Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation

by Patrick Slaney

  On Sunday, everybody was up in good time, and we were ready to go by the time that Stuart and his son Paul arrived. The two women were going off on another shopping trip to a street market in St Kilda, so they left by car.

  The Melbourne transport system worked a treat, and we were at Albert Park by 11.30am. Before I left them to go and meet Clive, Tony suggested to me that I invite Clive to a barbeque that Stuart was holding the following Sunday at his house in Dandenong. I said that I thought he would be returning to the UK, but I would ask him.

  I had no problems making my way to the Ferrari tent and met up with Clive just before noon. I was relieved to find that Luigi was not with him.

  The pit lane, with its garages for all the teams, was a hive of activity. I was impressed with the technology on display and how many people constituted each team. Each member of the team seemed to have a particular role, and they were all busy. It was a fascinating experience. I was disappointed that none of the drivers were around, but Clive said that they wouldn't be there until closer to race time.

  We spent about an hour taking it all in, and I was back at the pit lane entrance at just after one.

  'Would you like to join me for lunch, Vince?' Clive issued an invite to me.

  'No thanks, I agreed to meet my brother and the gang at the area where they sell the food and drink, so they will be waiting for me. Many thanks for showing me the pits and what goes on in the Ferrari garage, it was fascinating.'

  ‘You're very welcome.’

  'I don't know when you are scheduled to return to London, Clive, but I was instructed to invite you to a barbecue that is taking place next Saturday at a friend's house in Dandenong,' I said.

  'I am not flying back until Monday week, so that would be a very welcome addition to my itinerary. I am staying at the Hilton so you can leave a message for me there.'

  'I will contact you at the hotel closer to the time; enjoy the rest of your time in Melbourne.' I started to walk towards the entertainment area through the massive crowds, at the same time phoning Tony on his mobile to see where he was.

  'Where are you, Tony?'

  'We're sitting at a table beside the burger bar called Diggers in the food area. You can't miss us.'

  'I'll see you in a few minutes.'

  As I approached, I noticed that the three younger boys were proudly sporting new caps, two with McLaren and one with Ferrari. I made a suitable comment letting them know that I thought that they all looked incredibly smart.

  We enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the day even though the race was very hard to follow and, despite our ear protectors, the noise was ear-splitting. I took them to the location I had found the previous day, so we watched the race from beside the giant screen. At least we had some idea as to who was doing what.

  On our return tram trip, the wait was longer than the previous day as there was such a mass of people who all left at the same time when the race finished. Our group got split up, and I travelled to the city with Stuart. The advantage of this arrangement was that we had a chance to talk as circumstances had kept us apart during the course of the day.

  'Are you enjoying your stay in Melbourne?' he asked me.

  'Yes, it's great,' I replied. It was close to zero degrees in the UK when we left, and it has been nice and warm here since we arrived.'

  'March is usually excellent weather and this year has been no different,' he added.

  'What do you for a living Stuart?'

  'I am a Flying Instructor with a flying school based at Tullamarine. My main job is to teach prospective pilots how to fly Beechcraft Super Kings.'

  'That must be dangerous at times depending on the standard of pilot you are teaching to fly,' I suggested.

  'There are hairy moments, but the planes we use have dual controls so I can take over at any time.'

  'By the way Tony told me that you are hosting us for a barbeque next Sunday, and he said that I could invite Clive Newsome to join us, is that OK?'

  'It's my Birthday so the more, the merrier. I don't really know how many are coming; one more won't be noticed.'

  'Dad, don't we get off here?' his son Paul poked him.

  'Yes dear, the others should be waiting for us outside Flinders Street station.'

  When we descended from the tram, it was only a short walk to the station where the others were waiting for us. We then walked to Elizabeth Street where we caught the tram for East Brunswick. Once home the first thing that we did was have a long cold beer as it had been an exhausting day and we had been out in the intense sun all of the day. The Australians liked their beer cold and often drank it out of a chilled glass; I was in total agreement with that custom.

  Chapter 7

  For the second week of our holiday at my brother's house in Melbourne, we borrowed his car and toured around the greater Melbourne area. We even went further afield into the State of Victoria. We visited Phillip's Island and saw the main attraction there which is the coming ashore of the Penguins in the late evening. We also spent two days travelling down the Ocean Road with its fantastic sea views of the sea stacks known as the Twelve Apostles. In fact, one of the Apostles had crumbled into the sea, leaving only eleven. We stayed overnight at a small oldie worldly hotel in a seaside town called Warrnambool. Another day trip we took in was to the Sovereign Hill Gold mine at Ballarat where they had re-created a gold mining town as it would have been in the nineteenth century. We were even able to try our luck panning for gold. It was a busy but fascinating week

  It was the first holiday that Daphne and I had spent together since Michael had arrived on the scene about thirteen years previously. I really enjoyed spending quality time with my wife after all those years. All thoughts of being a Private Investigator were cleansed from my brain. The fact that we were so far from Europe and what we were looking at was so different also helped to relax me.

