Chegwin returned to his bedroom in the staffing quarters to eat dinner. Pepper had faithfully prepared roast beef and honeyed vegetables for him. Katie delivered it to his door. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you, boss?’ she asked.

‘Yes, please,’ said Chegwin. ‘Could you tell Pepper that I’ll meet her at the front gate tomorrow morning at six? I have some news for her.’

‘Sure thing.’ Katie lingered at the door.

‘Is everything all right?’ asked Chegwin.

‘My pay,’ said Katie. ‘It didn’t come through last night. My university fees are due next month. Mikey said he wasn’t paid either. I haven’t checked with Pepper, but …’

Chegwin swallowed hard. The accounts must have been drained. He had hit rock bottom in his quest to renovate the restaurant, and the current number of bookings wasn’t bringing in enough to cover the staff’s wages for the month. ‘I’ll … I’ll look into it,’ he stammered.

Katie tried to smile as she shut the door, but her dimples had almost completely disappeared.

A moment later there was another knock. Chegwin wasn’t sure he could handle dealing with anything else that day. ‘Who is it?’ he said weakly. He looked up to see his parents standing in the hallway.

‘Chegwin, petal, can we come in?’ said Mrs Toffle.

Chegwin’s brain was beginning to feel like mashed potato. The imaginative side was too busy arguing with the logical side for him to give an answer. Half of him wanted to ask his parents if they were hiding anything, but the other half was fearing the worst … What if there was someone else they loved more than him? It was better not to think about the hotel’s money at the same time, or his entire head might just explode.

Mrs Toffle waited a moment to see if her son would respond, then slowly pushed open the door. Mr Toffle followed her in and they sat at the edge of his bed.

‘We wanted to apologise for something,’ said Mr Toffle, who was wearing a T-shirt by the band Bloated Toads and Goats on Boats.

Chegwin’s heart rate doubled. Had they come to tell him about his brother?

‘We haven’t been around much lately to make sure you’re doing okay with everything,’ said Mr Toffle. ‘We know you’ve been busy with the hotel, but it’s no excuse for our recent distance. We’re sorry, son. We’ll try to spend less time in town and more time at the hotel. Especially now that you have a few bookings.’

‘Um …’ Chegwin was even more muddled. He couldn’t meet his parents’ eyes. Why couldn’t they just tell him he had a brother? Why were they keeping it a secret? He scratched his head in confusion. An apology for their absence was the last thing he’d expected.

Mr Toffle looked at his wife. ‘Should we tell him the other news?’

Mrs Toffle stood up and shook her head. ‘No, now is not the time. I can see he’s distracted. Come on, let’s leave him be.’

Chegwin didn’t feel like eating anything else after that. He pushed the plate away and stared out the window at the hotel. Confusion was now running riot in both sides of his mind. So much so that he almost didn’t notice his parents walk across the lawn to the right wing. The light in room 49 flicked on moments later.

‘It’s a beautiful morning for a walk,’ said Pepper. ‘I’m glad you could join me.’

Chegwin managed a nod.

‘What’s up?’ she asked. ‘You look worried.’

As they made their way down the hill towards the river, Chegwin told Pepper about the situation with his parents. He shared how he desperately wanted to ask them about his brother, but that he felt so betrayed by the secret it hurt his brain to think about it. He told her about the missing photos in the album, the slide he’d found in the storeroom and about room 49. The only thing he didn’t tell her about was the budget. She hadn’t mentioned anything about her pay not going through, so Chegwin thought it was best not to bring it up.

‘I think they’re keeping Milton in room forty-nine,’ he said. ‘I just don’t know why they’re hiding him there, and Lawrence keeps telling me he can’t find the key. Maybe he’s in on it too?’

‘You’ve got a real mystery on your hands,’ said Pepper. ‘It sounds like the only way to solve it is by being honest and asking your parents about it.’

‘I don’t know how to,’ said Chegwin. ‘My brain keeps freezing every time I get the chance.’

Pepper stopped walking and nudged him in the arm. ‘Trust, man. I told you that before. The more honest you are, the easier relationships become. It’s not rocket science.’

Rocket science.

‘That reminds me,’ said Chegwin, who now remembered what he had wanted to tell Pepper, ‘we’re relaunching the restaurant tonight.’

‘I thought that might have been the news,’ said Pepper. ‘It’s a good thing you ordered extra food earlier this week. Nice one, boss.’

They reached a familiar section of the road and Pepper looked quickly over her shoulder before jumping over the wooden fence. ‘I’ll need a lot more cash today. If we’re reopening tonight, I have to pick up extra things in town and they must be the highest quality.’

Pepper retrieved several large notes from her stash, then carefully positioned the ferns back over the tree stump. She tucked a loose strand of black hair behind her ear and looked Chegwin in the eye. ‘Like I said … trust, man.’

The pair reached the main street and Pepper made a beeline towards the grocer. ‘Before I get down to business, you’re going to meet another one of the local characters.’ She pushed the door open and walked inside. ‘Morning, Mrs Rottam.’

‘Morning, Pepper. Who have you got with you there?’

‘This is my boss, Chegwin. He’s the manager at Toffle Towers.’

‘Ah, yes, I heard there was a youngster in charge.’

Mrs Rottam was dressed in green overalls. She was nuggety in stature, having spent much of her youth as the prop forward in her local rugby team.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Chegwin.

Pepper pointed to one of the fruit stands. ‘Chegwin would like to order something, Mrs Rottam.’

‘Would I?’ said Chegwin.

Pepper nudged him with her elbow.

‘Oh, right. Yes, I would. I’d like some grapes, please.’

‘Anything else?’ said Mrs Rottam.

‘They need to be green,’ said Chegwin.

‘Is that all?’

‘And great. They must be great.’

Pepper was already giggling.

But Mrs Rottam caught on. ‘Hang on, hang on … Are you tongue twisting me?’

‘Yes!’ cried Chegwin.

‘Be careful,’ said Mrs Rottam with a laugh, ‘or I’ll give you grotty, greasy, gross grapes.’

‘Oh, you’re good,’ said Pepper. ‘But don’t worry, Chegwin and I will think of a way to get you in time.’

‘Never in a million years!’ Mrs Rottam laughed again and slammed her hand down on one of the watermelons on display. Years of packing into scrums had given her the strength of an ox and she smashed the melon clean through, sending wet fruit flying in all directions across the shop. ‘Oops.’

Chegwin had to hold his breath to stop himself from giggling to death. He liked the locals here.

And they had just given him a new idea.