The Grass is Greener

by Loretta Hill

  ‘Get off me! Get off me! You stupid dog,’ Bianca cried, her features contorted in both terror and desperation. Elsa responded by licking her face from chin to hairline.

  Claudia and Bronwyn skidded to a halt in front of them, taking it all in with frank enjoyment. The box of puppies was on the ground at Bianca’s feet – clearly dropped there if the dent in the side was anything to go by. Luckily, the dogs had all stayed in the box.

  ‘Help me!’ Bianca turned frantic eyes upon her daughter. ‘Don’t just stand there!’

  Bronwyn folded her arms and Claudia made no move to step forward either. They grinned at each other instead. Bronwyn couldn’t recall a time in her life when her mother had ever needed her help. Let alone been completely at her mercy. She was going to milk this for all it was worth.

  She turned back to Bianca. ‘I think we need to have a little chat first.’

  Elsa licked Bianca’s face again, lapping at her cheek like it was an ice-cream.

  ‘Ugh! Ugh!’ Bianca cried. ‘Make her stop.’

  ‘Sure,’ Bronwyn replied. ‘I just want your agreement on a few points first.’

  ‘Anything.’

  ‘One, you will stop antagonising my friend Claudia and endorse her position at Hanks and Eddings. Two, you will accept my decision to live and work in Yallingup without any more manipulations calculated to change my mind. And, three, you will return those dogs to me immediately.’

  A shadow flicked across Bianca’s features. ‘I can do that, of course, but I can’t see why you would want to hide the dogs from a man as dangerous as Leon McCall.’

  Bronwyn was surprised by two things. First, that her mother actually cared about what happened to her and second, that she knew about Leon’s involvement. She hesitated.

  ‘Claudia,’ she turned to her friend, ‘let’s get Elsa off her.’

  ‘Right.’

  Together, they pulled Elsa back and the dog dropped to all fours.

  ‘Good girl,’ Claudia encouraged her as Bianca spun around, untangling the lead.

  ‘Thank you!’ Bianca exclaimed as she deposited the end of the lead in Bronwyn’s outstretched palm.

  ‘Now,’ Bronwyn prompted, ‘explain to me what you know about Leon McCall’s connection to these dogs.’

  ‘He owns the puppies but wants their mother too after Peter attempted to double-cross him.’

  ‘Peter attempted to double-cross him?’

  Bianca sighed. ‘Your client made the big mistake of giving his dog to you for safe-keeping. Nobody, I suppose, could have predicted you would quit your job and disappear so suddenly without a care for anyone but yourself.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Bronwyn snapped, ‘because this is all about me being selfish.’

  Claudia stepped forward. ‘Hold up, hold up, hold up.’ She held up her palms for their attention. ‘How are you connected to Peter Goldman?’ Her gaze fixed on Bianca.

  Bronwyn’s mother shrugged. ‘I’m not. I honestly couldn’t care less about Peter Goldman or his gambling debts. My concern is for my client.’

  ‘Who is?’ Claudia prompted.

  ‘Linda McCall.’

  Bronwyn gasped. ‘Leon’s new wife.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Bianca raised her chin. ‘I’ve been handling her defamation case. But that aside, she’s quite the animal lover. Those prize pedigree puppies were Leon’s wedding present to her. You can imagine how angry he was when they just disappeared.’

  ‘And Peter Goldman got the brunt of it …’ Claudia tapped a finger thoughtfully to her chin.

  ‘When they found out Bronwyn had them, they did come to me,’ Bianca admitted. ‘Both of them, Leon and Linda. I had a meeting with them in my office just a couple of weeks ago.’ She averted her eyes. ‘I must admit, Leon does have many interesting suits filed against him and almost every member of his family. Having his business would be an excellent windfall for me.’

  ‘But you didn’t tell him where I was,’ Bronwyn whispered.

  ‘Of course not,’ Bianca scoffed. ‘I am still your mother, after all.’

  They looked at each other long and hard. It was strange seeing her mother in this new light. She had always thought of her as one hundred per cent ruthless, but maybe now she could shave off ten per cent.

  Bianca examined the knuckles on the back of one hand. ‘I did think, however, that your recklessness deserved to be punished and those dogs ought to be returned. If not for my business advancement, then your own safety. So I stole them … er …’ she amended, ‘paid a grape picker to do it for me.’

