The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (17 page)

She wondered if Harry found her attractive.  She was older than him.  By at least five years, she thought.  His wife had looked at least ten years younger than her and much prettier.   She found herself blushing when Harry looked at her.  She felt he knew about the dream she had of him the night before.   It had completely changed her demeanor.      She found herself being flirty and funny.  She wanted to please him and encouraged him to talk about his ex wife and the divorce and how lonely he had been since she left him a year ago.   She was soothing and comforting and listened sympathetically.  

She invited him to dinner the next night and maybe a hot tub too.  “A good home cooked meal is what you need,” she said.    Harry seemed painfully shy around her.   He said he would like to come to dinner.  He put on his hat and returned to his quad bike and dog parked on the gravel driveway.

Audrey hadn’t watched the six o’clock news she was too busy flirting with Harry. She had recorded the show so she sat down to watch it now.   She listened while Constable Driver talked about John Campbell.

They will never find him, she thought.  He was a wanker. He deserved everything he got.  She turned off the TV and sat thinking about what she was going to cook for dinner tomorrow night.  It was going to be a special night. A few drinks, a hot tub, dancing in the moonlight.  It had been such a long time since she had felt like being romantic.    She had Harry Armstrong to thank for that. 

C H A P T E R   6 5

The calls started coming in as soon as the news spot on Campbell was over.  First it was a guy called Jimmy from a Beer Distributing company.  He said John Campbell was his boss.   He had no idea where he might be or why his 4runner was found over a cliff.  He was taking a holiday to celebrate he was turning the company over to him.   John was going to retire.  He was really happy to have time now to fish and play golf.  No, he was not suicidal.  No, he wasn’t married.  He had two ex wives.  Yes, he would be available to talk to the police tomorrow.  No, he didn’t think he was traveling with anyone else or planning to meet up with anyone up north.

Next it was one of John Campbell’s “girls”.  She said her name was Delia.  She had seen him a few nights ago.  He was looking forward to his trip up north.  No, she didn’t know if he knew anyone up by Kaeo or Whangaroa.   She had never been up there. She said he was a nice man.  She told Driver he had been married twice before but it was a long time ago.  She said he preferred his “girls” to a relationship.  She had been one of his clients for many years.  He was not depressed she said.   He seemed like a happy go lucky guy although he was terribly anal-retentive.  Liked everything neat and tidy. 

              Calls kept on coming all the next day. Ex wives, girls of the night, employees, work colleagues and old school mates.

Driver looked at his notes.  He made a check mark next to Jimmy’s name.  Maybe Jimmy and John Campbell had a misunderstanding about the take over.  Maybe John had no intention of retiring and Jimmy preferred to have him gone what ever it took.  He needed to check up on it.

He couldn’t imagine any of his ex wives or lovers or girlfriends would want him gone.  They all seemed pretty fond of the guy.  “Nice Guy” was what he heard over and over again. 

It was more likely John Campbell’s problems started when he came to Whangaroa.  But who wanted him gone?    He went back to his list of comparisons and added to his list. Both men stayed at The Three Suites and Audrey was the last person to see both men alive.

They needed to complete their search of Audrey’s property.  He would get the team back up there today. This time they would do another, more detailed, search of Suite C.  Maybe John Campbell had left something behind in the room.   But knowing Audrey, she would have cleaned his room the moment he left.  Cleaned and then cleaned again.   Any trace of either man would have scrubbed and washed away by now.   If Suite C was the crime scene they would never had known.  Both men had not been reported missing. In fact, no one knew they were missing until their vehicles were found. They had both dined down in Whangaroa and then returned to spend their last night in Suite C.   Audrey had heard their cars leave the next morning.  What happened to them after they left the Chalets?   Did someone stop then on the road?   Were they robbed, killed and their cars pushed over a cliff? 

Driver picked up the phone and organized the search.  They would spend all day there if they had to.  It was the last location both men had been seen alive.

