The Mardi Gras Murders
by Mark Peters
Chapter 31
After leaving the inspector's office and we returned to the squad room, we found ourselves being greeted by a room full of expectant faces. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it was an almost full room of expectant faces plus one face which now seemed to have a scowl permanently etched upon it.
'So, what's the plan?' Craig Andarakis asked us, almost as soon as we walked through the door. 'Do you have any leads on this Corcoran guy?'
'Very few,' Helen replied. 'So it's going to take a lot of legwork and a fair bit of luck in order to find him.'
'Fucking brilliant,' Benevetti muttered. 'So now we have to drop everything so we can chase a ghost. If you ask me, I think the inspector is losing the plot.'
'Well, nobody asked you,' Garry Kwan said, echoing, I'm sure, just what most of us were thinking.
'Alright then smart arse, what do you propose?'
'Right. The lot of you. Knock it off!' Helen snapped. 'Now how about you all sit your collective arses down and we'll fill you in on everything we know, starting with the first murder and going right up to Corcoran's brief period in custody, and then the events of Saturday night. Maybe when you're up to speed you might actually be of some use to us.'
Somewhat reluctantly everyone seemed to find a spot, after which Helen took point. I was grateful for that, because no matter how many times I spoke about Martin, I couldn't help but begin to get emotional, and the last thing I needed right now was to stand in front of this team of police officers as a quivering, blubbering mess.
'Okay then,' Helen continued, once we had some semblance of order in the room. 'Now, first things first. As the inspector said a few minutes ago, you should all be aware of what has been going on with Assistant Commissioner Barrett and his alleged involvement with the Jarvis case. Well, we believe he has links to our other perp, Corcoran, as well. We're fairly certain they know each other, although just how we're not exactly sure as yet, but one thing we do know that they have in common is the boy from Jarvis' stable, Casey, so that's our starting point.'
'Says who?' challenged Benevetti.
'Well, I might be going out on a limb here, but at a guess I'd say it's the kid,' Craig chuckled.
'Well done, Craig!' laughed Helen, which was echoed by most of the others as well. 'For the moment I don't want us to worry too much about Barrett, however. We need to concentrate on trying to find Corcoran, so for starters we'll fill you in on all we know about him so far.'
Over the next half an hour Helen did an amazing job of going back over each of the murder cases, beginning with Martin's and finishing with Jimmy Tan. I filled in a few of the gaps where needed, managing to hold it together as best I could when talking about Martin, so that by the time we had finished the whole room had basically been told everything that we knew. How much of it had sunk in I couldn't be sure, but at least they couldn't say that we were holding anything back.
Even Benevetti seemed to have been silenced once we linked Barrett to the other two offenders, as he, like the rest of them, finally realised that what we were dealing with here was far more than just the three murders. The cases against Jarvis and Corcoran, while separate, were in a way still linked, and apart from trying to massage the egos of each of those in this room and give them each a shot at coming up with a successful arrest, there were a whole lot of other things needing to be considered here as well; like police corruption, political power plays, and the many other forgotten victims of this whole sorry mess, most of whom seemed to have vanished into the madding crowd – or at least those that were still alive.
What we were careful to leave out of our briefing was anything relating to why I was now a part of this team, even though the evidence relating to that matter seemed to be pointed towards some form of abuse of power on Barrett's part. That would all form part of any case established against the assistant commissioner, but for both Helen and me it went without saying that taking down Barrett, once everything was in place, would be the job of the inspector and internal affairs . . . and that would be sooner, rather than later, we hoped, provided the inspector's plans all fell into place after his upcoming visit to the office of the police commissioner.
'So, what are our main priorities?' Jim Harris asked. 'Is it arresting the assistant commissioner? Chasing Corcoran? Or finding the missing kids?'
'I don't think we need to worry about Barrett, at least for the time being,' Helen replied. 'That's all in the hands of IA, so he'll get what's coming to him once they get moving on it.'
'You hope!' offered Garry Kwan.
'Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure they'll end up having enough on Barrett to be able to get their man,' Helen responded with some confidence.
'So that leaves Corcoran and the kids from Jarvis' house,' Scott Willis said. 'And they could all be anywhere by now.'
