Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation

by Patrick Slaney

  'I will.' I felt bruised as it was hard to take a step back from an investigation that I was associated with. I was very tempted to get involved despite my promise to my wife.

  Sally arrived with the coffee and toast, and the conversation turned to what we were going to do for the last two days of our holiday. I found it hard to concentrate on what they were talking about as my brain was still at the Essendon Flying School.

  'What do you think about my suggestion Vince?' Sally interrupted my thoughts.

  'Sorry, Sally I was miles away. What did you say?'

  'I asked you if you would like to go to the Botanical Gardens for lunch. It would be my treat.

  'That sounds great. I would also like to visit the Anzac war memorial that I believe is located very close to the Botanical Gardens,' I suggested.

  'Let me tidy up here and then we can leave in about fifteen minutes.'

  We were back from our trip to the Gardens at 3.00pm, so I was in time to go and pick up Peter from his school. After a spell at the field playing Cricket, we got home at 5.00pm. Tony arrived home shortly after that.

  'Well have you had any more thoughts about Stuart's disappearance?' Tony asked me when we were both seated on the veranda with a beer in front of us.

  'Not really; it still seems to be surreal. How could a family be abducted and then vanish without trace in modern day Melbourne.'

  'It's been on my mind all of today,' Tony said. 'I have been trying to work out why they took Mags and the two kids in addition to Stuart. If they needed somebody to fly a plane, then the only person required was Stuart.'

  'I have been thinking about the same thing,' I added. 'The only conclusion that I can come to is that they took his wife and children so they could force Stuart to co-operate with them. If he doesn't do what they demand, then they will threaten to harm Mags and the kids.'

  'So, we have to find where the family have been taken before we go after Stuart.' Tony had arrived at the same conclusion as I had.

  'Perhaps the police will be able to find them as they have extensive resources in all areas of the city,' I suggested.

  'Vince, how are they going to find three people amongst the four million inhabitants of the greater Melbourne area? It's an impossible task.'

  'When you put it like that, I agree with you. We basically haven't a hope of finding them.'

  'We still haven't ruled out the red, double cab, Ute.' Tony's voice had hope in its tone.

  'Are your engineers still keeping an eye out for it?' I asked.

  'They are indeed; in fact, I have offered a reward if anybody spots it.'

  'That sounds a bit risky as they could tell you they have seen any number of bright red Utes.'

  'I am not as stupid as you think Vince. I checked that the distinct red colour we are after was only used on the Sports version of the double cab. I got hold of some colour swatches from the local dealer and showed it to my guys this morning. Secondly, they have to bring me to it which means that they are going to have to follow it to its base.'

  'That's smart, but it is still a vain hope.'

  'Don't forget that the police are also trying to locate it,' Tony reminded me.

  The rest of the family joined us around the table on the veranda, and Tony was given instructions to start the barbeque. There was no more talk of Stuart's disappearance for the remainder of the evening.

  'Uncle Vince, are you going to come and live in Australia?' Peter asked me.

  'Do you think that I should Peter?'

  'Yes, I think that would be a great idea. You can then pick me up from school every day, we can go to the park, and I will become a famous cricketer.'

  'Well if that is the end result then I had better come over here soon,' I replied. Peter obviously had his future all worked out.

  'Are you seriously interested in moving to live in Australia?' Tony inquired.

  ‘That’s the first I have heard of it,’ Daphne interjected. At least she was smiling when she said it.

  We spent the next hour or so discussing the merits of relocating from the UK and what we would miss from back home if we migrated. It was certainly a very attractive proposition as I loved the style of life here.

  The conclusion we came to was that we should bring Michael and Victoria on a holiday to Melbourne and see if they felt the same as us.

  The following morning, while I was having breakfast, I heard Tony drive into the driveway.

  He rushed into the house. 'Good news Vince; one of my guys spotted a bright red Ute in Dromana this morning. He managed to track it to a house on the heights above the town.'

  'Is it the one that Clive was driving?'

  'There is no way that he could tell as I didn't have the registration number to give him this morning. We need to go and check it out. Are you ready to come with me?'

  'Should we inform Inspector Johnson of what has been found?'

  'Let's first confirm that it is the one that we are after. We can then take a decision as to what the next step is.'

  Daphne was in the house doing a wash so as we would have clean clothes available for when we left the following day.

  I went in to tell her that I was going with Tony to Dromana. I also informed her that one of Tony's men had spotted the Ute, and we wanted to check whether it was the correct one before we contacted the police.

  'You two be very careful,' she said. 'You know your record of getting injured when you get too close the criminals.'

  'Don't worry Daphne, I'll keep an eye on him,' Tony reassured her.

  He took the car as opposed to his company vehicle so as we would be less conspicuous. As we got close to Dromana, Tony said to me. 'I have asked my engineer, Derek, to meet us at the café on the main street He will then take us to the house where the Ute went.'

  'I take it that Derek is the engineer who spotted the Ute?'

  'That's correct,'

  We duly met his man; he joined us in the car and then guided us up the hill. About one hundred meters from the property, we parked the car.

