The Last Child

CHAPTER FORTY

The storm was so fierce that Joh

Seconds passed. “You left me,” Joh

Jack leaned farther over the wall, his head close. “You’re going to get killed out here.”

“Lightning falls.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I don’t know.” The sky lit up. Joh

Jack looked at the gnarled tree, its giant limbs spread and restless, black when the lightning fell. “How do you know?”

A roll in Joh

“No.”

“The cemetery’s built around it. Three headstones at the base of it.” He raised a finger. “See how small they are. How rough they were cut.”

“I can’t see shit.”

“They’re there.”

“You’re losing it, Joh

Joh

“There’s a stove in the barn. I got a fire going.”

Joh

“You’ve been out here for hours. He’s not going anywhere. Look at him.”

“I can’t take the chance.”

“Have you thought about this? Really thought it through? He’s burying his kid, man, and from the way her coffin looked, I’d say he was burying her for the second time. That means he dug her up from some other grave. Do you even know how the girl died? Or why he carried her all this way to put her in the ground with no one around to see it?”

“We saw it.”

“We don’t even know if it’s really his kid.”

Light spilled from a distant cloud. “Look at him.” Both boys looked at Freemantle, slumped into himself, shattered by a grief so true it was unmistakable.

Jack lowered his voice. “Have you asked yourself why he’s covered with blood or how he got so injured? The real reason he grabbed you up the other day?”

“God told him to.”

“Don’t go smart-ass on me, man. When this guy comes in from the rain, we’re going to have to figure out what to do with him. I don’t want to be the only one thinking about that.”

“I just have one question, and as soon as he’s done with this”-Joh

“And if he won’t answer?”

“I helped bury his daughter.”

Jack’s voice rose. “If he won’t answer?”

“Give me the gun,” Joh

“You threaten him, he’ll kill us.”

Joh

“I’m this close,” Joh

But Jack was already gone.

Joh

Hours later, lightning dwindled in the north. The forest dripped. Freemantle looked up at the racing clouds, the hint of moon behind them. It was the first time he’d moved since smoothing the earth above his daughter. There’d been no more sign of Jack, no more entreaties to come in out of the rain. There’d been the slow march of hours, the flash and noise, the storm that drove the cold water down. There’d been hard stone at Joh

Joh

Freemantle pushed himself up and stared after the storm. “I thought I’d get hit.” In the dark, his eyes were spilled ink, his mouth a gash of surprise and disappointment. It was after midnight, time a hard road behind them. Freemantle picked up the shovel, his discarded shoe. Using the shovel as a crutch, he walked past Joh

“I need to talk to you.”

“I’m done.”

The white gate swung on silent hinges. Freemantle moved slowly and Joh

“I’m tired.”

Tired, Joh

Inside, Joh

“It’s okay,” Joh

“No.”

It was a lie, but Joh

Freemantle stared. His eyes were tinted yellow, lips cracked deep enough to show hints of meat. “Levi.” He pulled off his shirt and hung it on a nail close to the stove. His chest and arms were padded with muscle. There were long, thin scars that looked like knife wounds, a hard tight pucker that could have come from a bullet. The branch in his side was jagged and black.

“That looks bad,” Joh

“It only hurts if I try to pull it out.”

A smell rose, wet and earthy. Where Levi stood, water dripped onto stone, faded to a dark hint, and was gone in the heat. His eyelids drooped. “Almost there,” he said.

“What?”

He opened his eyes. “Forgot where I was.”

Joh

Freemantle pi

“I’m just asking.”

“I can’t drive. Momma said driving was for other folks.” His eyes drifted shut and his body leaned left; he staggered once to stop from falling. “Momma said…”

“You okay, mister?”

His eyes snapped open. “Who wants to know?”

“My name is Joh

“I don’t know nobody named Joh

“You need a hospital. You need a doctor.”

Freemantle ignored him and limped to a shelf on the far wall. Joh

Jack appeared next to Joh

“Bullshit.”

“It says for veterinary use only.” He pointed and the boys watched. Whatever it was, it hurt when he poured it.

“Are you okay?” Joh

Freemantle ignored him. He tried to pull the rag from his finger, but the flesh was so swollen that the cloth bit like wire. He cut it free, and Joh