A Change for the Better

"Yes."

"But you live in Sydney don't you?"

"Yes."

"I feel that I need some sort of explanation for this delay."

I stepped in. "Jane was afraid, not only for her own safety, but for that of her young daughter." I told him.

"Where do you fit into this picture?"

"Jane and I are in love, we plan to marry."

"Let me put another scenario to you. When you found out that Jane here was working for the company that bought you out five years ago, you decided that you had the perfect opportunity to get the company back without having to pay for it. All that you have to do is to come up with some cock and bull story about her being sent to seduce you, which by the way lacks any credibility, then accuse her boss of assaulting her, get him gaoled, and the prize is yours."

"You have a vivid imagination. Your scenario presupposes that I want the company back, which I do not, and that I would use dishonest means to achieve this. If you were to interview any of my old business associates, my former contractors, you will find that I am not only scrupulously honest, but that I am not interested in acquiring my old company when it has not one iota of goodwill left in it. It has been stripped of the reputation that I spent years building up, and which I do not have the will, or the strength to re-build. The prize as you put it, is not worth expending any time or effort to achieve."

"I find that about as possible to believe as you and her falling in love and making plans to marry in less than a week. Pull the other one mate, it has bells on."

"So that's it then? You are not prepared to investigate this complaint?"

"I didn't say that. I will investigate this, but it will take more than the word of a couple of friends for me to change my mind." Again he inspired no great faith in his desire to investigate fully.

"I suggest that you begin with the contractors that build the houses for them, and the suppliers of the building materials, neither of whom have been paid for at least six months. As well as that, the advertising agencies and media outlets that have prepared and run ads, ads that were un-necessary when I owned the company. They have not been paid either. Even if I could get the company for nothing, I could not carry the debt burden associated with it, and I am not prepared to spend the money necessary to re-establish the goodwill that I once had. I am too old for this, and have no great desire to place that sort of pressure on my relationship with Jane. That would be dooming it to failure. If you have no further questions, we are finished here." I stood and held out my hand for Jane. She tried to smile, but failed beyond a slight twitching of the corners of her mouth.

"I knew I was going to be trouble for you." She said as we drove from the police station.

"You aren't the problem. That cop has already decided that he is only going to make a token effort before dropping it into the 'low on the priority scale' file and forgetting it. We have work to do. The first thing is to contact your parents and get them and Stephany here where we can keep an eye on them."

"You don't expect James to harm them in any way, do you?"

"Whenever I began a new construction, I would plan it out in minute detail, scheduling each stage while always having in mind the worst case scenario, sort of 'plan for the best, expect the worst'. We both have a fair idea what he is capable of, I want to be ready for anything."

When we got home I asked her to contact her parents to see if they were safe.

"Hi Dad, how are you doing, is Steph giving you any problems." She had him on speaker, so I heard his reply.

"Steph is fine, as gorgeous as you were at her age. We had a strange phone call from Bill Roberts next door. He told us that James was knocking on our door, and when he told him that we were away, James asked if he knew where we were going. Bill told him that we were working our way up the coast, and then he asked them if they had a little girl with them. Bill told him that he didn't know. He doesn't think that James was convinced."

"Mister Smith, Bryce Harrington here."

"Are you the man that Jane has been talking about?"

"The very same, I hope." I looked at her for confirmation. Her kiss confirmed it. "Where are you now?"

"Murwillumbah, why?"

"Good. I understand that you are driving a motorhome. That being the case, what I would like you to do is to drive to Coolangatta tomorrow, check into a caravan park, tell them that you are staying for two weeks, and then go to the airport. There you will find stand-by tickets to Adelaide. Catch the first available flight and lets us know your ETA. We will meet you at the airport."

"I don't like the sound of this."

"Neither do I, but this is the worst case scenario, hopefully it will not come to anything. We just don't want anything to happen to you or Steph."

"Take care Dad," Jane said. "We'll explain everything when you get here, love you."

"We love you too, all of us. We should see you tomorrow afternoon."

I rang Jetstar and made the necessary arrangements. I paid for the tickets using my contingency account, not my personal account. This, because it was a corporate account in a business name that was not linked in any way to me or my previous business, and that used a postal, and not residential address, it meant that it would be a little harder for anyone to trace the source of the money.

