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“The river’s over there,” Gus said quietly, pointing to a line of trees.
Mac watched him, knowing he was reliving that day twelve years before. Mac found it hard enough to think about—he could only imagine what it was doing to Gus. “Why don’t you wait here? I could go see if those kids have parents somewhere.”
Gus shook his head. “They’re more likely to talk to me.” He beckoned one of the children. They all ran over, curious, talkative, guilelessly cheeky. Gus asked them where their elders were.
“You’re an outsider.” The little girl who stood at the head of the children folded her arms and regarded them fiercely.
“Yes,” Gus said calmly, “but I lived here once. Is the swinging tree still standing…the one with the rope that can take you out to the middle of the river?”
The girl nodded and the children burst into a babel of stories about their adventures on the rope swing, and for a while Gus discussed swinging techniques with them. “Have there been any other outsiders come to Harmony that you can remember?”
“There’s always people coming. Athol says we’ll be our own country soon.”
“Where exactly are your elders now?”
The girl pointed toward a rise. “They’re in the potato paddock. There’s a round moon tonight…but you can’t go in the machine. Come on, we’ll show you.”
And so they followed the children, who chattered and sang as they walked. Beyond the rise they could see adults working with mattocks in a cleared field. A young woman noticed them then and downed tools to walk over and demand the nature of their business.
When Gus explained that he had lived in the community once, she became less hostile. She shooed away the children and invited Gus and Mac to follow her to meet “the others.” They might have asked her about Theo then, but they wanted to see who else was there, look for themselves for any sign of Theo.
The furrowed field was awkward for Gus, who still relied heavily on a cane, but eventually they made their way over to a larger group of men and women who were planting potatoes.
They were greeted with a chorus of “Welcome to Harmony, friend!”
“Augustus Stormboy Benton! Crikey!” An older man—snow-white hair, graying beard, and protruding front teeth that made him lisp a little—walked toward them arms outstretched. “It’s you, isn’t it?”
Gus nodded. “Athol.”
“I never thought I’d see you back here, Augustus.”
“It’s Gus now. Neither did I.” His eyes remained fixed on the line of trees behind which was the river.
“Aug…Gus’s folks helped found this place,” Athol said for the benefit of the others. “They were good people—keepers of light.” He turned to a woman with long cornrowed hair. “You remember Gus, Maura. He stabbed that Jacob Curtis with a five-inch fishing knife.”
CHAPTER 32
Some of the people gathered around drew back, alarmed and angry, as Athol described the knife and the resultant wound in somewhat unnecessary detail. There was a recitational quality to it. Mac wondered if the old man was suffering from the beginnings of some kind of dementia. Maura nodded calmly as he spoke, as did others—older men and women who it appeared had been there. Gus listened in silence.
“Not that I blame you, of course,” Athol declared. “Curtis was scum. A dark force, a corrupter. Someone needed to stab the mongrel.”
Gus’s face was unreadable.
“That was one helluva day,” Athol said shaking his head. “Blood everywhere…Curtis screaming like a stuck pig. We made a pact to keep what happened to ourselves…for Augustus’s sake…and the little girl’s. Had John the Lighthealer sew the depraved bastard up… It was bloody hairy for a while, but Curtis survived. And of course, he wasn’t going to tell.”
Again, Gus said nothing.
Mac glanced uncomfortably at the potato planters, many of whom were clearly surprised by Athol’s declarations. It seemed a very public way to keep a pact of secrecy.
“How is Theodosia?” Maura asked gently.
“She’s fine,” Gus snapped.
“When was the last time you saw Theo?” Mac asked cautiously.
“Oh, years ago now,” Maura replied frowning. “Paul and Beth sent her to boarding school on the mainland when she was twelve or so, and then they left too. It was understandable after what happened, I suppose. Theodosia became so withdrawn and she missed her brother so terribly…would cry for him. Paul and Beth tried, but Harmony was destroyed for them. We let them go with our blessings.”
“It wasn’t that!” Athol folded his arms churlishly. “Paul and Beth had showbiz in their blood! We weren’t enough of an audience for Tassie’s answer to Sonny and Cher. With the kids out of the way, it was their big chance!”
