"Hey, Roy. That was the solicitor who handled the legalities for that fellow." Constable Stone put the phone back in its cradle, looked across at Sergeant Hadley and added, "The one who bought old Mac's place."

Roy Hadley peeled a piece of skin from his mandarin and dropped it in the bin. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the desk. "What'd he say?"

"He doesn't know where he is and says he hasn't spoken to him since the sale was finalised. The contact number is the same as the mobile from Greentree Real Estate. Disconnected. There's an email address but he tells me it was one of those places where you pay to get stuff sent to, and then have the copies certified. This... ah..." Ben flicked through his notebook and then looked back at Roy. "Hawkins. Yeah, this Hawkins fellow is some fancy travelling businessman. Overseas shit. So, he used the service to get the paperwork signed. The solicitor has proof of ID etcetera. I've asked him to send us a copy."

"Do you think this Hawkins knows Compton?" Roy pushed a quart of mandarin into his mouth. The juice dribbled down his chin.

"Be worth finding out if he does," Ben said.

"Yeah... put his name into the system and let's see what we find."

"Sure, boss." Ben cocked his head and grinned. "You gonna eat all that yourself?"

Roy shook his head and chuckled. "When I was your age there was no way, I'd have been as familiar to my superior like you are with me." He tore off a couple of quarts and threw them across the room.

"Well..." Ben caught the segments. "I'm the best cop you've got."

"You're the only cop I've got, idiot."

Ben Stone laughed, stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth, chewed, and then swallowed. "I've got you by the balls, Roy, because your old brain, like your old legs don't work so well anymore."

"Yeah, alright. You got me there." Hadley grinned and jerked his head. "Now get the fuck on with it."

"Holy... shit..." Ben pushed himself backwards. The office chair carried him a metre from his desk. He leaned back, put his arms behind his head and said, "Come and take a look at what I've found."

"What?" Roy Hadley got up. He frowned at his constable. "Has this got anything to do with work?"

"I don't know, boss, but it sure is a coincidence if it doesn't."

Roy slipped on his glasses and peered at the computer screen. "Well fuck me! This might turn out to be more than we expect."

"You think it could be our Hawkins?"

"Good chance I'd say. The first name is unusual. I couldn't imagine there'd be too many, Beau Hawkins' in the world." Roy pulled his chair around in front of the computer and sat. "Let's see what it says. He's been missing since August last year. The detective in charge of the case thinks it was murder." He jerked his head at Ben. "You got your notes there. When did Greentree say he bought that place?"

Constable Stone flipped through his pad. "April. Thirteenth."

"So, he buys this property and no one to do with the sale has seen hide nor hair of him since. Then he's reported missing four months later. Go figure." Roy twisted his mouth in thought. "When did this Compton fellow come to town?"

"Don't know." Stone shrugged. "You think he might have bumped him off?"

"Fuckin' hope not. If he has, I wouldn't hold out much hope for Fin."

"So, what'll we do?"

"We keep it under our hats for the time being. Whatever you do don't say anything to Findlay. Fuck... me..." Roy shook his head and ran a hand down his face. "Let's get onto the investigating officer in charge of the Hawkins' case and see if he knows anything more. Then we'll take it from there. Alright?"

Quart - Quart is a segment of the mandarin or orange if it was an orange. It's an Australian vernacular not commonly used anymore but one I grew up using and so it slipped into my writing. I almost changed it but decided to leave it as I felt it was more genuine to my writing style. ♥

I hope things are hotting up for you and you are enjoying where the story is heading.

Please tell me if anything isn't working plot wise. It'd be a big help in getting it right. ♥

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