The White Girl

Odette arrives home to find Sissy waiting for her on the verandah. As soon as they’re inside, the story of the bicycle ride and the incident with Aaron Kane comes tumbling out of Sissy’s mouth. Odette is furious. She promises to protect Sissy. But deep down, she shares Sissy’s fear of Aaron.

On Sunday, soon after Odette and Sissy have finished taking their baths, Henry Lamb knocks on the door. He’s looking for Rowdy, who hasn’t been home in days. Despite his distress, when he notices the damage to Sissy’s bicycle, he insists on fixing it immediately, using his junkyard car (which he repaired himself) to fetch tools and supplies. He tells Odette that Jeb taught him to drive and told him that he doesn’t need a license if he stays outside of Deane. Odette is dubious, but doesn’t contradict him. After fixing the bike, Henry accepts the money Odette presses into his hand, planning to use it as a reward for information about Rowdy.

On the day of their next shopping trip, Sissy dawdles in hopes of being left behind. When Odette presses her, Sissy admits she’s afraid to go into town because Aaron has been terrorizing her, silently following her home from school in his truck. Later that afternoon, when Odette leaves Sissy on the footbridge for a few moments, she returns to find Aaron chasing Sissy up the road in his truck. When Sissy trips and falls, Aaron roars off. Odette has had enough. Sending Sissy to Millie’s, she makes the hour-long walk to the Kane farm to confront Aaron.

As Odette approaches the house, she passes a butchered kangaroo carcass that someone is evidently seeding with glass shards to serve as a fatal trap for wild animals. She lets herself in through the open kitchen door into the filthy house.

Odette heads for the master bedroom. It’s empty except for a stained mattress and a mirror on the wall. A red necklace hangs from the mirror frame—a red necklace made of seed pods that Odette recognizes as Lila’s. She remembers one of those days when Joe Kane was stalking them. She’d seen his truck by the footbridge in the morning, and when she returned it—and Lila—were gone. Lila didn’t show up for hours, and when she did, her story of getting lost didn’t make sense. Odette grabs the necklace from the mirror, clutching it so tightly it hurts her hand.

A coughing noise leads Odette to Joe Kane in another room. She shows him the necklace and accuses him of raping Lila. Joe’s face is droopy, and  he’s incapable of speech, but his eyes seem to flash with recognition. He snarls at Odette, and she grabs a knife from a nearby table. But George bursts into the room before she can strike. He begs Odette to leave before Aaron gets home. Now that she knows the truth, Odette can see the resemblance between George and Sissy.

As she trudges home, Odette thinks about the unwelcome revelation that Joe Kane is Sissy’s father. She’s angry at the way Joe violated Lila. And she’s afraid that knowing the truth might make her love Sissy less. But as she walks, she discovers the strength and resolve of her ancestors hidden deep within her, just as Ruben once told her that water is always hidden deep within the dryest riverbed.

At Yusuf and Millie’s house, Odette tells her friend the terrible truth. Both of them know there’s little they can do. When Yusuf comes out to perform evening prayers (he is Muslim), the women watch. Afterwards, Millie tells Odette that Joe came to Yusuf once, wanting to buy a horse. Yusuf refused, certain that Joe would abuse the animal. Joe left in a rage. A few days later, Millie and Yusuf found the horse Joe wanted dead in the corral.