"Good point." "Yeah, this is us, mate." "So, I guess..." " to your wedding, bro." " Sweet." "Cheers." "Yeah." "You done well, man." "She's a real beaut." "Who..." "Kelly or the Klusener?" "Both, mate." "Both." "Sure is a sweet piece there, bro." "Hell of an early wedding present." "So nice to have a chance to get a shot in." "Kelly or the Klusener?" "Just pour the tequila, Frodes." "To Hayden and Kelly." "The stag may have found his hind, but the hunt should never end." "Geez." "Ease up on the poetry, Frodes." "To Hayden and Kells." "One shot." "One shot!" " Ahh." " Ahh." "Well... it's about three hours till dark." "Let's go get us a kill." "I'm really hoping you didn't bring me here for some recreational hiking." "Yeah, well, first I thought it was just another hunting tragedy..." " you know, mate shoots mate." " But?" "Then it looks like a suicide." "Okay." "And then again, it could be an accident." "So an accidental suicidal homicide." "Keep an open mind." "Have a look for yourself." "Klusener .55." "Nice." "Didn't know you were a gun expert." "My boyfriend had one." "Had?" "Probably still does." "He's not my boyfriend anymore." "Sorry to hear that." "Not as sorry as he was." "You kept that quiet." "I don't go in for splitting up via Facebook." "Okay, that was my ex." "She put it on Facebook, not me." "I think it's weird." "And I think we should stick to the matter at hand, which is Mr..." "Renner." "Hayden Renner." "Groom-to-be." "He was getting married next weekend." "This was a stag party." "Ironic." "Where'd you say this hut was?" "Down that track, to the left." "The best man and groomsmen are with Anderson." "Both rifles are secured." "Care for a hike?" "Didn't have your usual chat with the deceased." "He didn't have anything to say." "Oh, right." "I bet his friends do, though." "I'll take Oades." "Hi, Frankie." ""Frodo."" "Everyone calls me Frodo." "Frodo." "Right." "Um, I'm Detective Sims." "You look cold." "Do you want to come inside?" "I'll get your details." "Stent?" "D.S.S. Shepherd." "It's a tough day, losing a friend." "My best mate's lying out there." "I need to take him home." "We'll see to that." "I know this is awkward, Stent, but I need to ask you..." "Did you discharge your gun?" "Yeah, I did." "How many times?" "Just once." "We only had one cartridge each." "I was up on Walker's Ridge." "One?" "Why would you only have one?" "Oh, it's a thing we do..." "give ourselves one shot." "Make it count." "Bag that for me, Anderson." "Were you boozed?" "No way." "Just one shot to get us on our way." "Were you the only one that fired?" "We all did." "So you, Frankie, and Hayden all discharged your rifles?" "Look, I didn't shoot Hayden." "I'd know if I did." "No one's saying anyone shot anyone." "First glance, it looks like Hayden had the misfortune to shoot himself." "Perhaps he tripped and fell, or perhaps he..." "Mike Quick word?" "Excuse me, Stent." "I'm not getting anything out of him." "Uncooperative?" "Could be fear or shock..." "I don't know." "But he's shut down." "G'day, Frodo." "Should we take this back into town?" "It's getting a bit cold." "Did he say anything?" "He admitted to firing his rifle and that he was the one that found Hayden." " Then he clammed up." " Hmm." "How are we with the next of kin?" "Hayden's fiancée's been informed." "She's a mess, understandably." "We won't get any sense out of her until tomorrow." "And his parents moved to Perth, although they're currently on an overseas trip... safari in Tanzania or somewhere." "I've informed INTERPOL." "Frodo?" "Seriously?" "Warmed up a bit?" "We, uh, need to get a picture of what went on out there." "Can you help us with that, Frodo?" "Kristin tells me you fired your gun." " What were you aiming at?" " A deer." " Are you sure of what you saw?" " Where's Stent?" "Stent's at his house." "Has he already talked?" "Yes." "What did he say?" "He just told us what happened." "Are you sure of what you saw, Frodo?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I said I was." "I'm usually the last to get one, so I was pretty stoked to see it." "So, you had it in your sights?" "Yeah." "Another shot freaked my deer." "I reckoned it was Stent." "I fired anyway." "Which way were you shooting?" "East?" "West?" "West, I guess." " Into the sun?" " I know what I saw." "I saw movement." "I thought maybe I'd winged it, so I headed that way." "That's when I saw..." "Hayden." "No." "No!" "No, no!" "Stent?" "Stent?" "Stent!" "How long did it take Stent to get there?" "I don't know." "It seemed like forever." "Did you try to help Hayden?" "He was dead." "Anyone could see that." "What were you feeling while you waited for Stent?" "I thought I might have killed my mate, that I shot him dead." "That's what you thought, but what were you feeling in your gut?" " That you'd done it?" " I don't know." "I was so jacked up on adrenaline, you know?" "What did Stent say when he got there?" "Oh, Christ, Frodes!" "What the hell?" "!" "I don't know, man!" "I swear!" " I don't know what happened!" " Did you do it?" "!" "Mate, you fired, too, didn't you?" "!" "Better we don't talk about this." "You got that, Frodes?" "!" "I mean, there's no point talking about something you don't know, right?" "Why did he say that?" "Because he thinks I shot Hayden." "And did you?" " I don't know." " But you could have?" "We need to get Stent back in here as soon as possible." "Yeah." "Thanks for coming in, Stent." "Where's Frodo?" "Uh, Frodo's gone home." "He's pretty rattled." "He told you what happened?" "Yeah." "What did he say?" "Just what happened." "And what was that?" "I've done this map of the ranges where you were." "Cutters Gully." "Mm?" "Uh, this is where the hut is." "This is where we found Hayden." "And, uh, this is Walker's Ridge, where you say you were." "Yep." "Can you be more specific?" "Around here, there's a boulder that gives you a bit of a vantage point down this area." " Is that where you fired from?" " Yeah." "So if we went up to this boulder, we'd find your spent cartridge from your one shot?" "No." "Because?" "It's here." "Hayden always insisted we leave nothing behind." "He was a bit of a greenie like that." "Well..." "I guess that saves me a bit of a hike." "Okay." "That's all." " Thanks again for coming in." " That's it?" "Yeah." "It's late." "Get some sleep." "Oh, I nearly forgot." "Frodo mentioned that you said," ""Better we don't talk about this."" "What did you mean by that?" "Stent, what was that about?" "Frodo shoot him?" "I don't know." "Do you?" "He's always been a careless bastard." "Careless?" "You know how he got that lump?" "He shot himself in the foot when he was mucking around." " When was this?" " Five years ago." "It took Hayden a long time to let him back onto the hunts after that... to trust him not to cock things up." "And now look." "Best we don't jump to conclusions." "But you already have." "We can't rule out suicide yet." "Oh, fat chance." "Hayden was about to get married." "To Kelly McKenzie, right?" "Yeah." "And he was happy about that?" "Yeah." "She's a beautiful chick." "What would make him want to blow