Dan Smith - The Child Thief

‘Why would he do that?’ Dimitri went on, directing his words at Josif and the others, then turning on me once again. ‘Why keep it hidden, Luka?’

‘So people like you wouldn’t get so excited,’ Josif told him.

‘I’m not excited, I’m angry. Angry that he brought a killer into our village. A man who kills children and eats their flesh.’

‘No one brought a killer anywhere,’ Josif said. ‘Luka did the right thing.’

I looked at Josif, glad to hear him coming to my defence.

‘I agree.’ Leonid Andreyevich stepped forward, shaking his head. ‘Something like this could cause a lot of trouble.’

‘You’re right about that,’ Dimitri said. ‘That’s why we need to get rid of him.’

‘No,’ Leonid said. ‘That’s not what I meant. I meant we should keep this to ourselves.’ Leonid was a taciturn man who might have seemed timid to an outsider, but he was a man who listened and spoke only when necessary. He was younger than Ivan and Josif and, like me, he had fought in and survived the civil war. But, unlike me, he was a native of Vyriv, and that, coupled with his reputation, earned him the respect of the others in the village.

He spoke quietly now, his eyes averted from what was on the sled. ‘Bury these poor children and be done with it.’

‘Be done with it?’ Dimitri raised his voice. ‘What the hell does that mean? What about the man in Luka’s house? What about him ?’

‘We watch him,’ Leonid said. ‘As soon as he’s well enough, we talk to him. Find out what happened.’

‘He’ll deny it.’

‘Of course he will,’ Josif said. ‘But we’ll have to decide for ourselves if he’s lying.’

‘A trial?’ Ivan was using the heel of his palm to bang the used tobacco from his pipe. ‘Interesting. Like one of the communist troikas ?’

‘Something like that,’ Josif said. ‘But fairer. We have to give him a chance. We don’t know anything about him.’ He turned to look at me. ‘He had belongings? Something that might tell us who he was?’

‘Or maybe we should just let him go when he’s well enough. Make him leave,’ Leonid offered.

‘So he can kill again?’ Dimitri said, looking around at us. ‘What are you talking about? Have you lost your minds? This man kills children and you’re talking about making him better and setting him free.’

‘What would you do?’ I asked.

‘I’d string him up.’

‘I bet you would,’ I said.

‘Damn right.’

‘I vote we keep it to ourselves for now.’ Ivan held up his hand, the stem of his pipe pointing to the sky. ‘Bury them and don’t speak of it until we’ve decided what’s for the best.’

I put up my hand in agreement. Leonid and Josif did the same.

‘This is bullshit.’ Dimitri spat his words. ‘Bullshit.’

Now they all looked to Viktor and Petro.

‘Since when do they get a vote?’ Dimitri asked.

‘They’re men now,’ Ivan answered. ‘And they’re here. That gives them a vote.’

‘Men?’ Dimitri scoffed. ‘Boys who are seventeen. One of them a brute like his father, and the other… I don’t even know what the other is.’

Petro raised his hand. Viktor looked at me.

‘Don’t look at him,’ Josif said. ‘This is your decision now.’

But Viktor wasn’t asking for my direction regarding the vote. He wanted to punish Dimitri for his actions and his words, and he wanted me to sanction it, but the look in my eyes told him this was not the place for it.

Viktor nodded and slowly raised his hand.

‘Then it’s settled,’ Ivan said.

‘It’s bullshit, that’s what it is.’ Dimitri turned to walk away. ‘There’s nothing settled here at all.’

I took the back of Dimitri’s coat in my fist and stopped him. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Home,’ he said, looking me in the eye, pushing my hand away. For a moment we stood close, faces level, searching one another’s thoughts. I could feel Dimitri’s breath on my skin, see the air whiten and cloud between us, sense the heightened tension in my brother-in-law.

‘What are you going to do?’ Dimitri said. ‘Hit me?’

I considered it. I thought about doing what Viktor had wanted to do, and I fought the urge to ball my fist and slam it into Dimitri’s nose. Instead, I held up my hands. ‘Go home, Dimitri. Go home and annoy your poor wife.’

The six of us watched him leave, and then finished burying the children.

We walked in silence, coming back from the cemetery. The crunching of our boots in the snow, and our heavy breathing, and the cackle of the magpies. Leaving the church behind, though, I could hear raised voices from the heart of the village, and I shared glances with the others as we quickened our pace.

We all suspected. We all knew . As soon as we heard the commotion, we knew what it was, and when we came within sight of the centre of the community, we saw it for ourselves.

There was a group of people there, close to the oak that stood within its low circular wall. A dense nucleus of fifteen or twenty people, with as many again standing around the edges, undecided if they were a part of what was happening or if they were just spectators. Those in the centre were nodding their heads, gesticulating, raising their hands in the air. They were shouting agreement, being whipped up by the man at the centre of it. Dimitri.

‘What the hell does he think he’s doing?’ I said to no one in particular, catching sight of Natalia coming in our direction. She was without her coat, as if she’d come in a hurry.

‘He’s been knocking on doors,’ she said. ‘Shouting and ranting about our children not being safe. Is it true? Are they not safe?’

I stopped to speak with her, Viktor and Petro staying with me. The other men went to where the villagers were standing.

‘Where’s Lara?’ I asked.

‘She went out after she helped me with the chickens. Said she was going to play with Dariya.’

‘Dimitri’s forbidden her from coming to our house.’

‘That’s what Dariya said. But she told me that if they play outside, they won’t be in our house. And who am I to argue with such a sly girl?’

‘You don’t know where they are now?’

‘In the field, rolling snowballs. Are they in danger?’

‘No. She’s probably better off not being here.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Not really.’

‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘Has something happened?’

I could see the crowd was growing as more people joined Dimitri, arms raised, voices raised, tensions raised.

‘Petro,’ I said, ‘go find your sister.’

‘Why me? Why not send Viktor?’

‘Because I might need Viktor here. Find your sister and bring her home. Keep her inside.’

‘Papa—’

‘Don’t argue with me, Petro Lukovich.’

Petro shook his head and stayed where he was, deciding whether or not to defy my wishes. But the hesitation was short and he rolled his eyes, moving away. I watched him go, disappearing around the rear of our home, before I looked back at the crowd.

‘Has something happened?’ Natalia asked again. ‘Why is he saying our children aren’t safe?’

‘Because he’s an idiot,’ I said. ‘Nothing has happened.’

Dimitri was drawing more people in now, addressing those who had gathered round him, telling them they were unsafe, that a child-killer had come among them. Ivan, who had been at the burial, had gone to intervene, but he was not a strong man and he pleaded quietly, his voice lost in the growing cacophony. He was respected, but he had no voice in this confusion. He had no control over a mob like this. Josif and Leonid too tried to reason with the people, but when Dimitri pointed towards me, raising his voice, directing the stares of the other villagers, I could see how this was going to turn out.