‘Well, I guess this is what you call a Nantucket sleigh ride,’ he said.
‘A what?’
‘Rollo knows what I mean, don’t you, Rollo?’ said Conrad, willing him to understand. There was a flicker of confusion in Rollo’s eyes, then he raised them to the whaleboat overhead.
The man cocked the hammer of the gun. ‘Say goodbye to the half-wit.’
‘Don’t. You don’t understand. I know you followed me to Sag Harbor.’
‘That’s clear now, isn’t it?’
‘I know you carried on down to the waterfront when I turned into Union Street. I know you then drove up Main Street. And I know I crossed right in front of your car.’
It was enough to unsettle the man. ‘It’s a good try,’ he said.
‘I knew you were coming here.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Tell that to the two cops waiting outside.’
The man’s eyes narrowed almost to a squint.
‘I’m here to offer you a deal,’ said Conrad.
‘No.’ The man shook his head. ‘You’re bluffing.’
‘Deputy Chief Hollis,’ shouted Conrad, ‘I think it’s time you showed yourself.’
The man’s eyes flicked involuntarily to the barn doors.
Conrad made his move, lunging at the ax on the workbench, spinning back and burying the head in the wood of the support behind him, cutting the rope and rolling aside in the same movement.
He had expected the man to fire; he hadn’t expected him to miss. As the severed rope whipped through the block and tackle supporting the whaleboat, Rollo toppled his chair to the left.
The whaleboat crashed on to the workbench, its bow poleaxing the man. Conrad didn’t wait to assess the damage. He came out of the roll, seized a lance from among the clutter of whaling gear stacked against the wall and spun back.
Remarkably, the man was getting to his feet. His right arm hung limp and useless from its shoulder joint, but his left hand was already bringing the gun to bear on Conrad.
Conrad let fly with the lance—his stance, the action, those of their boyhood games, the endless whale rallies enacted with Rollo and Billy. He didn’t have to think, the past came willingly to his aid.
The lance caught the man in the midriff, low down and to the side, the steel point passing straight through him. Both his hands instinctively went to the wooden shaft protruding from his belly and the gun fell to the floor. He recognized his mistake almost immediately, lunging for the gun.
Conrad kicked him in the side of the head as his fingers closed around the butt.
Recovering the gun, he backed away towards Rollo, who was struggling on the ground, twisting his head vainly to see what was happening.
‘It’s me,’ said Conrad. He pulled the gag down over Rollo’s chin. ‘You okay?’
Rollo nodded. Conrad bounded over to his clothes, recovered the gutting knife and cut the ropes binding Rollo’s arms and ankles to the chair.
‘Conrad…’
‘Shhhh, it’s okay, it’s over.’ Rollo was shaking as Conrad helped him to his feet, and Conrad held him tight in case his legs buckled beneath him. They stared at the man lying skewered on the floor.
‘Here.’ He led Rollo to the workbench and leaned him against it for support. ‘I have to do this now.’
He checked the man’s heartbeat, the entry wound, the exit wound. There was bleeding, but no pulse of imminent death. The lance would have to stay put though. He dragged the man over to the upright and sat him against it. Then he ran a length of rope beneath his arms and lashed him in place.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Rollo. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry—’
‘Hey,’ said Conrad.
‘He promised, he said he wouldn’t say nothin’. But he did, he lied to me.’
It took Conrad a moment to figure that Rollo was talking about his father. Ned had extracted the information about Lillian from Rollo, then used it when he said he wouldn’t, banning Rollo from seeing Conrad.
‘He did it for you, Rollo, to protect you. And he was right. Look—’ He turned to the man.
‘He still lied to me.’
That Rollo placed his father’s betrayal above his own brush with death came as little surprise to Conrad. It was the way Rollo’s mind worked. It also offered an opportunity. Conrad tried not to think too hard about what he was about to do.
‘It’s true,’ he said, ‘he lied to you.’
‘He did.’
‘And now I need you to do the same for me, Rollo. I need you to lie for me—to your father.’
Rollo frowned.
