Interesting Times

Ernest Bywater

All rights reserved and copyright © 2011

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. All rights are reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. Unless otherwise specified there is no association between the author and any trademark holder, nor are any expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, service mark, or registered trademark.

Cover Art

The background images are Batlow by Leigh Blackall (top) and Looking East over the Murrumbidgee River near Gumly Gumly by Bidgee (bottom). Both are copyrighted by their creators and their use is allowed by the Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike Licence and terms. The cropping, size adjustment, and text are by Ernest Bywater. All rights to the cover images are reserved by the copyright owners.

21April 2022 version

Published by Ernest Bywater

E-book ISBN: 978-1-312-96763-2

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Note: Due to the main character and the narrator being Australians UK English is used in this story.

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The title styles in use are a chapter, a sub-chapter, and a section.

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High resolution image is available at:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ebk8ve052m0c1rs/AACohN7e_x8OuRFrn0EbQ2L6a?dl=0

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May you live in interesting times.

Apocryphal Chinese curse.

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Things Happen!

A smiling Joe Watson is thinking, Life can't get much better. He just finished a fine meal with his wife, daughter, best friend Bob, Bob's wife, and their son. Joe hasn't seen Bob and his family for almost a year, not since Joe got transferred to the rural city of Rivers in New South Wales (NSW). Both Joe and Robert had been too busy to take time out for visits, but they have time now and they're making the most of this visit.

Joe and Alice are in the lead while they hurry to open the minivan in the car park behind the street corner restaurant. Several metres behind them are their twelve year old daughter, Mary, and Matt, Bob's fifteen year old son, walking side by side. Two more metres back are Candice and Bob who are last because Bob paid the bill and he's putting his card in his wallet as he walks down the street. Hearing a siren coming their way they all turn to give a glance back at the street the restaurant faces.

Alice is beside their van while Joe opens the rear passenger door. He slides the door open but not quite to the catch then he steps back. They both turn to the roar of a powerful car coming around the corner. It loses control then the tyres scream a protest as the car slides sideways across the road on an angle down it. After a quick glance at the car Matt acts by picking up Mary to hold her to his chest while he runs down the street. Candice and Bob start their runs a fraction of second later. Joe and Alice are shocked by what they see as the car slides across the road while tilted on an angle. The wheels hit the gutter then the car flips over onto its side. It's fast while it slides across the two metres of footpath. Bob and Candice are beside the building when the roof of the car hits the building just behind them. The large car pivots on that point while the cabin crushes. The windscreen hits Candice and Bob. It smashes them against the wall. They'd scream with pain, except now they've no working lungs to scream with. The car pivots further and the front of the bonnet slams into the left side of the racing Matthew just when he reaches the end of the building's brickwork where he's only a few steps from safety in the car park.

The car knocks Matt and Mary flying like tossed rag dolls. Alice and Joe can only stand and watch the two children fly through the air with Matt's feet a hand's width off the ground. They can tell Matt is doing all he can to keep his hold of Mary since he's the only protection she has right now. The car was pivoting when it hit them so that gave Matt a little turning motion along with the violent knock forward and sideways. This is only a metre or two in front of Joe, but he can't tell how Matt uses the small twist effect to rotate him through over ninety degrees in the short time they're in the air. However he made the turn it's a critical action because it means Matt is between Mary and the van when they hit it. Instead of squashing her against the minivan with his larger body he's now her cushion when they hit the van.

Matt's right side and back slams into the sliding rear door with such force the door slides forward to slam shut just when his head hits the window and smashes it. The door jars to a halt. Matt is thrown forward at Alice and Joe. Matt's eyes are rolling back into his head as Mary pops out of his arms. Acting on instinct alone Joe steps forward to catch Mary in the air then he staggers back a few steps. Alice steps forward to catch Matt's upper body just when his feet hit the ground. He's too heavy for her to hold him in place. She's knocked back a pace when she catches him. They go to the ground together. Alice lands on her rear and is knocked onto her back with Matt on top of her. She lies still and holds him still for fear of further damage to his spine if she moves him.

More tyres scream while two police cars pull up in the street. Only one has a siren going, and it turns off. Both police drivers leave the cars' flashing lights on. The four police officers get out and race to the scene. Two head to Joe and Alice while two head to the car.

Joe turns to the police while he yells, “We need an ICU ambulance for the kids. The car knocked them flying.” The cop nearest him nods to him as he grabs the vest mounted microphone of his belt radio and he asks for an Intensive Care Unit ambulance to be sent to the scene.

One officer stays with Joe while his partner goes to help the other two at the car. They can hear someone in the car screaming in pain but the car is jammed up against the wall as it's caught on various pipes and other protrusions on the wall. They don't have the knowledge or gear to get them out of the crumpled car wreck so they make a radio call for the rescue people to come to cut the people out of the car.

A few minutes later new sirens are heard then two ambulances arrive, and are soon followed by the rescue experts. The paramedic teams take a patient each and commence treatment.

The team checking Mary is quick to decide she has no problems they can detect, except shock. They give her a mild sedative and sit her in the back of the ambulance. The team leader working on Matt calls for the other two to get certain equipment and help them. They spend fifteen minutes assessing Matt then they place various inflatable braces on him before the four of them lift him off of Alice to put him onto a gurney. Only then can they check Alice and help her to the ambulance. All three will go to the hospital for x-rays and a full check by the doctors.

Joe watches the ambulances drive off with them. A police officer asks him what happened. The Senior Constable writes everything down in his notebook while Joe tells him what happened, Joe signs it a moment later. Just when the Officer is turning away a police van pulls up and the Scene of Crime people get out. Joe turns to their leader while saying, “I've got to go to the hospital to check up on my family. Can you please do what you need to do to my van first so I can get going?” The woman gives him a look as if he's crazy. “One of the injured was knocked into my van by the car. I think you may need to take photos and other evidence.” She nods yes while she gives him a small smile before directing two people to talk to him and to do what needs to be done so he can get on his way.

Several minutes later the minivan is all photographed and cleared to leave the scene. Joe is about to leave when the Senior Constable walks over to say, “I thought you may like to know the current status. The car driver survived the crash but he died before they could cut him out.” Joe just nods while he gets into the van. He drives away as he does not care about the driver - not a bit; he already knows Bob and Candice are dead.

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Hospital

Joe arrives at the government run public hospital and he goes to the Emergency Room (ER). He asks the duty nurse about Alice, Mary, and Matt. She hands him a clipboard with lots of paperwork to complete: a set for each of them. Knowing the ways of a government bureaucracy he sits down to fill in what he can on the forms. He knows what's needed to complete the papers for Alice and Mary so that's done real quick. While filling in the papers for Matt, most of which he does know, he realises he needs to tell some people about what's happened tonight because Matt is now an orphan. Joe knows who Bob's solicitor is because he used to use him while living in Sydney. He's another old school mate he and Bob have known since they were six years old. Joe looks the number up in his personal phone book while he walks to the public phone as cell phones aren't to be used in the hospital ER.

In with his credit card then Joe dials the number. A woman answers the phone after many rings, saying, “This better be fucking important.”

It's easy for Joe to picture why the anger, but he doesn't laugh at it like he would've under other circumstances. His voice is flat as he says, “Dorothy, Joe Watson, put Paul on, and sit him down, please?” The lack of tone in his voice worries her so she doesn't start the usual banter they have on the phone, but she gets her husband for him. When Paul is on the phone Joe says, “I'm at the Rivers Base Hospital ER. Candice and Bob are dead and Matt is in a real bad way. We need an authority for his medical treatment.” He knows Bob and Candice always plan for the worst case situation and they'll have something in place with Paul so he's asking for it to be activated as well as telling him all that happened.

“Is Betty Marlow still your solicitor there?” Joe admits she is. “Right, give me the fax number for the hospital and I'll fax some papers down. Tomorrow I'll send the originals to Betty by courier. You and Alice have guardianship so you can sign for his care. The papers will show that. What happened?” Joe tells him, and Paul promises to pass along the information to all of the people who need to know it. Joe gets the fax number from the nurse at the desk and he gives it to Bob. Joe hangs up and sets about finishing the paperwork before handing it to the nurse.

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Sydney, NSW

Paul turns to his wife, “Sit down, Dear.” Her eyes go wide at the lack of tone in his voice now, so she sits down. “That was Joe Watson. Candice, Bob, and Matt went to see his family for the weekend. After dinner in town tonight they were on the street when a car lost control and flipped. It squashed Bob and Candice against the wall while it knocked Matt and Mary flying past the end of the building. Mary is OK. Matt is being evaluated in ER. Bob and Candice are dead.” He leans over and holds her while she cries about the death of her half-brother and his wife, an old school friend. Several minutes later she stops crying and he helps her to stand. A little later she takes a sedative and lies down on their bed. He goes back downstairs to make some urgent phone calls.

The first call is one he dreads as he has to call Candice's family. At least he can limit this to the one person in the family who will care about what happened and will miss them. He rings the number. A butler answers the phone. Paul says, “I'm sorry to be calling so late but I urgently need to speak to Missus Anders.”

