Voices in the Dark by Catherine Banner Read Free Book Online Page B

father’s that he thought gave him an air of distinction, but the material was worn so shiny in places that you could almost see through it. He had stuck a red feather in the band. ‘Anselm,’ he said. ‘Come to the Royal Gardens. My father has been lecturing all afternoon, and I want to go out for a walk.’
    ‘You’re just on your way back from a walk,’ I said.
    ‘I know.’
    ‘Go on,’ said Leo, putting his hand on my shoulder. ‘I will be all right here.’
    ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘Yes. Of course.’
    I got up and went with Michael. When I glanced back, Leo was studying something across his knees. It was that book again,
The Darkness Has a Thousand Voices
. As I watched, he took a scrap of paper and a stub of pencil from his pocket and began writing.
    ‘What is your father doing?’ said Michael.
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘What’s the book?’
    ‘The one Aldebaran left him. He has been reading it since last night.’
    We went through the demolished part of town and past the government hospital. People were queueing outside, some of them lying on stretchers and others sitting wrapped up in coats on the steps. We passed the Heroes’ Monument on Castle Street, and I glanced up at the memorial to Harold North. His date of death was fixed in the year he had left the country – twenty-two years ago now. ‘And also his wife, the singer and dancer Amelie’ was inscribed under his monument.
    As we stood there, thunder began low over the houses, and lightning flashed. The rain came out of nowhere and pounded on the roofs. ‘Come on,’ said Michael, catching hold of my arm, and we ran for the nearest doorway. We stood and watched the rain fall.
    ‘Do you think there is any way Harold North could still be alive?’ I said.
    ‘Where did that come from?’ he said.
    I told him about the book. Michael considered it for a long time. ‘Maybe,’ he said at last. But he did not sound convinced.
    ‘I know,’ I said. ‘It sounds impossible. But I wish there was some chance.’
    ‘If he was still alive, why hasn’t he come back?’ said Michael.
    I sat down on the step, and he sat beside me. The rain was falling hard now, soaking the red dust of the city so that it ran like blood. ‘Maybe if he was too scared,’ I said.
    ‘Of what?’
    ‘Of facing his old life. Of seeing Leo again after all this time.’
    ‘Maybe,’ said Michael.
    ‘Or maybe if he couldn’t come back,’ I continued. ‘If he was in prison, or ill, or …’ I shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘But if he could have come back, he would have, wouldn’t he?’ said Michael.
    ‘People do stupid things,’ I said. ‘Without meaning to hurt themselves, or even wanting to.’
    ‘That’s true.’ He turned his hat round in his hands and replaced it on his head. ‘Very wise, Anselm.’
    It was something I had learned from Leo. In truth, nearly all my wisdom was secondhand. We fell into silence again. The storm raged briefly, then wore itself out. ‘Come on,’ said Michael as the rain dwindled. ‘Let’s go to the Royal Gardens and then home.’
    ‘What about your father?’ I said as we resumed our walk. ‘What was he angry about?’
    Michael jammed his hat down harder on his head. ‘He wants to leave the country.’
    ‘Is he serious? You told me before—’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Michael. ‘I don’t know if he’s serious, but he keeps ranting on about it, day and night. I swear to God, it’s all he ever talks about!’
    I was startled by the real exasperation in his voice. ‘Do you think he would make you—’ I began.
    ‘We are in a bad state,’ he said. ‘We have very bad debts. My father is trying to be the first honest pawnbroker in the family, and it’s going to finish the business. He gives people back their things when they can’t pay. A few weeks ago, we had the debt collectors in—’
    ‘Are you serious?’
    ‘Yes. Of course I am.’
    I didn’t know what startled me more – that the debt collectors had