‘Maureen knew. In the last months, before she died, she used to spend a lot of time with Claudia. She was miserable. She wasn’t a very strong woman. I don’t think she was able to imagine her life without Bernie, as fake as her life with him was. She eventually got up the courage to threaten to leave him and expose him to the workers’ comp insurer.’
I nodded solemnly, trying hard to control my emotions. I didn’t think an explosion of four-letter words followed by an ‘I KNEW HE WAS A PIG!’ would help my image as an insurance investigator.
‘So what does all this information have to do with the case?’ Harry asked.
I cleared my throat. It was a good question. I wasn’t actually sure. Did the fact that Bernie had been a cheating, lying, scumbag husband mean that Jenkins Storage World wouldn’t be held responsible for Maureen’s death? I honestly had no idea. And I was pretty sure Harry would see through me soon. I needed to exit fast.
I tried to bluff my way out. ‘Like I said, if he has a girlfriend we can show that he’s got somebody else to support him. So we can pay him less.’
‘Doesn’t that depend on whether Annie works and how much she earns?’
I stood up, pretending to arrange the papers in my clipboard as a show that I was ready to leave. ‘Of course. We’re in the middle of looking into her, er, finances.’
Harry stood up too. ‘Last I recall she was working as a receptionist at a medical centre.’
I pretended to write a note. ‘Thanks. That’s a great lead. You’ve been an enormous help.’
The doorbell rang. My breathing quickened. If that was Claudia, there’d be a lot more questions and I knew I couldn’t pull off this act much longer.
‘Excuse me for a moment,’ Harry said.
He left me in the sitting room, my nerves on edge.
I heard Harry open the door.
‘Where the HELL is Claudia? I wanna speak to her NOW!’
It was Bernie!
‘She’s not home!’ Harry yelled back. ‘Don’t you dare use that tone of voice with me! Get off my property.’
My heart was thumping so loudly in my chest I was sure Bernie would hear it and come after me.
‘Listen here, Claudia better keep her big mouth shut when she gets on the stand. My marriage has NOTHING to do with this case and if she so much as mentions anything about Annie or my problems with Maureen I’ll make sure you both regret it.’
‘That sounds like a threat, Bernie. Maybe I should call the cops.’
‘Mate, you’ve been watching too much TV. The cops have more important things to worry about. Just pass the message on.’
A few seconds later I heard the door slam and Harry’s steps coming up the hall. I breathed a sigh of relief.
‘He’s a bloody mongrel,’ Harry said as he walked in, his face bright red, his nostrils flaring.
‘Can you check that he’s left?’ I asked. ‘I don’t want to bump into him on my way out.’
‘Sure.’ Harry went back to the front of the house. When he returned he said: ‘He’s just driving off now. Should be fine to leave.’
He walked me out. ‘That mongrel needs to be brought down,’ he growled as we shook hands.
‘We’ll try our best.’
Fifteen minutes later I was in a pizza parlour on King Street with Amit and Jacinta. I’d told them everything that had happened and all that Harry had said. They bounced ideas and theories off each other while I took a breather, lost in my own thoughts.
I was about to empty the fifth sachet of sugar into my cappuccino when Jacinta gently put her hand over my wrist to stop me. Whenever she touched me my stomach went all funny.
‘What’s on your mind?’
I ran my fingers through my hair and gave them a sober look. ‘What if things aren’t as they seem?’
‘Well they aren’t,’ Amit said. ‘Bernie’s acting like he’s in mourning when we know he’s not.’
‘And he’s pretending he was in a loving relationship with Maureen when he wasn’t,’ Jacinta added.
‘Yes, but what if . . .’ I stopped. ‘Do you think . . . could we be dealing with . . .?’ I stopped again, took a breath and continued. ‘He has a motive for murder.’
Jacinta and Amit stared at me wide-eyed. I took a bite of pizza. It felt stale in my mouth. I forced myself to swallow it. Then, unexpectedly, Amit burst into hysterical laughter.
