“I was trying to find out if the Professor had slipped any information regarding the transporting device to his daughter. I confess, I got side tracked.”

“Not a problem, it helps me,” the detective said. He pointed to the wall where his computer data was projected. “A bit of a mind map here. Let’s look at the topics and see the connections.”

Aaron had a vision of a disembodied human hand, writing on the wall. The vision triggered by a biblical reference buried deep, the Finger of God, hopefully spelling out judgement. But he wasn’t sure who for. He refocused and looked at the images on the wall. It reminded him of the structure of the brain.

“First your device, Aaron. We have absolutely no idea of the location of the man we believe has the device.”

“Should I leave then?” Aaron said in jest.

Aaron noticed that the detective didn’t quite know how to take that. “No, of course not.”

“The symbol for the device looks lonely out there with no connections.”

“Well, wait and see.”

“Actually, there is a connection. Isabella saw the man on the bus and again near the shack.”

The detective connected the symbol of Isabella with the device.

This went on for a good hour, lines and symbols going everywhere. Were they any better off? They now also believed the pursuit of a rare plant could be another motive. But this motive seemed a low priority with Perdu’s desire to kill Isabella. Something else was in play. The death of her daughter?

They both had a copy of the coroner’s report on Madeleine’s death and agreed that it needed to be read.

The detective went to his desk and directed Aaron to a quiet room. They agreed to meet two hours later.

65 – The Coroner’s report

DETECTIVE TAYLOR TAPPED HIS TABLET DEVICE. “A reasonably detailed report, don’t you think?”

“I agree.”

“Did you get teased at school, Aaron?”

Memories needed jolting. But there were some strong memories of being bullied floating around. “Yep, and I didn’t like it. Maybe because I was self-conscious about my looks. I suppose most of us were in our teenage years.”

“Yep, the same for me. The thing that I remember well was when I let the teasing get to me; it seemed to egg the teasers on even further.”

Aaron chuckled. He had similar feelings. But he also used to do the teasing and once got an apple square in the face, just above the top lip, because he pushed someone past their limit. Words spoken could never be unspoken. Sorry meant nothing to the apple thrower.

“Many times it’s to do with power, your position in the friendship hierarchy. I remember some kids at school would just about do anything to be accepted into the ‘cool’ group.”

“Do you think this girl killed herself because of the teasing?” Aaron looked down on his notes.

We have investigated her school friends. Some are remorseful regarding the teasing and bullying. They spoke about calling her the ‘Demented One’.

“To me, it’s obvious the medication she was taking did something to her. It changed her in some way, perhaps dramatically. And I’d say she was taking something given to her by one or both of her parents, not what was prescribed by a doctor. I think her parents overreacted to maybe what were normal adolescent growing pains.”

“Yes, that stands out.” Again he referred to his notes.

The initial analysis of the blood obtained at the autopsy showed a therapeutic concentration of an unknown medication.

The detective continued. “I had a chat with the police officer who is assisting the coroner and who attended the hearings. I wanted to find out about the involvement from the parents.”

“I was curious about that.”

“The school was in contact with the parents, mostly the father. The school counsellor tried to speak to both parents a number of times but they were extremely busy people. They’d agree to appointments and not turn up. The coroner can be lenient in this regard sometimes as it can be distressing for a parent to participate in an inquest into the death of their child. Sad thing is, some parents play on this.”

Aaron nodded.

The detective continued. “They did speak to the father on the phone a number of times. The father was more concerned about his daughter’s school performance and the friends she was making. He was critical of his daughter’s appearance and the clothes she wore.”

The detective was referring to his notes. “Generally, everybody was concerned about how quickly the girl went from a normal adolescent to wanting to take her own life.”

Yes, Aaron’s notes concurred. “Sounded like the father was only concerned about academic performance—it was an extension of his reputation.”

Madeleine was good artistically, particularly with drawing but her art teacher thought Madeleine’s drawings were becoming dark, almost evil, and expressed concern to the school counsellor about her state of mind. The counsellor had five sessions with Madeleine and was concerned by the sudden changes in Madeleine and how she was handling the teasing. Her temperament was one that seemed to stand up to teasing but something changed.

Aaron didn’t need to be Einstein to work out that the drug had been responsible for Madeleine changing so quickly.

Aaron continued. “The experts tell us adolescence is a time of significant growth and development inside the teenage brain. Her brain couldn’t cope with whatever was being thrown at it. The father was in denial and believed the pills would fix her up. It was his wonder drug.”

He looked at his notes again, this time at a statement made by Ava Perdu.

Her mother noted she was displaying symptoms of depression, including lethargy and loss of appetite. She told her mother that she was being teased at school and sometimes felt depressed. Her mother was alarmed by this. Her husband reassured her that it was just an adolescent thing as he had a sister who had been through the same thing. She understood from her husband that Madeleine was under control. She did notice a change in her daughter, seemed more relaxed, calmer.

Detective Taylor nodded. “The father was the one who took her to the doctor, and the doctor prescribed the pills. But the report shows other pills were taken, not the one prescribed. This is why the coroner recommended notifying the Department of Public Prosecutions. The coroner believes an indictable offence may have been committed—that is, the girl may have been poisoned. The DPP will request assistance from the Chief Commissioner of Police. The lawyers for the parents appealed the findings, which is why the process is dragging out. The Perdus have the money to keep it going for a long time.”

“Do you think the mother assumed her daughter was taking the prescribed medication, but the father used some of the medications made by their company? Maybe he believed they were wonder drugs. Why not give them to his daughter without running it past his wife. Then again, maybe she didn’t even know her daughter was on medication.”

“Your detective skills continue to impress me, Aaron. I was thinking the same thing.”

“Thank you, Detective. The comments she made about her father to the school counsellor were strange.”

“Yes, where he seemed to think of himself as some kind of king.”

Aaron found the comments in his notes.

He considered everyone underneath him and existed to serve him. He expected her to show care and respect for people when he didn’t. When she told him of some friends being Christians, he went a bit crazy. They went to a dinner party at the home of one of these Christians friends. She remembers her parents laughing on the way home about some of the things her friend’s parents had said.

“Have the parents seen the report yet?” Aaron asked.

“Not sure. Think they’re leaving it to their lawyers to handle.”

“One would imagine they’ll be suggesting their clients jump ship soon,” Aaron said.

There was a pitter-patter on the window. Aaron looked over and saw raindrops running down the window. It was gloomy outside as evening was upon them. He needed to contact Mackenzie and let her know he was running late.

“Yep, and we need to nab them before that happens,” the detective responded.