CHAPTER 13 Business Trip to New Zealand

 

The following year, the AGM of Campbell Holdings was to be held in Wellington, New Zealand but only a selected few employees would be chosen to attend. Mary was one of them.

She flew out to Auckland via New Zealand Airways, the usual business class. and then got a service flight from Auckland to Wellington. Emerging from the concourse at the airport, there was a driver holding up a board with her name on it. She introduced herself and was taken to the Park Royal Hotel in Wellington where, after booking in, she went straight to bed to overcome the jet lag. She wanted to be fresh and alert for the next day's meeting which looked like it was going to be a very important one.

Next morning, after a session in the hotel swimming pool and gym followed by a hearty breakfast, she made her way to the small function room. She quickly noticed that she was the only woman in attendance. The meeting was chaired by the vice chairman of Campbell Holdings who informed everyone that Mr Campbell was in ill health and was intending to retire in the very near future. He also said that the profit margin in Campbell Holdings was considerably down and that projects which were not making a profit were to be discarded and sold off. It appeared that the company had become too big and unyielding and wasting money. Cuts would have to be made.

On a good note, the chairman went on to introduce a New Zealander called Bruce Low who had turned the forestry industry of New Zealand upside down by introducing and adopting methods from Sweden.

Mary liked the look of him and his sense of humour. In some strange way he reminded her of Jock Stewart. She was unsure whether it was because he was in forestry or that he had nearly made the famous All Blacks rugby team. He appeared to be the same age as Mary, had a rugged appearance, was quite good looking and, by his build, seemed quite athletic.

Bruce outlined his achievements with what was taking place and informed the meeting delegates that tomorrow they would be taken by helicopter to the top of the South Island to see the operation in progress. Each delegate made their report with very few queries raised. The meeting broke for lunch and everyone seemed in good spirits.

After lunch, Bruce Low suggested that for an insight into New Zealand culture they should all visit the Te Papa Museum in the former dock area of Wellington. They could resume the meeting after the evening meal, when any questions could be raised and answered. Everyone was in agreement. They were taken by taxi to the museum and shown around the exhibits by a very capable guide. Mary was impressed by all she saw, especially the Maori war canoe and the room which simulated an earthquake. At the height of the earthquake experience, she almost fell but was caught by Bruce Low who held her very tightly. Surprised but not frightened, Mary did not object to being held against a hard, muscular male body, in fact she quite enjoyed it.

“It's alright Scotty,” came the soft New Zealand drawl, “It will be over in a couple of minutes.”

Mary laughed and replied, “It certainly caught me off guard.”

When the tour ended, no-one could believe how quickly the time had passed. It was time well spent, knowledge gained and they talked about how the section on Scottish immigration had had a profound effect on the identity of New Zealand.

When the evening meal was over, the meeting resumed and each delegate was asked to name and describe their best contribution to Campbell Holdings. Normally it is ladies before gentlemen but Mary found that she was the last to give her account. When the vice chairman introduced Mary, his comments about her good looks and red hair were pleasing to her but she felt resentful as he had not made such comments about any of the previous male delegates and she felt that the comments were sexist.

Mary told them about the smelters at Kinlochleven and Fort William and about gaining the order from Sweden through the incident in Majorca when Jock saved the boy from drowning. When she had finished her speech, the whole room gave her a standing ovation. Mary was embarrassed but also proud of her achievements. The vice chairman concluded her contribution by remarking on the combination of brains, beauty and dedication and saying that she was an asset to any firm.

The meeting over, everyone headed to the bar. Eyebrows were raised when Mary ordered fresh fruit juice instead of alcohol, whereby she answered that she hadn’t touched alcohol for a good number of years. Bruce Low came over to her table and asked her about Jock Stewart and if they were still together. When Mary told him about the helicopter crash, he was visibly shocked and was very genuine in his condolences. He informed her that he was single after being let down by his long-standing girlfriend, because of the hours he worked at the office and on site.

Mary was relaxed in his company and enjoyed his confident sense of humour and the general atmosphere at the bar. She bid her fellow delegates goodnight and made her way to her room. Relaxing in her room before she went to bed, she noted that Bruce Low had made quite an impression on her and that she had enjoyed his company.

Next morning, she rose early and again had a session in the pool and gym and ate a hearty breakfast. It was obvious that most of the delegates had overindulged at the bar the previous evening but Bruce Low appeared to be in fine fettle and, to her delight, joined her at the breakfast table.