“I'm sorry, Sir, but she's already retired for the evening.”

“I suspected that but this is too urgent to wait until the morning.”

Paul is busy flipping through his pocket notebook while he talks. He's sure he has a special code in here somewhere, one Candice gave him years ago. He finds it and says, “Please, just go and tell her I need to speak to her about the Magic Orchid.”

There's a short silence. Banners has been the Anders' butler for thirty years and during that time he's been told six code phrases. Each was issued to a different person but he doesn't know who. What he does know is they indicate a dire emergency for the family and he has to put the call through. He says, “Please wait, Sir, I'll go get her.”

It takes Banners almost a minute to walk through the house to the right room. He knocks on the door, no answer. He knocks a second time, harder. A sleepy voice calls out, “Yes, Banners, what is it?”

He walks into the room, “Sorry, Madam. There's a man on the phone in the Day Room. The voice isn't familiar. He said he must urgently talk with you about the Magic Orchid.” He's surprised at how quick Mrs Anders moves. Her eyes pop open wide and she almost jumps out of bed. After grabbing a robe she puts it on while running out of the room.

A moment later Mrs Constance Anders is picking up the phone in the Day Room and says, “Who is this?”

Paul recognises the voice because they've met many times before. “Connie, it's Paul Barnes. I'm sorry to be calling this late. I just got word Candice and Bob have been killed by an out of control car while in the country. Matt is hurt and in hospital. Joe and Alice Watson are on hand and are looking after things right now. Tomorrow I expect the police to catch up with you during the day, after they've time to identify them.”

She slumps into a chair as her only daughter is dead. She has four sons but Candice was the only one of her children to call on her for just a visit and chat after they became adults with families of their own. She'll miss the weekly visits by her and Matt. She takes a deep breath while she gathers her strength. “Paul, did Candice finish getting things done to protect Matthew's inheritance?” She hears his intake of breath. “I know you can't tell me any details. However, she did speak to me, a lot, about establishing a trust and transferring all of her assets and all of Robert's assets into the trust. She mentioned this a few years ago when mother died and she needed to set up a trust for his share of her estate. Candice said she'll put everything into the one trust. She was going to set it up with her and Dorothy as trustees so either can do what's needed. I need to know Matt is protected from his uncles. The moment they learn he's an orphan they'll want to get control of him to control Candice's shares in the family company. I won't let them misuse him.”

Paul didn't know Candice had been speaking to Connie about this but it makes sense for them to have spoken about it. Connie is not his client and he has no instructions about her but he does need to say something. “Connie, I can't talk about any of my clients' affairs. But let me just say: Matthew is a client of mine in his own right and I have on hand everything to see both he and all of his property are protected against any vultures that may come calling.”

She grins at the description of her power and money hungry older sons and the harpies they married. If she'd been able to stop her husband from being so involved in the boys' upbringing they wouldn't have turned out the way they did. She got to raise Candice herself because George all but ignored Candice as he didn't think a woman had any place in running a business, despite Connie's own involvement in the family business. “That's good. If you need help to protect him let me know. I think it's in his best interest for him is to stay with Joe and Alice. I'll help to have them made his guardians and not his uncles. George and Matt haven't spoken for some years, not since George yelled at Matt about something where Matt felt he was in the right. I doubt George would recognise him now.” They talk about a few related matters before they hang up.

When she leaves the room Connie sees Banners standing in the hall as he's waiting to see if he needs to know anything. She sighs and says, “You best sit down, Banners.” He does as told. “That was Paul Barnes, the solicitor for Candice and Robert. He just got word Candice and Robert have been killed a few hours ago by an out of control car. He felt I had to know.” She can see Banners is taking this hard because Candice was his favourite amongst the children, and he really likes Matt too. “Paul will let us know about the funeral and other matters. Tomorrow we can expect a visit from the police with the official word. Please don't tell my husband or the boys until after the police visit.” He nods to acknowledge the instructions. “Matthew is in hospital with Joe and Alice Watson on hand to look after him. I'll want to visit him when I can, probably in a few days.” He nods again. There's not much else to say now so they both head off to their bedrooms.

Paul has three more calls to make and some papers from his safe to fax off before he can go to bed. No one he phones tonight has a good night's sleep. Neither does he. However, Dorothy does due to the sedative he gave her earlier.

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Hospital Again

Joe is allowed to speak to Alice several minutes after he speaks to Paul. She's OK and so is Mary. However, both have taken a hard knock and have some bruises. To be on the safe side Alice and Mary are staying in the hospital for twenty-fours hours of observation. Then comes the hard part of discussing Matt's injuries.

They've done an X-ray and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan of his insides. One is for detecting bone problems while the other is for soft tissue and organ damage. The catalogue of Matt's injuries is long: bruising over ninety percent of his body, the worst are his sides and back; a mild skull fracture; all of his ribs are cracked; the two bones in both of his lower legs are broken; both right forearm bones fractured; a dislocated left shoulder, which is now back into place; and concussion. The doctors are surprised his spine isn't damaged. The main concern is Matt is in a coma from the concussion. They won't be able to assess if he has any neurological issues until he's awake and they can do some tests. The biggest current problem is the normal treatment for fractures is to apply hard plaster casts. However, due to the severe bruising they want to use inflatable pressure casts until the swelling of the bruises is gone in a few weeks time. This means they can adjust the pressure with ease. However, they aren't as rigid as the plaster ones so there's a risk of more damage if he moves about on the bed. Joe approves using the inflatable casts and he asks them to strap Matt to the bed.

Alice, Mary, and Matt are treated as private patients so they're all put in a small four-bed ward in the children's wing with just them in it. It's in the children's wing because Matt will be in the hospital for some months. Joe sees them to their ward then he goes home after they're put to bed. All three are soon settled in. Nurses pop in every thirty minutes or so to check on them and to take Matt's vital signs. Because he's in a coma they have him hooked up to several machines which are all on his right side so his left side is free for visitors when he wakes up.

The nurse making the check just after midnight smiles when she finds Mary asleep on Matt's left shoulder with her left arm across his chest. The nurse tucks a blanket around Mary and leaves her be.

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The Next Week

Joe spends most of the next day, Sunday, at the hospital visiting his family. He's got nothing on for some days due to taking the next week off on leave to spend the time with Robert and Candice. Alice also has a week off, but Mary has school tomorrow. Matt was due to bus home today then to look after himself while going to school for the next week.

After a short discussion the doctors decide to discharge Mary and Alice just after breakfast in the morning. Joe will bring clean clothes for them to wear then he'll take Mary to school from the hospital.

Mid-morning Joe has a visit from the police. They need an official identification of the deceased and they want information on the families so they can contact the next of kin. The police Sergeant takes Joe to the morgue downstairs. The bodies are covered with sheets and the faces have few marks so it's not as bad as Joe is dreading. On the way back to the ward he gives the names and numbers for the next of kin of both Bob and Candice while saying nothing about last night's phone call.

When Joe tells the cop Connie's name and address he gets a quick look and a verbal response of, “The Commander isn't going to like this. He knows Constance and George Anders.” He thinks for a moment and adds, “Mister Watson, you should be aware the deceased driver has an extensive estate his relatives will be after. We don't yet know why he did it, but he shot two officers at a routine traffic stop and drove off while another officer put the call out. One officer died on his way to hospital. Another car spotted him a little later. Well, you know how it ended. You should see a solicitor to get the boy some compensation before the driver's family make all of the assets vanish.”

“Thanks, Sergeant. I'll get Bob's solicitor onto it.” They shake hands when they part company at the elevator: the police officer to go to the police station and Joe to go to the ward.

Stopping at the public phone near the elevators on the third floor Joe calls Paul to say, “Paul, you need to get a copy of the police report to get some legal action going. I just heard the driver was wealthy and was on the run after shooting two cops just before he hit Bob, Candice, and the kids. You need to get some compensation for Matt from the estate before the driver's family members strip it bare.”

“Thanks for the info, Joe. I had that on my 'to do' list. However, with big money involved I'll give it top priority so I'll get it started today. I spoke to Connie last night and she's in favour of Matt staying with Alice and you until he's an adult. How do you feel about it?”

“That's what's best for Matt, isn't it!” More statement than question.

“Yes.”

“Then what's there to think about! Matt comes first as he's got more than enough troubles. We'll have to confirm with him that's what he wants as he's still in a coma. I'll let you know the moment he wakes up.”

“Right, Mate. I'll be in contact. I've got things to do.” They hang up.

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The Police Station

The police Sergeant pulls up in front of the station and he sits there for a few minutes. Sighing, he picks up the file, gets out of the car, and goes into the police station. He signs in and heads upstairs to the office of the District Commander. The civilian secretary looks up when he enters the outer office, she says, “He's in, but he doesn't want to be disturbed, not at all. Your call. He's likely to tear your head off right now. It's not a good day when we both get called in on a Sunday to deal with a shooting of a police officer. Especially with an officer killed and another wounded.”

