CIRCULAR CRIME

Chapter 2

The NSW police Central Operations building was on Elizabeth St. The windows on the East side delivered a rewarding view of the northern end of Hyde Park. Needless to say, the higher up the ranks you were, the better views you were rewarded with. Detective Inspector Taylor and his team got rewarded sometimes; when they stood up and looked over the rows of partitions. The off cream frontrunner on the partitions of level two hosted a variety of photo's, drawings, charts and phone numbers. Most of the people on level two had something to do with their current case they were working on, pinned up in front of them. Most of the window view offices were occupied by anyone with the word 'Commissioner' in their title, as well as Chief Superintendent Dave Holland; Mitch Taylor's boss. Dave had served his time on the ground as Detective. He was down to earth, and would always stick up for his boys. A large framed picture of an exotic island, surrounded by crystal clear blue ocean waters told Mitch that Dave was already settling into retirement mode.

"Coffee?" Mitch asked Brandon and Thomas. Both of them accepted; Brandon now wearing a more comfortable choice of clothing. Thomas pushed his chair back, until it collided with the corner of the filing cabinet near the door way. "Three sugars, thanks Mitch."

"Are you sure you need it?"

Thomas patted his paunch "I like sweet things."

Mitch only had to walk past two more partitions before he reached the tiny kitchen. Totally inadequate considering the amount of people on this level, the laminate was lifting off the aging chipboard cupboards. The medium sized fridge had an inventory of wasted lunch provisions. Needless to say, most of the workers on level two ate out often. The red and white chequered tea towel had seen cleaner days too. The only redeeming feature in Mitch's view was the new espresso machine with its gleaming silver exterior.

Thomas eagerly accepted his coffee as Mitch produced five sugar sachets from his pocket and tossed them on his desk. "So, what have we got?" asked Mitch as he leaned on the partition with his latte in hand.

Brandon spun around on his swivel chair to face Mitch. "Not a lot. No witnesses, no identity, no motive."

"Hopefully something will turn up in the autopsy tomorrow. Angel may turn up some new evidence." Mitch watched as Thomas ripped open his third sachet and emptied it into his mug.

"Brandon, if you can get to work on obtaining any CCTV footage, and keep an eye out for any missing persons reports. Thomas, find out what clubs were open, and call them to see if they remember anything out of the ordinary." Mitch took a decent sip of his Latte. "The only way we are solving this one is through hard work."

Sitting down at his desk, Mitch hung up his jacket over the chair. The partition in front of him hosted a calendar, the newspaper clippings from Mitch's last busts, a phone directory listing of the building, a framed certificate of his appointment, and a picture of Mitch, Kate, and their son Nathan whilst on a holiday in Hawaii. Nineteen years old and in university now, Nathan was already slightly taller than Mitch. Only five years ago in Hawaii seemed like yesterday, and he appeared so much happier then. Nathan was probably typical for a teenager, thought Mitch. He knew his promotion and the last few cases he had taken had meant he wasn't spending as much time with Nathan as he should have. Mitch had tried of course to be more involved with his son, but was usually met with indifference, or excuses of being too busy. Busy with friends at parties, busy on Facebook, busy with schoolwork; busy, busy, busy.

To Mitch, he seemed like such a rebel, but then again, how was that any different to the way Mitch was at that age? He'd tried on many occasions to lay down the law, but eventually resigned himself to the fact that his son was going to make his own decisions no matter what Mitch wanted. Sooner or later he'd have to grow up. Mitch just hoped that he'd find decent friends and not waste his time at university. There was no point in Nathan staying on Campus. Their house on Colbourne Avenue Glebe was a short bike ride away from the university. All those years raising a child and working on his relationship with Kate. Mitch used to feel important in those days; now he felt like an extra wheel, just turning in the motions of life.