Cry of the Taniwha (14 page)

Burty and Lew were in the kitchen when Matt got back to the house, and that suited him just fine. The sooner someone else took responsibility for the ponga piece, the better.

The floor was covered with bags; the result of Eve and Nan’s shopping. On the table were plates of food, but not Nan’s usual baking: this had the mass-produced look of bakery food. It didn’t seem to make any difference to Burty, who was eating with his usual gusto. As always, Lew was left with the job of reporting on the happenings of the past two days.

When things had died down at the explosion site, the police had moved in with sensitive metal detectors. They’d scanned the area for hours, but all they’d found were some old cooking utensils indicating that people may have camped there sometime in the past. There was no sign of the pendant. They didn’t doubt that Skulla had been holding it before the eruption, but he certainly didn’t have it afterwards: all parts of his clothing and body had been thoroughly searched—he’d even been X-rayed just in case…Diz’s body had been similarly searched without success.

In the end, the police had accepted that the Rothery Stone must’ve fallen back into the explosion crater, which had since become a boiling hot spring. If it was like similar springs at Whakarewarewa, the hole would reach down hundreds of metres. The general consensus was that the pendant would never be recovered. It seemed that the Rothery Stone was now gone forever.

After Lew had finished, Eve and Nan reported on their morning. They’d had a ball! Nan in particular was excited about the things they’d done. Apparently, she hadn’t been shopping with another woman for years. When Hone went with her, all he wanted to do was get it over and done with as quickly as possible. Whereas Eve was like Nan, and liked going into shops just to look at things. From all the bags on the floor, Matt gathered that in many of the shops they did more than just browse: it looked like some serious buying had taken place.

‘So, Matt,’ said Eve, when they’d finished their story. ‘What did you get up to?’ She pointed to the bag, grinning. ‘Have you been buying me lingerie?’

For the first time, Matt took a look at the bag he’d picked up: it was from a shop called Bras and Panties. He smiled to himself as he imagined what the gang members would have made of that if they’d seen him, especially seeing he was the one who liked kissing Skulla.

‘Nope,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Recovering some stolen property.’ He pulled the ponga piece out of the bag.

‘Oh, that’s nice,’ said Nan. ‘Where did you get it from?’

‘It was in the strongbox,’ Matt replied.

Burty and Lew looked at him strangely, but said nothing.

Eve leant forward and touched the candleholder, as if checking that it was real. ‘And is it…complete?’ she asked breathlessly.

‘Let’s see,’ said Matt, picking up a knife and sliding it into the bottom part of the candle.

The others got increasingly interested as the wax lifted
out of the wood. By the time he got it loose, Eve was almost jumping out of her chair. Matt was feeling pretty excited, too.

He made a big show of pulling it out and carefully placing it on the table. Then he put his hand into the ponga bottom and moved it around for a while. A look of dismay spread over his face. Eve lifted a hand to her mouth.

‘Don’t tell me,’ she cried. ‘Don’t tell me.’

Matt nodded his head slowly. ‘Yes,’ he said, almost groaning with disappointment. ‘They’re here.’ Then his face spread into a wide grin, as he pulled out the black bag. ‘They’re here!’

Eve squealed with excitement. The two policemen sat with their eyes wide in anticipation. Nan looked perplexed, unsure of what was happening.

‘Clear a bit of the table, please, Eve,’ Matt said as he untwisted the tie. She did so, giving enough space for Matt to pour the stones out into a sparkling circle.

Nan gasped; Burty’s and Lew’s eyes jumped out as if they were on stalks; and Eve giggled excitedly.

‘The Clancy diamonds,’ said Matt like a showman, spreading his hands over the collection. ‘Stolen from the Bank of Soho, London, in 1885.’

‘And brought to New Zealand by Edward Basham in 1886,’ added Eve.

‘Where they were stolen by Jack Boult,’ Matt continued, ‘who lost them and his life during the Tarawera eruption.’

Lew nodded his head. ‘And recovered by Matt Logan,’ he said.

‘And Eve Hastings,’ squeaked Eve. ‘Nobody would’ve found them, if I hadn’t said where to look.’

‘Yes,’ Matt conceded. ‘And don’t forget Jackson Peters—he was involved too.’

‘Well done,
everyone
,’ said Nan. ‘Now, would you like something more to eat?’

