Abacus

He had studied pretty much all of his adult life and had only a handful of part-time jobs to support his studies. He was a fit thirty-year-old, with a sister and mother who lived together in Narrabeen on the northern beaches of Sydney. His father had died in a car accident when he was fifteen years old. Police computer inquiries showed that he had not been reported missing, even though he had not been heard from in the last three weeks. His sister Kaitlyn was the last known family member to speak with him over the phone three weeks earlier. The victim had called her from his mobile phone to chat, and he seemed in good spirits at the time.
    “ While ordinarily, the non-reporting of the victim as a missing person would normally be a concern, the victim’s nomadic lifestyle has made it somewhat understandable. The victim was a journeyman, and would spontaneously take off on trips with fellow students, sometimes interstate or to overseas destinations. Often he would not contact family before leaving. It appeared to the family that he was again on one of these trips. The victim lived on his own, near the University Of New South Wales, at Kensington, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. As far as the family knew, the victim was not involved in drugs apart from experimenting with cannabis drugs earlier in his youth. They were not aware of any enemies he may have had.
    “ He was generally a cheerful and outgoing person. They didn’t believe he was currently in a relationship, with his previous relationship having ended about four months earlier. That relationship was with a nurse, Karen Cheung, an Australian of Chinese parentage who works at the Gladsville psychiatric hospital as a nurse. They met when the victim was admitted to the ward after a mental breakdown. In the hospital, they became friends and later began a relationship. When he left the hospital, he moved into her rented one bedroom flat in Newtown, however, the relationship only lasted about a month. The family was not sure why the relationship ended, but their son left the unit in Newtown and moved into a rented, one bedroom unit in Kensington. Ms Cheung was not close to the family, and they lost all contact with her once the relationship ended. The family have provided us the details of three close friends and another two relatives who may be able to help us further.”
    “Did he still visit his ex?” Sheik asked, referring to his own notes.
    “Not as far as we know.”
    “And where did he socialize?”
    Hobbs quickly flicked back over a few pages in his notebook. “As far as socialising, he pretty much frequented the local Randwick pubs with his university mates.”
    L eaning against the whiteboard, Jesse pointed at team members with his marker as he allocated tasks. “Georgie G, the next couple of days do some digging at the uni. Leanne and Sheik, I want you to start working through the list of friends and relatives we’ve got. I will arrange a surveillance team to have a look at Ms Cheung to see what she is up to these days. Michael, they’re gonna need a profile of Ms Cheung to work off, so can you get on it quick and get it off to them. We’re also going to need a profile for the victim, and get the mobile phone records for incoming and outgoing calls on the victim’s mobile for the last month, as well as the mobile for Cheung. Hobbs, you get one of the detectives from Mascot to help search the victim’s unit.”
    Randall looked at Hobbs . “Big fella, just be mindful that the unit could be the crime scene and treat it as such, any suggestion it is… well you know what to do.” Hobbs nodded.
    “Any questions , folks?” Jesse looked around the room. “Good, off to it then.”
    * * *
    It was now six days since the murder investigation had started. Randall stopped at Georgie G’s desk en-route to the task force office. “Any word on our elusive Mr. Digby?”
    Georgie G looked up. “Yeah, boss, I meant to tell you, we haven’t caught up with him, but the neighbours heard someone in his unit last night and saw the lights on. They didn’t see who was in there, but I think we can safely assume it is him.”
    “Good news , Georgie,” Randall said, a little surprised.
    “We should be able to track him down in the next couple of days. I’ll let you know how we go.”
    “Thanks, Georgie.”
    After t aking a big gulp of his bottled of water, Randall sat at his usual position at the end of the table in the task force office. “All right,