by H. Y. Hanna
Ellie hung up and paced in front of the car in frustration. She hated waiting. She needed action. Results. Something happening. The roadside assistance had said it might take an hour for a mechanic to come out, as they’d had a couple of other cases in the line before her. Ellie ground her teeth and suddenly wished that she was living in a big city. She had always loved the beauty and seclusion of Summer Beach, and had been pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had adapted to life in a small Australian town compared to her previous life in one of the busiest cities in the United States. But now, for the first time, she caught herself missing some of the big city benefits—like a public transportation system.
Ellie remembered that her landlord had left a handy list in the house with the numbers of local taxi companies. Maybe she should go back in the house and call a taxi, she thought, groping in her handbag for the house keys. Things were a complete jumble in her bag after being scooped back up from the ground. She pushed various items aside, searching for her keys. They were usually in the side pocket, together with spare tissues, contact lenses, a packet of paracetamol, the USB flash drive containing her presentation for the meeting…
Ellie frowned. Wait, where was the flash drive? She opened her bag wider and sifted through the items in it again. Her heart was starting to beat uncomfortably in her chest.
She couldn’t find it.
No, it must be in here. She searched again, then looked up frantically. She saw Will and Milo squatting by the curb next to her car, the boy playing with some rocks on the ground and the dog wagging his tail beside him.
Ellie exhaled in relief. She must have missed the flash drive when she was picking the things up. It was still on the ground somewhere. She dropped down next to Will and looked carefully at the section of road around them.
“What are you doing?” asked Will, eyeing her curiously.
“My flash drive is missing,” said Ellie, groping around on the asphalt. “Have you seen it? It’s really important. It’s got my whole presentation on it and some key data and figures. It’s about this big…” She stretched out thumb and forefinger. “It’s bright pink, with a plastic cover…”
“Oh, I saw something like that earlier,” said Will. “When you were picking up your stuff. Milo was sniffing it.”
“Milo was what—?” Ellie paused. She stared at the chocolate Labrador as a terrible suspicion began forming in her mind. She looked at the ground around them again, not wanting to accept that it might be true. But she could see no pink plastic USB stick anywhere. Instead, all she saw was a big, brown dog sitting in front of her with his tongue lolling out in a wide smile.
“Oh my God,” said Ellie. “Milo has swallowed my flash drive!”
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Australian Slang Glossary
Arvo - afternoon
Aggro - aggressive
Aussie – a person from Australia (pronounced “Ozzie”) or an adjective for something that is Australian (e.g. “Aussie animals”)
Barbie - barbecue
Bickie - biscuit
Billabong – an isolated pond found in the Australian outback, formed when a river changes course.
Bloke – man (equivalent to “guy”)
Bloody – known as “the Great Australian Adjective”, not regarded as profane or swearing, it is used as an intensifier for both positive and negative qualities (e.g. “bloody awful” and “bloody wonderful”)
Bludger – a lazy person
Bonkers – crazy, nuts
Brekkie - breakfast
Brilliant – very good, excellent
Bub(s) – an affectionate term for a baby
Car park – parking lot
Chinwag – a chat, a conversation
Chocka – short for “chock-a-block”: crammed so tightly together so as to prevent movement
Clubbie – colloquial term for Australian surf lifesavers
Crikey – an exclamation of surprise or bewilderment
Flat out like a lizard drinking – to be very busy, hard at work
G’day – the ubiquitous Australian greeting
Good onya – a version of “good on you”, praising someone for their efforts, similar to “kudos”
Gutted – very upset and sad
Lingo – language
Littlies – small children
Mate – friend, sometimes equivalent to “buddy”
Me – sometimes used instead of “my” (e.g. “I’ve lost me socks”)
Nipper – children aged 5 to 13 in the junior surf lifesaving programme
No worries – no problems, don’t worry about it, that’s all right
Not for quids – not for anything
Pram – baby stroller
Preggers - pregnant
Rapt – very happy
Ripper – fantastic, very good
Spit the dummy – to lose your temper, to throw a fit (refers to when a baby spits out their dummy, a.k.a. pacifier, and has a tantrum)
Sprogs – children, offspring
Ta very much – thank you very much
“Tall poppy” – highly successful people who rise above the rest and may develop an overblown ego. They are often seen as needing to be “cut down” in Australia, where the culture favours the “underdog”
Too right – vehement agreement with something
True-blue – genuine, authentic
Tucker - food
Yank – affectionate term for an American (not meant to be offensive)
Oz - Australia
Other Books by the Same Author:
ROMANTIC THRILLER:
TENDER DECEIT (The TENDER Series ~ Book 1)
TENDER TREACHERY (The TENDER Series ~ Book 2)
FOR CHILDREN:
The Big Honey Dog Mysteries –an award-winning mystery series for children 9 ~ 12 years and dog lovers of all ages!
Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards 2014 ~ GOLD Medal
Children’s Literary Classics Book Awards 2014 ~ GOLD Medal
Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards 2014 ~ SILVER Medal
The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards for Children 2013 ~ Finalist
“Dog lovers young and old will love this rip-roaring, bark-serious adventure... highly recommended” ~ Midwest Book Review
“If you want to get your middle grade reader interested in picking up books, then this is a great place to start.” - Net Galley
CURSE OF THE SCARAB
A SECRET IN TIME
BIG HONEY DOG MYSTERIES HOLIDAY COLLECTION (Box set: Halloween, Christmas & Easter mysteries)
About the Author
H.Y. Hanna was born in Taiwan and has been a globe-trotter most of her life, from growing up in the United Arab Emirates to attending school in New Jersey, from working in the glamorous world of London advertising to emigrating Down Under. Along the way, she somehow managed to pick up a wonderful husband, a huge, slobbery dog, two rescue cats, an assortment of cardboard boxes and a slightly dodgy "trans-atlantic" accent.
After graduating from Oxford University, she tried her hand at a variety of jobs before returning to her first love: writing. She is the author of an award-winning children's mystery series and also writes romances, mysteries and romantic thrillers for adults.
You can learn more about H.Y. Hanna and contact her at: www.hyhanna.com. You can also find her on Facebook at the H.Y. Hanna Author Page!
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my beta readers: Katja Bishop, Tiffany Kern and Jenn Roseton for their invaluable feedback—and of course, to Melanie G. Howe, for being the best friend a writer could ask for.
A special thank you goes to Dr David Neck, who helped to check the accuracy of all the veterinary details in the story with such enthusiasm.
And as always, I am so gra
teful for the support and encouragement from my amazing husband—who not only does everything he can to give me more time to write, but also patiently endures endless discussions on plot conflicts, the colour of the hero’s eyes, and is even reading romantic novels for the first time in his life!
Copyright © 2014 by H.Y. Hanna
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9941726-3-1
www.hyhanna.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, persons or animals, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author
