An African Adventure (Vince Hamilton Private Investigator Book 4)

by Patrick Slaney

  Chapter 2

  As arranged, I was at Carol Newsome's house in St John's Wood just before 10.0am the following morning. The first change that I noticed was that it wasn't the Philippino maid that answered the door it was Carol. I gave her a kiss on the cheek in the usual way and entered her house looking around for the boys.

  'Brian and Alex are upstairs in their rooms,' Carol said seeing me do a sweep of the place with my eyes. 'You will also notice that I have let Angelina go.'

  I presumed that Angelina was the name of the Philippino maid.

  'Have you told the boys anything?' I asked Carol.

  'No, I haven't given them any details of what has happened to their father. I just told them that you would be here to talk to them this morning and that you were a friend of their father’s.'

  'Were they not very suspicious?'

  'They were so tired when they arrived home last night, having done the journey from Tonbridge by train that they went straight to bed after a quick snack. I don't think that they even noticed that Angelina was no longer around.'

  'Did your youngest boy Nick not tell them?'

  'No, he was in bed asleep when they got here last night, and I took him to his school this morning before Brian and Alex got up.'

  'Are they ready to join me now?'

  'Yes, I made sure that they got up and had breakfast. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed it,' Carol added, looking pleased with herself. 'By the way, I told a business colleague of Clive's named Julian Curtis, that he could come by at around eleven thirty this morning to meet you. He asked me if he could talk to you and I told him the best idea would be to come and see you here.'

  'Who is this Julian Curtis; you haven't mentioned him before.' I wasn't too pleased that she had set up another meeting for me.

  'I think you are aware that Clive was the Chairman of an association that represented the private luxury car dealers.'

  'Yes, I am aware of that group,' I replied.

  'Well, Julian is the Vice-Chairman of that association. He is trying to work out what he should be doing now that Clive hasn't returned from Australia.'

  'I suppose as I am here I will talk to him, but please don't make appointments for me without asking me first.' I was annoyed that she was taking liberties with our friendship.

  'Sorry Vince I am afraid that I didn't think. I am so addled with this whole affair that I am not thinking straight. I will go and get the boys now.'

  While she was getting her two eldest sons, I decided that the best approach would be to talk to them man to man and without their mother in the room. I would try and create a situation where I was their friend and was looking after their interests.

  Carol re-entered the room followed by two fine looking young men. There was quite a difference in height as Brian; the sixteen-year-old was well over six feet tall, while Alex, being thirteen, hadn't started to shoot up yet.

  I stood up and shook their hands. They sat down side by side on the settee. Carol also sat down in what I presumed was her usual chair.

  'I am sorry Carol I would prefer if you weren't in the room while I talk to Brian and Alex,' I told her.

  'Oh, I didn't realise that you wouldn't want me here.' She looked a bit miffed, but she did get up and leave the room. I noticed that the two boys seemed to relax when she left.

  I turned to address the boys.

  'I don't know if your mother gave you my name, but it is Vince Hamilton. My claim to fame is that I was brought up on the same street as your mum in Rainham in Kent. We knew each other well until we went our separate ways at the age of eighteen. I also got to know your father over the past year through business. I am a Private Investigator and was helping him uncover a criminal organization that was stealing luxury cars from the streets of London.'

  Both boys appeared to be interested, but they were clearly waiting for me to get to the real reason for this strange meeting.

  'You are probably wondering why I have come to speak to the two of you this morning. I won't keep you guessing any longer and will get straight to the point.' I stopped and leant forward in my chair.

  'Unfortunately, in the investigation that I was conducting for your father, I discovered that he was involved in the thefts of the cars. As a result of other criminal activities related to the thefts he has been arrested in Melbourne, Australia.'

  'I don't believe you. Our Dad would never get involved in something like that,' Brian blurted out.

  'I also don't believe he would do something like that,' Alex concurred.

  'Let me tell you what happened and how he got involved and you will understand.' I kept my voice low and tried to be sympathetic in my manner.

  ‘Unfortunately, his business wasn't doing very well. He borrowed a large amount of money to make sure that his family was able to live at their customary level,’ I explained. ‘He wasn't able to pay the money back, so the person who gave him the original loan threatened him. He was asked to do criminal tasks for him.'

  'How much money are we talking about?' Brian asked.

  'I am afraid it was millions.'

  'Are you saying that it was to pay for our schooling and things like that?' Alex asked.

  'It was for everything, but mostly it was to settle his business debts,' I replied.

  'So where is Dad now? Why was he arrested in Australia?' Brian was starting to look apprehensive.

  'I don't want to go into all the details now as it is quite an involved story; however, you need to understand that he is on remand in Australia, and it is likely that he will be imprisoned for quite a few years. He won't be free and allowed to leave Melbourne for a while.'

  'What's Mum going to do without any money; how are our school fees going to be paid?' Alex started crying. Brian put a comforting arm around him.

  'Don't worry Al; I am sure that Mr Hamilton will work something out for us.' He looked over at me with an inquiring look on his face. He was also close to tears.

