Forest Shadows (3 page)

There's nothin' we can do about it. Not yet anyway.' He opened the fridge door, and at the same time came to a decision. ‘Let's forget Twitchy and his stupid blame games for now.' He rubbed his stomach. ‘Yeah, let's think of other things. Like food. All this excitement's made me hungry. Want a sandwich? There's some ham in the fridge that Mum left for us.'

Jars wasn't listening. She was thinking about Twitchy and what he'd said …
Send you back to the Northern Territory perhaps.
Would her aunt and uncle really do that? ‘I think I'll go watch some television,' she said to Snook who was buttering some bread.

‘Okay, I'll join you in a minute. Watchin' a bit of telly's not such a bad idea. It might do the trick and take our minds off Twitchy and his crazy accu … accu …'

‘Accusations,' Jars said over her shoulder as she and Shadow made their way through to the living room. She flopped into an armchair and reached for the remote. She switched the set on. Something called
Oggy and The Cockroaches
, filled the screen.

Shadow settled at her feet and then rolled onto his back, legs in the air, tongue lolling. ‘At least you're happy,' Jars said, ‘but there's no need to be so impolite about it. Why can't you lie there like any normal dog would?' Despite her mildly admonishing tone of voice, she couldn't help smiling. Shadow was a sight for sore eyes, a welcome antidote to their horrendous afternoon.

She was trying to watch the show, not really getting the drift, when Snook came into the room munching a sandwich. He sat in a chair next to her. ‘That dog's in a dangerous position.'

‘How do you mean?'

‘I mean he's got a particularly lethal bum and when he lies like that it's time to worry.'

‘Don't be awful; you'll hurt his feelings.'

‘Seriously though, what do reckon our next step is?' Snook said, mouth full. ‘I mean how're we gonna prove we didn't do it?'

Jars scrunched her eyes then bit her lip. It was a worry, a real quandary. When she thought about it, there was no real way they could prove their innocence unless the real culprits were caught. But that seemed impossible. The crooks must have been invisible or close to it. It sure was strange, a real dilemma.

She turned to face Snook. ‘I guess the sensible thing to do is tell the truth. Tell your parents exactly what's happened before someone else gives them their version.'

‘Mmmm. Sounds all right in theory, but if they don't believe us, we'll be in strife big-time.'

‘I guess so,' Jars said half-heartedly, but it's not just your parents.

It's everyone else, too. We're already copping it from the school, and then there's the police and goodness knows who else will get on the band wagon. Then your parents are bound to find out. You'll be grounded for sure. I'm even thinking your mum and dad might send me away like Twitchy said, back to the Northern Territory, or to a place for kids like me … to an orphanage.' The last words caught in her throat and she lowered her eyes.

Snook turned to face her. ‘Look,' he said, ‘don't be so stupid. Why would they do something as drastic as that? Besides, we're goin' to prove we didn't do it – somehow. I just don't know how yet. All I know is that we will!'

Jars looked up. She saw the look of determination in his face, a fierce, burning intensity that told her Snook was fair dinkum. She wished she had it, Snook's confidence, his optimism, but in her mind, she could only see the anger of her aunt and uncle when they found out. Her bottom lip trembled as she thought of the consequences.
‘
They might though, send me away. I'm new here, sort of on trial and I'm different.'

Snook sprang to his feet and stood over her. ‘Different? You mean 'cause you're Aboriginal?'

‘I guess so.'

‘That's stupid! And ridiculous!'

Jars cowered a little. Her cousin was getting mad and it was her fault. She shouldn't have said what she did. She could see that. Even Shadow had rolled off his back to see what the shouting was all about. ‘Of course you're different,' Snook went on. ‘We're all different, so don't start thinkin' you're somethin' special.'

Snook was right. Feeling a little guilty, she tried to apologise. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. ‘Sorry, Snook. I suppose I was feeling sorry for myself, but I'm okay now. What you said is spot on. Everyone's different.'

He sat down again. ‘Yeah, well getting back to the real problem, maybe we'll get lucky. Just think about it. Dad and Arnie'll be busy lobster fishin' for most of the long weekend. They'll only stop tonight for dinner and a sleep, so maybe they won't hear what's happened to us; and Mum's stayin' with Auntie Jean in Burnie for the weekend, so she won't hear anythin' either. That'll give us three days to try and find out who really stole those rocks.'

