No Good Reason

by Marg McAlister

Georgie and Scott had been back at the caravan park for only a few minutes, when Georgie received a phone call from Emma.

  Her first thought was that Drew and Emma had heard about the attempted arson, but as Emma went on, she realized they probably didn’t know about it yet. Good job I didn’t blurt it out, she thought as Emma’s excited voice echoed in her ear.

  “Georgie? It’s Emma. I was wondering… I know you’re going to do some readings at the markets on Saturday, but I’d love it if you could find time to fit in one for me and Drew before then?” She hesitated for a moment, and then added, “Only if you’re not too busy, of course. I know you’re here to have a holiday.”

  Scott was sitting close enough to hear what was being said, and he cast his eyes upward for a minute, a wry smile making his lips curve. Georgie grinned back at him and wrinkled her nose. By now, Scott knew that any vacation with her along was probably destined to become a working holiday.

  “That’s fine, Emma. Of course you and Drew can have reading.”

  “I wonder… I mean, would it be too intrusive to come over tonight? Tomorrow, I have this lunch lined up with some of my friends, and Drew has some jobs he has to do, and –”

  “Tonight will be fine,” Georgie said, choking back a laugh as Scott pretended to bang his head on the table. “And congratulations. Allie tells me that it’s a definite yes, now, right?”

  “That’s right.” A note of awe entered Emma’s voice. “I still can’t get over how you can know that stuff.”

  “Nothing I like better than delivering good news,” Georgie told her. “It’s easy to see how much Allie and Chris are looking forward to this. And I’m sure Drew is over the moon, too.”

  “Yes, he is.” Emma’s voice was still upbeat, but Georgie thought she heard a note of reserve. Hmmm. Was this reading just for fun, or did Emma have another purpose? Remembering her sense that Drew knew more than he was letting on, she was willing to bet on the latter.

  “What time would suit?” Emma asked. “We’ll come to you, of course. We don’t expect you to drive down to us.”

  Especially since we’ve just come back from there, Georgie thought. She said: “How about if Scott and I grab an early dinner, and you and Drew come over at about seven? Would that suit?”

  “Sounds great. Okay, we’ll see you then. What site are you on?”

  Georgie told her, and then put the phone thoughtfully on the table between her and Scott.

  “I can see the wheels turning,” he said. “Given what happened this afternoon, you think there’s more to this, don’t you?”

  Georgie nodded slowly. “But I don’t think she’s heard anything from Allie and Chris yet. They’re probably trying not to rain on her parade.”

  Scott pushed himself up from the table and went to open the fridge, staring at the contents. “I was thinking a couple of nice scotch fillets tonight, with a fresh salad and a couple of potatoes with sour cream and chives… sound okay to you?”

  “Your cooking always sounds good to me.” Her mind still on the upcoming reading with Emma, Georgie got up to make the salad. “Let’s get this out of the way so we can set up ready for our visitors.”

  Emma was her usual bubbly self, but coming in behind her, Drew was clearly a man with something on his mind.

  Emma looked around her at the interior of the caravan, her eyes sparkling. “Hey, this is great! There’s so much room in here. And a place for everything.”

  “We love it,” Georgie admitted. “We don’t have to stay in a tourist park like this if we don’t want to. Free camping your way around Australia is almost akin to staying in a five star resort these days. We can live off the grid for a couple of weeks, with solar panels and inverters. As long as we’re somewhere near a source of fresh water, we’re fine.” She indicated the comfortable club seating at the end of the van. “Take a seat, you two”

  “I might leave you to it,” Scott said. He and Georgie had agreed that Drew might be more ready to open up if it was just Allie and his wife. “Hope you don’t mind, guys, but I’ve got a few calls to make.”

  “We don’t want to intrude.” Emma looked at Georgie. “I was thinking, I did kind of dump this on you. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be silly, it’s fine.” Georgie smiled at her brightly. “Scott often sits outside to do a bit of stuff while I get on with things in here.”

