He still glared.
Shanni sneezed. She looked so innocent, Nick thought. She’d pulled off her trainers, she was barefooted, fresh from sleep, and her curls were unbrushed and tangling around her face. She sneezed again and he wondered how on earth she’d ever got this job. In charge of a kindergarten? She didn’t look as if she should be in charge of anything. But…there was this tiny twinkle behind her eyes that he mistrusted…
‘Sorry. Drat my stupid hay fever,’ she said weakly. ‘Late spring’s my worst season. They’re cutting hay all around the town and mornings are dreadful. And I’m so hungry. Len, please let me ring my brother. You can listen to every word.’
The room held its breath.
And finally Len nodded. Between pancakes, sneezes and smiles he seemed bewitched. As Nick was.
‘Okay. Be fast. And I’m listening.’
Shanni smiled. She sneezed once more and crossed to the phone.
And the twinkle stayed.
‘Hello?’ She dialled emergency and to her relief it took her straight through to the command post outside. They must have had the line rigged so every call was monitored.
‘Police here.’
‘It’s Shanni McDonald,’ she said.
‘Shanni…’ She recognised the voice of the local police inspector, and it was hoarse with worry. A siege like this must be every policeman’s nightmare. ‘Are you okay, lass?’
‘We’re fine.’ Len nudged her in the ribs with the gun. On the mat Harry stirred in Nick’s arms and Nick sat up, cradling the child against him. They looked sort of cute, Shanni thought, looking across at the out-of-town magistrate and his baby—before concentrating carefully on sneezing again. Some things were important. Apart from cute lawyers…
And Len’s patience was running out. The gun dug into her ribs, harder this time, and she turned her attention back to what she was doing.
‘Inspector, we’re very hungry,’ she said. ‘All of us.’
‘I can understand that.’
‘You’re not planning on starving us out?’
‘Tell us what you want.’
She took a deep breath. ‘Pancakes,’ she said. ‘Hot food and plenty of it. We thought fast-food pancakes, maple syrup, and hot chocolate. From Don’s Diner.’
‘We can do that. How will we get it in?’
‘Have someone put it on the doorstep. Len won’t shoot anyone carrying pancakes, will you, Len?’ The youth was listening to every word being said, standing right against her as she talked while the gun stayed pressed into her side. She sneezed and he backed off a bit.
‘Inspector…?’
‘Yes.’
‘I need my hay fever pills,’ she added. ‘Rob will know. The strong night ones.’
‘I didn’t say anything about no…’ Len started, but Shanni sneezed again. She gave him an apologetic smile.
‘Please?’ she said nicely, and he grimaced.
‘Okay,’ he snapped. ‘And tell him I want a helicopter.’
‘That might be harder than pancakes and hay fever pills,’ Shanni said mildly, and Len swore and grabbed the phone.
‘I want a helicopter,’ he told the policeman. ‘To get me away from here.’
‘You’ll leave the hostages behind?’ The inspector’s voice was carrying and Shanni could hear every word.
‘They’ll come with me. I’ll dump them where I’m going.’
‘It’ll take time to organise,’ the policeman said urgently. ‘Maybe all day. There’s been a storm north of here and emergency services are stretched.’
‘A helicopter by tonight or someone gets it.’
‘I’ll try.’
‘And get them pancakes.’ Len crashed the phone back on the cradle and went back to staring out the window. While Nick watched Shanni. Who’d forgotten to sneeze…
‘Are we having pancakes?’ Harry asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and Nick nodded and gave him an impulsive hug. When really he wanted to hug Shanni.
‘Thanks to your clever kindergarten teacher we might well be having pancakes.’ Then, as Shanni sat down beside them again, Nick lowered his voice so only she could hear and said, ‘And hay fever tablets to boot. How about that? If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, Shanni McDonald, that could make us all feel very much better!’
The pancakes arrived and were delicious, though for the life of him Nick couldn’t urge Harry from his knee. Shanni fed him his pancakes in pieces like a little bird, and every time Nick tried to put him aside the child forgot about food and turned and clung.
Nick found it claustrophobic—and Shanni’s delighted smile made it worse.
‘I don’t like children,’ Nick said through gritted teeth, and she chuckled.
‘Yeah, right. I can see that. But you don’t have to like children. Just Harry.’
And Len? Len ate his pancakes as if he hadn’t seen food for a week. Shanni had opened the door and pulled the tray inside and Len had fallen on it as if all his Christmases had come at once. Luckily whoever had organised it had decided to provide enough to feed the teeming masses; otherwise there’d have been none for anyone else.
‘That was wonderful,’ Shanni said after her third pancake. She sneezed as she carried the litter back to the bench and fetched the mugs of hot chocolate. ‘And what’s coming is better still.’ She twisted the cap off the bottle of hay fever pills. ‘My pills! Sorry guys. Now I can stop sneezing.’
She carried mugs of hot chocolate over to Nick and Harry, and then to Len at his watching post by the window.
‘Thank you for letting us eat,’ she said softly, smiling down at him. ‘It was kind.’
‘Yeah…all right.’ He looked longingly at the chocolate. It was thick and creamy with a melting marshmallow floating on top, but the sight disturbed him. ‘We shoulda got coffee. Coffee’d keep us awake.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She sounded so contrite it was pathetic. ‘If you don’t want this, I’m sure Harry would like two mugs.’
‘I’ll drink it,’ he snapped. ‘Go away.’
‘Hot chocolate.’ Nick looked thoughtful as he sipped. ‘Now, why didn’t you order coffee, Shanni McDonald?’
‘We have coffee here for Marg and I to use.’
‘Instant.’ His tone said what he thought of that.
‘This isn’t metropolitan Melbourne,’ she snapped. ‘You’ve come a long way from cappuccino society here.’
‘I understand that.’ He grimaced. He certainly had. ‘But I’d assume your fast-food chain provides decent coffee. Not as sweet, of course. Or maybe…’ He cast a glance at Len, who’d drained his chocolate and was back staring intently out of the window. ‘Maybe not as disguising?’
‘Just drink your chocolate and shut up,’ Shanni snapped.
‘And wait and see?’
‘And wait and see.’
‘Your sneeze seems to have stopped. Those pills must be very effective.’
‘I do hope so,’ she said simply—and waited.