Chapter 81
Ruby hadn’t thought she would sleep – every time she turned her head on the thin pillow she felt a wave of pain that made her want to scream.
But eventually sleep had come. Until the crows had started their cawing.
Even then, Ruby had fallen back to sleep.
But then another sound cut through her dreams. A sliding sound, followed by a thump.
It had taken the longest time to work it out – someone was digging a hole.
Every time the spade slid into the earth, Ruby pictured it. From the sound of it, the ground was full of stones, scraping against the steel blade, frustrating the digger.
Ruby opened her eyes and squinted at the door. A tiny gap around the metal frame showed her it was daylight outside. Her stomach growled.
A clang of steel on rock resulted in a scream of anger from outside. A woman’s scream.
‘Brought you a cuppa,’ he said. Ruby could just make out the words, through the corrugated iron walls. The digging stopped. Ruby pictured the two of them, standing in the garden, sipping tea, eyeing the grave-in-progress.
‘Give it time,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t always happen right away.’
‘What do you know about it?’ she snapped back. ‘The look of that girl, she’s ready for a baby. You do your job, put one in her tummy.’
‘They’re looking for her,’ he said.
‘Good luck finding her when she’s six feet under.’
‘It needs more time,’ he said.
‘And I’m telling you. I’m sick of waiting. If her tummy doesn’t start growing, she’s going in the ground with the rest of them.’