aloud.
‘That’s because you were the one who said it to me. You told me my dad had been murdered and that I would be too if I didn’t hide out for365 days. It’s been haunting me ever since. My life took a dive-bomb almost instantly.’
‘Please, come back to the office. Let’s sit down and get to the bottom of this.’
‘Sit down, Cal. Here,’ he said, pulling out a chair. He was frowning, straining to remember a scene that he had starred in—one I remembered with all its vivid terror.
‘You really don’t remember staggering along the street near my house, yelling out my name? Warning me about the Ormond Singularity?’
‘The Ormond Singularity,’ he muttered, ominously.
‘Last year, on New Year’s Eve? You don’t remember the paramedics who came after you and carted you off in an ambulance?’
‘I was sick then …’ he said, trying so hard to make sense of this. The expression on his face slowly transformed from confusion into a steadier gaze, as if he’d managed to pin something down in his memory. ‘The Ormond Singularity, the Ormond Singularity,’ he chanted. ‘I think I remember hearing that phrase now. There was something called the Ormond Singularity … something to do with Tom.’
Eric was nodding now.
‘Yes, keep trying to remember,’ I urged.
‘In Ireland, Tom was very close … close to discovering what it was.’
At the mention of Ireland, hope was returning.
‘Mr Blair, why do you think everything is so blurry? What was wrong with you?’
‘I get flashes,’ he said, ‘like the jagged reflections you might get in a shattered mirror, but mostly it’s a blur. I was with your Dad in Ireland when I fell ill. We both did. It was near the end of our trip, but for some reason I don’t remember any of the trip clearly. I had some awful viral infection in my brain and spent a long time in hospital.’
‘You told me my dad was killed .’
‘Killed?’ Eric Blair rested his head in his hands. He looked really pale. ‘This has all come as a huge shock to me,’ he said. ‘I was anxious about meeting you, but I had no idea this was coming. I’m going to need some time to digest it all.’
My mobile rang. It was Nelson Sharkey. ‘Excuse me,’ I said to Eric, before taking the call.
‘Everything is ready to go,’ said Sharkey. ‘All we need now is the money. Can you meet me at the gym in an hour?’
‘I’m on my way,’ I said.
Blair was still shell-shocked, behind his desk. ‘I have to go, Mr Blair, but can you please call me as soon as anything comes back to you?’
He nodded. ‘Of course. I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t know what else to say right now.’
‘That’s OK. Let’s talk again soon.’
‘We just have to trust the forger,’ said Sharkey, quickly counting the money. ‘As much as I don’t really want to deal with him—it means I’m tiptoeing on the wrong side of the law, and I’ve avoided that for all of my career—he has a good reputation . I don’t think he’ll give us any trouble.’
He’s a criminal , I thought. I was dealing with a forger—a specialist in deceit—but I had no choice. I had to part with the money and hope he’d come through.
Sharkey must have suspected the doubt that was going through my mind. ‘It’s not in his interest to doublecross a customer,’ he said. ‘People would stop dealing with him if he did that. Even a forger needs a good business reputation. I’ll call you again as soon as the job is done.’
20 NOVEMBER
42 days to go …
The three of us sat on the beach. Winter was making lines in the sand with her toe. We were wearing wide-brimmed hats to cover us from the sun, but also to stop any unwanted attention coming our way.
Boges, who was never a huge fan of the beach, was lying back, watching people come and go around us. Down near the water, little kids played, building sandcastles, running from the waves and picking up shells, while seagulls swooped over the brilliant blue
‘That’s because you were the one who said it to me. You told me my dad had been murdered and that I would be too if I didn’t hide out for365 days. It’s been haunting me ever since. My life took a dive-bomb almost instantly.’
‘Please, come back to the office. Let’s sit down and get to the bottom of this.’
‘Sit down, Cal. Here,’ he said, pulling out a chair. He was frowning, straining to remember a scene that he had starred in—one I remembered with all its vivid terror.
‘You really don’t remember staggering along the street near my house, yelling out my name? Warning me about the Ormond Singularity?’
‘The Ormond Singularity,’ he muttered, ominously.
‘Last year, on New Year’s Eve? You don’t remember the paramedics who came after you and carted you off in an ambulance?’
‘I was sick then …’ he said, trying so hard to make sense of this. The expression on his face slowly transformed from confusion into a steadier gaze, as if he’d managed to pin something down in his memory. ‘The Ormond Singularity, the Ormond Singularity,’ he chanted. ‘I think I remember hearing that phrase now. There was something called the Ormond Singularity … something to do with Tom.’
Eric was nodding now.
‘Yes, keep trying to remember,’ I urged.
‘In Ireland, Tom was very close … close to discovering what it was.’
At the mention of Ireland, hope was returning.
‘Mr Blair, why do you think everything is so blurry? What was wrong with you?’
‘I get flashes,’ he said, ‘like the jagged reflections you might get in a shattered mirror, but mostly it’s a blur. I was with your Dad in Ireland when I fell ill. We both did. It was near the end of our trip, but for some reason I don’t remember any of the trip clearly. I had some awful viral infection in my brain and spent a long time in hospital.’
‘You told me my dad was killed .’
‘Killed?’ Eric Blair rested his head in his hands. He looked really pale. ‘This has all come as a huge shock to me,’ he said. ‘I was anxious about meeting you, but I had no idea this was coming. I’m going to need some time to digest it all.’
My mobile rang. It was Nelson Sharkey. ‘Excuse me,’ I said to Eric, before taking the call.
‘Everything is ready to go,’ said Sharkey. ‘All we need now is the money. Can you meet me at the gym in an hour?’
‘I’m on my way,’ I said.
Blair was still shell-shocked, behind his desk. ‘I have to go, Mr Blair, but can you please call me as soon as anything comes back to you?’
He nodded. ‘Of course. I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t know what else to say right now.’
‘That’s OK. Let’s talk again soon.’
‘We just have to trust the forger,’ said Sharkey, quickly counting the money. ‘As much as I don’t really want to deal with him—it means I’m tiptoeing on the wrong side of the law, and I’ve avoided that for all of my career—he has a good reputation . I don’t think he’ll give us any trouble.’
He’s a criminal , I thought. I was dealing with a forger—a specialist in deceit—but I had no choice. I had to part with the money and hope he’d come through.
Sharkey must have suspected the doubt that was going through my mind. ‘It’s not in his interest to doublecross a customer,’ he said. ‘People would stop dealing with him if he did that. Even a forger needs a good business reputation. I’ll call you again as soon as the job is done.’
20 NOVEMBER
42 days to go …
The three of us sat on the beach. Winter was making lines in the sand with her toe. We were wearing wide-brimmed hats to cover us from the sun, but also to stop any unwanted attention coming our way.
Boges, who was never a huge fan of the beach, was lying back, watching people come and go around us. Down near the water, little kids played, building sandcastles, running from the waves and picking up shells, while seagulls swooped over the brilliant blue
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