would you do
with my granddaughter?”
The
fat man shook his head. Parts of the skin on his face and neck were mobile for
seconds afterwards. “That would not be your concern. Dr Romodon has many uses for his sisters.”
“So,
Paula would join your…whatever it is you call yourselves.”
“That
is one possibility.”
Stock
fixed him with a stare that was as fierce as a pin holding a butterfly to a
board. “And the other possibilities?”
“You
should not…”
“Don’t
tell me what I should not…The other possibilities?”
Brother
Simon sighed dramatically, although in truth he had expected Stock to be
insistent. If he was told the full truth it was unlikely he would agree, however desperate his desire to see his dead son
might be.
“When
we return a soul to their loved ones we leave a void where it has been resting.
We need to fill that void.”
Stock
turned his head away. It was no more than he had anticipated. A life for a life. At one point, in the early days of his
relationship with Romodon , he had imagined he would
be bargaining his wife for his son. And when Marlene began to improve he
thought that would be the deal. It was only now, when he had learned that his
wife was dying come what may, that he knew the price would be higher.
“So,
Paula will die.”
Simon
stared back, but said nothing.
Stock
felt excitement grow. He loved the cut and thrust of a business deal. No matter
what the stakes were, no matter what the subject.
“Now,”
he said. “I’ll tell you my terms.”
Ray opened the door to the pool house and immediately
heard the sobbing.
The
lights were dim but he thought he could see someone sitting at the edge of the
swimming pool. The ceiling was white with black stars painted on. Reflections
of the pool flickered onto it like random projections of blue clouds. The water
itself was gently rippling with the movement of the filter.
Ray
walked to the pool and stooped down. Paula was sitting with her feet in the
water. Her shoulders were heaving with sobs that seemed to rack her body.
“Hey,”
Ray said quietly, he didn’t want to scare her.
It
seemed for a moment that she hadn’t heard him, or had chosen to ignore him.
Then she turned her head to look over her shoulder. “Do I know you?”
Ray
reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of paper tissues. He offered
them to her and she took them with the gratitude of a drowning man taking a
glass of water.
“Have
I changed that much?”
Paula
wiped her eyes and nose with the tissues and set them down next to her. “You’ll
have to give me a clue. I’m not so good with faces.”
“I’m
Ray, your mother’s brother.”
“Christ,
Uncle Ray. The black sheep.”
“Guilty. Happy Birthday.”
“Yeah, right. Have you been sent to bring me back to the
party?” The way she said it sounded defiant, but Ray could tell it was said in
hope that her parents had actually missed her enough to get someone to find
her.
“Sorry,
no. I saw the lights and guessed you’d be here. Did you scar the young man for
life?”
She
almost laughed, and the smile changed her face from the sulky teenager into a
happier person. “He’ll have plenty to brag about when he gets back home. So
what brings you back to the mad house?”
“Invitation from your mother. But it wasn’t quite without
with my granddaughter?”
The
fat man shook his head. Parts of the skin on his face and neck were mobile for
seconds afterwards. “That would not be your concern. Dr Romodon has many uses for his sisters.”
“So,
Paula would join your…whatever it is you call yourselves.”
“That
is one possibility.”
Stock
fixed him with a stare that was as fierce as a pin holding a butterfly to a
board. “And the other possibilities?”
“You
should not…”
“Don’t
tell me what I should not…The other possibilities?”
Brother
Simon sighed dramatically, although in truth he had expected Stock to be
insistent. If he was told the full truth it was unlikely he would agree, however desperate his desire to see his dead son
might be.
“When
we return a soul to their loved ones we leave a void where it has been resting.
We need to fill that void.”
Stock
turned his head away. It was no more than he had anticipated. A life for a life. At one point, in the early days of his
relationship with Romodon , he had imagined he would
be bargaining his wife for his son. And when Marlene began to improve he
thought that would be the deal. It was only now, when he had learned that his
wife was dying come what may, that he knew the price would be higher.
“So,
Paula will die.”
Simon
stared back, but said nothing.
Stock
felt excitement grow. He loved the cut and thrust of a business deal. No matter
what the stakes were, no matter what the subject.
“Now,”
he said. “I’ll tell you my terms.”
Ray opened the door to the pool house and immediately
heard the sobbing.
The
lights were dim but he thought he could see someone sitting at the edge of the
swimming pool. The ceiling was white with black stars painted on. Reflections
of the pool flickered onto it like random projections of blue clouds. The water
itself was gently rippling with the movement of the filter.
Ray
walked to the pool and stooped down. Paula was sitting with her feet in the
water. Her shoulders were heaving with sobs that seemed to rack her body.
“Hey,”
Ray said quietly, he didn’t want to scare her.
It
seemed for a moment that she hadn’t heard him, or had chosen to ignore him.
Then she turned her head to look over her shoulder. “Do I know you?”
Ray
reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of paper tissues. He offered
them to her and she took them with the gratitude of a drowning man taking a
glass of water.
“Have
I changed that much?”
Paula
wiped her eyes and nose with the tissues and set them down next to her. “You’ll
have to give me a clue. I’m not so good with faces.”
“I’m
Ray, your mother’s brother.”
“Christ,
Uncle Ray. The black sheep.”
“Guilty. Happy Birthday.”
“Yeah, right. Have you been sent to bring me back to the
party?” The way she said it sounded defiant, but Ray could tell it was said in
hope that her parents had actually missed her enough to get someone to find
her.
“Sorry,
no. I saw the lights and guessed you’d be here. Did you scar the young man for
life?”
She
almost laughed, and the smile changed her face from the sulky teenager into a
happier person. “He’ll have plenty to brag about when he gets back home. So
what brings you back to the mad house?”
“Invitation from your mother. But it wasn’t quite without
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