Chapter Five

Sunday 5th May

'But I'd rather go on hearing your lies, than living without you.'

It was 8am and Harry was wide awake. He'd tried to find a new routine for Sundays but it hadn't worked. The working week started so ridiculously early that 7:30 seemed like a lie in. He'd check the computer and go for a run, he decided. Last Sunday the park had been full of runners, there was a four mile race and a minutes silence for the victims of the Boston marathon bombings and some events leading up to the New York Marathon. It had given him a different route. It wasn't as nice; but he didn't see her at every turn.

He checked his Skype to see who was online. He wasn't changing that part of his Sunday routine. It wasn't utterly unknown for his mother to talk briefly on the computer. She preferred the phone, and he didn't have to listen to her asking him when he was getting a haircut, or where he had had his haircut when he was on the phone but this morning her icon indicated that she was offline.

Leo was online. He hadn't talked to his old boss in months. Nikki had always said he'd asked how he was on a Monday. Maybe it would be good to catch up. He clicked the icon to make the call.

"Hello? Hello? Leo is that you?"

"Yes," came a digitally blippy answer.

"Have you turned the camera on?" Harry shouted.

"No, it says the connection won't support a video call."

"Oh. Can you hear me, do you want me to call you again- try a better line?"

"No, I can hear you fine now."

Finally the digital distortion abated and the words came through clearly but not in the voice that Harry was expecting.

"Nikki?" Harry asked.

"No, it's Leo," the reply came back but in Nikki's voice.

"Working on a Sunday?" Harry asked, sure it was Nikki but eager to get her to talk again to prove his theory.

"Yes there's a lot of paper work to catch up on," Nikki replied with no attempt to disguise her voice.

"Hmm, Nikki said you were wanting to be more hands on again." He said playing along with her game.

"She's right," Nikki replied. "I've really enjoyed taking a more active role in the post mortems recently. It feels like I'm getting back to what I do best."

"You always were an excellent pathologist," Harry replied, keeping up her little charade. It had been over a month since he had spoken to her and if sitting at Leo's computer and pretending to be him on a Sunday afternoon at work was what it took for her to talk to him, he'd take it. He could just imagine her sat behind Leo's desk, the Matisse dominating the small room. "You're not playing music today." Harry commented.

"No, too much to do." Nikki replied.

"How's Nikki?" Harry asked, wondering if he was pushing her too far. There was a long pause. "Did she tell you about her weekend in New York?"

"Yes, she did Harry. She had a great time; she was full of it when she got back. She couldn't wait to tell me about the hominid skeleton the two of you went to see. Talk about a busman's holiday." Nikki rattled off quickly.

"And how is she now?" he asked cautiously.

"She doesn't tell me much, she and Jack are working much more harmoniously at the moment."

"I asked how she was?" Harry insisted.

"She seems adrift. I come in to work some days and I wonder if she'll have just moved on, there seems less and less to keep her here at the Lyell. I mean her work is still first rate but well I'm sure you know."

"I do know. I really do." Harry said quietly.

"Have you had any gigs lately?" Nikki asked.

"Yes, we have, I never had a chance to thank you personally for joining with Nikki on that birthday present."

"It was a pleasure." Nikki replied. "So another night at the Cock?"

"Oh no, we've gone upmarket, or uptown but not that Uptown that's the scary end of town. We did a gig on 42nd Street."

"THE 42nd Street?" Nikki asked hardly suppressing the un Leo like squeal to her voice.

"THE 42nd Street! We were a block or so away from Times Square. It was the most amazing location and a brilliant gig."

"It went well?"

"Fantastic. Jorge was over the moon. Beto too, but that was just because he hadn't run into any of his clients."

"And you?" Nikki asked.

"I thought it was great too."

"But?"

"It was great…"

"Harry!" Nikki probed in the most Nikki like voice ever. "What?"

"Well right at the end, we got so much applause that they raised the house lights so we could see the audience."

"So you were on stage then!"

"Oh yes, we were on stage."

"And who saw you, who was in the audience?" Nikki asked.

"Do you remember I introduced you to the Dean?"

"Me?" Nikki asked not prepared to let the game they were playing stop.

"It was someone Nikki met, gave her a lift to the airport for me."

"Candy?"

"The very same."

"Oh, Harry. What did you do?"

"I haven't done anything yet, but I got an email this morning saying I've been scheduled a meeting with her on Monday."

"Maybe she just wants to utilise all your talents at NYU," Nikki suggested.

"Somehow, I think not," Harry replied. "It might not matter anyhow. Beto has had to go back to Colombia, his mother had a mini heart attack. So there might not be any gigs for a while, or not with backing singers. Jorge will have to go back to being a solo act."

"You can't give up!" Nikki insisted.

"I might have to. Candy could turn round on Monday and veto any extra-curricular activity that can bring the good name of NYU into disrepute."

"How can singing backing vocals on a few Elvis songs be bringing the university into disrepute?"

"I don't know Nikki,"

"LEO!" she insisted.

"I don't know Leo, but the rules are strange here, it seems they own your soul.

"They're not changing you are they?"

"I don't think so. I hope not. Or not for the worse anyway."

"I ought to do some work," Nikki said.

"It's been good to talk to you. Give my love to Nikki won't you. Tell her to call me sometime."

"I'll try," she replied. But Harry didn't know if that meant she would try to call him, or try to pass on the message to Nikki in this bizarre conversation.

"I'm going to go now."

"OK Harry. Have a nice day."

Harry sat back in his chair. She hadn't said goodbye. Was that a good sign? He thought back to what Jorge and Beto had said. It was only Thursday just over a week ago that they had all been together rehearsing and laughing. Well Jorge and Beto had been laughing and now in what seemed like an instant after the amazing success of their big gig, he was being potentially silenced and Beto had flown back to Colombia. There was no knowing how long he'd be gone for. He was missing the donkey jibes already. Jorge was already depressed, the mood reflected in his elevator music choices. Maybe he should take the stairs when he went out for his run, it would be a good warm up and then he could avoid a doleful Elvis asking if he was 'Lonesome Tonight.'


Are You Lonesome Tonight: Handman &Turk (Elvis)