"Aah!" "Aah!" "Ah." "Here's one for the record books." "Got halfway here and realized" "I'd left the bloody clubs at home." "Just keep them here like everybody else." "They're perfectly safe." "Not until they catch that little bugger." "Ah, money and booze, Doug." "He's done us twice." "He's not gonna come back for your mangy old clubs." "He'll be back." "You carry your shotty in your bag, you might bag him." "Aw, bollocks." "Ugh, damn it." "Yeah, well, that practice really paid off." "It's on the fairway." "Shut up." "Ooh, good shot." " Did you talk to her?" " Yes." "Find out why she changed her mind?" "I thought the rule was "no business while we're playing."" "My bad." " Bugger!" " Ass!" "Jesus." "What?" "Is it plugged?" "Uh, call an ambulance." "Well, I haven't got a phone." " Neil!" " Bloody hell, Roger." " Call an ambulance!" " Why?" "What is it?" "Holy hell." "Oh, my God." " Is that Alison?" " I reckon." "A bit bloody late for an ambulance." " What do we got?" " The deceased is an Alison Stone." "She's a local, lives next door, member of the golf club." "On the committee, apparently." "I take it she wasn't hit by a stray golf ball." "Definitely not." "Chose a nice day to go." "I guess." "I hear you like golf." "Who's he talking to?" "The deceased." "Okay." "You get used to it." "Who found her?" "A Neil Bloom, Walter Elliott," "Roger Harrington, and Doug Randall." "They I.D.'d her?" "Yep." "They're on the committee, too." " All of them?" " Yeah." "Them and the deceased?" "The five of them comprised the Brokenwood Golf Club Committee, apparently." "Okay." "They play every Wednesday morning at this time." "Them, not her." "Got it." "Uh, the trail leads down to the greenskeeper's small storage shed." "Indications are that that's where whatever did that to her was..." " Done?" " Administered?" "Hmm." " Boss." " Morning, Sam." "Forensic boys are working under the assumption that whatever did that to our victim is kind of toxic." "So, she was administered here." "And made it as far as there before dying." "So, what, two minutes, maybe three before she copped it?" "Something like that." "Then I'd say "toxic" is a fairly fair assumption." "There's some spray equipment in the shed which will be tested, but the guys doubt it's been used in a while." "Is there a greenskeeper that can help us with that?" "According to the committee chaps, the greenskeeper is a Hamish Grimm." "Tried his number." "No reply." "One possible scenario here is that she was on her early-morning walk and busted the Clubhouse Bandit." "Sorry." "The who?" "Do you not read the Brokenwood Courier?" "The "Clubhouse Bandit" is what they've dubbed the guy going around breaking in to all the golf courses in the area." "Here, the clubhouse twice, and now the shed." "The Riverstone course was hit, as well, and Puckeroo Falls." "The Clubhouse Bandit?" "Was that really the best name they could come up with?" "He's been doing the rounds for a couple of months." "Booze, trophies, petty cash, honesty boxes." "So, he graduates from honesty boxes to murder?" "She springs him." "He panics, throws the first thing he grabs into her face." "In which case, he would have got the stuff all over himself and be a very unwell boy." "I'll have a check with the hospitals, doctors, et cetera." "What's going on?" "She got what was coming to her." "Ta." "Next of kin?" "Daughter..." "Nickaela." " Um, no husband?" " Died a few years back." "Has the daughter been informed?" "Not yet." "Unable to locate her." "Not answering her phone." "Unfortunately, I think I can help you with that." "Hello." "Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd." " And you are?" " Roger Harrington." "And you know where Nickaela is?" "Well, I have an idea where she might be." "Can you talk to Detective Sims, please?" "Do you still need us?" "I'd be keen for a chat, yes." " We've already given statements." " Not to me, you haven't." "All we did is find the body." "Well, shouldn't take very long, then, should it?" "Hi." "Can I help you?" "Are you meant to be here?" "They, uh..." "At the..." "They told me to come down here." "Did they say why?" "I work here... sort of." "Are you the greenskeeper?" "Yeah." "Part time." " Hamish Grimm, right?" " Yeah." "You knew Alison Stone?" "Yeah." "Everyone here did." "Terrible thing." "There are some officers up at your shed who are gonna need your help in case anything is out of place or is missing." "You think he did this, the guy that's doing all the robberies?" "One thing at a time, eh?" "For now, can you help my officers?" "Hamish?" "Yeah." "Yeah, onto it." "The end of Stone Creek Road, the old farm manager's house." "Uh, what farm is this?" "The Stones'." "They own pretty much the whole valley." "But the daughter doesn't live with the mother?" "Nicky Stone is what we used to call "a piece of work."" "Like mother, like daughter." "And Alison didn't mind her daughter living in squalor." " With your son?" " Sometimes." "You located the daughter?" "She's shacked up with Roger's son." "Ah, and he's not happy about the situation." "No." "Hell, no." "Okay." "I'll leave you with that." "Oh, so, I get to inform the next of kin?" "Consider it a gift." "Remind me how breaking terrible news to someone is a gift again." "My ex-wife used to love spontaneous gifts." "Oh, really?" "Which one?" "Thank you, gentlemen." "Hopefully I won't keep you long." "It's not like we can play any golf, is it?" "That is true." "The course will remain closed for a day or two." "Nothing I can do about that, I'm afraid." "Is there somewhere private we can talk?" "There's the office." "Sorry." "And you are?" "Grimm." "Janet Grimm." "Janet kind of runs the place." "Ah, and that would be your son, the greenskeeper." "Yeah." "Actually, how about down the end there?" "It's very scenic, very... golfy." "Golfy?" "Right, then." "Why don't I start with whoever arrived here first this morning?" "You spent the night here?" "Yes." "Is that usual?" "It happens from time to time." "I live some distance away." "Sometimes it makes sense for me to stay here... if I have an early start at the shop the next day." "What shop is this?" " A pharmacy." " You're a chemist?" "I'm a pharmacist." "There's a difference?" "Chemists make the drugs that cure your ills." "Pharmacists dispense them." "You stayed here all last night?" "Yes." "And this morning?" "I showered in the locker room, got dressed, headed out to play." "Was there anyone else here then?" "Walter, unusually." "Are you practicing?" "Is there a law against it?" "Well, what happened to Mr. Woke Up Just in Time to Tee Off?" "Maybe he got sick of double-bogeying the first." "You arrived at 7:30?" "Around then." "A bit earlier than usual, I hear." "I felt the need to practice." "Did you see anyone else while you were practicing?" "No, not till Neil came out from inside." "Did you know he was in there?" "No." "But I know he stays there sometimes when it's a better option than driving home at night." "You didn't make it home last night, I see." "No." "Did you talk to her?" "Do I need to remind you of the "no business" rule?" "The look on your face." "I stayed to go through the books one more time so idiots like you would realize how screwed things are." "Did you reimburse the bar while you were going through these books?" "Small recompense for my valuable time." "Maybe we wouldn't be so screwed if you paid for what you drink." "Drop in the bucket, Walter." "You know it." "Walter and Neil were here when I arrived." "What time was this?" "The usual." "Um, about 10 to 8:00." "Neil, Walter." " Rog." " Roger." "How was the, uh, rest of your night?" "Uneventful." "Why?" "Oh, nothing." "Is Doug not playing?" "No idea." "We tee off at 8:00 on Wednesday mornings, but we were a few minutes late waiting for Doug." "Yes, I was late." "I got halfway here and remembered the bloody clubs." "You went to play golf without your clubs?" "Well, usually I