‘Right, it’s me, Andrea and Skender going, then,’ said Martin. ‘But we can’t go back along the road. They’ll look for us there, and there’s nowhere to hide when they come.’
‘Just after he was shot, Adam said to go up and over,’ said David. ‘There must be a way out somewhere over the hill, but I don’t know where.’
Martin pulled out his map and studied it. There was a thin line some distance behind the house, obviously a track or road.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘if we can get over the top and through the bush we’ll come to a sort of road, and it loops back towards the town. That’s got to be our plan. We might get coverage for Andrea’s phone on the other side, or when we get to the road there might be cars we can flag down.’
‘Kitty and I will just lie low and keep quiet,’ said David. ‘We should find some kind of weapon, too, in case anyone comes looking.’
‘I’ll get the poker,’ said Kitty. She came back holding the bloodied end away from her. ‘That man hasn’t moved,’ she said. ‘Shouldn’t we do something to help him?’ The others ignored her.
‘Skender,’ said Andrea, ‘did they say anything else about that boat, and what they’re going to do?’
‘I think they’re going to crash it into something – another boat?’ said Skender. ‘There’s something happening on the harbour this afternoon, with some important people, I think they are government people. Aleksijevic must be planning to do some damage with the boat and make it look like a crazy attack by my father.’
‘Oh my God,’ said Andrea.
‘We know what’s happening on the harbour,’ said Martin.
A flock of white cockatoos wheeled, screeching, over their heads.
32
‘IT’S the Premier and Mr Yu, he’ll be the next Premier,’ Martin told Skender, ‘and some other important people too. The Premier is arriving at the jetty in front of our school at two-thirty. Do you think these people want to ram her boat, or the jetty? Mr Yu and the others will be on the jetty.’
Kitty saw understanding in Skender’s eyes. He seemed more worried than ever.
‘That sounds like them,’ he said. ‘And they want to put my father in the boat. I wonder . . .I f he’s driving it, everyone will think this bad thing was his idea. And if the boat is wrecked, then . . . ’ His voice trailed off.
‘No, wait,’ put in Andrea. ‘Mr Yu and Joe Rozman won’t be on the jetty, only the Premier. There’s a kind of secret change of plan. Sam told me.’
‘Sam will be on the jetty!’ Martin’s eyes widened with horror as the realisation hit him.
‘Who did you say?’ Skender was staring at Andrea.
‘Mr Yu, he’s the . . . ’
‘No, the other one. Did you say Joe Rozman?’
‘Yes, he’s the person behind Mr Yu, with all the money.’
‘It’s him,’ said Skender. ‘Filip Aleksijevic. Joe Rozman is the name he’s using in Australia.’
‘Come on,’ said Martin. ‘Whatever they’re planning to do, if we’re going to stop it we have to go right now.’
As they were leaving, David grabbed Andrea’s arm.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said in a low voice. ‘All the time I’ve been here, I’ve been thinking about . . . I should have taken you seriously, you know, way back then.’
‘It’s okay.’ Her voice was husky too. ‘I do say stupid things sometimes.’
Then Martin, Andrea and Skender were gone, running through the bush and up the rise. Kitty watched them disappear, her heart in her mouth.
‘They’ll do it,’ she said to David. ‘You’ll see.’
‘I’m still not clear who Skender is,’ he said. ‘I never got to meet him properly.’
‘He’s pretty cool,’ she said. ‘His name’s not really Skender. He’s from a place called Dardania, but you can’t tell anybody.’
‘Ah. My dad told me about Dardania. Now it’s all starting to make sense.’
‘He seems quiet, David, but you should have seen him when he picked up that poker. If it had been a gun, I really think he would have shot that man, bam, right in the head.’
‘Well, I guess it’s better to have him on our side, then,’ David said. He dragged the damp cloth out of his pocket and wiped Adam’s forehead with it.
‘How is he?’ asked Kitty.
‘I didn’t want to say too much in front of Andrea, but I’m worried. I think he’s pretty sick.’
