All Alone - 13. Alo Chapter 13

“I heard that Nicholas was back on the station, so I can guess that it was him then. My boy went to boarding school with him, and he was always a big bully. Sounds like he hasn’t changed one bit, since grammar school then” the manager said as she stood up and returned to the counter, to serve a new customer.

When the manager returned to collect the dishes, I smiled to her, “That was delicious thanks Glenda, is there any room in the Inn for me” I said to her, and she just chuckled.

“Of course, there is dear, we have the building team in all the donga rooms, but we do have a cabin left, so you can have that at a reduced rate” Glenda replied, and ten minutes later I was booked in and I walked around to the back, where the cabins are located. The hot air hit me when I opened the door, so I switched on the air conditioner right away and closed the door, then opened a window slightly to let the hot air escape.

I just rested for the remainder of the afternoon, and when I heard a truck and two 4-wheel drives park outside the dongas, I stood up, put my boots and hat on and stepped outside, where it had cooled a lot since my arrival at lunch time.

I walked over to the group of men and worked out that the supervisor must be the one that is hardly dirty. “Are you the building supervisor for the project at Coral Coast?” I asked.

“No, that would be me” came an unexpected female voice and looking at her she was about five-foot tall and very solid in build, and I blinked a few times, as there was laughter around me. “What can I do for ya mate?’ the lady said to me, as she stepped closer.

“My name is Lloyd, until ten days ago, I was the hospitality manager at the station” I replied, “Oh yeah I heard you had some kind of accident, your boss had no idea we were coming, when we rang them on the Sunday night from here” the supervisor replied.

“May we speak in private please, my cabin is just over here” I said in a quieter voice, “Sure love, give me twenty minutes to shower and change and I will be right over” the lady replied, “Err, ok, I am in cabin 3, see you then” I said before heading back to my cabin.

When there was a knock on my cabin door, fifteen minutes later, a very nice-looking lady stood in front of me and it took a moment to realise that it was the supervisor, and I invited her in.

“I am sorry I don’t have anything to offer you, I travelled up by bus and just arrived at lunch time today, please take a seat… the reason I asked to speak to you privately is to let you know a few facts. Ten days ago, I was assaulted by Jeremy and Angela’s 19-year-old son – Nicholas, he is the one that caused all the injuries that put me in hospital for 8 days” I began.

“Well that would explain the police wagon we saw leaving the station on the Thursday, oh sorry, my name is Michelle by the way” the supervisor said to me as we shook hands.

“I had no memory of it for a few days, and when it all came back to me, there was a police officer at the ward waiting to speak to me, as the doctors had reported that my injuries were a result of an assault, and not just tripping over my dog.

The two station workers were threatened harm, if they talked, so after they packed and left the station, and at my request, they too made a statement to the police. Now I have come to pick up my belongings, and my car, and get out of here” I explained.

“I see, well if you like you can come with us in the morning, we leave here at 6.30 am, and we can drop you off at the visitor’s centre if that is of any help” Michelle said to me, “That is what I was hoping for, yes please, I would like that assistance” I replied happily. “Good, I am happy to help, especially, when you are the one who got us this job in the first place.

We spent the first four days setting up the framework for the outer wallsfor the backpacker’s hostel, I like the design, nice and easy to build, and with the 750 mm thick walls, it should be solid enough to handle a category five cyclone” Michelle said to me. “Well the visitor’s centre and bosses house are both rammed earth buildings and only 500 mm thick, and they did survive the category 5 cyclone that we had a few weeks ago” I said to Michelle.

“Oh yea, that’s right, that came straight over the top, I remember now, and there are just the two sheds remaining nothing else” Michelle stated, “That’s right, the shearer’s quarters, staff quarters, backpacker’s, guest cottage and old homestead where all totally demolished by the cyclone” I said. “Wow, I bet that was a mess to clean up” Michelle said after giving a low whistle.

“That is was. I will let you go and relax, and I will see you in the morning, thanks for doing this for me Michelle” I said, as we stood up and Michelle went to join the rest of the building crew, while I headed over to the roadhouse for an early dinner.

Thursday February 22nd

My stomach was in knots as we approached the homestead paddock the next morning, I asked Michelle to slow down but not stop, and I would jump out, before rounding the corner to the front of the building, so I won’t be seen, and as this happened I gave a little wave and rushed around to the balcony door of the apartment, hoping that it wasn’t locked, which was the case, and I quickly slipped into the apartment, which was hot and stuffy from being closed up for so long.

The place was spotlessly clean, and tidy, which surprised me a little, and I walked into my room, and found my suitcase and bags all packed up and sitting on my bed, along with a box of all the extra bits and pieces, plus my laptop computer. On top of one of the cases, was my car keys, which I scooped up, and took off the station gate keys and business centre keys, and left them on the kitchen counter, before heading out to my vehicle with the first load of luggage.

When I opened the back door and saw the four boxes, containing the mini wind turbines, I realised that I had forgotten all about them, but decided to keep them since I paid for them. Once I had everything packed in my car, I left a note on the kitchen bench for Jeremy and Angela, then headed outside, I checked the oil water and fuel, which were fine, and I just hoped that my car would start, as it had been nearly two weeks since it was last started.

I didn’t need to worry, it started right away, and I quickly put it into gear and headed out of the homestead paddock and towards the main front gate, which we had left unlocked so I could get out. I didn’t look back, if I had, I would have seen Angela dashing out of the centre, wondering what was happening.

