Chapter 29 The Evidence Builds
Only fifteen minutes after J.C. Kellar had closed his meeting the phone rang on the desk of Samuel Balanger.
“Hey Bootsie, it’s Quentin I need to talk with you now.”
“Morning Quentin, and what can I do for you this morning?”
Bootsie asked as he scrolled down through his e-mails.
“It’s the Akendo project Bootsie, I have a mole at Latham Kellar and Bond and apparently Kellar received a tip off this morning about the Anderson Corporation’s involvement in the Akendo project.”
“Shit.”
Bootsie replied as he spun his chair away from his desk and looked out of his office window.
“What does this mean for our little plan Quentin?”
Bootsie enquired.
“Well from what I have just heard all hell has broken out in Kellar’s office and he’s got his top team running around like headless chickens.”
“Do we know who this tip off came from?”
“No not yet Bootsie but I am working on that, my mole said they will get back to me in an hour with more details.”
He paused for a moment before continuing,
“The upshot of it is that I am sure that Latham Kellar and Bond will pull out of the project with immediate effect.”
“Sure as eggs is eggs they will, Kellar hates Curtis Langford from what I have been told and I know from personal experience his opinion of Glen Anderson, the last time they came face to face was at a function last Christmas and that degenerated into an embarrassing shouting match between the tow of them.”
Bootsie replied.
“Agreed, but I think it’s to late for Kellar, I spoke with my team briefly just now and we have already gained a significant amount of evidence that implicates Latham, Keller and Bond as a corporation that is in the middle of a web of deceit, corruption and malpractice. I’m having the details e-mailed to me as we speak and I’ll forward them as soon as I get them Bootsie.”
“Good job Quentin, just give us a quick summary of what you understand so far.”
“I spoke briefly with Lottie and she has uncovered a significant amount of information, it is truly unbelievable, the two hottest vipers nests seem to be connected with the Evangeline Latham, Kellar and Bond office and a certain Mr. Kendrick Toup and the Plaquemines office and a Mr. Amin Masih. The former has opened up into a web of corrupt land deals, and zoning application approvals delivered by a group of conspiring local government officials and their private business contacts, overcharging of Latham, Kellar and Bond clients’ and skimming money from multiple oil lease contracts……, The latter is explosive, Mr. Amin Masih has been overcharging clients and has diverted some of his clients’ account funds to an offshore back account in the Cayman Islands where it has then been transferred into the account of a Mr. Amr Wasem in Ramallah in the West Bank, and Mr. Wasem is a fundraiser for Hamas…….., Even with all of this I cannot see Kellar being foolish enough to be connected to any of these goings on at his regional offices.”
“Agreed and what of the Akendo project ?…, did we manage to catch them up to no good or is it to early to say?”
Bootsie asked as he watched a jet, high up in the sky etch a fine white vapor trail across the deep blue background.
“Well it looks as if their charges levied against the Akendo Project already do not follow the contractually agreed payment levels and mechanisms that Chadwick and Kellar both signed up to…..More importantly Oscar has found out that Kellar made a personal payment to a landowner at the proposed development site buying a strip of land across the middle of the site.”
“What’s the significance of this Quentin?”
“Well it has been made via an investment vehicle of Kellar’s and is what is known in the trade as a ‘Ransom Strip’, the land in question is worth a couple of thousand dollars as is, with zoning certification to allow the proposed development that would be multiplied by one hundred approximately and as a Ransom Strip…. well the owner can ask for any sum they like, as the name suggests they would hold the Akendo project to ransom and ask for multi-million dollars to sell the strip of land to allow the development to proceed.”
“Great we’ve got the bastard just where we want him…. Send me an update later when you hear more from Lottie and can you get onto finding who this tip off came from…………., once again Quentin Good Job.”
“Thanks Bootsie, don’t worry, one way or other we’ll find out who leaked the information to Kellar then you can decide how we proceed with that….bye.”
Bootsie turned back around to face his desk, he paused and though for a moment, his razor sharp mind prioritizing who he should call, in what order and what was required to be discussed with each individual.
