More Questions Than Answers

[WYN100]

***PART 15***

You're saying that HE's hooked up with the company that want to pump that risky stuff into the Bay - I find that very hard to believe Barry, very hard indeed !"

Barry Hyde earnestly re-assembled the sheaf of papers on the table and insisted ..

"I know - so did I - but I've cross-referenced far too many leads and websites for it to be wrong - and look, they even use him as some kind of selling point on one of them !"

Beth smoothed the page straight and read with increasing astonishment

"Mr Holden (44) moved to Summer Bay nearly a year ago so already has a wealth of experience in and of the locality, plus can count among his close contacts a former resident of the Bay with some knowledge and influence in our projected area."

She swatted the page down on the table and - now trailing a substantial thundercloud of disapproval she let loose with

"THat MAN - and I FELL for it - that Mr Nice Guy Games teacher routines - and all the time he's sizing the Bay up to see what he and whatever other bunch of chancers he's with can get from it and us ! Her cheeks now flushed crimson with anger , she stalked across to the chair where her coat had been flung after the previous aborted exit attempt and snatched it up.

The light of battle in her eye, she proclaimed

"Do you know what I'm going to do ? I'm going to go straight round to his place and have it out with him !"

Beth's anger was fuelled further by the sharp pinch of disappointment in the pit of her stomach where hopes had been growing quietly but steadily that Tony MIGHT - just MIGHT - have developed into her first love interest since Rhys . but NOW ! - a tinge of bitterness began to slowly seep into the corner of her mind that had - until then - been cloaked in a very rosy glow.

As she prepared to stride out on her path of vengeance she was sharply snapped back to a staye of full alertness by a sharp interjection from Barry who rapped a firm "NO !"!

Stopping short, she examined his face in genuine surprise , but he was earnestly insistent -

"Beth - NO - if we're going to find out where Tony Hokden fits into this whole thing - and indeed exactly who's behind it - it's VITAL that we play it cool and steady. It took me a lot of effort just to unearth that one bare paragraph, so softly, softly HAS to be the order of the day - ok ?"

She needed slowly, though it was clear she could see the reasons behind it. As Beth's busy coat was once again laid down on the back of a chair , Barry turned from filling the kettle and added

"I'll tell you one thing though -I would certainly LOVE to know who the former resident he's working with is !"

Beth was again nodding "Oh that makes TWO of us - but WHOEVER it is - they'd better be ready for one HECK of a fight..."

Martha's mind was rotating at high velocity as she sat a little awkwardly on the bonnet of the car, just a couple of feet from where Jack's prone form still lay stretched.

With some effort she forced a smile at the guy from the cinema who was slouched with fediant ease inside one of the many doorways backing onto the lane.

She knew Jack needed an ambulance, but she also knew that wasn't on this guy's agenda, so a Plan B was clearly needed.

Switching on her best Noah's bar serving smile she began.

"Look I know this is all a bit weird - I don't even know your name ! I can't go on calling you the guy from the cinema, now can I ?"

Slowly - a little suspiciously at first - he liberated a smile of his own - the same rather unpleasant, self-satisfied grin they'd seen in the burger queue what seemed like a lifetime ago now.

"Oh. Sparky will do fine cutie, that's what they all call me - even.."-he pointed down "..Jackie Boy and his mates in blue !"

Her flesh crept both at his description of her and the callous way he was ignoring Jack's plight -but with a herculean effort she continued -

"So then Sparky, how do you two know each other ?"

The distasteful smile widened a little and he stepped out of the alcove to stand closer to her,

"Well babe - Jackie and his mates are all such BRAVE little soldiers as you know..." - the grin dropped out to be replaced momentarily by a hard, almost bitter frown -

"but you need to remember that with their sort, what you see is NOT always what you get - you get my drift ?"

In point of fact she had no idea whatsoever what he was talking about, but Plan B was slowly crystallizing in her mind.

Taking an extremely deep breath and accompanying gulp, she checked discreetly that her cellphone was in her pocket, then stood, and out one arm around Sparky, at the same time pulling him closer.

He looked predictably surprised and a little questioning, but far from reluctant at the turn of events.

She continued "Look, there's nothing much very permanent between Jack and me - haven't been seeing him that long anyway...."

The Sparky smile grew increasingly oily as he pulled a little closer to Martha - but before his arm could work its way round her shoulder he was met with huge impact and even greater surprise by Plan B -Martha's knee crashing low and hard between his legs.....