leave them out in the bag shed." "But not anymore?" "Well, not since that thief did us over." "You lot thought he was a bloody joke, and now look." "Quite a leap from ripping off the honesty box to murder, don't you think?" "Well, she must have sprung him while she's out on her walk." "Obvious, isn't it?" "You knew Alison Stone walked the golf course?" "Of course I did." "We all did." "Are we somehow suspects here?" "Not yet." "So, Neil, you stayed the night?" "After the meeting." "The committee meeting?" "Yes." "The four of you were here last night?" "And Alison." "They all left pretty much straight after the meeting." "Let's just vote on this bloody thing before somebody kills someone." "Yeah, she left the meeting as soon as it broke up." "I-I don't see how this has got anything to do with..." "Well, that was the last time you saw Alison..." "I presume." "Yes." "I went straight home after the meeting, came back here early this morning, hit the ball a couple of times... found Alison in the bunker." "That's the story, Detective." "Nothing more to say." "Hello?" "This is the police." "Get out of here, Kyle." "Hello?" "Police here." "Hello?" "Nickaela?" "Hey, you can't be in here unless you've got, like, a search warrant or something." "Um, I'm here about your mother." "What does she want now?" "Nickaela, I'm here because..." "Don't call me Nickaela." "Only she calls me that." "Okay, fine." "What would you like me to call you?" "Nicky." "Nicky, there was a body found this morning, and it was that of your mother." "I'm sorry to have to tell you." "Your mother is dead." "Is there anyone else here with you?" "No." "That was Kyle Harrington, I presume, who ran off?" "Do you want to tell me maybe why he did that?" "Where?" "Sorry?" "Where's Mum?" "Where's the body?" "It's still at the scene." "Which is where?" "I want to see her." "She's at the golf course, but the body will be taken to the mortuary very soon, so you can go down there and see her." "Why did you say "scene"?" "Like a crime scene?" "Scene of the investigation." "Is there anyone who can be with you now, anyone we can contact on your behalf?" "Uh..." "Mum's sister, my auntie, lives in Rotorua." "Do you have a number for her?" "Yeah." "Well, what happened at the golf course?" "'Cause she walks there every morning." "Why don't you find me that number, and we can get that under way?" "Maybe you want to finish getting dressed, too." "They were here when we moved in." "I think you better come back down to the station with me." "Kristin." "How's the next of kin?" "Unhappy." "It's hard to tell if the death of her mother has anything to do with it, though." "How so?" "I seem to have cracked the case of the Clubhouse Bandit." "Her boyfriend, Kyle Harrington." "And what does Kyle have to say for himself now?" "Unknown." "He legged it." "The boys are out searching." "And the daughter?" "She's here at the station, along with a houseload of nicked items." "I had no choice but to bring her in." "Ah." "Hence the lack of happiness." "Exactly." "I'll be there in a while." "Hey, remind me." "Is Mr. Stone deceased?" "Uh, yep." "Died in 2004, apparently." "Has there been a bloke on the scene since?" "Not that anyone says." "Um, lived alone, ran her farm alone, kicked butt on the golf course." "That's all I've got so far." "Why?" "Well, there was definitely a bloke here last night." "And this morning, when she went walking, they were still here." "Who?" "Exactly." "Hello, Nicky." "I'm Detective..." "Why am I here?" "I've just found out my mum's dead, and you're treating me like I'm some kind of criminal." "Firstly, I am very sorry for your loss." "And I promise I will keep this as brief as possible." "But like I was saying, I'm D.C. Shepherd." "You've met Detective Sims." "And I do need to ask you a few questions about the stolen property that was in the house you were in." "What stolen property?" "Well, the numerous trophies, to start with." "We didn't know they were stolen." "You just thought Kyle was extremely good at golf?" "And ladies golf, judging by half the trophies." "So, if didn't steal them, why did Kyle run away?" " Ask him." " We will." "So, you live with Kyle in the old farm manager's house, right?" "Not really." "So, you live at home?" "Sometimes." "You kind of move between home and wherever Kyle is?" "Mum said Kyle could stay in the house, seeing it was empty." "What happened to the farm manager?" "She left after Dad died." "She?" "Yeah." "Janet Grimm." "From the golf club?" "I don't know." "I guess." "I hate golf." "Fair enough." "Odd to have a woman farm manager." "Have you seen her?" "Huh." "You were with Kyle last night?" "Yep." "And this morning?" "Yep." "All of this morning?" "Until you guys showed up, yes." "At which point, Kyle ran away for reasons known only to him." "I guess so." "When was the last time you saw your mother?" "Yesterday." "Where?" "At our house." "Then I left to go hang out with Kyle." "Was she alone when you left?" "Yeah." "What about later?" "How would I know?" "I wasn't there." "Was she expecting someone?" "Her..." "Her boyfriend?" "Well, I'd hardly call him that." "Who?" "Her stress relief, the latest plaything she dragged back to her web." "The latest?" "Yeah, Mum has... had boyfriends." "I generally made a point not to be there when they were around, and it worked for both of us." "Does this latest plaything have a name?" "Hamish Grimm." "The greenskeeper?" "I like to think of him more as the man-slut toy-boy." "And related to your ex-farm manager?" "Yeah." "Her son." "Well, can I go now?" "I have grieving to do." "I've been in touch with your Auntie Renee." "She's on her way here." "Nicky, if Kyle gets in touch with you, can you tell him we'd please like to speak with him?" "He didn't kill her." "We still need to speak with him." "The club captain's son is the Clubhouse Bandit." "Classic." "Clubhouse Idiot, more like it." "What was he planning to do with all this stuff?" "He can't hock it off." "It's not worth anything." "Do you think all this has something to do with Alison Stone's death?" "You tell me." "Well, simple explanation." "She catches Kyle in the act..." "Or?" "Or..." "Nicky gets her boyfriend started on a crime spree so that when Mummy dies, he's the prime suspect, not her." "That's dark." "She's the only child of a widow." "No prizes for guessing who will wind up with the farm." "That's a pretty elaborate setup for an 18-year-old." "Well, you saw her." "Serious attitude, and she definitely didn't like her mother." "Apart from Hamish, who did like her?" "Alison had a talent for rubbing people up the wrong way." "Can you think of anyone that might want Alison Stone dead?" "Yes." "Well, you could start with everyone she's ever met, narrow it down from there." "You want to elaborate?" "Not particularly." "Throw it down, sir." "She was a soulless cad." "Not many gonna mourn her." "Alison Stone's cellphone..." "calls in and out." " Thanks." " Sam?" "Check out the last call she received." "6:31 a.m., from the clubhouse." "Neil Bloom?" "He was the only one there." "Hmm." "So it seems." "Boss, Roger Harrington's here to identify the silverware." "These are the trophies stolen from the Brokenwood Golf Club?" "Of course they are." "They've got the name on them, haven't they?" "Thank you." "Are we done here?" "Uh, do you know where Kyle is?" "No." "There was some food taken from my kitchen this morning when I got home from the course." "I presume that is him." "But, no, I haven't seen him." "You're aware that we believe it was him who stole all the stuff, right?" "Yes." "Why do you think he stole the trophies?" "I mean, the money and the booze I get, but why these?" "Are they valuable?" "Look, I..." "I don't know what is going on in Kyle's head." "You'd have to ask that... skank that he is with." "I take it you don't approve of your son's relationship with Nicky Stone?" "Kyle was a good kid until she came