Waiting taxis took them to the airport where a helicopter flew them to the South Island, down the Marlborough Sound and to an isolated site which was the scene of high activity. A very tall pole, secured by several anchor wires, was the base for the Trans Alp high wire metal cables travelling up and down the landscape. On each wire cable was a carriage. On the downward journey, a tree, branches and all, was being hauled. As it came down, an empty carriage went up. At the top of the hill, one man was felling trees in a straight line and at right angles to the high wire, whilst another man was hooking a chain to the felled trees. At the bottom, the plant operator sat in a cabin controlling the moving wires, whilst another man was removing the chain from the newly arrived tree. As soon as that man was clear, a machine, called a processor, seized the tree, stripped the branches and cut the trunk into respective sizes. A tractor with a big grab was putting the logs into respective piles, while the branches were taken to a huge clipper which was blowing the sawdust, bark and needles into a huge heap.

When the helicopter landed, all activity ceased and machines were turned off. All the workers were dressed in Hi-Viz clothing and were wearing safety helmets. It was obvious that health and safety was a priority. All the delegates wore boiler suits and hard hats.

Mary noticed that the majority of the work force were Maori and that they all gathered in a group as the delegates approached.

Bruce Low hailed them and they all replied. He obviously had a very good rapport with them and he introduced all the delegates. The foreman of the workers, a big Maori, asked Bruce in his own language if Mary's hair was her natural colour and remarked how good-looking she was.

Bruce translated for Mary and waited for her reply but Mary walked straight up to the big man and said, “Of course it's natural. Is the colour of your hair false because a good-looking man like you does not need to wear a wig?”

There was a stony silence, then everyone, including the foreman, burst into a round of applause.

“By heavens woman,” retorted the foreman, “I would not like to be your husband if he came home with an opened pay packet.”

Again, there was a small round of applause. Mary laughed, shook his hand and returned to the group.

Bruce Low informed them that they were felling radiata pine trees which grow very quickly in the New Zealand climate. The logs were taken to Picton by barge and the wood chips would be taken by barge to Wellington where they would be kiln dried into logs for domestic use. Nothing was wasted. The cleared area was already being planted, to stop erosion, with young trees which were grown in a nursery in Picton. They were producing between two and three hundred tons of wood per day and had almost five years’ work ahead of them. As there were no proper roads in this area all travel was by boat. The workers commuted by launch every day from Picton. Everyone appeared to be impressed by the organisation.

They were flown to the huge sawmill in Picton where they were shown the logs being cut to size to suit the house-building market as most of the houses in New Zealand were made of timber. The wood was stored in large metal-clad sheds, which were heated by the sawdust, bark and residue timber, so that planks of wood dried in record time. Nothing appeared to be wasted.

Bruce Low seemed to know what he was talking about and Mary was impressed by his confident manner, his rapport with the workforce and his New Zealand accent, although she had to listen very carefully to him to understand. As they were about to leave, she spotted another sawmill further up the dock area and enquired about it. Bruce Low directed his answer to all of the delegates, saying that they had tried to buy that sawmill but the owners had refused to sell as they had a very lucrative market making pallets. Indeed, they made and sold more pallets than any other sawmill in New Zealand.

Flying back to Wellington, Mary sat next to Bruce Low and found him very easy to talk to and to listen to. If the truth be known, she was attracted to him, especially with his good manners and carefree demeanour.

Back at the hotel they had a late working lunch where investments, calculations and prospective profit were all discussed.

At the end of the meeting, they all retired to the bar where again some supercilious remarks were made about Mary drinking fruit juice but she just laughed it off as male orientated banter. Bruce Low came over to sit beside her and asked about her plans and when she was leaving. She told him that she had a three-week holiday to take and was going to collect a camper van the next morning which she had already provisionally booked.

Bruce then asked if she would like to have dinner with him that evening. When Mary agreed he asked, “Do you swim much?”

“Yes” she answered, with a note of curiosity in her voice.

“Well,” continued Bruce, “we could take a water taxi over to Days Bay, have a swim by an excellent beach there, then a delightful meal at an outstanding bistro cafe overlooking the bay before taking a water taxi back to Wellington.” The idea appealed to Mary and she had to admit that it also excited her.

Going over on the water taxi, Mary told Bruce a little about Jock Stewart, omitting how they met and the fallout with the big argument in Aviemore that New Year's morning. She spoke more about his good points, his army career and being in the SAS, being a woodsman and how he had died in the helicopter crash. Bruce was a good listener and it did Mary the world of good to talk about it.

