Resonance Read Free Page A

snapped.
    Tina got the message. She smiled. ‘The stew does smell lovely.’
    Joe felt himself smiling back at her. He could never stay angry with Tina. ‘Look what else I got.’
    He reached into his jacket and slyly drew out the book. Tina practically squealed with delight.
    ‘Oh, Joe, you rented a new one! What’s it about? What’s it called?’
    ‘It’s by that French lad you like, the one who wrote about Captain Nemo. This one’s about people who go to the moon. See?’ He showed her the cover, running his finger under thetitle, reading slowly so she could follow the words. ‘From the Earth to the Moon,’ he said.
    ‘To the moon,’ breathed Tina. ‘Just imagine.’
    She said this very softly, looking at him all the while, and suddenly it was as if Joe’s heart had dropped off the edge of a cliff. His smile became a grin, and he could no longer bring himself to look up from the book.
    Tina stood in an abrupt rustle of satin and dazzle of sequins. ‘Right!’ she said. ‘Just give me ten minutes with Her Majesty the Queen in there, and I’ll be—’
    Her abrupt silence made Joe look up sharply. She’d gone very still, her expression puzzled.
    ‘Tina?’
    She didn’t answer. Instead, her eyes lifted to the darkened theatre behind him, a frown growing between those forthright eyebrows. She seemed to be listening to some faint, disturbing sound that only she could hear.
    It was a look Joe hadn’t seen in years, and it caused an all too familiar tightening in his belly, an old creeping feeling on the back of his neck. He glanced over his shoulder to the top of the steps, where Tina’s attention was focused. There was nothing there. Just row upon row of shadowy seats and the bright, distant rectangle of the foyer door.
    He was about to whisper, What do you see? when shapes moved within that bright rectangle – the distinctive shadow play of a person walking across the reflective floor of the foyer.
    For a moment, Joe’s heart shrivelled with the fearful conviction that it was Mickey the Wrench come to beat his share of the shilling and six from Joe’s hide. But the figure that came to the foyer door had nothing like Mickey’sbulldog silhouette. This man was tall and lean, and as he came into the auditorium, Joe saw him take a top hat from his head.
    With the use of a cane, the man began to make his way down the steps. As he descended through the darkness towards them, Tina took a step back, as if afraid. Joe put himself between her and the approaching stranger. His hand tightened on the handle of his lunch-pail. He found himself thinking, Stay away from her!
    The man came to the edge of the shadows. He put a gloved hand on the gate that led from the dress circle into the stalls, but he did not step into the light.
    ‘Good afternoon,’ he said.
    At the sound of his voice, Joe felt his inexplicable aggression drain away, leaving just a dull and dreamy unease. He heard the click of Tina’s high-heeled boots as she stepped forward.
    ‘I’m looking for the manager,’ said the man.
    Joe felt his arm float upwards, his finger pointing. ‘Mr Simmons is in his office. That door, then up the stairs.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said the man. ‘I am much obliged.’ He did not turn to leave, however, and there followed a strained silence as he observed them from the shadows. After a moment, he lifted his cane and pointed to the reflections still shivering across Tina’s face and hair. ‘What a bewitching effect,’ he murmured. ‘Quite … moving . You are an artiste, dear? You “tread the boards”, as they say?’
    There was a rustle by Joe’s left ear, but no reply. ‘She’s a seamstress,’ he said. ‘She makes costumes.’ Then, almost as if someone else were speaking: ‘She’s very good at it – there’s no one better.’
    The man was silent for a moment. ‘And you?’ he asked doubtfully. ‘ You are an artiste?’
    Joe snorted.
    ‘He’s a cab-man,’ said Tina. ‘He works in the depot out