‘You don’t think the stepfather’s good for it?’ she said.
I was silent a moment, pondering if I was dismissing him too quickly. If I hadn’t heard the message from Sparks, and if Boyd’s beer hadn’t been laced with GHB, I probably would’ve thought the same thing.
‘Like the doc just said, this guy beat the crap out of the kid for years,’ Cassie prompted. ‘The kid finally gets on his own two feet, then goes about trying to get his little sister removed from the family home. Sounds good to me.’
‘You’re probably right,’ I said, just to keep her happy. ‘But check on the mugs and the CCR anyway, will you?’
Heat flooded the interior as Cassie got out, then leant in through the door.
‘No offence, Rubes, but what are you doing with this? Whether it turns out to be a domestic shitfight or something else, this is officially a Homicide job now. All we have to do is type up a handover brief. That’s it, we’re done.’
‘I’m not ready to put this to bed yet, Cass.’ I hoped that would do it but she didn’t move. ‘Don’t worry about me. Just tell Freckles I’m typing up my job application for the primary school liaison team.’
As she disappeared inside, I sped away with no intention of going home. There was something I needed to do, something somebody should have done many years ago.
I drove on autopilot, the Saturday morning congestion on Punt Road passing in a blur as I crossed the Yarra River and headed north towards Collingwood. When the square blocks of commission flats appeared on the horizon, my heart rate quickened. I wondered which unit the man I wanted to see lived in. Up high in the building a woman stepped through a sliding door and I watched her drape towels over the walkway rail. Distracted, I almost ran into a car in front. I hit the brakes and skidded to a halt centimetres from the rear of an Audi. A horn sounded from behind and the driver of the Audi shook his head in the rear-view mirror. I let out my breath, loosened my tie and reminded myself to stay focused. An older colleague had once told me to always play the ball, not the man. It was a rule I tried to follow in life and work. I repeated it to myself until I was calm and back on track.
The traffic moved forward and soon I pulled into the car park at the front of the towers, parking in one of the allocated police bays. From under the seat I retrieved a can of capsicum spray I’d stolen from the academy and always kept in the car, just in case. After sliding the can into my hip pocket, I walked to the entrance. An overweight man with a ruddy complexion sat behind the security counter. A bottle of Coke and a half-eaten sausage roll covered his copy of the day’s Herald Sun, which was open at the sports section. Funny how unfit people always loved sports. A name tag on his white shirt read ‘George Pappa’.
‘Morning, George,’ I said, sliding my ID under the security grille. ‘Police.’
‘Guessed that,’ he said. ‘What can I do you for?’
‘I need to talk to a resident here, Vincent Rowe. I think he lives up on –’
‘Level ten, apartment four,’ Pappa said. ‘Don’t think he’ll be awake now though. Prick doesn’t usually get up till two or three.’
As he passed the ID back, I detected a familiar smell. A closer look at his eyes confirmed my suspicions. Seemed hayfever was doing the rounds.
‘What’s he like, this bloke?’ I asked.
‘Typical shithead who likes to beat up on the missus. Cute little girl though. Rachel, I think her name is.’
‘Does he smack the girl around?’
‘Wouldn’t surprise me. Tell you what does surprise me: we don’t have a car space out there especially for his visitors.’
‘Is he a dealer?’
‘You should know more than me.’ Pappa shrugged. ‘Cops are always here to see him. Speaking of which, where’s your partner? You blokes normally come in pairs.’
‘Only on TV.’
Pappa stuffed the last of the sausage roll in his mouth. ‘Not just on TV. Been here ten years, never seen a copper go up there alone.’
I looked up at the enormous tower and realised he was right. You could probably die in there and they’d only call for someone to collect your body when it started to stink.
‘That’s why you’re going to come with me, George.’