Page 62 of The Woodcarver's Model
“Where’s Rufus?”
“No one knows. He left shortly after you did and no one’s seen him since.”
“And Mitch?”
Sheila took a deep breath. “Let me tell you a bit about that boy. There are some things you need to know.”
“You already told me some things.”
“You care for him, don’t you?”
“I…love him,” he confessed.
“Then you need to hear the rest.”
Rob frowned. “Why are you doing this, after what people say I did?”
“I’m a doctor. I believe in facts, not in what the rumour mill churns out. That, and I did some research on you and I liked what I saw.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Now, if you truly love that boy, you’re going to have to take care of him, and to do that you will have to know more about him. What he’s been through.” She settled herself onto a kitchen stool.
“Sarah pulled him off the streets of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street, a drug addict nearer death than life. She thought Mitch would have better luck recovering at her place than in a clinic. Mitch came to Sarah’s a hollow shell. She saw him through the worst of the withdrawal.
“When he recovered enough, he told her that he needed to be alone for a while to find out who he really was. Sarah was spiritual enough to see the point, so she packed him food and a light sleeping bag—it was summer—and she took him to the Peak. She told him that if he was going to find himself, that would be the place. And she left him there.
“He had no strength. He told me later that he spent his hours thinking about his life and came to a realisation that there was nothing to go on for. His life had been a waste and his future held even less promise. What was the point of it all?
“By that point, he had eaten so little that he was all skin and bones. He decided to throw away the food and lay down on the blanket to starve himself. He remembered hallucinating. An ancient person, man or woman, he couldn’t tell, came to him. The ancient fed him a mash of berries, grubs, mushrooms and insects. They talked to him about the gift of life and that as long as there was life there was the chance to do good, to reward those that have loved him in the past and love him now.”
“Do you believe that story?” he asked.
“Of course I do. I was there when Sarah fed him.”
“Sarah was the ancient one? Did she really feed him berries, grubs and insects?”
“Of course she did. It was high-protein, high-sugar diet. Just what his system needed.”
“So Sarah…she was a…” Rob searched for the right word, not wanting to offend.
“Let’s just say she had a lot of wisdom.”
“And she was able to heal him?”
“As much as she could. What had the strongest healing power was a faith in nature, the island and, most importantly the Peak, which is where I suspect he’s gone again to heal the damage done by these recent events.”
“When did you last see him?” Rob asked.
“A week ago. If I were you, I’d head up soon.”
“What do I do when I find him?”
“You’ll know what to do.”
Rob ran out the door, got into his truck and made his way to the Peak. He drove carefully up the winding road. On the hairpin turn he noticed something that disturbed him—a wooden stake wrapped in orange flagging tape had been driven into the ground. Without warning, the surveyors had launched the first salvo in the battle for the island.
Chapter Twenty-One
