Читать книгу The Mighty Quinns: Malcolm - Kate Hoffmann - Страница 9

Prologue

TENSION HUNG IN the air in the small house in Rotorua, setting everyone on edge. Ten-year-old Malcolm Quinn tried to keep his younger siblings occupied, seeing the growing worry in his mother’s expression. But the twins, seven-year-olds Rogan and Ryan, knew something was up. Only their little sister, Dana, was unaware that all was not right.

Their father, Maxwell Quinn, had left advance base camp with his climbing party and Sherpas earlier that day, ready to conquer Everest. It was his father’s sixth summit attempt and once complete, it would give him a perfect record.

Max Quinn and his partner, Roger Innis, had been guiding Everest expeditions for almost as long as Malcolm had been alive, first working for other expedition companies, and then for the past four seasons, working for themselves. Since founding Outbound Adventure, his father had rarely been home. But when he did walk through the front door, life was suddenly much brighter for the family. For in that moment, they all knew he was safe. They couldn’t say that today.

“What time is it?” Rogan asked.

Mal looked up. His gaze met his brother’s and Mal forced a smile. “Don’t worry. They’re probably just too busy to call. Or maybe they can’t get through. Satellite telephones can be dodgy.”

“But it’s getting late,” Ryan said. “It’s nearly midnight. That means it’s ten there. He should be back at camp by now, shouldn’t he?”

“I’m sure he is. But he has a lot of responsibilities.” Mal repeated the words that his mother had said to him just ten minutes before, hoping they calmed his brother’s concern more than they had his.

Ryan rubbed his eyes. “What if something bad happened?”

“Yeah,” Rogan said. “Maybe they’re afraid to call us.”

Mal crossed the room and pulled them both to their feet. “Go to bed. I’ll wake you when the call comes. I promise.”

To his great relief, they wandered off in the direction of their bedroom. Mal waited until the door shut behind them, then turned and hurried into the kitchen. Lydie Quinn sat at the kitchen table, Dana curled up in her arms, sound asleep. His mother was humming a tune that Mal didn’t recognize, repeating the same phrase over and over again.

Mal silently walked by her and put the teakettle on to boil. When he sat down across from her, she refused to look at him, her eyes fixed on a point above his head.

“Mum?”

Her gaze didn’t falter and the tune continued.

“Mum, would you like a cup of tea?”

Mal watched as tears welled up in his mother’s eyes. He rose to comfort her and as he did, the phone rang.

“Don’t answer it,” she said.

“But, I—”

“Don’t.” She shook her head, the tears now tumbling down her cheeks. He’d never seen his mother cry before and Mal wasn’t quite sure what to do. Dana stirred in her arms and Lydie grasped her daughter to her more tightly, rocking back and forth.

Mal quietly picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Who is this?”

“Malcolm Quinn.”

“Malcolm, it’s Roger Innis. I need to speak with your mother.”

“No,” Malcolm said. “You can tell me.”

“Son, put your mother on the phone. It’s very important. This is no time for childish games.”

“She won’t speak with you,” Mal insisted. “She can’t. We know something is wrong. Just tell me and I’ll tell her.”

As he listened to his father’s partner explain the situation, Mal slowly began to realize that his life—and the lives of his mother and siblings—would never be the same.