Deception - 9. Dec Chapter 9

In fact, at the time that the prosecution has given as the time of my client’s great uncle’s passing, my client was on the Indian Pacific train, having just left Broken Hill, and he was seated in the dining car eating dinner” Sam said with a smile, and the prosecution lawyer looked really annoyed, knowing he had lost the case.

We waited while the magistrate looked at all the information that Sam had presented, and when he finished he looked at the other lawyer, “It is my belief, that Mr. Langton had clearly been framed for the death of his great uncle. It is also my belief that, your so called four witnesses are also the four family members trying to stop Mr. Langton receiving his legal share of the family trust, by framing him for his great uncle’s death.

I hear by order the arrest of these 4 family members, and for them to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to divert the course of justice, and I hear by rescind their rights to a share in the trust fund, and that the full amount be awarded to Mr. Gresley Langton, plus I have already put into action, an investigation into how you were treated by the police, when I first saw you Mr. Langton, I apologise for my actions the other day. All charges against Gresley Langton are hear by dropped, case closed” the magistrate said as he slammed down his gavel.

Back at the motel, we relaxed for a while before ordering takeaway pizza, and watching a movie on the television, before going to bed. The following morning Sam and I packed our luggage and caught a flight to Cairns, where Lucas and the boys were waiting for our arrival. The boys were thrilled to see me, and asked if everything was ok now, and I said that it was all sorted. At the hotel, we had a celebration lunch, before Sam and Lucas said goodbye, as they had other business to attend to.

The boys and I stayed in Cairns for another two days, doing some sightseeing, and relaxing, before we packed and caught a flight to Adelaide to go and see Angela. I booked us into a motel as soon as we arrived in the city, just before lunch time, and after having some lunch in a nearby café, I returned the boys back to the motel, before I went to the hospital to see Angela.

When I arrived at the ward where Angela was being looked after, I explained to the nurse who I was, and that I was enquiring about Angela’s recovery. I was informed that Angela had received some partial brain damage from the illness, which had resulted in mild paralysis on her left side, with limited movement on her left foot & leg and her left hand and arm. Angela gave me a half smile as I walked into her room, and I walked up to her bed, smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek, before sitting down on the chair beside the bed.

I told Angela that Tom was safe and well, and that he had joined Evan and I, on the trek on the Kokoda Trail, and he had done very well during the grueling 10-day trek. After ten minutes of talking Angela began to show signs of tiredness, so I told her that I would be back tomorrow, and that I would bring Tom with me, now that I knew how she was doing.

When I was on a bus back to the motel, my mobile rang. “Hello Gres, how is your friend Angela going” Marie said on the other end of the line, and I smiled, as it was good to hear her voice again. “Yes, she is going good, we had a good chat just half an hour ago, and she was pleased that I was looking after her son, not sure how long she will take to recover, so I might have to hang around here for a while” I replied.

“That will not be a problem my friend, I have found staff to fill in while you are away, plus I have found some work for you there in South Australia. Port Lincoln, has a marine science research facility there, and they are looking for a veterinary nurse, I have put in a high recommendation for you there, all you have to do is turn up” Marie said to me.

I was shocked at what she said and I wasn’t sure how to respond. “No need for any thanks, I’m just making sure that you keep looking after yourself, oh and Bryce said he would like his son back soon please” Marie added and I giggled at how she said that, “I was going to call him today actually, to arrange flying him home” I announced, and we said good bye and ended the call.

The following day, Tom and I said a sad farewell to Ethan, as we watched him board his flight from Adelaide to Perth, I had informed Bryce of the flight number and the due time of arrival in Perth, and Bryce said he would travel to Perth himself to collect his son. Once the flight had left, Tom and I went to the hospital to visit Angela, who perked up straight away as Tom entered the room, which I was pleased about.

Like yesterday, she had trouble speaking to us, her speech is very slurred and sometimes difficult to understand, but with some patience she was able to ask short questions. I explained to Angela, that I had been offered a job in Port Lincoln, and that if it was ok with her, I could take Tom with me, and come and visit on the weekends. After a few minutes of thinking what to say, Angela managed to slowly speak, “I… think it is… best for Tom too… remain with you till… I am better, I am glad that… you are able to… stay in South Australia… and I will look forward to… your weekend visits” she said to us.

We talked for a little bit longer, before Angela was getting too tired to talk, so we said we would visit again in the morning before travelling to Port Lincoln, which I had already worked out is a 7-hour drive from Adelaide, or a 50-minute flight and a 15-minute drive, which would be the easiest option. Back at the motel room, I called the LMSC - Lincoln Marine Sciences Centre, and a Dr Paul Turner answered the phone.

“Dr Turner, my name is Gres Langton, I was…”, “Yes hello Gres, we are urgently needing a marine ecosystems field assistant here at the LMSC, how quickly can you come? he replied, interrupting me expectantly, “Well I need to organize accommodation, and a car once I get there” I began to say, “never mind that, the owner of the two duplex’s which I live in one, has a vacancy, it’s partly furnished and yours to move into, we can provide you with a work vehicle to use” Paul Turner said cheerfully, “Well, I guess we will be there on the earliest flight available” I suggested, and after a short chat about the job, we ended the call.

