"It won't affect the test. Alright, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Just relax and answer them as simply as you can."
Hello there, Dear Reader. Thought I might quickly mention a recent (actually, current) investigation in regards to a somewhat suspect insurance claim concerning an alleged vehicle accident.
Well, I say 'alleged' but there is no doubt that an accident occurred.
The question is whether the accident occured as the claimant has stated.
You see, the claimant (let's call her Nellie*) had phoned in a few weeks prior in regards to driving into an object where she was told that her policy had been cancelled due to non-payment. Nellie had shifted town, changed her contact details, changed banks - not updating her direct debit for the insurance premiums - and generally was not able to be contacted.
The end result was that Nellie was not covered for that accident.
Well, Nellie reinstated her cover and then two weeks later phoned in after having allegedly driven into a traffic island while attempting a u-turn. This significantly damaged the underside of her vehicle, resulting in a new claim.
Naturally, the insurance company is wondering whether there really were two accidents...
So I am despatched to intervew Nellie and obtain the facts from her as well as conducting other enquiries as I see fit.
The usual.
Nellie, as it turns out, is a blonde. The type of blonde Raymond Chandler once wrote of.
A Blonde in Trouble.
Because, despite my desire to believe her when she looked deeply into my eyes and said she was telling me the complete truth, I just don't.
Not because I am cynical, jaded, and too world-weary to accept the word of a young, pretty, woman who appears to be using her femininity in a calculated manner in order to influence the course of an investigation.
I mean, who doesn't like being flattered by a good-looking dame, now and again?
"Oh, you're nothing like I imagined you'd be. I was expecting someone... scarier." If only you knew, Nellie, if only you knew.
Or falling the all-too-obvious manner in which she attempted to solicit an empathic reaction - mentioning she had no family in Bad City (in general conversation), enquiring whether I had family locally (I don't) then drawing a parallel in our situations.
You know, maybe I am reading too much into this. Perhaps she is merely a young woman who is telling me the truth and was just making conversation?
Except then how come I cannot find any physical evidence of the accident at the traffic island she allegedly crashed into? Not a single scratch or gouge on the concrete, no marks, no oil stains from the ruptured sump.
Nothing.
And that's what is going to get her in trouble.
* Not her real name.
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