The first call he made was to Curtis Langford, he told him that the Anderson Corporation’s association with the Akendo project had been uncovered by Latham, Kellar and Bond due to a tip off and that it was likely that they would be hearing from them shortly, also that in all likelihood Latham Kellar and Bond would pull out of the Akendo project with immediate effect. Curtis agreed that what he had just said was the most obvious move that they would make and assured Samuel that the Anderson Corporation would stonewall any enquiries made by Latham Kellar and Bond as to their earlier involvement in the Akendo project.
“Bootsie, I’ll make sure that everyone on our side is on message and I’ll personally handle the situation here, it’s not a problem as we can legitimately identify our position as being commercially vulnerable regarding Akendo due to other significant national and state programs that we are currently delivering. It is also a completely legitimate position to take and it makes perfect sense that due to a business risk evaluation we had pulled out of the project at a very early stage leaving the opportunity for another competitor or development vehicle to deliver the project.
“Good to hear Curtis.”
“And what of the plan Bootsie?”
Curtis asked eager to find out if their hard work had been scuppered.
“Well the plan may not have been able to fully run its course but I’ll tell you that we have got more than we could have hoped for…., Initial indications seem to point to us not only having hooked them on the Akendo project but Quentin’s team has uncovered some more explosive information, I’ll speak to you later when I have got an fuller picture but at this moment rest assured things are looking very good for us and not that good for Kellar.”
“That Quentin is sure one hell of a guy Bootsie, I wouldn’t like to be up against him or his team”
“Not one bit Curtis, not one bit , don’t forget this whole thing has been a team effort which I really appreciate and please pass on my thanks to Glen and Earl for their participation, I’ll catch up with them both later today.”
“Sure thing Bootsie, speak later.”
Before the light had faded on the desktop phone to announce the end of the call Bootsie was dialing again.
This time it was Donald Chadwick who answered, as before Samuel laid out the facts of the situation and with a smile on his face assured Donald that the plan seemed to have worked even though it had not run full course. He also stressed that his help and support had been greatly appreciated and they agreed that would speak later that day.
Next Bootsie picked up his cell phone; he selected contacts, selected Dilip Jhadav and pressed the call button. Bootsie and Dilip spent nearly half an hour discussing the morning’s events and the impact it would have upon their plan. Dilip had been initially dismayed to hear of the leak but a broad smile had spread from ear to ear as Samuel had divulged all of the evidence Quentin and his team had amassed in such a short timescale.
Being an extremely competent strategist Dilip suggested that the team met again as soon as possible to discuss the events of the morning and put in place the correct moves so that their plan managed to deliver its required results. As Dilip said,
“We’ve got the big one on the hook……, the one that we wanted to catch.., now let’s play them carefully and make sure we land them, we don’t want to fuck up now and loose our catch.”
Dillip suggested Lakeland Drive as the place for the team to meet discreetly again and stressed that he wanted to have a pre meeting with Quentin and Lottie to understand the detail of the information they had uncovered, in particular what information they had unearthed about J.C. Kellar himself and the Akendo project. Samuel agreed and between them they rang around and made arrangements for everyone to meet at Lakeland Drive at eight that evening.
Claude Lafourche had just finished eating his drive through Macdonald’s when his cell phone rang, he wiped his greasy hands on the small paper napkins provided and retrieved his phone from his shirt pocket. It rang twice more before Claude’s stubby fingers pressed the call button to accept the call. A well known voice spoke to him in its usual direct focused manner, it outlined the situation in as much detail as Claude needed to know to complete his task, it identified and stressed the need for complete and utter secrecy, which was the norm in Claude’s world of work and said,
“I need this information yesterday.”
Claude said goodbye and closed his cell phone replacing it into the breast pocket of his shirt, He leaned over and reached his laptop from the rear seat of his car, opened it, turned it on and quickly scanned for a wi-fi signal. He selected connect and immediately downloaded the e-mail he had just been promised would be waiting for him in his inbox.
Claude opened his e-mail and read it carefully, he had been asked to track down and verify the IP address of a certain Jason Bridge. Attached was an e-mail from Jason Bridge, its contents had been obscured but they were of no interest to Claude. All he wanted to to do was complete the assignment and find out who Jason Bridge was and where he could be found and he knew that this information was within e-mail transmission data that was packaged behind the e-mail. As soon as he had finished reading what his assignment was for the second time he turned off his laptop closed it and placed it carefully on the back seat. He started his car, drove out the car lot of MacDonald’s and headed back for the office.
