Chapter 47

“You have to understand, Samantha,” he sat down across from her and began puffing on his pipe again. “The council has control of everything that comes onto the island. They decide who gets what, what gets sent where, and how much it cost.”

“But they insure that everyone has whatever they need,” she said.

“That they do. But they define “need”. You don't tell them what you need to live, they tell you.”

She frowned. She heard what he was saying but there was an underlying tone to his words that needed explaining.

“I'm not saying that they're not treating anyone fairly, Samantha. I'm saying that there are those who could interpret the Council's definition as restrictive and taking far more control than they should be. They might feel that the choices of the Council were not fair and equitable, particularly if they had evidence of that.”

“What kind of evidence?”

“Say you needed a specific item and requested this item from the Council. You're told it is not available and you are denied. Yet, you find, weeks later that someone related to a council member has just obtained the item you requested. If this happens frequently, eventually people will notice. An element will spring up that can provide for the wants of the people instead of the needs.”

She sat back. “So the smuggling is a symptom of a bigger problem?”

He nodded. “I'd say that was a good description.”

“They're stealing from their neighbors, not the Council.”

He drew on the pipe and blew three smoke rings before he answered. “You think the things that have been happening in the Outland with the Green Men are connected to the underground smuggling that has been going on for centuries?”

“Centuries? You don't think this is a recent occurrence?”

He looked surprised. “Of course not. It's common knowledge that most of the robberies that occur are connected to smuggling. They steal items in the provinces and sell them in the Outland. Helps those who would not normally get items they truly need because they are outcasts.”

She studied him for a minute and realized that he didn't know what she was talking about. What he described was what she and everyone else had always known. She shook her head. “No, Uncle Will. I'm talking about the smuggling of items that are coming across the mist.”

Will removed the pipe from between his teeth and stared at her. “That's impossible.”

She shook her head again.

“How?”

“I'm not sure. I think that . . . you'll call me crazy.”

He reached across the table and squeezed her wrist. “Not in a million years.”

“I think they are coming through the mist with things they sell in secret. Not exactly smuggling but underground. And I think that they are separate from those doing the smuggling. I think that is why the Green Men are having such trouble.”

“You're not talking about stealing and simple smuggling, Lass. That's a black market.”

She knew the term but had never heard it referred to in regard to anything happening in the provinces.

“Actually, they smuggle the goods in and sell them on the black market. Called black market because it is not legitimate. But what you are suggesting is impossible. Everything that comes is reviewed by the Council and distributed through the proper procedures. The mist is monitored and patrolled by the Port Authority. The chance of getting caught is high. Besides, they would have to know when the items were coming through in order to be ready to intercept them. That is just impossible. No one has ever been able to predict that.”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “But Uncle Will... I can. And if I can, there are bound to be others who can as well.”

The truth of her words sank in slowly, until he finally dropped his pipe onto the small dish he used for the purpose. “Sam. . . are you sure that is what is happening?”

“I'm more than sure, Uncle Will. I think I have been in their storage area.”

She described the trip she and John took to White Beach and what they found. He didn't speak until she fell silent.

“You could both have been killed.”

“I don't think we thought of that at the time. And we never dreamed of what we would find. There had never been an inkling that there was a huge underground complex of caves there. Or anywhere on the island as far as I know. But I just felt I had to go there. My dream started there.”

“That's something else I don't get, Sam. Why are you having such odd dreams? When did it start? I never remember your father mentioning dreams. Only that you seemed to know when someone was coming through the mist.”

She didn't want tell him about her visit to Isabel and the Circle. She felt as if she had already told too many people too much. There was a crawling sensation on the back of her neck that she didn't like at all. It felt as if she had told something to someone she shouldn't but she couldn't put her finger on it. Before she told anyone else another thing, she really needed to sit and think it all through. The feeling that she was still missing a piece was growing. She stood up.

“I'm going home now, Uncle Will. I'm sorry to burden you with all this but I want to find out what all this is about.”

He rose and moved around the table to put his arms around her. “Lass, you are welcome here anytime. If you are in trouble, I will move heaven and earth to help you. I just wish you'd leave this alone. It could be dangerous, especially if what you are suggesting is true. And this stays between us.”

He unlocked the front door for her and stood on the boardwalk watching as she rode away. She still didn't relish the rest of her ride home but there was so much on her mind that she was fairly certain that she wouldn't notice much.

John wouldn't be pleased if he knew what she was planning. He'd be furious. Still, she felt as if she had been drawn into this through no fault of her own and the feeling of being manipulated wasn't something she liked at all. It was time to take things into her own hands. If she had to have this gift she might as well get started using it to her own advantage instead of having other people use it for theirs.