*Are you sure ?'

*I'm sure. I tried. But Sergio took the phone.'

Reuben grunted. After eyeing me for a second or two, he decided to take my word for it.

*All right,' he grudgingly allowed. *So I guess you learned your lesson, eh? No harm done, except to your head. You should put some ice on it.' He paused briefly, distracted by the noise that Danny's truck was making as it drove away. *Needs a new spark plug,' he mumbled, before giving himself a kind of mental shake. *Right,' he announced, in a brisk voice. *I'm off to pick up Sanford. You two can wait here till I get back. And don't go anywhere near the guy downstairs a" he's fine as he is.'

With that, he beat a hasty retreat. But just as he crossed the threshold, he threw a sourly amused glance over his shoulder and drawled, *Why don'tcha talk amongst yourselves, in the meantime?'

Then he snorted and left.

N eedless to say , Sergio and I did not spend the next two hours chatting. In fact we didn't exchange a single word until we heard Reuben's van approaching the house again, at about eight-thirty. By that time we were sitting at the kitchen table, studiously ignoring each other. Sergio had swallowed a couple of aspirins that he'd found in Lincoln's gym bag, while I had taken a bath and put on the dirty T-shirt that I'd stuffed into a kitchen cupboard earlier that afternoon. (I figured that a dirty T-shirt was better than no T-shirt at all.) Sergio was combing his hair. I was holding a makeshift icepack to the lump on my head. We were also eating leftovers: pickles dipped in tomato ketchup.

I think we were both trying to pretend that Lincoln and Gary didn't exist. We certainly hadn't made the slightest effort to check on them. I mean, we couldn't do anything to help them, could we? And I didn't want to just sit and watch them suffer.

*Listen.' Sergio looked up. *Is that what I think it is?'

I listened. *Someone's coming,' I deduced.

*Quick! Turn the lights off!'

* You turn the lights off. My foot hurts, remember?' When he rose, I added, *It's probably Reuben.'

*Yeah, but suppose it isn't?' Sergio flicked the switch by the door, plunging us both into darkness. *I wish Reuben hadn't taken the gun,' he snivelled. *What'll we do if it's that guy from Broken Hill? We'll have to hit him with a frypan when he walks in.'

Luckily, however, it wasn't the guy from Broken Hill. When Reuben pulled up outside, I was already peering through the back window. And my pulse slowed right down when I spotted his van.

*Don't worry. It's Reuben,' I told Sergio, who had started to scour the cupboards for a heavy pot. He immediately rushed over to join me.

*Has he brought any food?' asked Sergio.

*I dunno.'

*There must be somewhere in Cobar that sells food. Even if it's just salted peanuts . . .'

We both pressed our noses to the dusty glass, keen to catch sight of a pizza box or a bag of groceries. But we were doomed to disappointment. Though the cabin of the van was stuffed with people, not one of them seemed to be carrying so much as a bottle of water.

*Aw, crap,' Sergio complained. *Would it have killed him to buy a couple of hamburgers?'

*They might have brought some chocolate bars,' I hazarded, watching the van disgorge its load. First came Reuben, jingling his keys. Then came Dr Plackett, in a truly ridiculous outfit. (Why the hell was he wearing a safari suit?) Then came Nina, looking very small and pinched in a droopy dress with flowers all over it. And then came . . . *Who's that guy?'

Sergio frowned. *Which guy?' he said.

*That guy.' I pointed at a short, balding, middle-aged man with a broken nose and very little neck. He seemed to be grey all over; his face was grey, his clothes were grey, his hair was grey. *I've never seen him before. No one ever mentioned him. '

*Isn't he the doctor?'

*No. That's the doctor. The one with the medical bag.'

*Oh. Right.'

*How did everyone fit in?' I couldn't understand it. They might have been skinny, but even so . . . four? All the way from Sydney? *And what's with the sunglasses? It's night-time, for God's sake. Do they think they're movie stars, or something?'

Much to my relief, the sunglasses didn't stay on. Nina took hers off as soon as she entered the house, and her two friends did the same. For a moment they stood blinking, their eyes screwed up against the light. Then Nina spotted me.

*Hello, Toby,' she remarked. *You look a bit rough.'