C H A P T E R   6 6

Audrey was singing. She hadn’t sung in years.  Today she was going to drive into Kerikeri to the supermarket and pick up what she needed for dinner tonight.  While she was there she would shop for a new outfit.  Kerikeri was a good thirty-five minutes drive and most stores closed early on Sunday.  Or didn’t open at all.  Audrey lived in a constant state of fashion uncertainty.  She was born a middle child in a working class family and never developed her own fashion identity.  Her wardrobe belonged to her two older sisters. Any hand made dress was made unison in design and only separated by color.  Her color was always pink.  A color she has disliked with an intensity in her grown up years.  Her body shape fluctuated from fit and slender to full and robust.  Usually she hated the way she looked and was shocked when she glimpsed her reflection in a store window.  

Once she was with her sister in London running to catch a bus.  A nice looking gentleman at the bus stop excitingly commented, “You are Dolly Parton.”

Audrey couldn’t help but laugh.  He was absolutely right.  She did look like Dolly Parton.

Mostly she felt a stranger in her own body.  Years of dieting had left her metabolism in tatters along with her self-esteem.   She would shop constantly trying to find a garment that would satisfy her urge to be someone else.  Today would be no different.  She would return with something new only to be forgotten by tomorrow and lost in her overstuffed wardrobe.  But tonight was all she could think about.  She chose her usual jeans and topped it with a tailored black jacket and black boots and headed out the door.

As she drove down the driveway she was passed by what seemed like the whole country’s police force.    Cars started streaming up the driveway filled with uniformed men.   

Constable Driver stopped and talked to her.  “We are just finishing off the property search,” he said. “We were interrupted the other day. Are you going out?”

“Yes’ said Audrey “I am going into Kerikeri for a few hours.  I am guessing you don’t need me around?” 

“No, no, go ahead” he said “But first, can I have a set of keys for the suites. We have a warrant to search the whole property and we just want to make sure we have covered everything before we go?’   

Audrey passed a set of Master keys through the car window to him.  “No worries. There are no guests checking in today.” She said as she started to drive away. “I will be back in a couple of hours or so.”

On her drive through the northland rural countryside she thought about what the police may find.  Nothing, They will find nothing.  She had covered everything including the small carry bag she had sitting in her back seat.   She needed to dispose of its contents and she knew exactly the place to do it.  Somewhere the police had never searched and with somebody they hadn’t even suspected.   She took a turn to the right and headed up Old Hospital road.  She passed the Community Hospital on her right where the road was unsealed and rough.   Only a few miles up the road she stopped and parked her car off the road where it was hidden down an old driveway.  She would walk the rest of the way through the scrub and bush so she wouldn’t be seen by anyone passing by. 

She changed into her gumboots and picked up the black carry bag and headed across the grassy paddocks towards an old broken down bungalow.

She stood behind some bushes and watched.   She saw him walk out of the front door to his motorbike.  The yard was strewn with old cars and bike parts. She knew he made deliveries on Sunday morning to his regulars.   She despised the man.  Not because he was a drug dealer but because he was a member of the Black Power gang.  She had heard he had been involved in a gang rape of a woman years ago. She was brutally raped by fifteen members of his gang. He was never jailed.  He was also a suspect in the crime against the previous Kaeo cop who had his head bashed in.  She watched as he put on his black helmet and swung his leg over the bike.   She knew she could finally get justice for his crime and, at the same time, get Driver off her case. He would have bigger problems once it became common knowledge that his wife was involved.

The biker took off in a cloud of dust and Audrey stepped out of her hiding place and went over to where his old truck was parked.  She was wearing gloves and had made sure her hair was completely covered.  She didn’t want to leave any of her DNA.

              She knew he used the truck for hauling his auto parts to and from customers.  The door was open and she climbed inside.  She found the perfect place to store her bag’s contents.   She opened the glove compartment and saw a small plastic bag of weed tucked in the back. She removed the bag along with a dirty envelope containing an unpaid electric bill and tucked them in her pocket.  

Audrey had been keeping watch on the biker for a while now.  She couldn’t believe her luck when she had spotted Driver’s wife in disguise knocking at his front door.   The discovery she was a druggy combined with the biker’s past reputation made them perfect scapegoats for her planned events.  She had already removed Dolly and Bruce’s letterbox and made the anonymous donation to the biker.  It wouldn’t be long before someone spotted it proudly perched atop his front gate.

