The mother enquired, hesitantly, ‘Are you a friend from college?’
‘No. I’m investigating the disappearance of a young baby and a possible link to the radiology practice Felicity spent time at. We’re interviewing current and former staff members in case they came into contact with the kidnapper.’
Mrs Wenham was shocked. ‘I saw that on the news. My daughter may have met the kidnapper? The person who killed that poor woman too?’ She grabbed Johnny’s arm. ‘Is Felicity in danger?’
Johnny patted her hand. ‘No. I just need to talk to her. She may know something she doesn’t realise is significant. Is she home?’
After a few moments, seemingly deep in thought, Mrs Wenham looked up. ‘Our daughter has always been a hard worker, good at everything she ever tried. Out of the blue, she developed anorexia at fourteen.’ She swallowed. ‘We thought it was all behind us. Then she found out her boyfriend was seeing someone else. Our daughter is just so hard on herself.’
‘I understand and I’ll be very sensitive to that, but a child’s life is at stake.’
A man appeared behind Mrs Wenham. ‘The answer is no. We’re sorry for the child’s family, but we can’t risk you upsetting Felicity. She’s all we have.’
The door slammed in Johnny’s face.
Chapter 97
DESPITE BEING STONEWALLED by her parents, it wasn’t difficult to find Felicity Wenham. There were a limited number of treatment options – psych, acute medical or a facility for anorexia. Twenty minutes and three phone calls later, Johnny entered the cardiac ward at the Royal Balgowlah Hospital. A slim young woman with short layered hair sat by the window of her private room. Leads extended beneath her pyjama top to a monitor on the wall above the bed.
He knocked on the open door and she continued gazing into the distance. ‘Felicity? My name is Johnny Ishmah.’
‘I’m done with shrinks.’ She curled her lip in disgust.
‘Don’t blame you,’ Johnny grinned. ‘I’m a private investigator. Psych is my major. The criminal kind.’
This time she made eye contact. ‘Has my father sent you to see how crazy I really am?’
Johnny mentally noted ‘father issues’ but quickly moved on. ‘I wanted to ask you about your Manly radiology rotation.’
‘Yeah, well, flunked that.’ She opened her buttoned pyjama top just enough to reveal a well-defined, square lump under her collarbone. The wound looked fresh.
Johnny looked at the pulse rate monitor. ‘Is that a pacemaker?’
She stared at the implant, as if still in disbelief. ‘Attractive, don’t you think?’
‘Sounds serious.’ Johnny knew how much damage anorexia could do to vital organs.
‘When the defib kicks in and you’re awake, it’s a blast. The ultimate accessory.’ Felicity’s sarcasm couldn’t hide her anger.
She looked back out the window overlooking a patch of garden. ‘What are you investigating the radiology practice for?’
Johnny pulled up a visitor’s chair.
‘There were some X-rays that had false dates and names on them. I’m trying to work out who could have got into the system and changed them, before printing them out.’
He watched for a reaction. Her heart rate on the monitor remained consistent at sixty beats per minute.
‘Theoretically anyone with a code to the system could.’
‘Who has access to the X-ray codes at Manly?’
‘The doctors. The radiographers. Receptionists can’t normally enter patient data on the machines.’
‘Were any of the staff interested in the machines who maybe shouldn’t have been?’
She thought for a moment then looked up. ‘Only Sigrid.’
Johnny flicked through his notes. ‘I don’t have that name on my employee list.’
‘She works at night. Sometimes I’d stay back so she could teach me.’
Johnny thought office hours were eight am to five pm. ‘Is she a doctor?’
Felicity wrapped a lock of hair into a small curl. ‘Only in Norway. Sigrid researched radiation exposure in people with chronic bone disease. Then married a boy from the northern beaches and followed him here. It didn’t last. She was left with no money and no job.’ She seemed to soften. ‘It’s tough. The government doesn’t recognise her qualifications and she couldn’t afford to sit the medical exams all over again.’
