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to see beneath the thick skin he wore. He was tough Eddie Chancellor!
    As for the girls, well, his dark sexy good looks spoke volumes!
    Dot turned on the fun for him with the hope he might become her steady bloke. Eddie had other ideas about her though. She was very eager to gloat about him to Eileen Mason and Eileen’s uppity cousins.
    Her smug attitude did exactly what she wanted it to do… get under Eileen’s skin. She had hit the nail on the head with her comment; Eileen did have a small crush on the sexy Eddie, but she would rather die than admit it.
    Eileen’s face went bright red. ‘Piss off, Dot!’
    ‘Now, now, don’t be like that. I just meant I know Eddie and what he likes and just thought you might like a few hints.’
    Kathy could see Eileen’s temper rising. Any minute she would lose control and send Dot flying across one of the tables.
    ‘Listen Dot, no one here is interested in your crap stories about Eddie or anyone, so get lost before Eileen flattens you!’
    ‘Gee Kath, no need to be like that. Hey, how’s it goin with the wannabe
    priests? You and your little sis getting’ any from ‘em yet? They’d be horny little buggers, I’d reckon,’ she laughed loudly.
    Before either Tammi or Kathy had time to reply, Eileen shoved her chair back and tossed the remains of her Coke in Dot’s face.
    Dot spluttered and staggered back, bumping the chair behind her and losing her balance.
    Eileen grabbed a handful of Dot’s Coke-splattered blouse.
    ‘I said, to piss off, bitch,’ she snarled through clenched teeth. ‘Go get screwed seein’ you’re
so
good at it.’
    ‘Stop it you two,’ Tammi said, grabbing Eileen’s arms.
    ‘Let her go, Cuz, before a teacher sees you. She’s not worth it.’
    ‘You bloody bitches! I won’t forget this!’ Dot angrily tugged her stained blouse into place, glaring at them.
    ‘You’ll be sorry!’ She pushed past Eileen and strode away furiously.
    Eileen raised her eyebrows at Tammi and Kathy. ‘Well that was a bit of fun, eh! Bitch made me waste my Coke though!’
    They all had a chuckle at what had happened. The girls were used to Dot and her catty jibes; she just pushed the envelope too far sometimes. They weren’t fazed by her threat. After straightening the table and chairs, they sat back down again and continued with their plans for the summer holidays.
    ‘I’m going to ride Lightning over and check up on old Harry this arvo,’ Eileen told them.
    ‘You’re so kind to him,’ Tammi said, ‘He’s lucky to have you.’
    ‘Yeah Eileen, you are good to him,’ Kathy agreed.
    ‘Yeah, well, the poor old bugger has no one else and he’s harmless. I hate it when I hear some of the people around here talking about him and saying he’s not right in the head! He’s just old, he’s not nuts!’
    The bell buzzed. It was time to head back in for afternoon classes.
    Across the road from the school, a figure stood up from leaning against a telegraph pole. The shadow it cast on the sunny footpath showed it grinding a cigarette out on the ground, then it disappeared.
    ***

THE RELEASE
    A wisp of wind lifted his hair as he raised his craggy face upward, enjoying the warmth of the brilliant sunshine. A sigh escaped his lips as he murmured, ‘Ah, free at last.’
    He fumbled in the breast pocket of his old coat, a coat one would not see in today’s stores. He took out a worn photo, the edges tattered from frequent handling. His eyes filled with tears, then his expression abruptly changed to a scowl. Tucking the photo back into its place of many years, he lifted the shabby suitcase holding his few belongings and ambled down the hill.
    ‘I’m coming blue eyes… I’m coming.’
    The guard shut the huge wrought iron gates behind him.

CHAPTER TWO
    Kathy was taking a shortcut back to Kia-Ora through the orchard from her Uncle Arthur’s place. It was something she had done many times. This time, however, she felt slightly uneasy. There was no wind to stir the