The Grass is Greener (36 page)

They weaved their way through the crowd until finally, right at the back of the tent, they found her. Linda McCall was stationed in an area obviously set aside for the event organisers. There were costumes hanging on racks against the wall and two long bench tables where a panel of ladies were taking registrations of the performers.

Unquestionably the trophy wife, Linda was dressed in a showy floral summer dress that displayed plenty of leg and a generous amount of boob. The transition from swimsuit model to kept woman was as clear as kindergarten maths on a chalkboard. Her blonde curls were far too well formed to be natural and her bronze skin definitely came out of a can.

When she saw what they were carrying, she was pleased to greet them. ‘Well, what do we have here?'

‘Hi,' Bronwyn held out her hand, ‘my name is Bronwyn Eddings. I believe these puppies are yours.'

‘Bronwyn Eddings,' Linda purred. ‘It's nice to finally meet the woman who has led me on such a merry dance these past few weeks.'

Bronwyn bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. Only politeness and a little sucking up were going to get her anywhere at this point. She had to play this very carefully.

‘I'm sorry if my leaving town was an inconvenience to you. I had no idea what plans Peter had for the dogs.'

Linda raised her eyebrows. ‘And you didn't think to ask him?'

‘He never gave me much of a chance to,' Bronwyn returned.

‘Yes, well, I never liked him either.' Linda waved her hand dismissively. ‘But Elsa did win a big prize last year for her breeding. And when Peter owed Leon that gambling debt … well, she was a means to wipe the slate clean. My husband has such a bad reputation in Perth, you know, but,' she nodded her head earnestly, ‘he's really not that unreasonable.'

‘No doubt,' Claudia murmured dryly.

Bronwyn, however, had had enough of Leon and Peter. All she wanted to do was cut Elsa's ties to them once and for all.

‘The thing is, I have grown rather attached to Elsa while she has been in my care and, if possible, I'd like to buy her off you.'

‘Is that so?' Linda eyed her with some interest. ‘I completely understand, of course, being a dog lover myself.'

‘You do?' Hope buoyed in Bronwyn's chest.

‘Of course,' Linda responded brightly. ‘However, Elsa's not for sale.'

Bronwyn's joy deflated. ‘Everyone has a price,' she said slowly.

‘What am I to do with more money?' Linda tittered. ‘In case you haven't read the news, honey, I'm loaded.'

Bronwyn winced at her crassness. ‘Not money then,' she suggested. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you to secure Elsa's ownership?'

Claudia shot her a worried glance, but Bronwyn didn't care. Elsa had changed her life. She had given her the chance to become who she wanted to be. In her opinion, that was worth anything Linda demanded.

‘Well,' Linda rubbed her chin thoughtfully, ‘now that you mention it, there is
something
I'm in need of right at the minute.'

First impressions had not given Jack a very high opinion of Sebastian Rowlands. The man was wearing a suspiciously pink business shirt with a very fine check print. It was uniquely tailored to his slim, fit body and suited him perfectly. However, Jack had never been one to keep up with trends and witnessing fashionable perfection, particularly on a guy, immediately had his back up.

Honestly!

Was this really the kind of man his sister wanted to date?

Mr Hot-Shot Mega-Star with his supercool haircut and winking silver cufflinks? Jack couldn't remember the last time he'd been clean-shaven, let alone that neatly pressed. And his shoes, as far as he was aware, had never seen one lick of polish in their life … unlike Sebastian's, which seemed to reflect the light.

In fact, he was quite sure that most of Sebastian's brain power must be sucked away by the time-consuming process of staying in vogue. So he was quite surprised and rather pleased when the man abruptly hung up on his third connection with Claudia's voicemail and said, ‘We're going to have to go after them.'

‘I thought you'd never ask.'

It was clear from the phone conversation he'd overheard earlier that the women were together, they were doing something stupid, and weren't going to listen to reason.

‘Where are they?' he demanded.