As he crumpled instantly to the floor , she set off just as promptly towards the main road at the nearest end of the lane where she intended to summon help either in person or via her cellphone.

Legs pounding , heart thumping . lungs heaving, the two lines of early evening town traffic were drawing increasingly more visible when she became instantly rooted to the s pot, blood running icy through her veins - as a shot rang out from behind her.....

For a guy only just about to leave his late teens, Kim Hyde was an imposing figure physically . Regular surfing, weight training and lifeguard sessions meant he was in impressive shape for someone of his relatively young years - but , in a darkened room, clad only in a towel, and up against two grimly resolute adversaries, the struggle was most certainly an unequal one.

As the man had advanced from the back kitchen door, Kim had thrown himself into full blooded conflict , hoisting one of Irene's best chairs high above his head and heaving it down towards the guy's dodging form .He failed to land the savage blow he'd been aiming for as the target dipped and turned at the last moment, instead taking a glancing impact on his shoulder.

Off balance from the attempt, Kim reeled round to steady himself, but stumbled instead into the path of the girl who unbeknownst to him had been watching him and Cassie so closely over the last few days.

She'd strode purposefully across from the door and smartly whipped her arm round his throat from behind. With the threat of his breath effectively being choked out of him, Kim's attempts to resist grew less frenzied, but he did manage to pant out

"Who ARE you? What's this all about ?"

Out of his sight the woman smiled a thin, tight, humourless smile,

"All in good time Mr Hyde - as I told you before, we want to point out the error of your ways - and make sure they're not repeated - now get this on ! She snatched up a thin outer jacket belonging to Kane, and between them jammed it roughly on the unwilling Kim. They'd dragged him almost as far as the front door - when suddenly it resounded to thunderous knocking - and Ric Daulby's voice attacked the still dusk air -

"Hyde ! - - - Hyde !! - you mongrel - will you get your butt out here ?? I know what you're up to !! - HYDE !! - you coward ..."

Evidently at that point Ric's well of patience ran dry as the front door rocked back and the aggrieved investigator burst in - - -

"What the...?..

He quickly sized up the situation though , and immediately threw himself onto the man with a torrent of kicks and punches , and though his rival was bigger and very fit was dominating him in impressive style. He was about to deliver what would surely have been a decisive right-hander when the girl took a split -second gamble. Releasing her grip marginally, she snatched from the table the baseball bat Kim had earlier brought in , she brought a thunderous smite down on Ric's back. Stunned by the unexpected assault, Ric rolled sideways , allowing crucial fractions of a second for her to turn and bolt through the ajar door, hotly pursued by her compatriot while Kim spluttered to recoup the oxygen sacrificed by the pressure of her forearm oh his windpipe.

As Ric slowly and gingerly eased himself up to a sitting position it took some minutes for both he and Kim to recover their equilibrium. Then, with almost perfecT synchronized precision, they articulated the one question that had been

silently gripping both their thoughts,,,

"Who the hell WERE they.............??"

Sally had been feverishly pacing the waiting area at the Hospital for nearly an hour. An exhausted Pippa had been taken behind the reception counter by Carla, who knew them both well from visits there to see Flynn.

She now sat sleeping peacefully with both Carla and her colleague Sophie ready to dance attendance on her as soon as her eyes again opened.

Peaceful was the most unlikely adjective imaginable to describe Sally's frame of mind - the thoughts shovelled around jaggedly in her head - VJ -the boarding house - Amanda's reckless driving - the crash - and most startling of all - Jesse !!- what-why - how ??

Given everything that had happened , she couldn't possibly imagine why - - - -

"SALLY !! what's going on ??? "

She'd eventually - after a maddening further delay - managed to get through to Leah's house, and here was she, Dan and Sergeant Harper - hungry for information - but little was available.

"Flynn's not here - but Shayne took them all in - and I haven't heard anything since !"

Shayne Gordon had been a new addition to the hospital's medical staff some months back, and had quickly built up a good reputation - plus earning a great deal of respect from Flynn.

"And JESSE !!" said Leah, almost disbelievingly - "i hope HE's ok !!"

Dan's face coloured - he already felt firmly in the doghouse because of Amanda's erratic behaviour - and now - this re-introduction of Jesse McGregor to the equation was decidedly NOT what he would have chosen. now -with VJ, Ryan and Amanda all with a big question mark over their well-being - after VJ ot was quite clear that Jesse now appeared to have leapt to the top of the priority list.

