Opportunity Knocked, Innovation Answered

On what was an otherwise unremarkable day for him, Quatorze, a friend of Stourton, was minding his own business at a coffee shop, when he noticed a male known to him, Umburto. That male had a female companion. Quatorze then recognised the female companion to be Limoges, the wife of Stourton. Limoges and Umburto got very familiar with each other.

Quatorze overheard Limoges making plans with her lover to get together later and those plans did not resonate well with Quatorze.

A text message to Stourton was required, he thought. The text message he sent read:

“We have not seen each other for too long. Dinner at The Steakhouse Bar tonight at 7:00 pm. No excuses. Be there.”

The reply from Stourton read: “OK, tonight is Steak night.”

The Steakhouse Bar

Quatorze was the first to arrive at The Steakhouse Bar and he secured a table for he and Stourton. He waited until the food ordering was done and served before he delivered the bad news.

Quatorze: “Limoges, the event planner wife of yours was kind enough to interrupt my lunch by planning the wrong kind of event. She was planning the infidelity two-step with another male known to me, that male obviously being not you.”

Pausing his eating, a stunned Stourton replied: "What do you mean?"

Quatorze: "Your wife was always about the glitz and the glamour. The big events, the fancy parties. But she ignored the most important event of all: your marriage."

It is not really a surprise to see her so caught up in her own world and her own desires,  planning events for others, that she would neglect what should be the most important person in her own life."

Stourton understood enough of what was told to him, even if he did not process all of it.

The men finished their meals. Conversation between them did not dwell on the infidelity of Limoges, but focussing on other topics was difficult for Stourton.

Quatorze did not press him, he tried to be supportive. It was the kind of bad news he did not enjoy delivering, and to the extent that he could, he tried to be supportive.

The Kidnapping

As far as Limoges was concerned, her marriage had become predictable and dull. In stark contrast to the exciting job she did. Of course, she took no responsibility for her marriage not producing the excitement and variety she apparently craved.

Stourton being a fairly high-level engineer at a pharmaceutical company developing a revolutionary new energy source was not enough to meet the excitement needs of the now very important and demanding Limoges. As she got caught up in the excitement of her event planning, she became prone to gossiping. Applying some circumspection to sharing details of work information her husband shared with her did not occur to her.

The paths of Limoges and Umburto crossed at one of her planning events. He seemed younger, vibrant and exciting, in contrast to the solid predictability that was now apparently a problem for her husband. So the dalliance started and it became an affair.

Limoges was also an interesting moment of excitement for Umburto. His work had not delivered the results he desired, so he left his employer for a rival company. What Umburto did not tell Limoges initially was that he worked for the same pharmaceutical company as her husband. A company that was making real progress with a breakthrough drug. Umburto desired his own kind of results, so he took his disgruntled self off to a rival company.

With her mind focussed acutely upon herself, Limoges did not think too much about the work information her husband shared with her. She also enjoyed moments from time to time where he was definitely not good enough for her and sharing his information with others was not beyond her pettiness.

The disgruntled Umburto was happy to hear information from Limoges about Stourton and his new drug. He may be able to use that information to advance himself. The life of disgruntled Umburto was resplendent with poor choices. The pharmaceutical company employer he left, when he worked with Stourton, was having success with a breakthrough drug. The rival company for whom he now works was desperate to gain a competitive edge.

The poor decision-making of Umburto to share the information about a new drug from his former employer to his new employer triggered catastrophic consequences. The desperate to gain a competitive edge, rival company hired a group of criminals to kidnap Stourton and force him to reveal the secrets of the new technology. If this pharmaceutical company crew could monetise their stupidity, they would be very wealthy.

Quite a contrast was now in play, thanks to the lack of thinking of Limoges and Umburto. The new employer of Umburto saw Industrial Espionage as a legitimate motivation for the kidnapping of Stourton. Umburto was their useful idiot in their plan to circumvent the hard worm and intellectual dedication that is so much a part of most success.

Proper research was not a constituent component of the business plan of the new employer of Umburto. They did not bother to research the group of criminals they hired to kidnap Stourton and force him to reveal the secrets of the new drug.

The day after Quatorze revealed the infidelity of Limoges to Stourton, the criminal masterminds put their plan into action and kidnapped Stourton. The criminals told Stourton, if he does not cooperate and give the criminals what they want, they would kill his wife.

Now in the custody of the kidnappers, Stourton assessed the situation as one where he faced an uncertain future. Stourton took the view that if these geniuses were true to their word, he would not feel unhappy about the outcome. He adopted the approach of telling the criminal mastermind kidnappers that he does not negotiate with terrorists.

Upon hearing their captive Stourton declare that he does not negotiate with terrorists, the kidnappers did not respond well. Two (2) of them departed the scene and attended upon the location of Limoges, where they proceeded to shoot and kill her. Predictably, chaos ensued.

Shortly thereafter the criminal mastermind kidnappers, and now murderers, were arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder.

Locating the geniuses who kidnapped Stourton did not take the police long and he was freed to return home.

The Police Perspective

The nightmare was not yet over for Stourton. The police felt they needed to spend some more time with him.

The humourless Detective Harper interviewed Stourton at the city centre police station.

Harper to Stourton: "So, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Stourton: "Correct, Detective. I was minding my own business, and suddenly, I was kidnapped."

Harper "And you are sure you do not know why you were targeted?"

No hesitation from Stourton. "I am certain. I have no enemies, no outstanding debts. It was a random act of violence."

Detective Harper had no evidence to suggest Stourton was not telling the truth.

Harper: "Alright, then. We will do our best to find out who is responsible for this."

"In the meantime, I suggest you try to relax and let us handle this. You have been through a lot."

The Train Station Interlude

Stourton left the police station and proceed home after his eventful day, happy that he had not been charged with any offence. There was no reason he should be charged with any offence, but things had not gone well for him recently.

He made his way to the train station and waited patiently for his train.

Helping pass the time during that patient wait was a conversation her overheard between two lawyers known to each other and waiting for their respective trains. As is the want of lawyers, they shared a war story. This one was colourful.

The Bank Job Gone Wrong

The professional bank robbers entered the bank. They had planned this heist meticulously, down to the last detail. They had studied the layout of the bank, its security systems, and the routines of its employees. They had even gone so far as to create elaborate disguises to help them blend in with the crowd.

But as they were about to make their move, chaos erupted. Two drug-addled individuals, clearly under the influence of heroin or methamphetamine, stumbled into the bank, shouting and swearing at the top of their lungs. The robbers were taken aback, and from that moment, they were put off their game.

Oblivious to the danger they were in, the two junkies continued to cause a commotion, drawing the attention of both the employees and customers of the bank. In their panic, the robbers were forced to act quickly, but their usual precision and coordination were thrown off by the sudden and unplanned junkie interruption.

The attempts of the bank robbers to carry out their plan were thwarted. They found themselves struggling to keep up with the unpredictability of the situation. The junkies continued to cause havoc, making it impossible for the robbers to complete their heist without being detected.

Just as the robbers were about to give up and abandon their plan, the police arrived on the scene. The chaos created by the junkies had tipped off the authorities, and now the robbers found themselves surrounded by blue lights, sirens and police.

In a desperate attempt to escape, the robbers tried to fight their way out, but they were no match for the police. They were quickly subdued and taken into custody, their plans foiled by two very drug-affected junkies they might have included in a better thought out plan.

The reputation of the most professional bank robbers in the business had been shattered, all because of two junkies high on drugs. It was a bitter pill for them to swallow, and one that would haunt them for the rest of their days.

Unsurprisingly, the two junkies were oblivious to the impact they had just had on the lives of the bank robbers. The junkies were taken away by the police, still high on drugs and still causing havoc wherever they went. Their actions had inadvertently saved the day, but they would never know it.

The trains then arrived for the lawyers and the overheard conversation ended.

Homeward Bound

Stourton did not have to wait much longer for his train.

When he arrived home, Stourton closed the door to his residence and to this sorry episode in his life. The silence of the apartment was comforting to him.

He made his way to his entertainment cabinet and browsed his collection of recorded television shows. He selected an old DVD, the kind he had not watched in years, its details hazy in his memory. It was just an hour of dated drama, perfect for switching off. He settled onto his couch, the familiar opening credits of "Fatal Obsession" flickering onto the screen.

Fatal Obsession

The air thickened around her, a suffocating blanket of dread. An ultra-feminist, utterly consumed by a narrative of male menace, she stepped off the train, the station’s artificial calm doing nothing to quell the rising tide of her fear.

“He is there.” Her mind screamed, a phantom presence at her back. “He has seen me.”

As she walked, the familiar sounds of the suburb warped into sinister omens. Every rustle of leaves, every distant car engine, became a confirmation. She picked up her pace, her knuckles white around her bag strap.

“He is closer. I can feel him.”

A relentless loop of danger, her internal narrative tightened its grip. 

For just a fleeting, panicked moment she glanced over her shoulder, seeing only the shifting shadows that her paranoia shaped into a man following her.

Her conviction solidified into chilling certainty. This was not just fear; this was a pursuit. Her walk quickened, then lurched into a desperate sprint. She swerved abruptly down a side street, her breath ragged. The pavement became a blur beneath her, the world a disorienting rush of colour and noise.

“I have to lose him!”

She cut hard through a narrow alley, then burst onto a busy main road, headlights flashing like malevolent eyes, horns blaring in what seemed a deliberate cacophony. Oblivious to the true dangers, her focus was fixed on the unseen malevolent male figure she imagined to be at her heels.

A car horn blared, a prolonged, angry shriek. But to her, it was white noise. She charged forward, a desperate, fragmented desire for freedom overriding all sense. The heavy traffic on the main road became a fluid, terrifying gauntlet. The fast-moving motor vehicle was upon her before the terror could truly register. A sickening thud, a screech of tires, and then, silence.

Just a few paces behind, her cousin Marcella stumbled to a halt, panting, her arm outstretched. "Wait! I just ... I just wanted to ask you about ..."

As the closing scene of Fatal Obsession finished, Stourton fell asleep.

Justice Visits The Jury

Trial 1

Cologne Innsbruck watched the Rape Trial of his male friend seething with anger. He had seen this movie before and it did not end well. The younger brother of Cologne was wrongly charged with rape. No matter how many times Little Brother told the authorities that he was not guilty, that he was the victim of a false complaint, deaf ears greeted him. The criminal law trial of his little brother ended with him being convicted of rape and sentenced to eight (8) years in gaol.

