Indian Ocean Drama - 9. Orc Chapter 9

“You again, what do you want?” she said to me as she dumped the dirty laundry, in a pile on the floor behind the reception counter, “Well I came to speak to you, and I have been waiting for fifteen minutes now…”, “More like five, what do you want, I am busy” the lady said interrupting me. “While I was waiting for fifteen minutes, I answered the telephone a moment ago, and if you are Erica, your boss wishes to speak to as soon as possible” I said.

“Shit, what does he want now” she cursed, as she picked up the phone and dialled a number. “Erica here dad, what is the problem” I heard her say before she listened, holding the phone away from her ear a little as the boss, who I had now established is her father was shouting at her.

“Yea, I had this guy check in today, and the villa wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t too happy about it, especially when he demanded to speak to you or Mum, and I informed him that you were both away. Dawn didn’t turn up again, and since that guy checked out, I have been trying to get the villas cleaned, ready for new guests” the receptionist replied, and I decided that I had heard enough, and I stepped forward and grabbed the phone out of the receptionist’s hand.

“Are you the manager? What is your name please” I asked, “Who do you think you are, interrupting a call with my staff” the manager roared to me, down the phone-line? “Did you or did you not receive a phone call from a Mr Wagner in Switzerland approximately one hour ago?” I asked. “Yes, and what do you have to do with that, it is none of your damn business” the manager responded.

“Mr Wagner is my brother in law, my name is Lewis Shaw, the new owner of this property” I said, as I watched the receptionist closely and her face suddenly went very pale as she realised her huge mistake earlier.

“You and your wife have exactly 12 hours, that is till 11pm, to get your scrawny arses back up to Denham, or you can forget about your jobs here or any hospitality management job anywhere in Western Australia” I said, before slamming the phone down hard.

“Right now, Erica, I want you to pick up that dirty linen and deliver it to the laundry, then you will knock on every villa door that is occupied, and inform the guests that due to maintenance issues, the property is closing down as of 12 noon tomorrow, until further notice, and they are to be given a full refund, when they leave. When you have done that, you are to come back here and assist me with checking out any guests who wish to depart right away.

There will be no more guests checking in until further notice, and I will deal with any phone enquiries that come in, also any staff that you have working today, are to come to reception at 2pm today for a staff meeting” I announced, and Erica immediately grabbed the laundry and dashed out.

Once the reception desk was clear, I walked to the front door, closed and locked it, and turned the sign to say that we are closed, before walking behind the reception desk, which was a real mess.

By the time that Erica returned, I had worked out the booking system on the computer, and I checked the accounts section of the database and I didn’t like what I saw.

“Erica, who does the accounts for this business?” I asked nicely, “that would be Uncle Dan, my Dad’s brother, he comes up once a month from Perth, and for food and accommodation he spends 4 days taking care of the books” Erica responded, “I see, and who is responsible for doing all the banking for the business?” I asked, “that is Dad, he is the only one allowed to do the banking” Erica replied.

“Erica, I see some major issues, with the management of this business, and if you can assist me with sorting it out, I will guarantee you keep your job, but you must keep what you learn a secret from your parents, and uncle, as there is a good chance that they will be prosecuted for their dodgy mismanagement of the business” I said to the receptionist, and Erica nodded her head in agreement, “Yes, Mr Lewis, I would like to keep my job here” she said softly.

“Good, now tell me, how many staff work here, and what are their names?” I asked, “Well there is usually two housekeepers that to all the guest accommodation cleaning, and some of the general use areas, they are Dawn and her sister Patricia.

We have a new cook, who started last week, and he does some wonderful cooking, his name is Ewan, from Adelaide, and we have one groundsman, Matthew, who does all the gardening, maintenance and keeping the swimming pool clean, and between Mum and me, we do the front desk area, and serving in the restaurant, which is only open for breakfast and lunch” Erica replied.

“How many of the staff are here today? I asked, “Just Matthew, Ewan and myself, as Patricia has been off with the flu” Erica replied. “I see, well that is not your fault, that is called bad management practices, can you get me all the contact numbers for all of the staff that are not at work today please, and I want you to make the calls, before handing the phone over to me, and where bank does your Dad bank the money in” I asked.

“That would be the Bendigo Bank, the only one in town, near the corner of Denham Road on Knight Terrace” Erica replied. Grabbing my phone, I headed out the back door, and around to the main street, and I walked the two and a half blocks till I located the police station and entered.

“My name is Lewis Shaw, owner of the Oceanside Village, a property 22 kms south of town which I am yet to inspect, and another property in town. I wish to report suspected fraud and stealing from the business” I said to the one police officer at the front desk. “Yes, Sir Lewis, I am aware who you are, I have seen your face in the media a number of times, but I was not aware that you owned property here in town” the officer who held the rank of Sergeant responded.

“Good, that resolves one issue. As you may be aware, my husband passed away recently, and my twin brothers in law have handed over control of all properties and assets located in Western Australia to me. Now, I have met Erica, and I am aware of her parents being out of town at present, I have had a quick look at the computer and asked Erica several questions andconclude that there is some dodgy business happening.

I request that you investigate this matter as soon as possible, I also ask if you would mind accompany me to the local bank, so I can get some questions asked about the business bank account” I asked the police officer, “about time something decent happening around here, this is quite a small and uneventful town, during the off season, which is about to end soon” the officer replied as he grabbed his hat and followed me out the door.

A few minutes later we were outside the bank, and I stopped and pulled out my phone and dialled a number, “Hi, it is me, can you possibly come up to Denham asap, and unofficially assist the local, the accommodation business here has some dodgy managers, and I would appreciate your help” I said when the call was answered.