Suddenly the Sally-Leah conversation trailed into silence and his eyes followed theirs as Harper and Doctor Gordon emerged from the door of the operation and ewxamination wards.

His stomach muscles clenched with lurching apprehension - Shayne's face was wearing a serious expression - very serious indeed

[Emily11]

Excellent chapter!!

[ldscott]

Brilliant!

Please post again soon. Can't wait to find out if they are all ok!

[WYN100]

**PART 15**

Tony Holden stopped and listened as he closed the back door of the house behind him. It had been his turn on bin-bag duty - again !- and as dusk had fallen suddenly and comprehensively outside like the contents of an open bottle of school-blue ink accidentally being loosed over a strip of iceberg-white paper , he'd tied and taken the plastic container out to await collection.

He momentarily allowed the silence to surround him - just to be sure it was there - then embarked on his short but crucial tick-list. Jack was having a cinema evening with Martha -admittedly longer than he'd imagined, although these two had the ability to make time dissolve like icing sugar in the most scalding black coffee.

And Lucas- he smiled on reflecting at that moment his youngest son would be happily pursuing Phase 8 of the exclusive Holden Male Guide to sweeping a lady off her feet. He'd left earlier in the evening, clad in his white dinner jacket to pick Matilda up in a stretch limousine. They were heading for the Classic film club in the city to see "Brief Encounter" and by now he figured they'd be half-way through dinner at the nearby 40s themed restaurant . Tony smiled - a son certainly approaching his task - AND his lady - in the right way ! His features suddenly grew more serious and businesslike.

The calculations about his two sons left him confident he had time to play with for what he needed to do. With renewed purpose, he sat down again and placed down a sheaf of files. The casual observer might have been a little confused to see that these weren't the typical documents of a games teacher - no fitness programmes or rugby strategies - rather they were all commercially related - stocks, industrial indicators, spreadsheets - - and Tony quickly embarked upon some calculations and counter-signingas well as bringing out his laptop. He crisply tapped some information and searches into that..before mouthing a silent protest as his cellphone rang..

"Oh..right...hi . Yes I was expecting the call, though it's getting pretty late. Look ...he was GOING to see them, i've no reason to believe he DIDN'T see them...look, with respect, as far as round here is concerned, who'd know the answer to that better than YOU ? Yes I will, but may I ask just when we'll be seeing YOU round here...."

The other party though had hung up.....now that really HAD been a question.....

The atmosphere was thick and taut in the hospital waiting room as Shayne had begun progressing through his verdict on those involved in the cras. Within moments however those present had unwittingly been handed their first tickets on the emotional rollercoaster that was to follow. The first news triggered a joyous tidal wave of feeling, particularly on Leah and Dan.

"Ryan and VJ are both doing good..."

"Oh thank GOD !!......" the parents closed in a joyous hug as Shayne continued...

"Cuts and bruises... Ryan's sprained his thumb... but they're ok...and don't seem over-phased by it either ..."

Sally too was sharing in the positive bulletin with smiles, but as three pairs of eyes swivelled back to the young doctor , the roller coaster took a steep downwards incline and they all became acutely aware that what would follow would be far from as positive.

Shayne was elaborating - "Both Amanda and Jesse are considerably worse off. As the drivers they took the brunt of the impact and we're talking serious internal injuries. Amanda's got a ruptured spleen, Jesse's liver is damaged and there's significant internal bleeding. They both need transfusions quickly, and at least they're the same blood group...."

"So, what's the...verdict ?" Leah interjected haltingly

"Well...." Shayne's face darkened again. It's a rare group, and our stocks are low... to my mind only enough for one person..."

"But you can get more, surely...!" - that from Dan

"This crash caused chaos on that main highway - - and.." - he looked at Harper, who nodded slowly..

"The lorry bringing our new stocks from the city crashed into the back of the breaking traffic , jacknifed - the load's been lost - and by the time we could get any more...." he tailed off, and his silence completed the sentence louder than any words.

"So... let me get this straight..." eventually volunteered Leah,

"you're asking US to decide......"

Shayne held his arms open wide instinctive and loaded looks flashed between husband and wife - - it was a gesture that said SOMEBODY had to decide.....and probably pretty quickly.....

"Hogan's Ghost - she spent HOW much !!!??"

A sunned Alf Stewart was gaping at the letter which Morag had disapprovingly if a little reluctantly placed before him.

