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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

The boy reluctantly surrendered his glass and started towards the verandah. He didn’t think Carmody had brought him here to see the lights. Maybe his brother would like to see them. As he walked past the spindly man, he felt the bones of the man’s fingers ruffle his hair. He looked up at the spindly man who gave a nod and another ruffle with his nobbles. The boy walked to the kitchen but nobody was there. He walked to the door Carmody and Mohr had entered and stood. The big, sad man was standing up and signalled him in. The boy looked behind him, perhaps, Mrs Leggett was there and that’s why the sad man was standing but she wasn’t.

‘This is Mr Cardilini, Harper,’ Carmody explained.

‘Harper,’ the big man said.

‘How do you do, Mr Cardilini?’

Carmody and Mohr were sitting in chairs on the boy’s left. Carmody signalled him to a chair between them. The boy went over and sat. He thought Carmody would want to go back to school and he wouldn’t get to finish his ginger beer.

‘Mr Cardilini has a few questions . . .’ Carmody hadn’t finished but the boy turned his head sharply in Carmody’s direction. ‘It’s all right. Mr Cardilini is like me and Mohr, he wants what’s best for you, he would be very angry, like me and Mohr, if anyone . . .’

‘That’s okay, Carmody,’ the big man said. ‘You have nothing to fear from me, Harper.’ The boy looked at the big man’s eyes. They were like two lost streetlights way out in nowhere, each didn’t know the other existed. He trusted the big man.

‘Carmody said you found something, can you show me?’

The boy looked to Carmody who nodded back at him so he reached into his pocket and held it lightly before extending his arm and opening his hand. The big man bent over and looked at it, he was seeing the spreading eucalyptus flower side.

‘Do you mind?’ he asked and gestured to the bullet. The boy indicated he didn’t and the big man’s big fingers picked it up and turned it over. He measured it against his little fingernail, turned it over a few more times, then shook his head. He eventually sighed like a bull sighs when it’s sick of waiting for the boy to open the gate. He placed the bullet back in the boy’s hand, the boy closed his fingers on it and looked to Carmody. Carmody nodded, he had done well.

‘Carmody said only he and Mohr know you have it.’ The boy looked to Carmody and shrugged. ‘Have you told anyone else?’ the big man asked.

The boy shook his head. The big man sat back in his chair and asked, ‘Do you want to keep it?’

Again the boy shook his head.