Free Before It Breaks by Dave Warner Page B

Arnie. He addressed the girls who seemed too surprised to register an attitude yet.
    â€˜I need to ask you some questions about Dieter Schaffer.’
    He saw confusion on the girls’ faces. He produced the photo from The Anglers.
    â€˜This man. Tuesday night you were with him at the Cleopatra Tavern.’
    Now they looked really worried. He turned around to Kate, who was torn between dashing back to her post and listening to the detail.
    â€˜It’s okay. I can take it from here.’
    â€˜I’ll be at reception if you need me.’
    Kate vanished with the skill of somebody born to the service industry. Arnie was waiting to see if he was required or not. Clement decided to leave him there. The girls seemed very anxious but he didn’t want to reassure them yet.
    â€˜You remember this man?’
    The girls nodded.
    â€˜He was German,’ said the Polish girl.
    â€˜Schultz they call him,’ offered her friend in less perfect English.
    Clement explained the man had been found dead the next day in suspicious circumstances. The girls appeared genuinely shocked. Arnie squeezed backwards into the sofa.
    â€˜You hadn’t heard?’
    They shook their heads. They said they’d been out diving all day the previous day, a claim supported by sunburned faces.
    â€˜We were with Arnie.’
    Arnie nodded. ‘That’s right.’
    â€˜You work here, Arnie?’
    â€˜One of the gardeners.’
    â€˜Where are you from?’
    â€˜Brazil.’
    â€˜Were you at the Cleopatra, Tuesday?’
    â€˜For a little while. I don’t know the guy.’
    Clement turned back to the girls. ‘Tell me how you met Schultz.’
    The girls said they had gone to the Cleopatra with Arnie and his roommate for the cheap drinks. The drinks here were too excessive for their wages. Schaffer, who they had never met before, started talking to them, seemed friendly and Marie could offer a little German to chat with him. They got to playing pool and having a few drinks. Schaffer spent most of the time asking whether they had seen kangaroos, snakes and so forth. At about ten-thirty they had said goodbye, gone and got some food from the town and then come back to their rooms around eleven-thirty. It was the one and only time they had met Dieter Schaffer.
    â€˜Did you buy marijuana off him?’
    The girls denied it vociferously, Arnie squirmed.
    â€˜But he offered and you smoked it with him, right? It’s best youtell me the truth. Don’t worry, I’m not interested in a few joints.’
    â€˜A puff or two, that’s all.’ Living up to the stereotype, Rosa used her hands expressively.
    â€˜How did he seem?’
    Happy, fun. He was quite old but he seemed in good spirits. He told them he was going fishing in crocodile territory the next day and asked if they wanted to accompany him. They politely declined but his mood didn’t change, he was still happy to talk with them.
    â€˜Did he mention whether he was expecting any money?’
    Not that they could recall. He didn’t seem worried about anything and nobody else spent any time talking with him, although most people in the tavern seemed to know him.
    â€˜Did any of you take photos that night?’
    Clement was aware that these days young people took photos of anything. They looked at one another trying to remember. Arnie and Marie shook their heads but Rosa wasn’t sure. She pulled out her phone and scanned through snaps. Her lips pushed out as if about to blow a raspberry.
    â€˜Sorry.’
    Clement hadn’t been expecting much but wished he had been wrong. After warning he may need to speak to them again, he took his leave, picking his way back along the paths that led around the outdoor garden setting to the dining area. There he stopped cold. Marilyn was about to be seated. She was not alone. Brian was with her. He had some job that involved travelling overseas for plastics. Though he’d