“Me?” He thought for a moment, stood, and walked over to the window overlooking the busy street. “I’m concerned the AFP are now involved. It suggests the images are real. If that’s the case, I don’t know what to think.”

They left the meeting room and Jack made his way back to his desk. His chair looked inviting. He slumped into it just as his phone rang. No rest. It was Erica. The comfort and support of a wife couldn’t be underestimated. He closed his eyes and tried to visualise her.

“Are you okay, Jack?”

“Yes, love.” An ingrained term of endearment. Should he still be calling her that? Yep, he should. “Busy, as usual.”

“I saw photos of that man you’re after.”  

“Social media did a good job on getting those images out there.” Why had she called?

“I’m calling to check up on you, but I also wanted to tell you I’ve seen the man in the images.”

He sat up straight and focused on the call. “You’ve seen him? Where?”

“At church. It was a while back. He went to a few new Christian classes. He was a weirdo.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, you know. The way he acted and looked at people. I don’t think he was there to find God. He had other motives. Sometimes he would put on some stupid glasses. I remember he took an interest in one of the girls attending the class.”

Jack reached for his notebook. “Sounds like this man got around. Do you know if a relationship developed?”

“Nope. They both stopped coming after a couple of classes.”

Jack didn’t like the thoughts entering his head. “Sorry, love, but I’m going to have to go policeman with you here. Do you know the girls name?”

“No, but I should be able to find out.”

“Could you do that for me? Also, see if you can get the specific dates they attended.”

“Yes, I should be able to do that.”

“Okay, I’m out of police mode now. How are you and my dear Johnny going?” He could hear some rustling; items being moved around.

“We’re both good … oh, here it is. I found the training guide they used on the course. There is a list of attendees.”

There was a pause, and he heard the flicking of pages.

“His name was Thomas Wiley and the girl … just want to be sure … yes, her name was Judith Black. The course was February last year.”

“Well done. You should join the police force. On second thoughts, that’s not a good idea.”

“Agree. No problem. Hope you find him, and that no harm came to Judith.”

Yes, she had the mind of a police officer. Maybe that was the result of being married to one for a long time.

“We’ll check it all out.”

“I’m in town on Friday. You okay for a lunch or coffee?”

He brought up his calendar on the screen. “Yes, all clear. That would be lovely.”

“I’ll text you time and details. I need to go now. Take care. Love ya.”

“Love you too. See you Friday.” Jack placed his phone on the desk, closed his eyes, and rested his head in his hands. Conflicting thoughts raced through his head.

“Jack?”

He lifted his head and looked up at Cath.

“That was Erica. I don’t have a good feeling about Thomas Wiley.” Jack stood up. “I hope I’m wrong, but I think Wiley has killed before.”

24 - A drone encounter

Wiley guessed it was Thursday morning. A quick glance at the calendar attached to the fridge door confirmed it. He opened the fridge door and grabbed the orange juice.

Wiley thought of Sheila as he poured the orange juice into a glass. She’d rejected him. His mum and dad had rejected him as well. He didn’t want those thoughts, but they dominated his mind. The thoughts wanted to rule. In a funny way, he was happy for that. The thoughts took him back to his schooldays when the nerdy Christians would make fun of him. They would point and look at him, whisper about him. He got into trouble once, for bashing one of them on the way to school. That memory brought good feelings.

Camellia had been different. Not the same as her Christians friends. His eyes teared up, the good feelings now gone. She would talk to Wiley at school and out of school. She even hugged him once. He remembered the day a car pulled up beside him as he was walking home from school.

“You, Wiley?”

The car window was down, and there was a fish symbol on the rear window. The driver, a man, had wavy blonde hair. A hairy arm rested on the door frame.

“My daughter tells me you’re annoying her at school and following her home.”

He could remember the feelings swamping him. Another rejection.

“I think it’s best you stay away from her. Besides, she’s too good for you.”

He kicked the car. The man got out of the car. But Wiley was too quick and escaped down one of the alleyways. He stopped going to school after that, and left town not long after.

Enough of the past.

Nope. Camellia had tracked him down. Many more hugs. He loved their time together, the small apartment, the pregnancy. Then she vanished. Kidnapped by her dad. Pregnancy out of wedlock. Common these days, yet too much for the good Christian daddy to bear. Her whole family disappeared off the radar.

That’s it. Enough of the past.

He opened the back door and went out into the garden. Nobody could see him, and he could see nobody. How long did he have to do this for? He’d thought he’d never tire of this place, but he’d been wrong. He preferred to be on the go. He’d seen the occasional drone flying around the beach from the balcony, their flashing red lights a contrast to the blue water of the ocean. They wanted him to learn how to fly a drone, although they still hadn’t worked out what he was going to do when he became their ace drone pilot. They had plans for something big. And why not?

There was a gate at the bottom of the yard, so he headed down to it. There was an electronic lock on it. He could hear the waves and the sound of seagulls squawking, enticing him. He considered climbing over and going for a stroll. His plans were interrupted by a loud buzzing sound. He looked up, expecting to see a helicopter.

Another drone. It hovered and then flew off quickly. Someone yelled “sorry” from behind the shrubbery. Just the excuse he needed to climb over the gate. There was a well-worn walking track going parallel to the beach in both directions.

The drone headed out to the water. A girl in a navy-blue bikini sat on a towel at the edge of the shrubbery, just off the track, holding what looked like a gaming remote controller.

She sensed him coming and turned towards him and gave him a quick glance. “Hi. I’m sorry about that brief intrusion. I’m still getting used to the controls.”