A Pathway of Adversity
Chapter 12
Alf Stuart looked out of the bay window of his bungalow. It was a large dwelling with several acres of land attached, which over-looked the ocean. His furnishings were quality; hand-picked by his late wife, Ailsa. She was a woman of good taste. He took a deep breath; breathing in the fresh salty-air and thought of his late wife. They had shared many years of happy marriage, but now Alf was alone. He dug his hands deep into his pockets and sighed. It was a large bungalow to rattle about in by himself, and what better than to have a pretty, young lady to share it with? Colleen Smart, one of two sisters which Alf endured, had not been too far from the truth. Marilyn had taken Alf's eye. Marilyn was not the brightest knife in the draw, but she was companionable and warm. No matter what happened in her life, she always saw the bright-side; nothing got her down. To have a young, lively partner such as Marilyn might not be the worst thing to happen as his senior years beckoned.
"More gravy anyone?" Charlie asked as she placed the gravy boat on the table.
"No thanks, Charlie. This roast is awesome!" Alison enthused. "Just like Mother used to make!"
"Here, here!" Joey echoed.
Charlie looked up quickly at Joey, whom for the most part of lunch had been quiet. Catching Joey's eye, she smiled and was again, amazed by the beauty of Joey's dark, brown orbs.
"Isn't that right, Charlie?" Ruby commented.
"Huh?"
"I said, isn't it right that Great Grandma Buckton was English and the recipe for her Yorkshire Pudding has been passed down through the generations?"
"Yes!" Charlie said a little too brightly.
Alison grinned and glanced at Joey.
The meal finished and Charlie instructed Ruby to start the washing up while she made coffee for their guests and promised to dry up when the visitors departed. Ruby, a little disgruntled, nevertheless agreed and set about her arduous task. In the lounge, Alison looked long and hard at the accounts ledgers.
"Joey! I knew something had been going on; I'd said as much to Melinda and Diane, but so far, I haven't been able to find the culprit! To use correction fluid is ridiculous – it makes no sense at all! I just can't think who in my team would have done something as idiotic as this... unless..."
"My guess is Martha." Joey offered, seriously.
Alison looked up and closed her eyes.
"I'm not sure if Martha Holden has the intelligence to even use correction fluid!"
"Hugo?" Joey asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Here's coffee." Charlie announced tactfully as she entered the room.
"Alison, Charlie knows a little about what we're discussing; we spoke about it last night..." Joey's voice faded as other thoughts of the night before invaded her mind.
"I told Joey that she must be careful whom she accuses of this crime... If it is a crime!" Charlie said as she placed coffee cups on the table. "After all, unless there is actual evidence, there is little you can do about it."
Alison nodded her head.
"I guess you're right. You know what this means though?" She said turning back to Joey. "We'll have to call in the auditors but we can't do that without alerting the scum-bag who's doing it!"
Joey sighed and nodded. Then another thought crossed her mind.
"Unless we employ an under-cover auditor to investigate? Could we do that, Charlie?" Joey asked, turning to the Police Sergeant for clarification.
Charlie sighed.
"Well, I guess you can, but will your company sanction the employment of another employee?"
"Not really." Alison replied sadly. "Normally employing someone needs authorisation from the top. I can't see Mr. Stuart going for it in honesty."
"What about a student who doesn't require remuneration; only experience in the accounting field?" Charlie suggested.
"Unusual, but feasible. I could always say it's a relative of mine wanting to follow in my footsteps!" The Financial Controller grinned. "Wants a feel of the ropes and all that."
"But where could we get an auditor willing to take on such a role?" Joey asked with a frown. "It's hardly normal practice!"
"I could arrange for a Police auditor to be available for however long the investigation takes. That way, it keeps it all in the family, so to speak." Charlie suggested.
"Wow! What it is to have friends in high places! Sounds good to me!" Alison exclaimed and getting to her feet, left the room to join Ruby in the kitchen.
"I thought I told you to stick with him last night?" Angelo Rosetta yelled an inch from Georgie Watson's face.
"I told you, I don't like this! It's illegal. If you think Austen's up to 'no good', report it, officially!"
"You know I can't do that!" Rosetta hissed.
"Don't be a bloody fool! Of course you can! You're out of the force now so what's the difference?"
Rosetta remained silent but looked shifty.
"It's because..." Watson said slowly. "You're involved in a heck of a lot more than they know about, aren't you?"
"Mind you own damned business!"
"Oh, believe you me, I can think of nothing I'd prefer to do – if only you'd let me!"
"Well, in fairness, you're as good as a chocolate fire-guard, so you might as well bugger off back to whomever or whatever you do each night!"
"Okay, loser! Sort it out by yourself!" Watson said, unhooking her seat belt and getting out of Rosetta's car. "And another thing, I wish you'd have reported me instead of covering up my minor indiscretion, because the pain of getting a verbal warning from Charlie Buckton is far better than spending night after night playing Sherlock Holmes with you!"
"Elementary, my dear Watson."
"Tosser!"
"Dyke!"
"Get lost!" Watson yelled and slammed the car door, hard.
"I'm grateful for Alison leaving us alone for a while." Charlie said, sitting down next to Joey. "I just want to make sure that you're okay with... well, you know."
"I don't know, Charlie! I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be okay with!"
"It's just that I made a mess of things last night and I can't stand the thought that you were hurt and that I'll... I'll never see you again."
Joey looked up into Charlie's pleading eyes.
"Charlie, you do know what I am, don't you?"
"You're a... you're a..."
"Precisely! I'm a... but I am normally referred to as a Lesbian. Please don't fool with me, Charlie! I can't bear it when you look at me like that! You're so beautiful and your eyes are all blue and your legs are so long... and its purgatory just sitting next to you!" Joey cried, standing up and walking to the window.
"Then don't stand so close to me." Charlie breathed in Joey's ear.
Joey spun around and to her surprise, found Charlie within an inch of her face.
"Oh Charlie, don't do this to me unless you mean it..."
Before she could finish, Charlie Buckton had taken Joey Collins into her arms and her hot lips were moving decisively against Joey's in a passionate frenzy.