‘You’re kidding . . . right?!’
Jacinta shook her head slowly, her eyes fixed on my face. ‘He’s not joking,’ she said and proceeded to scull a full glass of fizzy lemonade. When she’d finished, her eyes watered and she coughed. ‘He’s not joking,’ she repeated and then set her head against her hands on the table.
‘Have you lost your mind?’ Amit cried. ‘Now Bernie’s a murderer? Look, I understand how we leapt from grieving widower to scumbag, but now you want us to believe he murdered his wife and staged this whole thing?’
‘It’s pretty far-fetched, Noah,’ Jacinta said in a hollow voice, not bothering to raise her head.
‘Yeah, you’re right,’ I said.
That got Jacinta to lift her head up. ‘You’re going to cave? Just like that?’ She flashed a look at Amit. ‘Impossible. This guy gets an idea and sticks to it like gum under a shoe. I’m not buying that you’ve dropped your theory. We’ve never convinced you about anything before.’
I smiled. ‘I was just thinking out loud.’
‘That’s what worries me,’ she said. ‘That you’re telling us you’ve dropped this idea but your head is swelling up with your murder theory.’
‘No, I mean it this time. It just flashed into my head and I needed to hear you both tell me I’m being stupid. Everything that Harry told me just tied so neatly into a motive for Bernie.’
‘Based on what Harry told you,’ Jacinta said, ‘we can safely bet that Bernie would have been thrilled that he got rid of Maureen the way he did. She’s out of his life without dobbing on him to the workers’ comp insurer. He doesn’t lose Annie. And this case inflates his bank account. But murder is stretching it.’
‘I agree,’ Amit said. ‘Also, he’s too stupid to come up with this whole case to cover up a murder. He has a mullet. It’s totally incompatible with brain cells.’
‘Well let’s just think about it for a second,’ I said. ‘He’d need Rodney Marks to be in on it, which he is.’
‘We don’t know the extent of their collaboration,’ Jacinta answered. ‘Being an accessory to fraud is different to being an accessory to murder.’
‘Not to mention that she was murdered in the car park,’ Amit said. ‘For him to do the job there would have been taking a huge risk. How could he have known there would be no witnesses?’
‘Yeah,’ I murmured. ‘Good point.’
Jacinta stared me down. ‘Are you actually convinced or just saying that to shut us up?’
‘Bit of both,’ I said with a grin.
‘Well we need to stay focused,’ Jacinta said. ‘We need to bring Bernie’s case down without exposing ourselves. We need to nudge Casey to the truth.’
That evening I ran ten kilometres on the treadmill in our garage. The sweat dripped into my eyes, salted my lips. When my muscles ached I increased the speed. I pounded my feet against that belt, my gaze fixed on the brick wall in front of me. I studied every crack and shape. I ran and ran until my head was empty, my inner voice silenced; until all I could hear were my muscles screaming for mercy.
Jacinta was right. Once an idea stuck I couldn’t let it go. And the murder theory was clinging on for dear life.
I was in Casey’s office looking for some documents in Bernie’s file to put in the folder for counsel. Casey was on the speaker phone with Bernie.
‘Why is Maureen’s sister being called to the stand?’ she asked, drumming her fingers on her desk.
‘She’s a meddling, bitter hag.’
‘Do you think you could enlighten me with some more useful adjectives and nouns?’
I had to hand i
t to Casey. She could put a person in their place. I stifled a grin and continued looking through the folders, taking my time so that I could listen to the entire call.
There was a long pause.
‘Bernie?’
‘Yeah?’ he said gruffly, not attempting to disguise his bad mood.
‘I’m not here to judge you. I’m your lawyer. Just hit me with the bad news and I will find a way to make it right.’
Another long pause. Casey looked like she was about to lose her patience and leaned back in her chair, lips pursed tightly.
‘I had an affair and Maureen found out about it.’