When I arrived at the gate, I closed it and locked the padlock, before turning off my mobile phone and climbing into my vehicle to make the long journey south, with my first stop being Kalbarri to collect Angus.

I was not sure what I was going to do now, as I had no job at the station or at the law firm, but I decided that I just need to relax for a while. I knew I had to stop at the stations accountant’s office in Carnarvon on the way, and I was not really looking forward to that at all. It was just after 11am when I arrived at the accountant’s office, and he was at the reception desk talking to the receptionist, when I walked in.

“Come inside Lloyd, I was half expecting to see you, I had a call from Angela, stating that you roared out of the station, without letting them know that you were there” the accountant said as he led me to the meeting room, and I sat down, heavily in the chair. “Sir I don’t care about the station any longer, as I was assaulted by their son – Nicholas, which put me in hospital for 8 days.

All I want to do is to rearrange this loan business and the re-imbursement of the generator, then I am out of here for good, so please do not contact them until business is completed and I am well on my way out of town” I stated as I handed over the purchase receipt from the generator, that I bought just before the cyclone hit the station.

“Well repaying for the purchase is easy, it is the loan matter that is a little more complicated, I recall it was $3.2 million that you paid to assist the station with getting out of the bank loan, technically, we would have to get Angela and Jeremy to make a new application for a bank loan” the accountant said to me.

“I see, ok since I am the person that had taken over the loan and offering a 0% interest rate, what was the banks original interest rate, and what was the length of the loan? I asked, “It was 5.3% per annum, for eight more years” the accountant said. “Ok, I do know for a fact that the insurance claim gave them over $2.1 million.

I want you to call them now and inform them that the loan lender is demanding $1.4 million of that insurance money to pay back a large amount of the loan, and not one peep about me being here” I said to the accountant.

“Yes, that we can do easily, as the money is in the bank account, and we can get a bank cheque made up, to pay you” the accountant said, “If they ask, tell them it is Galena Investments that has the loan for the station” I added, and the accountant nodded his head, as he picked up the telephone and dialled the number.

“Hello Angela, this is Michael at the accounting firm in Carnarvon, I have had a call from the investment company that holds your loan, Galena Investments, they have learnt that you have received a sizable insurance pay-out for the damage you received from the cyclone… yes that is right, anyway, they are demanding $1.4 million as a repayment of the loan right away or they will force foreclosure on the station… yes $1.4 million” I heard the accountant say.

“Yes, I understand that you have big plans for improvements for the station, but this should take precedence over any building project for improvement… yes, they are aware that you lost a hell of a lot of buildings in the cyclone, they are not concerned about that, they just want their money” the accountant added…

Are you sure you want to do that, you could lose the station, and if not they can get a court order to freeze all money that you have in the bank, that includes all of your insurance money… alright if that is what you want to do, I am just warning you… what no I haven’t, should I expect him to call me here?” the accountant said, as I listened to one end of the conversation.

“Yes, ok, I will let you know if he calls me, goodbye for now” and the call ended. “Well you heard everything that I said, of which I probably should not have said some of it in front of you, as it will give you ideas on what to do, since she has refused to authorise the payment of the loan.

In a way, I am caught between the two of you, since it was your finances that helped them to have a loan with no interest, of which I received a commission.

All I can do is say that you didn’t call me, and when they learn of the repayment of the purchase of the generator, I will just say that I received an email from you a few days ago and that the money was transferred electronically” the Accountant said.

“Thank you, yes I understand that you are caught in the middle of this and I am sorry, but I had no idea that it would end up this way, I will be in contact with you soon, regarding my next move with the loan, I might look into just freezing the insurance money only, that way they will still have their existing money to keep them going with station operations, without building projects.

“Here is the documentation you will need, to say that you are the holder of the loan, for Coral Coast station, that is what you will need to try and convince the magistrate to put a freeze on the insurance money, and the bank will have a cheque ready for you for that repayment, in half an hour” the accountant said to me, and he also handed me a card for a local lawyer.

Once I was out of the building, I soon began to sweat from the sub-tropical heat, and looking at the address on the lawyer’s business card, it was just two building away, so I walked over to the building, stopping at a bank ATM machine to withdraw $ 1,500 cash, to cover the lawyer’s fees.

As I entered the office, it consisted of a very small reception area, and a small hallway, with possibly three rooms leading off it. “I would like to see Mr Owens please” I asked the receptionist nicely, and a man appeared from an office.

“I am Owens, how can I help you, please come this way”, the man said, and I headed in his direction and I was guided into his office, which was quite messy. For the next twenty minutes, I explained the situation about arranging with the local accountant, to take over the bank loan of Coral Coast station, and about the cyclone destroying most of the buildings, and the $2.1 million insurance pay-out.

I showed the lawyer the loan agreement between me and the cattle station and stated that I had requested $1.4 million of the insurance money to be used to repay some of the loan back, which Angela had refused.

I stated to Mr Owens that I now wanted a court order to put in place to freeze all the money of the insurance pay-out, until part of the loan has been paid, as requested. Twenty minutes later, with a court application filled in, and with a photocopy of the loan agreement, of $3.2 million at % 0 interest repayment attached, we went to the courthouse to submit the application with the Court Clerk.

“It has been a quiet day today, just wait a moment Frank, and I will see if his worship can review this application now” the clerk said unexpectantly, and moments later he motioned for us to go into the main courtroom.