‘On the road somewhere,' Sebastian swore, throwing his phone down on the kitchen counter. ‘They're tailing those criminals.'

‘Okay, which criminals?' Jack held up his hands for clarification. ‘Leon McCall, Peter Goldman, some random dog fighter?' He scrunched his hair in frustration.

‘I see somebody's taken you into their confidence.' Sebastian's lip curled sardonically.

‘Claudia told me everything.' Jack groaned. ‘Except where to find her if she goes missing. If they are on the road driving and they've turned their phones off, how are we supposed to locate them?'

‘We can't,' Sebastian shrugged. ‘We'll just have to find someone who knows where they are going instead.'

‘And how are we supposed to do that?'

‘There's a pub called –'

‘The Quiet Gentleman.' Jack nodded. ‘Yes, Claudia told me, but I thought it was a dead end.'

‘A fight is going down tonight. Somebody there has got to know something.'

Seb turned around and began to walk towards the front door, swiping his keys off the hall table as he wrenched it open. Parked out the front of the house, in an open car port, were two cars. Sebastian's sleek and stylish silver Audi stood next to Jack's rundown old ute. There were insects and mud sprayed all over the front bonnet and the side-view mirrors were hanging off from their hinges.

‘Er … we'll take my car,' Sebastian announced firmly.

He opened the door and got in. Jack hesitated and then climbed into the passenger side. ‘So that's how you're playing it, is it?' he asked ruefully.

‘Playing what?' Sebastian revved the engine and backed smoothly out of the drive.

‘Your car's better than mine?'

‘I don't recall saying that,' Sebastian murmured as he pushed into the higher gears and flew effortlessly up another street. ‘However, if that's the conclusion you've come to …'

‘Just so you know,' Jack glared at him, ‘you're the one in this car wearing the pink shirt.'

‘True,' Sebastian laughed.

They arrived in next to no time at The Quiet Gentleman, and Jack couldn't help but reflect as they left the vehicle and walked across gravel to the front door that the pub was far from aristocratic. It was your typical Northbridge dive, old and in need of a scrub from top to bottom.

‘Nice place,' he commented sarcastically as they walked in.

‘It has a certain charm.'

Jack scanned the long bar. It was presided over by only two people, a young man in a black T-shirt with his hand bandaged and an older woman in her fifties. ‘Are we going to buy a drink?'

‘No, let's try a more candid approach,' Sebastian murmured. ‘The guy with the bandage is the one we want. He's most likely to know something about the fight.'

‘Why would he tell us?'

Sebastian's smile was crooked. ‘We're going to be very persuasive.'

Jack nodded and rolled up his sleeves. ‘I like your style.'

Sebastian gave Jack's flannelette shirt, ‘seen better days' jeans and brown work boots a sideways glance. ‘Somehow I doubt that very much.' He stepped forward. ‘Follow my lead.'

‘Good evening, sir,' Seb said to the man with the name tag ‘Jet' on his black T-shirt.

Jet put down the glass he was wiping. ‘What can I get you?'

‘Nothing.' Sebastian shook his head as he removed a white card from his wallet and placed it on the dirty bar. ‘My name
is Sebastian Rowlands and I am a lawyer from Hanks and Eddings. This is my client, who has a serious complaint about the running of these premises.'

Jack set his expression as Jet's nervous eyes flicked over him.

‘We were wondering if we might have a word with you, in private.'

Jet cleared his throat. ‘Er … I'm not the owner. Frank is away at the moment.'

Sebastian flicked an imaginary piece of fluff from his cuffs. ‘That's all right. We're happy to have a preliminary discussion with you, which you can relay to Frank when he returns.'

‘Er,' Jet swallowed, ‘okay.'

‘Given the sensitivity of the issue,' Sebastian informed him in a lowered voice, ‘I don't think you would want the rest of your patrons to hear what my client has to say.'

Jet hastily came out from behind the counter and said, ‘Follow me.'

He took them into the back office, shut the door and turned around. At that moment Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him up against the back wall.

