he should take the child now while Jerry was distracted, he thought, but then…he could hardly abandon Ally. And Margaret would never let him take her surreptitiously. He intended to take Jody, but he’d have to face Jerry as he did it.
‘You’re Jerome Hatfied,’ Ally was saying. ‘Jerry if you like, but it makes no difference. Don’t lie to me.’
‘I have no idea—’
‘You have every idea,’ she spat. ‘I can’t believe you had the nerve to come back here. After all this time. If your father knew…’
‘My father has nothing to do with you,’ Jerry said, in the great booming voice he used so well to intimidate everyone who came within hearing. ‘Get out of my prayer house.’
‘I don’t know who you’re praying to,’ Ally told him, lowering her voice to almost a whisper. It was an incredible contrast to Jerry’s booming vocal, but it was every bit as effective. Just as menacing. ‘But I tell you now. Nobody’s listening. Why would anyone listen to your prayers, Jerome Hatfield, when you don’t even listen to the people around you? When you let children die.’
‘Get out.’
‘You know,’ she said, suddenly switching her attention to the three men still crouched in disbelief on the prayer mats, ‘if I were you guys, I’d get out now. Consorting with a known criminal is an offence all by itself.’
‘I’m not—’
‘Oh, yes, you are.’ She kept the hush to her tone. There was no need to raise her voice. Even the chickens seemed to have stilled to listen. ‘You left this country seventeen years ago, while you were on bail for assault, forgery, bigamy, theft…you name it. You left a trail of destruction in your wake, including two wives. The police tracked you down twelve years ago and found you doing the same thing in the States. But you ran again, before you could be deported. I’d hoped we’d seen the last of you then, but suddenly—guess what? A man called Jerry Dwyer is living on a barren bush block that no one ever comes near. It’s unsaleable land. Your father owns it and you know he’s written it off as unusable. So you come back, pick up another lot of vulnerable people and start all over again.’
‘You don’t know—’
‘Of course I know,’ she said wearily. ‘Do you think I’m stupid? I’m Ally Westruther but, like you, I’ve changed my surname. Try Ally Lindford for size.’
‘Lindford.’
‘That’s right,’ she said, almost pleasantly. ‘Tony Lindford’s daughter.’
He stared as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘Tony’s… You’re Ally?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Tony’s dead.’
‘Of course he’s dead,’ she agreed, almost cordially. ‘You don’t care about that, though, do you? Like you didn’t care about my mother and like you didn’t care about any of your people. You’re a liar and a sham.’
He took a deep breath. Searching for control. ‘Get out of my house,’ he boomed.
She ignored him. ‘This man…’ she said, almost conversationally, and Darcy was suddenly aware that there was a cluster of women and children behind him. ‘This man sucks people for everything he can get. Don’t tell me. Let me guess. This man will have control of all your pension books. You’ll all have been on pensions when he met you. That’s why he chose you. He’ll give you nothing. You’ll be half-starving, you’ll work like slaves for him and he’ll never be pleased. He’ll control every aspect of your lives and he’ll never let go. Ever.’
‘These people want to be here,’ Jerry snarled, and Ally gave him a look that would curdle milk.
‘These people have been so brainwashed they don’t know any better. You prey on desperate people when they’re at their weakest. But there is better. There’s welfare services where we can get everyone emergency accommodation. There’s free medical treatment for the kids.’ She motioned down to one of the men and her voice softened. ‘As for you, that’s a skin cancer on your face. If you don’t get it off soon, it’ll be so deep that you’ll be scarred for life. Even now I’d imagine you must be in dreadful pain. You desperately need a skin graft.’
The man put a hand to the side of his head. The wound looked angry and inflamed—incredibly painful.
‘I’ve told him—’ Darcy started, but she cut him off.
‘It doesn’t matter what you told him,’ she said. ‘No one can listen. Not when Jerry overrules everything you say. He’s blocked their ears. But you all need to listen now.’
‘Get out!’ The big man was practically screaming, and he made as if to lunge at Ally. Darcy took a step toward her, but she sidestepped neatly—as if she’d done it many times before?—then turned again to face Jerry.
‘I was deathly afraid of you,’ she told him. ‘Once. But I escaped. And now you all can. This man is nothing but a liar and a thief and a con merchant. And if you listen you might be able to hear a car in the distance. It’s the police. They’re coming, Jerry. I just phoned them. You have outstanding warrants in at least two countries. I’ve contacted them and told them where you are. They’re coming to arrest you right now.’
‘I…’ He was almost speechless. He whirled to his men. ‘Get up. Move!’ Then to the women. ‘Move, now. Out the back way. We can leave.’
‘But I know where all your caves are, Jerry,’ Ally told him, almost pleasantly. ‘They’re a great labyrinth to hide in, but not if the searchers know the way. So you can go where you like and I’ll send the police after you. But as for the rest of you…’ She softened again and faced them all. ‘I know what this man is like,’ she told them. ‘I can help. Believe me, I can help, and so will Dr Rochester. Your kids are ill. You know that. You’re ill yourselves. If you trust us, stay here and let us help. Or trust Jerry as you’ve trusted him for years and see where that gets you.’
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