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Chapters (69)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. The First Crossing
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Cross Country
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. The Woods
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Chapter Forty-Five
  53. Chapter Forty-Six
  54. Chapter Forty-Seven
  55. Chapter Forty-Eight
  56. Chapter Forty-Nine
  57. Chapter Fifty
  58. Chapter Fifty-One
  59. Chapter Fifty-Two
  60. Chapter Fifty-Three
  61. Chapter Fifty-Four
  62. Chapter Fifty-Five
  63. Chapter Fifty-Six
  64. The Last Crossing
  65. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  66. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  67. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. Copyright

‘Not much,’ Tony said. ‘We’re nearly there.’

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-One

‘We’re nearly there,’ Duggan said, his breath short, the words clipped.

He straightened in the grave, pulled his T-shirt free from where it had been tucked in at his waist. ‘Another few shovel loads will do us. You finish it; I’m going to find some large stones.’

‘What for?’ Tony asked. For a moment, he suspected Duggan wanted to place a marker on the grave, which would surely draw attention to its location.

‘We need to put some on top of him to stop foxes and the like from digging him up,’ Duggan explained as if speaking to a child. In terms of their levels of experience of such things, Tony reflected, Duggan’s assessment wasn’t far wrong.

Kelly lay on his side now, seemingly in a faint. His breathing had become quick and shallow. He whimpered where he lay, his body shivering involuntarily every few minutes. He seemed unable to lift his head from the ground and leaves and dirt were stuck to the side of his face. A leaf, attached to his lips, rippled and danced with each breath, but did not dislodge.

‘What will we do?’ Karen asked. She’d finished stripping him and had placed his clothes in the bag, which Duggan had given to her.

‘Should we let him go?’ Tony said, then realized that Duggan may not have gone too far away and might be wondering why the sound of digging had stopped. He took another shovel load of clay, deposited it to the side of the hole.

‘I don’t think he’d get very far,’ Karen said. ‘He’s sweating, but his skin’s cold.’

‘He’s in shock,’ Tony said. ‘See if you can rouse him.’

‘I’m going to undo his hands,’ Karen said.

She knelt behind him, working at the knots, but they were pulled tight by Kelly’s having struggled against them. She got down on all fours, leaning down, as if to use her teeth to loosen them.

‘Take his gag off,’ Tony said. ‘See if he’s awake enough to run.’

Karen nodded and, reaching down, pulled the gag loose from his mouth. ‘Martin,’ she hissed. ‘Martin?’

His eyes rolled towards her, his mouth lying open, his tongue moving uselessly.

‘He must be thirsty,’ she said. ‘We’ve nothing to give him to drink.’

‘Martin,’ Tony said. ‘Martin, can you hear us?’

Kelly’s eyes swiveled back towards his direction, but he seemed for a moment to struggle to focus. He tried to speak, but the words, dry and rasping, made no sense.

‘Martin, can you get up?’ Tony hissed. ‘Can you stand?’