‘Do you know her last name?’
‘Hale? Holt? No. Hall. That’s it. Sigrid Hall. She said her ex had a used-car business.’
‘If she couldn’t work as a doctor, what was she doing at the practice?’
‘She’s in charge of the contract cleaners. It was either that or drive a taxi.’
Chapter 98
I GOT THE call from Johnny. He was at Balgowlah and had a strong lead this time. Sigrid Hall. A woman who was medically trained and knew her way around X-ray machines. And who worked nights cleaning at the Manly radiology practice.
While he was on the line, I searched for her business. All I could locate was a post office box for her contracting company along with a phone number. I dialled the landline but was sent straight to voicemail.
There was no one with the name Sigrid Hall listed in the White Pages. All the usual databases came up short.
Johnny mentioned an ex-husband with a used-car business.
‘That’s something. We can call them all if we have to, to find him.’
There were multiple entries with the surname Hall in that postcode area.
‘Bingo,’ I said aloud. ‘Hall’s Honda is on Military Road.’
Johnny wasn’t far and I told him I could be there in minutes. We pulled up at the same time and entered the office.
A friendly receptionist said Tony Hall was with a client. ‘We’ll wait, thanks,’ I said.
Johnny phoned Mary and told him where we were. She wanted to be kept in the loop the second he got an address for the radiologist-cum-cleaner.
A toned man in his thirties in a red polo shirt and black trousers greeted us.
‘I was told to ask for Tony,’ I said.
‘At your service,’ he grinned. ‘What are you after today? It’s a great time to buy. We do fantastic deals on trade-ins.’ He glanced at Johnny. ‘And can provide instant finance at competitive rates.’
The white toothy smile and spiel were well practised.
‘Actually, this is about your wife.’
‘Ex.’ The friendly persona instantly vanished. ‘Piss off,’ he said, storming back towards the show room. ‘Tell her the goddamn well is dry. I don’t care if she can’t make bail. She can rot in hell.’
Johnny followed. ‘We’re not here for money. A baby is missing and Sigrid could be at risk.’
‘Boo hoo,’ he mocked. ‘Let me guess. One of you screwed around with her; she got knocked up. You did the right thing and paid all her expenses. Well, wake up and smell the bullshit. She never was pregnant.’
A female staff member in heels, black dress and red scarf came through the sliding glass doors and asked if everything was all right. Her badge said ‘Marianne’.
‘This guy wants to know about Sigrid. He was just leaving.’ Tony turned to go inside. The employee rested her hand on his upper arm.
‘Isn’t it enough she almost bankrupted him?’ She threw her hands up. ‘You people are unbelievable. They are divorced and Tony isn’t legally responsible for her debts.’
I interrupted. ‘Sigrid could be in serious trouble. Right now. We need to find her before someone else gets killed.’
Marianne rolled her eyes. ‘You really bought into the whole drama, didn’t you? Poor little Sigrid? What about the people she’s hurt?’
‘We’re private investigators, working on a police investigation,’ Johnny tried.
‘Then why don’t you talk to your police colleague? I gave him Sigrid’s address to get rid of him.’
Someone else was after her. Before us. ‘Who else was here?’
She folded her arms. ‘The detec
tive. He said Sigrid had ripped off the wrong person. I figured the police had finally caught up with her.’
‘How long ago was this?’ I pressured.
‘About an hour.’
‘Can you give me the address? This is important!’
The ex-husband didn’t hesitate. ‘Gladly. 17/22 Rolfe Street in Manly. I can’t wait to see that bitch finally pay.’
Chapter 99
JOHNNY AND I RACED to the address Tony Hall gave us. In the car I phoned Mary to fill her in.
‘Don’t spook her yet,’ she suggested. ‘We don’t know if she has the baby, and can’t afford for her to do a runner. Wait,’ Mary said, ‘Darlene just came in. I’ll put you on speaker phone.’
‘Where’s Eliza?’ I asked.
