A Pathway of Adversity
Chapter 6
Charlie Buckton poured a glass of orange juice from the carton and looked up as her sleepy sister entered the kitchen.
"Hey Rubes! How did you sleep?"
Ruby looked up in surprise as her usually, uncommunicative sister, smiled her greeting.
"Yeah... good thanks." She replied uncertainly.
Ruby sat at the table which had been laid for breakfast. Bowls for cereal and plates for toast were set out neatly, and spoons and knives had been wrapped in yellow paper-serviettes, placed next to the china, ready for use.
"Hot or cold milk for your cereal?" Charlie asked.
"Cold... please." Ruby answered; bemused.
"There you go..." Charlie said, placing a white jug containing fresh milk on the table beside Ruby. "Come on... make a start; the toast is nearly ready!"
Ruby obeyed without an argument and quickly poured out the milk; slopping a little as the liquid hit the cereal. A sharp intake of breath alerted Charlie to Ruby's misdemeanour, but Charlie, taking it in her stride, simply ripped off a piece of kitchen towel and handed it to her nervous sister.
"Thank you." Ruby said, carefully.
The toast popped up from the toaster and Charlie placed it in the pretty little toast rack which normally, hardly saw the light of day. Positioning it on the breakfast table, she sat down and finished her juice.
"So, it's Saturday; what are you up to, Rubes?" Charlie asked as she dug her spoon into a bowl of breakfast cereal.
"I'm meeting Nic and Xav down at the gym; we're having a work out, then we're taking off to Yabbie Creek to do some shopping."
Ruby paused and looked up quickly at her sister.
"Its okay, isn't it? I'll do my homework later!" She promised.
Charlie smiled as she munched on the crunchy cereal flakes. She had fallen into bed late, after talking half the night away with Joey Collins, but had woken with a freshness and vitality. The tide had changed in her life and instead of brooding in a pit of cold darkness, was now heading back into the warmth of a sunny day.
"It's Saturday – enjoy!"
Ruby looked incredulously at her sister. Normally, getting out of the house before homework had been finalized was like breaking out of a prison camp. She frowned, but thought it best not to comment.
Colleen Smart wiped around the last of the lunch tables.
"Leah, I'm sure the girls who sit here are plotting something!" The middle-aged, busy body complained to the 'Summer Bay Fish and Crab' canteen manageress.
"And so what if they are?" Leah answered; bustling around, preparing the tables for Monday morning.
"Well, I don't think its right! My brother doesn't pay them to plot against him!"
"Colleen! What makes you think they are plotting against Alf?" Leah asked, stopping in her tracks and facing her colleague.
The canteen area was large and the work-force, having finished for the day, had left it empty, apart from the canteen staff. Leah's words echoed around the room and Colleen frowned; flapping her hands about in fear that someone might hear their conversation.
"You can always tell; they have a look in their eye!" She hissed, menicingly.
"Oh Colleen! They might be deciding what to buy him for Christmas, for all you know!"
"I distinctly heard that young woman in Payroll say she was going to speak her mind about it!"
"Diane is far too faint-hearted to speak her mind to anyone about anything, Colleen." Leah grinned.
"Then what about Melinda and Alison? They were saying they would support Diane if she was to tell him!"
"They may have been talking about the quality of meat from the local butchers for all you know! Stop eves-dropping on other people's convo's, Colleen. One day, you're gonna hear something you don't wanna hear!" Leah warned before walking back into the kitchen.
Colleen narrowed her eyes; not convinced by Leah's explanation and was certain that the 'natives' were getting restless. She promised herself to make it her duty, for her brother's sake, to make sure she overheard as much conversation from the office staff as possible. If they were plotting Alf Stuart's downfall, she wanted to know about it!
Joey glanced at her watch; it was nearly lunchtime. She closed the order book and stretched her legs out under the desk. It was Saturday, and she had awoken early and bounced into the office with more vigour than she had felt for months. A certain long-legged brunette had energized her heart and even the thought of Hugo Austen did not upset her good mood.
She rose from her seat as she heard voices leaving the building. Looking out of the window, she was surprised to see three girls from the office leaving; Alison, the Financial Controller was holding court as Diane who worked in Payroll-Human Recourses and Melinda, the Company gym instructor and first aid officer, listened eagerly. Saturday working was a very unusual occurrence for office staff. Joey frowned to herself; making a mental note to find out why.