Once back at the office he sat down at his desk opened up his laptop and started to investigate Jason Bridge and the e-mails transmission data. From Claude’s point of view this was an easy task, it took him no time at all to trace the e-mail’s IP address, it was an IP address that seemed familiar to him, he couldn’t figure out why initially but all made sense within a couple of minutes. He was also tasked with finding out not only the location of the sender but also his name and telephone number.
In no time at all he found out that the IP address was that of a Mr. Clive Meek or somebody in his household, and was sent from a residential address in the parish of Evangeline. It was a name that was immediately familiar to him, being one of six people that Quentin had asked him to hack some weeks earlier. Claude had inserted a worm into the computer systems of six people at their homes and places of work in Evangeline, a couple of eminent people in Baton Rouge and as the plan progressed and more target were identified either via Lottie, Donald or Quentin more worms were dispatched. over the course of the intervening weeks the worms had sat on each targeted computer copying and sending back to Claude the entire contents of the computers’ hard drives and all communications coming in or going out of the computers’, either by e-mail, Facebook, Skype or other data communication type.
With a couple of more clicks he had the address of his house and with a couple of more clicks he confirmed that it was the same Mr. Clive Meek who worked as a highways officer for Evangeline Parish, then a couple of clicks later he also had Mr. Clive Meeks cell and work telephone number. Being a perfectionist Claude then spent another ten minutes checking that the information he had discovered was correct before compiling an e-mail message to Quentin. His e-mail stated all of the information that he had discovered and also confirmed that it was the same Clive Meek that he had been tasked to target weeks before. He pressed send and off his highly encrypted e-mail went across the internet to Quentin’s e-mail inbox.
Chapter 30 Site Visit and Committee Notification
Two letters arrived at their destinations within fifteen minutes of each other and less than two miles apart. The first to be delivered was addressed to Mr. Samuel Kennedy, it was in an official brown looking envelope with the Town Hall’s official franking mark stamped onto it. The second letter was in an identical envelope but addressed to Billy-Bob Johnson, Malase.
The contents of each letter was also identical. It was an official letter notifying both Samuel Kennedy and Billy-Bob Johnson that the Zoning Committee would be conducting a site visit on the first day of next month at 1.00pm to view for themselves the proposed location, its access and gain a feel for any impacts that the proposed development of an Alligator farm at Lokchapi may have if it were to be approved. It then went on to state that Zoning Committee would be meeting to discuss the zoning application for the proposed Alligator farm at Lokchapi between seven and fourteen days later and that all attendees should be seated in the meeting rooms at Ville Platte Town Hall by 9.15 am at the latest, they would all be notified of the actual date nearer the time. The applicant would be allowed to speak for five minutes, if they had agents acting on their behalf they could also speak for five minutes and any supporters had a combined maximum of five minutes to speak in support of any application. Any objectors had a combined maximum of five minutes to speak in objection. It then went on to state that a decision on whether to approve or reject the application would be made on the day by the Zoning Committee.
Billy-Bob was the first to read his letter, Joshua had picked up his family’s post from their mail box that was situated by the roadside on the edge of Malase. He had been out fishing down at the Bayou mouth since dawn and then gone on to feed Isaac as a favour for his dad. It was Isaac’s two weekly feed of pork innards and other meat cast offs. Once fed Joshua took a slow walk home, his fishing had been unsuccessful that morning so he trudged along dejectedly down the track from Lokchapi, he had stopped and picked up all of the post for the residents of Malase from all of their mail boxes that stood on a bank just as the track entered the shroud of the margins of the swamp.
“Hey Mom we’ve got Auhsel some post today, Auh lefted it on the table.”
He shouted to his parents before slamming his bedroom door and diving onto his bed to sleep the rest of the morning away. Mary-Jo had been laying quietly on her bed besides Billy-Bob nursing a raging hangover, her head pounded and Billy-Bob snoring reverberated around the stifling bedroom, ‘he sounded as happy as a dead hog in the sunshine’, she thought to herself as she stared into the gloom of her bedroom.
“Thanks Josh.”
