"Well, we’ll call Sam tonight and find out what’s going on." Kate tried to console her sister.

After disembarking from the ferry, the group filed onto a bus for a tour of the island. Caroline began to relax as she looked out the window at the scenery. At first, she saw tangled swamp-like trees lining the road. Gradually the trees thinned out and were replaced with low-lying shrubs, so low she could catch glimpses of the dark ocean beyond.

"Oh!" she exclaimed and made a face. She turned away from the window and murmured, "There was a dead kangaroo on the side of the road."

"Yuck," Kate scowled. "I heard the kangaroos are like deer at home. There are so many of them that people hunt them, and they get hit on the road just like deer."

"Poor things," Caroline mused out loud.

They were just settling into the rhythmical movement of the bus when it slowed down and turned into a parking lot near the beach at Seal Bay. The sisters followed their group along a narrow path until they stepped onto a sandy beach covered with sea lions sunning themselves near the water. A ranger talked to them about the animals and explained that it was rutting season and the males were cantankerous. As if he heard her, one of the larger males lunged toward the group, sending people scurrying to safety. Disgruntled, he huffed and puffed at them, then turned back to his favorite female lying on her side, covered with sand.

The ranger, with as much seriousness as she could muster after the sudden scattering of her group, warned them that sea lions could move faster than a human. "So keep your distance. Please don’t approach them," she said.

They watched two males lunge at each other then wrestle with teeth bared, their lumbering bodies surprisingly lithe as they squabbled. "Kind of like men," Caroline quipped, then grunted as Kate poked her in the side with her elbow.

Their next stop was Admirals Arch where they walked down wooden steps to platforms further below. Caroline was astounded at the beauty before her. The water was dark and stormy, and waves splashed up against the boulders below, sending spray high enough to tickle their faces with its cool mist. They wandered along the trail, pausing at each lookout, and read about a family of brothers and their father who died in a shipwreck off one of the smaller islands nearby. She could see the island, a diminutive mound of earth surrounded by dark blue ocean, and wondered if their bodies were ever retrieved. Shivering, she turned away and followed Kate back to the bus.

For lunch the group stopped at a park lined with eucalyptus trees. Sure enough, nestled in the top crotch of the tallest tree was a koala bear taking its daily nap. Caroline took pictures while Kate oohed and aahed at the cute critter snuggled up tight against the tree trunk. A pair of pink cockatoo-like birds perched together on one of the outer branches of the tree, preening each other with their beaks.

"What kind of birds are those?" Kate asked a woman next to her.

"Galah," the lady told her.

"Are they rare?" Caroline asked, thinking something so beautiful would have to be unusual.

"No, we have them in our yard in Adelaide," the mother responded.

"Aunt Bev would have loved this," Kate said as she searched for more pink birds and koala bears hidden in the trees. Then, noticing Caroline’s stricken face at the mention of their aunt, she regretted opening her mouth. "Sorry," she whispered.

"That’s okay. I just wish we knew what was up with her," Caroline said as they followed their fellow travelers into the lunchroom.

On the way back to the ferry, the group stopped at an outdoor tourist shop with picnic tables among the tall trees. Kate bought some pellets, hoping to feed the kangaroos and wallabies loitering around the picnic area. A friendly, black wallaby munched with relish on the crunchy morsels as Caroline snapped pictures. Kate squatted down next to the small animal and held his paw. Just as she looked up grinning with pleasure, Caroline took the picture.

They switched places and Caroline gingerly took the tiny paw with long nails in her hand. How fragile, she thought and looked into the gentle creature’s liquid, brown eyes. So trusting. Is it the food or do you just sense when someone is harmless? After Kate took the picture, they gave the wallaby another pellet and patted him lightly on the head to say good-by.

It was dark when they got back to the hotel. Before she took off her jacket, Caroline dug her address book out of her purse and looked up Sam’s number. It took four rings before she heard his raspy voice on the other end.

"Sam, this is Caroline Ansked, Beverly Monico’s niece," she said, then paused, allowing her greeting to register.

"Oh, yeh, how are you doing? Are you back from down under already?" he asked. His voice was reassuring to Caroline. If something were wrong, he would have told her right away.

"No, we’re still here. But, listen, we’ve been trying to get a hold of Aunt Bev for the past couple of days, and she doesn’t answer her phone. Have you seen her around?"