  'You see that double storied house with the green gate; that is where the red Ute went in.’ Derek pointed at the house. ‘He put the Ute in the garage, so there is nothing to see.’

  'Thanks, Derek, I will drop you down to your vehicle so as you can get on with your work. Will you stay here Vince; I will only be gone for five minutes.'

  'No problem, I will find a spot out of sight of the house where I can keep an eye on it. I don’t want Clive to recognize me if he happens to be looking out a window.'

  'Did you get a good look at the driver?' Tony asked Derek.

  'It was a young, long-haired, guy in his early twenties as far as I could see.'

  ‘That definitely isn’t Clive, but perhaps whoever is with him just went to the shops for something,' I suggested.

  I'll be back in a few minutes Vince.' He turned the car and headed back down the hill to the town.

  'I found a spot where I was able to observe the house while still not looking suspicious.

  True to his word Tony was back in just over five minutes. This time he left the car a little further away.

  'What do we do now?' he asked when he joined me.

  'There is not much that we can do in broad daylight as we can't get close enough to the house to see who is there and if there is a red Ute in the garage.'

  'I have an idea, Vince. I’ll tell you later, as I need to talk urgently to Derek.'

  Tony returned to his car, and I saw him make a telephone call. He returned to me when he was finished.

  'I spoke to Derek and asked him to come back and brazenly knock on the front door. He will claim that he is looking for a Mr Gibson, who phoned in for a repair of an Air Conditioning unit. I told him to note who comes to the door.' Tony had certainly come up with a plan that might work.

  'That's very smart of you brother. I didn't know you had the brains.' I smiled at him.

  We went back and sat in the car and watched as the XpelAir liveried truck park
ed outside the house. Derek got out and went to the front door carrying his toolbox. We could see that his knock was answered. After about twenty seconds of conversation, Derek returned to his vehicle and drove off. A short while later we also departed, joining Derek at the café in the main street where we had met previously.

  We went in and ordered a cup of coffee each.

  'Well done Derek, that was masterful,' Tony congratulated him.

  'It was easy and he didn't appear to be suspicious.'

  'Did a man come to the door or was it the young guy who you had seen driving?' I asked.

  'No, it was a man and what's more he had a strong English accent.'

  I described Clive Newsome to Derek, and he nodded his head.

  'Yes, that is him.'

  I felt elated. By an extreme piece of luck, we had located our man. All we had to do now was verify that the Ute was in the garage and also try and ascertain whether Stuart’s family were also being held there.'

  'You have certainly earned the reward Derek. Well done.'

  Derek left us for the job that he was supposed to be doing in a local company. Tony and I discussed what we should do next.

  'Do we tell Inspector Johnson now or try and get them back ourselves,' I asked.

  'What do you recommend Vince?' Tony threw the question back at me.

  'In the past I would have tried to sort it out myself; however, by taking action on my own, without the help of the police, I put myself and other people in danger.'

  'Well, that seems to answer my question. We should phone Inspector Johnson and tell him what we have found.'

  'There is likely to be only one chance of recovering this family so if we cock it up they will vanish again,' I suggested. 'The Inspector will have the resources to mount a major operation so we should leave it to him.'

  'I'll phone the Inspector now,' Tony said.

  He got straight through to him, and we were told to remain where we were until he got to us. He reckoned that he would be with us in around an hour.

  'Well what have you got to tell me?' he asked as he joined us in the café.

  'As I said on the phone,' Tony said. 'We have definitely located Clive Newsome. One of my engineers spotted a red Ute here this morning, and he followed it. He saw the Ute go into a driveway to a house on the heights above the town. It presumably is now locked up in the garage as we can't see it.' Tony gave the Inspector a summary of what he had told him on the phone.

  ‘Are you sure that it is definitely the red Ute we are after?'

  ‘We have no way of knowing as my engineer didn’t have the registration number to check it out against.'

  'Did he confirm that Clive Newsome was the driver?'

  ‘No, it was a much younger man. Before he left, I got him to knock on the front door pretending that he was looking for a customer who wanted an air conditioning unit repaired. Clive came to the door to speak to him, so we know he is definitely there.'

  'That's good work, but you took a lot of risks. You should have waited until I did the checking out.' The Inspector chastised us for our actions while appreciating that we had done what we had set out to do.

  Chapter 10

  'Can you please take me up to a place where we are close to the house? I would like to see where exactly our man is staying?' The Inspector instructed us.

  'Do you think it is a good idea to use my car as I have been up there a few times already,' Tony asked. 'I don't want him to get suspicious?'

  'Good point. We can use my car as it has no markings indicating that it is a police vehicle.'

  I stayed behind on the main street while the other two went to check out the house. They were back in fifteen minutes.

  We picked a different café to go and have a coffee in just in case they became suspicious when the Inspector said that he wanted to talk to us.

  'Right gentlemen, I am happy that we have found our man and probably have also found where the family of Mr Smith is being held. We obviously won't be able to prove the family are there until we get inside the house.'

  'So it is your intention to raid the house to rescue the family?' I asked.

