The Sand Men

by Christopher Fowler

  ‘He actually said that?’

  ‘He said it could cost the resort millions in bad press, so I went along with the story. The company is still paying for my house.’ Milo reached across and tapped Lea on the knee. ‘None of this is relevant to your little fluff-piece. Don’t you want to know if I have any good recipes for your readers?’

  ‘Screw you, Milo, you know what I’d rather write about.’

  Milo laughed. ‘I knew there was a reason why I liked you. You’re not afraid to tell a frail old man to fuck off.’ He thought for a moment. ‘I was bothered by the whole thing. I couldn’t put my finger on it for a while. Then I realised what it was. Tom had recently undergone surgery on the tendons in his right hand. I couldn’t see how he was capable of holding the trimmer.’

  ‘So what do you think happened?’

  ‘I wondered if someone else could have been there and set the whole thing up. Of course, nobody ever sees anything. And the CCTV didn’t cover the spot—convenient, that. But everyone liked Tom.’

  ‘Do you think this might have had something to do with his daughter?’

  ‘They were worried about little Joia. She was very flirty and theatrical around men. You can’t afford to behave like that here.’ Milo gave a sharp laugh. ‘Now you’re curious! When she vanished we speculated endlessly in cocktail bars.’

  ‘You mean she just—’

  ‘Wait, I have something to show you.’ Rising with difficulty, Milo made his way to a pine dresser and pulled a folded page from a drawer. ‘You’re the writer. What do you think of this?’

  She took the page and examined it. ‘Where did you get this?’

  ‘It was intended for Jim Davenport, but I was accidentally copied in—somebody used the wrong mailing template. A list of workers’ deaths. Mandhatri Sahonta died after a pipe burst on the beach. Deng Antonio got his arm torn off trying to clean out a separator. Obviously you’re supposed to shut the thing down first, but it shouldn’t have been operating if he was standing in the vicinity. According to this, the motion sensors weren’t working, but clearly nobody’s supposed to know that now. The third one was Garcia Rodriguez.’ He tapped the sheet. ‘He fell from the top of the Persiana. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence. They get filed under misadventure. These guys have a lot of experience with heights but the wind’s pretty fierce up there. It could easily have lifted him. I did some digging, just out of curiosity. His workmates say he slipped on something. When the inspectors went up there they found the floor clean and dry. I bet you someone in his crew spilled something on the floor, and cleared it up so they wouldn’t get in trouble.’

  She held up the email. ‘Are you saying there’s something especially unusual about these?’

  ‘I’m just asking for your opinion.’

  ‘Given the size of the workforce, I guess three deaths aren’t that strange.’

  ‘Not at all, no.’

  ‘Then I don’t understand—’

  ‘What if I told you there was something connecting all three of them?’

  ‘Try me.’

  ‘Sahonta lost his daughter. She just disappeared, never left the country.’

  ‘How do they know?’

  ‘The company holds all the manual workers’ documentation. They can’t move anywhere without it. Antonio’s daughter vanished some weeks before his death, similar situation. And guess what? Rodriguez lost his daughter as well. They found her dead in the creek a month before he died. Nobody knows what happened to her because the police took the body and the report wasn’t made public. Right after the funeral he had to go back to work. They clean up accidents overnight.’

  ‘But don’t they investigate?’

  ‘Investigations throw the schedule out. It’s better for everyone that things keep moving on.’ He let the thought sink in.

  ‘Were the girls sexually mature?’

  ‘They were 21, 14 and 12.’

  ‘Did they know each other?’

  ‘Not to my knowledge.’

  Lea felt an emotional shift, loss, pain, something momentarily revealed.

  ‘I made a few calls but got nowhere. Could you look into it?’

  ‘Milo, what can I do?’ she replied. ‘If they won’t tell you, they’re certainly not going to open up to me.’

  ‘Maybe not, but you have an advantage.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘You’re the new wife on the block, and you’re married to an executive who’s tipped for promotion. They’ll all want to talk to you. If not the men, then the women. Just keep your ears open for me.’

