Hunt for Red Kangaroo Dreaming: A Phoebe McCabe Historical mystery Thriller (An Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found Mystery Thriller Book 9) by Jane Thornley

Author:Jane Thornley [Thornley, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riverflow Press 2024
Published: 2024-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Ten

By the time we reached the resort, it was nearly 7 p.m. We headed for Rupert’s suite first thing, finding him sitting up in bed with a light supper on the tray before him while Sloane stood nearby, ready to pour him a fresh cup of tea. Rupert’s puffiness had dissipated considerably, as had the red, shiny gleam on his appendages. In fact, a towel now covered his legs but his arms seemed almost a normal color.

“Phoebe!" my father-in-law exclaimed upon spying me. He hastily set aside his cup. “What has happened to your cheek?”

“I fell out of bed. Never mind that; I’m so glad to see you sitting up and alert.”

“Yes, well, I am relieved to see you, too.”

I approached the bed. Had I not been so angry at him or had I been able to locate a safe place to land, I might have delivered him a hug—maybe. “How are you feeling?”

“Much improved, thank you very much. The creams and anti-inflammatories have been working their magic and Sloane has been taking very good care of me.”

I glanced at Sloane, who nodded and slipped from the room, leaving us alone. Peaches was probably just beyond the door, trying to listen in. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that, but it doesn’t mean I’m not angry about why you’re here and why you’ve been ghosting my messages for days. What game are you playing, Rupert?”

No one can look more affronted than Rupert. I swear he must have practiced in front of a mirror for years to get it just right. “Whatever do you mean?” His caterpillar eyebrows shot to his forehead, his eyes managing to widen significantly despite the puffiness. “Did I not ask if you had received anything of note the day I visited your house, providing plenty of opportunity in which you could have admitted you had received a mysterious postcard? Had you disclosed that fact, I assure you that this journey would have unfolded much differently, perhaps with me working with the Agency of the Ancient Lost and Found the way we once did.”

“Firstly, I hadn’t yet received the postcard when you delivered half the furnishings of your country estate to my comparatively small city flat and, anyway, nothing excuses your behavior since we arrived on this continent. You are no longer affiliated with the agency, Rupert. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is and how it will remain. We’re here to do a job and your presence always complicates things. I’ll just remind you while I’m at it that you misused agency resources to pilfer an artifact from Temple Church.”

“That wasn’t agency business and neither is this,” he said sharply.

He had me there. I gazed at him, figuring I’d misjudged thinking that a reference to past transgressions might make him contrite. Rupert didn’t do contrite. He turned the tables on me, instead.

“You are here looking for your godfather on a completely private matter,” he continued, “and using agency resources while you’re at it, I might add, but, as you say, agency business is no longer my concern—fair enough.

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