33 News flashes
The start of the new week brings responsibilities and Chloe has to coordinate and organize amongst the shop, the workshop, and the farm. It is a cool summer’s day with a slight breeze and sparse, half-hearted clouds that sometimes steal from the sun.
Hayley smiles happily when Chloe enters the shop.
“How is the most beautiful cowgirl on this planet? I see you are ready for the farm in that blue denim and boots. Turn around quickly; I want to see how that beautiful behind of yours fits into that tightfitting denim trousers.”
Chloe turns around and swings her hips tauntingly. “What do you think? How do my buns look?”
Hayley’s eyes widen. “Most beautiful curves; they are perfect. You make me jealous. I always have to hide my flat ass under a frock. I don’t understand. You are white but you’ve got the curves of the colored girls extra. Damn! It is unfair!”
Chloe laughs, turns around and grabs Hayley, presses herself against her and pecks her on her lips and then she moves her hands and it glides over Hayley’s bum.
“Yours are feeling quite nice!”
Hayley bumps her playfully away from her. “You are quite silly today! It seems as if a new sparkle awoke in you. Is there something I ought to know?”
“Like what?”
“There is too much sparkle in your eyes and you look extra sexy like a thing that boils over of life. Did you perhaps encounter an exciting male?”
Flabbergasted Chloe stands like a little girl who was caught out with forbidden chocolates.
Wide-eyed Hayley looks at her. “Gotcha! Who is he? Tell me, you sly vixen.”
“First promise me you are not going to tell anyone about this. Only Susan knows a little.”
Hayley excitedly jumps up and down and giggles like a teenager. “I promise! I promise! I promise! Come on! Tell me now!”
“My neighbor on the smallholding is Doctor Isaac Horn. By the way, he was and is Lyle and Zoey’s doctor.”
“I can’t remember that you have told me you have got a neighbor. Is he single?”
“We met when he turned up early in the morning at the smallholding all the way from Cape Town. I was on my way to search for Zoey and Lyle. Later that day he caught me in Lyle’s room where I had sneaked in at the hospital. I found out that he didn’t take good care of himself and proposed to make supper for us and so we became good friends.
“How does he look? How old is he?”
“Not much older than we are and this smug guy is horribly sexy and extremely arrogant. Sky blue eyes with a perfect body, grrr.”
Delighted Hayley laughs. “When will I see him? You say: Doctor Isaac Horn. I have a good mind and phone him right away and make an appointment for a Pap smear if you don’t show him to me soon.”
“Hey, you leave him alone! He is mine!”
Together they laugh out loud before Hayley remembers something and the expression on her face changes suddenly.
“Back to business! Chloe, let’s go and get the documents for the workshop in my office and also the email orders from Leo and Ronnie.”
Chloe sits down at Hayley’s desk and Hayley takes the documents and a printout of the emails but keep it in front of her instead of handing it over. Earnestly she looks at Chloe.
“Chloe, why are you hiding things from us? You live there in the outback all by yourself and worry over things without telling us and we have been bosom pals since our schooldays?”
Chloe frowns amazed. “What are you talking about, Hayley?”
“Leo visited me yesterday at my flat and he is very worried about you. He told me about Tony’s visits to both of you and that it rattled you and he asked me to give you the chance to get things out of your system. Sometimes it is the best medicine. When you get something off your chest you frequently find perspective and get direction. I learnt it at Lifeline. We had only to listen and direct strategic questions to the people that phoned in and help them to talk their hearts out. Then they usually found the solution to their problems themselves.”
Chloe is unpleasantly surprised: “What has Leo told you!”
“He told me about the smoke and the salami and according to him it can only mean that Tony had visited you and he could see it bothers you a lot.”
Chloe feels how her blood is starting to boil. “It was supposed to be private between us! How could he? I will never trust him again! It is totally inexcusable!”
“Chloe, he really is very concerned about you. That is why he requested my help for he knows we are close friends and we always share everything. He is worried because you stay alone in the woods and you hide things from us and he believes Tony will not come to rest before you are back on the farm.”
“So, the skunk visited you at your flat and told you a lot of rubbish. I will happily pull his arm from his body and wipe blood on his face!”
Hayley smiles. “He is deadly serious, Chloe, and he really believes Tony wants you back on the farm. You know, he is madly in love with you and he is very concerned.”
Chloe waves her forefinger in front of Hayley’s face and speaks earnestly: “It seems to me I will have to warn you because you two gossiped behind my back. You must rather not tell him about Isaac! I am going to sink those two guys’ boats soon when they expect it the least. Nowadays they are silly over me.”
Hayley is splitting her side. “Relax Chloe, your secret is safe with me. I promise I shall not talk about you with anyone. Remember, it was Leo who came to me and not vice versa.”
Chloe shoots forward and grabs the paperwork before Hayley realizes what is going on. “Enough of blabbering drivel! Let’s do some work!”
