Frontier - 25. FR Chapter 25

Over the next half an hour, I worked on the theory driving test, and I was pleased that I had only got one question wrong, which meant that I had passed easily. The next thing was the practical part of the test, which I was a little nervous about.

“The ‘L’ Plates are in the glove box. Good luck, Grandson,” Gramps said to me with a smile, as he handed me the keys to the Colorado. I followed Anita out to the carpark, and climbed into the vehicle.

“Just relax and take your time, and you will do fine,” Anita said to me, as I put my seat belt on, and started the engine. Twenty minutes later, after driving around most of town, executing fairly good parallel parking, reversing and three point turns, we arrived back at the police station, where I let out a deep breath.

I hope you were breathing, and not holding your breath all that time. Relax. It is all finished, and you passed,” Anita said to me happily.

“Thanks, officer. That is one of the scariest things I’ve ever done,” I replied, and we headed back inside the police station, to finish the paperwork. Gramps let me drive back to the school, and I reported back to the admin office, to let them know that I had returned, even if I was fifteen minutes after classes had already began. It was just as well I only had a study class, so I headed to the library.

“So how did it go?” Finn asked me, as he and Toby appeared beside me when I walked into the library. I just gave them a smile.

“Wow! Cool! You got your licence. That’s awesome,” Toby said to me a little too loudly, which received a telling off from the librarian.

“I won’t be at school tomorrow. I have to go to Geraldton to attend court regarding the disputed ownership of the trimaran,” I whispered to my friends. We chatted quietly for the remainder of the class, before heading to our last class for the day.

When Simon, my brothers and I arrived at the carpark to be picked up there was no sign of Gramps’ Colorado. All I could see was a blue Colorado, and I guess my curiosity got the better of me, since I hadn’t see the vehicle at school before. I cautiously approached it. As I neared the front, I saw a giant red bow on the bonnet, and an envelope under the windscreen wiper with my name on it, which I retrieved and opened.

“Congratulations! Love, Gramps, Mum and boys,” was all that was written on the small sheet of paper, and feeling something else in the envelope, I looked in and saw a set of keys.

“Well, it looks like I am driving everyone home in my new car,” I announced, as I opened the driver side door, and saw a set of ‘P’ plates on the seat. Five minutes later I dropped Simon off at the marina. I saw Jasper approach, so I turned off the ignition, and stepped out.

“Congratulations on getting your licence, and nice wheels you have there,” Jasper said with a smile, as he shook my hand. I turned back to the ute.

“Yeah, she is real nice to drive too,” I commented, not seeing Gramps and mum approaching from behind us.

“Do you like the colour?” Gramps said from behind me, making me jump a little as I turned around.

“It is awesome thanks, Gramps,” I replied to him.

“Ok, lets load up and head back home,” Mum said. Gramps jumped into the front passenger seat, while mum and the boys sat in the back for the trip back to the house, where Gramps white Colorado was parked near the shed.

“If you like, you can drive us to Geraldton tomorrow,” Gramps said as we climbed out of the car and headed inside.

“Maybe part of the way there and back,” I replied.

I headed to the office to start on my homework, and I spent the next two hours studying, till there was a knock on the door, and the boys appeared to announce that dinner was ready. I thanked the boys and once I had shut down the computer, I headed out of the office to eat.

“How have you gone with your homework? Have you finished it all?” Mum asked me.

“Almost, Mum. Another hour and I will have it completed. This year has been real hard to keep up with my studies, with everything that has happened,” I replied.

“Have you any progress reports from your teachers?” Gramps asked me.

“No not yet. We don’t really have any tests, like previous years. We will have mock exams at the end of this term before we start our finals,” I replied.

After dinner, I headed back to the office, where I picked up the phone and called Jasper.

“Hey, Bud. Can you contact your friends at Cocos Keeling, and get them to do a more thorough check of the yacht before the court case tomorrow,” I asked, as soon as Jasper answered the phone.

“Yes, I can do that. Why, what are your thoughts?” Jasper replied.

“I’m thinking if he had illegal guns, he may have other illegal stuff,” I responded.

“That is good thinking, Mate. I will get right onto it,” Jasper said and he ended the call, so he could do what I had asked. I went back to doing my studies, but I was interrupted when my phone rang again about twenty minutes later.

“Hey, Jasper. Do you have some news already?” I asked.

“Yes, apparently, our friends on the island were thinking the same thing, and they had done a thorough search this afternoon. They found a small number of drugs, plus two more hand guns in one of the crew cabins.

“Unfortunately, the crew members concerned are currently in transit from Perth to Sydney, so the federal police in Sydney will deal with them. In the mean time they have written up a report, and sent a copy to the Geraldton Magistrates court. They have emailed a copy to us, so you can take it with you tomorrow,” Jasper said to me.

“Ok, thanks for that. I will talk to you later. Goodnight,” I responded, and ended the call.

