‘For god’s sake—’
‘The BMW has a security system,’ Rocky cut in smoothly. ‘Called the Remote Theft Recorder. It’s triggered by outside movement. And on the day in question—’
‘She parked in the motorbike bays,’ Judith said. ‘I remember.’
‘She did. She couldn’t find another spot and she was late so she took up three motorbike bays. She assures me that she was planning on coming back and moving the car, but the day got away from her.’ Rocky was smiling. Grinning really, from ear to ear. Judith found that she was smiling back.
‘You’re joking. There’s no way we got that lucky.’
Rocky’s grin widened. ‘She sent me the file. High definition video. Full colour. I took it to Arnie to do a verification before I brought it up the line.’
‘Who was it?’ Judith felt tension grip her stomach. She’d told herself that she could be cool, that she could keep her head, but now that she was on the cusp of knowing, she wanted to beat the living shit out of whoever was responsible.
There was no one sitting nearby, but Rocky looked around and lowered his voice as he answered.
‘Luke Fraser.’
‘Luke?’ That piece of shit. ‘He only got out on station bail that morning. And he was suspended. Doesn’t that mean that his security pass would have been deactivated?’
‘He wasn’t alone. He was with Alex Thompson. Thompson swiped him in.’
‘Christ.’ Thompson was an idiot to allow himself to be used like that. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was ambitious. Maybe he’d done it in the expectation that Eddie Fraser would reward him.
‘What happens now?’
‘Well, whatever attempt Eddie was making to overturn the drug test, that’s over now. There’s no coming back for Fraser junior. And Thompson’s been suspended.’
There was a look in Rocky’s eye that told her that there was more.
‘What?’ she said.
‘It’s nothing. At least, nothing concrete. But my read of the situation is that Eddie’s overextended himself. He’s embarrassed the force. He fed all that hype to the media about Luke Fraser joining Victoria Police and now this. Not just the arrest and the meth test, which is a nuclear bomb all by itself, but actual video of his golden boy taking out what God gave him and pissing all over your bike. Eddie has managed to keep the arrest quiet so far, which if you ask me is a miracle, but that’s all over now. Journos will be all over the story by tomorrow, I guarantee you.’
Was that just experience talking, or had Rocky tipped someone off? Either way, Judith felt no sympathy for Luke. He’d more than earned what was coming his way.
‘So Eddie’s burned through whatever goodwill or favours he’d built up,’ Rocky continued. ‘And if you ask me, Alex Thompson isn’t the self-sacrificing type.’
Judith thought about it. ‘You mean, he might know some secrets? And he’ll try to throw the Frasers under the bus to save himself?’
‘He will if he can. No guarantee he knows anything useful. Eddie is careful.’
‘Yeah, but Luke isn’t. Who knows what he spilled to Thompson over a few pints?’
Rocky wagged a finger at her. ‘Don’t get excited. It’s early days. We have to wait and see how things play out.’
‘Maybe I should talk to Thompson, see what—’
‘You stay out of it, Jude,’ Rocky cut across her.
‘I didn’t mean—’
‘No,’ he said, firmly. ‘If there’s something to be done, I’ll do it. Carefully. This is not a situation that will benefit from your brand of direct action.’
* * *
Judith’s shift was over. She went back to her desk to get her jacket, telling herself that it was okay that she still hadn’t told Rocky what she knew about Miriam. She had decided to give herself one more day to try for some answers. One more day wouldn’t make any difference. After all, it wasn’t like telling Rocky the truth would change anything. Jack Miller was already in custody and he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Judith called Katy on her way out of the station and asked her to meet for a drink. She wanted a favour. As Katy didn’t like surprises, Judith confessed the specifics of the favour up front. They met at Black Pearl, a very cool cocktail bar that was a Melbourne institution. Black Pearl had been Katy’s choice. Judith had tried to suggest Mulraney’s, but Katy had shut that down fast.