  And there’s the other ten per cent.

  ‘Who are you meeting with today?’ Claudia’s eyes narrowed on her mother.

  ‘Linda,’ Bianca replied. ‘She will be very pleased to finally receive these dogs.’

  ‘As will you, when her husband gives you more of his business,’ Claudia suggested.

  ‘Exactly.’

  Claudia turned to Bronwyn with raised eyebrows. ‘What do you reckon?’

  Bronwyn looked down at Elsa, who hadn’t stopped tugging on her lead since the conversation had started. The dog looked back, a smile in her eyes, as her panting tongue dripped drool on the hot bitumen. How could she lose this dog now? True, there was no horror story in Elsa’s future. Linda McCall was obviously not an animal torturer of any kind and Elsa would be treated well. If only she, Bronwyn, had not grown to love her.

  Leon had only wanted the puppies for his wife originally. Perhaps they could come to some sort of arrangement.

  Bronwyn licked her lips. ‘I think I’d like to talk to Linda McCall myself.’

  Claudia sighed. ‘I was afraid you were going to say that.’ She picked up the box containing the puppies and said to Bianca, ‘We’ll take it from here if you don’t mind.’

  Bianca inclined her head regally, smoothing her crushed skirt with her palms. ‘Be my guest. Linda is in the biggest tent next to the stage. You can’t miss it. Give me a call when you have a result. I’d like to know the final outcome.’

  ‘We will,’ Bronwyn agreed, ‘but I hope our other agreements still stand.’

  ‘Yes,’ Bianca assented grumpily. ‘They do.’

  Her mother held her gaze for a second longer than necessary before turning away to get into her car. As she started her engine, Bronwyn’s heart felt a little lighter. Was it possible that her mother was finally going to accept her for who she was?

  As Bianca drove away, Claudia nudged her. ‘So, shall we do this?’

  They took off towards the main tent and hadn’t been walking long before a man selling dog ears on headbands started harassing them. ‘Buy one, get one free. Pay another two dollars and get your free glow-in-the-dark stick for the talent show tonight.’

  ‘Talent show?’ Claudia laughed.

  ‘Look, they’re putting a banner up.’ Bronwyn pointed.

  Sure enough, Frank and some other guys were hanging the words ‘Linda McCall’s Pet Talent Show’ across the front of the stage right next to the giant white tent they were heading for – clearly this was backstage.

  ‘Hey, watch it!’ cried a fat woman in a hot-pink sequinned leotard as they entered the tent. Claudia, still carrying the box of puppies, had almost run into the woman’s greyhound. The animal was wearing a very similar-looking leotard and walking on its hind legs with a ribbon on a stick in its mouth. It let it go, dropped back to four legs and barked loudly in protest.

  ‘We’re trying to have a rehearsal here,’ the woman growled at her.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Claudia apologised, momentarily taken aback by the pandemonium all around. Bronwyn didn’t blame her. There were three parrots playing a ditty on some tin cans to her right, a cat dressed in a clown suit balancing on a ball on her left and a host of other horrors directly in front of her. Involuntarily, her fingers tightened on Elsa’s leash and she wound it more securely around her wrist. The last thing everyone needed was a cat amongst the pigeons.

  They weaved their way through the crowd until finally, r
ight at the back of the tent, they found her. Linda McCall was stationed in an area obviously set aside for the event organisers. There were costumes hanging on racks against the wall and two long bench tables where a panel of ladies were taking registrations of the performers.

  Unquestionably the trophy wife, Linda was dressed in a showy floral summer dress that displayed plenty of leg and a generous amount of boob. The transition from swimsuit model to kept woman was as clear as kindergarten maths on a chalkboard. Her blonde curls were far too well formed to be natural and her bronze skin definitely came out of a can.

  When she saw what they were carrying, she was pleased to greet them. ‘Well, what do we have here?’

  ‘Hi,’ Bronwyn held out her hand, ‘my name is Bronwyn Eddings. I believe these puppies are yours.’

  ‘Bronwyn Eddings,’ Linda purred. ‘It’s nice to finally meet the woman who has led me on such a merry dance these past few weeks.’

