Kookaburra Gambit

Tami put a comforting hand on mine. 'I can see it's worrying you so much. Do share it with me. It'll help.'

'True, my mum always says a worry shared is a worry halved.'

Tami couldn't be less interested in Mum's take on life. 'The opals, Kylie? Where did they come from?'

'They're lovely, and very valuable. Alf wouldn't tell me how much, but I know it's a lot of money.'

She was getting impatient. 'I'm sure. Where did you say he got them?

'Alf found them in a crate of Kelvin Kookaburras Lamb White asked to be shipped from Australia.' I dropped my voice. 'Tami, he thinks Lamb White is smuggling opals.'

'That's outrageous!' Tami's indignation was so obviously fake, I nearly smiled.

'What should I do with them?'

'What?'

It was obvious Tami wasn't sure how to respond at this point. I pressured her by saying, 'I do need your advice.' I reached down for the book bag. 'What do I do with them?'

Tami stared at the bag with alarmed fascination. 'You haven't got the opals here, have you?'

'I thought they were safer if I kept them with me.'

The wheels in Tami's head were whirring, but not coming up with much. 'I have to call someone,' she said.

'At a moment like this?' I protested. 'When I need your advice?'

Tami had whipped out a cell phone. 'I'll be back in a moment.' She scuttled out the door of the coffee shop, her face anxious. I watched as she carried on an urgent conversation, then she snapped the phone shut, trotted back inside, and sat down again. 'Sorry about that. Business call.'

'What should I do?' I sounded plaintive.

'Can I see them?'

I handed her the bag. She peered in, gaped at the opals lying tumbled in the bottom of the bag. 'Jesus Christ!' This seemed an appropriate exclamation for the head of Lamb White.

'These came from the Kelvin Kookaburras at the Oz Mob office, is that right?' Tami's voice now had a steely note.

'Yes, but Alf thinks there may be opals in some other crates that haven't been opened yet. He's got the crates safe in storage.'

Tami smiled at me. A counterfeit smile if I'd ever seen one. 'Kylie, I want you to trust me.'

'I want to, Tami, I want to.'

'I'd like you to come with me. There's someone you need to meet.'

'I don't want anyone else involved.' I'd sharpened up my voice. 'You see, Tami, I was thinking of keeping them.'

Tami's jaw actually dropped. 'Keeping the opals for yourself?'

I put on an expression of rat cunning. 'Alf can't say anything, can he? The opals are what you call hot, isn't that the lingo? You'd get your share, if you'd help me.'

That offer got a look of calculation from Tami. Then, frowning, she considered the possibilities. Really, she was transparent as glass. After a long pause, she said, 'We could keep some of the opals. I guess no one would ever know.'

I got obstinate. 'I'm not taking this chance for some of the opals. I want all of them.'

Tami tried to hide her fury with a smile. 'Of course you do, but Brother Owen knows you have the opals. It'd be dangerous to cross him, but he'd never miss a few.' She had another look in the bag. 'Do you know which ones are worth the most?'

'That phone call you made-it was to Brother Owen, wasn't it?'

'He is my boss,' Tami said defensively.

I took a handful of opals out of the bag and displayed them on the palm of my hand. 'Look for ones with a shot of fire in them. They're worth the most.'

Tami's face was a picture of greed. She picked several up and examined them. I murmured, 'Each one is worth thousands.'

'How many do you think we could take without it being noticed?'

'Maybe three each.'

'Make it five or six.' Tami slipped the opals she held into her pocket. 'Now we go see Brother Owen. Hurry up and pick the ones you're keeping. He's waiting for us.'

I selected several stones and put them in the hip pocket of my jeans. 'Brother Owen shouldn't get the opals,' I said resentfully. 'They're not his.'

Tami sniggered, not a nice sound. 'They are, you know.'

I did my dim, puzzled act. Tami looked at me with scorn. 'You don't get it, do you, Kylie? Who do you think came up with the idea of planting the opals in the first place?'

'Not Brother Owen?' I said.

'Brother Owen. And they're going right back into the kookaburra toys, where Alf Hartnidge found them.'

'It's something to do with the Oz Mob movie, isn't it? Alf told me he was worried about the morals clause.'

Tami looked at me sharply. 'What do you know about that?'

'Nothing much. I heard Alf and Chicka talking, that's all.'

'Talking about the contract with Lamb White?' She leaned closer. 'Tell me exactly what you heard them say.'

'Gee, I don't know,' I said vaguely. 'It's not like I was really interested. I just caught a few words. Something about a legal challenge to the contract because some of the conditions were clearly unfair.'

Obviously this was not welcome information. Tami muttered something under her breath, then startled me yet again by suddenly leaping to her feet. 'Come with me.'

I put on my mulish face. 'No way.' I clutched the canvas bag to my chest. 'These are mine.'

Tami looked around the coffee shop, possibly wondering if anybody would notice should she deliver a knockout blow, sling me over her shoulder, and carry me away. Since we'd already attracted the attention of a scruffy bloke at the table next to us, who'd been tapping away at a screenplay on his laptop, I decided my jaw was safe for the moment.

From her expression, Tami was struggling to find a way to persuade me to accompany her without actually slugging me. Apparently charm won, as she sat down again, put her elbows on the table, leaned forward, and said with warm sympathy, 'I totally understand your hesitation, Kylie, but truthfully, I want what's best for you.'

'Oh, yeah?' My skepticism was obvious.

'Kylie, don't be that way. You can trust me, truly you can. You have my word on that.' A big, toothy smile flashed onto her face.

The Complete Handbook had a lot to say about identifying the lying smile. I'd paid attention, because in this town of perfect teeth, constant smiling was practically mandatory. I mean, why spend all that money if you're not going to flash your pearly whites?

I assessed Tami's smile, which was still at full force. My handbook noted that lying smiles last longer, and this one had been going on for some time. Phony smiles tend to use the bottom half of the face. This also checked out, as Tami's eyes remained flintlike while her teeth sparkled below. Third, a false smile is put together much more quickly than a genuine one, and disappears more rapidly. As I gazed at her, Tami's smile abruptly vanished.

'Brother Owen is not a patient man,' she snapped. 'He expects to see us-and the opals-soon. I told him we'd be leaving immediately. It's not wise to make him unhappy.'

Charm was out. Bullying was in.

'So what can he do to me?' I shook the canvas bag for emphasis. 'I've got the opals and he hasn't.'

'I'd hate to see you come to harm.'

I drew myself up. 'Are you threatening me?'

The scruffy bloke had abandoned his screenplay and was openly staring at us. 'Do you mind?' he said. 'I'm creating here.'

'Oh, please,' said Tami, rolling her eyes. 'Creating!'