his head off?" "Well, if that's what happened, I plan to find out." "Night." "Morning." "Morning." "Morning." "I'll come back later, shall I?" "I may not be here later." "Then again, I probably will be." "This is almost impossible." "Good, because we agreed to visit Kelly McKenzie." "Of course." " Breen?" " Senior?" "Can you try and shoot yourself in the head with this?" "Certainly, boss." "Is this because I won Friday fives three weeks in a row?" "Yes." "And because I say you have a similar reach" " to Hayden Renner." " You said you wanted to come." "I did." "It's not easy, is it?" "Yeah, maybe if I was an orangutan." "Well, you've got the right-colored hair." "Whoa." "That is workplace harassment." "So rule out suicide?" "Not yet." "Three blokes, three guns, three bullets, three shots." "Fingerprints?" "We matched Frodo and Stent's off their rifles." "Their prints... and Hayden's..." "obviously are on the Klusener." "There are a couple of others we haven't matched yet." "Hmm." "Okay." "Shall we?" "Oh." "Shepherd." "Mike, I'm ready." "I thought we were scheduled for 11:00 a.m." "I have a busy day..." "car-accident victim... and the hospital had a busy night, too." "Okay." "I'll, um, be there in 10." "Cool." "Sorry." "The P.M.'s ready to go." "You made her ring up, didn't you?" " No." "I swear." " Fine." "Leave me to the emotionally ravaged one." "You play ballistics with Gina." "I would if I could, but I can't." "Piker." "I'll buy you a pie." "I skipped breakfast." "A pie before a postmortem?" "You're right." "Maybe just a sausage roll." "M'kay." "Good luck with that." "Stent." "Nice flowers." "Yeah." "They're for Kells." "Kells?" "Kelly M-McKenzie, H-Hayden's fia..." "Yeah." "Well, I'm sure they'll be appreciated." "See you 'round." "I, uh..." "I shouldn't have said what I did last night about Frodes." "He..." "I guess I was just jacked up from the whole thing." "You're worried you said what?" "Just about him being useless and that he's..." "He's been pretty good lately." "Okay." "Uh..." "I was just a bit pissed off with him 'cause I... 'cause I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke up there." " On the hunt?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Frodo's always saying how he's given up, but then he goes and smokes upwind of a deer." "No wonder he missed, right?" "But the breeze was a nor'easterly." "Yeah." "If Frodo was upwind of his deer, he would have been shooting east, towards you, but he said he was aiming west." "Look, I'm just telling you what I know." "I smelled the smoke." "It's like I said... careless." "I better get these to Kells." "Do you have any cheese rolls?" "Hi." "I'm Detective Kristin Sims." "I'm Pam, Kelly's mother." " Come in." " Thanks." "Kelly's out in the garden." "We're all absolutely devastated." "Hayden was such a lovely boy." "How much tragedy does one girl deserve?" "I'll leave you two alone." "Would you like a cup of tea?" "No, thank you." "Cause of death..." "gunshot wound to the head." "Correct." "Soft-point bullet or jacketed hollow point fired from a .308 from a distance of maybe 50 meters." "And you haven't even started yet." "I'm from Vladivostok." "I know about gunshot wounds." "Common, are they?" "A man gets up." "He walks to work." "A car pulls up, takes him into the forest." "He didn't pay his dues." "He gets shot." "His dues are paid." "Happens every day, like the sun comes up, the sun goes down." "Do you miss Russia?" "I live in Brokenwood now." "50 meters?" "More or less." "So he didn't shoot himself." "If it was closer, the exit wound would be even worse." "Of course, we can't know exactly until the ESR team can match the bullet to the gun, which can't happen until..." "Until we find the bullet." "I know." "The ECSG are up there now." "So, you and Hayden were together for about four years?" "And marriage was the next step?" "It seemed like the right thing to do, you know?" "Stent called." "He said maybe..." "Hayden took his own life." "Stent shouldn't have said that." " Why?" " Because we don't know yet if that's true." "Well, he either did or he didn't." "It's not that simple." "Why would he do that when we were just about to get married?" "We're doing everything we can to work out exactly what happened." "I promise." "Can you think of any disagreement either Frodo or Stent may have had with Hayden?" "No." "I mean, he was just a plumber, for Christ's sake." "A nice guy." "Yesterday afternoon, you were at work or..." "I'm on leave... to get ready for the... wedding." "Sorry." "I just need to know where you were." "Um..." "I was here." "Me and Mum were doing dress fittings all day." "One more thing." "Your mother mentioned earlier," ""How much tragedy can one girl take?"" "She means the car accident." "Five years ago, my best friend, Marcie;" "Hayden; and me were heading back from the beach." "Aah!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Oh, it's stuck!" "Aah!" "Marcie didn't make it." "We tried to get her out, but she was jammed in there." "Sorry." "That's how we got together." "You and Hayden?" "We both went to counseling, and it helped." "Out of all that sadness, we found happiness." "And now it's gone." "Just like it was never there." "I'm sure it was." "I'll be in touch when we find out any more." "Kelly, look at these." "Stent left them." "He wouldn't come in." "He looked terrible, poor thing." "Pam, the car crash Kelly was in..." "Was Hayden charged over it?" "No." "It was an accident." "I see." "Of course, Hayden blamed himself for a long time, but the counseling helped." "Yeah." "Kelly said." "Some people felt it was insensitive." "But as I always told her, some things are hard to ignore, like attraction." "Marcie." "She was a darling." "Kelly was a small-bore shooter?" "National champion for her age three years in a row." "Does she hunt, as well?" "Not so much lately." "It's been more of a boys' thing." "Pam, you were here yesterday with Kelly." "Yes." "Dress fitting." " All day?" " Yes." "Except between 2:00 and 6:00." "I had to take her dad to the specialist over in Riverstone." "Barry has prostate issues." "Kelly said you were here all day." "And we were, apart from then." "She forgets things ever since the accident." "It was a knock to the head, that's all." "Right." "Thank you." "So, did you join the local tramping club?" "No." "But it was nice out there." "In the meantime..." "Kelly McKenzie is a crack shot." "The fiancée?" "Small-bore champion, no less." "Keep talking." "Almost made the Commonwealth Games team in her early 20s." "Then she took a knock to the head in a car accident which killed her best friend." "She lost her competitive edge, but retained an interest in shooting since." "It was her and Hayden's common ground." "But wait." "There's more." "Her alibi for the afternoon of the killing is about as flimsy as the wedding dress she was or wasn't trying on." "So you think the bride shot the groom?" "Could have." "At the very least," "I'm saying the suspect list should be three." "Don't you think Stent and Frodo would have seen her up there?" "I mean, a bride running around the