Read Online Challis - 02 - Kittyhawk Down by Garry Disher - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Garry Disher
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but no one approached him. Eight-fifty am… Inger would be opening the classroom door soon. Older children raced past, yelling. It was a cheerful, nourishing sort of school, but there were no black or Asian faces, no round veiled faces, and—judging by the tone of the weekly newsletter and other take-home notices—no sign that a feminist perspective had reached this far south.
He listened to the conversations around him. Did you go away for Easter? Footie season soon. The kids dragged their heels this morning. How would the blooming mayor feel if
he
had a detention centre on his doorstep, that's what I'd like to know…
And then Scobie saw Aileen Munro. She seemed to sidle in and stood well back, a bulky presence along the serpentine path leading to Prep I. As Scobie watched, she bobbed to kiss her two older children goodbye, watched them race to their respective classrooms, then stood with her youngest daughter, scarcely daring to meet the eyes of the other parents. Then, apparently sensing his scrutiny, she looked up and her gaze locked on Scobie's, anguished and beseeching.
She knew who he was. She'd known for the past eighteen months that he was a CIB detective based at Waterloo. She was embarrassed to know him, embarrassed that he'd had cause to visit and question her in her farmhouse kitchen on Five Furlong Road.
Her husband, Ian Munro, had been suspected of sending a padded envelope containing a .303 bullet to a bank official in Waterloo. The bank had earlier threatened to foreclose on a loan taken out by Munro. When Munro sold off a parcel of land to repay the loan, the matter was dropped, but there had been a series of other incidents since then. Munro had apparently brandished a rifle at repossession agents, run the tyres of his ute over the toes of the council sheriff, and punched a process server who was attempting to deliver a legal document. He'd been abusive to shire officers and suspected of placing gelignite on the driver's seat of the bank loan officer's car.
Scobie had investigated, and urged people to press charges, but Munro was a bully, stocky, cold and unremitting, and the locals knew better than to come forward.
Scobie watched Aileen Munro edge through the other parents until she was able to murmur in his ear, 'I'm worried about Ian.'
Scobie jerked his head. They moved away from inquisitive ears. 'Tell me,' he said.
Aileen Munro's lined face looked up at him. 'He's all hyper. It's like he's going to explode.'
Aileen's daughter was clinging to her mother's dry, bony fingers, gazing at Scobie. There was a cut across her nose, a hint of bruising beneath one eye. Then she scratched her scalp and his gaze went to her hair and he shuddered to think of lice crawling there.
He turned to Aileen. 'Has Ian been violent with you or the kids?'
'Ian? No, never.'
'How did Shannon cut her face?'
'Fell off the trampoline,' Aileen said, her expression saying that was her story and she was sticking to it.
'All right,' Scobie said, sighing. 'So, what's wrong with Ian?'
'Like I said, he's all wound up.'
'About anything in particular?'
'Money It's always money. It was all right till he took out that loan. Now he's in too deep and not paying the bills. The government this, the government that. He's letting the place run down.'
'I thought he'd paid off the loan.'
'This is a new loan.'
The banks have a lot to answer for, Scobie thought. 'I don't see there's much the police can do at this point,' he said. 'If you like I could talk to him, but—'
'Oh, no,' Aileen said, horrified. 'He's already had a row with a man from the RSPCA. He'd throw a real wobbly if he thought I'd been talking about him to the police, going behind his back.'
'Have you talked to the bank? They could tailor the repayments to suit your income.'
'Yeah, right, you know what he thinks of banks.'
'Then I don't see what I can do.'
'I just want you to know, that's all. Be prepared, kind of thing,' Aileen Munro said as the siren sounded
He listened to the conversations around him. Did you go away for Easter? Footie season soon. The kids dragged their heels this morning. How would the blooming mayor feel if
he
had a detention centre on his doorstep, that's what I'd like to know…
And then Scobie saw Aileen Munro. She seemed to sidle in and stood well back, a bulky presence along the serpentine path leading to Prep I. As Scobie watched, she bobbed to kiss her two older children goodbye, watched them race to their respective classrooms, then stood with her youngest daughter, scarcely daring to meet the eyes of the other parents. Then, apparently sensing his scrutiny, she looked up and her gaze locked on Scobie's, anguished and beseeching.
She knew who he was. She'd known for the past eighteen months that he was a CIB detective based at Waterloo. She was embarrassed to know him, embarrassed that he'd had cause to visit and question her in her farmhouse kitchen on Five Furlong Road.
Her husband, Ian Munro, had been suspected of sending a padded envelope containing a .303 bullet to a bank official in Waterloo. The bank had earlier threatened to foreclose on a loan taken out by Munro. When Munro sold off a parcel of land to repay the loan, the matter was dropped, but there had been a series of other incidents since then. Munro had apparently brandished a rifle at repossession agents, run the tyres of his ute over the toes of the council sheriff, and punched a process server who was attempting to deliver a legal document. He'd been abusive to shire officers and suspected of placing gelignite on the driver's seat of the bank loan officer's car.
Scobie had investigated, and urged people to press charges, but Munro was a bully, stocky, cold and unremitting, and the locals knew better than to come forward.
Scobie watched Aileen Munro edge through the other parents until she was able to murmur in his ear, 'I'm worried about Ian.'
Scobie jerked his head. They moved away from inquisitive ears. 'Tell me,' he said.
Aileen Munro's lined face looked up at him. 'He's all hyper. It's like he's going to explode.'
Aileen's daughter was clinging to her mother's dry, bony fingers, gazing at Scobie. There was a cut across her nose, a hint of bruising beneath one eye. Then she scratched her scalp and his gaze went to her hair and he shuddered to think of lice crawling there.
He turned to Aileen. 'Has Ian been violent with you or the kids?'
'Ian? No, never.'
'How did Shannon cut her face?'
'Fell off the trampoline,' Aileen said, her expression saying that was her story and she was sticking to it.
'All right,' Scobie said, sighing. 'So, what's wrong with Ian?'
'Like I said, he's all wound up.'
'About anything in particular?'
'Money It's always money. It was all right till he took out that loan. Now he's in too deep and not paying the bills. The government this, the government that. He's letting the place run down.'
'I thought he'd paid off the loan.'
'This is a new loan.'
The banks have a lot to answer for, Scobie thought. 'I don't see there's much the police can do at this point,' he said. 'If you like I could talk to him, but—'
'Oh, no,' Aileen said, horrified. 'He's already had a row with a man from the RSPCA. He'd throw a real wobbly if he thought I'd been talking about him to the police, going behind his back.'
'Have you talked to the bank? They could tailor the repayments to suit your income.'
'Yeah, right, you know what he thinks of banks.'
'Then I don't see what I can do.'
'I just want you to know, that's all. Be prepared, kind of thing,' Aileen Munro said as the siren sounded
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