Once I had finished my studying, I checked the emails, and found the new email from the Cocos Islands. I printed it out before shutting down the computer, and heading to my room. I had a shower and headed to bed. When I woke the next morning, it was just after sunrise, so I dressed and went outside to take a short walk, since I would be travelling for four hours to Geraldton and back. When I returned, I found Gramps and Mum in the kitchen chatting.

“So that’s where you went. I went to wake you up a couple of minutes ago, and found you already awake,” Mum said to me.

“Yes, sorry. I needed to stretch my legs for a bit, and get a clear head with what’s going to happen today,” I said to them.

“Do you have your copy of the sale contract, and the notice from the bank regarding the cheque bouncing,” Gramps asked me.

“Yes, and we also have a report from the federal police on Cocos Island. They did another search and found some drugs and two more guns,” I replied, as I sat down at the table. Mum gave me a cup of tea and some toast, before giving Gramps some toast, and he too sat down to eat.

“Court starts at 10am, so we need to be there about half an hour before then. It would be best if we leave at 7am or no later than 7.15,” Gramps said to me.

I glanced up at the clock, which read 6.45am, and I nodded my head.

“I just need to take a fast shower and change into a suit, then I am ready,” I said as I took another drink of the tea, ate the last of my toast, and headed back to my room.

When I returned nearly twenty minutes later, Gramps was also dressed in a suit. I had a manila folder in hand with all the documents that I needed, as we headed out the door.

With keys in hand, I climbed into the driver’s seat and we headed north. For my first long distance journey, I felt quite comfortable driving, and before we knew it, we were entering the outskirts of Geraldton. Gramps gave me directions on where to go to get to the court house, which is near the foreshore. We parked in the main carpark shortly after 9.15am.

“Well done, Anton. That was very good driving for your first long distance trip,” Gramps said to me with a smile, as we climbed out and locked up.

Once in the foyer area of the court house, I could see a large customer service area straight ahead. To the left there was a security screening area, like there is at airports, and I followed Gramps in that direction. Once we had passed screening, we went around the corner, where there was an information board with the day’s court listings for each court room. We found the one for us.

“Australian Federal Police & Hamilton Vs Kingsley – Court Room 4.” We headed in that direction. Approaching some bathrooms, I said to Gramps that I would be back in a moment, and I went to use the bathroom, returning a few moments later. We soon found court room 4.

We sat down in the small waiting area outside courtrooms 3 & 4, and I looked at my watch, which read 9.25am. About fifteen minutes later, two men dressed in suits arrived and sat down nearby, and ten more minutes later a lady appeared from the doors of court room 4. “All person who have business in courtroom 4, please make your way inside,” she announced, as she opened the door wider, to let us walk in.

We sat down about two rows back from the front seats, and waited. The other two men sat down one seat from the front, but on the other side. We had no idea who they were, but we wondered while we waited. A few minutes later, another man came rushing inside and sat down in front of us, and started shuffling documents in front of him. A door opened at the front, and the lady announced, “All stand please for Magistrate Frankton presiding.” We sat down when the magistrate motioned for us to sit.

“Ok, let’s get this day started please,” the magistrate announced.

“Your Honour, James Denning representing Mr Kingsley,” the man in front of us announced. This was when we realised that we were seated on the wrong side.

“Your Honour, I am Federal Officer Lennard, and this is Federal Officer Grant, from the Australian Federal Police,” one of the men said.

“Who are you two gentlemen?’ the magistrate asked Gramps and I, and I nervously stood up.

“Your Honour, my name is Anton Hamilton, and this is my grandfather – Marcus. We owned the trimaran yacht known as Last Frontier, which is the matter in dispute,” I said carefully, and I sat back down again.

“Officers Lennard and Grant, can you please give me a brief explanation of what this is about?” the magistrate asked.

“Certainly, Your Honour. Approximately 1½ weeks ago, Mr Harrington and his grandson, entered into a sale contract with the trimaran yacht, located at the time at the Jurien Bay marina, which they have owned for approximately 6 months. The contract stated that the sale would entail three payments, the first to be made on agreement of the sale, the second to be made on taking possession of the yacht, and the last payment to be deposited into the bank account a week later.

“When Mr Kingsley took possession of the yacht, and inherited two existing crew members, he presented a second cheque, and left the Jurien Bay marina soon after, with their original next stop to be Fremantle.

When Mr Hamilton was informed by his bank, that the second payment had bounced, he contacted his former employees, who stated they were at Cocos Keeling Islands, and they were afraid for their lives, and wanted to return to Jurien Bay.

“Mr Hamilton’s skipper of their second yacht, is former WA Police Officer Jasper Adamson, and he contacted the Federal police officers at the Cocos Keeling Islands, to assist with getting the two crew members free of their homophobic employer. It was at this time, that our colleagues performed a customs and quarantine search, since they had not announced their arrival at the islands as they are legally obliged to do.

