The Borough

by Steve Dockray

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  It was Friday, the last day of work before Christmas. Productivity in the office had been declining steadily, but now it had virtually dropped to zero. In an effort to present a veneer of normality, Winner had asked all his staff to at least stay at their desks until the Treasurer had been round to wish everyone a merry Christmas. Westerman arrived about half past ten and cruised through, shaking everyone's hand. Despite his aloofness and old style reserve, it was always impressive to see how he remembered the name of every single member of staff, even those who had only been employed a short while or worked on a temporary basis. As soon as he had gone, staff started drifting away to visit other offices or to slip out for a bit of last minute shopping.

  Winner had equipped himself with a tray of mince pies and a couple of bottles of white wine, which had been chilling outside on the window ledge. Freeman was one of his first visitors.

  "Come on in, Barry, time to get a bit festive."

  "It's all a bit unreal, this year," said Freeman. "What with Nigel's accident, this cash fraud and the budget cutbacks hanging over us, it's very hard to feel jolly."

  "Any news from the police?"

  "They've traced the cleared cheques back to a bank account in a branch in Gorston, but there's only about a hundred pounds left in it. The last cash withdrawals were made over two weeks ago."

  "The bank being so close won't help us to find the culprit if it's a member of staff. You could slip out of these offices and be back within an hour and you'd scarcely be missed."

  "That's right. I think that was going to be their first approach, but they were amazed when we told them how little time a lot of the staff spend at their desks."

  "Can anyone remember the payer-in."

  "Not clearly, though it was a man, calling himself Johnson. They're going to get some of us to look at the security videos, but apparently he always chose the till furthest from the camera and the pictures are rather indistinct."

  "It doesn't sound a lot to go on."

  "It's just incredible isn't it? I'm not convinced they're going to catch anybody, unless the thief is stupid and flashes the money about or brags to his friends. Would you believe it? The police were asking if we knew of any staff who'd bought a new car or been on an expensive holiday recently."

  Winner poured out some wine into a paper cup and passed it over to Freeman.

  "Westerman wants me to go to a meeting with Forbes and the Committee chairmen after the holidays" he said. "Here we are trying to combat a rising tide of administrative confusion and outright crime and we'll probably be told we have to get rid of staff."

  Sally appeared at the doorway, suitably dressed for Christmas in a red skirt with a green blouse.

  "Come on in," said Winner. "Have a mince pie."

  "How are you settling in here?" Freeman asked her.

  "Oh, quite well, I should say. In one week I appear to have uncovered more fraud than I managed to detect in over two years auditing."

  "I hope you don't put that down to my style of management," said Freeman. "Anyway, can't stop. There are a number of people I want to see before we shut up shop. Is it going to be the Dog and Duck for lunch?"

  "I think quite a lot of us are going over there," said Winner.

  "Remember to have all your stuff out of the office by one o'clock," Freeman said. "I'll be going round with the caretaker shortly afterwards to check it's all clear and then it's going to be locked for the holiday. Forbes doesn't want anyone at all coming in before Wednesday, even key-holders like you."

  "Why's that?" asked Sally, as Freeman drained his paper cup.

  "I think that basically he doesn't want any partying in here this afternoon. It's left too much mess to clear up in the past. Besides, we've all got to get more security conscious these days, what with terrorists and break-ins, especially with this money going missing and other security problems."

  "What was he talking about?" asked Sally, after Freeman had gone. "Security problems?"

  "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it's possible they're aware that people have been rifling the offices. I haven't liked to ask about anything that might link me to the roof incident. I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but there's an investigation under way into possible tender rigging."

  Sally was about to say something, but Peter Vaughan came into the office and Winner asked him to stop a while for a mince pie and wine.

  "Just as well I left my car at home today," said Vaughan. "Mind you, I think most people have walked or been dropped off today."

  "Not a very productive time of year, is it?" said Winner. "Half the staff won't be in for the three days next week. Those that do come in won't feel much like work, when all the television ads are telling them the rest of the country's on holiday."

  "Are you in?" Vaughan asked.

  "Yes, I'll be here. I'm hoping to have a week off towards the end of January, but that might not be easy with the way the budget's looking. I've still got fifteen days to take before the end of March."

  By twelve thirty the wine bottles were nearly empty and there were just two mince pies left. Winner opened the window and put them on the window ledge. Sally came back from her tour of the offices.

  "Dog and Duck?" she asked.

  "Yes, let me get my briefcase and we'll be on our way."

  "Are you sure about Sunday?"

  "Yes, of course. Toby won't mind you coming round. We'll go out for a walk or something, anyway. Lorraine will pick him up about five, so we'll have the evening together."

  At that moment there was a wild flapping at the window as a large seagull scratched at the narrow ledge in an attempt to keep its balance whilst attacking the mince pies.

  "Don't panic," said Winner, as Sally jumped back from the window. "It's only the seagull, my final Christmas visitor. He can spot a genuine Mr Kipling at two hundred yards."