When they landed at the jetty, Bruce gave instructions for the water taxi to return. As it was such a lovely evening there were a few people swimming and children were diving and jumping off the jetty into the water. They changed into their swimming costumes in the toilets and made to go into the water. Mary was conscious of the appraising look that Bruce gave her when she came out of the toilet block and it was obvious that he had been an athlete but office work had taken the gloss off a once fine specimen of manhood. They swam out to an anchored raft. The water was cold but refreshing. At the raft they decided to swim to the jetty and copy the children.

Mary noticed as they neared the jetty that Bruce's stroke had become a little ragged, showing that he was not as fit as he should be. They had a great time diving and jumping from the jetty, in fact they were just like a couple of kids themselves as they were enjoying it so much.

After changing back into their clothes in the toilets, they went to the bistro cafe overlooking the water, where they had a delicious seafood platter. Mary was tempted to have a glass of wine but her resolution held firm. At the requested time, the water taxi appeared at the jetty and they walked arm in arm to their transport. Mary was elated after enjoying the evening immensely. During the taxi ride Bruce told her that he was single and that only an injury had kept him out of the famous world champion All Blacks rugby team. Mary was also impressed with the position that he held in Campbell Holdings.

Taking a taxi from the harbour to the hotel, they were completely relaxed in each other's company. Getting out of the taxi, Mary's shoe caught the sill of the taxi's door and she would have fallen but Bruce caught her and held her in his arms. With mutual consent they started kissing passionately. Mary hadn’t felt so excited for years. Eventually, Bruce asked her if she would like to come to his room for a nightcap of a famous New Zealand wine. Mary readily agreed. When they entered his room, he produced two glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Would it be considered bad manners if I took a shower to wash the salt off my body before I have a drink?”

“Not at all” answered Mary, as she made herself comfortable. In fact she thought, I'll join him and take it from there. As the shower started in the bathroom, Mary took her jacket off and was about to unbutton her blouse when the phone rang. She decided to answer it.

“Can I speak to Bruce Low?” asked a voice.

“Who's calling?” asked Mary.

“It's his wife. Can you ask him when he's coming home? The boys are looking forward to him telling them a bedtime story before they go to sleep.”

Mary was shocked. Shock, anger, humiliation and frustration swept over her. Stay cool, calm and collected she told herself.

“He is talking to two delegates,” Mary told his wife. She hated herself for telling a lie but she thought that discretion was the better part of valour, “I'll just go and interrupt his conversation so that he can speak to you.”

Just at that, the shower door opened and Bruce came out smiling and walked towards Mary.

“It's your wife on the phone for you. Apparently, your boys are missing their bedtime story,” said Mary coldly, wiping the smile from his face.

Mary collected her jacket and bag with the swimming gear and, as she walked to the door, she heard Bruce say, “I'll phone you back darling, in a couple of minutes.” As Mary reached the door, she was seized from behind and turned round to be held in a passionate embrace.

“Look Mary, I can explain everything. Don't go, please stay.” At that he tried to kiss her. Revulsion made Mary cold and her icy stare abated his strong sexual desire but he still held her, so that her arms were held against her body.

“Take your hands off my body and let me leave,” she declared.

“No chance, baby,” came the reply. “You came in here for a romantic end to the day and you will have it one way or another.”

Mary thought this could turn nasty and she remembered what Jock Stewart had taught her. She kneed Bruce in the groin with as much force as she could muster and, at the same time, she brought her head into contact with his face. With an anguished groan he fell to the floor, one hand to his groin, the other to his face where blood was beginning to seep between his fingers. “That is what you call a Glasgow Kiss,” explained Mary as she turned and left the room.

Walking along the corridor, Mary was shaking with anger and fear and was on the point of bursting into tears but she kept her composure until she reached her room. After a shower and a strong coffee, she was tempted to have some alcohol. She reflected on all that had taken place. If he has the audacity to cheat on his wife, would he do it to Campbell Holdings she wondered. Then she remembered a conversation she’d had with Jock Stewart. Will I ever get over him she thought. The conversation had been about the timber industry and the cheating and stealing of loads of timber in Scotland. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Bruce Low was capable of lining his own pocket at the expense of Campbell Holdings. However, thinking it and proving it was a different matter. Was she doing it for revenge she asked herself. After all, hell has no fury like a woman scorned was the old adage.