along." "He was still in school." "Then she latched onto him, and that was that." "When was the last time you saw Kyle?" "A couple of weeks." "Did you know it was him stealing from the golf courses?" "No." "And if I did, I would bloody well dob him in." "Your own son?" "If it got him away from her, in a heartbeat." "She's already going around tweeting on that thing, saying that... well, the cops are gonna kill Kyle." "I've had Linda on the phone in tears this morning." "Linda is..." "My wife." "Kyle's mother." "She's away at the moment, in Vanuatu on business." "Is that everything?" "Actually, no." "I need your help understanding something." "Alison Stone was obviously a pretty handy golfer." "Yes." "Ladies champion from 1997 to 2014." "And in 1995." "A. Hanson is her?" "Her maiden name." "Before she married C. Stone?" "Curtis." "Yes." "Who was quite a golfer himself." "Yes, he was." "That's..." "That's where they met." "Uh, she was a bit younger than him?" "25 years, yes." "What does all this have to do with Alison dying?" "I'm just trying to understand the pieces." "Like D. Randall here." "Doug." "Yes." "Seems like he and Curtis were rivals." "And best friends." "Meanwhile, on the ladies side," "I presume J. Grimm is Janet from the clubhouse..." "Yes." "Who was the farm manager for the Stones." "For Curtis, yes." "But Alison fired her." "Something like that." "I don't really know the details." "Presumably no love lost between them, on or off the golf course." "Janet doesn't play anymore." "But H. Grimm does." "He gave up also." "Doesn't look much like a golfer these days." "He was never a golfer." " But he was." " Yes, but he never got the game." "Who does?" "Each to their own, Detective." "Look, um, I really do need to go." "Of course." "Sam, will you show Mr. Harrington out?" "Uh, thanks." "Your help has been invaluable." "That was pretty bold, telling a club captain his game makes no sense." "Sorry." "It just slipped out." "Are you seriously driving towards her death being something to do with who stole the stupid trophy?" "Clubs like this are a tapestry." "I'm just trying to figure how everyone's woven together." "Oh, you know about golf, do you?" "Hell, no." "People are way more likely to kill each other over sex than golf." "And Hamish Grimm never actually mentioned that he was doing the wild thing with Alison Stone." "No." "No, he didn't, did he?" "It must have slipped his mind." "Hamish, how's it going?" "Okay." "Mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" "Think I've told you guys everything I know." "Did you?" "Yeah, about the shed and the stuff in it." "Gave one of your guys the rundown." "Yeah, but you didn't tell us anything about you and Alison Stone." "What do you mean?" "We hear that you and her were a couple." "No." "No way." "So, if we got some of your DNA, it wouldn't match the DNA" "I'm sure we'd find all over Alison's sheets?" "No." "I mean, yeah." "I was with her last night, but we weren't a couple." "And you didn't think to tell us this earlier?" "Nobody asked me about it." "Because we didn't know about it." "It was meant to be a secret." "The relationship?" "It wasn't like that." "We used to hook up when her daughter wasn't there." "But Nicky's the one that told us." "Yeah." "There was that one time when she kind of sprung us." "Alison didn't see her because she was, you know, busy." "And I didn't think it was a good idea to tell Alison after, eh." "But you were with her this morning?" "Yeah." "When she went for a walk?" "Yeah." "I suppose." "What do you mean, "suppose"?" "Well, we woke up, and we..." "you know, and then I went back to sleep." "And when I woke up again, she was gone." "It's pretty standard." "How do you mean, "standard"?" "She always got up and went for a walk." "She had masses of energy, eh." "She liked it if I was gone by the time she came back." "How long have you and Alison been hooking up like this?" "A few months." "She started paying me to do jobs around the farm, and one thing led to another." "And was she still paying you afterwards?" "Yeah." "Oh, but I was still doing jobs, too." "You were a whore to her." "No, I wasn't." "That's how she treated everyone." "Why should you be any different?" "Mum, it wasn't like that." "No." "You thought it was love." "It wasn't love." "It was somewhere in the middle." "It was going someplace else." "You see?" "See how she operates?" "She finds the weakness and then preys." "Shut up!" "You don't know what you're talking about." "You've upset him now." " Operated?" " What?" "You said, "See how she..." Alison... "operates?"" "You mean "operated," past tense now." "Not really." "We're going to need a statement from you." "Hamish has said all he knows." "Oh, we'll still need it on record." "Don't worry about it now, but if he can come down to the station at some stage, that would be grand." "Also, we should get a statement from you, too, Mrs. Grimm." "I was having breakfast at home, alone, before coming here." "No witnesses." "End of statement." "We'll need to get that formally on the record, too." "Um, you can do that when you and Hamish come in." "Do you still play?" " No." " Why not?" "You were clearly very good." "Lost my taste for the game." "Do we know if there was ever a Mr. Grimm?" "I'd guess no." "Be worth finding out." "I'll, uh, drop you at the office." "Why?" "Where you going?" "Research into the true meaning of golf." "Rather you than me." "That's what I thought." " Hi." " Has your aunt arrived yet?" " No." " Right." "Mind if I come in?" "Do I have a choice?" "Strictly speaking, this house is part of a murder investigation, so..." "Whatever." "Are you okay?" "What does it matter do you?" "Don't worry." "I won't be long." "I'm just here to get some of your mum's papers." "Is that okay by you?" "Whatever." "Plus, I had one other thing to ask you." "What?" "Can you please stay off the social media, especially in relation to Kyle?" "So nobody knows what you're doing?" "And what is that?" "Everyone knows you think he did it." "Well, everyone thinks that because that's what you're tweeting." "All we know is that he's the one responsible for the burglaries." "And that's what we want to talk to him about." "Or shoot him." "Why would we shoot him over some stupid trophies?" "Because he's an outlaw." "He's the Clubhouse Bandit." "Yeah." "That name's not working on so many levels." "What?" "It doesn't matter." "Look, at the moment, he's just a petty thief." "Why did he steal those stupid trophies?" "Was it to get at his dad?" "Was that your idea?" "Like I said, stay off the social media." "It will only make things worse." "Howdy, neighbor." "Jared." "Come in." "Pull up a glass." "Yeah, no, don't mind if I do." "I hope this pleases your expert palate." "I'm sure it will." "What do they say?" ""A glass from a friend is a friend in a glass."" "Don't think I heard that one." "Well, you have now." "I just made it up." "Not bad." "Chocolate notes." "Plum." "Peppery." "Nice finish, full body." "Speaking of bodies... bad news about Alison Stone, eh?" "You heard about that?" "Yep." "We haven't actually put a public name to the victim yet." "Word gets around." "Uncle Walter told me." "Walter Elliott?" "Yeah." "Uncle on my mum's side." "This must be a tough one for you, eh?" "Why?" "You know, all those people with..." " What?" " A motive." "I'm certainly getting the impression she wasn't well liked, but it's a long way from not liking someone to murdering them." "True." "True that." "Hmm." "This wasn't just a neighborly visit, was it, Jared?" "Yeah." "Always neighborly, Mike." "Well, I've also been kind of sent here as a delegation on behalf of the family to tell you that Uncle Walter didn't do it." "And why would I think he did?" "And now I feel like I'm dobbing him in." "Hey, you're the one who started this conversation." "And it's not exactly going as I planned." "Okay." "How about this?" "'Cause I'm gonna