  ‘Milo, I’m in enough trouble as it is. I’m not an investigative journalist. I’m trying to be good.’

  ‘You mean you’re trying to be what your husband wants you to be.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so, for the sake of our family.’

  ‘Forget it. It was just an idea.’ He took the page from her and carefully refolded it. ‘It was wrong of me to ask. You’re right, you should sit back and relax while he makes a shedload of money, and then get the hell out. This place isn’t for you or Cara.’

  Lea felt the need to explain. ‘It’s just that we went through some tough times. I need this to be a success for all of us.’

  ‘Hey listen, don’t worry. You mustn’t get a reputation.’ As Milo returned the email to its drawer she couldn’t help feeling she had failed him. She liked Milo and admired his honesty, but had seen something in his eyes when he handed her the email that she could not understand or interpret.

  ‘How’s your daughter getting on?’

  ‘She’s fine, I think. I don’t see as much of her as I expected.’

  ‘Well, keep an eye on her. This place may look like Disneyland, but under the surface it’s still an ancient civilisation.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Just keep Cara close,’ Milo replied, and for a second Lea felt the air turn cold. ‘You’re in the land of conspicuous consumption, and people get consumed too.’

  ‘You think the girls are connected.’

  ‘I have no proof of that. I’ve worked in a dozen countries on hundreds of projects, and sometimes you see patterns, that’s all. It may be just coincidence. There was a teenaged girl on the other side of the compound called Sarah. She was made pregnant by a local man. We were all shocked when she killed herself.’

  ‘What did she do?’

  ‘She jumped from the bridge near the Autodrome and landed in six lanes of traffic. There wasn’t an investigation or an autopsy because there wasn’t much left of her.’

  ‘That’s awful—did nobody know about her state of mind?’

  ‘That’s the point. We know and we don’t know. We choose not to know. I’m not being dramatic but remember, there are snakes in paradise.’

  As she rose to go, waiting for him to see her out, she had a chance to look more closely at something that had caught her eye, a shiny brass box screwed into the inner lintel of the lounge door. It looked like some kind of security device. She was about to ask about it when the doorbell rang.

  Milo looked through the window and cursed. ‘Jesus, you see what you did now? Mrs Busabi’s brought cakes over. She’s trying to give me diabetes. Get out while you can.’

  Lea promised to reciprocate his kindness another day. ‘We’ll see about that,’ he said, opening the door, ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to follow the witches into their perfect world of coffee mornings. They probably sit around casting spells on people they don’t like. Come in Mrs Busabi, we were just talking about you.’

  Lea waved goodbye and headed home, but when she glanced back she was surprised to see Milo still standing in the doorway, watching her leave. She found herself wondering what had persuaded someone living in a gated community to fit brand-new locks on the inside of his lounge doors.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Beach House

  THAT EVENING, ROY surprised them by turning up for dinner, and even Cara managed to set aside her laptop and eat some grilled chicken sal
ad. ‘Well, this is like old times,’ said Lea, unable to resist a comment.

  ‘What’s all that junk in the spare room?’ asked Roy.

  ‘That is your wife’s new office,’ Lea replied proudly. ‘She has a job, sort of.’

  ‘You’re writing again?’

  ‘Well, I’m pitching pieces to Gulf Coast magazine, if you can call it writing.’

  ‘Will that leave you enough time for stuff around the house? With the mall being a drive away?’

  ‘We have a maid who has hardly anything to do,’ said Lea, taking his briefcase off the table. ‘I think I can manage to buy a few groceries. We both worked when Cara was a baby and we coped perfectly well.’

  ‘But I know how you get—you pour all your time and effort into this stuff. I just don’t want you getting upset if it doesn’t work out.’

  ‘You never minded before.’

  Roy sipped iced water, considering. ‘I’m just not sure it’s a good idea for you to be working here, that’s all.’