bush in her wedding dress would get noticed." "I never said she was wearing the dress." "It was a fitting." "She was alone from 2:00 till 6:00 p.m.... ample time to drive up to Cutters Gully and gun them down." "Okay." "So she's got skill and opportunity." "Motive?" "She said Hayden was a "nice guy"... not a great guy, but a nice guy." "Women in love about to tie the knot do not marry nice guys." "They marry great guys." "Now, the truth may prevail later, and their views get downgraded, but on the eve of their wedding, their groom is the man." "Another point of interest is, she said marriage seemed like a great idea at the time." "I find that odd." "I know the feeling." "What seems so right can turn out so wrong." "Ugh." "What is it with you and marriage?" "Nothing wrong with marriage, other than, in my experience, it tends to screw up perfectly good relationships." "So..." "Hayden Renner is a nice guy, not a great guy." "Therefore, she decides to knock him off." "You can doubt all you want." "Call it women's intuition." "I don't care." "But there is something" "Kelly McKenzie is not telling me." "There's a Hobbit at the front desk." "Frodo?" "Great." "Hey, cover that, will you?" "Shall I bring him through for second breakfast?" "What?" "Hobbits..." "They like to... eat." "How does he not know this?" "My office." "Ta." " Huh?" " No." "Oh." "Thanks for coming in again, Frankie." "Frodo." "You prefer Frodo?" "It's what everyone calls me." "We went back into the bush where we found Hayden." "I did some calculations on what you told us, and we, um... we found this." "It's not mine." "Stent says he remembers smelling cigarette smoke on the breeze." "I don't smoke." "For reals." "And even when I did, I never touched Denmores." "You might as well smoke tire tread." "But you were a smoker?" "Aw, geez." "I told you..." "I gave up." "So we wouldn't find your DNA all over this?" "It was one little puff, man." "Maybe two... just to relax." "On top of a beer and a tequila?" "Frodo, did you have any idea where the hell you were aiming?" "And why did you take off your high-vis?" "I got a sore butt." "Breen?" "D.C. Breen will see you out." "Thanks for coming by." "You gonna bust me for the roach?" "Not if you're telling the truth." " Morning, boss." " Morning." "Two weeks ago, the local gun shop had a burg." "Bunch of stuff was stolen, including a Klusener .55." "You've only just remembered?" "D.C. Harris handled it before she transferred." "It was on my follow-up list." "Better late than never." "You think the deceased was toting a hot rifle?" "It's possible." "I'll check it out." "I'll take care of it." "But first you have a visitor." "She's come out of her lab." "Gina." "What a surprise." "Uh, you want a coffee?" "Kristin made me a coffee, but I think the water from the Volga would taste better." "No offense." "You can have it." "Uh... thanks." "The ESR has come back." "The rifling on the bullet matches the deceased's gun." " Are they sure?" " Easy match." "The rifle was new." "The rifling left very rough, clear markers." "So he did shoot himself?" "Not from 50 meters?" "I didn't say that." "You still think it's from long range?" " Yes." " So he didn't shoot himself." "I'm dealing in facts, Mike." "The only fact is, he was shot with his own gun." "Good luck with that." "Thanks." "The armorer has said that the bullet that killed Hayden Renner came from his own gun..." "the Klusener." "So are we back to the long-arms theory?" "Maybe not." "Gina is adamant he was shot from around 50 meters." "Really long arms." "Hmm." "Okay." "Cutters Gully." "Walker's Ridge." "This is where Stent says he was... by the boulder... although we have no actual verification." "The wind was coming from the northwest." "This is where Hayden was." "And this is where Frodo was." "We measured that... 59 meters." "So it could have been him." "Yeah." "And Stent swears he smelled cigarette smoke." "Frodo is northwest of Stent." "Even though Frodo denies he was smoking cigarettes, a Denmore cigarette butt was found here." "We measured that... 53 meters north of Hayden." "Kelly smokes Denmores." "She smokes that brand." "I saw her today." "Coincidence?" "Well, that's not where Frodo fired from, so was it his?" "Well, Frodo was stoned." "He was wandering aimlessly, communing with the birds in the trees." "In short, he was all over the bloody place." "Not wearing his high-vis vest." "Neither was Stent." "Why?" "So they could move around unseen, working together to take Hayden out?" " Possible." " Why?" "Well, drugs, debt." "I don't know." "To be confirmed." "Aren't we forgetting that Hayden was shot with his own gun?" "Still possible." "What if it was someone else he knew?" " Kelly?" " Really?" ""Hey, honey, what are you doing in the bush at my stag party?"" ""Oh, I just felt like a quick hunt." "Do you mind?"" "Takes his rifle, shoots him in the head, puts it down by the body, and walks out." "It's possible." "Because he was a nice guy?" "She smokes Denmores." "Yeah." "As do thousands of others, and Frodo could be lying." "About a cigarette?" "He admitted to the dope." "Then who killed Hayden Renner?" "And why?" "We understand you had a break-in a couple of weeks ago." "Yeah." "A bloody steal-to-order job." "Including a Klusener .55?" "Yeah." "One of your team came by and took details." "The bastards got the Klusener, a couple Winchesters," "Benellis, a Kimber, and a Crosman." "I was hoping you had some news so I could finalize the insurance." "This isn't strictly about the break-in." "Is this about Hayden Renner?" "He recently bought a Klusener off you." "Is that right?" "Hayden didn't buy the Klusener." "Kelly did." "Right." "You know Kelly well?" "Sure." "She's something of a local hero in the gun world." "Spent a lot of money here over the years." "So she bought the .55?" "It was to be an early wedding surprise." "Apparently, it was just what he always wanted." "Ironic, huh?" "Is it a popular model?" "Not really, but a great gun." "In fact, Kelly came back and wanted to buy another." "She wanted to do the whole his-and-hers thing." "She bought two?" "No, 'cause we had the break-in." "Right." "Um, I'll get Breen to give you a follow-up ASAP." " Sure." " Thanks for your time." "She ordered another Klusener." "Which I assume she didn't mention." "She mentioned very little, it seems." "Hmm." "Kelly, this is Detective Senior Sergeant Shepherd." "Would you like a cup of tea or something?" "No, we're fine." "Thanks." "Excuse me." "I don't know what more I can tell you." "We're trying to piece together a rather confusing puzzle." "You bought Hayden the Klusener .55 as a wedding present." "Is that right?" "I wish to God I hadn't now." "Chris and Judy..." "They send their best." "Aren't they lovely?" "Kelly, would you mind showing us your gun safe?" "I'm assuming you have one." "I can do that." "It's okay, Mum." "It's in the garage." "Do you have a spare?" "No." "Hayden always thought that if there was a break-in, it would be when we were out, so the key wouldn't be here." "He was really safety-conscious like that." "Frodo and Stent mentioned