Smoking Gun (Adam Cartwright Trilogy Book 1)

by Dennis Debney

  I didn’t enquire whether John Hall and his men went willingly but instead asked, “John Hall said that he was a Union official. Is that true?”

  Tony Payne shrugged. “Who knows for sure. Hall and his guys are all members of the Comancheros bikie gang. As you know a Royal Commission into Union corruption and the Governance of the Construction Workers Union recently decided that the Comancheros had gone from being Union enforcers to having senior management positions in the Union.”

  “Will there be any fallout for you and your friends for taking sides like this.”

  Payne snorted derisively. “Heck no. We are not Union members. We are pleased to have them off the site. They are a pack of lazy, thieving troublemakers. Anyway, we want to earn the early completion bonus that you have offered. It’s a fair deal all round and we appreciate it.”

  I smiled and said, “Well, thanks again for your intervention.”

  Payne stood up and extended his hand. “It’s the least that we could do.” As soon as we shook hands he exited the dining room.

  After he left I sat reflecting on the day’s events. It had taken some arguing with senior management at Gibson Construction before I had been given approval to offer the early completion bonus to the construction workers. Basically I had worked out a formula that would ensure that the construction workers would receive the same amount of wages that they would have received if we had completed the project by the target date even if they finished early. I had thought that it was only fair as Gibson Construction would also receive an early completion bonus that exceeded the bonus paid to the construction workers.

  ***

  There were no further problems during the project. From everyone’s point of view it was a huge success. The project was completed a month early and well under budget. Plus we did not interrupt production at any time. The construction workers had happily shared early completion bonuses of around $500,000. But Gibson Construction did not begrudge making those payments as they had picked up an early completion fee of just over $1 million. A fee that they would not have earned without the whole-hearted support of the construction workers.

  There had been little, if any, of the traditional friction between the visiting construction workers and permanent mine staff. The level of co-operation between all parties had made it possible to plan work so as to avoid disrupting operations. Last, but not least, the mine owners were pleased with the early completion of the project and lack of interruption to production. There was satisfaction and goodwill all round.

  On our last night on site the construction workers threw a party and mock-honoured me with a humorous presentation. They had fabricated two human-like figures, about a foot high, using five mm steel rod and a couple of nuts and bolts. One was painted white and the other black. The white painted figure appeared to be holding an arm that had been detached from the other. The figures were attached to a base that had an engraved plaque that was entitled. ‘Cartwright Weld Certification Test’ below the title were the words; “See, I told you that your welding was no bloody good!” It was obviously referring to my confrontation with John Hall and had triggered great hilarity when it was presented to me.

  On the morning of my departure I walked around the plant and mine site for an hour just before I boarded the plane for Townsville. I took dozens of photographs to go with those that I had taken the evening before. Mostly I was ensuring that I had a complete record of the work that we had carried out. But I also included photos of all the mine site buildings and surroundings as I wanted a record of my time at the Mount Godwin mine.

  ***

  Sitting on the plane during the flight to Townsville I settled back in my seat and reflected on the success of the project. I had been lucky to have been given such an interesting assignment and even luckier to have been able to make the most of it.

  My stars seemed to be in alignment. Gibson Construction led a consortium that had just been awarded a contract to develop the Red Rock Mine. From out of the blue I had been offered the position as Construction Manager for the Red Rock Project. Needless to say I had accepted immediately.

  The Red Rock site was located about two hours drive west of Cairns. It was a grass-roots turn-key project meaning that I would walk onto a bare site and be responsible until the project was handed over as an operating mine. The division of responsibilities between me and the Project Manager had not been clearly spelt out and there was some friction as I did not accept his assumption of seniority. As far as I was concerned I would be responsible for all construction site decisions and he would handle all the offsite matters.

  I had a month off before I was to report to the office of the consulting engineer in Brisbane where I would be based for a month or so getting familiar with the design of the processing plant and mine facilities. After that I would return to Townsville to collect ‘Irish Mist’ from the marina where I had been living when not staying at the Mount Godwin Mine. Later I would sail ‘Irish Mist’ up to Cairns and live on board berthed in a marina there also. I was living my boyhood dream; building things and living on a yacht. Life just couldn’t get better than this.

  The twelve seater plane was the last of a series of charter flights engaged to transport the construction workers back to Townsville. Friendly banter and talk about how the passengers would spend their upcoming leave filtered gently into my consciousness without disturbing my reverie.

  But all good things have to come to an end eventually. The buzz of conversation died the moment that the plane came to a halt on the ground near the air terminal. We instantly saw that we had a reception committee. We were confronted by a dozen armed police clad in bullet proof vests. All were holding pistols in their hands. Their weapons were pointed towards the ground and not directly threatening us but all of the passengers got the message. We silently exited the plane as instructed and formed a line facing the police with our hands on our heads. More puzzled than annoyed I wondered what might have happened. One of the passengers asked what was going on but the police officer in charge, who had identified himself as Detective Inspector Hargreaves, refused to acknowledge his question. Instead he told us that our bags were going to be unloaded and searched, and advised us to submit willingly to a search of our person and back packs etc. If anyone objected and insisted on seeing a search warrant they would be detained and searched later when a search warrant had been obtained.