'That's exactly right, Scott,' Helen replied. 'Which brings us to the need for all of us to get in touch with our contacts out there. We all have our own networks of informants and those that have their finger on the pulse of what is happening in their areas, so our first order of business is to get the word out that we're hunting a killer; after that, we need to find some of those other kids and get them someplace safe.'
'So, this other kid Richardson mentioned, Casey, has he given you any clues as to how Corcoran operates, like where he stays, or the places he visits?' Tom asked us.
'Not a lot, in that respect,' I replied. 'He has said that every time he met with Corcoran it was at someplace different.'
'But the visits weren't regular, didn't you say? There were sometimes months between them?' Scott asked.
'Yes. Which we think might indicate that he could possibly be living out of Sydney and just be coming into the city from time to time,' Helen advised.
'So, if he's from out of town, where does he stay when he's in town? Where was he picked up from when he was questioned the other night?'
'It was a house in Redfern, belonging to a relative, as I understand it,' Helen replied. It was only when she mentioned this that I was able to make the connection between Corcoran, me and Jimmy Tan. Did he see us there in Redfern at the pub, or at the police depot, I wondered?
'We've had officers stationed at the house since and there has been no sign of him so far,' I added.
'But he must have other contacts, maybe some friends or something? It seems obvious he doesn't have a place of his own here, so what else does he do now that we've got his hideaway staked out? It'd be unlikely he would stay in a motel, so how about a hostel, or a backpacker's hotel . . . or maybe one of those cheap dives at Kings Cross even?' Scott added.
'Anything could be possible,' answered Helen. 'That's if he hasn't left the city altogether. That's why we need to explore all possibilities.'
'Have you thought of talking to Jarvis again?' asked Jim. 'Maybe he might know some more and be able to shed some light on his movements?'
'I somehow doubt he'll be forthcoming, even if he does know anything, but it's worth a shot,' said Helen. 'Do you and Joe want to have a crack at him?'
'I'd love to,' Jim replied with a smile, although it didn't seem to do anything to change the scowl on his partner's face.
'Okay then,' Helen said. 'That's a start. Now, as for Jarvis' kids, we already have a few of them tucked away safe and sound, and it's a couple of these who have given us many of the leads we've gotten so far, but I think it's the other kids who we've picked up since that need to be spoken with first . . . provided we can get around DoCS.'
I noticed Tom Buckley and Scott Willis look at each other, with Scott saying something quietly to his partner.
'We'll contact DoCS if you like,' Tom said. 'We'll see if we can talk to some of the kids. They might have an idea or two about where their buddies might go to.'
'That'd be great. Thanks, Tom,' said Helen.
'What about those first kids you mentioned?' asked Craig.
'We already have their statements, and they are quite safe where they are,' I responded.
'Which is where, exactly?' asked Benevetti.
'Out of town. Some place where they can't be got at,' answered Helen curtly. 'For now, the inspector wants only Cooper and me to know their whereabouts, and I tend to agree . . . not that this is a reflection on anyone in this room, it's simply a precaution. We'll give you all copies of their statements, plus details of some of the individual offenders who have been named as being on Jarvis' client list, but what we really need is some corroborative evidence from the other kids . . . or additional evidence that can help build the case against some of those others that have been named.'
'Have many of those suspects been pulled in for questioning?' Garry Kwan enquired.
'A few, but the list is a fairly long one,' Helen sighed.
'Okay, Garry and I will start on those if you like . . . the kids and the offenders,' offered Craig.
'Thanks, guys. Rick and I will start by getting you all copies of the statements we have, then we'll hit the streets and start talking to my contacts out there. The sooner we can spread the word about who we're looking for, the sooner we're likely to get some kind of response.'
'Let's hope that we do,' said Tom.
It was almost lunchtime when Helen and I finally did manage to hit the streets, retracing our steps of the previous Monday, through the inner city, and eventually having a late lunch at Darling Harbour, just as we had done on that first day.
We had been greeted by many of the same faces as last week, with Helen taking the time to chat to almost all of them, while being sure to show them the photo of Corcoran that we carried with us. We were also careful about making sure we mentioned to them that we were trying to find some of the kids from Jarvis' house. In most cases the response when asked if they had seen Corcoran was negative, but there were a few whose wide-eyed response was a telltale sign, even if it had been accompanied at the time by a shake of the head.