that." "Where the Klusener .55 would be?" "So, if you'd got another Klusener, you would have needed another gun safe." "Sorry?" "Tony at the gun shop said you'd ordered another .55." "Oh." "Yeah." "I'd forgotten." "I'm glad it didn't come through." "Not much point now." "Kelly, it seems that on the afternoon Hayden was killed, you were here for a period on your own" " while your mum went over to Riverstone." " Yes." "But you told me you were with your mum the whole day." "Yes, except then." "So, were you here in the house?" "Yes." "Um..." "Actually, I went over to Rory's." "Rory?" "Parkes." "I went to deliver a wedding invitation." "What is your relationship to Rory?" "He owns the tire shop where Stent and Frodo work." "Is he a friend?" " You could say that." " What would you say?" "He was Marcie's brother." "Marcie was Kelly's friend who was killed in a car accident." "He took it hard." "I thought if he came to the wedding, it might be a positive way to show him that life has to go on." "And was Rory pleased to be invited?" " I don't know." " What did he say?" "He wasn't there." "I left the invitation on the doorstep." "Thanks, Kelly." "We'll let you get on with your day." "Have you had any more information?" "About?" "Have you ruled out suicide?" "I really need to know." "We're waiting on more forensic tests." "We'll know some more soon." "Thanks for your time." "So, why didn't you let her off the hook about the suicide option?" "'Cause I agree with you." "Can I get that in writing?" "There's something she's not saying." "Yeah, not to mention no one can corroborate where she was for those four hours." "Do you think this car would suit mags?" "No." "You'd look like a try-hard." "Hush." "Let's see what the professionals say." "Stent." "Yeah." "We're, uh, looking for Rory Parkes." " Is he about?" " No, he's not." "Should we come back soon or..." "He doesn't hang around here any longer than he has to." "You ask Tania in the office." "She might know where he is." "Okay." "Thanks." "You, uh, keeping all right?" "Hey." "Hello." "Detectives Mike Shepherd and Kristin Sims." "Uh, do you know where we might find Rory?" "No." "Sorry." "And you are?" "Tania." "Freeman." "Tania." "So no idea where he is?" "Uh, he's probably at home." "He lives out on Pals Road." "Do you want the number?" "Sure." "Good." "Yes." "Thanks." "Tans, I've got to shoot out for a bit." "What?" "Who's gonna cover?" "Sorry." "Something's come up." "Frodes." "Come here, you asshole!" "How could you do that?" "!" "They were sewing it up!" " Bugger off, Frodes!" " Bloody well kill you!" "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" "Whoa." "That's enough." "What's this all about?" "You want to tell them?" "You got the balls to do that?" "Stent was screwing Kelly behind Hayden's back." "You know nothing, Frodes." "I know what I heard." "And what was that?" "I overheard them talking about it." "Hey." "Did you tell Hayden?" " About us?" " No." "Hell, no." "Then what the hell are these for?" "Shit." "Kelly!" "Does what Frodo think he heard have any basis to it?" "Of course it does." "I asked Kelly." "Are you kidding me?" "!" "Tell me this isn't true, Kelly!" "She said it was true, that you felt like crap, but it was true." "I'm sorry." " You're dead to me." " Frodo." " Got that?" " Go home." "Cool off... now." "We need to get some straight talk out of Kelly McKenzie." "Take a seat." "Do you want a coffee?" "All right." "Won't be a tick." " Sam." " What?" "A Rory Parkes lives on Pals Road." "Get over there." "I need to know whether he received a wedding invitation on his doorstep the afternoon of Hayden's death." "On it." "Thank you." "Is this gonna be recorded?" "Do I need a lawyer?" "No." "At the moment, I'm just talking to you as a witness, Stent." "Yeah, but I didn't actually see anything." "But you were there... in the bush with your mates... carrying a gun." "Your best mate was about to marry a woman who you said... what was it?" "..." "is a beautiful chick." "So beautiful, it turns out, you were sleeping with her." "So, for now, it's just a chat while I try and pull the facts together." "Kelly, you haven't been overly forthcoming with some really important details." "I forget things." "Does that include sleeping with Stent Baker?" "It was like once." " Just once?" " Twice." "It was only maybe three or four times, that's all." "It wasn't serious." "Oh." "Screwing your best mate's fiancée wasn't serious?" "I know Stent wanted more, but I totally called it off." "I said to Kelly that it has to stop." "I mean, Hayden's my best mate, for Christ's sake." "I said, "These things have a way of getting found out, and if we stop now, it might be like it never happened."" " It just wasn't right." " I know it was utterly wrong." "I thought I should get the hell out of Dodge, you know, so I offered to leave town." "I said, "No way." "You know, we... we have to own it... together." "We can beat it, you know?"" "It was this one-time, dumb thing." "Two-time." "Yeah." "Two-time thing." "It was... really hard to ignore." "Some things are like that, like attraction." " That's what my mum says." " I know." "You know what she means?" "Sure." "What about you, then?" "Well, some things are hard to ignore... like the fact that they're just not really that into you." "Deep down, is that perhaps how you felt about Hayden?" "No." "Did you go down to Cutters Gully on Friday afternoon?" "No." "Did you tell Hayden about it?" "Was there an argument?" "Did things get out of hand?" "I thought about it." "About coming clean?" "Yeah." "But then you go, "No." "Let sleeping dogs lie," right?" "I mean, yes, I did the dirty on my mate, but it was only a few times." "So, the way you see it, you and Kelly was little more than a fling?" "Yeah." "I mean, she's an amazing lady, and..." "And?" "Well, it's just messed up and..." "How can something that feels so right... be wrong?" "Is there anything else I need to know?" "I feel like I'm in a nightmare." "You should know we've ruled out suicide." "What does that mean?" "It means that someone else killed Hayden, and, as yet, we don't know who." "You see, I have this problem." "I can't actually place you at the time of death." "There are no witnesses to put you on Walker's Ridge when you fired your gun, no cartridge case to tie you there." "Yeah, but you found my vis, though, right?" "Well, that could have been put there at any time, right?" "And you hold a candle for the bride." "Any way you look at it, it's an obvious, though not pretty, motive to get the groom out of the way." "No way." "No way." " So, there was no argument?" " No." " No struggle?" " No." "The gun didn't accidentally go off?" "I was up on Walker's Ridge." "How could it?" "Do you think Kelly could have shot Hayden?" " What?" "!" " To make way for you." " Are you for real?" " So, if it wasn't you and it wasn't Frodo and it wasn't Hayden, then who?" "Oh, this is ri..." "I want a lawyer." "No need." "I'm done." "Constable Anderson will drive you home." "Thanks for coming in." " Shepherd." " No sign of Rory Parkes." "Left a couple messages on his