  Most mornings I would get up and accompany Peter to school before I set off on our daily excursion. There was heavy morning traffic that I had no wish to experience. He forgave me for not being around in the afternoon to pick him up. He always checked with me in the morning to find out if I would be back in the afternoon to take him to the park to practice his Cricket. We became firm friends.

  Saturday we travelled by tram to the Victoria market and bought presents to bring home to Michael, Victoria and Gran.

  I phoned Clive at the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday evening to give him details of the barbeque at Stuart's home that was due to take place on the following Sunday afternoon. He wasn't there, so I asked the receptionist to give him a message. He should be at 26 Dawson Street, Fern Tree Gully at around 4.00pm on Sunday. The party was starting earlier; however, Tony had suggested that we go on the Puffing Billy steam railway in the morning as it was about a kilometre from Stuart's house. The first Puffing Billy train wouldn't return to the starting point until mid-afternoon.

  In fact, we arrived at Stuart's home from the steam train experience just before four and Clive turned up half-an-hour later. Clive was driving a very distinctive bright red Holden Crewman Ute, which caught everybody's attention. It was like a regular Ute but had a double cab and a six cylinder engine. I suppose I should have assumed that as a luxury car dealer he would have obtained the fanciest car he could get his hands on. It would stand out in any car park.

  All the kids present jumped into the swimming pool and had a great time. The adults all dived into the beers except for the drivers who had to stick with something non-alcoholic. Although Clive was a bit overdressed for the occasion, he seemed to enjoy himself. Stuart did offer him a swimming costume or shorts, but he preferred to stay in his blazer and grey trousers. He was the archetypal English gentleman. In fact as soon as he had eaten he headed off saying that he had to return to the hotel as somebody was coming to meet him.

  There was a snarl from the engine of his Ute when he started the engine attracting the attention of the assembled guests. It was obviously a highly tuned machine. After he had left, Stuart came
over to talk to me.

  'That's a strange man Vince, is he a friend of yours?'

  'I wouldn't call him a friend; he is purely a business acquaintance. In fact, he was a client of mine back in London.' Stuart already knew that I had worked as a Private Investigator.

  'What makes you say that he is strange?' I asked.

  'He was nosing around the outhouses and was looking in the most unusual of places.'

  'I must say that I didn't notice, I was watching the kids playing in the pool.'

  'I spotted him at the boundary fence over there.' Stuart said, pointing at the fence at the top end of the property where Clive wouldn't have needed to be as the party was in the bottom area around the pool.

  'Perhaps he was bored and was just having a look around,' I suggested.

  'You are probably right; I must have a suspicious mind; however, I even saw him go through the small gate up there into the wood.'

  'Very peculiar but I suspect he was just wandering around. How old are you today?' I inquired, changing the topic of conversation.

  'Forty-two years young Vince; it's amazing how quickly Birthdays seem to come around as you get older,' he answered chirpily. Can I get you something else to eat or drink?'

  'I'll have a beer please, but don't worry I can get it myself.'

  We walked over to where the rest of the people were sitting, and I got myself a beer. I sat down beside a guy called Paul Harris who told me that he lived on a property located about one hundred meters up the road. He had been friends with Stuart for about ten years, and they did a lot of things together, one of which was to play golf. Not having to drive home he had apparently drunk a lot more than I had and was well on.

  The party started to wind down around 10.00pm, and even the kids’ energies were beginning to run out. We left to return to Tony's home on the other side of the city. It had been a great evening, and I had enjoyed myself. Australia was showing me a style of life that I hadn't experienced before, and I was enjoying it. Perhaps I should think about moving out here if I could get around the visa restrictions. It was a great place to bring up kids as most activities were outdoors. Michael and Victoria would love it out here. I also had nothing to keep me in the UK.

  On the Monday following the barbeque in Fern Tree Gully, we decided to relax rather than go on another excursion. Daphne said that she needed to spend a day at the house to recover from all the 'touristy' bits and the party on the previous day. I also appreciated the day off other than to walk with Peter to his school, pick him up and then go to the park for Cricket.

  I was surprised when Tony appeared around 5.00pm. He normally didn't get home until closer to seven. He came out to where Daphne and I were sitting on the veranda.

  'Is something wrong that you are home so early?' I asked as he seemed to be very upset.

  'Stuart and his family appear to be missing,' he replied.

  'What do you mean missing, are they not just out at the shops or something?' Daphne asked.

  'Well it all is a bit puzzling,' Tony explained. 'Paul Harris rang me. He went around to Stuart's house to borrow a lawnmower; the house was unlocked, Stuarts car was there, but there was no sign of any member of the family.'

  'That sounds very odd. Do you want me to go over with you to his place to try and find out what is going on? I suggested.

  'Would you mind, I don't want to go on my own.'

  'I am doing nothing else so I would be delighted to help in any way that I can.'