‘All right, now tell us where your boss is
right now
.'

‘What the hell is going on here?' Jet glanced from one to the other.

‘Just answer the question,' Jack hissed.

‘I don't know where Frank is,' Jet responded quickly. ‘He never said where he was going tonight.'

‘Really?' Jack glared at him. ‘And I suppose you don't know what all the equipment he took with him is going to be used for either.'

‘No, I don't.'

‘Humans lie,' Sebastian murmured, ‘computers don't.' While Jack held Jet pinned against the wall, he removed the phone that was conveniently sticking out of the side pocket of the barman's jeans.

‘All we need is this.' Sebastian turned on the phone.

‘Hey!' Jet finally thought to struggle against Jack's hold but his squirming was to no avail.

‘What does it say?' Jack barked impatiently over his shoulder. ‘Does it give a location?'

‘There are a lot of messages here,' Sebastian remarked grimly.

Jet's face was now going red with fury. ‘That's my private business. You've got no right to go through my things!'

‘Very true.' Sebastian shook his head as he scrolled through text messages. ‘By the way, how did you cut your hand?'

Jet glanced down at it briefly. ‘In the kitchen with a knife.'

‘Really. Do you have any pets, a dog perhaps?'

‘No. My apartment wouldn't allow for that. Not that I like animals.' Jet grimaced.

‘Does Frank have any dogs?'

‘Not that I'm aware of.' Jet shrugged but at Jack's stern's glare he quickly added, ‘But I could be wrong. It's not like we're close or anything. We don't hang out after work.'

‘Do you know Leon McCall?'

Jet blanched. ‘You mean that criminal guy who's always on the news? You guys work
for him?
'

‘No,' Sebastian informed him, ‘and clearly neither do you.' He sighed, putting Jet's phone down on a nearby bench and turning to Jack, ‘Let him go. He doesn't know anything.'

Jack slowly released the man's shoulders. ‘
Great
, so what do we do now?'

‘Leave this bar, that's what,' Jet stabbed a finger at him, ‘before I call the police.'

Jet quickly marched to the bench and snatched his phone up, shoving it once more into his back pocket. As he was doing so, Seb and Jack's phones both buzzed simultaneously. It was a message from Claudia.

I need you! Hurry.

The words were followed by a list of instructions on how to get there.

They both glanced up.

‘My message is from Claudia,' said Jack. ‘Is yours?'

‘Yes. You're in luck, Jet,' Seb said to the waiter. ‘We're leaving. Make sure you keep my card. You never know, you might need it one day.'

Under Jet's stunned gaze, they both filed out.

‘Seriously?' Jack muttered as they crossed the bar at a smart pace.

Sebastian shrugged. ‘Business is business, after all.'

They reached the double-doored entrance to the building and walked out. ‘

So it looks like we're going south,' Jack commented.

‘Yes,' Sebastian grimaced. ‘Almost to Mandurah. It's going to take us nearly an hour to get there. I just hope we're not too late.'

Jack felt his muscles tensing up at the mere thought of it. ‘I hope those two didn't get out of the car.'

‘As I'm sure you're aware, the problem with your sister is that even when her brain advises her to do one thing,' Sebastian mused, ‘her heart gets in the way.'

‘Is that what happened with you?' Jack demanded shrewdly as they headed back towards the car.

Sebastian gaze snapped up quickly, then he looked away. ‘I have no idea.'

‘Just what are your intentions towards my sister?' Jack demanded.

‘My
intentions
?' Sebastian responded with a mocking smile. ‘My intention is to get her home safe and sound.'

‘And after that?'

‘If she's safe and sound,' Sebastian said quietly, ‘then that will be completely up to her.'

For so long Seb had prided himself on not letting anyone hold him back. What he'd never counted on was that person being himself.

His body shuddered. He couldn't bear it if anything had happened to Claudia. Or, God forbid, they didn't arrive in time.