Next I called a travel agent to organize a flight to Port Lincoln, and I booked two seats for the following days afternoon flight departing at 5pm, once I had done that, Tom and I went to a café nearby for some lunch, where there was an internet service, where I did some research on the Lincoln Marine Science Centre, once I had done that, I looked up the schools available for Tom, of which there are three, Catholic, Lutheran and Government, and we looked at the websites of all three and had a discussion, before Tom elected the Lutheran – Navigator College as the best option, and I agreed, and I called the school to make an appointment for two-day’s time.

After a little bit of clothes shopping, we returned to the motel room, packing the new clothes into a new small suitcase we bought to allow for the new clothes and to reduce the strain on our other suitcases. The following morning, we had a bit of a sleep in and a late breakfast, before setting off to the hospital, arriving there shortly before 11am.

Once again Angela was pleased to see us both, and Tom told her all about our pending trip this afternoon, and that he had selected what school that he would be attending at Port Lincoln, Tom was really looking forward to the move to Port Lincoln but stated that he would miss his mum a lot. I ensured Tom that we would be visiting Angela, at least once a week on weekends, as I had already checked flight times from Port Lincoln on Friday afternoons and return flights on Sunday afternoons.

When we arrived at Port Lincoln Airport that evening, Paul Turner was there to meet us, as we dragged our suitcases and backpacks out of the terminal, and less than fifteen minutes later we arrived at the duplex, which was one house block from a corner street, one of them running along the waterside. I was a bit surprised that the two-bedroom duplex unit was fairly roomy, with modern appliances, and good quality beds in each room, the bathroom has a bath and a shower, and leading off the laundry is the separate toilet.

A dining table with two chairs, and a two-seat lounge suite, a coffee table, a book case and desk and chair were all the furniture in the lounge/dining area, no television at all, which I was pleased about, as I felt to many young people spend too much time in front of the television.

The book shelf was only partially filled, with mostly novels, but there was also a set of encyclopedias, a large dictionary, and an atlas located on the top shelf. Paul handed me a set of keys for the unit, and a set of keys for the SUV which he had collected us in, and he went home to his unit next door. Deciding that it was too late to do any shopping, we went for a walk to find a restaurant, and we found a Fish and Chips shop instead.

After enjoying our dinner, we set out to begin unpacking our clothes, before Tom went to have s shower and prepared for bed, I sat in the lounge reading one of the novels from the book case, before also having a shower and going to bed, as it had been a long and eventful day. The following morning, we both slept in, and once dressed we jumped into the SUV and took a long drive around town.

We found the supermarket, and we spent a good hour shopping for food and other essential items, which we took home and unpacked, before we went for a walk, in the direction that I estimated to be the direction of work. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the front building of the LMSC, and we went in “Gres, it’s good to see you, came a voice as soon as we stepped into the reception area, and I saw Paul smiling as he approached and shook hands.

Over the next hour, I was given a tour of the property, and introduced to some of the staff, before returning to the main admin area, where I was given my identification & access card, and I filled in a number of employment forms, before heading back home. After an early lunch, Tom and I drove down to the Navigator College, for Tom’s interview with the headmaster, while I filled in some forms and produced Tom’s school reports from WA, and Tom’s Passport for identification.

We were given a tour of the school, which included a stop at the uniform & Bookshop to collect a set of new uniforms for Tom, along with all the required text books. When we had finally arrived home, I sorted and washed the uniforms, so they would be ready for school on Monday in three-day’s time, while Tom sorted all of his new school books, and worked out what else was needed from a stationary store.

Later that afternoon, we went shopping for new black shoes and sports shoes for school, as well as the additional stationary and a school bag to put it all in. Tom’s new middle school timetable consists of 12 subjects, 7 of those being core subjects, Christian Studies, English, Health & Physical Education, Japanese, Mathematics, Science, Society and Environment, and 4 being optional subjects, Visual Art, Drama, Music & Design and Technology, with a maximum of two option subjects per semester.

Tom had chosen Music and Design & Technology as his two option subjects, as he had no interest in Arts or drama. Once Tom had everything sorted and ready for school on Monday, we went for a walk along the beach, where I noticed a large island just off the coast. When we came upon the town main jetty, I asked one of the locals who was fishing off the jetty if he knew anything about the island. I was informed that it is known as Boston Island, and in the old days it was a sheep a farm, and it is now owned by the City Mayor, who has plans to build a few hundred property lots to sell.

After having a BBQ dinner on the back veranda, we relaxed and played a game of Scrabble, before Tom had a shower and went to bed, and I did the same soon after. Shortly after 7am the next morning, there was a knock on the front door, and it was Paul. “Thought you and Tom might like to join me on a short trip out to Bicker Isles” he said cheerfully, and I invited him in, before going to wake up Tom. Half an hour later once we were dressed and had eaten a quick breakfast, we drove to the LMSC, where a twenty-foot boat was moored at the small jetty.

“Part of your work duties, will be to go out to these two small islands, which are part of the Lincoln National Park, with Margie Henderson, who you met yesterday, she is the senior researcher, you will be working for” Paul said as we walked towards the jetty. 3/4’s of an hour later, we stepped onto the northern island of the Bickers Isle, were we had a good walk around, and checked on some research instruments are placed around different parts of the island, and fifteen minutes after leaving the island, we were on the southern island doing the same thing.