She called out before laying still for a couple more minutes while she mustered the energy to move. Sitting slowly up in bed her head exploded into a cascade of pain, dizziness and vomit inducing nausea, wave after wave of near death feelings flooded her system before she collapsed back onto her pillow to fall into an agitated, sweaty sleep for a couple more hours. The sound of Billy-Bob stumbling around in the bedroom woke her and as she raised her head gingerly off of the pillow for the second time that day Billy-Bob thrust something into her face.
“Hey Mary-Jo we’ve gotten Auhselves a letter an from what I can make out it’s from Town Hall, must be bout ourne alligator farm……, here.”
He said as he held out a piece of paper for her to read. Billy-Bob sat himself down on the edge of the bed next to Mary-Jo eager for her to read it out to him. Mary-Jo did her best to focus but a combination of dim light, bleary eyes and shaking hands made that task an impossibility.
“Can’t yuh just waid a minute while Auh’s get up, muh head is boud to ixplode an Auh’s sweatin like a whore in church.”
She said as she raised herself up onto one elbow and tried for the second time to focus on the piece.
“Don’t yuh go an throw a dyin duck fit on me, Auh’s just askin.”
Billy-Bob said as he leapt up from the bed and lurched out of the bedroom.
“An don’t yuh go givin me that dying duck fit shit, yuh’s smelling bad enough tuh gag a maggot.”
She replied as the door slammed behind the departing Billy-Bob.
For Once Billy-Bob was not suffering the ill effects brought about by consuming copious amounts of alcohol the night before. The families in Malase had had one of their normal get togethers’ where the food and more importantly alcohol had flowed freely throughout the evening, night and into the small hours of the hot, heavy and still morning. Billy-Bob had been feeling a bit off color all that day so had only had a couple of beers and a small glass or two of shine all night, whereas Mary-Jo had spent her time drinking, laughing and dancing as if there would be no tomorrow.
Just before midnight Cuzn Luke had turned up with Cuzn Booee and Treacle with a couple of gallons of their latest batch of shine that they had brought over for Jean, Archile, Papite and Billy Bob. Even though they all made their own shine they liked to swap their own wares as each brew had its own distinctive flavor and strength. The shine that Cuzn Luke produced with the help of Cuzn Booee and Treacle was renown for its strength often proofing around the one hundred and twenty percent mark, with a vodka like taste and raw shine burn to the throat, whereas the shine Jean, Archile or Papite produced was normally infused with subtle flavors, of chicory, honey, cherry or apple and cinnamon and theirs normally proofed around the ninety percent mark and was a much smoother drink. With the arrival of the three moonshiners and with the help of their liquid gift the party was ignited. As Joshua made his way past the porch of the Bergeron’s as he ventured out on his early morning fishing trip the party was still in full swing, the sound of music, laughter, clapping and the stamping of feet filled the darkness as he walked off down the track. The last standing in the morning was Cuzn Luke who poured Treacle into the rear of his pickup next to a snoring Cuzn Booee before climbing into his cab and laying out across its bench seat before unconsciousness rushed up upon him, it was eight am.
Billy Bob was sitting at his kitchen table drinking a strong coffee as Mary-Jo walked in,
“Yuh sure was nine kinds of drunk last night.”
He said with a laugh.
“C’mon sit yuhsel down an have a cawfee.”
He said as he pushed out the chair opposite with his boot and pointed to the steaming mug on the table.
“Aw thanks Billy-Bob.”
Mary-Jo said as she took her seat, slowly she raised the steaming coffee to her lips and took a sip, its hot sweet taste cut through her crusty dry palate and refreshed her a little, as she replaced the mug onto the table she winced as another jolt of pain shot across her forehead and rattled around inside her skull like a ball bearing in a pinball machine.
She took a second sip of her coffee before retrieving from he pocket the letter Billy-Bob had handed her earlier, she unfolded it then laid it out on the table in front of her. Mary-Jo read it aloud clearly from start to finish while Billy-Bob listened intently. When she was finished Billy-Bob leaped up from the table sending his chair clattering over onto the floor behind him and danced a jig.
“Well ain’t that the berries.”
He exclaimed as he danced around. Mary- Jo was now sitting with her elbows on the table and head in her hands. The sound of the chair falling had ricocheted around inside her head and the accompanying stomping of Billy-Bobs boots initiated needle like pinpricks of stinging pain deep within her brain that made her shiver, her eyes throbbed, her muscles were heavy, even he hair ached.