Luckily, Claudia's texted directions were fairly easy to understand. He had been half afraid they would be incomplete and he'd get lost. However, forty-five minutes after he and Jack Franklin left The Quiet Gentleman, they turned off the freeway and found the quiet dirt road just where Claudia said it was.

Relief, however, was short-lived. The dodgy hidden track led straight into bushland. He gritted his teeth. Great! The perfect place for murder, rape, dog fighting and any other crimes Frank and his men had on their minds. It was at this point he really wished he didn't have such a good knowledge of the criminal psyche. He could do without all those past cases in his head.

In turn, he could feel his companion tensing up beside him as the car jumped and bumped when he turned off the smooth
road onto red gravel. Jack clutched his left armrest tightly, his face set and his eyes fixed intensely upon the road ahead. It was twilight. And while not dark yet, the light was definitely fading. Seb couldn't imagine a worse time for a couple of unarmed women to be chasing criminals.

‘If Claudia's all right,' Jack murmured, ‘I'll kill her myself.'

‘Get in line, my friend,' said Seb. ‘Get in line.'

Just when he couldn't get any more tense, the road ended abruptly on the side of an oval.

What the – ?

A wave of colour and commotion blasted his senses. A fair! He abruptly killed the engine and both men stepped up out of the car in a daze to take in the scene before them. As Seb's left hand slowly pushed his door closed, ‘How Much is that Doggie in the Window?' erupted brightly over the loudspeakers that seemed to be dotted everywhere. Surely this was how Charlie had felt when he'd arrived at Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory.

As if to add proof to this statement, two persons, one dressed in a large ginger cat suit and the other as a huge black-and-white Snoopy detached themselves from the crowd and headed in their direction. Seb couldn't move, overwhelmed by the surreal nature of it all. The ginger cat was lugging a black suitcase while the dog seemed to be breaking into a sprint before launching itself at Jack.

‘Jack! It's me, silly,' Snoopy protested when his startled travelling companion took a giant step back.

Bronwyn whipped off her large headpiece.

‘Bronwyn,' Jack cried, immediately grabbing her by her large plastic shoulders. ‘Are you all right?'

‘Of course.'

‘But what are doing?'

She rolled the large dog head under her armpit. ‘Dressing up as a dog, obviously. We're giving out flyers for the talent show that starts at six tonight.'

Seb's mind reeled. ‘Talent show?'

‘You guys will love it.' She grinned at both of them in turn. ‘I believe one of the acts involves a dog who can drive a motorbike.'

What the fuck is going on here?

‘Where's Claudia?' Seb demanded.

‘I'm right here.' The ginger cat came up to the group, dropped the suitcase and removed her own head. Claudia smiled brightly at him as she tried to smooth down her static hat hair. ‘How's it going?'

‘How's it going?' Seb repeated through his teeth. The fear and worry morphing into an anger that permeated up through his ribcage. ‘
How's it going!
'

Claudia's giant ginger paw touched his arm sympathetically. ‘Are you okay?'

He ignored the question. ‘Where is Frank?'

She shrugged. ‘Probably still setting up lights with the other guys. Who knows how late the show will run into the evening.' She slapped a palm to her forehead. ‘Oh, did I forget to mention it? Turns out he's
not
a dog fighter.'

‘No shit!' Seb responded.

Luckily at that point Jack jumped in. ‘Seriously, Claudia, you had us both tearing down the freeway to get here in time because of your text message. I'd be surprised if Seb doesn't have a few speeding tickets for it.'

‘Well, it's all for a good cause,' Bronwyn piped up. ‘You are still preventing animal cruelty. Just indirectly. All the proceeds for the fair go to the cause.'

‘Yeah,' Claudia told her brother, ‘isn't it fantastic? We found Bronwyn's dogs too.'

‘My mother had them.' Bronwyn looked at Jack. ‘Would you believe it was her who took them?'

‘Yes.' The winemaker replied. ‘Not trying to get herself some leverage again, is she?'

