by Nansi Kunze
The sandy guy noticed the wink and took another step towards Nix. ‘I’m not going to ask you again!’
We took the hint.
‘So much for plan A,’ said Nix, as we emerged from the alcove. I looked around. The stalker was down by the water about a hundred metres away. He wasn’t looking at us, but he was slowly heading our way.
Nix peered along the northern stretch of beach.
‘We’re getting further away from territory we know really well,’ he mused.
‘We could take those steps up to the top of the cliff just ahead,’ suggested Sky. ‘But we’d be really easy to spot.’
‘Well, I don’t want to go back,’ I told him. ‘He’s near the narrowest part of the beach. We’d have to go right up close to him to get by.’
‘Then let’s go on,’ said Nix, and set off.
‘I don’t know – are you sure you don’t want to try going back?’ Joel asked me.
‘Why?’ I stared at him. The usually cheery face under those blond dreads looked troubled. ‘What’s wrong, Joel?’
‘Nothing.’ He was silent for a few seconds. ‘It’s just …’
‘Spit it out, Joel,’ advised Nix.
‘It’s this end of the beach, man,’ muttered Joel. ‘Don’t you remember?’
Nix began to laugh.
‘What is it with you guys?’ demanded Sky. ‘Alex is being stalked, here – it’s no laughing matter!’
‘I know, I’m sorry,’ chuckled Nix. ‘Joel’s just a little jittery because further up here is the nudist area of the beach.’
I couldn’t help smiling. ‘Oh yeah – I remember Mark Lombardi telling us about that in year eight. But as I recall, you two were always pretty keen to go down and take a look, weren’t you?’
‘Actually,’ said Nix, ‘we already did.’
‘Really? When?’
‘In the summer holidays, while you were so busy studying and writing applications for your Simulcorp placement.’ Nix frowned for a moment, then looked at Joel, laughter creeping back into his voice. ‘Let’s just say, it wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be.’
Joel turned to me with the haunted look of one who’s been scarred for life.
‘No one told us that almost all nudists are over fifty.’ He shuddered. ‘Trust me, Alex, you do not want to go down there.’
‘Apparently Mark still comes here every day in the holidays to watch,’ Nix told me.
‘Eww!’ Sky wrinkled her nose.
Nix’s eyes gleamed. ‘Some guys prefer older women,’ he remarked.
‘Besides, weren’t you the one who said Ki and I should be less prudish?’ I added, trying to keep a straight face. ‘People are less hung up about nudity in Denmark, you said!’
Sky looked annoyed to have been foiled by her own argument.
‘It’s not the nudity that bothers me, it’s the secret perving,’ she said loftily. ‘If Mark Lombardi wants to enjoy the benefits of getting closer to nature, he should become a nudist himself and socialise openly with them.’
‘There’s a charming image,’ I said. Joel looked like he wanted to throw up.
I looked back. The stalker was getting closer.
‘Actually,’ I mused, ‘maybe being at the nudist end of the beach can help us …’
The others stared at me.
‘Alex Thaler, if you’re thinking we should strip off and blend in with the nudists as a way of losing the stalker, you are out of your freaking mind,’ growled Sky.
‘That’s not what I meant,’ I assured her, although I noticed Joel was looking a lot less traumatised all of a sudden. ‘Nix, did Mark Lombardi ever tell you where he watched the nudists from?’
Nix frowned.
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, presumably he doesn’t just stand in full view on the beach, staring at them through his binoculars, does he?’
A slow smile spread over Nix’s face.
‘Ah, I see what you’re thinking. Actually, he did tell us once that he used a cave down here somewhere as his “observation post”. Look around, you guys.’
We scanned the wall of rock beside us.
‘I think I see it.’ Sky gestured at the cliff face. ‘That dark area just near the ground.’
I squinted. The cave was there, all right. It was a small opening, but it looked big enough for a person to crawl into if they got down on their hands and knees.
‘If we could get in without the stalker spotting us, he might think we’ve gone up the steps and head up there,’ I told the others. ‘We could go back the way we came without being seen if we stay close to the cliff.’
‘Sounds good,’ nodded Sky.