  Before the searches commenced we were led into a nearby hangar out of the direct sun. It was an hour before the searches had been completed. By then the police were quite relaxed. Clearly they had not found what they had been looking for. One by one, as we had been searched we were told to sit in a line of chairs along the wall of the hangar but no explanations had been provided.

  Deciding that enough was enough I stood up and addressed Detective Inspector Hargreaves. “We have all fully co-operated with your requests. We assume that you have good reasons for your high-handed actions but I insist that you explain just what is going on here.”

  My request was reinforced by a chorus of calls for an explanation from the other passengers.

  The Detective Inspector put his hands up in a placatory fashion. “Okay. Okay. I agree that you deserve an explanation.” He drew in a breath and seemed to make an effort to maintain a level tone of voice as he said, “Half an hour after your plane took off from the Mount Gibson airstrip a fatal shooting and robbery at the Mount Gibson mine was reported. It was thought possible that the perpetrators were on your plane. My instructions were to apprehend and search the plane and its passengers. In the circumstances we had to take precautions as the perpetrators would almost certainly be armed.”

  I sat back in my seat. Shocked momentarily into silence as were the others. Finally I found my voice and asked without thinking. “Was it the Gold Room?”

  Suddenly I had Detective Inspector Hargreaves’s full attention. “Why do you ask that?”

  Kicking myself mentally for confusing the issue for the police officer I responde
d, “Sorry. It’s just that we all know that several million dollars of gold bullion is stored there from time to time. It’s hard to imagine a robbery anywhere else on the mine site. The wages are all paid by direct debit. There’s little cash used at the mine.”

  The police officer stared at me for a few moments before asking, “And your name is?”

  “Adam Cartwright.”

  “Okay Mister Cartwright, you are correct. There was a robbery of the Gold Room. The three workers there have been found dead.”

  This time the ensuing silence was even more profound. None of us were still concerned by the inconvenience of being delayed at the airport. The delay was trivial in the greater scheme of things.

  The police officer silently studied each of our faces, no doubt looking for something that might indicate nervousness or fear. Finally after a minute or so he continued. “We would like each of you to give a statement before you go. Thank you for your co-operation.”

  It was another two hours before I was told that I was free to go. I was the last one called to make a statement. I found out later that each of the others had been asked what they knew, or thought, of me. Like the others I had seen nothing untoward at the mine site and had heard no rumours about a robbery being planned.

  ***

  Present Day - Sunday October 11th

  En route to Cairns, Queensland

  I opened my eyes and glanced at my watch. I must have dozed off for a few minutes as we were almost halfway to Cairns already. I leaned back and closed my eyes again, only this time I was thinking back to my problem. I had come to the decision that it was reasonable to rule John Hall out as a suspect. On the balance of probabilities he was in the clear. Even so I would keep an eye out for any link between him and the Red Rock Project.

  The only other significant event at Mount Godwin had been the robbery of the Gold Room on the day that I finished working there. The robbery, and the deaths of the three workers, had not yet been solved. According to the newspapers the three workers had been found dead seated at a table in their lunch room with visible signs of injury. The cause of death has never been announced but no one believes that it was natural causes. What made it even more macabre is that it appeared that the three men had been playing poker and one of the victims, the man in charge of the gold room operations, had been holding a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights. The ‘dead man’s hand’ that legend has it was held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back and killed.

  The fact that the three men had been somehow killed and then placed at a table playing cards with one of them holding the legendary ‘dead man’s hand’ was difficult to comprehend. Obviously the killer, or killers, were acting out some warped sense of humour. In all likelihood the three men died because they could identify the robbers, so perhaps it had been an inside job. If that possibility had occurred to me then I was sure that the police would have thought of it also. Nevertheless I found myself wondering about the timing of the robbery. Was it simply a coincidence that the robbery been carried out at the same time as the exodus of construction workers. Or was the timing of the robbery chosen in order to confuse the police. If construction workers had been involved in the crime, then I might know them. They might even be working on the Red Rock Project as there are quite a few of the Mount Godwin construction team employed at Red Rock also.

  Anyone who was capable of killing three innocent men in order to steal some gold would not have any qualms about throwing me overboard, forty kilometers from shore. Also, both events were such rare occurrences that it was highly unlikely that they were not connected in some way. But apart from me having been at the Mount Godwin Mine around the time of the murders I could not think of any connection to me.

  If I had a choice, I’d rather be targeted by a disgruntled worker rather than by someone who had already killed three men. But a disgruntled worker motivated by anger would not have planned my ‘accidental’ drowning so carefully. I was no criminologist but it seemed clear that the attempt on my life would not have been carried out in a fit of rage. It had been too carefully planned.