‘Something like that.' Bronwyn smiled. ‘But I told her where to go. I'm not going to let anyone come between us again.'

He drew her into his side, dog suit and all. ‘I'm glad we're finally in agreement about something.'

Seb turned away in disgust to the ginger cat who was eyeing him innocently. ‘If there are no criminals, or dog fighters, or life-threatening situations, why am I here?'

‘Oh!' Claudia jumped as though she'd just realised she was late for an appointment. She turned around, got down on her knees and unzipped the suitcase, explaining as she went. ‘The dogs all had to be given back to Leon McCall's wife, Linda, who, would you believe, the dogs were actually meant for the whole time.' She rolled her eyes. ‘Bronwyn, however, wants to keep Elsa so we agreed to help Linda out of a jam in order to earn the ownership. After we spoke to her, that's when I sent you guys the text message asking for help.'

‘And what kind of help would that be?'

‘Her mascots didn't show up and she had no time to hire new people. So we're it. We have to put on these costumes and hand out flyers. This one is yours.' She stood up, holding a white-feathered, half-plastic creation with a giant orange beak.

By this stage, the anger in Seb's chest had crept up through his neck and was pounding a hole in the top of his skull.

‘Let me get this straight,' he said in a dangerously quiet tone. ‘You called me here with all the urgency of a dangerous criminal intervention because you want me to dress up as a
chicken
?'

Claudia's body jerked at the inflection on the final word, her two paws huddled together under her chin as she eyed him with some concern.

‘You're really not okay, are you?'

‘
No, I am not!
' Seb threw at her. ‘Do you know how terrified I was for you? How out of my mind with worry I was for your safety?'

Claudia winced. ‘Er … I'm guessing … a lot?'

To her surprise, and his own, he grabbed her round the waist and pulled her into full body contact. The bulky cat suit
became just another annoyance in his long list of grievances. He finally had her in his arms and there was all that fur in the bloody way. It set him off again.

‘How could you run off to round up a dog-fighting ring all on your own like that? Are you completely insane?'

‘I told you,' she made no attempt to get out of his hold, ‘I had Bronwyn with me.'

She glanced over at her friend. ‘Bronwyn, back me up here.'

However, it appeared Bronwyn was now far too busy kissing Jack to provide any real assistance. She did offer a rather distracted thumbs up but otherwise didn't break her lip lock with Seb's road-trip buddy.

Claudia blew on her fringe, ‘Really? That's all you got, Bron? Jack, get off her.'

A hand under Claudia's chin returned her attention to Sebastian. ‘Look at me, I'm still lecturing you.'

She raised her eyebrows. ‘We're not at work right now, Sebastian.'

‘Don't call me Sebastian, you've never had a shred of deference to me in your life.'

‘How true.' Claudia inclined her head with a slight smile. ‘But you were right when you judged me guilty of wanting a meaningful relationship. I like you, Seb. There, I admit it. I like you more than I should but I need more than you're offering.'

‘How do you know what I'm offering?' His eyes ran over a face that had hooked him from the beginning, along with her irrepressible quick wit and edgy intelligence.

‘I thought I was going to lose you,' he said softly. ‘I couldn't bear the thought.'

He felt her body shudder in his arms, her eyes widening as she gazed up at him in adorable confusion. ‘I thought you didn't do rescue or worry?'

‘And then I met you,' he growled. ‘You make me want things that I never cared about before. As much as I try, I can't seem to get enough of you, Claudia.'

She didn't get to respond because he kissed her with a passion that had been held at bay for far too long. His hand pushed into her hair, angling her mouth for the most intimate contact. His heart seemed to lift out of his chest when she responded completely, clinging to him as though she too had just found home after a long journey.

‘So,' he murmured when he finally lifted his mouth. ‘Would you like to go on a date sometime?'

‘Sure,' she said breathlessly, and then bit her lip. A cheeky dimple peeked in her left cheek. ‘There's just one more thing I need to clarify.'

‘What?'

‘You're still going to dress up as the chicken, right?'