To the Sea Read online

  Jack continued, ‘The text message was sent to an “Arnie” at 3.47 pm about coming down Friday. Arnie replied at 3.51 that her parents will bring her Friday afternoon. Zoe didn’t respond. Arnie’s a friend from school. A girls school. Doesn’t appear to be a boyfriend on the scene.’ Jack paused, looked at his feet briefly and went on, ‘It’s a surprise there’s no boyfriend.’

  ‘And why’s that?’ asked Tony, already knowing the answer.

  ‘She’s gorgeous, sir.’ Jack looked out to sea to avoid Tony’s gaze.

  ‘Gorgeous?’

  ‘Very, very hot, sir. In my professional assessment.’

  ‘I can confirm that, sir,’ said Paul evenly while elbowing Jack and tipping him off balance on the soft sand of the dune. ‘There are some photos of Zoe in the house and she’s a very beautiful girl. Blonde, athletic, looks like a goddess.’

  ‘Some girls get it all, don’t they?’ Narelle said. ‘Money, looks, the lot.’

  ‘OK, so we’re looking for a rich, gorgeous, athletic goddess,’ said Tony. ‘She shouldn’t be hard to spot around here.’

  Jack continued with his report, ‘I also did a search of the boatsheds and the beach and its surrounds, but nothing. Zoe went swimming in the bay yesterday afternoon with some of her cousins, or nieces and nephews, whatever they are, and then she had dinner with the family. After that, everyone says she went snorkelling but I didn’t speak to anyone who could confirm that they had actually seen her in the water. I also sent the ambo back, sir. They were needed at a house fire in town and I figured we could spare them.’

  Tony nodded his approval. All in all, they’d done a pretty thorough first sweep.

  ‘Good job. I want to speak to the family and get a photo for official use and then I think we can be off. Boys, I want you back here tomorrow at 7.30 am.’

  ‘Sir,’ said Eric meekly. ‘I’m not sure our sergeant will approve it. Tomorrow’s the first day of Falls and we’re all rostered on double shifts for highway patrol and crowd control. Saturday and Sunday too.’

  The Falls Festival. Tony had forgotten all about it; proof he was getting old. Falls was an annual three-day music festival down at Marion Bay that attracted fifteen to twenty thousand young fans every year and there was only one road in and out. The traffic was legendary. The Sorell boys would be needed there but he needed them too. He had no doubt where they’d prefer to be but they didn’t get to choose and neither did the sergeant at Sorell. Tony would talk to uniforms. They would have to plug the gap.

  ‘I’ll clear it with your sergeant. Be here at 7.30 tomorrow. You two can go now. Narelle, can you come with me to meet with the family?’

  The Sorell boys waved their goodbyes and headed back across the lawn. Twilight was deepening now, leaving only the lazy glow of the day striped across the darkening water. Red and orange clouds hung motionless in the deep indigo sky. The white flash of the lighthouse on Slopen Island began its night’s work in concert with its red partner on the small channel island. Tony looked out at the expanse of the now almost black ocean fading into darkness and hoped that the beautiful Zoe was safe and just biding her time until she returned to her strange family and this magnificent place.

  ‘Paul, can you let the marines know they can finish up, and ask them to recommence at first light tomorrow. I can’t see the need for a night dive but their call. They can come back with us if they need a lift. Ask Bill to email me through his report tonight and some chart predictions of where a body might have drifted to, along with any other info I need to see from today’s dives. Then come on up to the house,’ said Tony.

  He walked up to the house with Narelle. The lights were on in the downstairs lounge rooms and one of the upstairs bedrooms. There were a few people out on the verandah and Tony thought he could see a shadow under the black pine tree on the eastern side but most of the family were sitting in the large lounge room. They didn’t appear to be talking or doing anything. It was silent. They were waiting.

  The lounge room where the family had gathered was enormous, and even with so many people in it, it remained comfortably spacious. Some of the younger kids were in the adjoining room and it sounded like they were playing a video game. Tony could hear the odd groan and explosion followed by cheers and the self-congratulatory banter of cocky kids. There was a large Christmas tree in the near corner. It was one of the young pine trees from the land around Rosetta and the room smelled salty and Christmassy. Even without its lights on, the decorated tree glittered in the subdued lamplight. There were still some Christmas decorations hanging in the room, and on the mantelpiece above the fireplace was a very old, intricately carved nativity scene. What colours it may have once had were faded almost away.