With her task completed Audrey returned to her car and continued on her way to buy her wine, fruit, veges and a leg of lamb. Hopefully the dress shop was still open.  Dinner was going to wonderful and she was going to look stunning.

C H A P T E R   6 7

              Pearl saw them. There must have been at least five cop cars heading up Wainui Road.  Where are they going? Thought Pearl.   Have they found the body?  She called Audrey but just got her answer phone. She called Smithy but there was no answer.  Damn. They didn’t have their sirens on so it must not have been an emergency. She pondered. 

              She liked to go to church.  Not because she was religious but because it was an opportunity to catch up on gossip.  The community was not separated by Pakeha and Maori but by druggies and God lovers.   Pearl never took drugs but liked her wine and quite a lot of it.  She passed out most nights with a glass in her hand only to awake at some ungodly hour before the rest of the world stirred.  This morning she was wearing her sequin cowboy dress and boots.  She had tied a tasseled scarf around her hips and was feeling rather proud of her appearance.  

              Church was held in a wonderful little wooden church still standing from the days of the missionaries who were early settlers in Kaeo.   Pearl knew everyone in the church. Well, almost everyone.  Today Constable Driver’s family was in church. Pearl thought they looked like a nice family.  The two young boys who were about ten years old and Mrs. Driver was a nice looking lady. After the service they all congregated outside on the green lawn.  The topic of conversation was the two missing men.  Everyone had his or her opinion.  No one could decide on one single culprit.  What they were unanimous about, was murder.

              “No question it was murder” said a local schoolteacher.  “How else can you explain the fact the cars were involved in an accident but no bodies were found near the site?” 

              Many of the residents blamed drugs.   Druggies need money they agreed upon.  After all, none of the guy’s wallets were found.

              Pearl racked her brains during her trip back home.  If it was murder for drug money she worried her son’s gang was involved.  He was a member of the Black Power gang. She had never approved of his gang affiliations but he was always a troublemaker and Pearl had nothing to do with him since he became a member. 

              The gang had a strong foothold in the area.  And if they were involved, chances were, they would never be brought to justice.   There were just too many of them and proving it would be almost impossible.  

              Pearl didn’t feel like going home yet.  She decided to go for a drive up by her son’s house.  She hadn’t been there for years.   Although they only lived about ten minutes from each other it was her way of saying she didn’t approve of his new life.   She slowed down as she approached her son’s house.  Then she saw it, Dolly and Bruce’s letterbox proudly sitting atop her son’s gate.    Bruce had told her their letterbox was stolen and she was shocked her son would take it.  After all, it was just a letterbox and everyone in the town knew the yellow painted little house letterbox belonged to Dolly and Bruce. She didn’t stop but did a u- turn further up the road and headed home. Maybe her son was sending a message to Dolly and Bruce.   She suspected he was their drug supplier. Maybe they owed him money and he was sending some sort of message.     She returned home and made herself a nice cup of tea.  “Nothing like a cup of tea to make you feel better” she said to her little dog who came excitedly to the door to greet her.  

C H A P T E R   6 8

              They had been there a couple of hours searching inside the suites and the surrounding area. As they headed up into the pine forest behind the chalets the dogs started barking and pulling at their leads.  The police let the two dogs off their leads and the group followed them up the dirt track to a large green water tank.  The dogs were sniffing around the tank and then ran further up the track to where Audrey had planted her vegetable garden.   The cops could smell something dead.  One of the dogs had stopped in his tracks. It was a dead possum.  The other dog started sniffing around the garden.   The police saw where pigs had rooted up the ground.   It appeared they had caught something around here.  There was lambs wool stuck to a couple of the branches.   “Wild pigs have obviously got one of the sheep,” said Driver.     They continued their search as the dogs gave every indication there had definitely been a kill or two here.  “I’ll go and ask Armstrong is he knows about any wild pigs up here,” said Driver.   “He is an avid pig hunter, I hear.