‘Judith? Good to meet you finally. Close the door, would you?’
They stood in an awkward circle of three; Rocky’s small office had them almost on top of each other. Judith would have backed up if she could. There was nowhere she could go. Rocky had given her one meaningful look as she’d entered the room and was now avoiding eye contact.
‘The Alexis Turner case seems to be generating considerable attention,’ Sawhill said. ‘I’m told there’s a lot of online chatter. There was an article inThe Australianthis morning, speculating that Robert Walker might be the target of an investigation.’ Her tone was mild and unthreatening. If Rocky’s unspoken warning hadn’t put Judith on alert, Sawhill’swe’re all mates togethervibe certainly did.
Judith raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh? I haven’t seen it. Walker’s mentioned by name?’
‘With a lot of caveats and references to unproven rumours, yes.’ Sawhill’s body language was casual but her eyes were sharp and watchful.
‘Interesting,’ Judith said.
‘You didn’t have anything to do with that?’
‘With what?’
‘The story.’
Someone had to have tipped Sawhill off about theAustralianpiece. The story wasn’t that big yet, Russo’s second article had been buried deep, nowhere near the front page.
‘No,’ Judith said. ‘Of course not.’ She managed to sound a little offended.
‘Okay. That’s fine.’
‘I can’t say I’m sorry it’s happened. The online chatter is drawing other women out,’ Judith said. She glanced at Rocky, trying again to read him, unsure how much she should say. ‘I reached out to two women who’d posted on social media about having encounters with Walker. One of them called me yesterday evening. I’ve set up a meeting with her for next week.’ The first message had come in the form of a DM over social media. It had taken half an hour of messaging back and forth to persuade the woman—Hilary—to speak over the phone.
‘She’ll give evidence?’
‘I didn’t push her on that yet, but from what she describes, Walker uses the same MO every time. Tells them they need to relax, massages the shoulders, then moves on from there.’
Sawhill nodded. ‘The more complainants you can gather, the better. With men like this, there’s always more than one.’
Judith thought about telling Sawhill that Alexis Turner had disappeared, and decided against it. She was still hopeful that she could track the young woman down.
‘I want to be kept in the loop on this case, Detective,’ Sawhill said. Her eyes were hard. ‘We’ve already had a formal complaint from Walker’s lawyer. To the effect that you have been too zealous with this investigation. That your approach borders on harassment. Rocky assures me that’s not the case.’
‘Absolutely not the case, Ma’am.’
Sawhill gave her a measuring look. ‘I haven’t seen any evidence of it myself. And I’ll back you up, Judith, as long as I am absolutely confident that you are playing the game inside the lines. But this is going to be a high-profile case. Everything you do will be subject to scrutiny. You need to take care. Do you understand me?’
Judith glanced at Rocky. ‘I do.’
Sawhill gave a tight nod. ‘That’s your first and only warning.’ She left the room. Rocky closed the door behind her.
‘Jesus,’ Judith said. ‘What was that about?’
Rocky gave her a long look. ‘What do you think it’s about? You think Deborah Sawhill decided that what she really needed to work on, first thing on a Friday morning, was a sexual assault case? You think she typically shows up at my door and pulls in one of my detectives with no explanation? Come on, Judith. That had Eddie Fraser’s fingerprints all over it. He knows you’re buddy-buddy with that journo atThe Australian. He tipped Sawhill off. He’s screwing with you.’
‘You’re paranoid.’ Judith said almost automatically, to buy herself time to think. ‘Maybe it’s just what she said it is. Vanessa Walker has a profile. People will be talking about this.’ Any number of people could have mentioned the article to Sawhill, and even if Rocky was right, if Eddie Fraser had leaned on Sawhill to put pressure on Judith, what did it matter? It was just more of the same game. A little reminder to her that he was there. But she was smarter than the Eddie Frasers of the world. He was a dinosaur, long past his prime. He couldn’t touch her. Couldn’t fire her. Couldn’t discipline her. Not if she was careful.
‘This is not about Vanessa Walker!’ Rocky said, raising his voice. With an obvious effort, he lowered it again. ‘I told you. He’ll take your career if he can. Listen to me. Sawhill just asked me about Gerry. She asked about your stepfather.’
Judith froze. The name was an ice cube run between her shoulder blades.
‘What did she say?’
‘She wanted to know what happened. All the little details. How sure I was that you acted in self-defence.’
‘It’s ancient history,’ Judith said. And she’d been a teenager. A juvenile. Her file was sealed. Not that that mattered when you were police. There was always a way.