I could have said the same thing about her. In fact I nearly did. Though I'd been feeling pretty sorry for myself, up until that moment, I was shocked when I first saw Nina in the harsh light of an unshaded, hundred-watt bulb. She was gaunt and pasty-faced. Her eyes were ringed by dark shadows, like a raccoon's. She had hollow cheeks and cracked lips and bluish fingernails.

So did Dr Plackett, but you always expect older people to have health problems. When an older person is sallow and sickly, it doesn't seem so strange. As for the grey guy, he was actually tottering. Nina had to lead him to a chair.

*This is Barry,' she explained. *He's a bit carsick.'

Carsick my arse , I thought. But all I said was, *Why did you bring him, then? What's he here for?'

Reuben and the doctor exchanged glances. Before either of them could speak, however, Nina jumped in. *He's supposed to be my uncle. The one who let us stay when we eloped.' There was a twinkle in her eye. *Like that priest from Romeo and Juliet.'

I couldn't help blushing. To hide it, I limped over to a chair and sat down. Sergio, meanwhile, was bombarding Nina with questions.

*But wasn't that uncle story just a ruse? To get Toby's mum out here?' he asked. *Aren't we gunna tell her the truth when she arrives? Why do we need a fake uncle a" have I missed something?'

*Um . . .' Nina hesitated. She turned to Dr Plackett, who immediately took over.

*You must be Sergio,' he said, stepping forward. *I'm Dr Plackett. Dr Sanford Plackett.'

Sergio didn't know what to make of this. Though he grudgingly let Dr Plackett shake his good hand, he also withdrew it very quickly, with a baleful and suspicious look.

*This is Nina Harrison,' the doctor continued, *and this is Barry McKinnon. He's the owner of Wolgaroo.'

* McKinnon? ' I echoed. But Dr Plackett hadn't finished.

*We felt that we couldn't prevent Barry from coming along to inspect the place,' he said.

Nina rolled her eyes at the ceiling. I sensed from her longsuffering expression that Barry hadn't been wanted.

*It's my house,' Barry croaked, as if he knew what I was thinking. *I built it. I paid for it. It's supposed to be empty.'

His voice sounded rough and dry, like sandpaper. He had thin lips and a pale, lifeless gaze. His scars reminded me of Danny's.

* You! ' Reuben spat. * You didn't pay for this house, I did! And so did Danny Ruiz and Orlando Esteban and Lupe Callejaa"'

*Yes, yes, we're all aware of that,' the doctor interrupted. *Please, Reuben, this isn't the time to discuss culpability issues. You should save it for our next meeting.' He lifted a hand, as if to quell any further protests. *This is obviously going to be difficult for everyone, in light of where we are, but there are far more important matters to address than the apportioning of guilt.'

*Like what?' Reuben growled.

*Like that arm, for instance.' Dr Plackett nodded at Sergio. *And Toby's head.'

*You should look at Gary, first,' I cut in. When the doctor raised his eyebrows at me, I added, *He's really bad, you know. He acts like he's dying.'

Nina sucked air through her teeth. Dr Plackett rounded on Reuben, who yelped, *Don't blame me! I didn't crash the truck, Gary did!'

*And it was Danny who made Gary fall downstairs,' I observed.

*That's right. It was Danny's fault. We'd all be fine, if it wasn't for Danny,' Reuben assured the doctor, who shook his head gravely before asking where Gary was.

*In there.' I pointed. *He's still breathing, but only just.'

*You'd better show me,' the doctor said to Reuben. Together they vanished into the hallway, Dr Plackett carrying his medical bag and Reuben armed with his gun.

After they'd left, there was a brief, awkward silence a" which I finally broke when I turned to Barry.

*So,' I said, *aren't you the one who set up those tanks downstairs?'

Of course I knew the answer to this question. I just wanted to see him squirm. And he did, too. His eyes skittered away as he hunched his shoulders.

In the end, it was Nina who replied.

*Barry's really sorry for what he did,' she insisted. *Aren't you, Barry?'

He mumbled something.

*Hang on.' Sergio was frowning. *Are you telling me this is the same guy? The guy who used to run fights here?'

*Jeez, Sergio, did you only just work that out?' I scoffed. But I don't think he heard me. A red flush was slowly creeping across his face.

*The one who kidnapped Reuben? And Danny?' he choked.