'We'll talk to all those folks again later,' Helen said to me as we walked away from the latest guy to do that. 'Sooner or later, they'll tell us what we need to know. The price just has to be right.'
'I'm not sure I really want to know what that will be,' I responded.
'You might be surprised,' she added with a grin, as we started back up the hill towards the station.
The weather was still warm, even if summer was starting to draw to a close, and it was a pleasant experience being out in the sun, with the bustling crowds and the activity of the city all around us. With the Mardi Gras fast approaching and visitors to the city starting to roll in, for just a few moments we were able to let our minds push the current dramas into the background and think about other things as we dawdled along Castlereagh Street, even if we both knew that the whole shooting match was all still there, waiting in the background for us, ready to be dragged back to the surface again at the first hint of any problem.
At least on the bright side, today proved to be trouble-free, with there being no need for me to apprehend any shoplifters or bag-snatching kids this time around. It gave us the opportunity to talk to everyone we met and get our message across without any other distractions, while also concentrating on being able to read the body language of our contacts, which in itself was an interesting experience.
By the time we returned to the station it was early afternoon, and we found it empty. Hopefully the others would all be out on the job, doing what had been promised, which left us with not a lot to do just at the moment. In the end we decided to give Helen's friend, Elvira, a call to see how things were progressing with the float for Mardi Gras, which shortly afterwards found us making a trip out to Redfern, even though we knew we didn't need to, as we knew that the project had been passed onto others.
'You mentioned earlier that Corcoran was picked up in Redfern,' I said to Helen as we drove across town.
'Yeah, I did. Why? What are you thinking?'
'Do you know the address? I was just wondering if anyone had searched through the place? Maybe he left something behind that might be helpful?' I replied.
'I'm sure that the uniformed boys would have given the place the once over,' she thoughtfully replied.
'How sure?'
'Errrrr . . . how about I call them?'
'That might be a plan. And what do you think about the idea of us being able to get inside and take a look see for ourselves?'
'Yeah. That could be a good idea, I reckon,' she replied.
It was only a few minutes later when we pulled up outside the Motor Pool in Redfern, but even before we made any move to get out of the car Helen pulled out her phone and pressed the buttons to make a call. I listened as she asked some questions and then made arrangements to visit the house, which as far as I knew was still under surveillance, before then disconnecting.
'It's all good,' she said. 'They still have a couple of guys watching the place, and no one has been in or out since Saturday . . . or at least not since we found out who it was we were dealing with and had placed the joint under surveillance. Their main position is at the front of the house, while there is also a laneway at the back of the house where they've set up remote cameras, which feed into their position.'
'Alright then. It sounds like they have it covered. Let's go and see Elvira, then check out that house,' I replied, as I opened the car door.
We made our way directly to the workshop where the Mardi Gras float had been stored when last we had visited, where we found a crew of about six bodies busily working away. Some of them were painting a ten-foot-high stiletto with gold paint, which was sitting in the centre of the float, while others were busy draping monstrous taffeta ribbons and bows, in two shades of blue, along the smooth, brilliant white sides.
When she noticed us coming through the door, Elvira came directly over to us, hugging us both, before asking if there was any more news on what had happened to Jimmy Tan.
She looked even more pale than she had the other day, if that was even possible, and I could tell that she was struggling with what had happened.
'Not a lot, doll,' Helen replied. 'But we're pretty sure we know who killed Jimmy, and it's only a matter of time before we get him.'
'Is that what they teach you to say in policeman's school?' Elvira responded. 'It's all anyone seems to say these days.'
'In this case it is true,' I said to her. 'The guy that killed Jimmy also killed two other people . . . one of whom I loved dearly . . . so no matter what it takes, Elvira, we're going to get the bastard.'
It probably came out sounding a little tougher than I had intended, and for a few moments she just looked at me through those big, sad eyes of hers, but eventually she managed a nod.
'I . . . I hope so. I'm sorry if I sounded . . . what's the word . . . cynical. I guess I just can't believe it has happened. Especially to poor Jimmy.'
'We know, love,' Helen said quietly. 'But Cooper is right . . . we really are getting close to this guy, and I promise you that Jimmy's death won't go unpunished, one way or another.'
'I hope you're right, Helby.'
