Garry Disher - Two-Way Cut

He must have moved back home, Tess said.

Where would he be?

Dunno.

Then there were footsteps in the hall. Leah tensed, aimed the gun at the door, and the face of the man who appeared there shifted from amazement to fear in an instant. Whoa, he said, Jesus, and ducked back into the hallway.

Leah was about to follow when he called, Tess? What are you doing here? Who’s that with you?

You can come in, Tess shouted. Shes a friend.

Tess’s half-brother edged warily into the room, wiping his hands on his trousers, trying an uncertain smile. Whats going on? Why the gun?

Tess embraced him tightly, then turned and introduced Leah. He hesitated, then reached out a hand to her with a broad, charming smile. Leah tucked the gun inside her waistband and shook his hand, feeling a momentary twinge of attraction as she took in his graceful good looks. Ian Quant was tall, slender, loose-limbed and beautifully dressed, and she could see why Tess had adored him when she was little.

But as she looked closer, she saw a ravaged edge to the good looks, signs of exhaustion and strain. Maybe he’d been online all day and night, gambling, trading shares.

Now he was looking at Tess with faint irritation. How come you’re not at school?

And Tess said, How come you moved back in here?

You first.

Tess was determined. No, you.

He shrugged. It made more sense, you know? This place is empty, my apartment block in Southbank was one continuous party scene, I needed some private space.

Mum and Rob

They know I’m here. Now its your turn.

Tess turned to Leah for help. You can tell him better than me.

Leah related the whole story. His face went blank, then sceptical, then frankly disbelieving.

Its true, Tess said. Have a look in the boot of our car if you don’t believe us.

He swallowed, ran his hand through his hair. No thanks.

Ive just come to collect some gear.

Why? Where are you going?

I’m taking her to a motel while I follow things up with the school and the detective agency, Leah said.

She can stay with me. Ill look after her.

Yeah, Tess said.

It could be dangerous here.

I don’t mean here, Ian said. My apartment in Southbank.

Leah nodded. You should contact your mother, Tess. Shell want to know you’re okay and where to contact you.

Ian laughed harshly, one arm around Tess. Were talking about a woman who once said, in all honesty, that shed still have her shape if she hadn’t had a child.

Leah grimaced. But the dysfunctions of this family were none of her business. Tess, will you be okay now?

Sure.

Leah looked at her watch. It was early afternoon. I hope to know more by the end of the day. Meanwhile, both of you be careful who you open the door to.

Abbott Investigations occupied the ground floor of a two-storey shopfront in a side street near Glenferrie Road. Leah parked the Magna directly outside it and watched for a while. No one came in or out. She could see a receptionist through a plate-glass window, a middle-aged woman who moved from her workstation to a bank of filing cabinets and back again. There seemed to be a waiting area and an inner office.

Leah waited until the footpath was clear and opened the boot. The killer stared at her malevolently, his eyes slitted with hate. Leah grinned. Still alive, I see.

Ill get you, girlie.

I’m sorry, Leah said, but youve gone and called me girlie, and she slammed the boot lid.

She entered Abbott Investigations and flipped her wallet open and closed at the receptionist. Detective Sergeant Jill Blair, she said. I need to see the boss.

The woman stood, an expression of faint alarm on her pleasant face. My husbands just through there, she said. Ill let him know that

Don’t bother, Leah said, stalking past the woman and down a short hallway to an office door. She opened it and walked in on a plump, tired-looking man wearing a jacket and tie. He was fiddling with an array of black boxes the size of cigarette packets. Transmitters, Leah thought.

Police, she said. Sorry to barge in, but this concerns one of your agents, Theo Reed.

It was important to get them on the hop; take charge of the situation; lead, never follow.

Theo? Is he all right? Ive been trying to

Hes dead.

The mans soft jaw dropped. He seemed genuinely shocked. I beg your pardon?

You hired a hitman to top Tess Quant, Leah said harshly. The school hired you to find Tess, and you assigned Theo Reed to the case. He passed on information to you, and you passed this information on to the hitman.

Abbott swallowed, then seemed to grow thoughtful. He was not as soft as he looked; this wasn’t a job for a soft man, or woman. Are you also saying that this hitman, whoever he is, killed Theo? Why would he do that? Why would I want him to do that? His hand went out. If I might examine your warrant card and make a call?

Leah took a step back but was otherwise still tense and focused. Your firm owns a blue Magna, correct?

Yes.

Its outside.

I don’t see what

Theo Reed is lying dead in the boot. He was shot in the head. I didn’t shoot him and I didn’t put him there. The man who did shoot him is also in the boot, alive, in handcuffs. Come and see for yourself.

This was a test of sorts. Would Abbott bluster, turn dangerous, be curious, not curious enough?

Curious. That was a good sign. Leah motioned him to lead the way out to the car. Something about his bearing spelt ex-cop to her. They were standing on the footpath, Leah fetching the keys, when he said mildly, I know who you are.

She ignored him, slipping the key into the boot lock.

Youre Leah Flood.

She stood facing him, the key in the lock, about to turn it. So?

My daughters on the police force. She thinks they did a shitty thing to you. So do I. For what its worth.

She gave him an abrupt nod. She didn’t want to talk about it. Plus, why should she believe him? He might be trying to undermine her. She watched him, waiting to see what he’d do or say.

You have plenty of support, you know. My daughter hears things. I hear things. The police are anxious to shake off the old culture, the one you came up against.

Leah felt that she was losing control of the situation. She clenched her fists. You hired a hitman, on behalf of someone else.

No. Youve got it all wrong.

Okay. Lets look at it another way. You passed information on to another person, and this person hired the hitman.

Abbott threw up his hands. Maybe, but it was done innocently on my part. Theo reported to me, I reported to Dr Heyward at the school.

Leah was inclined to believe him. She needed to eliminate him as a suspect, thats all. She opened the boot.

Abbott moaned softly in distress. Thats Theo. Oh God, his poor wife.

Leah pointed, saying, He was shot by that man. The murder weapon is in the glovebox, a silenced .22 pistol. My prints are on it, sure, but with any luck youll find the killers prints on the shells and magazine inside the gun, and you may find gunshot residue on his hand and sleeve.

Abbott nodded. I can do something about that.

Hes dangerous.

Abbott nodded again, then glanced shrewdly at Leah. Theo was licensed to carry a .38 revolver.

Leah began to back away. She patted her jacket pocket, indicating that she now possessed the .38, then darted across the road and along it to Glenferrie Road, where she walked rapidly for two blocks, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder. She was not followed but Abbott was bound to phone someone. She hailed a passing cab.

She took it for several blocks and caught another cab. Then another. She hadn’t come this far by trusting a man like Abbott, or anyone else.