The Kiwi Target

known and respected. That’s a powerful force, and no one in his right mind would go against it.
    “I knew that MacTavish was well off, but I didn’t know how he got his money or what work he’d done. So I phoned a man who I knew would have the answers, if he would give them to me.”
    “Constable Pettibone,” Winston said.
    “Yes. Since the information wasn’t confidential, he answered my question. First, MacTavish had inherited some money, and so had his wife. He was astute in his business dealings and had increased his holdings substantially. The second answer gave me a key piece of information.”
    Peter was human enough to pause a moment for effect. “Before he retired, Mr. MacTavish was a high-ranking policeman.
    Minister Cooper looked at Superintendent Winston. “I hadn’t been told that,” he said.
    “It’s correct, sir. It’s well known in Russell and certain other places, but in this instance we thought it best not to advertise.”
    “I see. Go on, Peter.”
    Peter did. “That’s all I have to say about Pricane. Next comes the Hong Kong group. Apart from the fact that it exists and that it has very substantial financial resources, I know almost nothing about it. But if it has been so successful, then it’s a good assumption that it’s made up of astute businessmen—astute enough to know better than to let their agents kill an undercover policeman, violently attack another, burn down a property they’re trying to buy, and then murder a property owner in cold blood. After such actions, what possible hope would they have of successfully going into business here? The kiwis I’ve met aren’t the kind of people to give in to anything like that.”
    “I trust not,” the minister said.
    “Now I’d like to ask Superintendent Winston some questions,” Peter said. “Going back to the incident of the murdered police officer who was thrown onto the hood of my car: how much investigative work has gone into that matter?”
    “A great deal,” Winston answered.
    “And the attack on the constable on patrol—I don’t recall his name.”
    “Fred Fisher. Same answer.”
    “The burning down of the pub?”
    “Not as much, because we were pretty sure who did it. Also, w e were heavily overloaded at the time.”
    “Lastly, how much of a spoor did you pick up from the Hong Kong group?"
    “Peter, I’ll ask you to withdraw that question for the moment.” That was a setback to Peter’s plan of presentation, but he accepted it. “Then let me say this: I know these people have hired a reputable real estate agent to negotiate purchases for them, and that’s it. So unless there is some provable connection between the Australians and the Hong Kong people, they should be out of it as far as police interests are concerned.”
    “That’s eminently logical,” Winston said, “but I have to interject something here. You may take it as given that the Australian villains are connected with the Hong Kong people.”
    “Then some of what I have to say isn’t valid,” Peter declared. “I still want to hear it,” the minister said.
    “I’m about to suggest something that as far as I know hasn’t come up before—that the Australian villains, as you call them, have been acting on their own.”
    “To what purpose?” O’Malley asked.
    “Let me put it this way: those men came here and took some very dangerous chances, even with the unarmed police. They did things that seemed to be associated with the tourist industry, but some of their actions were definitely not. The attack on Constable Fisher, for example. I couldn’t reconcile what they were doing with any kind of planned industrial campaign. That particularly pertains to highly visible murder, such as throwing a body onto my car. I don’t doubt that people have been done away in business as well as politics, but not so blatantly, and that may be the key to the whole thing.”
    “What were they up to, then?” the minister asked.
    “I believe, sir, they were deliberately making the biggest waves they could to keep the police overcommitted and off balance. The force has only so much manpower and resources. According to what Winston just told us, they succeeded in tying up a large portion of what’s available.
    “I doubt that the Australians are really interested in any real estate here. It’s too often a long-term proposition, and real estate transactions are usually subject to some kind of official scrutiny. But I’ve heard that Edward