‘Is he acting alone?’ Dev asks.
Constable Jones nods. ‘Probably. With weapons like that, he doesn’t need anyone else.’
Dev helps me stand, and Constable Jones shakes my hand. ‘I’ll mention your help in my report. Thanks to you, we now have the evidence we need. There are so many offenses we can get him for.’
An officer drives the ute away and I see the bull horns as it turns onto the track. Am I glad to see the last of that monster! There’s a police boat close to the beach, waiting to take us back to our campsite. Mei picks up my rod and tackle box on the way. Another boat with two officers roars south with the bloke in handcuffs.
Constable Jones drives us. I’m glad he does as I doubt I could walk back. When we reach our beach Felicity hangs back but Max, Dev, Mei and I cross the sand dunes towards our camp. I look behind us to the boat, and see Felicity and Constable Dylan Jones sitting on the deck. It looks like they’re kissing.
I’m slow to get up in the morning. Everything is a mountainous effort; I feel like I’ve been set in jelly. Felicity suggests I see a doctor but I say I’m okay. I just want to savour that space in my mind – the space that is mine and Dev’s. Nothing now can wreck our plans.
‘Constable Jones said we can give statements later,’ Felicity says. ‘We’ll stay here a few days and have a proper holiday.’
I perk up a bit. ‘You mean we can go to the beach in the daytime?’
‘I don’t see why not. I’ll take the Jet Ski down. I can give you rides.’
‘Cool.’ The future is looking very bright. I wink at Mei.
‘Come on,’ she says. ‘Let’s get our bathers on. You can have a rest on the sand.’ She picks up two towels and after I’m ready for the beach I head down.
‘Joel! Come quick.’ Mei’s beat me to it and I hurry the last bit over the dunes. What now? I think. When I reach the beach, Mei is by the rocks where Barney used to sit. And what do you know, he’s there.
Mei’s face shines. ‘Isn’t this the perfect end to a holiday? He came back.’ Barney grunts at me. Bet he’s wondering why I haven’t brought a fish. Then he slips into the water. Mei jumps in and swims with him. Forget a rest – this can’t wait. I wade in and swim with them. Barney hangs around. When he goes too far out, he swims back to check on us. I can’t believe it: he’s acting like a dolphin.
The sea is so calm it takes a while before I realise how far out we are. ‘We better go in,’ I call to Mei. She gives the round okay diving sign and swims over to me.
‘You feel all right?’ she asks.
I grin and splash her. ‘Sure.’ But I’m lying. We’ve come so far and I don’t want to let on that I’m tired. The build-up to yesterday and everything that’s happened must have taken more of a toll than I realised.
Barney circles us. He dives every now and then and surfaces between us. I turn over and float. Mei’s a bit further away chasing Barney again, but I don’t have to worry about her. She’s part dolphin.
I close my eyes. A motorboat buzzes. Lots of boats go up and down the coast. They’ll see us and give us a wide berth. I start a lazy swim for shore. The boat is closer. I can hear its engine reverberating through the water when my head’s submerged. Suddenly it sounds too close. I stop swimming and tread water. The boat is heading straight for me.
‘Hey,’ I shout and I wave my arm so the driver will see me and swerve. It doesn’t work. I can see a bloke standing at the wheel; is he blind or something? There are hardly any waves – there’s no way he can miss seeing me. And that’s when I finally realise: he means to get me.
I head for the beach and hope Mei stays out of it. I’m not fast enough to outswim the boat. I can only hope to reach swallow water before he gets too close. But he’s too fast and I’m slowing. My neck aches and my head feels like a bowling ball. I hear Mei scream; guess she’s caught on. Then I hear a shout, deep and urgent. ‘Joel! Joel!’ I look towards the beach. Dev’s splashing into the water; he must be fifty metres away. He dives over a wave and I give it a final shot. I swim fast as if I’m in a swimming carnival at school. I just need to reach Dev. I say it over and over in my head, but I can’t keep it up. The shore seems further away every time I look. But the boat is definitely getting too close. I flounder. I go under and come up spluttering. I haven’t the strength to keep swimming and I’m too scared to float in case the boat cuts me in half.
Dev’s trying to catch me; he’s ploughing through the water in my direction. He’s only a few waves away now. Mei’s almost to the beach. I hope she stays there. I can’t see Barney. I take a breath and turn to face the boat.