find out anyway, it would be better coming from you." "That make it easier?" "No, not much." "Tell me." "Uncle Walter hated the Stones' guts." "His business went bankrupt, and he blamed them." "Why?" "Well, because he was a beekeeper and his bees all died." "And this is the Stones' fault how?" "Because his bees all died." "Tell me about the bees, Jared." "Probably better to hear it from Uncle Walter." "Mr. Elliott." "Generally only get called by my last name when I'm deep in the caca." "Maybe I am deep in the caca, and I don't know it yet." "Apparently, I need to ask you a few questions." "Thought you already asked me a few questions." "About bees." "Had to bring some backup with you before you come talk to the Maori fella, did you?" "Well, you sent Jared to me." "Thought it was only fair that I bring him back to you." "I didn't send him." "That was everyone else's idea because of my bad reputation with the cops." "Yeah." "I've heard you did two years for running over a cop." "He was standing in my way when I was trying to leave." "He was trying to arrest you." "I didn't particularly want to be arrested." "For taking to the Stones' house with a shotgun." "I only shot up the house." "Fairly extreme." "Well, the other reason I brought Jared was to, um, carry the beers." "Bees are quite important when you're a beekeeper." "I can see that." "So when they all start dying, it's a big deal." "So, you spend a lot of money that you don't have on experts who eventually tell you that the selfish bastards up the valley are using this poison spray, pyrithione, that kills bees." "So you go to see the selfish bastards in question, and you say, "Any chance you could use another spray?"" "And the selfish bastards say, "No,"" "and then your bees all die." "So you then take to their house with a shotgun." "You can see, can't you, how some people might reckon you're still looking for revenge?" "Well, I sure as hell didn't shed any tears when the cancer took Curtis Stone." "And that was from the insecticide." "No, Jared, that's from being white and not wearing a hat in the sun." "Ah." "My bad." "But in answer to your question, yeah, I wanted revenge." "But revenge can come in many forms, Detective Shepherd." "Such as?" "When I got out, I sold my land, had enough to buy this little place and to retire and devote my life to golf... the stupidest game ever invented." "Interesting choice." "Threw myself into it, joined the committee and everything." "Not because you love the game, I'm guessing." "Because every chance I got to get in the smug faces of the selfish bastards..." "Oh, what an absolute load of..." " Walter." "Walter!" " Just on with it." "To vote against every motion they tabled, to just be there, a smiling, brown face annoying the snot out of them," "I was gonna take it." "Now your work is done." "In the nick of time." "What is it?" "Parkinson's." "Eh?" "You never told us anything about this." "You want to know why I turned up early this morning?" "To see if I could still hold a damn club." "Oh, come on, man." "Get it together." "Jesus, man, get off!" "That's precisely why I didn't tell anyone." "Go and get me another beer." " Are you sure you should..." " Yes." "Get." "I understand, from what I read, before Jared interrupted me, that there was a special committee meeting last night." "There was." "And as club secretary, do you have the minutes to the meeting?" "I do." "And very interesting reading they are." "Good morning, Detective." "Gina." "Up nice and early." "Maybe I work all night." "Maybe I do my best work at night." "What do we know?" "Alison Stone." "Cause of death, pulmonary edema leading to acute respiratory failure." "In plain English?" " Are you being funny?" " Sorry." "No, I mean, uh, break it down for me." "She inhaled something very bad." "Her lungs hemorrhaged, filled up with blood." "The moment she breathed it in, it was goodbye, Alison Stone." "Does the fact that she was an asthmatic contribute in any way?" "This bad thing, it's so toxic, it would have made no difference." "And do we know what this stuff is, or do I have to wait for the lab report?" "Because I'm a rare and special person who works all the night," "I can tell you the active ingredient in Alison Stone's death." "Let me guess." "Pyrithione." "Yes." "How did you know?" "I am a detective." "So, what do we know about pyrithione?" "An insecticide." "It has been banned here since 2008." "Vicious stuff." "The sort of stuff you'd find on a golf course?" "I don't know." "I don't play golf." "Wise move." "Chasing a small white ball around a large green field." "Why would you do this?" "It's a timeless question." "But I would say no." "Too heavy-duty for that sort of use." "Strictly speaking, you shouldn't find it anywhere these days." "Everything containing pyrithione, it was redrawn from sale long ago." "Any chance that this is the result of an accidental exposure?" "Only if someone accidentally shot her in the face with it, point blank." "Couple of things you need to know." " Guess which golfer did time..." " Walter Elliott." " Yes." " Because of the bees." "Okay, and we've got the autopsy report through." "Pyrithione?" "Should I just not bother?" "I love it when you bother." "Contents of the shed on the golf course." "Nope, don't have that one." "Let me guess." "No trace of pyrithione." "Correct." "Therefore, the killer brought their own." "Any other reported cases of illness or death due to poisoning yesterday?" "No." "Which means they also brought a hazmat suit," " breathing apparatus." " Spraying apparatus." "And broke the lock on the door and waited, knowing she would come." "Hence the phone call." " From the clubhouse." " Someone she knew." "Neil Bloom." "Yeah, telling her about the latest break-in." "So, who would have access to all this pyrithione stuff and the associated gear?" "People whose job it is to spray things, farmers." "And where would they get it from?" "A stock and station agent." " Morning." " Morning." "Pyrithione" "Yes." "Do you have any products containing it?" "Well, given that it was banned and recalled years ago, absolutely not." "But you used to stock it." "Um, in various forms." "Brands such as, uh, Quick Kill, D.O.A., Para-Blast, as did every other stock and station agent in the district." "Yes, we're talking to them." "But as far as I'm aware, none of them were in the vicinity when Alison Stone died." "Well, you're welcome to have a look around." "I'm sure you'll find nothing." "I'm sure you're right." "Are you able to get us a list of those you sold pyrithione-based products to?" "Yes." "There are records of all those sales." "It will take me a little while to dig them out." "As quick as you can would be good." "Have you heard from Kyle?" "No." "Have you found him yet?" "No." "Thank you for your help." "So, from chemicals to chemist?" "No, no." "Pharmacy." "Same thing." "Not according to Neil Bloom." "Morning, Neil." "Detectives." "Got a minute for a few questions?" "Yeah, sure, sure." "Can you finish this, please?" "How can I help?" "Just need to clarify a couple of things." "Sure." "Whatever I can do." "You stayed the night at the club after the meeting." "Yes, to work on the accounts." "To present to the AGM." "Yes." "And have a few drinks while you were working." "One or two while I worked." "And what time did you get up the next morning?" "7:00." "You didn't get up at 6:30 to phone Alison?" "No." "Because someone did." "Someone phoned her from the clubhouse." "I didn't hear anything or anyone." "But you were asleep in the office." "Yeah, but that's not the only phone in the building." "There's one in the reception and one in the bar." "So, someone could have used one of the other phones without you hearing?" "Absolutely." "And I am a very sound sleeper." "Especially after a few drinks." "Who else has keys to the building?" "Uh, goodness." "The main building..." "Janet, Hamish, all the