The Getaway
Page 16
He smiled at me for the briefest of moments and then went back to his writing. “I was here for you no matter what, Dell. That’s what I promised when we came on this trip. You needed someone to help ya move past it all. Glad to hear you’re finally there.”
“I know. I know that, James.” We were talking about it at last, and I wanted to believe that was a good sign. “I got it all twisted around. You were just being… well, you, and I took it all wrong. Then that whole bit with you making friends with Alistair. I was harsh on you for that.”
“He really was a friend,” James informed me, reading off that mental script of his again. “Did ya finally figure that out?”
“Yes.” It was a hard pill to swallow, that one. I’d spent so much of the past few days certain that Alistair was up to something. All he was doing, as it turned out, was trying to help. You two are the only ones who seem interested in finding out what happened, I remember him saying. My anxiety about him had come not from any sort of clairvoyance that he was involved in this mystery. It came from worrying he would take James’s attention off me.
Turned out, I had done that just fine by myself.
“So, I was thinking…” I told him after a long moment punctuated only by the sound of James putting thought to electronic media. “We didn’t get much of a vacation this time out. What if we did another weekend together, just the two of us? You could pick the spot—”
“He really didn’t deserve what happened to him,” James interrupted with a slam of both hands down on the keyboard. “He was just going to help and you basically threw it in his face. Did ya ever think, if he hadn’t been treated so badly by you that he might still be alive?”
I didn’t even know how to respond to that. “The car wreck… that was not my fault.”
“Oh, I know that,” he sneered. “That was Hudson Snow trying to keep us from finding Stevie’s little hidey hole. But we wouldn’t have been in that car driving off by ourselves if’n I hadn’t gotten the bum end of your stick. I’d taken one too many verbal jabs from the great Dell Powers, and off I went. And we both know how that ended.”
Flustered, upset, I sat back in the uncomfortable visitor’s chair with is plastic covered cushions. “I seem to recall you going off half-cocked after finding out Stevie was your daughter, is what I remember.”
“Oh, don’t get me started on that!” Shoving the laptop aside he winced, holding an arm across his ribs. “You stirred that bees nest into a frenzy, too.”
“Me?” I closed my eyes, forcing myself to calm down with a supreme effort of will. James was injured, I reminded myself. James had every right to be mad at me, I reminded myself. This wasn’t what I wanted. It wasn’t helping anyone. “James, please. You need to rest. You won’t heal if you don’t rest.”
He sighed out a very slow breath, and reached out for his computer again. “I know, and you’re right. I need to finish this. So. Thanks for saving me, and all.”
“Don’t shut down on me James,” I nearly begged. “We can talk about this like adults, can’t we?”
“I need to finish this,” he said again, back to reading from his carefully worded script.
“But… what about us?” I felt like an insecure teenager asking him that. “What about you and me?”
“Honestly Dell, I think I need some space.” He smiled at me again, and just as quick it was gone once more. “I’m sure you’ll understand. I’ve got this story to file, and I just don’t know what’s next for me.”
“I can’t be next?”
“Maybe,” he said, without a whole lot of conviction. “I need to figure that out. Need to figure out stacks of things. Give me some time, Dell. Give me some space.”
“Sure,” I muttered. “Sure, James.”
I don’t remember walking out of the hospital but there I suddenly was on Liverpool Street, looking at the blue “Hospital Access” sign and the crowded shopping district of Hobart further down the way. Not exactly the right terrain for walkabout, but I’d make do. I needed to clear my head.
James wanted some space, and like a fool I was going to give it to him. I’d give him all the space he needs, so long as it leads him back to me. Walking quicker, I took a breath of air scented with car exhaust and sea salt. This could be good for us. After all the murder and mystery that we’d found here in Port Arthur, a place known for both, we could definitely use a breather.
I could hear the lie laced through my own words, and I didn’t care. James would find his way back to me. That was as true as anything in this crazy, messed up world. Life goes on. Me and James would be together when it did.
