Dan Smith - The Child Thief

‘Yes. Now eat. We need to leave soon.’

Petro smiled at his brother, who nodded to show his approval they’d be together, then he sat and pulled his plate towards him. ‘Thank you, Papa. I won’t let you down.’

Natalia was looking into her cup as if hoping it would tell her our fortune. There was both worry and satisfaction in her expression.

When I was done, I pushed my plate away and lit a cigarette, pinching and bending the cardboard filter before smoking it. ‘I’ve packed you each a bag – you should have everything you need. It’s your responsibility to look after it.’

‘How long do you think we’ll be?’ Viktor asked.

‘I don’t know, but we need to be prepared. You don’t walk too far from the village without the things you need to survive. And if we find Dariya… well, she might not be alone.’ I watched Petro for any kind of reaction, but he guarded his feelings well. He kept his eyes down as he finished the last of his breakfast.

‘Each of us will be armed,’ I said. ‘Petro, you can take the rifle we found on the sled yesterday. Viktor will carry my old rifle. If I’m right, if someone has taken Dariya, there’s a chance he might not want us to catch him. Do you both understand?’

Both boys nodded.

‘Petro?’

‘Yes. I understand.’

‘Good.’ I finished the cigarette then crept through to the other room, where Lara was still sleeping. I sat on the very edge of her bed and leaned over to brush away her hair and kiss her cheek. She smelled warm, and she moved slightly under my cold face.

‘I’ll find your cousin,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll bring Dariya back. I promise.’

I kissed her once more before slipping from the room.

We wore our heaviest coats to keep out the worst of the cold and we put on our boots before Natalia stopped us.

‘Wait.’ She called us back. ‘Sit for a moment.’

I nodded to the boys and we sat at the table in silence, a traditional few minutes for luck, and when Natalia stood, we went to the door. Like a hunting party moving out at dawn to catch the trickiest prey, we were quiet, lost in our own thoughts of what the day might bring. We put our rifles over our shoulders and our packs on our backs. I slung my leather satchel across me so it hung at my side, and I waited for the boys to kiss their mama.

As I watched them, I thought how much they looked like men, soldiers perhaps, standing with their rifles and their firm intent, but they were still Natalia’s sons and they were not too old to show affection for their mother. I liked to see how much they loved and respected her, and I knew it was she who had made them strong.

When I opened the door, the cold swept in, bringing with it the first glimpses of light in the sky. Viktor and Petro stepped out into the snow and I stayed back to kiss Natalia.

‘Come back soon,’ she said. ‘Find her.’

‘We will.’

She put a hand on my face, nodded once, and stepped back, closing the door.

I stared at the wood for a moment, then turned towards the approaching dawn. I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath before studying the snow around the front of the house. It was grey and brown, trodden down to the mud in patches, frozen in places where men’s boots had crushed it, and it had set hard in the night.

‘That’s good,’ I said. ‘There was no more snow last night.’

We didn’t need to go to Dimitri’s place; he was already on the road, making his way towards us. He had his head down as if he were watching his own boots rising and falling in the snow, but he looked up as he approached the gate, seeing us standing there, waiting.

‘Luka,’ he said, nodding to me and looking at the boys.

‘Svetlana all right?’ I asked.

Dimitri shrugged. ‘Worried.’

‘Of course.’

‘She was surprised you’re going to help, after…’ He looked away.

‘What kind of man d’you think I am that I’d just sit back and do nothing? And it’s not just because Dariya’s my niece. Not just because I promised Lara I’d find her cousin. I’d do this for any child here, no matter who her father is.’

Dimitri’s face twisted and he took a step forward. ‘Is this how it’s going to be?’

‘It’s how it usually is with you, Dimitri. But you’re right – we should put our differences aside for now. Agreed?’

‘Agreed.’

‘You brought what I told you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good.’ I turned and headed round the house, Viktor and Petro either side of me, Dimitri behind.

Like that, we made our way up the slope towards the trees, following the furrowed path the men had made yesterday. When we reached the top, I showed Viktor and Petro the tracks I’d found, and I instructed them to test the depth of them, just as I’d done with Dimitri, then we set off into the trees.

The day was beginning now, one or two blackbirds coming to life in the branches as if they’d been frozen during the night and were beginning to thaw. The trunks were spaced wide enough for us to walk two abreast, leafless limbs tangling together above our heads. In the summer, when the snow was gone and the sun was stronger, the ground would be shaded where we were walking now. The leaves would be rich and green, and the shrubs would be vibrant with colour and smell. The black soil would be soft under our boots and the scent from it would be rounded and earthy. Right now the whole area was a dark and lifeless scrub, but this barren form would make the search easier. During the summer it would be more difficult to track a man on this ground. The signs would be harder to read, easier to hide.

I stopped and looked at the tracks leading away into the trees. A long line of footprints heading only in one direction.

‘We should be able to follow him easily,’ said Viktor.

‘For now,’ I agreed.

‘Those are his tracks?’ Petro asked. ‘Just like that? He didn’t try to hide anything?’

The same thing had been in my mind. It was strange that someone who would take a child – steal a child, Natalia had said – wouldn’t try to cover his tracks.

‘He probably didn’t have time,’ Dimitri said, speaking the words as if to an imbecile. ‘He was in a hurry.’

I glanced at my brother-in-law but let the comment pass. I could think of a different reason why the thief might not have covered his tracks – because he had already killed Dariya and left her somewhere further along the trail. The stranger who had come to Vyriv two days ago had not been searching for his children; I believed he had been looking for the man who murdered them, and this might be what the future held for us.

‘Keep your eyes open,’ I said as I began walking again. ‘There may be other tracks. Other people.’ I turned to look at Dimitri. ‘And keep off the prints. Keep them fresh.’

We continued to trek east for close to a kilometre before I noticed a change in the markings and held up a hand for the others to stop. ‘Don’t speak,’ I warned them.

I moved forward to where the disturbance was and crouched to examine the area. There were two sets of footprints here. One set was the same as those we’d been following, but the other was smaller. The prints were in a haphazard pattern, scuffed, as if the feet that had made them had kicked at the snow or been dragged through it. I stood and scanned the ground among the trees.

‘Come closer,’ I told the others. ‘But be careful.’

When Dimitri was beside me, I pointed at the smaller prints. ‘These could be Dariya’s. You recognise them?’

Dimitri shook his head. ‘They’re smaller. They could be hers but… What happened here?’

‘Maybe he got tired,’ I said. ‘He must be strong to have carried her this far, but no one can carry the weight of a child for ever. He must’ve put her down so she could walk herself.’