Private Sydney (Private 12)

The dark suits retreated but said something I couldn’t hear and Mark stood down to make a call. When he hung up, he turned to us.

‘They override our jurisdiction. Only their authorised personnel are permitted near the body.’

‘I’m not some ghoul off the street,’ Darlene argued. ‘This is my job, and Rex King can vouch for me.’

‘I know,’ Mark said, ‘but they have their orders and I have mine. They’ll formally identify the deceased. There’s nothing more you can do here.’

I wondered how they could confirm whether it was Moss in the body bag without dental records or DNA. We needed to get some of Eric’s DNA to compare to the body’s. In exchange they could answer some of Eliza’s and my questions about her father and his activities.

‘Darlene, grab your gear. There’s somewhere we need to be.’

Chapter 93

I GOT LUCKY with a parking spot in Hunter Street, close to Martin Place. If Moss used his workplace as a bedsit when he was in Sydney, Darlene should easily find DNA in his office or on toiletries to identify who he truly was, and if the body in the water was in fact him.

‘Craig Gisto, private investigator,’ I announced to the man st

anding guard outside the offices. ‘I’m here on behalf of Eliza Moss to collect the personal possessions Eric left behind.’

‘I’m not supposed to let anyone in,’ said the tubby man with a face scarred by past acne. ‘Sir Lang has to approve visitors now.’

Darlene waited beside with her bag as I stepped forward and lowered my voice. ‘Look, I don’t know if you knew Eric Moss well but a body’s just been found in the harbour and the police think it’s him.’

I let the news sink in. The guard turned an ashen hue. ‘The poor man. And Eliza. He adored her.’

Darlene lowered her head. ‘You can imagine how devastated she is.’

‘They’re having trouble identifying the body because it’s been in an explosion,’ I explained as he slumped back against the wall.

‘He asked me about my holidays. Just last Thursday. He was never too busy to chat.’

We didn’t have much time before Lang Gillies sniffed us out. ‘We just need to get into his office and collect some things for Eliza. Things that he would have wanted her to have.’

‘Of course,’ the man said. ‘It’s only right. Go on in.’

‘Thanks. We know the way. Your name is …?’

‘Barry. Please tell Eliza I’m real sorry. Eric was a good man.’

‘I will.’ I shook his hand as Darlene and I quickly slipped past Gillies’s closed office door.

Inside Moss’s office I had to look twice. The area had been gutted of furniture. The carpet had been ripped up and the walls freshly painted. Darlene entered the bathroom. ‘Smells like it’s been scrubbed with ammonia,’ she said.

Lang Gillies had made damn sure there were no physical traces of Eric Moss in the building.

It was as if he never existed.

Chapter 94

‘YOU PEOPLE ARE trespassing!’ Lang Gillies was standing behind us, a mobile in his hand.

‘We came on behalf of Eliza.’ I turned to him. ‘To collect her father’s personal possessions.’

‘Tell that to the police.’

‘Or I could tell it to the media. Marcel Peyroni is particularly interested in this case.’ I’d done my homework on the old man. ‘Craven Media and I have a special relationship. He’d love to know about your penchant for visiting,’ I made quotation marks with my fingers, ‘a certain exclusive men’s club.’ I turned to Darlene. ‘They have casual Fridays. And by casual, I mean butt naked.’

Darlene feigned shock. ‘And what about this for a quote … “I was horrified to think he could have used the hard-earned donations of struggling families like mine who wanted to help make a difference”?’