Synopsis :
Voss takes a cottage in
Port Fairy to re-assess his life. Likes the ebb and flow of the locals, doesn’t
like the tourists much, but appreciates the improvement to the coffee shops and
pubs their trade has brought.
He
befriends a fisherman who is in his mid-seventies, Leith Pritchard is worried
about his grandchildren, they are cutting school and spending most of their
time boozing and taking drugs
He
has noticed that they have better supply a week after the full moon at first,
he thought the drugs were coming in from the fishing fleet, but as most of the
captains and crew had children affected, he’d dismissed it.
Voss
watches a wedding where the bride’s theme is red and black, Men are dresses in
mail box red suits with black top hats, while the bridesmaids a dressed in
black with red aprons. The wedding is lavish and Voss learns the couple are
recent pop music stars who have decided Port Fairy has the right setting for
their big day.
On
the day of the wedding while the town watches and waits for the nuptials to
begin, Voss and Leith study the coming and going of the florist, the priest and
the caterers. Something irks Voss the, sight of the priest seems familiar and
he runs a series of old mugshot images through his mind without finding
anything. The priest, once a circuit man who came from Melbourne to take
communion once a month, has moved up within the church. His visits often resulted
in the kids going wild. Port Fairy has changed but people still remember the
Uniting Church goers in the town who believed Satan was at work. The Jehovah
Witness didn’t have an opinion and the lapsed Christians, agnostics and
non-believers are sure the local copper turned a blind eye to the problem.
After
publicly renouncing the Catholic Church on the sleeve of his last album, Songs
of Regret, his producers, the recording company has pushed him into filming the
wedding to release it in increments as video support for the songs.
Ten years on and, while
the band is blasting the new album from several speakers the size of small
cars, unknown to the quests in the marquee below at the Rockstar wedding, evil
of its own is looking down on them. the priest is found dead, face down in front
of a burning cross on top of the local lookout. Thirteen small and charred
wooden crosses surround the body.
Speculation
about the devil, drugs and God’s Justice whip the town gossips and scaremongers
into a frenzy. Rumours surround the death some saying satanic symbols rose from
the burning paint and noise from flames sounded like demons squealing as the
vehicle burnt. Firefighters reported being unable to quench the flames and
suspected an accelerant like napalm. Other reports had the body covered in
knives sticking out of every muscle and body part.
What
they couldn’t know was that the man’s genitals were removed and stuffed into
his mouth before he died. Cause of death asphyxiation.
Along
with the wedding guests and gossip columnists, now city journalists and TV
reporters descended on the town in helicopters cars and most of the
accommodation is booked out to accommodate them. Considering moving to a
quieter location Voss answers his door to the Bishop seeking a meeting. Voss
tries to push the thought of getting back to investigation to one side until
the bishop tell him the priests name. this is the man who set Voss on his
career as a copper. The only real father figure in his life.
He
takes the case and is bewildered by the details of the crime. Father Geoffrey
was due to testify before the Royal Commission into Child Abuse. However, the
bishop confirms Voss’s belief his friend was one who spoke up against it, so
why would someone do this. Eddie is reluctant to become involved, he has no use
of the church for the way they treated him when his business was failing and
Donna to thinks it is a bad idea.
Voss might have to do this on his own.