He lay stretched out on his back on the deep-pile carpet, head thrown back and mouth making an O shape as if he would never get over the surprise. Which he wouldn’t, in fact, as Gordon Golightly was stone cold dead.
It was almost ten o’clock on Monday morning and at any minute now the other partners would be arriving to start their weekly meeting. Gordon’s secretary stood beside the body and thought about calling the police, or an ambulance, decided she did not really have the authority to do that, so picked up the inter-office telephone instead.
“Hello, this is Myra, can I speak to Dora please?”
She waited, contemplating the body of the firm’s founder and Senior Partner.
“Oh, hi Dora, this is Myra. Nice weekend? Oh, good — oh me? oh yes thanks, very good. Dora, we seem to have a little problem here, could you pop in please? I’m in Mr Golightly’s office.”
The door opened and a thin, grey-haired woman entered the room. “Hi, what can I do for……” She stopped and looked first at the middle-aged man lying, obviously dead, on the office floor, then gazed incredulously at Myra, who was now looking very pale and allowing a tear to trickle down her left cheek.
“Oh, my goodness! What has happened here? Has he had a heart attack or something?”
Myra shook her head.
“I don’t really know” she said. “He was like that when I came in just now and the partners will be here any minute – I just don’t know what to do – do you think we should call the police or something?”
“Oh, now just a minute, this is nothing to do with me, I’m only a secretary! Who is the First Aid Officer? Shouldn’t she look at him, maybe try the kiss of life?”
The two women giggled nervously, as if Gordon could hear them. “Rather her than me!” Dora and Myra chuckled together then decided it was no laughing matter. “No, look, we’ve got to do something, haven’t we?”
The sound of a car parking in the office car park brought the two women close to panic.
“Oh my God! They’re here!” Myra was already opening the office door. “Wait for me!” cried Dora, “I’m not even supposed to be in here! You called me in!”
By the time Rodney Winters, Phillip Brown, and Keith Jones were striding through the administration office towards Gordon’s office, Myra was sitting at her workstation typing merrily on her computer keyboard while Dora and the rest of the staff were going about their routine tasks.
“Good morning!” each of the partners trumpeted as they made their way towards their grim discovery.
“Myra” said Mr Winters, almost looking at the secretary (he had mastered the art of avoiding eye-contact with these ill-bred little oiks). “Has Mr Golightly or Mr Richmond arrived yet?”
“I haven’t seen them yet, Mr Winters, but I think I have just heard a car arriving” Myra kept her head down and continued to type.
The main office door burst open and a tall, slightly dishevelled man with a bad-tempered look walked quickly into the room.
“Good morning! Ah, I see I’m the last to arrive again!” Jeremy Richmond boomed, “Good to see you chaps! – Hi girls, any chance of someone rustling up some coffee for the lads, eh?”
Without waiting for an answer, the four men entered Gordon’s office. They stood and stared.
“Good Grief!” gasped Rodney, clutching his stomach as if he felt suddenly very ill, (which, in fact he did!)
“Gordon!” gasped Philip, diving to the floor and clasping the Senior Partner’s body in a frantic embrace.
“Is he dead?” asked Keith, trying to believe that somehow Gordon was playing one of his ghastly tricks on them again.
“Let me through, chaps” Jeremy bent over the body of the Senior Partner and felt for signs of a pulse in the dead man’s wrist. “Hmmm. I can’t feel a pulse. Best not to move him, better call for an ambulance, police too, I should think. Rodney, would you do that please!”
“Of course!” Rodney pulled his mobile from his pocket and quickly dialled emergency services. “I wonder if the staff should be told?”
“Probably not, we’d be unlikely to get another stroke of work out of them today!” Jeremy Richmond, as usual, was taking charge. “First. We must convene an extraordinary partners meeting, to discuss. We must elect a chairman. I have no objection to taking on this responsibility this morning, in view of the obvious distress of my colleagues!”
“Thank you, Jeremy, I will nominate Jeremy as chairman, chaps!” Rodney sounded resigned.
“Seconded” Philip was only too pleased to agree – he had no wish to take it on!
“Carried” Keith felt he had no choice but did feel he could have done the job himself – if only he’d thought of it!
Jeremy walked behind the enormous desk and sat down in the senior partner’s chair.
“Do sit down, this is all very upsetting for all of us, but I’m sure that Gordon, with his love for the firm, would want us to carry on as best we can, in spite of this terrible event!” Jeremy’s voice was grave, the timbre deep as befitted this sorrowful occasion.
The other three partners nodded solemnly.
“Perhaps we could start with ‘Any Other Business’?” volunteered Philip, unsure of how this radical idea would be accepted by his colleagues. “Perhaps we could organise someone to inform Mrs Golightly?”
“Excellent idea!” pronounced Jeremy, from his new position as chairman. “Jolly good!”
Before they could continue, the buzzer sounded on the internal telephone. Jeremy snatched up the receiver.
“Yes?” he snapped.
“There are two policemen in the office who want to speak to Mr Winters. Apparently in response to a phone call!”
“O.K. Ask them to come in – let me know immediately the ambulance arrives.”