“Sorry, Joan, but a delay in handing this to him will only make him worse. What I've got to tell him would ruin any day. Best get him two herbal teas because he'll need them both when I say what I have to tell him.” She gives him a hard stare for a moment before she waves him toward the door while she gets up to go make some tea for her boss.

Sergeant Mason knocks on the door and waits. He gets a snarling, “OK, you may as well come in if Joan hasn't made you go away.” He opens the door, enters the room, and closes the door behind him.

His usual routine is to stand between the door and the desk to say what he has to say. This time Mason walks over to take a seat in front of the desk. This makes Superintendent Smith sit up. Mason is always in a hurry to get going again so he never sits down in this office. After he takes a deep breath Mason says, “Sir, I've just been to the morgue with Joe Watson to do the formal identification on the two dead pedestrians from last night.” He places the file in his hands on the desk. “I know you've got your hands full with the paperwork on the shooting for the start of the chase, but you need to know about the deceased.”

“Why?”

“The teen boy in hospital is Matthew Dyer, the son of the deceased couple. Father is Robert Dyer, contract structural engineer from North Sydney. She's his wife, Candice Dyer, home maker and office assistant.” The Superintendent is getting a bit impatient so he waves for him to get on with it. “Robert has a half sister in Sydney, details are in the file. No other family. Candice has four brothers, a mother, and a father. Again, details are in the file.” He stops to look up, locking eyes with his boss he adds, “You know her parents, Sir, Constance and George Anders.”

Smith's face goes very pale. “Shit! OK. I'll confirm what you've got in the file and make some calls. I know my esteemed brother-in-law is in his office due to the shooting. This will really make his day. Now that you've ruined any chance for me to get home for lunch get out of here and go have yours. One of us should get a nice feed.” Mason stands and leaves. He holds the door open for Joan to bring in the tea that's needed to settle their boss down again. He's the best they've ever had here.

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Sydney

Both Paul and Dorothy go into their shared office above the garage. He's doing what needs to be done to get fax copies of the police reports with the details of the driver. Dorothy gets documents out, checks them over, and organises a courier to take them to Joe's solicitor because she'll be Matt's local legal representative for the next few years.

Paul prepares some papers when he has the basic information on the driver then hands them to Dorothy to place with the others. Betty will lodge claims against the driver's estate on behalf of Candice and Robert down there while Paul lodges claims in Sydney on Matt's behalf. They'll both see any action to finalise the estate stopped until it's all sorted out.

They spend five hours in their offices getting many papers ready and making calls to have everything started as soon as court opens the next day. The courier comes and goes. Paul and Dorothy have a late lunch while discussing what else needs to be done in the coming weeks and months to see to Matt's care and his parents' estates are settled properly.

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Police Headquarters

Assistant Commissioner of Police Brian Miller is sitting at his desk reading the email reports of last night's shooting. The current political situation will ensure this will be a very hot potato, so someone will want to start a witch hunt about how the killer was able to shoot two police officers. The politicians won't accept their orders for officers not to treat each traffic stop as a potential hostile situation are the root cause of the officers not being in a position to respond well when a person pulls out a gun to shoot them. Brian's phone rings and the caller ID tells him it's his brother-in-law, the District Commander whose officer shooting report Brian is in the process of reading.

Miller picks the phone up, “Well, Steve, I've got the report. Why the call?” They may be married to two very close sisters but that doesn't mean they have to be close to each other, and they aren't as they’re rivals.

“I've just had my lunchtime ruined so I thought I'd do the same to you. The couple hit by the car have been officially identified. The file has just been put on my desk and I've confirmed the information in it. The man is Robert Dyer, contract structural engineer of North Sydney. His only other living relative is a half sister, the details are in the email I'm typing for you. The woman is his wife, Candice Dyer, home maker and part time office help. What you don't want to hear about is her family as she's the daughter of Constance and George Anders.”

“Fuck! Just when I thought this case couldn't get any worse! It has more than enough political bombs in it already, and you hand me that. OK, you've told me! Send me the official notification and I'll go tell the family. At least I can get out of this place for an hour or so.” They both swear about the situation while they hang up the phones. Miller alerts his driver, the email arrives, he prints it out, closes his office, and he leaves.

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Pymble, NSW

Assistant Commissioner of Police Brian Miller pushes the button to ring the doorbell while his driver moves his official car to the parking area at the side of the entrance to this large home. This isn't the first time he's been here, but this is his first official visit. Past visits have been social calls because his wife and her sister went to school with, and are good friends of, Constance Anders nee Grace. That connection puts him in the upper social levels of Sydney society, just as it does his brother-in-law. Brian uses those connections for political pull for a faster promotion track than Steve does. Today he wonders if that's really a good thing to do because it means he has the troubles and jobs like this present one with tasks he doesn't like, ones he doesn't want at all.

Banners opens the door and shows Brian into the front sitting room. A few minutes later George and Constance enter to greet him. They all sit down. He gets on with the reason for his call by saying, “Constance, George, this is an official visit. This morning I was informed your daughter, Candice, was killed in an automotive incident last night. Her husband, Robert, was killed too. Their son is in the local hospital.” He's surprised when Constance doesn't react while the nod from George is as expected as he wasn't close to Candice, but Constance was very close.

George stands up, saying, “I better call the boys and let them know”

While George leaves the room Brian gives Constance a closer look. She shrugs, gives a weak smile, and says, “Joe Watson was there. He called Paul Barnes and he let me know last night. I've had some time to get used to it.” Brian slowly nods as it makes sense for Robert's friends would let her know. “I only know she's dead. Can you tell me more about it?” Brian tells her the whole story from the initial stop for a traffic violation, the shooting, to the losing control on the turn. She's not happy.

“Brian, the officers who were shot. Were they following the new Police Instructions on traffic stops?”

He nods, “Yes. If they hadn't they wouldn't have both been shot.”

“I know this is a lot to ask, but I need someone to leak me a copy of the official order with the new instructions that's signed by the Minister of Police and the Premier.” Brian gives her a hard look. “There's going to be a media circus about this and someone's going to try to put the blame on the two officers involved or on the Police Commissioner. But we all know the blame rests with the Minister and the Premier for issuing the new procedures. Well, I want the paperwork to justify court orders to get the originals. I know the change was never discussed in Cabinet and it was ordered against the Police Commissioner's recommendation because the Premier was trying to buy a few votes from the Prisoner Assistance lobby group.” Brian is surprised she knows this because the senior politicians went to a lot of trouble to keep it secret. “Those two are directly responsible for the death of my girl. I want them destroyed. I will have them destroyed, one way or another. However you go about organising for me to get a copy make sure they can't trace it back to you or they'll hang you out to dry.”

Brian nods yes. He shouldn't do as asked, but he knows he will. He can't do anything to protect the officers involved while Constance can. So he'll help her to help his people. Maybe she can get the order changed. If anyone can organise that, she can. There's nothing else to discuss so he stands and he takes his leave. On the trip back to Police Headquarters he wonders how he can get a copy of the very limited circulation documents to her in safety. It takes the whole trip back for him to work out a way.

After Brian leaves Constance goes to her office to make a phone call. It's answered by a butler, and she's soon talking to an old school friend. Her voice is dead flat when she says, “Millie, Connie. Has Bea got her divorce started yet?”

“Hi, Connie. No, she hasn't. He thinks a divorce will destroy his political career so he's bribed her to stay for a few more years. Why?”

“If she wants to keep living in that nice house she had built she best get the divorce started and through very quick. Candice was killed last night and that bastard is directly responsible for it happening. I intend to have his arse, marinated and well grilled! I'm going for him through the civil and criminal courts as well as in the political arena and media. His political career is dead. She best get what she can while she can.”

“Oh, Connie! I'm so sorry. How's he responsible?”

“Some months back he and the Premier issued a directive to the Police Commissioner to make certain changes to the Police Instructions. They were made against the professional advice and without going through the proper procedures. They were done for political reasons. The changes place officers' lives at risk. Last night the orders resulted in two officers being shot, one fatally, and the person responsible was able to drive away at high speed. A little later he lost control of the car while racing around a corner and he ran down Candice with her family. Matt is alive but in a serious condition. If the rules hadn't been changed the killer would never have been able to leave the first scene. I'm letting the bastards have it with all I can muster, beg, borrow, or steal.”

“I see. I'll call Beatrice and tell her what's happening.”

“If she gets a claim started with a list of property she wants I'll see it's excluded when I go after him for compensation on Matt's behalf.”

“Good, I'll tell her that. He'll probably approve a property settlement faster if he knows you'll let her have it. If he's losing it to you or her he should let her have it because their kids will then get it in the end.”

“That's what I figured and why the call. I'll see you later, and I won't be at next week's coffee clutch.” They both say goodbye then hang up.

Constance is sitting there thinking when George walks in to ask, “Dear, did Brian say anything more about Matthew?”

