Lucifer's Apostles

Lucifer's Apostles Episode 16

The three other carers in the house besides Jacko were all millennials. Snake was sure Tommy and Tipsy were stoned half the time, and they were enjoying each other’s company inside and outside the house. They could not keep their hands off each other. Melissa was a loner. She had a hard life like Jacko’s. The two were extremely close because of it.

Jacko might not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but he could trust him with his life. He was sure of that. With his wallet lying around, he was not so sure. Snake messaged him again, getting impatient and irritated. Destinee needed to be laid into position sooner rather than later.

Pressing the speed dial on his phone, Snake heard it ring out. “What the blazes are you doing? I want to finish this while it’s still dark before people get out of bed in the morning. Hurry up!” was the message he left. He went out the door to start the van, and found Jacko, sound asleep in the driver’s seat. Snake punched him in the arm, “Wake up!”

Springing to attention, Jacko sung out, “What. What’s going on?”. He spun around and saw that Snake was furious. “Sorry, Boss, I must have hit the snooze button in my head”. How could anyone stay mad at him for too long? He was like a big kid.

“Come and give me a hand. We’ve got a long drive ahead”, Snake said in a softer voice.

“Where are we going, Boss?” Jacko asked.

“I’ll give you directions on the way”, he answered.

Jacko got out of the van and followed him inside the cool room. “It’s nice in here, Boss, the cool, I mean”.

“It gets a little too cool after a while”. It was a humid night outside. The sky was black with rain clouds forming. Jacko picked up Destinee’s lifeless body and dropped it into the back of the van onto a tarp. “How many times do I have to tell you to be careful!” Snake was as agitated as before.

“It doesn’t hurt them, Boss, they’re dead”, Jacko said in his sincerest voice. Both men climbed into the front of the van, and Jacko turned the key in the ignition.

“Have you got everything? We don’t want to have to stop because you’re thirsty or hungry”, Snake asked.

Jacko opened his door, climbed out of the van, and entered the cool room. He returned with an cooler box that would be full of snacks and water. He climbed back in, putting the esky behind Snake’s seat, and said, “Yep, thanks for reminding me”. They had started their little voyage.

Chapter Nine

January 16

Tank woke at 5:30 a.m., still a little sleepy. He looked across to see the other side of the bed empty. He could hear the shower running as he swung his feet out of the bed and stood. He sat on the edge of the bed until the shower stopped. A moment later, Katie came out of the bathroom with a green towel wrapped around her body and a pink towel around her hair.

“Good morning. I have to say I love your colour coordination. Bright pink and lime green have never looked better together”, Tank said seriously. Without much effort, Katie walked over to him before pushing him back onto the bed and holding his arms.

“At this point in the movies, I would kiss you, although that is not happening until you have brushed your teeth”, she said with a smile. She straddled him, “This is going to work between us. We can be professional at work and enjoy one another’s company if we want out of the workplace. I am not going to give you my spare key. You might think you know where I keep it, but you are wrong. That was for last night. I might leave it in a different spot tonight”. She laughed and hugged him. He returned her hugs with a playful laugh of his own.

He sat back up with her arms still wrapped around his neck. He then stood, and she still did not let go. Instead, she wrapped her legs around him. “I have to shower”, he said, walking with her to the bathroom. When he got to the bathroom door, she let go of him. The smile never left her face for a second. “You can join me if you like”.

“Not a chance, Hulk”, she said, “with you in the shower, I would get no water at all”. She giggled like a teenager, “I shall dress appropriately for a Saturday of leisure while you go in and work your butt off. I will cook you some baked beans and toast if you would like. No bacon for the man. It is not good for you unless it is in moderation. I saw you with two bacon and egg muffins yesterday morning”.

“I plead guilty, Your Honour, on all charges. You need to feed the man meat”, he said before shutting the bathroom door. He showered, shaved, and brushed his teeth before placing everything back into his toiletries bag, wrapped the bath sheet she had left for him around his waist and got dressed in the spare bedroom that had remained unused.

When he entered the kitchen, as promised, she had baked beans spread out on three pieces of toast with a mug full of black coffee. “Black with two?” he queried and received an affirmative nod in reply. “Are you coming in?” he asked.

“Not unless I am desperately needed. I have washing to do and need to get some groceries. Especially if a friend of mine would enjoy a home-cooked meal tonight”, she winked at him. “Honestly, no pressure if you don’t. I am cool with that, too”.

“I would love to come for dinner again, thank you. We can get through the day with just six of us at this stage. If anything changes, you will find out quick enough”, he said before eating his breakfast at her table.

“I heard there is a new guy on the team. I remember him. He transferred to Wollongong after he and his wife broke up. Is that right?” she asked.

Tank had a sip of his coffee. He gave an exaggerated look of pleasure and replied, “It is, his name is Marty Davies. His family lives down there. As I said before, it’s not a bed of roses being married to a cop”.

He finished his coffee and looked at the time. He went into the bedroom and picked up his duffle bag. “Leave your washing, and I will do it”, Katie said. He left her apartment, kissing her goodbye. She held on tight, not wanting to let him go. Tank drove to the station thinking about the previous night. It was something he had wanted to do. It was not a mistake. They were both professionals. The best part was that it felt fantastic. It felt right.

After making another coffee, he walked into his office and checked his desk first and then his phone for messages. There were neither, so he walked across to the briefing room. Tank did a mental roll call. Peter Hogan check, Mary Kidd check, Deng Lee check, Marty Davies check. Lisa Blythe and Owen O’Donnell were not present. Owen had asked for the morning off. “Good morning to everyone”, he said as he walked over to the evidence board. He turned and asked, “Is Lisa here”?

“She is Tank. She’s doing a breakfast run. We ordered you some bacon, egg muffins, and a real coffee”, Pete said. That put a smile on Tank’s face. He did not share the joke with the room.

“Anything new?” he asked.

Deng stood up. “There is Tank. Do you recall the witness who saw the van that looked like his brother’s”? Tank nodded, and Deng continued, “His brother is his half-brother with different fathers, so they have different last names. Samuel Beckett is the owner of the van. He was the boyfriend of Deborah Roberts. He claims that the van was at a mechanic’s shop at the time of Nadia Shahi’s a*******n”.

Deng stopped as Lisa walked into the room with bags of food, then turned back to Tank. “The half-owner of the mechanic shop is Shahab Farahani, who was Janelle Sommerville’s boyfriend”. Lisa handed out the breakfast before she sat down.

“I’m behind the eight ball”, Tank said. “You and Mary go and bring Beckett in for a chat”. He turned to look at Pete, “You and Marty get Farahani”. He got out one of his muffins and started eating, thinking if only Katie could see him now. “Take some backup with you”.

His phone rang, “Stay there until I take this, hello”. Tank stood listening to the caller, before saying, “Text me the address and get hold of Katie Phillips and Tom Williams and tell them to meet me there”. He looked at everybody, “There’s been another body found”, he said. “Lisa, you come with me. Pete, I want answers from those two men after you get them. Mary, as you’re going, get a hold of Louise, Ned and Owen and get them in here”. He waved Lisa to come as he walked past and left the room with a muffin in one hand whilst munching on the other. Lisa grabbed his coffee and ran after him.