The diamonds were big news on Tuesday morning. The previous afternoon had been quite a time for Matt and Eve: TV shoots, radio interviews, followed by a mini-press conference at the museum. Everyone wanted a piece of the action. And it wasn’t over yet. That afternoon they were due to attend a function at a bank where the diamonds would be viewed and valued by an expert. It was expected that a statement would be made about the ownership of the collection and the payment of any reward for its recovery. It was going to be a big day, and Nan insisted that they start it with a decent sit-down breakfast.

For the first time, all four were at the table at the same time; Hone had the day off, and Nan made sure that Matt and Eve were up in time to share the meal with them. It was a pleasant time, with them recalling the events of the past week: the fun parts, the scary parts, and the downright dangerous bits.

Matt told them about his visit to the gang house and how frightening he’d found it at the time. They laughed at the kissing Skulla part, but were disturbed about the way Ana was treated.

‘She’s meant to be in a foster home,’ said Hone. ‘I’ll check it out later. That house is no place for a young girl.’

‘It’s no place for anyone to be,’ said Nan with feeling. ‘Those sorts of places just breed criminals.’

‘Yes, Nan,’ said Hone, reaching out his hand to touch her arm. ‘I agree, and I’m trying to—’

There was a loud knocking on the door. Immediately Matt thought of Croke—the knock was the same as the one the day before. Maybe he’d found out about the diamonds and now the gang was upset that they’d been tricked out of a fortune.

Hone put up his hand, indicating that they should remain seated. He went and opened the door. It was Croke, but he didn’t look angry. He actually looked almost happy, and greeted Hone with the hint of a smile.

‘Come in, Cory,’ said Hone. But Croke hadn’t changed that much. He shook his head and took a step away from the door.

‘Just want to see Matt,’ he said.

Matt was surprised to hear the man use his first name. He stood and moved outside. ‘Hi, Croke,’ he said.

Croke responded with a tilt of the head. ‘Skulla wants to see you.’

Straight away, Matt felt a twinge of fear. Hone saw it and turned to Croke. ‘I hope it’s for a friendly reason.’

Croke flicked his eyebrows. ‘Yeah. He wants to see the girl, too.’

Hone thought about this for a while before saying, ‘OK! They’ll both go, but only if I come, too. Is that a problem?’

‘Nah! Skulla won’t mind. He said you might want to come.’

‘Right! Then we’ll be with you in a minute. Come inside and wait. Have something to eat.’

But Croke wouldn’t go inside. So instead Nan took out a plateful of food, which the man ate sitting on the doorstep,
while the others prepared themselves—physically and emotionally—to go and see Skulla.

Walking through the hospital with Croke was even more of an experience than walking through the streets. Patients, nurses, visitors—they all wanted to study him, but at the same time not be seen doing so. Matt found the situation amusing, whereas when he first came to Rotorua he’d been scared to be anywhere near the man.

They first visited Jackson, who was obviously thrilled to see them. He said he was OK, but it was clear that the burns on his face were still a problem because he had trouble speaking properly. One side of his face and his hands were covered with a sticky substance which showed the almost raw flesh beneath. Yet, even with the difficulty in talking, he said more in ten minutes than he had in all the time Matt had known him.

The main topic of conversation was the diamonds. Jackson was very interested in the possibility of a reward. One of the nurses had told him that he might get thousands of dollars. In his mind, Jackson was already spending the money on game consoles, big televisions, pool tables—all of a sudden, he had developed very expensive tastes.

After Hone got permission from the nurses’ station, Jackson joined them on their trip to the other ward. Croke walked one side of him and Matt the other, which seemed to please the boy: he strutted along wearing his injuries as if they were battle scars, which in a way they probably were.

If it hadn’t been for the skull tattoo, Matt would’ve had trouble recognizing that the person sitting up in bed was
Skulla. His cheeks were hollow and his body limp, as if all the life had been drawn out of him. Yet after a closer look, Matt could see aspects of the old Skulla: the confidence, the fearlessness, and the plain don’t-mess-with-me attitude.

To Matt’s surprise, Hone went straight to the bed, leant over and gave the man a hongi. When they separated, Matt could see that both men were deeply affected by the action. Then Skulla beckoned Matt with his hand, indicating it was his turn.

