The Lighthouse Hotel (Completed)

Chapter 4 - Mystery benefactor pays final instalment on the hotel

The Lighthouse Hotel Chapter 4 - Mystery benefactor pays final instalment on the hotel
-

It was later on in the afternoon when Leo managed to drag himself away from the pub and make his way back towards his temporary home.

He had decided not to withdraw any cash from the local bank until he had discovered the matter with his dad later on that evening.

The shadows were now beginning to lengthen across the bay and all the weather signs indicated that there might be a storm heading towards that part of the south Coast.

Leo immediately looked up to the heavens as a bolt of lightening was followed by mighty clap of thunder.

The rain then predictably followed and poor Leo was about to get severely drenched with no umbrella to protect him from the elements.

He was unsuitably dressed wearing only a t-shirt,shorts and a pair of bright yellow flip flops which made every step more treacherous as he tried desperately to seek cover.

Luckily for him the rain soon eased and bright sunshine reappeared as he made his way towards the temporary builders yard which was adjacent to the hotel's main entrance.

He began to feel a little self conscious once he had arrived at the location and indeed there were a few sniggers and derisory words which he clearly heard from the builders and craftsmen on site.Leo appeared rather sheepish as he made his way through the door towards the portakabin.
-

Leo- Dad are you about?,I've got something I need to discuss with you.

Foreman- Hello can I help you son and what's your business?.

Leo- My name is Leo Devereaux,is my father about?.

Foreman- Oh I see,no squire he went out about half an hour ago,do you want me to let him know that you dropped by?.

Leo- No that's ok,I'll wait here for a while and besides I can always text or phone him on my mobile.
So how's it going with the renovations?,I expect you will be almost finished right?.

Foreman- Yes we are almost finished here once we have finalised a few minor tasks, I can't say for certain but it looks like the building should be open to the public pretty soon once the contracts have been signed.

Right if you don't mind I have to get back to work and the lads won't do a stitch if I'm not around dishing out the orders to them.

Leo- Fair enough I won't keep you,now where's dad's number?,oh here we are well at least it's ringing,come on dad pick up the phone he muttered to himself.

Tom- Leo is that you?,I'm on my way over to the portakabin as I need to pick up a few supplies  for the hotel and then I have an appointment with my bank manager about a cash flow issue,see you shortly.

Leo- Right ok dad thanks for letting me know.

Tom- Oh by the way I almost forgot to tell you that Avril and Jack are coming over tomorrow to lend me their support.It's been ages since we last saw them,so that's something to look forward to I suppose.

Leo- Yes that's great news maybe we could take the "Flying Salmon" out and spend a day out on the open sea just sailing,fishing,drinking and chatting.

-

The conversation ended and now all Leo wanted was a nice cool shower but it would have to keep until he returned to his temporary lodgings.

He was about to set off towards that said location when who should arrive on site just at that precise moment but his father.

-
Tom- Where are you off to Leo?,I need you here for the next couple of hours,are you feeling fit and strong?.We might have to work up a bit of a sweat.

We need to put some fittings and furniture in place,they arrived whilst you were out and now we need to fit them with the aid of a skilled carpenter and joiner.
You do appear a little worse for wear son,don't tell me you have been on the booze again?.

Leo- it's a long story dad,you know that guy whom I had arranged to meet at "The Crown & Anchor" pub?.

Tom- No but I'm sure you're going to tell me about it soon.

Leo- Well to cut a long story short he works for an antiques dealer and I had asked if I could be a partner in their business.

Well he expected me to find £1000 pounds up front and then he promised to show me the ropes to their business.

Tom- Really he's expecting a lot,well it sounds a little fishy to me son,did you get his contact details?.I wouldn't mind having a word with him myself perhaps we could arrange a meeting with him later on in the week.

Leo- He works for a guy called Lovejoy and his partner is none other than the glamorous Lady Jane Harwood.Have you heard of either of them?.

Tom- No I can't say that I have,perhaps it might be best if you tread carefully with this new antiques career of yours,you never know who you are dealing with.

One hears so many tales of rogue antics dealers snapping up property in house clearances paying next to nothing and then making a small fortune along the way at the expense of vulnerable elderly people.

Leo- Right you are dad,I'll get on the phone and set up another meeting stating that you would like to be present to make sure any agreement offered  is above aboard,right lets' crack on with these tasks what's first on the agenda?.

Tom- Oh lord doesn't one get any peace from these wretched modern mobile devices?.
Hello Tom Devereaux here how may I be of service to you?

Bank manager- Oh hello Mr Devereaux,it's only me Mr.Brooks your bank manager,I just wanted to confirm that the issue we discussed earlier has now been resolved.

I am delighted to inform you that a mystery benefactor had paid off the final instalment on your hotel's costs.

Tom- Really !!!!! how can that be?,nobody has access to my bank accounts apart from me and my son.

Bank manager- I'm not at liberty to reveal the person's identity safe to say a cheque was paid in to your account this lunch time and it would have required written authorisation and identity check.

Tom- A cheque you say? but I thought they weren't used in today's banking world,haven't they been fazed out?.

Bank manager- Ok sir don't shoot the messenger,I'm only phoning you to report this bit of good news.

-

Tom was completely taken by surprise at this news and was very intent on finding out who had paid the money in to his account and what was their motivation or reason for it.

It just didn't add up and why would anyone pay £50,000 which was the last instalment,that's a lot of money and 10% of the hotel's cost he thought to himself.

The benefactor would have had access to the Devereaux accounts which was something that concerned Tom,it sounded like a trick or a prank and he was determined to find out this  person's identity.

Meanwhile Leo had established contact with Lovejoy,he decided that it might be a better idea to speak with the organ grinder and not the monkey.

He found his phone number from a local directory and a meeting had been set up for tomorrow at midday and all of the business partners had promised to attend.

This was to ensure total transparency from all sides which was a requirement for any deal to be hammered out.

The venue and time for the meeting would be "The Beachy Head Lighthouse" at midday,only two hours before Avril and Jack's arrival, so they would have to crack on with their remaining tasks.

It was now time to get on task as Tom and Leo began to break sweat and burn off some of their calories in order to finish off those final little jobs which needed doing.