Kitty put her hand on Adam’s face. It was very hot.
‘He’s bleeding a lot,’ she said. Blood had soaked through the sheet that was wound around his chest.
‘It’s actually worse on the other side,’ said David. ‘They shot him in the back of the shoulder, and the bullet must have gone right through. I think it’s the blood loss that’s doing the damage. I read somewhere that you need fluid.’
‘I’ve got a bottle of water,’ she said, digging in her backpack. ‘I’ve only drunk a bit of it.’
‘Good,’ said David. ‘I didn’t bring anything from the house. Can you just hold his head and give him little sips? Yes, that’s right. We’ll use a bit to wet the cloth, too, try to keep him cool.’
‘I’ve got half a sandwich in here,’ said Kitty. ‘Have you had anything to eat?’
‘Ummm – not since last night. Maybe we can share it.’
‘No.’ Kitty thrust the sandwich into his hand. ‘I’ve had plenty.’
While David was eating, they filled each other in on what had happened, combining what they had learned about Dardania and Skender’s family.
‘So their plan was to kidnap me and use that to force Dad to tell them where the Hassans were,’ said David.
‘What do you think they would have done if they’d found them?’ asked Kitty.
‘My dad wouldn’t say, but I’m sure he thought they were planning to kill the whole family. I wouldn’t have said this in front of Skender, but it seems to me that Korab Hassan is supposed to die in that boat.’
‘I think Skender knows,’ said Kitty. ‘Remember, he said —’
‘Shhhhh,’ said David. ‘Listen. Is that a car?’
From their hiding place, if they raised their heads, they could catch glimpses of the driveway and part of the back verandah of the house. They waited, concentrating on the driveway, and saw a flash of sun on metal.
‘Stay down,’ whispered David. ‘It’s Marko coming back.’
There were sounds, but not loud enough to interpret. Maybe a voice, maybe a slamming door. They didn’t dare raise their heads to peep over, because if they could see the back verandah, a watcher at the back of the house would be able to see them. Kitty thought she heard someone or something moving through the undergrowth towards them. She locked eyes with David, and they each put a protective hand on Adam’s back. He didn’t move.
After an interminable time, they heard a car engine again. David risked raising his head.
‘They’ve gone,’ he said.
‘Are you sure?’
‘I saw the car.’
‘Were they both in it?’
‘Don’t know, I couldn’t see.’
Kitty rolled onto her side and curled up like a baby. She wanted to cry.
33
ANDREA, Martin and Skender found a network of narrow paths, some that looked like walking trails, some that were probably made by animals. None of them led straight up the hill, so it was a zig-zag journey, getting steeper all the time as the grassy, ferny ground gave way to a stony surface that made them slip and stumble. The paths kept veering away to the right, to the west, but the town was somewhere to the south of them, and they didn’t want to get too far away from it.
Martin and Andrea took turns to lead, running when they could, scrabbling up the steeper slopes on hands and knees. No one said much, and soon they were all puffing. Andrea was the only one who had brought water, and she passed it around when they paused for a breather.
‘Still no signal,’ she said, checking her phone.
‘No, t
here’s a ring of higher mountains around us,’ said Martin. ‘It might be a while.’
Skender looked around. ‘Beautiful place,’ he said. ‘So quiet.’
‘We’re in the middle of nowhere here,’ said Andrea. She put the bottle back in her bag. ‘Let’s go.’
They clambered along the side of a steep gully dotted with tall, skinny trees. Skender moved to the front, threading his way between the slender trunks. Suddenly he stopped and held up a hand to his face.
‘Oh no,’ said Andrea. ‘It’s one of those . . .N o, don’t keep going. Back up, slowly.’
‘Is it a trap?’
‘Sort of.’ Martin was laughing. ‘It’s a spider.’
‘Arghhh!’ Skender looked around wildly.
‘Just step backwards,’ said Andrea. ‘The web’s really strong. It won’t break. You really don’t want to break it and have it all wrapped around you, ’cos then the spider wouldn’t be very happy.’
