CHAPTER ONE: BIRD OF PREY
Gary parked his bicycle on the bridge and threw stones into the still water below. It was getting hot and he hoped Michael would be along soon. They had talked about riding along the river track that skirted the mangroves passing an old fishing shack. Local gossip at school was that some cranky bloke lived there and yelled at anyone who ventured too close. Gary didn’t care. His dad yelled all the time at him. He was used to it.
Dust rose as another bike skidded to a halt next to him. The usual greetings were exchanged that young teenagers used and without discussing where to go they just did. The heat would be unpleasant for riding in a couple of hours and Gary wondered about a swim. Where the tidal river was blocked by some rocks, water flowed down from above and they had waded here before. They reached the old shack and kept going. No one challenged them as they rode past and soon they were in a leafy section of forest as the track meandered about. They stopped when a wallaby jumped out and just as quickly disappeared, then decided to go through a thicket onto the creek.
There was a small grassy area and two large lizards were feeding on something in the grass. They turned their heads when the bikes appeared then scurried off to ascend a tree. The boys headed for the water but Gary looked over at what the lizards had been eating and thought it was a large kangaroo.
“Look Michael. Some dead ‘roo over there.”
They took some steps towards it and then stopped. Kangaroos did not have arms and legs or wear clothes. For a few seconds they just stared then whilst Michael heaved his insides up, Gary used a word or two his mum would not approve of. Then they high tail edit out of there.
Peter Bradshaw followed the constable as they alighted fromthe4x4andwalked down to the creek. It was hot and he wished he was in his swimming pool. But he wasn’t and he would have to do some work instead. Three other police and a man in white overalls were already there. He put on some overshoes and gloves that were offered and sauntered towards the body he could see. It looked a mess. There was blood and strips of dried flesh every where. Obviously the local animals had been feeding.
“Hello Frederick,”
He said to the man in white overalls.
“Definitely dead?”
It could have been a statement but either way it was the same result. “Peter, your perception is amazing. Yes, he is dead. A day or so by the looks. Can’t find the cause by looking so it may be just natural causes but more should be revealed back at the mortuary.” Peter nodded and decided that to keep his lunch he should look around. There were no nice pieces of evidence apparent, even though the others had fossicked about and it would probably be some poor person who just came for a walk and had a heart attack or something. A question to no one in particular confirmed that there was no wallet and no car or house keys. This was unusual and it was looking suspiciously like robbery. The deceased was turned and slid into a bag before being lifted. Bradshaw looked at the ground and something caught his eye next to where the body lad lain. It wasn’t obvious at first but had be exposed by the boot of one of the constables as they lifted. He picked it up and would have chucked it away. Just a very small plastic ring that had split in two. There was a marking that looked like a star and the letters ‘AND’ but that was all. Whatever else there may have been to this was missing and although he looked about, nothing was recovered. He pocketed it and with the thumbs up sign, they departed after some tape was put around the site. Always are caution until they confirmed the cause of death. Peter Bradshaw hoped he would not have to come back. Holidays were due and he had booked a trip to the Sunshine Coast. Five glorious days just with sand and sun and cold beers and hopefully some nice female bodies to admire as he soaked it all up.
Back along the fire trail and almost unnoticeable for it was off in some bushes, he saw the back of a station wagon and he motioned the constable driving to pull up. Bradshaw walked to the vehicle and had a look. It was in tact and was locked. The others had followed him.
“Think it’s his?” The young officer had put his hands on the window to gaze in. The inspector groaned inwardly. “Hands constable,” came out rather loudly. The junior realised his transgression and jumped back. “Sorry sir.”
“Someone check the rego and lets just look about.” He thought it may not be related but then you never knew.
“Sir.” It was the clumsy constable, now with a gleam, probably hoping to redeem some credit points. “ Keys. On the ground behind the front wheel.”
This time he was definitely not touching them. They were bagged just as the radio gave them the registered owner’s details.
“Gerald Full bright. Local address.”
Peter made a note of it then asked for someone to wait by the car until he heard otherwise. If Gerald came to retrieve his vehicle, he couldn’t. Then they left. It was getting on but the inspector thought he could at least check out the local address. Fingerprints would be taken but it was only a slim chance they would be on file. He had sent a constable to check the old shack but it was empty and seemed disused.
The house was at the end of a quiet lane with lots of bushes and fifty metres or so past any other residence. He heard kids playing back there but nothing from this address.
He knocked twice then walked around the place. Windows locked and all serene. There was a big bird aviary at the rear but it was empty. Unlocked and no seed or water. Peter decided to try the kids up the road. He knocked on a door and a middle aged woman answered. “Yes?” Yelling from children echoed from the rear. He introduced himself and enquire bother neighbor.
