The Monster of Mangatiti Page #4

You go and jump in the car, son.

Put your money in.

Did you post my letter?

Yep. Didn't we, Benn?

Anything for me?

Maybe soon, eh?

Got some bills, though.

What's for dinner?

This?

George.

Bill.

You been hunting?

Nah.

His ex-wife, Joanne, that left

before I went to work in the valley,

had actually run off with another

brother, not a musterer, and Bill

was planning to make them pay.

So, you got news for me, George?

It's been months since I put money

on the table. I want the job done.

It's gotta be made to look like an

accident, like they did each other

in or something.

She took my boy. She took Jed. Now

I have to go through the f***ing

courts to see my own son. Well.

My ex-wife and my

own f***ing brother.

I want them dead. You know, screw

all this court bullshit - I want them dead.

I believed by now that he

was capable of anything.

You won't be needing that.

You're still crafty, eh?

Still scheming.

Well, I know everything

about you, Punkie.

Yeah. Cos I can look

right inside your head.

I wonder how Freddie is. Huh?

Do you still miss him? You see?

Cos I know.

Now get these clothes off.

You've got a long journey tomorrow.

I just believed he could read my

mind. My boyfriend used to call

me a nickname, Punkie.

You know, it wasn't like 'sweetheart' or

something you could have guessed.

It was nothing he

could have guessed.

F***ing court access. Some court's

telling me that when I can see my

own f***ing son. It's a bloody joke.

Cat got ya tongue?

Might be a good thing if it has.

Cos one word outta line on this wee trip,

and I swear to God I'll slice

up your whole God damn family.

Including this one. Hmm?

Hungry pigs? Coat hanger -

they've got supper.

When Joanne left she'd taken Bill's

younger son with her and left Benn

in the valley with his father.

Bill was fighting really hard to win

custody of both boys, but in the

meantime, in the school holidays,

they'd swap the kids.

Give me your f***ing shoes.

You're gonna write a statement.

And you're gonna say how

much me and Benn miss Jed...

and what a good father

I am to the them both.

- Why? What's-?

- Because!

I got plans. I'll tell

you what to write.

And then my lawyer'll put it into a

proper affidavit, and you are gonna

f***ing well sign.

OK. I reside with Bill

and his son Benn...

At a later date we actually went

to family court, and I had to

get up in the witness stand

and swear on the Bible that what

I'd said in the affidavit was true.

in a farm cottage...

Which was...

really devastating for me, because

I knew it was lies, I knew I didn't

write it, I didn't agree with it,

But I was in a court of law, and

I'd sworn on a Bible. That was very hard.

At the end of the August holidays

I thought there might be an

opportunity to escape,

so I took a chance.

Hey, um, after we drop

Jed off, I need some stuff.

What now?

I made up an excuse that I needed to

get some more underwear from home,

because I thought he'd

probably let me go.

Remember - one word from you...

I won't be long.

You can stay for a bit, I'll pick

you up later, pay your folks another visit.

I think it was just my mum was there,

and I didn't tell her what was happening.

All I said was, 'Oh, I'm pregnant.

I don't wanna go back'.

Is it his? The baby.

No. No, Mum, it isn't.

It's, um...

It's just... Look, I'll... I'll go

out there now and I'll tell him that

I'm not going back with him.

I'll come with you.

No. Just let me talk to him.

If you just stay here for maybe two

or three minutes, I'll... I'll be

right back. OK?

I was scared that if she went anywhere

near him that he would hurt her.

And I said, 'I'll just run down,

I'll say I'm not going back, and

then I'll come back.'

I didn't realise it, but my escape

attempt was futile. Mentally, I was

completely under his control.

When I said I wasn't going back, he

just turned back into that person

that he'd been that first month,

and I hadn't seen that person for

quite some time. And he was very upset.

If you do that, I'll never get Jed

back. Benn will probably have to

live with his mother as well.

She's not a good mother, Heather. You know,

there's abuse in that environment.

Benn wants to stay in the valley.

You know that.

Look,...

I'll never touch you again,...

I swear, but...

just,... please...

come back with me.

I'm begging you.

All of a sudden I felt that I was

responsible for this boy's life,

and by me leaving,

then this is what would happen

to him, and I could stop that.

For many years, I mean, that was

another reason I... I never came forward,

because I just didn't understand why I did

that, when I'd been suffering all of that,

and then I had a chance to escape,

and I couldn't understand it. But later on,

with learning about psychology and

Stockholm Syndrome, I understand

now that actually...

I actually didn't have a choice.

I was that controlled.

You forgot your underwear.

He just went very quiet...

and had a vibe about him...

that I had not experienced before.

He drove off into this rest area,

and it was quite secluded. He was

just, like, dead behind the eyes.

No. No. No.

I really believed he... he was just

gonna kill me and... and dump me there.

He finished, and he just hopped back in his

drivers side, never said a word, and, um,

drove me back down to the valley.

It was a whole new

degree of terrifying.

So,...

you wanna leave.

You wanna leave? That's fine. But

you're not gonna take the baby.

Then he raped and sodomised me.

The next morning he, um, got really

aggressive and mad because I'd made

such a mess in the bed,

cos the sheets were all filthy

and covered in blood, and, um,

I was told to clean that filthy mess up

and, um, still wasn't allowed to wash or...

I think I had a bit of a towel,

a towel that I could use.

Because I was living in such

a horrific situation and,

um, so ugly, all I learnt to do was

if... if I was doing the washing,

I... I just looked at the bush,

and that was just goodness. It was

goodness, and it was purity, and it

was clean, and it was untouched.

I still think it's a beautiful place. I mean,

I always thought it was a beautiful place.

And the fact that it was so beautiful

is part of what helped me to survive.

Bloody hunters. I had to take a

couple of shots over their head

today just to scare 'em off.

Private f***ing property, this.

Don't think they'll be back in a

hurry, though. But just in case,

I'm off to lay some bait. OK? Couple

of dead pig dogs - that'll stop them

coming back, eh.

You're still gonna go away, aren't you?

You're gonna go see your sister's baby.

I had no idea my sister

had had her baby.

And then I realised the only way

Benn could know is if he'd been told.

I figured out that Bill must've been

stealing my mail and learning about

me from my friends and family.

He hadn't been

inside my head at all.

Finally, things started to make

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