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I threw my hands up. “” I’m sorry, Ï can’t take the case.”
My would-be client’s brows knit together, her face coloured, she glared at me across the desk, her voice went up a couple of octaves. “Why on earth not ?”
“I stood and began to move around my desk. “I’m a private investigator not a security guard.”
My visitor did not move. “I have been told I can trust you to do a thorough job. I am prepared to pay you double your hourly rate.”
I stopped and began to move back to my chair. “It will take two of us to do it.”
She stared at me for a few seconds. “ Agreed.”
This lady, Miss Pendray, had a friend who was a friend of a friend of my sister Rosie. Apparently, they had been saying good things about me. Her home was a Country House in spacious grounds where she lived with her parents. The following weekend she would be absent from Friday to Monday evening at a business conference. Our task was to watch over the old people, and the assortment of valuable items in the house.
She looked me squarely in the eye. “ I am counting on you Mr Wright.”
We shook hands. “We will be there at 8am Friday.” She nodded and turned to leave.
“Oh! One more thing Miss Pendray, have you told anybody you will be away for the weekend?”
“Yes.”
“Who exactly?”
“Well? All my friends. I have mentioned it a few times at the Country Club. My Parents will have mentioned it to their friends. The part time staff know about it, the Gardiner and the house cleaners.”
The entire World knows. “Ok, thanks.”
Most of the time I am a one-man band. My niece Susan comes in twice a week when she gets space in her studies, to do the small amount of clerical work. I thought of Walter, my brothers eighteen-year-old son. He had been without work to support his University studies for the past six months. . Here was a perfect opportunity to earn cash and notch up work experience. But could I persuade his mother to let him do it.
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“No Charles, I will not have Walter involved in the dangerous work you do.” I had called at their house on my way home to present the proposition to Walter and his parents. I could see Walter was all for it.
I had difficulty hiding my irritation. “It is not dangerous work. He’ll be quite safe. It’s Security Guard work. not my usual Investigators work. Just a matter of having a presence on the property. We will be in contact by walkie talkie radio. The biggest problem will be boredom. “
I had collided with that formidable force, a mother’s protective instinct. Mother bear was immovable. I left the house exasperated. I would have to find another assistant.
The phone rang the next morning, interrupting my work on a short list of prospects to call. “ Walter here Uncle Charles. Dad and I persuaded Mum to let me work for you. She is not happy about it, but she has agreed. When do I start?”
“Come to the office after lunch on Thursday, and tell your Parents you will be staying at my place Thursday night.”
I dispatched Walter, on arrival, to the local Shopping Mall for the purchase of a set of hand-held two-way walkie talkie radios. He was not to present my card until the effectiveness of said items had been demonstrated in the shop. Later in the afternoon we talked about the assignment and I answered Walters questions.
Personally, I hate Security work. It is mind numbing. Especially in an environment such as the Country House. A guard at a Bank or similar locations, has people watching and events in the street as a distraction. I warned Walter to expect a lot of walking, four or five hours sleep each day, and the onset of boredom once the novelty wore off.
Walter is a big kid for his age. Personality wise he tends to be on the geek- nerd side of the chart. He has a Mensa level IQ and is something of a human Encyclopedia. I know he reads a lot of Sci-Fi and fantasy comics, and large chunks of his life are spent Gaming, Coding, and in all things Computer.
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Friday morning I knocked on the door and announced our arrival. Miss Pendray introduced me to her parents as supervisor of the men patrolling the grounds. Walter waited in the car in case Miss Pendray took umbrage at paying double my hourly rate for a teenager.
“Ridiculous! growled the old man, my wife and I are perfectly capable of looking after ourselves.”
The Lady placed her hand on her Father’s shoulder. “Now Father, it is only a precaution. Mr Wright and his assistant will not be in the house. They will be patrolling the grounds. You won’t notice them.”
A disapproving grunt in reply.
Miss Pendray’s Taxi arrived, and I left the house to get to work. The small Summerhouse in the grounds had the amenities we needed for the weekend. Hot and cold running water and a toilet. I contributed a small microwave oven and a fold up camp bed. Only one of us would be sleeping at a time. I had worked out a loose schedule for the two of us. 11pm to 5am was my shift while Walter slept. Walter starts at 5am and I hoped to get four- or five-hours sleep. Both of us would be wandering about afternoons and early evening. Fortunately, it was autumn and the weather was mild. Walking for hours in oppressive heat or freezing temperatures is no fun.
A two-and-a-half-meter high stone wall encircles the three-acre property. To familiarise ourselves with the place we started by walking the entire perimeter.
“How do you handle the boredom Uncle Charles?”
“I will be reminding myself of two things. First, the money accumulates each hour, and second, it is only for three days.”
Walter grinned. “ I’ll do the same.”
“Walter, if you hear or see anything out of the ordinary, contact me on the radio. If I am sleeping and you think it warrants it, wake me up."