There was a pause and Caroline’s heart sank. Finally, Sam said, "Well, I saw her before she moved out a few days ago, but I haven’t seen her since."

"Excuse me?" Caroline’s voice cracked. "What did you say?"

"You know, she moved out and probably hasn’t had time to get over here to visit yet."

"She moved out? She moved out of what?" Caroline’s mind buzzed with confusion as she tried to understand his words.

"Well, you know, she moved out of her house so the other family could move in and…"

"What other family? What are you talking about?"

Sam cleared his throat and stammered briefly, "I…well… you know, when she lost the house, she had to move out this past week. But it was strange, ‘cause she didn’t take anything with her except that old Bible of hers. She left the cat with me and said you girls would be back to get her. The cat’s doing fine, but I think she misses Kate. I’m feeding her just the way Beverly told me to."

Caroline couldn’t speak. Her mind thundered with a rush of
panic. Finally, she asked, "Sam, are you okay?"

"Yeh, I’m fine. I’m great except for a little arthritis in my knee. I was going to ask the same of you. You knew she was moving out, didn’t you?"

"No," was all she could say.

"You didn’t! Well, I thought it was strange that you two took off for Australia when she probably needed you to help her move. But then when she didn’t take anything, I figured you had worked things out. The family that moved in didn’t know what to do with her stuff, so they’re storing it in the garage until someone comes to pick it up. But, you know, I don’t think they can keep it for too long. You want me to put it in my shed out back?"

She ignored his question, her stomach was nauseous and she had trouble keeping her voice steady. "Sam, you said she lost the house. What do you mean?"

"Gosh, didn’t she tell you anything? That money she borrowed to pay for the new street – apparently she couldn’t pay it back, so the bank foreclosed on her."

"She borrowed money?" Caroline was incredulous at the thought of her aunt having to borrow money.

"Yeh, she borrowed on her house equity."

"Well, how much did that street cost?"

"Nine thousand or so, but I think she borrowed more for that remodeling job she had done on the other side of the house last year."

Caroline’s mouth was dry. She looked over at Kate sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes wide with apprehension. From Caroline’s side of the conversation, Kate had picked up enough to know there was something terribly wrong with their aunt.

Caroline made a quick decision. "Sam, we’re going to try to get home as soon as we can. Can you take care of Cozy until we get back?"

"Sure, she’s fine here."

"Don’t let her out. She’s a house cat."

"I know. Beverly told me that. I’m keeping her in here with me. Do you want me to move your aunt’s stuff?"

"No," Caroline was trying to think fast. "But if you’d tell the family we’ll be over for it as soon as we can get back, that would help a lot."

"Will do. You take care now."

"We will. And thanks, Sam."

When she set the receiver back into its cradle, her hand was trembling. She stared at the phone as if it would help her digest Sam’s news. Kate stirred, "Tell me the part I heard isn’t true."

Caroline shook her head in disbelief and turned to face her sister. After she relayed Sam’s news, she said, "We have to get home. Where in the world could she be? How could she not tell us she was in trouble? Why did she have to borrow money?"

Kate stood up, her face pale. "That’s the weirdest thing. Aunt Bev and Uncle George had a lot of money. What happened to it? Do you think she has Alzheimer’s or something?"

Caroline shook her head. "I’ve worked with people who had Alzheimer’s. Bev never showed any signs of that."

"We need to get back there. Let’s ditch the New Zealand plans and find the first flight back to the States." Kate said and reached for the phone book.

A few minutes later she was on the phone with the airline. She turned to Caroline and said, "There’s a flight leaving tomorrow night but it has room for just one of us. There’s another one the next night both of us could take."

Caroline thought a moment. "I don’t want us to be separated."

Kate nodded and spoke into the phone to reserve the flight that would accommodate both of them. When she hung up, she asked, "What are we going to do while we wait? I’m going to go crazy." Before Caroline could answer, she continued more to herself than to her sister, "Our flight to Sydney is tomorrow at nine in the morning, and we have reservations at the Westin for tomorrow night. We were going to stay there before we took off for New Zealand, so at least we don’t have to change those plans."

Caroline removed her jacket and wandered into the bathroom to remove her contacts. Then she turned around and walked back into the room. "Where is she?"

Kate shook her head sadly and said, "I don’t know."