Judith for Walker’s death.
He’d been murdered. Her supposed ‘harassment’ of him had had nothing to do with that.
But grieving people weren’t always rational, and Vanessa Walker wasn’t just grieving.
She must be under siege. Judith was surprised that she’d made it to the police station without a journalist in tow.
No one was willing to let the Robert Walker story go.
If anything, it was growing legs. There’d been a new article in The Age that morning.
Two more women had come forward and spoken anonymously.
One of them had talked about Walker’s creepiness, his inappropriate comments and questions.
The other said that he’d touched her, massaged her shoulders.
So far it hadn’t got out that Walker’s death had been murder, but that too was coming.
Judith found it hard to have sympathy for Vanessa.
Surely she must have seen signs that her husband was a predator?
You couldn’t live with someone for that long, share a bed, share a life, and see nothing at all.
And if she’d seen it, or seen something, and deliberately closed her eyes to it?
That to Judith was the most contemptible form of weakness.
The pretending. The smoothing away, all in the interests of an easy life for yourself, and intentional blindness to everyone else who got hurt along the way.
Judith gave the dog one last pat, then stood up.
‘Good night,’ she said. Before she could leave, Vanessa spoke, her voice tight and constrained.
‘Milo went missing the day Robert died. He ended up at a shelter a few kilometres from our house. He’s microchipped, so they called me. I came here to tell Detective Jansen, just in case it’s helpful. I mean, I don’t know how it would be relevant, but maybe everything helps. Or not. I don’t know.’
‘I can tell him,’ Judith said.
‘Thank you,’ Vanessa said stiffly. ‘I’d appreciate that.’
Judith turned to go.
‘I’m sorry,’ Vanessa blurted out.
Judith turned back.
‘I’m very sorry. For what Lachy said to you that day.
It was uncalled for. Of course you’re not responsible for Robert’s death.
Even if he had . . . I mean . . .’ Vanessa’s flush deepened.
‘What I mean is, even if he had killed himself, which he didn’t, I know it wouldn’t have been your fault.
It’s just, Lachy’s very confused. You know, someone sent me that video, and that weird letter.
I really do believe . . . It’s very clear that Robert was being set up.
And Robert told Lachy that you, that the police were out to get him.
That you wouldn’t listen. So Lachy is confused about it all.
But I’m sure you were just doing your job. ’
‘Someone sent you a video?’ Judith asked.
‘You didn’t know?’
‘No.’
‘It came on a USB drive, in a beautifully wrapped box with my name on it. A courier delivered it. But I don’t know who sent it. I suppose whoever it was wanted to create problems for Robert in his marriage. Though it took an expert less than a day to prove it was a fake.’
‘I’m sorry, but just to be clear, we’re talking about the video where Robert is in his office, uh, with a woman—’
‘Yes,’ Vanessa cut across her.
Judith digested that information. ‘And you said there was a letter?’
‘It wasn’t really a letter. Just a sheet of paper, with a weird quote on it.’
‘Can you remember what it said?’
‘I do.’ Vanessa paused. ‘Does it matter?’
‘It might.’
Vanessa looked at Judith in a moment of careful assessment. The facade of perfection cracked a little, and Judith could see the tiredness in the other woman’s eyes.
‘It said, “I tried to get help. That was a huge mistake.” Does that mean anything to you?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ Judith said, even as her mind turned the words over, then turned them over again.
The dog had spotted something more interesting on the other side of the street. He started to pull on the lead.
‘I have to go,’ Vanessa said. ‘But I want you to know, we won’t pursue the complaint Robert made against you. As a family, I mean.’
Judith wasn’t sure what to say. ‘Thank you,’ she said in the end.
‘Good luck, Detective,’ Vanessa Walker said as she walked away.
Judith watched her leave. ‘Good luck to you too.’