Mary lay in bed, plotting a course of action. She had intended to have three weeks holiday in New Zealand, touring in a camper van and hoping to meet Jock's mother and sister but she decided to forfeit those plans and play detective to try to prove that her misgivings were correct.

Next morning, she rose early and took a taxi to the harbour where she boarded the early ferry to Picton. On arrival, she made enquiries and hired a small cabin cruiser to spend time on the Marlborough Sound. When buying provisions for her adventure, she also purchased a pair of powerful binoculars. Mary was pleased that she had brought her camera with her from England as it had a top of the range zoom lens.

After being shown the controls and all the dos and don’ts on the waterway, Mary set off excited but a little bit apprehensive about the role that she was undertaking. Later that afternoon she dropped anchor in a little, sheltered bay opposite the site of the tree felling and extraction that she had visited the day before.

Mary studied the site through the binoculars. Everything seemed normal, the only difference being that there were two very large stacks of timber. One was of huge-sized logs and the other stack was of smaller dimensions. Work was going on at a steady pace. She could see nothing amiss, so she decided to swim to the shore, have a good run on a footpath through the woods and a swim back to the boat.

When the sun went down, she took the boat over to the other site for a closer inspection but could see nothing to arouse her suspicions.

Next morning when she woke, Mary could see that a barge had arrived on site and was being loaded with the big logs. When it cast off, she followed on the opposite coastline keeping it under observation until it docked at the sawmill owned by Campbell Holdings. When it had been unloaded, it sailed back to the site and loaded the smaller logs. Once it was full, it cast off and headed for Picton.

Again, Mary followed it on the opposite coastline but this time the barge unloaded at the other sawmill which made pallets and was not owned by Campbell Holdings. She was amazed at how blatant this was and, if it was not in a contract, it was downright theft. She took a lot of photographs from a distance. The burden of proof had to be in the identification of the logs. The solution to this problem came after an hour of careful planning. Mary moored the cabin cruiser further along the harbour and bought several cans of spray paint.

That night she went onto the site and sprayed the ends of the logs with a dash of paint and took photographs of them. No barge came the next day but, when keeping the site under observation, she saw Bruce Low walking about and talking to the workers. That night Mary once again visited the site, sprayed the end of the logs with her paint symbol and photographed it.

The next day was the same routine. The barge was there as daylight broke, was loaded up and delivered the big logs. It then came back to the site, picked up the smaller logs and delivered them to the other sawmill. Again, Mary took photos. This time, she docked the cabin cruiser, went to a telephone kiosk and phoned Doug Campbell himself. Owing to the time difference she woke him up in the early hours of the morning. At first he was very irate at being disturbed but when he discovered that it was Mary on the other end of the line and she told him about the crime being committed, he gave her his full attention.

When Mary had finished her report, Doug made no comments but asked her to phone him back in three hours. She did as requested and was told to be at Picton Airport in two days’ time when a top accountant and a senior security man from Campbell Holdings would be arriving and that she should continue her surveillance of the timber operation. For the next two days Mary's routine was the same, marking the logs and taking photos at night.

As arranged, Mary met the two men at the small airport in Picton and took them to a hotel where she had booked rooms for them. At the hotel, she gave the men a detailed account of what was happening and showed them the photographs she had taken and had had developed. They decided on a plan of action. The accountant would pay an unannounced visit to Campbell Holdings first thing in the morning and Mary and the security officer would wait until the barge had unloaded at the other sawmill.

The following day, Mary and the security officer waited until the barge appeared in the afternoon and started to unload. They then went into the sawmill and straight to the manager's office where they explained who they were and the reason for their visit.

The manager denied that the logs being unloaded came from the site but when the photographs were produced, he decided to co-operate. He gave them a very incriminating statement involving Bruce Low and the owner, who was Bruce’s father-in-law, Bill Thompson. Bill was informed by telephone about what was happening.

To avoid confrontation, it was agreed that a meeting would be held that evening in Campbell's office in the sawmill, where Mr Thompson, Bruce Low, the accountant, the security officer, the manager of Campbell's sawmill and Mary would all be present.

Mary and the security officer went off to the site and spoke to the big Maori foreman who thought that everything was above board and didn’t know that timber theft was taking place. He informed them that the shipments of small logs had been happening since the start of the operation three months ago. He was full of praise for Bruce Low who paid them promptly every Friday and said what an outstanding sportsman he had been in the field of rugby. As he and his crew were paid by tonnage, he showed them a detailed account of what had been obtained since day one as it was measured by the loading crane on the barge. Mary was given permission to take the account to the meeting that night.