'Now, what are you doing to this pile of rubbish?' Helen asked, while pointing at the float.
'It was all Jimmy's idea, so we're just trying to finish it off as best we can. Jimmy wanted to be dressed as a drag queen cop, perched high upon his golden throne, all the while surrounded by dancers in uniform, both on the stage and on the street as well,' she chuckled.
'Christ . . . sometimes it's simply best not to even ask,' Helen cackled.
'Oh wait, but it gets even better,' Elvira promised, her face and eyes lighting up at the thought of what had apparently been planned. 'Jimmy wanted some of his dancing 'officers' to jump off the float and arrest people from the crowd, giving them a police cap and draping them with blue boas the same colour as the uniforms, then bringing them back and making them dance along with the police dancers beside the float.'
'And there I was telling Cooper just the other day that this wouldn't turn into a three-ring circus,' Helen laughed. 'I think I'll have to come along just for a look-see now . . .'
'Yeah, right . . . as if you were ever going to miss it,' I gently teased her. 'So, who gets to be the drag queen cop now?' I asked.
'That would be Tristan,' Elvira answered, while motioning towards a couple of guys who were slapping paint onto the side of the giant stiletto sitting atop the float. I had noticed them as soon as we had entered the shed, but had tried not to be too obvious about it. 'He's the older one of the two.'
Looking at them again now, I could see that one guy was quite young, barely eighteen, I figured. He was wearing denim shorts with frayed hems, exposing long, lithe legs that were nicely tanned, and also shaven if I wasn't mistaken. His paint-splattered t-shirt hung loosely on his thin frame, while the handsome, patrician face, grinning at us from beneath a neatly-trimmed crop of black hair, told me that not only did he know that he was hot, he could also see the effect that he had on others. Some people might look at him and see nothing but arrogance, but I saw him differently. I saw him as a self-assured young man, comfortable with his sexuality, which oozed from every pore of his skin, and happiest when he could see what sort of reaction he could generate from others when they met him.
His companion was older, perhaps about the same age I was, being mid-twenties. He had the build of a working man, solid, yet not fat, and his blond features looked somewhat familiar, even if I couldn't quite place where I might have seen him, or if I even had ever seen him before.
They were both good-looking guys and I couldn't help but look them up and down as they jumped down off the float and started coming towards us. This earned me a couple of giggles from them, and an elbow in the ribs from Helen.
'Hi, I'm Tristan,' the older boy said, while stretching out his hand towards me.
'And I'm Ben,' the younger guy added, while also offering his hand.
I shook the hands of both; one firm and solid, the other soft and almost feminine. As clichéd as it might sound, it wouldn't take Einstein to work out who played what role in this partnership.
'Guys, this is Detective Constable Rick Cooper,' Helen said.
'Ahhh . . . so you're the new kid on the block!' Tristan replied. 'We've been wondering when we would get to meet the new hotshot cop.'
'So, you know them?' I asked Helen.
'Oh, yes. Tristan has been hanging out with some friends of mine for a while now, though young Ben is fairly new to the scene,' she responded.
'I haven't long moved here from the country,' Ben replied in a sweet-sounding voice. 'Once I finished school at the end of last year I just had to get out of the place.'
'So, what are you doing now? Studying, or working, or nothing?'
'I've enrolled in a hairdressing course . . . so if you're ever in need of a trim . . .' he offered, while making a scissor action with his fingers.
'Thanks. I'll have to remember that,' I chuckled.
'Anytime, sweet man,' Ben flirtatiously replied, to which we could all only shake our heads, although judging by the look on Tristan's face I don't think the remark sat too well with him.
'God, you fags are impossible,' Helen chortled.
'What?' Ben pleaded.
'Babe, she's just telling you to put your dick back in your pants,' Tristan chided.
'You don't have to worry, honey. It's just a little flirting. You know you're the only guy for me . . . don't you?' Ben responded, while clutching hold of Tristan's arm and rubbing his hand up and down his boyfriend's impressive biceps.
'Oh, thank Christ for that,' I remarked. 'For a minute there I thought I was going to have someone else after my blood.'
'Someone else?' Ben said, immediately grasping the meaning of what I had said.
Glancing quickly at Helen I noticed the very slight shake of her head.
'Yeah . . . errr . . . you know, the jilted and jealous lovers I've left behind are really starting to mount,' I managed to respond.