She knows this is her sons asking through him because she doubts he remembers his name. “Matthew is in the Rivers Hospital in a coma. He's seriously injured, but alive and expected to live. He'll probably inherit everything from both Candice and Robert. We'll have to wait until the wills are read before we know everything, and they don't use our solicitors because they use a friend of Robert's who's a solicitor.” George smiles and he goes back out. Within a few minutes he's passing that along to his sons who then follow it up by calling their solicitors.

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Rivers Base Hospital

The doctors are having an afternoon consultation with Alice and Joe about Matt. They're concerned because Matt is still in a coma. The longer he stays unconscious the more they'll be worried about it. At this point they're getting a little bit concerned so they're letting Matt's guardians know about their concerns, and why it's a concern to them. After the meeting is finished and the doctors leave Alice and Joe spend some time talking about the meeting and its contents.

Mary listens to their discussion and says, “Don't worry! Matt is OK! He's just resting while his body heals. He'll wake up when he wants to.” They both smile at her simple reasoning, but it doesn't take away their concerns about the situation and Matt's health.

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The day passes with many people doing things resulting from last night's car incident and deaths. Others are doing things to deal with the follow on effects of the incident. Including the police informing the family of the driver about his death, and them reacting to the news with a lot of phone calls to solicitors and other family members.

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Monday

Joe arrives early with clean clothes for both Mary and Alice. Mary has her shower in the attached en-suite, followed by Alice. They both have breakfast and sign-out after the doctor checks them. Alice stays with Matt while Joe takes Mary for some more breakfast and her school books. He checks her homework due today then he takes her to school.

Alice stays with Matt and talks to him as she feels someone he knows has to be on hand in case he wakes up. After dropping Mary at school Joe goes back to the hospital. He buys some sandwiches and drinks on the way. He gives them to Alice then he goes to the courthouse.

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Paul and Dorothy are waiting outside the Sydney Central Court to start their legal actions. Paul rings Matt's school to let them know he's in hospital and won't be at school for some months. It's at this point Paul remembers he didn't cancel Matt's bus ticket home for last night. He shrugs and forgets it again because it isn't worth the worry or trouble.

Half an hour before the magistrate starts court Paul is able to speak to the clerk to have his matters listed. He points out one is very urgent and he'd like to get it dealt with as early as possible. After spending a few minutes going through the papers for all of the matters the clerk writes the urgent item down as the first item on today's Court List while the rest are much further down the list.

At the official starting time for the court of ten o'clock the magistrate enters the courtroom and all rise. He sits and the court is opened. The bailiff calls the first item. The magistrate is surprised it's not a carried over item. Paul rises and says, “Your Honour, this matter is very urgent as my client is in a coma in hospital due to being hit by a speeding car fleeing from the police. The driver died as a result of injuries sustained in the incident where my client was injured. I need an order restraining the driver's family from settling his estate until after we can have a full hearing on the claim for compensation for my client. The main claim is listed for presentation later when Your Honour has more time. At this time all I seek is the restraining order as per the papers before you.”

While Paul speaks the magistrate is going through the papers on the case. He takes a bit longer to read them than Paul is speaking for, so there's a short quiet break after Paul stops speaking. The magistrate looks up to say, “Mister Barnes, what is your connection with the boy?”

“I've known Matthew since his birth, Your Honour. I'm his parents' solicitor and the executor of their estate. Matthew already has a trust and I'm the solicitor for the trust. I've acted for him on other matters in the past, most of them relating to his trust. So I'm already his representative of record for matters before the court, and I will continue as such to look after his welfare until such time as he or the court appoints another.”

“Thank you for clarifying your position, Mister Barnes. I see you've documented your case well. There's no point in having this matter come back before me today. I'm setting this matter for an initial hearing in a fortnight as that should give the other party enough time to organise their initial response. I also order them to refrain from settling the estate or distributing any assets until after the compensation matter is dealt with.” He writes on the file and he hands it to the Clerk of the Court. The next matter is called while Paul collects his papers and leaves.

Several minutes later he's in the Clerk's Office and he's being handed the court orders with several copies of them. He pays the bill for the extra copies then he puts all of the papers and the receipt into his briefcase. A short walk across the foyer to the NSW Sheriff's Office to organise for the serving of the restraining order and the hearing notice. This entails a fee, but well worth it to have the papers served by a court official.

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At the same time Paul is in court Betty is in her local district court on Matt's behalf. She wasn't able to talk the clerk into putting her first, but this court isn't as busy as Sydney so it's only just going on half past ten when her matters are called. First is the compensation claim.

Betty stands and says, “As you can see from the papers before you, Your Honour, I've been appointed as the local representative for Robert and Candice Dyer by their regular solicitor in Sydney. We're lodging a claim for compensation of wrongful death against the estate of the driver of the vehicle that killed Robert and Candice. The claim is quite large. We're seeking a hearing date as well as a restraining order against the settlement of the estate until after the claim is settled, Your Honour.”

The magistrate goes through the papers in much the same way as the one in Sydney then he sets a date in three weeks time for the initial hearing of the claim, along with the requested restraining order. Betty hands some papers to an assistant and tells them to get the documents from the Clerk's Office. The assistant goes to do that while Betty's next court item is called. The magistrate smiles when he sees the assistant leaving the court.

Betty opens this matter before the court. “Your Honour, I represent two clients in this matter. Mister and Missus Joseph Watson have been my clients since they moved to this city a year ago. Mister Matthew Dyer is also my client in this matter at the request of his regular solicitor in Sydney, Mister Paul Barnes. Mister Dyer is a minor of fifteen years of age and Mister Barnes is the solicitor of his trust. In the papers before you is an authority signed, some years ago, by Mister Dyer's parents appointing Joseph and Alice Watson as legal guardians for their son, Matthew. This was done because he often spent school holidays with them and their daughter while his parents were busy at work. On the weekend Mister Watson used this authority to approve the needed medical treatment for Matthew because he was badly injured in a car incident where his parents were killed. He's currently in a coma and unable to state his own wishes. However, both Joseph and Alice Watson have known Candice and Robert Dyer since they were in school together. To be able to provide a stable management of Matthew's welfare over the coming weeks we seek a court order confirming the wishes of Candice and Robert Dyer by appointing Joseph and Alice Watson as Matthew's legal guardians until such time as Matthew is able to make his own wishes known to the court. We see this matter as urgent because it affects Matthew's day to day medical treatment and care, Your Honour.”

There are more details in the file the magistrate is reading, and he goes through it with care. He looks up, “Miss Marlow, where are Mister and Missus Watson, and why aren't they here in court with you?”

“Your Honour, Mister and Missus Watson were on the scene when the Dyer family were struck by the vehicle. Matthew was knocked flying and he was caught by Missus Watson. She was taken to hospital with Matthew and kept for observation. She was released early this morning and is staying at the hospital to be on hand when Matthew wakes up. Joseph Watson has to get their daughter, Mary, to school, some clean clothes to his wife, and he is then coming here, Your Honour. I told him to be as fast as he safely can, but not to rush things because I'm capable of dealing with these matters for him, Your Honour.” The magistrate nods and goes back to reading the papers.

Joe arrives and enters the courtroom. Seeing Betty standing at a large table at the front of the court he walks up and touches her shoulder. She turns, sees him, and whispers for him to stand beside her. A few minutes later the magistrate looks up and sees a man standing beside Betty. He nods at the man and asks, “Mister Joseph Watson?” Joe nods yes. “Mister Watson, this file mentions both Matthew's parents have relatives. Why should I give you custody and not their relatives?”

Joe takes a deep breath because he's very nervous then he says “Your Honour, I know Matthew much better than his relatives. I've spent more time with him than all of his mother's relatives together, except for his grandmother. He visits her each week. However, his grandfather hasn't spoken to him in years, so I doubt he'll agree to have Matthew live with them. Candice once told me she would rather see Matthew a ward of the state than have him given into the care of her brothers. She felt their only concern in him would be to get control of his shares in the family business. I do know he hasn't spoken with any of his mother's family except her mother in the last two years. On Robert's side of the family there's only his Aunt Dorothy, Robert's half-sister. She's already heavily involved in Matthew's life because she's the senior trustee of his trust company and is married to Paul Barnes, Matthew's solicitor. I've spoken with Dorothy and Paul, and they both feel it's a lot better for Matthew to live here with my family because that'll give him a clean break from his previous life in Sydney and some space from his uncles. Matthew is only a little older than my daughter, Mary, and they're best friends. He knows Alice and me very well. We'll provide a very stable family life for him in an environment he's already familiar with from the many holidays he's spent with us. His being part of my family on a permanent basis will mean some changes for me and my family, but we see them as minor issues when compared to the changes Matthew faces.”

“Mister Watson, you make it sound like the best place for Matthew is with you. If that is so, why is this order for only short term care?”

