بخش 02 - فصل 08

8

Drew Halliday (Drew is what he prefers to be called now, among his small circle of friends) eats eggs Benedict at his usual corner table in Jamais Toujours. He ingests slowly, pacing himself, although he could gobble everything in four large gulps, then pick up the plate and lick the tasty yellow sauce like a dog licking its bowl. He has no close relatives, his lovelife has been in the rearview mirror for over fifteen years now, and – face it – his small circle of friends are really no more than acquaintances. The only things he cares about these days are books and food.

Well, no.

These days there’s a third thing.

John Rothstein’s notebooks have made a reappearance in his life.

The waiter, a young fellow in a white shirt and tight black pants, glides over. Longish dark blond hair, clean and tied back at the nape so his elegant cheekbones show. Drew has been in a little theater group for thirty years now (funny how time glides away … only not really), and he thinks William would make a perfectly adequate Romeo, always assuming he could act. And good waiters always can, a little.

‘Will there be anything else, Mr Halliday?’

Yes! he thinks. Two more of these, followed by two crème brûlées and a strawberry shortcake!

‘Another cup of coffee, I think.’

William smiles, exposing teeth that have received nothing but the best of dental care. ‘I’ll be back with it in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.’

Drew pushes his plate away regretfully, leaving the last smear of yolk and hollandaise behind. He takes out his appointment book. It’s a Moleskine, of course, the pocket-sized one. He pages past four months’ worth of jottings – addresses, reminders to self, prices of books he’s ordered or will order for various clients. Near the end, on a blank page all its own, are two names. The first is James Hawkins. He wonders if it’s a coincidence or if the boy picked it deliberately. Do boys still read Robert Louis Stevenson these days? Drew tends to think this one did; after all, he claims to be a lit major, and Jim Hawkins is the hero-narrator of Treasure Island.

The name written below James Hawkins is Peter Saubers.