“Yes, I will do anything for you, and you know it. I am currently in Geraldton, just finishing up a case here, and we have a government jet here for our use, so we will be there late this afternoon” Kylie replied, before ending the call. The police sergeant looked at my, questioning what the call was about, and I smiled.

“My best friend is a AFP officer, currently in Geraldton, so she will be here to unofficially assist you in any way she can” I said to the police sergeant, “You think that it is that serious?’ the officer asked, “Yes, I am afraid so” I responded as I led the way into the bank, before the officer stepped up to the counter.

“Gloria, I am glad you are here, I have come on official business, this gentleman”, “Yes, I know, Sir Lewis Shaw, I have been following the media reports, welcome to Denham, Sir, and how can I help” the bank teller said interrupting the officer. I looked at the police officer, and he gave a slight nod.

“As you may be aware, my husband died recently, and I have acquired all property and asserts in Western Australia, which includes the Oceanside Village, and another property out of town. With her parents out of town, I have asked a few questions to Erica, and looked at the computer records, and I suspect dodgy practices, I would like to see the bank records for the Oceanside Village please” I asked.

“Usually that would require a court order, but since I know what you say is true, and both Frank and I recognise your face, I see no need to go through that, please come into the office, and I will get a printout of everything for you” Gloria replied.

“Just for the time period, since Erica’s parents took over as managers of the business, is all I need thanks” I said, and we were led through the security door and down a short hall to an office, where we sat down.

Ten minutes later Gloria returned, not looking so happy. “Firstly, I was away on holidays in Perth when this account was opened, and a temporary replacement from Perth filled in while I was away, and from what I have found, I would have to agree with you, that it looks very dodgy. I suggest we call in the Federal police on this matter” Gloria stated, and the Sergeant gave a short laugh.

“Already done, Sir Lewis here has a best friend who is an AFP officer, currently in Geraldton, they will be here later this afternoon” the Sergeant said smiling, and Gloria smiled too. “Nice to have best friends in the right places, I have put a stop on the account, so nothing can be withdrawn.

Now where exactly are Mike and Beverly?” Gloria stated, “they have 12 hours to get back here, or they won’t have any job when they return, or anywhere in WA, he is in Perth, and she is in Geraldton, shopping, oh and you better get his brother Dan too, as he has been doing the book keeping” I replied.

“I better but a call out to have them arrested, in case they try to run” Frank said as he dashed outside, “I am sorry that this has happened to you, so soon after you lost your husband, I will be sure to make some calls to head office, about the fill in manager” Gloria stated, Can you hold off on that, as I think my best friend AFP officer Kylie would like to ask you some questions before that is done” I replied, just as my mobile rang, and the caller ID said it was Kylie.

“Speak of the devil… Hello Kylie, what’s up” I said into the phone, “Hi, did the police up there, just put a call out for the arrest of Michael and Beverly Parker, and his brother Daniel?” Kylie asked me, “yes, why is that?” I replied, “After you called earlier, I did a quick check on our system, and they have been caught doing fraud in other states over East and are wanted for questioning in Queensland” Kylie replied.

“Oh boy, that’s not good, ok well I will let the Police Sergeant know, we are at the bank at the moment, and we have been given access to the account” I replied.

“Tell him to hold off on any other action, until we arrive there, we will be landing in just over an hour, see you then, bye” Kylie said, and she ended the call just as Frank walked back in. “Kylie already knows of your call for their arrest and has requested taking no more action until they arrive in an hour’s time” I said to the police sergeant.

“Yes, I have a request to pick up four AFP agents from the airport in one hour, oh and I just realise that we have another problem, Erica has two siblings, both attending the local school” Frank replied. “That would be Michael Jnr and Dean, aged 9 and 11 years old” Gloria said, “How old is Erica?” the sergeant asked, “She is 19, and she is Beverly’s from her first marriage” Gloria replied.

I have two vehicles, that should have arrived from Broome, I can assist with collecting Kylie and her team” I said to Frank, “Ahh, so that is who owns them, they are parked out the side of the station, I have the keys for them” Frank said to me, and I just chuckled, “Sorry about that Sarge” I said to the police officer, as Gloria handed over printouts of the account. “One last thing, I think Erica has been the main carer of her siblings, as their parents spend most nights at the pub drinking” Gloria said.

A few minutes later, at the police station, Frank and I were looking through the bank accounts, and there was no mention of it being part of Wagner International as the owners. 50 minutes later, I drove the Trail Blazer, and Frank drove the Colorado to the airport, which is 8.5 kms north east of town, and we only had to wait 3 minutes, before the business jet landed and taxied to the parking apron.

Leading the way, Frank drove onto the parking apron, and parked about ten metres from the plane, and I did the same. “Hello Kylie, have a pleasant flight?” I asked, as she appeared from the plane, carrying a large duffle bag, and dressed in her work uniform. “Bumpy the whole way, my colleagues were not too happy about it, and I am team leader on this new case, which is now official ours” Kylie replied.

“Kylie, this is Sergeant Frank Wells, Sarge this is my best mate, AFP Officer Kylie know-it-all Sanders” I said making the introductions, and Frank chuckled, “Just Kylie Sanders will do, nice to meet you Frank” Kylie said, giving me the evil eye, before shaking hands, and introducing the rest of the AFP team.

“Nice wheels, who’s is it?” Kylie asked as she loaded her bag into the back of the Colorado, as did her colleagues.