Chris Else Gith (epub)

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Maybe he felt he had no other way to go.I mean, he's so used to living without any help from anybody that he didn't know what to do.''Hard to believe.And the thing is, nobody noticed, did they? I mean, the police have been up there before.They interviewed Moss and took his car — did you know that? If they were going to speak to him, you'd think they'd want to talk to Dagmar as well, wouldn't you? Dearie, dearie me.' She shook her head as if it was all too hard to figure.'It goes to show.Even in a place like this people can just disappear.''I guess.''Like that poor girl.They haven't found her yet.''No,' I said.'I expect there's a connection.Don't you think so?''No, I don't, to be honest.''People in those situations.The horrible things that happen to them.Sadists and murderers.I expect he tortured her.I expect he kept her alive for hours doing disgusting things.And that girl of yours.Someone told me she got attacked on Sunday.At the show.''That's right.''Poor wee innocent! Was it a mugger?''No.''Not something nasty? Surely not.''Just a bit of bullying, I guess.''It's not right, is it?' Dolly said.'No.That's for sure.'***SIMON INGREST WAS next in line.Simon is not like his wife.In fact, except for their age and their matching haircuts, he is just about the opposite: kind of moody and serious and seeming to think the worst of everybody.He didn't like my ideas about why Moss had done it.He had a different story.Tim Dixon, who had retired to a little house in Anzac Street beside the church, had done a bit of work for the Vields in the old days.Tim said Dagmar used to rule Moss with a rod of iron.He had seen Dagmar lay into Moss one day, knocking him out cold, for doing nothing much.'What goes around comes around,' Simon said, brown eyes staring at me.He had the same sort of look as one of those droopy dogs.'Justice?''Psychology.Somewhere in there.' he tapped his forehead, 'Moss wants his revenge.The opportunity comes, and, well.''Makes sense,' I said.'Of course it does.There's no telling how nasty people can be to each other.He would probably have let the old man starve to death.''I don't know about that,' I said.'Well, this sure strengthens the case against him.''What case?''Anneke Hesse.They impounded his station wagon.He's obviously on their list of suspects.Just like he was the last time.For that other girl.''Yes,' I said, 'but I never could figure that one out.''A witness saw Mattie getting into a white wagon.A Ford Laser or a Corolla, they said.Moss has a Corolla.Plus, he was in Katawai that day organising fertiliser.Plus, he's obviously the type.''Is there a type?''They have profiles, don't they?''He wasn't here the day Anneke went missing,' I said.'You don't have Moss around without noticing him.''Hmm.' Simon thought about this.'Well, I have to say he's close to the top of my list.Along with that Cleat fellow.''I don't think it's either of them,' I said.'Oh?' He stared at me.'What's your theory then?''I don't have one.' Except that whoever it was, was driving a white Mitsubishi van.I almost said that but I stopped myself.'Hmm.All I know is we don't need people like that in this community.Riff-raff and ratbags and rapists.We have women and children here.The last thing we need is the government dumping Cleat and that kind of person on us.''I guess he lives here,' I said.'Or his mother does.' She's been here a lot longer than you, I might have said.'Ah, well.She's another one, isn't she? A viper, if ever I saw one.''Maybe she just needs to be treated decently.''Decent people need to be treated decently.That's my point.'***DOWN AT THE pub they were just as keen to hear the details.They were standing three deep round our table by the time I got to the end of the story.'They arrested Moss?' Pat Harrigan asked.'I don't know,' I said.'Yeah, they arrested him,' Monty answered.'Just an excuse,' Mark said.'The real idea is for them to get up there and pull that place to pieces, go through it with a fine-tooth comb.''What for?' Tom raised his eyebrows.'Anneke Hesse.He's still in the frame for that, eh.''Too right,' Monty said.'It's crawling with cops up there.You can see them from my place.''That's what they do,' Mark went on.'They arrest you for something minor — illegally possessing a firearm or spitting on the floor or something — and then they grill you about the thing they're really interested in.''What happened to Dagmar wasn't minor,' I said.'Same principle, though, eh?''You reckon that girl's buried up there?' Trevor Bittington asked.'Has to be,' Mark said.'And the other one, too, is my bet.'No, I almost said, she's up at the lake.'Where, though?' Trevor asked.'Anywhere.I mean, there's all that bush on the edge of Moss's place up towards Gatter Hill.Nobody's been in there for fifty years.What do you reckon, Monty?''Well.' Monty cleared his throat, took a pull at his beer.'Where would you bury 'em?' Tom turned to Mark.'Don't know.In a paddock, maybe.In a low-lying bit.You dig a big hole and stick them in and then you let a few head of stock wander over them.''That's smart,' Tom said.Monty wasn't so sure.'They have detectors for that sort of situation.''You going to run a detector over three-fifty hectares?''Do you believe Moss did it?' I asked Monty.'Don't know,' he said.'It makes sense.''No it doesn't.He wasn't there that day, when Anneke went missing, was he?''I didn't see him.But, you know, he might have picked her up round the corner.''But the whole bloody point is that you and Mavis saw a white wagon.If he picked her up round the corner you didn't see him, and if you didn't see him who's to say it was a white wagon that picked her up?' It didn't come out the way I wanted.I wasn't even sure it made sense.'Not more white wagons,' Mark said.'I got them coming out my bloody ears.'I was riled by now.'It wasn't a white wagon.It was a white van, with a black dog.'Mark pulled a face.'Jesus.Let go of your bloody van, won't you? I'm sick of hearing about it.They'll charge Moss Vield with those murders.I'll put ten bucks on it.'There was a silence.'Go on,' Mark said, pointing at me.'Put your money where your mouth is.'Blue Cormer saved me the trouble of answering.'I don't reckon it's Moss,' he said.'My money's still on that little shit Cleat.''Yeah, yeah.' A few of the others thought so too.'The way he creeps around.He's an absolute fuckin' slimeball.I want to wring his fuckin' neck.''Yeah,' I said.'He's been hanging round our place.He was eyeing Gith up.''Aw, Jesus!' Trevor said.'That's disgusting!''He'd fuck anything with a hole in it, that bugger,' somebody said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Linki