It wasn’t till after the meal that the subject of work was broached. He was stacking the dishwasher when Susan brought it up.

  ‘Is this one a triple A?’

  ‘Looks it. What’s come through to your lot?’

  Hart was a journalist at the Mercury newspaper. They did their best to demarcate their professions, but he’d learned that he could trust her. Her loyalty to him overrode any instinct as a newshound. Besides, she was back to editing the weekend lifestyle magazine, and her fellow crime reporter also acknowledged the boundaries.

  ‘Suspicious death. Notable businessman. Awaiting a fuller briefing from the constabulary,’ she replied.

  Mahoney returned to the dining room table and gave her an edited version of that fuller briefing.

  She sipped some Riesling. ‘Whoever did it knew plenty about him. The tennis bit particularly.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘You know how I played a lot of competitive tennis in my youth?’

  He didn’t know that, must have missed that bit. ‘Yes, I think you’ve told me.’

  ‘I was pretty good. Made the Wilson Cup team two years in a row.’

  ‘How did you fare?’

  ‘Very good down here. Different story at the National Champion­ships. It put all my hopes in perspective. One sixteen-year-old from Queensland walloped me in straight sets. Needless to say, she kicked on and I opted for university.’

  ‘Still, it must have been great to get that far.’

  ‘It was. Hours of practice and years of fun in the sun. We had a ball … pardon the pun. Tournaments, camps, trips away. That’s how I knew Scott Hellyer.’

  ‘Really? He did all that?’

  ‘Oh yes. He had lots of coaching, the best racquets and flash gear. A bit of a hotshot in many ways, on our little circuit anyway.’

  ‘So he was good? Aside from looking the part.’

  ‘Very much so. But, like all of us, once he got to the nationals he’d get smashed against the seeds. He kept playing club pennants. Once you saw the difference in standards, you realised pretty quickly that the path to professionalism was just too steep. Still, as you said, it was a good way to spend your teenage years. It gives you a confidence that you carry into the other phases of your life.’

  ‘I guess that was the case for him.’

  ‘Undoubtedly. Mind you, he didn’t need too much of a boost. Good-looking and funny. His parents thought the sun shone out of him.’

  ‘Golden child?’

  ‘For sure. Scott had an elder sister but you wouldn’t know she existed. She didn’t play tennis. You never heard anything much about her. His parents came to all the tournaments and it was Scott, Scott, Scott. He got all the attention.’

  Mahoney felt the detective creeping out of the car, but tried to keep the conversation casual. ‘Mmmmm, the special one. I wonder what happened to the sister. It must be hard to put up with all that in a family.’

  ‘I’d imagine so, but it doesn’t seem to have unhinged her. She’s now the Federal Commissioner for Equal Opportunity. One of our heroes.’ She patted her chest and smiled. ‘The sisterhood, that is. I doubt the old buffoons in their grey suits are as impressed by her.’

  ‘She’s Gail Ogle?’

  ‘Yes. Didn’t anyone tell you?’

  Mahoney shook his head. ‘Hellyer’s estranged wife mentioned only that the parents had passed away—some sort of motor accident I think it was. No mention of a sister. Bit curious.’

  ‘Perhaps. But finding out the father of your kids is dead wouldn’t help the mental processes.’

  Mahoney stored his new knowledge away: a task for the morning. For now it was more important to find out if Susan still had any of her tennis dresses stored away.

  The morning briefing was a consolidation of progress made. There was a consensus that the killer had a deep personal motive for the murder, and that none of the persons interviewed thus far seemed to have that motivation. If anything, despite the incongruities of their personal relationships, they would all much prefer Scott Hellyer to be alive.

  The forensics report was detailed, a marvel of technical ingenuity, and it reinforced what they knew already. Hellyer had been executed sometime on the Friday evening, after dusk and before midnight. Analysis of his stomach contents and blood showed traces of Rohypnol in sufficient quantity to have rendered him defenceless. He’d presumably ingested it from a laced stubby of beer found at the scene, although the bottle had been wiped clean of any prints.

  Mahoney had delegated the task of bringing the group up to speed to Kendall. She concluded the summary with the acknowledgement that some material at the crime scene did not match clothes or samples belonging to the deceased.

  ‘All evidence is secure at the New Town Lab, and whoever we run down can be matched later. As the boss is going to say, we need to unearth some persons of interest.’

  She resumed her seat and Mahoney took centre stage; he knew he had to work the latent enthusiasm in the room. It was always akin to a coach addressing his team. The result they craved was never in dispute—to apprehend the killer—and to do so required each member to focus on the process. Forensics were like the backroom medical staff of an elite sports club: incredible support, but the detectives in this room were the players who could really determine the outcome. They must be simultaneously geared up for the challenge and reminded of the necessity of covering all the bases. Perspiration and inspiration. His gaze swept the room. All eyes were on him.

