16
Asked to wait by the duty officer posted at the front counter reception area of Alice Springs Police Headquarters, Peter Cornwell paced impatiently back and forth across the entrance foyer. He cast an occasional, squinted glare accompanied by an exaggerated and unattractive scowl in the direction of the young Constable behind the counter.
He glanced often at his watch. This action, also exaggerated, was designed to convey his agitation and obvious annoyance to the officer who, he had no doubt, would immediately drop everything and attend to his requirements.
Cornwell was not used to waiting for anything or anyone. He was a politician and, like the vast majority of politicians the world over, he held the belief that his time was far more important than that of his lowly constituents a
