Calculating Nemesis

Lily came in at five twenty-five. She went straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on, and then came into the back room we called the lounge and stopped short as she saw me.

"Chad! You startled me. You're home early, has something happened? Are you not feeling well?" I raised my hand.

"Something has happened and no, I am not feeling well."

"In that case, darling. I am going to call the doctor. This had been going on for too long."

"Yes it has, but the doctor won't be able to cure this. Sit down Lily." She looked at me curiously and sat in the arm chair. I flicked the 'play' button on the remote and the screen lightened and suddenly they were there. I heard a gasp. I let the DVD play for a while. I could hear Lily hyperventilating. I turned to her.

"Interesting this DVD." She was trying to catch her breath moaning. "No, for God's sake no!" Her hands came up and covered her face and I heard wretched sobbing coming from between her cupped hands. I stopped the DVD and waited for her to recover. It took a while as every time her crying lessened she would lift her face toward me and seeing the stony expression on my face, the tears and sobs would start again. Eventually she could cry no more. She couldn't look me n the eye, her face was blotched and red with tears drying on her cheeks.

"How?" She cleared her throat and tried again. "How d..." I interrupted her.

"It doesn't matter how, it only that matters that I know. That DVD is two and a half hours long, so you understand what it shows. All of it!" I shouted. "Everything!" She burst into tears again.

To give her time to recover I went and made two coffees. I thought that caffeine was needed for this conversation. I carried them into the lounge and brought a warm damp flannel for Lily to wipe her face. She smiled weakly to signify her thanks. She took a sip of coffee.

"I am so sorry, Chad." I nodded.

"Of course you are. Would you be sorry though if I had not found out?" She didn't reply to that question. I didn't expect a response.

"What are you going to do now, Chad?"

"I am not doing anything. You are."

"What do you mean?"

"You are going upstairs and packing your bags. Tomorrow you leave this house, and you will never come back."

"Oh Chad, do I have to? I love you so much." I flicked open the folder and selected the photo where she was accommodating all three men. I put it in front of her.

"Is this how you love me so much?" I shouted. A fresh bout of sobbing ensued. I left her alone for a while. I needed to get myself under control as well. The anger was burning inside of me, but I couldn't give it free rein; I was sure that I would do her harm if that happened.

When I returned she had regained composure.

"Are you going to divorce me?" She asked fearfully.

"No, Lily. I am not." She looked up a spark of hope in her eyes that were dashed when I continued. "If you decide that you like the sort of life that Bennington gives you, then you will have to divorce me. I'll use those pictures to defend the action and the likely outcome is that you get nothing. It will probably mean that Bennington will be divorced as well. I would imagine that his wife will leave him destitute, so I doubt that you will have a good life with him unless he pimps you out. You seem to be good at that." Lily blanched as I compared her to a prostitute, but didn't argue. I knew that the DVD and photos would not be admissible in Court as they were obtained illegally. Lily didn't know that.

"I wouldn't be with him. I don't really like him that much." The question in my mind was if that were the case why give him her body. I didn't ask, it would invite her to explain and I couldn't face the humiliation of having her tell me that I was insufficient for her.

"Why are you not going to divorce me?"

"There is little point. I am not going to get married again; you seem to have put me off the wedded state. A divorce would cost me; I have worked too hard to put all this in jeopardy. You go. If you have any pride in yourself you will find another job and try to put what you have done behind you. However, I will make you an allowance. You need to open your own back account as from tomorrow your cards will not work. I will put some money into your account every month. Oh, and you can keep the car." Lily was bemused.

"Why would you do that?"

"Lily. I have loved you, and even now I still love you, but what you have done has hurt me so much. You were concerned that I was ill lately. It wasn't a stomach bug; it was learning what you had been up to that caused that. I cannot live with you any more, every time I saw you it would remind me of what you have done and you would suffer my anger. I gave you my heart when we married and I can't take it back. Even so my love for you will not let me see you in hardship."

"Darling. We can work together and find a way of overcoming this." Lily tried again.

