The Will Of The People (Conspiracy Trilogy Book 1) by Christopher Read Page B

Erdenheim.
    “Some in the
community,” said Anderson glibly, “might argue that the links
aren’t quite as strong as they used to be.”
    There was a
brief pause before McDowell responded. “I assume you’re referring
to young Darren Westrope. A very unfortunate accident which has
clearly harmed our standing in the community; I have spoken to the
Westrope family and Erdenheim is keen to do what it can but I
believe all the evidence shows our driver to be completely
blameless. He’s still off sick and I imagine won’t be back for some
time.”
    There was an
uncomfortable silence, broken eventually by McDowell. “If it’s
okay, I’ll give you the usual tour. The brochure can be a bit vague
but that’s because a lot of what we do is customised to our
clients’ needs.” He gestured at the entrance area, “This central
space, for example, can be partitioned off for use as a small
conference room, or we can add tables and chairs for a planning
exercise.”
    Anderson took
a couple of photographs, preferring pad and pen for brief notes
rather than using his phone as an audio recorder. McDowell moved on
to the northern single-storey block, its sole purpose that of
providing single en-suite accommodation for up to twenty people,
the rooms small but well-furnished. McDowell opened up an
unoccupied room for Anderson to take the required photos, letting
his guest dictate the pace of the tour. After the slightly awkward
beginning, McDowell had settled into a more relaxed mode, happy to
answer Anderson’s many questions, proud to emphasise that a good
proportion of new business came from client-referrals.
    “So business
is pretty good?” asked Anderson between photos.
    “Steady
growth; at the moment we’re running at about two-thirds capacity,
and just about heading for a profit.”
    “And how many
staff?”
    “Seven full
plus five part-time; we also bring in various experts and guest
speakers when necessary.”
    “Erdenheim’s
American, is that right?”
    “Yes, and no,”
McDowell replied. “The original Erdenheim is in Philadelphia; the
rest of us are totally separate companies operating under a
franchise, paying a yearly fee to use the Erdenheim name and borrow
some of their ideas. The Graythorp Centre is actually owned by a
company called Erdenheim UK with Jonathan Carter and myself as
directors.”
    McDowell had a
sensible and full answer for all of Anderson’s questions, certainly
nothing to suggest he was lying. Even though Anderson was getting
impatient, he didn’t want to act out of character by asking
anything too unexpected, holding fire on any mention of Anne
Teacher’s complaints or George Saunders’ visit.
    Next on the
guided tour came the southern block, the double doors opening onto
a large seminar area. Some team activity was in full swing, four to
a team, touch-screens replacing anything as basic as pen and paper.
Everyone was casually dressed, all under forty and judging by the
heated discussions fully involved in trying to win.
    “It’s a form
of Monopoly,” McDowell explained, gently guiding Anderson to the
opposite door. “There’s also a bit of stock-market trading thrown
in; limited budget with various high risk options – team building
through problem solving. We use Psychometric Profiling to work out
how each person will react in different situations, and a good team
leader can then apply that data to get the very best out of his
team.”
    McDowell
seemed in no hurry to move on, waiting until Anderson was ready
before leading him through into a small dining room and bar area,
the kitchen beyond; then it was back to reception and on up the
wide stairs.
    The landing
opened out onto a computer Utopia with a bank of screens curving
along the front wall and a massive wall-mounted monitor along the
back; some twelve feet wide, the monitor was divided up into
multiple segments, four presently rotating through the various CCTV
images. In the centre of the room was a large circular table,