  Bronwyn bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. Only politeness and a little sucking up were going to get her anywhere at this point. She had to play this very carefully.

  ‘I’m sorry if my leaving town was an inconvenience to you. I had no idea what plans Peter had for the dogs.’

  Linda raised her eyebrows. ‘And you didn’t think to ask him?’

  ‘He never gave me much of a chance to,’ Bronwyn returned.

  ‘Yes, well, I never liked him either.’ Linda waved her hand dismissively. ‘But Elsa did win a big prize last year for her breeding. And when Peter owed Leon that gambling debt … well, she was a means to wipe the slate clean. My husband has such a bad reputation in Perth, you know, but,’ she nodded her head earnestly, ‘he’s really not that unreasonable.’

  ‘No doubt,’ Claudia murmured dryly.

  Bronwyn, however, had had enough of Leon and Peter. All she wanted to do was cut Elsa’s ties to them once and for all.

  ‘The thing is, I have grown rather attached to Elsa while she has been in my care and, if possible, I’d like to buy her off you.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Linda eyed her with some interest. ‘I completely understand, of course, being a dog lover myself.’

  ‘You do?’ Hope buoyed in Bronwyn’s chest.

  ‘Of course,’ Linda responded brightly. ‘However, Elsa’s not for sale.’

  Bronwyn’s joy deflated. ‘Everyone has a price,’ she said slowly.

  ‘What am I to do with more money?’ Linda tittered. ‘In case you haven’t read the news, honey, I’m loaded.’

  Bronwyn winced at her crassness. ‘Not money then,’ she suggested. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you to secure Elsa’s ownership?’

  Claudia shot her a worried glance, but Bronwyn didn’t care. Elsa had changed her life. She had given her the chance to become who she wanted to be. In her opinion, that was worth anything Linda demanded.

  ‘Well,’ Linda rubbed her chin thoughtfully, ‘now that you mention it, there is something I’m in need of right at the minute.’

  Chapter 32

  First impressions had not given Jack a very high opinion of Sebastian Rowlands. The man was wearing a suspiciously pink business shirt with a very fine check print. It was uniquely tailored to his slim, fit body and suited him perfectly. However, Jack had never been one to keep up with trends and witnessing fashionable perfection, particularly on a guy, immediately had his back up.

  Honestly!

  Was this really the kind of man his sister wanted to date?

  Mr Hot-Shot Mega-Star with his supercool haircut and winking silver cufflinks? Jack couldn’t remember the last time he’d been clean-shaven, let alone that neatly pressed. And his shoes, as far as he was aware, had never seen one lick of polish in their life … unlike Sebastian’s, which seemed to reflect the light.

  In fact, he was quite sure that most of Sebastian’s brain power must be sucked away by the time-consuming process of staying in vogue. So he was quite surprised and rather pleased when the man abruptly hung up on his third connection with Claudia’s voicemail and said, ‘We’re going to have to go after them.’

  ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

  It was clear from the phone conversation he’d overheard earlier that the women were together, they were doing something stupid, and weren’t going to listen to reason.

  ‘Where are they?’ he demanded.

  ‘On the road somewhere,’ Sebastian swore, throwing his phone down on the kitchen counter. ‘They’re tailing those criminals.’

  ‘Okay, which criminals?’ Jack held up his hands for clarification. ‘Leon McCall, Peter Goldman, some random dog fighter?’ He scrunched his hair in frustration.

  ‘I see somebody’s taken you into their confidence.’ Sebastian’s lip curled sardonically.

  ‘Claudia told me everything.’ Jack groaned. ‘Except where to find her if she goes missing. If they are on the road driving and they’ve turned their phones off, how are we supposed to locate them?’

  ‘We can’t,’ Sebastian shrugged. ‘We’ll just have to find someone who knows where they are going instead.’

  ‘And how are we supposed to do that?’

  ‘There’s a pub called –’

  ‘The Quiet Gentleman.’ Jack nodded. ‘Yes, Claudia told me, but I thought it was a dead end.’

  ‘A fight is going down tonight. Somebody there has got to know something.’

