Stepan gave his father’s name, although the man must surely remember them by now. He picked up his typed list and scanned slowly until he found it. His finger moved across the line, then he looked at them both with a strange expression. Could it be triumph? Satisfaction?

“Prisoner number 5204 has been tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death,” he said with a crooked half-smile.

“No!” Maria screamed. It was as if the air had been punched from her body. “Peter!” Her voice echoed around the high-ceilinged room, bouncing off walls.

“I think you have the wrong person,” Stepan said, a tremor in his voice. “Can I see your list?”

The officer handed it over. Stepan checked and double-checked it, then turned to Maria with horror on his face. “It says the sentence was carried out yesterday.”

Maria’s legs gave way beneath her. The pain was so appalling that she began clawing at her eyes, her face, her neck, drawing blood. “No-o-o!”

“Mama, your face. Stop it!” Stepan pulled at her hands.

But she couldn’t stop. She wanted to dig her nails deep into her flesh and carry on gouging holes until she was dead too. That way she wouldn’t have to live with this.

Stepan tried to pull her to her feet, but her legs wouldn’t take her weight. The officer was grinning now—actually grinning—and she wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t get up.

Stepan hoisted her in his arms and carried her toward the door.

“I can’t leave without Peter,” she cried, trying to struggle free. “We need to take him with us.” She would wash his body so tenderly, put the coins on his eyes, lie with him one last time.

“Let’s get you home. I’ll come for him tomorrow.”

Maria began to cry. “But he’s on his own. He might be cold. Please . . .”

“Tomorrow. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow,” Stepan promised.

They were out on the street now and the air was icy with frost, shocking Maria into silence. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t carry on living in a world without Peter.

Stepan carried her all the way to the tram stop, just as his father had carried her through the forest back in 1918.

Chapter 35

Sydney, September 1974

IT WAS DAUNTING TO ARRIVE BACK IN SYDNEY WITHOUT a home or a job to go to. Val and Nicole moved into Peggy’s spare room and Val made finding a job her first priority since her money was all but gone.