'I'm not seeking revenge.' I told him. 'It's justice I want.'
He shrugged his shoulders. 'You can do what you like when you've finished this job for me,' he said. 'But he won't hang, even if you can prove it — which I doubt. They'd send him to Broadmoor. And you'd serve a sentence for desertion. You'd drag your mother's name through the courts — see her wretched history plastered all over the pages of the Sunday press. And destroy Kitty entirely,' he added.
He was right there. I leaned against the desk. The anger had gone. I felt flat and tired. 'I guess you're right,' I said. The thought of Kitty, who had only once been as far as Penzance, giving evidence from the witness box at a murder trial — it was unthinkable. 'Okay,' I said. 'I'll let him be.' And I went towards the door. Then I stopped. 'But see he's locked up safe. I'm not working down in the Mermaid if he's loose — not with all that water standing over us in Come Lucky.'
'Don't worry about that,' he answered. 'I don't trust him any more than you do.'
I hesitated. I wanted to tell him I was clearing out — leaving the place — getting right away from the whole rotten business. But he sat there watching me, the gun in his hand and his eyes narrowed. He wouldn't let me go. I knew that. He'd too much to lose. He'd kill me rather than let me get clear of the place.
I went out and closed the door behind me. Now that my anger was gone I felt adrift. I had no purpose. Disgust for the whole rotten business filled my mind. I felt the way Hamlet must have felt. The manner of my mother's death called for vengeance. And yet I could not do it. I could not just kill the old man in cold blood. He was mad. And disgust, not anger, filled me. I'd go away. I'd get clear of it all.
Then I saw the kitchen door facing me. And through it came the sound of a girl sobbing. It was a wild, uncontrolled sound. I opened the door and went in. Kitty was alone. She was sitting by the fire, her shoulders racked by sobs so violent that it seemed impossible for her body to stand it. Her face was white even in the ruddy glow of the flames. She didn't see me. She was staring into the fire and her eyes were dry.
'Kitty!' I said.
She didn't hear me.
I went over to her and took her by the shoulders. She looked up then and saw me. The sobbing stopped. She seemed to be holding her breath. Then suddenly she bent her head against my body and the tears came. Her body trembled and shook in my hands. 'Don't cry,' I said. 'It's past now. It couldn't be helped.'