“Our colleagues found a number of undeclared hidden illegal hand guns and a high-powered rifle, and $58 thousand total in Australian and US currency. A second search yesterday, resulted in finding a small amount of illegal drugs and two more hand guns, hidden in one of Mr Kingsley’s original crew’s cabins. We wish to support Mr Harrington Senior and Mr Anton Hamilton’s petition, to reclaim ownership of the trimaran yacht known as Last Frontier, because of the failure by Mr Kingsley to make the required payments to the Harrington’s,” the Federal agent stated before sitting down.

“Where is former police officer Adamson now?” the magistrate asked, and I stood up again.

“Sir, we did not think he would be required to… “I began to say when I heard the door open behind me.

“I am here, Your Honour. I apologise for being late. I had car troubles on my way up from Jurien Bay,” Jasper announced as he walked forward. He bowed his head briefly before joining us.

“Mr Adamson, the Federal Police have just given a description of what has happened over the past week and a half, is that correct?” the magistrate asked.

Jasper saw the federal agent hold up a document and nod his head to Jasper.

“Yes, your honour that is correct. I met the federal officers on the islands when we were on the catamaran yacht, and when Mr Harrington and Mr Hamilton took ownership of the trimaran from the previous owners, who needed a quick solution regarding their trimaran yacht, and its two crew members, as they had a family emergency to fly home back to in Canada. I contacted the federal agents, when Mr Hamilton asked my assistance, regarding helping the two Canadian crew members, who were being worked unfairly and kept on board, with no access to their passports, so they couldn’t just leave.

“As Skipper for Mr Hamilton, only they and myself had access to the yacht’s safe, when the crew members contacted us. We gave them the safe code so they could retrieve their passports, and they saw the large amount of cash and the gun. When the federal officers boarded, while Mr Kingsley was briefly onshore doing some shopping, they were told of the gun and large amount of cash. As a result, Mr Kingsley was arrested and taken into custody, to be sent to Perth, while the crew were allowed to pack their belongings and leave. The trimaran yacht has been secured by the Cocos Keeling police, until today’s hearing,” Jasper announced.

“Your Honour, my client has only just arrived back on the mainland late yesterday, and I have only had two hours to speak to him, while he is on remand. He has stated to me that there must have been a bank error in regards to the 2^nd payment to the Harrington’s, and that he is pleading not guilty to the charges of illegal firearms and leaving the country with illegal amounts of money,” the lawyer representing Mr Kingsley stated.

“Your Honour, I have an email from my bank, stating that the funds stated on the 2^nd cheque presented to me, was cancelled by the cheque owner, on the day that it was presented to me,” I said after I had stood up. I held up the document. Jasper took it from me and presented it to the court clerk, who gave it to the magistrate.

“Mr Denning, this document proves beyond doubt, that your client tried to fraudulently obtain ownership of the trimaran known as Last Frontier, and this is the only matter we are dealing with here today. I find in favour of Mr Harrington Senior and his grandson, Anton Hamilton, to be the legal owners of the trimaran yacht known as Last Frontier, and that the first payment made to them is non-refundable, because of the breach of contract.

“Mr Lennard and Grant, I highly recommend that you add 2 charges of illegal deprivation of liberty, to Mr Kingsley’s existing charges, which are to be held in the Magistrates court in Perth, at a date to be set. Court is adjourned,” the magistrate said and we all happily stood up.

Jasper shook mine and Gramps’ hands, before shaking the hands of the two approaching federal police officers, and formally introducing them to Gramps and me. Once outside the court house, I took a big deep breath.

“I am so proud of you, Boss. You did a great job in there. I have been in court many times as part of my police duties and I know how these things go,” Jasper said to me.

“Thanks. I was so scared and nervous. Anyway, how come you came today?” I responded.

“Well, I had a call from the federal agents on the islands, and they suggested that I get my butt into gear and get up to Geraldton, as I might be needed to support you in this case, which seemed to be correct. I was late because I had a tyre blow out on the way,” Jasper replied.

“Well it looks like, we own the trimaran again, so I guess we can go ahead with our other plans,” Gramps announced.

“What plans are those, Marcus?” Jasper asked.

“Gramps and I had a little meeting the other day, and it was decided that now the family is settled into our new home, that we sell the catamaran, and concentrate on having the trimaran as a charter vessel, as we can get more guests on board, and it’s a lot more comfortable for everyone,” I announced.

“I see. Well in that case, would you consider selling her to me, in lots of small payments?” Jasper asked, which we didn’t expect to hear. I looked over to Gramps, who smiled.

“Yes, I think we can do that, as long as you remain as our skipper for charters on the Last Frontier,” I replied, as I held out my hand to Jasper.

“You have a deal there, Boss,” Jasper replied as he shook my hand with a huge smile on his face. “Woo hoo! This is so awesome,” Jasper shouted out loud, and we all laughed.