Wisps of Cloud (24 page)

Even though he was expecting them, the sudden noise of the door being flung open made him jump.

Three men stood there, two gigantic brutes who looked their part, that is stand-over characters ready to use violence to get information, prove a point or at the whim of the third man. He was dressed in a business suit and could be a local businessman. Ted knew Corey Fitzgerald, of course, He was one of the top lawyers in town and had the advantage of also being the lawyer for Top Plateau Station and more recently had Ryan Purdon as a client.

"So you are home?" Fitzgerald said in a smooth upmarket voice. "Thought you might have taken off or even headed out of the country with your wife."

Ted shrugged. "Couldn't if I wanted to. Bail conditions won't let me leave the district."

Fitzgerald sat down but the other two remained standing with their arms folded. "As if that would stop you." Uninvited, he reached for a second can of beer on the table, pulled the tab and gulped down a few sips. He purposely placed it in front of Ted and stared at him. "I'm disappointed in you Ted. We are close to a million bucks out of pocket right on harvest time. No only did the cops destroy the plantation near Top Plateau Station but they foun
d the other three further back." He sipped more beer. "One would think they knew where to go."

Ted shrugged. "It's not my fault Ryan Purdon returned home with a girlfriend who happened to be a teacher who managed to slip into my position at the school. Nor did I anticipate that Clive Windley would be retiring. It set the whole ball rolling with Anne Purdon's new husband wanting to subdivide the farm not helping either."

Fitzgerald leaned forward and grabbed Ted by the shirt. "It was your job to know. Without your all clear we would not have used that land so close to the farm. You said the manager was getting a bit past it and hardly ever went to the back of the station. You also added that if he did see us coming and going he'd keep his head low and tell nobody."

"He didn't tell a soul," Ted replied.

"No but Purdon and his girlfriend did." Fitzgerald grimaced. "I must admit she's got guts. Not only did the firebombing not send her packing but she stayed on and look at it now, a new school with two classrooms, an increased roll and even a second teacher."

Ted half stood, glanced at the other men and decided to sit again. "You will remember that it was not my idea to firebomb the school. In fact
, I told you the district would rally around and it would have the opposite result to what you wanted. If you'd left it, the school would almost certainly have been closed from this February and Karla Spicer gone back to the city."

"Now she's married to Purdon?" Fitzgerald frowned. "But enough of this pleasant chat. You know what you have to do, don't you Ted?"

"What?"

"Admit to fire bombing the school. That will take the heat off the rest of us and partly restore the faith we have lost in you."

"But you did it, not me."

Fitzgerald laughed. "Okay, Brian and Larry here did it on my orders but nothing is going beyond this room. Just in case you think you can squawk they will illustrate how we treat those who let the side down." He stood up and nodded at the pair. "Ted appears to take the whole business a little lightly. I need to get something from the car so I'll leave him in your capable hands for a few moments." His eyes turned hard. "He has to survive as he could be useful in the future." He smiled down at Ted. "Needless to say, your allowance over the last month will not be paid. You're damn lucky we don't insist on it all back."

"But!" Ted stood and made himself appear scared.

Just as Fitzgerald stepped away, one of the oafs took a savage looking knife from his pocket
and ran a finger along the sharp side as he grinned sadistically at Ted. Without warning, a door leading to the living room as well as the outside one, burst open and six policemen in black flake jackets and armed with pistols and Tasers, appeared

"Don't move anything except for your hands that I want in sight," one officer commanded.

Fitzgerald stepped sideways, his hand moved in a blur towards his pocket and a shot rang out. He staggered, stared at blood squirting from his wrist and crashed to the floor. The police officer across the room lowered a Glock pistol while two others aimed Tasers at the other pair.

"I would not advise any more heroics," the original officer said and turned to the white-faced, shaking Fitzgerald who sat on the floor. "Corey Fitzgerald, I am arresting you for arson and fire bombing of the Top Plateau Primary School. Anything you may say…."

Fitzgerald stared at Ted with hate in his eyes. "You utter bustard," he snarled. "If you think this is the end of the matter…"

"You'll what?" Ted whispered and took a small object from his lapel. "Everything you said has been recorded. It was nice of you to confess to the firebombing. That and the other evidence we obtained from the stolen car used should be enough to put you all away for a quite a while." He glanced up at the officer by the outside door. "Won't it
, Inspector Hargraves?"

The inspector nodded. "We are considering more charges such as attempted murder of Top Plateau School children and of course the charges of cultivating an illegal substance for sale and criminal use." He nodded at the policemen.  "Remove any weapon from Mr Fitzgerald's pocket, cuff the other two and read them their rights."

A wounded Fitzgerald and the other two sullen criminals were marched out to a police van that had arrived before Inspector Hargraves turned to Ted. "So it did work?" he said. "We've been onto Fitzgerald for months now but he was always too clever, yet to confess to that firebombing like a boastful teenager was completely out of character."

"Was it?" Ted replied. "He had to prove how tough he was to the criminal fraternity; that and the view of my cut up face and body in the hospital would have helped to restore himself after the loss of the million dollar marijuana plantations."

"Possibly," Hargraves replied. "Thank you. You've had a tough time over the last year or more. Can we help to restore the district's faith in you?'

Ted shrugged. "With the school, no. I stuffed that up on my own account but was due to retire anyway. I wouldn't mind the locals and also Karla Spicer being told I had nothing to do with the school fire nor the marijuana crop, though. You can keep the bit about me being a police informer under your belt. Next time those thugs descend on me, your lot mightn't be outside the door." He grinned. "Yeah, you can get the charges against me withdrawn, too. I thought the judge was going to throw the book at me. Teachers committing crimes are not popular at the moment."

