Not Dead Yet

CHAPTER 39

  Gary was surprised at how easy it was to persuade Ray Boland to build a bomb for him. Ray reckoned that, if anyone deserved to die, it was Pringle. "You'll just be exterminating a pest." Ray also gave Gary some tips on how to break into the house in Cairns where Pringle was staying.

  After Gary broke into the Queenslander and attached the bomb to the television set, he immediately got into his car and drove back to Sydney. After 15 hours on the road, he arrived at his apartment just after 6 a.m. and quickly accessed the webpage of the Sydney Morning Herald. The main story grabbed his attention.

  CORRUPT COP DIES IN BOMB EXPLOSION

  Self-confessed corrupt detective, Brian Pringle, has died in a bomb explosion.

  According to a police source, Pringle died yesterday evening when a bomb ripped through the house in Cairns where he was living under a false name.

  Last month, Pringle agreed to give evidence against other corrupt police officers in return for immunity from prosecution and a new identity. At the time of his death, he was in the witness protection program.

  The police source said that the Queensland Homicide detectives investigating Pringle's death have no idea who planted the bomb. Nor do they have any idea how the bomber discovered Pringle was in Cairns.

  "The whole thing is very embarrassing," the source said. "The Witness Protection Unit is supposed to protect people like Pringle. In this case, it obviously didn't. I think heads will roll."

  After reading the story, Gary wondered if he was right to take the law into his own hands and kill Pringle. He soon realised he'd never fully resolve that question. So he put it aside and thought about breakfast.