Skender did as she suggested and they moved on.
‘Is it a big spider?’ asked Skender, looking back. The web flashed golden in the sunlight as they started jogging again.
‘Oh yeah!’ said Andrea.
‘Nah,’ said Martin. ‘You haven’t seen a big spider until you’ve seen a huntsman.’ He held up his hand, with fingers spread, and Skender shuddered.
‘What’s the time?’ Andrea asked Martin.
‘I don’t know and I’m not looking. We’re going as fast as we can.’
Andrea knew it would be lunchtime at school. She hadn’t listened properly to any of the arrangements, but she supposed there would be an extra-long lunchtime, then the whole school would move, class by class, to the grassy area at the water’s edge, where a dais had been set up to receive the visitors. Sam was probably already in the office, with her big bunch of flowers, brushing and re-brushing her shining hair, practising her curtsey.
They reached a high point and saw the mountainside tumbling away from them, but the downhill slope was even rougher, with big dark boulders strewn everywhere.
‘Is this right?’ said Andrea.
‘It’s fine,’ said Martin. ‘Just gotta keep that sun on our right. We’ll make better time now, going downhill.’
They scrambled down a ferny gully. The moss-covered rocks were slippery, and some of them rolled away underfoot. Skender stumbled and almost fell onto Andrea. She grabbed his arm.
‘Stop,’ she whispered. ‘Shhhh.’
The two boys froze. Andrea slowly lifted her hand and pointed. On a rise off to their right, a big grey kangaroo sat on its haunches, considering them. Coming to a decision, it took one last mouthful of young leaves and bounced away, not hurrying.
‘Oh,’ said Skender. ‘Oh.’
‘Nice,’ said Martin. He and Andrea exchanged a glance, smiling like proud parents. They started running again.
ADAM was burning up, and the water bottle was nearly empty.
‘Give it to me,’ said David finally. ‘It’ll only take a minute to fill it up. What are the chances they’ll come back in that time? They’ll probably never come back.’
‘But we don’t know for sure that they both left in the car,’ said Kitty.
‘I reckon they did,’ said David. ‘But I’ll be really careful.’
She watched him lope away towards the house. He reached the back verandah, then he was out of sight. A few moments later she saw a flash in the driveway and heard the car approaching.
It was too late to shout a warning, too late to jump up and run to the house. There was no way to tell where he was, or whether he had heard the car. She kept her head up as long as she dared. She thought she heard a car door shut, a voice, a door click in the house, then a shout, but she was not sure of anything.
Then she did see something, a flicker of movement at the back of the house, and she shrank down, lying against Adam, her heart thundering. The blanket was only partly under them, and any movement she made produced a rustling of the dry leaves and twigs in the ferny hollow where they lay. She willed herself to keep still, barely breathing.
There were voices now, she could hear them clearly. The two men were on the back verandah, talking. It was possible that they had found David and were looking for her and Adam – or had David somehow managed to hide?
The poker lay in the ditch beside her. Could she, she wondered, jump up and hit one of the men with it, as Skender had done? What about the other man? One of them must have the gun.
Then the fat man barked an order and she heard one or both of them stepping off the verandah. Their footsteps got gradually louder as they moved in her direction.
Something tickled her leg. She looked down, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to leap up, screaming. An enormous huntsman spider, one of the biggest she had ever seen, was delicately manoeuvring itself over her sock onto her bare leg. As she watched, moaning inwardly in horror, it moved diagonally up her leg, taking its time.
Her brain raced. How long can I last? Shouldn’t I be more scared of those men than a spider? Why, oh why, did I wear my school skirt and not my long pants? If it goes under my skirt I won’t be able to keep still, I won’t!
The spider came on, tickling slightly as it crawled across her leg. It reached the hem of her skirt, touched it tentatively, gave a little shrug and stepped down onto a twig on the other side.
Kitty breathed out.
The spider reached Adam and inched itself onto his bare arm.
Kitty tensed again. ‘Don’t wake up, don’t wake up,’ she pleaded silently.