"Oh yes." I replied sarcastically." It's not 'we' who have to overcome this, Lily. It's me! I watched you with those men and it made me physically sick. My wife, the woman I love allowing other men into her body, and looking happy about it. Those bloody pictures are burnt onto my memory. The only way that will allow me to overcome this is total amnesia!"

Lily moped around upstairs slowly packing clothes. Every time I had to go upstairs she looked at me plaintively, asking with her eyes if I would change my mind. I couldn't. The pictures in my mind taunted me, hardening my heart. She phoned someone called Daphne during the evening and I suspected arranged somewhere to stay for a while.

I heard her coming down the stairs accompanied by heavy thumps which I imagined was caused by the well filled suitcase being too heavy for her. A week ago I would have rushed to help, this evening I wouldn't nor ever again. She came into the lounge.

"I am leaving now. One of my friends at work is letting me squat with her for a few days. I shall quit my job without notice tomorrow." She waited in hope possibly that I would tell her to stay. I dashed those hopes.

"It's a pity you didn't put your notice in a few months ago." I said angrily.

"Chad. I am so sorry, so very sorry. Please remember I do love you." I made no reply. She opened the front door and I heard her sobbing again as she dragged the suitcase out. The door slammed shut.

I spent the rest of the evening in total misery, going to bed much later than usually. The bed linen retained her fragrance and my tears could not be stopped. If there was any comfort in this it was that Lily didn't say that stupid thing 'it meant nothing, it was only sex', or 'it's not what you think'. How could any cheater come out with lines like that? When the evidence was there on the TV screen. I knew I had done the right thing, but Christ! It hurt. Lily's had hurt me and I had hurt me. When would it stop?

Routine and attention to detail had been the stuff of my life. Yet in the space of a week I had been late to the office twice. My Punjabi newsagent was so unnerved by this that he had to come out and question me when I arrived at my office the next day.

"Mr. Martin, Sahib. It is so very unusual for yourself to be late. Now I am noticing that twice in the last week this has happened. I am feeling that my timepiece is not working properly."

"Mr. Shandali. Your watch is perfectly in order. I have had appointments close to my home which I concluded first. Do not worry, the world hasn't changed that much."

"I am very pleased to hear that, Mr. Martin. Now I see you haven't got your newspaper this morning. Please allow me." He rushed into his shop and returned immediately with a copy of my usual Financial Times. He presented it to me as if it was a priceless gift. I reached into my pocket for the money.

"No, no Mr. Martin. No money please. It is my pleasure." I trudged up the stairs with my faith in human nature restored just a little.

Later that day, Vin phoned me.

"I just wanted to know, Mr. Martin if you are alright."

"Thanks Vin. My self-esteem is bruised badly, but I shall survive."

"And Mrs. Martin?"

"Gone."

"I'm sorry about that, but I suppose you had no choice." I agreed with him. He went on. "I shall have the details for those two men shortly. My friendly copper says that if the cars are registered to a company, would you like him to take it further?"

"What does he mean?"

"Oh it's simple. He phones the company sort of officially and as he is a copper they will tell him who those cars are allocated to and their home addresses."

"Vin. You know some very disreputable coppers." He laughed.

"Only one or two Mr. Martin. Just one or two."

With no reason to go home at the usual time I decided to work on. No doubt alarming Mr. Shandali again. This was not work for my clients, this was research for me. It can be surprising to many people how much information could be obtained about a business concern. I was going to research Mr. Bennington and the company for which he was Managing Director, Elwin Dax & Co.

CHAPTER FOUR

I had two computers in my office. The main one on which I worked my magic with accounts had never been connected to the internet. The wireless receiver had even been removed. I knew enough from Frank and the others how easy it was to hack into a computer. I had a second machine to access the internet. The Companies House web site gave me a lot of information, including the last year's accounts. These are abbreviated accounts but quite useful if you knew how to read them. After a general overview I looked at the contingency fund. Any well run company would have such a fund. It was in essence the company's private piggy bank. In good years you would place a surplus in the contingency. As this reduced net profit and was not declared for dividends it wouldn't come into the tax calculation. In bad years you would use the contingency to cover the lower or non-existent profit and still allow the company to declare a dividend. The other reason for it was the sudden and unforeseen need for quick capital. Many accountants would tell you that the contingency fund was an indicator of the company's health.

