Choices - Jeff Edwards

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Clements to join her at the reception desk. When he was standing beside her, she flipped a switch on the intercom and they heard the sound of chairs being scraped on the hard floor below. ‘I turned on the intercom before they arrived,’ she whispered, as the agents began their interrogation.

      * * *

      ‘Well then Mr Travers, we meet again.’

      ‘Yeah,’ offered a seemingly very confused Dan. ‘What do you want?’

      ‘We need to speak to you. We need you to clarify some matters for us. Some very weighty matters.’

      ‘What matters?’

      ‘Coincidences, Mr Travers. We’re here to discuss coincidences.’

      ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’

      ‘Of course you don’t,’ smiled Pile. ‘Let’s start with spear pistols, shall we?’

      ‘What?’

      ‘Spear pistols. You know. Smaller than a spear gun, powered by compressed air, and used by skindivers, that sort of spear pistol.’

      ‘Okay. I know what they are. What have they to do with me?’

      ‘Did you know that you can hire spear pistols at your friend Habib Bashir’s shop in Bali?’

      ‘You can rent a lot of diving equipment from Habib.’

      ‘Yes. But someone stole one of those pistols. Habib reported the theft to police.’

      ‘So what? Are you saying I took it?’

      ‘Are you saying you didn’t?’

      ‘Why would I want to steal anything, especially from a friend? I’ve never been a skindiver. Why would I want it?’

      ‘Ah well. That’s where coincidences seem to occur. You see the theft took place the day you arrived in Bali, and we believe that the pistol was used a day later, also while you were in Bali.’

      ‘Used? Used how? What has this got to do with me, and why are you involved?’

      ‘We’ll be coming to that in a minute Mr Travers. You’re here to answer our questions, not ask them. Now then, what did you do during the daylight hours when you were in Bali?’

      ‘We surfed of course!’

      ‘All day? Every day?’

      ‘Yeah … well … for most of the day.’

      ‘Oh? And what did you do when you weren’t surfing?’

      ‘Not much. We hung around the hotel or the beach, drunk a lot of beer. Chilled out. You know.’

      ‘Was there someone with you all the time, someone who can confirm where you were during the daylight hours?’

      ‘I was with my mates Rick and Sam.’

      ‘All the time?’

      ‘We had separate rooms. So I wasn’t with them every second of the day and night.’

      ‘Did you spend much time with your friend Habib Bashir on your latest visit to Bali?’

      ‘We were out on his boat the first and last day of our holiday. He was booked out with other charters the rest of the time. Most days we surfed from the beach when we couldn’t get out to the reef.’

      ‘So you would have had the opportunity to steal the spear pistol on the first day?’

      ‘I didn’t steal anything!’

      ‘But you had the opportunity?’

      ‘I suppose so, but I didn’t do it.’

      Pile now turned the questioning over to Diane, giving Dan no time to get orientated.

      ‘What do you know about a man named Arny Holland?’

      ‘Holland? I know about him. He’s bad news. Everyone in Bali knows about him, but the cops don’t do anything.’

      ‘Did you ever buy drugs from him?’

      ‘No. Never. I tell you he’s bad news. He’s letting those poor bastards die in prison over there. They were doing his dirty work when they were caught, but the cops can’t prove he was involved, so he goes free, the prick!’

      ‘So you’ve never bought drugs from him?’

      ‘Never. I don’t do drugs!’

      ‘You used to.’

      Dan tried to look indignant at the accusation but realised that these people probably had access to his past. ‘Yeah, well that was when I was a kid. I got that knocked out of me by a sergeant in basic training, and I’ve never bothered since. I don’t need it, and I don’t want the hassles of having it.’

      ‘So you never had any dealings with Arny Holland?’

      ‘No. Never.’

      ‘What about your friends?’

      ‘Rick and Sam? They’re straight. I’ve never seen them use anything. We all prefer a good beer, and plenty of them. They know about Holland too, and they hate what he’s done to those kids on death row.’

      ‘And what could Mr Holland do about those people in jail?’

      ‘They’re his responsibility. He has plenty of money, and he should be spreading it around to get their sentences cut down from the death penalty at least.’

      ‘Well, I’m afraid it’s a little bit late for that. You see Mr Holland is dead.’

      ‘Dead?’

      ‘You didn’t know?’

      ‘Why should I? I haven’t been to Bali for a while.’

      ‘Well Mr Travers, I’ll tell you. He was killed while you were in Bali. Arny Holland was shot through the head with a spear pistol, exactly the same as the one that disappeared the day you visited Mr Bashir’s shop. A coincidence wouldn’t you say?’

      ‘Are you saying that I did it? You’ve got to be kidding! There were thousands of other people at Bali at the same time who could have done it.’

      Hill nodded. ‘I might have agreed with you Mr Travers except for the fact that this is not the only coincidence.’ He waited for a moment, allowing time for Dan to speculate about what was to come. ‘What do you know about Din Nassir Abbas?’ he asked finally.

      ‘That bastard!’ spat Dan. ‘He organised the murder of the greatest surfer ever known. He was behind the explosion at Murphy’s Bar. I hope the arsehole is rotting in hell.’

      ‘What about Abu Bin Ahmad?’

      ‘The bomber! He actually boasted to the media about killing my friends!’

      ‘And they’re both now dead.’

      ‘They deserve to be.’

      ‘True, but now we come back to coincidences. You see each one of them were slain while you were in the immediate area.’

      Dan was incredulous. ‘Are you trying to say that I had something to do with their deaths?’

      ‘Coincidences Mr Travers, coincidences.’

      ‘You’re both mad. ’

      ‘We might be mistaken Travers, but certainly not mad. What we need from you right now is proof that you were not responsible for any of these events.’

      ‘Ask Rick and Sam, they’ll tell you that I had nothing to do with this.’

      ‘Be assured Mr Travers, we most certainly will, but we’ll need the word of more than just your friends to convince us that you had no knowledge of these events.’

      ‘You can check all you like. In fact I hope you do. You’ll soon

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