Read Online A Pocketful of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson - Free Book Online

full of sushi that you always said we should get, remember?’
    Bee raised her eyebrows. ‘Did he use chopsticks?’
    Angela laughed. ‘Of course he did. What a funny thing to ask.’
    ‘It’s just . . . how did he hold them? With his paws? I can’t imagine it. I thought he’d be more likely to spear each piece of fish with one of those long claws and eat it that way.’
    Bee’s mum sat up. ‘Very funny,’ she said. ‘You know I told you that Neal has a human form.’
    ‘Who’s Neal?’
    ‘Gavin. His real name is Neal.’
    Bee blinked. ‘And he’s not a badger.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘So he doesn’t have a furry nose.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Or long claws.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Or whiskers.’
    ‘I’m not sure if real badgers have whiskers. But in any case, no.’
    ‘How disappointing.’
    Angela stuck out her tongue. ‘He wants to take me out again tonight, but I said I’d have to check with you first.’
    ‘Well, I don’t know, Angela,’ said Bee. ‘Have you done all your homework?’
    ‘You were upset the other night,’ said Angela. ‘And I don’t want to be gallivanting all over town with a nice man if you need maternal support and wise counsel.’
    ‘Now that Gavin’s not a Celestial Badger anymore, I don’t see where I’m supposed to get any wise counsel from.’
    ‘Seriously, Bee,’ said her mother. ‘Are you okay?’
    ‘I’m fine. Go and call your badger and tell him he can take you out.’
    Angela sprang up and kissed Bee on the top of her head. ‘Thank you!’ she said. ‘Neal wants to take me to the Astor. They’re showing Labyrinth tonight!’
    ‘Have fun,’ said Bee. ‘Say hi to David Bowie’s magic pants for me.’
    ‘I will,’ said Angela, and practically skipped out of the room.
    Bee glanced at her mobile phone. There was another missed call from Maddy. And voicemail. Bee deleted it without listening and switched on her laptop.

‘SO I EMAILED MY ANATOMY professor about Cranston,’ said Toby on Wednesday morning. ‘It turns out he’s totally famous. My professor says he’s been overlooked for a Nobel Prize like a hundred times. He did this thing with horseshoe crabs where he found they had crazy blue blood that clots when it encounters bacteria. Now they use it to test pharmaceuticals, and to check for bacterial diseases. They even use it on the International Space Station to test surfaces for bacteria and fungi. Are you even listening?’
    ‘Hmm?’ Bee looked up. ‘Sure.’
    ‘Aren’t you interested in learning about Cranston? Or have we struck him from the list?’
    ‘No, he’s on the list,’ said Bee. ‘He’s at the top of the list.’
    ‘But you’re not interested in what I learned about Cranston because . . .’
    ‘Because I stayed up all night reading about him on the internet.’
    Toby made a face of mock horror. ‘You kids and your newfangled technology.’
    Bee sighed.
    ‘So what did you discover, Holmes?’ asked Toby.
    ‘Cranston is rich. Like, really rich. Family money. He owns a lot of property in the UK, but lives on this huge estate near Healesville. And you’re right, he’s totally famous in the science world for his work with the horseshoe crab. But he’s also famous because he’s a bit weird. He’s a total recluse – he doesn’t even have any living relatives. He never attends any charity functions or lectures or anything. He was awarded an AO but didn’t turn up to collect it. I guess that’s one of the reasons he lives in Australia instead of England – he doesn’t have to meet fellow researchers and so on. Even the people who worked with him never met him. He employed people in labs all over the world and insisted they communicate via correspondence.’
    ‘See? Nobody even talks to each other anymore.’
    Bee gave him a look. ‘So nobody heard anything of Cranston for years,’ she continued. ‘Except for that article we found in Adrian Featherstone’s office about him being sick.’
    ‘So he got better?’
    ‘I guess