“Billy-Bob that don’t mean doodley squat till we have ourne ci-tifurcate!.”
She shouted then slowly got up from the table, steadied herself with one hand against the kitchen wall before gradually and painfully retracing her steps back out of the kitchen to her bedroom. There in the curtained gloom she slumped onto the bed, willing unconsciousness to take her away from the torment of the hangover or as Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo often called it a ‘Shineover’.
Billy-Bob wasted no time in searching for his cell phone then contacting first Cuzn Luke and giving him the good news, he made sure that Cuzn Luke would attend both the site meeting and then the Zoning Committee meeting then he called Mr. Gant. Mr. Gant was not available to speak to directly so Billy-Bob left a message with a softly spoken secretary and patiently awaited the promised return call that came to his surprise within the stated thirty minutes. Mr. Gant explained that he had also received notification of the up an coming site visit and Zoning Committee meeting and assured Billy-Bob that he would be in attendance at both, telling his that ‘that all was in hand’.
“My dear friend these will just be formalities no, I have had in-depth discussions with all the people that matter at Town Hall and before you know it you will have your application approved”
He said in his smooth, smarmy tone.”
After the final payment that Cuzn Luke had made on behalf of Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo, Mr. Gant had busied himself with making the required payoff’s to the decision makers, he had then called Benjamin, Jeb, and Clive on a conference call and together they had detailed what their position would be individually regarding Billy-Bobs application. Jeb Clarke had been able to furnish them all with the details of all of the letters of objection and in particular a letter from a certain Mr. S. Kennedy of Lokchapi. His was an extremely detailed document and stated numerous facts linked to zoning policies and laws that could, if they did not all act together pull the rug from under them. Jeb had e-mailed them each a copy of Mr. Kennedy’s document immediately so that they could get their own responses ready for the up and coming site visit and Zoning Committee meeting and in a combined effort they would be able to fend of the very accurate and pointed threat that this objections posed.
Billy-Bob thanked Mr. Gant before ending the call and grabbing his newly acquired bottle of shine from a shelf by the sink and guzzling down a couple of large mouths full of the clear liquid. He exhaled noisily as the liquid burned its way down his throat to his stomach where it sat warming his already sweating body even more from within. Wiping his lips with the back of his right hand he strode out onto his porch were he sat down on his favorite easy chair in contented silence, sipping the shine straight from the bottle as he watched the goings on of his neighbors.
Papite shouted across to him from his shack
“Starting early ce matin Billy-Bob?”
“Naw jus havin me a little cel-e-brashun.”
He replied with a smile as wide as theGrand Canyoncreased across his face.
“Au sujet de ce qui?”
Papite enquired
“Auh just got a letter from Town Hall boud ourne alligator farm an they’s comin to see where it’s at an then have a meetin soon to give us ourne ci-tifurcate.”
“Puits fait mon ami qui est bon.”
He replied with a wave of his hand as he walked off across the clearing in the middle of Malase with his rifle slung over his shoulder.
Billy-Bob waved back and wished him a good days hunting.
Samuel arrived home early, the day had been long and as usual extremely hot and humid, he was soaked to the skin with sweat, his muscles ached and he had the beginnings of a headache coming on. As usual Pooh and Moo heard him pull up on the drive, their ears pricked immediately and as Samuel slammed his pickup door shut they got up from the shade on the verandah. They slowly made their way down the steps, and across the lawn round to the side of the house where panting heavily in the heat they patiently awaited their master. SJ had hosed the pair of them down three times that day, Pooh liked the cooling waters and stood obediently on the lawn as SJ sprayed him, Moo on the other hand had sloped off on all three occasions to hide under the veranda, for a dog that loved the water and would happily swim at the slightest opportunity, the garden hose was something that he didn’t really care for. As soon as Samuel, SJ or Jason fetched the hose Moo would drop his ears and slink away from its cooling waters. The only way to overcome this problem was by bribing him with a piece of ham or some other tasty treat. He would then stand dejectedly, looking thoroughly forlorn, with his head down, ears back and tail held securely between his back legs as he was gently hosed down. Samuel patted both of his friends on their heads as he walked through the gate and closed it behind him. With two tails wagging he was escorted back across the lawn to the house where both dogs made a bee line for their drinking bowls.
