Pat Ritter. Books

[patritter]

'The Proposition' - Page 92:

‘Okay, get back to us when you know when his father will be there. We don’t know the name of the deceased. It’s like putting the cart before the horse.’
‘Hopefully, Denis can tell you. He will only talk with you. You must have treated his old man fair to have this trust. It’s never seen today.’ Colin admitted.
‘Yeah, from what I remember, I arrested his old man for child molestation a couple of years before the murder. At the time of the murder investigation he was bought to the police station when fifty cents pieces were found under a mattress where he lived. I remember he identified me amongst other police and only wanted me to interview him.’ Bundy explained.
‘Okay, I’ll arrange everything and get back to you.’ Colin hung up.
‘This is incredible Bundy.’ Kate said with a slight excitement in her voice.
‘What’d mean.’
‘We’re supposed to be investigating the disappearance of Peter Clayton and now this has come up. What’d you think happened?’ Kate smiled.
‘Honestly, Kate, I don’t know. We don’t even know the name of the deceased. All we know is - it is a female child between eight and ten years old. Not much to go on. Hope this fellow tells us more or else we’re up that proverbial creek without a paddle. Anyway, we’re to wait for Colin to contact Denis’s father. He wants to be present for the interview.’ Bundy told Kate.
‘What’d we do in the meantime?’ She queried.
‘We should have a chat with Larry, to see if there is anything else, like a missing person report on the skeleton or something likewise - anything.’ Bundy wondered.
‘I’ll ring him.’ Kate replied. She opened her phone and punched in some numbers, ‘Kate here Larry. Do you have anything on the identity of this skeleton? Bundy thought you might have a missing person report. I know it’s not much to go on, but at this stage we haven’t got much.’....

[patritter]

Proposition' - Page 93:
‘I’ve checked the missing person reports and there are about ten missing persons like the identity of the skeleton described by Doctor Fitzgerald reported missing over five- and eight-year period. We’re trying to narrow the numbers down by age and place of where they went missing. Is that any help? We haven’t got DNA yet but as soon as we do, we’ll check the missing person database to compare any comparisons.’ Larry answered.
‘Anything will do. Let us know if you find something. We’re off to the prison after Colin contacts us.’ Kate closed her phone.
No sooner she closed her phone it buzzed again, thinking Larry was still on the line, Kate said, ‘yeah – Larry.’
‘It’s not Larry – Colin here. I’ve arranged for the interview to be at three o’clock this afternoon. Will that be okay?’ Colin asked.
‘Yeah – we’ll be there. How do we get in?’ Kate wanted to know.
‘When you stop at the front gate tell the guard you’re here in see me. I’ll arrange you both be escorted to my office before we go to the interview room.’
‘Okay – see you then. Thanks Colin.’
Kate explained to Bundy the details given to her by Colin. ‘What about we have an early afternoon tea and have a chat about what you’re going to say.’ Kate asked.
‘Yeah – that’s a great idea. I’ve got a question. Obviously, his father has forced him into this interview. Who will do the questioning – you or I.’ Bundy asked?
‘Obviously, you will. He will only talk with you.’
‘I have another question: what if he admits committing the crime, I don’t have the power to officially caution him. Do you give him the caution?’....

[patritter]

The Proposition' - Page 94:
‘I suppose I do. Anyway, let’s think about that when the time comes.’ Kate finished, ‘we’ll have afternoon tea at the canteen.’
While they were having their coffee and hot chocolate drink Bundy said, ‘I wish Quincy could be here with us.’
‘Why.’ Kate asked in amazement. Bloody Quincy again – what is he - GOD!
‘I don’t know what it is about him; he sees things not many others see. When I arrested Denis’s father; Quincy found cat hair on a pair of socks which matched cat hair from the woman’s home. It was brilliant. This evidence put him at the scene of the crime.’
‘He can’t see much now. We don’t know who the skeleton is? Hopefully, this fellow Denis will tell you.’
Kate and Bundy finished their drinks, collected what they needed from their office, walked to the basement to retrieve their motor vehicle. She drove to the prison. Near the prison Bundy saw a bakery shop, ‘Kate can you pull over to the bakery. I need to buy something.’ Bundy asked. Kate parked in front of the bakery shop. Bundy got out of the vehicle and entered the store, shortly after he returned to the vehicle.
‘What’d you got there?’ She inquired.
‘If I remember, Mark was always a little partial to lamingtons. Last time he scoffed them down as if he’d never tasted one before.’ Bundy explained.
They arrived at 2.45pm.
Before they approached the front gate, Kate parked the vehicle in the police only marked section then escorted to Colin Hunt’s office.
‘How ya going, you ole bugger, I haven’t seen you in years. You’re looking good.’ Colin smiled and shook Bundy’s hand, ‘and who do you have here?’ He looked across at Kate...

