We Were Only Strawberry Picking by Henrietta Defreitas Read Free Book Online Page B

Mortimer is going to be home in a minute, so when he arrives, we’ll decide what to do then. I’ve just put the kettle on – would you like a cup of tea?’ stated Mama Mortimer.
    ‘Thank you that would be nice. I have left a message with the receptionist for Papa Brian to call me straightaway as he was off site, but she could not get hold of him immediately and insisted she would keep trying. He may call here as I said it was an emergency and explained my concern,’ confided Mama Katie.
    Suddenly, the telephone rang, as they looked at each other trying not to think the worse, but thinking the worse. It was Papa Brian, as Mama Mortimer passed the telephone to Mama Katie. She began to explain what had happened. Papa Brian advised that Papa Mortimer would be there soon and they were to meet him at the strawberry fields in an hour. Although worried he felt sure that their meerkats had probably just decided to stay out late and were probably on their way home having lost track of time.
    * * *
    Within an hour both parents were now outside the gates of Meerville Strawberry Fields. It was six o’clock! Noticeably, the gates were locked and there was no sign of the attendant.
    ‘Well, they can’t be here’, said Papa Brian. ‘There’s no way that the attendant would have locked them in. However, I think we should give him a call on the emergency number when we get home to see if he can remember seeing them leave.’ He took out his pen and paper and jotted down the telephone number and off they headed back home. As the Brians were the nearest they decided to go to their house first of all, but there was still no sign of their little meerkats.
    ‘I bet they’re at our house,’ insisted Papa Mortimer as they sped off down the road towards the Mortimers.
    As Papa Mortimer, opened the door, he called out for Henratty, Lyndi Lou, Oscar and Jack, but there was complete silence. This time Papa Brian really was worried as he frowned at Mama Katie and then asked Papa Mortimer if he could use the telephone.
    ‘Is that you, Gladstone? It’s Papa Brian.’
    ‘Why hello and what can I do for you?’
    ‘Did you happen to see my Jack and Oscar with their friends, Henratty and Lyndi Lou, at the strawberry fields today? You know Jack, he’s slightly larger than the other meerkats and possibly would have been wearing his army jacket, also you can’t miss Henratty, as she would have been wearing a red beret and red cape.
    ‘Er – now you mention it, I do recall vaguely seeing someone of her description but I have to say we had quite a lot of visitors today and I can’t remember everyone.’
    ‘If you could please try to remember, this is very important. Did you see them leave?’
    ‘I’m not sure, as I don’t man the gate all the time, and earlier today, a group of meerkats got into a scuffle so I was distracted for a little while. The only thing I can be sure of is that I always announce when it’s time to lock up and I also check the area for any visitors who may have got carried away with picking strawberries and ignored my last reminder and I can tell you that no one was left in those fields before I locked up! I do recall the attendant that was on duty yesterday reminding me to ensure that I double checked the fields as he almost locked in some meerkats and he was a little alarmed as he did not see them when inspecting the fields, but they apologised and said they would take extra care next time.’
    ‘Okay, thanks very much but if you do hear anything could you let us know as it is very unusual for Jack and his friends to be out so late without telling us they were going to be back later than usual.’
    ‘Will do and I will try to speak to the attendant to see if he noticed anything suspicious the day before, but usually we record anything like that and as I’ve just mentioned it was only those two meerkats!’
    As Papa Brian came off the telephone he looked at Mama Katie and the Mortimers and shook his head to