He tilted his long face, as if my simple explanation held all the answers. ‘Just give me a few minutes.’
I walked into the mess room to check the TV for a weather update. Sure enough, thirty-seven degrees and no relief for the firemen. Even a brand-new fleet of water-bombers brought in from America wasn’t helping much. I soaked a paper towel and was dabbing it against my eyes when Eckles walked in.
‘What’s the matter with your eyes?’ he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. ‘Been out on the piss again?’
‘No. Hayfever.’
‘Hayfever? That’s what my seventeen-year-old son tells me when he’s been smoking dope. He thinks I’m stupid. Thinks I don’t know why his eyes are bloodshot.’ He leant into my face. ‘Are you a pothead as well, McCauley?’
I smiled at his lame attempt at humour. Prior to my shooting, Eckles had been the boss of the uniform section downstairs. Back then, he had assisted the Ethical Standards Department by enlisting one of his rookies, Cassie Withers, to spy on me. At the time they’d all believed I was responsible for, or at least involved in, the murder of an acquitted cop killer. But Cassie, to her credit, had gone in with open eyes and we were both eventually able to prove them all wrong and find the real killer. Most cops saw her efforts, and mine, particularly after the shooting, as heroic and staunch. We had taken on the underworld and the ESD, and lived to fight another day. Eckles, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well. Despite being promoted to run the St Kilda CIU, a lot of coppers were suspicious of him and I knew he quietly blamed me for that.
‘A lot of people think I’m stupid,’ he said, pouring a cup of coffee from an urn on the wall. ‘You don’t think I’m stupid, do you?’
‘I think your son does more than just smoke dope,’ I joked, trying to lighten his mood. ‘Saw him down on Fitzroy Street last night, tight hotpants, lace T-shirt, outside one of the gay clubs. I think some of the boys downstairs got pictures.’
Eckles frowned at me, unimpressed. ‘Yeah, righto. What’s the problem with the OD?’
‘Ah, well, I’m not sure any more that it was accidental.’
‘What?’
‘There were anomalies with the scene.’ I was about to elaborate when we heard voices from outside. Two detectives walked by, said hello and continued on to the squad room. ‘I don’t think we should discuss it here. Day shift’s about to start. Maybe we could go –’
‘Speaking of which,’ Eckles interrupted. ‘Where’s Cassie? Finetti said she bailed out early Thursday and left you with the OD. I’m not happy about that.’
Annoyance and frustration clouded my thoughts. Finetti and Cassie had worked together in the uniform section for almost five years, forming a strong friendship that had become intimate on at least one occasion. Now that he wasn’t getting into her pants any more, things weren’t as rosy between them.
‘Seems Finetti said a lot, huh?’ I said to Eckles.
Eckles checked his watch theatrically. ‘Well, where is she, McCauley? I mean, I know her old man’s sick, but she either works here or she doesn’t. You basically sponsored her entry into the CI, and I can’t run this joint properly if I don’t even know who’s going to show up.’
‘Her father’s not just sick, Ben. He has leukaemia. Jesus, Cassie paid for him and her mother to fly here to get the treatment he needs.’
‘I know that. I just think . . .’
His words faded as Cassie walked into the mess room.
‘Think what?’ she said innocently.
Cassie was short and stocky, but incredibly athletic, with short blonde hair she’d recently had cut and styled into a spike. It was a rough and grungy look, and there’d been mumblings about dykes when she first had it cut, but I absolutely loved it about her. No bullshit. Sexy without the make-up or fancy fingernails.
‘Heard my name,’ she said. ‘What’s the go, boss?’
‘Sarge was just saying he wishes he could help you out a bit,’ I said. ‘I’m suggesting he put you on permanent day shift. What do ya say, boss?’
‘Ah, yeah,’ he said, giving me a curt smile and walking away. ‘I’ll have a look at the roster and see who I can juggle.’
I winked at Cassie and followed Eckles back to his office. He closed the door and nodded towards the chair facing his desk.