A Sticky Situation: A Mulbury Mystery by Harvey Juno

Author:Harvey, Juno
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mandurang Press
Published: 2021-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

Marc Cambridge twisted around as Heather spoke and, when he saw no one standing behind him, turned back with an open mouth. ‘What does she mean?’ he said, his face grey.

‘Heather, dear,’ said Mrs Lionel, walking over to the girl. ‘Who do you mean?’

Heather turned teary blue eyes to the older woman. ‘Him.’ She shook her pointed finger. ‘Joe.’

‘Oh no,’ said Marc quickly, ‘I’m not Joey Cambridge. Joey’s my father. I’m Marc Cambridge.’

‘Wait on a moment.’ Hannah folded her arms across her chest. ‘Why should Heather know someone called Joey Cambridge? We don’t know him.’

‘Ask her,’ said Rosemary mildly.

Hannah let her arms down to tug at Heather’s sleeve. ‘Who do you mean, feathery Heathery? We don’t know anyone of that name.’

Heather blinked slowly and focused on Hannah. ‘Joe.’ She pointed to Marc.

‘Hang on,’ said Holly, staring at Marc, ‘I think I remember. A man bought a bird right before Dad left.’ She squinted at Marc. ‘He looked like you. Dark hair. Bright blue eyes. Same build but older.’ She shrugged. ‘As he would be if he was your father.’

‘I don’t remember.’ Hannah let Heather go and walked over to get a better view of Marc, who cringed backwards until he came up against the window of The Preserved Mulbury. ‘This guy isn’t the least bit familiar to me.’

‘You were out,’ said Holly. ‘You had to get a load of calf milk powder in the ute.’ Hannah frowned. ‘This man turned up and went with Dad to see Heather’s birds. I could hear them.’

‘He bought a bird?’

‘Yes.’ Holly turned to stroke Heather’s arm. ‘Guess which one.’

‘Not the eagle?’

‘Yes.’

Hannah frowned. ‘Why did Dad have to sell that?’

‘It was the best of Heather’s work, and he needed the money.’

Hannah stared at her sister. ‘You mean it was worth the most. Dad used the money to go away, didn’t he?’

Holly shrugged. ‘I heard Dad playing the guitar after the man left.’

Hannah tapped her foot on the ground. ‘Minor or major?’

‘Yeah, minor.’

Mrs Lionel took Heather’s hand and rubbed it. ‘What do you mean, minor?’

‘Riffs.’ Hannah shifted her weight to her other leg and started tapping it. ‘You could tell the mood Dad was in by what he was playing. A Blues A minor riff meant he wasn’t happy. I think he felt guilty.’

‘Did Heather see all this happening?’

Holly put a palm on her forehead. ‘She was in her taxidermy room so she would have.’

‘Oh, crumbs.’ Hannah sighed. ‘I bet she didn’t even try to stop Dad.’

Heather gave a tiny whimper and Mrs Lionel rubbed her hand harder. ‘What is it, love? Did you want to say anything?’

Heather closed her eyes. Her head dropped a little.

‘She doesn’t seem very well,’ said Ronnie. ‘Do you think she should sit down?’

‘I think that’s a good idea.’ Mrs Lionel put one arm around Heather’s shoulders. ‘Could we perhaps have some tea, Rosemary?’

Rosemary extended her arm to show the doorway to the house, and let Mrs Lionel and Heather go first, followed by Hannah, Holly, Ronnie, and lastly Marc, whose face was the colour of bleached cardboard.

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