Chapter 1
Prologue
10am
Monday, June 12th 2023
“…An unforeseen shock this morning for construction workers who discovered human remains on a building site in Melbourne’s Northern suburbs.Police would not comment, saying only that they were treating the death as suspicious and would be conducting a full investigation into this gruesome discovery.A police source confirmed that the remains were human bones and appeared to be quite old.As yet, police have no leads.And in other news…”
Chapter 1
The rush came just as Jade began to apply her mascara in the bathroom mirror. The drug she’d taken sent her blood coursing through her veins like a bullet from a gun, causing goosebumps and the feeling that her hair was standing on end. Careful now, she thought. Ecstasy. Jade’s favourite party drug. She was addicted the euphoric feeling it gave her. She blended her blush and applied her favourite red lipstick quickly, before she really began to peak. A quick squirt of signature scent – Viva La Juicy, was next. She still loved it, but the heady smell was enough to evoke strong memories of ‘he who shall not be named’ and the life she had left behind.
It had been a year since she’d broken up with Matt. He was a control freak who couldn’t control his fists when he was angry. Their breakup wasn’t pretty and involved her mother’s house being broken into, her car getting smashed up and police being called. It was enough to give anyone PTSD and since then, she’d hit the club scene and partied hard and fast, trying to forget about all the shit that Matt had put her through during their two years together. But that was all behind her now.She made a mental note to find a new perfume.
Some hard trance music pumped in the background, getting her in the mood. As the drug kicked in harder, so did the bass line. The sound of the music began to change. Louder. Clearer. Intoxicating. She WAS the music. Unable to keep still now, she couldn’t help bopping along.
A kick on the door heralded the arrival of Olivia, her best friend. She rushed in, cheeks flushed, pupils dilated.
“Sorry I’m late! Uber’s waiting downstairs. You ready?” Olivia gushed.
Grabbing her keys and handbag, she followed Olivia down a flight of creaky stairs.
They’d been hanging out at ‘The Lab’ for about six months. Currently the hippest club in town, it catered to the esoteric crowd. The trippers, the strippers, the candy flippers. The ‘scene queens’, the wannabes and a few of the city’s gangsters. The girls had become regulars and tonight was no exception.
The climbed into the waiting Uber, which smelled faintly of cat piss and sweaty gym socks.
“Hey, Cutie!” Olivia winked at the driver.
His face was deadpan. Clearly unimpressed, he waited for the girls to put their seatbelts on and pulled out onto the busy road.
Jade was really starting to fly as the Uber merged into traffic. The familiar feeling of butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach, and she was getting what she and Olivia liked to call, ‘the eternal grin’ – a huge smile that you just couldn’t shake. She reached into her purse for her face compact and flipped it open to assess her state. My god! Her pupils were huge. They’d dilated so much that she couldn’t even see her green irises. Definitely no chance of hiding the fact that she was on drugs. Lucky it was pretty much a pre-requisite for the types of clubs that she frequented.
Jade and Olivia had met at work almost a year ago. They hit it off immediately and quickly became inseparable. They were complete opposites, right down to their looks, yet they complimented one another perfectly. Blonde bombshell Olivia was more sensible when it came to responsibilities such as work, bills and money in general. Raven haired Jade, on the other hand, couldn’t even balance a basketball let alone her finances. But her practical realism and considerate nature made up for her lack of financial genius. She always looked out for Olivia and counselled her through constant relationship break-ups. Mind you, a relationship for Olivia was anything that progressed past coffee with a man. Her endless quest for love was always leading to one crisis or another.
They pulled up outside The Lab. Exiting the Uber, Jade straightened herself, smoothing faint creases from her tight black pants and red halter neck, and began following Olivia towards the doorman at the front of the club, ignoring the line that stretched down the street.
“We’re on the guestlist,” Olivia purred at the super fine looking doorman, “Olivia Austin plus one.”