phone." "You want me to wait?" "No." "You want me to go to the pub, then?" "Why would I want you to go to the pub?" "Don't know." "He might be there." "Or any number of places on the planet." "Pub's usually a good place to start." "How many pubs are there in Brokenwood?" "Four." "No." "Five." "You want to go on a pub crawl." "Yeah, in the line of duty." "What you do on your own time is up to you, Breen." "We'll pick this up again tomorrow." "Thanks." "Any luck with Stent?" "Well, he won't be winning any Best Man of the Year awards." "That's for sure." "Kelly?" "She swears it was a once-or-twice thing." "Yeah." "Stent says it was three or four." "So we can safely assume it was..." " 10." " Yeah." "I'd say 10." "Before the, uh, guilt started crushing the fun out of the situation." "She swears it's over." "The things people do to mess up their lives." "Well, some things are hard to ignore, like... attraction." "I've always found that to be the case." " How do you know Tania?" " What?" "That woman..." "Tania..." "from the tire shop." "It seemed like you two knew each other." "Oh." "Brokenwood's not such a big place." "She's just one of those familiar faces." "So that's not the Tania Freeman?" " Who?" " I remember when you first started, you asked me if I knew a Tania Freeman." "I'm sorry." "Where are you going with this, Sims?" "I just thought she might be another one of your ex-wives." "I've never had a relationship with Tania Freeman." "Sure." "Okay." "Sorry." "I just..." "Could you, um, write up the Kelly McKenzie conversation before you go?" "Ta." "Okay." "And, uh, close the door on your way out." "Have a great day." "Love you." "Hello again." "You have this knack." "Trouble seems to find you." "I haven't done anything." "I know, but I have a murder investigation centered around two of your co-workers." "The attention is gonna put you at risk." "What, you cops gonna keep coming back?" "And now my associate, the intrepid Sims, is asking questions about you." "When your colleagues are detectives, there's not much slips by unnoticed." "Can't you just tell her about me?" " No." " What, you don't trust her?" "No, I do." "She's good." " Very good at what she does." " Have you told her that?" "It's not about trust." "It's about... well, if you want to keep a secret, you don't tell anybody." "If you do, then it's not a secret." "And if your secret is not a secret..." "Well, that's just not an option, is it?" "Witness protection is a tough mistress." "Yeah, sometimes I want to climb to the top of a hill and scream it out, just get it over with." "So, what do you want me to do?" "Can you take a couple of days off?" "Until it blows over?" "I don't know." "It could be wise." "Well, Rory will be pissed off." "You know, Frodo and Stent have gone AWOL." "I only started a few months ago." "I'll do my best to keep inquiries off-site." "Look, I'm running late." "I've got to open up." "Will you be on your own?" "I'll drop you down." "Damn." "Rory's already here." "Right." " G'day." " Sorry." " I got held up." " So I see." " Rory, isn't it?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "Detective Mike Shepherd." "Hiya." " You in trouble?" " No." "No." "I saw her walking to work, thought I'd give her a lift." " Ah, right." " I came by yesterday." " I'll just go and..." " Sure." "Oh, yeah." "Can you throw the jug on, too, please?" " Yeah." " Ta." "So, you're after some tires." "Uh... no." "Ooh, she's a beauty." "Yeah." "My trusty steed." "Eh." "Oh!" "Tread's getting down." "Could fix it up with some, uh... some 215 65 14 radials if you like." "Retro lines and modern specs would look..." "They'd look ace on that." "No mags?" "Ah, mags could work." "How much you want to spend?" "Well, I'll get back to you on that." "Well, if you're a friend of Tan's, we can look after you." "Knock..." "I don't know..." "20% off." "I appreciate that, but, no." "Look, I just need to ask you a couple of questions." "Is this about, uh, Stent and Frodes and..." " Hayden Renner, yes." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Bloody awful, that." "Hunting accidents seem all too frequent these days, eh?" "Yeah." "So it would seem." "Tell me..." "Do you know Kelly McKenzie?" "Kells?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Good lady." "Bet she's real cut up over this." "So you haven't been in touch since?" "No." "I feel bad about it, but I..." "I've just been flat out here covering for Stent and Frodes." "Of course." "We just need to verify a couple of things about the afternoon that Hayden died." "Yeah." "I had some, uh... some Breen guy leave me a message." "Oh, D.C. Sam Breen." "Yeah, he's one of my team." "Well, like I said, I've been flat out here." "I-I was gonna call after I sorted out this lot." "He was just trying to verify whether Kelly had dropped off a wedding invitation to you." "Yeah." "Um... yeah, she did." "But you weren't there?" "No." "I saw it in my door when I got home." "Okay." "Uh, do you remember where you were Friday afternoon?" "Uh, Friday afternoon?" "Uh, yeah, I knocked off here and went to Brokenwood Arms." "You sure?" "Yeah." "Friday afternoon." "Nowhere else a man should be after a hard week, eh?" "Mm." "Fair enough." "Cheers." "Yep." "Hey, um, as a matter of interest, would you have gone?" " Where's that?" " To the wedding." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, yeah." "Would have been nice to see those lovebirds tie the knot... and have a few beers with everyone." "But obviously not now, so, um..." "Yeah." "Why's that?" "Oh." "Just curious." "Um, thanks for your time." "Yeah." "Oh, remember the 215 65s." "Happy to do you a deal." "I'm leaning towards the mags." "Do you know that guy, Tans?" "Me?" "No." "He came in yesterday asking to see you." "Did he say why?" "No." "Was he hassling you about the boys?" "No." "All good." "Here." "I made you a coffee." "Oh, I see." "Ta." "All good, then." "Morning!" "Ooh, not too loud." "You went to the pub." "Yay." " Did you find Rory Parkes?" " No." "But he did bump into his ex." "Bugger." "No." "One thing led to another, and, uh..." "She's not your ex anymore." "It's hard to gauge." "It's all a bit unclear." "Well, check your Facebook." "All will be revealed." "Hopefully not everything." "The Brokenwood Arms?" "Mm, Frog and Cheetah." "Oh!" "Skank-a-rama." "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that your girlfriend was..." "Ah, she was dancing on the tables." "Well... at least it wasn't the poles." "Oh, actually..." "Uhh!" " I caught up with him." " Who?" "Rory Parkes." "And?" "The good news is, I need you to go to the pub." "Seriously?" "Well, that's what you wanted last night." "Yeah, but then there was last night." "The Brokenwood Arms... now." "I need to know whether Rory Parkes was there Friday afternoon, when, for how long, what he was drinking, and who he was with." "Once more unto the breach." "So, did Parkes get the invite?" "Apparently." "So that lets Kelly off the hook?" "Not necessarily." "I need you to get Frankie Oades back in here." "Okay." "On what grounds?" "Couple of questions." "Well, wouldn't