  'I don't think that we have any alternative. If we leave them here, they may be moved, and we will have no idea where they are being taken.'

  'What will happen to Stuart Smith if you are successful in rescuing his wife and kids?' Tony inquired.

  'As long as they need a pilot he should be OK, and I wouldn't think that they will tell him that his family have been rescued. He will still assume that they are being held hostage, and they won’t enlighten him to the contrary.'

  'I would be very fearful that they would kill Stuart once they have finished with his services,' Tony said.

  'Unfortunately I think that you are correct in your assumption; however, let's tackle first things first. We must rescue Stuart's family and arrest Mr Clive Newsome and the other person we know to be with him.'

  'There could be more than two people in the house,' Tony suggested. 'We have only seen Clive Newsome and the younger guy.'

  'I have already organized a surveillance team and they should be in place in about half-an-hours' time. If all goes well, we should be able to move in tonight.'

  'Do you need us any more Inspector?' Tony asked. ‘I have to get back to work as I have some important meetings this afternoon.'

  'If I need to speak to you I will call you. Please keep yourselves available, especially you Mr Hamilton as you are the only person who knows this Clive Newsome character.'

  'I am due to fly back to the UK tomorrow Inspector so I will only be in Melbourne until tomorrow afternoon.'

  'I am sorry, but I suggest that you change your flight. I will need you here while we are interviewing Mr Newsome.'

  I was dumbfounded. I had never thought that they would want me around to the extent that they would ask me to delay my return to the UK. What was I going to tell Daphne? She would be highly upset that our return home was going to be delayed.

  'That may give me a problem Inspector as I have to get back to my children who are being looked after by their Grannie.'

  'I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but I simply can't let you leave Melbourne until this case has been resolved.'

  'How long do you think that you will need me?'

  'It is impossible for me to give you an answer, but I would think until the middle of next week.'

  I had a feeling of dread. My holiday had been fantastic so far, and a lot of repair work had been done to my relationship with my wife. I didn't think that she would react in a favourable manner to the fact that we wouldn't be able to leave Australia for at least another week. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  'Don't worry Vince; you can stay with us for another week. We would love to have you for an extended stay.'

  'That's not the problem Tony. The kids have already been on their own with their Gran for close on three weeks, and we need to get back in case there are any problems.'

  'I'm sorry that I can't let you leave,' the Inspector added. 'I promise to allow you to depart as soon as the case has reached a point where I don't need you.'

  'Inspector, what do you want us to do now?' Tony asked.

  'You can leave Dromana, but please make yourself available for a possible raid this evening. I will call you later today with the details.'

  'So you are definitely going to try and rescue them, this evening,' I asked.

  'I will only go in as long as I believe that there are no risks to the family or my men. It will either be tonight or tomorrow night.'

  'So we can leave now,' Tony confirmed.

  'Yes, off you go, and I will phone you later.'

  My conversation with Tony on our way back home centred on what I was going to say to Daphne. We decided that the best approach would be to tell her what the Inspector had said and then see what suggestions she would come up with.

  It was with some trepidation that I entered the house. How would she react to the news? Luckily T
ony didn't just drop me off but he came in to assist me in my difficult task and also to grab some lunch.

  The assisting bit didn't last for long as Tony announced to Sally that Vince had something he needed to discuss with Daphne, and they should leave us in peace to talk over the situation.

  When my brother had departed from the veranda Daphne turned to address me.

  'I am not a fool Vince. I suppose you want to speak to me about your involvement in the search for Stuart and his family.'

  'That's correct dear.'

  'Well tell me the worst then and get it over with.' I hadn't expected her to take the lead in our conversation.'

  'The Inspector in charge of the case has ordered me not to leave Melbourne for at least another week,' I replied. 'He says that as I am the only person who knows Clive Newsome he wants me to stay around until he has got to the bottom of what is going on.'

  Daphne then spoke calmly to me. 'I have already discussed this possibility with Sally and we have already come to the conclusion that I should return to the UK on my own.'

  'Are you sure that you are able to do that. It is a long flight to be on your own, and you're not an experienced traveller.'

  'It is unfair to ask my mother to look after Michael and Victoria any longer. She has already had them for nearly three weeks and, from speaking to her on the phone, I gather that she is a bit stressed,' Daphne added.

  'I was shattered when the Inspector told me that I couldn't leave, and there is no certainty that I will be allowed to leave in a week's time.' I was looking for sympathy.

  'I don't feel that you are in danger here as you have Tony and Paul working with you on this case. The main reason that I wanted you to give up being a Private Investigator was that I was scared of losing you in some foreign land,' Daphne explained.

  'My only involvement from now on will be checking out Clive Newsome's story once the police have him in custody. I shouldn't be in any danger.'

  'The other aspect I was thinking about was how I would feel if I was Mags, Stuart's wife,' Daphne continued. 'I would want to know that all my friends and acquaintances were doing everything in their power to rescue me and the members of my family.'

  'I am very relieved that you have taken this so well. I didn't know how I was going to tell you and how you would react.' I leant over and kissed her and gave her a hug.