Dark Rooms

Chapter Twenty

Jane had been able to have a shower in the rather grotty communal bathroom. Her towel was almost threadbare, but she had at least been able to cool down. She changed into a clean T-shirt and put on her cotton trousers and sandals. She had already checked whether Tim was back, but he was not in his room and no message had been left for her at the so-called reception desk.

It was almost seven and there were a few customers at the bar. The streets outside were starting to fill up, with the neon signs flashing and loud music drifting through the open door. The same barman was on duty, and Jane ordered a lager and lime, picking up a sticky food menu.

Jane was eager to get some sleep and was not very hungry. Her ice-cold lager had no lime, but she picked up a bowl of peanuts from the bar and took them with her drink over to a small table by an air-conditioning unit. She had almost finished her drink when Tim walked in, wearing a worn-looking baseball cap and a pair of cheap sunglasses. His shirt was sweat-soaked, and his arms and neck were sunburned. He was carrying a dirty plastic carrier bag with his jacket sticking out and was about to walk straight past Jane when she called his name.

‘I was starting to get worried, Tim. You look terrible.’

‘I feel it. My God, have I been on a trip and a half. You wouldn’t believe it. And in case you don’t know, we’re right in the middle of the red-light district here... I’ve been propositioned three times.’

‘I’m surprised, looking the way you do.’

‘And not a copper in sight,’ Tim said, shaking his head.

‘You look as if you could do with a drink,’ Jane told him.

‘Do you mind if I go and have a shower and change my shirt first? I’m drenched.’

‘I hope it was all in a good cause and you did better than I did with Beatrice. Meet me in my room as soon as you’ve changed.’

Jane drained her glass and went back to the bar. It was filling up with unsavoury types, both male and female, and the music had been turned up. She was really going to have a row with Carter when she returned to London. She bought a packet of cigarettes and asked for two cans of lager to take up to her room.

Tim knocked on her door fifteen minutes later. His hair was still wet, and his nose looked as if it was going to peel badly, but he was wearing a fresh shirt. Jane held up the two cans of lager and smiled, gesturing for him to join her on the edge of the bed.

‘I think rather than rinsing out the tooth mugs, it’d be better to drink from the can.’

His can opened with a frothy hiss and he gulped down a few mouthfuls before slumping down on her bed.

‘So, what have you got for me?’ Jane asked.

Tim sat up and opened his notebook. He told her that after going to Jason Thorpe’s office and finding it shut, and then over to the docks, searching high and low for the warehouse, he had some good fortune when he stopped to have something to eat and drink at a food stand.

Jane turned to look at him. ‘Tim, can you get to the point? Are you saying his office and warehouse were closed?’

‘Yes, but I got lucky, because I met one of the drivers — name was Barry Donald — and he told me I should talk to his brother-in-law Mitch about Jason Thorpe’s export company.’

He licked a finger to turn a page in his notebook.

‘That was the good news... the bad news was the bloke I needed to talk to lives in Yennora, in the suburbs. He’s worked for Jason Thorpe for the past three years but has left under a bit of a cloud. I asked if I could just call him, but Barry said he didn’t have a phone.’

Jane sighed, closing her eyes as he flicked over another page of his notebook.

‘I had to get a train there and my new friend Barry drove me to the station, then it took me forty-five minutes on the train... I was sweating like a stuffed pig by the time I got there. This was around half past one.’

‘Yes, Tim, go on,’ Jane said, trying to be patient.

He turned another page. ‘I got a taxi to Mitch’s trailer... his wife was a really sweet Asian girl and gave me some chilled lemon juice while I waited for Mitch to get back.’

‘Tim, can you get to the point? What did this Mitch have to tell you?’

‘Well, first, you need to understand how the export companies work. Jason Thorpe has an office in Adelaide, so he can ship from there... but it’s just a small place, with one worker checking through the orders. He has a small office here in the city and he leases space at the docks to offload the crates, which are then shipped to wherever he has sold to.’

Jane sighed. ‘That’s all very interesting, Tim, but did you find out the reason why he parted company with Jason?’

Tim nodded. ‘Yes, I did. But he was just part of the chain that had been delivering for Thorpe. He said that he had four big, covered trucks. So, he also had to organise the other drivers. He was a really nice, genuine man... much older than his wife, but I would say he was an honest bloke.’

Jane closed her eyes. She could feel the exhaustion flooding through her.

‘Tim...’

‘Sorry.’ Tim turned a number of pages in his book. ‘OK, it goes back to last year, when Thorpe ordered a large shipment of red wine from one of the major vineyards. There was a real problem for the wine exporters due to a terrible season in the vineyards. The South Australian regions, just north of Adelaide, experienced a hot and dry summer, then they had had a wet March, which apparently put the kibosh on any real chances of producing quality reds.’

Tim studied his notes.

‘This is where it gets interesting, because one of the biggest export markets is China. Jason was trying to crack the Chinese market and over-ordered a substantial amount of red. He was basically left with it in his warehouse as it was almost undrinkable. He then made another disastrous purchase of rosé from a vineyard in Victoria. Mitch said the rosé was not really tried or tested, but Jason was convinced it could be really big.’

Jane felt like pulling out her hair. ‘You still haven’t told me why this guy Mitch left Jason’s employment.’

She had to wait yet again as Tim thumbed through his notebook.

‘Well, according to Mitch, nine months ago Jason’s business was going belly up. He was also getting a bad reputation with the owners of the vineyards for not paying for his goods... and he wasn’t paying his drivers either. Mitch said Jason was a loudmouthed snob who spent more time mixing with high society than he did trying to salvage his company.’ Tim smiled. ‘Apparently, our Jason is getting his leg over with one of the richest heiresses in Melbourne. Mitch said that sooner or later her father would find out that his daughter’s “suitor” was a lying, two-faced git who left decent men in the lurch, knowing they had families and mortgages to pay, and he would put a stop to the wedding.’

Tim turned yet another page. ‘This is interesting...’

‘Really?’ Jane said through gritted teeth.

‘Yeah... I did a few sums and Mitch told me that Jason had managed to get his hands on a large sum of money which is keeping him afloat. I reckon that money came from the sale of the Stockwell property.’

Jane passed Tim her untouched can of lager. ‘Good work, Tim. Very interesting. I would say, with Helena’s death the inheritance could save his skin, as Hadley hasn’t mentioned any other beneficiaries.’

Tim took a swig of his lager then let out a burp. ‘Excuse me, ma’am. I think you’re right. I also think, and this is from what Mitch told me, Jason has a very nasty side... it even brought them to fisticuffs once.’

‘Did this Mitch mention Beatrice?’

‘Not really... though he would sometimes see her in Jason’s Sydney office manning the phone. Jason appeared to go through secretaries like water. He paid them a pittance and treated them badly. According to Mitch, he “fucked them then kicked them out”.’

‘On that note, Tim, I’m going to have to kick you out because if I don’t go to sleep, I’ll pass out.’

Tim sprang up and picked up the empty cans. ‘I’ll just take these back to the bar, then.’

‘Thank you. Can you be ready by eight tomorrow? We’ll settle the hotel bill and go back to Mosman on the ferry. I want to be there bright and early.’

Tim hovered by the door. ‘So, you didn’t get much from Beatrice today?’

‘No, I didn’t. She has an amazing ability to deflect direct questions, but she can talk the hind leg off a donkey. Every time I tried to get her to talk about something important, I failed. I think I made the mistake of being too polite and, in a way, too careful. Tomorrow, I’m going for the jugular.’

‘Goodnight, then,’ Tim said.

He had barely shut the door behind him before Jane flopped back on the bed and was instantly asleep.