'Oh, yeah, I can definitely believe that,' Tristan cheekily replied. 'You look like a real love 'em and leave 'em type.'
'Thanks very much!' I shot back.
'Well, Coop, you did leave yourself wide open for that one,' Helen observed.
'Yeah, I guess I did at that,' I chuckled.
Thankfully, Donohue, the head mechanic in charge of the Motor Pool, wasn't anywhere to be found today, which meant we were able to get around and talk to the guys and girls who were working on the float without his wisecracks or distractions. Helen and I spoke to the others who were there in addition to Elvira, Tristan and Ben, and even pitched in and helped them for a while, but eventually we knew that we had to get going, and so we said our farewells and left them to it, with promises of returning when we were able.
Before long we were back in Helen's car and pulling out onto the main road that ran along the front of the Motor Pool. After a few turns we soon found ourselves in Chalmers Street, which at first glance was lined with terrace houses on either side, but I soon learned that even amongst these homes there was a thriving business community, with a variety of traders interspersed amongst the homes. When we reached the Woolpack Hotel, I quickly recognised it as being the pub where we had enjoyed a drink and a meal with Jimmy Tan and Elvira just a few days ago.
'Remember that place?' Helen asked as we passed it.
'Yeah, I sure do.'
'Well, the place where Corcoran was picked up from is just a bit further down this road.'
'So, his seeing us with Jimmy was probably more by accident than design?' I suggested.
'Yeah, I'm thinking that way,' Helen replied.
As we continued to make our way down the leafy, tree-lined street I noticed that the number of shops we passed soon dwindled away, with only terrace homes remaining.
A couple of blocks further along, Helen asked me, 'See that white van up ahead?'
'Yeah.'
'That's our surveillance boys.'
'Couldn't they come up with anything better than Pete's Electrical?' I asked as we cruised past the van and I read the cheap looking sign on its side, before we pulled into the curb a few parking spaces further down the road.
'You should know enough about the force by now . . . no imagination and a cheap arse expense account,' she replied, before taking a good look around us at the buildings on either side of the road.
'What are you looking for?' I asked.
'That place right there,' she stated, while pointing at a terrace house just a little ahead of where we were parked. 'Just let me call the lads in the van to let them know we're going in to take a look.'
While she dialled a number on her phone, I took the opportunity to look around us, noticing the neat and apparently recently-renovated appearance of some of the terrace houses, while others looked like they hadn't been touched in years. The house in question, while presentable enough, fell into the latter category.
The street itself was a one-way street, so along the side of the street on which we were parked there was parking available, intermittently shaded by a row of leafy trees, while the opposite side of the street had a clearway, with no parking at all. Overall, I thought the street had an old style charm about it that I quite liked, although, being as far as it was from the beach it wasn't exactly a place where I could see myself living.
'Alright then, we'll let you know if we find anything interesting inside,' I heard Helen say, before she disconnected.
'Are we good to go?' I asked.
'Yeah. They say there hasn't been anyone in or out since Saturday. They've been monitoring the front from the van, while they also have a camera located in the laneway behind the house, where there is a garage entrance. So far, it's been all clear, with neither Corcoran nor his landlord having ventured anywhere close to the place.'
'So, what are we waiting for?' I asked, as I opened the car door and climbed out onto the footpath, where I was joined by Helen just a few moments later.
'And have you thought about just how we are going to gain entry to these premises?' she asked.
'Don't you have a key?' I replied, offering a wink as I did so. I knew I might be pushing the envelope here, but given what was at stake that was one line that I had no qualms about crossing.
Helen looked at me sideways for a moment as we stepped up onto the narrow, covered landing and stopped at the green door. As I studied her expression it seemed as if she was trying to make up her mind about something, but whatever question it was that she had been asking herself seemed to be quickly resolved when she jumped back and reached inside her jacket, pulling out her pistol.
Instinctively, I did the same, although not quite sure just yet as to why.
'Did you see that curtain move?' she whispered. 'Get the door! Now!'
After taking a step back I kicked out as hard as I could, shattering the rotting timber around the lock and sending the door swinging on its hinges back against the wall with some force.