committee members, most of the senior members." "Doesn't really narrow things down, does it?" "All I can tell you is it wasn't me." "Tell me about the meeting the night before, the one about selling off half the course." "What about it?" "I've read the minutes." "Well, then you know exactly what happened." "No, I know what the minutes say." "I want to get your take on it, especially about the vote because that's the bit I don't quite get." "Well, uh, after some spirited discussion..." "I bet." "Absolute load of... the chairman called for a vote." "Oh, come on!" "Let's just vote on this bloody thing before somebody kills someone." "Right." "The motion is that the board recommends to the full membership that we accept the offer from Fairway Views Limited for the purchase of the parcel of land comprising approximately one-half of the course." "Me..." "I vote no, as you're well aware." "Likewise." "No." "Yes." "Yes." "This I don't quite understand." "Roger, the club captain..." "Mr. Golf... votes in favor of the sale." "Roger understood how screwed, financially, we are." "He knew that half a course is better than no course at all, which is the other option." "Very pragmatic." "He's a very pragmatic man." "I imagine his pragmatism didn't go down too well in some quarters." "Traitor." "I think the chairman should keep his opinions to himself while we're voting, don't you, Doug?" "So, we recommend the sale." "Don't I get a vote?" "I think we can guess your vote, Alison." "I vote no." "What?" "I said I vote no." "Tell me about Fairway Views Limited." "It is the company Alison and I set up to facilitate the purchase of half the course." "Which you were then gonna on-sell to property developers." " Yes." " At a significant profit?" "That was the plan." "So, in effect," "Alison voted to torpedo her own deal?" "The members will still have a chance to vote." "Without the recommendation of the board." "Correct." "Hmm." "But why did she want to do that?" "I went to ask her after she shot out of the meeting." " But..." " She was otherwise engaged." "Alison!" "Not now, Neil." "What the hell just happened here?" "I said not now." "Do you know what she and Roger were talking about?" "I just presumed that with Linda out of town, they'd, uh, kick things off again." "Alison Stone and Roger were having an affair?" "Roger thought it was a state secret, but Alison and I spent a lot of time together." "She told me things." "Up to a point, obviously." "We thought she was having an affair with Hamish Grimm." "Yeah, she was, if you'd call it that." "Using him for sport is probably more accurate." "Yes, Alison had a repugnant personality, but, for certain men, she was catnip, sex on legs." "She turned up here as this 19-year-old spunk who played a mean game of golf, and in Curtis Stone, she found her spiritual match... and also the richest guy around." "Who was 25 years her senior." "Oh, age was never an issue for Alison... or for him." "And they spent many happy years together routing anyone who took their fancy." "Curtis died." "Alison carried on." "With Roger Harrington." "Among others." "Alison told me she ended it when he started talking about leaving his wife for her, but, uh, clearly not." "Why clearly not?" "Because he drove off after her, just like old times when they used to lock horns at committee meetings." "Then he'd follow her home and, well, lock horns." "And what about you?" "Was she catnip to you?" "I'm the wrong kind of cat." "Curtis stood more of a chance with me." "Okay, I am never going to look at golf the same way again." "Hmm." "Mind you, money and sex are involved." "Much clearer reasons for killing someone than golf is." " There is that." " Mm." "You know how Roger Harrington was angry about Nicky Stone's abuse of social media?" " Uh-huh." " He's still angry." "And how do we know this?" "We have visitors." "My niece has been through enough without this man assaulting her on the street." "Okay, when you say "assaulted," what do you actually mean?" "I mean he assaulted Nicky and me on the street." "Hey!" " Oh, geez, who is this?" " Kyle's dad." "I know your game." "I know what you're up to!" "Hey, hey, leave her alone." "She is trying to frame my son for murder, tweeting that stuff all over the place." "I'm trying to get a message to Kyle, you idiot." "I'm trying to make sure he's safe." "Everyone knows it was you." "Shut up!" "I-I didn't do anything." "Just leave her alone, okay?" "Tell them how you hated her!" "They all know that you're the only one who wins now she's dead." "That's not true!" "None of that is true!" "So, where was the actual assault?" "He was pushing me." "Right." "We will talk to Mr. Harrington." " Make him stop." " Stop what?" "Saying what he's saying?" "What if he's speaking the truth?" "It seems to be fairly universally acknowledged how you felt about your mother." "Nicky didn't kill my sister." "Well, someone did." "Kyle wasn't with me that morning." "He wasn't there when I woke up, and he'd only just gotten home with a whole bunch of food before you showed up." "Why did you tell us otherwise?" "Because I love him." "So, why change now?" "'Cause everyone is saying that I killed Mum." "So, you were there alone?" "Yes." "What were you doing?" "Sleeping, mostly, and talking to friends." "On your phone?" "We're gonna need that phone." "Customer list from all the stockers of pyrithione-based products within 100 K's." "Anything interesting?" "One name pops out." "Doug Randall." "And if you believe her phone," "Nicky Stone was tweeting her little heart out yesterday morning." "So little to say, so many opportunities to say it." "Also interesting who isn't on this list." "The one property we know for sure who was using the stuff... the bee killers." " The Stone farm." " Mm." "More interesting reading for the day." "According to the club charter..." "the founding document... the land that the golf course sits on... belongs to the Stone family." "Then why was Alison having to buy it back?" "Because the Stones... presumably Curtis' great-grand-something... gifted the land to form the club." "No wonder they treated the place like their own bloody playground." "We have farms to visit." "Kristin." "See how it flies true on the course?" "You're very early." "We knocked." "Yeah, I heard." "And you decided to ignore us." "Well, I'm busy." "Busy living the life of the retired farmer." "Farmers never really retire." "They think they have." "Then they give their money to some other bugger to run the place for them so they can pretend they have." "Farmers never really retire." "So, you here to arrest me?" "Should we?" "Well, it's not up to me." "But if you're not, can you get to the point?" "You ever used anything containing pyrithione around here?" "Is that what did her in?" "Do you or have you ever used it?" "Well, you obviously know I have." "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here, would you?" "Do I have it now?" "There's your question." "If I said no, would you come back with some kind of warrant?" "Definitely." "Well, I don't exactly have much choice, then, do I?" "Why do you think we want to arrest you?" "Well, it's pretty well known we hated each other." " Enough to want to kill her?" " Easily." "You ever stated this out loud?" "Oh, on occasions, usually after a few in the clubhouse." "So, did you kill her?" "Well, let's put it this way." "I admire who did." "I hope they get away with it." "Why did you hate her?" "Oh, 'cause of who she was and everything she stood for." "Is that enough for you?" "Why did she hate you?" "'Cause maybe she thought I was a threat." "How?" "That would be doing your job for you, now, wouldn't it?" "You don't keep it locked?" "I used to." "I keep losing the bloody key." "Mike." "Yeah." "Got it." "With all due respect, there must be 50 other bloody farmers around here who use the same stuff." "That was recalled in 2008?" "Well, I guess I never