Although Elwin Dax & Co. had declared a modest profit year on year, the contingency fund was negligible. Interesting I thought. Either the contingency had been used to bolster profits and was now almost empty, or it had never been healthy at all. I then pulled up the Dunn and Bradstreet site. You have to be registered to enter and Accountants are always registered with D. & B. They word their reports very carefully pointing out that their summary is based on available data and should not be taken as evidence as to the financial health of the company. Accountants can read between the lines and their report on Elwin Dax & Co. was not encouraging. Further investigation was required, but for that I would have to go to Companies House. What I was looking for was not available on the internet.

I went straight to Companies House the next day, returning to my office late morning. For the first time in the last few weeks I was happy. I had determined to bring Bennington down and I was delighted that he was helping me in that endeavour. I suppose you could say that once a Shit always a Shit, and Bennington was indeed a Shit. I had got some interesting facts, and although they didn't show false accounting, they indicated that perhaps that was happening. I left a message for Vin. I had another job for him.

He called that afternoon.

"Is there something I could help you with, Mr. Martin?"

"Yes. Vin. Would you go up to Chelmsford and watch the Company where my wife worked."

"What am I looking for?"

"I want you to note down the registration numbers of their goods vehicles. I doubt that you can get them all as they have about twenty five and they go all over the country. But if you could get a good proportion of them, that should suffice."

"Yes I can do that. Two or three days should do it."

"That's what I thought."

"Do you want to find out who they are registered to?" I was impressed. Vin wasn't stupid.

"You're ahead of me. Yes, I do."

"Leave it with me Mr. Martin. I'll get back to you in three or four days."

My suspicions had been alerted by the depreciation of the fleet. The claims were in line with the guidelines issued by H.M. Customs and Revenue, but there was no mention of capital expenditure on those vehicles in the capital account, then there was posted an almost similar amount for servicing every year. Now these trucks cost a lot of money and as they age their servicing costs go up. The indication was that no new trucks had been purchased and they had an aging fleet. But the servicing costs remained unaltered. I smelt a rat and that rat's name was Bennington.

My days returned to normal, relatively speaking. Back in Abbess Roding my nights were my personal slough of despond. We had always had a cleaning lady who came in twice a week, so even after a few days Lily's perfume was no longer hanging in the air. Yet still there was so much to remind me of her. I would walk into a room and see a picture on the wall. One she had chosen with me and my eyes would moisten. The linen on my bed, washed, dried and pressed, was a pattern that Lily had admired and bought. I would look at them and see us together, nakedly embracing, loving each other, joined together in that most intimate of moments that lovers share. Yet again I would succumb to anger, cursing her and Bennington for ruining something that was almost perfect. Then I would feel guilty for cursing Lily. I loved her, and that was a burden I would suffer for the rest of my life.

Vin came up with the goods. A list of vehicle numbers. He had eighteen of them, and the best thing of all? They were all registered to a Leasing Company. Bennington and his crooked company secretary, who had to be in on this, was claiming depreciation and servicing on vehicles the company didn't own. What else were they up to? I was sure they had other scams going but I didn't really have the time to go looking. This scam was false accounting and deserved a gaol sentence. Therein lay a problem. I could report this to the Inland Revenue, but the less I had to do with those worthies the better. They are a suspicious lot and they would wonder why I was looking into a company to which I had no connection. Would they in their turn take a look at me? My accounts were good, but there was always the possibility that they could get lucky. Vin added some unasked for information.

"Your wife is no longer working there, Mr. Martin." Did that please me? I wondered.

