#
On the way to Exmouth Toni told Rob how Mr Wu had phoned when she was out walking but he didn't seem impressed. She asked Rob what he thought of Andy Wu, for the first time trying out his name, without 'Mr'. Rob's expression clouded. For a moment Toni wished she hadn't asked. Had she perhaps overstepped the mark and was Rob about to put her in her place, as Mr Buller might have done?
"Well, he's a nice enough bloke is Andy," Rob said. "But he's a bit naïve."
"What do mean? How can Andy be naïve?"
"You know, he's the sort of guy who thinks the daily practice of law bears some resemblance to a John Grisham novel," Rob said.
Toni guessed this might be funny and laughed.
"Look, I will say, to his credit, he isn't a shouter or name-caller like Ralph Gisborne. You know," Rob said, "Gisborne once accused me of being 'a dissembling bloody Marxist' at a volume that registered 4.1 on the Richter scale."
Toni said nothing. She'd never come into day-to-day contact with Mr Gisborne. He'd presented her with the Employee of the Year trophy but had to read her name off a card, even when she won it the second time. He'd kissed her though, rather than shake her hand; his leathery jowls momentarily abraded her skin, and his hand ventured too low on her back.
"Well, that's right. I put him straight. I explained to him that at uni I had applied Marxian theory, but I was not a Marxist, per se."
"OK." Toni had no idea where any distinction might lie.
"And then he said to me, 'When you draw a salary from my company, you'll be a fucking Martian if I say you are'. Ralph Gisborne was the bull-shagger, and there was no mistaking that."
"So, you must be pleased now that Andy is in charge?" Toni says, far from certain that he was.
"Well, yes and no. At least you knew where you were with an old bastard like Gisborne but, with Andy, I'm not so sure. For instance, I don't really know why we've been sent down here."
"Because the Artemis Washburn death claim is suspicious." Toni regreted her answer straight away.
Rob smiled and said, "Me, I'm suspicious of any death claim. I mean, why would anyone take out life insurance if they didn't think they were going to die?"
Toni was about to explain why but realised he was being ironic.
"No, I've been sent along because Andy wants to sack Owen Huntly and wants me to make sure there's no legal comeback. He said I've got to investigate Owen's business practices, but the result is a foregone conclusion. Now there's one thing that puzzles me – why the hell would you want to sack your top salesperson?"
Unconvinced by Rob's confession of ignorance, Toni felt even more remote from the centre of power. She'd already learnt when Rob said he was puzzled by something, he generally wasn't. She'd thought when she asked him about Andy he'd confirm her own admiration but, not only has he criticised their leader, he's hinted at things she could never have thought. It was like when she read a medical journal for the first time and was overwhelmed by the arcane technicalities and differences of opinion about things she'd assumed were straightforward.
"I'm certainly not complaining though," Rob said, "a little holiday at company expense isn't to be sniffed at but I do wonder why Andy thought I should come down in person. I think he probably saw someone being investigated in a movie. You know, detectives sitting for days on end in an unmarked van outside the suspect's office, listening in with sophisticated bugging devices, going through dustbins. But I'll be buggered if I'm going to investigate Owen Huntly. If Andy wants him sacked, I could think of half a dozen reasons without any of the nonsense he has in mind."
When they reached the outskirts of Exmouth, Toni thought the roads and buildings were beginning to look familiar. It was probably not such a bad place once you got used to it. She wondered whether the primary school was a good one. "I hear Andy's wife is absolutely stunning," she said.
Rob looked out his side window. "I have absolutely no idea."
"But I heard you were hitting on her at the cocktail party," Toni said. "Mr Buller told me all the scandal the next day."
"I was merely commenting on her husband's presentation. Take it from me, Bruce Buller is full of shit."
Toni was intrigued to learn more about Rob's opinion of her ex-boss, but Andy Wu was a far more interesting subject of conversation than Mr Buller. "Andy dresses so well. And that Mercedes SRL Kompressor is to die for."
"What's that?"
"A car." She suspected he knew exactly what it was. "Apparently they have this penthouse apartment on Oriental Parade with windows from ceiling to floor."
"So what?"
"He's almost like a celebrity. It's interesting."
"No, it's not. It's tacky. Tell me something, do you know how much Sir Gerald Leet is worth?"
"Who's he?" Toni said.
"That's my point. Sir Gerald personally owns at least 20% of the Dependable. And yet you'd never even know he's alive if you didn't read the business pages. He can buy and sell people like Andy Wu with his spare change. But if you saw Sir Gerald in the street, you'd think he was, I don't know, a country bank manager."
"I don't get it," Toni said. "What's the point of being like that if you've got lots of money?"
"It's the whole point about having lots of money," Rob said. "It's called discretion."
"Oh. So what would you do if you won Lotto?"
"I did last year," Rob said with a straight face. “Ten million dollars."
"What!" They nearly left the road. "Did you really?"
"No, not really, but you wouldn't have known if I had. That's my point."
