Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 "Rise and shine, mates," Shep called cheerfully. "I'm going to make a pot of coffee and a bit of brekkie, and then we're off to the field. Everybody sleep okay?" It was still dark out. Shep had switched on the lights. "Mmmfff," Nellie said, her head in the pillow. "Great," Dan said, sitting up in a tangle of quilts. While Nellie put the pillow over her head and Shep started the coffee, Amy rose woodenly and went to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. They had all come to find out where her parents had been. That was crucial. Finding that out told them something. Something that made one of them start the fire. Her fault. She remembered the flush of triumph on

Isabel's cheeks as she held her. The way she held her even as she squirmed… that had been a threat. Isabel was saying I can get to your children. Amy closed her eyes, remembering the flash of fear and anger on her mother's face. She held on to the sink and leaned over while the words beat inside her…. My fault my fault my fault Dan banged on the door. "Are you asleep in there?" Amy opened the door and walked over to the couch. Mechanically, she began to pack. Nellie shot her concerned glances but Amy always turned away. She couldn't talk about it. If she talked about it, she would crack wide open. She would cry and cry and never stop. My fault my parents are dead. Research. That always helped her. If she could get her mind going on a problem, she could forget what she didn't want to remember. While Shep made pancakes, Amy opened Dan's

laptop and searched for anything involving Amelia Earhart and Darwin, Australia. Amy clicked through photographs and found one taken of her at the Darwin airport. She was climbing steps to a building, holding her jacket and a notebook. It could be the very notebook she'd written the letter on! Amy peered closer. Visible on Amelia's pinkie finger was a ring with a white stone. She clicked back to a photograph of Amelia in Bandung. No ring. It must be the ring she'd described, the one the strange man had sold to her. She tried to magnify the image, but it just became blurry. Dan came over and peered at the screen. "What are you doing?" "I'm not sure," Amy admitted. "Do you see the ring on Amelia's finger? It must be the one she bought in Darwin. I'm trying to see it up close. I'm wondering why this guy tried to sell her a ring." "Well, it sure wasn't a good luck charm," Dan said. He made a noise like a plane spiraling down

and crashing. Amy winced. "It looks like a white stone," she said. "Probably an opal," Nellie said with a quick look at the computer. She was on her way to the bathroom. "Most likely," Shep agreed. "Australia has more than ninety percent of the world's opals. Even back then, there was a pretty solid mining trade going on, I'd imagine." "He said they were in a hole but not to worry," Amy quoted. Shep grinned. "In a hole? Sounds like Coober Pedy. It means 'white man in a hole' in Aboriginal language." "Coober who?" "Name of a town, love," Shep said. "Most of the buildings are underground because it's so freakish hot. Even for Australia. And it's the number one town in the world for mining opals." "Where is it?" Dan asked. "Oh, a bit north of Adelaide. About nine hours' drive."

That didn't sound like a bit, but maybe it was for Australia. Amy felt her excitement growing. They were getting close to something, she could feel it. She knew Dan could feel it, too. "How long did our parents stay in Adelaide?" Dan asked. "Let's see… I picked up some tourists in Perth and flew them to Alice Springs and Uluru… or was it Shark Bay and Ningaloo… can't remember, but I think I was gone three or four days. Then I swung on down to Adelaide to pick up Hope and Arthur for the Darwin trip." Amy and Dan exchanged a glance. They didn't have to say it out loud. They knew it. Their parents had gone to Coober Pedy. They'd driven up from Adelaide. They just hadn't wanted to involve Shep more than they had to. It could have put him in danger. Amy and Dan nodded at each other. Shep pointed the spatula to Amy and then to Dan. "How did you just do that? You two just had a conversation without saying a word!" They looked at each other again. It's not that we

don't trust him. It's that our parents were right— the less he knows, the better off he is. "You just did it again! What are you saying?" Shep put his hands on his hips. "Wait a minute. Hold the phone. You want me to fly you to Coober Pedy, don't you." Dan smiled innocently. "Your pancakes are burning," he said. After a breakfast of slightly charred pancakes, they loaded their gear into Shep's Jeep and took off for the airfield. The sun was rising as they left the outskirts of Sydney and took a smaller road, snaking up into the hills. Finally, Shep pulled up to a wire gate and punched in a code. The gate opened and they roared in. "Congratulations," Shep said. "You just passed through airfield security." He parked the car and pointed out the plane. "Um, it looks kind of… small?" Amy offered. "Small? I can fit fourteen in that baby," Shep said. "You're a good pilot," Nellie said. "Right?"