10
Heather had the hemp rope around Danny’s neck and she just kept tightening it until Danny collapsed to his knees, dropping the knife.
“Stop this, Ivan!” Ma said.
Ivan grabbed Heather by the hair and tossed her into the dirt like she was nothing.
“I’ll have her,” Danny snarled, recovering himself.
“You’ve done enough mischief tonight, mate,” Jacko said, putting a boot on Danny’s back and flattening him. Matt took the rifle off his shoulder and pointed it at Danny. “That’s enough, Dan!” he yelled.
Danny laughed bitterly. “Oh, it’s come to this, has it? Who are you, anyway? You don’t give orders to anybody here. Least of all me.”
“I’m as much an O’Neill as anyone. And I am not going to have you tell me any different,” Matt said.
Heather wasn’t interested in any of this now. She crawled toward Tom.
He was lying on his side in a pool of blood.
“We have to call an ambulance!” she wailed hysterically.
“We’ve no phones here,” Kate said.
“You have to help him!” Heather yelled.
“That’s enough,” Ma said.
“No! We can still save him,” Heather said. “Please! We can help him!”
Heather grabbed Danny’s fallen knife in her tied hands and struggled to her feet. There were half a dozen guns pointed at her now.
“You have to help,” Heather pleaded, brandishing the knife.
“You should drop it, sweetheart,” Kate said.
Ivan smacked Heather on the side of the head and snatched the knife out of her hands as she fell.
And then Kate fired a barrel of her shotgun into the air and everyone froze.
“Thank you, my dear,” Ma said. “This is a bloody shambles, this is! Takes me to sort it as usual, eh? Never a moment’s peace. First things first—get the bodies up to the house. Take ’em to the old meat locker.”
“Krauts are up in the house. What about them?” Ivan said.
“Jesus wept! Don’t let them see anything. And don’t let them go. Keep them here until we figure out what we’re going to bloody do,” Ma said.
“We know what we’re going to do,” Jacko said. “We’re not letting the cops have Danny.”
With difficulty, Ma got out of her rocking chair. “Does anybody listen to me around here anymore?”
“Yes, Ma,” half a dozen men said.
“Get these bodies up to the house!”
Two men picked up Tom, one taking his ankles and the other his shoulders, and carried him away. Heather was sobbing now. Tom was dead. Tom, who was so calm and centered. Tom, who knew everything. What the hell was she going to do?
Another two men took Ellen up to the house. Killer and victim united. What were their ghosts talking about?
Tom, oh my God, Tom.
Heather squeezed her eyes tight.
Tried to erase the last few hours.
That lifeless face. That lifeless crow’s-wing fringe.
This can’t be happening.
I’m in Melbourne. Tom’s gonna wake me up and we’re going to go see penguins and koalas.
She attempted to open her eyes but had to wipe blood from her eyelids first.
Mosquitoes.
Upside-down moon.
Crowd of people with guns.
Black blood in the dead-Tom dirt under the dead-Tom stars.
A little kid pointing a toy gun at her.
Real men with real guns.
She sat up.
People talking in low voices.
Heather knew she wasn’t going to get many more chances to make them see reason.
“You have to let us go now. This has gone too far,” she said.
“Shut this bitch up, Matthew. If she talks again without my permission, break her jaw,” Ma said.
“You hear that?” Matt said to Heather.
She nodded.
“So what are we going to do?” Ivan asked.
“Get rid of them, sharpish!” someone said.
“Hold on,” Danny said, wiping the dust off his clothes. “You have to ask me what to do. They belong to me. All of them.”
“You stupid bastard,” Kate said. “You cost us five hundred grand. You always were a dumb arsehole. Thick as shit, you. Thick as shit.”
“Cut him some slack, Katie. Ellen’s dead,” Matt said.
“She is. She was all I had. You know that. No amount of money…” Danny’s voice trailed away.
People came over to pat Danny on the back and touch him and hug him. Some took the opportunity to spit at, pinch, or poke Heather.