Ed nodded in agreement. "I've known you long enough to sense when something's bugging you, am I right?"

"Yes, I've been asked to warn you to be careful, the Serbs are going to retaliate. They got the information they wanted from the tapes and they know who to go for, and when they get him the Croats will leave no stone unturned to try to find out how the information got out."

"How can they possibly find out?"

"It's simple logic. The chances of someone in their own families leaking information is practically nonexistent, consequently, they'll be searching for someone outside their own group." Will paused to take a deep breath, "that's you Ed, or one of your agents." Ed looked long and hard at him but Will was not getting any response. "You've never met or talked to these people, have you?"

"No."

"You can't treat them like other groups you've been spying on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, in addition to changing their operation they will come after you and kill you." Ed was now listening intently, and Will continued, "from what I've learned I can save you a lot of work and trouble. Both sides are just bent on destroying one another, there's no political agenda, it's merely a vendetta. The very minute that you find out what I've said is true, stop what you're doing, and leave it alone. Believe me, from now on, things could get really bad and you'll have very little control over what's happening. The revenge for the killing of that boy could come as early as tomorrow, so my advice to you is to keep on the alert. Things could happen when you least expect it."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"I think the correct term would be "deadly serious" I moved over to the door in readiness to leave. "I'm sorry to put a damper on the success of this first surveillance, but I didn't want you to proceed with the next two jobs, thinking that they were going to be a piece of cake, like the first. Keep expecting trouble and you might avert it. This is the last time I will visit you in this office, I can't afford to take any risks."  I closed the door behind me a picture of Ed's blank look imprinted in my mind.

 

The influences of Ed seemed now to be in the distant past, but I was aware that the other two surveillance dates would be either completed or imminent. Apart from the occasional reminder of the past, I was enjoying my day to day predictability. I had received no further information from Bart, which I could only conclude would be due to the fact that he was awaiting results from the other two meetings. It would be too much to expect that there would be no more contact from these parties - just wishful thinking.

 

Searching through my papers I found his copy of the information given to me by Bart and the final meeting was due next Sunday. They must have coped with the second meeting and Ed wouldn't contact him at this late stage, unless they had an emergency of some kind.

I waited a further couple of weeks expecting Ed to appear with the tapes, but it was to be a further week before the familiar sight of Ed's car parked outside the shops in Vermont caught his eye as he alighted from the bus. As he approached the door opened and Tony got out. I looked past him and into the car, but Ed was not there.

 

"Where's Ed, is he sick again?"

Tony pointed to the front seat, indicating that I should get inside. He turned to me as they settled into their seats. "No, he's not sick."

"Has he sent me some tapes then, and how did the surveillance go?"

"No, I haven't brought any tapes but the surveillance went well."

 

This question and answer session is getting me nowhere, I was thinking, as Tony seemed to be getting more and more non-committal. He was staring through the windshield appearing detached from the circumstances around him. "What the hell's going on Tony, why are you so damned reticent?"

Tony placed his hand on the steering-wheel in the driving position and lowered his head down between his arms. I could see that he was upset. "What's the matter, has something happened to Ed?"  Tony nodded but no words came, and as he raised his head I could see tears in his eyes.

"He's had an accident."

"What sort of accident?"

"He was run over by a motor car."

"Where is he, is he injured?"

Tony seemed to take ages to answer, his head resting between his arms again. He shook his head from side to side. "He's dead."

 

I was dumbfounded, my mouth opening and closing but no words were coming out. A barrage of questions were entering my brain. I had the sudden urge to grab Tony and violently shake the answers out of him, but the numbness I felt prevented me. They sat in silence for some minutes as I waited for Tony to regain his composure.

"The police say that it was a hit and run accident."

"Do you believe that?"

"It certainly looks that way."

 

My stomach was turning over, I knew this was no accident. "Are you sure that this recent surveillance went without incident?"

"Not quite, but it wasn't significant."

"What do you mean, not significant?"

"When we got back Ed said he'd forgotten to do something before he left the pier, so he went back."

"Did anyone see him afterwards, or go with him?"

"No."

"Where was he found?"

