Evelyn Grimshaw paced the floor of her living room. Her visitor, a large bald-headed man, sat back in an armchair watching her. He rose to his feet and walked over to the window, where he stood, arms behind his back.

‘I’m not a happy man, Evelyn. You assured me that everything was in place, that nothing could go wrong. The trouble is, it has. You’ve failed me. You’ve botched the job.’

Evelyn stopped pacing. ‘Now listen here. It wasn’t my fault that those kids and that Jim Kelly decided to camp where they did. I was even going out there a little while ago … to warn them again about going into the forest. But then I find the father walking down the lake road with an empty petrol can in his hand.’

‘And he had a disturbing story to tell, didn’t he, Evelyn? Would you care to explain how his car was interfered with, or would you like me to tell you?’

Evelyn’s cheeks burnt crimson and her lips pressed tightly together. She walked unsteadily to the nearest armchair and sat down. She cradled her head in her hands.

The man turned and faced her. ‘Yes, I thought so. You know, don’t you? You know there is only one possible explanation. Your brothers. Who, I might add, have managed to alert Jim Kelly. He must now realise that something untoward is occurring in the area. Granted he doesn’t know everything, but one wouldn’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that something was amiss. Now, thanks to your brothers’ idiotic behaviour, we’ll soon have Kelly and Reg Carter hot on our heels.’

Evelyn lowered her hands and looked up. ‘I know all that. The question is, what to do now?’

‘What do you suggest?’

She thought for a moment. ‘Reg Carter’s not back from Hobart yet. I say we set out now, load the boat and disappear, before he returns. The Kelly man won’t bother us until then. He’s waiting for a ride. His only hope there is Carter. I’ve passed the word around town that he’s a lunatic who likes to make up weird stories. So, we’re safe on that score. No-one around here will be giving him a free ride.

‘What about the children?’

Feeling more assured now that she had made a decision, Evelyn pushed herself up from the chair. She walked over and stood before her visitor, the man who was going to pull the final stages of the plan together. ‘Oh, they won’t worry us. After aIl, they’re just a bunch of kids. Anyway, I don’t expect they’ll stray far. My bet is that they would have been told to stay in their camp area.’

‘They worry me.’

Evelyn laughed. ‘They worried me too, when Jim KeIly was around, but now he’s not, so what’s your problem?’

He was silent.

Evelyn tilted her head slightly, studying his face, seeing the uncertainty in his eyes. ‘Look, it’ll be simple,’ she said, not because she felt any sympathy towards him, but because he was a vital cog in their success and she wanted to reasure him. She didn’t want him pulling out now. ‘The kids won’t even know we’re there,’ she went on. ‘After all, we’re going by boat. If they should see us, we’ll just be a couple of anglers out fishing. The main thing to worry about is whether the birds will be caged and ready to be moved.’

‘What’s the likelihood of that happening with those two idiot brothers of yours managing that side of things?’

‘We can only hope that they’ve been hard at it and have got everything ready for the transfer. If they haven’t, and remember, they’re not to know we’ve put forward the schedule, we take what we can and leave the rest.’

‘Very well, it’s against my better judgment but we’ll carry on with the plan, so start moving. Get the car ready. If we’re going to succeed we’ll need to leave right now. And Evelyn …’

‘Yes?’

‘This had better work.’