SJ had also finished early and was standing at the sideboard in the cool of the kitchen making herself a fruit shake as Samuel lethargically climbed the stairs onto the veranda and slumped down on a chair.
Hi Samuel, good day?”
She called to him as he undid his snake gaiters and kicked off his boots.
“Yeah not bad…,long and hot, but not bad.”
He replied before standing back up and opening the fly screen to join SJ in the kitchen.
“There’s a letter from Town Hall for you on the side there.”
She said motioning with her head towards a large official looking envelope next to the microwave.
“D’you fancy a shake or a beer?”
She asked as Samuel tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter it contained. He leant back against the kitchen wall and scan read it
“Um, a…. beer please.”
He replied after a short pause
“Well what’s it about.”
SJ asked, Samuel stood staring at the letter in his hand.
He was silent for a moment as his heat addled brain took note of the information and timings before replying,
” It’s…another letter about…. the zoning application for the alligator farm, the zoning committee are going to visit the site apparently on the first of next month then the meeting to decide it’s outcome will be held a week or so later.”
He was silent as he re-read the letter again before letting out a semi controlled eruption of anger.
“Just fuckin typical!…What a load of shit!…….. at the meeting in Town Hall the applicant, his agent and supporter can all talk for five minutes each totaling fifteen minutes whereas as all the objectors only have a total of five minute between them … ,dam it!”
And with that he disappeared out of the kitchen leaving his cold beer that SJ had just poured for him on the kitchen table. SJ sighed more a sigh of relief than anything, Samuel was obviously not happy but at least he had controlled his outburst. She picked up her apple, mango and banana yoghurt shake and Samuel’s beer and went looking for Samuel. As she thought he was seated in front of his computer with Pooh laying besides him and Moo laying on the dogs sofa opposite to Samuel’s desk. SJ placed Samuel’s beer on the desk besides him and sat on the sofa with a panting Moo, she tickled him behind his ears and he rolled over onto his back to have his tummy tickled.
Samuel cursed under his breath as his computer slowly whirred into life, his patience being stained by the amount of time the old machine took to start, load and open Windows. Once Window’s had opened he then had to wait while it went away and did some obscure things deep down within it’s processor, with the passing of each minute Samuel’s patience got less and less, finally after seven minutes he could use it.
As SJ sat quietly sipping her shake with Moo, Samuel typed furiously away at his keyboard, he opened up his Word document that was the basis of the presentation he had compiled which identified in detail each of his objections to the zoning application.
He timed himself as he scan read his presentation; it lasted approximately twenty four minutes.’ I’ll have to shave off nineteen minutes somehow and keep the full impact of the presentation complete’, he thought to himself. Over the course of the next hour and a half he prioritized the information, edited each statement to it minimum possible then read it back to himself over and over again until he had pruned his presentation down to twelve minutes. He didn’t think that he could remove any more without loosing important and salient information and he prioritized the presentation so that it would be delivered with a punch. Not a random garbled monologue that meandered from point to point but a statement of facts backed up by reference to local Parish, State and national zoning policy, guidelines and federal law underpinned with direct references to prior zoning refusals and the State Highways survey.
Samuel relished the opportunity to stand up in Town Hall and deliver his presentation, unlike many people he was completely relaxed and at ease speaking to large groups of people in meeting situations, a skill that he had honed during his time as a high flyer in the IT industry. Over the preceding weeks he had gained the support of some twelve different neighbours who had all written letters of objection to the zoning department in Spicebridge. He had also gained support from a renown state environmental group that were incensed that such a proposal should even be contemplated within the boundaries of a State National Park.