‘There’s nothing to hide us as we go in,’ Nix commented. ‘If he sees us heading in, there’s no point at all.’
‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ I said. ‘If we can get the stalker to turn away, he won’t see us get in the cave. Maybe we can pretend we’re turning back in his direction or something.’
‘Joel and I can sort that part out,’ offered Nix. ‘Sky, can you go on up the steps? That way, when he looks again he’ll think we’ve all gone up.’
‘Why me?’ demanded Sky.
‘You’re the most … colourful one,’ said Nix, with rare tact. Sky seemed to accept this at face value. ‘If he keeps following you even when he sees Alex is gone, call and I’ll get Mum to pick you up in the car. I don’t think he will, though – Alex seems to be the one he wants.’
‘We’ll see you back at your place, okay?’ I told Sky.
She nodded and set off. We were almost level with the cave now. A small group of people were splashing about in the waves a little way off, but it wasn’t possible to tell if they had bathers on or not, to Joel’s obvious relief.
‘You go in first, Alex,’ directed Nix.
‘Who died and made you king? This was my plan,’ I reminded him indignantly, but I slowed down. Nix ignored my objection completely.
‘Okay, Joel,’ he said, ‘turn around with me and act like you’ve only just spotted our stalker buddy. We want him to think we’re wondering what he’s up to.’
The two boys spun around. Joel made a big show of shading his eyes with his hand to get a better look at the red-haired man, while Nix pointed at him and started to walk back the way we’d come. The stalker, who had been walking along in the shadow of the cliff, stopped abruptly, then turned around, looking at his watch as if he’d just realised how late it was.
‘Now!’ said Nix, and I dropped to my feet, rolling under the lip of the cave entrance. Inside it opened up immediately into a dim cavern I could sit up in. I shuffled quickly out of the way to let Nix and Joel in. With all three of us inside, there was hardly room to breathe. I could feel the soft rise and fall of Nix’s ribs against my arm.
‘Did he see?’ I whispered.
‘I don’t think so.’ He held up a hand to stall further questions, then pointed at the thin strip of sand we could see through the cave’s entrance. There was a sound of feet pounding on the sand. The footsteps slowed and a pair of feet, clad in shiny black shoes, came into view. The stalker had stopped right outside.
The air in the cave, already close and musty, seemed to press in on me. If my stalker knew we were in here, we were sitting ducks. Who was this man? Could he be Grody’s murderer? If so, why was he watching me? Was he just waiting for me to be in a vulnerable place, somewhere isolated, so that he could dispose of me too? I tried to imagine this was all just a virtuadventure – like The PI Files or something – but it was no use. I felt panic welling up inside me and began to gasp for breath. Nix’s hand closed over mine, gripping tightly. I clung to it gratefully.
And then the stalker was gone. A few swift steps took his feet out of view. I heard the thunk of shoes on wood. He was climbing the steps.
‘Go make sure he’s not doubling back, mate,’ said Nix softly. Joel squeezed out of the cave.
‘I thought he was going to kill us,’ I breathed, my voice shaking
.
‘There are three of us here, Alex. Did you think Joel and I wouldn’t protect you?’ I could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Besides, if he’d wanted to hurt you, he would have done it by now. I think he’s only watching you, trying to find something out. Is there something you know about Grody that he might want to know too?’
I tried to think, but my mind seemed fuzzy.
‘I don’t …’ Suddenly all I could focus on was the fact that Nix was still holding my hand. I looked up. In the soft, dim light, I could see his eyes shining beneath the wild spikes of his hair. Was it my imagination, or was his face moving closer to mine?
‘Alex?’ I heard him say, and then everything went black.
I opened my eyes. The darkness of the cave was gone, and so was Nix’s face. Sky was looking down at me from the bright blue of the open air.
‘Alex? Are you okay?’
‘Yeah. I think so.’ I struggled up onto one elbow, feeling sand under me. I was out on the beach. Nix and Joel were frowning down at me in concern on the other side of Sky. ‘What happened?’
‘You fainted,’ said Nix. ‘I called Sky – she’s the one with a first aid certificate. Don’t get up too quickly.’
I sat up gingerly, feeling dizzy.