  Seb turned around and began to walk towards the front door, swiping his keys off the hall table as he wrenched it open. Parked out the front of the house, in an open car port, were two cars. Sebastian’s sleek and stylish silver Audi stood next to Jack’s rundown old ute. There were insects and mud sprayed all over the front bonnet and the side-view mirrors were hanging off from their hinges.

  ‘Er … we’ll take my car,’ Sebastian announced firmly.

  He opened the door and got in. Jack hesitated and then climbed into the passenger side. ‘So that’s how you’re playing it, is it?’ he asked ruefully.

  ‘Playing what?’ Sebastian revved the engine and backed smoothly out of the drive.

  ‘Your car’s better than mine?’

  ‘I don’t recall saying that,’ Sebastian murmured as he pushed into the higher gears and flew effortlessly up another street. ‘However, if that’s the conclusion you’ve come to …’

  ‘Just so you know,’ Jack glared at him, ‘you’re the one in this car wearing the pink shirt.’

  ‘True,’ Sebastian laughed.

  They arrived in next to no time at The Quiet Gentleman, and Jack couldn’t help but reflect as they left the vehicle and walked across gravel to the front door that the pub was far from aristocratic. It was your typical Northbridge dive, old and in need of a scrub from top to bottom.

  ‘Nice place,’ he commented sarcastically as they walked in.

  ‘It has a certain charm.’

  Jack scanned the long bar. It was presided over by only two people, a young man in a black T-shirt with his hand bandaged and an older woman in her fifties. ‘Are we going to buy a drink?’

  ‘No, let’s try a more candid approach,’ Sebastian murmured. ‘The guy with the bandage is the one we want. He’s most likely to know something about the fight.’

  ‘Why would he tell us?’

  Sebastian’s smile was crooked. ‘We’re going to be very persuasive.’

  Jack nodded and rolled up his sleeves. ‘I like your style.’

  Sebastian gave Jack’s flannelette shirt, ‘seen better days’ jeans and brown work boots a sideways glance. ‘Somehow I doubt that very much.’ He stepped forward. ‘Follow my lead.’

  ‘Good evening, sir,’ Seb said to the man with the name tag ‘Jet’ on his black T-shirt.

  Jet put down the glass he was wiping. ‘What can I get you?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Sebastian shook his head as he removed a white card from his wallet and placed it on the dirty bar. ‘My name is Sebastian Rowlands and I am a lawyer from Hanks and Eddings. This is my client, who has a serious complaint
about the running of these premises.’

  Jack set his expression as Jet’s nervous eyes flicked over him.

  ‘We were wondering if we might have a word with you, in private.’

  Jet cleared his throat. ‘Er … I’m not the owner. Frank is away at the moment.’

  Sebastian flicked an imaginary piece of fluff from his cuffs. ‘That’s all right. We’re happy to have a preliminary discussion with you, which you can relay to Frank when he returns.’

  ‘Er,’ Jet swallowed, ‘okay.’

  ‘Given the sensitivity of the issue,’ Sebastian informed him in a lowered voice, ‘I don’t think you would want the rest of your patrons to hear what my client has to say.’

  Jet hastily came out from behind the counter and said, ‘Follow me.’

  He took them into the back office, shut the door and turned around. At that moment Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him up against the back wall.

  ‘All right, now tell us where your boss is right now.’

  ‘What the hell is going on here?’ Jet glanced from one to the other.

  ‘Just answer the question,’ Jack hissed.

  ‘I don’t know where Frank is,’ Jet responded quickly. ‘He never said where he was going tonight.’

  ‘Really?’ Jack glared at him. ‘And I suppose you don’t know what all the equipment he took with him is going to be used for either.’

  ‘No, I don’t.’

  ‘Humans lie,’ Sebastian murmured, ‘computers don’t.’ While Jack held Jet pinned against the wall, he removed the phone that was conveniently sticking out of the side pocket of the barman’s jeans.

  ‘All we need is this.’ Sebastian turned on the phone.

  ‘Hey!’ Jet finally thought to struggle against Jack’s hold but his squirming was to no avail.

  ‘What does it say?’ Jack barked impatiently over his shoulder. ‘Does it give a location?’

  ‘There are a lot of messages here,’ Sebastian remarked grimly.

  Jet’s face was now going red with fury. ‘That’s my private business. You’ve got no right to go through my things!’