It was like being pulled out of a deep well. Out of the darkness into the light, soaked and shivering. He lay on his back, gasping like a landed fish, his neck burning.
Kerry stood over him, a dripping bucket in her hands. “Are you alive, then?”
He stared at her, anger and relief fighting inside him. He tried to speak, but his throat was closed. He made a strangled noise.
She dropped the bucket. “Well, if you can squawk, you can walk. Get up now. We’ve work to do.”
He took her hand and she hauled him to his feet. There was a rain barrel lashed to the outside wall of the chart room, and he pulled the lid off and pushed his face into the cool water. He took a mouthful and swallowed hard. There was a tearing sensation, then a shock of pain, like a hundred needles being pushed into his throat. He gagged and spat.
He felt Kerry’s hand on his back.
He dipped his head again, ignoring the pain as the cool water ran down the back of his throat. He coughed, spat and drank again until the pain was a dull ache. Kerry squeezed his shoulder. He stood up and pushed her away.
“You lied to me, Kerry.” His voice was a wheeze, barely more than a whisper. “You helped Turner kill those girls. You led Lars into a trap. You nearly got me killed.”
Her face was hard. “I had to. I didn’t want to lie to you. I didn’t want to do any of those things. But Colley made me. I told you.”
“You told me a lot of things.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I didn’t say that.” Justy touched his throat gingerly.
“Damn you to hell if you don’t, Justy. You have no idea.” Her eyes were suddenly bright. “I told you Daniel was with a nursemaid. When all this started, Colley took me to see him. He was in his crib, sleeping. Colley pulled up his nightgown. He had a knife. He put the tip on Daniel’s belly and said if I didn’t do like he said, he’d gut him, then feed him to the pigs. Alive.”
She held Justy’s gaze. “I’ve seen what Colley’s done. I know what he can do. He wouldn’t think twice. So I did what I was told.”
It was a moment before Justy spoke. “Where is Daniel now?”
“At my cousin’s. Colley knew the Bull would turn over the houses on Bedlow and Cherry, so he brought the child to Lew’s house for safekeeping.” A hint of a smile. “He didn’t reckon on you making that deal and cutting him out.”
“How do you know about that?”
Her smile widened. “I was outside, in the garden. Under the window. I heard the whole thing, you crafty Turk.”
“Owens said he hadn’t seen you.”
“Nor did he. I knew Colley would send one of his dogs after me, and I knew that Lew’s place would be the first place they’d look. So I went in hugger-mugger, making sure no one tipped me.”
“You saw Daniel?”
“I had to climb up the side of the bloody house to do it, but aye, I saw him. He’s safe.”
The wind gusted gently, and the boat heeled over. Justy stepped back to steady himself, then jumped as he felt something sticky under his foot. Turner was sprawled on his back, his eyes wide open, two inches of brass sticking out of his ear and a halo of black blood around his head. Justy staggered back against the barrel, frantically scraping his bare foot on the deck. It left a dark smear on the wood.
He felt panic snap at him, then Kerry’s hands on his shoulders. Her face close to his. He was shaking. She hugged him tight. The coarse material of her hat bristled against his cheek. “You had no choice.”
He pushed her away. He felt a terrible pressure inside him, words boiling up into his throat. But he could not speak. He spun around and plunged his head into the barrel. His head burned, as though it might boil the water. He closed his eyes, trying to push the thoughts away. But he could not. It wasn’t the panic and fear that frightened him. Not the terrible clarity of the idea that he had to kill Turner or be killed. It was another sensation entirely. The breathless glee as he drove his weapon home. The raging triumph as the life came out of his enemy. He had enjoyed it.
He crouched beside the barrel, water running over his shoulders, gasping for breath for the second time that night. His throat burned, as though he had swallowed a bucket of flaming pitch, but he welcomed the pain.
Kerry watched him. “Come on, now,” she said, eventually. “We need to be away from here.”
He stood up slowly, wiping his face. Christ, but he was tired. “What are you even doing here, Kerry? Did you come after Turner?”
“I came after you. I wanted to explain. I followed the Bull’s cab, but when I got here, I knew there was something off. I watched you go up, and when I saw the two of you take your boots off, I knew Turner had set a trap.”
Justy thought about how long it had taken him to check the ship. First the galley and the captain’s cabin. Then the chart room. After Turner had surprised him, it had taken several minutes more to go to the storeroom, collect the rope and begin tying it off.
“It took you long enough to come and help.”
She said nothing.
He nodded. “You waited, didn’t you? Until he showed himself. You didn’t want to help us. You wanted to kill him.”
“Aye, and why not?” She spat on the deck. “We were only supposed to find those girls and bring them back. Not kill them. But he gutted them, and cut their faces like they were dirt. I wanted to jam that spike into his guts and twist it until he squealed like the pig he was.”
The moonlight had turned her face into a waxen mask. Her eyes were shadowed, but Justy could feel the hate and anger burning there.
“It wasn’t just Colley, was it?” He kept his voice soft. “Turner too?”
“Jack liked to share me around. Turner. A sweaty pig called Barnes. A few others.” Her tone was flat.
Justy felt as though he were standing apart from himself. His mouth was dry. He swallowed, but it was like forcing a handful of sand down his gullet. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “So now you know the whole thing. Are you with me?”
“To do what?”
“To finish this. To kill Black Jack Colley.”