“Mr. Full bright? Lives alone I think. Writes and likes birds. Trevor said he had a hawk once in the cage but now I don’t know. There’s a lady who comes every couple of days or whatever. Middle aged.”
“Friend? Relative?”
“Don’t know but she had a vacuum cleaner one day. Might be a cleaner."
She turned to the inside and yelled.
“Trevor.”
A ten year old appeared with mud on his face.
“Trevor, you saw that woman once who comes next door. Where was it?”
He looked at the stranger and then at his mum, then back to the inspector.
“In the library. Stacking books.”
Peter thanked them and left. The library was closed by now so he went back to the station and rang the council. Eventually he got the Librarian’s number and spoke to her at home. From this call he got the name of the assistant and decided to call around. There was a light on and he felt maybe something might get done tonight.
“Sit down inspector. Just home so you can have tea. Yes I clean for Gerald. Saw him four days back.”
She identified the car’s description but didn’t have a clue where he would be.
“Normally home each night but he did go to conferences. On birds.”
After a nice cup of black tea, he asked her if she minded going with him to the house for a quick look about, which she didn’t. She opened the front door and put on the light and he asked her to wait in the sitting room whilst he did a quick tour. There was no one and nothing unusual. He looked about his work desk and noted a brochure on a conference and a letter from some Ornithological Society. He took the details down.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, other than someone who should be home and wasn’t, he rang the station. They reminded him about the man stationed at the car. ‘Just wanting to get home’, he thought and then he thought about the mosquitoes that must be out there. Still they could work a bit longer. Here quested a full length photograph to be brought down to the house. Now he would have a cuppa whilst waiting.
Elsie, that was her name, recognized the clothes. She had picked them up often enough and washed them from time to time. The inspector carefully hid the mangled head when showing her. He offered a female constable to come over for a while but she said she could handle it. He doubted if any one could handle death easily. Now he had a name to his victim, which could be confirmed more easily. He also had to move a bit more expeditiously as it would be public knowledge as soon as Elsie had composed herself.
He told the constable to get back and organize a perimeter around the car and ask Division for a command vehicle and back up. At first light they would sweep in detail for clues and examine the car. He would go home and sleep however. The alarm was set for five AM.
Next morning he went straight to the car and started to potter about. They had just started and as yet found nothing. Birds were noisy and the day looked promising. Even a frantic wallaby dashed past as he turned off the main road. Aside trip back to the site where they found the body, yielded nothing more except animal and bird activity. Technically it was not yet foul play until he had a cause of death, but he knew. Felt it in his bones. It looked like the Sunshine Coast may be a little delayed. His mobile phone started annoying him with its ring but he had to answer it. You couldn’t work these days without it annoying you. It was the doctor down at the hospital.
“Think you should come over.”
“Right.”
That was all Peter said. All he needed to say. It was the sinking feeling in his stomach that told him this was not going to be a good day.
He hoped the body would be covered but it wasn’t. Not that he had a problem with deceased persons, just that it meant someone wouldn’t be home for dinner. Mangled bits didn’t help either.
“Well Frederick, tell me it was a heart attack or snake bite.”
“Wish I could, but not this time. Trauma was severe. His head and upper parts were literally ripped to pieces and one eye has disappeared, the other I found in his shirt. Not an animal or goanna to my knowledge. I am still not sure but whatever it was, knew it’s job. Shock and loss of blood killed him within minutes I would say.” Peter winced and thought about it.
“Guess?”
“I’d put my money on ripping talons. A bird of prey, eagle maybe.”
“One with a dislike for humans obviously.”
The doctor covered the form that was Trevor Fullbright.
“Want me to get someone from the zoo or museum down?”
“Probably need to. The coroner usually likes to know cause of death. Misadventure. Could still be a one off attack by some big bird. Protecting its babies.”
But he knew it wouldn’t be that cut and dried. An inner sense told him man had a hand in this. Time would reveal all. If there was time allowed. Nothing came with the new search of the crime scene or Full bright’s house but as the media was getting on the band wagon, he remembered a brochure on the victim’s desk. It was a printed programmer for a conference last week on birds or some related topic. A trip back to the house and he found the item still untouched. On the surface not a clue, but he felt it could be a start. The organizer was some north Queensland ornithological society and it was three days at Port Douglas. Visions of sun and sand came floating back to Peter and he thought about the holiday he had promised himself. Back at the station, he did some searching and found a telephone number for the society. He rang it and was told the president and secretary were in America for a symposium on endangered petrels. Then they were going to Norway for another one. He thought only birds were migratory, but it seemed the devotees were also. However the coordinator was still in Australia. When he was told that she was holidaying after the conference at the same hotel, he felt the sand and surf could wait no longer.