Chloe enjoys being busy with important daily tasks again. She sorts her paperwork and gets her priorities in a row. Some of the stock she will take with her. Sam will bring the rest on his full lorry after he has delivered the newest furniture at the shop and delivered the orders of clients. Hayley discusses finer detail around special designs by showing her pieces of furniture and design changes which Chloe later on must explain to Ronnie.
Later on the farm, she steps into the storeroom at the backside of the barn with Batista and Buddy on her heels. Leo installed racks with a simple KANBAN system. He only needs to look in to establish what stock is needed every Monday morning and he then sends an email to the shop. She is now filling the racks with the stock she has brought with her. The bigger items will be brought by Sam with the lorry this afternoon. Leo is so effective in everything he undertakes. He surely must think he can manage her like the rest of the farm, but she will soon cut him down to size. She is not a farm animal!
Ronnie is next on her list. She explains certain special aspects of Hayley’s orders and Ronnie takes notes. Sometimes they get special requests from clients and when they have made certain that Ronnie understands completely what Hayley requires, they walk over and Ronnie dust himself and washes his hands and face while she walks off to help Susan to lay the table.
Ronnie already sits at the table when Leo comes in with a broad smile for her. “Hello, Chloe, doesn’t it feel good to be on the farm where you belong?”
Chloe turns her back at him as if he doesn’t exist and sits down next to Ronnie. She only gives Leo a nasty, dirty look en greets abruptly: “Hello.”
“What about a hug and a kiss as usual?”
“No, because you are like a damn naughty boy that spread stories everywhere. Rather go and sit down and shut your trap.”
Susan peeks at Chloe while she lays the last things on the table. She sees Chloe is annoyed with Leo and this is news for her. They have only discussed Doctor Isaac Horn in the kitchen and haven’t mentioned Leo at all.
Chloe looks at Ronnie. “I forgot how interesting the shop and workshop can be. I am so excited about Hayley’s idea of a coffee table. I can’t wait to see it in the shop.”
Ronnie smiles. “And I can’t even wait to start with it. I promise you, Sam will deliver it already next Monday.”
They start with the meal and Leo speaks from the other side of the round table. “Haven’t you talked enough business in the workshop?”
Chloe ignores him. “Ronnie, you know, I think this breakaway from the farm is the best thing for me. It is as if I see the farm with new eyes when I visit it once a week. I feel like a visitor here. I see so much. I think I should always remain where I am now.”
Ronnie is an old fox and he realizes Chloe has something up her sleeve. He decides to play along.
“Really, Chloe, this is quite interesting. Maybe you have a good point. I must say, I enjoy your visits very much.”
Leo frowns. “Chloe, I can see what you are trying to do.”
Again she ignores him: “Ronnie, I feel so free on the smallholding and I can flap my wings and meet interesting people. Here I will feel like one of Leo’s confined farm animals.”
Leo can’t take this any longer. “Really! I think you are confined there in that reclusive shack in the middle of that spooky forest.”
Still ignoring him, Chloe only faces Ronnie. “I now have a very interesting and handsome neighbor and we enjoy supper together every evening. His name is Isaac and I think you will like him a lot. I shall introduce him to you one of these days.”
The two men are flabbergasted. Curiously Ronnie asks: “Did he move in with his family?”
Chloe smiles naughtily. “No, Isaac is a bachelor. We are the only ones who live there. Robert, the caretaker, lives deep in the woods like a recluse and we seldom see him.”
Her eyes swipe over them and it is clear it was extremely unsettling news.
Chloe’s smartphone rings suddenly. It doesn’t show who is phoning. It must be from a landline.
“Hello, Chloe Eastwood here.”
She hears Hunter’s voice: “Chloe, I am phoning again from the inspector’s desk. I have bad news. We have found Quinn just a while ago where he hung himself with a suicide note in which he asked for forgiveness because he tried to kill Zoey and Lyle in the mountain pass. We also found the monster truck in the garage at that place. The thing looks like Lyle’s description of it. A powerful Dodge V8 5.9 liter with a high rise kit. Also, there are paint marks on the front bumper and we are reasonably sure if we get samples from the Venture, it will confirm that it was that truck that pushed them over the cliff. The Dodge was stolen.”
Amazed Chloe’s eyes widen. “That is unbelievable news, inspector!”
Hunter realizes she purposely calls him ‘inspector’. “Where are you now, Chloe?”
She looks at the two men who listen intentively. “I’m enjoying lunch with Ronnie and Leo, inspector, and I shall tell them. Thanks for calling.”
“Chloe, I am going to stay in George and follow a few leads. Tell them about Quinn but keep the rest secret and also your relationship with Isaac. Don’t tell them that you hired me and promise me you will still be alert because I feel this thing is not solved yet. My investigation continues. Goodbye, I shall phone again tomorrow; we will then talk further.”
Why does Hunter want to remain in George? What leads does he want to follow? He said Quinn confessed everything in his suicide note. She’ll have to wait until tomorrow to ask him what is going on.”
“Goodbye, inspector.”