The Terrible Privacy Of Maxwell Sim (38 page)

He turned back to me.

‘Like I said, Max – I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere.’

‘But I have to catch that plane,’ I said, my voice starting to shake now. ‘I’ve got to get back to London tomorrow. I’m having dinner with Clive in the evening. And then my dad’s going to come back to live in Lichfield and everything. We were going to do something about Mum’s gravestone.’

‘But the story’s finished, Max,’ he said.

I looked into his eyes and they no longer seemed kind. It was like looking into the eyes of a serial killer.

‘It can’t have finished,’ I protested. ‘I still don’t know how it ends.’

‘Well, that’s easy,’ said the writer. ‘I can tell you just how it ends.’ He gave me one last smile – a smile that was both apologetic and ruthless – and clicked his fingers. ‘Like this.’

Author’s Note

Parts of this novel were written during a stay at the Villa Hellebosch in Flanders, funded by the Flemish government under the Residences in Flanders scheme administered by Het Beschrijf in Brussels.

I’d like to express personal thanks to my kind and attentive host at the villa, Alexandra Cool; also to Ilke Froyen, Sigrid Bousset and Paul Buekenhout; and to James Cañón for his excellent company during my stay.

‘The Nettle Pit’ first appeared as part of the collection
Ox-Tales: Earth
, published by Profile Books in support of Oxfam. Many thanks to Mark Ellingham at Profile and Tom Childs at Oxfam for their inspiration and encouragement.

Website:
www.jonathancoewriter.com