At the Lake

by Jill Harris

  He refused to think about what would happen if Squint caught up with him — if indeed Squint was following at all. He might not even have noticed the other track. He might be running down towards the cove, guessing they would use the boat to get away.

  Simon stopped and listened for the thudding boots, but he heard nothing. What should he do? Keep going and get help? But help would come too late if Squint reached the others before they could escape. But if he went back, thought Simon, he might come face-to-face with Squint. Squint might be waiting for him to do that very thing. Simon pushed the terrifying thought out of his head. Squint wouldn’t waste time on him. He would have only one thing in mind: to stop the boat. And that’s where I should be, doing whatever I can to hinder him, he thought.

  So he turned around and headed back to the cove as fast as he could. As he got closer, he could hear repeated attempts to start the outboard motor. Oh no, he thought, what’s wrong? The beach came into view, but he stayed back under cover. Jem and Mrs Lewis were drifting some way off the beach. Mrs Lewis was bent over the motor while Jem held the baby. Squint stood knee-high in the lake, shouting: ‘It’s empty, you silly bitch! Bring it back!’

  Mrs Lewis abandoned the motor and slipped the oars into the rowlocks.

  ‘You won’t get far like that!’ yelled Squint.

  Why doesn’t he swim out to them? Simon wondered. Maybe he can’t swim. He knew that if Squint reached the boat, Jem’s life would be in danger. Squint needed to know that there was another witness to what he had been up to — and he had to keep Squint away from the boat!

  ‘JEM! JEM! I’ll get help!’ shouted Simon.

  Would it work?

  Yes!

  Squint turned sharply and waded out of the water as fast as he could.

  The chase was on!

  Simon had youth on his side; Squint had longer legs. Simon kept ahead but only just — those pounding boots sounded very close. He reached the turn-off with relief — no longer uphill — and ran along the uneven track. He could hear Squint gasping for breath behind him. If he could reach the creek first, he would have the advantage of knowing how to get across. He thought ahead to his bike. Would he have time to pull it out of the grass and reach the road? If Barney wasn’t home, what would he do then?

  He gasped for air. His legs ran on mechanically: left, right, left, right. Not far, not far, not far, not far, sounded a voice in his head like a drumbeat. He ran past a snapped kanuka sapling which he knew was close to the creek. Around a bend and there it was!

  Simon lengthened his pace for the last few metres. He stretched forward with his right leg on to the branch. But Squint had almost closed the gap. He lunged forward, grabbed Simon’s left leg, still on the track, and heaved, propelling Simon violently into the creek. Simon hit his head and scratched his legs on the branch as he fell. He was aware of a blur of rock and water as he catapulted down the surging creek.

  Squint Lewis, gasping for breath, watched impassively until Simon disappeared and the sound of crashing became more distant. At that moment the stuttering of an outboard motor sounded from the lake. Squint stiffened, turned, and ran back along the track.

  21

  ‘We’ve got a situation here, Barney’

  When Barney got home around four he couldn’t get in because the kitchen door was locked. He rapped on it sharply.

  ‘Is that you, Barney?’ Mrs Mason called out. She unlocked the door.

  He walked in and saw Mrs Lewis sitting on the couch holding a baby. She had a black eye. Jem was beside her.

  ‘Well, hello,’ he said, ‘what’s happening here?’

  Jem rushed into his arms and burst into tears.

  Mrs Mason re-locked the door. ‘We’ve got a situation here, Barney,’ she said quietly. ‘We’re just waiting for the police to arrive. We hope they get here before Squint Lewis.’

  Barney went cold. ‘Where’s Simon?’

  ‘He shouted out, and Squint chased him, and then we got the outboard to start, and Mrs Mason rang the police, and Simon’s not home, and we haven’t looked for him yet, and I bet Squint Lewis hurt him,’ babbled Jem.

  Barney sat down at the table and pulled Jem to him. Mrs Mason pushed Simon’s note across the table and Barney read it as he hugged his grandson. His frown deepened. ‘Have we any idea where Simon is?’

  Mrs Lewis spoke. ‘The baby’s Sophie, the kidnapped baby. Squint forced me to look after her in one of the houses in the yard. Rosie and Tommy knew nothing about it. Simon and Jem helped me to escape in the boat this afternoon. Jem came with me, but Simon stayed behind to try to stop Squint following us. The last thing we saw was Squint chasing Simon up the track.’ She began to sob.

