Lee was walking back to his campsite so she grabbed the cleaning gear from the store room and headed for the bathroom. With only two groups using it, it wasn’t particularly dirty, so it didn’t take her long to clean. As she did so she noticed a spare toilet roll on the top of the toilet partition. Maybe Lee hadn’t seen it. She made a mental note to get a container to put the spare rolls in so they were within reach and easily found.
When she finished, she put her equipment away. Lee chatted with the retired couple who were also staying there. Amy wandered over. “The bathroom is clean and fully stocked. I’m sorry I didn’t get to it earlier.”
“No need to apologise,” Jay said. “You’ve got other priorities.”
She smiled. “What did you get up to today?”
“We went snorkelling at Turquoise Bay,” he said. “It was beautiful. We even saw a couple of turtles.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Dear, please let us know when the funeral is,” his wife, Cheryl said. “We’d like to come if we can.”
“I will,” Amy promised. “Darcy and his siblings are finalising the details now, so I should know tomorrow.” Cheryl and Jay had been their first guests and had so enjoyed the experience they had decided to stay for the season. Jay had been a farmer before he retired and spent time helping Bill and Darcy on the station. “Let me know if you need anything in the meantime.”
“We’re all fine,” Cheryl assured her. “We just invited Lee to have dinner with us.”
“Great.” Lee was travelling by himself, a keen photographer who ran a website with photography tips. She envied his ability to take his work with him and not have to find a new job at each place he visited. “Have a nice night.”
Amy returned to the house to finish making dinner. She heard the others talking in the lounge but couldn’t make out the actual words. She switched on the oven and kneaded the bread dough she’d made earlier which had finished rising. The soup she’d put in the slow cooker after lunch was nearly done. Beth had always said her pea and ham soup was comfort food and the family could do with as much comfort as possible right now.
She placed the bread in the oven and when she turned, Lara was at the doorway.
“Dad says I need to help you with dinner,” Lara said.
“I think I’m done,” she said and then caught sight of Darcy behind Lara mouthing, “Keep her busy.” Right. They probably wanted to talk about the cut fence without scaring her. “But I haven’t prepared any dessert yet. What should we make?”
Lara’s face lit up and she pulled a recipe book from the shelf. “Let me take a look.”
Darcy gave her a thumbs up and returned to the lounge.
Amy switched on the stereo and put on one of Beth’s favourite eighties playlists, not too loud to be considered disrespectful, but loud enough so Lara couldn’t hear anything from the lounge. “What have you decided?”
Lara held up the recipe book. “Can we make this?”
A triple-layered chocolate cake with cream and icing between each layer. Amy checked the ingredients. Yep, they had them all and it would keep them busy for a good hour. “Sure can, La La. Let’s get to it.”
She’d do what she could to protect Lara and this family.
Chapter 6
It was unsettling to sit in the lounge with his siblings and discuss their parents’ funeral arrangements. The lounge was a room Brandon associated with warmth, family, comfort. He’d spent many a night watching television with his family, although they had all been much younger then. But the topic of conversation made his muscles tighten and unease bubbled in his stomach. Brandon wasn’t inclined to argue with what his siblings wanted. He didn’t have the right after being away for so long. It had been bad enough discussing the format and who would talk, but then Matt arrived to drop the bombshell about the cut fences.
Darcy returned and shut the door behind him. “Amy’s got Lara making a dessert.”
That would keep them both busy for a while.
Darcy sat on the couch next to Matt. “Only someone who didn’t know the property would bother cutting the fence,” he said. “There are plenty of access points and the gates aren’t locked.”
People trusted each other out here, but perhaps the culprit was trying to throw them off, or wanted an exit point for the sheep which wasn’t as noticeable as an open gate. “How about you take us through everything that’s happened in the past few months?” Brandon suggested.
“How far back do you want me to go?”
How long was a piece of string? “Did you notice anything strange before Stonefish contacted you?”
Darcy shrugged. “No. Things were normal. The only weird thing was when I found out about the company about a month ago. But when I checked Dad’s computer earlier today it looks as if the emails go back to before Dad agreed to open the campgrounds.”
Were the two connected?
