Deep Water

DEEP WATER ©

by

Elaine Forrestal

© 2011

eBook Version 1.0

ELAINE

FORRESTAL

Elaine Forrestal is a full-time writer of fiction for all ages.

She lives and works in Scarborough, a beach suburb of Perth, Western Australia, but has travelled extensively and lived in France and Northern Ireland.

She has won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award and been shortlisted for many other awards in Australia and the UK.

For more information go to: www.elaineforrestal.com.au

ALSO BY

ELAINE

FORRESTAL

The Watching Lake

Straggler’s Reef

Someone Like Me

Graffiti on the Fence

Leaving No Footprints

Winning

Black Jack Anderson

Other books in the Eden Glassie Mystery Series:

Stone Circle

Black Earth

Wild Wind

DEDICATION

For Carmel, with thanks for the memories of Trouble, Phantom, Fleckie and the others.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks to Ian Oatley and Ros Lambert for telling me their different versions of Lilly’s story and to Phillip and Dinah Shaw for showing me around Eden Glassie. From seeds sown during my visit, the entirely fictional Eden-Glassie Mysteries grew in my imagination.

ETEXT PRESS PUBLISHING

PO Box 3488, Joondalup,

Western Australia, 6097

Australia

[email protected]

www.etextpress.com

DEEP WATER

AN ETEXT PRESS BOOK

ISBN: 978-1-921968-05-1 

This edition published at Smashwords by eText Press Publishing Pty Ltd 2011.

Copyright © Elaine Forrestal 2011

Copyright © eText Press 2011

Elaine Forrestal has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and any and all other applicable international copyright laws to be identified as the sole author of this original work.

This book is a work of fiction and all characters in it are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This eBook (electronic book) is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, transmission or otherwise, be redistributed, sold or hired, without the publisher’s prior written consent. Further, this eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by the applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

First published by Penguin Books Australia, 2003

ISBN: 10987654321

CHAPTER 1

‘Listen!’

Uncle Ian turned towards me. He straightened his back and pressed one broad hand against it. I stood still, hardly breathing. But the sound was gone. There was only a sighing wind now, rustling through the vineyard.

Uncle Ian looked at me.

‘I’m sure I heard it,’ I said. ‘It’s Axle, howling.’

‘Axle’s gone, Tori.’ My uncle shoved his secateurs in the back pocket of his baggy trousers. ‘I know it’s hard,’ he said. ‘Especially when we’ve never found his body. But the flood waters went down months ago. And he’s not the sort of dog who could live off the land.’

I looked away. I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t imagine Axle catching his own food. Even if he managed to run an animal down, he would probably just play with it. Rocky, our cat, sometimes corners rats in the garden at home. I have seen Axle rush up, curious and eager, wanting to be part of the action. But when he got within striking distance of the trapped rat he had no idea what to do next. He stood there, his eyes darting from Rocky to the rat, his nose diving in to investigate. Then he started dancing around them both, giving his opinion in a series of short barks. Definitely interesting, you can almost hear him say. Yes ... ah... remind me, now. What am I supposed to do again?

In a flash, Rocky grabbed the rat in his mouth, gave it a sharp shake to break its neck, then dumps the lifeless body in front of Axle. Demonstration over, Rocky walked away looking pleased with himself.

People always said that Axle had the saddest eyes, but when he was with me he was never sad. Puzzled sometimes, like the time when I tried to trick him and hid the frisbee under my jumper. He looked at me and tipped his head from one side to the other. I laughed at him, so he grabbed the frisbee and ran away with it.

‘Come back here you crazy dog,’ I called. He hid the frisbee in the garden and came back to me with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Then I had to go and search for it. Axle loved the finding game. He led me in, under the bushes and around behind the garage, darted off one way then changed his mind. When he thought I’d given up he came and gave me an encouraging lick.

‘Okay, where is it?’ I asked him. He danced all around me. I know… but I’m not telling, he seemed to say.

‘You’re very quiet tonight, Tori,’ Mum said. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Yeah.’ I looked up. The whole family was sitting around the dinner table at Eden Glassie.

‘He thought he heard Axle howling again,’ Uncle Ian explained.

Mum looked hard at me, then at her brother. Uncle Ian’s massive shoulders lifted slightly. ‘You have to admit that Axle was a bit overweight. And with his shorter legs, well, he just couldn’t keep up with our two working dogs.’

‘Hunter and Oliver? When was the last time they did any work?’ I asked.

‘They’re farm dogs,’ Uncle Ian said. ‘They’re used to roughing it. Anyway, I reckon Axle tried to get back across the flooded river with them that night and... well...’ he shifted