Dangerous to Know: Natalie King, Forensic Psychiatrist by Anne Buist

Author:Anne Buist [Buist, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2016-03-28T13:00:00+00:00

35

It was the next weekend before Natalie was able to visit the Carson Gallery. If Frank knew she had met up with Mala he hadn’t mentioned it. But when he cancelled their usual meeting she wondered if it was pique.

She passed a parked silver Commodore that reminded her of the one that had harassed her. It was the middle of the day and not far from the police station but she felt uneasy anyway. Damian had left early, called back to Melbourne for his other case. He’d told her they had interviewed Eliza and found that she and Alison occasionally had coffee. The last phone call had been to say Alison was running late. Alison had visited her before meeting up with Frank, on the night she died.

‘She denied that Alison was anything more than tired and irritable and looking forward to having her baby.’ Apparently Eliza had also denied any problem with the Malosevics, although she considered Vesna an ‘uptight bitch’. Actually she thought the whole family had tickets on themselves, and she wasn’t alone there.

Damian added ‘How did you know she wouldn’t be a doctor?’ ‘Because,’ said Natalie, ‘he didn’t marry her.’

‘Lucky for her.’

The gallery was open and doing a modest trade from weekenders and occasional tourists. Like the pictures she had already seen, the art was vibrant and local, a mix of birds and other animals, as well as some beach scenes.

Eliza was a trim brunette in her early forties, hair long and fringed, in jeans and a T-shirt. She looked up when Natalie came in. Natalie debated how to approach her but to her surprise Eliza was the one to take the initiative.

‘You’re the shrink singer aren’t you? I’ve seen your band. You’re not bad.’

‘Thank you. But…the shrink bit wasn’t on the billboard last time I looked.’

Eliza’s features seemed too small under all the hair; her eyes fixed on Natalie in a way that made her squirm. ‘Small town,’ she finally said. Her eyes said she was lying, and more, that she knew Natalie would pick it and didn’t care. One love: Natalie’s serve.

‘Can you tell me anything about Frank?’

Eliza hadn’t expected that. It took her a moment to regroup. ‘Why should I?’

‘You were Alison’s friend, I’m guessing. Did Frank know?’

‘I haven’t had anything to do with the Malosevics—Alison aside—for years.’

‘So why was Alison the exception? Worried about her safety after what happened to Reeva?’

‘Why are you interested?’

Natalie hesitated. ‘I owe her.’

Eliza laughed. ‘Well there’s one for the books. Pity

Alison isn’t still alive to hear that.’

Natalie stood her ground under Eliza’s scrutiny. ‘Okay,’ the other woman said finally, standing up and going over to the door. The gallery had emptied of potential customers. She turned around the sign saying Back in five minutes and locked the door. ‘Let’s get a drink.’

Eliza led Natalie out the back into a bright kitchen cluttered with dirty dishes and knickknacks. It opened into an observatory where they took an open bottle of red wine. Sun filtered in through the glass ceiling, partly shaded by the huge tree.

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