Bless her. She knew a lot of people. You could always rely on Olivia to do the kind of socialising that earned them free entry, free drinks and invites to the best parties. Jade’s heart was racing, and she was beginning to regret wearing her new strappy black stilettoes as they took the stairs leading up to the club, two at a time. The music was thumping as the DJ mixed in his next track. It was one of Jade’s favourites and she felt the E kick in to full throttle as they reached the top of the stairs. All she wanted to do was hit the dance floor, but the excitement of finally arriving at the club, combined with the rush of the drug made her weak at the knees and she needed something to grip on to. Making a bee line for the main bar, barely able to control their legs and feet, the girls ordered vodka soda’s and turned to survey the crowded room.
Frank Di Marco weaved his way in and out of the gyrating crowd as he spotted the girls and made his way over. His confidence soared due to the half gram of cocaine he’d just snorted upstairs with club owners. He eyed Jade appreciatively, taking in her curves and the way she smiled at him. His heart was pounding.
“Hey,” he smiled and winked at Jade.
“Hey, Frank,” Olivia smiled, commanding his attention with her chest thrust forward in an obvious flirting gesture.
Frank pulled Jade closer and shout-whispered.
“You girls wanna do a few lines?”
His lips brushed her ear, sending a slight tingle through her body.
Jade wasn’t that partial to coke, but she knew Olivia wouldn't say no. They wove their way through the throng of moving bodies with Frank. Stopping at a door marked ‘Staff Only’, they took a flight of narrow stairs to an office reeking of stale beer and wood polish. Two burly looking men sat at an expensive wooden desk, completely absorbed in snorting a pile of snow-white cocaine. Frank made some brief introductions. Dimitri and George Stefanidis were brothers and they owned The Lab. They didn’t seem too concerned by the trios arrival and grunted quiet hellos. Racking up a few more lines, they gestured to them to indulge.
George, the older of the two, handed Olivia a rolled up hundred-dollar bill. Big note for big noters, Jade thought wryly, as she watched Olivia lean over to snort a perfect looking white row. It burned its way up her right nostril as she sniffed deeply and felt the coke hit the back of her throat. Jade declined the offer of the cocaine. The strong chemical taste reminded her of the time she drank floor cleaner when she was seven.
Jade studied George quietly. He looked about 50 years old. His brown hair was flecked with grey and he wasn’t bad looking in a Robert De Niro kind of way. His air of arrogance gave him sex appeal and she knew immediately that Olivia would declare him her type, despite their 30-year age gap. Dimitri, on the other hand, appeared to be younger than George and sported tacky blonde tipped hair, a pock marked face and a permanent scowl.
“I’ve seen you two here before,” George spoke casually.
Jade detected a faint accent and wondered briefly where he was from.
“We practically live here,” Olivia flirted, tossing her long blonde hair.
God, did she have to do that with every guy she met?
George smiled and passed Olivia the makeshift coke snorter. As Olivia effortlessly hoovered another line, the office door opened and a cute young bartender walked in carrying a tray with two bottles of Moet & Chandon and some champagne flutes.
“Just sit ’em on the desk,” Dimitri ordered with a dismissive wave.
“Club is full tonight,” Frank spoke up.
“Yeah, we’ll probably head down soon,” Dimitri said, pouring the champagne.
“I’m having a party after we close up,” said George, turning on the charm, “Drop by if you’re not doing anything later.”
Jade smiled cautiously and thanked him. Even though she was drug affected, she was still on guard, not wanting to end up in any difficult situations with two strangers.
“Let’s go,” Frank barked, beginning to look irritated.
Jade eyed him gratefully.
“Nice meeting you guys, we’ll see you down there,” she nodded, rising to leave.
George winked at her and turned to Frank.
“Frank, I need a word.”
“I’ll catch up,” Frank assured the girls, walking them to the door and closing it behind them.
“Got a job for you,” George spoke in hushed tones.
“Yeah,” Frank looked on, seemingly uninterested.
“I need to you to swing by my place later.”
“Sure,” Frank shrugged and rose to leave.
“Oh, and Frank? Bring the brunette with you.”