Casey head snapped forwards and she sat upright in her chair.
‘When? With who? Give me all the details.’
‘Her name was Annie. The affair ended months before Maureen’s death.’
Liar.
‘Maureen forgave me. It has nothing to do with this case but that Claudia bitch is trying to get at me ’cause she’s always hated me.’
What a great judge of character she was.
‘If the affair ended, why is Claudia giving evidence?’
‘She’ll probably say we were having marriage problems and that the affair never ended. All lies.’
‘Hmm . . .’ Casey leaned her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands. ‘You’re on the stand first. I’m sure Valopolous will want to ask you about the affair.’
‘Why?’
‘To preempt Claudia’s evidence and ensure that it’s not a shock to the judge. It will give you a chance to soften the blow, to explain how it ended and that it had no effect on your marriage. Understand?’
‘Yeah, I suppose. Get in before the witch starts with her lies. Yeah, okay, I get it. Anyway, why aren’t you the one running the trial? Why do we need this Valopolous barrister?’
‘Barristers appear in trials; solicitors instruct them. And he’s one of the best. Now, I’ll just be a moment, Bernie, I’m putting you on hold.’
She pressed the hold button and locked eyes with me. ‘Schedule a meeting with Valopolous at three today.’
‘Okay. Can I come?’
‘No. I need you to take care of the paperwork side of things. I won’t need your help at the meeting.’
Without my help she might just win the case. Disaster. If she did her job, justice would be denied, not served. I couldn’t let that happen.
Casey had hired Carlos Banks as an expert witness. Banks was a criminologist and a professor at Sydney University. Casey gave me his report and asked me to put it in the brief to counsel. I fed it into the photocopier and read it while I waited for the machine to churn out the three copies I needed.
Casey had asked Banks to answer specific questions.
1. Was the defendant’s security system adequate?
My opinion is based on the following:
• my findings as a result of my inspection of the defend-ant’s premises on 20 December 2008;
• the following documents which were supplied to me by my instructing solicitor:
(i) police report
(ii) statement of claim
(iii) minutes of WorkSafe meetings dated 21 May and 18 June.
I inspected the defendant’s premises on 20 December 2008. I spoke to Rodney Marks, the manager of the store, who conceded that there were no systems in place for the transportation of money between premises. The defendant has stores in Surry Hills, Chatsbury and Blacktown. There are occasions when money needs to be transported between the various premises. The defendant does not implement cash-in-transit guidelines as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2001. The defendant had no system, let alone an inadequate one.
2. What measures should the defendant have employed to ensure the safety and security of staff entrusted with the task of transporting money between premises?
The defendant should have had suitably trained security people to transport money between premises; should have provided the deceased, and other staff in her position, with the option of being accompanied by another staff member; should have provided the deceased, and other staff in her position, with a distress alarm; should have had a security camera installed in the rear of the shop; and should have taken measures to ensure that the amount of money that the deceased, and other staff in her position, was carrying was not known.
3. Would the presence of security staff have encouraged witnesses to come forward?
Studies have shown that in cities and urban areas, a lack of clarity about one’s responsibilities – rather than fear or selfishness – is the prime reason for inaction when confronted with crime. Most people will not intervene because they are unsure what to do but also because they feel that reporting an incident will not produce a positive outcome. According to my research, an increase in visible security, such as security personnel and security cameras, would encourage people to report incidents because they would be confident that the authorities would respond. The defendant’s lack of such security measures was a, but not the sole, reason why no witnesses came forward.
The report was bad news for Jenkins Storage World. Jenkins’ lawyers would need to destroy Banks in the witness box, make him look about as credible as a kindergarten kid with a theory.
Casey’s memo told me to call Banks to check if he would be available to attend the hearing to give evidence. So I called him, explaining who I was and why I was calling.
‘Good morning!’ he said cheerfully. ‘I take it you got my report?’
‘Yeah, thanks. I’m just copying it now to send to the barrister.’