“That's my doing, Your Honour. Dorothy and Paul wanted to seek permanent guardianship. However, I know Matthew very well. He's fifteen years old, smarter than average, and very self-confident. I think he's old enough and smart enough to make his own decision on this. I don't wish to set in place any permanent arrangement unless it has his agreement. I also recognise not organising any official guardians will leave things open for his uncles to start something Matthew may not like. So I seek a court order to stop anything his uncles may start, and to give Matthew protection until he can tell us what he wants. Then we can set up a permanent arrangement in line with his wishes.”

The magistrate looks at Betty, and she answers the question in his facial expression, “My first instructions from Sydney were to seek permanent guardianship, but they were changed after Mister Watson spoke to Mister Barnes, Your Honour.”

“I see. It would appear Mister Watson is more concerned about what Matthew wants than anything else. That's very commendable of him, and typical behaviour of a good guardian. I order that guardianship of the minor Matthew Dyer be given to Joseph and Alice Watson until such time as Matthew Dyer can appear before this court to state his own wishes on guardianship. The temporary guardianship is to be for a period of no less than ninety days and no more than three hundred and sixty-five days, or until Matthew Dyer appears before this court.” He writes on the file and he hands it down to the Clerk of the Court.

Betty nudges Joe, and they both leave the courtroom. They go to the Clerk's Office to get several official copies of the order. Betty even pays to have them fax a copy to the hospital and a copy to Paul's office. While they're leaving the Clerk's Office Betty's assistant returns with the copies of the earlier orders with the paperwork for them to be served by court approved servers. That's all Betty's court work for today done, so now it's back to the office to finish the paperwork. She hands Joe several copies of the guardianship court order then they go their separate ways.

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In the afternoon Joe collects Mary from school. The three sit in the private ward with Matt while they wait for him to wake up. Alice and Joe take turns helping Mary with doing her homework. At dinnertime Joe goes out for some takeaway Chinese, which they eat in the ward.

Trouble starts when it's time to leave to go home for the night as Mary won't go. After the three of them have a very long argument Joe and Alice go home while Mary climbs on the bed to snuggle up to Matt while wearing only a very long t-shirt and panties.

When the nursing staff come in to check on Matt they're amused by her sleeping with her head on his left shoulder and her left arm across his chest. They smile at her possessive and protective manner.

______________________________________

During the day all of the relevant court papers are served. Many people are unhappy with what the papers are for so they seek legal advice on the matters mentioned in them.

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At some point during the day Matt comes to a partial awareness and he's able to hear what's going on around him for short periods of time as his mind wanders in and out of consciousness in an irregular manner. He isn't able to talk or move a muscle while conscious. When awake he lies there and listens to what's going on around him or he thinks about what's happened and how his life has changed, because all he can do right now is to think about things. At times the grief over his parents' deaths is very heavy on his psyché. He knew they didn't make it to safety because he didn't make it to safety and they were behind him. Also, what he has heard has let him know they're most likely dead.

For some unknown reason the monitors that should notice Matt's mental activity don't register Matt is awake for his periods of awareness of the local events.

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Tuesday

The next morning Joe and Alice arrive with fresh clothes for Mary, and it's Alice's turn to take Mary for breakfast and school. All day long Alice and Joe take turns sitting with Matt while the other goes about doing things they need to do. One of them is always with Matt.

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Tuesday afternoon Constance is surprised to find her husband and all of her sons arriving at the family home within a few minutes of each other. They retire to George's den, and very soon she hears raised voices from the room. She waits until the quiet periods between shouts are getting long before she knocks on the door.

George opens the door, “Yes, Dear, is dinner ready?”

“No, George, but I think it's time I told you all you're wasting your time and money in trying to get court orders about Matthew's custody. I've got the best claim but I know you won't have him here. So I've not started any proceedings. However, I know something you don't, as it doesn't matters who has care and custody of Matthew because they won't have control of his shares in the company. Some years ago Candice set up a trust for him and she transferred all of her shares to the trust. The senior trustee is Matthew's Aunt Dorothy and she'll decide who's to vote his shares as a proxy. So it doesn't matter who ends up being his guardian. I've been proxy voting the shares for the last year, ever since Candice left a board meeting while swearing she won't attend another. So Matthew's situation won't change anything to do with the board votes. I think Candice and Robert also put all of their other assets into the trust too, so they could simplify their wills and the transfer when it was needed.” She smiles at the five shocked faces before her. She's very sure they've spent most of the last forty-eight hours arguing about who'll control Matthew and his shares while they worked with solicitors about guardianship. Now she tells them they won't get the control of what they want, and all of the time's been wasted.

George is angry when he asks, “Why wasn't I told of this before?”

“Because, Dear, it's not any of your business. I only know because Candice asked me to proxy vote the shares at meetings. I just figured out this meeting might be about Matthew's guardianship so I felt you needed to know certain things aren't part of the pot.” She turns and walks away while George closes the door. She smiles at the angry voices she can hear in the room behind her.

While she goes to check on when dinner will be ready she thinks on the problems you have in life when you fall in love with someone who loves your money and family business a lot more than they love you.

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Tuesday night at the hospital is a repeat of Monday night. This day sets the trend for the rest of the week and for some days to follow. Joe and Alice leave for home while Mary goes to sleep on Matt's shoulder. She thinks someone he knows well should be on hand if he wakes up in the night. Some nights she has trouble getting to sleep so she lies there talking to Matt on many things: their joint future, as planned by her, and life in general. Matt wanders in and out of consciousness all day and night, often hearing what she has to say while she's with him.

As the days pass by Matt's periods of being aware lengthen and he thinks a lot more about what he's hearing and the changes in his life. He has a lot to think about, especially from Mary's talks. While the days flow by he starts to come to terms with his grief and his new situation. He starts to think about the future and how he'll manage his life. Listening to Mary's talk is a major factor in the changes in his thoughts. He goes through a lot of the grieving process while he's unable to do anything but think. During this time he hears many things, but not a word about how much Mary was hurt in the incident.

Wednesday and Thursday pass with nothing new happening with Matt and those close to him. People further afield are deciding how to deal with the legal and political concerns from the incident. But Matt is still not responding and the machinery shows him to be in a coma. For some reason the machines aren't recording the increases in brain activity during his periods of awareness of those around him. All those close to Matt are getting more worried about the situation, except Mary.

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Friday

Joe and Alice are sitting and reading in the four bed ward with Matt. At ten thirty in the morning the quiet murmur of voices from further down the Children's Wing is disturbed by a loud groan in the room. This is followed by first one, then two, and finally a third machine issuing loud beeps. A nurse races into the room while both Joe and Alice move to the bed. Matthew groans while he rolls about on the bed the little he can move within the restraints. The nurse is checking the readings while hitting buttons on the equipment beside the bed. Some running footsteps are followed by two doctors racing into the ward. Joe and Alice move to the foot of the bed so the staff have room beside Matt to check him over. All present are very relieved he's waking up.

A few minutes later Matt's eyes are open and he looks at the people standing around the bed. It takes him a moment to orientate himself to the situation and his limited mobility. A little later his eyes squeeze shut and his face goes blank for a moment. He opens his eyes to look at Joe, he gets a small shake of Joe's head in reply to the question in his eyes. His eyes shut at the confirmation. He takes a few deep breaths while he comes to grips with his new reality. After a long moment he opens his eyes and asks, “How's Mary, and how bad am I?”

Joe half smiles, “She's OK! Thanks to you Mary didn't get a scratch.” He goes on to list Matt's injuries and he explains about the guardianship.

“Uncle Joe, see if the magistrate will come here so we can get the orders made permanent real quick.” Joe and Alice smile at his wanting to stay with them. The doctors are smiling because this talk shows them there's no brain damage. They make Joe and Alice move back while they put Matt through the official tests to clear him of any concerns of brain damage. His care and treatment is explained to him and he agrees with it all except for one aspect due to start now he's awake.

“Doc, the pain killers. I'm very concerned about the possibility of addiction. Please keep them as low as possible, and I want off them as soon as possible.” The doctors agree, but they're also worried about him not hurting too much because that can adversely affect his recovery. A little later the doctors reset the machines monitoring Matt then leave.

Joe, Alice, and Matt have a long talk on many matters that need to be sorted out as most of them are to do with his trust and the legal issues of the car incident. Matt asks, “Uncle Joe, Aunt Alice, I know you aren't really my aunt and uncle, and it'll feel funny saying that many times a day for the next few years. Will you allow me the honour of calling you Mum and Dad. That'll make things a lot easier while it also saves us all a lot of trouble.” Both of them are touched by this and they're very quick to agree to it. “Anyway, I get the impression Mary intends for me to make that official when we're both out of school.” Joe gives him an odd look. “I know I slept a lot, but there were times I could hear you all talking. I know Mary slept with me each night. Some nights she couldn't sleep well and she'd lie there telling me how our married life will be after school is over. She has our whole life mapped out, except what I'll be doing for a living.” Both adults smile and laugh because they can easily picture her doing just that. “I've known Mary all her life and we're very compatible. We're already best friends. I'd not thought about it before, but I think we'd have a very happy life together. We've already been through most of the things couples fight about and we know all there is to know about the other. If we're still together when we're both adults I think her plans will come to pass. When I saw that car all I could think of was getting Mary clear of it and safe. I didn't even think about how I'd manage.” Alice pats his hand as she smiles at him.

