I hadn’t laid eyes on Joyce since that day on Finch Island; I’d had no desire to visit her in jail. But for a long, long time I’d been wanting to tell her exactly what I thought of her—and venting at one of her gang was the next best thing.

‘I hope you stay here and rot. Just like Krystal. I hope they wheel you out of that shitheap nursing home down there one day and drop you in a hole next to her. Aaron deserves better than this, but you don’t. You belong here.’

When I finally finished, there was a short, stunned silence. Then Phoebe shouted, ‘Fuck you!’

By that time, however, I was already climbing into Warren’s car.

‘Well—that was unexpected,’ he said as we drove away.

‘It was awesome.’ Aaron was wearing a broad grin; I could see it in the rear-view mirror. ‘You’re a legend, Rob.’

‘Not really.’ I felt ashamed for attacking Kate in front of her daughter. ‘I should have had more self-control.’

‘It was her fault,’ Aaron pointed out. ‘She was the one who threatened me.’

‘Yeah, but you were the one who put her back up in the first place,’ said Warren.

‘So? I was telling the truth. Phoebe pulled some crap and got me in a lot of trouble.’ Aaron’s smile suddenly dissolved into a familiar scowl. ‘I had nothing to do with that fucking stash, but everyone thinks I did.’

‘Everyone in Otford, maybe. But who cares?’ I turned in my seat to reassure him. ‘It doesn’t matter because we’re leaving Otford.’

‘Not if we go this way, we’re not,’ Aaron said.

He was right. We were heading back into town. I told Warren to make a U-turn and soon we were on the road to Bathurst, arguing about music. Thanks for visiting Otford, the sign said. Please come again.

Aaron gave it the finger as we sped past.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank Louise Dungate, Justine Jinks, Janine Bellamy, Margaret Connolly and Mandy Brett for their help with this book.

ALSO BY CATHERINE JINKS

ALSO BY CATHERINE JINKS AND AVAILABLE FROM TEXT

Shepherd

Shelter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catherine Jinks has published more than forty books for adults and children. She has won many awards including the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, the Aurealis Award for science fiction, the Adelaide Festival Award and the Davitt Award for crime fiction. Catherine is a four-time winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award and in 2001 was presented with a Centenary Medal for her contribution to Australian children’s literature. She lives in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

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