‘The stalker?’
‘He’s gone,’ said Sky. ‘I hid in the ladies’ toilets up at the top and watched him. He looked pretty annoyed when he got up there and found we were gone. He got out his phone and headed off down Beach Road.’ She patted me on the back. ‘Are you okay to walk? We need to get you something to eat and drink. You’ve been overdoing it, Alex – all this studying and stressing over everything. It’s not good for you!’
‘Sky, you think paying attention for half a maths lesson is overdoing it,’ I pointed out, but I let her help me up. I wobbled a little, and in an instant Nix was at my other side, slinging my arm over his shoulder. My face flooded crimson.
‘You don’t have to …’ I began.
‘Now, don’t start stressing over this too, Alex!’ Nix grinned. ‘You’re not that heavy.’
I looked away, confused. I’d been embarrassed by Nix before – hundreds of times, probably – but being embarrassed by his mere presence … that was new. Nix, however, looked exactly the way he usually did: like he was about to make a joke at my expense. As he and Sky helped me back along the beach, I wondered if I was losing my marbles. Perhaps Sky’s right, I told myself. Maybe I have been overdoing it.
It didn’t make things any easier the next day when I accidentally gave the police a new number one suspect for Grody’s murder.
I’d finally made it to the CGI department and was watching with fascination as Frankie turned a short clip of a dog walking in the park into a song and dance act for a solar energy ad, when a message popped up on her screen saying that all employees should gather in the open space area for an announcement. As we made our way down the grassed corridor, I wondered idly whether Nix was helping with something similar to what Frankie had shown me at the special effects studio.
Inge was standing in the middle of the open space. ‘My apologies for interrupting your work,’ she said, in an airy tone that belied her words. ‘I have an important announcement to make. The funeral for Pierce Grody will be held on Thursday at twelve noon Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time, at a memorial garden close to Pierce’s home in Brighton. I know we are all deeply saddened by the loss of our head of department,’ she continued, putting on an appropriately mournful face, ‘and I encourage anyone who wishes to pay their respects to Pierce to attend. The CEO has authorised the use of the Simulcorp Travel Fund for this purpose, should those of us living outside Australia wish to be there.’ She clapped her hands and let her face bounce back to its normal expression of smug authority. ‘So, if you need to discuss the travel arrangements, now is the time to speak with me, yes?’
Budi had come up behind me. ‘I think I’ll go,’ he said.
‘Really?’
He smiled. ‘I may not have liked the old fire-breather, but he was a great man in his own way, and I learnt a lot from him. It seems only fair to make the effort to say goodbye to him.’ He looked down at me. ‘Besides, it’ll be nice to see your peachy little face in realspace!’
I smiled back, watching him go up to Inge to tell her he’d be there. I supposed Budi was right to assume I’d be at the funeral – after all, a trip to Brighton wasn’t exactly a long trek for me. I followed Budi, waiting to ask for directions to the memorial garden. The rest of the employees stood around or sat on the water couch, talking to each other about the funeral. I gazed around at them, thinking how much this was like the day – was it really only a week ago? – that Grody had announced the Avatar Robotics deal and everyone had gathered here for the party.
The party …
In a flash I saw it again: Budi and Inge laughing over Grody’s unpleasantness, my virtual Pepsi spilling from my glass, the face in the crowd with its contorted, hate-filled expression … a face I was now sure was somewhere else in my memory, if only I could find it.
‘Budi!’ I clutched at his arm, making him start in surprise and Inge scowl in displeasure at being interrupted. ‘Budi, there was some guy who worked in one of these cubicles. Medium height, dark hair …’ I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying desperately to remember more clearly. ‘I think he might have been Asian?’
Budi stared at me.
‘You mean Yasuo?’
‘Yes!’ And there it was, clear in my mind at last: the same face, peering out at me on my very first morning at Simulcorp Marketing, as Inge introduced me. Yasuo. The man I hadn’t seen since the afternoon of Grody’s murder.
‘He’s not here. I mean, I haven’t seen him since Mr Grody died. Have you?’ I gazed up at Budi, searching his face.
‘No,’ he said slowly, comprehension dawning. ‘No, I haven’t. Inge?’