With his work completed for now he pressed save and for safety’s sake saved it a second time to his removable pen drive, it was still to long but he was getting there. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his aching shoulders, Pooh was still laying besides him and looked up, he wagged his tail as he noticed Samuel’s movement, Samuel reached down and stroked his best friends head lovingly and tickled him behind his velvety soft ears, Pooh responded with a contented lick of his lips and with a relaxed sigh settled his head back down onto his front paws. Samuel had been so engrossed in his work that he did not hear Jason pop his head around the door and say ‘hi’, or SJ say that she was going out that evening for a drink with her friend Jenny and that she was going to get herself a shower then prepare their evening meal. All he knew was that he had successfully edited his presentation, reducing it to its bare essential facts. Satisfied with his efforts he turned his computer off and stood up and stretched once again. His age was certainly creeping up on him, his limbs ached from his day of digging and his joints were stiff as he rose from his chair, he turned and hobbled out of the room. It was his ankles, knees and hips that were the worse, both Samuel and Pooh were suffering the effects of their age in their joints, Pooh suffered from slight arthritis in his hips and like his master rose slowly with Samuel and walked with a slow steady gait next to him followed by an every energetic Moo, tail wagging furiously as he went.
Samuel awoke early the next day, his mind was working overtime replaying his presentation as if on a constant loop, for every iteration that passed through his mind he analysed each point, re assed the importance of its priority and practiced its delivery. He came down to breakfast to find SJ already preparing herself and Jason some muffins and blueberry jelly with a cup of strong coffee for herself and a tall glass of orange juice for Jason.
“Morning all.”
He said cheerfully as he seated himself at the kitchen table.
“Morning Samuel, Morning Dad.”
Came the combined replies from SJ and Jason, for their part both Pooh and Moo circled around the table with a toy each in their mouths, tails wagging, both singing their own little welcome song before settling themselves down one on each side of Samuel.
“You seem in a good mood this morning Samuel.”
SJ said between mouthfuls of Muffin.
“Yes well I’ve done all I can about this zoning application so we’ll just have to see how the site visit and zoning Committee go……. They should really reject it out of hand especially with all of the relevant facts I’ll present to them…..And there is also a lot of local opposition to the application, so together that should tip the balance in our favor at least I hope so.”
He twiddled with his pickup keys for a moment before continuing.
“I must admit though I wouldn’t trust any of those bastards as far as I could throw them……. You know back handers and all of that but at least we have tried our best.”
With that said he got up to fix himself some breakfast and make up his lunch box for work.
“You busy today SJ?”
He asked over his shoulder while he prepared himself a couple of slices of ‘pain perdu’ or French toast with ham and a couple of sliced tomato.
“Yes quite, but I’m hoping that it will be quite a relaxing days work r, … all of my clients today are quite laid back,… you know…., we can have interesting conversations rather than me being talked at for eight hours solid and also I’ve got lovely Charlotte visiting today, she’s so interesting and funny, I really enjoy her company.”
“Well that’s good and how about you Jason, anything exciting going on?.”
For once Jason’s response was immediate and clear, for once his head did not seem lost in a teenage mist.
“Yeah dad we’re all off to the Blue Bayou Water Park in Baton Rouge, me, Jenny-Ray, Andy, Don from the ‘Bridge’, and Mel…., I’m picking them all up in an hour.”
“Sounds fun, isn’t that on Perkins Road SJ?”
Samuel asked as he turned over his French toast.
“I think so, from what I can remember.”
SJ replied, she smiled as she thought of the countless days she had spent there as a teen, it was a lot smaller then but still a lot of fun, much more fun than splashing about in the Mississippi.
“What’s it got there now Jason?”
Samuel asked as he rejoined them at the table.
“Loads, a high water slide, a triple 7 story slide as twin 8 story speed slide, I think it’s called the ‘Ragin Cajun’, a water slide in complete darkness and the world’s largest in-line water slide; they say it’s the tallest and fastest water racer in the world!….So we’re gonna be doing a lot of ridin and slidin.”
Jason said with a laugh.
“Can you remember how to get there Jason? It’s a quite a way.”
SJ asked.
“Yeah, I also put the address into my sat-nav last night, eighty one miles there so it should take about an hour twenty.”
He said as he got up to leave the table.
“You just make sure you drive carefully Jason, I know you’ve got your license now but take care and watch out for the cops, especially in Baton Rouge they’ll have their eyes out for a car full of youngsters like you.”
Samuel said in a concerned voice.
“You just worry too much dad, we’ll be fine.”
Jason replied as he disappeared out of the kitchen leaving SJ and Samuel to finish their breakfast.
