Sharp Turn - Marianne Delacourt [65]
I groaned. ‘Do me a favour. Go by again and wake him up. Tell him I sent you.’
‘Sure.’
He hung up and I got on with the Riley search, finding only uniformly decent comments about Gig Riley on all the forums and blogs I checked. Seemed as if he was the most loved guy in local bike racing.
And his father the most hated.
I was still leaning towards Riley Senior as the architect of Bolo’s problems. He seemed to have the strongest motive, and the right disposition to do such a thing. He’d trodden on and broken more toes than a medieval torturer. There were plenty of articles about his aggressive business mentality, but it was the business forums that had the more personal comments. One anecdote recounted how he’d sacked an employee for excusing himself to go to the toilet while serving a customer.
A disgruntled customer had posted numerous accounts of Riley refusing to honour warranties, which had resulted in Riley’s Tyres being investigated by Consumer Affairs. He’d also gone head to head with the Wanneroo Raceway owners over a number of things including delayed upgrades and permit changes for practice days.
In short, Riley Senior was a hostile, argumentative bastard who was in a hurry to get wherever the hell he was going. His one vulnerable spot seemed to be his only child, Gig.
I made a call to Lloyd Honey. Lloyd and I had an arrangement. He had access to a great deal of information. Being an ex-client, he helped me out, and I tried not to overuse his resources.
‘Lloyd?’
‘Ms Sharp.’
‘Tara,’ I said for the umpteenth time. ‘How can I ask you for favours if you call me Ms Sharp?’
‘Tara then. How can I be of service?’
‘I wondered if you could find out the names of all the companies two local businessmen own? Doesn’t matter how small. Their names are Robert Riley from Riley’s Tyres, and Bolo Ignatius, the sporting goods franchiser. Also, I need to know who owns a company called Instant Security.’
I could hear him typing the names into his computer. ‘As is our arrangement, Tara, I’ll do my best. I would ask you, though . . . how is Lena Vine?’
‘You heard . . . about . . . Audrey?’
‘Yes. Terrifying news. Lena and Audrey were very close.’
‘I don’t suppose you have any ideas who might be behind it?’
‘Lena doesn’t discuss her business with me. To my knowledge, though, she’s an excellent businesswoman with some strong principles.’
‘Oh?’
‘She’s the president of SDIP.’
‘SDIP?’
‘Stop Drugs in Prostitution.’
I began to get a tingling feeling. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. Ninety percent of WA brothels have signed on for it. Lena is very charismatic. Now, let me see what I can find out for you on these gentlemen.’
‘Thanks, Lloyd. I’ll do my best to help Lena. But I’m not a trained investigator.’
‘You have other talents. Goodbye, Ms Sharp. I’ll email you through my findings.’
‘Tara,’ I reminded him, but he’d already gone.
I settled back with Google. Connections were finally starting to forge in my brain. Lena was trying to stamp out drugs in her industry. Her security guy was recommended by a company in which Viaspa – Perth primo drug lord – was a silent partner. And Leonard Roc was conveniently outside checking a faulty security camera leaving Audrey to answer the door and get hit by a drive-by shooter. Unfunny coincidence. If Lloyd confirmed Viaspa’s involvement with Instant Security, I’d go back to Lena with what I knew.
But that didn’t explain Louise’s odd reaction to my questions.
Paralanguage and kinesics could sometimes be misleading. One time I’d tried to smack down my female boss because I thought she was persecuting my co-worker. Turned out his frightened and disturbed body language around her was because he was happily playing Bottom to her Top. Observing the energies around people was one thing, interpreting them correctly was another! Hoshi Hara had helped me a lot, but I still made mistakes.
Spookily, my mentor rang me right then.
‘Missy? Jus’ checking you still do job for me tonight.’
‘Yes. I’ll be at the club at ten.’
‘Good, good. You park behind the club.