His Little Brother appealed his conviction and subsequently the Court of Appeal rendered its judgement acquitting him of the charge. The Court of Appeal further recommending that the Female Complainant be charged with:

• Making a False Complaint; and

• Attempting To Pervert The Course of Justice . 

Unfortunately that morning shortly before the Court of Appeal judgement was delivered, a lunatic at the prison where Little Brother was incarcerated killed the brother of Cologne Innsbruck.

Trial 2

As Cologne Innsbruck watched Rape Trial 2, this one involving his friend in similar circumstances to that of his Little Brother, none of his 500 gazillion shades of angry had dissipated.

Again the Rape Trial 2 accused friend of Cologne Innsbruck said he was not guilty and that he was a victim of a false complaint.

This gruesome history motivated Cologne Innsbruck to gain access to the courthouse before the Rape Trial 2 started and acquire a copy of the jury list. Innsbruck also rigged up a bomb to the jury box prior to the jury delivering its verdict.

On verdict day Cologne was taking no chances. He had audio to the inside of the courthouse connected, but he was not present at the court. He was proximate to the court when his audio conveyed the verdict of guilty. Cologne Innsbruck did not flinch. He immediately detonated the bomb.

The courtroom was a scene of chaos. The explosion had ripped through the jury box, leaving a trail of destruction, including fire in the courtroom. Shards of glass and splintered wood littered the floor. Screams echoed through the courtroom, as panicked onlookers scrambled to safety.

Police, fire services and ambulance attended the scene. Among the injured, six (6) jurors lay motionless, their fates were sealed. The remaining six (6) jurors, shaken and traumatised, were ushered out of the courtroom.

Upon hearing the explosion, Cologne Innsbruck departed from his location proximate to the courthouse and went home.

The False Confession

In the aftermath of the bomb attack, a man named Clouseau Carlos was arrested and charged with the bombing. A quiet, unassuming individual, Clouseau Carlos had a history of mental illness and minor criminal offences. Public opinion quickly turned against him, painting him as a deranged killer.

The arrest and charging of Clouseau Carlos for the courthouse bombing was a convenient development for Cologne Innsbruck and one he would do nothing to upset.

Juror 7: Davies

Juror 7 was driving home from work and approaching a rail crossing. The radio in his motor vehicle was broadcasting the news and the item that interested him involved Clouseau Carlos, the man charged with the bombing of the courthouse and the killing of six (6) jurors. The news broadcast revealed that it was an unremarkable administrative mention of the case in court and the case was adjourned to a later date.

Juror 7 had had no contact with the remaining five (5) other jurors and he wanted to put the experience of the subject Rape Trial and its aftermath behind him. The news of the bombing court case did not help him in that regard. He started to have flashbacks of both the trial and of the bombing and its aftermath. His thinking became chaotic and he felt he wanted to escape his current situation.

The train was clearly approaching the crossing where Juror 7 was stopped. The noise of the train added to the chaotic thinking of Juror 7. Instead of waiting at the crossing for the train to pass, the chaotic mind of Juror 7 told him:

“We have to get out of here”

and his response was to crash his motor vehicle through the boom gate and try to drive to the other side of the rail tracks.

He failed miserably and drove straight into the path of the speeding train.

The chaotic response of Juror 7 proved fatal. His collision with the speeding train ended his life. Consequently, more drama and chaos surrounded Juror 7, as police ambulance and fire services were required to attend the scene and deal with the fallout from the collision. No other fatalities resulted from the collision and there were no apparent injuries to anyone on the train.

Such a dramatic event naturally attracted media attention and it was a lead story for many news bulletins for the rest of that day and the following day. Consequently the remaining five (5) jurors from the trial became aware of the plight of Juror 7 and they had their own uncomfortable memory experiences.

Cologne Innsbruck listened to that news bulletin with some interest and, mildly surprised, with almost detached amusement, he said to himself at its conclusion:

“Well, how about that.”

Juror 8: Arthur Henderson

The meticulous accountant, Juror 8, found his normally sharp mind increasingly clouded by anxiety. The image of the bombed courtroom and the news of the demise of Juror 7 played on a loop in his thoughts, eroding his focus.

Usually a sanctuary of order, the office building of Juror 8 now felt fraught with unseen dangers. The hum of computers and the drone of conversations seemed to amplify his paranoia. He battled to concentrate on his work, the numbers on his screen blurring as his mind drifted to the "cursed" jury.

One afternoon, a critical deadline loomed, adding to his already considerable stress. He rose to retrieve a vital file from a storage room, his mind completely consumed by a vivid flashback of the explosion.

He approached a doorway he believed led to the storage area, his gaze distant. However, the door had been removed for maintenance, leaving a gaping, unguarded elevator shaft. A temporary barrier, consisting of a flimsy strip of caution tape, had been dislodged and lay unnoticed on the floor.

Lost in his terrifying memories, Juror 8 walked forward, expecting solid ground. The sudden emptiness, the horrifying drop into the blackness, registered only as his foot met air.

On her first week at the firm, a young intern, Sarah, happened to be passing by. A flicker of movement caught her eye – a man walking directly towards the open shaft, his eyes vacant. She cried out a warning, lunging forward with a desperate, instinctive reach.

"Mister! Stop!" Her voice was a strangled cry of alarm.

Her outstretched hand grasped only the air where his arm had been moments before. With a sickening lurch, Juror 8 stepped into the void.

Sarah stood frozen, her hand still outstretched, a silent scream trapped in her throat, as she watched in horror to see Juror 8 plummet down the twenty-five (25) stories of the empty elevator shaft. The sickening thud that echoed moments later confirmed the irreversible tragedy.

The scene that followed was one of chaos and disbelief. Screams erupted. Colleagues rushed to the edge of the shaft, peering into the darkness. The sterile office air was thick with shock and the dawning realisation of a senseless death.

The incident was immediately classified as a tragic workplace accident, a result of negligence regarding the unguarded shaft. An investigation was launched, safety protocols were frantically reviewed, and a pall of grief descended over the office.

News of the "fatal accident" at the downtown office building, identifying the victim as Arthur Henderson (Juror 8), became another grim headline.

Cologne Innsbruck was at home alone preparing dinner for himself on the evening of the death of Juror 8. The news was playing in the background on his television, but it was not his primary interest.

The report of the death of Juror 8 then came on the news bulletin and it caught his attention.

At the conclusion of the report he said out loud to himself:

“Well, that is interesting news.”

Jurors 9-12 Get Together

After Juror 9 heard of the news of the "fatal workplace accident" of Arthur Henderson (Juror 8), he contacted jurors 10-12 to organise a meeting. They agreed and met shortly thereafter at the residence of Juror 9.

In the dimly lit apartment of Juror 9, a video recording of the news report about the death of Juror 8, Arthur Henderson, played softly on a nearby television. Jurors 10, 11, and 12 sat around a cluttered table, their faces etched with worry and exhaustion.

Juror 9 (voice trembling slightly): Did you ... did you all see the news? About Henderson?

(A sombre nod from Juror 10, a nervous fidgeting from Juror 11, and a wide-eyed stare from Juror 12.)

Juror 9: It ... it cannot be another accident, can it? First Davies driving into a train, now Henderson ... falling down an elevator shaft? Both just days after the bombing?

Juror 11 (voice barely a whisper): It is ... it's like we are cursed.

Juror 10 (trying to sound rational, but his voice betrays his unease): That is ridiculous. These are just ... terrible coincidences. Stress can make people careless.

Juror 12 (eyes darting around the room): But two (2)? So close together? And the way the news described it ... Henderson just walked ... right into it. Like he was not even looking.

Juror 9: That is what I thought. Davies ... the news said he just drove straight through the boom gates. It is not normal behaviour. They were both on our jury.

Juror 11: What if ... what if the bomber... what if he is not finished? What if he is coming after us? But how? These look like accidents.

Juror 12: Maybe ... maybe it is not the bomber. Maybe ... maybe it is something else. Something ... unseen.

Juror 10: Do not be ridiculous. There is no such thing as curses. We need to be logical. We should go to the police. Tell them what we think.

Juror 9: And tell them what? That we think we are cursed? They will think we are all losing our minds. Especially after ... after the confession of Clouseau Carlos.

Juror 11: But we can not just sit here and wait to see who is next!

(A heavy silence falls over the group, the weight of their fear palpable. The flickering light from the television screen was casting long, distorted shadows on their faces.)

Juror 12: I think we have discussed this enough. I am going home.

Juror 12 promptly departed the residence of Juror 9.

Shortly thereafter Juror 11 said he was also going to leave. As he left, Juror 10 followed him.

Juror 9

After the meeting with Jurors 10-12, all Juror 9 could think about was the “Cursed Jurors”. His paranoia was escalating. He kept watching replays on his video player of the news items speaking of the deaths of the “Cursed Jurors” He could not sleep. He did not leave his residence. His mind seemed to be in a perpetual spin.

The dimly lit apartment had become the self-imposed tomb of Juror 9. Days bled into nights, marked only by the endless loop of the news report on his television and video player. The vacant eyes of Arthur Henderson, the sombre tone of the reporter, the stark image of the office building – these were the only companions in his increasingly fractured reality.

Sleep offered no respite, only a chaotic jumble of courtroom screams and the screech of train brakes. Awake, the fear was a constant, gnawing presence, whispering that he was next, that the curse was inevitable.

Juror 9 had stopped answering the telephone. The curtains remained drawn, blocking out the indifferent sunlight. Food lay untouched on the small table, a testament to his spiralling despair. The faces of the other dead jurors – the mangled car of Davies, the empty fall of Henderson – haunted his waking hours, their fates mirroring his own impending doom in his mind.

One afternoon, his gaze fixed on the flickering screen, a phrase from the news report seemed to detach itself from the rest: "... a tragic accident ... the second juror to die since the courthouse bombing ...".

A cold dread washed over him. Accident. The word mocked him. Juror 9 knew it was not an accident. They were all being picked off, one by one. And he was next. He could feel it in the suffocating silence of his apartment, in the frantic beating of his own heart.

For Juror 9, reality had completely fractured. He reached for the bottle of medication on his bedside table – sleeping pills prescribed after the trial, now his only solace. His hand trembled as he unscrewed the cap. He stared at the small white tablets in his palm, his mind a whirlwind of terror and a desperate yearning for escape.