  Within minutes, they were comfortably settled in the U-shaped seating, with Drew and Emma sitting opposite Georgie.

  To ease the two of them into it and make them feel more comfortable, she said to Emma, “I’m surprised that Allie hasn’t already been on your doorstep with a bag of baby things. She’s so excited about it.”

  “I know. It’s so great, isn’t it?” Emma glanced at Drew, beside her, and gave him a somewhat uncertain smile. “Um, what we wanted to see you about tonight, Georgie — it’s kind of related to the baby.” She shook her head and started again. “Well not really. But the baby is part of whatever we do in the future, because it’s all about family, and we have an idea but we want to know what you think.”

  Georgie gave a light laugh. “Emma, I don’t really do that. Give advice, I mean. I can pass what I see or hear on to you, but it’s up to you to make sense of it all, and apply it to your life.”

  Emma nodded vigorously. “I know. I’m really not explaining myself very well. Maybe I should let Drew take over.” She gave Drew a nudge, and nodded at him encouragingly.

  When Drew looked at Georgie, she could see indecision mixed with sadness in his eyes. And there was something else, too: the shadow of secrets. She had a sense that whatever it was was becoming too much for him.

  “I’m thinking of a change in direction,” he said. He cleared his throat, and then went on. “All this stuff with dad — I’m worried about him, about Ma. I was thinking if there was a way that we could help turn things around for them, something that would work for us as well, then we should do it.”

  Georgie nodded and reached out to draw the crystal ball closer to her. Across the table, Emma and Drew’s eyes were drawn to the motion, watching the crystal ball intently.

  Deep down, Georgie felt the thrill of fulfillment. She would never get tired of this. Briefly, she blessed Great-Grandma Rosa’s insistence on making sure she had the crystal ball with her on her very first trip, over a year before. How different her life would have been, if she had not experienced this.

  Emma spoke up again. “Should we tell you what we are thinking of doing, and then see if you have anything to tell us? Or should we just wait?”

  With half of her attention still open to the special world that opened up whatever she touched the crystal ball, Georgie raised her eyes and looked at them both. “Well, I hope we have established by now that I’m not some kind of charlatan out to make a few bucks at a psychic fair.” Then, anticipating Emma’s reaction, she grinned at her. “And that doesn’t mean that you should pay for this, by the way. Scott and I are just seeing the sights, and if I can help a few people along the way, that’s a bonus.”

  In response, Emma turned and looked at Drew. “Then tell her, Drew.”

  He nodded. “You know I’ve got this business, where I repair boats, right? I’ve done a shipwright’s course, and can build boats too, and fit them out. I never wanted to take over dad’s business, it wasn’t really me. But now I’m thinking, if I join forces with him, then he could keep going with all the stuff he loves to do, and I can specialize in doing tours around the basin, plus advise people on taking care of their boats — kind of combine the business I have with something that would help dad.”

  Emma couldn’t help herself, she had to jump in. “But it’s not just to help out Allie and Chris. That’s a big part of it, of course – Drew wants to help them get back on track, and it’s killing us seeing his dad wanting to give up. But we can see the potential in this. We’d just like another perspective on it.” Anticipating Georgie’s reaction, she held up a hand. “Not giving advice. Just see whether you can see anyt
hing through the crystal ball.”

  Georgie nodded. Under her fingers, the crystal ball was becoming cloudy. She didn’t really know a lot about Chris’s business and the way it operated, or how Drew might fit in what he wanted to do, but she did know that there was more behind this that he was saying.

  “Okay. Well, as I said, I have no idea whether that’s a good idea or not, but I will share with you what I find out.” She looked up with a laugh. “I do recommend that you consult an accountant or our business advisor as well as a random gypsy psychic.”

  Emma and Drew both laughed, and the comments served to lighten the atmosphere a bit.

  The crystal ball under her fingertips suddenly grew a lot warmer. When she looked down, the mist gradually dissipated, and instead there was an image of Emma and Drew. Across the table, Emma leaned forward and then gasp when she saw what was there. “Georgie. Is that –?”

