Bright Air - Barry Maitland [105]
‘Have I killed him?’ I panted.
‘No, of course not.’
I heard him groan as she helped him sit upright.
‘Damien,’ I said. ‘I’m going to get Damien.’
‘I’ll come too.’ She came running after me, leaving Marcus sprawled against the legs of his throne.
We ran blindly out into the night, got into the car, and somehow manoeuvred the winding lanes at speed, out onto the main road. At some point, I’m not sure where, we stopped at traffic lights, and I said, ‘Fuck. What if Marcus makes a run for it?’
We weren’t really thinking clearly, adrenaline buzzing wildly. Anna said, ‘I’ll go back, make sure he doesn’t.’
‘I’ll turn around.’
‘No, there’s a cab over there. You go on. Should we call the police?’
‘Not yet,’ I said. ‘Not yet.’
She jumped out of the car, the lights turned green, I took off and I saw the cab driving away without her. But all I could think about was getting to Damien.
24
As I crossed the Harbour Bridge I looked up at the glittering ramparts around Circular Quay, wondering if Damien was sitting up there on one of those bright ledges with his newly pregnant wife, sipping champagne. And I had a blinding image of myself bursting in on them, and hurling him off, out into the night.
I parked some way beyond his entrance and walked back, breathing deeply, trying to calm myself, and reached the glass doors just behind two couples, chatting cheerfully together. One of the men spoke loudly into the speaker, and I heard Damien’s name. Then the door clicked open and I was following them in. They oohed and aahed in the lobby just as Mary and I had done. Another pale figure was plying through the water in the pool overhead. I went on to the lift and pressed the button, and they all piled in behind me.
I noticed that they were eyeing me dubiously as they got into the lift, and I supposed I must look a bit dishevelled. I said, sounding unnaturally jolly, ‘Twenty-eight, yes? Damien and …’ I suddenly couldn’t remember her name. My head was spinning.
‘Lauren, yes,’ the one who’d spoken into the entry phone said. ‘Are you feeling all right?’
I wiped a hand through my hair and tucked the half of my shirt that had come out back into my trousers. ‘Yes, yes, fine.’ The lift was accelerating skyward.
‘Quite a surprise!’ I said. They looked blank. ‘About the baby?’
‘Baby? What baby?’
‘Well—Lauren’s baby.’
The women both squealed. ‘Lauren’s pregnant? So that’s what this is all about! She sounded so mysterious on the phone!’
‘Oh no,’ I said. ‘You didn’t know? I’ve spoiled the surprise. Don’t let on, will you?’
The lift sighed to a halt and everyone spilled out to greet the waiting Lauren, who kissed them all in turn and then stared at me with a puzzled half-smile.
‘Josh?’
‘Hi, Lauren,’ I said, conscious of the others waiting to see how this was going to go. ‘I need to have a word with Damien. It’s extremely urgent.’
‘Well … but he’s not here. Someone called, his friend. He needed Damien urgently too. He left fifteen minutes ago. Is this the same thing? What on earth is going on?’
‘Which friend was that, Lauren?’ I said, and I realised that the tone of my voice was alarming her.
‘Marcus, Marcus Fenn. Damien said he had to go over there right away, to help him, some kind of emergency. What—’ But I had turned away and was thumping the lift button. The doors slid open and I jumped in.
Something had happened on the Harbour Bridge, an accident of some kind, and all the northbound traffic was being forced into one single lane. I swore and beat my hand in frustration on the wheel and the minutes ticked by as we slowly edged forward. I tried phoning Anna but got only her answering service. At last I was past the obstacle and speeding on through North Sydney towards Castlecrag. When I finally turned down into The Citadel I saw a small BMW standing outside Marcus’s house. I pulled up beyond it and as I flung open my door I heard a woman’s scream. I ran to the top of the entrance drive and saw the front door of the house crash open and Anna come tumbling out, silhouetted against the light. A second figure followed—Damien,