Joe smiles while he says, “Well, that's a few years in the future. Right now we've got to get you organised for the next several months. The doctors don't want you to move from that bed for three or four months, as a start. Then another four months or so here in the hospital. So we need to get you organised to spend the next several months or more right here. That gives us plenty of time to see what we have to organise at home to have another permanent resident.”

Matt sighs and he seems to settle into the bed a bit more. “First, I need a much more comfortable and adjustable bed, even if I have to pay for it myself. A phone service, my laptop computer, an Internet service, a huge television and DVD player, both with remote controls, and lots of DVDs. Plus a satellite television service too, if we can get it.” He looks up, “Dad, can you please contact Aunt Dorothy and ask her if she can organise a charge card for you on my trust drawing account? In the meantime go to the best phone store in the city to see if they've one of those new Bluetooth hands-free cordless phones. I remember seeing something about one with a very small earpiece for the speaker and microphone with a separate hand unit for dialling. Both sit in a re-charger and transmit to a unit that plugs into the phone socket. Buy one and send the receipt to Aunt Dorothy. See what's the largest television you can find, and a way to set it up high against the wall opposite. That way I can watch it while lying down or almost lying down as well as while sitting up.” Joe slowly nods whiles he writes it all down on a piece of scrap paper. He can see he'll need to start carrying a pocket notebook just for dealing with Matt's needs and wants while he's in the hospital.

Joe leaves Matt and Alice talking about Mary when he goes to do the shopping as well as getting some lunch for Alice and himself. In the car park he calls Paul to tell him about Matt waking up and what he wants.

Paul is very happy as he says, “Good! Now, as to buying what he wants. I'll organise a television from here, as well as a fancy bed. You get him that phone unit so we can talk direct. Organise a line with the hospital too. I'll let Connie know he's awake. I'll also inform the court, please have Betty do the same.”

“OK, will do. But you better make that a wide bed. At the moment Mary spends most nights cuddled up to him. She's even talking about what they'll do after they get married.” Paul laughs while Joe gets in his car. Joe hangs up, puts the phone away, starts the car, and drives off.

It takes Joe about ninety minutes to find the type of hands-free unit Matt wants. Then he gets lunch at a burger store near the hospital. He walks in on Matt and Alice still talking. His hands are full so he puts everything down on the bed table: the boxed phone set, the tray with two large chocolate shakes, the bag with the two hamburgers and three servings of chips as he figures Matt will eat some of them. He's surprised when both Matt and Alice grab a shake each and start sucking on them.

Matt grins up at him and says, “I'm a growing boy who needs a lot of extra calcium in his diet for the knitting bones.” After consuming about a third of the shake he puts it back on the table. Joe picks the shake up and he moves it out of Matt's reach as he shakes his head while he gets laughs from both members of his audience. They all chat while they eat, then Matt's official lunch arrives for him to eat.

After finishing his meal Joe starts to set the hands-free phone up. There's a phone socket near the bed, but it's not connected to a line. After setting up the phone he goes to ask administration to organise a phone line. He returns with two chocolate flavoured milks which he places near Matt's left hand. Matt laughs while he picks one up to drink.

About an hour later a maintenance man walks in to check the socket, he plugs something into it and he walks off again. Ten minutes later he's back to hand them a card with a number on it while saying, “You've got a direct line, here's the number. Anyone ringing it will come straight through to you. The line goes through the hospital PABX so you can call hospital extensions or get calls through the switchboard. The system records all outgoing call charges and you'll be billed for them. Dial nine to get an outside line.” Joe thanks the man and plugs in the Bluetooth transmitter unit to the phone line. All of the parts have been on power and charging since Joe unpacked it, so they're now ready to go.

After a few minutes work the first speed dial numbers are in and tested: Mary, Alice, Joe, the Watson home, Dorothy, Paul, Betty, and his grandmother as that's all Matt wants right now. The numbers are tested by using the speed dial system to call them to tell them the number.

Paul tells Matt he organised with the hospital administration for a television to be delivered and hooked up to a satellite dish mounted on the roof of the hospital. Officially it's donated to the hospital but it'll be in Matt's room until he leaves and then it'll be used for the Children's Wing. A similar deal is in place with the top of the range bed Paul is buying for Matt. Both should be delivered in a few days' time.

Matt smiles while he says, “Thanks for the fast work, Uncle Paul. They'll help me survive the coming months.”

“Oh, Matt. Your school laptop computer. You know your father got a low end Notebook because he thought a top end one was more likely to get stolen at school. I figure you'll probably want to play some games and other stuff while bed bound. So I've organised for a top end unit to be sent down, but on a special stand. I'm told it's cutting edge with the maximum RAM and top graphics. The stand will keep it stable and the screen is very adjustable so you can set it up any way you want. The keyboard and mouse are Bluetooth, and the unit has a wireless Internet service set up. Full security and loaded with top encryption for emails. The key will be hand-delivered to you next week with the computer.”

“Thanks for that. I doubt I'll be able to do the school work needed for this year but I'll be able to do some studies, Uncle Paul. Can you get someone onto finding out what I'm supposed to study for Year Nine this year and what I'll need to study to make sure I've all of the back information needed to do Year Nine next year. I can do some self study but I doubt I'll do well enough to pass the exams at the end of the year. So I want to be ready to do it next year and just skip school this year.”

“OK, I'll get something organised and sent down with suitable text books. But just to get this right, I gather you want to study the Year Nine material for this year and next plus the Year Seven and Eight stuff you need to do next year's Year Nine course work! That right?”

“Yes. I figure I'll have a lot of spare time on my hands so I want to do something that's interesting to fill it. After all, I've no swimming or running for the next several months.”

“Will do. Take care,” Paul hangs up to get on with his new work.

The call to Aunt Dorothy is shorter. The main content is when she gets on to the subjects he doesn't like. “Matt, I've everything in hand to get compensation for your injuries and your parents' deaths from the driver. I'm also in contact with the insurance companies. Unless you want a quick settlement, which I don't recommend, that should be a few weeks longer than usual for the payouts.” Matt is saddened by the subject but he agrees to go with his aunt's advice because she's the expert in this. “Now the business. I know you weren't told, but the business is officially yours and it's a part of the trust. Your parents were paid senior staff. All current work was completed last week but there are three contracts on hand for next month, what do you want done?”

“Do the contracts specify the work must be done by Dad or do they just want the company to do the work?”

“No specified worker, but two wanted your father.”

“OK. Call Shorty Piper to see if he wants to do the work for me as a casual worker or sub-contracted specialist. He should agree. That way we can keep the business going by having someone chase up work then Shorty does it. I know he hates doing the accounting and the contract paperwork but he may like working as our field man for some years. I don't want to tie him down so be liberal with freedom in the work terms. Then call the clients to tell them of the situation. Tell them we're prepared to honour the contracts by having Shorty do the work but we're giving them the opportunity to cancel if that's what they want to do with Dad not being able to do it.”

“OK, that should work well. I'd been wondering how to keep the business going. I'll need to get someone part-time to do the office work, and I know just the person. I know one client will want to sue if we cancel because all of the others now refuse to work with them. Your father only took on doing their work as a favour to one of their major shareholders.”

“Aunt Dorothy, if the business is in the trust I'd bet the house is too. So we need to do something about that. I'll be living down here for a few years so we need to rent the house out or sell it. Can you organise to have everything in it listed, packed, and shipped down here. I'll go through it to decide what I want to keep or sell. Then organise to have the house rented out or sold through an agent. In the meantime we need someone to house-sit. Also, Uncle Paul will need to visit to get some information on how to open all of the safes.”

“Matt, we have the information on how to access your father's safe in the den and we've already collected the documents in it. About the house. What say I get photos of it all while it's catalogued and you can go through it electronically. Then we need only ship down what you want. I've already got a house-sitter I trust, one of Paul's nieces.”

“OK, the photos do sound like a better way to go. However, there are three other safes in the house and I need to tell you how to access them. One is a gun safe so you'll need someone with a firearms licence to carry handguns when you open it. Dad has a collection of old or rare guns. He's licensed and all, but I'm not licensed and I'm not interested in them. They'll have to be auctioned off.”

“Oh, I didn't know that. He was always into guns, but I didn't know he'd started a collection. Paul and I want to come down to visit so this means we'll have to. That's good, because we've been looking for a good reason to duck off and drive down. What do you want to do with the theatre box as we have to give them an answer within the next ten days.”

“Oh, I haven't thought about that. Send me details of the shows, the dates they're on, and when we have to notify them by. I assume I can give the tickets away, since I doubt I'll be attending any shows for quite a few months. Also send me details of how to contact them as I don't want as prestigious seats as Dad needed to impress clients so I want to talk to them about changing the deal.”