Without waiting, and while showing no fear, Helen dived through the doorway, her pistol held in front of her and with me following. Swinging my arms and my pistol from left to right, I scanned the dark room, but there was no one in sight. When I turned back to face Helen she was standing with her arms by her side, with her pistol still in her hand.
'I was sure that I saw that curtain move,' she said to me, while pointing to the window beside the doorway, just as the sound of running feet could be heard outside.
Moments later two men came running through the door, their own guns drawn, obviously being the two officers from the surveillance van.
'What the fuck happened?' one of them asked.
'They call it probable cause,' Helen curtly replied. 'I saw the curtain move . . . I'm sure of it.'
'Well, we had best search the place then,' the first officer said, while offering a knowing grin.
That wouldn't be difficult, I thought, given that the whole house wouldn't have been any more than fifteen or twenty feet wide.
'Anyhow, I'm Dan Scippionie,' the older of the two cops said to me, while extending his hand, which I duly shook. It seemed like I had shaken the hands of half of Sydney's population in the past week.
'And I'm Jack Purtin,' his companion added.
'Rick Cooper,' I said to them. 'I'm the new kid on the block.'
'Well, you sure as hell got the kid bit right,' Dan laughed, as he looked me up and down. 'Have you even started shaving yet?'
'Don't worry about him, Rick,' Jack responded.
Dan looked to be in his forties, while his offsider was younger. They were a couple of tough nuts, I reckoned, both old enough to know the ropes, but not so old that they've become jaded and cynical of the system, which is the impression I had of some of my other colleagues.
'Alright you lot, enough of the pleasantries,' Helen barked. 'Dan, you come with me. Jack, you and Rick search upstairs will you please?'
At least she didn't call me Golden Boy, or The Kid, I thought.
Once we separated, we soon found that on the ground floor there was a living room, along with a kitchen and bathroom and a couple of smaller rooms. Helen and Dan began searching through these rooms, while Jack and I moved towards the staircase that led upstairs. Cautiously I began to climb the stairs, with my companion at my back, and when we reached the top, we found a small landing, with open doorways on either side of it. The two rooms there proved to be an office, which faced out onto the street, plus a bedroom which looked out over the laneway behind the house, both of which were neatly furnished and tidy, while also giving the impression that they hadn't been used in some time. This was soon confirmed when I ran a hand over a dresser, leaving distinctive finger marks in the fine layer of dust that had accumulated there.
It was as we left the bedroom, we heard Helen call out from downstairs, yelling, 'Holy fuck! You better get down here, Coop!'
Bounding down the steps, taking them two at a time, I entered the kitchen. Helen and her companion were nowhere to be seen, however a doorway stood open and I could hear their muted voices.
'We're down here,' Helen called, and moving to the doorway we found another set of stairs, this time leading down into what appeared to be a dimly-lit basement.
'What have you got?' I called as we descended the gloomy stairway, only to be taken aback once we joined them and were able to cast a glance around the room.
'Jesus Christ!' Jack said as we looked around us. 'Who is this guy? And why the fuck does he have pictures of you and all these other people plastered all over the wall?' he exclaimed, as he and Dan looked my way.
For the moment I ignored them, as I simply looked around the room and took it all in.
The first thing that struck me about the room was the smell. It was a smell that took me back to my teenage years . . . not unlike the smell that always seemed to linger in the room of any teenage boy, but this was something more than that . . . it was as if we had walked into the den of some wild animal.
In one corner of the room there was a mattress, on which a dirty pillow and a few blankets sat. A few clothes hung over the edge of a wicker basket or hung on nails bashed into the wall, while in another corner there was a small desk, on which sat a computer and printer.
What really stood out, however, was that each of the walls had dozens of photos stuck to them. Some were of me, alone, as I went about my daily business. Some of them showed me with various other people, like Helen and Adam. There were other photos of Brad and Nick, both on their own and with me . . . photos of my apartment building . . . photos of Adam's apartment . . . photos of my workplace . . . photos of the school were Nick and Brad went . . . it just went on and on.
The real killer, however, were the photos of me with Alexis and Jimmy Tan, which occupied what was an almost vacant wall.
It was these photos that had a huge red X scrawled across them using a thick marker pen, while directly below them were photos of Adam and Nick and Brad.
It was this group of photos, and the message they revealed, which now sent a shiver down my spine.
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