Shadow, grinning and wagging his tail, bounced around them as they made their way across the lawn, soft and squelchy from recent rain, a common occurrence on Tasmania’s west coast. Skirting the 44-gallon drum, whose permanent home seemed to be next to the garden shed, they climbed the few steps to the front verandah. ‘So you hope Shadow’s had a better day than us?’ Snook said as he opened the door. ‘I hope so, too, but you know what? It’s gonna get worse. Dad’ll go mental when he hears about all this.’
Jars and Shadow followed Snook inside. ‘Yes, and it won’t be long till somebody tells him,’ she said to his back, placing her schoolbag on the lobby floor. ‘And that’s not all. The whole town will know soon. The schoolkids will tell their parents and their parents will tell others. The whole place will be abuzz.’
Snook crossed into the kitchen. ‘There’ll be all sorts of crazy rumours. Just wait and see. I can see the high spots now: Cray Bay’s crime wave … Desperate students steal fortune … Jewel heist by schoolies. Strike me dead, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sixty Minutes programme turned up. But what the heck.
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.’
Chapter Six
As 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