Alex Palmer: The Tattooed Man

Out on the net, he surfed into the Human Rights Watch website. It had collected all the information relating to the Pittwater killings and posted its own theory of what had happened. It was a perceptive analysis that hinted at a possible involvement by the Calvos but was careful not to invite any legal threats. Their home page had a pointer to the video Daniel Brinsmead had posted on the net. Do you have any information about this video? If so, please contact us. Other similar websites had done the same thing and posted this same request. Harrigan hit the Contact Us button and began to write an email.

The commissioner rang, hoping the email he had received from Harrigan was a mistake. Could he be persuaded to change his mind? For Harrigan, saying no had never felt sweeter.

It was Grace’s first full day out of hospital and he went to meet her for lunch. She arrived at the cafe on Darling Street just as he did. She had cut her hair short, which made her look even more striking. Her face was pale and finely lined after her weeks in hospital.

‘You look beautiful,’ he said. ‘It’s different but it suits you.’

‘I had to cut it,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t go around with one side short and one side long.’

They sat outside. The waiter came and took their order. As he was leaving, he picked up the ashtray.

‘No,’ Harrigan said, ‘we’ll need that.’

‘No, we won’t,’ Grace said. ‘I’ve stopped smoking as of today. I’m never going to have another cigarette.’

Hallelujah, Harrigan thought. ‘Isn’t that a bit sudden?’ he asked. ‘Shouldn’t you get some Nicorette to deal with the cravings?’

‘No, it’s best to go cold turkey. I’ve thrown away every last cigarette together with my lighter.’

‘I’ve got some news for you as well,’ he said. ‘I’ve resigned. I sent my resignation in last night. It was accepted with regret this morning.’

She couldn’t believe it.

‘It’s not possible,’ she said. ‘You won’t survive. What are you going to do?’

‘I’m going into business for myself. As a consultant. I’ve got a lot of knowledge, I know a lot of people and I know how the system works. I can tell people how they can get things done, how to protect themselves. I’ve already got something moving. I’m going to be a free man for the first time in my life.’

The waiter came with their coffees. Harrigan had ordered a long black, she had asked for a decaffeinated flat white.

‘That’s great,’ she said.

Both the expression on her face and her tone of voice said the opposite.

‘What is it? Is there something you haven’t told me? Are you going to recover? You said the prognosis was good.’

‘No, the doctors said I was very lucky. I should be okay. They just have to keep an eye on me for a while.’

She wasn’t looking at him directly.

‘Grace, why aren’t you smoking? And why did you order decaf? You hate it.’

She glanced around and then back at him. ‘I’m pregnant,’ she said.

‘When did that happen?’

‘The night you took out my kitchen tiles,’ she said, giving him that look of hers. ‘I was going to fix everything in the morning. I never got the chance.’

‘What do you want to do?’

‘I’ve binned my cigarettes, Paul, and I’m drinking this stuff. What do you want to do?’

Harrigan had always had an eye for the main chance. ‘We can do this together. You could move in with me.’

‘Well,’ she said a little breathlessly, ‘you could move in with me.’

‘You, me and a baby are going to live in your little pocket handkerchief?’

‘There’s probably enough room for a bassinet if I move the guitar off the top of the wardrobe,’ she said.

There was a pause.

‘What happens if after five years we decide we hate each other?’ she asked.

‘Why don’t we worry about that five years from now?’

They looked at each other. He thought of Toby and of a child who could walk.

‘Go on, Grace,’ he said. ‘I’ve just jumped out into mid-air. You can do it too. Be brave.’

‘You always tell me I’m too brave.’

‘Prove me right.’

‘All right. I’ll be brave.’