Private Sydney (Private 12)

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with a hanky.

‘I thought you were going to fire me.’

I moved my hand from her shoulder. ‘The virus could have happened to any of us, and we both fell for the couple’s sob-story.’

‘I’m sorry it happened to you, today.’

The comment was unexpected.

‘Why would you say that? Have you been talking to Mary?’

She waved both hands. ‘No. Before I came here the first time, I did some research. There were articles in the papers about the … I mean, your … terrible accident. I’m sorry you lost your family.’

I didn’t know whether to be offended or impressed by her initiative. I opted for the latter.

‘We can’t change what’s happened.’

‘I know.’ Her eyes were dry now.

‘We’re all going to be tied up with finding Zoe and Louise’s killer. I need you to get to work on Eric Moss. Everything you can get on him will be helpful. His daughter didn’t give me much to go on, just where and when he was born. Johnny can help you access all the relevant databases. If you can get me the basics, birth certificates, passports –’

‘I know exactly what you’re after.’ She smiled nervously. ‘I hope I don’t let you down.’

Chapter 30

THE TEAM WAS keen to be briefed. I kicked off.

‘Finding the baby is, obviously, our top priority.’

I made no mention of the search warrant or police visit.

‘Darlene. Anything so far in the evidence?’

She spread out the crime scene photos.

‘Louise put up a fight, despite being taken by surprise.’

Johnny scribbled notes. ‘Are we thinking she knew her killer then?’

Darlene continued, ‘She was in a quiet neighbourhood. No grilles on windows or security doors. My guess is she was pretty trusting and opened the door.’

That d

idn’t help us narrow the suspect list.

‘What else?’ Mary asked.

‘I thought this was interesting.’ Darlene referred to images of the face. ‘The victim’s face doesn’t appear to have been fractured.’ She pointed to the whites of the eyes. ‘Cheek fracture would cause haemorrhages in the lateral sclera.’

We all appreciated that was why one punch, or a ‘coward punch’ as it had become known, was so dangerous. The face and skull weren’t designed to be hit with such blunt force.

‘The cheeks, the left one in particular, is reddened and swollen,’ Darlene explained. ‘There are a couple of parallel scratches on the left cheek too. I swabbed them, which is our best chance for DNA so far.’

Collette appeared with a tray holding a coffee pot, milk jug, sugar and spoons, which she placed on the sideboard, alongside a box of pastries and upturned mugs.

She’d reapplied her eye make-up. You couldn’t tell she’d been upset. Johnny winked at her as she sat beside him.

‘What did I miss?’ she whispered.