got round to it." "You will be charged with possessing a banned chemical substance." "You see?" "I told you you were here to arrest me." "Who was the better player..." "you or him?" "Me or who?" "You and Curtis Stone." "He was." "What was that about?" "Life." "Golf." "Everything." "Do we have any choice in the matter?" "Okay, you seem to be misunderstanding the fundamental nature of our relationship." "We are on the same side." "We want the same thing... to find out who killed your sister." "Well, you won't find them here." "As that may be, but there are two things here that we need to help us along the path that we both want." "What are they?" "The farm accounts, all neatly boxed up in the office." "I've seen them." "We just need to go through them." "Fine." "Whatever." "Thank you." "And the other thing?" "The chemical that killed Alison is an insecticide called pyrithione." "It requires some pretty specialized gear when applying it." "Do you have anything like that on your property?" "Yeah, but I don't know how to use any of it." "We're not saying you do." "We just want to take a look at it." "I think it's one of these." "Doesn't matter." "Lock's broken." "This is definitely where all the gas masks and sprayers and stuff used to be stored." "No pyrithione." "When was the last time you know for sure that the stuff was in here?" "A couple of weeks." "It was the last time" "Kyle and I saw douchebag do any actual work around here." "Douchebag?" "Hamish Grimm." "Mum had him spraying gorse or something down the back of the farm, and, well, we were laughing about how mental he looked in all that gear and, um, how pissed off he was about it." "You play, Breen?" "Yeah." "Well, used to, actually." " Handicap?" " Severe." "Actually it was mini golf with my dad, school holidays, but, uh, this case has got the old juices flowing." "Might step up to the real thing." "Kristin, you game?" "Pass." "Here's what I've learnt so far." "Golf is about bondage, cougars, and swinging." "Ah, what's not to like?" "Maybe the bit where Alison Stone's face blistered off and she suffocated in her own blood." "Yeah, I might stick to mini golf." "It's got its own unique yet undeniable sex appeal." "As far as motives go, being emasculated by Alison isn't bad." "People have killed for a lot less." "A visit to the greenskeeper tomorrow?" "Of course, we only have Nicky's word that Hamish was using the stuff and that it was there in the first place." "True, and just because he was using the gear, that doesn't directly connect him to the crime." "And she did drop in..." "rather nicely, I thought... that Kyle was there, too." "Everything pointing as far away from her as possible." "Exactly." "Any word on Kyle?" "Uh, report of a break-in, food taken, but by the time we got there, there was no sign." "The dogs couldn't get a scent." "Any word from Kyle's dad, concerned about his son?" "No, actually." "I'm gonna pay him a courtesy call on the way home, bring him up to date." "With what?" "That we know that he was having an affair?" "We'll see how things go." "Toodle-pip!" "Just thought you might appreciate an update." "Of course." "Thank you." "Um, unfortunately, there's not a lot to tell." "Still no sign of your boy." "You haven't heard from him?" "Uh, no." "Uh, excuse me." "Is your wife back?" "Tomorrow night." "Does she travel often?" "She's a travel agent." "Part of her job is to go to the places she sends people." "You don't go with her?" "Sometimes." "Not this time." "Does she play?" "No." "Uh... sorry." "Does any of this have anything to do with Kyle?" "Does he know about the affair?" "What affair?" "You and Alison." "Sorry?" "She may have been universally despised, but, damn, she knew how to reel in the menfolk." "I have no idea what you're talking about." "Yeah, you do." "And I have her phone records, and the two of you did a lot of talking." "I'll bet these bursts of communication match up nicely with when your wife was away." "We were talking committee business." "And she told someone you were having an affair." "Neil." "I'll take that as a yes to the affair, then, shall I?" "You can do what you'd like." "Whatever we had ended ages ago." "When she dumped you for the gardener because you became too clingy for her liking." "Does this mean you think that I killed her?" "It means you kept a secret from me." "That's the whole thing with affairs." "True." "And if she was so keen to share with Neil, why did she not share her plans to scupper their property deal?" "You know that cost him a lot of money." "Money he doesn't have." "Yeah." "She was a class act all around, eh?" "She had her moments." "Nice chat." "Thanks." "Fore!" "Almost hit me." "Yeah, almost." "My bad." "I bet him 10 bucks he could scone you." "I thought sconing people was frowned on in golf." "Only other golfers." "You out for a stroll or something?" "Yeah, something like that." "Well, you better be careful." "Dangerous thing to do around here." "So I'm learning." "A good walk spoiled." "Isn't that what they say about golf?" "Somebody might have said it, yes." "No Roger or Neil today?" "It's Wednesday." "Us retired folks can play anytime we like." "True." "Nice drive." "You still got it." "Yeah." "Sometimes." "They, uh, must have been good years, you and Curtis, your best mate, battling it out to be top dog at the club." "Yeah, they were." "But then he got the girl and you didn't, and all that ended." "I presume you're referring to Alison." "It wasn't like that." "I knew what she was on about the moment she showed up." "Curtis disagreed." "So, she cost you your friendship." "I've been trolling through the club records." "When Alison fired the last club manager, he proposed Janet Grimm for the job and fought for her over Alison's objections." "Same deal with Hamish Grimm and the greenkeeper's job, even though he was so not qualified." "I was helping him, teaching him." "Something wrong with that?" "Very fatherly." "Not at all." "I just believe some people deserve a break, that's all." "And other people just get what they deserve, eh?" "You guys voted against the sale of the course?" "Take a look around you, mate." "Look at all this." "Imagine what it'll be like with 15 lifestyle blocks, refugees from the city gawking in at us." "Of course we voted against it." "Enjoy your round, gents." "Hey." "Hope I didn't wake you." "No." "In fact, I was just about to call you." "I got in first." "Hey, can you get the forensic guys to where I am?" "Is it urgent?" "Only in terms of solving a murder." "No." "I mean they're a little bit busy at the moment." " Why?" " We found the murder weapon." "Did you, now?" "Whereabouts are you, then?" "A bunch of cyclists out for their morning ride saw something in the culvert." "One of them has a cousin who is one of our guys." "He was talking about it at a barbecue last night, so they called it in." "On the one hand, good." "On the other hand, bollock the idiot that blabbed." "Already done." "They want to know if they can go now." "Statements taken?" "Nothing to take." "They saw." "They called it in." "And now they're a bit snotty that their ride has been interrupted." "Cyclists." "Worse than bloody golfers." "Yeah, they can pedal off." "Done, then." "What are they doing here?" "Oh, yeah." "Guess who lives three houses along." "They never did come in to give their statements, did they?" "Nope." "Do you want me to..." "Oh, no." "This one's all mine." "Thank you for agreeing to see me." "That stuff down the road, it doesn't have anything to do with us." "I'm not here to talk about that." "I'm here to understand the game of golf." "You both play, right?" "Did." "The big board on the wall says you're both very good." "A round of golf takes hours, Detective Shepherd." "There are more pleasant ways to pass the time." "Especially if you're spending those hours playing against someone you despise." "Can put you off." "Yet when Doug got you the job