Conscious Revenge Read online

  The following day would be crucial for the overall plan to work. I had to put the Charity Shop Clothes in a bag, they smelt musty but then all the islands probably had that same problem, the tight shoes reminded me not to take anything for granted should I get out of this alive.

  Chapter Nine

  Andy was first at work again, and as I signed in he came over to me to give me the order of the day. It was a slightly different job to normal as they had changed the feed supplier and he wanted to feed the chickens in different pens some using the old feed and another pen with the new supplier’s food. The process in the computer was different. I would be given details of how many chickens were fed in Pen One and also how many in Pen Two, I would calculate the feed weight to each Pen and calculate the amount of eggs each pen produced.

  This was painstaking but needed to be done very accurately, so the information given for me to work with must be detailed over a fairly long period of time to produce figures Andy could work with. ‘Paint drying’ came to mind but at least it meant I would be employed for the foreseeable future, maybe the whole Bank thing may work after all.

  I decided to speak to Andy at break time when everyone was eating at their stations, I could then enter his office which was out of earshot of the rest of the workforce, we wouldn’t want a stampede for pay into the bank would we? Some chance of that me thinks.

  I approached gingerly as the chances of him having other problems to sort out seemed likely, if no sound could be heard then I was in with a chance, I listened by the door and decided it was now or never. “Hi Andy,” I began, hoping to sound matter-of-fact, “just wondered if I might have a word if it’s OK?”

  “Come in, Bill,” he said. “What is it?”

  I then began my spiel hoping not to sound too rehearsed and waited with baited breath for his reply. He began by saying it was not normal Company practice at present, but if he could help me to get on an even keel he would do the letter and start the money mover next payday. The look of relief on my face must have said it all, he smiled a knowing smile of a man that had been used to financial problems himself in the past, if only he knew. I could have kissed him, well not really, but I would remember that moment for a long time. I was too late to visit the Bank today so I picked up the bag of clothes and began my journey home, tight shoes and all.

  I couldn’t wait to get home as ringing the bank to set a time to open my new bank account from work was against company policy, I smiled to myself, must write down the Number as you never know when something or someone makes you forget who you are!!

  Paul was waiting on the porch. “Quick,” he said, “I think I have something.” I had no time to explain my day, with a bit of luck all my Christmases had come at once, what with the letter for the Bank and now Paul’s excited revelations things must be looking up.

  Paul was still logged on to the client account Westline Investments. This was one of my highest value investors and one of the more aggressive in the market at the moment. I was surprised that with their expertise, they hadn’t taken down their site that enabled financial trading to continue. If they suspected any type of fraud, it would make sense to stop all chances of updating. As my percent had ceased to arrive in the bank account I had set up, it was obvious that they were unaware of my part in the transfers. This could only mean one thing there was a third party diverting my percent into a Bank account of their own - but by whom?

  I was almost certain that we had an infiltrator without the knowledge of Westline and it wouldn’t take a genius to work out who the most likely suspect was, well at least in my mind, Hollingsworth had always been in the back of my mind, if not as the one who had arranged my demise, then it was him trying to find out why I had disappeared, maybe this led him to take over where I left off with the Westline investment scam. If anyone had the front to do such a thing (other than me of course) and also the skill, it was him. With me gone he would feel safe to carry on, I was just hoping he hadn’t stumbled upon any of my other accounts.

  Following this latest revelation, Paul was busy trying to find the bank account number where the funds were ending up, it certainly wasn’t mine. We figured it would take more time than we wanted to spend to discover who the person behind it was.

  If it was Hollingsworth, he wouldn’t be using his own name, so some more subterfuge would be necessary, but only after we had discovered where the money had ended up.

  It wasn’t rocket science for a hacker, I mean someone with special talents to discover the bank account and how much money had been diverted, so we set about using the internet banking transfer system to move the money back into another bank account belonging to me. Paul then set about crashing the site.

  I wished I was a fly on the wall when that arrogant pig discovered the site had crashed. Under other circumstances, he would engage the IT people to restore it (although the money could not be retrieved) but if he did that, IT would then discover his scam, so we felt safe in the knowledge that he was stuffed. As far as I could remember, Westline was the only one of my client accounts that Hollingsworth had any idea about, so we were hoping it was him and not some other ‘honest’ G&F plc. employee!!

  I patted Paul on the back and we celebrated a close shave with a bottle of red. In the morning we would commence once more, hoping this was the only account that had been discovered, but we could take no chances as Paul pointed out, Hollingsworth was devious, but didn’t have the wherewithal to organise my disappearance, that was more Mafia than money monkey.

  We continued with the task in hand checking and more checking, we had stopped one risk but we were sure we had not touched on the real culprit. The only thing to come out of this exercise was that our method was working; all we needed now was patience and time. It seemed a minor issue now, the letter for the bank from Andy, but nevertheless it was a breakthrough, I only had to convince the bank manager and I had made a major step in retrieving bit by bit the sum of the 15million dollars; at least it was a start. Once one bank had given me an account, it would be easier to obtain others using my new credentials. I would make believe I was a genuine investor with the help of the money transferred from the Westline interest. It would also be good to live better and buy new technology, and possibly a gun, just in case.

