RECORDS OF INTERVIEW

Record of Conversation between Constable Randall Casey and Ben Murtog conducted at the Commercial Hotel, Deception Bay, Wednesday, 17 September, 9.30 pm

Nah, mate, I saw the whole thing. The sheila was pissed. Legless. Nearly tripped over on the way out. Started drinkin’ at the bar by herself. Now, I don’t mind a lady drinkin’ by herself … as long as she keeps herself tidy. Merv tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she was too good for him. Treated poor Merv like he had the plague or somethink. Then she gets pissed with Jack and all of a sudden ’e’s arrested and down the local lock-up. Prickteaser, if you ask me. Ya see this kind of thing all the time: sheilas want to crack on to ya, and when they don’t get their own way, all hell breaks loose. Look, I’ve known Jack fer years. Good bloke. Used ta play footy. Drives a nice rig, too. Once, he gave me nephew a lift up north, which saved him having to hitchhike. Now, I ask you, is that the kind of bloke who’d—what are they saying he did? Oh, right—drug a sheila’s drink? I don’t bloody think so.

Record of Conversation between Constable Randall Casey and Merv Evans conducted at the Commercial Hotel, Deception Bay, Wednesday, 17 September, 9.42 pm

In my day, there was nuthin’ wrong with asking a lady to dance. Benny said she looked lonely. I thought I was doin’ ’er a favour, if you know what I mean. Sittin’ there alone. Next thing ya know, they’re complainin’ cos people think they’re scrubbers.

Record of Conversation between Constable Randall Casey and Melanie Grimes conducted at the Commercial Hotel, Deception Bay, Wednesday, 17 September, 9.51 pm

Yeah, I know Ben reckons she got pissed with Jack, but I was there too and there was something … off, you know. One minute she’s okay, and the next minute she wasn’t. A woman senses these things. And if Jack did put something in her drink, those other blokes in the pub wouldn’t believe it. They wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit them on the arse.

CHAPTER 2: WATCHING THE DETECTIVE

CHAPTER 2

WATCHING THE DETECTIVE

Nothing quite like heading back to the office after a long day at work. The old police station hadn’t changed much since it was built in the 1960s: short, squat, cream-bricked with a prominent POLICE sign in chequered blue and white out the front. Wozza reckoned it had been slated for demolition and a rebuild, but the last state election meant that a nearby town of swinging voters now boasted a brand-new police station that looked like the Starship Enterprise, while Deception Bay was doomed to its sixty-year-old eyesore.