“Yes Mr Richmond.” Myra raised her eyebrows at Dora and mouthed silently “Ambulance!”
“Come this way please” she said to the two officers, who were happily chatting up Madeleine, the office flirt.
When the officers entered the senior partners office the four partners rose to greet them.
Jeremy introduced himself with just the right degree of gravitas. The six men then looked at Gordon. The younger policeman, who had not seen a dead body before, cleared his throat, and said in a voice a couple of octaves lower than previously.
“Stand back, stand back, there’s nothing to see here, stand back!”
The four partners listened in astonishment to this outburst but stood back anyway.
His colleague looked at him with irritation and started to collect basic information on Gordon from Jeremy, who then volunteered, as Acting Senior Partner, to assist the police enquiry.
The phone rang.
“Yes, what is it?” Jeremy snapped “Oh, thank you, send them in.”
The door opened and two Paramedics walked in.
“Heart Attack?” asked one.
“Almost certainly” stated the other, who was kneeling beside Gordon testing for signs of life. Gordon still looked surprised, and a little affronted.
The Police took statements from the surviving partners, who knew nothing much but enjoyed the feeling of importance, then took brief statements from the office staff – none of whom had seen anything at all – (Myra and Dora avoided looking at one another). The police and medics considered the matter, and with what seemed almost indecent haste, Gordon Golightly was organised onto a stretcher ready for transportation to the local hospital, and eventually, the city morgue.
“Anyone we need to contact?” asked the ambulance crew as they were leaving.
“No, I’ll deal with that!” answered the younger constable, conscious of the lovely Madeleine watching everything that was going on while the body of the firm’s founder and senior partner was carried through the office.
“Ok, show’s over, can we please have some work done today now? Myra, four coffees please!”
“Yes Mr Richmond.” Myra made a face at Jeremy’s retreating back, “Bastard!” she giggled at Dora, and the two women went together into the staff kitchen to make the coffee.
Back in the plush confines of Gordon’s office the meeting was getting underway.
“Now, in the regretted absence of our respected and indeed admired senior partner, I move that, in accordance with his express wishes (expressed to myself when we met for a drink just a couple of evenings ago) when he said if anything were to happen to him, (knowing of his heart problem), he had confidence in myself to look after the Firm. Of course, with the earlier motion proposed by my colleagues and partners, I will now be acting senior partner of this Firm while the formalities are dealt with. I will be moving into this office forthwith and will be convening Partners Meetings on a monthly basis from today.
I will be looking at partners salaries and would ask that at our next meeting you bring along documents showing the expenditure, profits and losses of your individual areas, with suggestions and proposals of how economies can be made. I propose an immediate increase in the level of my personal salary by 10% to reflect the necessary responsibilities I have had pressed upon me.
Oh, and I wish to record how very sorry I am at the untimely death of our dear colleague and erstwhile Senior Partner. He leaves a gap which will be very difficult to fill! All in favour?”
Jeremy looked sternly at his three remaining colleagues who were listening open mouthed to his proposition.
“Well, if Gordon …..” Philip could always be relied upon to go along with Jeremy, “and of course you and Gordon do, I mean did, have a great understanding…….”
“This really needs further discussion,” started Rodney, “could we not defer this until next month perhaps? After all, we are all a little overwrought….”
“I myself could perhaps take on the senior role….” Keith stammered as he saw the faces of his colleagues take on the same astounded look. “I, I mean not that Jeremy, um, what I mean…”
Jeremy snapped “Let’s have a show of hands. All in favour of Jeremy Richmond as Senior Partner please raise their hands.” He and Philip raised their hands. Rodney knew when he was beaten. He raised his hand. The three men glared at Keith who reddened and raised his hand firmly to join them.
“Carried unanimously!” Jeremy was triumphant. “I declare this meeting closed and we will reconvene one calendar month from today.”
Philip, Rodney and Keith left the office in silence. The staff had all gone, and the men made their way through the building without further discussion.
Jeremy Richmond sat behind the large, polished oak desk, and stretched luxuriantly smiling broadly. He took a small brass key from the pocket of his waistcoat and inserted it in the lock of the drawer in the centre of the desk. There was a soft click. Jeremy felt carefully until his fingers closed around a small empty bottle which had a label on the front stating Mr G. Golightly. Jeremy’s smile broadened, as he pulled an identical bottle from his jacket pocket. He swapped the empty bottle with the bottle he had taken from his pocket, which held several capsules prescribed to Mr G Golightly for his ongoing heart problems. He unfolded a clean white handkerchief and wiped the little bottle carefully before replacing it in the desk drawer. He then locked the drawer, wiped it, and placed the key he’d had duplicated back in his waistcoat pocket.
“Right!” he said and picked up the dictation machine. “Special Bulletin: The Partners are sorry to announce the sudden passing away of Mr Gordon Golightly, our much admired Senior Partner…” he began…
Half an hour later, dictation completed, Jeremy Richmond stretched, yawned, smiled wolfishly to himself, and mused softly on the perfect crime. They would never find out who had done this, they would never have the courage to voice suspicions, and as soon as possible he would change the locks on the desk, and on his new office door. He had never felt so certain of himself in his life. He locked the door behind him and walked out into the night.