Schlock Homes and I, John Whatson, had been hired to investigate the disappearance of several conveyancers at the Victorian Conveyancing Conference. We already had a couple of good leads, deciding to follow up on Peter Gallon, who had threatened to make bad things happen if he didn’t get a certain award.
Peter Gallon was easy to find, with his unprofessional handlebar moustache and mullet. Truth be told, he looked more like a biker than a conveyancer, although his slight frame meant life in a bikie gang was unlikely for the fellow.
“Yeah, I threatened to do something terrible if I didn’t win the award for Best Conveyancer,” Peter told us. “Someone from a conveyancing firm around Collingwood won it instead, but that doesn’t mean I actually went through with the threat. What’s it to you, anyway? You private detectives or something?”
We were supposed to be undercover, so we quickly explained that we were merely worried for our fellow conveyancers. Of course, Schlock and I don’t know a thing about conveyancing. Honestly, I’m not even sure what a conveyancer does. We figured it best to move on before he suspected anything further. We asked if he suspected anybody of making the conveyancers disappear, and he suggested we talk to someone who knew about conveyancing close to Elwood: Clinton West.
Schlock and I found Clinton at the conference bar, on the phone with a client. This was odd since no business was supposed to be done at the conference. That was one of the terms of entry. It was a place to talk about anything but conveyancing. Clinton pretended not to notice us, turning away. He stayed on the phone for a good ten minutes before finally hanging up.
“We were wondering if you could tell us a bit about your thoughts on the disappearing conveyancers,” Schlock asked.
Clinton looked nervous, sweat trickling down his head. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “Sorry, I have to go. Someone is waiting for me.”
He quickly ran off. Schlock and I gave each other a look, and I knew he wanted to follow the man. As we went to do so, however, I felt something shift in my pocket. I reached in and found a note.
Follow the red lights, it said. How strange.