*      *      *

Finally recovering from his shock at the goings on, Ernie pushed his way through the thick crowd, heading toward Howard Street where Rowena and the others were.

“Oh my God!   My God, what could have made him do it!” cried Samantha Frankland before fainting against Victoria and Rowena who struggled to support her until Ernie arrived to help out.

Lifting the redhead into his arms, he carried Samantha round the corner to where Gloria Ulverstone’s yellow Morris Minor was parked.   He placed her into the back of the Morris with Victoria and Rowena sitting on either side of her, while Holly and Gloria climbed into the front.   Since there was no room for Ernie he said, “I’ll follow behind in the Range-Rover.”

As he straightened to leave, Rowena, on the brink of tears, called out to him, “What happened Ernie?   Why did he do it?”

Sighing deeply, Ernie shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know Rowie, I just don’t know.”

*      *      *

Half an hour later they were all standing, or seated in a semi-circle around the metal bed in the private ward of the Glen Hartwell and Daley Community Hospital, where Samantha Frankland was sleeping, heavily sedated.

“What could have made him do it?” asked Rowena for the umpteenth time to no one in particular.

“We might never know, honey,” said Gina Foley, co-ordinator of the hospital.

*      *      *

At the small holding-cell at the back of the Mitchell Street Police Station, Sergeant Bear Ross and Inspector Mike Mannas both tried without success to get Tony Frankland to explain what had driven him to assassinate Leonard Moffett.

While Bear sat tentatively on the edge of the small wooden bunk beside Tony, Mike Mannas stood with his back to the barred front wall of the cell.   Not really approving of Bear using his past friendship with Tony to get information out of him, Mannas kept his distance from the other two men in the cell.

“Would you like to have a lawyer present during the questioning?” asked Bear drawing a sharp look from Mannas.   By Victorian law they could interview him for up to six hours before having to give him the choice of calling a lawyer.   However, Bear realised that they were getting nowhere with Tony and hoped that he might be more forthcoming with a lawyer present.