When they finished eating Ed spoke. “Bran, can I have a word with you and Darce in Dad’s office?”
“Sure.” Both men stood and followed him out.
Georgie watched them go with incredulity on her face. “Oh hell, no they don’t.” She followed them down the corridor.
Matt chuckled. “Ed’s been away from home too long if he thinks he can leave Freckles out of anything.” The affection in his voice was clear. “Looks like the rest of the dishes are left to me.”
“I’ll help, Uncle Matt,” Lara said.
“So will I.” Amy loved how everyone pitched in. She finished wiping over the bench tops as Ed and Georgie walked back in. Georgie’s eyes pinched together like they did when she was annoyed about something, but it was Ed who spoke. “Ames, Darcy and Brandon want a word with you in the study.”
Her skin prickled and she wiped her hands on a tea towel. Perhaps they’d decided to end the campgrounds trial. She’d no longer have a job, and she’d have to find somewhere else to live. She wasn’t ready to leave Retribution Bay yet, not when she had finally found somewhere she belonged, but it was unlikely there’d be many jobs in town. The tourist season was in full swing and the jobs were already taken.
Calm down. Don’t jump to conclusions. She inhaled quietly and walked to the office. Brandon sat behind the desk in Bill’s chair and suddenly she saw his resemblance to his father in the way he sat with his hands clasped in front of himself. Darcy leaned against the wall and he smiled and gestured her in. “Close the door behind you.”
Yep, she was definitely getting fired.
The thunk of the door sounded like a head rolling after the fall of the guillotine. She stood, hands by her side, feet together, as she would if she was facing her father—or a firing squad.
Brandon raised his eyebrows. “At ease.”
The words made her flinch, but she clasped her hands behind her back and shifted so her feet were a little bit apart.
“Which branch?” Brandon asked.
She frowned. “What?”
“Which branch of military were you in?”
“None.” She’d simply been indoctrinated another way.
Before he said anything else, Darcy spoke. “Amy you know Mum and Dad’s crash wasn’t an accident,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out who would want to hurt them.”
No one. Beth and Bill were too lovely to have enemies. “Was it directed at them specifically? Anyone could have been driving the four-wheel drive. I took it to town last week to pick up some things Beth had ordered.”
Brandon and Darcy exchanged a glance. Maybe they hadn’t considered that. “It was unusual for them both to go into town together,” she continued. “Usually Beth goes… went to catch up with friends. But I can’t imagine anyone hated Beth or Bill enough to want to hurt them. Beth never mentioned upsetting anyone in town.”
“When was the four-wheel drive used last?” Brandon asked.
Hell. He was testing her memory. The days all blended together here. “I drove to town on Wednesday,” she said thinking back. “Darce, didn’t you go to a school thing?”
He pushed off the wall. “Yeah, but I took my ute. Parent-teacher meeting on Friday afternoon and then Lara and I went out to dinner.”
Saturday had been her day off and she’d spent it reading in the hammock in the garden. “That’s right, and then you and Lara went to the pony club practice day on Saturday and Matt was away for the weekend visiting his family.”
“Someone’s reopened the pony club in town and they’re having a gymkhana next weekend to drum up interest. Lara’s taking part,” Darcy told Brandon.
Faith had been enthusiastic about the project when Amy had met her that first night at the pub with Georgie.
Brandon turned to him. “You took the four-wheel drive?”
“Yeah. Dad was out with my ute. It was running fine.”
Which meant the line had to have been cut Saturday night.
“Which guests were on site Saturday night?” Brandon demanded, leaning forward.
Amy blinked. “Jay and Cheryl, but they really liked your parents. They asked me earlier when the funeral is.” Surely they wouldn’t have a reason to hurt Bill and Beth.