  ‘This execution is deeply personal. It matters a great deal to the perpetrator that it was done in a specific way. We have been fortunate to secure the services of an expert profiler, one Adriano Cortese. You may have seen him in here yesterday. He’s down from Melbourne to help us understand the psychology of this crime. His initial report will be available later this afternoon. Please do not share any of his thinking with anyone outside this room. The same rules apply as for any information we use on any case. Our employment of a profiler is staying in-house. We don’t need the media going off on some Hannibal Lecter fantasy. My view is that his input will be crucial. We have a cruel and unusual act. It has to be admitted that this is not your run-of-the-mill criminal. We have to proceed as per our regular strategy, but solving this requires an X-factor. I’m confident Cortese will provide that.’

  Mahoney stepped sideways to the Perspex board and tapped the photo of Hellyer trussed up on the beams. ‘This man was killed for a very particular reason. By process of elimination, we need to discover that reason. His ex-wife did say he was something of a philanderer, but this doesn’t look like the work of a cuckolded husband. It’s too extreme. Hellyer was conducting an affair with Alice Cheung but her husband is a very unlikely suspect. Firstly, he doesn’t seem overly fussed that it was going on. Secondly, and more crucially, Hellyer was an important business partner in the golf course development. Cheung has a lot to lose from this death.’

  Mahoney raised his arm again to indicate a digitally enhanced photo of a white van.

  ‘Whoever was driving this vehicle over summer, and especially on Friday evening, is our guy. A hell of a lot of planning went into this venture. Gathering exactly forty-eight brand new tennis balls to be belted at Hellyer, scoping the place out, knowing about Alice Cheung, sussing out the victim’s favourite brand of beer …’ He slapped the board with the back of his hand. ‘A masterclass in planning.’

  Mahoney looked to find Gibson. ‘David, can you share your earlier thoughts.’

  Gibson stayed seated but swivelled around to address the group. ‘Hellyer weighed in at eighty four kilos, so to manipulate that dead weight must have taken some strength. We can assume the killer offered Hellyer the stubby that was laced with Rohypnol, so perhaps they had a beer together. Boxhall, the neighbour, is pretty sure it was not a female he saw driving the van. Without being sexist, you’d think it was a male who was doing all this.’

  ‘It does make sense,’ interrupted Mahoney. ‘Sometimes we have to make assumptions. Do we have anything more on this van?’

  Dunstan raised his hand. ‘As you can all see from the image on the board, we’ve pieced together a fair idea of what it looked like. Mr Boxhall and the couple from the shop went through various permutations with one of our techies. It looks like it was a Ford Transit van, late model. No idea on number plates unfortunately. One other resident I spoke to on the phone earlier today noted down the mobile number printed underneath the Electric Eric logo. Said she wanted some work done. I tried the number but got a “not in use” message.’

  ‘So, he makes the van look authentic but doesn’t want anybody making contact.’

  ‘Yes, Sir. It looks that way. I’ve put the vehicle details out on social media, and there’s a segment organised for the television and radio today. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll go through hire companies and the auction sites to try and trace it. Constable Herrick is going to comb through the records for traffic infringements and stolen vehicles.’

  ‘Good man. Okay, Sergeant Kendall has the remainder of the tasks for today. Check in with her once I’ve finished speaking. Some if it is humdrum. Tracing the ropes, tennis balls, beer stubbies and so on. Quite possibly thankless, but it needs to be done. We developed some momentum on the back of this sort of fact-checking yesterday. Let’s keep it up. Anything that jumps out, anything at all, let either Kate or I know. Same bat-time, same bat-channel, tomorrow.’

  Officers resumed their work stations and started working the phones. Mahoney turned his back on them to consider the board. What did you do, Hellyer? What did you do for someone to believe you deserved this? Who did you drive so far down the road that they could imagine such an act? The input from Cortese looked to be increasingly important.

  ‘Thank you for acceding to my request, Inspector.’ Cortese was standing next to Hellyer’s BMW on the gravel outside the house of horrors. ‘This viewing will augment the information I have gleaned from the various reports.’

  Was it a profiler thing to be lexically ornate? Mahoney did wonder if the incomer was taking the politeness aspect just a little too far, or maybe it was all part and parcel of the man’s persona. Fashionably attired, immaculately groomed and smoothly spoken. Even his e-cigarette looked designer made.

  The request to personally view the crime scene had come right after the morning briefing, and Mahoney had agreed immediately. The drive down had been quick: minimal traffic on a cloudless day. In other circumstances it would have been a pleasant jaunt, but not today. As Mahoney drove he shared the salient facts of what the investigative team had learned. For his troubles he got some nods and an occasional ‘indeed’ from the passenger seat. Only on the final stretch, past Clifton Beach, did Cortese sit up and show an interest. Mahoney was sharing the tennis conversation from the night before, but saying he couldn’t see why the victim being good at tennis was that interesting. Sure, Hellyer was tortured with tennis balls, but wasn’t that merely a nifty way to inflict damage?

  ‘You don’t wait decades to avenge a straight sets loss in a junior tennis match,’ Mahoney commented to his passenger.

  Cortese didn’t sound so sure on that point. ‘I think the lawn tennis feature is one of the most important aspects of this case. It’s about families, Inspector. As Tolstoy said, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”’

  Cortese did not expand on his comment as they entered Opossum Bay, and remained silent until they reached the house.