  Feeling the same glow of pleasure that Emma did, Georgie nodded, her lips parting in a grin. “Yes, that’s you and Drew. And, it seems, new addition to the family.”

  In the crystal ball, Emma and Drew were standing at the edge of an expanse of water, and there was a new, larger boat moored nearby. Emma was holding a little girl on her hip, a child of about six months of age; her head covered in soft red curls.

  Drew, too, had leaned closer to stare. He let out a disbelieving laugh, and then turned to look at Emma with an awed smile. “This is crazy. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it.” He shook his head and said to Georgie: “I know you said you don’t know how this works, but… I haven’t seen anything like this on TV. You know, when they do programs with psychics. Everything you hear is — I don’t know, kind of vague.”

  Pleased by his reaction, Georgie raised her eyebrows at him. “Don’t you worry, a lot of what I do is vague at times. But sometimes, it’s crystal clear — like now. And I’ve found that usually, what is in the crystal ball won’t show up on film.”

  Then abruptly, the image was gone, and instead there was an image of Drew, standing in front of a door. He reached out to open it, and then snatched his hand back again. Again he reached for the door, but turned around, and the indecisiveness on his face was clear to all three of them.

  “Drew? That’s just you.” Emma looked at Georgie. “Where is that door? What does that mean?”

  Georgie was absolutely certain about what it meant, but she could hardly come out and say that Drew was keeping secrets.

  Instead, she forced a look of puzzlement onto her face. “Well…since the first image of the two of you with the baby in the boat was followed by this, I’m guessing that it means the future you’re talking about is possible. It may even show that it’s actually going to happen. But that door —” she looked across it Drew. “I have a sense that there is a door you don’t want to go through. Something is holding you back, or….” She shrugged. “Maybe this is just saying that once you open that door, and go through it, you’ve made a decision. Or it could be saying there’s a door you don’t want to open.” She shook her head at him. “See what I mean? I can get very clear images, like the one of you and Emma and the boat and the baby — and then I can get something like this, that appears to make no sense.” She paused and looked at Drew directly. “Unless you take the two together. Sometimes, it’s only the person I’m doing the reading for that knows what it all means.” She sat back, glancing at the crystal ball, and had to laugh. Drew and the door had been replaced by a row of dominoes, toppling over on by one. Sometimes she thought the universe just like to have a laugh at her expense.

  “Dominoes?” Emma stared even harder at the ball, her forehead creasing. “Am I really seeing dominoes?”

  “I think you are. And we all know what that means – once you push over the first domino, then you can’t stop the progression. Chain reaction: they all keep tumbling over.”

  The dominoes disappeared, and in their place another face formed. Georgie had to control herself not to react, when she saw Chad Royston’s face in the crystal ball.

  When she glanced back at Drew, the color was draining out of his face.

  “Drew?” Georgie said sharply. She reached out a hand to touch his. “Drew? Are you okay?”

  Across the table, Drew raised his hands to his face, rested his elbows on the table, and hid his face in his hands.

  Emma looked at him in alarm. “Drew! What is it?”

  “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. “I have to see Dad. I have to tell him.”

  23

  The Hacker

  This time, when Georgie spoke to Bluey, she put the phone on loudspeaker so Scott could hear too.

  “Harrison’s in rehab?” Georgie’s eyes widened. “That’s a surprise.”

  “Not when you see the series of messages that I have managed to intercept,” Blue told her. “It looks like Jesse Burns has been in damage control for quite some time.”

  Georgie nodded. “Since the kayaking expedition.”

  Blue laughed. “I think if you went digging, you’d could find out that it’s been a while longer than that. Harrison’s been in trouble for years — dating back to an incident in primary school. He’s on a downhill slope, and I don’t think there’s a lot that Jesse can do to stop it.

  “Even with all his money and connections?” Scott put in.

  “He’s got a long reach, that’s for sure. But money can’t buy everything.”

