McFarlane lay like a horrific baby in Otto’s arms, his eyes bulging, his neck loose, his grim mouth rooting at the air.

Magnus now fell to his knees and began to laugh. With both arms hooked over the rifle, which still lay across his shoulders, he looked like a man in the stocks.

“Maggie’s gone loco,” Siggy said.

“Fucking tell ’em,” Otto spat into the hobo’s face, taking hold of McFarlane’s hair and nodding his head up and down. “Tell ’em. You fucking did it, didn’t you?”

McFarlane seemed to understand that Otto wanted him to nod and continued after Otto had let go of his hair.

“You did it, didn’t you?”

McFarlane nodded.

“Look at that,” Otto said triumphantly.

“Damn, he’s just an eejit,” Finn said. “Don’t know his arse from his elbow.”

“He’s fucking admitting it,” Otto insisted.

“Okay, he admit it,” Sal shouted, still fluttering around the periphery like a helpless hen. “He admit it. Is over now. Over. We take him to the police.”

“All of you, keep your voices down,” Bennet said calmly. “Bastard can’t be tried for the same crime again. So what are we going to do about it? Your call, Otto.”

“Oldentime justice,” Otto said. “I’m going to fry him.” He shoved the socks back into McFarlane’s mouth, securing them with duct tape. He pulled the rope wildly, knocking Siggy back and swinging McFarlane through the fire. Quickly recovering, Siggy tugged on the rope to get the man high above the flames.

“Let go,” Otto shouted at Siggy. “I’m going to fucking bake his brains.”

But Siggy held the rope firm. He was staring at Bennet. Confused, Otto looked at Bennet also.

“That enough?” Bennet said, turning from his cousin to Goldwin and Finn. Siggy was shaking his head with disbelief as he pulled a dollar from his pocket and handed it to Bennet.

Finn was breathing hard, staring at Otto. “Jesus, he’s a godless animal.”

Goldwin had pressed both hands onto his scalp, as if he feared his thin hairs were too delicate for this. “Well, I would never have believed it,” he said. “You are rotten to the bone.” He too got a dollar out and handed it to Bennet.

Sal was sitting on the ground, sobbing, his face sunk into his hands.

“What?” Otto said, looking around, confused.

“You are the goddamn purest thing I ever seen,” Bennet said. “Everyone in this whole damn town knows you’re the one raped Shannon. You’re so goddamn stupid, telling everyone you saw a big nigger with his dog, then saying it was this poor bastard.”

“He did it,” Otto shouted. “Said he did it.”

“And good God,” Finn said, “if you’re not willing to kill this man too.”

“We’d better get him down,” Siggy cut in urgently. “He’s not moving.”