"It's all done," Hargreaves said. "Even those charges about you faking those school documents have been removed from your record."

"So I have a clean slate."

"Yes."

"So that's it," Ted replied. "If you ever want help again to flush out criminals, don't ask me. I've done my bit for society and just about lost a district of friends in doing it."

"Fair enough." Inspector Hargraves held out his hand. "We will need you to testify at the trials, though."

Ted grinned and shook the other man's hand. "I might just manage that," he said. "Afterwards I will enjoy my retirement back at Riversdale Beach."

"Back there! Why?"

"It has everything I need," Ted replied. "I might even buy one of those lifestyle blocks if Top Plateau Station is ever divided up and they come on the market."

"But don't grow marijuana in your back yard."

Ted laughed. "It'll probably be legal by then anyway."

*

In spite of the terrible weather with a howling southerly gale blowing torrential rain across the grounds, the interior of Top Plateau School was a cocoon of warmth. The wood burners in both classrooms were still burning at two in the afternoon and not allowed to go out earlier as they usually were on better days, weather-wise.

Karla was taking a social studies lesson with her fourteen children from Year Five to Year Eight. With the juniors now in Chrissy's capable hands next door, she could extend the seniors more. Above the roar of the fire and rain pinging on the windows, she never heard anyone arrive but wasn't surprised when someone knocked on the closed door. It was probably a parent coming to pick up children early.

Lorena who was duty host monitor for the week, immediately jumped up from the computer she was doing research on and headed for the door. She opened it but because of the angle, Karla could not see who was there. Her pupil came back with a strange look on her face.

"You have two visitors, Karla" She put a hand over her mouth and continued in a shaky whisper. "It's a police lady and Mr Wilton."

"Thanks Lorena. Look after the class while I see what they want." A policewoman and Old Ted! She was curious rather than nervous.

The policewoman greeted her while an almost bashful Ted stood back.

"Hello Mrs Spicer," the policewoman said. "I am Constable Margaret Lyons. You probably don't remember me but I was here after the firebombing."

Karla nodded and avoided Ted's eyes. "And that's why you're here with Mr Wilton?" she asked.

"Can we go somewhere and talk or is it an inconvenient time?" the constable asked.

Karla nodded along the corridor at two doors. "The one on the right goes into the staffroom. Excuse me a moment." She turned and caught Lorena's eyes. "I'll be in the staffroom. If I'm not back by twenty to three get everyone to pack up. Okay?"

"Sure, Karla," Lorena replied. She gave Ted an icy look and turned back to face the class. "You heard Karla," she said. "Now get on with your work."

Jason who was nearby, caught Karla's eyes and raised his eyebrows as if to say he'd help if it was necessary. She smiled and gave him a brief nod before shutting the door and escorting the visitors through to the staffroom.

Fifteen minutes later after listening to Sergeant Lyon's explanation about Ted, she turned to him and held out her hand. "I owe you an apology, Ted; can I call you that?"

"Please do, Karla," Ted replied. "But no apologies are needed. If you had guessed I was helping the police, others would have also worked it out, my cover would have been blown and we would not have been able to arrest the culprits."

"You've arrested somebody?" Karla gasped. "Can I be told who it is?"

"A statement is being issued to the news media as we speak," Margaret said. "We wanted to inform you first before this general release." She smiled. "Ted also wanted you to be told the truth about his involvement."

Karla grinned
at the elderly bearded guy. "Well, when we caught you supposedly trying to escape from the plantation and the look on your face I was convinced that you were the one who tossed the firebomb in the school."

Ted shrugged. "It wasn't all an act. I was pretty worried at the time. If any of them had guessed who I really was they'd have shot me without hesitation."

Karla nodded and turned back to the police constable. "So who was it?"

"Corey Fitzgerald, your lawyer."

"What?" Karla gasped.

"We've knew he was involved in the marijuana plantations for months and after the school fire
, we suspected he was responsible. However, he was clever and nothing could be proved. The stolen car had no leads at all and even the helicopter they used could only be traced to a firm in Auckland who hired it on a long term contract to what they thought were tourist operators. It turned out to be a fake company using an overseas address."

"Oh my God, our lawyer. He would know everything about Top Plateau Station and what we were hoping to do," Karla whispered really to herself. "Will this affect any legal documents we've signed?"

"Doubt it. He was a genuine lawyer who did a good job in that respect."

"But got greedy," Ted added. "It happens at times. They see the millions the criminals make and decide to try it too."

"And arrogant," Margaret added. "They think they know everything in the law books and how to get away with a crime. That's why we needed Ted. We knew Fitzgerald was the mastermind behind the growing and distributing most of the marijuana crop in the district but had no proof. It's been a long term investigation."

Ted grinned. "We purposely turned a blind eye at the other small crop at the far end of Top Plateau Station."

"Another one?"

"Yeah. Big Red and the HiWay Weeds think we don't know about their source." He chuckled. "To catch the big fish we sometimes let the little ones go free. Don't tell him, though."

"Me! Warn a friend the fuzz are onto him. Now do you really think I'd do that?"

"Well you thought I was a low life," Ted said.

Karla laughed. "Okay. Point taken. Why don't you both have a cup of coffee and a slice of my wedding cake?"

Ted smiled. "That was one thing I regretted. I had to miss the biggest social occasion on Top Plateau. It's not every day that the local principal marries one of the largest landowners in the district."

"So enjoy a slice of cake." Karla glanced at her watch. "It's almost home time. I'll just see the children off and get back. Introduce yourselves to Chrissy Ancell when she comes in."

She walked back into the classroom to see the children had all packed up and were reading or using iPads in their desks.