As she turned to leave, the foreman called out to her, “Just one minute Miss Stuart. There are two things I need to say to you. Firstly, when I met you, I spoke about your man. I didn’t know that he had been killed in a tragic accident. I am sorry to hear that. I would have liked to have met him. Bruce Low told me that he was a bushman like me and a warrior in the finest unit of the British Army. The second thing is a question. Was it you who broke Bruce Low's nose and gave him that messed up face? If so, well done, as he is always boasting about his conquests of women and him a married man!”

Mary was touched by the big man's apology. She smiled and whispered into his ear, “Draw your own conclusions.” Then she laughed at the foreman's expression.

That evening, they all met at the time stated. As agreed with her colleagues, Mary took charge of the meeting and the accountant agreed to take the minutes. When Mr Thompson and Bruce Low came into the office it was obvious that angry words had been exchanged between them.

Mary introduced everyone by name and their position. Bruce Low interrupted her and asked, “Before we begin Mary, can I have a word with you in private?” Mary stared at his black and blue face and icily retorted, “Mr Low, you will address me as Miss Stuart please and anything you require to say will be taken down and referred to in the minutes of this meeting.” Bruce sat down with an air of dejection.

Mary explained that the purpose of the meeting was to avoid court proceedings, the cost of lawsuits and bad publicity for all concerned. She produced the figures to show that approximately two thousand tons of second-class timber had been feloniously appropriated, at a cost of one hundred dollars a ton, the total value being two hundred thousand dollars. Would Thompson Sawmill repay that money immediately?

Mr Thompson stated that his firm, having bought new machinery and two lorries to meet an increasing market, were in debt to the bank.

Then Mary astounded everyone by saying, “As no money is forthcoming Campbell Holdings will pay you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for your business. You and Mr Low can walk out of this room and the matter will be closed. It is either that or we place the matter in the hands of the police and no one gains anything except a bad reputation.”

“That's blackmail,” cried Mr Thompson.

“No,” Mary retorted. “It was pure and simple theft and now a good business is trying to make the best of a bad deal.”

“Can we think about it?” asked Bruce Low.

“No,” Mary replied determinedly, “It's here and now and, considering that your employment with Campbell Holdings will be terminated immediately, I suggest that you should be grateful, accept the offer and consider that the two of you have come out of this mess lightly and with no stigma attached to either of you.”

Mr Thompson suggested a bigger payment which was flatly refused, then he reluctantly agreed to sign the approved document.

When Mr Thompson and Bruce Low left the office, they could be heard exchanging harsh words as they walked along the corridor and out into the car park, where they got into their respective vehicles. Those who were left in the office looked at Mary and enquired what Campbell Holdings would say about the transaction. Mary spoke with authority and told them that Doug Campbell had told her to use her common sense and find a solution that would not cause any undue publicity or costly lawyer's fees. She thought that she had done that and also acquired an asset to the company, namely a good running sawmill producing a non-returnable product. She added that the two sawmill managers would get an increase in salary and that the books would be inspected more often by an independent accountant.

Next morning, she told them that before she left for home, she was going out to the site to inform the foreman that he was being promoted to manager with an increase in salary and that their tonnage rate would also have a small increase. The senior accountant and security officer were to stay a few more days to check all aspects of the operation from security, health and safety to the prospect of the forthcoming profit margin.

Mary then went into the manager's office and phoned Doug Campbell to tell him about the meeting. He was impressed and asked Mary that, as she was flying back via America, would she break her journey to give him a detailed, verbal account of her visit to New Zealand.

Next morning, Mary called at the site and gave the workers the good news. The foreman was taken aback by his promotion but his enormous smile indicated that he was pleased at the way that everything had turned out. As Mary turned to leave, she heard him calling out, “It's not often that you meet a good-looking woman with a good business brain.”

Mary turned round and replied in an amused voice, “Don’t just stand about there idling, get on with your work.” Her reply was met with laughter, clapping and shouts of approval.

Taking the cabin cruiser up to the final berth, Mary reflected that she had seen very little of New Zealand and wished she could have caught up with Jock's sister and mother. She promised herself another visit in the near future.

Mary flew from Picton to Wellington and then to Auckland, where she boarded a flight to Dallas. At Dallas airport she was met by a representative of Campbell Holdings, taken to a private plane and flown to Doug Campbell's holiday residence in Wyoming.