She thought for a while. As usual, Snook was being his optimistic, enthusiastic self, always seeing the bright side of things. She however, was less sure. ‘But where do we start, Snook? I wouldn't know where to look and anyway, keeping quiet about it doesn't feel right. It feels sort of deceitful. I still think our best bet is to tell your parents everything as soon as they come home. Tell them before someone else does and just hope they believe us.'

Snook scratched his chin. ‘Yeah, but if we do what I say and if we
really
try, we might just get lucky. We might even find out who the real crooks are. You never know.'

A
s though the strategy for proving their innocence had been settled, Jars and Snook sat back into their chairs, each alone with their thoughts. There was a loud knock on the front door, followed by a familiar voice. ‘Oh no!' Snook said, rising and throwing his arms in the air. ‘Quenton Quigley! I bet he's come to gloat. Well, we'll see about that.' He strode to door and threw it open. ‘What do you want, Quigley?'

Smirking to himself, not saying anything, Quenton pushed past Snook. Then, following the sound of the television, he made for the living room. Snook closed the door and followed.

‘Boy, are you two in trouble!' Quenton said, looking first at Jars then Snook. ‘The whole school's talking about what you did.'

Jars couldn't believe it. Talk about being cheeky! Barging in and accusing them straight off like that. She leaned forward in her chair ready to say something, but words failed her. She sighed and sat back in the chair.

Quenton, known by everyone who knew him as the school snitch, gossip and bully, was clearly enjoying himself. Oblivious to Jars' annoyance, he sidled over to her. ‘You're full of it, Miss High and Mighty. Everyone knows you and Snook took that rock collection.' He leaned over, jabbing a finger in front of her face. ‘It seems you're not the goody, goody you pretend to be. I reckon you somehow conned Snook into robbing Pearson's shop.' He straightened but continued to stand over her. ‘That wouldn't have happened when Snook and I were best friends. We didn't ever do anything that bad.'

Snook, who was listening and trying not to lose his cool, couldn't take it any longer. His head jerked up. ‘Whatcha talkin' about, Quigley?' he spluttered. ‘Are you mad or somethin'? Best friends? You and me? You gotta be jokin'.'

‘Well, I was, until she came to stay with you. She's spoiled things between us; she should have stayed in the Northern Territory. That's where she belongs.'

Snook strode across the room, grabbed Quenton by the collar and spun him around. Still holding on to him, he thrust his face forward till their noses were nearly touching; then in a quiet but no-nonsense voice, he said, ‘Look Quigley, you've gone far enough. Leave Jars out of it. You don't know what she's been through.'

Jars pushed up from the chair and walked over to Snook. She placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘It's okay, I'll tell him.' Her face was blank and her eyes had a sad look as she remembered. ‘I had to come here, Quenton, to Cray Bay. Uncle Jim and Aunt Irene, as well as Snook, were the only family I had. There was no place else to go, except to an orphanage. A welfare lady made all the arrangements.'

Snook jumped in. ‘Yeah, Jars couldn't help it. She had no choice. After a buffalo smashed into her dad's car and killed her family, everythin' changed.' The second he said the words, Snook looked sorry. He shouldn't have mentioned her family, the buffalo, or the killing. But it was too late. Tears had already started to well in Jars' eyes. They always did when the memories of that day came back to her. He bit his lip. ‘Sorry, Jars. I'm a screamin' idiot. A complete dork.'

Pouting and looking a little taken-aback, Quenton changed the subject. ‘Yeah, yeah, I get the message. She's sensitive. But what I really came round for was to show you something. He reached into his back pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. ‘I was looking for a book on the library shelf and this fell to the floor. It was between the pages. Like it was hidden.'

‘Looking for a book?' Snook said, whispering to Jars. ‘More like looking for a block of chocolate.'

Jars, recovered now, couldn't help smiling. She could just imagine Quenton sneaking a sweet, especially since his mother had put him on a diet. Not before time, she thought. All those lollies and soft drinks he was scoffing all the time would be bad for anyone's health. Especially Quenton's. You just had to look at him. Flab hung from places it wasn't supposed to and when he walked, he wobbled. A diet would do him good.

