The Whispering by Veronica Lando

Author:Veronica Lando
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

‘So, Brett was in your room yesterday?’ Eddy sat at his desk, hands interlaced behind his head. ‘It’s hardly suspicious if he’s the motel’s maintenance guy.’

Callum raised an eyebrow. ‘Not suspicious? Come on, it’s Brett. Besides, what the hell’s he doing working two days after his son’s been found dead?’ The words soured in his mouth.

Eddy shrugged. ‘Paying his mortgage? Keeping his mind off it?’

Callum rolled his eyes.

‘Tell me more of this Mike business.’

‘It’s what I’ve already told you. He just seems . . . fishy.’

‘I need something a little stronger than fishy to go off.’

‘You know what I mean. The stuff about not knowing Lachie. Now this stuff about the CCTV not working. And him in my room, in the dark, window broken. You know.’ He waggled his eyebrows. ‘Fishy.’

‘Well, we’ll start with the CCTV stuff first. If it is working, it’s probably not monitored by a security company. There’s not too many services out this far north and they can be pretty pricey anyway. By the looks of the motel, I’d be surprised if that was in their budget.’

Callum snorted. ‘I don’t think new sheets are in their budget.’

‘So, if that’s the case, the footage might be recorded and kept at the motel. The more modern cameras send their videos straight up to the cloud.’

‘It looked pretty archaic to me.’

Eddy nodded. ‘So, we have to rely on Mike giving it up then.’

‘He’s not likely to do that, especially if it’s going to show him breaking into my room.’ Callum paused. He knew the answer to his next question before he even asked it. ‘Could you get a warrant?’

‘Probably not. With nothing taken and no damage, aside from the window, there’s no grounds for it. The only person technically affected was Mike, and if he’s not wanting to chase it up, there’s not much that can be done.’

‘What about my emotional trauma?’

‘Sorry, mate. Not enough.’

Callum drummed his fingers on the desk.

‘You can’t decide if it was Brett or Mike, can you? Or maybe they’re in cahoots with each other?’ A small smile played across Eddy’s lips. It vanished as soon as it came. ‘I still can’t believe you didn’t phone me last night. What were you thinking?’

‘It was nothing.’

‘Your room was ransacked.’

‘They didn’t take anything.’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Eddy’s features were firm. ‘You slept all night with a broken window. They could’ve come back. After your tyres and with the threats that have been coming through here. Most of them include you, you know?’ He sighed. ‘You should’ve called me, that’s all I’m saying. You could’ve spent the night at my place.’

The vertical line that ran between Eddy’s eyebrows stood out, a dark crevice carving its way through his forehead. Had it actually become deeper these last three days?

Things couldn’t have been easy for him this last week. New job. Dead body. Hostile town. Callum thought of Bill and the paramedic being called out to the Quade house; he added ageing father to the list. The last thing Eddy needed was a sleepless night investigating a break-in and a limping house guest on his couch.

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