Birdie frowned. 'No, not really.'
'Oh, what’s happened?'
Birdie wiggled her phone. 'I’ve just had a phone call from Estrella. She’s resigned. Just like that, out of the blue! Talk about pulling the rug out from someone…’
Cally was totally thrown. For a second, her brain raced, and she didn’t know what to do or say. She stalled for time, ‘Oh.’
'Yeah, apparently, her mum is very sick back home, and she’s decided she needs to go back right away, as in,rightaway, like tomorrow morning. She’s booked a flight. Just like that.'
Cally quickly tried to analyse whether or not she should tell Birdie what she’d found. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself and see how it all panned out. She shook her head. ‘Goodness!’
Birdie narrowed her eyes. ‘It’s all very sudden. I need this like a hole in the head.’
Cally wasn’t sure where she stood. Estrella had never mentioned that her mum was sick. The plot thickened. From what she already knew, it all seemed suspicious. Cally decided she didn’t really care as long as she was rid of her. It worked for her. 'So, now what?’
Birdie shook her head. 'Well, now nothing. She sent an email too to inform me of her resignation, and then she also messaged me saying that she won’t be back. She cleared out her stuff and left the dispensary keys and everything. I can’t believe it.’
Callycouldbelieve it, alright. It was pretty clear that Estrella must have got wind of what Cally had discovered. Estrella was no fool. ‘Can she do that? What about notice, her contract, and all that sort of thing?’
Birdie raised her eyebrows. ‘That means nothing, really. Not worth the paper or digital signature it’s on. I’m up the creek without a paddle. What happened to good old-fashioned loyalty?’
‘What? Can she just leave like that?’
‘Officially, no, but do you really think I’m going to chase her to Ecuador?’
‘Good point. So, what do you do now?’
Birdie shook her head and tutted. ‘Put my thinking cap on, cobble around with the other pharmacists to cover her hours, and draw a black line under the whole thing.’
‘Right. I see.’ Cally liked the idea of drawing a line under it all very much.
Birdie screwed up her lips and narrowed her eyes. ‘I knew it! Iknewthere was something about her. I was desperate when I took her on, so I ignored my doubts, but you know when you know? I should have listened to what my inner voice told me.’
Cally remembered her feelings as soon as she’d set eyes on Estrella. She didn’t want to say too much. ‘Mmm.’
‘Well, at least I’m well rid, there is that. I don’t have to go through the aggro of getting shot of a bad egg if she was one.’
Cally let out a huge internal sigh. Oh, Estrella was definitely a bad egg. She decided she would keep schtum about the theft and what she’d discovered, at least for now. If Estrella really was gone, there wouldn’t be much point in adding fuel to Birdie’s stressful fire. It would all come up in the accounting at the end of the year anyway. For the time being, it would probably be good to just leave it be. ‘Yup.’
'So, that’s my news for this morning. What about you?’
Cally smiled and did a little waving movement with her hands. ‘I actually have something a lot happier to tell you. Park that for a minute. Ha.’
‘Oh, yes? I need good news.’
Cally started to laugh. ‘What would you say if you got an invite to a certain little estate I know in Scotland?’
Birdie squinted. ‘I would be there with bells on. I would kiss the person who invited me.’
Cally giggled. ‘Be my guest then.’’
‘What?’
‘Logan’s organising a trip and inviting a few locals. It’s all very last minute. We thought you’d like to come.’
Birdie did a funny twerk sort of jig. ‘Ooh, yeah, ooh yeah.’
Cally cracked up.