“Ok.”
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Walter walked around with me until midnight then left to get some sleep. To his credit he did not complain at the 5 am awakening. I fell into the camp bed without undressing and woke at 1pm.
Midnight on Saturday I stepped into the summerhouse to use the toilet. The camp bed was empty. My first reaction was a hot flush of anger. I had emphasised the importance of close communication between us. Walter was not where he should be and had not called me.
I hailed him a couple of times on the radio with no success. A churning in my stomach replaced my annoyance. I felt the chill up and down my spine I always feel when calamity is close. I left the summerhouse and resumed my walking. He might be out here looking for me. Perhaps the handset had malfunctioned. Various ‘what if ‘ scenarios were straining to intrude on my imagination. Adversity was part of my work. But this was Walter. I kept thinking of my reassurances to his mother.
15 minutes into my walking the walkie talkie crackled. Relief washed through me. Walter, at last!
“Do you hear me?” The voice was not Walters.
“I hear you.”
“We’ve got the kid. He won’t get hurt if you follow instructions.” The next voice was Walters. “He said he would break my arm if you don’t come in Uncle Charles. “ It was a flat statement and I could not detect any fear in his voice.
The thug was back. “Come to the front entrance of the stables. Throw your gun and cell phone in first. No tricks or the kid gets hurt.”
“I’m on my way.”
The stables were one of two dilapidated structures on the property. The other was a garden shed.
I felt like screaming. I was furious. I claimed to be a professional and I had let a couple of second-class house burglars get the better of me. It took some effort to calm down and get my thoughts straight.
I reached the stables and tossed the phone and my gun in onto the dirt floor. A big fellow wearing a surgical mask came out of the shadows and picked up the gun. He stepped aside and used it to wave me in. “Over here.” Walter sat at the base of one of the central support pillars of the structure. His hands and feet tied with rope and gagged with his own handkerchief. The big fellows partner came up behind me and I soon joined Walter, seated bound and gagged on the opposite side of the wooden post.
Our captors had gone to break into the house. Walter must have been working hard to get the gag out of his mouth. He managed it and called to me. “Uncle Charles they didn’t search me. My Swiss Army pocket-knife is in my back pocket.”
We both perspired as we wriggled and twisted until I was able to get my fingers into Walter's back pocket. I got the knife and within a minute or so we cut our selves free.
“Do you have your phone Walter?”
“No it’s back at the summerhouse.”
“Ok, run to the summerhouse and ring 911. Tell them all that has happened. I’m going to the house to check on the old people.”
Walter ran off and I made a crouching run towards the house. My intention was to check on the safety of the old couple. Tackling the intruders was out of the question. They had the gun. The thugs had forced a ground floor window and it was wide open. I climbed in and made for the stairs. One door on the first story was showing light. I knocked, turned the knob and opened it enough to get in. The man old stood in front of his wife shielding her, both with eyes wide, not sure who to expect. They heard movement downstairs and had decided their best proposition was to stay put in the room. I explained what had happened, and that Walter had rung the Police. I locked the door and switched out the light. We waited.
I gave it half an hour then opened the bedroom door and crept out to the landing. I could hear nothing downstairs and judged the intruders had left. I went in search of Walter. I found him in the summerhouse eating. The Police were on the way.
I made myself a coffee and took a seat opposite Walter. “The old people are safe. But the crims got away with things from the house.”
Walter smiled at me. “They won’t get far.”
“They’ll be in their vehicle and long gone by now. “
“They’ll be on foot.”
“How do you figure that?”
“While I was ringing 911, I ran to the garden shed. The Gardiner keeps his tools there. I found an axe and ran to the front gate. Their car was just down the road. I knew I did not have much time. I smashed in the driver’s front window and leaned in and pulled as many wires out from under the dashboard as I could reach. Then I smashed the windscreen with the axe. Even if the car started, they would not have been able to see through the windscreen. They’ll be on foot. The Police should be able to round them up, and I guess they would have to abandon whatever they stole.”
I was impressed. I laughed. “Well done. That will salvage some of my reputation in the eyes of Miss Pendray. What made you think to do all that?”
“I guess it’s all the Super-Hero comics I read. They are full of capture-escape-stop the bad guys scenarios.
“Were you scared?”
“No not really. I knew you would not allow my arm to be broken, so I spent time thinking about how I might stop them if I could get away.”
“You know Uncle Charles it is generally agreed now that reading comics helps kids who have reading disabilities, and also helps increase kid’s vocabulary and thinking abilities.”
I was being exposed to some of Walters encyclopaedic knowledge.
”Anyway Walter after all this I guess you will be glad to make this the last time you work with me.”
“No Uncle Charles, it would be great if I could do some more work with you.”
I was beginning to have a new respect for Walter.
“Well, we’ll see what comes up. Now we have to work out what to tell your Mother.”
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