‘My God,’ said Inge, shocked. ‘He is gone? Yes, he must be … But why has no one noticed this? Elena!’ She beckoned imperiously to Elena, who was hovering near the people from the Legal Department a little way off.
‘I saw him, Budi,’ I explained as Elena hurried towards us. ‘You remember at the party, when you and Inge were talking about how Mr Grody was a bit of a … well, you know, a bit tricky to get along with? I saw Yasuo looking at us through the crowd. He looked mad. I mean, really angry.’ I gulped. ‘You know how they say “if looks could kill”? He was pretty much giving us that look.’
Budi had gone pale.
‘Are you sure it was him? I would have said he was the most mild-mannered guy alive, Yasuo – wouldn’t have hurt a fly. But then I didn’t know that much about him …’ He trailed off. ‘I never even noticed he wasn’t here any more.’
Inge dismissed his self-reproach with a wave.
‘None of us did – we are all very busy, Budi. But it was Elena’s job to notice. Elena, you gave the police the list from the personnel files – was Yasuo on it?’
Elena looked startled.
‘No.’
‘Why not?’ demanded Inge sharply.
Elena paused for a moment. ‘He was removed from the list some time ago.’
‘You knew he wasn’t listed as an employee?’ asked Budi, astonished.
‘When was he removed? Show us the list!’ barked Inge.
Elena scurried over to the nearest cubicle and brought up a long list of names on the screen.
‘Here,’ said Elena, pointing. ‘This is the last mention of Yasuo.’
Budi squinted at the monitor.
‘Elena, this is over two months ago!’
Inge looked ready to explode with wrath.
‘Two months!’ she shrieked, causing heads to turn all over the room. ‘It is your task to check these files every fortnight to ensure pay records are accurate, yes?’
‘Yes, but he was still listed on the pay files,’ whispered Elena.
‘That’s even worse! You were paying someone who wasn’t even an official employee! Why di
dn’t you tell anyone that Yasuo was not listed, when you saw him here at work every day?’
Elena’s face was completely immobile except for the huge, dark eyes, which flickered in confusion. It was obvious that somehow she’d never connected the fact that she saw Yasuo with the fact that the files showed he wasn’t supposed to be here. For the first time, I saw that underneath her kind, human exterior she really was only virtual … a bot. It was almost as horrifying as if someone had pulled off her skin to reveal a mass of circuitry underneath. I looked away.
‘If he wasn’t on this list,’ Budi put in quietly, ‘the police wouldn’t have noticed that he wasn’t here. And they wouldn’t have checked his Virk Room to make sure he was in Japan. He could have been in one of the Virk Rooms near Grody for days. More importantly, by now he could be anywhere.’
‘But at least we know this now.’ Inge picked up the phone by the computer. ‘I am calling the police. Detective Sergeant Montague?’ Her voice became soft and purring again as she spoke into the phone. ‘Inge Wellenschnitter from Simulcorp Marketing. I’m well, thank you. I’ve just made a terrible discovery – one of our employees was left off the list that was given to you, and hasn’t been seen since last Tuesday. I’ll email the details to you right now. Yes, I know – most regrettable.’ She turned her gaze on Elena, eyes narrowing. ‘Rest assured, the individual responsible will be disciplined. No, I don’t think we can consider her suspicious – it’s just the bot office manager again. Yes, I will. No, thank you. Goodbye.’
Inge put the phone down and drew herself up to her full height.
‘I will speak to Elena in private now.’
Elena followed Inge to her cubicle with the helpless despair of a condemned criminal. Evidently Inge’s idea of privacy wasn’t the same as mine – everyone in the open space area could hear her tirade on how useless Elena was, the shame she’d brought on the division and Inge as its Acting Head, and Inge’s intent to request that the CEO remove her from the office. Budi looked at me, his face sombre.
‘I suppose we should make allowances for Inge,’ he said. ‘It’s the middle of the night in Germany, you know. She’s given up a lot to make it in this business. But still …’ He shook his head. ‘She’s really becoming more and more like Pierce every day. I heard him give a speech like that a long time ago, to a woman who’d just let herself get a bit carried away romantically.’