Peter Corris - Lugarno

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Lugarno

[Cliff Hardy 24]

By Peter Corris

Scanned & Proofed By MadMaxAU

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Howdyou feel about drugs, Mr Hardy?

Im all for them caffeine,alcohol, paracetamol...

Please dont be flippant. You knowwhat I mean.

I did know what he meant, butsometimes I just cant help being flippant. Sometimes too, it helps to give mea handle on what sort of a person Im dealing with. Flippant back is one thing,serious and impatient is another. Martin Price was serious. Hed phonedmentioning the name of a client whod mentioned my name to him. Not a badconduit to me, especially as I remembered the client and hed paid well. Wedset up this meeting at the coffee shop on Glebe Point Road next door to theValhalla Cinema. Hed seemed a bit surprised at the venue, but then again Idbeen a bit surprised at his chosen time 8 a.m. on a Monday morning. Idexplained that the place was closer to where I lived than my office and that Iwasnt what youd call an early morning person.

So there we were at a table out onthe street with two long blacks. He was in his expensive but slightly wrinkledbusiness suit, and I was in my jeans and leather jacket where wrinkles dontmatter. He was tallish like me, in fair physical condition like me, with a fullhead of hair and cleanshaven again like me. There the resemblance ended. Wedonly been there a couple of minutes and he was on his second cigarette. My lastcigarette had been back when they cost about a quarter of what they cost now.Price had an almost full packet of Camels. He put it on the table along withhis lighter all loaded up and ready to fire.

You mean hard drugs cocaine,heroin, speed, maybe ecstasy, although Im not sure the last two qualify. Imnot all for them dangerous, and lifes dangerous enough as it is.

Exactly. Well, I believe... no,I know that my daughters selling them. And I mean heroin.

He stubbed out his cigarette anddrank some coffee. I drank some as well and bet myself hed light up again assoon as hed swallowed and put his cup down. He did. That seemed to invite meto speak.

How olds your daughter, Mr Price?

He exhaled a cloud of smoke. Eighteen.

An adult.

Not really. She lives at home,doesnt work, is totally dependent. On the surface.

I get the picture. I think you needprofessional help of a different kind counselling

No, you dont understand. Its amatter of who shes selling the drugs to!

I had a vision of pimples and schooluniforms, knee-length shorts and skateboards even, caps worn back to front, andwas still less happy. Selling to children is a serious offence, I said. Butif she hasnt been caught and charged you can still

For a smooth, apart from thesmoking, prosperous-looking type, the bitterness and harshness of his laughcame as a surprise and got my attention. He drew deeply on his cigarette, blewout the smoke and seemed to have forgotten about his coffee. Shes not sellingto kids, he said. I could deal with that in some way or other. Shes sellingit to my wife!

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Afterthat I got the full story, chapter and verse. Eighteen-year-old Danielle wasthe only child of Prices first marriage. His wife had died young of cancerwhen Danielle was eleven. Five years later Price, who was in his early fortiesby then, had married Samantha, a model who was twenty years younger than him.

I... ah, met Sammy a couple ofyears after Annette was killed but we waited a few years to get married. Iwanted Danni to be old enough to understand and accept it.

Sammy and Danni, I thought. Chummy as all get out.And did she?

Price shook his well-groomed head. No,not at all. She hated Sammy on sight and theres been nothing but troublesince.

I was making notes, beingprofessional, although I wasnt sure I wanted any part of this. So your wifeswhat age now?

Shes twenty-six.

Does she still work?

That bitter laugh again. Did sheever? No, I shouldnt say that. Sammy worked for a while after we got married.Then she got pregnant. I thought Danni might like the idea of a brother, or asister. No chance. Price heaved a sigh and lit another cigarette. Suddenly helooked older than the middle forties. He looked at the cigarette in his stainedfingers. I gave these bloody things up years ago when Annette was pregnant.Took it up again worse than ever when all this shit started.

Understandable, I said. So theresanother kid?

A shake of the head and a waft ofsmoke. No. Sammy miscarried in the fifth month. Shed bought the baby clothesand all the gear, you know.

I didnt know. I had a daughter Ihadnt found out about until she was in her twenties, but I noddedsympathetically.

It rocked Sammy. Really tore herapart. She changed; got depressive, bored, sick

Howd Danni take it?

It was soap opera stuff and I couldntkeep a note of that out of my voice, but Price didnt react. She lapped it up.I think thats when she moved in and got Sammy onto the drugs. I knew shedbeen smoking dope herself since she was fourteen, but what can you say? Theyall do it. Turns out shed got onto coke as well. I suppose her source couldsupply heroin too. Anyway, she got under Sammys guard and got her hooked.Dannis got some money of her own and pretty soon shes buying for both of themand Dannis dealing a bit and supplying Sammy steadily so that shes a hopelessaddict. Dannis tougher I suspect shes a user rather than an addict.

How did you find all this out, MrPrice?

Danni has... had a boyfriend.A kid named Jason Jorgensen. Decent kid. She dumped him when he got worriedabout the drugs. He came to me. I think he was acting partly out of hurt, buthe still cares about Danni.

Maybe not the most reliable sourceof information, I said. Rejected lover and all that. But if hes right youseem to have all the facts. Why dyou need someone like me?

He stubbed out his cigarette anddusted off his hands as if that was going to be his last one, but it wouldntbe. The Camels were still sitting on the table. Jason says that Dannis sellingto a lot of people and that its only a matter of time until word gets aroundand shes in serious trouble.

I nodded. To my mind, drugs shouldbe available to addicts on prescription. Ive known wealthy professionals whoveused drugs for years and have got on successfully with their lives because theyvegot the resources to buy clean product and shoot up cleanly. When I said thathard drugs were dangerous I meant that criminality made them that way variable quality, contamination, unsanitary procedures and the viciousbehaviour of corrupt cops, other dealers and desperate addicts. I spelled someof this out for Price and asked him again what he thought I could do.

Prices apparent resolution lastedless than a minute. He lit another cigarette and fidgeted with his lighter ashe spoke. Im going to get both of them admitted to a detoxification andtreatment centre. Ive put the legal procedures in train.

Good, I said. Youre doing theright thing there.

He ignored me. I could see that hehad something still more important on his mind that a pat on the back wouldnthelp. Its worse than Ive told you. Jason says theres a young woman inhospital in a coma from taking something Danni supplied. Shes due to bequestioned by the police. The doctors say shell be out of the coma and able totalk inside a week. Shes young and her familys wealthy and... angry. Dannillface some serious charges.

Youre right there.

He killed the cigarette early andlooked at me through the smoke haze. I want you to find out who supplied Danniwith the drugs and get solid evidence on him.