  As they stood at the rear of the dwelling, Mahoney asked, ‘Is there anything you can determine out here? I mean, any more information you need?’

  ‘No, thank you. Access to the stage is what I now require.’

  Once inside Mahoney assumed the position he’d stood in with Kendall two days before. From there he watched the profiler walk through a choreographed routine. As he did so, Cortese voiced several observations onto a hand-held digital recorder. After fifteen minutes or so he stopped and joined Mahoney, who waited for enlightenment.

  ‘The good news is that you don’t have to unduly rush your investigation.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘It will be at least a week, possibly a fortnight, before the next execution. This murder doesn’t have to be solved today.’

  Cortese looked completely serious, and Mahoney decided he wasn’t being wound up.

  ‘Your reasoning being?’

  ‘Nowhere near as complicated as you might imagine. You know most of what I’m drawing from this scene already. You already know the perpetrator to be an intelligent, calm and patient person. The planning took weeks, months probably. This is an individual who functions successfully in our society, holds a position of responsibility and is financially comfortable. He is either divorced or never married. I’m inclined to the former. His occupation affords him sufficient time to undertake reconnaissance. Self-employed I would say, possibly a business consultant. He is in his forties, physically very capable and, to all intents and purposes, quite sane.’

  ‘Take me though it.’

  ‘The intelligence and patience you already understand.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a meticulously planned and methodically executed crime.’

  ‘Then you comprehend that this man has a good job and moves easily in our society. The anger behind this crime has been kept in check for a lengthy period. He is raging internally, but that rage is controlled. Even here, in the throes of the act, he is purposeful and calculating. The killer blow is not delivered until the theatrical construct has been played out.’

  ‘You mean that even at the climax of this scene he never actually lost it?’

  ‘Correct. When you find this man—and you will—it will be a complete surprise to those who interact with him every day. They will never have witnessed him losing his temper. He is very controlled.’

  What Mahoney was hearing tallied with what Kate had said on seeing the body. More importantly, it fit with the evidence of the scene.

  ‘Why will he kill again?’

  ‘Because it is not this victim who must be eradicated. It is the revenge tragedy in the perpetrator’s consciousness that must be played out. His retribution is, I believe, linked to what Hellyer represented. There will be another like Hellyer who needs to be vanquished. The killer’s crusade is deeply personal to him. Whoever is the next victim in his sights has been selected, not because of a personal dislike, but because that person is emblematic of the problem.’

  ‘That problem being …?’

  ‘Something I must think further on.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Mahoney glanced at the beautifully crafted rafters in the ceiling space. ‘How do we know that the perp’s got money?’

  Cortese looked askance. ‘Think, Inspector. Our man drives a late model largish van. It wouldn’t have been stolen because the owner would have alerted your colleagues, and it’s unlikely to be hired. No, he has purchased this van and, crucially, he has somewhere to park it where it won’t garner undue attention. Therefore, I conclude he has access to a parking bay that is not part of his primary residence. Attached to a rental property perhaps.’

  ‘Terrific. That makes sense. And he’ll do something like this again you think?’

  ‘Certainly. He wants to be recognised. Presently, he has the upper hand. Nobody knows it is he, the intelligent one, who is behind this. The satisfaction of carrying this off is partial. The conveying of an indisputable message to the deceased is also not enough. He must be recognised as a force to be reckoned with. He craves that. Craves your respect, Inspector. You will recognise his brilliance. A recognition that has been denied him for much of his life.’

  ‘So, he is a nutter then.’

  Cortese laughed. ‘Perhaps.’

  

  On the return journey Mahoney quizzed his passenger. ‘What led you down this path? Not just boredom with private practice I’d guess.’

  ‘That is a correct assessment. I may have misled you yesterday. Helping members of the public modify their thinking is worthy in itself, and there is a good living to be made. And the government supports people through the Mental Health Scheme, so there is less reluctance for those experiencing anxiety and depression to seek help.’ Cortese turned his gaze inside the vehicle. ‘But I wished to resume academic research. A fellowship at Victoria University became available and I saw my chance.’

  ‘He who hesitates …’

  ‘… forsakes the opportunity. Forensic psychology is of increasing interest to undergraduates. Qualified lecturers were thin on the ground a decade ago. I wouldn’t say I surfed the zeitgeist but the timing of my move was fortuitous.’

  Mahoney decreased the car’s speed as they cruised through Lauderdale. ‘Has television sparked that interest in students?’

  A small raising of the eyebrows. ‘No doubt. And it is not neces­sarily a bad thing. One would also hope David Attenborough’s documentaries have spurred a generation to see the biological sciences in a new light. I like watching Tony Hill on television as much as anyone and if a fictional profiler stimulates interest, it would be churlish to ignore it. The effect, whatever the cause, is beneficial. The sooner we reconfigure the dark arts and begin to comprehend the complexity of our minds the better.’

  ‘Agreed. You could pop down there sometime.’ Mahoney pointed to his left where the Police Training Academy sat stolidly on a headland. ‘Guest lecturers are always welcomed.’