Chapter Four

4.1 The Audit intensifies.

Chasing down items in the Gross Income Reconciliation, Jaimee came across entries transferring monies from Property Accounts, described as operating losses. One identified as income from a property whose address was 18 Hall Road Carrum Downs. Listed on the Balance Sheet as being valued at one and a half million dollars with a mortgage attached requiring monthly payments of $9,300, it seemed just a regular commercial transaction.

Referring to the account set up to collect carrying costs such as rates, insurance, and regular maintenance, Jaimee ascertained there was a loss, because no income had been received on the property. Nothing strange in this because, if the Church was ‘negatively gearing’ the property, it was an established commercial practice. . However the loss should have appeared under the Church’s outgo, not treated as negative income. He’d have to ask Paul why this departure from Accepted Accounting principles. This amounted to a presentation issue, and nothing to be concerned about.

But something felt out of place. Illogically, Jaimee’s subconscious kept focusing on deposits and mortgage payments. He forced himself to look again at the deposit list he’d made and tried to make any connection between the two. There simply wasn’t any, but his subconscious kept niggling him.

Instead, he researched the Mortgage on the Carrum Downs property. The amount lent by the ANZ Bank was 85% of the purchase price of $1,250,000. This would have required a deposit of $187,500 – a substantial amount of money. As the property purchase date occurred in the previous financial year he needed to search last year’s statements. Obviously, he couldn’t cull these statements from the Bank’s current on-line archive, so he had to send a written request using Thompson and Partners letterhead. He knew this would take several days and after approving a fee payment, he just had to wait.

Then he had an inspiration. Searching through his working papers he found the current Revenue Statement and straightway looked at the comparatives. Every Revenue Statement must show, not only the current revenue items but also the same expenses for the previous year. These are called ‘Comparatives’.

Bingo! The item listed as Mortgage Payments last year was almost double this year’s outlay. Becoming excited he reasoned if a Mortgage had been paid out last year the asset should show on the Balance Sheet as unencumbered. But the only property listed on the current Balance sheet was the Carrum Downs building. Looking again at the comparatives, nothing showed as being owned for the previous year.

Wow! Somethings weird, you can’t make Mortgage payments on something that doesn’t exist. And where did the money come from to make the large deposit on the Carrum Downs estate? Now I must wait for the old Bank Statements so I can find out what the previous Mortgage payments were for. I’ve gotta report this to Andrew and hopefully the Senior Partner. Maybe they can expedite the Bank Statements for me. Until then I can’t proceed further. Bugger!

4.2 Paul ‘Chases the Dragon’ again.

As soon as he dragged in a lungful of heaven, Paul closed the cubicle curtain; he wanted complete privacy. Sinking back into the comfortable cushions he let the ‘Dragon’ do its magic. But instead of descending into oblivion, his subconscious became active and bad memories surfaced.

That first time . . . nighttime, late . . . asleep and then woken up. A hand . . . a hand undoing the drawstring of my PJ’s. What? . . . what . . . Who? And then the cooing voice of my grandpapa . . . then fingers . . . fingers playing with-my-privates. ‘Shush’ the voice . . . my hand. My hand being directed to . . . to . . . something big, hard and slimy . . . the voice . . . the voice telling me to caress . . .it. So scared . . . terrified . . . but doing what I was told . . . seemed hours, but soon he cried out and stuff came out of . . .it. IT! . . . stuff all over my hand. I wanted to cry . . . somethings wrong! . . . Daddy!!

Like waking from a bad nightmare, Paul’s conscience returned with a jolt. Sweating and trembling in fear he lay back in a comatose state. There were worse memories but, for the time being, his brain refused to process them. Now his mind drifted to,

Jaimee! . . . I love him. I want to be near, to touch, to breathe his aroma. I want to hold him, to tell him I love him, that I’ll look after him . . . protect him . . . and, if needs be, to die for him. He’s the one. I know it . . . he’s my man. But it’s never gonna happen. There’s no sign he feels the same way! Anyway . . . I’m going to jail. When the shit hits the fan he won’t want to know me because I’m a criminal. There’s no way out! Once again tears flowed as Paul floundered in despair.

Taking another deep inhale, Paul surrendered to oblivion. But then, though he didn’t realize it, his subconscious began to pursue options . . . strategies.

4.3 The mystery unfolds.

The phone rang interrupting Jaimee as he checked through some routine tasks which had been assigned to under-grads.

‘Good morning, Jaimee Burrows here.’

‘Jaimee, It’s Frank Cunningham . . .’