  ‘How long since you phoned the police?’ asked Barney.

  ‘Over half an hour ago,’ replied Mrs Mason.

  ‘What did you tell them?’

  ‘About the baby and how Mrs Lewis and Jem escaped with her in the boat and how Simon diverted Squint from the others. And I told them that Simon hadn’t come home.’

  ‘How long since you saw Simon?’

  ‘Nearly three hours,’ broke in Mrs Lewis, still crying. ‘Oh, that brave boy.’

  ‘Which track?’ Barney asked Jem.

  ‘The one from the cove to the yard, but Simon will have turned off on the track which comes out on the main road — that’s where his bike is,’ explained Jem.

  ‘So we don’t know where Squint is either?’ asked Barney.

  Their silence was his answer.

  He got up and went into his bedroom to fetch his rifle.

  ‘Why don’t you put the baby down on the bed,’ Mrs Mason said to Mrs Lewis. ‘It looks as though she’s asleep.’

  Mrs Lewis clutched the baby tighter and didn’t move.

  ‘Where are Rosie and Tommy?’ she asked loudly. ‘They should be with me.’

  ‘They’ll be fine,’ said Mrs Mason. ‘Hec took them into the hot pools for the afternoon. They’ll be back next door in time for dinner.’

  ‘But how do I know they’re safe? We don’t know what Squint will do.’

  ‘He won’t know where they are,’ said Mrs Mason.

  ‘But he knows they’ve been with you all day; it’s the first place he’ll come looking. He could be grabbing them right now!’

  ‘Hec’s no fool,’ Barney reassured her. ‘I can’t think of a safer person for them to be with. And we’ll tell the police.’

  ‘But he’s got a gun,’ Mrs Lewis said, so quietly she might have been talking to herself. She looked at them with a white face. ‘I’ve tried to protect them for so long, just so long—’

  The conversation was cut short by a sound they had been longing to hear: a siren in the distance, gradually getting louder. They sat tensely as it came closer. Then it filled the room, vehicles coming to a stop outside and doors slamming. Someone knocked on Barney’s front door and called out: ‘Police!’

  Barney opened the door. Two police officers stood on the step, one in plain clothes and one in uniform. They showed their ID and asked permission to come in.

  ‘We’ve had a phone call from your neighbour Mrs Mason, but there’s no-one at home. Do you know where she is?’

  ‘Yes, she’s here. And I’m Butler,’ said Barney. ‘This is my house. My grandson’s missing, that’s why Marge rang you. I have to get out straightaway and look for him!’

  The plain-clothes police officer looked at Barney holding his rifle. ‘Are you expecting to use that, sir?’ he asked.

  ‘Look,’ said Barney, ‘I’ve only just got home!’ He introduced the officer to Mrs Mason, and to Mrs Lewis, adding that she also didn’t know where her children were. ‘And I’m deeply afraid about what’s happened to my grandson — he’s got in the way of a pretty violent fellow.’ Barney started to explain how he had talked to Sergeant Hollis about Lewis a few days earlier, before impatiently interrupting himself. ‘Look, I’ve got to get out there now. It’s already four-thirty — there’s less than five hours of light left to
search.’

  ‘Has anyone seen Mr Lewis?’ asked the police officer. When it was obvious that nobody had, the uniformed police officer immediately reached for his cellphone.

  While he was making his call, the other officer checked out where Rosie and Tommy had been all day before turning to Barney. ‘I know you’re very worried, Mr Butler, but we will find Simon for you. It’s our top priority: all the police in the team handling the kidnapping are on to it, and a search party is already gearing up outside.’ He turned to Mrs Lewis and Jem: ‘Tell me again exactly when and where you last saw Simon.’ He took notes as they repeated their tale, then asked Jem: ‘Can you show us the start of the track on the main road, son?’ Finally, he turned back to Barney. ‘Mr Butler, you are welcome to join in the search, but you’ll need more suitable footwear, a warm jacket and a hat, and heavy gloves — and you won’t be needing the gun, sir.’

  ‘I want to come, too,’ said Jem. ‘I want to help find Simon.’

