A Time to Run (19 page)

The burning question in the office was who would interview Black.

Not only could a clever interviewer elicit the best information, but there would be a certain prestige if enough could be found to charge him immediately in such an important and high profile case. If successfully solved and completed this investigation would shine on any officer's résumé and factor in promotions for years to come.

Janine wanted it so badly, it hurt. This investigation had completely consumed her. Right from the very first call, she had sensed the importance of this job and pursued every avenue with tenacity. She felt intimately tied to the investigation and to not be able to follow it through would be utter torment.

Bill knew this, of course. But both Bill and Janine knew it would take her hours to drive out to Emerald. Even if she managed to organise a flight, it would mean precious minutes ticking away, minutes that counted for Sammi.

‘It's going to have to be someone from Emerald,' Bill said. ‘I'm sure there's a detective out there with enough experience to do a good job. We can run another interview later, but while there's any chance Sammi's still alive, we need to get what information we can as soon as possible.'

It was a reasonable proposal.

Janine shook her head, staring intently at the carpet.

‘I've got to do it,' she muttered. She looked up at Bill and raised her voice slightly. ‘I'll get out there one way or another, but you've got to let me do the interview,' she said firmly.

‘It's going to take too long,' he argued. ‘The quicker someone talks to him, the faster this investigation is going to move forward.'

‘I agree, but I can bring something to this interview that no one else can. I know every tiny detail of this investigation. That's where he's going to be caught out – on the details. That's where the lies are going to show. You know that. And I'm the one who knows enough to pick up on the little lies. I've got enough experience. One of the Emerald boys can sit in with me. You know it's our best chance of cracking him. What we might lose in a little time, we're going to gain in the quality of information,' Janine said with conviction.

She believed that. She just had to convince Bill.

Bill sighed. ‘You're going to bust a gut getting out there, and then he probably won't talk anyway. And you'll be stuck out in the arse-end of nowhere, when the investigation's being driven from here. We need you here.'

‘I've got to do it,' Janine repeated. ‘I want to see him. I've got to look him in the eye when he's answering my questions. See what he's lying about. You know I'm the best person to do the interview.'

Bill paused. He shook his head.

‘You won't get any overtime or travel allowance. Nothing. This one's on you,' Bill said.

Janine tried not to smile. She knew he was relenting.

‘I know. This is my choice and at my own expense,' Janine said.

‘OK. Better get cracking then,' Bill said. ‘Time is of the essence. I'll ring and let them know you're coming.'

Janine gave him a genuine smile as she walked out of the room, already fishing her phone out of her pocket. She had no idea how far away Emerald was, and this was the first thing she tapped into Google.

Over 900 kilometres.

Shit. She hadn't realised it was quite so far. She'd have to find a flight. There was no way they could wait for her to drive. She kept tapping at her phone as she made her way out of the office. She wondered if she could hitch a ride on the police airwing. Did she know anyone who owned a plane?

But to her surprise, there were regular flights from Brisbane to Emerald. If she told them to save her a seat, went directly to the airport and did a bit of badge-flipping to speed her way through, she could be there in a couple of hours. The downside was that this little exercise, which may turn out to be futile, would cost her hundreds of dollars.

She hardly gave it a thought. This was the upside to being married to The Job. No one else cared if she blew a week's pay on a wild goose chase. No one was waiting for her to come home and she had very little social life to put on hold. She drove out to the airport with the case file and her
handbag.

On the way, she called Jake. He had been in on this since the beginning. He should be given the opportunity at least.

‘Hey, how are you going, Neeny?' he asked.

‘Did you hear? Black's been caught, he's out at Emerald,' she replied.

‘Shit. Really? What a breakthrough,' he said, his voice animated.

‘I'm headed out to the airport. I'm flying out to do the interview,' she said.

‘They're flying you out?' he asked, incredulously.

‘No,' Janine answered. ‘I'm flying myself out. I've got to talk to him. Do you want to come too?' she asked.

‘You want me to haul arse out to the airport, then pay for a flight to Emerald?' he clarified.

