Free Smoking Gun (Adam Cartwright Trilogy Book 1) by Dennis Debney Page A

valley to the west of the mine site. The nearest point being about a kilometre from the open pit. An area of about a kilometre square had been set aside for the ore processing facilities. A slightly smaller area, to the north of the processing plant area, had been set aside for the administration and accommodation facilities.
    The plan being used by Jack Gilmore had the ground level contours marked on it. The layout of the mine site had been decided prior to my involvement in the project and had looked okay the first time that I saw the planned layout on paper. However, I had not been very searching in my appraisal as it had been designed by experts and was not my responsibility.
    But, later when I saw the layout drawn on a contour plan I had some misgivings. The proposed mine site was tucked against the southern edge of a wide valley as it wound around the ridge leading to Lookout Hill. The land contours indicated that the stormwater runoff from the country to the west of Lookout Hill would flow across the mine site. When I had queried that issue I was told that it would be provided for in the site drainage plan which was still to be finalised.
    Today was the first time that I had seen the proposed site drainage plan and had the opportunity to assess it on the ground. I did not like what I saw. The entire stormwater flow was diverted away from the open pit mine, as it had to be, but was redirected into a single pipe running through the mine site near the processing plant.
    Due to the lay of the land it was impossible to divert the stormwater flow towards the far side of the open pit, away from the processing plant. To me it was clear. The best option would be to excavate a cutting across the ridge leading to Lookout Hill and discharge the stormwater into a gully that led back to the main valley to the east of the mine site.
    I had pointed out my misgivings to Jack Gilmore who expressed his support for my intention to have the drainage plan revised. However, his responsibility was to ensure that the open pit operations were at no risk of being flooded. Once that had been achieved, he had no further say in the design of the stormwater drainage plan for other sections of the mine site.
    Even so he provided strong vocal and written support for my request to have the drainage plan amended. A request that was later arbitrarily refused by Tom Barton.
    I had an excellent working and friendly relationship with Jack. There was no possibility that anyone connected with Jack Gilmore would have been involved in the attack on me.
    That ruled out a quarter of the people on site. I now only had three hundred suspects.
    As I reached that conclusion, the plane’s engines changed pitch, and the passengers were warned to put their seats in the upright position for the landing in Cairns.
     
    ***

Monday October 12
Cairns, Queensland
    Last night I had dropped off to sleep as soon as I stretched out in my quarter berth on board ‘Irish Mist’ and had slept as though I did not have a care in the world. I had arrived back at the marina after midnight. As I expected, there was no sign of activity on any of the jetties. It was a Sunday evening and the weekend sailors had all gone home. Those that also lived on board their boats seemed to have all gone to bed. There was certainly nobody to be seen showing interest in my arrival.
    Sleeping on board a yacht moored in a marina is a pleasant experience. I never tired of it. Even on the calmest of nights there would be a slow, gentle, sleep-inducing rocking motion due to the smallest of swells. The occasional gentle tug from the mooring lines was a constant reminder that the vessel was secure. After many nights spent on board I was accustomed to sleeping without being consciously wakened by the bump and tug of the mooring lines when another boat moved through the marina.
    On the other hand if anyone stepped on board, no matter how softly their tread, the motion of the yacht changed and I would instantly