  ‘What are you talking about? It’s not like I’m threatening your status. Perhaps you’d like me to start cookery classes.’

  ‘If you two are going to have a fight, I’m going to take my meal to my room,’ Cara warned.

  Lea looked down at her plate. ‘I was over at Milo’s house today. He has locks on the insides of his lounge doors.’

  ‘Maybe he’s scared of burglars,’ said Roy.

  ‘There’s never been a single burglary in the compound. I checked with the guards.’

  ‘You checkedwith the guards?’

  ‘I was just talking to them while they were looking under the car. They’re not great conversationalists.’

  ‘Well, I heard ol’ Milo has been getting a little weird lately. He probably misses his old job. The guy has nothing to do now except sit around and complain. He hates what we’re trying to achieve.’

  ‘Really?’ Lea set down her fork. ‘That’s not the impression I got at all. He seems incredibly proud of Dream World. He kept telling me how well they looked after their people when he was in charge.’

  ‘That’s not what I’ve been hearing.’ Roy helped himself to salad. ‘He’s been badmouthing the directors. They’re going to take him out of the compound as soon as his contract expires.’

  ‘Can they do that?’

  ‘Sure. They own his house.’

  ‘That’s a shame. He’s a nice old stick.’

  ‘He’s a disruptive influence.’ Roy shook his head. ‘It’s probably better if you stayed away from him. You don’t want to be tainted by association.’

  Lea could hardly believe her ears. She chewed slowly, thinking it over, then turned to her daughter. ‘Cara, do you think Milo’s crazy?’

  ‘All old people are crazy,’ said Cara unhelpfully.

  ‘What will he do?’

  ‘Go home, I guess. Hey Cara, I was thinking. With me working such long hours, maybe you’d like to come over some evenings and visit the site. There’s an empty beach house just past the East tower, at the end of the beach promenade. It belongs to the resort but they haven’t worked out what to do with it yet. It’s got power and it has a cellar, so you can put your equipment down there. It’d be perfect for your computer club.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Cara, ‘How fast is the broadband?’

  ‘It’s the same as the resort, really fast.’

  ‘We have Wi-Fi here, Cara,’ said Lea. ‘You know that.’

  ‘But she’d have room for her friends,’ said Roy. ‘They’re working on a website.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me that.’

  ‘Yes, I did,’ said Cara petulantly. ‘You just didn’t listen.’

  ‘Well, go on.’ She held out her hand. ‘Expound.’

  ‘You wouldn’t be interested.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, of course I would.’

  ‘It’s kind of about this place. It’s going to be called Bubble Life. You know, like the boy in the bubble? It was this old movie about a kid who couldn’t go outside without catching germs.’

  ‘Is that how you see Dream Ranches?’ She caught herself. ‘I still have trouble calling it that. It sounds like an American TV show.’

  ‘Of course that’s how I see it. We’re cut off from the real world. The internet is censored, for Christ’s sake.’

  ‘You can use Facebook and Twitter. If stuff is being censored, it’s because you shouldn’t be looking at it,’ said Roy.

  ‘Great new world order, Dad, I hope you’re really proud to be a part of it.’

  ‘So what’s it going to feature, this site?’ asked Lea hastily.

  ‘All kinds of online community stuff you can add to and comment on. But for people of my age.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you by leaving comments,’ said Lea. She thought about her conversation with Milo. ‘I don’t know about spending evenings out at the resort. How would you get about?’

  ‘She’ll be nearby, and I can give her a lift back when I’m ready to leave,’ said Roy.

  ‘A beach house.’ Cara glazed a little, clearly enticed by the idea.

  ‘There you are,’ said Lea with a sigh, ‘If it doesn’t offend your delicate sensibilities to be in such a horribly commercial place, I guess you can go with your father.’

  That settled the matter. The rest of the meal passed in the smallest of talk and the most awkward of silences.At ten, Lea went into the garden to smoke, and saw Rachel through the branches of hedge that separated them from the Larvins’ house. ‘I’m sorry,’ she called, ‘is my smoke going over there?’

