you were the one who discovered the fire?’ he said at last, ‘Is that the way I hear it?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ How come?’
Steve glanced up at him, then looked down again.
‘ I’ve got a van,’ he said softly. ‘Old VW combi. It’s parked round the back.’
‘ You sleep here?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ Why?’
Steve shook his head.
‘ Doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘But it’s lucky I did. The place is alarmed, smoke detectors, proper rig. By the time I got inside the Spit was well alight but at least I managed to contain it. There were other aircraft in there, a couple of them jacked up. I couldn’t have got them out. No way.’
‘ Contain it?’ Dennis barked with laughter. ‘How the fuck did you do that?’
‘ I had fire extinguishers, four of them. The airport fire crew were here pretty quickly, too. They were the ones who really dealt with it.’
‘ And what did they say? Afterwards?’
‘ Same as me. They didn’t know.’ He shrugged. ‘Electrical fault? Fuel leak? You tell me.’
Dennis nodded very slowly. Plainly, he didn’t believe a word.
‘ Thanks,’ he said. ‘Let’s go through this three hundred grand again.’
On the way back to St Helier, I asked Dennis about the framed photo on the desk. Whose child was it? What was her name? Dennis said he didn’t know, and by his tone of voice it was obvious that he didn’t much care. What interested him far more was Steve Liddell’s next move.
Pressed by Dennis, Steve had told me again that my £300,000 was safe. To Dennis, who lived in the accountant’s world of black and white, this was simply evidence that the boy was either in denial, in shock or clinically insane. The figures, he said, spoke for themselves. The first year’s lease had cost Steve £35,000. Tooling for three mechanics, another £33,000. Round it up for rates, office equipment, services, wages and all the other demands on the cash flow, and you were probably looking at about £100,000 in start-up costs. Add to that the interest payments on the loan, plus Steve’s probable liability for the Spitfire, and there’d be precious little change from the third of a million that Adam had so gaily underwritten.
‘ But Steve’s still trading,’ I pointed out. ‘He’s still got the premises and the tooling and all the rest. Doesn’t that count for anything?’
Dennis, wedged behind a tractor, enquired whether I, too, was mad.
‘ What’s the foundation for any business?’ he rasped, sounding his horn for the third time. ‘Christ, Ellie, you should know.’
I frowned, trying to concentrate. For some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about the photo on Steve’s desk.
‘ Good will,’ I said vaguely. ‘And reputation.’
‘ Yeah, and something else,’ he said. ‘Confidence. That’s number one. You’ve got to believe in yourself, believe you’re the very best. Did you see the guy just now? Did you take a good look? And does he strike you like a man way out in front?’ He shook his head, contemptuous, dismissive. ‘Defeat’s a smell, Ellie. And that guy stank of it.’
He finally made it around the tractor and I closed my eyes for a moment or two, glad of the silence between us, fixing the image of the young child in my mind. As we’d left the office, I’d taken the opportunity to have a good look. She had dimples, and lovely eyes, and a bright, trusting smile. She didn’t look the least like Steve Liddell.
‘ I’m thinking of threatening the bank with an action,’ Dennis said suddenly. ‘What for?’
‘ Dereliction of duty. They were happy enough to advance the money, take the interest, accept the security on the loan.’
‘ So what else should they have done?’
‘ Notify me.’
‘ Have you asked them why they didn’t?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ And what did they say?’
We were on the outskirts of St Helier now. Dennis slowed for the short cut down to the harbour.
‘ They said that Adam had told them he dealt with his own affairs. They said
‘ Yes.’
‘ How come?’
Steve glanced up at him, then looked down again.
‘ I’ve got a van,’ he said softly. ‘Old VW combi. It’s parked round the back.’
‘ You sleep here?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ Why?’
Steve shook his head.
‘ Doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘But it’s lucky I did. The place is alarmed, smoke detectors, proper rig. By the time I got inside the Spit was well alight but at least I managed to contain it. There were other aircraft in there, a couple of them jacked up. I couldn’t have got them out. No way.’
‘ Contain it?’ Dennis barked with laughter. ‘How the fuck did you do that?’
‘ I had fire extinguishers, four of them. The airport fire crew were here pretty quickly, too. They were the ones who really dealt with it.’
‘ And what did they say? Afterwards?’
‘ Same as me. They didn’t know.’ He shrugged. ‘Electrical fault? Fuel leak? You tell me.’
Dennis nodded very slowly. Plainly, he didn’t believe a word.
‘ Thanks,’ he said. ‘Let’s go through this three hundred grand again.’
On the way back to St Helier, I asked Dennis about the framed photo on the desk. Whose child was it? What was her name? Dennis said he didn’t know, and by his tone of voice it was obvious that he didn’t much care. What interested him far more was Steve Liddell’s next move.
Pressed by Dennis, Steve had told me again that my £300,000 was safe. To Dennis, who lived in the accountant’s world of black and white, this was simply evidence that the boy was either in denial, in shock or clinically insane. The figures, he said, spoke for themselves. The first year’s lease had cost Steve £35,000. Tooling for three mechanics, another £33,000. Round it up for rates, office equipment, services, wages and all the other demands on the cash flow, and you were probably looking at about £100,000 in start-up costs. Add to that the interest payments on the loan, plus Steve’s probable liability for the Spitfire, and there’d be precious little change from the third of a million that Adam had so gaily underwritten.
‘ But Steve’s still trading,’ I pointed out. ‘He’s still got the premises and the tooling and all the rest. Doesn’t that count for anything?’
Dennis, wedged behind a tractor, enquired whether I, too, was mad.
‘ What’s the foundation for any business?’ he rasped, sounding his horn for the third time. ‘Christ, Ellie, you should know.’
I frowned, trying to concentrate. For some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about the photo on Steve’s desk.
‘ Good will,’ I said vaguely. ‘And reputation.’
‘ Yeah, and something else,’ he said. ‘Confidence. That’s number one. You’ve got to believe in yourself, believe you’re the very best. Did you see the guy just now? Did you take a good look? And does he strike you like a man way out in front?’ He shook his head, contemptuous, dismissive. ‘Defeat’s a smell, Ellie. And that guy stank of it.’
He finally made it around the tractor and I closed my eyes for a moment or two, glad of the silence between us, fixing the image of the young child in my mind. As we’d left the office, I’d taken the opportunity to have a good look. She had dimples, and lovely eyes, and a bright, trusting smile. She didn’t look the least like Steve Liddell.
‘ I’m thinking of threatening the bank with an action,’ Dennis said suddenly. ‘What for?’
‘ Dereliction of duty. They were happy enough to advance the money, take the interest, accept the security on the loan.’
‘ So what else should they have done?’
‘ Notify me.’
‘ Have you asked them why they didn’t?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ And what did they say?’
We were on the outskirts of St Helier now. Dennis slowed for the short cut down to the harbour.
‘ They said that Adam had told them he dealt with his own affairs. They said
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