‘Ahh, good morning sir. I’m sorry . . .’

‘Nothing to be sorry about. I want to pass on to you some good news. Last night the Partners voted for you to become the Team Leader on the Shephard account. It’s in recognition of the good work you’ve done and your forensic capabilities. Andrew has been assigned to another new client but he’ll be available, as will I if you need help. Congratulations lad, you’ve earned the promotion.’

For several seconds Jaimee remained mute as he digested the news.

Team leader? So quick. This is amazing. The next step would be Associate Partner and then full . . .

‘Sir are you sure. I haven’t been with the firm long enough to warrant such a promotion. Surely Andrew will be upset, and I value his friendship and professional expertise.’

‘And the other good news is that Andrew has been elevated to Associate Partner so he won’t be complaining.’

‘(Laughing) No, I guess he won’t. I can’t wait to congratulate him; he’s the best. So what do you want me to do now, sir?’

‘Please drop the ‘sir’ and call me Frank. From now on you’re a senior person in our firm and we encourage informality. Can you come by around 2 pm? I need an update and we’ve just received the Bank Statements you requested. I’m curious to hear the reason you asked for last year’s statements. I’d also like your opinion on how the under-grads are performing. 2 o’clock, then?’

Jaimee sat back excited. He couldn’t wait to tell Simon about the promotion. He felt good. The years of boring study and lectures, some at night, had paid off. He never wanted to be a CPA, imagining himself in some exotic financial profession with a vast salary and frequent travel. But he had to do an indenture of at least a year in a professional firm. He’d then been lucky enough to secure a job with Thompson and associates. To his amazement, he loved the work and incredulously found he possessed great forensic skills.

<<<>>>

Two o’clock sharp found him waiting outside the Senior Partners office. Neither Andrew nor Barbra were around, but the office staff heard about his promotion and congratulated him heartily. Kristy Meadows kissed him and hugged before escorting him to Frank Cunningham’s office.

‘Come in my boy, come in; before you tell me you’re not worthy of promotion let me say in my eyes, and the rest of the partners, we’re really impressed and you’ve earned it. So no more modesty, OK?’

‘Thanks, si . . . I mean Frank. Here’s the current situation and the reason . . .’

Jaimee spent the next ten minutes bringing his boss up to date. He mentioned his concerns about the deposits and mortgage payments but explained that there didn’t appear to be anything wrong. However, when he mentioned the missing new purchase deposit and equally concerning missing property, his boss sat up straight and looked alarmed.

‘And you think the answers may lie in the previous year’s Bank Records? (Jaimee nodded) (after a pause) Don’t you think it odd that so obvious a problem with Comparatives would be left like a red flag? After all, it’s the first area we look at when conducting an audit. It’s either incompetent or someone is sending a message. Look I’ve been around many suspicious audits and anyone wanting to hide irregularities would’ve doctored the comparatives. Take my word, you should also get a copy of the previous Revenue account and check if the Mortgage payments line up with this year’s comparatives.’

‘I . . . shit . . . I never thought about that, you mean someone wants us to find problems. I admit it’s clumsy, but now I think about it, something doesn’t add up. What do you want me to do?’

‘Just keep digging. I believe you’re on the right track. Let me know what you find in these Bank records, as soon as you can. Now, onto another matter. I believe Paul Hudson has made overtures of friendship (Jaimee nodded) Ordinarily, we’d frown on such, but I sense this is an unusual set of circumstances and maybe some personal contact might be useful. My gut tells me something weird is brewing and we’re gonna need all our wits about us to wrap this up.’

Just as he was leaving his boss reminded,

‘Make sure you get back as soon as you've looked into the Bank Statements. My auditing nose is sniffing something ripe.’

As he made his way back to the church complex, Jaimee pondered his boss’s remarks.

It makes sense and yet it doesn’t make sense. Normally auditors wouldn’t check previous year balances to the current comparatives unless they found something suspicious. If there is an attempt to cover up then it’s almost certain the comparatives would be re-adjusted to avoid rousing any suspicion. That’s just natural if there is funny business going on. Assuming the likelihood that something is wrong, then why haven’t the comparatives been corrupted? In that case, someone wants the auditors to dig deeper. The boss is right; something is really weird.

4.4 A Home Massage

‘You’ve what! Been promoted? you’ve been promoted so soon after starting with the firm? Man, that’s great! Congratulations boyo . . . you’re my hero! Let’s celebrate! I’m taking you out for dinner. Wow, you’re incredible.’