"Look, I can't be absolutely sure, but it looks like someone has been tweaking the ledgers!" Alison advised as the three conspirators walked to the car park.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" Diane asked eagerly.
"Who can I ask? It's my section; it's all down to me in the end." The Financial Controller sighed. "But I know something is wrong. You see, I've been keeping a log..."
"You've got to speak to Mr. Stuart about it! If he finds out and you haven't said anything, he'll do his pieces!" Melinda advised.
"He'll do sod all about it, believe me! No, the person I need to speak to is Joey Collins or Irene Roberts. These days, they are the only ones around here who you can trust!"
"Has Martha Holden got anything to do with this?" Diane whispered.
"Well, when it comes to cooking the books, I'd have to say a definite 'no'. Her intelligence doesn't stretch further than Hugo Austen's trousers!" Alison laughed. "But, she does know how to get into the ledgers and if someone... close to her... knows how to... well, let's say, number crunch..."
Melinda and Diane looked at each other.
"Di, have you noticed anything strange with your Payroll?" Melinda asked quickly.
"No... Thankfully, I have a thousand and one passwords to get into it and not even Alf Stuart knows the combination! But I'll be sure to change the security passes again on Monday!"
"Shite! Makes you feel a bit vulnerable, doesn't it?" Melinda said, opening up her car door.
"Certainly food for thought, but the last thing I want is someone laying the blame of cooking the books at my door!" Alison announced as she waved her friends goodbye.
Charlie bent over, letting her arms hang limply from her shoulders. Her morning run had been a good one, but the sun was now hot and the sweat dripped from her hairline. She straightened, resting her hands on her hips; her breathing was heavy and her heart pumped rapidly. She looked up towards the grassy bank and watched as someone left their car to sit on a bench over-looking the ocean. It was Joey Collins. Charlie smiled to herself and made a slow assent to greet her friend.
"Hey!"
"Hey Charlie! Had a good run?" Joey asked, appreciating the sight of Charlie Buckton in tight running gear and moist with perspiration.
"Yeah, good! It's too hot now, so I'd best go and get showered." Charlie replied, but instead, joined Joey on the bench.
"I've been into work this morning." Joey said confidentially.
Charlie glanced at Joey, not knowing if this was a normal event for her on a Saturday or not.
"Have you? Not been working too hard, I hope?" She grinned.
"Doing a little research." Joey said, raising her eyebrows.
Charlie nodded, knowingly.
"And?"
"Well, I've got nothing conclusive yet, but there are definitely odd things happening."
"Anything I can help with?" Charlie asked.
Joey watched a bead of perspiration run down Charlie's neck. Her fingers twitched in want of brushing it away. She clenched her fingers into a fist and tried to turn her attention away from the attractiveness of Charlie.
"Well, I have been informed by a witness that the delivery vans have not been as regular in despatching goods as they were formally. I have checked with Goods-Out and their paperwork indicates that nothing has changed."
"This witness; is he or she sound?" Charlie asked, wiping the perspiration from her forehead.
"Very." Joey replied; her stomach turning cartwheels as she became very aware of her attraction to the creature sitting beside her. "She sets her watch by them!"
Charlie grinned.
"Strangely enough, witness reports like this can often solve a crime. Elderly people are marvellous at it! They live their lives habitually and notice the slightest change in other people's routines too. I could put a discrete tail on one of your drivers, if you like?"
"God! That sounds serious!" Joey frowned.
"Well, it might not solve anything, but you never know. If you can give me a rota for a particular day, I will see that the destinations check-out according to your specifications."
"I'll have to chat-up the duty officer in Despatch on Monday morning. Perhaps I can email you the information?"
"Better to hand it to me personally, if you can. Don't forget, computer tracking! You don't want to be seen as sending confidential information out of the office!"
Joey nodded her understanding.
"Thanks Charlie. Mind you, all this is making me feel a little nervous!"
"Well, let's just hope that your witness is wrong and everything is okay-dokey. Don't worry; I'll see that everything is discrete." Charlie said, reassuringly.
"Thank you. I'm most grateful... In fact, I wondered if you might like to ... err... well, I'm going for a swim this afternoon; I wondered if you might like to join me?"
Joey hoped her invitation did not sound like a proposal for a date.
Charlie grinned.
"Sounds good! Shall I bring a picnic?"
Delighted with the outcome, Joey waved Charlie goodbye and watched the very fit Police Sergeant climb the grass bank and jog towards home.