“I spoke briefly with them. You can't sell the tickets. However, if you tell them you won't use them they'll sell them and credit the account, less a handling fee. They won't refund the unused membership fee but are prepared to vary the terms for the same value or a bit more for other terms.” They finish talking and hang up after saying their goodbyes.

The other calls are short, and Matt leaves the call to Mary until after school. Constance is very happy to hear from him. She notes the phone number, but lists it in a way it'll mean nothing to anyone else. They talk for several minutes, but he has to hang up when some hospital people arrive to work in the room. The doctors check Matt while maintenance people look over the room and remove the beds on the opposite wall. The other one on this side is pushed right into the corner and out of the way. They all finish up about the same time.

One of the senior doctors smiles as he says, “Sometime next week we expect a special bed and entertainment unit to be delivered for use in this room while you're here with us. The bed is a bit bigger and it's a lot more adjustable than this one. The entertainment unit will be placed opposite the bed. The maintenance people have just set things up so they can go straight into place when they arrive. I hope they make your stay with us a lot nicer.” Matt and Joe smile in reply and the people leave.

It's time to go and collect Mary so Alice goes to do that while Matt and Joe have some time together to talk and strengthen their new bond.

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Mary

Alice picks Mary up and she stops at a fast food franchise on the way back. When asked what she wants Mary takes her usual long time to decide on what to eat while Alice orders four large fries, six large shakes, and three burgers. It's only when the order is being put together and they're given two trays for the shakes, as there's maximum of four drinks per tray, does Mary start to wonder about the order.

Mary gives the shakes a frown as she asks, “Why six shakes, Mum?”

She grins while she replies, “Matt said he needs extra calcium for his bones to knit. I think he's just using it as an excuse to get more shakes.”

“Oh, yeah, that's just like ...” Mary stops speaking and turns to face her mother. “He's awake?” A nod yes in reply. “Then why are we wasting our time here?”

“To get him the shakes and feed he wants because he's hungry.”

“Oh.” Mary turns back to the counter as she waits for the order to be filled. However, once it's all there she's got it and almost running for the car. Alice follows at a more sedate pace with a huge grin on her face.

______________________________________

At the hospital Mary can hardly hold back from running, but she knows not to run in the car park or the hospital corridors. In the ward she rushes to his bed and she sits down beside Matt while being careful not to knock him and hurt his bruises or move his broken limbs. Then she's spitting out words faster than he can follow them. Matt, Alice, and Joe smile when Mary rattles on at high speed while they eat. After a few minutes she slows down and she starts to eat her salad roll.

For the next few minutes there's silence while they all eat and Matt has two shakes. Joe steals the third extra one. He has half and he hands the rest to Alice. After that things are calmer when Mary speaks at normal speed while repeating all she said before. The next half hour is spent bringing Mary up to date with what Matt has organised today.

Matt notices Mary hasn't spotted the hands-free phone unit because it's very discreet and all but hidden in his hair. So when she goes to put the rubbish in the large bin just outside the door he tests the speed dial number for her mobile phone. Her phone rings and she answers it as she walks back into the room while saying, “Hello, who is this?” because she doesn't recognise the number being displayed on her phone.

“Mary, it's Matt. You need to store this number.”

She looks up and across the room at him. He waves while talking low and she hears him on the phone. She looks puzzled for a moment. Then she crosses the room and she turns his head. Spotting the unit tucked into his ear she smiles and says, “Neat! I didn't even see it.” She looks at her phone, and stores Matt's number for later use.

“Mary, I don't know everything you said while you were here. But there were times when I was semi-conscious and I was aware of people in the room. I wasn't able to open my eyes or move but I did hear what was said a lot of the time. And I remember most of it.” She blushes a deep red. Alice and Joe laugh at her reaction. “We'll talk about some of those things later, after I get out of hospital. OK?” She gives him a slow nod yes. “Don't worry, you're not in any trouble.” She smiles at him.

They sit together while talking about what they'll do to get through the time Matt is in hospital and what needs to be done for Matt to live with them in the house Joe and Alice are renting. When it's time for them to leave Mary changes clothes, gets in the bed, and snuggles up to Matt while he takes his tablets. The others give slow shakes of their heads when they leave while Matt starts to nod off due to the heavy sedative and pain killers he just took.

______________________________________

A Week's Work

Saturday morning starts with the nurse chasing Mary out of the bed and into the shower so she can give Matt a bed bath. He's embarrassed about a nurse bathing him while Mary is upset she's not allowed to help. Matt is eating his breakfast when Joe and Alice arrive. They laugh when told about the bath games. Matt isn't angry with them because he's far too busy eating the extra breakfast they brought him. For some reason he's very hungry and he's eating a lot more than he usually eats.

Show Tickets

After the meal Joe hands over the paperwork with the information about the next show Matt has tickets to and what's scheduled for the rest of the year. There's also some papers on membership options with their costs plus the current membership value. All of the shows are at a major entertainment venue in Sydney and the current membership is for a box of twelve seats in the best spot in the house on opening night for four shows a year at one every three months on a Saturday night. The next show is in three weeks and Matt has nine days to let them know if he wants them to sell his tickets and refund the account for them.

Matt is soon in a long discussion with Joe and Alice about what he should do with the seats and the shows. Mary is bored by it so she goes to get them all cold drinks from a drink machine in the hall, and she takes a handful of coins from the bowl in the drawer of the chest beside Matt's bed to buy them. Yesterday Joe filled it for Matt so he can pay for drinks when he sends people for them. The drink machine is in the waiting area near the elevators at the point where the three wings of this floor join.

When she gets there Mary finds two girls about her age looking at the coins in their hands while working out what to get because they don't have enough for a drink each. Both girls are in dressing gowns so it's clear they're patients from one of the bigger Children's Wards just past the private ward Matt is in. She listens to the girls arguing because each wants their favourite drink and the negotiations aren't going too well for either side, at the moment.

Mary puts in coins and gets six cans of drink: the favourite flavours of her parents, Matt, herself, and the two the girls are arguing about. She puts four cans into the large pockets of the light coat she's wearing and hands the other two to the girls while saying, “Here, drink up and stop arguing.” The girls are embarrassed but they're too thirsty to refuse the drinks. The three girls stand and talk for a few minutes. Mary leads them back to Matt's room, drops off the other three drinks, and goes on to the main girls' ward with the two girls. The three of them have a fun time chatting for about half an hour or so while they sip their drinks.

Mary is about to go back to check on the conversation in Matt's room when one of the girls, Elsie, asks, “If your boyfriend's in the bed talking to your parents why aren't you in there as well?”

She grins whiles she replies, “I got bored with them talking about shows and things like Pirates of Penza or something.”

A slightly older girl in the next bed looks up and says, “I think you mean 'Pirates of Penzance.' It's a funny Gilbert and Sullivan musical. There's a new season of it starting in Sydney in a few weeks. I've seen a few recordings and I'd like to see a live show of it, but I can't afford to.”

Mary turns to look at the girl. She's of average height but of thin build and her hair's very thin with not much of it there at all. Otherwise she seems OK. Mary asks, “If it's not intruding, what are you here for?”

“No, it's OK. I'm here for chemo therapy. They're using chemicals to kill off the cancer I have. I spend most of my time being sick with some of the side effects. But it's better than dying. I'm here for the next few weeks for my current round of treatment.” Mary slowly nods as she thinks on this while the four girls talk about a few things.

Ten minutes later Mary is back in Matt's room. It seems Matt has all but decided what to do in the long term. That only leaves the tickets for this coming show. She asks, “Matt, that show you have to decide about. Is that a funny Gilbert and Sullivan thing about Pirates?”

“Yes. It's a very good live musical and this season the lead singers are top international stars from the UK. It's called 'Pirates of Penzance.' Why do you ask? Do you want to go?”

“Not really. It's just I mentioned you were talking about some pirate show while chatting with the girls in the main ward and the girl in the next bed gave us that name. It seems she really likes those shows but has never seen one. She looks a bit of a mess as she's got cancer and is undergoing chemo therapy. She's going home in a few weeks.”

Matt looks up at Joe and Alice, and both smile at him. Matt says, “Dad, grab a phone book to see if you can get a number for the local Make a Wish Foundation or a local cancer support group, please! Mum, see what you can find out about that girl and her family, please.” They both leave to go to the Nurse's Station to get the information he wants. He hits a speed dial on his phone, and he waits. It's answered, “Good morning, Aunt Dorothy, a couple of issues for you, if I may!”

“Go ahead, Matt.”

“First, I think we need to come up with an acceptable name I can call you when I call you about business. Technically, when I'm talking to my trustee or my accountant I'm the boss. When I'm talking to you about personal stuff you're an adult I should be respectful of. So please tell me how to differentiate? I don't think it looks professional for me to call up my accountant to ask for my aunt when I'm in front of someone with something to do with the business while I'm trying to impress them about being the boss of a professional operation.”

She laughs then thinks for a moment. “OK, most of the people I work with call me Dot, it's a common short form of my name. So let's make it Dot for business and Aunt Dorothy for personal items, OK?”

