“Why does my brother trade with them?” Frida asked. “If he’s not afraid to kill one, why not just get rid of them all and get rid of the problem?”
“The Pirates have their uses,” August said. “They keep new settlers from coming in, for one, and they see stuff well beyond the territory I travel. Plus, if Micah were to totally eradicate them, he might be out of a job.”
Cal didn’t say anything. He remembered what Micah had said about the Pirates attacking Pines someday.
“So Bo found out about my brother’s relationship with the Pirates,” Frida said.
August nodded. “The Millers told Peter they were thinking of coming back to the Land to tell everyone. They thought people deserved to know. That had freaked Peter out. He’d be in trouble, too, seeing as he’d been aware of Micah’s dealings all along. He told Bo and Sandy they better stay put, that Micah was working with the Pirates for everyone’s benefit. The Millers were having none of it. After all the horror the Pirates had inflicted on the Land, what Micah was doing was unforgivable.”
“And then Peter ran home and told my brother all this,” Frida said.
“You have to understand,” August said. “When we went to see the Millers, Micah’s main goal was to make sure they never came to the Land. If they did, they’d topple everything we’d worked for. He wanted them out of their house and out of our territory. He didn’t see the benefit of protecting them anymore, and I didn’t either. I’m not denying that. They were too much of a threat.”
“What happened?” Frida asked.
August took off his sunglasses so that he could look right at Frida. His eyes were gentle for a moment. “They weren’t cooperative.”
“What does that mean?” Cal asked.
“It means they wouldn’t leave, and Micah did what he had to do.” August put his sunglasses back on. “Bo was strong, but not against two men, and not with his family watching. He didn’t put up much of a fight because Sandy and the kids were there, and we hadn’t touched them. Finally, he agreed to follow us outside.” August paused. “Micah had brought the poison with him. I had no idea he had it. He wanted Bo to take it, and when Bo refused, there was a struggle. Micah held him down.” He stopped speaking again, and Cal leaned forward. “To find signs of suffocation, you’d have to be looking for them.”
“Jesus,” Cal said.
“Afterward, Micah threw up right by the cart. He wiped his mouth and told me to wait with the mare while he went inside.”
“Sandy didn’t try to escape with the kids?” Cal asked.
“I thought she would have. I was praying she wouldn’t. I didn’t want to witness Micah chasing her, doing God knows what.”
“You sat back and watched?” Frida said. “How could you?”
“I saw nothing,” August replied coldly. “Sandy didn’t scream or anything, either. It was quiet. She agreed to take the poison and give it to the children. She told them it was medicine. Later, Micah said she was just sitting on the bed with the kids, singing a song about birds, trying to keep them calm. It was all she could do, I guess, to get out of this mess.” August paused.
“Why didn’t he just let them leave?” Cal asked.
“Would she have wanted to go? She’d be out there in the woods, alone with her kids.”
Frida wasn’t crying, and the way her body felt next to his, Cal knew she was beyond crying, that sorrow had leached even that from her. Cal thought about his conversation with Bo about the Spikes. He must have been warning him away from this place.
When August started talking again, his voice was careful, measured, as if he’d reported this very procedure at the Land’s next morning meeting.
“Frida…You should know that Micah wanted the Millers to vacate the house for another reason. He wanted you to live there.”
Frida began trembling slightly. “Micah knew I was out here?” Her voice was higher than usual, almost squeaky. “Before I told you?” She was trying to catch her breath.
“As soon as I met you and reported your settlement to him, he knew.”
“And he never came to see me?” Frida said.
Cal brought his arms around her.
“Micah wanted you out of the shed, and as quickly as possible,” August said. “The shed was too small, he said, too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. It was tiny. He knew you’d take the house.” August paused. “He wanted you guys to have a better life.”
Frida didn’t answer.
“Micah didn’t want me to bury the Millers’ bodies,” August continued. “He said that you”—here August looked at Cal—“would see the bodies and they’d scare you. That you’d never let Frida leave. That you’d stick to routine as a way to survive. He said it’s what you did in school, after your mom died.”
Micah was right. He’d known that Cal would be a coward and that it would be Cal’s job to hold back his wife.