  I grabbed my sunglasses from my room and joined Tony in his Ute.

  As we were on the Highway, I inquired if we should telephone the police.

  'We really have nothing to tell them at this stage. They could have just gone out and left the doors unlocked by mistake, although Stuart is a very meticulous person and is ultra-careful. His training as a pilot makes him double-check everything.'

  'It's very mysterious especially as his wife and kids also aren't there.'

  'Presumably his children go to a local school and would have been home by now,' I added.

  'You're starting to make me feel apprehensive now Vince. I just hope that everything is OK.'

  Tony tested the speed restrictions to the limit as we travelled to Stuart's house in the shortest time possible. When we arrived, an anxious Paul Harris was waiting for us.

  'Have you any more news Paul?' Tony asked.

  'There is no sign of them, and I have searched everywhere,' Paul replied. ‘I have even contacted some of our common acquaintances.’

  'I hope that you didn't touch anything?' I interjected. 'If they have been abducted, then the police will take fingerprints and we don't want to interfere with that process.'

  'I have only touched the handle on the front door. That was before I realised that nobody was here.'

  'Vince you had better take charge of what we do as you have experience in these things,' Tony suggested.

  'I don't know what I can bring to the process as I normally get the police involved to do the forensic stuff.'

  'That may be the case, but at least you can work out whether we should call the police or not.'

  'Well, all I can suggest is that we search the grounds to see if we can find any clues that might indicate what happened, if, in fact, anything did.'

  'Where do you want us to start?' Paul asked.

  'If anybody was abducting them they wouldn't have used the driveway as they would have been spotted. Let's do a perimeter search in case we might come across signs of a struggle.'

  ‘Is it better to go on an individual basis or together?' Tony inquired.

  'Let's go together; we can do a more thorough job that way.' I said.

  We started at the main gateway leading out onto the road and then moved around the perimeter fence covering an area of up to two meters in from the fence.

  We came to a gate leading out into the woods at the top of the property.

  'Let's open this and have a look in the woods,' I suggested.

  I opened the gate making sure that I didn't leave any fingerprints on the locking bolt and the gate. Luckily there was no padlock on the gate. We then moved into the wood.

  'Look here,' Paul said.

  I joined him at a clearing about ten meters into the wood.

  'There are tyre marks here and it also looks as if somebody has been dragged along the ground.'

  We had a collective look at the evidence.

  'Those tyre marks are fresh which would indicate that a car or Ute was here very recently,' I suggested.

  'We had better get hold of the police and get them to start a search immediately.' Tony began to walk towards the gate and the rest of us followed.

  As we walked, Tony dialled the emergency number, triple zero, on his mobile.

  'I have an emergency, and I want to speak to the police,' he said.

  There was a pause as he was connected.

  'I want to report a missing family who appear to have been abducted from their home in Dandenong, Victoria.'

  He was apparently asked for the address.

  'Twenty-Six Dawson Street, Fern Tree Gully.'

  He was then asked for other information, so there was a consequent toing and froing of information.

  'What will happen now,' I said after he had finished the call.

  'We have to wait for the police. They are on their way.'

  We didn't have long to wait as twenty minutes later a police car pulled up at the entrance gate. Two officers got out; one youngish guy was driving, and the other was a female officer who was sizeable in the girth region and it didn't look like muscle. Put it this way she couldn't have run after a fleeing suspect, but perhaps she was a good shot and, therefore, didn't need to run.

  The female officer seemed to be in charge, and she introduced herself to us.

  'My name is Sergeant Reddin, and I gather that you reported a family as being missing,' she said to the three of us.

  'Yes, I came to borrow a lawnmower and found the house open, and the family gon
e,' Paul explained.

  'Where do you live; are you a neighbour?'

  'Yes, I live just up the road.'

  'Are you sure that they haven't gone out to the shops or to see friends. We get a lot of calls about missing people from well-meaning neighbours and the so-called missing people usually turn up a few hours later.'

  'Our immediate reaction was the same as yours. We, therefore, didn't report the abduction until we had carried out a comprehensive search of the property and the surrounding woods,' I was starting to get a bit pissed off with the attitude of Sergeant Reddin. 'We have found the spot where whoever carried out the abduction parked their car, and there are signs of somebody being dragged.'

  'You had better show me this place.' She still didn't sound convinced.

  Paul led her out through the gate into the wood and showed her the tyre tracks we had found plus the spot where we were sure somebody had been dragged.

  'It's not very convincing,' the male officer chipped in.

  'What do you mean not convincing?' I asked.

  'I think that you have found the local hot spot where lovers come to have a bit of nooky.' He smiled.

  'I agree with Officer Kilosky. You have found a place where some lad has come with his girlfriend,' the female officer concurred with her colleague.

  'That is utterly ridiculous officer,' Paul was getting angry with their approach. 'I know them very well, and they are not people to just go out and leave their house unlocked and they have now been missing for a considerable amount of time.'