had the boys tried to silence
them. Coke cans - what was their significance? He was skilful and
experienced in mapping his thoughts and after maybe two hours, he
was satisfied. He learned to recognise when there was nothing for
him to do and he knew what to do in those circumstances. He opened
a can of cold Guinness, turned on his home studio and listened,
very loudly, to Beethoven. He started with the Emperor piano
concerto, then he concentrated on the Choral Fantasy and in the end
came all nine symphonies. That was the plan, but Hendrych arrived
in the middle of the 'Pastorale'.
" Just as well you came after the Fifth. Now we can go. Sara,
get ready, Johan is driving us back to Sydney."
Hendrych was taken a back. "Now? I just arrived! Won't you check out
first?"
"No, this should only be a short excursion. You don't want to miss
it, do you?"
"No, I
wouldn't miss any of your adventures even for a bottle of Williams
Chase."
Kroupa saw that Hendrych was in a good mood and didn't want
to spoil it. "And what about for a Monkey 47?"
"That I m ight just consider. You know I don't like Germans that
much. But where did you acquire such a lot of knowledge about
gin?"
"No t
so much gin. Rather Germany, The best beer comes, they say, from
Germany. Followed by the Czechs and of course they all come after
Dublin's Guinness."
"Of course. But stop talking drinks. It ’s making me
thirsty."
"There’ s no time for this. Besides, you’re driving."
The three of them crammed in to the Spider, feeling good going on a new
adventure.
"Where to?"
asked Hendrych.
"First to
Sydney. I will tell you the exact address when we're on Parramatta
road."
Kroupa had Baldwi n's address from the registry at the Hydro, but
wasn't sure there’d be anybody in. Ted Baldwin had mentioned that
his wife was killed and he himself was now dead too. But there
would be neighbours and their gossip was what he wanted. "Go to
Rainbow Street," he ordered.
"Didn't you
forget something?" Hendrych asked.
" PLEASE. Happy now?"
"Yes, very.
But I don't know where it is."
"Ask your GPS, PLEASE. Doesn't yo ur beautiful red machine have
one?”
"Of course it does. But I don't know how to read it. Do you
understand maps? At school, I was hopeless in geography."
A fter a few attempts to come to a mutual agreement, Hendrych
declared that he knew his way.
------------
Kroupa rang the bell, but nobody opened the door. He knocked loudly.
Still no answer. "There is nobody home. What do you want?" A
sonorous voice asked.
"Where are
you?" asked Kroupa.
"O ver here. You must be blind as a bat. You can hear me but
you can't see me. Ha ha ha. You are so funny. Come and have a chat,
here, on the veranda."
The three investigators went to the house next door and
headed to the veranda. "Oh no, you have a dog. No dog poo in my place. I
can't stand dog pooh. It’s all over the streets and always ends up
on your shoes." The voice led them to a rather frail old man. He
seemed slightly humpbacked, but with the voice of a
giant.
" Sara is well trained, don't worry. And she won’t bite you,"
assured Kroupa.
" That's a strange name for a dog. Sara, did you say?" The
old man asked.
" Yes, after Sarah Brightman. She loves to sing. You know,
the diva?"
"Don't have time for divas, not at my age.
Whe n I was
younger, no one would dare compete with me. I was a devil back
then. But now, what sheila would look at me? And if they did, what
could I do? Dry as a broomstick. I sit here all day, wait for meals
on wheels, and sometimes go to have a word with Mrs Somerset. She
is a lovely old lady, not like the sheilas now days. Miniskirts or
shorts, nothing left to the imagination. And their tits are almost
falling out! Ha-ha. Fairdinkum, if I were sixty-five years younger,
I’d know what to do. But Mrs Somerset, she’s a widow and she’s
something else. Apron when she cooks, hair always done, fine
stockings. And on Sundays - church. Never misses a sermon. She is
what I call a lady. And
Marilyn Rausch, Mary Donlon
Sandra Cisneros
Dorothy Koomson
Mona Hanna
Sara Shepard
Gemma Files
Eleanor Green
Sebastian Junger
Lucia Jordan
Jenna Allen