  ‘Hey, I came out for a cigarette too,’ said Rachel. ‘Besides, you’re in the great outdoors. People make such a fuss these days. I can’t breathe in there. My daughter-in-law keeps the windows shut and the air-con permanently set at eighteen degrees. She’s in one of her rearranging moods tonight. She gets very tense some days and there’s no talking to her.’

  ‘I’m starting to write again,’ Lea said, keen to tell someone.

  ‘Really? Good for you. What are you writing about?’

  ‘I’m not really sure yet.’

  ‘I took a pottery course last year.’

  ‘How did that go?’

  ‘My first pot looked like a camel took a shit. My problem is I don’t take direction well. I do my yoga most mornings, and I’m learning how to make sushi. I got caught using salmon I’d dropped on the floor. You should come with me. We could get thrown out together.’

  Lea laughed. ‘I’m not sure I’m cut out for group activities.’

  ‘I know what you mean. But we can’t hang out with the captains of industry. We’re not allowed in that club. Besides, the private conversations of company men would totally horrify you. So we get stuck with the ladies who lunch. Mrs Busabi tried to enrol us all in belly-dancing classes. I warned her it was a little late in the day to start shaking my junk in public, but I went a couple of times just to gross out my grandchildren.’

  ‘How are they doing?’

  ‘They were so cute when they were small, but now Abbi’s turning into her mother and Norah has become some kind of alien creature. Nothing she says or does makes any sense to me whatsoever.’

  ‘That used to worry me about Cara.’

  A coil of smoke drifted around the branches. ‘God, no, that’s how it’s supposed to be. I was beginning to worry that they’d never do anything to upset me. I was in my thirties when punk broke out, and I was so shocked—but you know, nothing has really surprised me since? I feel sorry for kids. How can they rebel if they only know conformity? Colette thinks it’s a good thing, of course. She loves it here.’ Rachel’s cigarette flared orange in the hazy evening air. ‘She couldn’t even bear Morocco, everybody carrying mattresses and window-frames around on bicycles, all baksheesh and hashish, chaos and dirt.’ Another cloud of blue smoke wafted through the leaves. ‘You know the funny thing? There’s a lot to like about the Arabic culture. The propriety, the formality, the sense of grace. Dream World isn’t
Arabic, of course—it’s not anything.’

  ‘Rachel, do you think Milo is crazy?’

  ‘No, of course not, why?’

  ‘He has locks on the insides of his doors. And he thinks—’ She waved the thought aside. ‘No, skip it.’ Saying it aloud might really make him sound crazy, she thought.

  ‘Listen, I’d better get back inside before my daughter-in-law decides to start cleaning out the refrigerator again. She has these fits where she throws away everything that’s a minute past its sell-by date.’ Rachel blasted a final jet of smoke into the hedge. ‘Has Mrs Busabi warned you about the need to refrigerate your perishables?’

  ‘Yes, I had that lecture.’

  ‘Hey, we should meet out here regularly. We can be the Anglo-American alliance, and bitch about everyone behind their backs.’

  ‘It’s a deal,’ Lea agreed. ‘Same place tomorrow night.’

  ‘I’ll be here. Keep the flame.’

  Lea tried to fan away the last of her smoke but it hung in the still air like a guilty secret. She slipped back inside, wondering why she felt the need for an ally.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Car

  CARA MOVED HER laptop to the beach house and began travelling home with Roy, so that Lea found there were times when she saw no-one except Rachel through the hedge.

  Turning out her bedroom light, she lay thinking about the strange division that had appeared in the family. Cara had never sided with her father before. They were all retreating into their own lives. It wasn’t what she had hoped for at all.

  She must have dozed, because the next time she looked at the alarm clock the glowing green letters read 12:47am, and blue lights were sliding across the ceiling. Roy was asleep, so she tiptoed to the window and looked out.