Chapter Five

Jack wanted to track down his local officer.

Phryne wanted to track down the next of kin.

So it was only pure, sensible logic that meant that they went back to the hotel, owned by the next of kin, in order to telephone the local officer.

Marital compromise is, after all, much to be admired, Phryne announced happily.

Jack chewed a chunk out of his cheek and agreed.

There were, in fact, two next of kin, as confirmed by Joe. There were three Baker siblings, of which David had been the middle one; his older brother Martin and his younger sister Estelle had equal shares in the family business.

It was Estelle who was at the front desk when they returned to the hotel, and looked up in surprise when Phryne and Jack entered.

"Mr and Mrs Robinson! Back so soon? We didn't expect to see you until this evening," she exclaimed. "Was everything okay with the boat?"

"Not exactly, Miss Baker," said Jack evasively. "Is there somewhere we could have a quiet word?"

Estelle showed them through to an office behind the reception area, and seated herself at the desk, looking at them expectantly. It was Phryne who gently broke the news to her.

"Miss Baker, I'm afraid we have some bad news, about your brother David."

"David?" she was even more confused now. "I didn't know you'd met him."

"We still haven't, precisely. I'm afraid he's dead, Miss Baker. He died on the boat this morning."

She shook her head slowly. "You're mistaken. You must be mistaken. David wasn't going on the charter today. He went to prep the boat last night and probably slept there, but he would have left at first light."

Jack leaned both hands on the desk. "I'm sorry, but he was positively identified by Joe, the captain of the vessel."

Something in his tone made her look up at him sharply.

"Mr Robinson, are you some kind of an official?"

He nodded. "My wife and I weren't going say anything – we really are on our honeymoon – but Phryne is a private detective and I'm a Senior Detective Inspector with Melbourne Police Force. One of the things we were hoping to do now was to contact Sergeant – Stanford, is it?" Estelle nodded distractedly.

"I can get word to him. He'll be up at his aunt's farm, but they've got a radio and someone usually checks in every few hours."

Focused again, she looked up at Jack. "How did Davy die? If you try to tell me he drowned I'll know you have the wrong guy."

"No, he didn't drown. We think he suffocated in the fumes from the boat engine," said Jack quietly. "And I'm afraid we have reason to believe that it was the result of a deliberate sabotage."

She was still gently and constantly shaking her head in denial, but at this she looked up.

"Inspector, that's the first thing you've said that makes any sense at all. If there were fumes in the cabin it could only have been sabotage. We love that boat. Davy and Martin helped Dad build it. In fact, since Dad died two years ago, Davy quite often sleeps there." She sighed. "We all miss him differently, but it's Davy's way of handling it."

She looked at him directly, now, and a hint of steel came into her demeanour.

"Was his way."

She stood, and moved over to the radio.

"I'll get Ned Stanford for you. And I'll need to find Martin and tell him."

All cold, efficient businesswoman now, she got up to fire up the radio, and gave them a look.

"If someone killed my brother, you both have my full permission to be as difficult as you like, as long as you find out who." Her expression was as cold as her words. "You might find some people a little reluctant to open up – we're a pretty close-knit community – so if someone's clamming up, let me know."

At that, both Phryne and Jack felt they had achieved all they could, and left Estelle to the unpleasant tasks that lay ahead.