He sounded astonished. Janine suddenly felt the need to justify herself to her junior in a way he could understand. ‘This is the biggest job of my career. I'm going to do it,' she told him.

‘Yeah, fair enough. Thanks for the offer. Of course I'm interested, but not that much. You're on your own there. Good on you for following through, though,' he added. ‘I hope you can nail the pinch. Let me know how you go.'

‘OK. Just thought I'd ask,' Janine said.

She hung up, thinking she shouldn't have bothered. Who else would want to spend a stack of money to go talk to a crook? She had made this so personal. She should keep a professional distance, get some perspective.

She should. But there was no way she was turning back now.

Sunday 12:03 pm

Tom called Gavin with the news. They had found the man who had most likely taken Sammi, but there was no sign of her, good or bad. The man would be interviewed and there would be a forensic examination of his ute. Tom seemed to think they would get more answers from the ute than from the man.

Gavin felt like someone was sitting on his chest, squashing so much air out of him that he could hardly breathe. The suspect had been found and there was no trace of Sammi. This was a huge blow. If she was alive, surely he would have her with him?

Despite everything he now knew, everything the police had uncovered, Gavin could not believe the worst had happened. The Sammi he knew and loved would have fought, she would have left a mark on him, she would have out-thought and out-manoeuvred him. He had to believe it, he had nothing else. Sammi could not be dead. The world would be a different place without her in it – surely he would feel that?

He continued to keep Sammi's parents up to date. Patrick talked about driving out to Angel's Crossing but Gavin said there was no point. There was nothing they could do but wait. The tension was unbearable as it was. Having Sammi's mum there in person would make things worse, compound the anxiety. They would not draw strength from each other.

His heart pounded every time he rang them, hoping it would be Patrick who answered. So far, he had not spoken to Juleen since that first call. Patrick had tried to smooth things over but Gavin knew Juleen blamed him and he resigned himself to that. He had done the same with Candy, laid the blame on her. At a time like this, it was easier to focus anger on someone tangible.

Gavin could only offer the same tiny morsels of hope to Patrick that the police gave him. He had nothing more. If there was a final conclusive phone call to be made, it would not be by him. He could never utter the words ‘Sammi's dead' to her parents.

Sunday 1:39 pm

‘Hello, Crime Stoppers. This is Constable Tracey Snell.'

‘Hello, this is Graham Tunney. I have some information in relation to the missing police officer.'

The man spoke decisively and firmly. If this was another shit call, at least it wouldn't take too long. This guy was to the point. As she often did, Tracey imagined what the caller might look like. In his sixties, neatly trimmed white beard, polo shirt, a bit like her uncle Jim.

‘Yes, go ahead please.'

‘Last May, over the Labour Day long weekend, I went hunting in the bush with my son-in-law, Daniel Timms and his brother, Jamie. We were gone for two nights, camping and tracking. It's more for fun than for sport, just a boys' weekend out. We were out in a place called Captain's Creek State Forest. It's about an hour out of Tara.'

‘Captain's Creek,' Tracey repeated as she scribbled it down.

‘We'd been hiking for a day and camped the night, so we were quite deep into the bush. We kept hearing a motorbike, which was odd. There's really no trails. The bike wasn't going fast, it was just droning along. We heard it for about an hour, coming closer.

We got a bit curious and started walking towards it. We wanted to know what was going on, see if someone needed help. It was an unusual sound out in the scrub. We had our hunting rifles, so we could look after ourselves. Eventually we came across this man on a trail bike. As soon as he saw us, he turned off the bike and a big brown pigging dog jumped off the bike. He had a tray built onto the back for the dog. The bloke had a rifle over his shoulder and he swung it into his hands as soon as he turned the bike off. He didn't threaten us with the gun exactly and he kept his dog under control. But he was menacing. We all said afterwards that if one of us had been alone and seen him, he would have dispatched us without a second thought.'

‘You mean you felt he would have shot you?' Tracey clarified.

