On Cringila Hill by Noel Beddoe Page B

smiles. ‘Got anything for us?’
    â€˜Oh. Maybe a little. Maybe a few things. How are we doing?’
    Peter wrinkles his brow.
    â€˜Not too sure. There’s this task group O’Shea has put together, mainly folk from Sydney. I haven’t spoken to him for a while. Do you think you got anything to add?’
    â€˜A few things maybe they haven’t come across.’
    Peter nods, drags his notebook across the desktop, flips it open to a new page, uncaps his pen.
    â€˜Fire away.’
    â€˜One. Luz Solomona’s brothers found Abdul Hijazi in Sydney where he was supposed to be hiding.’
    Peter raises his eyebrows, says, ‘Shit!’ He writes some notes. ‘Who told you this?’
    â€˜Luz did.’
    â€˜Amazed it didn’t come out before.’
    â€˜It’s why he came back, she thinks. He decided there was no safety anywhere so he might as well be back on familiar ground.’
    â€˜Yeah, I can see that logic.’
    â€˜Abdul’s brother thinks Abdul was resigned, you know, that something bad was going to happen. He thinks that the boys who were with Abdul when that thing happened to the Solomona girl were probably concerned Abdul would eventually identify them if the case went to retrial. His theory is that those boys arranged for something bad to happen to Abdul in jail, to intimidate him and make sure he keep his mouth closed. But then the lawyers got the first trial overturned and Abdul was let out, which no one had foreseen. Upset a lot of apple carts. So Abdul thought, “They’re going to catch up with me. ” ’
    â€˜Those boys got something bad done?’
    â€˜Them or someone close to them.’
    Peter Grace raises his eyebrows.
    â€˜Sounds very likely to me. The bit of work I’ve done on it, for O’Shea and before, it didn’t strike anyone as the sort of thing you’d get down here. It didn’t strike me as the sort of thing you’d get down here from the first time I heard about it. Don’t know about you.’
    â€˜I know more about Wollongong and the northern suburbs than here, but you’re right. This really is something new under the sun.’
    â€˜Anything else?’
    â€˜Maybe not too much. I keep hearing about a kid called Jimmy Valeski.’
    â€˜Jimmy? Yeah, I know the name. Maybe moves a bit of Mary Jane, trivial street stuff. Got a bit of a reputation as a street fighter.’
    â€˜Ah. And his grandfather, Lupce.’
    â€˜Now there’s an interesting figure. Big noise in politics. Jimmy took his grandfather’s name from the time his father shot through, is what I’m told.’
    â€˜But nothing says to me they were involved.’
    â€˜No. The Solomona brothers either, so far as that goes. Maybe just as well for Abdul. The Solomona boys had caught up with him when they was full of ink, maybe we’d have gotten the same outcome but not in so pleasant a way.’
    â€˜I’ll get it along to O’Shea. Look in Sydney is what you’re saying.’
    â€˜That’s what the brother believes.’
    Peter Grace sighs, returns the cap to the pen, closes his notebook, raises a hand to rub his forehead.
    â€˜You look tired, Peter.’
    â€˜Yeah, well, this stuff with Edna, you know? It wears you down after a while.’
    â€˜I can imagine.’
    â€˜ Any outcome, you know? Even a reprimand and transfer – things could get very difficult. Marge has got her job, Josie’s in Year Eleven – even if they sent me to western Sydney, think they were doing me a favour, I can’t move the family at this time. Be spending my life in a car, getting to work and back. Bit old for that. Hadn’t been planning on anything like that happening.’
    â€˜Yes, well – it may not come to that.’
    Peter says, ‘You know what she’s got?’
    â€˜No, Peter. I’ve never asked.’
    â€˜Petrol. A couple of fucken tanks