  Tony looked around at the people in the room. Those he hadn’t met, he knew by sight or from the descriptions his people had given him. The Kennetts were easy to spot. They had a distinctive sameness with their shades of blonde hair, deep blue wide-set eyes and a beauty that looked vaguely European, although not the parts of Europe Tony was familiar with.

  Carl was sitting in the centre of the room next to a teenage girl who Tony knew to be his daughter. Cecile, a doctor from Sydney, was on an old faded couch next to her husband, a specialist from Sydney. Edie, the plainest-looking person in this attractive family, was sitting on the arm of a large armchair. Her husband Con, who Tony thought was probably Greek or maybe Lebanese, was sitting in the armchair nursing a glass of red wine. There was another dark-haired man sitting in the far corner and a few teenagers were sitting on the floor and on ottomans around the room.

  The old red setter he had seen down on the jetty earlier was lying on a rug in front of the spectacular stone fireplace with his head between his paws. He slapped his tail on the rug a few times when Tony came in but that was all he could muster. Tony couldn’t see Sadie.

  An old man stood up and walked across an ornate green rug towards Tony. He had a full head of wavy, almost white hair, but he stooped a little as he walked and his pleasant open face was heavily lined. His pale hazel eyes were rimmed with red and they looked wet and rheumy. This grief-filled face was familiar to Tony. He hated breaking the news of a dead child to parents but this time he wasn’t sure what news exactly he was going to break. This father had already told himself the worst.

  ‘I’m Zoe’s father, John Kennett.’ The man had that unique 1950s accent Tony recognised from old documentaries. John shook Tony’s hand and tried to smile. His lips moved but the effort was wasted. Tony noticed the man’s handshake was trembling slightly and his skin felt thin and papery. John Kennett looked across at Narelle, who was standing just inside the doorway, and nodded his head briefly. ‘Have you any news for us, Detectives?’

  ‘I’m afraid not, Mr Kennett,’ said Tony looking him in the eye. ‘I’ve sent the divers home for tonight but we’ve found no trace of your daughter.’

  The old man was calmly accepting of the news.

  ‘We are all here to be of any assistance we can. All except my wife, Zoe’s mother. She is not well enough to talk to you this evening. For all that, she knows no more than the rest of us and I would appreciate you letting her rest, Detective.’ His voice was gentle and tired.

  ‘That’s fine, Mr Kennett. We will need to talk to Mrs Kennett at some point but there’s no need for that to be tonight.’

  The old man lightly grasped Tony’s arm and led him over to the open verandah doors.‘There’s something I must ask you, Detective,’ he said quietly. ‘This is a private family matter and I wish it to remain so. I do not want the press involved. Are you able to manage that?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid I’m not. A drowned girl will soon become news.’

  ‘How will it become news if you don’t tell the press?’

  ‘I can’t keep this a secret, Mr Kennett.’

  ‘I’m sure the police keep many secrets, Detective. I’m asking you to please do all you can to keep this one.’

  He turned away before Tony could respond.

&nb
sp; ‘Please sit down, Detective.’ This was Sadie. She had walked in from the dining room which was up a few stairs from the lounge room. She had a large coffee pot in her hands and she headed towards a low table where there were cups and a jug of milk. ‘Coffee?’ She looked at Tony.

  ‘No thank you, Sadie.’ He smiled at her and noticed the paleness of her face and the tension in her body. John Kennett may be the head of this house but Sadie bore its weight and made it work, he thought. Sadie pointed Tony towards an armchair.

  ‘Let him stand, Sadie,’ drawled the dark-haired man from the corner. His emphasis on Sadie’s name was unpleasant. ‘The detective has to be standing as he meets with the family of the victim in the drawing room to reveal who did the deed. Perhaps you could lean against the mantelpiece for added effect, Detective. Pity you don’t have a butler, John.’

  The man was lounging back in studied relaxation with his arms behind his head but his eyes were darting from Tony towards Sadie. He was trying hard to look relaxed and confident but his pose was tense and he clearly didn’t like Tony’s first name intimacy with Sadie. From Narelle’s description, Tony knew this was Roger Armitage. Tony was glad he had pissed him off so quickly but he felt sorry for Sadie. So many marriages were so inexplicable.

