Boxes

Ellie was enjoying the variety in her job at Horden House. Certainly there were chores – dusting the book shelves, sweeping the floor and cleaning the windows, but she got to handle some really special books, talk to some interesting people, and she was getting to see how to run a little business.

At the end of every day the till had to be both counted up and the float of cash to start the day tomorrow set up. The weekly book with all the till details in it demonstrated that really the cash-flow of Horden House was pretty low. There was enough perhaps to pay Ellie’s wages and maybe some of the utilities. It was just as well GG owned the shop outright rather than having to lease it. And it was as well that GG had other income streams than the proceeds of selling books.

It was not a reflection on his business acumen. GG Horden was a man of some means and he had lived long enough to be happy with a hobby that he enjoyed and that would basically pay for itself. As his mother would often say, “It kept him off the streets – and out of her hair.” GG was the master of this place. He could do things any way he wanted.

Another one of the jobs that Ellie particularly liked was unpacking boxes of books. It was like opening a treasure chest – you were never sure what you would find there. GG had a few suppliers in Perth who would either buy to a list of find stock within an interest range as prescribed by GG and when they had a box full, they would send it down his way by post. Something would arrive at least twice a week from one supplier or another.

Then there were boxes that would come in from locals who were clearing out their own bookcases or were clearing out deceased estates. If the truth was known, GG could best be described as an eclectic bibliophile – he just loved books – and this meant that it was rather difficult for him to sort through these books in order to discard the rubbish. Perhaps he was hoping that as Ellie got to know the business better she would be able to do that instead of him.

A box arrived that was a bit different. The packing tape was not the usual clear tape. Instead they had use black gaffer tape. It was probably much stronger, but was also surely much more expensive. Every edge of the box had been sealed by the gaffer tape, which of course made it very firm when carrying it. When it arrived, GG said “I’ll deal with that one Ellie!” He picked it up and carefully carried it into his office.

Ellie couldn’t put her finger on just exactly what it was, but she sensed that Mr Horden was somehow embarrassed about this box and the way he took it away was a bit like a guilty boy. It was such a fleeting thought that she dismissed it very quickly thinking it was probably something special for his private collection.

Later, when she took a cup of coffee for him into his office, as she did each day, he said as casually as he could, “Ellie, if you ever get any boxes like that when I am not here, just bring them into my office and let me know when I come in.” That was all he said. There was no further explanation but Ellie felt it again, that there seemed to be something sheepishly guilty about his action. This only served to arouse the curiosity that had so successfully dismissed earlier.

Over the next day or so, Ellie was tuned into every little variation from the norm in GG’s behaviour. Customers came and went but on Friday just after her lunch break, Ellie noticed a stranger come in and go straight to GG’s office. There was something menacing about the man despite his polite acknowledgement of her as he walked through to the back where GG’s office was. He was not a regular customer, nor had she really noticed him around town. A town the size of Quarabup is such that most locals know a stranger when they see them.

A few minutes later, the man left without a word, and then a few minutes after that GG came through to the shop and explained to Ellie that he would be back in a while. “I can manage the shop, Mr Horden”, she said.

Once he was gone, Ellie made her way into GG’s office to see if there was anything suspicious. The box had been opened and a few old books, apparently from the box, were scattered on his desk. There were also five snap-seal plastic bags lying loosely in the bottom of the box. She picked one up to look more closely at. There was now apparent residue within the bag, but there was a kind of dusty straw smell when you sniffed at the bag. The others all smelled the same. Something about that smell seemed familiar, but she couldn’t pick it just yet.

As she carried on with her duties that afternoon, a subtle thought began becoming more substantial in her mind. What if GG was a drug courier? Packing supplies into boxes of innocent books could be really easy to do, and that bloke did look a bit dodgy.

Ellie didn’t know what to do. She thought she should tell someone, but who, and what was there to tell, really?

GG Horden returned shortly after three, went quickly back into his office, made a couple of phone calls, but did not emerge from his office till it was time to close up the till.

After she knocked off, Ellie called by Justine’s to see if Candice or Aaron were finished for the day. Candice had done all her appointments for the day so she packed up and joined Ellie for the walk home. They could have gone by bus, but it wasn’t far and walking allowed for more talking.

“Hey Candice, who do you think those Sanderson boys get their drugs from?” Not a really subtle entry to the topic, but then Ellie generally wanted to get right to the point.

“I dunno. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno either really, but something happened today at work that has got me thinking, but every time I go there – with the thought – I think to myself that I must be stupid.” Ellie was really thinking aloud, but it felt good to be talking about it.

“What do you mean? Is old Horden up to something?”

“Oh, I don’t know! It’s just that whenever boxes of books come in from the Post it is my job to open them and make a list of the books in them, but today a box came in and Mr Horden took it straight from me and went into his office. Later on this shifty looking guy came in and went straight to his office without asking. And then a little while later Mr Horden went out, leaving me to look after the shop.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing really, I suppose. It was just that there was something a bit wrong. I can’t put my finger on it really, but it was like a kid being busted for something. I went to his office after he left and the box had been emptied – just ordinary books, it seemed to me – but there were five snap-seal bags in the bottom of the box, and the smelled funny. Mr Horden wouldn’t be doing drugs would he? He seems so nice, but now I don’t know.”

“What evidence have you actually got, Ellie? Nothing! Just a couple of smelly bags.”

“Perhaps I should just forget about it, but I really don’t like the thought of Mr Horden being mixed up in something like drugs.”

“Maybe you’ve got this all wrong. There has to be a sensible explanation.”

And that was where it seemed to end for the moment.