“Safe and Sound” Episode 4

Devised and written by Chris Dresser

Synopsis (episodes 1 and 2)

Sean Hansen arrives with his children for dinner at Tessa and Sergio’s house. He meets the beautiful Jane who is looking for some Scotch for her fiancée. Sean helps her out. Later Sergio tells Sean that he may have a job opportunity for him with a friend.Terry meets Wolf in a pub and demands big money for keeping his mouth shut about Wolf framing Sean for the theft of materials from United. Although Wolf agrees to pay he secretly has other ideas.

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Episode 4

JJane stared at Matt sprawled on the couch in her lounge with growing anger. Her upset was on various levels. First of all Matt was known as “the perfect gentleman” but whenever they were alone, his manners went out of the window. He made no effort to stand up as she entered the room but she knew that if anyone else were there he would leap up and offer her something to drink. Then she was angry with herself for feeling even a tad guilty about staying on at Tess and Serge’s place when Matt wanted to leave. Most of all she was furious for being drawn into the trap of middle class comfort levels.

Matt and his family had plenty of money. If she married him she would never have to work, something that filled her with dismay because she enjoyed her career as an interior decorator. Marrying Matt would ensure that her mother would feel totally fulfilled knowing that her daughter had chosen well and Jane could now give up all her other activities to concentrate on producing a perfect tribe of children, all clones of herself and Matt.

None of which really addressed the most vital issue of all, what was her purpose in life? What goals could she set herself. With Matt she would be required to look decorative even when nine months pregnant. Jane felt that she was caught in a time warp. Did people really think like that any more? Clearly Matt, his parents and her own mother did. Her Dad, bless his heart, was a wonderfully warm hearted man who happily believed that everyone should follow their own instincts. Her mother would sulk for days if he dared to express such heresy. Generally speaking, he just shut up and let family politics pass him by.

“Enjoy yourself?”

Jane almost jumped. She had forgotten about her fiancée on her couch. She felt her cheeks glowing red .

“Yes I did thanks. How’s the headache? I expected that you’d go back to your place!”

Matt uncoiled himself from the sofa and went to the sideboard where he poured himself a stiff Scotch. He glanced over his shoulder at Jane.

“Drink?”
“No thanks”
The silence grew as he made his way back to the couch, sipping his drink. Jane watched him with a growing fury. Who in the hell’s place was this anyway? She and Matt had agreed not to move in together until after they were married, although he did spend some nights with her. Not tonight, she decided.

“Come and sit”.

Matt patted the couch beside him. Jane shook her head decisively.

“I’d like you to go home please”.

He stared up at her in amazement. She was not reacting as she normally did. An ugly thought crossed his mind. He took a large mouthful of Scotch before continuing.

“So Tessa didn’t give you a lift home after all? I saw you outside with that builder chappie. Are you acquiring a taste for older men?”

Jane knew that Matt could sometimes be jealous but this was new low.

“I don’t appreciate being spied on…Matt please go home. I’m really tired. We can talk it to death tomorrow if you must”.
“I want to stay here tonight!”

Jane shook her head. She had never really opposed him before but suddenly she knew that if she didn’t assert herself now, she would never be able to do so.

“Please. I want to get a good night’s sleep. I’ve got a new client in the morning”.
“You seemed to be very pally when you said goodbye to your lift…”
“Oh come on! He was kind enough to help Tess out and take me home. What d’you expect me to do, leap out of the car and slam the door in his face? And anyway what were you doing spying on me?”

Matt finished his drink, stood up, headed straight for the door and left without a word.
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Wolf watched the scene in front of him with a mixture of horror and fascination as the little man in the lift, writhed and shuddered. He had been worried that Terry might scream and attract the attention of the guard at the gate but all that emerged from his mouth was a tight, gasping groan. The guard usually had his radio on and it was unlikely that he would hear screams or anything else.

Wolf had attached an electrical cable to the metal frame of the lift on the sixth floor. As soon as the lift stopped, the current of electricity surged through the trellis door of the lift itself via the locking device.

When Terry reached forward and clasped the metal handle that opened the trellis door, a massive shock ran through his body and he was totally incapable of letting go of the handle. Just for a moment Terry managed to keep his gun trained on Wolf but as he summoned up his last dregs of energy and pulled the trigger, his shaking hands sent the bullet well wide of its target.

Wolf ducked as the gun went off but he need not have bothered. He was not a natural killer but desperation does terrible things. Even so, he had to resist the impulse to cut off the electricity and save the little bastard. Anyway it would probably be too late by the time he unblocked the trip switch on the fuse box that he had jammed in the ‘up’ position so that it would not trip when the current hit Terry.

As he watched, Terry’s spasmodic jerking eased off and his unconscious body slid to the floor. For all Wolf knew he was already dead. Wolf let out a deep breath hoping that the radio was keeping the guard occupied and prepared for the next step in his plan.
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Sean carried Melanie up to her bed. Cairan had already been transported and was fast asleep in the other bed. As he gently lowered his daughter she suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked around. Reassured that she was in familiar surroundings she smiled sleepily at her Dad.

“Where’s that nice lady?”
“I took her to her house sweetheart”.
“Should’ve kept her Dad…” she mumbled before closing her eyes again in deep comfortable sleep.
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Wolf’s 4X4 came around the building and pulled up outside the security gate. He smiled at the guard. Terry’s body was propped up in the corner of the passenger seat staring straight ahead. In the shadows, the guard could just about see that it was the same man who had come in to see the boss. Anyway it was the site engineer driving the car and there were limits as to how much the guard would check up on him.

“OK Absalom…I just did some cleaning up on the sixth floor. Never seem to have time during the day. Just tell the morning shift to keep it tidy will you. My friend and I are off to get some food. We may come back later”.

