‘Aw, you old silver fox.’ She patted his shoulder with fondness. ‘Always know how to make a girl feel special.’ She sighed. ‘I’m fine, although I wish Jasper would sleep a lot more.’
‘Giving you a hard time, is he?’
Dave listened to them chat as he wandered around the room and looked at the pictures and slices of history on the walls.
The small town of Oakamanda and its pub is at the centre of attention as detectives and forensics swarm over it looking for clues as to why a shooting occurred there last night, one newspaper article wrote.
Police are at a loss as to why the shooting, which claimed three lives, took place at the Oakamanda Pub three weeks ago. They are calling for more witnesses to come forward, appealed another.
Dave felt Melinda come and stand at his side. ‘Have you seen the other room?’ she asked quietly.
‘Haven’t been in there yet.’
‘Come and have a look.’ She took his hand and led him through a doorway. The first thing that struck him was the coldness of the room.
‘Maybe it’s the presence of the ghost,’ Melinda said in a stage whisper, then rolled her eyes.
Giving half a chuckle, he glanced around and pointed at the air-conditioner on the wall. ‘Not unless her spirit is coming out there,’ he said.
‘And the walls. They’re really thick—much thicker than the ones in the front bar, so they’ll help keep the heat out,’ Melinda suggested.
Dave ran his hands over the pool table as he walked around. There were old couches and stuffed chairs pushed up against the wall. They looked like they’d been there since the pub had first opened. The fireplace had a large spray of dried flowers and gum leaves in the hearth, and even though the room looked very old and worn, it had a welcoming feel to it. A display cabinet showed off relics from the area: old mining picks, broken cups, a photo of a woman sitting on a log by a campfire.
‘Wonder who that was,’ he said, pointing at it.
‘That’s our resident ghost, Mary,’ Dee said, coming into the room. ‘She died right in this room, you know. Dropped dead while she was mopping the floor. Obviously loved the place so much she didn’t want to leave.’
‘You don’t really hear her at night, do you?’ Melinda asked, disbelief in her voice.
‘Sure do! Lots of clattering about.’
‘I don’t believe in ghosts. There must be some kind of logical explanation for the noise.’
Dee gave her a hard look. ‘There is a logical explanation,’ she said. ‘It’s Mary. Now you ready to go? Caitlyn is looking after the bar so we can head off.’
Chapter 11
Dave and Melinda followed Dee outside, walking over the carefully mowed lawns and through the gardens, which had the old staples that would survive the summer heat: geraniums, bougainvillea and gums. The outdoor tables were covered by shade cloth, and fairy lights hung from the trees. Dave could imagine it would be a beautiful setting to have beer on a warm evening.
‘Hopefully the old bitch’ll start,’ Dee said as a battered old ute came into view.
At a glance Dave could see it wasn’t roadworthy; the front end looked like it’d had a collision with a roo, and there didn’t seem to be any glass in the front windscreen. He watched as Dee put her hand in through the window and yanked on the door handle. She didn’t seem worried he’d put a sticker on it.
‘You’ll have to do the same,’ she indicated. ‘Handle’s given up. Unless you want to sit in the back. I wouldn’t today though. The sun’s got too much bite in it for your skin.’ She aimed the comment at Melinda. ‘But if you really want to, I’ve got sunscreen somewhere.’ She looked under the seat in a half-hearted effort to find the tube, then knocked the gear into neutral.
‘We’re fine in the front. You let people ride in the back? That must be a bit dangerous,’ Dave ventured.
‘What do you think the couch is for?’ Dee asked as she turned the key. They listened as the engine turned over without firing. It didn’t sound very healthy.
Dave wondered if it would even get them to where they were going, never mind back again. He counted ten empty Four X Gold cans on the couch, which was tied onto the tray with a piece of rope. Dave felt a glimmer of excitement. He remembered the fishing trips he and the footy team had taken when he was a teenager, the sand dunes they’d driven over, the drinking they’d done. The ute reminded him of those times and he was sure this Contiki tour was going to be fun.
Taking them by surprise, the ute suddenly roared to life and Dee gave a whoop. ‘Good girl!’ She got into the driver’s seat and patted the steering wheel. ‘Never let me down, do you?’
Melinda climbed in, kicking a few more beer cans out of the way. Dave followed, slamming the door behind him.
‘Right, I’ll take you to the first mine I ever came across,’ Dee said. ‘Mel, have you ever seen a mine before?’
Dave was about to correct her with the name, knowing how much Melinda hated her name being shortened, but Melinda spoke before he could.
‘I haven’t. They sound fascinating.’
He wanted to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Could one pep talk make all the difference? Would this new ‘Mel’ last? He hoped so.
‘Oakamanda has a really interesting history, even without the shooting. The town used to be about ten kilometres from where it is now. There was a mine right on the edge of it. People lived there in canvas tents and cooked over campfires. This is back in the 1800s when gold was first found. But then a miner by the name of Wallace Parker found a larger reef where the town is now.’
‘They moved the town?’ Dave asked in surprise.
‘Sure did. Packed up and shifted everything.