The video recording of the news report continued to play, the voice of the reporter a monotonous drone in the background. On the screen, the image the of workplace of Arthur Henderson  lingered.

With a final, shuddering breath, Juror 9 swallowed the entire contents of the bottle. The act was not a conscious decision, but a primal surrender to the overwhelming fear that had consumed him. In the flickering light of the replay, his eyes closed, and the silence of the apartment deepened. In his mind, the curse had finally claimed another victim.

Black Market Clash

After Juror 11 learned of the death of Juror 9 his paranoia increased significantly. He was now a complete convert to the cursed jurors theory. He decided that he needed a gun for his own protection. So he bought a gun on the black market.

Juror 10 contacted Juror 11 and told him he wanted to get together to discuss their situation. Juror 10 invited Juror 11 to his house for the meeting. Juror 11 accepted the invitation and made his way to the residence of Juror 10.

Within an hour they were together discussing their situation. Paranoia was a constant theme of their conversation and they were becoming obsessed with the idea that they are cursed.

After about thirty (30) minutes of this chaotic discussion, Juror 11 produced the firearm he bought on the black market. He told Juror 10 he bought the firearm for his protection. Tension between the two (2) jurors escalated further, as Juror 10 told Juror 11 he was crazy and he put them both in danger.

The conversation deteriorated significantly and tension between the two (2) jurors continued to escalate. Juror 11 refused to put the gun away, even though Juror 10 told him its presence made him uncomfortable. As their conversation escalated from talking to shouting, Juror 11 panicked and discharged his firearm at Juror 10.

Beginners bad luck for Juror 11. His discharging of his firearm promptly killed Juror 10.

It seems at least one of the neighbours of Juror 11 had already called the police and they arrived shortly after the firearm was discharged. There was then the usual police and ambulance presence at the premises, while Juror 11 was removed from the scene and arrested and charged with murder.

Strangers On a Train

Cologne Innsbruck was on a train going home. He was minding his own business and not interacting with anyone. The train was sparsely populated. Two (2) women were in somewhat elevated conversation, all of which Cologne could hear.

Relevantly their conversation turned to the “cursed jurors”.

Woman 1: There has been another death in the cursed jurors.

Juror 11 shot and killed Juror 10. Juror 11 is now charged with murder and will likely spend the rest of his life in jail.

Woman 2: You know Juror 9 topped himself, don’t you?

Woman 1: Those jurors really are cursed.

Upon hearing this, Cologne Innsbruck shook his head and had a little chuckle to himself.

He alighted the train at the next station and walked home.

Juror 12 A Fatal Miscalculation

The last remaining member of the ill-fated jury, Juror 12 was a shadow of his former self. The constant fear and paranoia had taken a toll on his mental health. He retreated into a world of shadows, his mind a battleground of anxiety and despair.

One night, in a moment of desperation, he miscalculated his medication dosage. The overdose proved fatal and his life extinguished as abruptly as a candle flame.

The following morning Cologne Innsbruck called in to his local eatery for a cup of teas. As he sat alone at his table drinking his tea, his flipped through the daily newspaper that had been left on his table. A few pages in Cologne happened upon an article informing the readers of the death of the last “Cursed Juror”.

After Cologne completed reading the article; he raised his tea cup in toast to himself, with a modest smile on his face.

Complainant Confesses

Upon learning that all twelve (12) jurors in her rape case were now dead, the complainant panicked. She knew she was a false accuser. She was terrified for her safety and she attended upon the police.

Somewhat surprised, the police told her they have a perpetrator for the bombing, the lunatic criminal who confessed (Clouseau Carlos). They are satisfied with his confession. Jurors 7 to 12 died in circumstances that were unfortunate, but unrelated to the case. However, they were interested in her confession to making a false complaint.

Consequently they arrested and charged her.

When Miss False Accuser appeared in court to face her charges, she received a lot of media coverage. That media coverage included news that:

• The conviction for the accused in Trial 2 had been set aside;

• He was released from jail; and

• He was a free man.

Cologne Innsbruck was at home alone channel surfing on his television when he noticed a news item relating to Miss False Accuser. He stopped surfing and watched the item. Once the circumstances in which Miss False Accuser was in court were clear to him, he immediately said out loud:

“No way.”

The news item continued and Cologne Innsbruck again loudly exclaimed:

“You have got to be kidding me.”

At the conclusion of the news item Cologne Innsbruck said to himself out loud:

“Today is a good day.”

A Time To Confess

After speaking with her relationship counsellor, May Huddersfield, and her solicitor, Siobhan Blanco, and agreeing to see a psychiatrist, so she can try to have a meaningful relationship with her children again, Arcadia Thiessen thought it was time she was candid with her parents about the life she had lead and the position in which she now found herself.

This Arcadia was almost unrecognisable from the Arcadia many had seen in recent times. She made a list of all the evidence of her infidelity that her estranged husband, Tabernacle Calderone, was likely to possess and she was going to reveal it all to her parents. When she completed the list Arcadia saw that it was imposing, perhaps even overwhelming.

The List

• A bunch of flowers was sent to my home of whilst I was away on business.
• The card attached to the flowers was ambiguous.
• It read, “Thanks for a fantastic time. You really are amazing. I hope we can get together again the next time you are in town.”

• I met O'Jones Delahunty at the gym and I had a sexual encounter with him just prior to going to Adelaide on business. He boasted about our sexual encounter and by the time I was on the plane returning to Melbourne from Adelaide, that boasting had reached Tabernacle. Tabernacle was not impressed. He told his lawyers of this infidelity. They finalised the divorce papers and filed them in the Court.

The divorce documents and the correspondence I have subsequently received from Tabernacle revealed that he had significant evidence of my infidelity.

• The hotel records of where I had stayed on some of my business trips.
• The room service bills from hotels in which I stayed on my business trips
• The telephone records of my second mobile telephone
• A profile of my Sydney boyfriend, Garlick Duckworth
• At least eighteen (18) months prior to the separation I had been having an affair with Garlick Duckworth, a man from Sydney.
• I travelled often with my work to see him and spoke with him most days by telephone.
• We also sent lots of text messages to each other.
• Video of me having a sexual encounter with my Melbourne boyfriend, Bonham Trudeaux
• Six (6) intimate photographs of me
• At least two (2) of the four (4) photographs of me naked were taken at my home.
• In the two (2) photographs where I was performing oral sex, my wedding ring was clearly visible.
• I instigated a series of abusive telephone calls, text messages and email to Calderone because I could not see the children. Calderone said he would suspend all contact until they stopped.
• I went to pieces and caught a train out of town. After about a week away I returned home.
• I contracted genital warts
• I told the doctor treating me for the genital warts that I have had too many sex partners for me to know from whom I might have contracted them
• Calderone telephoned me reminding me that I was supposed to ring the children for contact because I had not been doing so.
• On the birthday of our son I was supposed to telephone him, but I did not do so. When Calderone telephoned me about it, he interrupted me having sex with Bonham Trudeaux

Having made the list, Arcadia realised she needed to have the conversation with her parents in person, but she did not have the strength to drive to the home of her parents to have the conversation. She decided to invite them to her house and reveal all to them there.

It was an awkward telephone call and it took Arcadia quite some time to prepare herself to make it. When she had summoned sufficient courage, the telephone call was brief.

“Hello, Mum. Can you and dad come over here please? I need to talk to you about my marriage, my divorce and me and I do not have the strength to drive to your home.”

“What is going on, Arcadia?” her mother replied.

Arcadia: “I would really rather wait until you both are here before I tell you any more.”

“OK. Your father and I will be at your house at 7:00 pm tonight”, her mother said and the conversation ended.

Arcadia had some uncomfortable time to fill in before her parents arrived. She tried sleeping, but that did not last very long. She watched some television, but could not focus on the show. She listened to some music, but could not find anything she liked. She starting reading some magazine articles, but could not remember anything she read. She went for a walk in a nearby park, but she did not want to engage with anybody. When Arcadia got home from her walk, she again tried to occupy herself, so as to not worry about the conversation she proposed to have with her parents. It was difficult for her and she did not feel like eating either. Several cups of tea were consumed and she managed to do the dishes before her parents arrived.

A Visit From Her Parents
Arcadian knew how difficult and painful the conversation would be, yet it was a relief to see her parents turn up at her house. It meant the waiting was over.

It was an awkward greeting with her parents and they remained unsure about what was going on when she asked them to sit in her lounge room whilst she told them what she had to tell them.

Arcadia remained standing when she started talking to her parents and she was pacing around her lounge room.

“Everything has gone horribly wrong for me and I am having real trouble coping with my new circumstances.”

Her parents remained quiet whilst she spoke and they listened attentively.

“You probably know Tabernacle has left me and he now lives in Cairns. He accepted a job at a catering company in Cairns and relocated there with the two (2) children. My only physical contact with the children now is during holiday periods. He has also formed a relationship with Friday Rauschenberg, who works for a florist and has no children of her own. Friday now lives with Tabernacle and our children.”

“Because I am not employed, I am finding it difficult to fund the necessary air travel between Melbourne and Cairns, which would enable me to have contact with the children. So at the moment contact consists of telephone calls, video calls, email and text messages.”

“Tabernacle left me because he thought I was unfaithful to him. It became common knowledge that every time I travelled for work I was unfaithful to Tabernacle. It also became common knowledge that for eighteen (18) months I abused my work travel entitlements conducting an affair with Garlick Duckworth from Sydney.”

“Tabernacle has been very organised in the divorce and he seems to have collated a lot of evidence about me. I have made a list of all the evidence of my infidelity that I believe Tabernacle was likely to possess and I am going to reveal it all to you. One of the reasons I am doing this is because recently I received a letter from Tabernacle, which relevantly said:

“I want you to consult a psychiatrist. I want to know what is going on with you. Your decline has been significant and you seem unstable. I think you need professional help. Unless and until I see a satisfactory psychiatric report on you, I will not make the children available to you for any contact whatsoever.”

“Since this has all occurred I have seen a relationship counsellor, May Huddersfield. She is helping me create a positive platform so that I can try to have a meaningful relationship with my children again. My solicitor, Siobhan Blanco, said if I give her something tangible with which to work, she can recommend a psychiatrist whom she believes will help me.”

Arcadia stopped walking around the lounge room and looked at her parents. She could see that they were surprised by what she had just told them.