  It was Sunday and we had decided to take a break. We went swimming, good job it was a small deserted beach as the luxury of swimming shorts were not an option. I found the water and the exercise was great for my injuries which were still giving me trouble from time to time, at this rate I would be completely better very soon, I had better not let the carers at the centre see me as I was not only happy in the condo, I felt Paul and I could work there without distraction.

  The sun was hot by lunchtime and we ate crabs legs and drank beer under a tree. At that moment, I felt so home sick I almost threw up, what I wouldn’t give for the Kids and Lorna to be with me, enjoying this wonderful place. Each day, I felt I was getting closer to seeing them, but it couldn’t come quickly enough. Paul, in his usual way threw an empty beer can at me to get me out of my day dream and a tussle began.

  How could I be having fun with everything that was going on, but somehow I was? Paul said he was also missing his way of life, a bit different to mine, the Night Clubs with great girls, lots of drinking and other distractions, we managed to laugh at how much better life would be with all of these things plenty of money and no work…

  Following these pipe dreams, we decided to get back to the computers and tackle the job in hand, forget all the other stuff and get the job done. We worked late into the night, a habit we now took for granted, seeing the programs I had set up still gathering the interest was encouraging us to move faster. Dawn came up and I realised I had to get to work soon so I would need some sleep, if I was to convince the bank manager after work that I was a serious and upstanding member of the community ‘what a challenge’ I had to convince myself first, which was not an easy task.

  The charity clothes were certainly getting som
e wear, I would be glad when I could actually go out and buy some that fit and shoes that I could walk in without a limp. I looked in the mirror and what looked back made me laugh, what a sight, I’ll be lucky to convince the security guard to lose me in, let alone get a bank account, but it takes all sorts and as they say ‘never judge a book by the cover’, after all I was a millionaire, wasn’t I?

  The day at work went as much to plan as ever, the results of my labours were printed and checked in the same way as always. You wouldn’t think to look at me I was about to change mine and Paul’s life forever, with a bit of luck, or should I say a lot of luck, Sir Lawrence Olivier needed to have trained me to be the actor I now was going to have to be.

  The name I had invented using the library computer to find the most popular name on the Island, I decided on Pascal - Bill Pascal, I gritted my teeth. The appointment was for four thirty and I duly arrived ten minutes early, the girl behind the desk smiled and welcomed me. I’m sure she would have rather had a good laugh, but you know how polite they are trained to be, the shirt collar with the plastic strips in kept sticking into my neck and I was scratching the area without thinking, I swallowed hard when I realised she was staring at me with a look of ‘what’ on her face, I smiled the best I could to try and ease the situation and she smiled back, well it was a more of a stifled laugh really. She went into the office at the back marked manager, my heart was jumping out of my chest, I just hoped she couldn’t see that as well, that would just top off her notion that I was a complete idiot. I must write down the name Bill Pascal just in case I forget who I am all over again.

  The bank manager raised to his feet and welcomed me. You would have thought that he also knew I was a millionaire, but I think it’s the protocol for customers to be greeted correctly no matter what they looked like and I certainly came into the ‘odd’ category.

  After the pleasantries I handed him the letter that Andy the chicken farmer had given to me. He studied it carefully, too carefully for my liking I began to sink into my chair expecting the worse. We went over the circumstances of my situation at the care facility and he asked how long I considered it would be before I could afford my own place, I explained that this depended on my health progress but hoped it would be sooner rather than later, but I was expecting an examination within the new few weeks, this would determine the length of time it would take for a date to be set for my discharge.

  I explained with his help I could put the money I would save in the Bank and then with the wages I was receiving this would help me to get a place of my own, if only renting at first. Mr. Landau, as the Bank Manager asked me to call him, seemed to warm towards me and agreed to open an account, but would review the details in a month’s time. If everything was as it should be we could look forward to a long association. ‘I mustn’t kiss him, must I?’ If only he knew, I almost laughed out loud I felt so ecstatic.

  Staying calm and collected was the hardest thing ever. I seemed to be wanting to kiss everyone all the time after the trauma I’d been through, I did however resist the thought of kissing the girl behind the desk, the look in her eyes told me “Don’t even go there,” so I didn’t.

  The local store had beer on ice and the temptation to just take the top off a bottle and drink it on the spot was all I could think about, but using restraint was the name of the game. I had Paul to think of, so stocking up on delicacies for tonight’s celebration refocused me. It was extremely hot outside. The air conditioning inside the store took my breath away. The guy behind the counter gave me a funny look, I must have looked really stupid suited and booted in this heat on a really laid back Island, but never the less he smiled and past the time of day but his words went over my head, I just couldn’t get the events of the day out of my mind. The food I had purchased and the bottle of wine, the best I could afford having looked at the change in my pocket, would I was sure, taste like vintage Dom Perignon.

