Salinases.
Thinking of a way to get out of that was now adding pressure to his pounding head.
Daniel had been working hard all day too, checking for plumbers in the area who had beige vans. Although he was tired, he greeted
Malone with a smiley face. Daniel was beginning to remind Malone of a pet dog he'd had as a kid — always pleased to see him, his tail wagging excitedly no matter how long Malone had been away.
They shared stories. Malone spoke of the mall and the brooch while
Daniel reported he'd only turned up a few companies using beige vans.
They agreed it was better than nothing at all and, as Daniel left, they vowed tomorrow would be better.
For Malone the next day started much the same, apart from the dream. Loud knocking at his door had brought him out of a particularly nasty nightmare. In it he'd been dressed in his pyjamas, running down the street, chasing a beige van. Thick black smoke billowed from the van's exhaust, and the acrid taste of diesel fumes filled his mouth making him choke as he screamed at the vehicle to stop because his daughter was inside. He could hear her banging on the inside of the van's rear doors.
He sprang up in bed and looked around the room, trying to focus and get his bearings. His throat was sore and he was covered in sweat.
The bright aqua figures on the clock read 8.30 a.m., and he realized it would be Daniel knocking at the door.
'One minute!' he yelled and the knocking ceased. He grabbed a fresh pair of track pants and a T-shirt from the drawer and went to the door. Sure enough, there was Daniel with his smiley face and two cups of coffee.
'Were you in the shower?' Daniel asked, seeing Malone's wet hair.
'Something like that,' he muttered in response, and snatched the coffee.
There was little need to go over the previous day's events, but
Daniel felt they should do it anyway, just in case they'd missed anything.
'Sometimes, when you sleep on things they get more focused,'
he said. Daniel gave Malone a list of the four companies that used beige vans.
As he scanned the names looking for Abbott or About, Malone saw they all started with A. Aardvark Plumbers, Able Plumbers and
Builders, Adam's Plumbing, and Angels Plumbers.
'I haven't got to the end of the A's yet.' Daniel's tone was apologetic.
'You have no idea how many plumbers there are in this city. I'm sure you already know there are no Abouts in the directory.'
Malone nodded; he knew the name didn't exist, but it didn't hurt to hope a little. Once their brief recap was finished, Malone stood up. 'Okay, I guess today is going to be a day of phone work. We'll take it in half-hour turns; you can start, I'm gonna take a shower.' He grabbed his coffee and walked off towards his room.
Daniel switched on the computer and got onto the internet. The
Yellow Pages was their main source of leads, and they'd already perfected their plan of attack. Going through the list, Daniel would ring up in an irate manner, saying that one of their drivers, in a beige van, had just cut him off on the freeway. If the person on the end of the phone said they didn't have any beige vans, he'd apologize and hang up. If they did have beige vans, they'd establish after a bit of conversation it wasn't one of theirs that had caused the freeway distress, then once again he'd hang up. The lead would be noted for Malone to follow up.
At the end of the second day, the list of four leads had turned into a list of twelve, and they were up to the D's. They decided Malone should visit the names on the list the next morning, and congratulated each other on a productive day. Before Daniel left — and so he could get an early start in the morning — Malone gave him a key to the house and told him to come around when he wanted.
Early the next day Malone grouped the twelve leads by locality and took a cab to the first address on the list. Coolwater Plumbers'
premises was in the middle of a small group of garages that claimed to be an industrial park. Malone
Thinking of a way to get out of that was now adding pressure to his pounding head.
Daniel had been working hard all day too, checking for plumbers in the area who had beige vans. Although he was tired, he greeted
Malone with a smiley face. Daniel was beginning to remind Malone of a pet dog he'd had as a kid — always pleased to see him, his tail wagging excitedly no matter how long Malone had been away.
They shared stories. Malone spoke of the mall and the brooch while
Daniel reported he'd only turned up a few companies using beige vans.
They agreed it was better than nothing at all and, as Daniel left, they vowed tomorrow would be better.
For Malone the next day started much the same, apart from the dream. Loud knocking at his door had brought him out of a particularly nasty nightmare. In it he'd been dressed in his pyjamas, running down the street, chasing a beige van. Thick black smoke billowed from the van's exhaust, and the acrid taste of diesel fumes filled his mouth making him choke as he screamed at the vehicle to stop because his daughter was inside. He could hear her banging on the inside of the van's rear doors.
He sprang up in bed and looked around the room, trying to focus and get his bearings. His throat was sore and he was covered in sweat.
The bright aqua figures on the clock read 8.30 a.m., and he realized it would be Daniel knocking at the door.
'One minute!' he yelled and the knocking ceased. He grabbed a fresh pair of track pants and a T-shirt from the drawer and went to the door. Sure enough, there was Daniel with his smiley face and two cups of coffee.
'Were you in the shower?' Daniel asked, seeing Malone's wet hair.
'Something like that,' he muttered in response, and snatched the coffee.
There was little need to go over the previous day's events, but
Daniel felt they should do it anyway, just in case they'd missed anything.
'Sometimes, when you sleep on things they get more focused,'
he said. Daniel gave Malone a list of the four companies that used beige vans.
As he scanned the names looking for Abbott or About, Malone saw they all started with A. Aardvark Plumbers, Able Plumbers and
Builders, Adam's Plumbing, and Angels Plumbers.
'I haven't got to the end of the A's yet.' Daniel's tone was apologetic.
'You have no idea how many plumbers there are in this city. I'm sure you already know there are no Abouts in the directory.'
Malone nodded; he knew the name didn't exist, but it didn't hurt to hope a little. Once their brief recap was finished, Malone stood up. 'Okay, I guess today is going to be a day of phone work. We'll take it in half-hour turns; you can start, I'm gonna take a shower.' He grabbed his coffee and walked off towards his room.
Daniel switched on the computer and got onto the internet. The
Yellow Pages was their main source of leads, and they'd already perfected their plan of attack. Going through the list, Daniel would ring up in an irate manner, saying that one of their drivers, in a beige van, had just cut him off on the freeway. If the person on the end of the phone said they didn't have any beige vans, he'd apologize and hang up. If they did have beige vans, they'd establish after a bit of conversation it wasn't one of theirs that had caused the freeway distress, then once again he'd hang up. The lead would be noted for Malone to follow up.
At the end of the second day, the list of four leads had turned into a list of twelve, and they were up to the D's. They decided Malone should visit the names on the list the next morning, and congratulated each other on a productive day. Before Daniel left — and so he could get an early start in the morning — Malone gave him a key to the house and told him to come around when he wanted.
Early the next day Malone grouped the twelve leads by locality and took a cab to the first address on the list. Coolwater Plumbers'
premises was in the middle of a small group of garages that claimed to be an industrial park. Malone
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