[patritter]

'The Proposition' - Page 95:

‘Colin Hunt – this is Detective Superintendent Kathleen Emerson.’ They shook hands not as vigorous as did Bundy and Colin.
‘I’m pleased to meet you Colin and thank you for helping us with this investigation.’ Kate replied in a kind voice.
‘In fact, it’s my pleasure, whatever I can do for the old firm, once a copper always a copper.’ Colin replied with a grin.
Kate didn’t say anything and looked at Bundy with a message to keep an eye on this fellow – can he be trusted.
‘What about we go and see Denis and his father.’ Colin requested.
They left Colin’s office, walked along a corridor to a steel door; he pushed a button on the intercom and spoke into it. The door opened; the three walked inside to a large reception area.
‘What have we here Colin?’ A prison officer directed the question.
‘They’re from the police who want to speak with Denis O’Connell and his father.’ Colin provided the information.
‘Leave your firearms, mobile phones and anything else on the desk and collect them on your way out,’ demanded the officer.
Kate unbuckled her firearm and handed it to the officer together with her mobile phone.
‘I have some refreshments for Denis and his father.’ Bundy explained and handed over a packet containing the lamingtons.
‘It’s afternoon teatime, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt them to have these. You haven’t got any files in them, have you?’ The officer replied with a grin and returned the packet to Bundy...

[patritter]

'The Proposition' - Page 96:
Another officer escorted Colin, Kate and Bundy along another corridor and asked them to wait. Bundy felt nervous. He’d been in a similar position many times before, but it’d been years before.
‘Come in,’ a voice called.
They entered a room. Two male persons were seated across on the other side of a table in the centre of the room. A prison guard stood as they entered.
‘It’s been a long time,’ Bundy said when he shook Mark O’Connell’s hand.
‘Yes – a long time. This is my son, Denis.’ Mark replied in an inviting voice.
‘Pleased to meet you Denis, this is Detective Superintendent Kathleen Emerson and I’m Bundy Quicksilver.’ Bundy shook Denis’s hand. ‘You already know Mr Hunt.’
‘I’ll leave you to it Bundy. The video recorder is on so, don’t get up to any funny business,’ Colin joked and left the interview room with the prison guard.
‘I thought you might enjoy afternoon tea.’ Bundy said and handed the packet containing lamingtons to Mark.
‘You haven’t forgotten - these are my favourite.’ Mark said opened the packet, ‘here my boy, have one of these.’ Mark opened his mouth and swallowed a lamington whole wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘They’re great, Mr Quicksilver. I haven’t had these in a long time. You don’t get them in here.’ He mumbled with a half-filled mouth of lamington.
‘Mark, if I remember last time, I spoke with you. You told me your wife was pregnant.’ Bundy directed his question to him.
‘Yeah – Denis is the result from the pregnancy.’ Mark admitted...

[patritter]

The Proposition' - Page 97:
‘The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.’ Bundy commented, ‘he’s a smaller version of you when you were his age.’ Bundy said with a smile.
‘Yeah – and by the sound of things he’s got up to the same thing - I did,’ he replied with a grin on his face.
‘Your wife is your mother’s sister, your aunt, if I remember correctly.’ Bundy said.
‘You’ve got a good memory. It’d be almost forty years since I last seen you.’
‘Thirty-five to be exact.’ Bundy replied.
‘And your wife, Denis’s mother, is she still alive?’ Bundy wanted to know.
‘Na – she died about ten years back. The lad here was given her trouble and me being locked up in here didn’t help much. Can I have another of those lamingtons?
‘By all means – they’re yours.’ Mark scoffed another lamington into his mouth, chocolate formed around his lips, white coconut sprinkled down his shirt.
‘Denis, we don’t know exactly what you’ve told Mr Hunt but I’ll fill you in with what we know so far.’ Bundy explained.
Denis nodded his head, a mouth filled with lamington.
‘A skeleton of a female aged between eight and ten years old has been found in the forestry at the Sunshine Coast. Forensic evidence shows the skeleton has been there between five or more years. It was buried in a shallow grave.’ Bundy explained...

[patritter]

'The Proposition' - Page 98: Chapter 12

‘Mr Quicksilver, my father has told me to tell you the truth because you are a fair man. Six years ago, I lived at Kippa-Ring near Redcliffe. It was raining - I stayed home from work. In the morning I watched porn videos and when the rain stopped, I went for a drive. On the way I saw a young girl, I don’t know how old she was - I stopped the car and drugged her.’ Denis said in a quiet voice.
‘How did you drug her?’ Bundy continued with a frown on his face. Pictures developed in his minds eye. He wanted to hear more and know how he drugged her.
‘It was easy. I had a bottle of ether and a cloth. When I saw her, I stopped the car to ask for directions and make small talk.’ Denis explained in a clear and confident voice. ‘She was beautiful.’
‘Go on.’
‘While I talked, she came over to the car. She was friendly. I got out of the driver’s side and walked around to where she was leaning against the car door, still talking to her. I had the cloth with ether soaked in my hand and when I got closer, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and put the rag to her face. It didn’t take long before she collapsed into my arms. I put her in the front passenger’s side of the car.’ Colin explained.
‘Did you know this girl?’ Bundy asked.
‘No – never saw her before.’
‘Why did you pick her?’
‘She was beautiful and after watching the videos it made me horny.’
‘What happened then?’ Bundy asked.
‘I drove out of town, out to the highway. At the time I didn’t know where I was going. She was asleep. I kept driving.’...