A Distant Land by Alison Booth

Author:Alison Booth [Booth, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781864711950
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2012-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Not long after dinner that evening there was a ring at the front door. Zidra turned on the verandah light before opening the door. Her old friend Stella Papadopoulos stood there, reeking of Mitsouko. Zidra had first met her during university orientation week when they’d each been trawling around, deciding which clubs to join, and had started talking in front of the Labor Club stall.

As usual Zidra was struck by how narrow her friend’s face was, and how emaciated, apart from the wide nose. It was as if all the flesh of her face had been concentrated here, leaving only a thin layer of muscle and skin to clothe the rest. Her body was lean as well; narrow shoulders and hips, and arms that were so slender that her sleeveless dress gaped at the armholes, exposing glimpses of olive skin and a rather ancient-looking red bra. Her eyes were black, as was her gravity-defying hair that nonetheless glowed like a halo under the bright verandah light.

‘Come in,’ Zidra said. ‘I was just about to make some tea.’

‘Can’t stay long. I’m running late for a meeting. But I’ve been thinking about your Hank.’

‘My Hank? I hardly know him.’

‘That’s not the impression I got when you introduced me to him at the Gladstone pub the night of the march.’

That was a lifetime ago, Zidra thought as she ushered Stella into the kitchen. She and Hank had spent a couple of hours talking and drinking with Stella and her husband, Nic, before Hank had whisked her out to dinner, his arm around her shoulders as if they were already lovers.

After putting the kettle on, Zidra flung open the window. There was something wrong with Stella’s sense of smell if she didn’t notice how strong the Mitsouko was. It was making Zidra’s nasal passages tingle and eyes water, and any moment now she’d start to sneeze.

‘Maybe you should find out a bit more about Hank, that’s what I’ve been thinking. After all if he’s working for the US Consulate, he might be CIA.’

‘Didn’t you once tell me that the trouble with you journalists is that you see conspiracy everywhere?’

‘Well, Zidra, maybe you’re right to see conspiracy everywhere. And you can bet that the CIA and our security people are sharing information. So you need to be a bit careful.’

‘I realise that, and of course I’m careful. Anyway, I’ve hardly seen Hank since I got back from Jingera.’ She couldn’t bear to say since Jim’s death. Time was now divided into two periods: before she last went to Jingera and after she got back. She added, ‘We’ve just had lunch a couple of times, that’s all.’

‘He hasn’t come around here again? Sorry, that sounds like prying, but you did tell me you were seeing him a bit before Jim came back.’

Zidra opened a cupboard and got out a couple of cups and saucers. ‘Like a biscuit?’ she said. The last time Hank had dropped in was the week before Jim returned for that abbreviated visit. It had been late at night, after eleven o’clock, and she’d let Hank into the house reluctantly.

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