‘Joel.’ It’s Dev. ‘Joel swim to me – it’s not far.’ He doesn’t know how stuffed I am. I feel as if I’ll drown if I swim another stroke. ‘Joel, you can do it.’ He sounds so close. I glance behind me; the boat’s almost on me. I hold out my arm and Dev touches my fingers. Before I can grab hold of him a wave pulls me away again, and the boat rips through between us. It circles us. I can see the guy’s face now. It’s the bloke who spoke to me in the toilet block, asking for directions. So there is another guy. It’s not finished at all.
Dev grabs me. ‘Joel, I’ve got you. It’s okay.’ He has me in a life-saving grip and starts towing me back to the beach. It’s like Dev doesn’t care about the boat. The guy brings the boat around. It all happens so fast, I don’t see it all. One second Dev’s got me, the next, he’s floating in the water, blood running down his head, and I’m being hauled into the boat. I’m thrown on the floor, while the boat revs up. It bucks like a bull at a rodeo.
I force myself to sit up; Dev’s still floating face-up like he’s dead but the boat’s going for him. I have a horrible feeling I’m inside the ute as it’s trying to push us into the traffic. I can’t let him run over Dev. He can’t be dead. I crawl up to the guy and yank his arm. The boat slews. The man kicks me back but he’s missed Dev. I look over the edge of the boat. Max and Felicity are on the beach now – good, Felicity has the Jet Ski in the sea and Max is jumping on behind her. They’ll get Dev out. The guy in the boat sees them too and thinks better of finishing Dev off. He revs the boat and we fly up the coast, bumping over the waves like speed humps until my teeth clatter.
26
All I can think about is Dev. I keep seeing his blood in the water, the way only the waves made him move. I can’t lose him now, not after he said he’ll stay for good. Tears run warm down my face, then the wind whips them away. Dev is everything I’ve ever wanted in a dad. He cares, he’s wise, he’s tough, and gentle too. There wouldn’t be anyone else like him. Look how he came to court with me, brought me down here for protection. Perhaps all good fathers would do that but I wouldn’t know. My real father’s done nothing except hurt me.
A voice in my head that sounds suspiciously like Gran’s tells me to be thankful for what I’ve had. Dev would say that too, remember the good times, let the bad times make you stronger, better not bitter. But it’s too hard. I want to grow up with Dev around; then maybe I’ll turn out okay. Is that too much to ask? Suddenly the motor cuts. I look up to see the guy standing over me. ‘Think you’re smart, don’t ya, kid? Getting Scott put away.’
I’m not sure what’s brought this on and whether I should answer. I’m reminded of Shawn Houser. Anything can make a bully react: a cocked eyebrow, a leer. I work at keeping my face like a calm sea.
‘Well, this is the end of the line for you. No one can cross Scott. He always gets his revenge in the end, but he said to surprise you.’ He looks around. ‘No one will find you out here.’ Then he talks as if we’re having a chatty conversation. ‘There’re white pointers in these waters. One got a fisherman a few weeks back.’ He surveys my face for a bit. ‘He said to let you have a life jacket.’ He reaches under the seat for it. ‘It won’t help you much.’ He smirks as he hands it to me and I know what he’s going to do. He’s opening up an ice box; it’s full of dead squid and fish guts
. He drops the lot overboard.
He looks back at me. ‘Come on. Get the jacket on.’ He sounds friendly, like he’s inviting me to a picnic. The only problem is: I’m the picnic. What a way to die. Couldn’t he just knock me on the head, which is what he must have done to Dev? Why all this playing around? And that’s when I realise just how sick Scott is. The ute stalking us, pushing us into traffic – it was all part of a game Scott’s playing with me. No killing me outright – no, he wants to play with me as if I’m the character in a video game. More fun for him that way.
I put the jacket on and look out towards the shore. So far away. It’s no use, there’s nothing I can do, nowhere to go. I can’t overpower the guy – he’s almost as big as the one who tried to strangle me. How long can I survive in the water even if there are no sharks? One day? Two? Would it take me that long to swim to shore? Supposing I even had the energy. A heaviness sweeps down my body and I have to stop myself from slumping. I won’t be able to do it and the guy knows it.
I notice the key in the ignition. I know about boats. And I clutch at a tiny hope. ‘Can I have a drink of water first?’ I do up the toggles on the jacket.
