The Long Game by Simon Rowell

Author:Simon Rowell [Rowell, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2021-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Around eleven, her Ford Escape rolled into Rye. The weather was milder and more people were out, sitting outside cafes or walking their dogs. Zoe pulled up outside Greg Enders’ house, leaving all the windows down. ‘Wait here a second,’ she said over her shoulder to Harry, who was ready to jump out.

Zoe felt different from the last time that she and Charlie were here. Lighter, freer. T-shirt and jeans suited her just fine. Maybe, she thought, working the Drug Squad or Organised Crime would be okay if she could dress this way every day. Zoe had her Victoria Police lanyard around her neck, so the locals wouldn’t baulk at her Smith & Wesson M&P holstered in full view on her hip.

There was no car in the driveway. Zoe knocked on the door, tilting her head to listen for movement inside. She heard nothing. The curtains were slightly open, and she peered inside. The room was bare. She jogged to the window on the other side of the house and peeked in. Also empty. Zoe’s gut tightened.

She looked behind her at her car. Harry was happily watching through the open window. Walking around to the side of the house, she called out, ‘Police. Anyone home?’

There was no response. She went around to the back of the house. The room where she and Charlie had sat on Tuesday was empty. Shit.

Zoe retraced her steps. A woman, perhaps around seventy and wearing a flowery sun dress, was standing on the footpath and squinting down the driveway.

‘Everything all right?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ said Zoe. ‘Do you know the resident of this house?’

‘I do, it’s Greg something…Let me think, he did tell me…’

‘Have you seen him recently?’

‘He moved out yesterday. There was a white van here in the morning and he was loading stuff into it. When I stopped by around lunchtime, he was gone. He seemed like a nice man…Is something wrong?’

‘No. I just needed to clear things up with him. Do you have any idea where he’s moved to?’

‘Not a clue, sorry.’

‘You don’t happen to know which real estate agent was renting the house out, do you?’

‘Yes, it’s Reagan Real Estate, up on the main road. They had their sign out before Greg moved in.’

‘Thanks, that’s very helpful.’

Zoe walked across the yard and tried the other neighbour, who didn’t know Greg and hadn’t realised that he had moved out.

Zoe got back in the car, and called the mobile number she had for Greg. A message told her that the number was disconnected. She drove into the main street of Rye, where she found the Reagan office. It was located in a shopping strip, between a pharmacy and a fish and chip shop. The smell of fried food was heavy in the air. Zoe and Harry walked into the office. It was a large open space, with three offices along the back wall. A young woman stood behind the counter, leaning over a computer, engrossed. She was about twenty, with long blonde hair that fell over the back of a blazer that was a size too big for her.

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