‘Working from your office. She can’t hear us.’
I sped through an orange light as Johnny gave details. ‘Sigrid Hall is Norwegian. Blonde. Scammer, pretends to be pregnant to get money, according to her very angry ex. She’s familiar with X-ray equipment and had the contract for cleaning at the Manly radiologist.’
‘I’m on my way,’ Mary said. ‘Where are you now?’
‘Turning into the street. We’ll wait for you.’ Mary was invaluable in a confrontational situation. If there was time, she was worth waiting for. There were no cars parked near the home.
‘Be careful,’ Darlene warned.
‘We will be. Martyrdom never ended well,’ Johnny replied.
I asked Darlene where we were at with the IP address used for the emails our imposter sent to the Wallaces.
‘We’ve narrowed it down to Manly. It’s the closest I could get for now.’
‘So far we’ve only got circumstantial evidence. Anything specific I can use for leverage will help.’
‘I’ll try to get the account name, but it may take time,’ she said.
‘Do what you can from there and keep an eye on Eliza.’
As I hung up, Johnny frowned. ‘Do you think it was a detective ahead of us?’
That’s what bothered me. Neither Hall nor the receptionist asked to see our IDs and had merely assumed we were police.
‘We need to be careful how we play this.’ I referred to the GPS for directions. ‘If the police arrest her, she’ll lawyer up and is likely to use what she knows to bargain with the prosecutors.’ I was talking to myself as much as to Johnny. ‘That could take days. And we don’t have time to mess around.’
We finally had the chance to find Zoe and Louise Simpson’s killer. If the man claiming to be a detective hadn’t beaten us there.
Chapter 100
I PARKED A good two blocks from the house and didn’t have to wait long for Mary. A caravan and trees along the kerbside obscured the view of my car from Sigrid Hall’s house.
I told Johnny to sit tight and call the police if there was trouble. Mary and I walked towards the gate.
So far it was quiet apart from cockatoos squealing in the trees.
Mary scouted around the side of the house. I did up my suit coat and knocked three times on the front door.
A small woman opened the chained door, revealing only half her face in the gap. She was blonde, as Johnny had described.
‘Sorry to bother you, ma’am, I work for Reed Armstrong Real Estate and we have buyers keen to move into this area.’
‘I’m not interested in selling.’ She tried to close the door but my foot was already blocking it.
‘I could give you an obligation-free quote on the spot. I think you’d be surprised what homes like yours are selling for in the current market.’
She part-turned at something behind her. I glimpsed marks on the side of her face.
‘I’m not interested,’ she said. This time she slammed the door. I only just got my foot out in time.
She had looked scared. Someone else had to be inside.
I headed back down the drive and into the street before doubling back via the neighbour’s yard. All the curtains and blinds were closed.
I signalled for Mary to find a way in. She climbed on the rubbish bin and managed to lift the screen of the open bathroom window.
I kicked off my shoes and pulled myself up through the window while Mary took off around the back. I had just climbed through when something crashed inside.
From the bathroom door I caught a glimpse of the living room. The woman was now tied to a chair, crying.
And a man a lot larger than me was standing over her.
‘You destroyed my daughter!’ He wrenched hard on her ankle ties.
Sigrid Hall winced. ‘I never hurt anyone, I swear.’
I pulled out my phone and quickly hit record.
‘You’re a liar! My son-in-law was tested. He has no genetic defects. He doesn’t carry the condition you say the baby had.’ His tone suddenly calmed as he bent down, right in his captive’s face. ‘At first I thought it was you who had it and knew you could pass on the defect.’
‘No!’
‘Then I got to thinking …’ He gave her a long calculating look. ‘I saw a specialist who said the gene was dominant. Do you know what that means?’
She closed her eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks.
‘You claimed to have two healthy children but we both know that’s not possible with a dominant gene.’ He paced in front of her. ‘The specialist thought it was odd my daughter didn’t get to see the body. That all we had was your word.’
