Wyatt - 01 - Kick Back Read Online Free PDF Page A

dreamlessly.

    * * * *

    Six

    This
time Wyatt took the train to Melbourne. He didnt want to be burdened with a
car. If the job looked like taking a while, hed rent himself one.

    He got out at Flinders Street,
walked through to the Gatehouse on Little Collins, and registered under the
name Lake. The room they gave him looked out onto an airshaft, but it was
comfortable. Wyatt liked the Gatehouse. It was central, cheap and
old-fashioned, a hotel for bemused farmers and their families visiting
Melbourne from the country. You didnt get cops checking faces in the lobby or
bars at the Gatehouse.

    Now he was leaning his long frame
against the window, regarding Robert Hobba with cold interest. Three hundred
thousand dollars? he said.

    Hobba nodded. In cash.

    Where?

    An office safe.

    Wyatt frowned. Lifts, doors,
cameras, security patrols, nightwatchmen . . .

    Thats just it, Hobba said. Its
in a house.

    Wyatt watched him, wondering if this
job was like all the others, no more than someone with an itch and a way in. At
first sight, Hobba didnt inspire confidence. He sat on the edge of the bed,
narrow shoulders sloping to a bulky stomach and massive thighs. He had
prominent lips in a grey, puffy face. When he was nervous he licked them.

    He licked them now. A converted
house in South Yarra, he said. Quiller Place. Went by it yesterday. Single
storey, quiet street. A lawyers office. Easy

    Wyatt said nothing, deliberately
putting pressure on Hobba. Then he said, Tell me what a suburban law firm is
doing with three hundred thou in the safe.

    Hobba wet his lips again and looked
at the ceiling. Lets see if Ive got this straight. When you want to build a
shopping centre, whatever, you apply for a planning permit. If youre out of
luck, some neighbour comes along and lodges an objection. If you go through a
tribunal it can take a few months. Then when youre about to lay the
foundations some other geezer objects. Your costs go up, everyones being
fucked around, so to save hassles you buy off the objectors.

    He frowned, then looked at Wyatt and
smiled in satisfaction.

    So? Wyatt said.

    So this lawyer, Finn, negotiates
these things.

    Negotiates himself three hundred
thousand dollars? Thats some fee, Wyatt said.

    He only gets a percentage, Hobba
said. Theres a deal going through on Friday and hes the banker for a few
hours. Well only have one shot at it.

    Wyatt had not moved from the window.
He leaned against the frame, arms folded now, assessing Hobba and his story. He
said, How come you know all this?

    It was eleven-thirty. Hobba had
arrived at eleven-fifteen and already had smoked three cigarettes. After each
one he took a mint from a rattling tin and tossed it into his mouth. Now he
shuddered and coughed, and Wyatt, recognising a delaying tactic, said sharply: Where
did you hear it?

    Hobba sighed. The horses mouth.

    Finn?

    Not him, Hobba said. The partner.
A bird called Anna Reid.

    Dont like it, Wyatt said. Then, How
close are they?

    Not close at all. Just partners.

    Hobba wet his lips again, drew
violently on his cigarette, and knocked off the ash with three dainty taps of
his forefinger. He wore glasses, looked crumpled and gave an impression of
incompetence, but Wyatt had worked with him before, had seen the excessive
gestures disappear and the shapeless body grow still and efficient.

    Wyatt continued to watch him. He
waited, saying nothing. Sometimes people found him to be patient beyond reason.
Finally Hobba shifted restlessly and said, You know Maxie Pedersen?

    Wyatt remembered a hard, sandy man
who specialised in safes when he wasnt dealing dope on a small scale. Last I
heard he was doing five for blowing a TAB safe. He also deals, so no thanks.

    Hobba shook his head. Hes given
that away. Strictly safes now. Anyhow, he got out a year ago on parole. The
Reid woman is his lawyer, Legal Aid. She told him about Finns safe.

    Wyatt was liking this less and less.
If Pedersens fucking her, thats it, Im out.

    Nothing