From a debt recovery agency rejoicing in the garish logo proclaiming "Cash-Bak-Kwik" it listed in some detail their claim that Martha was liable for TWENTY THOUSAND dollars in unpaid store cards dating back over nearly two years. Alf's complexion had flushed to a deep beetroot hue on seeing those figures - but worse had been to come. That was in the shape of a paragraph in smaller print but highly significant in meaning . It stated that Alf had been named as a guarantor against the debt should they not be paid by a certain date -a date that had now elapsed.

"How in the flamin' hell did she manage to line me up for THAT !!?? Doesn't she need my signature for that or something ??"

"THAT Alfred is decidedly something you will have to ask HER - that is, whenever she decides to grace us with her presence again. More pressing in my opinion is how on earth you start thinking about PAYING it !- because as far as I can see she's left you with a problem which is pretty damn watertight !"

Alf was shaking his head in a slow, disbelieving way , and intoned "Ten THOUSAND bucks - who was she buying for - the Queen of flamin' England ?"

Ever the more businesslike and practical of the duo, Morag was musing "What a shame you've sold your one really potent cash asset, as well.."

He looked evasive "Um - well, aah - you mean the diner building - well truth be known, I HAVEN'T actually sold it yet, but I don't see how...."

Her natural courtroom instincts rising, she swooped on the new revelation, demanding " What - you HAVEN'T ..... come on Alfred you're being very evasive about this whole sale thing ..."

"Look Morag it doesn't matter anyway - the price I've agreed is ABSOLUTE top dollar - no WAY am I going to be able to get another twenty......" He broke off in exasperation as the phone began to ring ..

"Who the flamin hell's THAT calling at this time of night ?"

Morag rolled her eyes at a clock which showed it was still a few minutes shy of eight o'clock.

It was, in fact, a phone call that would affect and alyer a significant amount of Bay lives in the coming days and weeks....

Flynn's mind had been in turmoil as he'd driven back along the highway towards Summer Bay. He'd given Lynsey short shrift over her claim that the infant Mitch was his son - told her this was one trick too far, that he was leaving there and then, and if she knew what was good for her, she'd stay RIGHT out of his life from then on - for GOOD.

But - most men - teased with the possibility of having fathered their first son would find it hard to pull a curtain down on the issue as conclusively as that language suggested, and as Flynn drove his mind was a high-density cocktail of " he couldn't be mine - COULD he ? Anyway, it's probably best - - but WHAT if -- WHAT would Sally think about him being so late back - - and why hadn't see answered the admittedly very vague and general text he'd sent her to explain ? And what if...."

Flynn was forced to suddenly snap very decisively out of such though patterns and hit the brakes with real urgency to avoid hitting the back- marker of what seemed like quite a few k's of queuing traffic.

He drummed his fingers restlessly on the dashboard as he thought this extra delay was ALL he needed - what would Sally think NOW ?

What he had no way of knowing of course was that Sally was currently involved in a life and death drama scarcely 20 minutes away at the very place he worked . His impatience mounted. Craning his head to the right he could see police and ambulance vehicles massing further down the road. What could it be ?......might they need his medical help....as the ever more animated fingers continued to treat the dashboard more as a keyboard, his attention was suddenly diverted by the sound of a test alert . He looked down to see "Lynsey" flashing back up at him. His thumb hovered over the "delete" key, but he hesitated - in this position of semi-prisoner, even a text from her was something to occupy the mind.

But as he read, the early evening chill beginning to wriggle in through the open windows grew even starker and more severe within him :

"Need u'r help quick ! Mitch had bad fall - v big cut on head - temp hi- no answer from Med Centre - u'r son needs u - WE need u...."

Flynn's heart began to pump - Mitch sick ? His "son" sick ? Another trick ? But what if it WASN'T ? But if he DID go- what on earth could he say to Sal ? And - - more to the point - - HOW could he go ? Looking around he became aware that he'd been comprehensively boxed in by the dual queue alongside and behind him - -and the steep hilly ravine just to his left ruled out any maneuvering there - further down the road another ambulance siren began to sound - - striking a sharp chord with the ever increasingly urgent alarm bells in Flynn's own mind.....

[WYN100]

He

[Emily11]

Very good!!

[ldscott]

Brilliant!

Please post again soon!

[WYN100]

**PART 16**

Shayne Gordon had participated in many simulated cases of decision making against a tight deadline during his surgery training, but while he worked as methodically and steadily as possible under what seemed to him the harsh glow of the strip light high on the ceiling of the operating theatre, he thought bluntly - nothing EVER prepares you for the real thing.

