Page 59 of The Question of Us
The three fucking musketeers. God help us.
Gazza surprised me by speaking for all of us. “We need to do the right thing here, Samuel.” He sounded light years older than he was and a lot calmer about the whole thing than either Nick or me. “We’rethe ones who have to live with the role we played in Lee’s current... predicament. You don’t. It doesn’t matter whether we had a choice or not when it all happened; we have one now. This is about stepping up when no one else can or will, the police included. You must see that.”
They stared each other down until Samuel finally threw his hands in the air. “When will you accept that none of you were responsible—” He didn’t finish, his gaze caught on our hands still stacked atop each other. He blinked furiously, sighed, and then dragged both hands down his face while muttering something I couldn’t catch and likely didn’t want to.
Nick shot me a look and I shrugged. It was anyone’s guess how this was gonna play out. My biggest concern was that Samuel would set his Australian cop mate on us, something with ramifications for our friendship, which would force an awkward decision—we either walk away from the party idea entirely, or continue and potentially invoke the wrath of the Australianandthe New Zealand police. Not to mention land Samuel in hot water on both sides of the Tasman.
“Fuck me” were the first words out of Samuel’s mouth, and they were strangely comforting. “You do realise that although Gazza might have an invitation,youdon’t.” He eyeballed Nick. “Which means you’d be trespassing.”
“Oh, come on,” Nick protested. “It’s a party. That’s stretching things a bit, don’t you th?—”
“Don’t push it.” Samuel scowled. “Do you have any idea how much freaking trouble we’reallgoing to be in when I tell Lizzie and Shirley about this hare-brained scheme of yours, not to mention that I didn’t stop it?”
Shirley?“There’s no need to—” I baulked at Samuel’s don’t-you-fucking-dare look.
“There is, and I will,” Samuel ground out in reply. “And if you thinkI’mpissed, you wait until you hear from them. I’m going to bury you in family drama for the next six months, so help me God.” He blew out a measured breath as he raised and lowered his hands in slow motion several times, like he was calming himself. “Having said that—” He paused for dramatic effect as his gaze landed on each one of us in turn. “—and I can’t believeI’m going to say this, but it’s not the worst plan you could’ve come up with.”
I blinked, wondering if I’d heard right. “Really? You think it’s a good plan?”
“No.” He eyeballed me. “I didn’t say that. I said it’s not the worst. But having a bunch of clueless amateurs like you lot trying to pull it offisa huge concern.”
I felt Nick bristle. “Hey?—”
I elbowed him in the ribs and his mouth snapped shut.
Samuel continued like he hadn’t noticed. “Starting with Gazza’s role. If what you think about Marty is true, then the man’s a coercive, controlling, abusive bastard who trapped Lee in that relationship for years before Lee finally escaped. Ergo—you don’t ever want to be the centre of Marty Klein’s attention.” He eyeballed Gazza. “Something that seems to have been forgotten.”
“My concern too,” I admitted, earning myself a glare from Nick, who, frankly, could just suck it up.
Gazza grimaced. “Do you think I don’t know that?”
Samuel studied Gazza like he was trying to gauge his true measure, and Gazza straightened in response, his gaze narrowing on the older man, happy to accept the challenge.
At length, Samuel gave him a curt nod. “Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. But I’ve been doing a little digging myself via a police colleague in Wangaratta. She’s one of the ones we sent to check on Lee a few weeks ago. She was really helpful at the time, which is saying something since Marty’s made a point of being on good terms with the local police—known for his sizeable donations and for hosting fundraising events. Most look on him as some kind of local hero. When we asked them to pay a visit, they were reluctant to believe our suspicions and happy to inform us that all appeared well.
“Angela, however, wasn’t such a fan, especially when she learned about the so-called domestic incident years ago that was dismissed. She’s a transplant from Melbourne and a lot more cynical than the local guys. She didn’t like Marty from the get-go and agreed to do some extra digging for me, on her own. Along with the dismissed incident in front of the house, she found a couple of other red flags.”
I leaned forward; we all did.
Samuel continued, “Nothing illegal, of course. Marty is a careful man. But heisknown for keeping his companions, boyfriends, whatever you want to call them, on a tight leash, and he doesn’t take kindly to anyone engaging with them in any way, even in town. Most dismiss the behaviour as jealousy or protectiveness. Angela said it’s just plain creepy. Marty also has a reputation for his wandering eye, regardless of his current boyfriend status, and he doesn’t think twice about indulging his tastes. Which only makes him an arsehole, let’s be honest. The biggest red flags are his choice of friends and employees. Two of his closest friends have had previous sexual assault charges, although they were later dropped. And Marty’s personal assistant?—”
“Freddie,” I offered.
Samuel turned to me. “Yes, Freddie Young. He’s especially interesting. Ex-army, handy with his fists, and knows nothing about horses from what we can tell. He has a record for sexual assault, battery, and drug possession. Six years ago, when Freddie was released from jail after serving yet more time for assault, Marty offered him a job. The story was that Freddie is some kind of distant relative, and this was offered as an opportunity to turn his life around, but it’s an odd choice for a personal assistant, wouldn’t you say?”
The three of us exchanged looks, but it was me who answered. “Not if you wanted a strong arm to provide security,watch over your boyfriend, and keep your employees in line. Someone who owed you and would keep his mouth shut.”
“Precisely.” Samuel appeared somewhat mollified by the acknowledgement. “And Angela agrees. Which means no one should be going anywhere near that house without professional backup.”
I got what he was saying but I shook my head. “And who exactly is going to provide this backup? You said it yourself; there’s zero evidence to grant a search warrant or even force an interview of Marty, and the same has to apply to this situation. But we’ve been handed a perfectly legal opportunity to at least get inside the house. Are you seriously telling me you wouldn’t be doing the same if you were in our shoes?”
Samuel didn’t take long to come up with an answer, but he didn’t look happy either. “Maybe I would, but the difference is thatI’dbe the one going in. Not Gazza. And not Nick. Why? Because at least I know what I’m fucking doing.”
He was being ridiculous, and my voice rose at the fact. “I’m sorry to disavow the impact of your relative charms, Samuel, but you would’ve stood precisely zero chance of getting an invite to that party. Plus, your face was all over the news as the cop in charge of the marina takedown. Gazza has the requisite expertise and the hot-as-fuck looks to go with it. You really should’ve seen him at that sale. Nick called it an Oscar-winning performance. Gazza is exactly Marty’s type. He’s a more streetwise, sophisticated version of Lee. One look and Marty couldn’t help himself. No one could’ve done that except Gazza. Not Nick. Not me. And certainly not you. Plus, there’s only one invite.”
“Gee, thanks,” Samuel grumbled.
“My pleasure,” I responded snippily. “Besides, Gazza won’t be alone. Nick will be close by in case he’s needed.”
