Chapter Seventeen
Luke
As I sign my statement, Aurelia is just coming out of the Ladies’. She looks extremely pale, and I wonder whether she threw up in there. She walks back, and instead of standing with her family, she comes over to me.
“Thank you,” Constable Parish says, and he takes out his phone and turns away to answer it.
I pull Aurelia to one side. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She swallows. “You?”
“Not really.”
We both give wan smiles.
“I thought…” she says softly, “I didn’t ask you whether you’d go with me to Evermore. I’m sorry to have assumed.”
“It’s not a problem. You’re my priority right now.”
She smiles properly then, warming me through. Everything’s going to be okay if she continues to smile at me like that.
Ella was talking on the phone to one side, but she ends the call now and comes over to us.
“I’ve just heard from Rick,” she says, looking at her phone. “He’s emailed the full day’s footage from both corridors, but he’s sent me some clips from just before three p.m.”
She scrolls through, then pulls up the footage and presses play. It’s the camera in reception, set above the desk and trained on the waiting area and beyond it, the main doors. The timestamp says 2:53 p.m.
A guy walks up the steps, taps a key card to the pad, and comes inside. It’s Roy, about to start his afternoon shift. He approaches reception and says something to Ed—the guy who works the morning shift. Ed walks to the left side of the desk, and Roy joins him there, and they stand talking.
Aurelia presses her fingers to her mouth as another figure appears outside. He has a man’s build, with wide shoulders and narrow hips. He’s wearing black boots, jeans, a black hoodie, a baseball cap, and a face mask, the generic kind everyone wore during COVID.
He taps a key card to the pad and lets himself in.
Ed is collecting his jacket, and Roy is walking around the desk, talking to him. They’re both facing the other way. The guy in black times it perfectly to get to the elevator without them noticing. He doesn’t run, though—he strolls across the floor, keeping his head down.
“He knows the camera’s there,” I say, heart racing.
Next, the scene changes to the corridor leading to Aurelia’s door. We watch him exit the elevator. Now he’s pulled the hood up over his baseball cap, and when he stops and turns to open her door, his face is obscured. He goes inside, and the door slowly shuts.
The scene cuts to him exiting at 3:16 p.m. He reverses his steps, going back to the elevator, and then we watch him exit the carriage, cross the lobby, and go out. Roy glances at him but goes straight back to looking at his magazine.
We watch it twice more.
“I’ll talk to Roy,” Ella says, “but I’m betting he won’t be able to tell us anything.”
She goes over to the Ashfords and shows them and then shows Constable Parish after he finishes his call.
“It doesn’t tell us anything,” Caesar says, disappointed.
“It tells us a lot,” I comment. “He knew exactly when to come in so Ed and Roy were likely to be distracted. He knew where the cameras were, and how to angle his body to avoid being seen. He wasn’t improvising. He’d planned every step.”
“What does it mean?” Marcus asks impatiently.
“We don’t know yet,” Ella says. “But they’re all clues. Something will give him away.”
“Constable Wilson says you’re free to go,” James says to me and Aurelia. “We’ve got your phone numbers, and it’s likely that CIB will call you tomorrow and go through some details. Your head of security can go up now, if she wants to.”
Ella nods. “I’ll stay in touch,” she says to all of us. She looks at me. “Take care of her. I’ll log the deployment. Once you’re on site, confirm your location with the team.
I nod, and she walks away to the elevator.
“I’ll take you back home to pick up your clothes,” Caesar says to Aurelia. “Then I’ll drop you off.” He glances at me. “Meet us at Mechanics Bay Heliport around eight p.m.?”
“Yep, will do.”
We say goodbye to Constable Parish and head for the main doors.
Outside, the sun is sinking in the sky, and the city buildings are the color of wet sand. We pause on the steps, and Edward turns to me. “I’m entrusting you with the most precious thing in my life,” he murmurs.
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep her safe.”
He nods, giving me an appraising glance. “You did well getting her out of there. I’m glad she has you looking out for her.”
“Thank you.”
He goes over to Aurelia, who’s currently talking to her mother. “Come here,” he says softly, and he gives his daughter a hug. “I’m sorry. About everything. We just wanted to keep you safe and happy.”
“I know.” I can see she’s still upset, but she smiles at him.
“We’ll see you at home,” he says, and he and Cece Ashford head off to their car.
“Come on,” Caesar says to Aurelia. She gives me a final glance, then follows him to his car.
It’s just Marcus and me left now. He meets my gaze and blows out a long breath. “Jesus,” he says.
“Yeah.”