  I took the bus back to the condo, a habit I had changed recently under my new fitness program, but I wanted to get back as quickly as I could with my bags. I doubted the bus would be quicker having stopped every two minutes to let off the menagerie of ducks, dogs and a colourful selection of school children all talking at the same time, also with a bus driver that was known to the whole community with whom he stopped to pass the time of day, ‘Oh happy days’.

  The condo was a welcome sight although the air conditioning had decided to give up. Paul was up on a chair trying to fix it with a screwdriver and a selection of hard thumps with his fist. I’m not sure which one worked but the unit coughed back into life which bought a grin of satisfaction to Paul’s face. When I think of the days when we would have grimaced and rung for maintenance at the slightest whim when even the smallest murmur in the state of the art air conditioning unit took place back at G&F plc. Now, even the name of the company seemed pretentious.

  He filled me in on his day which was successful in the amount of checking he had managed to do, but not in finding any changes to the bank accounts on the client list. This didn’t faze us, as my day more than made up for it, with the details of my new bank account in hand, I placed the food and drink on the table with a look that said it all ‘success’.

  The following hours were made up of patting myself on the back for a job well-done with Paul suggesting I take up acting in my next life, but my focus was still on getting my family back with me, that said, should I ever need the money in future, I would rule nothing out. We laughed at that possibility and wondered what part I would play - rouge, victim, fraudster, impersonator, thief and many more, the list was endless and I had rehearsed them all.

  The sun was just rising when a loud banging on the door woke us with a start, we both froze. I looked around to find the dresser I had put the heavy steel bar in just in case of emergencies, a gun would be better I must put some money aside as the people we were dealing with would stop at nothing to get their revenge.

  We stayed still for a moment listening for any hint of who it might be, when a voice called “Mr. Bill, are you there.” I recognised that voice and only one person called me Mr. Bill, the security guy for the care site. I answered without opening the door fully, he apologised for disturbing me but someone had reported seeing men hanging around the beach, and he wondered if I was o.k. as beach bums sometimes tried to break in.

  I assured him I hadn’t seen or heard anything but would let him know if I did, he thanked me and I let out a sigh of relief. Only after a minute it occurred to me, perhaps I was the target and it certainly wouldn’t be for my cash any potential intruder would be after. Paul and I sat and talked about the possibility that I had been discovered, whoever they were that dished out my first lesson meant business. The slightest hint that I was still around would certainly end in more grief.

  O.k. it was decided, we would get a gun, was I really going to add ‘gangster’ to the list of characters I could play. Jesting about such a serious matter was out of order, as the reality slowly sank in. It was definitely not a laughing matter, but you couldn’t make this up, who in their right mind would get themselves in and out of scrapes this quick, ‘Well you make your bed and you should lie in it’ my Dad would say. I wish he could see the bed I had made for myself now he would be horrified, his boy scout of a son behaving completely off the wall.

  Getting back to the point, we would have to be much more careful, I would be more exposed than Paul, as he stayed for the most part in the condo, me on the other, had to travel back and forth to the farm. I would use different routes, ones which would keep me visible to the local people whilst taking extra steps to be vigilant in all other situations, the possibility that anyone from my old life would recognise me was remote but I wasn’t about to take any chances.

  I was hoping that at any minute, Paul and I would come up with a result and discover the elusive client account , the amount of checking we had done was huge, it couldn’t possibly take much longer. I was sure the perpetrators would be more concerned that I might harm their
dodgy business dealings I wasn’t interested in shopping them to the State, it was more a self-financing issue for me.

  Chapter Ten

  Lorna

  As I listened to the laughter of Katie & Bryn, I began once again to think of William. The longer I was alone the more I seemed to miss him. The fact that we were drifting apart as so many of our contemporaries were, the aching for him seemed to be getting worse. Would I ever be able to come to terms with his loss which was made more difficult not knowing if he was dead or alive? I had been assured if he had have been alive the search that had taken place would have certainly found him, but I couldn’t help remembering the way he seemed to disappear without a trace.

  Any problems we were having would not have forced him away. Although I tried to explain to the police that I was sure he was taken without his consent, the fact that he lead such a mundane life as a trader and with a social life that was almost nil due to the hours that he worked, I knew at first hand as I was lucky to see him at all but they still insisted he must have had some sort of accident and were assuming after all this time he must be dead.

  After the picnic, we made our way back to the house, the children were having a great time playing hide and seek, they miss him I know but, as with everyone else, they seemed to be moving on, my mind and heart however was struggling to do the same.

  The doorbell rang, I was not expecting anyone as it was time to bath and put the children to bed. My friends and family would not be calling at this time, so I put the door chain on and looked through the peep hole. Not having William at home even for a short time, I had become well-aware of how vulnerable the three of us were and took no chances with our safety.

  The face that looked back at me took me by surprise, James, James Hollingsworth, what could he possibly want at this time of night. I called out that it was a bit inconvenient at the moment and could he telephone tomorrow. He said that there had been murmurings in the office that there was a chance that William had been found dead and he just wanted to let me know before it became common knowledge. I was stunned, not only by the messenger, but devastated at the revelation. It can’t be true I would feel it, wouldn’t I?