Read Online Challis - 03 - Snapshot by Garry Disher - Free Book Online

stopping this right now, his
wife said.

    Challis signalled to Ellen and they
got to their feet, but Georgia seemed panicked by this. Where are you going?

    To catch the bad men, Ellen said.

    Where?

    Well look for them everywhere.

    Challis was wondering if Ellens answer
would add to Georgias fears, make her housebound, when Georgia said, But you
dont know what they look like.

    Barbara McQuarrie said, Its all
right, Georgia. Let the man and the lady go off and do their job.

    I know what they look like, Georgia
insisted, recovered now. She climbed out of her grandfathers lap and left the
room, returning moments later with several drawings. She aligned the edges
awkwardly, shoving them at Challis. Here.

    Challis glanced inquiringly at
McQuarrie, who said, The crime-scene people arrived before I did, and Georgia
watched them sketching the scene. She came home and wanted to do her own
sketches.

    Challis swallowed. Thank you,
Georgia. These will be very helpful

    He examined the top drawing: a birds
eye view of the area, showing both cars and her mothers body. There was a
border of trees and a curious smudge amongst them. Is this...? he asked,
indicating it to her.

    Thats me hiding from the man who
wanted to shoot me.

    Uh-huh.

    Ellen came to stand beside him.
There were three other drawings, and Georgia identified them one by one. Thats
the man who shot Mummy, thats the other man in the car, thats Mummy.

    Mummy from before the murder, a
woman with long hair and a big smile.

    These are terrific, Ellen said. Have
you remembered anything else about the car? Maybe you remember some of the
letters and numbers on the numberplate.

    It was just an old car.

    Well, thats helpful. Now, shall we
sit and talk some more about what happened this morning?

    Okay.

    Ellen guided Georgia to the sofa and
sat with her. Challis sat in a nearby armchair and watched and listened.

    You didnt have to go to school
today, Ellen said, is that right? No lessons?

    Mummy had to take me to work with
her.

    Was she meeting someone before
going to the clinic?

    I think so.

    Do you know who?

    Georgia shrugged, a childs quick,
jerking shrug.

    Did your mum notice a car behind
you at any stage?

    Shrug.

    Did she say anything to you about
being lost?

    Head shake.

    You came to a house and your mum
stopped the car, Ellen said, briefly stroking Georgias forearm. Then what
happened?

    Afterwards Challis was to remark on
how fiercely Georgia had concentrated. There were two men, she said. One stayed
in the car and she hadnt seen him clearly, except that he wore dark glasses
and had a kind of round face. The man whod shot her mother wore a beanie and a
jacket with the collar up, so she couldnt give a clear description, except
that she thought his face was thin. The jacket was blue, no, black, no, blue.
The car was kind of white.

    The gun was a little one, not a
rifle, but it had something stuck on the end of it, and the man carrying it had
chased her mother around and around the car. Shed undone her seatbelt to fetch
something from her Hi-5 backpack by that stage, and so she was able to move
about inside the car and follow the action. Then her mother had made a break
for it and she saw the man point the gun and her mother fell to the ground.

    Did you hear the gun?

    It made a kind oiphht sound.

    Challis exchanged a glance with
Ellen: probably an automatic and fitted with a suppressor.

    I wanted to go to her but I was
scared and he turned around and looked at me.

    That was when she darted out of the
car and ran towards the other car. I thought he would help me, but he didnt.

    You mean the man driving?

    Yes. He just waved me away, so I
ran into the trees. I tried to hide but it wasnt a very good hiding place and
the man with the gun could see me, but when he tried to shoot me nothing
happened and he said something bad and looked at his gun and went back to the
car.

    McQuarrie murmured, Any ballistics,
Hal?

    Not yet.

    Automatic pistol, do you