The guy narrows his eyes and hesitates. ‘Don’t see why not.’ He bends over another esky near the side, and that’s when I rush him. He tips off balance. I expect him to fall over the side neatly – that’s how I see it in my head, but it doesn’t go to plan. He grabs me and I fall with him. We plunge into the sea together, right into the bloody fish guts. He still has hold of me and I think this is the way he’ll do it: he’ll keep holding me under until I drown. But then we surface. He kicks me away from him and hauls himself into the boat.
He calls to me, ‘See how long you last . . .’ then he sneers, ‘. . . before they come.’ And he makes the low eerie sound from that old Jaws movie. ‘Dar-da-dar-da-dar-da.’
The guy’s sick. He has to be. Who’d drop a kid in the sea, stinking of fish guts? Then he adds one last taunt as the boat swerves close to me. ‘Scott’s final surprise. Enjoy it, kid.’
So this is it. I’m going to find out what it feels like to be torn limb from limb. The shark won’t be able to tell I’m not a half-dead seal or fish, and by the time it realises and spits me out, it will be too late. Maybe if I swim a bit I can wash off the stink. That might help prevent a shark attacking me.
I start a slow breaststroke on what I hope is the shortest route to the coast. At least I’m in a gulf and not the open sea. All the same, if the weather changes, the waves could still rise three metres. I won’t stand a chance then.
Every time I look for the shore I tell myself it’s closer. Dev always says to tell my brain what to think and not to go along with my feelings. I try hard to take his advice and not to let the panic set in. If you’re diving and you panic, you can die. I think I might be in the same situation here. At least the life jacket helps. I wonder why the guy gave it to me – to prolong the agony, I bet. You’d think he’d hang around to check I die. Bullies like to see the effects of their actions. Guess he knows there’s no way I can survive. I have to work hard to get that thought out of my head. I think of Dev. I hear his voice: ‘You can do it, mate.’ I repeat that so my brain can take it in.
A motorboat drives past further away. I shout and lift an arm, but they don’t see me. Maybe it’s for the best; it might be the guy checking the results of his work. I’m just wondering if I’m any closer to the shore or if I’m being dragged out, when I feel the water whoosh around my legs. The sun’s hot on my head but right then the rest of me feels like ice. So the shark’s come. I’ve heard staying upright is helpful, staying as still as possible is even better. I try to slow my breathing. I can’t see a fin. I’m too scared to check behind me. There’s a bump against my back. The water is boiling in front of me. Yet whatever is there doesn’t surface. What’s going on? I can’t stop the panic – it wells up and engulfs me like a tsunami. I do something stupid: I move.
I swim as fast as I can towards the shore. I’m an idiot. Now it will think I’m food to chase. Maybe I still smell of fish guts, but I can’t stop. I’d rather die trying to escape, than waiting for it to get me. A voice in my head tells me to stop, but I can’t. Every muscle is screaming, stretching. I’m splashing like a maniac.
Then I feel a nudge. It’s pushing me. It’s playing with me like a cat does with a mouse. And I start to blubber like a baby. I wait for the crunch, expect it any second. I keep swimming, my back vulnerable, wishing I could pull my legs up out of the water. The crunch doesn’t come. I’m swimming over the crest of a wave and I pull up short. It’s surfacing; I wait for the fin, the mouth gaping open, lined with thousands of razor-sharp teeth.
Instead, a whiskery head appears right in front of me. I gawp at it. ‘Is that you, Barney?’ Out here I can’t tell if it’s him or another pup, but who’s heard of a wild sea lion playing with you in the ocean? I thought once before he acted like a dolphin, but he doesn’t really. He’s never let me ride him. Then another thought grabs me. Sharks like to eat sea lion pups. If the fish guts haven’t done their job attracting the sharks, Barney certainly will. ‘Come on, we have to get out of here.’
Barney comes with me as I head for shore. Maybe he thinks I’ll catch him another fish. At least he lifts my spirits and keeps me swimming. No one will believe me when I tell them about Barney finding me in the gulf. Then I realise what I’m thinking and I grin at him. ‘I’m going to make it, Barney. I really am.’
27
I try not to think about how far away the shore is. I just count my strokes . . . 531, 532 . . . I’m swimming slow, but I know every stroke counts. One at a time . . . 533, 534 . . . There’s a fishing boat like Mei’s dad’s trawler further up the coast. But they won’t be able to spot me yet, so I keep making for the beach. A few motorboats hum. If I keep moving, surely someone will see me.