A smile felt odd on my lips, considering everything that had happened in the last few days, but there was a smile just the same.
It felt good. It felt like hope.
Tomorrow I’d be back in Lakeshore, and back at the Pine Lake Inn. There would be ghosts there aplenty, and good friends too, waiting to welcome me home from my getaway.
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Book 6!
Glossary of Australian Slang
A few clicks - a few kilometres(miles).
A goner - person or thing that is dead, lost, or past recovery or rescue.
Aces - good.
Around the bend – not in one’s right mind.
Back of beyond - a remote place.
Back of Bourke - an isolated place; middle of nowhere.
Bloke - man.
Bludger - an idle or lazy person.
Blue - incident/drama. Argument.
Bonkers - crazy.
Bonza - most excellent, cool, great etc.
Brekkie - breakfast.
Bugger - used as a term of abuse, especially for a man or used to express annoyance or anger.
Bugger off - go away, leave a person alone.
Bunyip - the bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Chuck a wobbly - To overreact to something.
Deadset - true, the truth.
Delish - delicious.
Devil's Marbles - a famous natural rock formation in Australia.
Dipstick - a loser, idiot.
Dodgy – dishonest or unreliable. Potentially dangerous. Of low quality.
Donkey Track - very rough, unpaved road.
Doovalacky - General term for an unknown item. A common Australian colloquialism. Used whenever you can't remember what something is called.
Down in the dumps - sad, unhappy.
Drongo - idiot.
Drop bear - a dropbear or drop bear is a fictitious Australian marsupial.
Fair dinkum - true, genuine.
Favs - favourites.
Fella - man.
Flat out like a lizard drinking - very busy.
Fossick - search, rummage.
Git - an unpleasant person.
Give it a burl - Give something a go. To have a try at something.
Give them the flick - To break up with somebody.
Give you a ring - Call on the telephone.
Good oil - useful information, a good idea, the truth.
Got crook - was ill.
Grouse - a medium to large game bird, colloquially also means "great".
Had a gutful - fed up, had enough.
Had a squizz/take a squizz – to take a look at something.
Have tickets on oneself - to have a high opinion of oneself.
In a Jiff - in a minute, very soon.
Jiff - a brief moment.
Keen - very interested/interesting.
Mad as a cut snake - Furious.
Mobile phone - cell phone.
Nipper - child.
Noggin - head.
Old biddy - old woman.
Pav - Pavlova - a dessert consisting of a meringue base or shell filled with whipped cream and fruit.
Pull the wool over someone's eyes - to deceive someone.
Ratbag - trouble maker or someone causing havoc.
Real Crank - a crazy person.
Right as rain - satisfactory, comfortable, well.
Roos - kangaroos.
Sammies - sandwiches.
Senior Sergeant - ranking officer in the Australian police force.
She’ll be right - It will all be okay.
Sheila - a woman.
Shonky - dishonest, unreliable, or illegal, especially in a devious way.
Snit – a fit of irritation. A sulk.
Spiffy - great, excellent.
Spit the Dummy - a sudden display of anger or frustration; to lose one's temper.
Stellar - outstanding.
Strewth - exclamation, mild oath.
Strike a light - an exclamation of surprise or frustration.
The Sarge - nickname for Sergeant.
To string along - to keep someone waiting or in a state of uncertainty.
Too right - definitely.
Two-pot screamer - a person who shows the effects of alcohol after drinking comparatively little.
Vaca - pronounced vay-kay - vacation, holiday.
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About the Author
K.J. Emrick
Kathrine Emrick writing as K.J. Emrick is the author of the popular Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series and the Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery series.
Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick dreamed of being an author for the majority of her life.
She never quite gave up on the idea of being a published author and at the age of 51, thanks to the self-publishing explosion, she finally realized her dream. Her maturity allows her to bring a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.
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