Chapter 42
A loose sheet of corrugated iron roof banged in angry rhythm to announce that the wind was picking up. The light grew stronger, and with it came the inevitable screams of hundreds of cockatoos, stirring Tessa from her exhausted daze. I’d been watching her tremors build and had been wondering how long it would take for her compulsion to overtake her fatigue. Counting the seconds between tremors was my way of assessing the timing of events, much like the time between contractions would be used to measure the progression of her labour in the near future, if all went as planned. I knew what we were up against now, seen Jake’s drug-addled memories, his half-arsed plan to steal his dad’s rifle and abduct me. His touch, as he’d taped my hands, had revealed his madness, but my plan had