  But the policeman said he wasn’t quite big enough to handle it.

  ‘You’ll have to wait at our place,’ said Mrs Mason. ‘Get your pyjamas and toothbrush just in case. Rosie and Tommy can stay the night, too. We’ll have waffles for tea.’

  Mrs Lewis began to cry again. ‘How do I know Rosie and Tommy will be safe from Squint?’ She stood up and faced the policeman. ‘I know what he’s capable of. He’ll try to get back at me — he’ll hurt them — he’s got a gun.’

  ‘Constable Royal will go back to the house with you, and stay on duty outside,’ the officer continued. ‘I don’t think you need to fear for your children,’ he said quietly to Mrs Lewis. ‘You’ll be together soon, and you’ll all be looked after for as long as necessary.’

  Mrs Mason put her arm around Mrs Lewis’s shoulders. ‘We’ll take good care of them, Alice. They can stay with us ’til things are sorted out. One thing at a time. You’re not alone in all this.’

  ‘But what say Simon comes home,’ Jem asked, ‘and there’s nobody here? He might be hurt and need help.’

  Another constable would be posted outside Barney’s house to keep an eye on things, the policeman said.

  An officer had arrived to take Mrs Lewis and Sophie to the police station. Mrs Lewis stopped by the door on her way out. ‘You boys were very, very brave,’ she said. ‘I was so thankful when you turned up at the yard, Jem. Please tell Simon. I’ll always remember what you did. You rescued me as well as Sophie.’ And then she and the baby were gone.

  Constable Royal turned to Mrs Mason; he was ready to drive her back to her house. Jem and Barney watched them go, before climbing into the back of a third police car. The plain-clothes officer drove up the hill, followed by the search party in their van.

  ‘Slow down here,’ said Jem. ‘It’s just past the road sign.’

  The car stopped, and Jem took everyone to where the track began. He showed them the bikes.

  Barney put his arms around Jem and held him for a moment. ‘We’ll find him, Jem, I promise. I need to know you’re safe, so please stay with the Masons and don’t go haring off anywhere. Promise me.’

  Jem held back his tears. ‘I promise. I wish Mum and Dad were here,’ he added, almost inaudibly.

  ‘Mrs Mason is ringing your mum — she’s probably doing it right now,’ replied Barney. ‘I know she’ll come as quickly as she can. And your dad.’

  By then, the search party was ready to go. The officer asked Jem to describe the track, and Jem told them about the small cuts on the trees and the bent twigs. He explained about the branch across the creek. His voice wobbled a couple of times, but he spoke loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

  ‘Well done, son,’ said the leader of the search party.

  Barney took Jem back to the police car and waved goodbye as he was driven off to the Masons’.

  The police officer took Jem right to the door.

  ‘Come on in, Jemmy,’ Mrs Mason greeted him. ‘Rosie and Tommy are here, quite safe. I’ve talked to your mum and she’ll be on her way as soon as she’s got in touch with your dad. Fortunately she’s back home and not still up north. My guess is she won’t be here for at least five hours.’

  Mr Mason had arrived with Rosie and Tommy, and Mrs Mason had just filled them in on what had happened. Tommy’s eyes were huge and frightened, and Rosie’s face was red and blotchy.

  Jem would never forget the long night that followed. Nobody wanted to eat much, not even when Mrs Mason made her famous waffles. Nor would anybody go to bed, although Tommy fell asleep on the sofa. As soon as he did, Rosie insisted on Jem telling her everything that had happened from the beginning. Everyone sat around the table, listening intently.

  So Jem started with Simon’s first encounter with Squint at the house-yard and everything that followed from that. He concluded: ‘As soon as Squint disappeared up the track after Simon, I managed to get the outboard going. We were really scared about him catching up with Simon, but we knew we had to get the baby to safety and make sure you and Tommy were OK. We were frightened Squint would follow us home, so we tied up at the Masons’ jetty instead. Mrs Lewis told Mrs Mason what was going on and she rang the police.

  ‘I wanted to go home, but we weren’t sure what Squint would do. We’d have seen a car going past, but we thought he might have made his way on foot to the back of the house. Mrs Mason said it was more likely Squint would be making his escape and she’d check our place out. She rang us soon after and said it was safe for us to go home. But when Simon didn’t come home we got more and more worried. I wanted to look for him but I was too frightened, and Mrs Mason wouldn’t let me. Then Barney came home and the police arrived. And that’s it.’ Jem leaned back in his chair.

