5.30 AM
I’m too tired for First Squawk, so I do First Mumble instead. Then I go back to sleep.
7.15 AM
Egg O’Clock. I wake up just in time to lay my egg in the bottom of Olive’s wardrobe. Then I go back to sleep.
10.00 AM
Olive wakes me up with a plateful of dinner scraps, and the news that Constable Dad wants us at the police station.
I eat the scraps, and scurry out to the backyard for a quick Scratch O’Clock. Then I hop up onto the handlebars of Olive’s bike, and we ride into town.
10.15 AM
There’s a buzz of excitement in Little Dismal. As we ride past the bakery, a man shouts, ‘Hey, Olive, I hear your dad caught the stock thief. Good on him!’
‘Thieves,’ replies Olive. ‘There was more than one.’
There’s a small crowd of people outside the pub. They cheer as we go past. One of them calls out, ‘Hey, Olive, do you know how the Simpsons are? We heard about Ernie’s mum getting sick.’
‘I reckon they’re pretty unhappy right now,’ says Olive.
Constable Dad is leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. But they snap open when Olive and I enter the police station.
He stares at me. ‘Is it true what Olive told me? It really was you who sent the message?’
Olive puts her phone on his desk and I peck out my answer. ‘IT’S TRUE.’
Constable Dad chews his lip and looks up at his daughter. ‘If this is some sort of joke …’
‘I know it’s hard to believe,’ says Olive. ‘But Clara is really smart. She’s a proper detective, Dad.’
One of my feathers is still ruffled from last night’s wind. I tuck it into place so I’ll look elegant when the television cameras arrive.
Constable Dad shakes his head, then nods. ‘Okay, I believe you.’ He takes a deep breath and turns to me. ‘Clara, I’ve got Derek Black and Ernie Simpson in the lock-up. I’ve got the stolen sheep, and the bribery attempt, so Black is going to jail, no question. What I don’t have is any connection between him and Ernie Simpson, except for Simpson and his daughter being in the truck. Black swears he was working alone and picked the Simpsons up when their car broke down. And Simpson won’t say a word apart from reminding me that his lawyer is on his way from Melbourne, and that when he gets here, my career is as good as over.’
‘MR SIMPSON TOLD DEREK TO MOVE THE SHEEP LAST NIGHT,’ I write.
‘That’s what I thought,’ says Constable Dad. ‘But I can’t prove it.’
‘MR SIMPSON DROVE TO DEREK’S PLACE. I SAW THEM TOGETHER.’ I remember an important line from Amelia X and add, ‘I AM WILLING TO GIVE EVIDENCE IN COURT.’
‘Yes, well,’ says Constable Dad. ‘That could be a problem.’
‘Ah, Olive, could you explain it to her? Please?’
Olive leans towards me and says quietly, ‘The court wouldn’t listen to a chook. I’m sorry, Clara, but that’s the way it is.’
10.45 AM
After all this, Mr Simpson is going to get away with his crimes just because I’m a chook. I can hardly bear the disappointment.
I retreat to the back garden for a sorrowful Dust Bath.
11.00 AM
‘Olive Olive Olive! Constable Dad! Olive!’ I race back into the police station, squawking their names. I hop up onto the desk. I seize Olive’s phone and write, ‘WHERE’S THE TRUCK?’
‘Locked in the compound,’ says Constable Dad.
With another squawk, I dive off the desk and tear out the door.
The locked gate of the compound can’t stop a determined detective. I squeeze underneath it, and there’s the blue truck, with its back closed.
But that can’t stop me either. Not when truth and justice are at stake.
There’s a car parked next to the truck, so I fly up onto the bonnet of the car, then onto its roof. From there, it’s an easy flight to the back of the truck.
I land on one of the iron bars and peer downwards. Yes, the phone is still there, right where I left it.
I flutter down to the scene of last night’s triumph and inspect the phone carefully. It’s covered in dust and sheep poo, but otherwise undamaged. I scoop it up in my beak, and prepare to fly up to the iron bars.
But I’ve barely begun to flap my wings when the back of the truck is pulled open. Constable Dad and Olive are standing there, puzzled.
I dash past them, through the now-open gate and back into the police station. Olive comes running after me. ‘What is it?’ she asks. ‘What have you got?’
I drop the phone on the desk.
‘Is that Jubilee’s?’ Olive thumbs the phone. ‘The battery’s flat. Hang on.’
She digs in the desk drawer for a charger. Constable Dad walks in, and Olive says, ‘Clara’s got Jubilee’s phone.’
Constable Dad sits on his chair. Olive sits on the desk. I sit on Olive.
We wait patiently for the phone to charge.
‘IS IT CHARGED YET?’
‘Not yet.’
11.06 AM
‘IS IT CHARGED YET?’
‘No, we have to wait a bit longer, Clara.’
11.07 AM
‘IS IT CHARGED YET?’
‘Just wait, Clara!’
11.15 AM
‘IS IT—’
‘That should be enough to at least get a look at it,’ says Constable Dad.
He lays the phone flat on the desk, and I peck the buttons until I find the right one.
Olive, Constable Dad and I stare at the screen, but all we can see is a man’s shoe.
A voice says, ‘If I get caught—’
‘That sounds like Derek Black,’ says Constable Dad.
‘You won’t get caught,’ says a different voice. ‘And if you do, I’ll get you the best lawyers in the country. As long as you keep your mouth shut.’
‘And that sounds like Simpson,’ murmurs Constable Dad. ‘I just wish we could see his face, so he can’t wriggle out of it.’
‘I’d still rather wait a couple of days,’ says Derek, ‘until Hennessey’s gone.’
‘If he’s got his eye on me,’ says the second voice, ‘he might know about you. And it won’t be hard to find this place once he starts looking. Get rid of the sheep tonight, and then we all disappear. No more Ernie Simpson. No more Derek Black. No more sheep.’ He laughs. ‘Not here, anyway.’
A girl’s voice cries, ‘What are you laughing about? Come and help me look for my phone!’
The shoe moves away from the camera – and there’s Mr Simpson! For just a moment, his face is completely clear. Then he’s gone.
Constable Dad slaps the desk. ‘We’ve got him. Well done, Clara! Brilliantly done!’
Olive kisses the top of my head.
I ruffle my feathers modestly and write the words that Inspector Garcia said at the end of Episode 5, ‘JUST DOING MY JOB.’