Jane and I were standing in the arrivals hall when we saw her father carrying a young girl, and her mother, as they reached the top of the escalators. Jane grabbed my hand and literally dragged me over to the bottom of the escalator. When Bill arrived she took Stephany from him and hugged and kissed her before introducing me to her parents, "Mum, Dad, this wonderful man is my Bryce." Bill's hand shot out and I shook it. June leant over and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"We're pleased to meet you." June said. "You can call me June, and this is Bill, and this is Stephany, then you have probably worked that out for yourself."

"Yes, I've heard all about her, and how pretty she is, although she could be nothing but pretty, given her genetic inheritance."

"I'd watch him if I were you Jane, he's a little too smooth."

"Don't I know it, I've known him not much more than a week and I'm already having to fight the women off." She saw the change in her parents' expression. "Only joking, I'll never have to worry about that with him."

She handed Stephany over to me. "Hello, aren't you a little cutie?" I kissed her forehead. She didn't try to pull away from me, which was a bonus. It appeared as if I would be accepted by her.

"I almost expected a problem here, because the last man she saw me with was her father, and that wouldn't have been a pleasant experience for her. I was afraid that she would associate all men with James and his treatment of me."

It wasn't far from the terminal to the carpark. In anticipation of this meeting, I had fitted a suitable child seat into my car. Bill sat in front with me, while Jane and June sat in the back, one on either side of the centrally mounted car seat.

Stephany was tired, so Jane put her to bed, we had also bought a cot for her to sleep in and this was in the corner of our bedroom. (I'm surprised how easily that slipped off my tongue, I must really be comfortable with this situation), while I set about arranging dinner. This consisted of me ringing Domino's and ordering a family sized pizza along with dessert. I drew the line at their drink menu, choosing instead to open a bottle of red wine.

Having tossed the pizza box in the rubbish, stacked the plates in the dishwasher and opened another red, we sat down to watch the evening news. The caravan park manager must have contacted the media, because no sooner had the police arrived, than a contingent of the local media descended on the scene. James did not look a happy person when he was being placed in the police car to be taken to the station. I wondered if his wife had seen it, and if she had, what she thought of it. I would not have liked to be in James' shoes when he got home.

When it hit the fan James went absolutely ballistic. He somehow managed to get the make and registration number of Bill's motorhome and began ringing caravan parks, starting with those which he figured they would have reached. He hit pay dirt at Murwillumbah, when the manager of the caravan park, who wasn't aware of the need for non-disclosure, on being told that there was a family emergency and he was trying to find his father-in-law, told James that they were heading for Coolangatta. Taking a chance on it being the one actually in Coolangatta, he caught the first available flight north.

He arrived the day after Bill, June and Stephany had flown out. Entering the caravan park he walked around until he located the motorhome. That was when it got really weird. He began banging on the door and, the longer he banged and got no answer, the more frustrated he got, and the angrier he got as a result. He was spiralling out of control.

On hearing the commotion, the park manager called the police before walking over to James. "Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

"My father-in-law, the owner of this motorhome, I must find him because there is a family emergency back in Sydney. Do you know where he is?"

"No, he and his wife went out early this morning, I assume that they are doing the tourist bit and going sightseeing, we have a lot to offer around here, you should see it for yourself. Would you like me to give them a message when they return?"

"I'm not interested in your fucking scenery, I need to find them immediately. Tell me, did they have a young girl with them? She would be about a year old, blond hair, blue eyes."

"I can't say that I did. Mister Smith was the only person I saw when they checked in, his wife stayed in the van."

"Fuck! I have to fucking find them now!"

"You won't find them any faster by swearing, sir."

"Shut the fuck up and let me think."

It was around then that the police sirens could be heard rapidly approaching. James rightly assumed that they were coming to the caravan park in response to a call from the manager, and ran towards the entrance and his rental car.

He couldn't get it started quickly enough and found himself surrounded by police. "Step out of the car sir!"

"What's the problem officer?" James asked politely.

"Just get out of the car, and leave your hands where we can see them."

"I'm unarmed."

"Do as you are told, sir."

James did as he was told. "Is your name James McRobbie?"

"Yes, why?"

"We have a warrant for your arrest."

"What for, I've only just arrived here, not an hour ago."

"It was issued in Sydney."

"What am I supposed to have done?"

"You have been charged with assault causing bodily harm."

"Who was I supposed to have assaulted?"

"Do you know a lady by the name of Jane Smith?"

"Should I?"

"She was working for you."

"Oh. I don't know why she would want to make that accusation against me, I haven't seen her for some time."

"So you didn't see her on Monday last week, at your office?"

"Well yes, but I never hit her."

"Not there or then maybe, but later at her house, in front of her daughter, your daughter. I'm asking you to come with us to the police station for further questioning. If necessary I will handcuff you, so I suggest that you come quietly."