  There was silence and Tony was just about to step into the breach when John Kennett did it for him.

  ‘I thought you were going back to town, Roger,’ he said firmly.

  ‘Oh come on, John. I’m just trying to bring some levity to the proceedings.’

  ‘This is hardly a time for levity,’ said John.

  ‘I just have a few questions,’ interrupted Tony. ‘I won’t keep you long.’

  Sadie looked at him gratefully and ushered him to a big green armchair near her father. They were all looking at Tony now.

  ‘We’re treating this as a missing presumed drowned case and the more we know and the sooner we know it, the greater the chance of us finding Zoe. OK?’

  Mostly they nodded and a few of them seemed to perk up. Tony was encouraged.

  ‘First, I need to get some things clarified,’ he said. ‘Are there any weapons in this house? Guns?’

  ‘No, Detective,’ answered John. ‘I think I speak for everyone when I say that no one in this family owns a gun?’

  He looked around at his children and grandchildren. Everyone was shaking their heads.

  ‘There are six spear guns in the red boatshed but they’re in a locked cupboard. I have the only keys and they’ve not been used since Christmas Eve,’ said John.

  ‘Thank you,’ Tony said. ‘Now, who saw Zoe go into the water after dinner last night?’

  There was silence again as they looked at each other. There were a few murmurings but no one spoke up.

  ‘If Zoe was snorkelling in the bay and around the rocks as you have told us she was, some of you must have seen her. It would be impossible not to.’

  One of the young girls spoke up. ‘I didn’t see her go in but Matt said she was going snorkelling.’

  ‘Yes, Matt, it was you who told me,’ said Sadie, looking at her son who was now sitting on the arm of her chair.

  ‘Yeah, but I told you that because I’d heard it from Josh,’ said Matt, looking at a younger boy sitting near the dog in front of the fireplace.

  ‘But Zoe didn’t tell me. I heard Max and Aunty Edie talking about it when we were looking for Zoe,’ said Josh, looking uncomfortable with all eyes on him.

  ‘She didn’t say anything to me about snorkelling,’ said Max, the Sydney specialist. ‘I don’t think I spoke to Zoe since I helped her get her boat out of the shed earlier in the morning. She didn’t mention snorkelling to me.’

  Tony was starting to doubt the wisdom of talking to the whole family together.

  ‘I don’t want my children saying anything further,’ said Roger Armitage, standing up and walking to the middle of the room. ‘We should all have a lawyer.’

  ‘Oh for God’s sake, Roger,’ said Carl. ‘What the hell do we need a lawyer for?’

  ‘You do what you want, Carl,’ said Roger. ‘Come on Jess, Matt. Your mother can do what she likes but I’m going to protect you. This detective thinks one of us has harmed Zoe and you’re all sitting here like idiots letting him ask the most incriminating questions. I will not participate in this.’

  Matt put his arm around his mother’s shoulder and looked directly at his father. Tony admired him. He doubted he could look at his own father in such a way. But then, he would never have to.

  ‘I’m staying here to help in any way I can and I don’t need a lawyer. None of us needs a lawyer,’ Matt said, still looking at his father.

  ‘Matt, I know a thing or two about how the police work and you could find yourself saying things you don’t understand which could come back to hurt you.’

  ‘You go if you want but I’m staying,’ said Matt.

  ‘I’m staying too,’ said Jess. ‘I want to help find Zoe.’ She looked up at her mother. ‘We can’t leave Grandpa and Grandma now.’ Tony thought Sadie was going to cry again.

  ‘You, Jess, will do as I say. Matt can make his own mistakes and clean up his own mess,’ Roger’s voice was raised as he walked towards Jess who was sitting on a low ottoman near the coffee table.

  ‘Roger, calm down. And keep your voice down. Mum is sleeping.’ This was Edie.

  ‘I am calm. But we have rights, you know, and I’m not giving those rights up just to keep the peace,’ Roger’s voice was getting louder.

  ‘Roger, please. Out of respect for this family, especially for your wife and children, just let the police get on with their job,’ said Con. ‘Questions have to be asked so they can find Zoe.’

