Challis - 04 - Chain of Evidence (39 page)

There was a silence. Then, in a
constrained voice, McQuarrie said, Is he connected to the Jarretts, this
DaCosta person?

Ellen had checked. No, sir.

How can you be sure? The Jarretts
are behind this. Its a revenge killing, of a police officer, and wont be
tolerated.

Sir.

Its too big for you, for your
team.

Sir.

She felt oddly relieved as McQuarrie
went on to tell her that Homicide Squad officers would come down from the city
to take over the investigation into van Alphens murder. They have the
resources and the expertise.

Sir.

Leaving you free to do whatever it
was you were doing before this.

As though Katies abduction and
abuse were minor things, easily forgotten. In his mind, McQuarrie probably
thought that hed successfully undermined Ellen. She had a creepy sense of the
forces at work around her.

* * * *

50

The
days passed and she made no headway. The urgency had gone from the
investigation. Not even the van Alphen murder could galvanise anyone, for when
the Homicide Squad detectives took over the case, they immediately shut
Waterloo staff out. There were four of them, three men and a woman, young,
sleek, educated and close-mouthed.

Commandeering one of the conference
rooms, they interviewed all thirty of the staff based at the stationuniformed
officers, probationary constables, Ellens CIU detectives, collators, civilian
clerks and cleanerstheir manner clipped and impersonal, arousing resentment.

On Friday they interviewed Ellen.
They seemed cynical with her. Doubting. Probably because shed had charge of
the investigation for the first few hours, she thought.

I didnt really know him, she told
them.

You had him digging around in that
abduction case.

He was assigned to desk duties
pending the inquiry into the Nick Jarrett shooting, Ellen said. He wanted to
be useful.

So useful he left his desk and
operated in secret.

They were well informed. Ellen said,
Unfortunately he didnt confide in me.

Did he like little boys?

I have no idea.

He was shacked up with a street
kid.

She supposed that their besmirching
van Alphen was part of a strategy. They wanted to know if van Alphens hidden
interests and activities had made him a target. They wanted people to be
outraged, and talk.

As I understand it, she said
carefully, he was protecting a witness.

Do you still understand that to be
the case?

Ellen shrugged. The witness claimed
that hed been coached by Sergeant van Alphen, so I dont know what to believe.

Hissy fits, sudden flare-ups of
temper, biting, scratching and kicking. It can get quite volatile, the gay
scene.

Ellen wasnt going to let them
provoke her. We dont know that he was gay. We dont know that he liked little
boys. Theyre not even the same thing. Look, I know you have to examine every
contingency, but why this one? It impinges on my case. Why arent you looking
at the Jarrett clan?

Like you said, well look into
everything.

Ellen watched them expressionlessly,
their four clever faces staring back at her, giving nothing away. Shed
scarcely registered their names or ranks. Not even gender factored here. The
four detectives were interchangeable. I expect, or at least request, full
co-operation from you, she said firmly.

They said nothing.

If your investigation into Sergeant
van Alphen turns up anything related to child abductions or the activities of a
supposed paedophile ring on the Peninsula, then I want you to pass it on to me,
she continued. Formal or informal witness statements, names and addresses,
case notes, jottings, files, computer records, child pornography, phone numbers
scribbled on napkins, anything at all.

And if this material also relates
to his murder?

Then we overlap, Ellen said. She
hesitated. Is there anything? Have you got suspicions?

She wanted them to articulate
her
suspicionsthat van Alphen had been protecting paedophiles, hence his
sloppy police work and indifference regarding Alysha Jarrett. That hed
intended to betray Billy DaCosta by claiming Billy had lied to him, which would
have raised doubts about information given by
genuine
victims. That,
even so, the members of his paedophile ring had killed him to shut him up.
Killed Billy, too.

Have you? she repeated. Can I see
it? Did you find stuff on his computer?

