Page 84 of The Island

“I saw your photograph on the mantel. You were a corrections officer in Ireland.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was a police officer.”

Heather’s heart started beating faster. “A police officer?”

“Yeah, something called the RUC. You heard of that?”

Heather shook her head again. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Rory.”

“Nice to meet you, Rory,” she said.

He grunted a response and continued to fiddle with the walkie-talkie.

She leaned forward on the sofa. “I’m looking after two children. Owen is twelve. Olivia is fourteen. Owen is badly dehydrated. He’s going to die tonight if I don’t get back with water. And the rest of us—you know what they’re going to do to us, don’t you? They’re going to kill us all. They’re going to rape me and Olivia and then kill us.”

“That’s none of my business,” he said.

“Back in Ballymena would it have been your business?”

“I suppose,” Rory said and smiled. “You think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“No. I’ve screwed everything up.”

“Matt told me about you. He said you were crafty. That I was to watch out for you.”

“You have to help us! Against them.”

Rory shook his head. “I can’t afford to do that, can I? If they find out I helped you, they’ll be after me next, won’t they?”

“Tom’s…my…the kids need water.”

“It’s not my problem, love. I didn’t ask you to come here, did I? This was your choice. None of this is anything to do with me. You hit Ellen with your car. You can’t involve me in it. I’ve nothing to do with it and if they find out I was even talking to you, I’ll be for the bloody chop, won’t I?”

“You can’t just let us have a little bit of water?”

“And then what?”

“If we can get to a boat—”

“There’s no boat. They have the only boat. The ferry. We’re on this island with them. It’s theirs. They grew up here. Old Terry used to say that Dutch Island was never legally incorporated into the State of Victoria. They consider Australia to be a foreign country. They’re a law unto themselves. They know it like the back of their bloody hand. They know every nook and cranny and everything that goes on.”

“How come they haven’t caught me and the kids yet?”

“That is a bloody miracle. You are living on borrowed time. They’ll find you. This is their backyard. They’re only toying with you.”

She shook her head. “They’re scared now. I—”

“Are you having a laugh? You have no idea. You seriously think you’re outwitting them? They’re letting you live. They’re just having a wee bit of fun. They don’t tell me everything, but they told me to watch out for you and they told me they’re bringing dogs over from the mainland tomorrow. Bloodhounds. If I let you go, they might track you to here and they’ll ask me questions, and if they see that broken window I’ll have to make up some bullshit about it. You’ve already got me in the crapper. Now, you just sit there and I’ll call Matt, and if you move an inch I’ll blow you in half, so I will!”

“I don’t think you’ll shoot me. You’re a policeman. You know what’s right.”

“I do know what’s right. You killed Ellen and you’re going to pay for that.”

“We’ve already paid for that. They killed my husband, Tom. They killed him in front of me. And now there’s only me to look after those two little children.”

He nodded. “Yes, I heard what Danny did.”

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