With butterflies flapping wildly in his stomach Matt stepped forward. As soon as he was within range, Skulla took over, taking the boy’s hand in a traditional handshake. From then on it was easy, as if he’d done it hundreds of times before instead of this being his first hongi. Their noses touched and then their foreheads.

Later, Matt would not be able to explain what happened next; however, he knew that it was an experience he would never forget. All he’d ever be able to say was that something flowed between them: it was not love, yet nor was it hate; it was not knowledge, yet he felt wiser afterwards; it was not energy, but it made him stronger.

When they separated, Skulla continued to grip Matt’s hand. ‘Thank you,’ he said, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘Thank you.’

After that, it was Jackson’s turn and Matt noticed how carefully the man avoided hurting the boy’s burns. Matt thought back to the first time he’d seen the two together: that morning when Skulla had been bullying Jackson in the thermal area. So much had changed in so little time.

Then Eve went forward to hongi, ending with a kiss on the cheek from Skulla.

Finally, Croke and Skulla greeted each other in the usual gang manner, which made Matt wonder whether anything had really changed. Was all that had happened in the last few minutes just some ritual? When Skulla recovered, would things simply drift back to the way they’d been before? After all, how could an accident cause anything much to change in their lives? The houses they lived in were the same; the people around them the same; and the need to have money would be the same. Why should Matt expect things to be different?

Hone must’ve been thinking the same thing, for he said to Skulla, ‘Do you remember what we spoke about a month or two back?’

Skulla nodded.

‘Right! Well, I’ll ask you again. Will you join my group and work towards doing something for the young people of this city?’

‘Why?’ asked Skulla, with a touch of the old arrogance.

‘Because three days ago you were dead. Now you’re back again and have a second chance at life. Not many people get that opportunity.’

Skulla looked at him, seemingly without emotion.

‘Plus I saw you then with Jackson. You care about him. Do you want him to end up the same as you? In and out of prison; always scared of getting caught or being bashed by some other gang; never forming a decent relationship with someone who really cares. Is that the sort of life you want for him?’

For a moment it looked like Skulla might lose his temper. He breathed deeply for a while before answering, ‘No.’ Then, after a pause, ‘But what’s in it for me?’

Hone sensed success. ‘You like being a leader. You’re a natural at it. If you come in with us, we’ll help you become an even stronger leader. Plus you’ll get paid for doing it, and we’ll make sure it’s good money.’ He took a deep breath, before launching his second attack. ‘Then there’s the matter of this robbery. You’re going to do time. You know that. But if you accept this job, we’ll work to make sure you do less of it inside’

‘Where’s all this gonna happen?’

‘We have the land. The building has been designed. It’s got everything: training, jobs, recreation, sports such as league—everything. We’ll support all the good aspects of gangs and provide alternatives to the bad. We want the kids off the streets and working towards a life they’ll be proud of: no crime, no violence, no drugs.’ Again, Hone breathed deeply. ‘So, what do you think?’

Instead of answering, Skulla turned to Croke. ‘What you think? What about the bros?’

Without hesitation, Croke said, ‘Do it, man! We’ll support you.’

Skulla considered that for a while before turning to Jackson. ‘What you think, Juzza?’

Jackson tried to look cool, but he was clearly deeply affected that Skulla would ask for his opinion. ‘Yeah, bro! I’m with you.’

Skulla turned to Hone and smiled. ‘Looks like I need to give it a try, don’t it, Hone?’

Hone stepped forward and shook his hand. ‘You won’t regret this, Skulla.’

‘We’ll see.’ A pause. ‘So when do we start?’

‘Well,’ Hone began. ‘You’ve got a date with the law
coming up, haven’t you?’ Skulla just flicked his eyebrows. ‘So while you’re sorting that out, I’ll sort out the money. We still need to raise about half a million.’

Skulla nodded. ‘It’s always the paper, ain’t it?’

Hone smiled. ‘Yeah. But I’m forever hopeful. We’re off to a function at a bank this afternoon. You never know, we might end up getting all the money we need.’

‘Way to go, Hone!’ yelled Skulla. ‘You jack a bank, you get half a mill easy. You want, I’ll have some of the bros back you up with their shooters.’

Hone’s head whipped around to Skulla. The gang leader spread his arms wide. ‘Just kidding, man,’ he said with a squeaky giggle. ‘Just kidding.’