"Uh-huh. Yeah... got it." Roy took some notes and drew a doodle on the edge of his page. "Thanks for that. Yep. Sure..." He sat straighter in readiness to cut the call. "No. I wouldn't say anything to the family just yet."

Roy scratched his head with the end of his pen. "Well, we haven't found him for a start. He's just a name on a deed. It might not be the same person. The real estate agent said Beau Hawkins is a businessman living in Japan, not a drug addict."

He listened again, and then replied, "Yeah...no worries. We'll show a few of the locals the photos and give you a call if anything concrete comes of it." Roy murmured, "Cheers." He disconnected the call and chuckled. "Man, can that prick talk?"

"So, what's the deal?" Ben spun on his chair and nudged his head in question. "Is he, our man?"

"I don't think so but I said we'd show his photo around town in case someone's seen him."

Ben stood and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Are you gonna fill me in or what?"

"This Hawkins." Roy tapped the screen of his computer with his pen. "Has some serious issues, substance abuse... rehabilitated. Well, was getting treatment. He was committed for drug addiction and he suffered from delusions. Lots of crazy shit."

Roy shrugged and continued, "Hawkins' bank accounts, credit cards, mobile phone and Medicare card haven't been used since he went missing but before he disappeared, a chunk of money went astray. They think he got involved with some heavies. He was a syndicate fighter. A lot of money involved." Roy sighed and looked over at Ben with a puzzled expression. "Maybe he threw a fight and lost someone a stack of cash. Maybe he got in deeper with drugs. Dealing instead of using. Who knows? His car was found abandoned with traces of his blood all through it." He pointed at the phone. "Pavardy thinks he's been knocked off by the big guys. They found a body but tests haven't been finalised so they still haven't identified it. They've also been looking for a guy named Cory Shevlin and his brother Baum."

He leaned back in his chair and used his pen to point at the photo of Beau Hawkins. "Pavardy's sending us more pictures of men they can't find. The Shevlin's, well, Cory Shevlin at least, and Hawkins are connected."

After clicking his emails to check if the photos were in his inbox, Roy looked back at Ben. "This Shevlin's rap sheet is even worse than Hawkins' but he's been too clever to have been charged with anything. The brother Baum was implicated in some of the crimes but had alibis. The poor bastard looks a lot like his brother."

Shaking his head in bewilderment Roy continued, "According to Pavardy, Cory Shevlin's an evil prick. Rape's not a stranger to him. His family are so scared of him that they moved state and have changed their names. They say he's schizophrenic and they haven't seen Baum for two years. He's disappeared. The parents are worried about his safety."

Roy flicked to the police link and the photo of Beau Hawkins again. "I've got a gut feeling this Cody Compton's involved somehow." He mused, "It seems a coincidence he's living in a place owned by a possible dead man. We haven't found any records of rent payments he's supposed to be paying. And... he's using the name Cody. Sounds a lot like Cory." He frowned and looked at Ben. "What do you think? Could Cody Compton be Cory Shevlin?"

"Fuck...! Ben whistled out the word and covered his mouth with his hand. "If he is? Shit. I don't want to even think about what he could have done to Fin Hamilton."

Roy spun in his chair to face his computer. "What's going on with the roads? Compton's our problem and I'd like to meet him."

His inbox bell bleeped before he could open the meteorology site. "Here they are." Roy opened the attachment and printed the photos of Beau Hawkins, Baum and Cory Shevlin. "Yep. Take a look. The poor bastard is identical to his brother. They could be twins."

Ben moved to Roy's desk and leaned over the pictures. "Bloody hell. They all look alike. You'd think the three were brothers." Ben studied each photo. "But yeah. Those two could be twins." He tapped the images. "Which one is which?"

"Green shirt is Baum. Brown shirt is Cory and the blue shirt is Beau," Roy said as he lay each print on the desk. "You're right. They all look the same." He shook his head as he murmured, "What a fucking shit show?"

"I'll check the BOM site and see if the weather's improving," Ben said as he went to his desk to check the meteorology site. "The weather has improved," he called across the room. "But you know old Mac's place. I wouldn't hold my breath." Ben pushed his chair back, stood, and picked up the photos of the three men from Roy's desk. "Do you want me to show these around town?"

"Yeah," Roy said. "It wouldn't hurt. I'm interested in this Compton. Something's not right there." He grinned at Ben. "Keep them in your notebook and show them to Snake and Sagus. Russell too when you're doing..." He waved his hand in the air. "Whatever it is that you do."

Ben laughed. He put his empty coffee cup on Roy's desk, folded the photos in half and with a wink and a grin said, "Well I'll be off doing... whatever... while you wash my coffee cup."

That Ben's a cheeky bugger. ☺

BOM stands for Bureau of Meteorology.