Chapter 33
The police had an inventory of items removed from Dani’s flat
toothbrush hairbrush shoes bedside cup
splatter evidence blood evidence fingerprints DNA not that anyone would
A confession has been received, and given the low estimated value of the indemnity against Ms. Cumali’s death, it is not considered necessary at this time to run any more tests on…
Theo went through the list, hunched in the low light of his bedroom, until he found her mobile phone.
He called the station.
“Paddington Safelife Policing?”
“I’m from the Criminal Audit Office—if you could—thank you that is…”
Holding music, a distortion of a tune he thought he once knew from his childhood. Or maybe all music just sounded the same these days; it was hard to tell.
“Hello? Who am I speaking to?”
“Hello, yes, my name is Theo Miller I’m from the CAO auditing the Cumali case. I just had a couple of questions…”
“Auditing?”
“Yes for the audit I’m—”
“What do you need?” Brisk, bored, the copper was mid-email and now he’s got to deal with this, his shift is ending and he just knows his missus has ruined the dinner, she always does if he gets back soon though he might be able to stop her from making it worse.
“The inventory gave a mobile phone as being part of Ms. Cumali’s possessions. I’m wondering if I can drop in tomorrow to access it?”
“Why do you need—”
“There’s a suggestion of cyber-crime which might affect—you know how it is if the defence find this stuff before we do they can argue an unfair indemnity against the value of…”
“Hold on. Hold on. Just hold a moment will you if the…”
More music. Electric guitar. Electric keys. A song about discovering how sexy you are and hoping all the women will notice your starlight smile your million-dollar sparkle your sky-high…
“Mr. Miller?”
“Still here.”
“I don’t have any record of a phone.”
“In the file I’m holding…”
“No, no record definitely I’ve just—”
“It says that—”
“There’s nothing entered into evidence there’s no sign that I’m sorry but you might be looking at the wrong—what’s your serial number?”
“I’ll cross-check with the office tomorrow thank you you’ve been very…”
Lying awake, watching the ceiling.
If he closes his eyes he can for a moment imagine the world above, he is rising like an angel, spreading wings of light and dancing, dancing in the clouds, ice-cold crystals on his skin and yet it doesn’t hurt, thin air in his lungs and yet breathing just makes him lighter, soaring, naked, beautiful, liberated and free.
And all the people of the city they fly too, the dreamers and the sleepers, the staring children and the distant old ladies drifting before the TV, they close their eyes and soar, majestic in golden light, they dance around each other like mating songbirds, wings tucking in close as they twist and twist, ribbons of DNA across the moon, meteors ripping the stars in two as they…
there’s a market for everything
She’s your daughter. She’s your daughter. She’s
Sits up gasping for breath, had dozed and not even noticed it, sweat and terror and
lies back to sleep, and does not dare close his eyes, and is scared to dream.
Chapter 34
Fifteen years before, in a pub in Oxford:
The duellists’ insurance papers required witnesses.
The boy witnessed Theo’s; the real Theo, the one who actually believed in something. Anything.
Simon Fardell witnessed Philip Arnslade’s. They signed it at a pub round the corner from St. John’s on a drizzling afternoon. The rugby club were in, and had trained most triumphantly and roared and cheered and clawed at the backside of any creature that passed, sex, age or willingness unimportant.
After they had signed, the boy sat with Simon Fardell to discuss details.
“The indemnity gives each party five shots. We have to make sure that the terms aren’t violated. I have these guns from home which I think would be appropriate, we can guarantee they fire true and of course the indemnity doesn’t cover us so I’ve drawn up a formal letter of protest requesting both parties to cease which we can sign and file in case the police attempt to give us an accessory charge, and the lawyer assures me that—”
“I haven’t seen the letter…”
“Don’t worry about that it’s really an irrelevance, the police won’t actually bother—and the discretion clause means that if it did go to court both parties would be subject to litigation regardless of who survives and I’m training to be a lawyer you know are you…”
“Maths.”
“Really? Who’s your sponsor? There’s a whole section of index-based market leveraging which is—”
“I don’t have a sponsor.”
“Oh. I just thought… I mean you seem so…”
“I self-funded.”
“Really? Never would have guessed. Anyway, as I was saying the discretion clause so neither family can sue in open civil court or defame litigate or libel the surviving party of the…”
At sunset, by the river, in the far-off half-dream of the past, the boy stood with Simon Fardell by the thin, reedy banks of the Thames and held a gun between two fingertips, and had never held a gun before, no not even with his dad doing all the things they said his dad had done, and Simon tutted and exclaimed:
“The safety here, you see, you take a grip, two hands underneath—have you never really done this before? Now sight down here, two points see two on the barrel that’s it now we’re at thirty paces which is how far they will be and—shoot!”
The boy shot, and missed by a mile.
“For goodness’ sake, squeeze the trigger just squeeze it, breathe out and…”
“Are we allowed to do this, I mean the noise, won’t the police come, isn’t it…”
“I know the chap who owns this land. Don’t worry about it, the farmers around here, the people, it’s fine so now deep breath and exhale and…”
The boy fired, and this time he hit the edge of the target tacked to a high-packed hay bale.
“Good! Better! Now, fire a few, get a feel for it, don’t lock the arms, don’t fight the recoil that’s how you—excellent! Would you say that this weapon fires straight?”
“I… yes. I suppose I would.”
“You’ll need to sign the release here for the documents it’s—good good good so here’s your copy and here’s mine and I’ll just test my gun and of course we’ll lock the weapons up afterwards, two boxes two keys, prevent tampering, photo evidence all part of protecting ourselves against—God that’s a great gun, the kick of it it’s just so…”
“Does it have to be these guns?”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems… you said it was a .45 and I thought maybe they’d use a lower calibre, maybe .22 I mean that way they could…”
“What a curious idea!”
“This duel, I mean forgetting that it’s illegal for a moment, forgetting that it’s…”
“Illegal but affordable.”
“… illegal it seems to me that the cause of the fight is so I mean it’s just so ridiculous isn’t it fundamentally it’s…”
“Philip doesn’t feel it’s ridiculous. Nor does your man Theo.”
“But it is; it is you and I can both see that it is can’t we? You seem… very smart I don’t mean that in a—but very smart and I mean don’t we have a responsibility, a civic responsibility, a responsibility as friends I mean for God’s sake we’re talking about one of them dying!”