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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

‘Carmody supported the boys who spoke against Edmund,’ Masters began, ‘he wanted the school to act. I know this for a fact. He lost personal status because of it. He wouldn’t be doing it to protect the school, of that you can be sure.’

‘He convinced Mrs Lockheed to change her statement about believing her son,’ Cardilini pointed out.

‘But she did support her son,’ Masters argued.

‘Carmody told me he and his mate, Burnside, knew John Lockheed had lied. Mrs Lockheed supported this.’

‘No,’ Masters said in disbelief.

‘Yes,’ Cardilini insisted, ‘and he and Burnside are Braun’s new best buddies.’

Masters pushed two shaking fingers across his forehead, wrinkling the skin like the wake of a boat. He took a big breath, dropped his hand and said, ‘We need to go.’ Then pushed himself off the chair, stood and walked carefully to the door. Cardilini watched him leave before asking: ‘Why did you tell me?’

Masters stopped and turned.

‘I wanted it to be true.’

Thirty-Nine

THIRTY-NINE

Day 18

Kilkenny Road

12.10 a.m. Wednesday, 11th November 1965

Later that night Cardilini sat smoking on his back verandah. The air was still. He exhaled, the smoke stayed suspended. He waved it away. Masters’ harrowed features and ponderous words had left him unsettled. He asked himself again: What was he prepared to do to protect Paul? How would he be feeling about Edmund’s death if Paul, like Masters’ son, took his life because of Edmund’s actions?

There had been times when he and other officers were required to overlook the actions of individuals. A minister in the current government crashed into parked cars when driving home drunk late at night. The investigating officer knew it; the vehicle accident officer verified it. A senior detective went to interview the minister and returned with a stolen car report. They all knew what had happened. It was seen as being loyal to those who supported the police, just like supporting a fellow officer. It was second nature, loyalty.

This led Cardilini to the real reasons he pursued Edmund’s killer. Was it justice, the law, or grandstanding to make up for his twelve months ineptitude? Cardilini threw his cigarette into the garden, looked at it for a moment before retrieving it and pushing it into the ashtray he had brought out. He walked inside.

He stood at Paul’s closed bedroom door. ‘You awake, Paul?’

‘No.’

‘Can I come in?’ Cardilini opened the door and turned the light on.

‘I was asleep,’ Paul answered, shading his eyes with his arm.

‘You still keen to go to the academy?’

‘Dad,’ Paul turned to the wall, ‘couldn’t you have asked me that in the morning?’

‘Would your answer be different?’

‘Of course I’m keen.’

‘Police work isn’t all fun and games, you know.’

‘What’s the problem?’ Paul turned squinting at his father.

‘Nothing. Will you be changing your mind?’

‘No.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yes.’ Paul began to sit up.