Quenton straightened the sheet of paper. ‘Listen to this.' He read it aloud:

THE TREASURE MAY BE FOUND WHERE THE MAD HATTER DRINKS AND THE RAINBOW RISE.

Snook and Jars exchanged glances. Snook shot out an arm, snatching the paper from Quenton. He showed it to Jars.

Jars read it again. Looking across at Quenton, she asked, ‘Do you know what it means?'

‘Haven't a clue.'

‘But that's what it is,' she said. ‘A clue. A riddle.'

‘Yeah,' Snook said, ‘and whoever solves it gets the treasure.'

‘Don't get too excited,' Jars said. ‘It obviously belongs to Mr Quigley and he obviously hasn't solved it, otherwise he'd have the treasure. Anyway, maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's just somebody's idea of a prank.'

‘Howdya know that?'

‘Because it was still in its hiding place. If it was real, then Mr Quigley would have done something with it.'

‘Yeah, maybe, but I reckon we could do something with it, figure out what it means. I'm gonna take a copy.'

But Snook's enthusiasm was short-lived. The news on the television suddenly had everyone's full attention. ‘Quick, Jars,' he said. ‘Turn the sound up.'

T
hey all crowded round the set listening. It was a news flash:

… the phenomenon was seen last night by several people near Cray Bay, a small fishing village on the west coast of Tasmania. According to witness reports, a large, flashing object was observed hovering above the town. Apparently, the object then proceeded to move slowly across the sky in a southerly direction where it disappeared. No clear explanation for the strange sight has been given. However, some theories have been forthcoming, one of which suggests we are being visited … by aliens.

Jars noticed the newsreader's discomfort when he had to read the last bit of his announcement. It was as though he didn't know whether to frown or smile. Then he concluded:

We will keep you informed as more information comes to hand.

Snook exploded from his chair. ‘Wicked! How cool is that? Whatcha reckon, Jars? Wanna go look for those aliens?'

‘Hmph,' Quenton sneered, ‘that's so stupid; there's no such thing.'

‘Snook glared at him. ‘Oh, yeah? How would you know? Lots of people have seen UFOs. Even aliens.'

‘Little green men, you mean? Hah! That's brainless.'‘Well, I don't care what you think. It's possible they're true so I wanna go look for whatever's out there. Whatcha reckon, Jars?'

Jars smiled to herself. Here we go again, she thought. Another one of Snook's wild ideas. ‘You realise,' she said, ‘that the lights could have been caused by any number of things? Like space junk, weather balloons, meteors, even aircraft.'

‘Yeah, and it might even be a UFO,' Snook continued. Then, seeing Jars' skeptical look added, ‘Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to look, even if it was junk or one of those other things.'

‘It's not that. The announcer said the thing, or whatever, was heading south. So, if it was a UFO, it'd be far gone by now.' She glanced at her watch. ‘Anyway, it's after five. That's far too late to be going anywhere. We need to fix dinner for your dad and Arnie. They'll be home soon.'

‘Yeah,' Snook mumbled, ‘I suppose you're right.'

Jars, with Shadow following, headed for the kitchen.

Snook turned to Quenton. He jerked a finger towards the front door. 'We've got work to do so you'd better take off.'

Jars was already getting cooking utensils out of the kitchen cupboard when Snook joined her. He drew out a chair and sat. Eventually, he said, ‘What if it
is
aliens visiting us? What if they are true? It'd be awesome if we found 'em. Why don't we go lookin' after dinner?'

Smiling to herself, Jars could feel his excitement. ‘Let's see if there's any more news before we do anything. You know, play it by ear.'

‘Okay.' He slapped a fist into his palm. ‘But if there
is
any news about aliens bein' around here, I'm gonna go find 'em.'

Shadow, who had settled under the kitchen table, lifted his head, ears cocked. He thumped his tail on the floor. Something was going on.

J
im Kelly, Snook's dad and skipper of
The Shandora
, stood on the deck alongside his partner, Arnie Grimshaw, whom he'd recently taken on as a deckhand. Jim had been quick to see the potential in Arnie, who had previously been a reluctant member of a bird-smuggling gang. The gang had included Arnie's sister, Evelyn Grimshaw, his brother Hector and Mr Quigley, Quenton Quigley's dad. The gang, whose plans had been thwarted by Jars and Snook, were now in Hobart's Risdon Prison.