The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

dresser.” Before her daughter could object, Meli was out the door.
    Meli waited until the rucks on Cal’s forehead levelled out, before bothering to talk to him. Only then did she relay her conversation with the man over the fence, who’s name she had forgotten to ask, and about his suggestion that Quassi could be deaf.
    Cal rolled his eyes skywards. “That would be just our luck, but it would explain a lot. Must be all that inbreeding.” He changed into a lower gear as they ascended a steep incline.
    “You’ll have to take him to the vets to have it checked out.”
    “Why me?” Cal cast disapproving eyes at her.
    “You know I hate vets. Besides, now I’ve got my commission I will be too busy.” Cal’s lips pursed, but he said nothing, although Meli was aware of a faint scraping sound, suspiciously sounding like the grinding of teeth, that emanated from his direction. Their day couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start if they’d woken to the commotion of a herd of cows storming passed the lodge. But then, they had!

Chapter 15

    They arrived home to the sight of an open front door, and a noticeably AWOL Quassi. Leaving the men to finish unloading, Meli stomped to the bottom of the stairs. “Cassie,” she yelled, irritation giving the word wings as it raced up the stairwell and through the upper floor.
    “What?” Came a distant reply.
    “Come here,” Meli yelled back, infuriated further that Cass seemed to think she would settle for a long distance conversation. Seconds later, her daughter’s head appeared at the top of the stairs.
    “What?”
    “Is Quassi with you?”
    “Of course not,” her expression of horror clearly indicated that Meli must be insane if she thought she would allow that smelly dog in her room.
    “Then where is he?”
    Her daughter blinked at her. “Why would I know?”
    “Well, perhaps you would if you hadn’t left the front door open.” Meli was beginning to get severe neck ache from craning her neck up the stairs.
    Cassie swivelled her head. “Didn’t you shut the door when you came in Sarah? Mum’s not very pleased with you.” She spoke to someone behind her. She listened to a response and then called down again.
    “Sarah said she’s sorry,” she offered the insincere apology in a clipped, mechanical tone.
    Meli’s eyes narrowed. Cassie had made her look like an ogre to her friend, on the first occasion they’d met. Well, not that they had actually met she reminded herself. At the moment she was nothing more than a disembodied voice. Exasperated, not trusting herself to make any response, Meli turned and made her way into the kitchen where Cal and the boys had piled the shopping.
    Cal had heard the whole conversation. “Are you going to look for him?”
    Meli went to shake her head, then instead she reached up and massaged her neck muscles with her fingers. “No. He could be anywhere. Besides, he always comes back.” She was getting fed up traipsing around after him, let him find his own way home for a change. Hunching her shoulders, she sank her head down into the cavity and eased it around like a ball in a socket joint.
    “We’ll go,” David announced, leaping to his feet.
    “No we won’t,” snorted an aghast George.
    Meli glanced across at David suspiciously. They had just brought a new computer game, and they had been eager to get home to play it; now David was keen to go and look for the dog? It didn’t add up.
    “Yes, we will,” David said pointedly, turning away as he spoke to his brother so his face was hidden from his parents. Whatever passed between them had the desired effect, as George had an instant change of mind.
    “We won’t be long.” Grabbing Quassi’s lead they were gone.
    “Well, that was strange,” Meli commented, glancing at her husband.
    “Just like women, never know what’s going through their minds,” he retorted as he picked up the newspaper and slid away to the living room. Meli didn’t reply, letting the snide comment slide over her as she stood by the window, waiting to see if the twins headed down towards the farmhouse. There was no sign of them, but her gaze was caught by a flash of grey. SS was half way across the assault course.
    “Hey, Cal, come here quickly,” she called, waving at him frantically.
    “Hmm?” he queried without lifting his head.
    SS was bolting up the net like lightening. Suddenly it came to her why it looked so familiar. It was her spare net for the bathroom. She’d wring