My jaw clenches when she talks. Lillian has barely even said hello to me, how could she have pegged me as a lawbreaker?

“How did you find out?” Gavin asks.

“I found the gun on her,” Paxton says.

“Have you questioned her about it?”

“Didn’t need to. She offered no explanation. She didn’t try to deny anything. She’s the one. I’m bringing this up because we have to figure out what to do about it.”

“This is the first time we’ve caught someone stealing,” Avery says.

“It cannot be taken lightly,” Lillian agrees.

“So,” Paxton says, “what do we do? It’s not like we have written laws about what we do with thieves. We have no judges, juries, or lawyers.”

“This is why I’ve been urging us to come up with laws,” Avery says, obviously irritated. “How many times have I mentioned this? If we have set laws, we don’t even have to meet. We will know what needs to be done.”

“But you open up a whole can of worms along with it, Avery,” Kenneth says. “Do we let the people decide the laws? Do we decide the laws for them? How bad do we punish somebody? What about the different degrees of theft? Killing? It’s not as simple as saying, anyone who steals must have their hand cut off. What if they were taking something they thought was theirs? What Paxton says is right, it’s not like what it used to be.”

“So, we just let these things go unpunished?” Avery says.

“Of course not,” Paxton says. “Why do you think I’ve called all of you in? We are here to decide what to do with Remi. This isn’t a meeting about writing new laws.”

There is a hush in the room. It’s uncomfortable and I don’t like it. I wish I could see in there, though I know I don’t have to. My imagination shows that Avery is stroking his white beard, while Kenneth’s knees move up and down rapidly. Gavin probably stares at the table, too afraid to voice his own opinion. Lillian stares dutifully at Paxton, waiting for him to ask her what her opinion is, but Paxton ignores her, staring straight ahead until someone else talks first.

Finally, Kenneth speaks. “Well, what I said about cutting off her hand ain’t a bad idea.”

“This isn’t the Middle Ages, Kenneth,” Gavin says, finding the courage to confront the large man. Sniff. “Don’t be ignorant. The people won’t like it. It’s barbaric.”

“Maybe,” Paxton says, “but I’m not ruling out anything. Sometimes even the smallest crime should warrant a big consequence. The bigger the consequence, the less likely one is to repeat one’s actions.”

“What are you saying?” Avery asks.

“Killing her,” Kenneth says. I can almost hear the smile in his tone.