Hell in Heaven

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The girl didn't let out a sound as the overalled man lifted her from the floor by the back of her neck, the way he would a kitten.

"What's the meaning of this, Arno?" Orfamay barked at him.

"My daughter is roont!" the man howled. "A filthy whore, good for nothing but to suck the cocks of Gilhoolies until her teeth drop out. And it's all his fault!"

Arno turned and lowered a finger toward the door, where two men who might have been his brothers were dragging a young man in by his arms. Matt thought he might have been as lovely as the girl at one point, although his face was so bruised and bloodied under his curling blonde hair it was no longer possible to tell. He was naked as well. His pubic hair was wet with sex and there was a dot of blood on his flaccid penis.

Matt heard Mouse let out a gasp. He turned and saw that she had gone pale. Her brother's thin lips tightened until they nearly vanished, and if he'd had a chin it would have quivered in rage. He wasn't positive, but Matt thought he knew who was supposed to have been sitting in the empty seat between them.

Arno gave a sign and his twins let the boy drop to the ground. He curled himself into a ball, as if taking this as the preamble to a stomping. Another stomping, if Matt could judge from the bruises across his chest and thighs.

"I stepped out to let my weasel free, and I heard noises coming from the hayshed," Arno said. "Thought there might be a bobcat in there. So I flung open the door, ready to bash in its brains, and I found this vermin on top of my poor sister's girl Tally. My poor, sainted sister who went to her grave begging me to keep her daughter from roonation."

"What does the girl say?" Orfamay rasped angrily.

"Said she was walking to the supper and this pig of a Gilhoolie came up to her and started talking all sweet to her," Arno said. "She told him she didn't want anything to do with him, but he shoved her into the hayshed and slammed the door. Then he ripped her clothes off and forced himself into her."

An angry murmur came from the Vetch side of the room. Arno's foot lifted, ready to stomp down on the boy. But one look at Orfamay's face brought it down again.

"He raped my sister's girl," Arno said.

"He didn't!" Mouse was on her feet, about to run to the naked boy. "You all know Cal wouldn't do that!" Vern grabbed her arm and pulled her back down into her seat. There was now an angry buzz coming from the Gilhoolie side of the room.

"I said, what does the girl say," Orfamay said. "I want to hear it from her lips."

Arno gave the girl a shake so hard Matt could hear her teeth rattle. "Tell her, girl. Tell them all about your shame."

The girl stared down at the ground. Arno let her drop to her knees. Matt could see bright red stripes across her back.

"Go ahead, whore, tell Miss Orfamay what she wants to hear," one of Arno's brothers said, his hands clutching into fists. "Less you want more of what for."

The girl tried to look at the boy on the ground, but Arno grabbed her head and forced her eyes up at Orfamay. "You know what happens to sluts here, girl," Arno said. "And their families. You wouldn't bring that down on everyone you love. You wouldn't blacken the name of your sainted mother like that. You go on and tell Miss Orfamay the truth."

The girl's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Speak up!" Orfamay commanded.

The girl took a deep breath that nearly turned into a sob. "He raped me," she said. "He forced me to do it."

"That's a lie!" Mouse shouted.

"Hush, girl," Orfamay said, but even her ferocious tone couldn't stop Mouse. She pulled free of Vern and leaped over the table, scooting between the legs of one of Arno's brothers to cradle the boy's head in her arms.

"You heard the girl," Arno said. "You know the truth. You know what has to happen. We want justice."

"She's lying!" Mouse screamed, tears streaking down her face. "She made him do it, flashing her titties and batting her eyes at him. She wanted him from day one and he wouldn't touch that dirty Vetch skin. So she made him do it!"

"That's enough from you," Orfamay said.

"I can prove it," Mouse said between sobs. "You get out the boards and the stones and she'll confess faster than she could pull off her drawers!"

One of Arno's brothers reached down and swatted Mouse across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. "Miss Orfamay told you to hush, Gilhoolie."

Mouse pulled herself up on her hands and knees. "Do something, Vern," she pleaded. "You've got to do something."

Vern had only gotten paler during the inquisition. When Orfamay turned her ferocious gaze on him, he looked like he wanted to pull his chinless head down into his neck like the turtle he resembled.

"We've got laws," Vern said. "We've got a system of justice. We can't just take this on ourselves."

"There's no question here," Arno said. "You heard -"

Orfamay held up a hand, cutting him off. "Vern Gilhoolie is right," she said. "This is the kind of thing we no longer handle among ourselves."

She turned to Matt. "What are you waiting for?"