  ‘No! That’s not it!’ Rosie’s face was strained and her hands were clenched. ‘What’s happened to Simon is my fault!’

  Nobody moved or uttered a word.

  ‘He went to the yard today because he made me a promise.’ Rosie’s voice was barely above a whisper. ‘I told him something was going on there because my mother was so upset and she wouldn’t talk to me about it. I knew something horrible was happening and my mother wasn’t going to get through it. I could just tell.’

  She rested her forehead on her fists.

  ‘I was forbidden to go to the yard, and Dad gave me a hiding when I asked too many questions. How could I stop whatever was happening when I didn’t know what it was?’ Rosie looked around the table in anguish.

  ‘Simon wanted to tell his grandfather, even though Squint had warned him not to. He thought it was too big for us to handle, but I know how good my father is at keeping one step ahead of anyone who tries to help us. And I know what he does to us afterwards.

  ‘So Simon promised to go to the yard and find out what was happening. He was really brave, because he was afraid to go.’

  The tears started to run down her cheeks. ‘Don’t you see? It’s my fault — whatever has happened to Simon.’

  ‘You’ve been asked to deal with things far too hard for a girl of your age, and for a long, long time,’ said Mrs Mason. ‘I certainly don’t blame you.’

  ‘Nor me,’ agreed Mr Mason.

  Jem was too tired by now to take it all in, but he was sure about one thing. ‘It was Simon’s idea not to come in the boat with us,’ he said. ‘You didn’t ask him to do that — nobody did. And that’s when he seems to have got himself into big trouble.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Mr Mason, ‘that was very brave indeed. And foolish.’

  ‘But that’s not all!’ Rosie burst out again. ‘It’s my father who started all this! Why is he like that? Tommy and me, we always try to keep out of the way and do what he says, but he still hits us. Whatever we do, it makes no difference — he’s still so mean!’ She was sobbing. Her mouth was stretched wide open and drawn down at the corners and her head was flung back. She felt as though she would cry forever, for herself, for Tommy and for her mother. And for her father who didn’t want her to love him.

  Mrs Mason took her h
ands gently. ‘Yes, Rosie,’ she said, ‘it’s nearly too much to bear. But things are going to be different from now on, and the three of you are very strong — you’ll make the most of the opportunity, I know.’ She wiped Rosie’s eyes and stroked her hair back from her face. ‘I’m running a bath for you now, and then you’re going to bed. Hec, put Tommy into the other bed — I don’t think he’ll wake up. Jem, you can curl up on the sofa.’ She led Rosie from the room.

  Jem lay down where Tommy had been. Although he had trouble keeping his eyes open, his mind wouldn’t switch off. It jostled with pictures: Simon climbing out of the wardrobe; Mrs Lewis and him dragging the boat down the beach as Squint got closer and closer; the outboard not starting; Squint chasing Simon up the track; Mrs Lewis and him running up from the Masons’ jetty and wondering if Squint would stop them; Barney getting his rifle from the bedroom; all the policemen around the house. And poor Rosie.

  The phone woke him. It rang three times during the evening. Each time Mr Mason picked it up on the second ring. Was it news of Simon? The first call was from the police to say that Squint Lewis’s car had been sighted a hundred kilometres north on Highway One — it was highly unlikely that he was still in the district. Jem wondered what had happened to Ace.

  The second time it was Mrs Lewis for Rosie. But Rosie was asleep, so she told Mrs Mason that the police had taken her to a safe house for the night, and that they would pick up Rosie and Tommy in the morning and bring them to her.

  ‘It’s absolutely no trouble having them here. They’re both already asleep,’ said Mrs Mason. ‘I do hope you can sleep yourself … No, there’s no news of Simon yet … Yes, incredibly brave.’

  The third call came from Jem and Simon’s mum. She had talked to their dad; he’d missed the last flight from Sydney that night, but he had managed to get a seat on the first one in the morning. She said she was on her way now, and the police had told her before she left that it was safe for her to go to Barney’s. She would be very late, but she would see Jem first thing before breakfast.