‘You beat me. I was just about to call you. It’s a very interesting case. I thoroughly enjoyed writing up this report. Glad to have received Casey’s instructions.’
He was on some serious happy-juice. I thought a criminologist would sound more serious. Well at least it meant he wasn’t intimidating.
‘Is Casey available?’ he asked.
‘She’s just left for court.’
‘Can you give her an urgent message, please? I need her to call me. I received a very odd letter this morning. My secretary is faxing it through to you now. Get Casey to call me as soon as she sees it. I may have to amend my report.’
‘Yeah, okay.’
‘The letter strengthens the plaintiff ’s case even further. I’m just not sure if we can use this evidence.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know where it’s come from so I have no way to determine whether it’s genuine or a fabrication.’
The fax came through ten minutes after I ended the call. It was a copy of a purchase order on the defendant’s letterhead with a handwritten note scrawled on it.
PURCHASE ORDER
Jenkis Storage World
Record of Purchase
Date: 9 May 2008
Item
Qty
Price
Motion-sensor security camera
1
$546.78
Missing part call to arrange delivery replacement part staff pressing. RM 21/6.
I left the fax on Casey’s desk with a post-it note telling her to call Carlos Banks. The evidence against Jenkins Storage World was piling up and the hearing was in five days.
Aunt Nirvine asked me to get Ameena’s filing in order because it was piling up in her filing trays and she wanted Ameena concentrating on her billable work. When I asked Aunt Nirvine what that meant she said, ‘Lawyers should only be doing work that can be charged to a client. If they’re busy doing admin work they’re not doing billable work. That’s why we have secretaries – and boys who are being punished by their fathers!’
They were all obsessed with their ‘hours’. In the staffroom I’d hear Branko and Ameena comparing how many hours they’d billed last week. John would complain to Casey that he was short on his six and a half hours for the day. Casey would scoff and respond that she’d recorded eight billable hours.
‘Thanks for helping out,’ Ameena said as she sat at her desk typing while I cleared h
er filing tray, allocating each document to the file it belonged to in the bookshelf along her wall. ‘Your aunt’s been on our backs to stop doing admin work so I can increase my billables. Oh well, at least it’s not as bad as my top-tier firm days.’
‘Why’d you go from a big firm to a small one?’
‘The hours were horrific. I lasted a year.’
‘What work did you do? Family?’
‘No. I started in personal injury law. Not that I was practising the law much. I was mainly summarising documents and medical reports. Tedious stuff. Trust me, messy divorces are much more thrilling.’
She went back to typing and I continued filing in silence. After a while, I said: ‘Can a person fake a back injury?’
‘I didn’t know you hated this place that much,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Planning on slipping in the kitchen and getting your aunt to pay you out?’
I grinned. ‘Nah, nothing like that. Just wondering about a case I’m helping out with. The guy’s been complaining that his pain and suffering is getting worse and the doctors believe him. But it’s probably a lie.’
‘Well, soft-tissue injuries, especially to the back, can’t always be proven. You can get terrible back pain but have no diagnostic evidence to support the patient’s complaint. In those cases, you generally have to take the patient’s word for it.’
I considered what she’d said as I continued with her filing. It explained a lot. Why Bernie had been able to continue getting his workers’ compensation benefits. Why he’d been off work for so long. And probably why Maureen hadn’t known he was lying about how bad his injuries were.
Paul Valopolous of counsel was as ridiculous as you could get.
It was Thursday afternoon, four days before the hearing was due to start, and I was with Casey in his office. Casey and Valopolous were running through their trial strategy. I was there to take notes and hand Valopolous documents because opening a folder and getting it for himself was too small a task for someone as superior as him. He had an awful comb-over and his gut pressed up against his desk. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the four walls of his office. A photo of two cute, toothless kids was perched next to his keyboard. His wife smiled at him from another frame. She was also fat and a comb-over would have probably been a more flattering option than her electric-shock perm.