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It was relatively early in the evening but Louise was tired. She loved doing the documentary programmes for television but afterwards she felt exhausted for days. She fell asleep in front of the television and woke at nine thirty. A light tapping on her front door woke her.
“Who is it?” she called, her voice croaky from sleep.
“Nigel Jones. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Louise assumed Nigel wanted to talk about Charlotte and Frank. She really liked Nigel and had been disappointed when he had hooked up with Charlotte, even though Charlotte was a friend of hers, well a sort of friend. Unlike Charlotte, Nigel was a good friend, steady, reliable, uncomplicated.
“Come in Nigel,” Louise said warmly. “I was just having a snooze.”
Louise could see that Nigel was upset. He sat on the couch so she sat beside him to comfort him. She put her arm around his shoulders and felt him shaking.
“Whatever’s happened?” she said.
“I’ve resigned,” said Nigel “Not just resigned. Spat the dummy. Thrown the toys out of the cot.”
“Tell me about it,” Louise said, softly stroking his cheek. His skin was so soft but she could feel the stubble of his beard. She had heard that as long as a man could grow a beard he still had enough testosterone to ..... Her thoughts were interrupted by Nigel removing his arm from her shoulders.
“You’ve drifted off,” laughed Nigel. “You must be really tired or I must be really boring.”
“It’s not you, Nigel. Well, it is you. When you’re around you relax me. I’m so comfortable with you I can doze,” whispered Louise. She stopped stroking his face and took his hand.
“I told the Council that they should close down the shopping mall until new steel can replace the Chinese uncertified. That’s a big call. The shell of the complex is finished and the supermarket has opened. Now subcontractors for each lease will fit out the other shops. It’s a busy time. Delays cost money and prolong the time that loans have to be serviced. I think the Council will be sued.”
“And if they don’t close down and replace the steel?” murmured Louise as she squeezed Nigel’s hand lightly.
“One day. Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Maybe even next century the roof beams will give way. They will twist and bend, drawing in the walls that hold everything up. The walls are load bearing pre-cast concrete sheets called pan joists. They are built to take weight vertically but will not manage a large sideways force, like a mudslide. Certified steel studs, the uprights, would be strong enough to support the weight but if the walls supporting them and the studs themselves are also weak, then everything will fall down.”
Nigel’s voice was soft and slow. Even though the scenario he was describing was horrific, Louise felt calm in his arms.
“It gets worse,” said Nigel. “I told the reporter that the present plans and specifications had been modified but that I had copies of the originals and intended to make them public. I don’t believe Frank has driven piling down to bedrock on the Huatere Estate and when I checked the final papers for the permit, that condition was missing. It had been removed.
“I told the Council to pull the plug on any more houses until engineers can check what Frank has done. Heavy rain, an earthquake – we are in an earthquake zone – or simply the weight of more houses could see the whole lot slide to the valley floor and into the shopping mall. That ground wasn’t left as a sports field for no reason, you know.”
“Oh My God.” Louise normally did not blaspheme but she was shocked by the scale of Nigel’s responsibility. “What are you going to do?”
“They voted to ignore me,” said Nigel. “Not openly. They just would not accept my recommendations. The Wahanui Times lady saw me after I resigned. I did an interview on the spot. Council papers altered! Danger in Huatere Valley. Headlines tomorrow, all over New Zealand.”
“I’ll stand with you,” said Louise. “You are a good honest man and you need a good honest woman to stand beside you.”
Her words were ambiguous. Louise had not intended them to be. She simply meant that she would support Nigel. It was a cue for Nigel to tell Louise what he had come for.
“Louise, I’m about to book a flight to the States. I have to go to the Caribbean to get my money sorted out. Then I’m not sure where I will go,” Nigel paused, took her hand in both of his and looked into her eyes. “Probably back to Wales first to see Mum and Dad and my sister. Will you come with me?”
Louise sat silently for some time. Nigel waited patiently. He knew that in her mind she was thinking of Kezia and Alexander, of the Calling Out Monsters committee.
“I don’t know,” she said. Suddenly she knew what she must do. She had not felt like this for a long time. She stood and pulled him up. “Come on, Nigel. Bed time.”