  'I don't know what I can do to help, but I promise to assist your mother through all this. You are obviously going to have to change your lifestyles and make a lot of sacrifices.'

  'Does that mean that we will have to leave our boarding school in Tonbridge?' Alex asked.

  'There is a strong possibility that you will have to, but let's not jump to any conclusions until we know all the financial details. Your Dad's business may be profitable now, and the financial difficulties may be a thing of the past.'

  'Can we help in any way?' Brian asked.

  'Yes you can; you can give your mother the support she will need through this difficult time. She has already parted company with your maid so you will have to tidy up after yourselves. You can also explain the situation to your little brother Nick.'

  'Can you please give us more details of what happened in Australia?' Alex inquired.

  I looked at my watch, and it was only 10.45am, I had time to tell them the details.

  Half-an-hour later I had finished the sorry tale of how their father had been arrested for kidnapping. I had also answered their questions regarding how long he might be imprisoned. It suddenly dawned on Brian that he would be in his thirties by the time his father returned to the UK.

  'That means that I will have gone through Uni and be in a job before he is back here,' he said. ‘In fact, I will probably be married with a family.’ I was glad to see him smile as it demonstrated that he was coping.

  We all stood up, the meeting over. Rather than shake their hands, I gave each one of them a hug. ‘Don't hesitate to contact me if you need to ask me anything. I promise not to bite your head off.'

  They both thanked me for talking to them and left the room.

  Seeing the boys go upstairs, Carol burst into the room.

  'How did that go?' she asked.

  'They took it very well although I could see that they were badly shaken.'

  'Did you tell them that they would have to leave their school and go to a local one here?'

  'I told them tha
t it was a possibility and that I would be sitting down with you to make a plan once we had all the details of your husband's business.'

  'Will you really help me do that, Vince?'

  'I'll do what I can to help, although I am not a business man.'

  'Thanks, Vince. She went up on her tippy toes and gave me a kiss.'

  There was a knock at the front door. She went to answer it.

  I heard her welcome somebody. Presumably, Julian Curtis had arrived.

  I had assumed that the person coming to meet me would be around fifty years of age, the same age as Clive. The man who entered the room was in his late seventies although he still looked very alert and sported a good head of grey hair.

  'This is Julian Curtis.' Carol introduced us. She then left the room.

  'Good morning Major Hamilton,' he shook my hand. 'I have heard a lot about you from Clive, especially when you cracked that car smuggling ring for us.'

  'From what I hear you are still having problems with thefts, but we did stop it for a time,' I answered.

  'It is not as bad as before but still irritating.'

  'Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?' I asked him.

  'Yes; when I was talking to Carol yesterday she mentioned that you have news of Clive, and I was rather hoping that you could bring me up to date as to where he is. I have been trying to get hold of him, but he hasn't come back to me. Can you tell me anything?'

  'Clive has been arrested in Australia. He got involved in some criminal activities and was detained by the State of Victoria police.'

  'Gosh; that's terrible. I would never have thought that he was a criminal?' Julian was visibly shaken by the news and was hardly able to get the words out.

  'What do you know about his business in St John’s Wood?' I asked him.

  'I think that he has been struggling for a while. Sales of luxury cars have plummeted as a result of the recession and also sales were down because of all the recent thefts. Purchasers of luxury cars were having difficulty getting their prized new cars insured. They were having to pay enormous premiums.'

  'Clive's problem was that he borrowed large amounts of money from an Italian gentleman called Luigi Bandarella,’ I explained. ‘He couldn't pay it back and was forced to do criminal activities as they threatened to attack his family if he didn't.'

  'I don't believe it,' Julian said. 'So he only became a criminal to save his family.'

  'That's correct; however, he now faces ten or more years in prison for his sins.'

  'What will happen to his business?' Julian asked.

  'Carol will have to sell it I am afraid as she won't be able to manage it. Are you able to help find a buyer?'

  'Oh, I don't know. It is not the best time to sell a business, especially a loss making one.'

  'Even if it is heavily discounted?' I suggested.

  'You might have to give it away to get rid of it. I will get my son to help.'

  'So what you are saying is that Carol is not going to get much money for it.' I was beginning to wonder if he was after the business himself. I would have to watch the Curtis father and son combination like a hawk

  'I would think that the only money she will get will be for the stock. That is if Clive has paid for any of the cars he has in the showroom.'

  My brain was flying around trying to come up with a solution to the problem of what to do with the business. Perhaps there was a trade-off I could do.

  'Julian, just remind me of why you wanted to see me this morning?'

  'I was hoping that you might be willing to contract yourself to us to try and get to the bottom of the continuing car thefts. Inspector Baird of Hampstead CID is on the case, but he doesn't seem to be getting anywhere.'

  'I have pretty well decided to retire from my role as a Private Investigator so I would have to think very long and hard as to whether I can get involved.'

  'We would prefer to have you on the case as you know the ropes and wouldn't have to go through a learning curve. You did a super job the last time.'

