I collapsed into the nearest chair and he swivelled the laptop towards me. On the screen, Bella’s photo filled the front page of a newspaper, with Marty and I inset on one side. The headline screamed in bold capital letters: BELLA’S BROTHER: SUSPICIOUS DEATH.

The police are asking too many questions. And that detective—Caruso—he’s like a dog with a bone.

How to divert them from Merrigang? Drop the evidence somewhere else. A toilet in Belconnen Mall? No, too many security cameras all over that shopping mall.

A place with no cameras. A place where people would care. They’d find it and give it to the police.

Check the plastic bag. No fingerprints. Bella loves her fairies. That purple sticker with a fairy in the corner. But the label is clearly readable: This shoe belongs to Bella Parker.

28 CARUSO

28

CARUSO

CARUSO HAD BEEN AWAKE MOST OF THE NIGHT, AT POLICE FORWARD command, then back at the station. After yet another person had told him to get some sleep, he’d gone home to his apartment and worked from there. Time was critical; with every hour that went by, the chances of recovery became more and more grim. Early this morning, when Caruso could no longer think straight, he’d jogged down the stairs to the tiny gym at the bottom of his block. Lifting fifteen-kilo dumbbells, he let his thoughts wander, crunching the weights towards him, left arm, right arm, left arm, right arm. Working out helped him think.

When he and Suze had interviewed Natalie Alvarez yesterday evening, the woman kept getting on her soapbox and preaching at them. Suze had managed to redirect the questioning each time. But when Suze explained that the missing Bella was the daughter of Dr Martin Ross, Nurse Natalie had leapt to her feet, kicking the chair over in the process.

‘Charge him with murder!’ she yelled. ‘He’s done it again!’

‘Please sit down, Ms Alvarez. We need to ask you some more questions.’

‘The police and the hospital inquiry got it wrong. That man should have been arrested.’

‘Ms Alvarez, can you tell us where you were on Thursday morning?’

‘You think I had something to do with this? Are you crazy?’ The woman slapped her hands down on the table.

‘Can you tell us where you were?’ Suze repeated.

‘Where I was?’ Nurse Natalie cackled. ‘Have you turned on a TV lately? I was protesting at Parliament House. There’s plenty of footage of me.’

‘Did you know Martin Ross was living in Canberra?’

‘Last I heard he’d gone into hiding in England. Proving his guilt. Are you going to arrest him this time?’