The Missing Informant by Anders de la Motte

Author:Anders de la Motte
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2015-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

‘Odds and Evens,’ he thought it was called. He’d have to google the lyrics when he got a chance.

He came down into the hall, followed the smell into the living room and out into the glazed veranda. Natalie was standing just outside the door. The cigarette smoke was swirling around her head, seeping back into the house through the drafty windows. Sarac realized he was pleased to see her.

He tapped gently on the glass. She turned and smiled at him, then took a last drag before flicking the butt out across the snow-covered lawn.

‘Have you been here long?’ he said as Natalie closed the glass door behind her.

‘About an hour. I really do like this place. How far does the plot extend?’ She gestured down toward the forest.

‘All the way down to the water on the other side of the hill,’ he said.

‘Nice. Is there a jetty?’

‘A jetty and a boathouse, but they’re both pretty run-down. Like the rest of the place.’ Sarac threw his hand out. ‘I was planning to do it up, but a few other things seem to have got in the way.’

Natalie nodded, pulled her Lypsyl from her pocket, and ran it over her lips.

‘Yes, I saw the tarpaulins and building materials upstairs. So you’re the DIY type, David?’

‘Not really.’ Sarac shrugged. ‘But the alternative is selling up. Getting builders in would cost too much. Neither my sister nor I have got the money.’

Natalie pulled a face that was hard to interpret.

‘By the way, there was something I wanted to ask you,’ Sarac said. ‘When you cleaned up my apartment, did you notice if there was anything written on the bedroom wall?’

‘Like what?’

‘Well . . .’ Sarac looked for the right words. ‘Some sort of message. Something about a secret?’

Natalie shook her head. ‘It looked like a war zone. But the walls were okay. Why?’

Sarac nodded, then looked out toward the orchard. ‘Oh, it was just something I got into my head. I must have imagined it. Maybe I dreamed it.’

Natalie was studying him and looked as if she wanted to ask something.

‘Do you want something to eat?’ she said instead. ‘I can do you some bacon and eggs.’

‘Sure.’

He stayed on the veranda while Natalie went into the kitchen. He peered down toward the fruit trees again and for a brief moment thought he could see movement down among the trees. But then he realized that it was just the wind, making the shadows down there move.

‘Debts I can’t escape till the day I die,’ the voice in his head sang. The song was back again, and all of a sudden he remembered the group’s name. The High Wire.

‘David, I found this in the hall. Are you keeping a diary or something?’

‘Er, what?’

Natalie was standing in the doorway. She was holding his notebook in her hand.

Damn!

‘Oh, i-it’s nothing special,’ he said, taking a few quick steps toward her. ‘Just a few things I jotted down.’

He held out his hand. He had left the book in his bedroom, he was sure of that.

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