“What were you doing, Susan?” Mavis asked, the normal harsh edges of her voice filed down into something that almost sounded like sympathy.
Susan smiled faintly, and murmured something I didn’t catch because my ears were full of seawater.
“No, love,” Mavis said. “Will’s not coming home.” Her eyes narrowed as she caught my gaze, like she thought I was going to do something stupid like open my mouth and ask.
I wasn’t the idiot I thought she was. I could put two and two together. I thought of Amy Nesmith, and the way her gaze had turned distant when she’d talked about how dangerous fishing was. It was obvious Dauntless was no stranger to tragedy, and that Susan’s Will—not her son, but the husband she’d named that son after—had been lost in one.
Mavis brought the tinnie alongside one of the sets of concrete steps that led down from a gap in the harbour wall. Verity and the old man came down the steps to collect Susan, and I climbed out behind them.
“Thanks,” I said to Mavis, and she grunted in return.
At least she wasn’t rude enough to say she hadn’t done it for me, but I could see her struggling with the temptation.
I squelched up the steps, my heavy lungs still aching.
“Holy shit!” Eddie exclaimed when I reached the top of the steps. “Dominic! Are you okay?”
Was I? I couldn’t tell. I was very, very wet, and very, very exhausted, and that was all I could focus on right now. That, and the fact I had a very long trek all the way back to the end of the jetty to collect my utility vest.
“I’m good.” I looked to check if someone was taking Susan safely towards home. She was walking between Verity and the old man. “Someone needs to?—”
To keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay.
Except I started coughing, and couldn’t stop.
“Shit,” Eddie said. “Let’s get you home, Dominic.”
“I have to—” I coughed again, and pointed at the jetty. “My vest.”
I would be in so much shit if I lost my vest and everything attached to it—my radio and cuffs and phone. At least my firearm and Taser were in the safe at the station, but my bosses wouldn’t be happy if I lost the rest of my stuff either.
“I’ll get it,” Eddie said. “Dominic—Jesus, get inside and get in a warm shower! Do you have soup? I’ll bring you soup!”
I couldn’t stop the stupid grin spreading over my face, even though I felt like total shit.
“What?” Eddie asked. “Oh, God. You are literally dripping. Go! Get inside!”
“Okay,” I said, like an idiot. “Thanks, Eddie.”
Not for the vest, and not even for the soup. But because he was probably my only real friend on Dauntless Island.
He returned my smile, and didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. I could tell he got it.
I squelched not-quite-miserably towards home.
Chapter 14
NATTY
Me and Button John were building new shelves for Big Johnny’s shed. It was the sort of job that Button John couldn’t be trusted to do on his own, which was most jobs, but definitely anything that involved power tools. Big Johnny said it was a bloody miracle Button John still had all his fingers and toes, which would always make Aunt Jane click her tongue and tell him to be nice, and Button John splutter as indignantly as a wet cat. Big Johnny was right though—it was a miracle. I’d thought it at least three times already today, even with keeping a close eye on him.
It was late in the afternoon by the time we were finishing up. We were both covered in sawdust and grime, and our washing up session with buckets of soapy water had turned into a water fight when Emily came rushing out to find us.
She yelled as she rounded the corner at the back of the house and narrowly missed the handful of water Button John had just flung in my direction. Then, instead of giving Button John a bollocking, she ignored him. “Natty! Aunt Susan just walked off the jetty into the harbour!”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
“The copper fished her out,” Emily said, eyes wide. “Verity Barnes just came and told us. She’s fine, Verity says. Mum and Dad are going to check on her now.”
