Chapter 1
556 Words
1
Detective Inspector Russell Foley fumbled in his pocket for his mobile phone, flipped it open, and looked at the caller ID. His superior, Superintendent Cameron ‘Yap Yap’ Barker’s name appeared in the display.
“Cam, please tell me this call is not work related,” Foley answered.
“Hi, Russell. I wish it was the case. Where are you?”
“I’m in the shopping centre carpark. I’ve got my arms full of groceries, and I’m about to go home. Why, what have you got?”
“It’s complicated,” Barker said. “Can you come in?”
“It’s my day off,” Foley answered, sounding miffed. “But, what else am I gonna do? I live alone, television is crap, and I mowed the lawns this morning.”
“You don’t have any lawns, Russell. You live in a unit supplied by the department. How soon can you get here?”
“I need to drop my groceries off and change my clothes. Thirty minutes, okay?”
“Twenty would be better.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Oh, before you hang up, Russell, is Sam Rose working today, or is he under a woman, somewhere?”
Foley laughed. “Sam’s a one-woman-man these days, Cam.”
“Sarah Collins?” Barker asked.
“Yeah. They’re good together. I don’t think I’ve seen Sam this happy since he transferred down here from Darwin.”
“Is he working today?”
“No. I’ve got him on the same duty roster as myself. We’re having lunch together later. Why?”
“I’d like you both on this job. Can you bring him in with you?”
“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll pick him up on my way in. This sounds serious.”
“It could be,” Barker said. “By the way, you will both need to pack a bag.”
“Pack a bag? How long for?”
“I don’t know…a few days, at least.”
Russell Foley knocked on his partner’s door and waited. When no answer came, he knocked again, louder this time, and stepped back from the door. Finally, the door swung open.
Detective Sergeant Sam Rose stood there, n***d save for a towel around his waist. Water dripped from his wet, ruffled hair. With a small hand-towel, he dabbed at water droplets running down his bare chest.
“It’s fortunate for you it’s me, and not a couple of the lovely Seventh Day Adventist ladies knocking at your door,” Foley remarked.
“I was in the shower.”
“I can see that.”
“It’s not lunch time already, is it?” Sam asked.
“No,” Foley said. “You need to get dressed and pack a bag.”
“Pack a bag? Where are we having lunch, Queensland?”
“We’re not having lunch. We’re going to work. Pack enough clothes for three or four days.”
“It’s my day off,” Sam complained.
“I know, it’s my day off too.”
“Where are we going?” Sam asked again.
“I don’t know.” Foley shrugged. “Wherever it is, I’m going with you. Yap Yap wants to see us both, ASAP.”
Sam stepped back from the door, ushered Foley inside, and closed the door behind him.
“What’s the job?” he asked, rubbing the hand-towel through his hair.
“I don’t know that either. Yap will fill us in when we get there.”
“b****y hell!” Sam cursed. “I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed an uninterrupted day off.”
“You can always quit and sell cars for a living.”
“Do car salesmen get days off?”
Foley shook his head. “Get dressed, Sam. Standing here grizzling about the job is not going to make it any easier. This is what we do. You love it, I love it, everybody’s happy, get fuckin’ dressed.”
“b****y hell!” Sam mumbled again. He turned away and strode reluctantly along the hallway to his room.
- Writer