“I realise this is probably shocking news for you. I am not telling you to upset you. Rather I am telling you because I believe you need to know what has been going on with me. I will go through the list of all the evidence of my infidelity that I believe Tabernacle was likely to possess in respect of me and explain what happened as best I can. You will then know what has happened.”

More than a little surprised, her father said to Arcadia, “We will try not to interrupt you.”

Arcadia then told her parents in detail the contents of her list. She could see much of it was painful for her parents to hear.

When she finished, Arcadia sat, exhausted in a lounge room chair and sobbed loudly for several minutes.

Her parents looked at each other and then at Arcadia. They were shocked to hear of her infidelity and promiscuity.

After Arcadia composed herself a little, she continued. This time whilst seated.

“My relationship counsellor, May Huddersfield said she and I need to talk about:

• Why I thought it appropriate to be unfaithful to my husband with these men, especially as none of them were interested in forming a family with me and my children.
• Why did my focus move from my children?
• Why did I put my job at risk in acting this way?”

“I do not really have answers to those questions. I have missed the attention. I really enjoyed the attention all those men gave me. Hardly anyone pays me attention now and very little of that attention is positive or nice.”

“You are not getting much attention from your children and they are certainly not getting much attention from you. That is a pretty significant outcome from your behaviour, Arcadia”, her mother said.

“It seems for quite some time your children have not been getting the attention they deserve from you. You seem to have been focussed on all of these other men in your life. Tabernacle now has the children in Cairns and is apparently living happily with and his new girlfriend. That does not indicate a very rosy immediate future for you. Especially seeing as you have also managed to lose your job and destroy your work prospects in your field.”

“Working with your relationship counsellor and solicitor to create a positive platform, so that you can try to have a meaningful relationship with your children again, seems to be a sensible thing to do.”

“We would like to have a relationship with your children as well and your behaviour has made that relationship more difficult.”

Whilst this discussion was under way, Arcadia could see her father was shocked and stunned by what he had heard.

“We will help you, Arcadia. You are our daughter and we love you, but you have behaved very badly and you have done a lot of damage.”

“Your mother is correct Arcadia”, her father said, making his first real contribution to the conversation.

Her mother continued, “Talk to your solicitor about how we can help you. Perhaps we can all spend some time with your children together. We will also support you with your relationship counsellor and hopefully you will be in a better position when you see the psychiatrist that Tabernacle wants you to see.”

Her father added, “You will have to make a real effort, Arcadia, but your situation does not seem hopeless. You seem to have some good people available to provide good support and assistance for you. Perhaps you could also share more with us about what you are doing. It seems there have been so many things you have done that you may not have done if you considered the consequences of your actions.”

Arcadia was crying again and her mother went over to her and hugged her. Arcadia hugged her mother back and her crying increased. She held her mother tightly and through her tears said, “I have made such a mess.”

As her mother hugged her, Arcadia felt a warmth and affection she had not felt for a long time.

Her father could see the connection between the two of them. He said to Arcadia, “We will help you” and he walked over to them and hugged them both.

Caught In The Spotlight

Arcadia Consults Siobhan Blanco
The day after Arcadia received the letter Calderone sent her she went to see her solicitor, Siobhan Blanco, about it.

Blanco read the letter and focussed on its most significant paragraph:
“I want you to consult a psychiatrist. I want to know what is going on with you. Your decline has been significant and you seem unstable. I think you need professional help. Unless and until I see a satisfactory psychiatric report on you, I will not make the children available to you for any contact whatsoever.”

Blanco said, “You have got some problems, Arcadia. This is another opportunity for Calderone to point out your bad behaviour and dishonesty. In short, you have two (2) choices: give him what he wants or challenge it in Court. Court will mean more expenditure and as I have just mentioned, it would give Calderone another opportunity to point out your bad behaviour and your dishonesty. I expect he will mention that you have not been telephoning the children for contact, but rather he has had to make the telephone call, so that the children can speak with you. The episode of you having sex with one of your boyfriends on the birthday of your son, rather than telephone your son will not look good for you.”

“Calderone may be prepared to submit to a psychiatric examination himself as part of his demand for you to be examined. If that is the case, it will make your position even more difficult. The Court may be happy to order that you both submit to a psychiatric examination.”

“This is all unravelling rather badly for you. I doubt you had any of this in mind when you were travelling round the country sleeping with seemingly any man who paid you attention. And before you get precious about what I have said to you, expect that line to be taken by Calderone, if this has to go to Court.”

“There is now quite a bit of evidence that you are not coping very well with your new family situation.

• You instigated a series of abusive telephone calls, text messages and email to Calderone because you could not see the children. He said would suspend all contact until they stopped.
• You went to pieces and caught a train out of town. After about a week away you returned home.
• Calderone telephoned you reminding you that you were supposed to ring the children for contact because you have not been doing so.
• On the birthday of your son you were supposed to telephone him, but you did not do so. When Calderone telephoned you about it, he interrupted you having sex with Bonham Trudeaux

“That does not look good for you.”

“Can you identify a compelling reason why you should not submit yourself for psychiatric assessment, as Calderone has requested?”

“Perhaps you should think about your answer for a couple of days and then let me know your answer.”

Arcadia then left the office of Siobhan Blanco and went home.

Caught In The Supermarket
Four (4) days later Arcadia went to the local supermarket to buy food. Whilst she was there she encountered Alpine McTavish. It was not a pleasant reunion for her.

“Well, well, well. Arcadia. Fancy seeing you here?”, McTavish said.

A surprised Arcadia responded, “What are you doing here?”

McTavish: “I am in Melbourne visiting friends and I am doing some shopping for them.”

Arcadia: “I am surprised to see you.”

McTavish: “I expect you are. You said we would spend a week together. I made plans for it. Then you offered some lame excuse as to why it could not happen and you did nothing to subsequently spend that time with me. Apparently you never had any trouble spending time with Garlick Duckworth in Sydney. Yes, Arcadia. I know all about him. Your secret boyfriend is far from a secret.”

“He was probably the person to whom you spent so much time sending text messages when you were with me. You were very good at ruining the time we spent together sending and receiving text messages and playing on your computer. Never once did you ever make up to me any of that time we spent together that you wasted.”

“You are an unfaithful wife and an unfaithful partner. It is wonderfully poetic that Garlick Duckworth, the man with whom you planned to live when you left your husband, dumped you as soon as the free food and easy sex you were giving him stopped. Of all the men in whom you could have invested, you chose Garlick Duckworth. What a fool.”

Arcadia did not want to participate in that conversation any longer, so she made her way to another part of the store. But there was another unpleasant surprise waiting for her in the store.

June Sedgewick was doing her shopping at the same supermarket as Arcadia.

Sedgewick noticed her and said loudly to Arcadia, “You were happy having sex with my husband and flaunting it to everyone while our children played soccer. Most people who have affairs are discrete. You have to flaunt yours. Are you happy with yourself? You do not look like you have any new toys to play with now. Serves you right.”

This was more than Arcadia could handle. Without replying to June Sedgewick, Arcadia made her way to the checkout and left the store. She then went straight home.

Barbeque with Augustina Fotheringham
Mid-Saturday morning Augustina Fotheringham telephoned Arcadia, “I have been invited to a barbeque starting at 5:00 pm today. It is not all that far from your house. I thought it might be a pleasant change for you to go with me. I will come round about 4:30 pm and pick you up.”

“Oh OK”, Arcadia replied.

At 4:15 pm Augustina arrived at the home of Arcadia. Somewhat to her surprise, Arcadia appeared to be ready. Arcadia made Augustina a cup of tea and told her about the letter Calderone sent her.

“Calderone said until he sees a satisfactory psychiatric report on me, he will not make the children available to me for any contact whatsoever. I saw my solicitor about it and she said in short, I have two (2) choices: give him what he wants or challenge it in Court. Court will mean more expenditure and it would give Calderone another opportunity to point out my bad behaviour and my dishonesty. She asked me, Can I identify a compelling reason why I should not submit myself for psychiatric assessment, as Calderone has requested?’

Augustina told Arcadia, “That is not an entirely unexpected request by Calderone. From what I have seen, he has been keeping a pretty close eye on what you have been doing and he seems to be very organised. You best take that request seriously. So we will go to this barbeque and see if you can have a good time for a change.”

When they got to the party Augustina watched Arcadia and thought she seemed to mingle well. After about forty-five (45) minutes Augustina went to the toilet. She had not seen Arcadia for some time. As she was returning from the toilet, she walked past one of the bedrooms. The door was open and Augustina had a clear view of what was going on inside the room. A naked Arcadia was having sex with two men.

Augustina immediately said to Arcadia, “Put your clothes on. We are leaving.”

The two (2) men saw Augustina and could tell she was serious. Sex with Arcadia stopped immediately. They each put on their clothes in silence and left the room. Arcadia put on her clothes and walked out to the car with Augustina. Not a word was said by either of them.

As Augustina started driving them back to the Arcadia’s house she said sternly to Arcadia, “After all that has happened to you, you do that. What where you thinking?”

Arcadia said meekly, “I just wanted some attention. I have not had any attention for ages.”

Augustina replied, “You will not be getting any attention from your children if you continue with this behaviour. Calderone will not make the children available to you for any contact whatsoever, as he told you very clearly in his letter to you. The attention you received from all your men friends is what has put you in this position.”

As they arrived at the home of Arcadia, Augustina said to her, “You need to talk to your relationship counsellor. I am too angry to talk to you today.”

Arcadia got out of the car and went inside her home. Augustina then went home herself.

A Candid Session with May Huddersfield, Relationship Counsellor
On the following Tuesday Arcadia made an appointment to see her relationship counsellor, May Huddersfield. The appointment was for Friday morning.

Huddersfield started the session with Arcadia saying to her, “I see from my notes the last time I spoke with you I said we need to talk about:

• Why you thought it appropriate to be unfaithful to your husband with these men, especially as none of them were interested in forming a family with you and your children.
• Why did your focus move from your children?
• Why did you put your job at risk in acting this way?”

“Has there been any development since the last time I saw you?”

Arcadia told Huddersfield about the letter Calderone sent her.

“Calderone said until he sees a satisfactory psychiatric report on me, he will not make the children available to me for any contact whatsoever. I saw my solicitor about it and she said in short, I have two (2) choices: give him what he wants or challenge it in Court. Court will mean more expenditure and it would give Calderone another opportunity to point out my bad behaviour and my dishonesty. She asked me, Can I identify a compelling reason why I should not submit myself for psychiatric assessment, as Calderone has requested?’