it be easier to swing by the tire center?" "No." "Don't go down there." " Get him to come here." " Okay." "Why?" "Because..." "I need to talk to him about his boss." "Yeah, this is Frodo." "Talk to the machine." "Hello again." "Hello." "Uh, could you give me a minute?" "Is Frodo about?" "Yeah." "Hang on." "Frodes?" "G'day." "You being looked after?" "Uh, hi." "Kristin Sims, Brokenwood CIB." "Geez." "How many of you guys are there?" " Sorry?" " Oh, we had the other guy in earlier and some, uh, Jim Bean leaving me messages." " Sam Breen." " Yeah." "Him, too." "Maybe I can score that CIB tire contract." "That would be nice." "I just need to borrow Frodo for a few minutes." " Are you kidding?" " Bad time?" "Yeah." "Stent's gone AWOL, and I'm really short-staffed." "How do you mean "AWOL"?" "Like packing his bags." " Now?" " Yeah." "Dropped me right in it." "Isn't Hayden Renner's funeral tomorrow?" "You think he's gonna feel welcome after what he and Kells were up to?" "And after what happened at Cutters Gully?" "What are you implying?" "I don't know." "I wasn't there, but... it makes sense, doesn't it?" " Yeah?" " Oh, hi, Frodo." "The detective here wants to ask you some more questions." "Down at the station." "Why there?" "So you can pick up your Tikka T3." "We don't need to hold on to it anymore." "Do what you got to do, Frodes, but I'm calling it your lunch break." "Sorry, mate." "I'll follow you down." "My car's..." "Thanks." " Shepherd." " Yeah." "I'm at the pub." "The barman clearly remembers Rory being here on Friday." "Oh, hey, Burt." "Ohh!" "Sorry." "Um, I'll get you another." "Jimmy, can I get a round for these ladies, please?" " Yeah." " What time was it?" "I reckon it was close to 6:00 p.m." "The place was busy." "Thanks." "Get back here." "Frodo's in the interview room." "Okay." "Breen verified that Rory Parkes was in the pub on Friday afternoon." "Um, Stent Baker's leaving town." "Interesting." "How do you know that?" "Rory told me, as he was suggesting that Stent shot Hayden." "Where'd you see Rory?" "At the tire center, when I went to pick up Frodo." "I told you to call him." "I did." "There was no answer." "I wish you'd..." "Never mind." "Frodo." "Look, I've told you everything I know, man." "No, you think you have, but you are the keeper of other people's secrets." "Whatever that means." "I swear..." "I didn't know about Stent and Kelly." "We believe you." "Then why am I here?" "Rory's real busy." "Kristin mentioned that Stent's bailed." "Well, good riddance to bad rubbish." "Do you think Stent shot Hayden?" "I don't know." "It's possible, I guess." "Was there anything out of the ordinary that day up at Cutters Gully?" "No." "It was just a normal Friday." "Rory agreed to cover for us so we could get away early." "He's a real good boss like that." "Have fun, boys." "Oh, I'm jealous." "Cheers, Rory." "Let's hunt some stag." "So Rory's a hunter, too?" "Yeah." "He was bummed he had to stay and work." "Is everyone around here into hunting?" "It's Brokenwood." "30 minutes from town, you can have a deer in your sights at 50 meters." "50 meters?" "Optimal range." "Pretty sweet deal, isn't it?" "So, up at the hut, you drank a beer?" "Yeah." "And a shot of tequila?" " Yeah." " And then you each took a cartridge from a new box of .308s?" "How many cartridges did you take?" "One." "We each took one." "That was the deal." " Are you sure?" " Yeah." "Are you absolutely sure that you, Hayden, and Stent only took one cartridge each?" "Mm-hmm." "Yeah." "For sure." "We'll let you get back to work." "Do I get my rifle back?" "Can you release Mr. Oades' firearm?" "Thanks." "The cartridges?" "Have I missed something?" "We all did." "It was a brand-new box of 20." "They each took one." "How many should be left?" "17." "There were only 16." "So, if Hayden, Stent, and Frodo each took one," " then where's the fourth?" " And who took it?" "Whoever did was up at Cutters Gully, too." "So are we back to the "gun-toting bride" theory?" "Kelly said she went to Rory's." "And Rory wasn't there." "But he did get the invitation, so she did go there." "And not up to Cutters." "Rory said he got it." "Hey, g'day, mate." "Just following up on something." "You said you received Kelly's wedding invitation." " Yeah." " It would be good to see it." "Yeah, all right." "Come on." "Hey, I didn't realize you, uh... you knew a bit about hunting, too." "Nice collection." "Do you get out often?" "Ah, not as much as I'd like." "You ever owned a Klusener?" "No." "The .55 model?" "No, I never have." "Why?" "Kelly McKenzie gave Hayden one as an early wedding present." "Oh, I didn't know that." "You want a cup of tea?" "No." "I'm good." "Okay." "It's the same gun that killed him." " Ooh, that's heavy." " Yeah." "Not Stent's Marlin X57, as you implied might have been the case to my colleague, Detective Sims." "Ah, you know, you hear things." "People talk." "Never been a fan of the Kluseners." "Prefer my Remington." "I understand your sister Marcie was killed in a car accident." "Yeah." "Do you know what happened?" "Uh, Marcie, Hayden, and Kells were coming back from the beach." "They crashed." "Was it mechanical failure or..." "Does it matter?" "Hayden and Kells got out." "Marcie didn't." "I don't know much more than that." "Bad things happen." "That's life." "Then Hayden and Kelly got together." "It took you awhile to accept that union." " Is that right, then?" " What do you mean?" "Kelly's mother said some found it insensitive." "I thought you might have been one of the some." "I don't know what she's on about." "Given that you've kept your distance for the last five years." "But then Kelly invited you to the wedding, which was nice." "Yeah." "So, that invitation." "Ahh." "What?" "The wedding invite..." "Can I see it?" "Why?" "It'll help me place Kelly here that afternoon." "Well, I said that I got it." "Yeah, but it would be good to sight it." "I binned it." "Wedding was off, so I threw it out." "You want it?" "No." "Like I said, I just needed to sight it." "Thanks for your time." "Yeah, no worries." "D.C. Sam Breen." "Are you busy?" "No." "Yeah." "Yeah." "There's a fair bit going on." "I need you to see a man about a gun." "I need two MA-751s for the Hooper truck." "Sure." "You okay?" "Yeah." "I'm taking five." "So, you're not sticking around for Hayden's funeral?" "Would you?" " I think it would be awkward." " Might be." "I'm getting called bride-stealer and groom-killer." "Where are you headed?" "Are you going to stop me?" "No." "Just in case I have a couple of questions." "My sister lives in Riverstone." "Sherie Baker, Riverstone Drive." "Tell me... when did Hayden announce the stag party?" "He wasn't even gonna have one." "Why was that?" "I think he thought they were kind of lame." "Bit worried we'd end up at the Frog and Cheetah watching overweight pole dancers." "He wasn't that kind of guy, eh?" "What changed his mind?" "Kelly bought him the Klusener, and he turned up to work with it." "Are you kidding?" " Hey." "Hey." " This guy!" "He was showing off." "That's when I suggested a hunt might be a cool way to do the stag