at the club, you went back." "Ali Stone was never one for the clubhouse." "The course and the bedroom were her domain." "Also, I needed the money." "After she fired you as farm manager." "A female farm manager." "Unusual." "Start off as a farmhand." "Learned on the job." "From Curtis Stone." "Why did you give up?" "Uh, just kind of didn't want to play anymore." "Well, according to the club records, you were asked to leave." "Isn't that right?" "Yeah, sort of." "You punched someone during match play." "Yep." "Doug Randall." "He was cheating." "I called him on it." "He denied it and started in on me, so I smacked him." "Not very golf." "Neither is cheating." "Yet it was Doug who got you the job at the club, right?" "Yeah." "We get on better now." "You still lose your temper sometimes?" "What's all this got to do with Alison's death?" "It's a tapestry thing." "Excuse me." "Oh, I have to get this." "Sorry." "Kristin, I'm still with Janet and Hamish Grimm." "Is it urgent?" "We found Kyle Harrington." "Our apologies." "We'll finish this later." "We haven't got anything more to say." "Really?" "'Cause I've got lots of question, starting with..." "Does Hamish know that Doug's his father?" "He's not." "Then why is Doug your knight in shining armor?" "Because sometimes there are good people." "He's Curtis Stone's son, isn't he?" "Did Alison know?" "Is that why she fired you?" "Did she know?" "Because knowingly taking her dead husband's son as her lover is really very..." "Creepy?" "Yeah." "She knew." "You must have hated her so much." "Next time we talk, you'd better come with an arrest warrant." "The farmer came in and found him stealing food." "Kyle took to him with a machete." "The farmer get out okay?" "Yeah, he's pretty shaken up, but he's still in one piece." "Harrington's still in there?" "Yeah." "The place is surrounded." "There are guns in the house." "Please tell me they're locked in a gun safe." "Unfortunately, the farmer is renovating." "He can't quite remember if they're still locked up." "All righty, eh?" "What are you doing?" "Breaching protocol." "Wait and appeal, Mike." "There's a lot of sense to that protocol." "Yeah." "But that will involve waiting." "Kyle, you in there?" "I'm Mike Shepherd." "I'm a police officer." "One of the nice ones, I'd like to think." "Can you hear me?" "Kyle, I need you to open the door and let me in... just me, no one else... before the guys with the high-powered rifles get involved." "Neither of us want that, eh?" "Kyle, no one's gonna shoot you while I'm here." "The..." "The paperwork would be horrendous." "And I don't have a gun 'cause I can't shoot to save myself." "All I want to do is talk." "I didn't kill her." "Okay." "Good to know." "'Cause that would make it even more stupid... getting shot over a few bucks, a few bottles of booze, and some lousy trophies, wouldn't it?" "Good." "Coming in now, okay?" "No tricks." "No tricks." "Don't try anything stupid." "You okay?" "What do you think?" "Yeah." "Probably been better." "Any chance we can sit down and talk?" "I didn't kill her." "So you said." "Yeah, but you think I did." " Why?" " What do you mean, "Why?"" "You're the one with the army outside waiting to waste me for it." "No, I mean why do you, Kyle, think that we think that you did it?" "Because she hated me." "Everyone knows that." "And I hated her." "We were always fighting." "She was always trying to break us up." " You and Nicky?" " Yeah." "Ah." "When did the path of young love ever run smooth, eh?" "I don't know." "Never mind." "Not really important, is it?" "She is to me..." "Nicky." "I love her." "Yeah." "I guess you do." "Is that why you became the Clubhouse Bandit?" "Not one of the great criminal names, by the way." "Look, I didn't choose it." "I only did it 'cause we needed the money and stuff, so she wouldn't have to go back and live with her mum." "And ripping off your father's club is kind of like giving him the big middle finger, right?" "Did you ever break in to that greenkeeper's shed?" "Once." "Nothing in there worth stealing, nothing I could flog off easy enough." "So, you weren't anywhere near that shed when Alison Stone was killed?" "Oh, no." "I wasn't even out of bed." "Really?" " Yeah, I was with Nicky." "Ask her." " I have." "And what does she say?" " That you were with her." " See?" "Then she changed her story." "Then she told us that you weren't anywhere to be seen when she woke up, that you didn't come back to the house until just before Detective Sims showed up." "She never said that." "Yeah, she did, Kyle, right after it was pointed out to her that, with her mother dead, she inherits the farm, which is about the best motive I've got so far for this murder." "Oh, Nicky wouldn't kill anyone." "She couldn't." "How would you know?" "You weren't with her that morning." "She could have been out doing whatever she damn well liked, like inheriting a farm." "Or did she get you to do it for her, Kyle, solve a few problems?" "Look, I told you." "I didn't kill her." "No Alison." "The two of you with your own farm." "Brilliant result." "That's total crap!" "Listen to me, Kyle." "Nicky says you weren't with her, which means she has no alibi, like you have no alibi." "Couldn't the two of you have cooked up a decent alibi between you?" "Do you see where this is going?" "Do you see how easy it would be to construct a case that would send the two of you to prison for the next 15 years?" "You need to start telling me the truth, Kyle." "Where were you that morning?" "You weren't with Nicky, were you?" "No." "Good man." "So, tell me where you actually were." "Okay, everybody!" "We're coming out!" "Everybody, lower your guns." "Kyle is unarmed, and he's giving himself up." "You did the right thing, Kyle." "I'll make sure everyone knows it, all right?" "Okay, let's go." "Where?" "To better understand the inner workings of golf, Brokenwood-style." "You have to get it to the hole for it to have a chance." "Know a little bit about golf, do you?" "Me?" "Nah." "Just stands to reason." "I went to your store." "They said you were out here." "I like to get out when I can." "With your, uh, Wednesday game so rudely interrupted?" "I hardly think a game curtailed matters" " compared with Alison's death." " True." "I'd have given you that." "I don't believe in gimmes." "Even when you're playing on your own?" "The hole's not finished until the ball is in the hole." "How can I help you, Detective?" "First things first." "We've arrested your son." "Which was better than shooting him, which was the popular alternative." "Yes." "Of course." "How is he?" "He knows he'll be facing some pretty serious charges... burglary, home invasion, assault." " And murder." " No." "It was her, then?" "Nicky?" "Yes." "Ah, Nicky Stone is way too messed up to murder her mother without actually getting caught with the ax in her hand." "No." "As it turns out, I was right." "Kyle was very much the sacrificial lamb in the story." "Nothing shocking in that." "There's often a sacrifice involved." "You must think I'm a terrible father, playing golf while my son is the subject of a manhunt." "We all need places to get away from things." "Something like that." "Carry on." "Kyle's not going anywhere for ages." "I've got a few questions to ask." "We can talk while you play?" "Nice shot." "Thank you." "So, what did you want to ask me?" "When did you find out?" "Find out what?" "Alison's plans for the course, for this land." "When she and Neil tabled their proposal to buy the course." " Half the course." " Yes." "Oh, not that plan." "Her true plans." "I don't know what you're talking about." "See, I'm picking you knew all along and that's why you voted to accept the deal to halve the course." "I mean, nine holes twice is better than no holes at all, right?" "I voted the way I did for pragmatic reasons... to save the club." "See, I don't think you're a pragmatist, Roger." "I think you're an