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Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

‘All right, mate,’ he says. ‘What can I getcha?’

‘Just a tea,’ says Ron. ‘Milk and one.’

‘Milk and sugar’s at the end of the counter.’

As the man pours hot water on to a tea bag in a polystyrene cup, Ron fishes in his pocket for change.

‘You been doing this job long?’ he asks.

‘Couple of years.’

‘Little goldmine, this set-up, I should think, in a spot like this. Captive clientele. No McDonald’s or KFC to bother you.’

‘I do all right.’

The man hands Ron his tea, and Ron gives him a two-pound coin.

‘Keep the change.’ At the end of the counter, he fishes out the tea bag and adds a splash of milk. As he’s tearing open a sachet of sugar, he says, ‘Actually, I was hoping to find a mate of mine I haven’t seen in a while. He used to work for Petersen’s down the road there, but looks like they’ve closed down or moved on.’ He points to Petersen’s old building. ‘You don’t know anyone who used to work there, do you?’

The man shakes his head.

‘Nah, mate,’ he says, sitting down and picking up his newspaper. ‘Like I say, I’ve had this pitch a couple of years, and there’s never been anyone in that place while I’ve been here.’

Ron stirs his tea.

‘You got a lid for this?’ he asks, and the man hands him one. ‘Looks like I’ll have to look for my mate elsewhere. Thanks for the tea.’

Back in his car, Ron sips his brew and stares thoughtfully at what was once Petersen’s UK office. Seems Naylor’s hunch was right about those stones still lying in the mud. The pity is, she didn’t turn this one over sooner.

‘Let me show you how this works,’ says Jack, and he moves along the bonnet of the old Land Rover he uses for running the sheep so Evan can squeeze in beside him. The sun is hot, and Evan’s glad to be in the bonnet’s shade. ‘This is called a distributor cap, and these leads here are where the sparks come from to fire the engine. So when this old girl is running a bit rough, the first thing to try is to do what I’m doing here, and just tickle the ends up with a bit of sandpaper. If you had a matchbox in your pocket, you could use that. We just need to make the ends nice and shiny again, like this.’ He shows Evan what he’s doing, then hands the sandpaper to him so he can have a go. ‘Not too much elbow grease. Just enough to get them nice and clean. That’s it.’

When all the points are done, Jack re-connects them and checks everything looks sound.

‘Right then. You jump in the driver’s seat, and when I shout, you fire her up.’