|
"DANNY" |
| Copyright Francis Blow, 1980. |
| CHAPTER 3 |
| Danny rode to school elated. Today he would get his own back; he would tell Karin what he thought of her and her thieving family, and that would end her picking on him as well as the stealing. |
| The extensive school grounds took a while to search, but a few minutes before assembly he found Karin in a tree-filled corner. Karin was sitting on her bag and leaning forward, so that her face was hidden by her arms which rested on her knees, much the same as when he saw her the previous day. |
| As he marched up to her, Danny noticed what looked like a stain on her left arm, near her sleeve. |
| Without looking up, Karin said "Go away." Her voice was muffled and lacked conviction. |
| Danny spoke in his most forceful voice. "I've got something to say to you." |
| She lifted her damaged face, and Danny swallowed everything he was going to say. Her left eye was blackened and her lips were swollen. Karin was a picture of misery. |
| "Leave me alone, Nock. Just get lost." |
| "What happened to you?" |
| "Go away, I said!" |
| Confused, Danny backed away from her defiant glare. |
| He was still bewildered when, during the second lesson, he was summoned to the headmaster's office. He knocked and was told to enter. |
| Besides the headmaster, there were two other people in the room: one of the female teachers and Karin. |
| "You wanted to see me, Sir?" |
| "Yes, Danny. Look at Miss Kind's face. How do you think that happened?" |
| "I don't know, Sir." |
| "I have been informed that the two of you have been fighting in the past." |
| "I didn't do that! I never hit any girl!" |
| The headmaster scrutinised Danny's face. "All right, Danny. That will be all for now." |
| "Yes, Sir." |
| "But if I ever hear of you fighting anyone again you will be expelled." |
| Danny felt the blood rush from his face. |
| Did they really believe that he had done that to Karin? Why would she say such a thing? |
| The story was all over the school by lunch time. Most of Danny's friends avoided him, especially the girls. Those boys who did come near him asked stupid questions, which Danny ignored. That whole day was a horrible dream for Danny. He said nothing when he got home, and just shut himself in his room until dinner. |
| "What's wrong?" His mother asked. |
| He remained silent, too embarrassed to answer. |
| "Can't you tell me?" She coaxed gently. "Did something go wrong at school?" |
| He shrugged. "Someone said I punched them." |
| "Did you?" Granny asked. |
| "No! But the whole school thinks I did!" |
| "You've been in fights before. Don't deny it. What's so special about this one?" The old lady prompted. |
| "It was a girl." |
| The grown ups exchanged looks. |
| "Don't worry, son." His father assured him. "It will sort itself out." |
| "I hope so." |
| "Do you want to tell us what happened?" His mother suggested. "Maybe it's not as bad as you think." |
| Danny shook his head. "The headmaster said I would be expelled if I ever fight again... I think I'll go for a ride." |
| "Fishing?" His father asked. |
| "No. Just to ride around. I won't go near the boats." |
| He pedalled aimlessly, not really caring where he rode, until he saw something that made him swerve into the gutter. |
| The yellow van was parked in a driveway only a few metres from where he was. In seconds, Danny had raced back the way he had come, and around a corner. He shook his head in disbelief. Why did that damned van keep finding its way into his life? He was sick of the whole thing, and wished it was all over. |
| What if there was something inside the house that the police could use? Some kind of evidence, he wondered. Then it would be over! |
| With the bike hidden under a hedge, Danny walked to where he could sneak up to the house. The angry voice of a man attracted Danny to a window, where the blind left a slight gap he could peer through. |
| He saw a bedroom with posters and girl stuff, but it was the three people inside who grabbed his attention. |
| Karin was huddled on the pink and white bed, her hands covering her face, while her father and the other man stood over her. |
| Danny had no trouble understanding Mr. Kind's words. "If you don't want what I gave you last night, you'd better get changed and come with us. You've got one minute to be ready. If you're not in the van by then, I'll beat the living daylights out of you!" |
| Mr. Kind stalked out of the room, followed by the second man, who turned at the doorway and smiled the nastiest smile Danny had ever seen. |
| Karin sat trembling for a few moments after they had gone, then she hurried to drag jeans and a sloppy joe over her nightie. In seconds, she was out of the house and in the back of the van, which sped off. |
| What Danny had seen confused him. As he returned to his bike he knew that the proper thing to do was to go to the police and tell them everything. |
| Yet, he hesitated. |
| To tell the police would mean more reporters. What if Mr. Kind escaped and came looking for him? |
| As well, Danny wondered about Karin and the life she must have been living in secret. Did she get beaten up every time she refused to steal? |
| His conscience bothered him. There was the law to obey, which would endanger his family, and there was Karin's predicament. In his memory was the image of the two men looming over Karin, menacing her, but then Danny remembered his father and what he meant to Danny. |
| He made his decision and rode quickly. |
| "I need to talk to Detective Styles, please." |
| "He's at home. Is it important?" The desk sergeant asked. |
| "It's about those boat thieves. I know where they live." |
| Danny had to explain twice; once to the sergeant, then to Detective Styles, but by then more uniformed police had been called in, and a raid was planned on the Kinds' house. |
| "You'd better go home, Danny." The detective advised him. "It could be hours before these people return. Get a good night's sleep, because I may need another statement tomorrow." |
| Danny told his family of the evening's events. His father and Granny both congratulated him on his decision, while his mother worried as usual. After his shower he went straight to bed, but he slept poorly, thinking about how successful the police might have been in catching the thieves. |
| He thought of Karin, too, and wondered how often she may have been bashed by her father. He could not really remember seeing her bruised, like the last time he had seen her. Perhaps he should tell the headmaster in the morning, and that way the blame for the girl's injuries would be removed from himself. |
| Danny had to be shaken awake to have breakfast, and he saw that somebody had put a local paper near his place at the table. His heart quickened, as he expected to see a picture of Karin or her father on the front page. |
| Instead, there was a photo of a beautiful cruising yacht, with a story on how it was being sailed around the world. The yacht's name was Spray Dancer, and her arrival had been delayed by storms off Tasmania. Danny had forgotten about the boat coming to the Central Coast, what with the trouble from the Kind family. |
| Jack Malone owned Spray Dancer; he was rich, but he was visiting friends and relatives in Woy Woy. After an indefinite stopover the Spray Dancer would sail on to places like the Whitsunday Islands, New Guinea, the Pacific Islands and the Americas, then down to the Antarctic Circle, before going to Africa and on to the Mediterranean Sea. |
| "Better hurry, Danny." Granny told him. |
| "Can you keep the paper for me? I want to read it again." |
| "Of course, darling. Now off you go. Your mother put something special in your lunch bag." |
| Danny sneaked a look into his bag, where he found two apples in addition to his cheese sandwich. |
| "Thanks, Mum. I love you. See you. 'Bye, Granny." |
| He kissed them both, then rode his bike to school, all the while daydreaming of exotic ports and coral islands. |
| He decided it was a good thing that the police had gone after the boat thieves, or else Mr. Kind would no doubt have tried to steal the expensive boat fittings on Spray Dancer. Maybe even take the whole yacht. |
| When he reached school, Danny was shocked to see the yellow van pulled up at the gate. |
