“What about this one?” Bobby asked.

“No, it would have been one you had found yesterday or this morning,” Joseph said.

“How do you know?”

“Because it went missing yesterday.”

“Well, I don’t know how you could know that.” Bobby laughed awkwardly. “Unless you’ve been talking to someone from the other world, which I’m highly doubtful of.”

There was silence.

“Joseph, this watch is exactly what you’ve described.” I could hear the confusion in Bobby’s voice.

“It’s not the one I want,” Joseph said.

“Did you see it somewhere? On somebody? Perhaps you could tell them to visit me so I get an idea of what you’re looking for. If I come across it, I’ll save it for you.”

“It is the very watch I saw somebody wearing, that I’m looking for.”

“Someone from Kenya? Years ago?”

“No, from Here.”

“Here,” Bobby repeated.

“Yes, Here.”

“Did somebody from Here give it to me?”

“No, it went missing.”

Silence.

“It can’t have. They must have misplaced it.”

“I know, but I saw it with my own eyes.”

“You saw it disappear?”

“I saw it on her wrist and she didn’t move an inch from her place and then I saw that it was gone from her wrist.”

“It must have fallen off her.”

“Yes, it did do that.”

“So it’s on the ground.”

“That’s the funny thing,” Joseph said drily and I knew it wasn’t funny at all.

“But it can’t ha-”

“It did.”

“And you thought it would show up here?”

“I thought you may have found it.”

“I didn’t.”

“I can see that. Thank you, Bobby. Speak of this to no one,” he warned, giving me a chill. Footsteps began to move away.

“Hold on, hold on, Joseph. Don’t go yet! Tell me, who lost it?”

“You don’t know her.”

“Where did she lose it?”

“Halfway between here and the next village.”

“No,” Bobby whispered.

“Yes.”

“I’ll find it,” Bobby said determinedly. “It has to be there.”

“It’s not.” Joseph raised his voice to a normal tone but for him it was loud. From the way that he said it, I knew that it was not.

“OK, OK.” Bobby backed down, still not sounding like he believed it. “Does the person who lost it know that it’s gone? Maybe she knows where it is.”

“She’s new here.” That said it all. That meant she doesn’t understand a thing, and he was right, I didn’t, but I was learning fast.

“She’s new?” The tone in Bobby’s voice had changed. I recognized that and was sure Joseph would too. “Maybe I can talk to her and get the exact description.”

“I have given you the exact description.” Yes, he noticed it. Footsteps moved toward the door again, the door squeaked, and the bell rang.

“Was there a name on the watch?” Bobby called out at the last minute, and the squeak of the front door stopped. It closed again, and footsteps got louder as they neared me again.

“Why do you ask?” Joseph’s voice was firm.

“Because sometimes people engrave names, dates, or messages on the backs of watches.” Bobby sounded nervous.

“You asked me if there was a name. Why did you specifically ask about a name?”

“Some watches have names engraved on them.” His voice went up an octave in defense. “I should know.” He tapped on glass and I guessed it was the jewelry cabinet.

There was a funny atmosphere outside, I didn’t like it.

“Let me know if you find the watch. Be quiet about it, you know how people would react if they found out that things from Here were going missing.”

“Of course, I understand it might give them hope.”

“Bobby…” Joseph warned, and a chill ran through me.

“Yes, sir,” Bobby said smartly.

The door squeaked, the bell rang, and it was closed again. I waited a while to make sure Joseph didn’t come back in. Bobby was silent outside. I was about to stand up when Joseph walked by the window again, closer this time, staring at the building suspiciously. I quickly ducked and lay flat on the floor, wondering why on earth I was suddenly hiding from Joseph.

Bobby opened the door and looked down at me. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Bobby Stanley,” I said as I sat up, brushing the dust off me, “you have a lot of explaining to do.”

He took me by surprise and folded his arms across his chest. “And so have you,” he said coolly. “Want to know why I wasn’t at your auditions? Because nobody told me about them. Want to know why? Because around here everybody knows me as Bobby Duke. Ever since the day I arrived here, I haven’t told anybody that my name is Bobby Stanley. So how did you know?”

34

Mr. Le Bon, I assume,” Dr. Burton addressed Jack, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

Jack reddened but he was determined not to back down or be dismissed from Dr. Burton’s company as a raving lunatic. He leaned forward. “Dr. Burton, there are many of us who are trying to find Sandy-”

“I don’t need to hear any more.” He pushed his chair back, grabbed Jack’s file from the coffee table, and got to his feet. “Our time is up, Mr. Ruttle. You can settle the fee outside with Carol.” He spoke with his back turned as he made his way to his desk.

“Doctor-”

“Good-bye, Mr. Ruttle.” His voice rose.

Jack took the silver watch in his hands and stood. He spoke quietly but quickly while he had the chance. “Can I just say that a garda by the name of Graham Turner may contact-”

“Enough!” Dr. Burton shouted, slamming the file down on the desk. His face reddened and his nostrils flared. Jack froze and was immediately silenced.

“You obviously haven’t known Sandy very long or intimately. Taking that into consideration, it’s glaringly obvious that it’s absolutely no business of yours to go snooping around in her life.”

Jack opened his mouth to protest but he was beaten to it again.

“But,” Dr. Burton continued, “I believe that you and your group are genuine and so I will tell you this before you take things any further with the police.” He battled visibly with his anger. “I’ll tell you what the Gardaí will tell you if they start calling around. I’ll tell you what Sandy’s own family will tell you.” His anger rose again and he ground his back teeth. “And what every single person who knows her will tell you, and that is this: that this,” he said, and threw his arms up helplessly in the air, “is what Sandy does.”

Jack tried to speak again.

“All of the time,” he shouted. “She floats in and floats out, leaves things behind, sometimes she collects them, sometimes she doesn’t.” He placed his hands on his hips, his chest heaving with anger. “But the point is, she’ll come back again. She always comes back.”

Jack nodded and looked down at the ground. He started to cross the room to leave.

“You can leave her things here,” Dr. Burton added. “I’ll make sure she gets them and thanks you on her return.”

Jack slowly lowered the rucksack of her belongings to the ground by the door and quietly stepped out, feeling like a scolded schoolboy, but at the same time feeling sympathy for the schoolmaster who had chastised him. It wasn’t Jack he was angry at. It was the breeze that came and went, blowing sporadic gusts of hot and cold air from puckered lips, kisses that tickled and air that smelled sweet, but who at the snap of her fingers inhaled it all back in an instant. It was Sandy he was mad at. And himself, for his eternal wait.

Jack left Dr. Burton, hands on hips, staring out the Georgian window, grinding his jaw. Jack closed the door softly behind him, locking the atmosphere inside. It was far too precious to allow to creep into the reception for the awaiting people to sense. It would remain locked in the office, hovering around Dr. Burton while he took the time to process it, deal with it, allow it to cool, and then eventually dissipate.