‘Yes. He called out and asked us what we were doing. We said we were pig-hunting. He said he was pig-hunting too. I said something about scaring off any pigs with the sound of the bike. He said, “If you don't want me scaring your pigs, you'd be wise to go that way.” Then he pointed north.

‘They were his exact words. They weren't actually a threat, but we all felt threatened by it, just by his demeanour. We did head north after that. We knew he wasn't pig-hunting, and we thought it best to stay out of his way. Now, I just saw a news break and there was a photo of the man they're looking for in relation to Samantha Willis. It's the same man. There's no doubt in my mind. And god only knows what he was doing in the bush that day we saw him.'

Tracey took further details, then rang the Op Echo room straight away. This was the sort of tip-off that may actually lead to something.

Sunday 1:52 pm

‘Today is Sunday the seventeenth of October and the time is 1:52 pm. We are currently at Emerald Police Station. This is an electronic record of interview between myself and Donald Black. I'll just get everyone in the room to introduce themselves. My name is Detective Senior Constable Janine Postlewaite, my registered number is 9926, I'm currently attached to Inala CIB.'

‘My name is Sergeant Sean McDonald, my registered number is 5998, I'm attached to Emerald Station.'

‘My name is Donald Phillip Black.'

Although Janine was well acquainted with his features from his mugshot, Donald Black was a bit of a disappointment in real life. She knew there was no such thing as ‘looking' like a killer, but Black seemed almost bland. He was a bit overweight, unkempt, and smelt of body odour and cigarette smoke. Someone had obviously dished out a little summary justice to him. His nose was red and swollen, and there were flecks of dried blood in his goatee.

Only his eyes held a clue to his personality. They were dead – the black pupils a fraction too small, as if to block out the light and keep his soul in darkness. Janine knew with certainty that Sammi would not have chosen to go back to his house with him.

‘Can I call you Don?' Janine asked.

The man gave a half-shrug and Janine continued. ‘And do you agree with the time and the date as stated?'

‘Yes.'

‘Do you agree there's no one else in the room aside from the people who have just introduced themselves?

‘Yes.'

‘As I said, this is an electronic record of interview. Don, you saw me put the DVDs in the recorder, you can see yourself up on the monitor, you're aware that this is being recorded?'

‘Yes.'

‘Please answer any questions verbally; that is, don't just nod or shake your head. That's so everything can be heard on the recording. Do you understand?'

‘Yes.'

‘You will be provided with a copy of this interview immediately after its conclusion. OK. I'll just get you to state your date of birth.'

‘Twelfth of November 1977.'

‘And your place of birth?'

‘Geelong.'

‘Your home address?'

‘Nineteen Stanley Street, Bald Hills.'

‘Do you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?'

‘No.'

‘Are you currently employed?'

‘Yes. I work as a barman at the Lion's Head Tavern at Inala.'

‘What level of schooling did you receive?'

‘I finished Year Ten.'

‘Can you read and write the English language?'

‘Yes.'

‘So if I gave you a newspaper, you would have no trouble reading it?'

‘No.'

‘If I say anything during this interview that you don't understand, please let me know and I will clarify for you.'

‘OK.'

‘Are you currently under the influence of liquor or drugs?'

‘No.'

‘Do you understand you are under arrest for the disappearance of Samantha Willis?'

‘That's what the officer at the side of the road said.'

‘Before I ask you any questions, I must tell you that you have the right to remain silent. This means you do not have to say anything or answer any questions or make any statement unless you wish to do so. However, if you do say something or make any statement it may later be used as evidence. Do you understand that warning?'

‘Yes.'

‘You have the right to telephone or speak to a friend or relative to inform that person where you are and to ask him or her to be present during questioning. You also have the right to telephone or speak to a lawyer of your choice to inform that person where you are and to arrange or attempt to arrange for the lawyer to be present during questioning. If you want to telephone or speak to any of these people, questioning will be delayed for a reasonable time for that purpose. Is there anyone you wish to telephone or speak to?'

‘No. Why would I? I've done nothing wrong.'