idealist who believes passionately in the great and honorable game of golf." "You love the game and this club so much that you've actually read and understood the club charter, the founding document." "I know you've read it." "Doug and Walter haven't read it." "Neil should have read it, but he didn't." "I've read it because that's my job." "And we both know that Alison has certainly read it 'cause I've got her copy." "I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when she read the bit that says if the club becomes insolvent... and therefore ceases to exist... then the land that the Stone family so generously gave to found the club" "reverts to them, to her." "In that moment, she realized she didn't have to buy half the club, that she could get the whole thing for free." "But you knew that, and you kept it to yourself, hoping she wouldn't notice." "But when she changed her vote, you knew exactly why." "And so you confronted her in the car park afterwards." "Alison." "Please, please don't do this." "What?" "Take back the land that rightfully belongs to me?" "Kill this club." "This club is failing." "It's inevitable it will go under, Roger, whether you cut it in half or not." "Move on." "Get over yourself." "That is ridiculous." "But I know exactly how you did it and how you tried to make it look like everyone except you." "You said you arrived at the club at just before 8:00, right?" " Which I did." " Which you did." "But the first time you arrived was significantly earlier, at 6:30." "You knew Neil was there, but he was sleeping off a bender on the couch in the office, so it was relatively risk-free when you went in to use the phone." "Why would I want to do that?" "To call Alison." "So, now you have me calling Alison at 6:30 in the morning?" "At 6:31, to be precise, to tell her about the break-in." "Hello?" "It's Roger." "The club's been hit again." " Ugh." "What?" " The small shed, the trash place." "Oh, for God's sake." "I'll meet you there." "Of course." "I'll see you soon." "Of course, you knew exactly where Alison would be at that point in time and, therefore, how long it would take her to get there, but you had to get there first." "You'd walked it out a few times, so you knew, in basic terms, how long you had till Alison got to the shed." "You'd been thinking about it for a while." "You waited to see if she'd find the hand-back clause in the 100-year-old document, long enough for you to decide how you would deal with the problem if she did." "And sadly, she did find it." "Aah!" "I guess, in a way, being in that suit, with that mask on, made it easier... like you could pretend that it was this event happening outside of you." "So, you've done the thing." "Time to get away with it." "First up, get out of the gear and stash it in the boot." "Hell of a thing to have done." "So you took a moment." "After all, you had a little time to kill." "Couldn't get back to the clubhouse too early." "After that, it's simply a case of driving a few hundred meters or so to the car park to make the appointed tee-off time with minutes to spare." "Do you know what irks me most about this?" "That you're completely barking up the wrong tree?" "No." "That while my guys were doing their job, the murder weapon was in the boot of your car and you drove out of here with it." "Because you shared her bed, you knew exactly where Alison would be at 6:30 in the morning." "Because we had an affair?" "Everyone knew she walked." "And you knew the Stones had pyrithione and all the other associated equipment and that she had it on the farm because you sold it to them." "I don't remember the name Stone on the list I gave you." "Because you deleted it from your sales records." "Alison Stone, however, was as meticulous in her finances as she was in every other aspect of her life." "Mike, I found it." "July 2007, 20 liters of Para-Blast, active ingredient, pyrithione." "Do you want to do the honorable thing and confess now, or should I continue?" "And why would I do that?" "I haven't heard one thing linking me to the actual crime yet." "You mean like good, hard physical evidence?" "Like the tire tracks you left when you got back to your car and drove back to the club?" "Or like the chemical traces of pyrithione that will undoubtedly be in the boot of your car?" "Your car, which is, as we speak, being most thoroughly investigated." "Given that it's been out of circulation for the last six years, any trace of it in your car is gonna look very suspicious." "Think about it, Roger." "Were you as careful putting the stuff in the boot the night before when you followed Alison home to get what you needed to do the job?" "Do you want to do the honorable thing and confess now?" "Not in the slightest." "You're not an honorable man?" "I am a very honorable man." "I know you are." "That's why you killed her." "I wasn't aware that people killed for honor these days." "Maybe "honor" is too strong a word." "You find out the woman who toyed with you, who... who dumped you because you got too close, was gonna take away the last thing in your life that gave it any meaning." "You can talk all you want, Detective." "You still don't have anything real." "You mean like the actual murder weapon, with all the associated apparatus." "For starters." "I'm sure you've disposed of that very well." "All we have is the bogus version, handily discovered near the home of Alison's toy-boy lover, the greenskeeper." "Come on, Roger." "Even Hamish Grimm isn't stupid enough to dump the evidence just down the road from where he lives." "You still have nothing." "I have a witness." "Rubbish." "What time did you get to the course, Roger?" "I told you." "Just before 8:00." "Then why were you seen leaving your place at just after 6:00 a.m.?" "Nobody saw me leaving." "Oh, but they did." "So, tell me where you actually were." "I was at my place..." "my dad's place." "We ran out of food, so I was gonna sneak in and grab some." "Was your father there when you got there?" " Yeah, sort of." " What do you mean, "sort of"?" "Well, I got there real early 'cause I was so damn hungry." "And I was gonna sneak in and grab the stuff before he got up, but when I arrived, he was already awake." "When you say "real early"..." " 6:00 a.m." " You sure about that?" "Yeah, 'cause I was thinking it was so weird," "Dad being up so early." "And when I got inside, the clock in the kitchen said it was 5 past 6:00." "Is this important?" "Yes, Kyle, it is." "Does this mean Dad killed Alison Stone?" "And we know Kyle is telling the truth because you yourself confirmed it." "Uh, do you know where Kyle is?" "There was some food taken from my kitchen this morning when I got home from the course." "I presume that is him." "But, no, I haven't seen him." "Alison Stone died an excruciating, horrible death." "But perhaps what is even worse is that you were willing to let your own son be the sacrificial lamb." "That's not true." "If Kyle had done something stupid, like take on armed police with a machete and we had gunned him down, then you most likely would have got away with it scot-free." "That is really hard to stomach." "Kind of like pyrithione." "Come on, Roger." "Do the honorable thing." "Why do you keep going on about honor?" "Because isn't that what the royal and ancient game of golf is all about?" "You don't understand the game, so you wouldn't understand..." "Why you did what you did?" "How about a little wager?" "Because you're right about one thing." "I don't understand golf." "It's wound up costing me a marriage 'cause I used the game to avoid her." "What do you say, Roger?" "Hit it closer to the pin than you, then you do the honorable thing and confess." "I'll take that as a "yes."" "Ugh!" "Ohh!" "Ugh!" "Jesus, why did you..." "You know that wouldn't have happened if we'd just taken him down to the station, right?" "Where's the fun in that?" "Stupid game!" "True meaning of golf, huh?"