by John Kelly
Julian Knowles and Maria Stewart sat in Michelle's deserted lounge room, drinking coffee. Having driven to Maria's house to collect the key to Michelle's front door, they had returned, and entered to find the place empty. Empty, that is, except for the envelope Michelle had placed on the hall table. The note inside didn't say much. It read?.
Maria, I have to go back to Adelaide for a while. My father is not well. I may be a week or two, but I'll let you know when I'm returning. Michelle.
Maria studied the note, reading it over and over again. "Something is not right here," Maria said. "She could have rung me at the hospital and told me that!" Looking across to Julian, she said, "Have you any ideas about what she might have done?" Julian thought for a moment. "If she went to Adelaide, she would have called for a taxi to get to the airport wouldn't she?" Maria nodded. "She doesn't have a car. She always relied on the bus and Bilby to ferry her around. She could have called a taxi. Is there some way you could find out?" she asked Julian.
"I can try," he answered. He knew that the taxi company would be loathe to give out information of a personal nature over the phone, so he tried a little reverse psychology when he rang.
"Pick up address please?" the operator said. "Hello," Julian replied. "I don't want a taxi, but my wife ordered a car from this address earlier today, and she has just rung me, to say that she left her umbrella on the back seat. Could you check if the driver is still on the road and ask if the umbrella is there?" he said.
"Just one moment please," the operator said. A few minutes passed. Julian stood silently with the phone to his ear, while Maria roamed about the house. Finally, the operator came back. "The driver who picked your wife up, says there's nothing in the cab. He said he made sure she had everything at Spencer street station. He says she didn't have an umbrella." Julian was temporarily at a loss for words. 'Spencer Street station? She must have taken the airport bus.'
"Are you sure?" he asked trying to think of something. "Are you sure you have the right driver?" he added. "Quite sure," the operator replied. "Car 8462, yes that's the one," she said. Julian thanked the operator and hung up. It took a few moments for Julian to realize his stroke of good fortune. "Car 8462! I know that car. That's Alberto's car," he shouted with a laugh. "I'll call him on his mobile phone."
On the train to Baldargo, Michelle and Gerard sat together for the remainder of the journey, each immersed in their own thoughts. Gerard was suffering from information overload and trying to come to terms with what was now a very strong possibility that his son Frank was engaged in criminal activities. 'What did we do to set him on such a path?' he thought as he succumbed to the 'guilty parents' syndrome. 'We sacrificed so much for him. Why does he repay us this way?' Michelle felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. But now there were other considerations. She had no idea what she would do once she arrived home in Baldargo. 'What do I tell my parents? Will they believe me if I say I have left my job? What reason will I give them?'
It was Gerard who was the first to emerge from this silent state of self-examination. "I think I know what we have to do," he said. "What?" Michelle asked, longing for some direction. "Right now, I don't know where Frank is. He went away two weeks ago and I haven't heard from him since. I think we need to go to his office and see if there's anything there that will tell us." Gerard said. "We could go tomorrow," Michelle suggested. Gerard shook his head. "I can't wait that long. I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight thinking about it. No, I think we should go tonight," he said. "The office will still be open by the time we get back. I think we should go there straight away." Michelle nodded in agreement. "Even if we are late and the office is closed, I have a key," she said. "Technically, I'm still an employee. Frank has a personal file where he keeps all his confidential papers. I have a spare key for that too. Perhaps we will find something there," she said.
Back in Gracedale Street Mitcham, Julian called Alberto on his mobile phone. "Alberto, it's Julian here. I need your help. Are you driving at the moment?" he asked. "Yes, wait a moment, while I pull over," Alberto answered. Julian waited. "Yes, what's up?" Alberto asked. "Alberto, did you pick up a young lady in Mitcham today, in Gracedale Street?" he asked. "Yes I did," Alberto said, "you know her," he added. "It was that lady at the rank a couple of weeks back when we were there talking with Jacques. The one you took off with. You remember her?" Julian nodded with excitement. "Yes, yes, that's the one. Alberto, where did you take her?" he asked.
"I thought she was going to the airport when I saw the luggage. But no, it was to Spencer Street station. She said she was going to Baldargo," Alberto replied. Julian was dumbfounded. "Baldargo! What on earth was she going there for?" he said.
While Julian spoke with Alberto, Maria had been roaming about the house, hoping to find some means by which to contact Michelle in Adelaide. As she looked through some papers lying on Michelle's bedside table, a business card dropped onto the floor. She picked it up for a closer look. It read 'Frank Martin Solicitor' with an office address in Baldargo. Moments later, Julian entered the room. "You won't believe this," he said. "Michelle didn't go to Adelaide at all. Alberto said that he took her to catch a train. She told him she was going to Baldargo." Maria took another look at the business card.
"I think I know who she went to see," she said.
With no further reason to stay at Michelle's house, Julian and Maria locked up, and drove back to Maria's house. They sat in Maria's lounge room trying to make sense of Michelle's departure to Baldargo. "I'll have to speak with Elsie and Warwick," she said finally, as she came out of a day dream. "I'll have to tell them what's happening. They need to know about this. I'll have to call them in the morning."
When the train arrived at Baldargo station, Gerard and Michelle headed quickly for the car park, where Gerard had left his car the previous day. It was five o clock in the afternoon when they arrived at Frank's office in Walker Street. The traffic had increased as the city workforce began to make their way home for the weekend. There was a buzz of activity in the street. At the office, the last of the staff had left except Henry Simmons. He looked up astonished as both Gerard and Michelle came in the door. "Good evening Henry," Gerard said, "sorry to bother you. You know Michelle don't you," he said in a business like fashion, keen not to allow small talk to bog him down. Henry smiled at them both. "Hello Gerard, hello Michelle. I wasn't expecting either of you. Anything wrong?" he asked. "Henry, have you heard from Frank at all recently, today? yesterday?"
The urgency in Gerard's voice was clear. Henry shook his head. "No, nothing. This is not like him. It's been a fortnight," he said. "Henry, Michelle and I want to do some work in Frank's office. But could you tell me what the current state of the Trust account is? Can you do a quick audit for me?" Gerard asked. "No need to," Henry said. "I did one today. I always do one on Friday's. It balances. Do you want a break down?" he asked. "Yes, please if you have it handy. Bring it in if you would," he said as both he and Michelle walked toward Frank's office.
"Over to you," Gerard said to Michelle as he gestured toward Frank's filing cabinet. Michelle immediately produced a key from her handbag and opened the filing cabinet. She rifled through the top drawer. Nothing! She then opened the second drawer as Henry walked in.
"I say, this looks pretty serious! Can you tell me what's going on Gerard?" Henry asked.
"I will if we find what we are looking for," Gerard responded. "Perhaps I can help you?' Henry suggested.
Just then, Michelle let out a squeal of delight. "Here's something," she said excitedly. "What is it?" Gerard asked as he took the audit file from Henry. Michelle lifted out a file from the back of the second drawer.
"The Steedman file," she said, reading the heading out loud. It was bulky. She opened the file as she moved slowly toward Frank's desk and sat down. Both Gerard and Henry crowded round to see what it contained.
35.
