Chapter Seventeen
ROOM FOR ONE MORE“They’re all Syrian,” Kirwan said. He kept his voice low and scanned the surrounding bush for danger. “Only one of them speaks English and he said his name was something that sounded like Elephant. They paid a fortune to come here. Their families sent them ahead to Australia.”
“Australia?” Phoenix’s brow furrowed. “Do they realise they’re in New Zealand?”
“They do now.” Kirwan waggled his eyebrows. “I told Elephant. He said the first boat broke down out to sea somewhere and the traffickers sent another to rescue them. But now there’s a delay and they need to stay here. He suspects they want more money.”
Phoenix stopped on the path and stared up at him. “For real? Why should they pay extra when they haven’t even ended up at the right place?”
Kirwan sh
