Inside the Rainbow Serpent by Dorian Brunt

Author:Dorian Brunt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31 - Curtin

Lily instinctively stood back when Corley poked his friend to wake him. She had no intention of being anywhere near the grumpy Italian when he came to. The expression that required one to let sleeping dogs lie was at the forefront of her mind.

A sea gull standing next to Francesco observed the two men closely, but even the gull took a step back when the Italian stretched a moaned.

On the way to the opera house, Corley had told Lily about the previous night’s drinking session. The dank smell of lager and whisky was oozing from his pores.

She had declined his offer to join them for a drink, blaming exhaustion. However, her mind wouldn’t let her forget they were all on the run and that her stupidity with Ashley had probably caused Claire’s death.

It was possible, she acknowledged, that she was being too hard on herself, but it was an almost inescapable conclusion that it was her fault. Corley hadn’t said anything to her, of course, he was too polite. But she was convinced she could see the blame in his eyes.

Lily constantly tried to console herself with the fact that her boating knowledge had now saved their skins twice. Yes, not once. Twice. Without her at Lake Como, they would surely have been shot and quietly dumped into its deep waters. And then subsequently at Devil’s Gorge, she had pulled them from the brink once again.

She acknowledged the thanks the two men had proffered for her invaluable assistance both in Italy and in Broome. But even that didn’t make her feel any better.

She watched with amusement as Corley manhandled the drowsy deadweight, who was spread-eagled on the step. Despite their terrible predicament, there was a certain comedy value in watching the social interaction between the two friends. Corley, in his newly acquired New South Wales Warratahs rugby shirt, was bending over Francesco and slapping him in a way that could easily attract a police caution, or more likely a stern policeman’s warning to keep whatever it was they were doing behind closed doors. It was like watching two primates in a nature documentary, expecting that next, one of them would start picking the other’s nose.

Despite the struggle to obtain any civil response out of Francesco, she found herself sympathising with his desire to sleep. Her system was barely functioning from travelling across so many time zones with so little sleep. At times, when she was standing still, she feared her body would stop working. For her, being stationary was like the moment an old car stalls at a junction and there is no real certainty that it will restart. So she paced in a circle, just in case.

Francesco eventually woke up fully. His dribbly mouth was jabbering and he was rubbing his eyes. She didn’t speak much Italian, but there was no doubt about his reluctance to stir.

She noticed, passing behind Francesco, a yacht at full sail darting across the harbour. She was impressed with her surroundings, but could not enjoy them because of the heaviness in her heart.

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