Let Jesse Burns do what he had to, to get his precious pendant back from Chad Royston. They deserved each other.
“Your pendant,” she said, “is probably in a shoe box hidden somewhere in Chad Royston’s garage. Probably. If he’s sold it or moved it, then don’t blame me.”
She turned and walked out, with Jenna’s outraged cry echoing in her ears.
30
Celebrations
Allie wouldn’t hear of them leaving town without coming over for a thank-you barbecue. “Surf and turf,” she told Georgie on the phone. “Big juicy t-bones from the local butcher and fresh king prawns. We’re celebrating.”
Georgie accepted willingly. “Sounds great. I’ll bring the wine.”
“Emma and Drew are coming too,” Allie said happily. “I’ve got news to tell you about them, too. Wait until you hear.”
“You’re not going to tell me that I got it wrong and Emma’s having triplets, are you?”
“Wait until you get here,” Allie said. “Say five o’clock? We’ll eat at around six so it’s not a late night; I know you want to hit the road early.”
Drew beckoned Georgie aside not long after she and Scott arrived, seizing a moment when his mother and Emma were in the kitchen and his father was busy at the barbecue. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
“Sure.” They wandered down the grassy slope and stood at the water’s edge, watching the late afternoon light on the water and a few boats puttering around the corner to the jetty at Sussex Inlet.
“I finally told Ma how it all went down,” Drew said abruptly. “She thinks I should wait a bit before telling Dad, once things settle down.”
“Well, she’s been married to him for over a quarter of a century, so she should know.” Georgie smiled at him gently. “I bet her reaction wasn’t as bad as you’d expected.”
He bent down, picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water. “No. She can see how it happened.” He shook his head. “No wonder high school kids get sucked in. With me it was ‘a few harmless stimulants to bring you to peak performance’, and then steroids, and then a few ecstasy tablets just for fun…then it’s ‘just try this, it won’t hurt you’…” He turned to face her. “I was lucky, in a way, that this all happened. After that Harrison business I just quit, cold turkey.”
Georgie asked him a question that had been on her mind. “Do you think Jason and Chad deliberately set you up?”
“I’ve gone over it a million times, and now I think, probably.” He stared out across the water. “That was the first thing Emma said, actually, once she got over the shock. It was a bit too convenient, using me, wasn’t it?”
“That’s what Scott and I thought, too, when we talked it over,” Georgie admitted. “Jason lives with him, yet he calls you the night before and gives you the stuff to hand over to him when you pick up the steroids?”
“Chad said Jason was spending the night down at the camp — just going to pick up the kids from the camp the next day, drop them off at the launch point, and then take the bus back to base.” Drew hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his shorts. “I thought: well, he’s just driving the bus, so he’s not going to be taking drugs onto the water with the kids. But obviously, after I gave them to him, he handed them straight over to Harrison Burns.” He shook his head. “Then he takes off, and the rest of us are left to handle the mess.”
“Did you confront Jason about it, later?”
“Yes. At first he denied giving them to the Burns kid. Then he just told me to shut up about it or it would come out that I was the one responsible for bringing the drugs in — and that would see the end of Dad’s business for sure.”
“And Harrison? He didn’t finger either Jason or you?”
“And risk his supply? No chance of that.”
Quick footsteps sounded behind them, and Emma bounced up. “Hey, you two! Come up and be sociable. We’ve got celebrating to do!”
Drew smiled at her and threw an arm around her shoulders. “We sure have. I was just filling in Georgie.”
“I thought as much.” Impulsively, Emma leaned over and kissed Georgie on the cheek. “Thanks for all you’ve done for us. For the family.”
“It was my pleasure,” Georgie said, feeling a lump in her throat. “I’m so glad things worked out. New baby, new business —” She stopped. “I’m guessing that’s the big news Allie is planning to tell me about? You’re going into business with your Dad?”
“Yep,” Drew said. “So act surprised.”
“Drew,” Georgie said with a wink, “I’m a gypsy fortune-teller. Your mother probably thinks I already know anyway.”
As she walked up the slope with Drew on one side, looking as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders, and a beaming Emma on the other, she looked up and saw the other three around the barbecue. Allie had an arm around her husband’s waist, looking up at him and laughing as he checked the gas supply for the barbecue. Chris looked back and her and dropped a kiss on her nose, looking somehow taller and more determined. Like a man who could see he had a future again.