He was confident in his own ability, but a little corner of his mind couldn't help wishing that the reassuring presence of Flynn was there alongside him - and the whole blood shortage situation had been like the most unwelcome and potentially critical bolt from the blue.

"How the HELL was that allowed to happen ?" he growled at the senior nurse alongside him - "We should never in ANY circumstances have to put that kind of scenario before families, under any circumstances at ALL !".....

He completed some stitching work and turned slightly as the sister struggled to explain to her own satisfaction, let alone his - -

"I'm guessing it was after that bus crash - loads was used then, but...."

He cut across her with rising frustration,

"BUT sister, as I'm sure you were about to say, even a relatively minor bus crash shouldn't make any damn DIFFERENCE -this isn't some run-down country cottage hospital where they live every day hand to mouth, this is...."

He was cut abruptly short as the regular pulsing tone of the heart monitor above the operating table grew more strident and rapid in pattern. Shayne met the unexpected development with a calm assurance that was approaching remarkable under the circumstances..

"RIGHT - give me 50 mills of pethedin, up that haemoglobin infusion - CAREFULLY !! ..."

They breathed out in unison as the howling tone of the monitor moderated back into the more intermittent and reassuring single steady pulse . Amanda Vale's condition was once again more stable....but that meant Jesse McGregor's was anything but....and outside in the increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere of the library-silent waiting room, Dan Baker could feel himself being steadilysurrounded by the rising wall of disapproval at the decision that had been made....

Martha's lungs were stretched and weary from her pounding pursuit of the truth up the narrow, dimly lit alley, and burning raw with the passage of the chilly evening air through her breathing.

Not five minutes previously her sole intent had been to escape there a quickly as possible - - now, having heard the shot life held just one priority - to discover whether Jack had come to any harm. As her feet devoured the yards she reflected with incredulity how close somewhere like this could be to a major traffic artery through the city centre - yet even with fully minutes having passed since the cold, jagged sound of gunfire had comprehensively punctured the evening air, not one other person had appeared to investigate.

Breath heaving, she drew only a little watchfully to a halt at the semi-damaged ca\r where it had struck the lamppost. Eyes darting around wildly for any sign either of Jack or the guy from the cinema.

Cautiously at first, then with with an increasingly strident edge, she called his name, "Jack - JAACK !"

The cavernous quality of the alley returned her voice in haunting echo. Her whole body still throbbing with the exertion of the sprint, began to be injected with the chill of apprehension, until......

"I could have STRANGLED you Jack Holden.." she gasped with not a hint of malice as he steadily reversed back up the narrow space available to him towards the road by the cinema from where they'd first turned right.. Martha had been forced to call his name at least three more times until her head had swivelled violently on hearing behind her

"Hey good lookin', what you doing in a place like this ..?"Another initial slash of fear through her system had turned to hugs, kisses and tears from her coloured with pure relief as he'd explained how he'd been awake and alert for the majority of his time spent lying by the vehicle and how he'd been awaiting the best time to act.

On hearing Martha's scuffle and escape he'd levered himself up to see the guy grabbing for his police gun - and he couldn't have been totally sure Martha wasn't the intended target. So he'd grabbed the weapon , but as the guy has apparently continued to come for him he'd shot once in the air to make him back off - hence what she'd heard.

As they headed through the lights into the main traffic queue though, his adrenaline fuelled review of events suddenly sank back into the forbidding remoteness of earlier in the evening as she'd pressed "But who IS he Jack - and what's the PROBLEM between you two ?"

"Just leave it Martha - Ive told you, OK..." came the curt reply.

"That's just it - you haven't told me ANYTHING..."

Her complaint was cut short as the dual sharp alert of sirens from two fire engines behind them enveloped the air.

"Must be a serious one" muttered Jack reaching instinctively for the short wave emergency services radio in the glove compartment.

As it crackled into life , the alert came through

"All units head to Upper Bay Plaza and the Casablanca restaurant - major blaze, people trapped ... structural damage - 2 reported fatalities....."

As the car behind sounded its horn for Jack to set off again once the engines had passed, Martha looked curiously as the change of appearance that seemed to have hi-jacked his face.

Drained almost instantly of colour, eyes staring hollowly at the road ahead, she queried gently

"Are you ok Jack, what's up ?"