"Lying next to his car in the street. The police think that he'd just got out when he was hit. The car door was still partly open."

"Were there any witnesses?"

"No, the police are looking for the car. Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"Because when they find the car it will turn out to be stolen."

 

Tony's eyes opened wide; it was obvious that no one had applied any reasoning to Ed's death. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Didn't Ed tell you that I had warned him to be careful?"

"No, he didn't."

"The bloody fool, and you're a bloody fool too!"

Tony was now sitting bolt upright in his seat, his body noticeably stiff.  "Don't you understand that this is the way they do it. They caught him, killed him by running over him, and then dumped him next to his car to make it look like an accident."

 

The gruesome nature of my last statement was just too much for Tony, and he slumped over the steering-wheel again. I waited awhile before continuing with the conversation. "These people are way out of your league, there's an element of thugs and killers amongst them. You're just information gatherers; you'll never be able to cope with the likes of them.  Would you be able to kill anyone Tony?"

"No way!"

"You should know then that you can't compete."

"Where do we go from here?"

"Go straight to Ed's office right now and collect all his things. Leave the office bare. Tell the old man that if anyone asks any questions, he's to tell them that the police removed the contents. Then don't ever go back there again."

"Will you tell the others what you've told me tonight?"

I thought long and hard before answering. It would be an ideal opportunity to look them all over and a chance to perhaps find out more about the organization here in Australia from Tony, now that he was vulnerable.

"Pick them all up and bring them to Heathmont Station car-park tomorrow night at 7 p.m. It's only a couple of miles down the road from here."

"Yes, I know where it is."

 

I watched until the car turned down Mitcham Road towards Donvale and then walked slowly down the hill to my house. The shock of Ed's death had taken every ounce of energy away from me and my gait was unsteady. I would have to recover before I walked into the house.

 

What had possessed Ed to go back to the pier that day? The recorder would have been collected earlier. Perhaps he intended to be there when the boat returned after the meeting? I wonder if he waited to take photographs for identification purposes? Whatever he was up to it was a fatal mistake to be without assistance.  He was committing suicide.

 

I tried to put things out of his mind until the next evening but it was impossible. Pulling into the car-park outside the suburban railway station at Heathmont, I spotted a large van parked away from the other cars. It looked similar to the vans used by the police for taking teams to crime scenes.

I knocked on the passenger door and Tony's face appeared at the window. He looked relieved. Apart from the stress of recent happenings he had probably entertained the possibility that I may not turn up.

 

I clambered between the driver and passenger seat to gain access to the rear of the vehicle. It was dimly lit by a small lamp attached to the underside of the roof and six men, including Tony, were seated on either side, leaving a space down the centre. Remaining in the standing position I looked at each man in turn, as they remained silent waiting for me to speak. Apart from one man they were all young, even younger than Tony.  The older man broke the silence.

"What's all this business about Ed. You're not part of the team, so why should we believe what you're telling us."

I took a step forward to get closer to the man. "Ed's death was not hit and run I can assure you. You're the oldest here, with probably the most experience, so I hold you  responsible for what happened. You buggered off to the comfort of your home and let him go without any assistance, didn't you?" Everyone recoiled into the back of their seats. "You're right, I'm not part of your team and I wouldn't want to be, now that I know more about you."

 

The close confines of the van only emphasized the silence that followed and no one appeared to want to speak. "Because of your inexperience every one of you pose a danger to me, and also to yourselves. I don't want to end up like Ed, do you? I'll make two comments and then I'm off and I don't want to see any of you again. Go home and don't do anything for a couple of months.  No contact, not even with one another, understand?" I turned to Tony. "Don't visit the restaurant in Spring Street again, or anywhere that Ed has frequented for that matter."

 

"But my girl friend works there."

 

"It's up to you how much value you put on your continued good health. The people you are spying on are not part of any national organization, there's no big plan. They just react when something happens and Ed got caught. The way he was killed is typical of what they do, the police will never find out anything. The second thing is this. You'll get no more information from me. Stop spying on them and you'll stay alive. Has anybody got anything to say?" Everyone looked at me, but no questions were forthcoming.

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