  'There is only one way that I would consider getting involved. If your association is willing to assist Carol in finding a buyer for Clive's business, then I will agree to help your group in trying to stop the car thefts.'

  'That sounds fair, and I am sure that we could agree to that.' I was very relieved when he said those words. Perhaps Carol's biggest headache could be resolved. At the moment, I had no idea what I would tell Daphne. I had promised my beloved wife that I would give up being a PI.

  Let me go and get Carol.

  I left Julian sitting there and went to find her. She was in the kitchen with her two sons. They were looking surprisingly cheerful.

  'Carol, can you please join us in the lounge?'

  'Of course, I can; have you two had a useful meeting?'

  'Better than expected I think. Keep your fingers crossed.'

  We entered the lounge and sat down facing Julian.

  'Carol; Julian has agreed to help you offload the business and recover whatever funds he can. In return for his help, I have agreed to help his association of Luxury Car Sales dealerships try and solve the current theft problem.'

  'I would be very grateful for your assistance Julian. I wouldn't know where to start in attempting to sort it out,' Carol said.

  'I can't promise you anything, but, as I said previously, I will ask my son, Frank, who is now running my dealership, to try and have a look at it. He will then come up with a proposal.'

  'That would be very kind of you.' She thanked him.

  'Major can I please arrange to meet with you on Monday morning about the other matter. I suggest the InterContinental in Park Lane at 10.00am,' Julian asked me.

  'That suits me fine, but please don't call me Major, I dropped the title once I left the army; just call me Vince.

  'That's great Vince.' He smiled. 'I will see you on Monday morning.'

  Carol showed him out, and I had a chance to relax again.

  'Will you stay and have some lunch with the boys and me,' Carol asked when she returned from showing Julian out.

  I had a quick glance at the clock on the mantelpiece and saw that it was 12.30pm.

  'I think I have time for a quick bite. I have to be in Putney to pick my daughter Victoria up from her school at 3.30pm.'

  Chapter 3

  Carol busied herself putting the lunch things on the kitchen table while I talked to the two boys. By the look of what she was putting out, on the menu was bread with cheese and cold meats. She also conjured up some homemade tomato soup from the fridge.

  ‘Will this house have to be sold?’ Brian asked me with obvious concern.

  ‘Unfortunately, Yes; and I would think that, of all the things that need to be done, selling the house is the most urgent task,’ I replied. ‘From my conversation with Julian Curtis just now, he is not too confident of selling the luxury car business. I think that the best we can hope for from that direction is to get rid of it so as it doesn’t suck in any more cash that you don’t have.’

  ‘Surely the business is worth something,’ Carol chipped in. ‘The last time I visited Clive at the showrooms, there were a lot of expensive cars on the sales floor.’

  ‘There well may be, but I don’t think that Clive has actually paid for them yet,’ I explained. ‘The companies who supply them, still own most of them.’

  ‘Does he still owe any money to the Italian guy he borrowed it from?’ Alex inquired.

  ‘When we cornered the gang in the Northern Territories in Australia, the Italian guy, as you call him, was killed when he was trying to get away.’

  ‘And this man, whatever his name is, was he the man he borrowed the money from,’ Carol said.

  ‘That’s right, his name is Luigi Bandarella, and he is also the person who forced your husband to participate in the kidnapping when he couldn’t pay back the loan.’

  ‘I’m glad he is dead, he sounds a horrible man,’ Alex said with a lot of feeling.

  ‘Will we be abl
e to go back to our school after the half term break?’ Brian asked.

  ‘I am going to have to help your mother draw up a plan based on what money is available,’ I suggested. ‘I think that it might be a good idea if your Mum and I went to meet your headmaster and see what he suggests.’

  ‘Do you think that there might be a chance that we can remain in Tonbridge School,’ Alex asked enthusiastically.

  ‘I cannot promise you anything Alex, but I have an idea in my head that I would like to explore before I give you an answer.’

  ‘Let’s stop questioning Uncle Vince and have our lunch,’ Carol said. ‘Would you like tea or coffee, Vince?’

  ‘I’ll have a cup of tea thanks.’

  While we ate our lunch, the topics of conversation turned to ones the boys were interested in. I was just able to comprehend what they were talking about. My own son, Michael, had very different interests.

  When Brian and Alex were finished, they vanished upstairs to their rooms. They were both going out for the afternoon to see friends. It was amazingly peaceful in the kitchen without their chatter. They tended to all talk at once, raising their voices so they would be the one that was listened to.

  ‘When are we going to draw up this plan Vince?’

  ‘Well, I want you to spend the weekend going through your financial affairs and also Clive’s if you can find any details.’

  ‘I don’t have any details here relating to Clive’s business.’

  ‘Does he have an accountant who does his books?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, Peter Taylor has done them for years. I’ll contact him this afternoon to see what he can produce.’

  ‘If you can get the details of Clive’s business accounts and also get an update on your personal bank accounts, we can then decide what is the best course of action for you. I would also suggest that you contact a couple of local estate agents about selling the house. That action is likely to be the key ingredient in any plan we draw up.’