  ***

  If it hadn’t been something associated with the Mount Godwin contract that had motivated my assailants, then the source of my problem had to be somehow connected to the Red Rock project.

  Thinking back to the animosity exhibited towards me by a couple of the disappointed applicants for the position as Construction Manager, I now recalled that two of them had taken it rather badly that they had been turned down in favour of a much younger candidate. Absurd as it would seem perhaps it was something as trivial as sour grapes by a disappointed rival.

  I had been pleasantly surprised when I had been offered the position as Construction Manager at Red Rock five months ago. It had been a plum job and there had been a number of strong candidates for Gibson Construction to make their selection from.

  Even though I had not applied for the position I’d been invited to attend a meeting of Gibson’s senior management committee that was interviewing candidates. I supposed that my name had been included in the short-list after the success of the just completed Mount Godwin mine expansion project.

  A short list of four applicants, plus me, had been invited to the interview at Gibson Construction’s head office in Brisbane. Sitting in the anteroom waiting to be called in we introduced ourselves and quietly assessed each other. They seemed to be at least ten years older than me and appeared to discount me as a competitor. Listening to them chatting it seemed that they were all well experienced and could do the job in their sleep. So much so that I wondered why I had been invited. On the other hand there must have been a level of dissatisfaction with the initial applicants otherwise I would not have been asked to apply. So the fact that I was there must mean that I had a chance regardless of what the others thought.

  We had all been provided with an information package covering the Red Rock Project. It included all that was needed to assess the scope and challenges of the position of Construction Manager; site plans, construction schedule, project milestones, contract completion date and budget.

  I was the last one called in to the interview. Gibson Construction’s CEO, Ewan Ryan, stood and greeted me as I entered the Board Room and directed me to a seat at the long table. There were five others there with him seated along the other side of the table. They all smiled and nodded as I sat down opposite them as directed. After a polite exchange of pleasantries Ryan said, “Adam, we have your CV and work history. You have done an excellent job at Mount Godwin. Red Rock would be a step up in responsibility for you but we believe that you could handle it. If we didn’t then we wouldn’t have invited you here today. So, you have seen the information package, now we’d like you to tell us how you’d tackle the project if you were appointed Construction Manager.”

  I had been studying the information package since I had received it three days earlier. The internet had been a valuable source of further information regarding rainfall records, long term weather forecasts, local contractors and availability of building materials. I had even used Google Earth to check out the proposed mine site and surrounding countryside. I was ready to answer the CEO’s question. “First, I’d like to say that the project budget and target completion date are achievable. But, having said that, some changes need to be made to the construction schedule. The main issue being that all site works, roads, drains and building foundations must be completed before the end of October. If we fail to do that then we will risk significant delays due to the seasonal heavy rain that could arrive as early as late November and continue until April. I noticed that the building foundations have been scheduled for completion by the end of January. That is far too late.”

  The CEO glanced sideways at a fair haired man in his fifties seated on his far left as though waiting for him to say something. When the other man remained silent Ryan looked back at me and said, “But we would need a much larger onsite workforce to expedite the site works and foundations to that extent
. If we extend the time to carry out the site works and foundations we will reduce our peak manpower requirement. We would make a considerable saving by requiring fewer accommodation units to be constructed.”

  The lack of conviction in his voice implied that he was presenting someone else’s argument. Possibly a point of view that he did not personally subscribe to. I did not know who the person was that he had glanced at but I guessed that he was somehow involved in the flawed construction plan. Perhaps I might ruffle a few feathers but the implied question deserved an honest response so I shrugged and said, “Not necessarily. If the number of mine development contractors on site can be reduced for a couple of months I reckon that we could all squeeze in. Or we could fly in fly out the additional workers from Cairns or Mareeba and house them in tents during the week if we absolutely have to.” I paused and when no one spoke I added. “In any case why would you cling to a plan that is doomed to fail?”

  There was silence around the table before the fair haired man asked, “How would you describe your management style?”

  I paused for a moment before grinning and replying. “Effective.” My confident response bordering on arrogance had the desired effect. They all sat up and stared attentively at me, challenging me to back up my claim. Looking as earnest as I could I added. “Effective, because I follow the basic management tenets. First an objective needs to be defined. Then responsibility for achieving the objective needs to be allocated to a person. Next, that person needs to be given a target date for achievement of the objective. Then the person needs to be provided with the resources to do whatever is required to achieve the objective. Finally, progress towards achievement of the objective needs to be monitored.”

  Another silence descended. A silence that grew more awkward as the committee members glanced at each other before looking back at me. It seemed like it was up to me to continue so I said, “That is how I give instructions. I specify what has to be achieved and ensure that the required resources are provided. I give detailed instructions regarding how something is to be achieved only when they are needed or asked for. I will monitor progress and interact frequently with those involved.” I paused and added. “If I was appointed Construction Manager then I would require the resources necessary to achieve objectives that you set. But I must also be given the freedom to act as I see fit so that I can achieve those objectives.”