Peter Corris - The Reward

Good, Max said. Lets see you hop, Bob.

Bob wiped his hands and his moustache, slid the few bits of crust and droppings into the box and dumped it into a bin in the kitchen. He came back with a notebook computer and another bottle. I looked at Max and he shook his head.

Coffee, Bob.

Pikers, its on. This is for me. He turned the computer on and started tapping. Right, now, first up, Colin fucking Sligo. I take it you want dirt on him? Some leverage?

Wouldnt hurt. And his current circumstances, how he stands with the powers-that-be, retirement date, health, you know.

I know, I know, Bob said. Plus you need an address and info on Peggy Hawkins. Shouldnt be too hard. Whats her line, bowls, golf, gambling, booze…?

Sex, I said. Our information is that shes most likely to be working in the sex industry, in one capacity or another.

You didnt tell me that, Max said.

You never asked.

Easy, that should be. Bob said. Now about Andrea Craig. Is she likely to link up with Peggy?

They were both screwing Johnno Hawkins. Who knows?

Bob tapped the keys. Hawkins, Craig, Neville… ages, any descriptions?

Not sure, I said. Peggy could be forty plus, Andrea a bit younger, maybe. Peggy was thin and dark with big tits fifteen years ago.

Bobs balding head was bent over the keyboard. He made a Roy Orbison growl. Sounds good but women change.

Yeah. Tired and a bit drunk, I tried to recall the trashed photograph. Neville or Craig is or was blonde. Big eyes.

Lesbian, Max said. Very small mouth.

No disadvantage, Bob said.

Max had adjusted to the moustache and was following. We were three men without women, all a bit pissed. We all laughed.

There was no food in our flat so in the morning Max and I went down to Bobs. We found him reading the paper and eating crumpets with honey, accounting for the expanding waistline.

No challenge, Bob said when we appeared. Or not much of a one.

I put the rest of last nights coffee on to reheat and dropped four slices into the toaster. Max looked seedy. Hows that? I said.

Youll like this. Peg Hawkins runs a brothel in Surfers by the name of Satisfaction. High-class place apparently. She lives on the premises and runs a tight ship. In good standing with the council and with the constabulary andwait for it menone senior member in particular.

No, I said. The toast popped and the coffee got hot.

Thats right. Deputy Commissioner Sligo is a devoted customer. Word is, Peg services him personally. I got this from a journo of absolute unreliability, mind. Needed confirmation and I got it. Silly fucker uses his credit card but not, Im happy to say, his departmental one.

I poured two mugs of coffee, buttered the toast and brought the lot over to the table where Max sat with his head in his hands. I should never drink red wine, he said.

Balls, Bob said. Its good for your heart.

Max groaned. Its my head Im worried about. Got any pain-killers?

Panadol. Top drawer. Cols pretty dirty by all accounts, but hes got less than a year to run on his contract and the general view is that everyones happy to let him go quietly.

I got the Panadol from the drawer and put the packet in front of Max. Thats useful, Bob. He might be open to some persuasion.

Yup. He doesnt do much these days. Plays a lot of golf at Robina. Easy to get a quiet word with him. Ive got the licence photos of all three for you. Cols the ugliest, needless to say. Peg still looks pretty well-preserved. Cant tell about the tits of course. Craig was booked for speeding yesterday in Kempsey. Driving a yellow Subaru coupe. Ive got the registration number. Going north obviously, but whether shes come up here or not I cant say until she buys something with a credit card, checks into a hotel or breaks the fucking law.

I looked at Max who had taken a couple of capsules with his coffee and was nibbling on a piece of toast. This is the sort of thing thats putting blokes like me out of business.

Dinosaurs, Bob said. Dyou want to know when Sligos teeing off next at Robina?

Come on, I said.

I kid you not. They put the tee-off times on the computer and the computers hooked to a modem. If you know the password to the system youre in like Flynn.

Passwords are secret by definition.

Hah, Bob said. Theyre a tradeable commodity, like everything else. I know bloody hundreds and I can trade with the best of them.

I drank some coffee and ate some toast. Id managed to sleep on the undamaged ear and the ribs werent hurting much. And I was more practised at drinking red wine than Max. I felt pretty-good and optimistic, although I was still worried that finding out whod paid off Hawkins might not lead any further. Im impressed, I said.

You should be, Bob said smugly. Colin tees off at eleven this very day. Theyre playing a four-person Ambrose, whatever that is. Apparently they take a rest after the first nine holes. Thatll be around twelve-thirty.

Wheres Robina? I said.

Bob pointed out of the window. Just down the way.

I turned to Max who was looking better by the minute. He tackled a second piece of toast. You getting all this, Max?

Enough.

Would you rather tackle Peggy or Colin? Im easy.

I think the fresh aird do me good.

I wish we could round up Craig, Max said. She could be very useful to use against one or both of them.

Bob ripped off a metre of toilet paper and wiped his fingers. You dont know anything about her Queensland connections?

Just that she made a lot of phone calls to the Gold Coast, Max said.

Shit, why didnt you tell me that? What number did she call from?

Max consulted his notebook and gave Bob the number of the gallery. Leave it with me, Bob said. Ill be able to give you the Queensland contact in a couple of hours. I gotta admit it, this is more fun than repossessing cars.

I thought about Maxs concern for Penny Draper and realised that wed told Bob almost everything there was to know and, unlike my sketchy account to Claudia, wed included names and details. Bob had never been a man of action and as I looked at him now, balding and soft around the middle, a key-tapper, I felt guilty.

Look, Bob, I said. Somebody bumped Barry White and had a good go at Leo Grogan. Somebodys playing for keeps in this thing and we dont have a clue who it is. He or they seem to have been keeping tabs on me and might know were here.

So? Bob said.

So you should be careful.

Bob smiled. Fuck you, Cliff. You think this computer work is cosy and safe. Two weeks ago a guy took a sledge to that front door there and wanted to do the same thing to my head.

What happened?

I shot the fucker, Bob said.

We took a swim in the apartment block pool which was barely long enough to get a few decent strokes in, but helped to start the day fresh. Id taken off the rib-wrapping and confined myself to a gentle breaststroke. The aches and bruises were fading. Max surprised me; he had a powerful stroke that cut neatly through the water. He was carrying some flesh around his waist like me but was in pretty good shape for a man pushing sixty. He kept at it longer than I did and looked as if he could have done a good bit more.

That was good, he said when he flopped out of the pool. Id come carefully up the metal ladder. Good antidote to the wine. Think Ill stick to beer.

Nothing wrong with Fourex, I said. Youre happy about taking Sligo on your own?

Itll be a pleasure.

Id towelled off and was stretched out on the tiles enjoying the morning sun. If Sligos the one keeping an eye on things in Sydney he could have some pretty handy help up here.

Max had brought a small toilet bag down with him. He dried his hair and shook water from his ears. Then he cleaned them with a cotton bud before putting in the hearing aids. The hangover frown had lifted and when he slicked back his hair with a comb he looked younger and more lively than Id seen him before. Ive been thinking about that, he said. Ive changed my mind. I reckon these Queenslanders are bit players in all this. Important for the information they might have, but… remittance men and women as it were, if you see what I mean. Sligo included. The real energys in Sydney.