thing." "So it was your idea?" "Yeah." "It was." "Was Rory there?" "Yeah." "I think he popped out to tell us to get back to work." " It's from Kells." " Yeah?" "For reals?" "Hayden didn't invite him?" "Why would he?" "Rory's a hunter." "Yeah, but we needed Rory to cover for me and Frodes." "Friday arvo?" "Yeah, all right." "I reckon I can make that work." " Good on you." " Right." "That's awesome." "So, I can go?" "Tell me..." "Do you always take your rifle to your sister's?" "Oh." "Is there a law against it?" "Shepherd." "Yeah." "Tony's adamant Rory Parkes never bought a Klusener .55 or a Klusener of any kind." "Says he's strictly a Remington man." "Okay." "Thanks." "How's it?" "Confusing." "Calm before the storm, eh, Detective?" "Maybe." "Hey, where might a man buy a gun around here?" "Um, the gun shop." "Tony's a good dude." "And if I didn't want to use the gun shop?" "Is this some kind of trap?" "'Cause I swear I'm not into that stuff anymore." "This is not a trap." "I know you know some people who know some people." "I'm asking a favor here." "I'll make some inquiries..." "no promises." "I don't want to get my head blown off." "What sort of gun?" "She's ready." "Kelly." "I know you're shaken, but do you have any idea who might want to have done this?" "No." "No, I..." "Oh, my God." "What?" "Um, on the morning of the hunting trip," "Hayden was really stressed out." "Um, he had lots of plumbing jobs to do before he could get away early, and... when he went outside, two of his tires were flat." "Kids, probably." "Okay." "Maybe the same kids who did that took a potshot at me." "That wasn't a potshot." "How did Hayden get to work?" "Stent did an emergency callout." "Were you here when Stent came?" "Really, Detective." "Is that necessary?" "That's not what I meant." "No." "I was out, walking." "Senior." "It's true." "I didn't see Stent that day." "Pam, are you able to stay here with Kelly tonight?" "Of course." "We'll have someone posted outside all night." "The lads reckon this position lines up with the bedroom window." "Senior." "Good work." "Track down Stent and Frodo." "Just in from Comms..." "Rory Parkes reported a break-in at his house." "Want to take bets on what they stole?" "I reckon the bastard stole to order." "There's been a bit of that going around the district, apparently." "It's my favorite Remington." "Where were you when this happened?" "Pub." " Brokenwood Arms?" " Yeah." "I just got back." " Breen." "Yeah." " What's his problem?" "Check that Rory Parkes..." "Just verifying your whereabouts." "Don't you believe me?" "That's rich." "I've just been burgled." "You're on a first-name basis..." "Are you aware of events tonight at Kelly McKenzie's?" "Yeah, yeah." "Word went 'round the pub real quick." "I left soon after I found about it, came back here, found this." "I hope they're not connected." "I hope so, too." "We'll get fingerprinting under way." "Got hold of Sherie Baker." "Stent's been in Riverstone all evening." "You spoke to him?" "Yep." "Frodo?" "Frodo is at the Frog and Cheetah." "Swears it couldn't have been him, as he threw his rifle in the river as a..." ""cleansing ritual to get rid of all the bad energy, man."" " Stoned?" " Ripped off his nuts." "Reckons he's done with hunting, guns, the whole shebang." "You believe him?" "The biggest danger that Frodo poses is to himself." "And whoever shot at Kelly was a crack shot." "Frodo is too nice." "The boys will drag for it at first light." "The barman at the Brokenwood Arms remembers Rory being there tonight." "After this, go there." "Check any security-camera footage." "So, if it wasn't Frodo, Stent, Rory, and obviously Kelly didn't shoot it herself, are we talking different shooters now?" "Whoever shot at Kelly killed Hayden." "They used the fourth cartridge." "I'm sure of it." "And you think it was Rory?" "But what's the motive?" "One minute he's going to the wedding, and the next, he's knocking off the groom?" " He was never going to the wedding." " But he got the invite, right?" "He was planning to attend." " He tore it up." " When?" "Probably when he got it." "But he must have got it after Hayden was killed." "Hayden died around 4:00 p.m., and Rory wasn't home till later that night." "This is mine and Kristin's wedding invite." "Are you two..." "Yeah." "Right." " Yep." " It's beautiful." "It's embossed." "You intend to attend, but then you get news of my tragic and sudden death." "Okay." "I'll just try and invest in that emotionally." "So, what do you do with it now?" "Do you tear it up in anger?" "Do you take it out on the wedding invitation?" "No." "Why?" "Because it's become a memento." "Mike is saying that Rory's treatment of the invite is telling us the story." "It takes a certain kind of anger to do that to a wedding invite." "Anger about his sister?" " Well, could be." " It was five years ago." "And the question still remains..." "How does a guy get shot with his own gun from a distance of 50 meters?" "Well, let's say Rory was up at Cutters." "He has this ability to be in two places at once." "But what then?" "He just taps Hayden on the shoulder?" ""Hey, dude." "I was just passing." "Uh, you know, I'm still pissed about my sister dying." "Can I borrow your Klusener?"" "And Hayden says, "Oh, hey, Rory." "Yeah." "Why, sure." "No worries."" "Then Rory takes the gun, walks 50 meters, turns around, shoots him in the head, walks back, puts the rifle down, and goes off to the pub." "I don't buy it." "Jared." "Hey, I got that information you were after." "Can you come down to the station?" "You're kidding, right?" "After what I've just been sussing out, walking into a cop shop would be a very bad look, Mike." "The back entrance?" "Yeah, no, I could jump out of a plane and use a tea towel as a parachute." "My survival chances would be the same." "I'm on Green Ore Lane." "Yeah, yeah." "So, someone who knows someone wouldn't say who bought the Klusener." "You could have told me that on the phone." "But they would say the deal was done out on Murphy's Road by the old cement works." "And the dude who paid cash might be driving a black ute." "Yes." "If my contacts gets rumbled, I'm gonna wear it, eh?" "I'm not interested in those guys." "Well, who, then?" "You ever come across a Rory Parkes?" "Yeah." "He sold me four tires as new." "They were bloody retreads." "Two peeled off after a month." "He wouldn't refund and blamed my driving." "You do drive like a maniac." " It's a form of expression." " Mm." "Rory drives a black ute." "So he has the Klusener." "Somewhere." "Well, search and seize." "There was a break-in at his place tonight." "They stole a Remington." "We looked around..." "no sign of the Klusener." "It might have been taken, too." "No, there was no robbery." "He staged it." "And the Remington, his pride and joy..." "It'll be somewhere close by." " Do you want me to take a look?" " What?" "No, definitely not." "Okay." "But if I happen to be passing by," "I'll be looking for two rifles?" "Cops think, "Where would he hide it?"" "Better to think, "Where would I hide it?"" "I don't want to know about this." "Know