Janine eyed up Black, who stared back impassively. She and Sean had briefly discussed what they might expect from him and what approach to take in the interview. They thought he would be polite and cooperative, and deny everything. Right now they were sizing each other up. The barman was playing cool, waiting to see what she accused him of, and how much she knew.

She had the benefit of his ignorance. His scruffy appearance suggested that he had spent the last day and night in the bush. He probably hadn't been home yet, didn't know they had already raided his house and triangulated his phone.

There had been a phone call with Bill on whether they should wait for the forensic examination of his ute before questioning him. Make him sweat a little. They decided against it. If there was a chance at all that Sammi was still alive, time was of the essence.

They could always interview him again when they had further evidence. He had already suffered the indignity of having his clothes seized for possible evidence and having scratches and marks on his body photographed. He was sitting before them in an ill-fitting tracksuit in a shade known as prison brown.

It was also possible that he might confess and answer all of their questions. Possible but not likely, Janine thought, as she appraised Black's poker face, but she had been surprised before.

‘Do you agree that you were driving north along the Dawson Highway today in a white ute, Queensland rego 542GCU, when you were intercepted by a police officer?'

‘Yes.'

‘And that officer arrested you for the kidnapping of Samantha Willis and transported you here to Emerald.'

‘Yes.'

‘So you know Samantha Willis?'

The barman shook his head slowly. ‘I don't think so. I do meet a lot of women through the bar, though. I might have met her there, without knowing her name.'

‘When was the last time you were at work?'

‘Umm. Friday night. I finished about 5 am on Saturday.'

‘Where did you go after you finished work?'

‘I went home.'

‘Were you alone?'

‘Yes.'

‘Did you leave work early that morning?'

Black paused slightly. ‘No, not that I remember.'

‘What time does your shift finish?'

Black paused and Janine guessed he had twigged to where her line of questioning was headed.

‘I'm rostered on till 5 am but I got the shits with work and bailed early,' Black ventured. ‘I made a fake excuse about a family crisis so I could get out.'

‘So what time did you actually leave?' Janine countered.

‘It was about 4 am, now that I think about it,' Black replied.

‘You're sure?'

Black shrugged and offered nothing further.

‘Could you please give a verbal answer for the recording.' Janine wanted him to be clear she was in charge here.

‘Between four and four-thirty.'

‘What did you do after you walked out of the pub?' Janine asked.

‘I got in my car and drove home.'

‘Straight home? No stops?'

‘I just went home.'

‘Where was your car parked at work?'

‘In the back carpark, behind the pub.'

‘And what car were you driving?'

‘My ute. The one I got pulled over in.'

‘What route did you take to get home?'

‘Um. I don't know,' Black answered. His eyes flicked between the two officers and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

‘There's not a usual route you take to get home?' Janine asked.

‘Why does it matter?' Black asked.

‘I'll ask the questions thanks, Don,' Janine said in a clipped tone.

She had caught Black out in a couple of lies. They were only small, but Janine could see her suspect was unnerved. He was trying not to show it, but he was fidgeting now, digging his fingernails under a loose piece of plastic edging on the armrest of the seat. Janine left a long pause, making notes and shuffling between papers on the desk in front of her to prolong the other man's discomfort. She switched tactics now.

‘Where had you just come from when you were arrested?' Janine asked.

‘I had the weekend off. I went hunting out in the bush.'

‘Whereabouts?'

Black shook his head slightly. ‘I forget now.'

Janine chose to let this pass and pretend she believed him for the time being.

‘Who were you with?'

‘No one. Only my dog.'

As she expected, Black was playing dumb.

‘You were headed the wrong way to get home when you were picked up.'

‘I was headed out to another spot.'

‘Where's that?'

‘Out west a bit.'

‘Whereabouts?'

‘I forget the name, I just know how to get there.'

‘What about work? You said you had the weekend off. But they were expecting you at the bar last night.'

‘I asked for the weekend off. I thought they gave it to me. My mistake,' Black answered with a shrug.

Janine was getting nowhere and decided to cut to the chase, and watch Black's reaction.

‘You took Samantha Willis out to the bush with you,' Janine said it like a statement, not a question.