The Man in the Water by David Burton

Author:David Burton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-04T06:28:46+00:00

His mother’s face relaxed with relief.

‘There you are,’ she said.

‘Sorry,’ Shaun muttered.

‘We were just about to send out a search party,’ Baker said. ‘I’ve been trying to talk your mother into pressing charges against Peter Grant.’

His mum held up her hands. ‘No, honestly. He’s been through so much. In grief you go a little—’

But Baker interrupted. ‘It’s not an excuse. You can’t go around town beating up people you don’t like. Coming up with crazy theories about things. We’re the law in this town. We take care of justice.’ She turned to Shaun. ‘Do you hear me, mate?’

He couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

‘It’s our job, okay? Not yours. I don’t want to be talking to you again. You scared your mother out of her mind, running away tonight. Okay?’

He nodded.

She turned back to his mum. ‘Sure you don’t want to press charges?’

‘Positive. We don’t want to cause trouble.’

Baker shook her head. ‘Blokes like Grant think they run the place. He’s the one causing trouble. These union blokes are just as buggered as the mines themselves.’

‘Yeah. You’re probably right.’

‘Meanwhile,’ Baker was on a roll, ‘no-one cares about the farmers struggling in the bloody drought. My family’s been here since before the mines and they’re in serious trouble. But we don’t go around smashing letterboxes.’

‘Look, I know Peter’s tough, but he’s just lost his son. Things are tense.’

Baker smiled. ‘You’re an understanding woman. Your heart’s in the right place.’ She made for the door. ‘Give us a call if anything else happens, all right?’

With Baker gone, it was just the two of them again. His mum hugged him. For once, Shaun let her.

‘Do you want tea?’ she said, flicking the kettle on. ‘Have you had dinner? Where have you been?’

‘Out. Sorry. Just thinking.’

‘You need to stop thinking.’

‘Great,’ he said. ‘Thanks, Mum. I’ll take that on board. Stop thinking.’

‘You know exactly what I mean. You need to stop thinking about Tyson.’ She was pulling food out of the fridge. Cold chicken. Lettuce. A tomato. Bread. His stomach rumbled. ‘Like Sergeant Baker said, all that stuff’s their business. Okay?’

‘If it’s their business they should’ve believed me in the first place, Mum.’

‘Yes, okay. I understand. And I’m not saying I don’t believe you, sweetie, honestly, but—’

Shaun let out a heavy, frustrated sigh.

‘But you don’t know what you saw, either. Do you? You can’t stand there and look me in the eye and tell me this has nothing to do with your father.’

‘It doesn’t,’ he said, his voice flat and angry.

She put a sandwich on the table in front of him. Her voice changed. ‘I’m trying really hard, okay?’ she said.

He wanted that sandwich, but to reach for it now felt like he was giving her a point in whatever their stupid battle was.

‘I’m trying really hard to understand and to listen,’ she continued. ‘But you have to try too. You have to listen to me. And when things get scary you can’t just run away for hours until it’s night-time. You can’t leave me like that, I’ve already been—’

The kettle gave out a sharp metallic ting.

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