about what?" "Huh." "Hello?" "Somebody there?" "You were right." "The Remington and..." "A Klusener .55." "Mm." "You're second." "Mwah!" "Have a good day." "Love you." "We need to have a chat." "So much for not drawing attention." "Friday afternoon, when Stent and Frodo went hunting, can you remember what time they left?" "1:00?" "Maybe 1:30?" "Rory gave them the afternoon off." "And what time did you knock off?" " Early." " How early?" "Well, it was sweet." "Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off, too, eh?" " Really?" " Yeah." "I can finish up here." "Thanks." "He was in a real good mood, considering what had happened earlier." "What was that?" "Hayden Renner needed an emergency callout." "Stent was all set to go, but Rory insisted he do it." "I've already given you the afternoon off, all right?" "Do as you're told for once." "Okay, mate." "So you left about 1:30?" "Yeah." "So did Rory." "Is he working today?" "He always comes in late on a Wednesday." "Take the day off." "What?" "Why?" "'Cause things are about to heat up." "No." "I got to put the pay through." "If I don't put the pay through, I don't get paid." "Are you gonna feed my kids?" "Put the pay through." "Then go home." "So Rory's in deep?" "Do what you have to do, then leave." "Boss, check this out." "Yes, Rory Parkes was at the Brokenwood Arms last night." "He goes to the toilet... for 57 minutes." "Enough time to process a dodgy kebab, maybe." "Or to head over to Kelly's and take his shot." " Have they fingerprinted the Klusener?" " They're searching for a match." "That's not like you, Senior." "Kristin." "I've just finished a follow-up with Kelly McKenzie." " She all right?" " Still shaken." "She's dealing with it by chain-smoking." "Have you always smoked Denmores?" "No." "My boyfriend got me started." "Hayden smoked Denmores?" "No, before Hayden." "My ex..." "Rory." "Another little gem she forgot to mention." "So, Hayden killed Rory's sister and stole his girlfriend?" "Whoever said life in the provinces was dull?" "Men have killed for a lot less than that." "So we have a motive." "If you wanted to kill someone, but make it look like they were shot with their own gun, how would you do it?" "Um..." "Four blokes, four guns, four bullets, three shots." "Two Kluseners." "He created an opportunity to switch his gun for Hayden's." "Hey, mate." " Hey, mate." " How you doing?" "They swapped vehicles so Hayden could get to his jobs." " Yeah?" " Yep." "Appreciate it, Rory." " Thanks, man." " No worries." "Rory now had the key to Hayden's gun safe." "Hayden carried Rory's Klusener into the bush without even knowing it." "Rory followed them in... took that fourth cartridge, and... the cigarette smoke Stent smelled wasn't Frodo's." "He shot Hayden with his own gun." "Where are you now?" "Rory's, but he's not here." "Do you want me to try the tire center?" " No." " I'm just about there." "Okay." "Wait for me." "Move any closer, and she's dead." "I was just gonna leave, but she started asking questions." "Too many bloody questions!" "Rory." "Take it you're looking for me?" "And Detective Sims." "Welcome to my threesome, Mike." "Slowly take your weapon out." "Slowly take your weapon out." "Hold it by the barrel." "Drop the bullets to the floor." "Slide the gun to the other side of the room." "And your phone." "Now, you get to make a choice." "As you can see, I've got my hands full." "I only need one of these ladies as my insurance policy, but if I see any police vehicles in my rearview mirror," "I will not hesitate to terminate my insurance policy." "You got that?" "!" "Which one's it gonna be, hmm?" "Your colleague here... or Tans?" "Who means quite a lot to you, doesn't she?" "What's that about?" "I don't know what you mean." "Ah." "Are you just hot for her?" "Or maybe this one, hmm?" "Make a choice." "Which one are you going to set free?" "Neither of these women have done anything to hurt you, in the same way that Hayden didn't kill your sister." "How do you know that?" "It was an accident, Rory." "Oh, the crash, maybe." "What about after?" "!" "Help!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Considering what happened later, them getting together..." "Oh, I don't know." "Maybe they were playing the long game." "I don't think that's true." "Think what you like." "I lost a sister and then a girlfriend that day." "Hayden and Kelly were so damn happy." "Why should a couple of cowards get to be so damn happy when Marcie suffered like that?" "!" "But this doesn't make it any better." "This doesn't change anything." "Choose, Detective." "Now!" "One... two..." "Tania!" "Let her go." "He doesn't love you." "Open it up." "Open it!" "You okay?" "Yeah." "I-I just want to hold my kids." "The corner of Brian's Road..." "It's called Coppersfield." "Don't answer the phone or the door." "Comms, from BDC 1... 10-10." "Repeat... 10-10." "Do you copy?" "Comms receiving." "Go ahead, BDC 1." "Police officer taken hostage at gunpoint." "Offender is driving a black Ford X, '08, rego FFG 657, leaving Brokenwood, direction of travel unknown." "Roger that, BDC 1." "Confirming... no indication of suspect's whereabouts." "Await further instruction." "Get up." "Over there." "Climb over it." "Nice and slow." "Hurry it up." "Move it!" "Stop." "Stay nice and still." "I said stay still." "This is BDC 1." "Suspect's vehicle is at Cutters Gully car park." "Will investigate through there." "May lose signal." "Negative, BDC..." "I'm a good shot, Mike!" "Watch this!" "Next one goes in your head or hers!" "You choose!" "Or you can bugger off and tell your mates to do the same!" "All right, hurry up." "Come on." "We got two officers up there, potential hostage situation." "All right, come on." "Breen, listen and don't speak." "Cutters Gully hut." "Call me back in exactly 20 seconds." "Nice work, Sims, nice work." "Let me down!" "Oh." "Yeah." " Thanks." " You're welcome." "Busy night in Brokenwood." "You're gonna be in all the papers." "Can you, uh, do something about that?" "Oh, the women from the tire center... the other hostage..." "I can't track her down." "Any ideas?" "I can't help you with that, Merd." "You disobeyed a clear directive from Comms, you bloody idiot." "You could get a citation for that." "I'd prefer a whiskey, boss." "Irish, right?" "I'll see what I can do." "Wait here." "You okay?" "I'm working on it." "I'll run you home." "So, are you gonna tell me who Tania Freeman is?" "Wow." "She must mean a lot." "You traded me for her." "She has kids." "Oh, survival note to self..." "get kids." "And if I don't tell you?" "You know, I'm very handy with a karate kick to the privates." "Oh!" "You sure you don't want to drive?" "Positive." "Come on." "It's a 1971 Holden Kingswood." "It belongs in a museum, Mike." "You are harsh." " You like country and western?" " No." "Don't try that one." " No, seriously." " Seriously, I don't." "They're the best 3-minute crime stories..." "Crime stories ever sung." "I know." "So you do like country music?" "I don't know why you bother asking me anymore." "You're gonna play it anyway." "Yeah, you betcha."