Vikki Petraitis - Pandoras Box (Crime Shots)

PANDORA'S BOX

by

VIKKI PETRAITIS

First published in eBook form by Clan Destine Press in 2013

CDP Imprint: Crime Shots 2013

PO Box 121, Bittern

Victoria 3918 Australia

Copyright Vikki Petraitis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (The Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of any book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-In-Publication data:

Petraitis, Vikki

Pandora's Box

ISBN 978-0-9875538-3-6

Cover Design Rae Cooper

Digital Distribution: Ebook Alchemy

In 1996 a neighbour spies three Asian men running out of a court in Glen Waverley. It looks like two chasing one. But when they head towards a nearby car with an open boot, and suddenly the boot closes and there are only two men standing there, the chase takes on a more sinister aspect.

Young Steve Tragardh joined the police force when he was 18 and a half; he'd trieduni for a while, but it wasn't for him. He had come through the private school system and while hisparents might have harboured secret hopes of a career in medicine, or law like his twin brother,they offered their full support when their son chose policing. The kidnapping of this young Asian boy would go onto be a defining moment in his career.

Life on earth was happier than it is now. First there were only men, untilZeus created a beautiful woman called Pandora. When she was sent to earth, the gods gave her a boxand told her to keep it safe. They also warned her never to open it. But Pandora was curious. Thepresence of the box irked her and she badly wanted to know what was inside. One day, her curiositygot the better of her and she knelt by the box and lifted the kid, just a tiny bit; but that wasenough. Evil rushed from the box in a stinking black cloud. There was sickness, hatred, suffering,greed and jealousy. Even though Pandora tried to slam the lid down, it was too late. Life, which hadbefore been easy and joyful, became hard and painful and bleak...

Young Steve Tragardh joined the police force when he was 18 and a half; he'd trieduni for a while, but it wasn't for him. He had come through the private school system and while hisparents might have harboured secret hopes of a career in medicine, or law like his twin brother,they offered their full support when their son chose policing. Looking back, Tragardh saw being apolice officer as a noble, respected job, and that was important to him. He also thought it would bea buzz to catch crooks and help people in need.

His first posting in the Reservoir and Preston area was any eye-opener and caused a radicaladjustment in his view of the world. Far from the environs of the leafy suburbs were he had grownup, the world was suddenly full of drugs and alcohol-fuelled violence. So much so, in the firstcouple of years, Tragardh wondered how he could possibly make a difference. Like a lot of youngrecruits, he sometimes found his new job overwhelming.

His adjustment to the work policing had to offer came gradually. Slowly, he began to catchcrooks, just like he'd always wanted to, and he began to find his place in the scheme of things. Andthen something happened to fuel a fire that would burn in him for the rest of his career. Oneafternoon, a bunch of local cops went to the park after work for a BBQ. It was a chance to gatheraround a camp fire and drink a few beers. One senior sergeant, notorious for his temper, tookobjection to something Tragardh said and all of a sudden, things turned nasty. Rather than arguewith the young recruit, the senior sergeant grabbed him and threw him towards the campfire.

Luckily, he jumped clear in time and avoided injury, but the incident had a huge impact on theyoung man; an impact that perhaps illustrated the kind of man he was. After getting over the initialreaction of shock and anger, an idea formed in Tragardh's mind. As long as he was a junior officer,he wouldn't be respected by men like the senior sergeant. At this level, he could continue gettingthrown into fires - though he hoped any future ones would be of the more metaphoric variety. Hefigured that if he was more senior and more respected, the officer at the BBQ would never have donewhat he did.

It was either think that way, or throw in the towel - and Tragardh was widely known for putting apositive spin on everything. Looking back, he sees this revelation as the turning point for him.From that moment on, he threw himself into his job. Head first.

In the late 1980s, before the notions of occupational health and safety had taken hold, copswould launch into the fray in pub brawls and street melees. In one pub brawl at a notorious Prestonwatering hole, Tragardh got bashed over the head with a pool cue. He nursed his bruised head andwounded pride in equal measures and was back the next shift, eager as ever to do his bit to put thefinger on crime.

Right from the start, Tragardh showed an aptitude for catching crooks. He had tenacity in spades,and loved to think of new ways to make a difference. There was one local woman who'd been dealingspeed for years from her house but she had proved illusive when it came to pinning anything on her.Tragardh made it his mission to put a stop to her operations.

Every spare moment he had, he would sit opposite her house and everyone who went to buy drugs wassearched on the way out. Pretty soon, druggies avoided using her to score because they knew therewas a very good chance they'd get busted on the way out and lose their drugs. It didn't take thewoman long to start wondering who the young upstart was who was ruining her business. And ruin it hedid; it wasn't long before she closed up shop altogether.

One of the first fatalities that Tragardh attended was a suicide by train. A man had jumped infront of a train and was torn apart on impact; the scene wasn't pretty. A grumpy senior officerdemanded that Tragardh's partner crawl under the train to fish the victim's wallet out of the backpocket on the torso which was still intact. Tragardh could see his partner growing white and clammyat the thought. It didn't help the surreal sickening atmosphere that the government undertakers werecollecting body parts in a box marked with the logo of a popular snack food. Tragardh knew if hedidn't volunteer instead, his sickened mate would be made to do it, so he got down on all fours,crawled under the train, pulled the man's wallet from his pocket, and high-tailed it out of there inrecord backwards-crawling speed.

And all this happened in the days when 'debriefing' consisted of half a dozen dim sims and atoasted ham and cheese sandwich from the local take-away, with the ensuing conversations making nomention of the carnage they'd all just witnessed.

But rather than being put off by life's harsh realities, Steve Tragardh fed off it. Each daybrought a new challenge and each day gave him a chance to prove that he really belonged where hewas.