The Corner of Her Eye by JJ Carpenter

Author:JJ Carpenter [JJ Carpenter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jessica Carpenter
Published: 2024-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

21

The King of the Idiots

The next morning, the first thing Charlie felt was the pounding in her hand. She blinked groggily. It wasn’t just her hand that was pounding. Her head throbbed in rhythm, no doubt helped along by the crick that had developed in her neck from sleeping on the couch. As she rolled into a sitting position, she groaned, holding her hand against her shoulder.

Stunned by her rough awakening, she stared around her gloomy cottage. It looked early. She fished her phone out of her pocket, which was down to 20 percent battery. Without unlocking it, she saw the time blink onto the screen: 7.00 a.m. She examined her hand more closely— her fingers were swollen and tinged purple. The tingling also persisted despite warmth having returned to her extremities. Gingerly, Charlie loosened and unwound the bandage to relieve some of the pressure. Despite being “nonstick,” the gauze pad was fixed firmly to her hand, and blood had oozed through the material. That is some good swelling…

She rewrapped the bandage with less pressure, then stumbled to her feet and to the kitchen for a glass of water. She scowled at the whiskey bottle as she passed it. Her phone pinged as she went for her second glass of water. Why aren’t you answering?! I’m starting to get worried, the text message read.

Crap, she thought, rubbing her forehead as she unlocked the phone. Three missed calls and four messages from Tess. As she went to return the calls, her stomach heaved, and she vomited — spectacularly — into the kitchen sink. Her hand throbbed in sympathy with her stomach. Hospital first, she thought, stumbling to the cupboard for a bottle of water. She grabbed her handbag from the hook by the door, and the keys from the bowl, before heading out to her SUV. The air was still chilly and moist after the storm the night before. The birds — especially the parakeets and cockatoos — were chirping happily now that the weather had passed. Crickets joined in the chorus.

Before starting the engine, Charlie plugged her phone into the car charger, and messaged Tess. So sorry. I’m okay. I’m heading to the hospital to get some stitches for a cut on my hand. Long story. I’ll call in 15 when I hit signal. She stared at the message, feeling unsatisfied, but not in the right headspace to retype it. “That’ll do,” she muttered, pressing“send” and starting the ignition.

* * *

Charlie’s phone pinged again as she reached signal. She used her bad hand to pressed the “Tess” favourite button on her car dash before returning it to rest in its new favoured position on her shoulder. The phone rang once before Tess answered.

“She lives…” From Tess’s tone, Charlie could tell she wasn’t impressed.

“Hey, Tess,” Charlie said, dreading the lecture her pounding head wasn’t prepared to receive.

Tess paused before answering. “You sound awful… What the hell were you doing?”

“I found the plans, like you suggested, and there were a bunch of buildings called stockmen’s quarters and wool shed on the original property plan.

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