from the lopsided grin on his face she guessed it was a friendly telling off. He walked over to the side of the road and placed the lizard under an acacia tree. It turned its back on him and trotted off over the red pebbled earth. With a smile and shake of his head, Gavin returned to his vehicle and drove into the camp car park.
‘What the hell are you looking at so bloody intently?’ an abrasive voice asked.
Wendy jumped almost guiltily as Ethel joined her at the door of reception. ‘Oh, er . . .’ She rubbed her temple. ‘Nothing.’
‘Whatever you say,’ Ethel replied, utterly uninterested. ‘Are you just darkening my door to be a pain in the arse or do you actually want something?’
Wendy cleared her throat. Am I missing something here? Or are you still a bitch?
She tried her luck anyway. ‘I just came to thank you for the new air conditioner.’
Ethel’s bushy eyebrows met over her nose. ‘What air conditioner?’
Uh-oh. Wasn’t her.
Anxious to change the subject in case Ethel decided to take the new air conditioner off her, she shrugged. ‘You know what, doesn’t matter. I actually have something else to ask you – something more important.’
Not that she believed for a second Ethel would help her find Hector given her lack of knowledge about the air conditioner. But what did she have to lose in asking? She followed Ethel into the reception building. ‘I’m looking for someone who I think might have lived in this camp. I was wondering if he left a forwarding address.’
To her surprise, after a moment, Ethel grunted, went behind her desk and sat down. ‘I’ll look it up for you this once. But I’m not running a free friend-finding service here. Next time, just get his mobile number and track him down in your own time.’
‘Absolutely,’ Wendy readily agreed.
Ethel adjusted her computer screen and then put her hands to the keyboard. ‘What’s the name?’
‘Hector. Hector Warner.’
Her bony hands flew across the keys and then pressed enter with a flick.
‘Hmmm.’ Ethel leaned in, putting her chin on her palm. It took all Wendy’s willpower not to reach across the desk and swivel the screen around to face her.
‘Nope.’
‘Nope what?’ Wendy faltered.
‘He never lived in the camp.’ Ethel clicked the menu off and sat back in her chair. ‘So how are you liking your donga?’
‘Huh?’ Wendy was still busy trying to process the first part of Ethel’s response about Hector.
‘Your donga,’ Ethel snapped impatiently. ‘The one I specially picked out for you, girlie.’
It was then that Wendy realised why Ethel had helped her with Hector. It was because she wanted her to stay longer so she could gloat about the donga.
Nobody does anything for nothing, remember?
Her mouth stretched into a wide grin as she realised her silence on the subject must have been killing Ethel.
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, Wendy said, ‘It’s perfect! Thank you! Wouldn’t change a thing.’
At Ethel’s chagrined expression, she left the building, dusting her hands with satisfaction as she shut the door. It was her first gratifying win since she’d got there.
The only thing was, if Ethel hadn’t given her a new air conditioner then who had? Was it the same person who had fixed her flyscreen? A Good Samaritan?
Or a secret admirer.
Was it something she needed to worry about? She didn’t know. So far this person’s actions hadn’t been creepy so much as nice.
Nobody does anything for nothing.
She frowned. She had no choice and no leads. She’d just have to wait and see.
Her mind returned instead to the news about Hector. Technically, there were no hard and fast rules that if you worked on the job you had to live in the camp. Maybe he lived in Wickham or Point Samson or even a bit further out. The point was, even though he’d quit Barnes Inc, he might still be living very close by.
Her excitement kicked back up.
So close.
After a quick, cleansing
‘What the hell are you looking at so bloody intently?’ an abrasive voice asked.
Wendy jumped almost guiltily as Ethel joined her at the door of reception. ‘Oh, er . . .’ She rubbed her temple. ‘Nothing.’
‘Whatever you say,’ Ethel replied, utterly uninterested. ‘Are you just darkening my door to be a pain in the arse or do you actually want something?’
Wendy cleared her throat. Am I missing something here? Or are you still a bitch?
She tried her luck anyway. ‘I just came to thank you for the new air conditioner.’
Ethel’s bushy eyebrows met over her nose. ‘What air conditioner?’
Uh-oh. Wasn’t her.
Anxious to change the subject in case Ethel decided to take the new air conditioner off her, she shrugged. ‘You know what, doesn’t matter. I actually have something else to ask you – something more important.’
Not that she believed for a second Ethel would help her find Hector given her lack of knowledge about the air conditioner. But what did she have to lose in asking? She followed Ethel into the reception building. ‘I’m looking for someone who I think might have lived in this camp. I was wondering if he left a forwarding address.’
To her surprise, after a moment, Ethel grunted, went behind her desk and sat down. ‘I’ll look it up for you this once. But I’m not running a free friend-finding service here. Next time, just get his mobile number and track him down in your own time.’
‘Absolutely,’ Wendy readily agreed.
Ethel adjusted her computer screen and then put her hands to the keyboard. ‘What’s the name?’
‘Hector. Hector Warner.’
Her bony hands flew across the keys and then pressed enter with a flick.
‘Hmmm.’ Ethel leaned in, putting her chin on her palm. It took all Wendy’s willpower not to reach across the desk and swivel the screen around to face her.
‘Nope.’
‘Nope what?’ Wendy faltered.
‘He never lived in the camp.’ Ethel clicked the menu off and sat back in her chair. ‘So how are you liking your donga?’
‘Huh?’ Wendy was still busy trying to process the first part of Ethel’s response about Hector.
‘Your donga,’ Ethel snapped impatiently. ‘The one I specially picked out for you, girlie.’
It was then that Wendy realised why Ethel had helped her with Hector. It was because she wanted her to stay longer so she could gloat about the donga.
Nobody does anything for nothing, remember?
Her mouth stretched into a wide grin as she realised her silence on the subject must have been killing Ethel.
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, Wendy said, ‘It’s perfect! Thank you! Wouldn’t change a thing.’
At Ethel’s chagrined expression, she left the building, dusting her hands with satisfaction as she shut the door. It was her first gratifying win since she’d got there.
The only thing was, if Ethel hadn’t given her a new air conditioner then who had? Was it the same person who had fixed her flyscreen? A Good Samaritan?
Or a secret admirer.
Was it something she needed to worry about? She didn’t know. So far this person’s actions hadn’t been creepy so much as nice.
Nobody does anything for nothing.
She frowned. She had no choice and no leads. She’d just have to wait and see.
Her mind returned instead to the news about Hector. Technically, there were no hard and fast rules that if you worked on the job you had to live in the camp. Maybe he lived in Wickham or Point Samson or even a bit further out. The point was, even though he’d quit Barnes Inc, he might still be living very close by.
Her excitement kicked back up.
So close.
After a quick, cleansing
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