The Island(31)

She stumbled and the man lifted her by the waist and carried her into the center of the circle. Another man was holding Heather by the neck and shoving a big pair of pliers into her mouth.

Olivia screamed, broke free of the man dragging her, and ran to Heather. She kicked the man with the pliers, and he was so surprised he let Heather go. Olivia fell into Heather’s arms.

“They killed Dad! They killed him, didn’t they?” Olivia said, sobbing.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, baby girl,” Heather said, pulling Olivia close, wrapping her tied hands around her, and hugging her as hard as she could.

Olivia buried herself in Heather’s chest. She’d never really hugged her before except that one time at the wedding, before Christmas. And that was only out of politeness.

Heather rocked her back and forth and began crying too.

“What do I do now?” the blacksmith asked.

“Leave it be,” Matt said.

“Is he really dead?” Olivia whispered.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I am so, so sorry,” Heather whispered back.

“There’s the girl! I want a look at her,” Danny said.

“Let him look at her,” Jacko said.

Olivia felt an arm wrap around her and pull her away from Heather. Heather tried to reach for her but the man in the leather apron pushed her down.

“What do you think, Danny?” Jacko said.

The one called Danny was staring at her. He was skinny and red and repulsive. His tongue was lolling, and spittle was dropping from his lips. He seemed very drunk. He reached out and touched her hair. Olivia flinched.

Some of the men started to laugh and someone shouted, “Go on, Danny, son!”

“How old are you?” Danny asked. His breath reeked of that same grog the other man had given her.

“Fourteen,” she said.

The old woman with the cane was coming over now, the one they called Ma. She tilted Olivia’s head back and looked at her. Her hands were cold and clammy.

“Well, Danny?” she asked.

“No one will ever replace Ellen, but it’s better than nothing,” he said.

“Life’s a balance. Nature treated you harshly today. This restores the balance. You can take her,” Ma said.

There were a few laughs from the assembled men.

Olivia saw that Heather was on her feet now. The man with the pliers moved in front of her. She went around him and took a step toward Ma. “You’ve done nothing wrong so far,” Heather said.

“What do you mean?” Matt asked.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Not a thing. Everything bad that’s happened has been either Tom’s fault or his fault,” she said, gesturing toward Danny. “If you put us back on the mainland—”

“You’ll go to the police. Of course you will!” Ma said angrily.

“So we go to the police. But none of this comes back to any of you except him. You haven’t done anything,” Heather said.

“We kidnapped you,” Matt said. “We held you against your will.”

“No, you kept us in protective custody while you tried to reach the police on the mainland. If you let him take her now, then it’s all over,” Heather insisted. “You’re going to have to kill all of us. And the Dutch couple. Are you sure you’re going to get away with that? That’s a hell of a big decision.”

“I made my call,” Ma said.

“You said you were going to sleep on it. We’re not going anywhere. We’re locked in that hut. You can decide in the morning,” Heather said.

Matt looked at Ma. “There is something in what she says.”

Ma leaned on her stick and shook her head. “Where does it stop? Terry’s word was the law and that was the end of it in his day,” Ma said.

“Excuse me, but you won’t be going back on any decision. You’ll just be thinking about it overnight. What difference will that make? We’re not leaving,” Heather said.

“What difference will it make to you?” Matt asked her.

Heather looked at Danny and then at Matt. “It’s my job to protect these kids,” she said quietly.

“And what about the other two?” Ma wondered. “I suppose we’ll have to keep them as well. What are we going to do with them, Matt?”

“We can decide that in the morning too,” Matt said.

Ma took a handkerchief from a pocket in her skirt. She blew her nose into it and examined its contents. She looked at Matt and finished her cigarette. “I said I would sleep on it, didn’t I?” Ma said.

Matt nodded. “I think that’s a very good idea.”

“No! You said I could have her!” Danny wailed.

“And maybe I’ll say it again, but you shut your mouth for now, Daniel.”

“I just want me rights!” Danny said.

“And you’ll get your rights. But you’ll have to wait. All right, Jacko. Put them back in the shearing shed and lock them in. And put the Krauts in there too. We’ll fix all this in the morning. If Danny gives you any trouble, have someone throw him down the bloody well.”





12



Heather had won this battle. There would be many more. But she had bought herself some time.