Читать книгу Strangers on a Bridge: A gripping debut psychological thriller! - Louise Mangos - Страница 22

Simon sat at the kitchen table sipping a beer and flicking through his latest edition of The Economist. I rattled around in the cupboard for a saucepan and ran cold water into it, preparing to peel some potatoes for dinner.

‘I went to the police today,’ I said.

Simon closed his magazine and sat back in his chair.

‘You think they’ll talk to your guy?’

Your guy? I narrowed my eyes. I wondered if Simon had ever taken me seriously about Manfred’s psychological needs.

‘I thought I should urge them to contact him. To make sure he’s okay.’

‘Is it worth kicking up a fuss about this? I trust your judgement, Al. But are you sure he needs your intervention? Don’t forget you’ve misinterpreted the Swiss in the past. Remember the electrician incident? You’ve got to be sure if you’re going to try and mix yourself up in someone else’s life. He probably just wants to forget about it. Move on, like the rest of us.’

My face reddened. I didn’t like to be reminded of the electrician incident. When we first moved in we were having the wiring of a light fitting altered in the kitchen so the lamp would hang over the kitchen table. I’d thought the electrician was coming on to me. He’d put a hand on my shoulder and said something I didn’t understand with an unusually broad smile. At that stage I understood practically no German, and hadn’t realised he was trying to explain he was the father of one of the boys’ friends at school, and that he’d be happy for our families to get together socially. Boy, had I got that wrong. Especially as this was not a typically Swiss request. I could have benefitted from a little help when it came to integrating. Instead, I ended up complaining to one of the mothers, who happened to be his sister-in-law, making the whole thing worse.