Empire of the Ants Read Free Page A

meant he was slightly retarded. The educational psychologist thought he was disturbed and should be sent to a special school. I knew he wasn't, though. He was just "elsewhere". I remember once, he can't have been more than eleven, he challenged me to try and make four equilateral triangles using only six matches. It isn't easy. Here, have a go and you'll see.'
    She went into the kitchen, had a quick look at the kettle and came back with six matches. Jonathan hesitated for a moment. It seemed feasible. He tried arranging the six little sticks in various ways but was forced to give up after a few minutes.
    'How do you do it?'
    Grandmother Augusta concentrated.
    'Well, I don't think he ever told me, actually. All I can remember is the clue he gave me: "You have to think about it differently. If you think about it in the usual way, you don't get anywhere." Can you imagine, a kid of eleven coming out with things like that? Ah, I think I can hear the kettle whistling.'
    She came back carrying two steaming cups of herb tea.
    'You know, I'm really pleased to see you taking an interest in your uncle. Nowadays, when someone dies, people forget they ever existed.'
    Jonathan put the matches aside and took a few sips of herb tea. 'What happened after that?'
    'I can't remember. Once he started studying science at university we didn't hear from him any more. I heard vaguely from your mother that he got a brilliant doctorate, worked for a food manufacturer, left to go to Africa, then came back and lived in the rue des Sybarites, where nothing more was heard of him until the day he died.'
    'How did he die?'
    'Oh, don't you know? It's quite incredible. It was in all the papers. He was killed by wasps, would you believe it!' 'Wasps? How did it happen?'
    'He was walking by himself in the forest. He must have accidentally disturbed a nest. They all rushed to attack him. The pathologist claimed he'd never seen so many stings on one person. He had over 0.3g of poison per litre of blood when he died. It was unheard of.' 'Where's he buried?'
    'He hasn't got a proper grave. He'd asked to be buried under a pine tree in the forest.'
    'Have you got a photograph of him?'
    'Yes, look, over there on the wall above the chest. Your mother, Suzy's, on the right (have you ever seen such a young-looking picture of her before?) and Edmonds on the left.'
    He had a receding hairline, a small pointed moustache and lobeless ears that extended above his eyebrows. He was smiling mischievously and looked quite a devil.
    Beside him, Suzy was resplendent in a white dress. She had married a few years later but had insisted on keeping her maiden name, Wells. As if she wanted her husband to leave no trace of his name on her offspring.
    Moving closer, Jonathan saw that Edmond was holding two fingers up above his sister's head.
    'He was always playing jokes on people, wasn't he?'
    Augusta did not answer. Her eyes had misted over with sorrow as she looked at her daughter's radiant face. Suzy had died six years earlier. A fifteen-tonne lorry in the hands of a drunken driver had pushed her car into a ravine. She had taken two days to die. She had asked for Edmond but Edmond had not come. Yet again, he had been elsewhere.
    'Do you know anyone else who could tell me about Edmond?'
    'Mmm. He used to see a lot of one of his childhood friends. They went to university together. He was called Jason Bragel. I must still have his number.'
    Augusta quickly consulted her computer and gave Jonathan his address. She looked at her grandson affectionately. He was the last survivor of the Wells family. A good boy.
    'Drink up now or your tea 'll get cold. I've got some littl e sponge cakes as well, if you like. I make them myself with quails' eggs.'
    'No, thank you, I'll have to be going. Come and see us in our new flat one day. We've finished moving in.'
    'All right. Wait a minute, though. Don't go without the letter.'
    She delved frantically among tin boxes in the big cupboard and at last came