The Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett

Author:Neil Bartlett
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781408850466
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

‘Well, blow me down with a feather,’ said Pam, more or less to herself, and after a suitable pause. ‘Anyone would think he’d rehearsed that.’

She looked at Reg in the mirror; he’d turned his back, and one hand was reaching for the burgundy satin again.

‘The Queen’s Hotel. I’m not sure if that counts as pushing the boat out or not. What d’you reckon? Reg?’

Reggie was making a proper meal of rearranging the dress. For some reason, he couldn’t get it to drape straight on the hanger.

‘Oh come on Reg …’

Pam started attacking her hair again, tugging the pins out of the matted curls rather harder than she needed to. She was getting angry with the boy now. Did he think she couldn’t look after herself?

‘Look,’ she said, ‘I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again so there’s no mistake. You don’t have to worry about me tomorrow night, you really don’t. With any luck, he just wants to buy me a drink and tell me he’s got us a ten-week tour at double the money. You do want us to keep on working together, don’t you? Reg?’

Her hands stopped. A hairpin fell on the floor.

‘Reg?’

His voice was thicker than usual – choked. As if he had a stone in his throat.

‘I just think you ought to remember –’

It was her turn to snap.

‘What?’

Reggie’s hands stopped whatever it was they were doing. One of them clenched and unclenched under the satin, an organ beating under skin, and there was a very full beat of silence.

‘That he probably did rehearse it. He rehearses every bloody thing he does.’

Pam’s hands seemed undecided about their next action too, but then they made up their mind. She wasn’t taking lessons in how to deal with a man in a dinner jacket from a kid of Reggie’s age, that was for sure, and certainly not from one of his persuasion. The plucking fingers flew back into action, slamming pins down onto the dressing table.

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, Reg! Do you think I can’t spot a fibber when I see one? Trust me, I’ve heard them all before.’

Pam tugged and slammed until the pins were all out; Reg said nothing. Then she took a deep breath, and stared at her hands, and laid them flat on the dressing table. Deciding that it was time to change the subject before somebody said something they shouldn’t, she looked up at her clippings, thrust her hands up into her now-released hair and turned her head first to the left and then to the right, inspecting the lines of her neck and jaw, chin up and imaginary diamond-chandelier earrings swinging in the lights. She was damned if she was going to let this nonsense come between them.

‘Right,’ she said, all determination. ‘On to more important matters. Do you think I should get it chopped? Nothing drastic, just a couple of inches. Reg? Come on.’

Reggie felt the same as she did – the last thing he wanted was to have to

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