Well let you know if we do find
anything, they said, with sharkish good will. But a few minutes ago you
pointed the finger at the Jarretts. Now you imply that van Alphen was killed
because he was doing work for you, or that you would find out about him. You
cant have it both ways.

They are the two most logical
avenues to explore.

Sergeant van Alphen must have made
enemies over the years.

We all do, said Ellen, bored and
hostile now.

This is off the record, but we
understand that the police shooting board findings will exonerate Kellock and
van Alphen. Perhaps the Jarrett clan sensed this, and wanted revenge for Nick
Jarrett.

Ellen was expressionless. As far as
she was concerned, truth, or at least the police version of it, was never black
and white, A or B, but many things together, merging, overlapping and existing
simultaneously.

If thats all? she said, getting
to her feet.

They smiled broadly and emptily as
she let herself out of the room.

She found Scobie waiting. Well,
that was fun.

He nodded. Hed already had his turn
with them.

Some good news for you, though,
Ellen said. She told him what shed been told about the shooting boards
findings. Shed never seen a man so relieved, or so troubled. Meanwhile, what
have you been doing? she said.

I tried to get in and search Vans
house. I was refused permission.

Ellen shrugged. For a long time
afterwards, she didnt reflect on Scobies remark. It was Friday. All she
wanted to do was go home, pour herself a stiff drink, hang out with her
daughter and call Hal Challis.

* * * *

When
she got home at eight that evening, she saw a familiar red Commodore in the
driveway. Her husband was in the sitting room, drinking a glass of wine with
Larrayne, Larrayne with her long, youthful bare legs curled under her on the
sofa. Alan was in the armchair that Ellen normally chose. He raised his glass. The
great detective returns.

He wasnt being snide. It had been
an old joke between them, back when the marriage had been tolerable. She gave
her husband and her daughter a wintry smile. Not such a great one this
evening.

Alan nodded soberly. I heard they
gave the van Alphen shooting to some hot shots from the city.

Ellen poured herself a glass of
wine. It was a good wine, a Peninsula pinot noir, and therefore probably raided
from Hal Challiss own stock. She glanced from the label to Larrayne, who
winked. Cheers, she said, raising her glass. To what do we owe the honour of
this visit?

Dad said hed take me out to that
new Thai place in Waterloo, Larrayne said.

Youre welcome too, Ells, said
Alan, clearly not meaning it.

There was no way that Ellen was
going. She glanced at Larrayne, trying to read her daughter, ready to step in
if Larrayne wanted to study but couldnt say no to him. Im fine with it, Mum.

Ellen looked more closely at her
husband. Hed lost weight. Hed dressed up: new chinos, a new shirt. You look
nice.

He waggled his jaw from side to
side. He did that when he was hiding something. He dissembled, glancing around
the room. So, this is the boyfriends house.

Ellen felt deeply fatigued. Shut
up, Alan.

He flushed dangerously and sloshed
some of Challiss costly wine onto the hardwood floor. Dad, wed better go,
Larrayne said.

* * * *

It
was when they were gone that Ellen remembered Scobies remark. Hed wanted to
search van Alphens house, and been refused permission. Well, naturally, for
van Alphens murder wasnt their case. But van Alphen had been working on a
case that
was
theirs, and he was a man full of secrets.

Forty-five minutes later, with a
hastily prepared ham sandwich inside her, Ellen snapped latex gloves onto her
hands, slid open Kees van Alphens bathroom window catch with a thin blade, and
let herself in. Shed called at the station first, going to the hardware
cupboard and borrowingbut not signing fora piece of equipment used by
electricians to check if power sockets were live. A dead socket could mean that
a small safe was concealed behind it.

She went through van Alphens house
swiftly; all of the electrical sockets were genuine. Then she checked behind
the paintings and prints hanging on his walls, kicked baseboards, listening for
tell-tale hollow sounds, looked under the dirty clothing in the laundry basket,
examined tins, jars and freezer packages. She was an expert at this. Now
and-then over the years shed found small amounts of cash. Sometimes shed
pocketed it. It was a kind of pathology that she should do something about, she
thought idly. But she didnt want to see a counsellor or therapist. She
believed that she could control it herself.