  Scott looked across the Georgie. “Have you got enough now, to pull off what you’re planning?”

  “Yes, I think so.” Just checking, Georgie ticked off a list on her fingers. “Bluey, you don’t want me to mention anything about Angelo McKay, right?”

  “Absolutely not. That’s a subject of an ongoing investigation, and the Feds are getting close to an arrest. Jesse is going to get caught up in it all — so don’t tip him off.” His voice changed a little. “Georgie, be careful. This guy’s got connections you wouldn’t want to know about.”

  “I hear you. But do you think that he could be persuaded to do what I ask, so that all this doesn’t get out?”

  Bluey snorted. “With the deal that he’s just pulled off? The guy’s loaded. Just be careful how you phrase it, and I think you’ll be okay.”

  Georgie bit her lip. “This investigation you’re talking about, Bluey – that’s not likely to go down before I can get him to put in place all that we talking about?”

  “You should be fine. I’d say we’re about a month, maybe six weeks out. When I say “close”, I’m talking in a context of an investigation that has been going on for eighteen months.”

  “Thanks, Bluey.” Georgie underlined a few of the words she had written down, including the name of the facility where Harrison had been taken. “Anything else I should know?”

  This time Scott answered, his mouth working in a smile. “Tell her anything else, and you’d have to kill her, right Bluey?”

  “You’re not far wrong. Just stick to the call he got from Meteor Bronze Holdings, the facility where Harrison is being held, and mention the two shell companies I told you about. That’s enough to get him rattled, and it leaves the bigger stuff for us.”

  Georgie sent back with a sense of satisfaction. “Thanks. Looks like we’ve got him. People like him, well –” she shrugged. “I know Rosa would probably say that I should let the universe take care of it all, that he will get his just desserts, but the problem is Chris Moore might go down first, and sink without a trace. I can’t let that happen.” She thought of Emma, Drew, and the laughing redheaded baby, and gave a decisive nod. This time, she was going to see to it that the little guys had a bit of help.

  “Anyway, guys, I have to go. You owe me. So when you going to come across and see me in WA?”

  Scott leaned forward to address the phone. “Well, see, we’re not totally sure that you actually do live in WA. We think you’re a spook.”

  “You just keep on thinking that. See you later, guys.”

  Georgie put down the phone,
and looked up at Scott’s slow chuckle. “What?”

  “I’m quite sure that Rosa didn’t deal in so much intrigue,” he said. “Now there was a real old-fashioned gypsy fortune teller. You, on the other hand —” he shook his head, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “You’re turning into quite the vigilante, aren’t you?”

  “It’s not as though I’m taking out anyone’s kneecaps or anything,” Georgie said primly. “I’m just… planting seeds, that’s all. And Jesse Burns — well, I guess he’s finally reaping what he sowed, right?”

  “Right.” Then his face became sober. “Do you think Drew is going to tell Chris what he told us?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. He knows that Chris is too fragile to hear something like that at the moment. Later, I think he probably will. But it wouldn’t achieve anything now, would it?”

  “For someone who told him you were not going to give advice,” said Scott, “you had a thing or two to say.”

  Georgie shrugged, and got up to make coffee. “He came to see whether he should go into business with his father. I left that up to him — and I’m still leaving it up to him. All I can do is tell him what I saw; that things look promising.”

  “But you told him to hold off telling his father about Royston until you’ve had a chance to put some pressure on Jesse.”

  “That, too.” Georgie ruffled his hair. “Okay, I’m an interfering gypsy. So sue me.”

  “Don’t need to,” Scott said confidently, getting up to get the milk out of the fridge. “The universe will always step in, right? I’ve seen it happen often enough.”

  “True,” Georgie said. “But this time it’s getting some help from me.”

  “And Bluey.”

  She grinned. “And Bluey.”

  24

  An Understanding

  Jesse Burns felt worn out.

  If it hadn’t been for the Meteor Bronze Holdings development coming through, it would have been one of the worst weeks he’d had.