"Well, you'd sure as hell hear all about it if I won. I know exactly what I'd buy." Oh yes. Toni could name all the things she lacked but longed for. In brands and trademarks, she could dress herself and fill her world with the things she didn’t have. From Italian stilettoes to the right car in the garage, she could name everything that was missing. But when she and Johnny played spending the Lotto winnings, he just didn't get it. He would say maybe he could buy a jet pack or a helicopter, something flash and expensive he thought might please her. But he didn't really understand or care what big money might buy. She certainly did though, and could describe everything: the renovated villa high on the hill with its teak blinds, each brushed metal appliance, and the shade and thickness of the carpets. When she pushed Johnny for something specific, he might say, "OK – one of those big Holden utes – a red one." And she would patiently explain why it would have to be a Audi A5 in obsidian black pearl. She smiled at how clueless Johnny could be.
"What's amusing you?" Rob said.
"Oh nothing," Toni was still spending her imagined wealth.
"Ah, this must be Owen's office coming up," Rob said. "Oh, very nice. There's parking over there." He pointed to the space Toni was already manoeuvring into.
34
Andy was relieved that Cynthia wasn’t back at work, and he only had a few meetings today. If he couldn't talk to Samantha, he didn't want to see anyone else. He hadn't expected her to react the way she did. In fact, abject contrition had come top of his list of probable reactions. Maybe it was more serious than a once-off fling. One thing was for sure, he needed Owen Huntly nailed, and he was not convinced that Rob Hamilton was up to it. Perhaps he should hire a private investigator. Andy wondered whether you just Googled one, whether they carried guns.
Andy picked up the phone several times before he could pluck up the courage to call Samantha. When he did, her greeting was warm and dreamy but hardened when he spoke.
"What do you want now?" she said.
"I want to talk to you."
"OK, go ahead."
"I – well, there was nothing in particular," he said. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"Andy, you've been putting me through hell for the last few days. It really isn't a cliché when I say I feel like my heart is broken. If you can't say anything to stop that, I don't have anything to say to you."
"All right. I'm sorry."
"What for?" Samanth
a said.
"That you're upset."
"I'm not upset." Her voice was shrill and brittle. "I am fucking heartbroken."
Damn it. If they were going to argue, Andy wanted to be the one to slam the phone down, but Samantha beat him to it.
35
Kylie Clyde, Owen Huntly's personal assistant and latest conquest, listened to the visitors' voices echoing up the stairwell. The man said, "Oh, look at the craftsmanship on this stairwell. This was probably the residence of one of the local coal barons. Thieving bastards, but, at least, they knew how to spend what they stole."
Kylie sniggered. Owen had told her the building had been a brothel.
"Hello, I'm Rob Hamilton and this is my colleague, Toni Haast. I spoke to you yesterday about meeting with Owen."
Kylie and Toni exchanged smiles of recognition. In daylight, Kylie could better weigh Toni up: tall with a good figure. No wonder Owen turned around to check her out last night at El Maximo. A little heavy around the hips, though, must be from having kids. Good cheekbones but skin a bit weathered – she should have stayed out of the sun more when she was younger.
Kylie invited them to sit on the big red settee to wait for Owen, although she had no idea where her boss was. Well, she knew he wasn't in his office and that he'd gone hunting. In fact, telling her he'd go hunting in the morning was the first thing Owen had said to her after they'd finished thrashing around on the table in the wine cellar last night. Kylie's sexual experience wasn't broad, even so, she’d been surprised that someone as sophisticated as Owen would withdraw from her and say, "I think I'll stick a pig tomorrow." Dylan, her ex, after the first time swore he'd die for her and love her forever. Kylie hadn't wanted Dylan to die for her or really believed he'd love her forever but it had seemed the right thing to say.
Kylie watched the people from head office sink into the plump lap of the settee. Its overstuffed cushions pushed them together. The woman's skirt had risen up, and she tried to pull the hem back over her knees; he wriggled to keep his distance from her. They were like first time ice skaters on a crowded rink, struggling not to make contact. Kylie guessed they were having an affair, that was why they were so keen not to touch in front of her.
Five minutes after the meeting should have started Rob asked the question Kylie hoped he wouldn't. "Is Owen actually in?"
"I'll see." She dialled the connecting phone, then went to the double office doors, peeked inside, and shut them again. She didn't know what else to do except carry on with her typing.
"Well, is he in there?" Rob said. "He's a bit big to miss."
Kylie didn't like his sarcastic tone. "Not yet."
"Not yet? Does he actually know about this meeting?"
"I put it in his diary," Kylie said.
"Right. Has he actually seen his diary since he skipped our meeting yesterday?"
"How would I know?" It came to Kylie that hiding in the toilet might be a good move.
"Well, I don't mind telling you I'm actually getting really pissed off with this whole business," Rob said. "If I have to tell Andy Wu your boss has disappeared again, he'll be in deep shit."
Rob avoided Toni's knee for support as he struggled to his feet. Kylie stifled a laugh as she watched him fight against the vacuum suck of the settee. Wanker.
"I'd like to see Owen's file on his client Artemis Washburn, please."
"He keeps his files in his office," Kylie said. She heard herself the panic in her voice.
"Right, then I'd better have a look in there, hadn't I?" Rob moved towards the doors.
"That's Mr Huntly's office." Kylie felt her heartbeat race.
"It's also the property of the Dependable." Rob pushed open the doors.
"OK, I'll get the file for you." Kylie glanced at Toni, hoping for rescue, but she seemed miles away. Kylie ran after Rob and overtook him.