And Scott. Darling Scott, her rock and companion.
She walked up to him and linked her arm in his, thinking: Red earth, waterholes and kangaroos. We’re on our way.
No criminals. No mysteries to solve.
At least for a few weeks…
Glossary
Georgie is swiftly becoming accustomed to the way Australians speak, but sometimes people from other countries can be scratching their heads at Australian idioms and contractions. So here’s a translation for you of some of the common terms used in this book!
ambo - ambulance officer, paramedic
Air con - air conditioning
Arvo - afternoon
Australian States and Territories:
QLD - Queensland
NSW - New South Wales
VIC - Victoria
TAS (or “Tassie”) - Tasmania
SA - South Australia
WA - Western Australia
NT - Northern Territory
ACT - Australian Capital Territory (in NSW)
Aussie, Oz - shortened form of Australia
Back-burning - creating a fire break
Big Banana - tourist attraction and information Center near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
Bloke - man, guy
Bluey - common nickname for any male with red hair
Boardwalk - a timber walkway which can be built over rocks, sand or the forest floor
Bushfire - brush fire, wildfire, forest fire
Caravan - travel trailer
Cuppa - cup of tea
Chook - slang for chicken, also the nickname of the Bad Guy in this book
Fireys - Firemen - an affectionate term for volunteers who fight fires with the Rural Fire Service
Grey Nomads - retirees who travel around the country in RVs
Hi-vis - bright yellow or orange safety clothing, often fluorescent
Ice - crystal methamphetamine
Jayco - common brand of RVs
LandCruiser - 4WD Toyota LandCruiser, a popular choice to tow caravans in Australia
Macca’s - McDonalds Fast Food restaurant
Newsagent - newsstand
Nurofen, Nurofen Plus - painkiller tablets
paddock - a field
Panadol - similar to paracetamol & Tylenol - a common brand of painkiller in Australia
RFS - Rural Fire Service (a volunteer organization to fight the bushfires that rage in Australia every summer)
Stag horn fern - (also elk horn) a treetop fern that has evolved to grow in the Australian rainforest; does not need soil
scrub turkey - the Australian Brush-turkey. It has black body plumage, a bare red head and yellow throat wattle
Tradie - tradesman, anyone with a trade
Ute - utility truck or pickup
Waeco fridge - a common brand of portable fridge (car fridge)
Water dragon - a lizard that can stay submerged for up to
an hour
From the Author
Sussex Inlet is a sleepy little haven beloved of the boating fraternity and fishermen — and scuba divers who like to explore the pristine waters of Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin. It’s a lovely area, and many holiday makers choose to stay in the local campgrounds or tourist parks. Huskisson, where Georgie and Scott stayed, has a delightful white beach you’ll love to visit.
Hyams Beach is a small area of prosperous homes, not far from Vincentia. To the best of my knowledge nobody named Jesse Burns lives there, and there’s no Chad Royston or Jason Hoy in Sussex Inlet. Nor is there a private school called White Sands College!
Ah, an author’s imagination is a wonderful thing!
I hope you enjoyed this story. As Scott says, he and Georgie are heading inland, for red earth and waterholes and wildlife. They’re planning to just relax for a while…
…but you know Georgie. ;-)
Have you read Rosa’s story yet? Join my ‘Marg’s Updates’ list to download this free ebook.You’ll find out more about Georgie and her family...and see where she got her special gift!
http://georgiebgoode.com/margs-updates/
I also like to write to my readers with snippets of upcoming books and inside information about Georgie’s world!
georgiebgoode.com
The Georgie B. Goode Series
Series 1
IN ORDER OF PUBLICATION
Good to Go
Georgie Be Good
Good Riddance
Up to No Good
In Good Hands
Too Good to be True
As Good as It Gets
Good Golly Miss Molly
Good Vibrations
A Rocking Good Christmas
Read the book descriptions for each title in the Georgie Cozy Mystery Series here:
http://georgiebgoode.com/georgie-series-1/
Series 2
IN ORDER OF PUBLICATION
Good Intentions
A Good Result
No Good Reason
Read the book descriptions for each title in the Georgie B. Goode Australian RV Mysteries here:
https://georgiebgoode.com/georgie-series-2/
No Good Reason Page 17
