The Stranger in the Lifeboat

www.ajpdf.com
Land
“What are you talking about?” Dobby yelled. “Why are you doing this?”
LeFleur’s arms were shaking. He kept the gun aimed straight ahead.
“You’re responsible for all of them,” he said.
“All of who?”
“The people on the Galaxy. You killed them all. You brought a mine onto
the boat, and somehow you detonated it. Now you’re going to tell me how
you did it, and how you escaped.”
Dobby’s face contorted so severely that LeFleur was sure it was an act.
“I don’t understand you, man!” Dobby said. “Come on. Please. Put the
gun down! Where are you getting this from?”
“Are you denying it?”
“Denying what?”
“Are you denying it?”
“Yes. Yes! I’m denying it! Jesus, come on. I don’t know what you’re
talking about. Tell me!”
LeFleur blew out a mouthful of air. He freed one hand from the gun and
reached for the briefcase he’d carried into the church. He produced the
tattered notebook and held it out as Dobby stared.
“I found it in the raft,” LeFleur said. “It’s all there.”
For the next three hours, as Dobby crouched inside the lectern, LeFleur sat on
a pew and read the pages of that notebook out loud, holding the gun in his
lap. Periodically, he checked Dobby’s face for a response. At the start, he
seemed incredulous, but as LeFleur continued, Dobby’s shoulders slumped
and his head dropped lower.
LeFleur read to him about the sinking of the Galaxy. He read about the
death of Bernadette, and Nevin, and the cruel fate of Mrs. Laghari. He