“She’s pretty pissed off.”
“Understandably so.”
He sighs. “Yeah.” He looks down the street at where she’s getting into Caesar’s car. “What do you think will happen now?”
“They’ll check for fingerprints and anything else he might have left behind, like hair. I doubt they’ll find anything, though. I don’t think it’s Dominic, or some rando who Aurelia’s rejected in the past.”
“Oh? Then who do you think it is?”
“I think it’s someone smart. He managed to get a key card to her apartment. He knew how to time his arrival, and when the staff changeover occurred. And he knew how to avoid being seen. I think it’s someone close to her.”
Marcus looks baffled. “Who?”
“We’ll figure it out. At least we have him on camera now.” I check my watch. “I’d better go.”
To my surprise, he gives me a bearhug. “I’m glad you’re staying with her. I trust you to look after her.”
“Thanks, bro.” I hug him back. “We’ll get this bastard, don’t worry.”
*
I drive home to my apartment in Wynyard Quarter, wondering how long we’re likely to be at 35 South.
Will Aurelia stay there until they catch the guy?
And what happens if they don’t? There’s no guarantee, despite my words to Marcus.
It’s true that the footage did reveal certain things, but whether that means we’re any closer to catching him, I don’t know.
In the end, I pack a variety of smart and casual clothes, because I have no idea what we’ll be doing there.
I don’t even know where I’ll be staying.
Aurelia will obviously be in the executive villa that Caesar mentioned, but I’m guessing I won’t have another villa all to myself.
Maybe they’ll put me in the main hotel? If the security there is as tight as they say it is, I don’t need to be glued to her side, but I can still be around to coordinate between her and Ella and the police.
Once I’m done, I make myself a quick sandwich, because I haven’t eaten since lunch and I don’t know if I’ll get a chance later on, and I change into civvies—jeans, tee, and a navy hoodie.
Then I call an Uber. I lock up the apartment, wondering when I’ll be seeing it again, and head out.
Within minutes, I’m on my way to the waterfront.
When I arrive, I make my way to the helipad terminal. About five minutes’ later, Caesar and Aurelia arrive.
She’s dressed similar to me, in jeans and a dark-green hoodie.
Usually she prefers brighter colors, and I wonder whether she’s chosen a dark outfit in a subconscious attempt to remain unnoticed.
She’s pulled her hair off her face into a bun on the top of her head, and she looks pale but composed as she gives me a small smile.
Caesar checks us in and hands our cases to one of the staff, and we head out to the family helicopter that’s waiting on the pad as they load them into the back.
“Are you allowed to fly in the dark?” Aurelia asks suspiciously.
“I’ll just put the headlights on,” Caesar says. “I know the rough direction.”
“I’m serious!”
“I have a Helicopter Night Rating,” he tells her, opening the door for her. “Stop worrying.”
She climbs in, still grumbling. I chuckle and follow her, joining her in the back seats. Caesar shuts the door, goes around to the pilot’s side, and gets in.
We all buckle ourselves in, put on our headphones, and adjust our mikes.
“Can everyone hear me?” Caesar asks.
“Yep,” we both say.
He runs through his checks and starts the blades turning. Soon, he’s lifting off the ground, and within a minute or two we’re heading out over Waitematā Harbour.
The sun is low in the sky, and the ocean looks as if it’s made of molten gold and copper. The Sky Tower disappears behind us, and we pass over the motorway that crosses the Harbour Bridge, which is lit by the glow of car headlights.
Beside me, Aurelia is quiet, looking out of the window. Caesar points out a few sights as we pass over them, but he doesn’t say much in between, and so I look out of the window too, lost in thought.
Gradually, the Hauraki Gulf gives way to the rugged Northland coastline. The setting sun reveals undulating hills dotted with sheep, bays and headlands, and flat-topped extinct volcanoes covered in native bush.
Aurelia rests her temple against the window, and I wonder whether she’s dozed off. When I tip my head to see, though, I discover her eyes open. She sees me looking and turns her head, and we study each other for a moment. She doesn’t smile, and as I watch, she swallows hard.
My hand is resting on the seat between us. Slowly, I turn it palm up. She drops her gaze to look at for a long moment. Then she slides her hand into mine, and I curl my fingers around hers.
We sit there like that for the rest of the journey. If Caesar notices, he doesn’t say anything.
The sun is now dipping below the horizon, and the view to the east is sliding into darkness. There’s just enough light to see some of the 144 islands of the Bay when they start appearing, green-topped like emeralds.
Caesar begins to angle the heli down, and says, “Not far now.”