“So things have got considerably worse for you. My very strong advice to you is that unless you are completely candid with me, your situation will not improve” Huddersfield replied.

Arcadia said to Huddersfield,”On Saturday Augustina Fotheringham took me to a barbeque not all that far from my house. She said she thought it might be a pleasant change for me to go with her. We left after about an hour when Augustina saw me in a bedroom being shared by two (2) men.

“When she later asked me, what was I thinking? I told her, I just wanted some attention. I have not had any attention for ages”

Huddersfield: “ It seems by your actions Arcadia, you have not learned from what we talked about on the first occasion you saw me. You have repeatedly sought attention from men who are not interested in forming a family with you and your children. Your latest effort occurred in the face of potentially you not having any contact with your children. There is merit in Calderone wanting you to submit yourself for psychiatric assessment. At the moment it is hard to identify a compelling reason to resist that request.”

“Your best approach is to work with me and we can try to create a positive platform for you. Something to repair the enormous damage that has been done to your life. Something to enable you to have a meaningful relationship with your children again.”

Arcadia sat silently for some time thinking about what May Huddersfield said to her. Then she said “OK”

Arcadia Telephones Siobhan Blanco
When she left the office of May Huddersfield, Arcadia went home and telephoned her solicitor Siobhan Blanco.

Arcadia said, “I have just been to see May Huddersfield, my relationship counsellor. She is helping me create a positive platform so that I can try to have a meaningful relationship with my children again.”

“Is it possible for you to get me a helpful psychiatrist to do the assessment of me Calderone is seeking?

Siobhan Blanco was surprised by what Arcadia had told her.
Blanco said, “Yes, Arcadia. If you give me something tangible with which to work, I can recommend a psychiatrist whom I believe will help you.”

Fools Gold

Danesh Selkirk
“I am 5 hours from most places of significance, but tomorrow I will be in your City. Can we get together? Danesh Selkirk said to Arcadia Thiessen when he rang her Monday morning. Danesh had heard about Arcadia through work and he wanted to meet her.

“We will see. Contact me when you get here. I have to go to a meeting now,” Arcadia replied.

Another brief telephone call, we have had several of them. Will we ever meet?, Danesh thought to himself.

Garlick Duckworth
During her meeting Arcadia was thinking about her Sydney boyfriend, Garlick Duckworth.
Unperturbed by her ongoing divorce proceedings, which she was going to discuss with her solicitor, Siobhan Blanco, later that day, Arcadia decided to concoct another flimsy excuse to justify her employer sending her on a business trip to go Sydney to see Duckworth. She planned to tell him she does not intend to reveal him to the world as her boyfriend until her divorce is finalised.

Arcadia was well aware that her plan would deny any consideration of her relationship with Garlick Duckworth in the divorce proceedings and his suitability to have any interaction with the children. She decided that was something that the divorce proceedings did not need to know.

When her meeting ended, Arcadia returned to her office and asked her assistant to make the usual arrangements for her to travel to Sydney tomorrow. Ninety (90) minutes later she received an e-mail from her assistant, confirming that the requested travel arrangements had been made.

Meeting with Siobhan Blanco
At her meeting with her solicitor, Siobhan Blanco, Arcadia did not tell Blanco about all her boyfriends and sex partners. She maintained the line that she was a faithful wife and her husband had been cheating on her for many years. She proffered a couple of historic stories to support her claim, but nothing in recent times. Blanco and Arcadia prepared affidavit material to file in the Court to support the case of Arcadia. It contained the same narrative as Arcadia told Blanco, that she was a faithful wife and her husband had been cheating on her for many years.

In the process of preparing the Court material Blanco told Arcadia how an alternate argument to hers may see her spend less time with the children. Arcadia ignored the advice and maintained her position.

Danesh Selkirk
As Arcadia was walking to her car after seeing Siobhan Blanco, she received a telephone call from Danesh Selkirk.

“You know from our few telephone calls that I have been trying to meet you for some time. I will be flying home tomorrow. We can meet at my hotel tonight.”, Danesh tells Arcadia.

“You are trying not to waste the opportunity, are you? I can be at your hotel in forty (40) minutes”, Arcadia replied.

Arcadia sent Danesh a text message as she approached his hotel. When she arrived, he was waiting for her in the foyer. There was a brief greeting and then they proceeded to his hotel room. Once inside his hotel room, Arcadia put her handbag on the table.

Danesh then asked Arcadia about dinner.

“Food is not the real reason you invited me here, is it?”, Arcadia asked.

The initial response of Dinesh was stunned silence.

Arcadia continued, “We can deal with food afterwards”.

She removed her shoes and started to remove her dress. Danesh said nothing, but he too got undressed.

Their sexual encounter lasted about twenty (20) minutes. As they were putting their clothes back on discussion ensued about going down stairs to the restaurant in the hotel and eating dinner. They then made their way to the restaurant.

During dinner Arcadia told Danesh that she would have to return home straight after dinner. Danesh did not try to persuade Arcadia otherwise.

As she was leaving Arcadia said to Danesh, “Thanks for dinner. I guess we will speak again, sometime”.

Arcadia then left the restaurant, walked to her car and drove home. Danesh stayed at the restaurant for a little longer, then returned to his hotel room.

Tabernacle Calderone Meets with His Solicitors
In contrast to Arcadia, her estranged husband, Tabernacle Calderone, did not think he knew better than his solicitors when it came to their divorce. He did not try to control the narrative. They had long discussions on what might be included and what might be discovered in the process.

Calderone was uncertain as to whether he wanted to follow the suggestion of his solicitors and obtain surveillance video of Arcadia to see if it would support any of his claims of Arcadia having extramarital affairs.

It was a much easier decision for him to allow his solicitors to search the hotel records of where Arcadia had stayed on some of her business trips. That investigation proved fruitful, insofar as several of the room service bills showed that Arcadia ordered meals consistent with two (2) people being in the room. By the size of the meals, it appeared that her companion was male.

It was also an easy decision for him to allow his solicitors to obtain the telephone records of the second mobile telephone Arcadia had for some considerable time. In the process he said he was happy to disclose his telephone records, because they revealed no improper behaviour on his part.

Calderone was surprised to see that those records revealed almost daily contact between Arcadia and Garlick Duckworth, both by telephone calls and text messages. They also revealed every time she was in Sydney, she had contact with Duckworth.

When his solicitor, Zorgarn Kreptic, revealed this information to Callderone, they discussed the use to which it might be put in his case.

Kreptic asked Calderone, “Do you know Garlick Duckworth?”

“I have no idea who he is”, replied Calderone.

Kreptic: “Would you like me to make some further enquiries in relation to him? I do not expect it to be an expensive exercise.”

Calderone: “Yes.”

Kreptic: “In all the correspondence I have received from her solicitors, no mention is made of Arcadia being involved with Garlick Duckworth in any way, shape or form. I suggest we not say anything about him, at least until I have completed my enquiries in relation to him.”

Calderone: “I am happy to adopt your suggested approach in relation to him.”

Kreptic: “When I get the results of those further enquiries in relation to Duckworth, we can also discuss the utility of obtaining surveillance video of Arcadia.”

Calderone: “OK”

The conference with his solicitor then ended and Calderone went home.

Sydney
Upon arriving in Sydney Arcadia checked into the same hotel she always stays at when she sees Garlick Duckworth and as usual she proceeded to her room where she made herself reasonably comfortable.

Not twenty (20) minutes after checking into her hotel, Garlick Duckworth sent a text message to Arcadia asking if she had arrived at her hotel.

“Let me know when you are in the foyer and I will come down and get you”, Arcadia wrote in reply.

Arcadia had just got out of the shower when she received a text message from Duckworth telling her he was in the lobby of the hotel. She put on some casual clothes and went down to the foyer to meet him. Then they proceeded to her hotel room.

As they had done many times before, almost as soon as they entered the hotel room their sexual encounter commenced. Whilst enthusiastic, it was a far from torrid encounter and it ended unremarkably after about fifteen (15) minutes.

Arcadia ordered room service for dinner because she wanted to talk with Duckworth about her plans to keep him secret from her divorce proceedings. It was obvious from the room service bill that Arcadia had company for the meal. Discussion ensued during and after dinner, as Arcadia wished, however whilst Duckworth listened, it was clear to any independent observer that Duckworth really only wanted to talk about himself. That was absolutely in keeping with his character.

Before they went to sleep Arcadia ordered room service for breakfast in the morning, as she had an early start for her work meeting, ostensibly the reason she was attending Sydney. Again it was obvious from the contents of the room service bill that Arcadia had company for the meal.

The next morning was like an instant replay of many of their previous encounters. They awoke and there was another brief sexual encounter. They then had breakfast. After she finished her breakfast, Arcadia had a shower, then got dressed and left for her work meeting. At the end of her work meeting, she would return to Melbourne.

As she left for her meeting Arcadia left Duckworth in the hotel room to finish his breakfast.

Tabernacle Calderone Again Meets with His Solicitors
Calderone met with his solicitor, Zorgarn Kreptic, again and discussed the new information which was to hand.

Kreptic said, “I have some results of those further enquiries in relation to Duckworth I can share with you. We have a modest profile on Garlick Duckworth. It seems every time Arcadia went to Sydney in the last eighteen (18) months, she met Duckworth. It seems he also spent quite a bit of time with her in hotels. That is in complete contrast to her story of being a loyal, faithful wife. I believe we can use this information to support your contention that the focus of Arcadia was not primarily on the children and parenting the children, but rather on her social life. Accordingly you should have more time with children than is currently being offered.”

A somewhat stunned Calderone said: “It is one thing to suspect this stuff. It is quite another to have it confirmed. How do we go about this?”

Kreptic told Calderone, “I already have a draft statement from you. I will use the information and knowledge we have obtained to develop and support your arguments in the affidavit material we will file in the Court for you. I will prepare a draft affidavit for you and you can see then if it is the approach you wish to take.”

“Also given that you and Arcadia are now separated, surveillance video of her now is unlikely to reveal much useful evidence, unless it concentrated upon Duckworth.”

“I will also try to frame your material so as to put the credibility of Arcadia in issue and help you in the process. It seems to me Arcadia is going to have to concede at least some involvement on her part with Duckworth. The process may appear uncomfortable for Arcadia, but I do not intend to lose focus from our ultimate goal, which is to present your case in the best possible way and to achieve the best outcome we can for you.”

