Abacus

life was to eventually torture and kill him, but what then? Noel had given an assurance of freedom from prosecution, but he wondered how his life would change when Jenkins was gone. He thought about the high-rise unit he had inspected. He was confident he could kill him with a clean shot from the balcony, however, death by sniper would only feel like a job half done. Jenkins had to suffer first and Randall needed to be present. He’d always envisaged looking him in the eye as he drew his final breath and the long-range option took this away. The sniper scenario could also negate his mental illness defence. All the preparatory steps he would have taken to plan the assassination would definitely count against him when the courts considered his mental state. Jenkins stood in the way of his fairytale ending. He knew his best chance of survival was in jail, so he wasn’t going anywhere. He still had to consider the offer of assistance from DL. If DL did kill him this would take away any semblance of revenge. He took a long sip from the beer bottle. With no other option I may just have to be content with popping him in the exercise yard myself, and take whatever is coming. I can’t wait forever, and his little games to avoid release have to stop.
    His mind turned to Helen. This was also an issue of personal pride. If she was involved in some way, it would be a shame as he had genuine feelings for her, and it was not every day these feelings were aroused in him. “We’ll find out more about Helen soon,” he said, patting Arnold on the head. Arnold was quite a good judge of character and the only time they had met he appeared to be quite smitten with her. “First job tomorrow, Arn, I will find her.”
    * * *
    It was early the following morning when Randall was onto the first task he had promised Arnold. “Is this the Royal Prince Alfred Psych Ward?” he enquired with the receiver wedged between his chin and ear.
    “Yes , it is Detective Sergeant Randall here. I wanted to speak with Helen Florence, please… I see… I see, okay, that’s interesting. Thanks for your help, anyway.” Randall hung up the phone, spun around, and stared out his window. She had disappeared. As he thought about his next move he was interrupted.
    “Hi , boss, have I got you at a bad time?” Hobbs enquired.
    “No , mate, come in.” He sighed. “I suppose you’re about to ask about Cheung and me?” he asked, still looking out the window.
    “No, no , not at all. What about Cheung and you?” Hobbs asked, sounding a little lost.
    “Y ou’d better take a seat, because I have something to tell you. I might as well get it over and done with now.” Hobbs eased himself into the vacant seat. Swivelling around in his chair, Randall announced, “I slipped one into Cheung.”
    Randall watched for a reaction from Hobbs. Hobbs knew Randall was a little unorthodox at times, but it looked like this came as a genuine shock to him. “You slipped one into Cheung?”
    “And she was outstanding,” he added.
    “Boss, you ’re having a lend of me, right?”
    “Big f ella, I’ve never been more serious. But it was an honest mistake.”
    “How did it happen?”
    “Well, our friend, Nurse Florence, our attractive nurse… surely you remember her?”
    “Yeah , she’s hard to forget.”
    “ She invited me out that night after we met her.”
    “Right,” Hobbs said cautiously.
    “ Do you remember when you stopped me as I headed down the hall on my way out?”
    “Yeah , I remember. I knew you were up to something that night.”
    “ Well, she took me out to some swingers’ joint for a threesome with a friend, who ended up being Cheung. Everyone was wearing masks, and Cheung looked super hot in a cat mask and outfit. So we got it on. Then when we arrested her she let the cat out of the bag… so to speak.”
    “ Right,” Hobbs said, appearing a little unsure.
    “There are a few more minor details, but I think it is best we leave them for now. Anyway, the reason I am telling you is that it is reasonable to expect that Helen may be involved in, or at least, set the meeting with me up on behalf of Cheung.”
    “Hang on, hang on . Did you say she was in a cat suit?” he asked, pulling his chair in closer.
    “That’s right. S he had a cat mask and a tight-fitting black leather cat suit on.”
    “That’s inte resting,” Hobbs said, nodding his head slowly.
    “What’s interesting? I don’t follow. ”
    “ Right, it all makes sense now.