At 1.05pm on Thursday 17 November, six adults and a toddler heard a bang that stopped them in their tracks. Only the infant didn’t recognise the noise, yet he whimpered, possibly responding to his mother’s reaction. And afterwards, the adults all had clear recall of what they’d been doing.
The young mother was cajoling her son to eat mashed banana, which landed on the floor when she abruptly unbent from the highchair. A couple were tending their vegie patch and shock made the hubby cut himself with his trowel. The owner of the general store jumped, and her hand slipped, drawing a line across the ‘specials’ board. And nearby, the publican heard it as he stacked an empty keg, while his best customer paused with sausage speared on his fork.
Bowles rubbed a hand over his bald head and mutter
