The MapThe doorbell rang.
“Please excuse me, mum,” Pearson said.
I stood in the middle of the room, trying to make sense of what he’d just said. Tony found his brother’s body?
I knew almost nothing about the boy, not even his name, until Pearson said it just now. But the way he’d been spoken of over the years made me feel as if something terrible had taken place.
Poisoning is what everyone said.
But who would poison a child?
* * *
Pearson came in holding a silver tray containing a full bottle, a glass, a silver case containing my cigarettes, and a letter. “This just arrived, mum. From the Inventor.”
Whatever could the Inventor want to mail me about? Pearson lit a cigarette for me. “Thank you, Pearson, that will be all.”
I poured a glass, took a long drink, then opened the letter.