Calderone replied, “By the time you have a draft affidavit ready for me to read I will have processed the news you have just told me a little more and will be in a better position to decide how I wish to proceed with the case. At the moment I am happy with your suggestions.”

The conference then ended and Calderone went home.

Arcadia Returns To The Office
Arcadia returned to work after her Sydney business trip. In making her way to her office, she walked past several colleagues gathered around a computer screen.  She could see that something had captured their attention, however she was not able to see what they were watching. Things became a little clearer in that regard when she arrived at her office. She noticed there was a video playing on her computer. The video was of her having a sexual encounter with Bonham Trudeaux, her Melbourne boyfriend. She felt numb, put her bag down and slumped in her chair.

Within moments her assistant approached her and handed her a piece of paper. The message on the paper was simple, it was from the big boss, “Clean out your desk”.

Hooked On a Feeling

Happy and relieved was how Arcadia Thiessen felt after finishing preparation of her presentations for the two (2) day Business Development Conference she was attending in Adelaide the next day. Her assistant had also just sent her an e-mail confirming her travel and accommodation arrangements for the trip. Arcadia then sent a text message to Theodore Pichot, her Adelaide boyfriend, informing him of her travel and accommodation details.

Theodore replied, “I have commitments that preclude me from seeing you tomorrow, however we could spend perhaps a couple of hours together before you go home the day after. I am keen to see you”.

The response from Arcadia was brief, “We will see if we can work something out when I get there”.

Arcadia then collected the material she needed to take with her for the conference and went off to the gym.

Gym
About ten (10) minutes into her work out Arcadia noticed there was a man paying close attention to her. O'Jones Delahunty was someone Arcadia had previously noticed at the gym, but they had no personal interaction. As she maintained her firm grip on the weights she was lifting, her wedding ring very visible to Delahunty He wasted little time. He introduced himself to Arcadia and almost immediately propositioned her.

“You are very self-confident”, Arcadia said, without much interruption to her workout.

“We can go to my place. It is less than ten (10) minutes away, Delahunty replied.

Without much hesitation Arcadia said to him, “Write down your address for me, I will meet you there shortly”.

Twenty (20) minutes later Delahunty greeted Arcadia at his front door. That was longer than their sexual encounter lasted. Arcadia thought the self-confidence Delahunty possessed at the gym was an over-statement of his sexual prowess, but did not share her less than flattering review of him with him.

She ended their encounter saying, “I have to go” and with that she separated herself from him and put her clothes back on.

Delahunty said to her, “Will I see you again?”

Arcadia replied, “You might see me at the gym”. She then left his house, got in her car and drove home to her husband, Tabernacle Calderone, and children.

Once she was home Arcadia shared none of her experience with O'Jones Delahunty with her husband and children. In contrast, O'Jones Delahunty was happy to share details of his encounter with Arcadia with several of his mates.

Adelaide Trip
The next day saw Arcadia travel to Adelaide without incident. After she booked into her hotel and settled into her hotel room, she then proceeded to the conference.

Morning Tea Break at The Adelaide Conference
During the morning tea break of the Adelaide Business Development Conference Parish Garner told Thackery Versailles, “I met Arcadia Thiessen at a conference in Perth last year. It is a well-known fact that every time Arcadia travels, she cheats on her husband. One of the reasons I came to this conference was because she was going to be speaking at it. Two mates of mine told me the last time she was here, they shared her and she was a very willing participant”.

Moments later Parish Garner saw Arcadia walk by them and he said, “Hello Arcadia. How are you?”

“Parish Garner from Perth, right?”, she replied.

Parish Garner: “Yes and this is my friend Thackery Versailles. Will you be speaking shortly?”

Arcadia: “Yes, not long after this morning tea break”.

Parish Garner: “You look fantastic”

Arcadia: “Thank you”

Parish Garner: “Are you doing anything this evening?

Arcadia: “Why?”

Parish Garner: “We would like to see you.”

Arcadia: “Both of you?”

Parish Garner: “Yes both of us”

Arcadia: “The two of you together and me?”

Parish Garner: “Yes”

Arcadia: “Where do you propose this happen?”

Parish Garner: “Our hotel room.”

Arcadia: “Oh I see”

Parish Garner: “We can do it in your hotel room if you like.  I understand you have been shared before.”

Arcadia: “A few times, yes, not a lot”

Parish Garner: “So we would like to share you tonight in our hotel room. Can we entice you?”

Arcadia had a big smile on her face. She seemed very pleased.
“Yes, all right. I will meet you in the bar at 8:00 pm. Now I have got to go back to the conference and get ready for my presentation.”

As Arcadia returned to the conference Thackery said to Parish “That was an interesting exchange”.

Parish replied, “Arcadia knew in Perth I found her attractive, but she had other company that was occupying her attention. So nothing happened between us. She is well-known”.

“I am not surprised, and seemingly well liked”, Thackery observed.

“Yes, she is rather popular and she knows it.”

Parish and Thackery ended their discussion and returned to the conference.

Hotel Bar
At about 7:50 pm Parish and Thackery arrived at the bar. They each ordered an orange juice and sat at a table. They were happy and a little excited. Parish summed up the situation well, “I know what arrangements we made earlier and I know what I said about Arcadia and her reputation. I also know we are both a bit excited about this endeavour. However experience has taught me not to be overconfident. We will wait to see if Arcadia arrives and then see what happens.”

Thackery replied, “That is a sensible approach.”

At about 8:03 pm Arcadia walked into the bar. Both men noticed her immediately. Only one or two of the buttons on her blouse were done up and it was very obvious she was not wearing a bra. Quite a lot of her bare breasts were visible as she approached the two men and greeted them.

They were clearly happy with what they saw and Arcadia was pleased with their reaction.

“Shall we?” Parish asked

“Lead  the way” Arcadia replied.

The three of them then made their way to the hotel elevators.

Elevator
Thackery stood beside Arcadia, her blouse was very open. He could see a great deal of her bare right breast and quite a lot of her nipple. Arcadia saw Thackery looking at her breast and smiled at him.

Hotel Room of Parish Garner and Thackery Versailles
Moments later they were all walking down the corridor to the hotel room of Parish and Thackery. No one was speaking. Parish opened the hotel room door and let Arcadia enter the room first, Thackery followed her. Parish was last to enter the room and he made sure he put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of the door before closing it. He then secured the door.

Arcadia immediately put her handbag on the table and took off her shoes. She put them beside one of the chairs. She then removed her blouse and put it over the back of one of the chairs.

When Parish and Thackery saw Arcadia undressing, they did likewise. Initially there was no conversation. Arcadia then removed her skirt and as she was placing it over the back of the chair on which she put her blouse, Thackery said, “No underwear?”

Arcadia replied “I did not wear anything unnecessary.”

“Fair enough” said Thackery.

Arcadia then walked over to Thackery’s bed. As she sat down Thackery had finished removing his clothes. She encouraged him to approach her. He did so and she took him into her mouth. Within seconds Parish had removed his clothes and he walked over to Arcadia and Thackery. He stood to the right of Thackery facing Arcadia and with her left hand she starting stroking the penis of Parish. Her wedding ring was obvious, as was the arousal of both men. Arcadia then took Parish in her mouth and she alternated between the two of them for a while.

Not long after this Arcadia repositioned herself on the bed. She was on all fours and just before she put Thackery back in her mouth, she said, “Just so you know guys. I do not do anal. Is that understood?”

“Yes” was the reply from both Parish and Thackery.

Parish walked round behind Arcadia and knelt on the bed. Arcadia could feel him caressing her bottom. Parish then entered Arcadia from behind. Thackery saw Arcadia pause her attention to him briefly to concentrate on Parish. When his penetration was complete she resumed her attention to Thackery. Both men were obviously very happy with what was going on and they soon increased the tempo of their thrusting. Arcadia did not seem in any way unhappy with the attention she was receiving.

Once again Arcadia paused her attention to Thackery. She said to both men, “Do you want to change positions?”

They looked at each other and said “Sure”

Parish was first to relocate and Arcadia took him in her mouth. Thackery was cautious in his attempt at entering Arcadia from behind and achieved penetration without too much trouble. Consistent with their earlier behaviour, there was soon some more rigorous thrusting by both men.

After about twenty (20) minutes Arcadia put an end to proceedings.

She said, “You boys have had your fun and so have I. It is time for me to leave. I have to prepare for my seminar tomorrow.”

She got off the bed and walked over to the chair where she put her clothes. She put on her skirt and blouse. As she was doing up her blouse she was also stepping into her shoes. She then picked up her hand bag and walked to the door. Parish and Thackery were still naked as they watched Arcadia unlock the door and open it.

And Then There were Two
She then turned to them and said “See you later”. Without waiting for a reply Arcadia walked out the door and proceeded to her hotel room.

After the door closed behind Arcadia Parish said, “Well that is one way to make an exit”.

Thackery seemed a little stunned by the speed of the exit by Arcadia. There was no further discussion between the two men, for the time being. Parish went and had a shower. As he did so Thackery sent text messages to three (3) of his friends, informing them he just had a threesome with Arcadia and Parish.

When Parish came out of the shower there was discussion between the two men about the events of the evening. But there was no discussion about whether they would tell anyone about what occurred.

Thackery did not shower, he said he wanted to keep the smell of Arcadia on him. He also knew he was sleeping in the bed where they all had sex.

The Next Morning
Next morning neither Parish nor Thackery saw Arcadia. They attended the rest of the conference, without incident.  Then they made their way to the airport, where they meet a work friend.

“Where have you guys been?”, he asked

“At the Business Development Conference”, Parish replied.

“Was that the one at which Arcadia Thiessen was speaking?”

“Yes. We met her and had a threesome with her last night”, Parish continued.

“Lucky guys. I have to go, my plane is about to board.”

“So Arcadia really is well known?” Thackery asked Parish.

“In some circles, yes. Very well known and very popular” answered Parish.

Adelaide Business Development Conference - Day Two
About fifteen (15) minutes before Arcadia gave her second seminar at the Conference she exchanged text messages with Theodore Pichot, her Adelaide boyfriend, and made arrangements to meet him for lunch. Immediately after she completed her presentation Arcadia left the Conference and caught a taxi to the restaurant where she met Theodore Pichot for lunch. During lunch they agreed to visit Theodore’s home on the way to Arcadia going to the airport.

At Pichot’s house Arcadia proceeded straight to his bedroom. Theodore followed her. Their sexual encounter lasted for about twenty (20) minutes. They then got dressed and Pichot drove Arcadia to the airport, so she would not miss her flight home to Melbourne.

