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Ava opened the first page. And the second. It was a collection of newspaper articles, more general than on specific soldiers. She flicked forwards and the haphazard collection of articles continued. Pieces of paper stuck out at odd angles catching each page as she turned.
‘We had a fellow a few years back who was cataloguing information for us, but you know, he … passed away and well, I haven’t had time to pick up his research again, but I do intend to.’
Ava held back a sigh. This place wasn’t going to be of much use in her search for information. Maybe she needed to focus on renovating her house and forgetting about mapping out the history of the area. But what about unravelling the mystery on her land?
Chapter Fourteen
Clive stood at the back fence, waving to catch their attention as Ava pulled the car to a stop. Ish slammed his door shut and raced over to pet the horses.
‘Regarding that matter we were talking about yesterday—’ Clive said.
‘Oh, yes.’ Ava leaned her arms along the top railing of the fence. ‘Did you have any luck?’
‘I spoke to a few people and they expressed interest but are cautious. They need a little more information before making any promises. I told them you are an archaeologist of great experience but not with rocks. They suggested you email them. I presume you took photographs? Send them and provide loads of detail. I’m sure you know what to say. Enough to pique their interest, yes?’ Clive patted his nose in a gesture of solidarity and mystery. He pulled out his mobile phone. ‘Give me your email address and I’ll send their details to you.’
‘You’ll keep my details private, won’t you, Clive?’
‘The email address or your potential discovery?’
‘Both.’
‘Of course, Ava.’
‘Okay, it’s all lower case, [email protected].’
He gazed at her over the glasses perched on his nose and punched into his phone. ‘Is that something I should have heard of?’
‘Only if you are an Egyptian artefact and culture freak, like me.’ She smiled.
‘Well, you’ve got me there, I know nothing.’
‘We used to live in Egypt!’ Ish piped up, clearly listening to the conversation while brushing Marmalade’s mane.
Clive shot a glance between them. ‘Is that so?’
‘Yeah, it was really hot and we lived in this fancy palace with our entire family. And there was lots of rules and this one time?—’
Ava tugged Ish on the arm. ‘We’ve got to go, thanks so much, Clive. Once you send the details, I’ll contact them.’ Turning to her son, she said, ‘Come on you, we need to check on Daisy and her puppies.’
Safely on their deck, Ava gazed towards the fence joining the properties. Clive was still standing there watching them. A rush of goosepimples exploded on her arms and legs. Clive had told his colleagues at the university about her being an archaeologist of great experience; that worried her. She hadn’t told him specifically she was an archaeologist, let alone what experience she had. She’d asked about the archaeology department and advised it was outside her scope of her experience. Perhaps he’d made an assumption? And was the experience part an exaggeration to pique the interest of his colleagues? She guessed that was possible.
Or…it was Noah. He was the only person she’d told about her work. Had they spoken? Was it the community grapevine working overtime? But why would Noah tell anyone about her job?
A droplet of moisture formed in the cleft between her breasts and rolled slowly down her chest.
Otis jumped from the tray of Noah’s ute and commenced chase, and like every other day, the kangaroos scattered fast. Today, the gate to Ava’s property was not only unlocked, it was open. Strange, but convenient. The rear sliding doors of the house were open, too, so Ava and Duke were home.
‘Hello!’ Noah sang out and deposited the take-away coffee on the only space left on the outdoor table. She sure liked her rocks. He picked one up and noticed out of the ten or so in a long line, some were smooth, others rough and all pretty colours. Was there gold in them hills? Wouldn’t that be convenient, solve his troubles. Except, of course, it wasn’t his property. Today he didn’t want to be reminded of that.
He still harboured a bad mood after court the other day. Like a lingering headache that wouldn’t disappear no matter how many drugs you took, he couldn’t shake it. His hope lay on a good, solid day’s work to shake his melancholy. Unlikely, unless his life suddenly changed, his wife returned and his daughter lived in the same house as him. Wishful thinking, well about Emily, anyway. Lisa … he didn’t want to think about her.
One step into the house and his path was blocked. Debris of old cupboards and their doors, planks of timber and ripped up lino littered the floor. Dirt and dust lay on every surface. Zigzagging around the pile, he found the kitchen in a mess. Who started a job and didn’t finish? If you were going to rip out the guts of the room, you didn’t stop halfway. Annoying but it wouldn’t take long to finish.
Ava was obviously trying to help. Or maybe she got impatient. Couldn’t blame her given he’d been AWOL the last couple of days. She’d probably done him a favour. Time was of the essence and he needed to push on with the job, get it done, get the next payment so he could pay his lawyer another outrageous amount of money. Another reason for his foul temperament.
No, this was good; he’d have the rest of the remaining cabinetry out in a jiffy and work could move along swiftly. Popping in his ear buds he pumped the music loud to drown out his thoughts and used his crowbar to strike. The physical smack of tool against timber was satisfying.
A hand touched his upper arm and Noah flung back in fright, the tool flying across the room while his elbow connected with something hard. The music still blared in his ears and he tapped the bud twice for silence.