Don’t talk so much, you idiot Wolf thought as the guard nodded politely then he peered rather casually through the rear window of the double cab.

“Will you open the boot for me please sir?”
“Sure”.

The guards were well trained and even though Wolf was the Site Engineer, he was not exempt from inspection. Let him search as much as he likes, Wolf decided but just leave my passenger alone.

Absalom did his routine inspection of the contents of the boot, closed the rear door and waved Wolf through.

Now all he had to do was to take the body to its final destination where he had already made preparations. Wolf was not used to a life of crime but he had enough savvy to plan the murder meticulously. It was written that criminals always made mistakes because they actually wanted to be caught but Wolf firmly believed that his intellectual powers were greater than average and therefore he could eliminate any possible clues that could link him to the murder.

He drove a couple of kilometers along the road, then turned onto a narrow gravel road that he had checked out earlier. He jumped out of the vehicle carrying a shifting spanner. He loosened the bolts on a wooden frame which created a solid platform on top of his roof for photographic purposes. He pulled the box to one side then returned to the cab where he hauled Terry’s body out and quickly dumped it flat on the roof itself. Terry was so small and scrawny that he easily fitted underneath the box as Wolf bolted it back into place.
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The following morning Sean drove onto the Marlboro off-ramp and turned left, past all the roadworks at the beginning of Limbro Park. Following Mark Berman’s instructions he wound around until he came to 2nd Ave and quickly found the SoundRock signboard and gate. As he waited to be let in, he saw that the company’s offices were situated in a fairly small building in the middle of a large property with a surprising number of cars parked in front of the building. He also caught a glimpse of a half-built structure to the left of the office which seemed to confirm Serge’s comment that SoundRock was a rapidly growing business making its mark on the Shopping Centre Industry.

Sean was ushered into the small but elegant Board Room where Mark joined him a moment later. He was greeted with a cheerful smile and firm handshake then invited to sit down.

“Tea…coffee?”
“Could I have a glass of cold water please?”
“Sure. Do we have another health fiend on our hands?”

Sean gave him a wry smile and shook his head.

“Not really but I do try to get a daily quota of water”.

Mark organized the refreshments with Nancy the tea lady and then got down to business.

“Sergio tells me you’ve been having a rough time!”
“You could say that I suppose but I’d much rather talk about what I can bring to your company. I believe in looking forward rather than backward”.
“Good one. Do that. Then we can touch on any elements of your so-called murky past if we need to later”.

Sean liked Mark’s direct and somewhat humorous approach to the interview. He immediately felt he could talk openly to the man and he would receive a fair hearing.

For the next half an hour Sean outlined his work experience, skills, strengths that he considered he had, as well as his weaknesses. For the latter he felt that he had always been too trusting and then he admitted that he was inclined to take on more responsibilities than necessary, rather than delegating because he often found his juniors incapable of carrying out the tasks as well as they should.

Mark thought about Sean’s self appraisal for a few moments.

“If you do join us my friend, we have an Organising Board. This gives you an exact post and show you where the rest of the team fit in. We also have very specific job descriptions and make sure that every new staff member really understands what is expected of him or her before they start. When staff know what their purpose and post is , who they report to and who reports to them, you’ll find that you won’t get overloaded by trying to do it all yourself. We also have continuous training courses here, so that any mistakes are quickly sorted out. We work as real team here!”

Sean nodded suddenly worried that he may have blown it by mentioning his tendency not to delegate. Then Mark chuckled. It seemed that he was reading his mind.

“Relax. Don’t get hassled by what you just said. I’d far rather show a hard worker how to lighten his load than try to get a guy who tries to avoid work, to do more”.
“Thanks. That’s good to know”.

Mark suddenly looked serious. Sean knew what he would say next.

“Sergio told me that you had to resign from United because you were under suspicion for having stolen building materials”.

Sean nodded. He knew that the subject had to come up and he had considered dozens of answers to the question on his way to the interview. In the end he decided to keep as simple as he could.

“That’s right. It was more than suspicion though. They had absolute proof that I’d stolen the material. It was only because of my previous good record that they didn’t press charges”.
“And?”
Sean shrugged. “I’m told that most guys in jail’ll insist that they’re innocent. All I will say is that I think I know who did this to me and why. I’m still trying to find the proof. Until then it’ll always hang over my head and I prefer not to justify anything”.

He allowed a little emotion to creep into his voice as he continued.

“ You won’t find me dishonest in any way. If something goes missing at SoundRock, I’m bound to be the first person you’ll look at. That’s something I’ll have to live with. Over time I expect to be able to show that I’m valuable to your company. Whether you want to take a chance with me is up to you. All I can give you is my word that what you see here is exactly what you get!”

Mark mulled this over then reached for the phone.

“Ask Melissa to come in please”. He smiled at Sean. “Melissa’s my wife and business partner”.

Sean sat awkwardly looking into space until Melissa entered the room. She was an attractive brunette, with a ready smile. Mark introduced Sean then looked at his wife”.

“OK. I’ve told you nothing at all about this guy. I want first impressions. Women’s intuition… that kind of thing”.

Most women would have been embarrassed by Mark’s unorthodox approach but Melissa was clearly used to his style. She nodded and looked him up and down.

Hard working…competent…intelligent…and I would say…almost compulsively honest!”
“When can you start?” Mark wanted to know.
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Jane was brushing her hair when the front door bell rang. She had to leave for an appointment in a few minutes, so she didn’t need a visitor now. She irritably dashed to the door and looked through the security peephole. She half expected to see Matt with a bunch of red roses. The person that stood in front of her door was worse. Much worse!

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