Divorce Preparation Finalised By Tabernacle Calderone
By the time Arcadia was on the plane returning to Melbourne from Adelaide, the boasting of O'Jones Delahunty about his sexual encounter with Arcadia had reached Tabernacle Calderone. He was not impressed. Tabernacle told his lawyers of this latest Arcadia infidelity tale. They agreed it was time to finalise the divorce papers and file them in the Court.

In the mean time Tabernacle Calderone had arranged new residential premises and relocated there with the children.

Service of Divorce Proceedings
When Arcadia returned home from her Adelaide business trip, neither her husband nor her children were there to greet her. On the kitchen table she found the note accompanying the flowers Stiles Parsons had previously sent her on top of an A4 envelope. Inside the envelope was a copy of the divorce proceedings documents.

Careless Whispers

Sunday
Sunday afternoon band practice happened as normal at the house of Arcadia Thiessen and Tabernacle Calderone in Melbourne. A short tour to Adelaide was planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of that week and the band were putting finishing touches to the set list they proposed to play during that tour. Guitarist and band leader Tabernacle Calderone was making sure the other two band members did what he wanted. He was particularly harsh on the drummer, Stiles Parsons.

Whilst band practice was in progress Arcadia Thiessen was on the telephone to Daisy Farthing who was reminding her that on Tuesday night they were scheduled to go to the Art Gallery opening of their friend and gallery owner Germaine Greyling. Arcadia said she had organised a babysitter for the evening for her two children and was looking forward to catching up with Germaine and her.

As far as their children were concerned, this looked like a normal Sunday.  The children knew how to entertain themselves without interrupting the band or their mother.

During a break in practice Stiles Parsons talked to Arcadia. She told him once again Tabernacle Calderone was making her life very difficult. Stiles had always had a crush on Arcadia, but she never allowed anything to happen in respect of it. Many times during conversations with Stiles Arcadia had remarked about Tabernacle having affairs with other women. Arcadia always maintained that she had never had any affairs.

Band practice resumed and continued without incident for about another hour. Then Stiles and the bass player packed up their gear and went home.

Tuesday
Tuesday evening arrived and so did the babysitter to look after the two children while Arcadia went to the Art Gallery opening with Daisy Farthing and Germaine Greyling. Tabernacle Calderone and his band had already left for their tour to Adelaide.

Immediately upon arriving at the Art Gallery Arcadia saw Daisy and Germaine and walked over to them. The three women were chatting to each other for about ten (10) minutes when an artist Germaine knew, Wilbur Runkle, came over to them and said hello to Germaine. In turn Germaine introduced Wilbur Runkle to Arcadia and Daisy. It was obvious that he took an instant liking to Arcadia. As she talked and gestured from time to time during the conversation the wedding ring of Arcadia was unmistakable.

Germaine left Arcadia and Daisy to meet and mingle with other guests at the gallery. Wilbur Runkle also mingled with other gallery guests, but his attention was never really far away from Arcadia. Daisy and Arcadia wandered round the gallery together looking at the art and occasionally talking to other guests.

About an hour later Arcadia, Daisy and Germaine met up again and started talking amongst themselves. Wilbur Runkle walked over to them and joined in the conversation. He stood beside Arcadia and made his interest in her obvious. She did nothing to discourage his interest. Daisy and Germaine could see what was going on, so they talked to each other, rather than involve Arcadia and Wilbur. Wilbur was not wasting any time with Arcadia and he put his hand on her bottom as her spoke to her. Arcadia was very happy with the attention she was receiving and was not at all troubled by the fact that other guests at the gallery could see that Wilbur had his had on her bottom whilst he was talking to her.

Daisy and Germaine could hear most of the conversation between Arcadia and Wilbur, but they continued with their own conversation. During a brief silence in their conversation they heard Wilbur ask Arcadia to go home with him.

The response of Arcadia was immediate, “Just let me make a telephone call”.

With that she immediately took out her mobile telephone and rang the babysitter. Arcadia said, “Something has come up. Can you look after the children for the whole night? I know you have done it before and I am happy to pay you properly for so doing.”

The babysitter agreed and Arcadia said, “Thank you. I will be home in the morning to get the children off to school.”

Arcadia then ended the telephone call with the babysitter and put her mobile telephone back in her handbag. She then said to Wilbur Runkle, “Yes, I will go home with you”.

The response of Daisy and Germaine was as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Arcadia thanked them both for a lovely evening and said goodbye to them. Wilbur briefly removed his hand from the bottom of Arcadia to thank Germaine and Daisy for a lovely evening. Wilbur then said good evening to them both and returned his hand to the bottom of Arcadia as they walked out of the gallery together.

It was a short walk to Wilbur’s car and a short drive to his home. As soon as Wilbur shut the front door to his home the sexual encounter between Arcadia and Wilbur started in earnest. It lasted for about half an hour and saw them visit several rooms of his house. Ultimately they finished up in his bed where they slept the rest of the night.

Arcadia woke about 4:30 am to go to the toilet. She then got dressed and used her mobile telephone to order a taxi to take her home. By that stage Wilbur had awoken and he asked her what she was doing. She said she was going home as she had things to do there.

Wilbur said, “Can I have your telephone number?”

Arcadia replied, “I am not sure if I want to give it to you. For now I will leave you my underwear as a souvenir. I may come back later and get them from you.”

Arcadia then lifted up her dress, removed her underwear and dropped them on the end of the bed. She then picked up her purse and walked out the front door. As she did so the taxi she had ordered earlier arrived. She got in the taxi and it took her home.

Once Arcadia was home she had a shower and then started making preparations for her children to go to school that day.  She also made preparations for her to go to work.

When she was at work Arcadia spoke to both Daisy and Germaine on the telephone and thanked them again for an enjoyable evening. No mention was made of her going home with Wilbur Runkle.

Post-Adelaide Tour
When Tabernacle Calderone returned from the Adelaide tour he told Arcadia that Stiles Parsons was sacked from the band, that he would not be playing in the band any longer. No explanation was offered as to why that happened. Arcadia did not ask Tabernacle any questions about Stiles or the Adelaide tour.

Subsequently Stiles joined a new band as their drummer and he thought he was happy there. In conversation with Bonham Trudeaux, a friend of one of the members of the new band, Bonham revealed that he was having a sexual relationship with Arcadia Thiessen and that she was an extremely willing partner insofar as the sex was concerned. Whenever they get together they spent most of their time having sex. This shocked Stiles Parsons because Arcadia Thiessen always denied participating in any such behaviour and she always maintained how hurt she was when she found out her husband Tabernacle was cheating on her. She also knew Stiles Parsons was very attracted to her.

Bonham continued his story about his new girlfriend Arcadia. He said that he had photographs of her naked and performing oral sex on him. He then showed Stiles six (6) photographs he had on his mobile telephone. Stiles immediately recognised the woman in the photographs as Arcadia. The experience was making him feel sick, but he tried not to show any discomfort. He could see from at least two (2) of the four (4) photographs of Arcadia naked that they were taken at her home. He could also see in the two (2) photographs where Arcadia was performing oral sex that her wedding ring was clearly visible. By that stage Stiles had had enough and he made an excuse to leave. Bonham said good-bye to him and was none the wiser as to what Stiles really knew.

Sydney
Unbeknown to Stiles Parsons Arcadia Thiessen also had a boyfriend in Sydney, Garlick Duckworth, whom she would organise to see every time she went to Sydney for her work. Arcadia would use the flimsiest of excuses to justify going to Sydney for work and that would give her an opportunity to spend time with Garlick Duckworth.

On the latest trip to Sydney Arcadia met a man on the plane, Guinness Chesterfield. He was several years younger than her and possessed of significant self-confidence. They were seated in adjoining seats and Guinness Chesterfield  made it very clear in rather loud tones that he wanted to get Arcadia into bed. Whilst Arcadia Thiessen did nothing to encourage Guinness Chesterfield, she certainly did nothing to discourage his attention.

When they got off the plane Guinness Chesterfield followed her to her taxi and she agreed to go to his hotel with him. She said she preferred those arrangements because that enabled her to leave his company whenever she saw fit. When they got to his hotel Guinness Chesterfield checked in and they both went to his room. Sex commenced almost immediately and it continued for about twenty (20) minutes. When it finished Guinness Chesterfield asked Arcadia Thiessen for her telephone number, but she refused to give it to him.

She said, “You really were not all that good and I am not in a hurry to see you again. In other circumstances I might leave you my underwear as a souvenir, but the guy I am going to see will expect me to be wearing underwear when I arrive.”

With that she left and proceeded to her hotel.

Her Hotel
Arcadia checked into her hotel and proceeded to her room where she made herself reasonably comfortable.

About half an hour later she got a text message from Garlick Duckworth asking if she had arrived at her hotel. She replied she was in her hotel and he could attend there immediately.

Before Garlick Duckworth arrived at her hotel room Arcadia Thiessen rang her children said goodnight to them.

About fifteen (15) minutes after her text message to him Arcadia met Garlick in the lobby of the hotel and then they proceeded to her hotel room. Pretty much as soon as they entered the hotel room sexual activity between them commenced. After about half an hour they stopped their sexual encounter, got dressed and went downstairs to the restaurant where they had dinner. The dinner was paid for by the employer of Arcadia Thiessen. During dinner almost all of the conversation from Garlick Duckworth was about him, because he is really only interested in himself. Arcadia did not tell Garlick about her sexual encounter earlier that day with Guinness Chesterfield.

After dinner at the restaurant Arcadia and Garlick returned to her hotel room and recommenced their sexual encounter.

The second sexual encounter with Garlick Duckworth did not last all that long and then Arcadia had a shower and went to sleep. Garlick Duckworth spent the remainder of the night with her in her hotel room. When they awoke the next morning there was another brief sexual encounter. When it ended Arcadia had a shower and got dressed for work. She had a conference to attend in Sydney before returning to Melbourne.

Arcadia Thiessen had ordered room service for breakfast for them both. When breakfast was over she prepared to leave the hotel for the conference. Garlick said he was very keen to see her again. He saw her as an undeniably attractive woman who provided him with very easy sex, as well as free meals whenever she visited. He certainly was not in love with her.