Frustrated now, she went through the
house again, hoping to avoid searching van Alphens garden shed, with its noisy
tools, bins and cans, and uncomfortably close to the neighbours bedroom
window. She pulled out drawers and felt under them. She looked behind the faade
at the top of his old-fashioned wardrobe. The computer had been removed by the
Fab Four from headquarters, but wouldnt van Alphen have concealed backup CDs
or floppies somewhere? Books. CD and DVD covers. A tissue box.

She looked at the TV set. It was
small, years old, worth nothing to a junkie. She lifted it experimentally. It
felt light. Van Alphen had gutted it.

* * * *

She
waited until she got home. The material was a thin folder of statements, forms
and photographs, and she quickly saw why van Alphen had hidden it, and she was
betting that he hadnt signed it out from Records. She read right through, glad
that hed been so thorough, heartbroken that the thoroughness had got him
killed.

In 2005, a boy named Andrew
Retallick, then aged thirteen, had approached teachers at Peninsula High
Schoolwho had contacted the Department of Human Services and Waterloo
policeto say that hed been abused by a group of men for many years, in
several locations, but mainly at a house on the outskirts of Waterloo. He
described the house. He remembered a spa bath and soft toys. Hed been
photographed in the spa bath, naked, with the men whod abused him. Hed been
asked to suck his thumb and pose naked with the soft toys. The men varied:
there was a hard core of four or five, with others whom he saw occasionally or
only once. Some were dressed as policemen. The abuse had started when he was
seven years old and continued for many years. He hadnt liked it but hadnt let
himself think it was wrong. After all, policemen were involved. Whenever he was
hurt, someone would tend to him. Going to high school had changed everything:
not only was his body changing but sex education classes had opened his eyes to
what had been done to him for all of those years. And so hed told his
teachers, and DHS officers, counsellors and, finally, the police. But nothing
had been done, and so hed stopped talking. He changed schools three times. He
tried and failed to kill himself by cutting his wrists. That was last year.

Ellen leafed through the file,
making sense of the statements and forms. The photographs of Andrew showed a
small, hunted-looking boy, although in one instance he was smiling, a sad smile
but it transformed his face, so that he looked sweet and exotic. Long lashes,
Ellen noted, dusky skin.

Larrayne returned, looking tense. Mum,
hes got a girlfriend. I had to sit there and hear all about her.

So that was it. Larrayne seemed
miserable, like a child who had tried and failed to keep her parents together. It
was bound to happen, sweetheart.

Its not fair.

Ellen tried to hug her. Larrayne
shrugged her off. Im going to bed.

* * * *

When
the house was silent again under a barely moonlit sky, Ellen returned to van
Alphens case notes. She read for some time, finally coming to his summary,
written as fragmentary observations in his neat, pinched hand: A litany of
errors or wilful obstruction. Two of ARs statements missing, computer files
been tampered with. Parents were urged to let matters drop. Officers
interviewed Neville/Shirley Clode, owners of the house where the abuse took
place, Sept. 2005. They accepted Clodes explanation re spa roomhad been set
up for granddaughter. Quote: The Clodes were interviewed and subjected to a
background check. This showed them to be normal, everyday citizens, who were
completely shocked by the allegations. ARs parents angry re Office of Police
Integritys decision to take no further action, despite independent
confirmation that A had been abused (see report, Royal Childrens Hospitals
Gatehouse Centre). Parents told me the senior sergeant in charge was v.
aggressive. Warned them kids often lied about being sexually abused;
allegations could destroy decent families, etc., etc. Quote: There is nothing
further the police service can do for you. Meanwhile police members
investigating As allegations did not contact his psych or the Gatehouse
Centre.