Reader's Digest Australia Dec/Jan 2025

70   December 2025/january 2026 reader ’ s digest nothing will. It’s just good business practice.” “I’m Going Home” Elaine Boyes had a strong incentive to follow Davis’s instructions to the letter. His generosity far exceeded his original proposal. He not only paid her 50% more than she had made at Henry Spencer but also arranged for her and Platt to buy a stylish two-bedroom apartment. “Mr D”, as Platt called him, had put up nearly $155,000 for the purchase. Davis and Platt were about the same age and had become friends. Davis rented premises for Platt and set him up in his own television-and- video repair business. He had even lent Platt the $35,000 he needed for start-up costs. As for the work Boyes had to do, it was hardly onerous, she explained to Clenahan. Davis would send her off to France, Italy or Switzerland, to look at an antique sale or some properties and, while she was there, deposit cash in various accounts she set up in her own name, as secretary of Cavendish Corp. It was all part of Davis’s alimony-avoidance strategy. Throughout 1991 and 1992 every- thing went smoothly. Boyes would return home after jetting across Europe, and a week later a deposit slip would arrive by mail. She’d give it to Davis, and he would have her transfer some of that money back into Caven- dish’s accounts. army. He learned about electronics there. We’re planning on heading over as soon as we have the money.” “Elaine,” said Davis, dropping his voice to a confidential hush, “I could offer you enough money so within a year’s time, you could both fly off.” While Boyes was not persuaded to take him up on his offer that day, she agreed to think about it. When Davis saw Boyes again the following Febru- ary, he met her boyfriend, Ron Platt. By then Boyes had decided to accept Davis’s offer. In April, Elaine Boyes became special assistant and the secretary of Cavendish Corp., Davis’s new art-and- antiques venture. As such, she was to act solely as her boss’s legal repre- sentative with the power to open bank accounts and deposit and withdraw money for him. Around that time Davis confided in her about the “tragedy” of his first marriage and how his ex-wife, back home in the United States, was pursu- ing him for alimony. His response was to move to London. One daughter, Noël, had chosen to come with him. For that reason it was vital, he told Boyes, that his name never appear on documents of any kind. Security and secrecy were crucial. Davis also asked Platt to be on the company board as an unpaid director with legal powers similar to Boyes’s. He said it was good insurance to have. “Just in case something ever hap- pens to you,” he told her. “Of course, readersdigest.com.au   71 Bonus Read His request didn’t seem unreason- able. Both complied. On February 11, 1993, Boyes signed over a power of attorney to Davis, so that he could finish up the sale of the apartment. The document gave him the right, she recalled, “to deposit money, to draw money, to sign my name, to receive mail on my behalf, generally to act in relation to my personal affairs in all respects as I myself do.” Davis, ever the smooth talker, con- vinced Platt to also leave him copies of his birth certificate and driver’s licence. On the evening of February 22, 1993, there was a fare- well dinner for the couple before leav- ing for Canada. At one point in the evening, Ron Platt glanced down at his Rolex Oyster watch and announced, “By this time tomorrow I’ll be there. I’m going home.” Dark and Cold For Boyes, who had lived almost all of her life in gentle, leafy Harrogate, Calgary in February was a harsh introduction to a new country. The city was not at all the wide-open, friendly frontier town of Platt’s childhood memories. It seemed dark and cold now. Neither Boyes nor Platt had jobs lined up, so they were forced to look Then unexpectedly, late in 1992, Davis told Boyes that the loans he’d given her for the purchase of her apartment had to be called in. He cited “cash-flow problems”. “Surely there’s some kind of arrangement we could make, Mr Davis?” Boyes asked. “Elaine, I don’t see any way around it,” Davis said. From Davis’s tone Boyes knew the conversation was over. The couple listed their apartment for sale. A few weeks later, Davis told Platt he could no longer pay the rent on his shop. Platt would have to go it alone. Everything seemed to change on Christmas Day, 1992. Davis in- vited Boyes and Platt to dinner at his house and presented them with a card in which he had written: “Two air tickets to Canada. Valid until the end of February.” “It’s time you and E l a i n e s e i z e d t h e dream, Ron,” he said. The couple thanked Davis profusely, al- though Boyes later persuaded him to give her a return ticket, just in case. Davis had one last favour to ask in return. Since he would have to oper- ate Cavendish Corp. all by himself and would need to access his money, could Boyes and Platt make rubber- stamp copies of their signatures? Davis, ever the smooth talker, convinced Platt to also leave him copies of his birth certificate and driver’s licence