Melbourne
Stiles Parsons was extremely hurt by the revelations made to him about Arcadia. He was tired of being no more than a convenience for her. He knew Arcadia was away from Melbourne on business, so he took the opportunity to send a bunch of flowers to her home whilst she was away. The card attached to the flowers was deliberately ambiguous.

It read, “Thanks for a fantastic time. You really are amazing. I hope we can get together again the next time you are in town.”

Stiles knew the movements of Arcadia well enough to time the delivery of the flowers so that Tabernacle Calderone would see them well before she did.

The Stiles Parsons plan unfolded just as he desired. Tabernacle Calderone saw the flowers and the attached card well before Arcadia arrived home from her Sydney business trip. Tabernacle assumed Arcadia had been having an affair with another man, something he had suspected for quite some time. He photographed the flowers and the card. He kept the card and put it in his guitar case.

Tabernacle then made immediate arrangements to see a solicitor and get advice about separating from and divorcing Arcadia. The solicitor and Tabernacle agreed not to say anything about the divorce to Arcadia or anyone else until all preparations had been completed, which was expected to take about two (2) weeks. On the way home from the solicitors Tabernacle put the flowers in an industrial rubbish bin.

When Arcadia Thiessen arrived home Tabernacle acted as if nothing untoward had happened.

Selling Secrets

Derek Winthrop telephoned Daniel Soames in his Chambers and said briefly, “I have a rather delicate matter I would like to discuss with you, with a view to briefing you in it. Are you available for me to come and see you about it today? In fact I would prefer to see you immediately, if possible. It is not really something I can discuss with you in detail over the telephone.”

Daniel said “Yes I am available and I can see you immediately.”
“Thank you, I will see you in your Chambers in fifteen (15) minutes and I will bring the client with me.”

Just as he suggested within about fifteen (15) minutes Derek arrived at Daniel’s Chambers with his client, Mr Zurich Lindisfarne. Upon greeting Daniel, Derek said “Perhaps it would be best if I saw you alone initially and then you can have a conference with the client.”

“As you wish Mr Winthrop” Daniel responded.

“My client, Mr Zurich Lindisfarne, consulted me earlier this morning and informed me that he had been charged with what amounts to selling state secrets.  In a few days time he is required to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in answer to that charge. As you may be aware, prosecutions of matters such as this are attendant with great security, in fact almost secrecy and there is very little material available for me to consider and advise my client at this juncture. I am aware that we have discussed this type of prosecution in the past and that we are both reasonably familiar with what is involved. I have obtained from the Crown a very brief summary of the allegations made against our client and I can provide that summary to you now. Other than that, there is very little other information I can share with you in order to assist you in providing Mr Lindisfarne any advice in respect of this matter.”

Daniel said “Thank you Mr Winthrop, might l have a look at that summary now?”
As Daniel was asking that question, Derek Winthrop was already providing the summary to him from his file.

After reading the summary provided to him Daniel said to Mr Winthrop, “Five paragraphs that barely make a page is indeed a brief summary of facts. Nevertheless, based on what is provided here, there seems little room for our client to defend this charge.”

“That was also my impression.” Derek Winthrop replied.

Daniel continued “He works for ASIO so surely in the position of trust in which Mr Lindisfarne found himself, he should have known better than to disclose this information, let alone sell it? Is he in financial trouble? Does he have a gambling problem? Does he have a demanding mistress? Are any of the usual explanations in play here? Or is this just a case of pure unadulterated greed? Mr Winthrop has Mr Lindisfarne shared any of this with you or have you chosen not to discuss that aspect of the case with him thus far?”

“It seems greed and stupidity were the primary motivating forces here, Mr Soames. However I have not canvassed that aspect of the case in any great detail with Mr Lindisfarne thus far.  I thought it was more important to confer with you as to how we should proceed. I have advised him that he is in a very serious situation and if he is convicted of the offence, he should definitely expect to go to jail.  Other than that information, I said to him in my view it would be better to have a conference with you and we could work out a plan of attack during that conference. Perhaps I should inform you at this stage, there is definitely no issue as to our fees. They have definitely been covered,” Mr Winthrop said.

Daniel then said to Mr Winthrop, “All right then, perhaps we better bring Mr Lindisfarne in and have a chat with him about all of this.”

Without delay Derek Winthrop left the Chambers of Daniel Soames, went outside to the waiting area and returned with Mr Lindisfarne.

Conference with Mr Lindisfarne
Whilst their introductions were brief, Daniel could see that Mr Lindisfarne was clearly a very worried man. Almost immediately upon Mr Lindisfarne taking his seat Daniel said to him, “From what Mr Winthrop tells me, you are a man in a very serious situation. At this juncture I do not propose to get any great detail from you as to your version of the facts. I would prefer to concentrate on learning as much as I can about the Crown case, to see how bad it is for you and whether there is any prospect of you successfully defending the charge. Mr Winthrop has provided me with some material thus far and although that information is brief, it does not suggest any defence available to you or any real likelihood of you being found not guilty of the offence.”

Daniel was looking at Mr Lindisfarne as he was speaking to him and it occurred to Daniel that his client did not appear surprised by anything that was being said to him.

“In the ordinary course of our business, when Mr Winthrop or one of his colleagues brings a client to me who is confronting a Crown case that appears to be as strong as the one that apparently confronts you, we generally discuss what can be done to minimise the sentence that is likely to be imposed once the accused is convicted of the offence. Entering a plea of guilty to the charge is usually a useful approach in those circumstances, because it can be said to indicate remorse, contrition and cooperation. The legislation courts must follow when sentencing offenders convicted of crimes indicates clearly that discounts generally apply upon pleas of guilty in those circumstances. In some circumstances it can mean a significant reduction in the jail sentence likely to be imposed by the court. It can even mean the difference between an accused going to jail or staying out of jail. You probably want to know what punishment is likely to be imposed upon you if you are convicted of this offence.”

Mr Lindisfarne looked terrified and simply nodded his head.

“Well Mr Lindisfarne, given the offence with which you are charged and the nature of the information you are alleged to have sold, I do not believe there is any doubt you will go to jail upon being convicted of this offence. Your jail sentence will be significant. Three (3) to five (5) years actual custody is unlikely to be said to be excessive in these circumstances in my view.”

Daniel was looking at Mr Lindisfarne during the conversation, but he also noticed Mr Winthrop when he spoke of the actual jail sentence and Mr Winthrop seemed to nod his head in agreement with Daniel. Daniel then asked Mr Winthrop, “Would you agree with that assessment of the sentence Mr Winthrop?”

“Yes I think that is an accurate assessment of the sentence likely to be imposed”, Mr Winthrop replied.

Mr Lindisfarne was silent and apparently processing the information that was being provided to him. He did not appear to challenge any of the information.  Rather he appeared to be a man coming to the realisation that he was in an enormous amount of trouble and it was all of his own making.

Daniel continued, “Sadly Mr Lindisfarne your troubles appear not to end there. The information you sold is extremely delicate and there will be some people in this community very unhappy about the misuse of that information. I suspect your time in prison will not be pleasant. I expect there will be people who will wish to introduce you to their own form of justice and that is not a threat against which even the protection yard at the prison can guarantee you real comfort. Raising that reality with the judge on sentence is not likely to relieve you of having to serve an actual jail sentence, such is the nature of the offence with which you have been charged.

Unfortunately you have messed with some very bad people and ultimately the criminal justice system may not be your biggest problem. I am happy to do what I can to help you, but the help that both Mr Winthrop and I can offer you has its limits unfortunately. Of course you are free to seek advice elsewhere, but I doubt that anyone being honest with you will give you advice different to the advice you have heard here today.”

As Daniel said that to Mr Lindisfarne he noticed Mr Winthrop nodding and when Daniel finished speaking, Mr Winthrop added, “I agree.”

“If you like Mr Lindisfarne, Mr Winthrop and I can make enquiries of the Crown to see what the present thoughts of the prosecution are in terms of sentencing you for this offence.”

Mr Lindisfarne then said to Daniel “Yes please.”

Daniel then said to Mr Lindisfarne, “There is really no more I need from you at this stage. We can discuss the matter further once we have heard more from the Crown. If you do not mind, I will have a short chat with Mr Winthrop in your absence and then the two of you can return to his office.”

Mr Lindisfarne then got up out of his chair shook hands with Daniel.  As he did so he said, “Thank you for your advice and for seeing me at short notice. I really appreciate it.” He then went back outside Daniel's Chambers to the waiting area.

As Mr Lindisfarne was walking out of Daniel’s Chambers, Mr Winthrop said to him, “I will be out with you shortly and we will then return to my office.” Mr Lindisfarne nodded and continued to the waiting area.

Shortly after the door closed from Mr Lindisfarne walking out of Daniel’s Chambers, Daniel said to Mr Winthrop, “Your client seemed to confirm my worst fears about this case.”

Derek replied, “I agree, he has not filled me with much confidence or given me much comfort about his future.”

Daniel added, “Quite frankly Mr Winthrop, I doubt that the criminal law is his biggest problem. Given what he has done and that he has now been publicly identified or at least sufficiently publicly identified in doing it, his greatest fear would seem to be that someone will want to kill him.”

“I agree Mr Soames. In fact there is no guarantee he will make it to trial and there would seem to be little if anything we can do to stop that occurring. I had better take Mr Lindisfarne back to my office. Thank you for your time and assistance today Mr Soames. I will keep you informed of any developments.”

“Thank you Mr Winthrop. It was a pleasure, as always.”

Two Days Later
About two days after the conference Derek Winthrop telephoned Daniel Soames, “My wife and the wife of our client Mr Zurich Lindisfarne are friends. That was a reason he initially consulted me. Mrs Lindisfarne telephoned my wife earlier today to advise that Mr Zurich Lindisfarne died last night. It was not suicide and apparently there are no suspicious circumstances.”

“I guess ‘no suspicious circumstances’ is a relative term Mr Winthrop.” Soames interjected.

“Indeed Soames and I do not suspect the authorities will be at all interested in investigating his ‘not controversial’ death. The ‘problem’ of Mr Zurich Lindisfarne appears now to have been solved and a criminal trial will not be necessary. Other than that I do not have any further information for you at this time. As other news comes to hand I will keep you informed.”

“Thank you Mr Winthrop. Perhaps you might pass on my regards and condolences to Mrs Winthrop and Mrs Lindisfarne.” Daniel Soames said.

“Certainly Mr Soames. I will talk to you again soon. Good morning.”  Derek Winthrop then hung up the telephone and he and Daniel Soames returned to other work.