‘Yeah.’
He thought he could hear her sniffing over the whine of the saw. Another phone was ringing somewhere. He pressed his to one ear, blocking the other with his finger. He rose on his toes to look through the paling, found a chink of harbour. He still couldn’t hear what Sylvia was saying.
Blanche was waving at him. She approached across the grass, her phone pressed against her thigh. ‘I have to go, Clark. Fatima’s at the house and she can’t get in.’
‘Okay, okay. Can you hold on a sec?’ he said to Sylvia.
‘Do you know where there’s a spare set of keys?’ Blanche asked him.
‘Doesn’t Fatima have her own set?’
‘She forgot to bring them. She thought someone would be there to let her in.’
‘Leon would know.’
‘Leon!’ Blanche shouted back at the building. ‘I’m coming now, okay, Fatima?’ she said into her phone.
Clark watched his sister walk away. ‘Sorry,’ he said to Sylvia. ‘What did you say?’
At last, her voice came to him.
‘I said, I miss you.’
Acknowledgements
My heartfelt thanks are due to many people who played crucial roles during the long period it took to bring this novel into existence. Debra Adelaide and Emily Ballou for their astute, encouraging responses to early drafts. Sarah-Jane Norman for the same, and her patience and love. Basso art collective and the other Berliners in whose apartments the final drafts were written. Marika Blossfeldt and staff at Polli Talu Arts Centre, Peter Bishop and staff at Varuna, both for invaluable residencies. My erstwhile tattoo shamans eX de Medici and Megan Oliver for their art and lore. Robert Brain for permission to quote from his book The Decorated Body on page 72, as well as feedback on an early draft. Christos Tsiolkas and Sophie Cunningham for their unstinting friendship and peer support over the years. Sinéad Roarty; and Ian See for his proofreading. Last but most, my publisher and agent, Aviva Tuffield and Fran Moore, who never stopped believing in this book even when everybody else, including myself, did. Indelible Ink could not have been completed without them.
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