Breakfast finished and with lunchbox prepared Samuel left for work, it was a little cooler than the previous few days that morning , there had been a couple of hours heavy rain just before dawn, but that cool air would not last long so Samuel was keen to get on with his day and if possible finish early again.
SJ’s morning was relaxed, she had three customers between 9.00a.m. and midday, then for once, an hour’s break to fix herself some lunch. At one o’clock on the dot, not a second before or after Charlotte knocked on the salon door and entered.
“Hi SJ how are you my love?”
She asked as she closed the door behind her and placed her handbag on a cream sofa.
“Fine Charlotte, it’s so lovely to see you, and how are you and Landon?”
SJ responded with a warm welcoming smile as she moved the a chair back from the mirror for Charlottet o take sit down on.Charlotte took her seat and sat quietly for a moment while SJ placed the hairdressing cape around her shoulders.
“I’m really good thank you my dear and so is Landon, he’s just started to fabricate some wrought iron work for a restoration project on an old building in Ville Platte which he seems excited about and I have been quite busy myself these past few weeks working on a particularly interesting project …. Keeps the grey matter functioning you know.”
She said with a smile into the mirror. The pair of them chatted happily away for a good half and hour, laughing at this and that while SJ first washed then trimmed Charlotte’s hair before blow drying it into place. With Charlotte’s hair treatment completed, SJ fetched them both a cold glass of fruit juice and they both sat chatting for a while.
The subject turned to the local zoning application and the troubles’ that Samuel was having trying to get his objections listened to. SJ explained that Samuel had researched the subject thoroughly and had discovered that the application was in breach or non compliance with so many local, state and national zoning policies and laws that he could not see how it logically be approved. She explained that the initial response that Samuel had had from a certain Mr. Clarke at the local zoning office in Spicebridge had been to ignore the vast majority of his arguments. She also told Charlotte that information that had been provided to support the application by a certain Mr. Carouse and Mr. Gant had been nothing but a pack of lies, and she went on to say that it was all going to be decided soon at a meeting in the Town Hall.
Charlotte’s ears pricked as SJ mentioned the three names but she controlled her response, all she initially said was.
“Oh I see my dear, it sounds as if Samuel has worked extremely hard on all of this, do wish him luck from me.”
“Well as Samuel said this morning at least we have done or best or to be precise Samuel has done his best in objecting,….. He is rather cynical though, …. He seems to think the whole process is corrupt,… but you never know, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Charlotte sat forward and took SJ’s hand, looked her directly in her eyes and smiled.
“Oh this type of situation really gets my goat my dear, now listen, from my experience, if and I mean if any of the officials involved are corrupt, incompetent or both then I am sure that one way or another they will get their comeuppance…. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the decision will go the way that both you and Samuel want but one way or another I am sure in my heart that they will pay.”
Charlotte patted SJ’s hand that she had clasped between hers and continued.
“All I can say is that in my career I have come across many unscrupulous, devious, manipulative and corrupt people, some were exposed and some were not, but let’s just say that these men are on a very slippery slope and the only way is down, and I mean down.”
With that she let SJ’s hand slip from between hers and picked up her handbag, as usual she paid for her wash cut and blow dry and the pressed a twenty dollar bill into SJ’s hand as a tip.
SJ blushed slightly at Charlotte’s generosity, but knew from experience not to question it as it offended Charlotte, they said their goodbye’s and Charlotte left the cool of the salon for the heat of the early afternoon that had risen considerably sine the relative cool of mid morning.
SJ busied herself sweeping the salon floor clear of hair cuttings and preparing for her next customer who was due, according to her watch in fifteen minutes. As she swept she mused over the conversation she had just had with Charlotte and thought it slightly strange that Charlotte intimated that the zoning officials and or others if corrupt would pay in some way or another and that they were going, as Charlotte put it ‘Down’.
Before she could figure out what Charlotte had been trying to say to her or understand how she might know what might happen regarding these officials a knock on the door announced her next client and her thoughts and musings evaporated. With her usual breezy cheerfulness SJ called out ‘Hi’ and asked them to come in.
I hope you enjoy your reading. It is available on Kindle and a free copy can be borrowed for download at https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Blue-Heron-Howard-Moore-ebook/dp/B00KK6BWLK..
Howard Moore
