Above the Vaulted Sky - Page 67

            ‘I always think that connection exists in life too,’ she says, clearly determined to change the subject. ‘It has to or it wouldn’t be there in the first place.’

            ‘What do you mean?’ I ask. I’ve never thought of it like that. I’ve always just associated the ability with being dead.

            ‘Well sometimes you have a connection with people don’t you,’ she says. ‘Parents and children. Partners, twins. How many times have you heard someone say ‘a mother knows’ or something equally clichéd.’

            ‘So you think the link is a physical thing?’ I get excited. ‘It’s what I was thinking, I was in this pub, Finnegan’s down the road, and they have this band on. The music…’

            ‘You can see it,’ she finishes.

            ‘Like a wave,’ I continue, ‘or a signal. It’s like every person on earth emits a signal when they die.’

            ‘But not when they’re alive,’ Elle says. Then looks confused as though she’s hit a dead end.

            ‘Maybe bodies block it,’ I suggest. ‘Like a mirror that bounces it back, or lead lining.’

            ‘You’re a science boy,’ she says, sounding impressed. ‘I could never get the hang of it at school, when I went anyway.’

            ‘I love it,’ I say, not the least bit sheepish. ‘It’s like unlocking the secrets of the universe.’

            ‘Not at my school it wasn’t,’ Elle says, laughing.

            ‘Still,’ I say, ‘I had my eyes closed when I saw the man. He exists in that other place. It’s like he’s just become signal and nothing else.’

            ‘You’re assuming it’s the man you followed,’ Elle says. ‘He lead you here, but what if he was leading you into a trap.’

            I shake my head. ‘It’s him,’ I say. ‘I know it’s him, he’s messing around with the universe, with his molecules. I say starbright man because it was like looking into a star, or an atomic explosion. If he’s messing around with his atoms, disappearing through buses, then I think it’s gone wrong.’

            ‘I don’t know,’ she says. ‘That’s very clever and all, but in a mystery story, it’s never the obvious answer.’ She taps her nose, hand on her hip.

            ‘Maybe,’ I say, smiling. ‘I have to say, I’ve always wanted a sidekick.’

            ‘Sidekick?’ she says, feigning offence. ‘Every crime fighting duo ever has the brainy one as the sidekick. You work things out, I’ll be brave and awesome and kick the starbright man in the face when it comes to it.’ She starts walking away, still not knowing where she’s going. She looks back, shaking her head. ‘Sidekick!’