What appeared to be a CCTV image flashed around social media. It began on Facebook and spread to YouTube, then to be picked up by the TV News broadcasts. It would be a miracle if James' wife did not see it. It was not a day for miracles, and within days his world had crashed and burned, along with what had remained of my once proud company. No amount of damage control could save the train wreck.

First cab off the rank was his wife. She refused to bail him out, so he had to wait until his lawyer could arrange that, and this pissed him off. Next she filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. That pissed him off even more. This was after she made sure that he could not get his hands on any of her money. What she couldn't insulate from his business losses she had hidden so that he couldn't claim an interest as part of their combined assets. After the creditors had picked through the ashes there was nothing left. James and his partner both filed for bankruptcy, and both their houses, along with the apartments, yes there was more, they each had a 'love nest' in Adelaide, disappeared down with the sinking ship because they were all in the business name for taxation purposes. The Tax Office and the bank sold them for little more than the amount owed.

We watched all this on TV. Early on in the piece, the news crews showed an interest in us. The point that Jane, an employee of the now defunct company, was co-habiting with the former owner, did not escape scrutiny. A continuous stream of 'no comments' and references to my Solicitor resulted in them eventually losing interest. Bill had become and effective firewall, screening us from media interests, politely refusing the obscene amounts being offered for the 'real story' that would be edited beyond recognition before publication.

The real story slowly unfolded through a series of trials. The first was the assault, and unlawful sexual intercourse charges against James. The prosecution had located several other women who had given in to sexual demands on the basis of his 'sex or your job' pressure, and the physical evidence of his assault against Jane. We found out that his wife had provided the names of these women to the police. He got five years for that.

The fraud trial followed and he and his partner did not fare well. The charges were proven, and both directors got gaol time, James' sentence being tacked on to his other sentence.

Bill and June had resumed their holiday trip up the Queensland coast, while Jane and I settled in to our new lives as a happily married couple, complete with our daughter, yes I adopted Stephany at the same time as we got married.

Bill and June came down for the wedding, and were introduced to my parents, Edward (call me Ted please) and Alice. Four more loving grand-parents I have yet to meet.

Stephany, who had begun to walk, was Jane's flower girl at our small wedding service. Dare I say it, but she couldn't have been cuter, everyone said so, it wasn't just me. She had begun to call me 'Daddy' and I couldn't have been happier. After the intimate reception we all went back to our house. Mum and Dad left around midnight. Stephany tried to stay awake but fell asleep around eight despite the noise.

Breakfast wasn't as late as we had liked. Stephany was awake at her normal time and we had no option but to get up and feed her. June was the next to arrive in the kitchen. "Good morning all. How was your first night as a married couple?"

"Great." Jane replied, hugging me as I put coffee on. "My wonderful husband and I had a good night's sleep, eventually."

"Too much information."

Bill came in looking a little second hand. "Ted's and interesting bloke, some of the things that he told me . . . "

"I wouldn't believe all that he tells you, especially not about me."

"But he told me that you're a great bloke and that he's really proud of you."

"That's what I'm talking about, you can't believe him."

"I believe him." Jane had wrapped her arms around me, "you are the greatest."

"Your bias is showing." I kissed her. "Are we having breakfast, or are we just going to sit around crapping on with this rubbish about me?" I was pouring coffee. Breakfast it was.

After breakfast we adjourned to the local shopping centre. We had to buy food, so the supermarket was the first port of call. What followed was a process of me trying to curb June's spending frenzy. "Stephany would look lovely in this." She said, holding up a dress that I thought was too 'girly', but what do I know.

The afternoon was spent, firstly in discussions about when we would come over to Sydney to visit them, and would we consider a joint holiday in their motorhome, now that they had retrieved it from Coolangatta. It was soon time for them to leave.

Steph was asleep, Jane's olds had been dropped at the airport, not in that order, and we were in bed. "Have I ever told you what an amazingly wonderful man you are?"

"Once or several times, but don't let that stop you."

"This thing," she said kissing him, "is the icing on the cake."

"What are you going to do when I'm old and decrepit and can't get it up any more?"

"If that happens, I'll just have to live on cake, much as I like the icing, of the two, the cake definitely the most important part."

She took my hand and placed it on her belly. "Watch this space, my period is two weeks late."

In the beginning I said that I was being conned and did nothing about it. That has changed, I had been conned and, because I did nothing about it, my life has made a drastic change, a change for the better.