In a voice hoarse with barely suppressed emotion, and without the slightest turn of his head towards her he intoned

"Martha, that restaurant is the one Lucas and Matilda were going to tonight...." .Her gasp of dismay was lost in the siren cacophony of a third - and then a fourth - engine appearing behind them....

With the text from Lynsey hammering away inside his head alongside the escalating frustration at just how long his journey home was taking, Flynn was quick to lower the window and demand information from the policeman who'd obviously been dispatched to walk up the line of stationary traffic and inform the information-starved drivers just exactly what was causing the delay.

"Been two crashes in the last hour sir - first two cars decide to shunt each other right across the highway, then a lorry hits the back of the queue that built up - seems it was medical supplies or the like - we've even had blood pouring right out of that since I just arrived - not the prettiest if you've only just had dinner ! Anyway sir, we'll keep you informed.." But the young officer had already lost Flynn's attention. His internal alarm had already sounded at details of the lorry involved in the crash - OF COURSE - today was the day that the huge container lorry arrived at Summer Bay hospital loaded to bursting point with essential medical supplies - anaesthetics , antibiotics, intravenous drip fluid bags - and probably most tellingly in this case - huge volumes of donated blood supplies collected in the city itself for distribution to country areas such as the Bay where the lower spread of population inevitably meant the range of blood donated was narrower and less comprehensive. Flynn had worked many a grateful shift when the supply lorry had arrived - or the cavalry as it was frequently referred to. .He thought sympathetically of how stretched and probably desperate the on-duty staff that evening would be becoming, and despite all the problems stacking up around him - he wished he was there with them - and not stuck in this wretched traffic jam ! As his frustrations simmered-up to explosion point, he made as if to slam his horn - but a distant wiser (if rather aggravating !) voice in his head told him that would achieve very little. AND THEN - it came ! The germ of an idea that that could assist with both his current problems -the traffic standstill and all its implications, , PLUS of course the whole matter of Lynsey and whether or not she'd told the truth about the boy that was CLAIMED to be his son.

It was a long shot - and it COULD work on both fronts . But if it didnt -- and time was melting away at an alarming rate already -then the all-round fall out could be extremely serious. He picked up his cellphone and began to tap out the vital number....

"Yes Alf, yes ALRIGHT- yes I WILL tell her ! Alf , how much more clearly can I put it ? Yes, she called a short while back, said she'd left Leah's and was stopping to buy a quiche and cheesecake for supper. In fact I wish I was going to be here to share them, as she always picked the TOP ones - I'm guessing at bacon and mushroom and raspberry swirl. No Alf,, stay with me on this - the raspberry swirl is the cheesecake and NOT the quiche !!"

He sighed deeply. A "knitting fog" conversation with Alf Stewart was decidedly NOT on his wish lisdt after the kind of day he'd had, but the man appeared to have a whole swarm of bees in his bonnet about talking to Irene as soon as possible - from what he could gather it was SOMETHING to do with the diner, a phone call he'd had and something she was never going to believe in - as Alf had so descriptively put it - " a YEAR of Sundays, never mind a flamin' month !" Kim was exhausted after a day of lifeguarding (albeit with the very pleasant and intriguing company of Cassie ) - followed by the unexpected and dramatic episode with the two mysterious intruders at the Beach House. Ric had been extremely keen to inform adults or even the police, but Kim had emphatically rejected that, saying that as he was the one the duo were obviously after for their own as yet unexplained reasons, he wanted to retain control of the situation as possible and not risk tipping them off in any way.

Becoming aware that the abrasively insistent voice was continuing in his ear he gathered his forces to bring a firm conclusion to the conversation.

"ALF -point made - point taken - I shall leave her a note..."

Cutting short a new stram of protest at that suggestion he insisted

"That's because I'm going to BED now - I'm leaving here at the crack of dawn - I've got a long drive up to Murphy's Cove for a day of surfingf and chilling that I'm VERY much looking forward to - so I'll say Good Night"

The reluctant but now audience-less Stewart mutterings could still be hear as Kim rolled his eyes to the ceiling , hung the receiver up and wrote the note to Irene - just as his Lordship had instructed, he thought. With a face-stretching yawn he began to mount the stairs - as he did, in the still silence outside, a gloved hand was stretching a pair of wire-cutters towards the brake cable of his car.....

[Skykat]

Fantastic as usual.

[ldscott]

Brilliant!

Can't wait the the next chapter!