She flicked hair from her doe-like eyes. ‘If you untie me, I’ll tell you everything.’
The man gave her a hateful smile. ‘No need. I know the baby didn’t die. There was never anything wrong with her.’
He cocked his head and raised his hand.
Sigrid blurted, ‘Wait! The scan could have been confused with someone else’s. It happens sometimes.’
‘Wrong answer.’ He landed a slap to her left cheek. She slumped to the right and he pulled her up. ‘Try again.’
‘All right!’ Her breathing became shallow. ‘I lied about that.’
‘So you admit it. You and that other woman planned the whole thing. You kept my grandchild.’ He raged. ‘Is there a standard fee for a white baby girl? Or is there some kind of bidding war?’ He stormed into the kitchen and I could hear drawers slamming.
Sigrid’s eyes widened with panic.
Chapter 101
I TEXTED MARY: escalating. stand by. tall male 120 kg.
‘There is no baby,’ Sigrid Hall screamed. ‘You’ve got it all wrong.’
The man returned; this time his expression was even more menacing. ‘You would have sold my grandchild like a piece of meat.’ He raised a hand and struck her across the face again. Not hard enough to knock her over, but solid enough to cause pain.
I tensed, ready to intervene at any second.
‘I wasn’t pregnant!’ she shouted. ‘I’m infertile!’
He stepped back, looking at the woman. ‘You’re doing exactly what the other bitch did. She acted all shocked and innocent. Until I heard the baby cry. Then it became clear. You kept my grandchild so I took her back.’
‘Oh my God. You killed Louise Simpson!’ Sigrid tried to scream but he clamped one hand over her mouth.
‘That’s when I realised that Simpson woman must have faked the scans. She would have needed an accomplice. Someone at that X-ray place. I watched all day yesterday. I was ready to leave when I saw something through the windows. What sort of cleaner uses the computers and leaves with envelopes?’
Sigrid couldn’t talk back. His hand gripped her reddened face even tighter.
‘I lost you in traffic when you left but your car has a yard sticker on it, same last name as your cleaning company.’
She spluttered and tried to writhe free.
‘Letting parents think their baby died and allowing them to grieve. You two are evil.’ His rage was building with every word. ‘You both deserve to die.’
I searched again for something to use as a weapon. There was a hot curling iron on the bathroom bench. I flicked
its power point on.
Sigrid was sobbing. He took his hand away.
‘I’ll tell the police everything. You can call them now.’
‘And see you just get a slap on the wrist? I don’t think so. What you did to my daughter, to my grandchild … You need to be punished.’
I looked through the gap in the doorway again and saw the flash of a carving knife in the man’s hand.
Chapter 102
SIGRID HALL BEGGED for her life.
‘I didn’t sell a baby,’ she cried. ‘There never was a baby. It was a scam. That’s all it was. I didn’t even know Louise Simpson. I just used her name. The ultrasound your daughter saw was fake.’ She sniffed. ‘I swear to God, there never was a surrogate pregnancy. Your grandchild never existed!’
The man straightened to his full height.
‘I found an abnormal scan in the X-ray archives,’ Sigrid continued, tears streaming down her battered face. ‘I changed the name and date. If you let me go, I’ll give you back the twenty-five thousand. Every cent. Please just let me go.’
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘You expect me to believe my daughter lost everything because of a baby that never existed?’ He was mumbling to himself and pacing.
I knew as soon as he realised he’d killed an innocent woman and taken someone else’s child, Sigrid was dead. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my left arm then I texted Mary.
NOW.
I snatched up the curling iron and rushed down the corridor.
The man swung around, slashing at me. I deflected the knife with the hot iron and clamped it on to his hand. He screamed in pain as his flesh burnt.
At that moment, Mary kicked in the back door and knocked the woman and the chair out of the way.
The man, distracted, didn’t see her right cross coming. As he staggered back, she kicked him hard in the chest. He landed heavily and she trapped him, straddling him and pinning both arms with her knees.