*Yeah, but he's paid for it,' said Nina. *Swear to God, he'd be better off dead.'

It was the weirdest thing to say. What the hell did she mean? I shot her an incredulous look, which seemed to make her uncomfortable.

*In a manner of speaking,' she lamely amended. I think Sergio might have asked for more details then, if the sound of raised voices hadn't distracted us. An argument had erupted in the bedroom. I recognised Reuben's raised voice, though I couldn't hear his exact words. Dr Plackett's sharp retort was pitched a little lower.

*Oh, man,' Nina murmured. She sighed as she collapsed onto the last empty chair. Everything about her seemed to droop; her hair, her mouth, her spine . . . everything. Her arms were blue-white, and so skinny that I couldn't help myself. I just had to ask.

*Are you sick?' I blurted out. *I mean, are you really sick?'

Thump-thump-thump . Angry footsteps were pounding down the corridor. Nina gave a nod.

*Yep,' she replied. *I'm really sick.'

*You mean like cancer?' Sergio came right out with it, before I could say something a little less goddamn blunt . I scowled at him, just as Dr Plackett entered the room.

*Now a" where's this staircase?' he snapped. Seeing that no one else was going to tell him, I gestured at the hatch in the floor.

*Under there,' I mumbled. Then Reuben appeared in the doorway.

*Lincoln's fine! I told you! We gave him some water!' cried Reuben. *These other guys are much worse off than he is! Sergio's got a broken arm, for God's sake!'

*I doubt that,' the doctor rejoined. He was moving towards the hatch, but paused long enough to eye Sergio's makeshift sling. *A broken arm is usually a lot more debilitating,' was his off-the-cuff diagnosis. *This is probably a sprain. But I'll check it in a minute. Along with your head, Toby.'

*And my foot. My foot hurts too.' I didn't bother getting up to help him with the hatch. Though he was so feeble that he couldn't have managed it all on his own, he didn't have to; Reuben was with him. And Reuben had no trouble lifting the lid on that shadowy, brick-lined basement. *I'll go first,' said Reuben, waving his gun. Then he plunged downstairs, closely followed by Dr Plackett. The noise of their bickering was soon overlaid by a jangle of keys.

*Is that American bloke down there?' Nina asked, much to my surprise.

*Yeah,' I answered. *So Reuben told you about him?'

Nina shrugged. *He gave us an update on our way over.'

*Oh. Right.'

This made perfect sense to me, but not to Sergio. *Why?' he demanded. And when Nina and I both stared at him, he said brusquely, *Who are you people? Why are you even here? What the hell has this got to do with you, anyway? Are you werewolves, or what?'

If Nina was taken aback, she didn't show it. Instead she just smiled a sad little smile. *I wish,' she murmured. Again, it was an odd thing to say. I was about to tell her so, but I didn't get a chance a" because all at once Barry lurched to his feet.

*I'm gunna be sick,' he groaned. Then he clamped a shaking hand across his mouth.

Nina stiffened.

*Where's the bathroom?' she shot at me.

*Uh a" through there.' I motioned at the connecting door. *Second on your left.'

As Barry stumbled out of the kitchen, he kept bouncing off corners and bumping into furniture. He moved like a drunk man, and I wondered if he might need help. From what I could see, Nina wasn't about to give him any; she just sat there, watching him stagger out of the room. And Sergio's only reaction was to pounce on Barry's vacated chair.

It didn't seem right that I should have to get up. I mean, I had a sore foot, for God's sake.

*Is he gunna be all right?' I asked, jerking my chin at the door.

*He'll live,' Nina said wearily.

*Can't the doctor do anything?'

She shook her head, even more wearily. *No.'

*But if it's something he ate . . .'

*It isn't.' Nina hesitated, as if she didn't know whether to go on or not. Her dark eyes searched my face. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

Unfortunately, Sergio bumbled in ahead of her.

*Speaking of things to eat, did you bring any food?' he piped up. *Like a chocolate bar, maybe?'

Nina blinked. She turned to peer at him, her expression dazed. *A chocolate bar?' she repeated. You'd have sworn that he was speaking in a foreign language.

*We're living on pickles! That's all we've got!' he exclaimed. *We're starving to death!'

*Oh.' She put a hand to her cheek. *Yes. Of course. Food,' she muttered. *I never thought . . .'