Beware of the Dog Read Online Free PDF Page B

hamburger and a six-pack of Toohey’s Blue label. The hamburger was tasteless, or maybe I was tasting only bile. I drank three cans of beer and rang Glen at the hotel where she usually stayed when she was overnight in Goulburn. She’d registered but wasn’t in her room. I stood by the front window looking out at the car. If it sat there all night the radio’d be gone for sure in the morning. I guessed Paula Wilberforce had done her damage while I was under the shower.
    I went out and retrieved the toy gun from the front seat. A crude model of a .357 Magnum, it looked unreal, an obvious toy. But in the woman’s fist, as she stood there with her legs braced and both hands up, TV style, it had looked very real. I tried to feel sorry for her but I couldn’t. If my gun was used in a crime I was in real trouble. I had to find her and it, fast. I ground my teeth and glared at my neighbours’ cars with their intact windows and windscreens. Still no sign of the men with the glass.
    I went inside and tried the number for Dr Roger Maurice. It was engaged and I swore. I sat with the phone in my hand, punching the redial button until I got an answer.
    â€˜Dr Maurice, my name’s Cliff Hardy. I …’
    â€˜Dan Sanderson phoned me, Mr Hardy. I gather you’re having trouble with Paula Wilberforce.’
    â€˜You could say that. What can you tell me about her? I gather she’s a PhD student.’
    â€˜She was. Dropped out a month or so ago.’
    â€˜What was her research topic?’
    â€˜She was supposed to be writing a study of women’s refuges. I never saw any signs that she was serious about it. Tell me, has she … done any damage?’
    â€˜Yes. Is she sane, do you think?’
    â€˜Far from it. She broke into my room at the university and wrecked it. This was after I pointed out that she hadn’t begun to fulfil the requirements of her course. She’s wealthy, did you know?’
    â€˜Not exactly. I went to her place in Lindfield but it’s up for sale. Big house.’
    â€˜She inherited a lot of money. She’s very dangerous, Mr Hardy. She harassed me for months. I got her to see a student counsellor and his report was, well … disturbing. If she’s transferred her attentions to you, you’ve got a real problem.’
    â€˜Does she have a doctor?’
    â€˜Now that you mention it, yes. I’ve got some of this stuff on disk. I could look it up and give you a ring back in a few minutes if you’d like.’
    I thanked him and gave him my number. Another computer man. Gave him an edge. What I didn’t remember, I didn’t know. I looked out the window again. Nothing. At least it wasn’t raining. I had another can of beer.
    â€˜Dr John Holmes,’ Maurice said when he rang back ‘Psychiatrist.’
    â€˜Woollahra. I know him. Many thanks.’
    He wished me the best of luck, with feeling. I’d met Dr Holmes a few years back when I was trying to find a freaked-out writer bent on destroying himselfand a few others. I found him, but too late, and Dr Holmes wasn’t a hell of a big help. Still, it was something to cling to. Maybe Paula Wilberforce went to see him every week and would be happy to put my gun on his big, polished desk. I went to the cupboard under the stairs where I keep another gun—an unlicensed Colt .45 automatic. It was an early model that didn’t have the extra safety grip that has to be squeezed before the weapon can operate. I’ve never liked it, always thought of it as a dangerous piece of equipment, but I keep it oiled and clean. I worked the slide and ran a rag over it, then put it away in the dark cupboard.
    A light flashed in the front window—dial a windscreen had arrived. Normally, I’d have gone out to watch them work and thanked them for their efforts, but the reverses of the day had soured me. I stood at the window and watched their efficient movements as