I needed documentary proof that the vehicles were owned by the leasing company. I wrote to them posing as an outside auditor saying that the copy of the agreement sent to me had been inadvertently shredded by one of my staff and I felt too embarrassed to ask Elwin Dax for another copy. Two weeks later I had the copy, listing all the vehicles that were covered by the agreement. I had researched the company. There are many internet sites where you could get information, I had to access quite a few before I put together the picture. Founded in eighteen ninety-seven to ship milled grain from rural Essex to the bakeries in London it had led a profitable but unspectacular existence. Just after the First World War it had taken advantage of the huge numbers of ex-army goods vehicles being sold off cheaply to expand into general parcel traffic. The grain business had withered over the years and today their operation was as general hauliers and warehousing. It had never changed its corporate status, and today the shareholders were comprised mainly of descendents of Elwin Dax.

Whereas once the shares were held in entirety by three people, the children of the founder, today they had devolved to some twenty two descendents, all owning less than ten percent of the shares, apart from two who together held just over thirty percent. Those two were also listed as Directors. A plan was coming to my mind. I wondered how much acumen those two Directors could boast. One was Lieutenant-General (retd.) A.R. Stanley and the other was a Mrs. T.B. Dax. The other directors were Bennington himself and a J.M. Chambers who was Company Secretary. Did the General and Mrs. Dax understand that as Directors they were legally responsible for the accuracy of the Company Accounts as submitted to the Inland Revenue and Companies House? I doubted that. Did they also understand that as an asset that bolstered the profitability wasn't an asset, the Company could be said to be trading while insolvent. A criminal offence.

Now what was I going to do with my knowledge? I would talk to Frank as I thought there was an opportunity for his getting an enterprise that could be profitable for very little outlay. He was dubious at first.

"Jes. All this mucking about just to get revenge on this bloke. I can send a couple of blokes up to give him a good smacking. That's simple and to the point."

"True, Frank. But unless they are going to snuff him, he will recover and he will still be sitting pretty with his lifestyle and position intact. Of course there is the little matter of that being G.B.H., just a tad illegal." I reminded him. "My way is going to ruin him financially for the rest of his life. He could get some stir as well. And what I am doing is legal!" Frank sighed.

"Ok. Jes. I'll go along with you, but what is it going to cost?"

"All I need is your name. I'll fund it, but I don't want my name on the documents, that could alert Bennington. At the end of this you could have a good going concern giving you nice profits."

"Damn you Jes. You are going to get me going straight, I can see it now. Frank Weston, pillar of the community. My Dad would turn in his grave."

I had the same conversation with Jack Hallam, another of my clients who followed a similar lifestyle to Frank Weston. Frank knew I would approach Jack and had no trouble with it, neither did Jack. He heard the story and offered the same service that Frank had offered. Again I persuaded him that my way was better.

"I wouldn't do it for anyone but you, Jes. You have always dealt straight with me and your advice has been sound. Count me in." The reason that I wanted another name was so that I didn't buy so many shares in one name that would alert the major shareholders.

The Shareholders Register gave me their addresses and I wrote to all the smaller shareholders, saying that my principle was interested in purchasing their shares, and offering a price that would make their eyes sparkle. I wasn't surprised at their eagerness to bite. They had always got dividends but not as much as they would wish. The vision of a few thousand pounds for shares that they had considered mediocre was too good an opportunity. They didn't all bite, but sufficient did to get me clout at the next shareholders meeting. I would be the proxy for Frank and Jack.

The shareholder meeting was to be held in March some months away, primarily to agree the accounts and set the dividend. I gathered from those shareholders who had agreed to sell that few bothered to attend the meeting. Having inherited their shares rather than being serious investors they had little interest in the proceedings. So I was not surprised when at the appointed time I joined the meeting noticing that the attendance was limited to Mrs. Dax, Lieutenant General Stanley, Bennington, Chambers and I. Eyebrows were raised as I entered the boardroom and I was asked my business. I produced the written proxies that Frank and Jack had written for me. It was Chambers who checked those and then said.

"Welcome to the meeting, Mr. Martin." Suddenly Bennington looked as if he had swallowed a live Frog. I could see it going through his mind, was I the Martin he had cuckolded?

Stanley brought the meeting to order. The accounts were distributed for perusal. Mrs. Dax and the General didn't really bother to read them, proof of my assumption that they did not have a business background. I studied them acutely. That wasn't the usual practice here and both Chambers and Bennington fidgeted uncomfortably.