  Con stood up and put his hand gently but firmly on Armitage’s arm. A peacemaker. The gesture was wasted on Armitage. He pushed Con’s arm aside and then shoved him hard in the chest. Someone in the room gasped. Tony suspected this little show of strength was for his benefit.

  A smaller man would have stumbled from Armitage’s shove but Con was a thick-chested guy who looked like he could handle himself in any sort of fight.

  ‘You’re a disgrace,’ said Con in a low voice filled with contempt. Definitely Greek, Tony decided.

  ‘Roger, stop it please.’ It was Sadie’s desperate, quiet voice. ‘Please.’

  The room filled with anxious silence. Even the video game next door had stopped. Sadie was the first to fill the void.

  ‘Go if you want but Jess can stay with me.’

  Con was still standing next to Armitage. Armitage saw the intended threat and he was at least smart enough to know it was real. Even Tony could feel it and he’d just met these people. Armitage stepped away and back against the wall. Con now walked back to his chair where Edie smiled at him and placed her hand on his thick brown arm. Max gave Con a quick look of approval. No one was with Armitage in this family. Not even Sadie, Tony guessed.

  ‘She will not,’ said Roger loudly from the corner. He was braver there. ‘Jess will come with me. I will do the right thing by my children even if the rest of you won’t.’

  Tony had had enough.

  ‘Mr Armitage,’ he said firmly. ‘How old is your daughter?’

  ‘Sixteen, and that’s a minor in this state,’ drawled Roger.

  ‘Sadie, do you give permission for your daughter to answer our questions in your presence as part of this investigation?’ Tony asked.

  ‘I do,’ said Sadie quietly, not looking at her husband.

  ‘Mr Armitage, you may leave. Tasmania Police only require the permission of one parent.’

  Tony turned away from Armitage and faced some of the others.

  ‘So, did Zoe tell anyone in this room that she was going snorkelling?’

  Heads were shaking and mumbles of ‘no’ travelled around the room and out the open doors.

  ‘I’m leaving.’ Armitage walked out of the lounge room and up the stairs into darkness.

  ‘And yet you are all certain she went snorkelling,’ sai
d Tony, refusing to be interrupted by Armitage any further, ‘and that she has almost certainly drowned.’

  Everyone was looking uncertain.

  ‘Does anyone think Zoe returned from snorkelling and is missing?’

  No one answered.

  ‘I am trying to determine if Zoe drowned last night or if she is a missing person. Did anyone see Zoe after she went snorkelling last night at 7 or 8 pm?’

  Murmers of no moved around the room.

  ‘Is there any evidence Zoe was here last night? Was her bed slept in?’

  ‘We’re not sure,’ said Carl. ‘When we checked her room, her bed was made but our mother says Zoe makes her bed when she gets up.’

  ‘OK. Let’s go backwards.’ Tony stood up and moved over to the open doors. Paul was standing on top of the dunes. The moon was shining silver on the black water silhouetting him. It was still indigo dark outside. Night dark was still an hour away. Paul waved to Tony and he could see the red glow of a cigarette in Paul’s hand. He’d be in soon.

  ‘When did you first notice Zoe was not here?’ Tony asked, his back to the room.

  ‘About ten o’clock this morning.’ This was John Kennett. ‘I wanted Zoe to put her boat back in the shed if she wasn’t going sailing as there are southerlies forecast for late tonight and the boat shouldn’t be left out. I looked around for her and couldn’t find her. I asked the others and no one had seen her since dinner when she’d said she was going for a late snorkel.’ He paused. ‘That’s when I became concerned.’

  ‘Is it normal for Zoe to go snorkelling alone?’

  ‘Alone yes, but not without telling us where she was going and for how long,’ said John. ‘She knows not to go out on the water without letting us know. It’s the habit of a lifetime.’ He ran his hands through his hair. He was ageing by the minute. ‘If Zoe didn’t actually tell anyone she was going snorkelling, I have to say that I’m completely lost.’

  ‘And at night?’

  ‘It was a full moon last night and anyway, it’s still daylight at eight,’ said Carl. ‘I wasn’t concerned when I heard she’d gone snorkelling.’

  Paul walked in and Cecile offered him coffee and a chair. Just as he was settling, they heard a car peel away from the house at high speed.