THREE DAYS AND TWO NIGHTS OF DRIVING UP THE COAST from Sydney to Townsville, Barry and Duck found themselves outside Emily’s pub. The first thing they noticed was that it had been re-branded. It was no longer the grotty pub with tattered leather seats that smelt of spilt beer. It was gleaming, both inside and out.
They looked at each other with alarm. There was no way Emily could have refurbished the place, not with the money she made—unless she’d won the lotto.
They went in and sat in a newly upholstered booth. There were very few soldiers about. Although they wouldn’t have been in uniform when they attended their watering hole, soldiers looked a certain type. This obviously wasn’t what it used to be.
Barry got up to go to the bar to order a couple of drinks. A young barmaid approached