Barney dives around me, and disappears for minutes on end, maybe longer. So when the water is disturbed below me I don’t panic. Something surfaces to my right. ‘Back at last, Barney?’ I turn to look at him and my words burn the back of my throat. A fin, a huge one, is ten metres away, cruising in a circle. Only white pointers cruise like that. Smaller sharks dart. I drop my head underwater. Yep, a white pointer. Holy moly, that bloke wasn’t kidding. It’s three metres I reckon, huge compared to the shark Mei and I saw when we dived on the Clan Ranald. Will it attack me? Do I still smell like fish guts? Is the Pope Catholic?
I flounder and stop swimming. What can I do? Wait until it comes? Hit it on the nose? I wonder if that really works. But I’ll try anything. I can see the beach at last. I fiddle with my life jacket to find the whistle. I hope sharks are scared of piercing noises. I blow it as loud as I can. The fin is giving me a wide berth. But then it closes the gap. The shark brushes past me. It feels like a bus has just barrelled through. Is it checking me out? I keep blowing the whistle. Then Barney surfaces.
I look in horror at Barney. It’s like he has a neon sign on him: Eat me! I’m shark food. ‘Barney, get out of here. That shark will take you before me.’ Mei will be so upset if the shark eats Barney. I blow the whistle at him. He doesn’t like it and swims away. The fin follows him. I can’t watch. I keep heading for shore. I’m so tired now I’m dog paddling. Even a seahorse could catch me.
Something’s splashing behind me. I hope it’s not Barney. Then a motor idles nearby. How did a boat get so close without me realising? The guy must be back but I’m too tired to check. I keep paddling but it will be easy for him to pick me off with an oar.
‘Joel!’ Did the guy know my name? ‘Joel Billings! It’s Constable Jones. With Sea Rescue.’
I stop and tread water. I can’t believe it. The boat edges closer. Mei’s hanging over the side, her mouth wide in the cutest smile I’ve seen. ‘Nice work with the whistle, Joel. We heard you from ages away.’
‘Can you climb the ladder?’ Constable Jones says. I try, I really do, but my legs won’t
work. He comes down the ladder to lift me up. When he puts me on the deck, Mei starts taking off my life jacket, and I’m so stuffed I can’t help her.
‘I’m sorry about this,’ Constable Jones is saying. ‘We didn’t realise someone else was involved, or we would have provided protection . . .’ He crouches beside me as Mei drapes a blanket around me. ‘So he dumped you in the sea?’ he asks.
I nod. My teeth are clattering so much I reckon they might fall out. How long have I been in? The sun’s in the western sky. Hours and hours.
‘We’ve caught him,’ Constable Jones says. ‘Felicity found him heading north and the trawler sent a boat out too.’ I can see the concern in his face, concern for me. ‘With what he tried to do to you, he’ll get a long time in jail. Along with his mates. You don’t have to worry any more, Joel.’
Yeah, that’s what I thought this morning. What happens when they serve their sentences? They won’t have turned into choirboys. I don’t say that though; there’s only one thing I’m worried about right now. ‘Dev?’
Constable Jones smiles. ‘He was determined to come while we searched for you. Can you stand?’ He helps me up. I wobble a bit but I manage to walk with him supporting me on one side and Mei holding my arm on the other. She feels so warm. Can’t wait to hug her when I get feeling back in my arms.
They take me into the cabin. Dev’s sitting up on a stretcher. His head is bandaged and he looks grey, but he’s alive. I practically fall on him. He groans, but manages a grin. ‘Takes a lot to drown us, hey mate?’
I can’t help it – it’s so good to see him alive – I cling to him and cry like a little kid.
28
Felicity insisted Dev and I have a check-up at the Penola hospital last night. They said we were okay to go if we took it easy. What a relief. I don’t want to miss a second of this last day, so early in the morning Mei and I slip down to the rocks. We’re rewarded. Barney’s there, grunting at us. I’m so relieved he’s alive I get tears in my eyes. I don’t know what’s come over me lately; I never cry. Barney looks like he’s begging, but I’m not tempted to give him a fish. He was almost shark dinner because he was hanging around me. I finally get to tell Mei how he helped me in the sea. Her eyes get that shine in them that I love. ‘Truly? He actually did that for you?’ And she tells Barney what a special pup he is. He lets her stroke his chin before he dives into the water. He swims away but bobs his head up once to check on us.
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