GlitterStrip

GlitterStripIt's All Smoke and Mirrors P G Robertson Copyright © 2023 by P G RobertsonAll rights reserved.No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents Dedication Prologue 1. The Gloss Fades 2. Mullumbimby Revival 3. SACC 4. Sydney 5. The Hearing 6. Major Crimes 7. Leaving Town 8. Gold Coast 9. Briefing 10. Backwater 11. Unpacking 12. First Surf 13. A Tidy Sum 14. Goon Squad 15. The Tempest 16. Super Sunday 17. The Chairman 18. Seaview 19. Odds and Ends 20. Brett Tompkins 21. Shadows 22. In the Job 23. Triangles 24. GlitterStrip 25. Supply 26. Click & Collect 27. BBQ 28. Sprung 29. What Next? 30. Dealing 31. Reunion 32. Patterns 33. Imports 34. High Profile 35. Party Time 36. Morning After 37. Surveillance 38. Easy 39. Wet Wednesday 40. Quarantine 41. Compartments 42. Briggs 43. Cronin 44. Mount Nathan 45. Collapse 46. Epilogue Author's Note So Many to Thank Surfing Terminology I dedicate this book to my mother, a woman of considerable talents and achievements. Some small fraction of her formidable artistic abilities must have rubbed off somehow! PrologueIt was a beautiful place—if that was your thing. The dusty crushed-granite road wound its way between large eucalypt trees that stretched across the road. It was approaching midday, and the shadows cast by the trees made it difficult to spot the worst of the relentless corrugations. The car vainly ducked and weaved before it shuddered to a sudden stop. The two men had driven from Sydney and it was almost disturbing, the quiet that greeted them as they exited their car—depressing, even. As soon as the dust settled, a squadron of flies descended, seemingly onto them in an instant, vying to enter every available orifice. A more desperate and godforsaken place the men had never visited.One of the men looked down at his phone before speaking. ‘This is the spot—according to the GPS coordinates we’ve been given. I wish we knew what we’re looking for.’ The loose plan, it seemed, going by the hand gestures, was best summarised as ‘you look over that way and I’ll look over this way’. This was a solid plan, considering the broad nature of the job they were tasked with.Less than ten minutes had passed before one of them shouted out that he had found something. ‘Bring the shovel,’ he yelled to his mate, signalling that digging was involved, although who would do the digging was not clear. The tone of the man doing the yelling inferred that this would not be him, seeing as he’d done the finding.It wasn’t as big a job as feared. The digging man didn’t want to get all sweaty. It was hot, being the middle of the day, even though summer was some way away. There had been no rain for months now and the soil was dry and dusty. He only needed to make a few digs before he hit something solid. ‘It could be anything,’ said the man holding the shovel Chapter 1 The Gloss FadesIn one deep recess of her mind or another, Detective Angela Watson, Ange to everyone she knew, could feel the seeds of discontent taking hold. Sort of like when you feel a faint tickle niggling the back of your throat, hoping that you might be thirsty, knowing that a cold or flu is taking hold. She still loved Byron Bay, with its relaxed morning vibe as people sought their coffee fix, the smattering of indie-cool shops and edgy restaurants that persisted against a mainstream incursion, the energy that would pulse though the town on Friday and Saturday nights as people came together to find music or each other. Not to mention the fantastic waves—the region being a genuine surfing mecca. However, little things were grating on her. Things like the increasingly common traffic jams that prevented her from getting to work on time, or that finding a convenient parking spot in the main street had become almost impossible. Her landlord had put up the rent, citing a strong demand for rental properties. She knew this would be true, as the region had been experiencing rapid growth on account of the Covid exodus from the big cities.Byron Bay was bursting at the seams and tension-infused incidents belched to the surface daily. Road rage in Byron Bay was now a thing—who would have thought. A parochial disdain for outsiders and otherworldly views was also annoying, to say the least. Vaccination mandates and concerns over human rights had been keeping Ange busy, where divergent beliefs were flashpoints for aggression and violence. Frankly, Ange struggled to fathom which side was impinging on the rights of the other. It was hard to tell sometimes.The town had changed more in the past two years than almost any time in history, trying to absorb an unprecedented influx of people seeking a different lifestyle. In Ange’s eyes, their decisions to