Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Mick
M y finger hovers over the mouse. No point delaying. With the last piece of the puzzle in place, my job here is done. I hit send and close my laptop.
A delicious sense of calm seeps through my veins, like I’m hooked up to a drip of pure serotonin. I cross my legs and lean back in my chair. How long until Jake calls?
The station hums with a quiet efficiency that’s not unlike the tax office. I’ll miss it now the assignment is finished. And I’ll miss the proximity to home. There have been a few bumps, but Jules and I have made good progress in repairing our marriage during the few months I’ve been working at Parramatta Police Station.
“What the fuck?”
Two minutes, twenty-six seconds. And not a call, but Jake at my desk, arms crossed and glaring at me. Nice.
I cross my right leg over the left knee. “You received my email?”
“You’ve been around Greg too long. Of course, I got it. Why didn’t you just tell me?”
I rub the tattoo on my forearm. “I needed to see it in print.” Ink on skin. On paper. It’s more final .
Jake swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing like it can’t decide which way is up or down. “In the meeting room. Now.” He jabs a finger at Greg and Emily, who’ve crept towards us with as much stealth as Zola sneaking food off the table. “You two as well.” He pivots and strides back to his office.
Greg nudges my shoulder. “What have you done?”
I shrug.
Emily bounces on her heels. “He found the evidence we need to crack this case.” She squeals, then claps her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
I love her enthusiasm. “Don’t be. It’s your intel that’s going to be the final nail.”
Greg’s gaze flits between us. “Have you two been keeping secrets?”
I steeple my fingers together. “Think of it more as a strategic decision to keep the information on an ‘as needs basis’ until we were ready to disclose it.”
Greg turns to Em, his expression resembling that of a sad puppy. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She reaches up to adjust his tie. “Because we didn’t have all the data until this morning. And Mick wanted to surprise Inspector Matthews.”
Greg growls and slaps her arse. “You’ll be punished.”
“Jesus, guys, I’m right here.” And having flashbacks of spanking Jules. I don’t need a hard-on in the office.
“I ought to deck you for leading my woman astray.” Greg’s words are tough, but his relaxed posture tells me he’s no threat.
“Come on.” I push out of my chair. “We’d better not keep Jake waiting.”
We file into the meeting room. Emily shuts the door. I savour the click of the lock. The finality. Reaper and Leadbetter are going to remain behind bars for a very long time. It won’t bring Davo back, but it’ll be justice for his death and the deaths of countless others.
Jake gestures to the front. “Show us what you’ve got, Mick. I need a little more evidence than an email saying”—he draws air quotes with his fingers—“case solved.”
Greg pokes me in the ribs. “Nice one. I like your style, Williams.”
“If you pull the same stunt, Anderson, I’ll stick you on duty with the drug sniffer dogs at the train station for a month.” Jake points at the chairs. “Now, sit.”
A grumbling Greg and giggling Emily drop into seats in the front row while Jake and I remain standing.
I connect my laptop, and a stream of numbers fills the big screen. “I was focusing too much on Matthew Baker.”
Jake tilts his head, trying to make sense of the data. “But we’ve established he’s not only a tax cheat but a crim. You recognised him.”
“Correct. But there were sizeable contributions to charities on his tax return that I initially dismissed as inconsequential. Until I found similar donations on the returns of two other persons of interest. Again, not significant on their own, but they have one thing in common.”
Jake lifts an eyebrow. He’s running out of patience. I don’t blame him, but I want to draw this out. Savour the moment. I direct the pointer to the critical line on the statement. “They were all prepared by the same accountant.”
“The one that OD’d?” asks Greg.
“Yep.”
The significance isn’t lost on Jake. He walks closer to the screen. “What do we know about the charities?”
“They’re registered.”
“Are they clean?”
“On the surface, yes. But when I started to dig, they began to unravel.”
Jake rubs his jaw. “Does any of this tie to Leadbetter?”
“Wait for it.” I flick to a photo. “It’s dark, but you can clearly see Reaper, aka Matthew Baker, holding a gun to the head of the person on the ground. And Leadbetter watching on.”
The room buzzes with suppressed energy as Jake goes nose to nose with the screen. “Where and when was this taken?”
“An abandoned building on the north side of the river.” I nod at Emily. “You want to take it from here?”
“Gladly.” She bounds out of her seat. “The building is outside the search area where several bodies were found last year, all alleged drug overdoses. The ones that are being reopened as possible homicides.”
“So, what made you consider it now?” asks Jake.
“It’s the address listed for one of the charities.”
Despite Emily’s excitement, Jake merely nods, his expression giving nothing away. “And do we know who the victim is?”
“Yes, sir.” Emily rubs her hands together. “And the records confirm he died from a gunshot wound to the head.”
“That doesn’t mean Baker pulled the trigger.”
Emily’s confidence seems to waver at his continued lack of enthusiasm. He’s certainly making us work for it. Time for the big reveal.
“If I may, Emily?”
She bows melodramatically. “It’s your case, Mick.”
Greg growls and narrows his eyes at me. “I’m watching you, Williams.”
Jake shoots him a look that would have lesser men pissing their pants. Greg makes a show of zipping his lips. Man, I’m going to miss working with these two.
I clear my throat. “The building might be vacant but the owner is obsessed with security. He has hidden cameras everywhere. There are thousands and thousands of terabytes of data, but he’s never viewed the actual footage. Emily and I thought the photo on the screen was the most tasteful at this hour of the morning.” I hand Jake a USB stick. “There’s plenty of evidence here to lock Baker and Leadbetter away for a very, very long time.”
Greg slowly claps. “Well done. You and Emily nailed it.”
“Huh.” Jake rocks on his heels, a smile slowly lighting up his face. Finally. “Looks like we’ll be able to avoid having you testify about what you saw undercover, Mick.”
Each muscle fibre in my body relaxes one after the other. Like a domino effect. There’d be no risk of my identity being discovered, keeping Jules and Riley safe from any backlash. “That’s what I’m hoping for. I can also brief another forensic accountant to present this data in court. It doesn’t have to be me.”
And Matthew Baker—aka Reaper—and the infamous Leadbetter will never know they were brought down by someone they thought was on their side.