Private Sydney (Private 12)

The list of possibilities was endless, especially with middle-aged men who had resources at their disposal.

‘There’s no woman.’ She was adamant. ‘He’d have told me. His work is everything. He even sleeps at the company base, near the Blue Mountains.’

I sat forward. ‘Does he have any medical history or a condition that worries you if he goes without treatment? Physical or –’

‘Why does everyone assume someone who commits themselves to work is either lonely, depressed or suicidal?’

I suspected she was referring to comments made about her. ‘You’ve already flagged this as aberrant behaviour, for him. We need to know his routine before pinpointing when and what changed.’

‘And how to find him. I’m sorry. This is just … He’s very private. We both are.’

In my business, private was a euphemism for keeping secrets. Eliza obviously idolised her father. If I started digging …

‘I need to explain something before we start. In the course of an investigation, we may discover information you didn’t expect. It could change your impression of him and possibly alter your relationship.’

She thought for a moment and came back to the watch.

‘He knows I’d worry, so do what you have to. Keep me completely informed. I’ll pay whatever it takes. Just find him.’

Chapter 10

‘I’LL NEED MORE than we have so far,’ I said as there were further interruptions by staff. I wanted her complete focus. ‘Is there anywhere quieter we could speak? To clarify personal details.’

‘Here suits me better,’ she said, matter of factly. ‘I can handle any last-minute issues. Like I said, tonight’s important.’

I didn’t have a choice. Over the next half-hour, punctuated with queries about song lists and raffle items, I gained a picture of Eric Moss. An only child, focused and driven by the desire to excel in his field.

I was surprised to learn that Contigo Valley was a non-profit organisation. And tax exempt. There weren’t many with turnovers in excess of hundreds of millions. Greenpeace was the only one that came to mind.

Funded by donations, loans and occasional government grants, Contigo raised revenue by developing and selling new trauma devices, safety equipment and retrieval vehicles. They were awarded large supply contracts both in Australia and overseas.

‘Bushfires, tsunamis, floods, landslides, man-made disasters. My father increased survival rates for victims and emergency service workers. A device for giving life-saving fluids to injured soldiers has changed protocols in emergency departments and the combat field. Contigo even trains soldiers from China and the USA.’

I could see why Jack Morgan, a former US marine, had invested in the company. It was a cause close to his heart. Still, I needed more about Eric Moss the man.

According to Eliza he was fit aside from a few extra kilos, didn’t smoke or drink and only reluctantly attended work functions. He avoided the media, leaving that to the chairman of Contigo’s board, Sir Lang Gillies. It sounded as if Moss enjoyed his own company more than other people’s. At fifty-eight, he was a workaholic.

‘Any conflicts with colleagues or subordinates?’

‘Only with Lang Gillies. Dad’s been feeding his ego for decades. The old man spends his life on company junkets, in the social pages, collecting awards for work Dad did.’

‘Why keep someone like Gillies on?’

‘He has influential friends and Dad prefers life out of the spotlight.’

That made sense. Sir Lang and his third wife were regulars on Sydney’s social circuit. Lang was politically connected, having made his money as a property developer in the most corrupt period in the state government’s history.

I took notes. ‘So Gillies received the resignation email on Friday?’ Moss’s departure should have been big news in the business community.

Eliza’s eyes shone with a new intensity.

‘The old man is lying. Lang told me Dad felt like a change. And how he’d wished Dad well.’

‘You don’t think that’s what happened?’

‘No way. Dad would never have left, let alone like that. Besides, Lang knows that without Dad the organisation would fail. And …’ she poked the table with her index finger, ‘no one else has seen the resignation email.’

I agreed that Gillies’s disinterest in Moss’s plans was questionable.