Several hours later, Simon and Jaimee returned home, after a great steak meal accompanied by a bottle of good red wine . . . and several brandies. During dinner, Jaimee eagerly told him about his findings and suspicions about Sheppard Ministries.

‘I know something’s wrong Simon; I can just feel it in my bones. My boss is going to prepare an Interim Report after I’ve researched the old Bank Statements.’

“What’s your gut feeling? What mischief are they getting up to? Go on, use your instinct, take a guess.’

“I can’t do that because I haven’t dug down deep enough. But somethings definitely going on and it involves the Senior Pastors. They run the place. Their son Paul, is just a figurehead.’

‘Bullshit! . . .Figurehead! I’d say he’s in real deep with Mamma and Pappa, you’re too trusting mate. Do you think drugs are involved?’

‘Look, nothing would surprise me, particularly with the mother. She’s a slimy redhead and capable of anything . . . and I mean anything. C’mon, let’s go home.’’

Now having survived an excited Micky, they retired to the bedroom. As Jaimee set his phone on the charger, Simon came up behind and whispered,

‘I’m going to celebrate your promotion by giving you my special back massage. Get naked and lie down on your stomach. Let Daddy do the work, I don’t want you to do anything. It’s my treat baby.’

A naked Simon knelt astride Jaimee’s nude body and began to massage his back. Using scented oils, he sensuously, manipulated shoulders, neck, and deltoids before slowly moving down to the lower back. Soon he had Jaimee whimpering and writhing under his experienced hands. Now he traced over and around his lover's glutes and was rewarded with a gentle moan.

‘(Whispering) Jesus baby, you have the most perfect bum; Both mounds are like sculptured flesh. I could almost orgasm just gazing at them. But you’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you? yes . . . and naughty boys need to be punished . . .’

‘. . . (slap) OUCH! . . . (slap)(slap) OUCH! . . . Please . . . OH GOD! please . . . harder! Use the paddle . . .please . . .’

Jaimee raised his haunches so that his backside presented an enticing target. He begged to be spanked.

‘OH NO! you enjoy the paddle too much. It’s my hand it is. I want to feel you bum wobble when I smack you.’

‘ . . . (Smack) OUCH! . . . (smack) OH GOD! . . . (smack)(smack) AGAIN! . . . HARDER! . . . (whack) (whack) SIMON . . . PLEASE SIMON!’

This continued for several minutes until Jaimee became frantic. His whole body trembled because he loved someone spanking him. Being so turned on, his pre-cum had soiled the sheets.

‘SIMON . . . SIMON . . . PLEASE . . . NOW!’

‘Yes baby, I hear you. I’m so turned on . . . my cock’s set to burst . . . I’m ready . . . you’re ready. Here, turn over.’

Jaimee rolled over on his back and stared at his fully aroused partner. Simon’s lust-filled eyes, sweaty naked body, and full arousal communicated his urgent need. Likewise, Jaimee, still smarting from the spanking, indicated he too needed immediate penetration. With loving care, Simon entered Jaimee slowly and when both bodies were merged together, Simon began to thrust. With powerful, slow, and expert strokes Simon drove them both towards their climax. As the sense of urgency increased both boys locked eyes and . . .

. . . suddenly Jaimee’s image of Simon changed to be replaced by . . . Paul. Paul’s eyes bored into him . . . Paul’s lips smiled sweetly and the handsome face radiated intense love. Suddenly Jaimee sensed his orgasm beginning and he almost cried out Paul’s name. On and on he rushed . . . his penis painfully engorged . . . until with a massive scream, he erupted. It seemed to last forever and not once did he lose the image of Paul’s face.

Gasping now he felt Paul reach his own climax, but it was the familiar sound of Simon’s voice that broke the spell. Then the panic set in.

My god, what just happened? Did I just imagine that Paul and I were coupled? Shit, I almost called out Paul’s name . . . what the fuck? Where did that come from? Did Simon notice? Shit! Shit! Shit! Oh, this is gonna get messy. I gotta be careful. I don’t want to be unfaithful to Simon because I love him and he doesn’t deserve my cheating on him.

‘Jaimee, Jaimee, come back to me, you look far away. Although it was very intense, wasn’t it?; best orgasm this week, and . . . Jesus, look at the mess you made on the sheets. C’mon lover time to come back to reality. Say something lover.’

Jaimee rolled over to face Simon and gave him a gentle kiss of thanks.

‘I’ll always remember this night. I don’t know what gave me more pleasure, the sex or the promotion. Thank you, thank you.’