Adam suddenly twitched and jerked his arm with a rustle of leaves. The spider flew off and Kitty heard one of the men call to the other. Then she heard a crash somewhere beyond the house, as though someone had thrown a rock, followed by a confusion of shouts and running feet.
She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
THEY hadn’t seen any sign of a road, and Martin wondered if they were completely lost. There was nothing around them but bush.
‘Hey,’ said Andrea. ‘There’s a house through there. It’s some sort of building, anyway.’
‘Looks like a ruin,’ said Martin.
As they got closer they could see rotting weatherboards, a rusted iron roof and overgrown fruit trees, but when they came round the side of the hut to the sagging front verandah the picture was completed by a crooked figure in a broken-down rocking chair. Everything, house, chair and occupant, was so uniformly old, dusty and weathered that it seemed to be formed from one substance and frozen in time – until the old person’s head swivelled in their direction.
‘What’s that? Who’s there?’
‘Sorry,’ said Martin, stepping round in front of him. ‘Didn’t mean to give you a fright.’
‘How many of youse are there?’ demanded the old man. His sparse white hair straggled over a freckled scalp, and his pale blue eyes were watery and unfocused.
‘Three of us,’ said Andrea, coming to join Martin. ‘Do you live here?’
‘Yeah. The name’s Cappy Maguire. Been here all me life.’
‘Nice place,’ said Martin.
‘Little piece of paradise. I’ve had to let it go a bit, lately. I’ve got that immaculate generation, in me eyes, like. Can’t see more than a blur.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Andrea. ‘Have you got a phone?’
‘Sorry, missy. Phone’s too dear these days, and who’d want to ring me up?’
‘Well, is it far to the town from here?’
‘Three or four mile,’ said Cappy. ‘Straight down my track there, and left at the main road.’
‘We’d better get going, then,’ said Andrea. ‘My dad’s in the bush back there. He’s hurt, and we’re trying to get some help for him.’
‘Why didn’t you say so?’ said Cappy. ‘I’ll let you have Bessie. She’s in the shed.’ He gestured towards a shed that was even more decrepit than the house. ‘Keys on the nail, just inside the door.’
The door of the shed opened with
a screech of protest and they surveyed the ancient flat-bed truck. It seemed to be in fair condition for its age, and the tyres looked sound.
‘I don’t know what we’re going to do with that,’ said Martin.
Skender looked thoughtfully at Bessie. ‘I can drive,’ he said.
34
THERE was good timing and bad timing, David reflected. It was good timing that the others had shown up to get him away from the kidnappers – if that worked in the end. It was terrible timing that the kidnappers had come back to the house just when he was running the tap to fill the water bottle, so he hadn’t heard their car.
The first thing he heard was a voice in the hallway, just as he was screwing the top back on the bottle. For an instant he was paralysed, then he shoved the bottle in his pocket and sidled backwards through the open glass door onto the back verandah and over the edge. The verandah was raised off the uneven ground at one end, and there was just enough room to crawl underneath with the spiders, rubbish and dust accumulated over many years. He put his head down and held his nose to suppress a sneeze.
The men talked in the living room for a few minutes, then they came out onto the verandah and talked there. He could guess that once again Marko was blaming the whole thing on Enver, whose aggrieved tones suggested that he felt he had got the worst part of the deal. That blow with the poker must have really hurt.
From the timing, he judged that they had driven up and down the road looking for him and Adam, and now had given up and were trying to decide what to do. Surely they would have concluded that his rescuer had come by car, and that they were all far away by now. All he and Kitty had to do was wait quietly for Marko and Enver to leave.
Then he heard Marko give an order, and he saw a pair of legs as Enver stepped off the verandah and began exploring the yard, peering at the ground as though he thought he might find tracks. David held his breath. Surely they could not have left footprints on the dry, stony ground?
He lost sight of Enver, but he could see some sort of movement in the shrubbery further away, and his heart sank. If Enver kept searching in that direction, Kitty and Adam wouldn’t be too hard to find.
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