tell Terry that they
would be going in the Holden and they changed the oil in it that
night.
It was three o’clock in the morning,
Saturday morning, when Ginger rousted his nephew from a sound sleep
and told him they were leaving. Terry was surprised that Ginger was
wearing a suit. He did not know Ginger owned a suit. Terry fell
asleep in the passenger’s seat half an hour later. The trip took 11
hours with a stop for lunch and something that Ginger promised
would be explained.
Terry walked into the Whale Mart and bought
a bottle of hair dye at his uncle’s request. They went to a public
rest room in a deserted park and Ginger dyed his hair and beard
blond. It was a sloppy job but relatively effective. Terry was, of
course, intensely curious about the whole affair, but he was
assured that there was a good reason and it would all be revealed
to him.
They had a little trouble finding the house,
since it was off the beaten path, but they located it eventually.
Ginger was glad the boat was not parked in the driveway. He was not
certain they were on the right track and he didn’t need Terry going
ballistic. Terry had been driving at that point and Ginger had him
park so the interior of the car was masked by a tree. Then he left
his nephew behind the wheel while he went to the door with a ledger
in his hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Macintosh.”
“G’day, sir.”
“Mr. Macintosh, my name is Frederick
Samuels. I am an employee of the Helping Hands Insurance
Corporation. I have been informed that you purchased the Ellsinore about a week ago and I am here to tell you that
there may be some irregularities with the registration.” Ginger
opened the ledger and handed Grant a business card with the Helping
Hands logo and the name Frederick Samuels on it.
“They said nothing when I registered
it.”
“No, they wouldn’t have. The irregularity
involves the fact that this boat was reported wrecked at one point
and should not have been reregistered until it was certified by the
insurance company. May I ask where the vessel is being kept?”
“Well, I just… It’s on a trailer out back.
It didn’t look like it had been wrecked.”
“I need to look at the vessel and certify
that it is the same vessel. Do you have the registration on
hand?”
“Yes, just a moment.” Grant Macintosh
disappeared into the house for a moment and then returned with the
document. The two of them walked around the building and sure
enough, there was a dark blue fiberglass Bullet with twin Evinrude
engines.
Ginger climbed onto the trailer and onto the
deck of the boat. “It does not look as though the numbers have been
changed,” he said as he copied the vehicle identification numbers
into his ledger. Then he climbed out and performed a cursory
inspection of the hull. His inspection completed, he said, “There
may have been some sort of mistake. This vessel does not look as
though it was ever wrecked. Now, we do not have the name and
address of the former owner, since it was not insured through the
Helping Hands Insurance Corporation. The computer system is still
relatively new and there may have been a mistake in the
information. May I bother you for the name and address of the man
you bought the vessel from?”
“Of course. Give me a moment. I’m sure I
have that information in the house. Tell me, doesn’t VicRoads
provide that for you?”
“Yes, they will if we wish to wait for some
time. The Corporation will not honor any damage claims until we get
the matter sorted out, however. We cannot do that until we speak
with the man who claimed the vessel was wrecked. I assure you that
you are in no trouble, but if there was a claim filed by the former
owner then he may be in a great deal of trouble. We take a dim view
of insurance fraud.”
“Oh, I see. Well then, wait here a moment
and I’ll fetch it for you.” It only took a moment and Grant
returned with a scrap of paper. The name was Percy Darrow and the
address was north of
would be going in the Holden and they changed the oil in it that
night.
It was three o’clock in the morning,
Saturday morning, when Ginger rousted his nephew from a sound sleep
and told him they were leaving. Terry was surprised that Ginger was
wearing a suit. He did not know Ginger owned a suit. Terry fell
asleep in the passenger’s seat half an hour later. The trip took 11
hours with a stop for lunch and something that Ginger promised
would be explained.
Terry walked into the Whale Mart and bought
a bottle of hair dye at his uncle’s request. They went to a public
rest room in a deserted park and Ginger dyed his hair and beard
blond. It was a sloppy job but relatively effective. Terry was, of
course, intensely curious about the whole affair, but he was
assured that there was a good reason and it would all be revealed
to him.
They had a little trouble finding the house,
since it was off the beaten path, but they located it eventually.
Ginger was glad the boat was not parked in the driveway. He was not
certain they were on the right track and he didn’t need Terry going
ballistic. Terry had been driving at that point and Ginger had him
park so the interior of the car was masked by a tree. Then he left
his nephew behind the wheel while he went to the door with a ledger
in his hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Macintosh.”
“G’day, sir.”
“Mr. Macintosh, my name is Frederick
Samuels. I am an employee of the Helping Hands Insurance
Corporation. I have been informed that you purchased the Ellsinore about a week ago and I am here to tell you that
there may be some irregularities with the registration.” Ginger
opened the ledger and handed Grant a business card with the Helping
Hands logo and the name Frederick Samuels on it.
“They said nothing when I registered
it.”
“No, they wouldn’t have. The irregularity
involves the fact that this boat was reported wrecked at one point
and should not have been reregistered until it was certified by the
insurance company. May I ask where the vessel is being kept?”
“Well, I just… It’s on a trailer out back.
It didn’t look like it had been wrecked.”
“I need to look at the vessel and certify
that it is the same vessel. Do you have the registration on
hand?”
“Yes, just a moment.” Grant Macintosh
disappeared into the house for a moment and then returned with the
document. The two of them walked around the building and sure
enough, there was a dark blue fiberglass Bullet with twin Evinrude
engines.
Ginger climbed onto the trailer and onto the
deck of the boat. “It does not look as though the numbers have been
changed,” he said as he copied the vehicle identification numbers
into his ledger. Then he climbed out and performed a cursory
inspection of the hull. His inspection completed, he said, “There
may have been some sort of mistake. This vessel does not look as
though it was ever wrecked. Now, we do not have the name and
address of the former owner, since it was not insured through the
Helping Hands Insurance Corporation. The computer system is still
relatively new and there may have been a mistake in the
information. May I bother you for the name and address of the man
you bought the vessel from?”
“Of course. Give me a moment. I’m sure I
have that information in the house. Tell me, doesn’t VicRoads
provide that for you?”
“Yes, they will if we wish to wait for some
time. The Corporation will not honor any damage claims until we get
the matter sorted out, however. We cannot do that until we speak
with the man who claimed the vessel was wrecked. I assure you that
you are in no trouble, but if there was a claim filed by the former
owner then he may be in a great deal of trouble. We take a dim view
of insurance fraud.”
“Oh, I see. Well then, wait here a moment
and I’ll fetch it for you.” It only took a moment and Grant
returned with a scrap of paper. The name was Percy Darrow and the
address was north of
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