Lucifer's Apostles

Lucifer's Apostles Episode 31

Tank said, “A van was stolen from a car yard in Whitehall. We have details of it in an email you were all sent. Anything else”?

Katie stood up and spoke, “The lab results on the blood work of Shahab Farahani came back with traces of crystal methamphetamine in his system. That was the link you were looking for with Farahani and Lucas Brady. When he was opened, he was full of cancer, and his pancreas had been removed. The surgeon would have been confident that he had removed all his cancer, only for it to return. He had nothing to live for. Pete and Jordan Thompson both died instantly”.

Tank left the briefing room and walked to his office, only to find his ex-wife’s mother sitting there. “Hello Caroline, what a surprise, I haven’t seen you in not long enough”, he said, wondering why his old nemesis had let herself into his office.

“It’s always been a pleasure, Jonathon”, she lied. “I know you’re wondering why I’m here. I know you’re a homicide cop, but I just thought, for Angie’s sake, you might like to help”.

“I am, and no, thank you for thinking of me, though. I’m delighted”, Tank answered.

“Please hear me out, Jonathon”. She was one of the few people who raised the hairs on the back of his neck. “I’m worried about the company Wendy’s been keeping of late”.

“Okay, and I would care why? Wendy and I have never agreed on a lot of things. Go and ask Simon to investigate it for you. Wendy’s his sister-in-law now, not mine”. Tank knew he was being rude. Caroline pressed all of his wrong buttons when she opened her mouth.

“Simon’s working out of town for a while. Wendy’s been going out through the night at odd hours, and when I ring her, she’s always busy. You know that she’s been sleeping around with different men all her life”, Caroline said.

“I’m not sure what I can do with that. It’s her life. She’s a grown woman, and she can sleep with whoever she wants”, Tank told her, wondering when she would make a point. “She’s done very well in life. She owned a house by the beach last time I saw her”.

“Where do you think she got that type of money on a receptionist’s wage? You know that she’s in contact with that mobster from where you came from”, she said.

“I only worked in Kings Cross. I came from Rutherglen. I have told you that story before, I am sure. She knows the so-called mobster, and yes, so do I. I doubt that she’s in contact with him. Where did you hear this story?” Tank asked.

“Angie told me that Wendy was solicitating again. I hope she’s not, but I believe Angie. Can you talk to her for me, Tank, please?” Caroline enquired.

Now she calls me Tank, he thought. Instead, he said sarcastically, “I would love to Caroline. I’ll drop the murder case I’m on and delve right into it for you, shall I”?

“Thank you, that would be nice. No time to stay for a chat. I’ll see myself out”, she said before standing, and leaving Tank completely bewildered. He needed to get out of this room as well, he thought. He went and stood in the doorway.

Katie ushered Tank to the monitor she had been looking at, thinking how glaringly mundane this job was. She found Samuel Beckett’s car heading south on the M1 towards Wollongong. It drove through several traffic lights and turned right into Dampier Drive towards Whitehall, and then she lost it again. She returned to the start point where she first spotted Beckett’s car, and around twelve minutes later, she found Lucas Brady’s car. He followed the same route as Beckett.

Katie asked Tank if he had time to eat any lunch. He told her he had and thanked her for the vanilla slice she had put in. She smiled and said, “It is Sunday. One day is not going to hurt. I hope you did not have muffins this morning”. He told her he only had coffee, and she scolded, “Having no breakfast is just as bad, Tank Dodge”. She regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth. She was beginning to sound like a nagging wife.

Katie received a call and put her phone on speaker so Tank could hear. The samples under Destinee’s fingernail returned with a match for Melissa Westbrook. Her father, Gordon Westbrook, was in prison, serving time after being convicted of trafficking. They were also informed that the gum from the playground’s owner was not in the system. The trace DNA from the cloth on the gate and the pie container at the park were inconclusive. Tank rang Louise’s office and asked her to discover anything she could about Melissa Westbrook.

Katie asked, “Are you going to join me tonight, or would you like some space?” She looked uncomfortable as if she had been contemplating whether to ask or not.

“At this stage, I’d like that very much. I’ll need to go home and do some things first”, Tank replied, sitting on the desk she was at.

“I have a habit of scaring men away. Not that there have been many men contrary to everyone’s beliefs, but there have been a few. I should stop talking, I think”, Katie said with a rosy colour on her cheeks.

“I don’t care what’s happened in your past. It’s what’s happening now that I care about. I want to spend time with you”, Tank said softly. He stood up and said, “I need to see Bill. Outstanding work finding those cars. They may have thrown us a red herring. Keep looking at the Whitehall turnoff and see if they come back onto the M1 there or further down. I’m not sure if you can come back onto the highway in a different location”.

Tank walked across the outside corridor to Bill’s office. He was still there, although he was intensely concentrating on something on his desk. Tank knocked and was told to enter. “What are you looking so intently at?” Tank asked him. Bill finally looked up from what he had been observing.

“I’m just looking over our squad. We have six men on stress leave who won’t return in a hurry. To be honest I doubt that they’ll ever return. They’re old and slow, so I think you need new blood. Lisa Blythe was a no-brainer Tank. I was after her from the time she put in an application to become a detective. There are three other rookies I’m looking at and a transfer from Northern Beaches. They won’t find a better teacher”, Bill confided.

“Are you coming back to teach them?” Tank asked with a grin, “Tell Sergeant Toomey in the morning that we don’t need O’Donnell anymore. He needs counselling. He’s having problems in his personal life that are affecting his work. I know the signs only too well”, Tank finished.

“You didn’t come here so I could bend your ear about this. What’s on your mind?” Bill asked. “If it’s about Joe, I didn’t tell him about the DNA yet. I opened an email that said you had a match at the school. Who is it?”

“The results from the school came back inconclusive. The results from Desiree came back with a match with Melissa Westbrook, her father Gordon’s in Silverwater Correctional Centre for trafficking”, Tank said. “Nigel Tarver isn’t lying. He’s innocent. Life just dealt him a bad hand. We have seen that enough. I just came in to see if you were still here”. Tank told Bill that he had everything under control, and he should go home. Returning to the squad room, Tank found Ned waiting for him.

“Melissa Westbrook is 25 and lives in South Docks. She has a record for distributing drugs and selling illegal tobacco”, Ned said.

“Thanks, Ned. I need you and Louise to relocate to the squad room. I will get I.T. to make any changes you need. I want you both closer for when I need you”, Tank told him.

“Deng and Mary, I need you to go to South Docks and arrest Melissa Westbrook for k********g and murder. Take SPG with you and wear vests and helmets”, Tank said. “As for everyone else, I need you to keep looking at those monitors in front of you. Time’s running out. We must stop them before they take another life”.