“If it works for you it works for me, Dot. Do you know the name and contact details of a good hotel close to the Entertainment Centre as I'll need somewhere to stay when we go up for a show? Can I afford to pay for people to go to Sydney for the weekend to watch a show? I'm thinking of linking in with the local Make a Wish or cancer support people to send long term ill people to the shows while I'm laid up.”

“Matt, you can afford to do this. But I think it best we do it through the business. That way we can claim the whole lot as a charity donation thing to make the money stretch further. I'll organise with a good hotel near the Entertainment Centre to charge a special business credit card. I'll do the same for the train. That way we can work out a cost per person and just have to list the people to have a cost. The show costs can be billed the same way too.”

“OK. That sounds great. We'll have to go with this show. But I want to talk to them to swap from the twelve seats on opening night every three months to eight or ten seats in good spots on the same Saturday night each month. It'll mean more tickets for the same shows but it's a regular thing with more people going. The total overall cost is only a bit higher than the current deal because the opening night seats are very expensive and the premium position seats are dearer as well.”

“Right, Matt. On Monday I'll talk to them to sort things out. Get me a list of attendees for the coming show a.s.a.p., please.”

“Will do.” They say goodbye and hang up. That's one item sorted, now to finalise this last of the opening night tickets.

A few minutes after Matt hangs up Joe returns with Matt's assigned nurse while saying, “There's no local Make a Wish organisation but Nurse Mills can organise things on their behalf by coordinating with their Sydney office. I hope that's good enough for you, Matt.”

“I suppose it'll have to be. It'll depend upon what we can work out.” Matt turns to Nurse Mills, “My parents ran a family business which is now mine. The business has a membership for show tickets as part of a public relations program. What I want to do is provide trips to shows in Sydney through Make a Wish or a similar organisation. Can you do it?”

Monica Mills smiles at him while saying, “A lot will depend on how much we've got to pay and how long to organise it, Matt.”

“The tickets, hotel, meal, and train costs will be met by the company. Heck, I'll have to check, but we may even be able to spring a little for spending money. What I'll need help with is the organisational cover, manager, and recognition of the costs as charitable donations. I've got a dozen tickets for the next show, but the ones after that'll probably be six or eight tickets. I figure a trip will require a nurse, a manager, and then the people attending. We'll cover the stated costs for all of them.”

Her eyebrows go up as she knows past such deals didn't cover the costs for the supervising nurses so they had to pay their own costs. She says, “That'll make it very easy to organise and get approval. That way we can have two adults travel with the children from here. I'm sure I can get coverage from one of the charitable organisations we deal with. Can you please organise it all in writing for me to show them?”

Matt nods yes as he rings his aunt. After a short discussion setting out terms as stated she offers to write it up to fax it over in a little while. Turning back to Nurse Mills he says, “I'm told there's a girl in the ward doing chemo therapy at the moment. I think she'll be a good first person on the list. Once you get the fax please get back to me with the coverage as I'd like to be able to tell her what's happening very soon.” A smiling Nurse Mills walks out to make a few phone calls.

Fifty minutes later Monica is back with two faxes in her hand, one from Dyer Services setting out the terms of what they'll pay for in the charitable show trips: as listed earlier plus fifty dollars spending money for each person under treatment. The group will train to Sydney on the Friday afternoon, stay in the hotel Friday and Saturday night, and come back on Sunday afternoon. The hotel package is to include the meals for Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. Another fax is from the Make a Wish Foundation to acknowledge the deal as well as offering to coordinate all of the trips while providing management and coverage. An account with all of the receipts is to be presented and a receipt for the donation of services to that amount will be issued. So it's all approved.

Everyone's smiling when Matt sends Mary to get the girl she talked to. A few minutes later Mary returns with the girls she'd been talking with and introduces them: Elsie, Toni, and Rose is the eldest.

Matt asks Rose, “In three weeks time a new production of 'Pirates of Penzance' starts in Sydney. Would you like to attend the opening night on the Saturday, all expenses paid?” Her eyes go very wide and she turns to look at each of the smiling adults. She nods yes. “Good, now we need for Nurse Mills to organise the accompanying staff and the others that'll be going with you, because there are several tickets.”

Monica says, “Ten children and two nursing staff to supervise with one nurse acting as the manager for the Make a Wish Foundation. I need to speak with the staff, the children, and the parents because we need to get the approval of the parents too. But that's my job as the coordinator. I don't know how to thank you for organising this, Matt. I do know it'll make life better for those involved because they'll now have something special to look forward to.” He blushes as he waves the extras out while he tells them to go and organise the rest of the attendees. They leave with very big smiles on their faces.

Housing

Matt and the Watson family sit around talking about rearranging the three bedroom house they rent in order to make room for Matt to live with them when he's out of the hospital. At noon Joe takes the family home for a proper lunch and to do some shopping on the way. Matt continues to think about life after hospital.

After a bit more thought Matt makes a decision so he makes a phone call. The phone's answered, “Sorry to disturb you on a Saturday again, Dot,” Matt apologises, “but I need to check a few things.”

She laughs, “It's OK, Matt. I just add the time to the hours I bill you for. You're my main client, but not my only one. So I bill you for the time I work on your things. That's how us professionals do things. You make me work eighty hours in a week and I get two weeks wages that week. So I don't mind, as long as it's not too much or too often.” They both have a small laugh at that. “Also, you're in a tough situation.”

“OK, message received. Things will be very much up in the air for a few weeks but they should settle down after that. I was told when and why the trust was set up but I was deliberately kept in the dark about how much it's worth. I think that was to keep me from going hog wild with money. I agree with that and feel I don't need to know how much it's worth or what it has at any one moment in time. That may change later. What's important is for it to have enough cash so I can buy what I want or need and I can call you to check if I can afford to do anything special that's expensive. As long as you keep on top of that I don't need to know anything else, except what you have to tell me so I can make intelligent executive decisions like I did about Shorty. Understand?”

“Yes, that's how I was going to operate, anyway.”

“Good. Now, about living down here. I mean no disrespect and I know you understand that. To make life easier for us I'm calling Mister and Missus Watson Mum and Dad, OK.”

Dorothy is both upset and moved by this: upset it looks like he's forgetting his parents but she recognises this isn't the case, and moved he cares enough about his guardians to form a closer a relationship so fast. After a short pause she says, “I understand.”

“Good. I felt I should tell you about that myself. They know they're only down here for a few years and are renting a house. They're well settled, but my living with them is going to make things just a little cramped. They don't want to move but they feel they may have to. Can I afford to approach the owners about buying the house and also doing some renovations to suit myself for living there. I was thinking of an expansion or granny-flat type thing.”

“If you had to payout the money this minute, not really. But by the time we can organise things, yes, you can. I'll contact Betty Marlow on Monday to get things rolling through her.”

“Good. One more item. When the television is in place I'll probably arrange for daily shows for the kids in the wards. How much can I afford to spend on eats and drinks for them each day if I do that. I do want to be a good host.”

She laughs, “Yes, that'll be a good way to get to know them and to get you more company during the day. Try and keep it to under a few thousand dollars a month and I'll see if I can organise a way to write it off for the tax man.” He agrees. “While I've got you I should mention I spoke with Shorty already. He's agreed to cover our work, but I've had a call from his wife. She wants to know if we can organise to employ him on a regular pay and not as a contractor. She wants some financial security. I think she wants to start a family. What should I do?”

Dyer Services Limited

“Shorty has a problem working for others because he doesn't take orders well, which is why he does contract work. But in this job he'll be working for us while supervising himself. Hmm.” Matt thinks for a few minutes. “If Shorty started working for another company he'd start as a senior field worker but he's really a senior field supervisor. Dot, get some figures and do some sums. Work out what you think we can pay him based on the books with ten percent less revenue. I think we'll have a slight drop in work for a while. See what the rates are for senior field staff and which is closest to what we can afford to pay him. Then offer him a long term contract to be employed at that rate, the contract to note he's his own boss in the field but he must follow the directions on contracts from the office staff. You work out the words. The office staff will make the work appointments and he'll have to keep them.”

“I've already done most of that. I'll call them Monday to offer him full-time employment at eighty-five thousand a year to start with, plus a potential Christmas bonus based on revenue during the year.”

“Sounds good, but make the bonuses quarterly with three quarters of each quarter's bonus paid at the end of the quarter as an advance. See if they want weekly or monthly pay. Also have Shorty pick up and use Dad's work truck. It has all of the needed tools and is already charged against the business. He can use that for all his work driving and set things up to operate from a base at home. Then he can spend more time with his wife. He need only pop into the office every few days to deal with the paperwork. There's no need for him to have his own office if he doesn't want one.” A few more details are finalised and they hang up.

The rest of Saturday is spent in general discussions with the Watson family members and some of the kids from the other wards who pop in for a visit. As usual it ends with Mary asleep on Matt's bed. Sunday is more of the same. So are Monday and Tuesday. Things move along without any further input from Matt. But Wednesday is another matter.

That was a preview of Interesting Times. To read the rest purchase the book.

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